--- Chapter One ---

extracurricular

Though the O'Connell clan hadn't given up archaeology, Jonathan had. Had enough of the stuff, he'd said, didn't need any more reasons to get himself involved in big annoying undead messes. He had better things to do, more productive ways to occupy his time.

Sure it might've sounded silly at the time; especially taking into account whose mouth all this righteous babble was coming out of. Jonathan hadn't been productive in years. But look who was laughing now.

Who knows, maybe all it takes is a few hundred mortality scares to put ones life into sharp perspective. Maybe it was his forty-second birthday, one that held specific significance being the very last birthday his father had celebrated before his own death. Maybe such a sudden reminder struck some sort of 'Wake up and get on with it!' chord in Jonathan's brain, who knew?

All that was certain was that Jonathan, for whatever reason, did something productive for a change.

He got a bloody job.

"Hellooooo?" The young woman's voice sing-songed through Jonathan's small house, filling the already sweet air with a sweeter sound. Normally this particular voice on this particular day would have had Jon hurrying down the hallway toward her, but now he was too busy packing.

The voice continued to travel closer to his bedroom, stopping just outside of his door as the young woman leaned on the doorframe, smiling that familiar smile of hers. She knocked on the wood frame, her eyes holding a summery light.

"Hello there," She repeated, seeming to be under the impression that Jonathan simply hadn't heard her calls.

Glancing up, Jonathan tried to be brief, having a difficult time once he caught a glimpse of her pretty white sundress. He swallowed, looking back down at his suitcase and his packing and his business, "Hello."

The girl's smile faltered slightly, but she pursed her lips to suppress what very well might've been a frown. "I was thinking…since it is so beautiful out, and since it is practically the first day since…oh I don't know when that it hasn't been cloudy…"

She continued to speak, walking over to him and disregarding his turning his back to her, merely wrapping her arms around him from behind and leaning her chin on his shoulder. She put special emphasis on the next sentence, sounding tedious, "And since I've finally got my degree and am finally finished with college and can finally go out with you in public without the whole of Cambridge going up in a frenzy…."

Smirking, Jonathan stopped what he was doing, tilting his head and listening to her go on. She planted a soft kiss on the side of his neck and his smile widened.

"Why don't we go on a picnic? Just us. It's so lovely out."

He winced a bit, turning around and smiling apologetically at the girl, cupping her face with his hands, "I'd love to, Bridge, but…"

"What are you packing for?" She asked suddenly, looking as if a bell went off in her head- DING DING DING! Suitcase! Shaving supplies! Folded unmentionables! He's leaving you! She squirmed out of his grasp and stepped away, walking around him to the other side of the bed, her heels clicking on the ground beneath her.

Knowing this conversation would not be a particularly pleasant one, Jonathan scratched the back of his head, "Uhhh, well..." he smirked, "I was going to call you about this…"

In all of his years, Jonathan never thought that a girl could make his heart break just by looking at him, but in the past few months he'd known Bridget, she'd become exceptionally good at just that. He hated the way her nose scrunched up when she was upset, which was different from the way it did when she was flattered or confused. Upset meant more to Jonathan, upset meant that he'd gone and done something stupid.

"When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow."

Bridget's eyes widened, her voice going up into that high-pitched range, "What, you're just taking off? Where are you going?!"

"I'm not just taking off." Jonathan replied in his defense, taking on a dumbfounded look, "I was going to tell you before I left, Bridget."

He scoffed loudly, shaking his head at her as if she should know better than to think such things. As if the very thought that he, Jonathan Earl Carnahan, would ever just disappear without telling his current shag was absolutely unheard of. How dare she! Honestly! Well I never!

Wow, he could really be convincing when he wanted to be…

Jonathan continued to shake his head, his eyebrows raising as he picked up a stack of books, mumbling to himself as he put them into his steadily filling suitcase, "Course I was going to tell you, you are my…."

"I am your what?"

Wincing, Jonathan raised his eyes to meet the expectant gaze of Bridget. He gaped at her for a moment. "You're my…my…"

"Where are you going, Jonathan? You still haven't answered my question!" Bridget huffed, letting him off the hook by unknowingly changing the subject.

"I'm going on a dig! With my sister! I do have to do that every now and then, you know."

Defeated, Bridget frowned as Jonathan went back to packing. She puffed out a few huffy breaths, floppily gesturing with her hands, "Well…" she pouted, "well…where at?"

"Egypt." He replied, sitting up and pointing behind her to his desk, "Hand me that jumper, will you?"

Bridget turned around and snatched the jumper from the back of his desk chair, frowning down at it as she handed it over. Oh how she hated his old ratty tan bloody jumper. He'd had it for ages, and she was constantly telling him not to wear it, but did he listen? No! Of course not. Jonathan didn't listen to anybody, especially Bridget.

Fuelled with newfound rage at him packing that most loathed jumper, she crossed her arms over her chest with a mind to give him one hell of a word lashing. Unfortunately what came out was much less authoritative and more along the lines of pitiable, "Can I…come…with you?"

Jonathan straightened up, turning around and putting a hand on the young woman's elbow, "Honestly, darling, I'd love you to come with me. But my sister…"

"Your sister?" Bridget frowned, "But you said your sister would like me."

"Like you, yes." Jonathan replied with a nod, raising his eyebrows disbelievingly, "Like that you are twenty years my junior and a student of mine, that is not likely."

"Former student." She corrected firmly, looking put off. She watched him return to packing, looking rather crushed. She rocked back and forth on her feet childishly, trying to find a new approach to having him stay as she grumbled to herself, "Could at least mention me to your sister this time…rather than pretending that I don't exist…"

A quiet moment passed as Jonathan tried to ignore what Bridget was mumbling really rather loudly, and Bridget stared at the top of Jonathan's bowed head, glaring at him and willing him to look at her, apologize, and kiss her passionately. That or she was praying that his head would explode into a ball of fire.

"Bridget, I invented the staring game, I can keep this up for ages."

"Oh bloody hell Jonathan!" She groaned, "Well… how long are you going to be gone?"

Clearly this was going to be the part where his distinct charm would have to go into overdrive. Bridget had her thick moments, and if she hadn't been having one now, she probably would've realized the reason Jonathan suddenly became so affectionate. He put down his pocket watch and moved over to her, his hands finding her own.

"Not long, the usual dig time," He said, his voice and expressions soft.

Bridget pouted, "What's the usual dig time?"

"Oh four, five months tops." Jonathan replied, hoping his nonchalance would soften the blow. He winced when Bridget's eyes widened and her jaw dropped, clearly he'd been mistaken. He began shaking his head, squeezing her hands and repeating the same word, "No no no no no no no no, Bridge…"

"Five months! What am I supposed to do for five months while you're gone!"

"I don't know, work?"

"I work at a library Jonathan." Bridget replied, eyes blazing. She'd said this as if it were an all-inclusive response, "I have no fun at the library, the only fun I have is with you. So I'm going to effectively have no fun for five bloody months!"

Fighting the urge to laugh at her swearing, Jonathan made the mistake of smiling, which only irritated Bridget further. He chuckled as she huffed and stormed out of the room, following her close behind. "Bridget, wait, I'm sorry."

She'd stopped sooner than he'd expected, causing him to right near trip over her in the hall. He was laughing, but her face was stoic, "This isn't because of what I said last night, is it?"

There was a tense pause. Jonathan's mind flashed back to the night before. One would think after all of the lager he'd consumed in a mere matter of hours Jonathan would have a difficult time remembering most of the evening, and this was generally true. All except for the part where Bridget had dramatically used the dreaded 'L' word.

"I love you, Jonathan." She'd said, her voice thick with sincerity and brandy.

Jonathan had stared at her, and for a moment felt like returning her sentiments. After all, her hair had looked particularly golden, haloing her with those perfect curls, her eyes looking just so blue and her skin looking just so….

But to get to the important bit, Jonathan hadn't returned her 'I love you' with an 'I love you too', and instead ruined the diploma ceremony for a few innocent bystanders by vomiting in the English rose bushes.

So, of course Jonathan's sudden departure was partly due to what Bridget had said to him the night before. Their relationship was steadily moving past the innocent student-lecturer fling it had been for the past five months, and the marriage and babies and happily ever after that was barreling his way shook Jonathan's bachelor instincts to the core, and terrified him more than any ancient Egyptian curse ever could.

It was a lucky coincidence on Jonathan's part that Evelyn had written him about a dig she and Rick were taking Alex on for his thirteenth birthday, a letter which arrived eerily enough just that day. Typically Jonathan wasn't the type to pack up and take off on such short notice, but after the strong reaction he'd had to Bridget's advances- ignoring of course the likelihood of his sudden illness pertaining to the amount of alcohol he'd consumed that night –he thought it was best to take the newfound opportunity to clear his head.

After all, he wouldn't want to do a silly little thing and actually tell Bridget how he felt about her. At least not until he was absolutely sure. Absolutely sure and absolutely absent for at least five months. Just in case.

"No, darling. Of course it isn't."

His reply was chipper, but it didn't seem to convince Bridget. She narrowed her eyes at him, "Do you then?"

Jonathan swallowed hard, "Do I what?"

"Do you love me?" She exclaimed tiredly.

Opening his mouth to reply, he shut it again when Bridget's eyes lit up, but felt that stab to his heart when he saw that light leave her eyes. He winced, then frowned, "Bridget, you know how I feel about you."

"I would know if you ever expressed any feelings verbally." She grumbled, looking put off and looking away, not wanting him to see the disappointment in her eyes.

Jonathan grinned, grabbing her elbows and pulling her toward him, "Why do I need that when I can tell you like this…"

Like this meant a deep kiss, which Jonathan tugged her into, his hands relocating from her elbows to her waist as he kissed her. He smiled into the kiss when he felt her relax. She'd never been too hard to push over.

The kiss lasted a moment, and by the time Bridget pulled back she was smiling contentedly with her eyes closed. Jonathan watched her as she took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly before opening her eyes. She raised her eyebrows, "You know that when you come back I'm not just going to be waiting here for you."

Jonathan laughed, "Are you not?"

She shook her head, biting on her lip playfully, "In fact, I might have even found someone new. Someone younger. Someone who isn't balding quite as quickly."

Putting on a hurt look, he opened his mouth wide, cracking a smile when she went up on her toes, kissing him on the mouth and giggling into the kiss.

Glad that she was not longer upset with him, even if it was only for the time being, Jonathan pulled her into a tight embrace, rocking her gently back and forth. She giggled mischievously, "Oh, all right. You can go on your sodding dig. As long as you promise to come back."

"Of course I'll come back. I have got a job here you know."

Bridget jabbed him in the ribs, "Oh ha ha ha."

Jonathan smiled, kissing her forehead, "Just wish me luck, all right. It'd be nice to find something for a change."

6