-1Disclaimer: I am only the nut who writes the fan fiction. Many wiser people own The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. I own nothing (sadly).

Note: Rick and Evie have been married for 22 years in this story. Alex, their son, is 20. I am not basing this off the new movie at all, this is just my own insanity. Enjoy! Also, this is not meant to be too serious, this is meant to be funny )

Come What May

A Slight Continuation of The Mummy Returns

Chapter Two:

Rick and Evelyn had settled into their room, and Rick sat at the table, his old brown oilskin unwrapped to show an amazing array of guns and gun parts. He carefully cleaned them while Evie was busy reading a book about the most recent digs in the area. Alex stood by the window, peering out at the dusty street below and the sun that had dipped down towards the shoreline.

Rick had made it a point to have them altogether when Alex would meet Charlie, mainly because he didn't want any fisticuffs breaking out. A firm knocking on the door announced Charlie presence, and Rick put his gun down to go open the door. Evie perched on the edge of a trunk, her book open on her lap, her glasses tipped towards the end of her pert nose.

The solid oak door opened, and Charlie Brower walked into the room to be greeted by stares from the two O'Connell's yet to be introduced. Evie looked at their new guest with large amounts of shock and amusement intermingled, while Alex pointed and started to sputter protests.

"But…but, you can't. I mean, it's not proper. Oh, hang it all, dad, that's just not right."

Charlie looked at Alex, as though sizing him up, before showing him a very firm, glove covered fist.

"Want to explain your rather rude welcome, kid? I might not have been in classier places than this, but I've been where people half your age showed me some respect."

Alex held his hands up in front of his face.

"But it's still wrong. Why, for heaven's sake, you're a…a…"

Charlie's green eyes flashed, and not with amusement.

"…A girl?"

Alex felt as though his knees had turned to jelly. He turned to his father, who had leaned against the wall, a cocky grin on his face, to watch the forthcoming protests.

"Dad, you can't hire a girl to look after me. That's just demeaning, and downright spiteful of you."

Rick glanced at the polished wooden floor, and the rather expensive Turkish rug that covered it and shrugged.

"Charlie was given a high recommendation by Lilian Lunsford's father. Now, you can whine and complain all you like, Alex O'Connell, but for the next two weeks, Charlie is going to be your bodyguard/watcher. There will be no bad behavior from you, and Charlie is going to make certain of that."

Rick walked back over to the table and as he sat down, picked up one of his older revolvers. He took a piece of soft cloth and carefully continued to clean the aging weapon. Seeing the way the wind changed, Alex instantly turned to his mother for help.

"Mum, please, I'm begging you. I will be a good boy, I won't gamble or bring home any girls. But please, don't make this…" he glanced back at Charlie, who was looking at him with a stormy gaze. "…Cairo castoff look after me, like I'm some kind of stray puppy."

He had placed a hand on his mother's knee during his speech, and at the end of it Evelyn gave Alex a sugary smile. She picked her son's hand up with two of her fingers, and dropped it from where they had rested.

"You, know dear, I think this is a perfectly acceptable arrangement. I think you had better get used to the idea, rather than waste your time with overdone theatrics. In fact, this is about the most lively I've seen you since you were eighteen years old, so I would almost say this is a good thing…"

Later that night, twenty minutes before midnight:

The first time Rick O'Connell had actually slept well in his entire life was on his wedding night. He hadn't tossed and turned, there were no nightmares filled with blood and dying men, only the beauty of being Evelyn's husband.

The first time he had experienced a deep-freeze was when Evie had taken him home with her to England, and all of her old snotty school-chums had come to the house for a party. They had looked upon him as a worthless American gunslinger, and no doubt, seducer of their greatest friend, and one particular woman had given him a glare that would have frozen hell over.

The first time he had passed out was when Evie had announced during a severe power outage in their remote English house that the baby was coming. Of course, the roads had been washed out for days, and faced by this turn of events, Rick O'Connell actually collapsed onto the floor of their bedroom. One revival and four long hours later, he watched as Evelyn brought their son into the world, and was suddenly overwhelmed by the gift of life as he held the newest edition to the O'Connell family, Alex.

But the first time he woke up to hear soft cursing and bells jingling outside his room was that night. He sat up in bed, and looked around the darkened room to see if anything was obviously wrong. Nothing was amiss, however, and the noises had stopped. There were only the sounds of blessed cool air drifting into their room through an open window, and the soft breathing of Evelyn who still lay beside him. He gently touched her slender throat with his fingers, brushing soft strands of her brown hair back onto the pillow. She shifted about in her sleep, one hand moving to feel beside herself. The gap between them caused her to awaken, startled from her deep slumber. She looked relieved when she saw Rick beside her, and was about to say something when he placed a hand over her mouth. He shook his head and cocked it to the side, listening.

Another muffled curse, this time a bit louder, and more bells tinkling.

She pushed his hand away and whispered to him.

"What is that?"

Rick had a slight idea who it was, but as for what was going on in the hallway outside their bedroom door, he had no clue. He pulled his slippers and bathrobe on, as Evie did likewise, before the two padded across the floor. Rick unlocked the heavy wooden door, and slowly opened it. The usually dim light was enough to illuminate the fountain of curses, caught in a web of cleverly woven thin cord.

Alex O'Connell struggled with the thin lines, which had tiny Gypsy bells and small fish-hooks attached to them, something he had failed to notice when he had tried to crawl through the mass of tangles. The hooks had burrowed into his suit, and held him captive like a fly caught by a spider.

Rick glanced at Evelyn, who looked from her son to her husband. The situation was so ridiculous, and so unexpected, that both began to chuckle.

"So glad you're enjoying this, but don't you think you could cut me out, dad?"

Rick shook his head, tears coming to his eyes, as he continued to laugh as he gazed on his son's stupidity.

"This is the funniest thing I've seen in years…"

The door on the other side of Alex's opened. Charlie Brower stood there, plain brown pajamas wrinkled and her hair standing on end. She folded her arms across her chest while tapping a foot against the floor in a non-irritated manner.

"Let me out of this thing! What are you trying to do, poke me to death?"

Charlie stepped forward, brandishing a ten-inch curved Arabic knife in her hand. Alex instinctively flinched when he caught sight of it. She sliced through the cords, and the youngest O'Connell dropped to his knees, fish-hooks still embedded in his clothing.

"I'm trying to keep you from going out at night. That's what I'm paid for, remember?"

Alex glared up at her before starting to speak. Charlie cut him off quickly.

"You were about to say that you needed to get a drink of water, or use the bathroom. However, you might notice that you have a nice bathroom in your suite, complete with running water. And, you are not in your nightclothes, either, Alex O'Connell. You were planning to sneak out while I was sleeping, so I guess it's a good thing I set this up. Until you begin to act like an adult, instead of a guilty strumpet parading her nasty temper for the whole world to see, I will use whatever means necessary to keep within the contract boundaries that I made with your father."

Evelyn, who had silently watched the exchange of words, stepped forward and gingerly helped her son to stand up. Her fingers began to twist the tiny hooks that clung to the fabric in vice-grips.

"I'll help get those fish-hooks out of your things, Alex. But I certainly hope this is the last time tonight you're going to sneak out tonight?"

Rick walked over to Charlie and patted her shoulder. He leaned in close and whispered softly into her ear.

"Thank you. I can see why Lunsford recommended you…"

Charlie nodded and cast that same cheeky grin at him before turning to Evie, who was helping her son back into his room.

"You needn't worry about him leaving, Mrs. O'Connell. I'll be camping in front of his door tonight."

Alex whipped around with a glare for Charlie Brower that could have made boiling water freeze.

The slamming of the door made the entire corridor vibrate, causing pictures to bounce on their hooks and plants on stands to wave from the force of it. Charlie turned to look at Rick.

"You know what? I think he's warming up to me."

--

Because I am a nice, polite person…responses to reviews!

COOPERZ:

Thanks for your review, I hope this story pans out well ).

LazyChestnut:

Thanks for commenting! And yes, you were right, Charlie is a girl! I couldn't help doing it, especially since I knew Rick O'Connell wouldn't object, he's very laid-back. I will try to update as soon as possible… D