Author's Note: Thank you to Chisu-chan for catching some errors in the original version of this chapter!

Paige's eyes opened suddenly as the dream faded, and she woke into the modern world.

She looked around herself as though unsure of her location or time or person. She turned her head to stare into Imhotep's face with new eyes. They both had tears in their eyes, and Imhotep slowly smiled at her – a bittersweet smile. His arms opened.

"Isis…my love…" he murmured, before pulling her into his embrace. Paige sat still, silently crying for a moment before suddenly shoving Imhotep away. She jumped to her feet and took in a slow, deep breath.

"First you stalk me…no, wait, I guess first you kill me," Paige screamed. "Then you stalk me, THEN you give me a fatal disease, and then blackmail me into being kidnapped and living out the rest of my life with you…and you expect me to love you?"

And then she turned and ran.

She wasn't sure where she was going; all she knew was that she needed to get away. She needed to move, and with her whole body moving her mind was clouded. Memories swam before her eyes. Suddenly she felt her own fears and passions more intensely, now that she understood them better. She feared snakes and darkness because she had been poisoned by one of those creatures, and then lost herself in darkness where she thought she would die. She loved music because she had in a previous life, partly from the beginning and partly after Imhotep had played for her. For Isis.

Paige wanted to scream, so she did. She was relieved that she still felt anger and fear, that she was still herself. She was still Paige. She hadn't allowed herself to be destroyed by accepting those memories. She still existed.

But was she also Isis? She searched every inch of her mind and body, but found no trace of this strange girl, who allowed her heart to be broken and her body torn apart by the monster. Paige wasn't Isis…the memories only felt like a rather realistic movie she'd seen once, and which she had identified with the main character.

How she wished she could just close her eyes and run for miles, but in here she was likely to run into a wall –

She did run into something. Or someone.

She fell onto her back, and her body screamed, reminding her that it was only a few minutes ago she'd injured herself running, rather then a few lifetimes ago like it felt. She winced, and looked up, ready to scream at Imhotep some more.

But it wasn't Imhotep. It wasn't anyone she knew.

It was a tall, rather good-looking man with brown hair and green eyes, wearing a brown trench coat. Paige's eyes widened and she crawled to her feet again, refusing the hand the man offered.

"You!" she cried out. "You were on the subway, and you snuck into the dressing-room at the play…"

The man nodded.

"You're the one who injected me with the sickness! Why the hell would you-"

"James," came a voice from behind Paige which made her growl. "Leave us to talk."

James bowed, and walked out the room – the treasure room, Paige realized.

"Paige…"

She sighed, rolled her eyes and then turned around to face Imhotep.

"What? What could you possibly have to say to me?" This was where Paige intended to stop, but she couldn't control herself. She kept going. "'I'm sorry'? Sorry that you poisoned me and kidnapped me and made me miserable all because you promised to protect some girl you murdered in another life? Are you sorry about that?"

"Isis, I-"

"I AM NOT ISIS! My name is Paige! And if you meant to protect me in this lifetime, then you're doing a crappy job of it. If I need protection from anything, it's from you."

"Paige, please-"

"I wish I had never come-"

"Paige!" Imhotep shouted, surprising Paige. She flinched back, but kept her mouth shut. "Let me explain everything else. I know you are angry. You have made that clear now. But it is my turn to speak."

Paige sighed, folding her arms across her chest. "Fine. Just don't call me Isis again."

Imhotep gave a small, grim smile. "I will not make that mistake again," he said, then gestured to a gold-and-silver bench nearby. Paige slowly turned and took a seat on one side of the bench, and Imhotep took a seat on the opposite end.

"After your – Isis's death," he began, "I escaped arrest. I hid in the gardens for hours. When my priests found me, I wanted to make arrangements to resurrect you…but I had promised Anck-Su-Namun first. Also, your body was still being prepared…Anck-Su-Namun's was already ready to be buried, so it was easier to steal. But while I was resurrecting her the guards founds me, and arrested me. I was allowed one request before being given my punishment. I prayed to Osiris that I would be reunited with Isis."

"Why would you kiss Anck-Su-Namun when…" Paige couldn't finish the sentence. It seemed there was a little Isis in her – she felt her heart ache suddenly.

"I loved her first," Imhotep admitted. "She was the one who challenged me to juggle, saying that only a woman could master it. The night you – forgive me - Isis found me kissing her, was the night I meant to say goodbye. I went there to tell her that I loved another, but I wished her the best…but she began kissing me, and I was lost in the moment, thinking I would give her this final kiss…"

"But then Isis walked in."

Imhotep nodded. "I wanted to explain, but she continuously kept insisting that I did not love her, and I knew that I did, and I became angry. And I said something I have regretted since the words passed my lips."

"Thousands of years ago," Paige interjected skeptically.

"Yes," Imhotep laughed lightly. "Thousands of years ago."

"What about what Ardeth told us?" Paige asked, too emotionally exhausted to realize that Imhotep had no way of knowing what Ardeth had told her.

Imhotep frowned. "What the Med-Jai told you?"

"He told us originally that the Pharaoh decided to keep Isis until she…aged a bit more."

Imhotep sighed. "I suppose fact is lost through time."

"Oh," Paige said. She sighed, feeling calmer now.

They sat in silence for a moment or two. Paige felt a little bad for exploding on him, but everything she had said was still true. If his idea of protecting involved poisoning someone, then…well then…

"But if you promised to protect me," she found herself saying, though instead of looking at him she stared at a box of gold by her feet. "Then why make me sick? Kidnap me?"

"I did not know how else to tell you…why I will always be near, why I love you and wanted to protect you. I did not know how else to return your memories."

"You could have just told me," Paige said.

"How, when you ran from me?"

Paige was silent for a moment. "Right."

"I would never have let you die, Paige," Imhotep insisted. "I always intended to give you the cure."

Paige swallowed and nodded, unsure of what to say.

This made sense, she supposed, in a twisted way. She still would have preferred another way of being informed she was going to be stalked – or better yet, given a choice – but as long as he had a reason for putting her through such hell it didn't seem quite so bad.

She saw him moving out of the corner of her eye, and she looked over to see him drawing something out of his robes. He held it out to her, and she gasped and carefully accepted it. She ran a finger gently across the pale yellow scarab, and down the golden chain. She looked back up at Imhotep.

"You…forgive me, Isis was buried with the necklace. After I was resurrected and before following you, I found her tomb and took the necklace," Imhotep explained.

Paige raised an eyebrow. "You robbed my grave?"

Imhotep laughed. "I prefer to think of it as returning your property to you. And I thought it might be better appreciated with you than in a grave."

Paige nodded, and then slowly turned her back to Imhotep and lifted her hair.

"Could you help me take this amber necklace off? I want to wear this one, and besides, it's sort of heavy."

She felt Imhotep untie the necklace, and then he helped her slip the golden chain over her head. She looked down at the beautiful, ancient necklace in awe. It was amazing, but she almost felt…like she was at home. A better home than the one she had.

Perhaps living the rest of her life with Imhotep wouldn't be quite as bad as she had expected at first. But still…she would miss her family, blood-related and otherwise. She would miss…Alex…she could almost hear his voice now, saying her name –

"Paige!"

There it was, his voice, how very realistic it sounded…hearing voices probably wasn't a good sign, though…

"Paige!"

There it was again! Wait a second…

Paige looked up, and saw a group of people walking into the room from the other, far end. Rick and Evy were in front, and behind them Alex fought to get ahead of them. Behind him were Ardeth and Alice, and then Jonathan in the back. She smiled, relieved to see them safe. They had managed to come save her. But now she wasn't so certain she wanted to be rescued through force.

She felt Imhotep stand and looked up at him in alarm. His face had changed from the strange warmth to a coldness that chilled her.

"Please, don't hur-"

"I will not hurt them," he assured her.

Paige found that hard to believe, since they had come to hurt him. What was he going to do, grab her and run away? He could do that if he wanted to, but it didn't seem like something he would do. Chase her, yes…run away, no. Especially not away from here – where else would he go?

Then again, he did have that…James fellow to take care of him. Weird.

As she watched, her group of rescuers – family, friends, and someone who might be a bit more – rushed forward to, well, rescue her. Paige nervously glanced from them to Imhotep and back again.

Please, she begged whatever force she could think of. Don't let this get messy. I don't think I can deal with a fight just yet.

To her surprise, Imhotep spoke again right then.

"Go with them."

"What?" Paige asked, turning towards him in surprise and shock.

Imhotep turned from the approaching group to Paige, a sad but understanding look on his face.

"Go with them," he repeated. "I was never intending on actually forcing you to remain here – I did dream about it, but I knew I could not actually keep you here. I simply wished to return your memories, that is all."

Paige felt her breath release, though she was unaware that she had been holding it. He was going to let her go? He'd never actually planned on keeping her forever? "Why didn't you just say that, then?" she asked.

Imhotep slowly smiled. "I wanted to dream I would. Now…go back with them. Before they start a fight." He hesitated a moment, and then reached behind the bench and picked up a suitcase. Her suitcase. He handed it to her. "Now, go."

Paige took the suitcase and nodded, but hesitated. It seemed strange, leaving now, so suddenly. Would she see him again? Did she care if she would? Did she…want to be friends with him?

"Paige!" Alice cried out this time. They were getting closer, fast.

"Bye," Paige said casually, smiling at Imhotep. And then she turned and ran to her family.

"Paige," Alice breathed, relieved to see her sister, but it was Alex who fought his way to the front and pulled her into a fierce hug.

"He's letting me go," Paige announced, "But let's go before he changes his mind."

The group immediately turned and began the other way.

It was only once they were in the car (a suburban, so they all would fit inside this time), driving back to Cairo that they really began to speak. Paige was bombarded with questions. 'What happened?', 'Are you okay?', 'Where did you get the necklace?', 'Did he tell you anything?', 'Are you sure he'll just let you go like that?' were just a few of the questions asked. Paige answered the questions as carefully as she could, while watching Alex nervously play with something in his pocket. Once or twice he seemed ready to take whatever it was out, but he never did.

Alex had meant to return the sleeve to her – though he wasn't sure why – but now he had decided to keep it. Again, he wasn't sure why…but it just seemed like the right thing to do.

"When Imhotep returned your memories," Evy began, "Did you recognize anybody there?"

Alice looked at Evy questioningly, but Paige smiled and laughed.

"Oh yes…I feel like I'm in the Wizard of Oz," she began. She pointed at Ardeth. "You were there. You were my brother," she said, and then pointed at Rick, ignoring the confused looks on Ardeth and Alice's faces. "You were his trainer," she continued, and then pointed at Alice. "You trained future concubines," Paige said, and then repressed laughing at Alice's blush, "And you were the princess," Paige said, now pointed at Evy. Then she pointed at Jonathan – who was driving – and Alex beside her. "You and you were not there. But Fi was. She was my best friend. Ironic, huh?"

"Fi?" Alex asked. "Fi, as in, Fiona Bianca Fi? As in did makeup for the show Fi?"

"Fi as in one of my best friends, yes, that Fiona," Paige said, and then giggled.

"That's weird."

"You are surrounded by people in this life that you knew in the last," Ardeth observed.

"Yeah," Paige said. "I guess it is weird."

"Are you sure you don't feel any different?" Alice was concerned.

Paige nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I mean, sometimes I get like these…flashback emotions, I guess. But otherwise I'm still me."

"Thank God," Jonathan commented. "The you in a previous life might have been better at Poker then you."

"Then you really would have been in trouble, huh?" Paige laughed. "Since I already beat you all the time!"

"You do not!" Jonathan insisted. "Only some of the time."

The whole car laughed at this, and Paige turned her head as she felt Alex's hand on hers. He gave her a very small smile, which she returned.

It was good to be home.

RubyMoon's Secret Place

RubyMoon: I hope you liked it!

Roselyn: -is electrocuted- I can't believe this is over a freaking cookie.

RubyMoon: Half a cookie, actually.

Roselyn: You know what? I'll buy you a freaking bag of Chips Ahoy, how about that?

RubyMoon: I love how you try to make peace, so sweetly and politely –

Roselyn: Shut up.

Alarm: BOOP-BOOP! BOOP-BOOP!

Roselyn: What the eff is that?

RubyMoon: I installed an alarm.

Roselyn: Your alarm says 'boop boop'?

RubyMoon: Sure, what does yours say? 'Beep beep'?

Alarm: BOOP-BOOP! BOOP-BOOP!

Roselyn: What's the alarm for, anyway?

RubyMoon: To let me know when someone has broken into my secret place – OH DEAR.

Roselyn: I'm thinking you're about to run away, right?

RubyMoon: RIGHT! Hope you all liked the chapter! Ja Ne! –runs away-

Disembodied Voice: Where is RubyMoon?

Roselyn: Beats me. Got any cookies?