Warning girls...there's a shower scene in this chapter. And though there is nothing dirty, I know all of you can see it in your head. But there's nothing wrong with that! Haha. Of..to be a fly on that wall, eh? *Slaps self* Wha...? Oh...yeah. Enjoy, try not and let it get to ya TO much. Lord knows it would be a nice thing to see. ;)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was around dusk when the ship pulled into Cairo. Ardeth's heart leapt with joy as the familiar city got bigger and bigger. He almost couldn't wait for the ship to dock safely; he just wanted off that blasted ship. If he left tonight, he would reach his home sometime in the next night. But what if Emily was still at the O'Connell's? He would check there first.
Ardeth thanked the young boy that brought his horse out of the stable, and gave him a small tip. He was the first off the boat, and once he was on the street, he mounted his horse and rode off towards the O'Connell home, making it to their house in record time. If Emily was there, he did not want to waist anymore time away from her. Luckily, the gate was open and he rode right up to the front porch. He jumped off the horse and left it in the front yard. He ran up the front steps and knocked on the door, a lump forming in his throat.
"Ardeth? Oh my god, what are you doing here?" Evy said as she opened the door and saw who was behind it.
"Emily…is she here?"
"Come on in," Evy stepped aside as the Med-jai entered the house.
"Emily, is she here?"
"Sorry, ol' buddy." Rick said as he walked down the stairs. "She left yesterday morning."
Ardeth let out a disappointed sigh and looked at his friends.
"Is she…all right?"
"Well, it was hard for her…but she is ok know." Evy said puzzled. "How did you know?"
"I just knew…" Ardeth said. His hand rose to his turban and he pulled it off.
"Ardeth, why don't you stay here for the night, then start home first thing in the morning."
"I am afraid I can not, Evy, I want to get home as quickly as I can."
"There is no discussion about it, you are staying here tonight." Evy was being motherly again.
"With all due respect, I want to…"
"I don't care what you want, you are not leaving. You will stay here, have diner with us, shower, shave, and sleep. God only knows how much sleep you truly got over the past week."
The Med-jai sighed. "As you wish."
"Good, diner will be ready in about 45 minutes, you should take that time to clean yourself up." Evy walked off into the kitchen. And Ardeth shot a look at Rick.
"What?" The American said, "I'm not gonna argue with her, I've learned that lesson. But she is right, you really need to shave…unless you are growing a bigger beard."
Ardeth touched his cheek, feeling the bread that had grown over the past five days. Luckily, he was able to shave when he was with the tenth tribe, but a thick beard had appeared on his face. His facial hair grew thick and quickly.
"Come on, I will show you the bathroom up stairs," Rick said as he climbed the stairs. "We won't be using the shower down here."
With another sigh, Ardeth followed.
~~
The shower felt better then anything, nothing felt better then washing the five-day buildup of dirt and sand on his body. He scrubbed himself clean and washed his thick black hair, even adding conditioner to his hair. When he got out of the shower, Ardeth attacked the beard on his face, shaving away all the access hair, and trimming his already existing one.
When he looked at himself in the mirror, he looked and felt like a new man. Suddenly, though, he realized he had nothing to wear but his dirty old Med-jai robes, but the answer to his problem came quickly.
"Hey, you might need to borrow some of my clothes." Rick said, knocking on the door. "Should fit you and if ya give my your robes, I'll have them washed."
Ardeth, who had a towel wrapped around his waist, opened the door part way and stuck his arm out, in his hand the pile Med-jai clothing. Rick took them and handed Ardeth a pair of slacks and a button up shirt.
"Thank you, my friend." Ardeth said through the door.
"Any time, dinner is in ten minutes."
Ardeth looked at the clothes, a simple pair of black slacks, and a simple black collared shirt. At least they were black and kept with the mysterious Med-jai way. He dressed quickly, and the clothes fit fine, and then ran a brush through his slightly damp hair. Then he cleaned up a bit before exiting the bathroom, running into Jonathan in the hall.
"Ardeth! Ol' boy, did expect to see you here…in our bathroom…"
"Hello Jonathan." They shook hands, "What a pleasure it is to see you again."
"It is nice, isn't it. Tell me, how's life for a Med-jai?" They made their way down the stairs together.
"Life for me and my people has been just fine. How about you? I trust you are well."
"Well and good, ol' friend. All is well and good."
"Uncle John!" They heard Alex yell from up stairs. "Diner ready yet?"
"Just about! Alex! Come down here for a sec!"
"K!" Then, at the top of the stairs, a tall blond-headed boy appeared. "What's…" He took one look at Ardeth and his face busted into a large, unmistakable smile.
Ardeth's mouth had dropped open and his eyes were wide. It was like someone took Alex's voice and smile and stuck it on…someone else!
"Ardeth!" Alex exclaimed and he bounced down the stairs.
"Alex?" Ardeth gout out in a low gasp. The boy was taller then he was!
"One in the same!" Alex grabbed Ardeth's hand and shook it in a firm handshake.
"No…this cant be the little…this isn't Alex."
"Emily said just about the same thing!" The boy said happily.
"Allah be merciful, Alex O'Connell has become a man…"
"Not yet, he hasn't." Evy said, joining them. "And not for a long time, I hope. It is hard enough having him be so much taller then me."
"Five years ago…I could have picked you up and thrown you across town!" Ardeth said, still in shock.
"Now, you couldn't even get him off the ground!"
Ardeth smiled. "I still could."
"Wanna bet?" Alex said.
"Don't make bets with him dear, he likes the stakes high." Evy said, shooting a look towards the Med-jai.
"And he always loses them!" Rick called from the kitchen doorway, "Dinner is ready in five, come all, sit down."
They all made their way to the dining room and Jonathan was saying, "We get one Bay out of the house, we get another Bay the next day! My word man, what's next, your brother is going to come visit us?"
"It would not surprise me if he did." Ardeth said as he sat down.
"I thought your brother was dead." Rick said as he took the head seat at the table.
"My friends, did Emily tell you where I was for this past week and a half?"
"She said you were helping an old friend." Evy said.
"I was helping my brother, you see, he is not dead…he is just…"
"Sorry I'm late, you know how I love the dusk…" An unfamiliar British female voice interrupted him mid-sentence. A bubbly blond bounced into the room with a smile on her face, blue eyes flashing.
Every one turned and looked at the girl as she popped into the room.
"Oh, I did not realize we had company…" She said, crossing to the table.
Everyone at the table stood as she walked up, Ardeth eyes stuck on the blond.
"OH!" Evy cried, "Carol, this is Ardeth Bay, Emily's husband and an old friend of ours. Ardeth, this is Carol Carnahan…"
"My wife." Jonathan said with a smile.
Ardeth took her hand and shook it gently. "A pleasure, Mrs. Carnahan."
"Carol, please. And it is also a pleasure, Ardeth, I have heard much about you."
"I am sure you have."
Carol moved to her spot next to Jonathan and sat down, every one else sat back down as well.
"I hope I did not keep you waiting," She said softly.
"Not at all, we had just sat down our selves." Evy said as Maria and Charlie brought the food to the table and said a quick hello to Ardeth.
They all ate, talked, and laughed. Ardeth was delighted to be sitting with his friends, and glad he has stayed. But he knew he had to leave first thing in the morning to get back to Emily. When diner was over, Evy and Carol got up to help with the dishes, leaving the four males to sit and look at each other.
"You were saying something about your brother…" Rick said, looking at Ardeth.
"Oh, yes. Well, my brother had just…come back into my life after twenty years and asked for my help. And I knew I could not turn him away, so I rode with him to Damietta."
"Damietta?" Alex said, "That's almost a hundred miles away!"
"Give or take a few, yes."
"Wow…all that for your brother."
"Well…he is blood. I could not turn him away."
"So why did you tell us he was dead?" Rick asked.
Ardeth smiled softly. "I will tell you one day, O'Connell. One day when I have a lot of time, but if you excuse me, I am going to help Evy and Carol clean up." He stood up.
"I'll come with you." Alex said, standing.
The two left into the kitchen.
~~
Ardeth slept well that night, in the upstairs guestroom. Evy told him they had not washed the sheets yet, so the whole bed smelled like his wife. His dreams were pleasant, and he woke up feeling refreshed. He had a long ride ahead of him, and wanted to get as far as he could before stopping for the night.
"I promise you, I will come back soon." Ardeth said as he gave Evy a quick hug. "Thank you for…forcing me to stay here last night. It was most enjoyable."
"Always, Ardeth. You take care now, get home to that wife of yours quickly. But not to quickly, you don't want to kill that poor horse of yours. And eat plenty of food and get a lot of rest, you will need it you know."
"Evy, you're being a little to motherly, let the desert warrior do his own thing." Rick said, shaking Ardeth's hand.
"I do not mind it at all, Evy. It makes me smile."
"Good."
Ardeth turned and shook Alex's hand, giving him a bright smile.
"I am happy to see my little warrior all grown up. Whenever you can, come out to my town, and I will teach you more ways of a Med-jai."
"That will be great." Alex said, half asleep. It was just after five in the morning, and the sun was just wasn't even peaking over the horizon.
"You will tell Jonathan and Carol good bye for me and send them my apologies for not seeing them this morning." Ardeth said as he mounted his horse.
"Of course we will Ardeth. Be safe and have a good ride." Rick said. Ardeth smiled at them, and bowed his head in respect.
"My friends…until another day." With that, he rode off into the early morning, leaving the O'Connell's waving in their front yard.
~~
For two days, Ardeth rode through the bleak desert alone. The silence was eerie, so he hummed softly to himself.
~~
And for two days, Emily waited impatiently for any word that Ardeth was coming back to her. She stayed in her house a lot, for she did not have the strength or will power to go out and join the city again.
Then, finally, Ardeth saw his first Med-jai spotter, in the late afternoon on his second day. He was close to home. He knew he would reach his town in under and hour if he went at a slow pace, but he could not wait to see his wife. So he hurried his horse along as quickly as it could go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was around dusk when the ship pulled into Cairo. Ardeth's heart leapt with joy as the familiar city got bigger and bigger. He almost couldn't wait for the ship to dock safely; he just wanted off that blasted ship. If he left tonight, he would reach his home sometime in the next night. But what if Emily was still at the O'Connell's? He would check there first.
Ardeth thanked the young boy that brought his horse out of the stable, and gave him a small tip. He was the first off the boat, and once he was on the street, he mounted his horse and rode off towards the O'Connell home, making it to their house in record time. If Emily was there, he did not want to waist anymore time away from her. Luckily, the gate was open and he rode right up to the front porch. He jumped off the horse and left it in the front yard. He ran up the front steps and knocked on the door, a lump forming in his throat.
"Ardeth? Oh my god, what are you doing here?" Evy said as she opened the door and saw who was behind it.
"Emily…is she here?"
"Come on in," Evy stepped aside as the Med-jai entered the house.
"Emily, is she here?"
"Sorry, ol' buddy." Rick said as he walked down the stairs. "She left yesterday morning."
Ardeth let out a disappointed sigh and looked at his friends.
"Is she…all right?"
"Well, it was hard for her…but she is ok know." Evy said puzzled. "How did you know?"
"I just knew…" Ardeth said. His hand rose to his turban and he pulled it off.
"Ardeth, why don't you stay here for the night, then start home first thing in the morning."
"I am afraid I can not, Evy, I want to get home as quickly as I can."
"There is no discussion about it, you are staying here tonight." Evy was being motherly again.
"With all due respect, I want to…"
"I don't care what you want, you are not leaving. You will stay here, have diner with us, shower, shave, and sleep. God only knows how much sleep you truly got over the past week."
The Med-jai sighed. "As you wish."
"Good, diner will be ready in about 45 minutes, you should take that time to clean yourself up." Evy walked off into the kitchen. And Ardeth shot a look at Rick.
"What?" The American said, "I'm not gonna argue with her, I've learned that lesson. But she is right, you really need to shave…unless you are growing a bigger beard."
Ardeth touched his cheek, feeling the bread that had grown over the past five days. Luckily, he was able to shave when he was with the tenth tribe, but a thick beard had appeared on his face. His facial hair grew thick and quickly.
"Come on, I will show you the bathroom up stairs," Rick said as he climbed the stairs. "We won't be using the shower down here."
With another sigh, Ardeth followed.
~~
The shower felt better then anything, nothing felt better then washing the five-day buildup of dirt and sand on his body. He scrubbed himself clean and washed his thick black hair, even adding conditioner to his hair. When he got out of the shower, Ardeth attacked the beard on his face, shaving away all the access hair, and trimming his already existing one.
When he looked at himself in the mirror, he looked and felt like a new man. Suddenly, though, he realized he had nothing to wear but his dirty old Med-jai robes, but the answer to his problem came quickly.
"Hey, you might need to borrow some of my clothes." Rick said, knocking on the door. "Should fit you and if ya give my your robes, I'll have them washed."
Ardeth, who had a towel wrapped around his waist, opened the door part way and stuck his arm out, in his hand the pile Med-jai clothing. Rick took them and handed Ardeth a pair of slacks and a button up shirt.
"Thank you, my friend." Ardeth said through the door.
"Any time, dinner is in ten minutes."
Ardeth looked at the clothes, a simple pair of black slacks, and a simple black collared shirt. At least they were black and kept with the mysterious Med-jai way. He dressed quickly, and the clothes fit fine, and then ran a brush through his slightly damp hair. Then he cleaned up a bit before exiting the bathroom, running into Jonathan in the hall.
"Ardeth! Ol' boy, did expect to see you here…in our bathroom…"
"Hello Jonathan." They shook hands, "What a pleasure it is to see you again."
"It is nice, isn't it. Tell me, how's life for a Med-jai?" They made their way down the stairs together.
"Life for me and my people has been just fine. How about you? I trust you are well."
"Well and good, ol' friend. All is well and good."
"Uncle John!" They heard Alex yell from up stairs. "Diner ready yet?"
"Just about! Alex! Come down here for a sec!"
"K!" Then, at the top of the stairs, a tall blond-headed boy appeared. "What's…" He took one look at Ardeth and his face busted into a large, unmistakable smile.
Ardeth's mouth had dropped open and his eyes were wide. It was like someone took Alex's voice and smile and stuck it on…someone else!
"Ardeth!" Alex exclaimed and he bounced down the stairs.
"Alex?" Ardeth gout out in a low gasp. The boy was taller then he was!
"One in the same!" Alex grabbed Ardeth's hand and shook it in a firm handshake.
"No…this cant be the little…this isn't Alex."
"Emily said just about the same thing!" The boy said happily.
"Allah be merciful, Alex O'Connell has become a man…"
"Not yet, he hasn't." Evy said, joining them. "And not for a long time, I hope. It is hard enough having him be so much taller then me."
"Five years ago…I could have picked you up and thrown you across town!" Ardeth said, still in shock.
"Now, you couldn't even get him off the ground!"
Ardeth smiled. "I still could."
"Wanna bet?" Alex said.
"Don't make bets with him dear, he likes the stakes high." Evy said, shooting a look towards the Med-jai.
"And he always loses them!" Rick called from the kitchen doorway, "Dinner is ready in five, come all, sit down."
They all made their way to the dining room and Jonathan was saying, "We get one Bay out of the house, we get another Bay the next day! My word man, what's next, your brother is going to come visit us?"
"It would not surprise me if he did." Ardeth said as he sat down.
"I thought your brother was dead." Rick said as he took the head seat at the table.
"My friends, did Emily tell you where I was for this past week and a half?"
"She said you were helping an old friend." Evy said.
"I was helping my brother, you see, he is not dead…he is just…"
"Sorry I'm late, you know how I love the dusk…" An unfamiliar British female voice interrupted him mid-sentence. A bubbly blond bounced into the room with a smile on her face, blue eyes flashing.
Every one turned and looked at the girl as she popped into the room.
"Oh, I did not realize we had company…" She said, crossing to the table.
Everyone at the table stood as she walked up, Ardeth eyes stuck on the blond.
"OH!" Evy cried, "Carol, this is Ardeth Bay, Emily's husband and an old friend of ours. Ardeth, this is Carol Carnahan…"
"My wife." Jonathan said with a smile.
Ardeth took her hand and shook it gently. "A pleasure, Mrs. Carnahan."
"Carol, please. And it is also a pleasure, Ardeth, I have heard much about you."
"I am sure you have."
Carol moved to her spot next to Jonathan and sat down, every one else sat back down as well.
"I hope I did not keep you waiting," She said softly.
"Not at all, we had just sat down our selves." Evy said as Maria and Charlie brought the food to the table and said a quick hello to Ardeth.
They all ate, talked, and laughed. Ardeth was delighted to be sitting with his friends, and glad he has stayed. But he knew he had to leave first thing in the morning to get back to Emily. When diner was over, Evy and Carol got up to help with the dishes, leaving the four males to sit and look at each other.
"You were saying something about your brother…" Rick said, looking at Ardeth.
"Oh, yes. Well, my brother had just…come back into my life after twenty years and asked for my help. And I knew I could not turn him away, so I rode with him to Damietta."
"Damietta?" Alex said, "That's almost a hundred miles away!"
"Give or take a few, yes."
"Wow…all that for your brother."
"Well…he is blood. I could not turn him away."
"So why did you tell us he was dead?" Rick asked.
Ardeth smiled softly. "I will tell you one day, O'Connell. One day when I have a lot of time, but if you excuse me, I am going to help Evy and Carol clean up." He stood up.
"I'll come with you." Alex said, standing.
The two left into the kitchen.
~~
Ardeth slept well that night, in the upstairs guestroom. Evy told him they had not washed the sheets yet, so the whole bed smelled like his wife. His dreams were pleasant, and he woke up feeling refreshed. He had a long ride ahead of him, and wanted to get as far as he could before stopping for the night.
"I promise you, I will come back soon." Ardeth said as he gave Evy a quick hug. "Thank you for…forcing me to stay here last night. It was most enjoyable."
"Always, Ardeth. You take care now, get home to that wife of yours quickly. But not to quickly, you don't want to kill that poor horse of yours. And eat plenty of food and get a lot of rest, you will need it you know."
"Evy, you're being a little to motherly, let the desert warrior do his own thing." Rick said, shaking Ardeth's hand.
"I do not mind it at all, Evy. It makes me smile."
"Good."
Ardeth turned and shook Alex's hand, giving him a bright smile.
"I am happy to see my little warrior all grown up. Whenever you can, come out to my town, and I will teach you more ways of a Med-jai."
"That will be great." Alex said, half asleep. It was just after five in the morning, and the sun was just wasn't even peaking over the horizon.
"You will tell Jonathan and Carol good bye for me and send them my apologies for not seeing them this morning." Ardeth said as he mounted his horse.
"Of course we will Ardeth. Be safe and have a good ride." Rick said. Ardeth smiled at them, and bowed his head in respect.
"My friends…until another day." With that, he rode off into the early morning, leaving the O'Connell's waving in their front yard.
~~
For two days, Ardeth rode through the bleak desert alone. The silence was eerie, so he hummed softly to himself.
~~
And for two days, Emily waited impatiently for any word that Ardeth was coming back to her. She stayed in her house a lot, for she did not have the strength or will power to go out and join the city again.
Then, finally, Ardeth saw his first Med-jai spotter, in the late afternoon on his second day. He was close to home. He knew he would reach his town in under and hour if he went at a slow pace, but he could not wait to see his wife. So he hurried his horse along as quickly as it could go.