Author: Jean
E-Mail: JeanOConnell195@aol.com
Title: Statues of Egypt
Disclaimer: I'm not going to steal Rick or Evie or Jonathan or Ardeth from Staven Sommers, but I'll try to have Rick back after I'm done!!! :)
Rating:PG-13
S t a t u e s o f E g y p t
B y J e a n
Evelyn sat at her desk in front of the large window. She sighed as she turned back and began to sort through more things that would either be of value for the museum, or wouldn't be of any artifactual use. If so, they'd go home with her and she'd put them in with the other things.
She'd taken the job of being the curator of the British Museum from the Bembridge Scholars, and had been working there since she'd gotten back from Egypt. She patted her swollen stomach, and once again returned from her day dream.
"Hello baby sister, did you find anything of...use from the new...artifacts?" Jonathan asked slyly as he walked into the room and leaned over the desk.
"Not for you Jonathan. I need to get these cleaned up before the buyer gets here, and I don't have any time to spare for your...ever so generous...offers of holding the artifacts for me." she smiled and walked out of the room in search of a washcloth.
She ran into Rick as he rounded the corner, his arm catching her before she fell.
"If I had known you felt that way..." he smiled and kissed her lightly as Alex ran up.
"Mum, you won't believe what we found!" he grinned from ear to ear, and carried a rather large item swaddled in ancient cloth.
Alex, Jonathan and Rick had gone to Egypt a month before and retrieved many wonderful things from the ancient tomb. Evelyn wasn't allowed to accompany them due to her impregnated state, but she busied herself with the museum as much as she could. They had returned with case loads of gold and bronze figurines, jewelry and Egyptian everything's.
Evelyn went back to her seat and sat down as Alex followed her and set the heavy item on the desk in front of everyone.
"It's ceremoniously wrapped, I looked it up in a book from the library. It was wrapped just like the mummy we found it by." he explained and Evie smiled.
Alex proceeded to unwrap the figure, and piece by gold piece began to show through the shards pulled away. A knock at the door made them all sigh as the figure was placed at the edge of the desk.
Rick opened the door, and a middle aged tall and thin man stood there, an impatient look on his features.
"Mr. Fletcher, I'd forgotten about our appointment." Evelyn stood as quickly as she could, but was motioned down by the new comer.
"Please, I'm sitting anyway." he announced snobbishly, and took Rick's seat in front of Evie's desk. "Now, do hurry Miss. Carnahan, I have an appointment I can't be late for.
"Mrs. O'Connell, not Miss. Carnahan Mr. Fletcher, I'm a married woman now." she smiled and Alex climbed onto Rick's lap as they waited for the snobby man to leave.
"This way." She smiled, and proceeded to show him all of the things they were putting up for sale.
An hour or so later, they were all packed back into Evelyn's small office and Mr. Fletcher was writing a check for the things he was purchasing.
"What's that?" he asked as he noticed the set aside item on Evelyn's desk.
"I'd almost forgotten!" Alex jumped up, knocking over his army men as he did. He continued to unwrap it as he sat on what little lap Evie had left.
The gold glimmered off the two foot statue, making everyone gawk at it. It was a large figure of Anubis standing atop the ruins of the city of Karnac.
"How much do you want for it? It's magnificent?" the man questioned Evelyn, and Alex's face was shocked. Rick saw this and winked at his son.
"I'm sorry Mr. Fletcher, but it isn't our decision to make. The statue was found by our son, therefore, it's his property."
"I don't want to sell it, do I have to Mum?" he asked Evelyn, looking up into her face and she shook her head, smiling.
"Sorry to say, but you've outlasted your visit." Rick helped him up and escorted him out the door, and out to his car.
"I've always hated children. Snobbish little brats, they all are." Mr. Fletcher snarled, and jumped into his car, driving out of the parking lot.
Rick shook his head and walked back into Evelyn's office.
"I've seen this statue before, I know I have." Alex commented and a thought struck him. "C'mon mum, c'mon dad!" he called as he ran from the room.
"I'm glad he has your brains." Rick said softly as he pulled Evelyn up and they followed the youngster.
Alex led them to a large wall featuring the broken down city of Karnac, and next to it was a large piece of stone from the ruins. It had a large picture of the statue in the middle, and writings all around it.
"See!" he called, and the group looked it over.
"What does it say Alex?" Rick asked and the little boy went under the ropes, and over to the large chunk of stone.
"'The army of Anubis is awaiting it leader under the ruins, to be removed only by...' That's it. The rest of it is cut off." he looked up at them, and Evelyn and Rick began to walk away.
"Come on son, we have to lock up, and it's getting awfully late." Evelyn called and he reluctantly followed.
"Look boss, that's O'Connell Manor. There's no way we can get into that place without being detected." a rather large man with wide shoulders and an Australian accent argued in front of Mr. Fletcher.
The entrepreneur stood and shook with anger, his eyes lighting up. "You idiots, that statue is the key to finding the lost treasure of Karnac! Plus, it'll give me a chance to become rich." he snapped and handed the aussi a shotgun off of his wall. "Get me that statue, and kill anyone who tries to stop you." he snarled and shoved the man out of his office.
"But mum I'm not tired!" Alex whined as he sat in the study with his parents and Jonathan. "Can't I stay up with you and dad?"
"No Alex, besides. Your father and I are going to bed anyway." she stood up and grabbed him by the shoulders.
She pushed him into his bedroom and reached into the bottom drawer of his small chest and pulled out his pajamas. "I'll be back in five minutes, and I'm hoping that you'll be in this nice warm bed and with freshly brushed teeth." she smiled and walked from the room, closing the door behind her.
"He's as stubborn as you sometimes." Evelyn announced as she walked into the room and sitting next to Rick.
Rick leaned over and placed a small kiss on his stomach, feeling their second child moving around. "Well, just think of this. If it's a boy we'll have three of me running around." he grinned and winked as he picked up his book once again.
"I'm ready!" Alex called from the other room and Evelyn walked in. "Mum, do you and dad have to have the new baby?"
"Of course luv, why do you ask?"
"I was thinking about the trips we were going to take this summer, and with a baby we can't do it." he looked down and Evie sat on the bed next to him, pulling the covers around him.
She ran her fingers through his hair and grinned down at his cute features. "Just because your father and I are going to have another baby doesn't mean that we don't love you any less. You're still my main Egyptologist." she kissed his forehead as she took the small figure of Anubis off of his night stand. "I'm going to put it on the table outside, just so it doesn't get knocked off." He hugged him and then stood, turning
off the light as she left the room.
She set the statue on the table in the middle of the hallway, in front of the staircase and went into her bedroom, followed by Rick as Jonathan sipped on a glass of brandy as he walked into his room.
"Crikey, look at the place these people have, no wonder they're the new money in town." an Australian voice whispered as he carefully climbed through an open window.
He made his way through the house without making a sound. He slunk up the stairs and carefully opened up the first door he saw. Peeking through the small crack, he saw Alex sleeping peacefully with a large teddy bear on the floor next to him.
Closing the door he went down the hallway and kicked the table, knocking over the Statue of Anubis. He heard footsteps from the next room over and grabbed his shotgun as Rick walked from the room shirtless and groggy. He looked around the hallway, and, finding the statue lying on the floor, he picked it up and cursed the cat as he set it back on the table, mumbling as he went back into his room and closed the door.
The Aussi breathed a sigh of relief, and grabbed the statue. He headed out the way he came, and as quickly as he'd appeared, he was gone.
"Did you get it?" Mr. Fletcher asked as the man in front tossed it to him.
"I'll 'ave you know that I almost got caught by that O'Connell. Would've been my 'ed, so I thank you to give my fifteen percent of whatever you find in Karnac. Either that, or I'll shoot you and get there meself." he drew his pistol and aimed it at Mr. Fletcher's head.
The cowardly man nodded, and they shook hands as the Aussi got a drink from the bar, and Mr. Fletcher held the statue.
"It's only a matter of time before the treasure is...ours." he hesitated, and saw the Aussi grin and down his brandy.
"Mum, mum wake up." Alex shook Evelyn awake as she snuggled closer to Rick, trying not to hear the begging of her son. "It's not there mum, we've been robbed."
She turned and looked at him through slits as she sat up, her large stomach grabbing the sheet off Rick, making him wake up as well.
"What's not there Alex?"
"The statue. The statue of Anubis, it's gone! Someone came in through the window downstairs, I saw it. It was open, and then he stole it. I'll bet it was the mean Mr. Fletcher, he sure wanted it bad enough." Alex accused as he climbed onto the large four poster bed and sat between Rick and Evelyn.
"We'll be down in a minute son, give us some time to get dressed." Rick stood up and hauled Alex over his shoulder, dropping him outside the door as he closed it. He flopped back down and pulled the covers up.
"Alex has an imagination, but not that kind. Maybe we should go look Rick, someone could have gotten into the house."
"Evie, you're getting paranoid. He probably just doesn't remember where he put it." Rick grumbled and rolled over to look at her. She got up and dressed, and walked out of the room as Rick was pulling his shirt on.
"Rick, we just don't know what happened. There are footprints in the kitchen below the window, so that's conclusive evidence that there was someone here. Yet he knew what he was here for, he knew that we had the statue." Evelyn spoke worriedly, and they walked into the office at the British Museum after dropping Alex off at school.
"Evie, how do you figure that? The only people that knew we had the statue were us, Alex and Jonathan. And Mr. Fletcher, but he wouldn't have enough nerves to break into our home. Would he?" he looked over at her as she pulled books out of her desk drawers.
She flipped through the pages, and stopped. She showed him the picture and the page. "The Key of Anubis." she stated and Rick took it from her.
"I've heard of that before." Jonathan announced from the side of the room, making Evelyn and Rick jump.
"You idiot!" Evelyn growled and then handed him the book. "What do you mean you've heard of it before? I hadn't even known about it until now."
"It's every treasure hunters wish to have the Key of Anubis. It unlocks all of the treasures of Karnac that were lost in the battle between the people and the Scorpion King leading Anubis' army." he explained and the couple looked surprised.
Evelyn shook her head. "How can you say that it's a key to finding treasure? I don't think that...unless it opens. We have to find that Statue, but I just don't know where to look."
"It just so happens that Mr. Fletcher announced this morning that he was planning an expedition to Egypt as soon as he got proper funds from the museum. He agreed to donate half of the artifacts that he would find, and keep the other to sell around the world. I'll bet he stole the key." Jonathan exclaimed and sat down, pouring himself a brandy.
"Still, we don't know for sure." Evelyn interrupted.
"Hell, it's enough to get grounds for some questioning. But if he did do it, we know that he couldn't have accomplished it alone. There had to be someone with him. The weasel would be afraid to climb through the window fear he'd get his suit dirty." Rick joked and Evelyn nodded, a grin playing at her features.
"Only one way to find out. I have another meeting with him today, he's interested in buying more things from Hamunaptra." she smiled, and as if on cue a nock resounded through the room.
"Please come in Mr. Fletcher, and welcome back. Did you have anything in mind that you re-thought?" she asked innocently, picking up her string of keys as the men followed her into the storage room.
"Well, there were a few items." he smiled and began to look over the treasure once again, mumbling to himself as he went.
"Would you like to know a strange thing Mr. Fletcher? Remember that statue of Anubis that my son found?" at the mans averted nod, she saw his face go pale. He never had been good at confrontations, and they always made him nervous.
"Well, it was stolen from our house last night. I was wondering if you might have had any information on it, not that we're accusing you at all." she reprimanded herself and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder.
Rick and Jonathan had to hold in their laughter as the man pulled away, breaking into a sweat.
"well, I can't seem to find what I was looking for, so I'll have to pass on the rest. Please, feel free to...notify me of any leads you...have in the...robbery." he stuttered and quickly walked from the room.
"Now if that wasn't enough evidence, I don't know what is." Rick laughed and pulled his cunning wife to him, kissing her lightly.
"We shouldn't be here Rick..." Jonathan whined as he and Rick searched through the empty Fletcher house.
"Pipe down Jonathan, he's out for dinner, and I'm sure that he won't be back anytime soon."
Jonathan continued to whine, driving Rick crazy. "Look, we just need to find the stupid thing and then get out of here. For crying out loud Jonathan, stop whining. I'd rather have taken Evie. She's nine months pregnant and less of a complainer than you are." Rick found the safe, and slid over to it.
"Do you actually know what to do now?"
"Trust me. You don't know how many times I broke into my fathers safe when I was a kid." Rick laughed and the safe popped open, revealing the swaddled statue. "Got it, let's go."
"Not so fast. Mr. Fletcher isn't going to be very 'appy about this." A man with an Australian accent cocked a gun behind the two, making them freeze. Jonathan whimpered and Rick glared at the man.
"Look, he stole this from my son, and all we're doing is getting our property back." O'Connell growled and stared the man in the eye.
"I never did like you rich people. Way to stuck up, but you seem to be different." he yanked Rick's guns out of the holsters and tossed them across the room. "'Ope you said goodbye to the missus." he grinned and aimed the gun at Rick's head, and a shot filled the room.
Alex wandered up into the attic. "Maybe they put it up here." he climbed up and looked around at all the boxes he and his parents had full of artifacts from the many digs they'd gone on together.
He moved boxes and shoved crates around until he found the one he was looking for. NEW STUFF was marked on the side in Evelyn's handwriting, and Alex opened the top. "Wow." he said and sorted through different things, various pieces of gold, and other statues. "Darn." he commented and continued to look through the statues. He found another swaddled just like the one he'd found, and picked it up. He began to carefully unwrap it, strand by strand. It was a figure just exactly like the one he'd found, but it was of Horace. He was dressed like a warrior, and was standing over the ruins of the Temple land of Fallai.
"Wow, I didn't know there was a set of these." he exclaimed and took it downstairs, setting it on his parents desk in the study room.
Smoke cleared, and the crumpled body lay on the floor.
"Evelyn." Jonathan exclaimed once he got up the nerve to open his eyes.
Rick slumped against the wall and realized that he had been holding his breath. "I thought...I told you to...stay home." he snapped and she grinned.
"What, and let you have all the fun? We should leave though, I think he'll be back home soon." She hugged him and handed him his gun back.
"Alex, we're home." Evelyn yelled and the little boy came rompling down the stairs.
"Guess what? I was up in the attic and I saw this other statue or Horace, and it was just like the one of Anubis but it was over the Temple land of Fallai instead." he pulled them upstairs and into the office. "See?"
He pointed to the figure, and it was the same, just a different God. Evelyn studied it, and decided Alex was right.
"It's got to be another key, but in the book I read, it didn't say anything about two keys." she said and picked up the book. "I do know who'd be able to tell us, but we'll have to do some traveling."
Rick and Jonathan sighed, and nodded. "If we have to. We should get rid of them anyway, and what a better way than giving them to the Magi?"
It was decided, Rick and Jonathan began making flight arrangements while Evelyn and Alex began packing.
"Mum, are we really going back to Egypt?" he exclaimed and jumped onto the bed next to the suitcases.
"Yes dear, but we're going to have to be careful."
"don't worry about me mum, I'll stick really close. I remember what happened the last time I was in Egypt." he grinned and went off to finish packing.
Rick was into the room as Alex walked out. "I don't really want you going Evie." he stated and rubbed her stomach.
"Believe me. I can take care of myself, and besides. We're just going to see Ardeth, not fight an army." she smiled and kissed his cheek reassuringly.
"Well, the plane leaves in two hours, and it will take an hour to get there, so we'll have to leave now." he picked up the cases, and they all headed for the car.
"AAH!" Alex cried as a man grabbed him, holding a gun to his temple.
"Give me the statue O'Connell." Mr. Fletcher ordered and pilled back to hammer. "Give it to me or the child will die."
Rick took the statue from his rucksack, and tossed it the man as a car pulled up. Mr. Fletcher shoved Alex into the car, and followed as the car sped out of the driveway.
"Alex!" Evie cried and jumped into the car.
"We know where he's going, don't worry." Jonathan stated as he picked up a plane ticket on the ground, set for Cairo Egypt.
"He can't get too far without this, we'll have to hurry. We'll meet him in Egypt with the Maji, and he'll get what's coming to him." Rick growled as he gunned the car forward as he headed for the airport.
"Here's a question," Jonathan started as he helped Rick get the luggage from the flight. "How on earth are we going to be able to find the Magi? They're not exactly sending out their address everywhere you know."
"I have a feeling that they'll find us." Rick said and took Evelyn's hand as the three made their way out of the Cairo airport.
As they stepped out into the hot sun, Ardeth and three Magi were standing there.
"Told you." Rick smiled and set down his things as he shook hands with Ardeth.
"We saw an expedition heading toward Karnac. They had a boy with them. Your boy, so I figured you could use some help." he smiled and nodded at Evelyn and Jonathan.
"How far along are they? They could already be there by now." Evelyn asked worried, and Ardeth nodded. They are going by train, yet I'm sure they have a days travel left in front of them. But I found a pilot that is willing to fly us there." Ardeth pointed to a stringy man with flight gear on, and then to his plane.
"You really expect to get that thing off the ground?" Rick almost gagged at the plane as it sat in the sand and was had more rust on it than paint.
The man walked up and stuck a finger in Rick's face. "Just because you don't like doesn't mean that it don't fly." he said in an all American accent, and winked over at Evelyn.
"Well, let's go then. I want to get Alex and the key back before anything happens.
"What key?" Ardeth questioned and looked between the travelers.
"It's just like this one, but of Horace. We have all the time in the world. By the time he gets to Karnac he'll realize he has the wrong key." Rick smiled and leaned back in the small airplanes seat.
"That should give us a little more time." Evie grinned and sighed as the plane rumbled down the air field, hobbling back and forth, and finally lifting into the air.
"When my parents find you they're going to make sure you never see England again!" Alex yelled as the train left Karnac without him. He was stuck.
With the wrong key, they had no reason to stay in Karnac, so they headed toward the Temple Land of Fallai instead, which meant two more days travel.
"They've got to show up some time." Alex looked up at the sun and trotted back into the ruins of the temple of Karnac. "I hate Egypt." he commented as he watched the sun slip down over the horizon, and it began to get cold. He couldn't find anything to build a fire with, so he sat in the open.
"Do you see anything?" Rick asked as they circled Karnac over and over, looking for any sign of a party or encampment.
"There!" Evelyn called, pointed to a small shadow waving it's arms about frantically.
The plane, not so gracefully landed, and it skidded toward a halt at the entrance of the temple. Ardeth, Rick and Evelyn hopped out, and the pilot agreed to help them look.
"ALEX!" they all shouted, and received a faint cry from behind a large pillar.
"Dad!" the boy called and ran from his hiding place into his fathers arms. "I wasn't sure if the plane was good or bad, but I just had to try and get it to notice me!" he smiled as Evie grabbed him and held him close.
She ran her hands through his hair and did all motherly things to make sure all of her son was there. "We were so worried Alex, we thought that they wouldn't treat you right at all." she sighed and kissed his forehead.
"Well, now what do we do? Even though they don't have the Statue of Anubis, they do have the Statue of Horace." Rick questioned Ardeth as they sat in the plane on the way back from Karnak to Cairo.
Ardeth shrugged, and shook his head. "I don't believe there is an army of Horace, but I may be mistaken. Evelyn, do you have any books on the statues?"
"Yes, but they're in my library at home." She looked over at them as Alex rested his head on her shoulder, snoring lightly. "Are you willing to take us to London?" she asked the pilot, and he nodded.
"It'll cost a little more, but I reckon I could take you there." He added and they flew well on into the night.
"Ah, here it is." Alex called and the three came over to him, and Evelyn took the book from his hands, reading aloud.
"The statue of Horace will bring fortune to those who claim it. Fortune is only granted if you make it off the island alive. After the Statue has been used as a key the island will go back to the sea, and the armies of Osiris and Anubis shall awake and bring a plague upon this earth, creating a new Egypt." she finished, and Rick sighed.
"Well you had to figure that the Statue would bring the end of mankind around sometime soon." Rick leaned back and looked up at Ardeth. "Do you think that your Med-jai tribes would be able to stop them if they do wake up?"
"Not in numbers that large. We'll need to stop them from using the key. I don't really know how to make that sure because they've probably already found the treasure using the statue."
"Well, it says here that you have exactly seven days until the armies wake up. That means you only have at the most six days. If the statue is removed from the resting place, by one who wears the mark, that insures the safety of the island and will stop the high God Osiris and Anubis to become angered." Evie read on and Ardeth smiled over to Rick.
"Oh no. I may have that stupid mark, but there is no way that I'm going to leave my family here. Evie's due any day now and Alex can't possibly take care of her if the baby comes. There's no way that I'm going." Rick shook his head and hands as he stood, backing away from the group.
"Darling, if you don't stop the armies from coming to life we're all as good as dead anyway. Come on. One last time. Save the entire world one more time, and I promise you won't have to do it again." Evelyn stood and walked over to him, and rested her hand on his arm. "And this time I'll listen to you and stay here."
Rick sighed and kissed her. "Only if you promise I won't have to do it again." he walked over to Alex and rubbed his hand over his head. "You're in charge son, make sure your mother is careful, and take care of the family. And brush your teeth." he added, and walked from the room with Ardeth.
"Well, we have two days left. We're here, but how do you figure that we'll get inside?" Rick asked as he left the small raft on the side of the beach.
"I have a feeling that won't be a problem." Ardeth announced, and led them both to a secret entrance to the city on the far side of the ruins. "Rick, I'll cover your back, but you'll have to do this on your own. You're the sacred one. Only you can embrace your..."
"Can we get this over with?" Rick broke in, his charming American grin covering his features, and he charged into the room, guns blazing.
Ardeth followed him and kept the guards back as Rick found where the statue was sitting. It was in a small hole that was fitted to the bottom of the figurine. He went to grab it and a bullet tore through his arm. He cursed and fell to the ground and stared at Ardeth as he fired at the gunman. Holding his arm, Rick stood and grabbed the statue, yanking it from the hole it was in. Instantly the walls began to crumble, and the ruins began to fall. Ardeth ran and grabbed his shoulder, pulling them both from the temple
as the walls began to cave in. Running to the boat, they jumped in and pushed it into the water with their hands and began to row. They stopped about thirty yards away from the island, and watched as the ruins crumbled around the men that were working. Several were carrying gold and bags full of it. When the quaking stopped, the tunnels that they had dug in order to find the treasure had all caved in, and formed deep trenches around the island's surface.
"Now that...was...an interesting ad...venture." Ardeth laughed and Rick laid back.
"Let's get out of here." he ordered, and ripped off the arms to his shirt. The bulled fell to the floor of the raft with a thud. It had gone all the way through the muscle, and Rick wrapped his bleeding arm up with the other sleeve. "Egypt just gets better and better." he announced, making Ardeth chuckle.
The two stopped off in Cairo for medical attention and for Rick to catch his flight.
"Well, it's been a pleasure saving the world with you again my friend." the Med-jai smiled and shook his good hand.
Rick's other arm was held up by a sling, and had a bandage around the wound. "Likewise. Maybe we'll have to do it again some day. Yet I hope not." he laughed and boarded the airplane, taking a seat.
It took about eight hours to reach the London airport, and he called for a taxi to get back to O'Connell manor. He pulled up and found a nurses wagon parked outside, and he rushed into the house. Jonathan met him at the door out of breath.
"Evie had the baby yesterday morning, and she just sent me to the airport. We got your letter." He smiled and Alex ran to Rick, wrapping his arms around him.
"Hi dad! You have to come see her. She's really really cute." He announced and Rick followed him up the stairs and into their room.
Evelyn laid asleep in bed and the bassinet was next to her on the floor. Rick lightly set his things down and crossed over to the baby. He look into the makeshift crib and saw a fuzzy pink blanket wrapped around a tiny infant. The little pink nose and face stuck out of the blanket, and a small hand appeared from the edge of the covers. Rick smiled and reached in, picking the baby up as she squeaked. He walked over to a chair on the other side of the room. He carefully sat down and looked over the tiny baby as he pulled the blanket away from her head. Little brown curls covered her otherwise bald head, and he smiled, placing a kiss on her forehead. He took his arm out of the sling and cradled his daughter as he rocked back and forth.
"I don't know which is cuter, father or daughter." Evelyn smiled as she looked over at him from the bed.
"She's beautiful." He smiled and Alex walked in.
"How come dad gets to hold her and I don't?" He questioned as he placed his finger in her hand as her eyes opened lazily.
"Wow." Rick smiled and looked down at her. She had an olive complexion like her mother, and hair just as brown as her mothers, but she had his eyes. They were even bluer than his. Sapphire they were as she looked up at him for the first time in her life. He grinned and walked carefully over to the bed, sitting next to his wife.
"What a welcome." He smiled and kissed her lightly as he laid her back into the bassinet.
"Isn't she neat dad? I didn't think that having a baby would be this fun." Alex laughed as he sat next to Rick on the couch a few days later, the baby on Rick's lap.
Evelyn smiled at her family and continued to read her book. "Neither did I." she grinned and walked over to them. "Sorry, but we have a date." She smiled and took the baby from Rick and walked upstairs.
They had named the infant Kirianna, but for short they just called her Anna. A few days old she really began to look like Evie. The little curls of brown on her head and her face and color all suggested that she was going to be every bit as beautiful as her mother. But her eyes told them she had the attitude of the father, sapphire and shining, just waiting until she would be old enough to get into trouble.
"Alex, it's bed time, now go and get ready." Evelyn announced as she came down the staircase and handed Kirianna back to Rick, who was all too happy to take care of the baby.
Alex moped upstairs, and reluctantly went to get ready for bed.
"And brush your teeth Alex O'Connell!" she called back up to him as she sat next to Rick and smiled.
"You two are the cutest pair." she kissed the babies head and his cheek, getting up to tuck Alex in. She walked into the bedroom and found him waiting there looking at a book next to his bed on the night stand.
"I'm glad you're home Alex." she smiled and laid him back, pulling the covers up around him and kissing his forehead.
"Can I tell Anna good night?" he asked and Rick walked in, and laid the baby next to him. Alex patted her head and kissed her cheek.
"I thought you said you didn't want to have a baby girl." Rick playfully poked at his son.
Alex laughed and hugged her. "Ya, but I didn't think that she'd be this fun. I can't wait until she gets to go on a dig with us! That'll be really fun. We should probably start teaching her Egyptian now, since we
have the black book in the attic, then it wouldn't be a problem if anyone got injured." he made Rick and Evelyn laugh as he talked to her in the ancient language.
"I think she's a little young Alex." Evie grinned and took Anna and turned out the light. "Night son." she winked and they left the room.
"You have cute kids Evie." Rick smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist.
"Ya, well, with your help they're awfully cute." She kissed him and the coupled went and laid the baby down in the bassinet and got ready for bed.
The end
E-Mail: JeanOConnell195@aol.com
Title: Statues of Egypt
Disclaimer: I'm not going to steal Rick or Evie or Jonathan or Ardeth from Staven Sommers, but I'll try to have Rick back after I'm done!!! :)
Rating:PG-13
S t a t u e s o f E g y p t
B y J e a n
Evelyn sat at her desk in front of the large window. She sighed as she turned back and began to sort through more things that would either be of value for the museum, or wouldn't be of any artifactual use. If so, they'd go home with her and she'd put them in with the other things.
She'd taken the job of being the curator of the British Museum from the Bembridge Scholars, and had been working there since she'd gotten back from Egypt. She patted her swollen stomach, and once again returned from her day dream.
"Hello baby sister, did you find anything of...use from the new...artifacts?" Jonathan asked slyly as he walked into the room and leaned over the desk.
"Not for you Jonathan. I need to get these cleaned up before the buyer gets here, and I don't have any time to spare for your...ever so generous...offers of holding the artifacts for me." she smiled and walked out of the room in search of a washcloth.
She ran into Rick as he rounded the corner, his arm catching her before she fell.
"If I had known you felt that way..." he smiled and kissed her lightly as Alex ran up.
"Mum, you won't believe what we found!" he grinned from ear to ear, and carried a rather large item swaddled in ancient cloth.
Alex, Jonathan and Rick had gone to Egypt a month before and retrieved many wonderful things from the ancient tomb. Evelyn wasn't allowed to accompany them due to her impregnated state, but she busied herself with the museum as much as she could. They had returned with case loads of gold and bronze figurines, jewelry and Egyptian everything's.
Evelyn went back to her seat and sat down as Alex followed her and set the heavy item on the desk in front of everyone.
"It's ceremoniously wrapped, I looked it up in a book from the library. It was wrapped just like the mummy we found it by." he explained and Evie smiled.
Alex proceeded to unwrap the figure, and piece by gold piece began to show through the shards pulled away. A knock at the door made them all sigh as the figure was placed at the edge of the desk.
Rick opened the door, and a middle aged tall and thin man stood there, an impatient look on his features.
"Mr. Fletcher, I'd forgotten about our appointment." Evelyn stood as quickly as she could, but was motioned down by the new comer.
"Please, I'm sitting anyway." he announced snobbishly, and took Rick's seat in front of Evie's desk. "Now, do hurry Miss. Carnahan, I have an appointment I can't be late for.
"Mrs. O'Connell, not Miss. Carnahan Mr. Fletcher, I'm a married woman now." she smiled and Alex climbed onto Rick's lap as they waited for the snobby man to leave.
"This way." She smiled, and proceeded to show him all of the things they were putting up for sale.
An hour or so later, they were all packed back into Evelyn's small office and Mr. Fletcher was writing a check for the things he was purchasing.
"What's that?" he asked as he noticed the set aside item on Evelyn's desk.
"I'd almost forgotten!" Alex jumped up, knocking over his army men as he did. He continued to unwrap it as he sat on what little lap Evie had left.
The gold glimmered off the two foot statue, making everyone gawk at it. It was a large figure of Anubis standing atop the ruins of the city of Karnac.
"How much do you want for it? It's magnificent?" the man questioned Evelyn, and Alex's face was shocked. Rick saw this and winked at his son.
"I'm sorry Mr. Fletcher, but it isn't our decision to make. The statue was found by our son, therefore, it's his property."
"I don't want to sell it, do I have to Mum?" he asked Evelyn, looking up into her face and she shook her head, smiling.
"Sorry to say, but you've outlasted your visit." Rick helped him up and escorted him out the door, and out to his car.
"I've always hated children. Snobbish little brats, they all are." Mr. Fletcher snarled, and jumped into his car, driving out of the parking lot.
Rick shook his head and walked back into Evelyn's office.
"I've seen this statue before, I know I have." Alex commented and a thought struck him. "C'mon mum, c'mon dad!" he called as he ran from the room.
"I'm glad he has your brains." Rick said softly as he pulled Evelyn up and they followed the youngster.
Alex led them to a large wall featuring the broken down city of Karnac, and next to it was a large piece of stone from the ruins. It had a large picture of the statue in the middle, and writings all around it.
"See!" he called, and the group looked it over.
"What does it say Alex?" Rick asked and the little boy went under the ropes, and over to the large chunk of stone.
"'The army of Anubis is awaiting it leader under the ruins, to be removed only by...' That's it. The rest of it is cut off." he looked up at them, and Evelyn and Rick began to walk away.
"Come on son, we have to lock up, and it's getting awfully late." Evelyn called and he reluctantly followed.
"Look boss, that's O'Connell Manor. There's no way we can get into that place without being detected." a rather large man with wide shoulders and an Australian accent argued in front of Mr. Fletcher.
The entrepreneur stood and shook with anger, his eyes lighting up. "You idiots, that statue is the key to finding the lost treasure of Karnac! Plus, it'll give me a chance to become rich." he snapped and handed the aussi a shotgun off of his wall. "Get me that statue, and kill anyone who tries to stop you." he snarled and shoved the man out of his office.
"But mum I'm not tired!" Alex whined as he sat in the study with his parents and Jonathan. "Can't I stay up with you and dad?"
"No Alex, besides. Your father and I are going to bed anyway." she stood up and grabbed him by the shoulders.
She pushed him into his bedroom and reached into the bottom drawer of his small chest and pulled out his pajamas. "I'll be back in five minutes, and I'm hoping that you'll be in this nice warm bed and with freshly brushed teeth." she smiled and walked from the room, closing the door behind her.
"He's as stubborn as you sometimes." Evelyn announced as she walked into the room and sitting next to Rick.
Rick leaned over and placed a small kiss on his stomach, feeling their second child moving around. "Well, just think of this. If it's a boy we'll have three of me running around." he grinned and winked as he picked up his book once again.
"I'm ready!" Alex called from the other room and Evelyn walked in. "Mum, do you and dad have to have the new baby?"
"Of course luv, why do you ask?"
"I was thinking about the trips we were going to take this summer, and with a baby we can't do it." he looked down and Evie sat on the bed next to him, pulling the covers around him.
She ran her fingers through his hair and grinned down at his cute features. "Just because your father and I are going to have another baby doesn't mean that we don't love you any less. You're still my main Egyptologist." she kissed his forehead as she took the small figure of Anubis off of his night stand. "I'm going to put it on the table outside, just so it doesn't get knocked off." He hugged him and then stood, turning
off the light as she left the room.
She set the statue on the table in the middle of the hallway, in front of the staircase and went into her bedroom, followed by Rick as Jonathan sipped on a glass of brandy as he walked into his room.
"Crikey, look at the place these people have, no wonder they're the new money in town." an Australian voice whispered as he carefully climbed through an open window.
He made his way through the house without making a sound. He slunk up the stairs and carefully opened up the first door he saw. Peeking through the small crack, he saw Alex sleeping peacefully with a large teddy bear on the floor next to him.
Closing the door he went down the hallway and kicked the table, knocking over the Statue of Anubis. He heard footsteps from the next room over and grabbed his shotgun as Rick walked from the room shirtless and groggy. He looked around the hallway, and, finding the statue lying on the floor, he picked it up and cursed the cat as he set it back on the table, mumbling as he went back into his room and closed the door.
The Aussi breathed a sigh of relief, and grabbed the statue. He headed out the way he came, and as quickly as he'd appeared, he was gone.
"Did you get it?" Mr. Fletcher asked as the man in front tossed it to him.
"I'll 'ave you know that I almost got caught by that O'Connell. Would've been my 'ed, so I thank you to give my fifteen percent of whatever you find in Karnac. Either that, or I'll shoot you and get there meself." he drew his pistol and aimed it at Mr. Fletcher's head.
The cowardly man nodded, and they shook hands as the Aussi got a drink from the bar, and Mr. Fletcher held the statue.
"It's only a matter of time before the treasure is...ours." he hesitated, and saw the Aussi grin and down his brandy.
"Mum, mum wake up." Alex shook Evelyn awake as she snuggled closer to Rick, trying not to hear the begging of her son. "It's not there mum, we've been robbed."
She turned and looked at him through slits as she sat up, her large stomach grabbing the sheet off Rick, making him wake up as well.
"What's not there Alex?"
"The statue. The statue of Anubis, it's gone! Someone came in through the window downstairs, I saw it. It was open, and then he stole it. I'll bet it was the mean Mr. Fletcher, he sure wanted it bad enough." Alex accused as he climbed onto the large four poster bed and sat between Rick and Evelyn.
"We'll be down in a minute son, give us some time to get dressed." Rick stood up and hauled Alex over his shoulder, dropping him outside the door as he closed it. He flopped back down and pulled the covers up.
"Alex has an imagination, but not that kind. Maybe we should go look Rick, someone could have gotten into the house."
"Evie, you're getting paranoid. He probably just doesn't remember where he put it." Rick grumbled and rolled over to look at her. She got up and dressed, and walked out of the room as Rick was pulling his shirt on.
"Rick, we just don't know what happened. There are footprints in the kitchen below the window, so that's conclusive evidence that there was someone here. Yet he knew what he was here for, he knew that we had the statue." Evelyn spoke worriedly, and they walked into the office at the British Museum after dropping Alex off at school.
"Evie, how do you figure that? The only people that knew we had the statue were us, Alex and Jonathan. And Mr. Fletcher, but he wouldn't have enough nerves to break into our home. Would he?" he looked over at her as she pulled books out of her desk drawers.
She flipped through the pages, and stopped. She showed him the picture and the page. "The Key of Anubis." she stated and Rick took it from her.
"I've heard of that before." Jonathan announced from the side of the room, making Evelyn and Rick jump.
"You idiot!" Evelyn growled and then handed him the book. "What do you mean you've heard of it before? I hadn't even known about it until now."
"It's every treasure hunters wish to have the Key of Anubis. It unlocks all of the treasures of Karnac that were lost in the battle between the people and the Scorpion King leading Anubis' army." he explained and the couple looked surprised.
Evelyn shook her head. "How can you say that it's a key to finding treasure? I don't think that...unless it opens. We have to find that Statue, but I just don't know where to look."
"It just so happens that Mr. Fletcher announced this morning that he was planning an expedition to Egypt as soon as he got proper funds from the museum. He agreed to donate half of the artifacts that he would find, and keep the other to sell around the world. I'll bet he stole the key." Jonathan exclaimed and sat down, pouring himself a brandy.
"Still, we don't know for sure." Evelyn interrupted.
"Hell, it's enough to get grounds for some questioning. But if he did do it, we know that he couldn't have accomplished it alone. There had to be someone with him. The weasel would be afraid to climb through the window fear he'd get his suit dirty." Rick joked and Evelyn nodded, a grin playing at her features.
"Only one way to find out. I have another meeting with him today, he's interested in buying more things from Hamunaptra." she smiled, and as if on cue a nock resounded through the room.
"Please come in Mr. Fletcher, and welcome back. Did you have anything in mind that you re-thought?" she asked innocently, picking up her string of keys as the men followed her into the storage room.
"Well, there were a few items." he smiled and began to look over the treasure once again, mumbling to himself as he went.
"Would you like to know a strange thing Mr. Fletcher? Remember that statue of Anubis that my son found?" at the mans averted nod, she saw his face go pale. He never had been good at confrontations, and they always made him nervous.
"Well, it was stolen from our house last night. I was wondering if you might have had any information on it, not that we're accusing you at all." she reprimanded herself and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder.
Rick and Jonathan had to hold in their laughter as the man pulled away, breaking into a sweat.
"well, I can't seem to find what I was looking for, so I'll have to pass on the rest. Please, feel free to...notify me of any leads you...have in the...robbery." he stuttered and quickly walked from the room.
"Now if that wasn't enough evidence, I don't know what is." Rick laughed and pulled his cunning wife to him, kissing her lightly.
"We shouldn't be here Rick..." Jonathan whined as he and Rick searched through the empty Fletcher house.
"Pipe down Jonathan, he's out for dinner, and I'm sure that he won't be back anytime soon."
Jonathan continued to whine, driving Rick crazy. "Look, we just need to find the stupid thing and then get out of here. For crying out loud Jonathan, stop whining. I'd rather have taken Evie. She's nine months pregnant and less of a complainer than you are." Rick found the safe, and slid over to it.
"Do you actually know what to do now?"
"Trust me. You don't know how many times I broke into my fathers safe when I was a kid." Rick laughed and the safe popped open, revealing the swaddled statue. "Got it, let's go."
"Not so fast. Mr. Fletcher isn't going to be very 'appy about this." A man with an Australian accent cocked a gun behind the two, making them freeze. Jonathan whimpered and Rick glared at the man.
"Look, he stole this from my son, and all we're doing is getting our property back." O'Connell growled and stared the man in the eye.
"I never did like you rich people. Way to stuck up, but you seem to be different." he yanked Rick's guns out of the holsters and tossed them across the room. "'Ope you said goodbye to the missus." he grinned and aimed the gun at Rick's head, and a shot filled the room.
Alex wandered up into the attic. "Maybe they put it up here." he climbed up and looked around at all the boxes he and his parents had full of artifacts from the many digs they'd gone on together.
He moved boxes and shoved crates around until he found the one he was looking for. NEW STUFF was marked on the side in Evelyn's handwriting, and Alex opened the top. "Wow." he said and sorted through different things, various pieces of gold, and other statues. "Darn." he commented and continued to look through the statues. He found another swaddled just like the one he'd found, and picked it up. He began to carefully unwrap it, strand by strand. It was a figure just exactly like the one he'd found, but it was of Horace. He was dressed like a warrior, and was standing over the ruins of the Temple land of Fallai.
"Wow, I didn't know there was a set of these." he exclaimed and took it downstairs, setting it on his parents desk in the study room.
Smoke cleared, and the crumpled body lay on the floor.
"Evelyn." Jonathan exclaimed once he got up the nerve to open his eyes.
Rick slumped against the wall and realized that he had been holding his breath. "I thought...I told you to...stay home." he snapped and she grinned.
"What, and let you have all the fun? We should leave though, I think he'll be back home soon." She hugged him and handed him his gun back.
"Alex, we're home." Evelyn yelled and the little boy came rompling down the stairs.
"Guess what? I was up in the attic and I saw this other statue or Horace, and it was just like the one of Anubis but it was over the Temple land of Fallai instead." he pulled them upstairs and into the office. "See?"
He pointed to the figure, and it was the same, just a different God. Evelyn studied it, and decided Alex was right.
"It's got to be another key, but in the book I read, it didn't say anything about two keys." she said and picked up the book. "I do know who'd be able to tell us, but we'll have to do some traveling."
Rick and Jonathan sighed, and nodded. "If we have to. We should get rid of them anyway, and what a better way than giving them to the Magi?"
It was decided, Rick and Jonathan began making flight arrangements while Evelyn and Alex began packing.
"Mum, are we really going back to Egypt?" he exclaimed and jumped onto the bed next to the suitcases.
"Yes dear, but we're going to have to be careful."
"don't worry about me mum, I'll stick really close. I remember what happened the last time I was in Egypt." he grinned and went off to finish packing.
Rick was into the room as Alex walked out. "I don't really want you going Evie." he stated and rubbed her stomach.
"Believe me. I can take care of myself, and besides. We're just going to see Ardeth, not fight an army." she smiled and kissed his cheek reassuringly.
"Well, the plane leaves in two hours, and it will take an hour to get there, so we'll have to leave now." he picked up the cases, and they all headed for the car.
"AAH!" Alex cried as a man grabbed him, holding a gun to his temple.
"Give me the statue O'Connell." Mr. Fletcher ordered and pilled back to hammer. "Give it to me or the child will die."
Rick took the statue from his rucksack, and tossed it the man as a car pulled up. Mr. Fletcher shoved Alex into the car, and followed as the car sped out of the driveway.
"Alex!" Evie cried and jumped into the car.
"We know where he's going, don't worry." Jonathan stated as he picked up a plane ticket on the ground, set for Cairo Egypt.
"He can't get too far without this, we'll have to hurry. We'll meet him in Egypt with the Maji, and he'll get what's coming to him." Rick growled as he gunned the car forward as he headed for the airport.
"Here's a question," Jonathan started as he helped Rick get the luggage from the flight. "How on earth are we going to be able to find the Magi? They're not exactly sending out their address everywhere you know."
"I have a feeling that they'll find us." Rick said and took Evelyn's hand as the three made their way out of the Cairo airport.
As they stepped out into the hot sun, Ardeth and three Magi were standing there.
"Told you." Rick smiled and set down his things as he shook hands with Ardeth.
"We saw an expedition heading toward Karnac. They had a boy with them. Your boy, so I figured you could use some help." he smiled and nodded at Evelyn and Jonathan.
"How far along are they? They could already be there by now." Evelyn asked worried, and Ardeth nodded. They are going by train, yet I'm sure they have a days travel left in front of them. But I found a pilot that is willing to fly us there." Ardeth pointed to a stringy man with flight gear on, and then to his plane.
"You really expect to get that thing off the ground?" Rick almost gagged at the plane as it sat in the sand and was had more rust on it than paint.
The man walked up and stuck a finger in Rick's face. "Just because you don't like doesn't mean that it don't fly." he said in an all American accent, and winked over at Evelyn.
"Well, let's go then. I want to get Alex and the key back before anything happens.
"What key?" Ardeth questioned and looked between the travelers.
"It's just like this one, but of Horace. We have all the time in the world. By the time he gets to Karnac he'll realize he has the wrong key." Rick smiled and leaned back in the small airplanes seat.
"That should give us a little more time." Evie grinned and sighed as the plane rumbled down the air field, hobbling back and forth, and finally lifting into the air.
"When my parents find you they're going to make sure you never see England again!" Alex yelled as the train left Karnac without him. He was stuck.
With the wrong key, they had no reason to stay in Karnac, so they headed toward the Temple Land of Fallai instead, which meant two more days travel.
"They've got to show up some time." Alex looked up at the sun and trotted back into the ruins of the temple of Karnac. "I hate Egypt." he commented as he watched the sun slip down over the horizon, and it began to get cold. He couldn't find anything to build a fire with, so he sat in the open.
"Do you see anything?" Rick asked as they circled Karnac over and over, looking for any sign of a party or encampment.
"There!" Evelyn called, pointed to a small shadow waving it's arms about frantically.
The plane, not so gracefully landed, and it skidded toward a halt at the entrance of the temple. Ardeth, Rick and Evelyn hopped out, and the pilot agreed to help them look.
"ALEX!" they all shouted, and received a faint cry from behind a large pillar.
"Dad!" the boy called and ran from his hiding place into his fathers arms. "I wasn't sure if the plane was good or bad, but I just had to try and get it to notice me!" he smiled as Evie grabbed him and held him close.
She ran her hands through his hair and did all motherly things to make sure all of her son was there. "We were so worried Alex, we thought that they wouldn't treat you right at all." she sighed and kissed his forehead.
"Well, now what do we do? Even though they don't have the Statue of Anubis, they do have the Statue of Horace." Rick questioned Ardeth as they sat in the plane on the way back from Karnak to Cairo.
Ardeth shrugged, and shook his head. "I don't believe there is an army of Horace, but I may be mistaken. Evelyn, do you have any books on the statues?"
"Yes, but they're in my library at home." She looked over at them as Alex rested his head on her shoulder, snoring lightly. "Are you willing to take us to London?" she asked the pilot, and he nodded.
"It'll cost a little more, but I reckon I could take you there." He added and they flew well on into the night.
"Ah, here it is." Alex called and the three came over to him, and Evelyn took the book from his hands, reading aloud.
"The statue of Horace will bring fortune to those who claim it. Fortune is only granted if you make it off the island alive. After the Statue has been used as a key the island will go back to the sea, and the armies of Osiris and Anubis shall awake and bring a plague upon this earth, creating a new Egypt." she finished, and Rick sighed.
"Well you had to figure that the Statue would bring the end of mankind around sometime soon." Rick leaned back and looked up at Ardeth. "Do you think that your Med-jai tribes would be able to stop them if they do wake up?"
"Not in numbers that large. We'll need to stop them from using the key. I don't really know how to make that sure because they've probably already found the treasure using the statue."
"Well, it says here that you have exactly seven days until the armies wake up. That means you only have at the most six days. If the statue is removed from the resting place, by one who wears the mark, that insures the safety of the island and will stop the high God Osiris and Anubis to become angered." Evie read on and Ardeth smiled over to Rick.
"Oh no. I may have that stupid mark, but there is no way that I'm going to leave my family here. Evie's due any day now and Alex can't possibly take care of her if the baby comes. There's no way that I'm going." Rick shook his head and hands as he stood, backing away from the group.
"Darling, if you don't stop the armies from coming to life we're all as good as dead anyway. Come on. One last time. Save the entire world one more time, and I promise you won't have to do it again." Evelyn stood and walked over to him, and rested her hand on his arm. "And this time I'll listen to you and stay here."
Rick sighed and kissed her. "Only if you promise I won't have to do it again." he walked over to Alex and rubbed his hand over his head. "You're in charge son, make sure your mother is careful, and take care of the family. And brush your teeth." he added, and walked from the room with Ardeth.
"Well, we have two days left. We're here, but how do you figure that we'll get inside?" Rick asked as he left the small raft on the side of the beach.
"I have a feeling that won't be a problem." Ardeth announced, and led them both to a secret entrance to the city on the far side of the ruins. "Rick, I'll cover your back, but you'll have to do this on your own. You're the sacred one. Only you can embrace your..."
"Can we get this over with?" Rick broke in, his charming American grin covering his features, and he charged into the room, guns blazing.
Ardeth followed him and kept the guards back as Rick found where the statue was sitting. It was in a small hole that was fitted to the bottom of the figurine. He went to grab it and a bullet tore through his arm. He cursed and fell to the ground and stared at Ardeth as he fired at the gunman. Holding his arm, Rick stood and grabbed the statue, yanking it from the hole it was in. Instantly the walls began to crumble, and the ruins began to fall. Ardeth ran and grabbed his shoulder, pulling them both from the temple
as the walls began to cave in. Running to the boat, they jumped in and pushed it into the water with their hands and began to row. They stopped about thirty yards away from the island, and watched as the ruins crumbled around the men that were working. Several were carrying gold and bags full of it. When the quaking stopped, the tunnels that they had dug in order to find the treasure had all caved in, and formed deep trenches around the island's surface.
"Now that...was...an interesting ad...venture." Ardeth laughed and Rick laid back.
"Let's get out of here." he ordered, and ripped off the arms to his shirt. The bulled fell to the floor of the raft with a thud. It had gone all the way through the muscle, and Rick wrapped his bleeding arm up with the other sleeve. "Egypt just gets better and better." he announced, making Ardeth chuckle.
The two stopped off in Cairo for medical attention and for Rick to catch his flight.
"Well, it's been a pleasure saving the world with you again my friend." the Med-jai smiled and shook his good hand.
Rick's other arm was held up by a sling, and had a bandage around the wound. "Likewise. Maybe we'll have to do it again some day. Yet I hope not." he laughed and boarded the airplane, taking a seat.
It took about eight hours to reach the London airport, and he called for a taxi to get back to O'Connell manor. He pulled up and found a nurses wagon parked outside, and he rushed into the house. Jonathan met him at the door out of breath.
"Evie had the baby yesterday morning, and she just sent me to the airport. We got your letter." He smiled and Alex ran to Rick, wrapping his arms around him.
"Hi dad! You have to come see her. She's really really cute." He announced and Rick followed him up the stairs and into their room.
Evelyn laid asleep in bed and the bassinet was next to her on the floor. Rick lightly set his things down and crossed over to the baby. He look into the makeshift crib and saw a fuzzy pink blanket wrapped around a tiny infant. The little pink nose and face stuck out of the blanket, and a small hand appeared from the edge of the covers. Rick smiled and reached in, picking the baby up as she squeaked. He walked over to a chair on the other side of the room. He carefully sat down and looked over the tiny baby as he pulled the blanket away from her head. Little brown curls covered her otherwise bald head, and he smiled, placing a kiss on her forehead. He took his arm out of the sling and cradled his daughter as he rocked back and forth.
"I don't know which is cuter, father or daughter." Evelyn smiled as she looked over at him from the bed.
"She's beautiful." He smiled and Alex walked in.
"How come dad gets to hold her and I don't?" He questioned as he placed his finger in her hand as her eyes opened lazily.
"Wow." Rick smiled and looked down at her. She had an olive complexion like her mother, and hair just as brown as her mothers, but she had his eyes. They were even bluer than his. Sapphire they were as she looked up at him for the first time in her life. He grinned and walked carefully over to the bed, sitting next to his wife.
"What a welcome." He smiled and kissed her lightly as he laid her back into the bassinet.
"Isn't she neat dad? I didn't think that having a baby would be this fun." Alex laughed as he sat next to Rick on the couch a few days later, the baby on Rick's lap.
Evelyn smiled at her family and continued to read her book. "Neither did I." she grinned and walked over to them. "Sorry, but we have a date." She smiled and took the baby from Rick and walked upstairs.
They had named the infant Kirianna, but for short they just called her Anna. A few days old she really began to look like Evie. The little curls of brown on her head and her face and color all suggested that she was going to be every bit as beautiful as her mother. But her eyes told them she had the attitude of the father, sapphire and shining, just waiting until she would be old enough to get into trouble.
"Alex, it's bed time, now go and get ready." Evelyn announced as she came down the staircase and handed Kirianna back to Rick, who was all too happy to take care of the baby.
Alex moped upstairs, and reluctantly went to get ready for bed.
"And brush your teeth Alex O'Connell!" she called back up to him as she sat next to Rick and smiled.
"You two are the cutest pair." she kissed the babies head and his cheek, getting up to tuck Alex in. She walked into the bedroom and found him waiting there looking at a book next to his bed on the night stand.
"I'm glad you're home Alex." she smiled and laid him back, pulling the covers up around him and kissing his forehead.
"Can I tell Anna good night?" he asked and Rick walked in, and laid the baby next to him. Alex patted her head and kissed her cheek.
"I thought you said you didn't want to have a baby girl." Rick playfully poked at his son.
Alex laughed and hugged her. "Ya, but I didn't think that she'd be this fun. I can't wait until she gets to go on a dig with us! That'll be really fun. We should probably start teaching her Egyptian now, since we
have the black book in the attic, then it wouldn't be a problem if anyone got injured." he made Rick and Evelyn laugh as he talked to her in the ancient language.
"I think she's a little young Alex." Evie grinned and took Anna and turned out the light. "Night son." she winked and they left the room.
"You have cute kids Evie." Rick smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist.
"Ya, well, with your help they're awfully cute." She kissed him and the coupled went and laid the baby down in the bassinet and got ready for bed.
The end