First of all, A HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who reviewed!!!

Some quick notes...I am aware of the various spellings of Evy/Evie, and I had been spelling it "Evie" when I thought I saw on the back of the TMR soundtrack spelled "Evy." I don't own that, but you're right Shelby, it is spelled "Evie" on the DVD. But I've grown to like "Evy," so oh well. As for all the other questions...you'll all just have to read on to find the answers, won't you?:)

CHAPTER 4

Dreaming

"Miss Carnahan. Taking a little break from work, I see?"

Evelyn, though reddening, regained her composure quickly and retorted, "There is such a thing as a lunch hour, Dr. Miller."

"Please," he said through his plastered-on smile. "Call me Daniel." She most certainly would not! "And who is this charming young fellow, then, hmm?"

From Rick's stance Evelyn sensed that he didn't take kindly to Dr. Miller's comments, either. "This is Rick O'Connell, Rick, Dr. Daniel Miller. Dr. Miller is our new curator."

Rick didn't say anything, but Dr. Miller was more than willing to jump into the fray. "Do you work here, then, Mr. O'Donnell?"

"No."

Dr. Miller smirked. "Well, usually we keep these back rooms closed to the public, but if you're a friend of Evelyn's..."

"I think she'd prefer it if you called her Miss Carnahan, Doctor Miller," said Rick in an equally patronizing tone. How dare he speak for me, Evelyn thought, but then thought it was nice that he was so protective.

"Um, Dr. Miller, I do have a lot of work to be getting along with, so-"

"Ah, yes, of course. I shall leave you to your 'lunch hour', then. Farewell, Mr.-what was it?"

"O'Connell."

"Of course. Mr. O'Connell, Evelyn, I bid you adieu."

With that he turned on his heel and exited the room. "Can you believe the nerve of that man?" Evelyn asked in an infuriated whisper. "I can't believe he came so highly recommended. At gunpoint, no doubt. I can't believe he thinks he can just waltz in here and act like-"

"I don't like the way he looks at you."

Evelyn continued in her tirade. "That's what you notice? He insults you and treats you like-like-well, like something horrible, and all you can say is you don't like the way he looks at me? He acts like he's God's gift to Egyptology and..." She trailed off. "I'm sorry. I guess that's rather sweet."

"You think he's sweet?"

"No, silly!" She punched him on the arm. "You're sweet to think of me."

Rick smiled, but his mind was still on other things. "You be careful around him, okay?"

"Of course."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

He leaned in but once again they were interrupted by the high pitch of Dr. Miller's voice in the hallway. "Evelyn! Might I have a word with you?"

Rick sighed. "Dinner?"

"That would be lovely."

With that Rick left and Evy sighed heavily and went to answer Dr. Miller's call. She spent the rest of the afternoon wondering if she could resurrect Imhotep only long enough to curse her new boss with boils and sores, and maybe a plague of locusts.

Evelyn slipped out of work early under the auspice of a headache and headed toward the boutiques so she could get a nice dress to wear that night. She wondered where they would go for dinner. Maybe he wasn't even thinking about a fancy restaurant, maybe her dress would be too extravagant, maybe he would never show up at all! Evelyn shooed these thoughts out of her mind and concentrated on shopping, something she never particularly enjoyed, but somehow today it seemed less of a hassle.

As it was, she found three. After fifteen minutes of trying to decide between them, she gave up and bought them all. The one she would wear tonight was a soft sage green, with a delicate lace shawl that wrapped around her shoulders and tied around the neck. Evy fancied that it complemented her eyes somewhat.

It happened that just down the street Rick was on a mission of a similar nature. He couldn't wear Jonathan's clothes for the rest of his life, and his khakis were looking somewhat...worn. He had a feeling bloodstains didn't exactly spell romance. He'd dragged the sober but miserable Jonathan to the doctor's office to examine the shoulder (only grudgingly allowing his own wounds to be treated as well), then made Jonathan accompany him to the store keep him out of trouble. Rick wondered if Jonathan had taken a blow to the head, too. He wouldn't stop about the damn gold.

"I'm telling you, O'Connell, I had it. A bloody fortune, enough to last a lifetime."

"Yeah, well with the way you go through liquor it wouldn't have lasted through tomorrow. This blue or this blue?"

"The light one matches your eyes. I wasn't hallucinating, O'Connell. I'm sure I didn't start drinking until after I found the gold."

"Uh-huh, after you 'found' the gold. Tell me, where did you get this gold exactly?"

Jonathan sulked. "I don't know, but it was there, I swear on the head of my sister!"

"Hey!"

"Sorry."

"Do you really like these buttons better?"

"Yes, now will you stop about the bloody buttons! You should be worried about who stole my gold!"

"Well, maybe if you wouldn't drink so much you'd have remembered where you got the gold in the first place."

Jonathan scoffed. "You're one to talk, O'Connell! If Evy knew how smashed you were in the casaba she'd-"

Rick shot him a murderous glance and held up two shirts. "Now pay attention. Which one? White or off-white?"

Evy tapped her feet nervously as she waited. Maybe she should've put her hair up. Maybe she should have worn the blue dress. Maybe he was never going to come! Stop it, Evelyn! she told herself. You've got to trust him or this relationship will never work.

Relationship! The word shocked her out of her worrying. A month ago the farthest thing from her mind had been romance, and now all she could think about was Rick! A man she'd known for less than two weeks! She knew nothing about him! Nothing, except that he loved her. That he'd die to protect her. That he respected her, that he looked straight into her eyes when he spoke to her and truly cared about what she had to say. That his eyes twinkled when he smiled, like two stars sharing some wonderful secret with her, and only her.

She didn't know how many times he knocked before she snapped back into reality. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. With another quick glance in the mirror she opened the door and came face to face with the man of her nightmares.

***

Oh, the suspense...Want more? Let me know... [cackles evilly] If you so request it I will try to update every few days...PLEASE keep reviewing:) My muse and I very much appreciate it:)