A/N: Hey, this is my first mummy fan-fic, so, be nice, I know this is
overdone, but mine is based on Jessica Simpson's "I Wanna Love You
Forever". It's not done yet, but I wanted to see if it was any good, so
enjoy! Oh, please r/r. Thanks!
Disclaimer: I own nothing ::tear:: not even Rick ::another tear::. Okay, so I own nothing and you all know that, so let's get on with the story.
Rick O'Connell gazed down upon the woman asleep in his arms and smiled at the thought that he could have ever thought her a broad. But those thoughts vanished when he kissed her from behind the bars at Cairo Prison. God, how he loved her. Evelyn Carnahan's arm was wrapped around his waist and her head was resting just above his heart. He held onto her with his left arm, his grasp firm on her upper arm. He gently massaged her with his thumb and in response she stirred slightly, her face illuminated in the moonlight. She looked more angelic than normal. Her eyes fluttered open to look up at him, still drowsy from her little nap.
"Hey, beautiful," he whispered, leaning down so that his lips were only centimeters away from her face. She smiled and shifted her position to make her tired backside more comfortable after sitting all day.
She turned her head and gave him a brief kiss on the lips before saying, "I hope that we are going to make camp soon, I don't think I can stand sitting down for much longer." She kissed him once more and with her lips still touching his, she murmured, "But you being here makes it seem like heaven."
"Oh, please," was Jonathan's response. "You two make me feel like losing my lunch. Oh, and guess what! I didn't eat any lunch!"
Never letting her eyes leave Rick, Evelyn harshly said, "Oh, shove it, Jonathan."
With that, Rick pulled his camel to a halt and said, "This spot looks as good as any."
Jonathan rolled his eyes and complained, "If you haven't noticed, WE ARE IN THE DESERT: ITS ALL SAND!!!"
"Jonathan," Evelyn scolded, "Can you do anything but complain?"
"I believe 'no' would be the correct response," Rick said as he hoisted himself off of the camel. He lifted Evelyn up off the camel and gently set her down on the sand, steadying her as her stiff legs regained function.
Jonathan had already begun to set up their single, extremely small tent that was packed in his camel's saddle-bag, when Rick and Evelyn finally got out of lip-lock. They began to unload their camel's saddle-bag to find a big surprise. "Um . . . Jonathan?"
***
You set my soul at ease
Chased darkness out of view
Left your desperate spell on me
Say you feel it too I know you do
I've got so much more to give
This can't die, I yearn to live
Pour yourself all over me
And I'll cherish every drop here on my knees
***
Rick had taken first watch, and was glad for it, because if he closed his eyes now, he wouldn't be able to open them till morning. Jonathan was asleep in the tent, while Evelyn was curled up beside him, with her head on his lap, fast asleep. Despite her little nap, she was still tired, and had reason to be. She looked so beautiful there, and he needed to occupy himself with something to keep his feelings for her from taking over. So, he decided to search through the bag of treasure found in the camel's saddle-bag. He found many a trinket made of gold and silver in the bag, but then he came upon an item that really caught his eye. It was a single gold ring with small emeralds and rubies circling it, and a rather large diamond as the focus. He turned the small object over and over in his fingers. Evelyn's left hand was resting gently on his knee, and he slid the ring on her ring finger. A perfect fit. He suddenly realized the exact finger he put it on and thought about making that the permanent location for the piece of jewelry. She moaned and moved a little in her sleep. He quickly removed the ring from her finger and put it in his shirt pocket. He continued to rummage through the bag of treasure until another item caught his eye - a small gold box, about one inch each dimension, inlayed with tiny rubies and emeralds. He opened the box, and emptied the sand out of it to reveal a small "o" shaped hook. He wondered at the beauty of the box, and how much Evelyn would love it. The black ribbon in her hair had loosened, and he pulled it free, only to thread it through the hook in the box. He removed the ring from his pocket and threaded it onto the ribbon, and tied it in a bow gently, the entire time deciding word for word how he was going to propose to her when the time came. She shifted yet again, and decided to hide his discovery before she awoke, and to re- pack the rest of the treasure before Jonathon did the same. He looked at his watch and decided that his turn to watch was by far over and lifted Evelyn into his arms, mindful not to wake her, and headed to the tent to switch jobs with Jonathan.
***
I wanna love you forever
And this is all I'm asking of you
10,000 lifetimes together
Is that so much for you to do
Cuz from the moment that I saw your face
and felt the fire of your sweet embrace
I swear I knew
I wanna love you forever
***
"No! Get away from me! Get away! No!" Evelyn screamed in her sleep while thrashing wildly about. Rick was awoken by her cries and attempted to hold her steady until the nightmare had passed.
'Where is Jonathan?' he thought to himself. 'Oh, probably just fell asleep while on duty.' And surely enough he had. When she continued to struggle, against his better judgment, Rick shook her slightly, and said in a soothing voice, "It's okay. It's okay. Please, Evelyn, wake up. Wake up."
After about two minutes, her eyes fluttered open, filled with shear terror. Her entire body was covered in sweat, and when she saw Rick, she wrapped her arms around his neck, with tears in her eyes. "He came back. He came back, Rick. He tried to kill me again, and you came to save me, but he killed you too. Oh, Rick, it was horrible."
"Sh," he soothed. "It wasn't real. Imhotep won't hurt you again, I won't let him."
Her cries stopped and she pulled back to look at him. "You won't?" He shook his head. "But why?"
He wasn't sure how to answer this question. Tell her the truth, and risk getting rejected and mocked. Or tell the truth to a shade, and risk hurting her as well as himself. He pondered his options for a moment, and Evelyn gave him a worried look.
"Rick? Are you well?" she asked shaking him by the shoulders. He finally pulled himself out of his thoughts, hoping that the distraction would cause her to forget about her simple question. "Yes, quite well."
"So, why wouldn't you let him hurt me again?"
'Dammit,' he cursed silently to himself. "Well . . . I wouldn't . . . um . . . because . . . if he hurt you, then . . . I mean . . . what I'm trying to say is . . . I've grown quite 'fond' of you." He was secretly hoping that she would get at his meaning.
"Fond?" she repeated, confused. Then her eyes widened and she said, "Are you trying to say that you have feelings for me?"
He let out the breath he had been holding and started, "Evelyn . . ."
"Just a moment, Rick, but how did we get in here?" she asked, finally realizing that they weren't outside anymore, but instead inside the tent.
"Oh, when it was Jonathan's turn to keep watch we traded places, and I thought you might be getting a little cold out there with the wind and everything. So, I brought you in here with me. I hope you don't mind . . ."
"'Don't mind', on the contrary I'm glad you brought me with you. Jonathan wouldn't have been able to have heard me screaming, and nobody would have woke me up from that horrid nightmare," and as she recalled the nightmare, fresh tears clouded her vision. She decided to change the subject, and started, "Jonathan could sleep through a tornado if given the chance." They both laughed at the truthfulness of the statement.
"So do you?" Evelyn said as she lost herself in his eyes. 'Oh, please say yes,' she thought. 'Please say you feel it too.'
Rick closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said a determined, "Yes."
"Yes?" she said her eyes wide with disbelief. "In what way?"
"What on Earth do you mean?" Rick said, a little confused as to her intentions.
"What kind of feelings do you have for me?" she explained. "Do you love me?"
"You could say that."
"How?" she said in desperation. "As a friend? A sister? A . . . lover?"
Rick sighed. "Well, not the second. The first for sure. And . . ."
"The third?" she asked. The third was the one she was really interested in.
"As for the third," he continued, "I do, if you do."
She smiled and said, "The first and the third, it is then. But not the second."
Evelyn hugged him tightly, and after a few moments pulled away to look at him. Rick smiled and said, "So now that's settled, let's go wake up your brother so we can be on our way."
***
My mind fails to understand
What my heart tells me to do
And I'd give up all I have just to be with you
And that would do
I've always been taught to win
And I never thought I'd fail
Be at the mercy of a man,
I've never been
Now I only want to be right where you are
***
Again, Evelyn had fallen asleep in Rick's arms through their travels. And now, as the sun set, Rick brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. "That tickles!" said a sleepy Evelyn.
"Awake already?" he said smiling. The sun was just beginning to set, and it was cooling off. She shivered slightly and he pulled her close.
"So, O'Connell, are we going to set up camp soon, or what?" asked Jonathan as he moved his camel to walk beside Rick and Evelyn's. Evelyn sighed and shifted herself, so that her hand was a little lower than waist level on her boyfriend's back, her face was buried in his shirt and her other hand was resting on his hip. Jonathan realized the provocative position that his sister was in, and exclaimed, "Evy! What do you think you're doing? Well, at least you stopped that whole kissing thing!"
Evelyn realized that her hands were in a bit interesting position, and moved them to around Rick's neck and shot over her shoulder, "Who says?" She gave Rick a sweet, gentle kiss. After breaking the kiss, Rick could not help but give the tip of her nose a quick peck before remembering Jonathan's inquiry.
"I suppose now would be a good time to set up camp," said Rick pulling his camel to a halt. He hoisted himself off of the camel as the previous night, and took first watch again. Of course, Evelyn chose to sleep on his lap again, and Jonathan could be heard snoring away in the tent. Rick smiled as Evelyn shifted in her sleep, but his grin turned into a look of concern when she began to throw herself from side to side, her breaths becoming short and ragged. "Evelyn! Evelyn! Wake up!"
It didn't take long to wake her up, and when she did, her eyes were again full of fear. When she recognized Rick, she murmured, "Rick," and sat up to bury her face in his chest. She sobbed, "My parents . . . and you . . . he killed you . . . and Jonathan." She looked up at him and whispered, "Oh, Rick, it was horrid."
"Sh," he said, stroking her back lightly with his hand. "I'm right here, and you can hear Jonathan, can't you? We're still here and I'll never leave you."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Rick?" she asked after a while.
"Yes?" he smiled down on her.
"W-will y-y-you," she stammered, then took a deep breath and continued, "Will you hold me, while I sleep? It might help keep the nightmares away." She added the last part to try to convince him, but he didn't need it, because he was already shifting to lie beside her.
"Sure," he said in more of a grunt, and pulled her back against his chest, so she was facing away from him.
She let out a sigh of contentment as he kissed her ear. They lay like that for a long while, until Evelyn shivered. Rick stood up, seeing the silent protests she was making with her eyes. He smiled and found a blanket in one of the camel's saddle-bags. He draped the blanket over her, and then slid beneath it to move to his previous position. Evelyn smiled and snuggled closer as Rick put one arm beneath her head for her to use as a pillow, and wrapped the other tightly around her.
After a few moments, Rick kissed her behind the ear. She giggled and said, "You know, Rick, I never thought you the romantic type."
Rick smiled, and whispered huskily into her ear, "I'm only romantic when it comes to you."
"Rick?"
"Yes, Evelyn?"
"Hey, if I have to call you 'Rick' then you have to call me 'Evie'."
"Okay, then, yes, Evie?"
"I love you," she whispered as she drifted off to sleep.
"I love you too," he said to her for the first time or to any woman at all. After assuring himself that she was sleeping soundly, he ignored his duty as watchman, and joined his love in sweet slumber.
***
I wanna love you forever
And this is all I'm asking of you
10,000 lifetimes together
Is that so much for you to do
Cuz from the moment that I saw your face
and felt the fire of your sweet embrace
I swear I knew
I wanna love you forever
***
The next night, when they made camp, Rick of course took first watch, and Jonathan slept in the tent. "Rick, I can't sleep," Evie moaned from Rick's lap.
"Why not?" Rick asked in concern. "Another nightmare?"
"No, I'm just not tired."
"Well, you shouldn't be; you've been asleep for the past two days!" Rick laughed.
"Well, what should we do, then?"
"I dunno."
"Well, I want to know more about you, so, what's your birthday?"
"August fourteenth," Rick answered. "Yours?"
"The second of May," replied Evelyn. "Favorite color?"
"Green. You?"
"Blue."
And so they talked all night about each other, not even bothering to wake Jonathan to take over the job of look-out.
***
In my life I've learned that heaven never waits Let's take this now before it's gone like yesterday Cuz when I'm with you there's nowhere else That I would ever wanna be no I'm breathing for the next second I can feel you Loving me.
***
The three adventurers returned to Cairo three days later, and proceeded to donate all the treasure they found, except a gold stick, which Jonathan insisted he keep, and of course Rick's treasures that he had hidden. Now, two weeks later, Rick and Evie continued to see each other. Rick didn't even mind that their first meeting was to help Evie clean up her little "mess" the library. Today, Rick was going to give Evie a very special gift . . .
Evelyn was standing, looking through one of the bookshelves in her small office (being promoted from librarian to anthropologist did have its benefits). Rick entered her office without knocking, and he hadn't even disturbed her. He tiptoed up behind her, slipping his arms around her waist and pulling her back against him. At first, Evelyn was frightened by the intruder, but when she was pulled back against a familiar, muscular chest, she smiled and murmured, "I love you."
"I love you too," Rick whispered in her ear, and continued to kiss the back and side of her neck. She placed her hands over his, which were now resting on her stomach. He continued, "In fact, I love you so much, I have a present for you."
He continued to kiss her neck, and Evie tilted her neck to savor the sensation of his lips on her bare flesh. She smiled and said, "A present, hmm?"
"Ya, an artifact I found. Very interesting," he said trying to act like a distinguished archaeologist, unwillingly pulling one hand off her stomach to retrieve the gold box from his pocket. He whisked it in front of her, balancing it on the palm of his hand, right in front of her nose. She released his hands to take the trinket with her fingertips carefully, and examining it closely. She rolled it around in her hands, before finally decided to open the jewel encrusted box . . .
"Oh, God," she whispered when the most beautiful ring she had ever seen was revealed to her. Rick turned her around so she was facing him, and gently brought her left hand to his lips. He took the box from her grasp, and pulled out the ring. He set the box down on Evelyn's desk, and slid the ring onto her ring finger.
"I love you more than anything, Miss Evelyn Carnahan," Rick said slowly, never letting his eyes leave the ring on her finger. "Will you make me the happiest man in the world," he pulled her into his arms, "and be my wife?" He finally met her gaze, and could not discern her expression behind her angelic beauty.
Tears were in her eyes as she whispered, "Oh, Richard . . ."
A/N: A slight cliffhanger (although we all know that she eventually must say 'yes' but, what the hey?).
Disclaimer: I own nothing ::tear:: not even Rick ::another tear::. Okay, so I own nothing and you all know that, so let's get on with the story.
Rick O'Connell gazed down upon the woman asleep in his arms and smiled at the thought that he could have ever thought her a broad. But those thoughts vanished when he kissed her from behind the bars at Cairo Prison. God, how he loved her. Evelyn Carnahan's arm was wrapped around his waist and her head was resting just above his heart. He held onto her with his left arm, his grasp firm on her upper arm. He gently massaged her with his thumb and in response she stirred slightly, her face illuminated in the moonlight. She looked more angelic than normal. Her eyes fluttered open to look up at him, still drowsy from her little nap.
"Hey, beautiful," he whispered, leaning down so that his lips were only centimeters away from her face. She smiled and shifted her position to make her tired backside more comfortable after sitting all day.
She turned her head and gave him a brief kiss on the lips before saying, "I hope that we are going to make camp soon, I don't think I can stand sitting down for much longer." She kissed him once more and with her lips still touching his, she murmured, "But you being here makes it seem like heaven."
"Oh, please," was Jonathan's response. "You two make me feel like losing my lunch. Oh, and guess what! I didn't eat any lunch!"
Never letting her eyes leave Rick, Evelyn harshly said, "Oh, shove it, Jonathan."
With that, Rick pulled his camel to a halt and said, "This spot looks as good as any."
Jonathan rolled his eyes and complained, "If you haven't noticed, WE ARE IN THE DESERT: ITS ALL SAND!!!"
"Jonathan," Evelyn scolded, "Can you do anything but complain?"
"I believe 'no' would be the correct response," Rick said as he hoisted himself off of the camel. He lifted Evelyn up off the camel and gently set her down on the sand, steadying her as her stiff legs regained function.
Jonathan had already begun to set up their single, extremely small tent that was packed in his camel's saddle-bag, when Rick and Evelyn finally got out of lip-lock. They began to unload their camel's saddle-bag to find a big surprise. "Um . . . Jonathan?"
***
You set my soul at ease
Chased darkness out of view
Left your desperate spell on me
Say you feel it too I know you do
I've got so much more to give
This can't die, I yearn to live
Pour yourself all over me
And I'll cherish every drop here on my knees
***
Rick had taken first watch, and was glad for it, because if he closed his eyes now, he wouldn't be able to open them till morning. Jonathan was asleep in the tent, while Evelyn was curled up beside him, with her head on his lap, fast asleep. Despite her little nap, she was still tired, and had reason to be. She looked so beautiful there, and he needed to occupy himself with something to keep his feelings for her from taking over. So, he decided to search through the bag of treasure found in the camel's saddle-bag. He found many a trinket made of gold and silver in the bag, but then he came upon an item that really caught his eye. It was a single gold ring with small emeralds and rubies circling it, and a rather large diamond as the focus. He turned the small object over and over in his fingers. Evelyn's left hand was resting gently on his knee, and he slid the ring on her ring finger. A perfect fit. He suddenly realized the exact finger he put it on and thought about making that the permanent location for the piece of jewelry. She moaned and moved a little in her sleep. He quickly removed the ring from her finger and put it in his shirt pocket. He continued to rummage through the bag of treasure until another item caught his eye - a small gold box, about one inch each dimension, inlayed with tiny rubies and emeralds. He opened the box, and emptied the sand out of it to reveal a small "o" shaped hook. He wondered at the beauty of the box, and how much Evelyn would love it. The black ribbon in her hair had loosened, and he pulled it free, only to thread it through the hook in the box. He removed the ring from his pocket and threaded it onto the ribbon, and tied it in a bow gently, the entire time deciding word for word how he was going to propose to her when the time came. She shifted yet again, and decided to hide his discovery before she awoke, and to re- pack the rest of the treasure before Jonathon did the same. He looked at his watch and decided that his turn to watch was by far over and lifted Evelyn into his arms, mindful not to wake her, and headed to the tent to switch jobs with Jonathan.
***
I wanna love you forever
And this is all I'm asking of you
10,000 lifetimes together
Is that so much for you to do
Cuz from the moment that I saw your face
and felt the fire of your sweet embrace
I swear I knew
I wanna love you forever
***
"No! Get away from me! Get away! No!" Evelyn screamed in her sleep while thrashing wildly about. Rick was awoken by her cries and attempted to hold her steady until the nightmare had passed.
'Where is Jonathan?' he thought to himself. 'Oh, probably just fell asleep while on duty.' And surely enough he had. When she continued to struggle, against his better judgment, Rick shook her slightly, and said in a soothing voice, "It's okay. It's okay. Please, Evelyn, wake up. Wake up."
After about two minutes, her eyes fluttered open, filled with shear terror. Her entire body was covered in sweat, and when she saw Rick, she wrapped her arms around his neck, with tears in her eyes. "He came back. He came back, Rick. He tried to kill me again, and you came to save me, but he killed you too. Oh, Rick, it was horrible."
"Sh," he soothed. "It wasn't real. Imhotep won't hurt you again, I won't let him."
Her cries stopped and she pulled back to look at him. "You won't?" He shook his head. "But why?"
He wasn't sure how to answer this question. Tell her the truth, and risk getting rejected and mocked. Or tell the truth to a shade, and risk hurting her as well as himself. He pondered his options for a moment, and Evelyn gave him a worried look.
"Rick? Are you well?" she asked shaking him by the shoulders. He finally pulled himself out of his thoughts, hoping that the distraction would cause her to forget about her simple question. "Yes, quite well."
"So, why wouldn't you let him hurt me again?"
'Dammit,' he cursed silently to himself. "Well . . . I wouldn't . . . um . . . because . . . if he hurt you, then . . . I mean . . . what I'm trying to say is . . . I've grown quite 'fond' of you." He was secretly hoping that she would get at his meaning.
"Fond?" she repeated, confused. Then her eyes widened and she said, "Are you trying to say that you have feelings for me?"
He let out the breath he had been holding and started, "Evelyn . . ."
"Just a moment, Rick, but how did we get in here?" she asked, finally realizing that they weren't outside anymore, but instead inside the tent.
"Oh, when it was Jonathan's turn to keep watch we traded places, and I thought you might be getting a little cold out there with the wind and everything. So, I brought you in here with me. I hope you don't mind . . ."
"'Don't mind', on the contrary I'm glad you brought me with you. Jonathan wouldn't have been able to have heard me screaming, and nobody would have woke me up from that horrid nightmare," and as she recalled the nightmare, fresh tears clouded her vision. She decided to change the subject, and started, "Jonathan could sleep through a tornado if given the chance." They both laughed at the truthfulness of the statement.
"So do you?" Evelyn said as she lost herself in his eyes. 'Oh, please say yes,' she thought. 'Please say you feel it too.'
Rick closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said a determined, "Yes."
"Yes?" she said her eyes wide with disbelief. "In what way?"
"What on Earth do you mean?" Rick said, a little confused as to her intentions.
"What kind of feelings do you have for me?" she explained. "Do you love me?"
"You could say that."
"How?" she said in desperation. "As a friend? A sister? A . . . lover?"
Rick sighed. "Well, not the second. The first for sure. And . . ."
"The third?" she asked. The third was the one she was really interested in.
"As for the third," he continued, "I do, if you do."
She smiled and said, "The first and the third, it is then. But not the second."
Evelyn hugged him tightly, and after a few moments pulled away to look at him. Rick smiled and said, "So now that's settled, let's go wake up your brother so we can be on our way."
***
My mind fails to understand
What my heart tells me to do
And I'd give up all I have just to be with you
And that would do
I've always been taught to win
And I never thought I'd fail
Be at the mercy of a man,
I've never been
Now I only want to be right where you are
***
Again, Evelyn had fallen asleep in Rick's arms through their travels. And now, as the sun set, Rick brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. "That tickles!" said a sleepy Evelyn.
"Awake already?" he said smiling. The sun was just beginning to set, and it was cooling off. She shivered slightly and he pulled her close.
"So, O'Connell, are we going to set up camp soon, or what?" asked Jonathan as he moved his camel to walk beside Rick and Evelyn's. Evelyn sighed and shifted herself, so that her hand was a little lower than waist level on her boyfriend's back, her face was buried in his shirt and her other hand was resting on his hip. Jonathan realized the provocative position that his sister was in, and exclaimed, "Evy! What do you think you're doing? Well, at least you stopped that whole kissing thing!"
Evelyn realized that her hands were in a bit interesting position, and moved them to around Rick's neck and shot over her shoulder, "Who says?" She gave Rick a sweet, gentle kiss. After breaking the kiss, Rick could not help but give the tip of her nose a quick peck before remembering Jonathan's inquiry.
"I suppose now would be a good time to set up camp," said Rick pulling his camel to a halt. He hoisted himself off of the camel as the previous night, and took first watch again. Of course, Evelyn chose to sleep on his lap again, and Jonathan could be heard snoring away in the tent. Rick smiled as Evelyn shifted in her sleep, but his grin turned into a look of concern when she began to throw herself from side to side, her breaths becoming short and ragged. "Evelyn! Evelyn! Wake up!"
It didn't take long to wake her up, and when she did, her eyes were again full of fear. When she recognized Rick, she murmured, "Rick," and sat up to bury her face in his chest. She sobbed, "My parents . . . and you . . . he killed you . . . and Jonathan." She looked up at him and whispered, "Oh, Rick, it was horrid."
"Sh," he said, stroking her back lightly with his hand. "I'm right here, and you can hear Jonathan, can't you? We're still here and I'll never leave you."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Rick?" she asked after a while.
"Yes?" he smiled down on her.
"W-will y-y-you," she stammered, then took a deep breath and continued, "Will you hold me, while I sleep? It might help keep the nightmares away." She added the last part to try to convince him, but he didn't need it, because he was already shifting to lie beside her.
"Sure," he said in more of a grunt, and pulled her back against his chest, so she was facing away from him.
She let out a sigh of contentment as he kissed her ear. They lay like that for a long while, until Evelyn shivered. Rick stood up, seeing the silent protests she was making with her eyes. He smiled and found a blanket in one of the camel's saddle-bags. He draped the blanket over her, and then slid beneath it to move to his previous position. Evelyn smiled and snuggled closer as Rick put one arm beneath her head for her to use as a pillow, and wrapped the other tightly around her.
After a few moments, Rick kissed her behind the ear. She giggled and said, "You know, Rick, I never thought you the romantic type."
Rick smiled, and whispered huskily into her ear, "I'm only romantic when it comes to you."
"Rick?"
"Yes, Evelyn?"
"Hey, if I have to call you 'Rick' then you have to call me 'Evie'."
"Okay, then, yes, Evie?"
"I love you," she whispered as she drifted off to sleep.
"I love you too," he said to her for the first time or to any woman at all. After assuring himself that she was sleeping soundly, he ignored his duty as watchman, and joined his love in sweet slumber.
***
I wanna love you forever
And this is all I'm asking of you
10,000 lifetimes together
Is that so much for you to do
Cuz from the moment that I saw your face
and felt the fire of your sweet embrace
I swear I knew
I wanna love you forever
***
The next night, when they made camp, Rick of course took first watch, and Jonathan slept in the tent. "Rick, I can't sleep," Evie moaned from Rick's lap.
"Why not?" Rick asked in concern. "Another nightmare?"
"No, I'm just not tired."
"Well, you shouldn't be; you've been asleep for the past two days!" Rick laughed.
"Well, what should we do, then?"
"I dunno."
"Well, I want to know more about you, so, what's your birthday?"
"August fourteenth," Rick answered. "Yours?"
"The second of May," replied Evelyn. "Favorite color?"
"Green. You?"
"Blue."
And so they talked all night about each other, not even bothering to wake Jonathan to take over the job of look-out.
***
In my life I've learned that heaven never waits Let's take this now before it's gone like yesterday Cuz when I'm with you there's nowhere else That I would ever wanna be no I'm breathing for the next second I can feel you Loving me.
***
The three adventurers returned to Cairo three days later, and proceeded to donate all the treasure they found, except a gold stick, which Jonathan insisted he keep, and of course Rick's treasures that he had hidden. Now, two weeks later, Rick and Evie continued to see each other. Rick didn't even mind that their first meeting was to help Evie clean up her little "mess" the library. Today, Rick was going to give Evie a very special gift . . .
Evelyn was standing, looking through one of the bookshelves in her small office (being promoted from librarian to anthropologist did have its benefits). Rick entered her office without knocking, and he hadn't even disturbed her. He tiptoed up behind her, slipping his arms around her waist and pulling her back against him. At first, Evelyn was frightened by the intruder, but when she was pulled back against a familiar, muscular chest, she smiled and murmured, "I love you."
"I love you too," Rick whispered in her ear, and continued to kiss the back and side of her neck. She placed her hands over his, which were now resting on her stomach. He continued, "In fact, I love you so much, I have a present for you."
He continued to kiss her neck, and Evie tilted her neck to savor the sensation of his lips on her bare flesh. She smiled and said, "A present, hmm?"
"Ya, an artifact I found. Very interesting," he said trying to act like a distinguished archaeologist, unwillingly pulling one hand off her stomach to retrieve the gold box from his pocket. He whisked it in front of her, balancing it on the palm of his hand, right in front of her nose. She released his hands to take the trinket with her fingertips carefully, and examining it closely. She rolled it around in her hands, before finally decided to open the jewel encrusted box . . .
"Oh, God," she whispered when the most beautiful ring she had ever seen was revealed to her. Rick turned her around so she was facing him, and gently brought her left hand to his lips. He took the box from her grasp, and pulled out the ring. He set the box down on Evelyn's desk, and slid the ring onto her ring finger.
"I love you more than anything, Miss Evelyn Carnahan," Rick said slowly, never letting his eyes leave the ring on her finger. "Will you make me the happiest man in the world," he pulled her into his arms, "and be my wife?" He finally met her gaze, and could not discern her expression behind her angelic beauty.
Tears were in her eyes as she whispered, "Oh, Richard . . ."
A/N: A slight cliffhanger (although we all know that she eventually must say 'yes' but, what the hey?).