Thank you everyone for the wonderful reviews! For everyone hoping for more Ardeth/Frank interaction, more's coming, don't worry! :)

Frank was out like a light for most of the day. His fever finally started to come down in the early afternoon, to everyone's relief.

Ardeth convinced Frank's team to have some food and rest, knowing that they would be of no use to Frank—and himself—in such a state; as they had been awake all night.

They had all been awake, including Ardeth and Safti. Alex O'Connell's age finally caught up with him, and around dawn he went to sleep at Ardeth's urging.

Ardeth sighed, as he brushed his horse. He thought about what Safti had said to him, and he had to agree. He had escaped more horrors in his life then anyone he ever knew. Safti had had his fair share, and Ardeth had to remind himself that they were indeed mortal. He had never thought himself to be immortal; he had seen enough death to know that everyone's days were numbered. He had seen many of his warriors fall in battle, where an hour earlier they had been full of life. When Imhotep had been raised, the Med-jai had lost a lot of their people, especially the second time. He sighed, trying not to blame himself for all the deaths over the years.

Suddenly a hand clamped down on his shoulder, and despite himself he jumped and dropped the brush.

"Ardeth?" It was Safti. "Did you not hear me calling you?"

Ardeth tried to get his breath back, after the unexpected arrival of his friend. He now knew how Jonathan had felt when he had done the same thing to him after their escape from the temple following Inhotep's first defeat.

He refused to accept that he was becoming jumpy, over the situation.

Safti bent down and retrieved the brush, handing it back to him.

"I am needed?" Ardeth asked, remembering that Safti had said that he'd been calling him.

Safti shook his head. "I do not think that you should be alone," he said. "We do not know how you…met your end…so I shall stay with you at all times."

"You need not worry," Ardeth said, as he resumed combing his horse. "I can defend myself."

"Yes, but this time, it apparently wasn't enough," Safti reminded him.

Ardeth had nothing to say to that. He was spared the awkwardness of his silence when two of Frank's team came walking over.

"Good morning," Ardeth said to them.

"Mornin'," said Jake. "Cody and I were wondering what we could do, if anything."

Ardeth frowned. "Such as?"

Jake sighed. "We have an investigation to conduct. We need to find out who is supposed to kill you and when."

"The problem is," said Cody. "We don't know which of your people knows English."

Ardeth sighed. He did not want the tribe to know that the strangers were from the future. Any questions they asked would alarm the people.

"Not only that," Jake said. "But how do we know it wasn't an inside job?"

Ardeth frowned. "Inside job?"

"Yeah, one of your tribe."

Safti looked at Ardeth, shocked.

"Is there anyone here who would like to see you dead?" Jake asked, bluntly.

Ardeth turned back to his horse, petting it. He shook his head. "I do not know; there have been conflicts in the past of course, with tribe members, but I can not think of anyone who would consider ending my life."

No one said anything for a minute, until Jake asked, "Is there anyone we can use for a translator?"

Safti said to Ardeth, "Suhaylah would not mind."

Ardeth nodded. "I do not want anyone to suspect that you are not from our time."

Jake and Cody nodded. "We know. We'll just say we were in Cairo or something and we heard about a possible threat," Jake told him.

Ardeth nodded. "That will suffice."

"What do I tell Suhaylah, Ardeth?" Safti asked.

Ardeth thought for a minute. "You may tell her the truth, but her only," he told Safti, knowing he could trust her. Besides, if anything did happen to Ardeth, it might be good for someone else to know the situation. "Tell her she can not tell anyone else."

"Who is Suhaylah?" Cody asked Safti.

"My wife," he answered. "Come, I will bring you to her." As he started to walk he stopped and looked at Ardeth, remembering he'd planned to stay with him at all times.

Ardeth saw, and laughed. Putting the brush down on the sand, he followed.

********************

"I think he's waking up!"

Frank heard the voice, one that he recognized as being someone he knew. He waited for her name to pop into his head, but it didn't.

"Frank?"

A different voice, also female.

"Give him time," said yet another voice of the feminine species.

"He's had two days!" The first voice said again. "Frank, open your eyes!"

Frank opened them slowly, wishing he didn't have to. He was rewarded with smiles belonging to the three previously disembodied voices.

"Frank!" said Alex. "How do you feel?"

Frank sighed. "Like I was run over by a camel." A camel? He frowned, wondering where in the world that had come from.

Shamara was pleased to see that her patient was coherent. She reached for the pitcher beside her, and filled a cup. "Drink," she said.

Frank tried to push himself up onto his elbows, but abandoned that idea when his left shoulder and side both protested vehemently. He bit back a groan at the pain and weakness engulfing his body.

Alex and Monica helped him drink the water, and lie him back down. It took a minute for Frank to realize he wasn't in the hospital.

He looked around, in shock. "Where are we?"

Monica glanced at Alex, as if not sure what to say. She remembered Ardeth telling them not to tell anyone they were from the future, and that included Shamara.

Alex and Monica were relieved when Shamara suddenly stood. "I shall tell Ardeth he is awake," she said, and left the tent.

Frank looked at his two agents questioningly.

"Save your strength, Frank," Alex said. "Just listen, before she comes back. Do you remember an old man giving you an amulet?"

Frank frowned, but then nodded a minute later.

"Somehow, it caused us to come back in time, to 1934." She paused, wondering if he would believe her. "We're in Egypt, among a desert tribe whose leader looks just like you."

Frank was looking at her as if she were insane.

Alex sighed. "They're trying to say that you have his soul; he was killed in 1934, possibly days or even hours from now. We are apparently here to prevent his death…"

Before she could finish, the tent suddenly opened, and Ardeth walked in, followed by Safti.

When Frank saw Ardeth, his eyes opened wide, in utter shock.