Everything
Rated PG 13
Disclaimer – I own nothing.
Thanks to Buff (yeah, I've done it too :), Alena, and Natters and anyone else who has read it. Enjoy the last chapter...
Chapter 4
You are the life to my soulYou are my purpose
You are everything
Rikes screams into the wind, but his words are lost in the grit that fills the air. Khepri has now disappeared, after going to look for the source of the mysterious bell; the storm came up faster than I had ever thought possible.
My solitary captor runs headlong into the darkness as the flames of our meager campfire begin to dwindle and die. I attempt to untie my leash; fear of drowning in sand has become quite the reality. My bound hands fumble with the ropes, my light fading quickly as the winds impossibly grow harder, launching bits of sand into my eyes. My skin stings with each tiny needle that drives into me, and it isn't a moment too soon that the knot finally loosens. But the next impeding question: Where am I to go? We are still easily days from Hamunaptra, and I can't recall having seen any caves nearby. My only chance lies within the blankets astride the camels, as awful as they smell. Scrambling to my feet in the heavy wind, I stumble my way to the panicking camels, pulling a blanket from one's back. Wrapping it around myself, I start for the ground, but find that I'm stopped well before I should hit. I know I'm slightly disoriented from the high winds and sand in my eyes, but the distinct feeling of movement soon follows. Someone, or something, has seen fit to cart me off somewhere, though from within my putrid confines, heaven only knows who or what has me, and where we are off to.
I find, the hard way, it's best not to struggle, as it only allows the sand into the blanket. So I wait, until I reach whatever the destination might be. But it isn't a long wait, as the winds suddenly sound distant and echoed (though the ringing in my ears could be playing a part in the distortion of the sound.) I feel myself set down on my side, and rather unceremoniously unrolled from the blanket, rolling to a stop face up the legs of a man far better dressed than either of my captors, the firelight bouncing off the cave walls and khakis. "Evelyn! Oh, thank God!" Jonathan cries out as he kneels beside me, producing a small switchblade from his trousers. Usually, I am not terribly fond of the sight of that thing, but at the moment, it is one of the most welcomed sights I have ever laid eyes on, besides my brother of course, who has started in on the ropes binding my wrists. As soon as my wrists are free, I throw my arms around my brother's neck. He returns the hug, but soon says with a chuckle, "Yes, well, all fine and good, but don't thank me, ol' mum." I pull away, glancing at him with a raised eyebrow. I follow his eyes to the two men I had not noticed prior: Ardeth Bay nods to me as he continues to brush sand from his robes, and the American, hiding in shadows untouched by the warmth of the fire. My body tenses, the crystal eyes averting mine at first, but soon, neither of us can look away. "Right, so..." Jonathan starts. "I'm just going...to go...stand in a corner and look inconspicuous," he blurts out. "Care to join me, Ardeth?" The warrior nods, but the action is lost on me as the two men make their way into the shadows, causing me to forget they're even here. My eyes don't leave O'Connell. They can't. Try as I might, his gaze has me entranced.
"Hi," he finally says.
"Hello," I reply, trying to hold myself together. After all, wasn't he the one that I've spent the last two months trying desperately to forget about? "What are you doing here?" I finally ask.
"Waiting out the sandstorm?" he states as though it were painfully obvious, motioning his head toward the opening of the cave.
"You know that's not what I meant."
"Do you really want me to say it, Evelyn?" he shoots, his voice raising. "Fine. I'll say it. Saving your ungrateful ass." I draw myself up to my full height, glancing across the bridge of my nose toward him. I certainly am not about to shed a tear in front of this man.
"Is that what you want?" I say calmly, though inside I'm tearing apart. "Because, if so, I'm certain you will be aptly rewarded when we return to London." He glances toward me, the pain I hadn't quite noticed before now very much apparent in his eyes.
"Do you really think that's why I went to London? Why I came after you now? Did you ever stop to think for one minute that I might have been coming to apologize? Or are you too stubborn to see that?" I clinch my jaw, trying to keep the hot tears from spilling over. I scramble precariously to my feet, turning my back to him as I try to put as much distance between us as is possible within the small cave. I hear him come up quickly behind me, but I refuse to acknowledge him until I have little choice as he spins me around, his hands gripping my arms, forcing me to look at him. "Damnit, Evelyn, look at me when I talk to you." His teeth are clinching and he's all but growling as he stares down at me, his eyes flashing.
"I am not a child for you to order around, Mister O'Connell," I hiss, trying to pull away, but his grip tightens around my arms painfully.
"No, but maybe you'll listen if I treat you like one. 'Cause you sure are acting like one."
"I'm not the one who was throwing insults around about another's parents!" There. I had said it.
"Did you ever think that maybe I was jealous?"
"Jealous?!" Jonathan says from his dark corner.
"Shut up, Jonathan," O'Connell and I say in unison. I feel the tears prickling at my eyes, and I blink furiously, trying to put everything into place, and keep the tears from spilling over.
"Jealous?" I repeat my brother's words, though my apparent disconcerted thoughts must have been showing through as he releases his stanch grip on my arms, though his hands linger.
"Yeah," he says softly, his eyes avoiding mine once more. "It took me a long time to realize it, but yeah. All your talk about your parents had nearly driven me insane with jealousy. It's hard enough going through your whole damn life thinking your parents didn't want you, but then to have someone going on and on about how wonderful theirs had been... It's stupid, I know." He turns away from me; I reach for him, but don't have the strength to actually touch him. Had this whole thing really been about jealousy? Maybe I had carried on too much. But how could I have known? He hadn't mentioned anything about it before...I had only assumed... "Look, it doesn't matter. I'm sorry for what I said. I was sorry for it the minute it left my mouth, but there's nothing I can do to take it back." He turns back toward me slowly, his eyes still carefully avoiding mine.
"No," I finally say. "No, I should be the one apologizing. I...I didn't know."
"Of course you didn't. The nuns used to call it 'emotional blockage.'"
"Nuns?"
"Orphanage. Never mind," he says, stepping closer to me. "The point is, I probably should have told you. And I probably shouldn't have said what I said. I know. But it's something that can't be fixed. It's two months we've lost. Can we leave it at two months?" I glance away from him for a moment, putting a step of distance between us.
"First thing's first," I say, winding up quickly and delivering a very therapeutic punch to his jaw.
"Nice right hook," Jonathan coos from the recesses of the cave. Rick merely grins at me through the grimace.
"Now, we can leave it at two months." I return the grin as he pulls me in, kissing me hard enough to make me forget these last two months entirely. "By the way," I asked after I regain my breath. "What happened to Khepri and Rikes?" Rick glances over to Ardeth says nothing, merely checks that his sword is properly sheathed. I know better than to ask again. There is no need.