The plane taxied to a stop, and everyone quickly got up, Jake again assisting Frank down the plane's steps.

When they got to the bottom, they stood there, looking around. It was very hot.

"Hey Frank," said Sam. "I hope this trip does what we hope, and you get your memory back."

Frank gave a half-smile. "Me too. Thanks," he said, holding out his hand.

The pilot smiled back, and shook it. "Jake," Sam said. "You know where to call when you're ready to leave."

Jake nodded. "Yup."

Alanur grabbed Angela's arm. "Thank you for taking care of my son," she said.

Angela smiled, patting her hand. "You're welcome. Take care of yourself, Mr. Donovan."

"I will. Thanks," Frank answered, watching as she and Sam went back into the plane.

"Come," said Alanur. "There should be a car waiting for us."

Everyone followed her, wondering who had sent it.

"I called the curator of the Museum of Antiquities," Alanur told them, as if reading their minds. "I asked him to send a car and to tell my father we were coming." She sighed. "Oh Frank, I hope you remember your grandfather."

Frank sighed, not answering. He was still groggy from the sedatives, and combining that, the pain, and the heat, he felt like a zombie.

Alanur spotted the car, and they all piled in.

"Oh, Amjad! It is so good to see you!" Alanur said, embracing the driver.

"Likewise, my dear!" Amjad answered. Looking in the backseat, he smiled at Frank.

"This is the curator of the museum, Frank," Alanur said.

Frank noticed that she didn't ask if he remembered him. "Nice to meet you," Frank said.

Amjad smiled. "Same here." As he sat forward again, he looked at Alanur as if to say, 'wow', amazed to see someone he'd known so long not recognize him.

The drive to the Cairo hotel was short, and they quickly checked in and went up to their rooms. Alex and Monica shared one, while Jake and Cody shared another, and Alanur kept Frank with her.

They all assembled in Alanur's room first, where Frank immediately lay down and put a pillow over his head.

Everyone looked at him, still not quite used to his 'non-Frank Donovan' behavior.

"You okay, Frank?" Alex asked.

Frank didn't answer, and Alanur picked the pillow off his head to see that he was fast asleep.

"Poor guy," said Cody.

Alanur sighed, sitting on the other bed. "We should all get some sleep. The ride to the Med-jai camp will be a long one, through the hot desert."

"When do we leave?" Jake asked.

Looking at Frank, Alanur shrugged. "Tomorrow."

Everyone nodded at her, and filed out the door.

Alanur lay down on her bed with a sigh, as she watched her sleeping son.

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

The next morning came all too soon to the jet-lagged travelers. They were all assembled in Alanur and Frank's room, waiting for him to awaken.

Alex and Monica watched as Alanur paced, whether from nervousness or excitement, they weren't sure.

"I hope I have that much energy and look that good when I'm her age," Alex whispered, to Monica.

Monica smiled. "I second that. Alanur? What's wrong?"

Frank's mother stopped, facing them. "Nothing," she insisted. She smiled, sitting in a chair. "I'm just impatient to see my father."

"Has it been a while since you saw him last?" Monica asked.

Alanur nodded. "I saw him before I went to England, a few months ago." She sighed. "He's very old, and I…" she shrugged. "Who knows how much time any of us has."

Before Alex or Monica had a chance to say anything else, movement from Frank caught their eye.

Alanur got up and crossed to him, grasping his arm to prevent him from moving too quickly. "Good morning!" she said, cheerily.

Frank mumbled at her, eyes still closed.

Alanur smiled. "I didn't catch that, Frank."

Frank mumbled again, this time a little louder.

Cody chuckled, none of them able to figure out what he'd said.

Alanur shrugged. "We have to go soon, Frank. How do you feel?"

Frank didn't answer, and this time Alanur frowned, getting nervous. "Frank," she said, loudly.

Frank winced and started to move again, and Alanur helped him turn over from his stomach onto his back.

"Frank," she said, again, sounding scared. "Open your eyes!"

Frank obeyed her, squinting in the sunlight streaming in from the windows.

"Are you all right?" Alanur asked, her voice sounding slightly shaky.

"Yeah," Frank told her, with a sigh. He was tempted to close his eyes and cover his face with a pillow, but he didn't want to worry his mother over his pain.

Alanur breathed her own sigh.

"No offense, but you don't look too good, Frank," said Monica, concerned over his difficulty in waking.

"I'm fine," Frank told her, slowly sitting up. His hair was sticking out in all directions, and if the circumstances were different, his team would be tempted to laugh. "If you'll all leave I'll get dressed," he said.

"Whoops," said Alex, doing an about-face and heading for the door, the rest of them following her.

Frank heard a whispered, "Did you see his hair?" as the door closed. He looked at his mother to see her hiding a giggle. "Go ahead, laugh."

Alanur smiled, smoothing his hair down. Her hands slid down to cup his face, and she looked at him for a minute.

Frank gave her a little smile, and Alanur hugged him tightly. "Do you remember me yet?" she whispered, almost afraid of the answer.

Frank sighed. "Some," he said. "I know you're my mother. I remember a time when I was younger…I was in the middle of the desert, and was play-fighting another kid with a wooden sword. I tripped and he accidentally hit me in the face with it. I guess he thought he really hurt me, because he ran to get you."

Alanur pulled back. "You remember that?"

Frank nodded, carefully. "I dreamed it, in the hospital."

Alanur smiled. "That was your cousin," she stopped when she saw him frown. "What is it?"

"I had another dream…there was a battle. Someone told him to protect me." His eyebrows flew up. "He called him 'grandfather'."

Alanur's smile was threatening to split her face. "Yes! That was my father, Ardeth Bay. He's your grandfather!" She took Frank's right arm, pointing to the tattoo on the inside of his wrist. "This is the mark of our tribe, the Med-jai. My father was Leader, for many years."

Frank smiled back, happy for the proof that his memory was indeed returning, however slowly. "I wondered where that came from," he said, looking at the tattoo. "I didn't ask anyone, thinking it was probably a mistake I made as a teenager…"

Alanur laughed and stood, the smile still lighting up her face. "Get dressed, son, the sooner we leave, the sooner we'll get there!"