The next month and a half were wildly heavenly for Rick. Evelyn had not only settled back into her old self but her newly discovered wild side emerged quite frequently. She woke him up each morning with a kiss and morning ride. More often than not, they would share lunch then go home for a bit of frolicking before going back to work. Rick was pleasantly surprised one afternoon when he came by the museum to take Evelyn to lunch. She locked the office door and told him she did not want to wait for after lunch. And she did not have to wait. Right there in the office, Rick gave her exactly what she wanted.

Rick, especially his libido was happy, very happy with this new Evelyn in spite of the fact that she testing his stamina. After a couple of weeks with this new woman, Rick, though he would never admit it openly, was in a dilemma. His little wife. His pregnant wife. His pregnant, little wife was wearing him out, draining him dry. His prim, proper, British born wife had dethroned his masculinity. He, or rather his oversized libido, was no longer King of Copulation. He was no longer boss of the bedroom. His very pregnant, very prim, very proper, little wife was now perched on the throne. She was Queen of the Bedroom and anywhere else that was a convenient place to make love. Neither his libido nor his pride would ever admit to this particular oust, so he dug his sexual heels in and held on for the ride.

The ride continued for the next two weeks, then one morning Rick had to wake up on his own. Evelyn was not in bed and he found her already downstairs eating breakfast.

"Hey" he said as he walked into the kitchen and found her at the table eating toast and reading a book.

"Good morning" Evelyn looked up from the book she was reading as he walked over to her. "Would you like breakfast?" she asked after Rick bent down and kissed her.

"I can crack a couple of eggs" he answered as he walked over to the icebox.

"Rick" Evelyn said after a few moments.

"Huh?" Rick said as he cracked an egg.

"An excavation team..."

"No"

"Is going to... No?" Evelyn turned and looked at his back.

"No" Rick said again as the egg hit the frying pan.

"What do you mean 'No'?" Evelyn said, a bit perturbed.

"No. Nope. Nada. That's a negative. It's not happening. No."

"And what, may I ask, is the question?" Evelyn said tightly, her ire rising that he assumed she was going to 'ask' his permission to go on the excavation.

"You're not going on any excavation anywhere."

"And who may I ask died and left you King, Emperor and Ruler of the Universe?" she said, even more perturbed that his assumption was accurate.

She was going to ask, or more precisely, tell him about the excavation and her plans to go.

"I don't know who died but I'm king, emperor and ruler of the O'Connell household" he said and heard Evelyn's sharp intake of breath. "And you're not traipsing over some hot ass desert to go digging around some ancient city."

Evelyn snapped back around in her seat as smoke shot out of her ears. She tapped her foot vigorously as she tried to calm down. She really did not want to argue with him. She knew he would be resistant to her going on the excavation. She also knew that an all out verbal war would only drive him to use brut strength and locked doors. But, she thought, she could reason with him and help him come around to her sensible way of thinking.

By the time Rick sat down across from her, Evelyn was still fuming at his highhandedness and she glared angrily at him. But... the excavation was more appealing than cutting him down to size.

"I am going to be reasonable about this" Evelyn said tightly after taking a few deep mental breaths. "Are you?"

"Yeah" he said. "You're not going."

"And when, pray tell, did I ASK for your permission?!" Evelyn bit out.

"You're pregnant Evy" Rick said before filling his mouth with scrambled eggs.

"Really" Evelyn said sarcastically.

"And I don't want you anywhere near any goddamn curses!" he said rather vehemently after swallowing his eggs.

"Rick" Evelyn began, her attitude immediately softening because she heard the fear laced between his words. "What are the chances of something like that happening again?"

"I'm through taking chances Evy" Rick said firmly. "And I'm sure as hell not taking any chances with you."

"You won't be taking any chances..."

"NO!" Rick said forcible. "Hell No! I'll give you anything in the world Evy. Anything but that. I can't lose you Evy" he said softly as he looked at her with mist in his eyes. "Not now."

How could she argue with him when she heard the overwhelming love in his words and saw it in his eyes? Though he never wanted to talk about her near sacrifice, it was now evident to Evelyn that Rick had not gotten over the ordeal and was still gripped with the fear of her dying. She knew her husband well enough now to know that when he was ready, he would talk about it, but not a minute sooner.

Evelyn would drop the excavation matter - for the time being. She would give him a day or two before informing him that she was NOT asking his permission for anything. And then she would broach the subject again.

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

Evelyn was perfectly healthy and the doctor had said she could continue her normal activity. Daily, she sweetly reminded Rick of those facts but after a week of browbeating him with her feminine ways, Rick's answer was still a resounding 'No'. Evelyn did finally but grudgingly admit to herself that it probably was not a good idea to be 'traipsing over some hot ass desert' in her present condition. There would be more excavations she conceded. And after the baby was born and was old enough, they would go on family excavations.

Rick was perfectly comfortable as king, emperor and ruler of the O'Connell household. After a week of Evelyn's womanly wiles, his answer was still 'No'. And he meant it. He did not care how healthy she was. And he was sure that when the doctor said she could continue her normal activities, he did not mean 'traipsing over some hot ass desert'. And besides that, he was terrified. Terrified that something would happen to Evelyn if she went snooping around the ruins of ancient Egypt. He did not trust her 'innocent curiosity' or as he put it, her damned nosiness. It would get them into trouble again. He knew it. But he would keep that trouble at bay for as long as he could.

The week long tug-of-war over the excavation gave Rick a chance to rest because he and Evelyn had not made love since the day before she brought the subject up. Now, a week later, he was ready to jump back in the saddle. That night, when he climbed in bed and reached for his wife, he hoped for a nice romp...

"Just hold me" Evelyn told him as she turned in his arms and snuggled against his chest.

Rick was disappointed, very disappointed. But he did as his wife asked and held her. As he lay there listening to her light snores and feeling her inhale and exhale, he realized that holding her in the quiet night was just as satisfying as making love. His libido would not agree with that but his heart and soul knew that holding her close was something he would treasure for the rest of his life.

Just as Rick was dosing off, Evelyn mumbled something then turned away from him. After she settled her backside snuggly against his groin, Rick laid his hand across her midsection and let his eyelids drop as he thought fleetingly about the hard little mound that was her stomach. In the next instance, his eyes shot opened in shock.

"What the hell..." he murmured as he snatched his hand away from her stomach.

"It's the baby" Evelyn whispered groggily as she grabbed his hand and settled it back on her stomach. "He's moving."

'It's the baby', Rick thought as a cord of emotion ran from the movement beneath his hand, up his arm to interweave itself between the very fibers of his soul. The baby. Evy's baby. His baby. Their baby. He was moving. He had quickly been transferred from the abstract to the very real. And he had fully captured his father's heart.

Rick's eyes began to mist as a new kind of love spilled from his heart for the baby that was his. An indescribable feeling filled him from head to toe. No longer did he feel detached. For the first time, Rick felt a connection, a bond. An unbreakable bond with his child.

And he cried.

As a big teardrop slid down his cheek, Rick knew what Evelyn felt that day she came to the docks so excited about feeling the baby move. Now he did not have to feel jealous of her and the baby. Now he knew exactly what she felt. Now he had his own special moment with his child.

Another teardrop fell and Rick felt like an oversized wimp.

Here he was a man who had been hardened by life's circumstances. A man who took the knocks life gave and gave knocks in return. A battle tough ex officer of the French Foreign Legion who had faced death many times.

Here he was a hardened, battle tough soldier who had been brought to his knees by the simple movements of his unborn child.

For the first time, Rick wondered what would his kid look like. Would he look like him or would he look like Evelyn? God, he hoped the kid would not inherit Jonathan's ugly mug.

But what if he is a girl?

Rick prayed she would look like Evelyn and not him. His face on a woman would not be a pretty sight. If his kid was a girl, he was sure she would drive him crazy just like her mother did. And, he thought as he smiled, he would be just as crazy about her as he was about her mother.

Rick did not know how long he lay there feeling his child move before he slipped into a deep, peaceful sleep. His last thought was how lucky he was to have everything he ever wanted in the palm in his hand.