Merci to all reviewers. I had all of you thanked by name but then my computer deleted it and I don't want to type it again, but I love you all!!! :) Chapter 4 was a personal favorite of mine so I'm so glad you guys liked it:) So I'm thinking I may just continue this story and not make a separate prequel. In any case, all questions will be answered. Eventually. I promise. ~Buff:):):)

someone told me love cannot save us but how can that be when look what love gave us a world full of killing and blood-spilling that world never came and they say that a hero can save us i'm not going to stand here and wait i'll hold onto the wings of the eagles watch as they all fly away and now that the world isn't ending it's love that i'm sending to you it isn't the love of a hero and that's why i fear it won't do

--"hero" chad kroeger & josey scott

Our plan is so crazy I suspect it just may work. For such a ragtag band of adventurers we make a pretty good team. I am so often surprised at the people my life presents me with. I really shouldn't be, I suppose. What other people would I have expected? The father of my child, my brother, and our desert protector. The three people besides my son who have never meant more to me.

The former one, however, I could never have dreamed. I met a man who was filthy, rude, an out-and-out scoundrel, and fell in love with a man who became everything in the space of a few weeks. But as quickly as we mortals can ascend to heaven, so too can we fall from grace, and in as short a time our lives fell apart. It is a strange feeling, for someone to mean so much to you and then suddenly be ripped away. All because of a stupid mistake, we traded our happiness for misery. It's even stranger to spend eight years away, and still know you can't be without them. I wonder if the reason I endured these years was that I knew he'd be back.

Jonathan nudges me. "You're all sandy, Evy."

"What?" I look down at my clothes. Slightly rumpled, but none the worse for wear. "For God's sake, Jonathan, we're in a desert. A desert consists mainly of sand, if you hadn't noticed."

Jonathan nods and drops the subject, but there's a twinkle in his eye that tells me he'll bring it up again later. A bit of sand, so what? That's all he has to go on, I know. I was, after all, there. In possibly the strangest week I have lived through (with the exception of the week I feel in love with Rick; by now I suppose we are less shocked by such paranormal goings-on), what I have just done does not surprise me. Stranger things, I assure you, have happened.

I find Rick's face in the semi-darkness. His hand searches out mine and I cling to it. For eight years I would not have believed such a thing was possible. But Rick is holding my hand, and that simple act gives me strength enough.

We hear voices outside, in Arabic, some English. After a few minutes, ancient Egyptian. A voice I didn't care to hear again. It sends chills down my spine though I cannot quite make out the words.

Hours pass, and the little daylight that had dared infiltrate our little hiding place fades away. The foreign voices finally quiet, and finally Rick gives the signal. Jonathan darts out of the plane, off on his mission. He returns an interminable amount of time later, whispers a few hurried bits of information to the men, and we are off.

Izzy starts the engine and the plane begins to move. Last-minute fears plague my senses and I grip Rick's hand tighter. He smiles reassuringly back at me, but pulls his hand from mine. He's focused on the job at hand. We all have a job. Ardeth is going provide cover fire, Izzy is piloting, Jonathan is the lookout, and Rick is the rescuer. I'm just supposed to sit here and pretend my life isn't ending before my eyes.

As the plane picks up speed and bursts out of the cave, I hear voices cry out in shock, surprise. I look over as Rick and Ardeth leap out the cargo door and disappear into the darkness. I hear gunshots. Jonathan pushes me down to the floor as we hear them ping off the hull. We are still moving, and soon we will be forced to take off, with or without them. I am on the verge of hysteria. I think I hear my son's voice amidst the chaos. It has to be him, it has to be. Only Jonathan's arms hold me back from leaping out of the plane to find my family. Where are they?

I hear Rick before I see him. "Go, go, go!" he shouts, and Izzy begins to pull up. Rick appears, tosses Alex ahead of him as they dive into the plane, followed closely by Ardeth. As we take off, I can still hear the gunshots reverberating off the thin metal walls that protect us. Jonathan tries to keep me on the floor, away from danger, but nothing can restrain me. Alex flies into my arms. We fall back onto the floor as the plane tilts, but I care for nothing but the fact that I am finally holding my son.

As we yank the cargo door shut, I take a moment to catch my breath, then hold it nervously as the aircraft shudders and shakes its way into the sky. After a minute the gunshots fade and the only noises are the rhythmic churning of the plane's engine and Evelyn's sobbing. They look so complete together, so perfectly the portrait of a family, that I wonder where I will fit in. I wonder if I will ever be that close to my son, ever be able to hold onto him like that and never let go. I wonder if he will ever trust me.

Though Evelyn continues to cry and cling to him, Alex turns his head and looks at me. His ankle still bears the manacle and chain that had been his prison, though other than that he appears okay. He stares at me for a moment, studying me. "Thank you," he says, though the sound is drowned out by the engine. Evelyn looks at me too, reaches a hand out to me. I take it, connected, still distant. She tugs on my hand until I move closer, then she wraps her free arm around me, and suddenly I am in the midst of a family. Jonathan joins the hug, and then somehow Bey is pulled in, too.

"Guys," comes a tiny voice from inside the crush. "Guys, I can't breathe."

We all back off, though Evelyn stays close to Alex. I keep hold of her hand, needing the link. "Are you okay?" she asks him. "Did they hurt you?"

"I'm fine, mum."

Evelyn looks on the verge of tears again. "We're going to go home now, and everything's going to be--"

"We have to go to Ahm Shere!" Alex cries, anxiety suddenly filling his tone. "We have to keep going!"

"Whatever for?"

"He told me that the bracelet is going to kill me unless I get inside the pyramid by the seventh day! That's tomorrow!"

I can't bear to look at Evelyn; I can tell from her grip on my hand what I would find in her eyes. "Alex," I say, trying to keep the fear from my own voice. "Where do we go next?"

"Follow the Blue Nile. It's the last step."

"Don't worry," I tell him. "We're going to get that Bracelet off you, and everything's going to be--"

"Fine," he finishes, fixing me with familiar blue eyes. "I know."

Evelyn enfolds Alex in another hug. She rests her head on my shoulder, and can I feel the tears stinging the back of my eyes again. "It's okay," she whispers. "It's okay."

I wish I was as sure.

~*~*~*~

I promise the next chapter is huge. Everything changes........