Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of TM or TMR. They are the
property of Universal and Stephen Sommers.
Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long, but my new job has taken up a lot of my time. I'll try to write more often. With that in mind, I hope you enjoy the next chapter.
Izzy had managed to get the dirigible off the ground just as everyone finished packing. Ardeth had decided to go with them after all, even though Rick did know about the baby. Jonathan, Izzy, and Alex remained blissfully ignorant of the situation between Evie and Rick. Alex, who was, let's face it, the most insightful of the three, did sense something was terribly wrong. He stayed close to Evie for the entire journey, almost hovering around her. Ordinarily, Evie would have enjoyed this attention from her son, who had begun to despise what he called "mushy stuff", but, under her current stressful situation, the constant attention was beginning to wear on her nerves.
Both Rick and Ardeth knew that Evie needed some time to herself. Rick tried to get his son's attention with stories of how he and Evie had met, but, what Alex had once wanted to know so badly didn't seem to interest him now. Ultimately, it was Ardeth who lured Alex away from his mother. On the other side of the dirigible, he began to give the boy sword fighting lessons. Rick alternated between watching his son and keeping a concerned eye on Evie. Jonathan and Izzy continued their argument about the diamond for the entire trip. Evie managed to tune them out, but silently resolved to punch Jonathan square in the face after all this was over with. And Izzy as well.
All told, it was not a happy crew that arrived back at Izzy's airfield. The car Rick had brought could comfortably hold five people, but Izzy insisted on driving to Cairo with them. So, the six of them jammed into the vehicle and headed down the road. Evie found it was much harder to maintain mental distance when the people you're traveling with were right next to you. Jonathan and Izzy, sitting in the back seat on either side of Ardeth, were still arguing. Ardeth tried to mediate for the first five minutes, but soon gave up and sat silently. Evie noticed that Rick's knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so hard, but whether this was from his irritation with Izzy and Jonathan or his concern for the baby, she didn't know. Alex, without Ardeth to distract him, once again hovered over Evie. She felt herself being watched every time she tried to think. She couldn't concentrate on anything. And Izzy and Jonathan were wearing badly on her already shot nerves.
"I told you that was half mine when we left Ahm-Shere, you stubborn fool."
"I'm the one who picked it up!" Jonathan protested.
"Yes, because I waited for you to do it. It's half mine."
"No. You stayed with that..that.contraption of yours while we risked everything to get to Alex. You deserve nothing."
"Ha! You'd all be dead now if it wasn't for me and that 'contraption' of mine! Am I right?"
This question was directed to Ardeth, who diplomatically ignored it. Both other men began talking and yelling at once. Although the car was an open one, Evie felt as if she was trapped in a room with them as their voices reverberated inside her head. Unable to take anymore, she managed to turn around enough to face them and fixed them with a steely gaze. Even Ardeth was a little frightened, though he knew she wasn't angry with him.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" she yelled. Both men were immediately silent. Jonathan was stunned. His sister had told him to shut up before, but had purposely never used the phrase in front of Alex. She was very picky about what habits her son picked up.
"I am so tired of hearing about this stupid, stupid diamond. Let me ask you this, Jonathan. If I had remained dead, would you still be arguing with him about this? Or would you have the decency to wait a whole day out of respect until you took up this debate? And, Izzy, what about you? If your long time friend had climbed into your dirigible with the news that his wife had died, would you be arguing about some diamond? Both of you should be ashamed of yourselves for being so greedy. I don't care what you do with that diamond, but wait until we get to Cairo to decide. And find a room, preferably one far away from me, to discuss it. But if I hear one more word about that diamond today, I will personally take it and throw it out of this car. Am I clear?"
Neither man had any doubt that she was serious. Evie turned back around only to see the frightened look on her son's face and immediately be assailed with guilt. Despite her emotional state, she wrapped her arm around him in comfort and kissed the top of his head. Happily convinced that his mother's tirade was over, Alex moved closer to her and, though the drive to Cairo was rough, he was soon asleep. The backseat was silent for the rest of the trip. Jonathan and Izzy both were ashamed of their behavior. Evelyn's words had jolted Jonathan back into reality, out of his diamond dreamland. Now he, too, noticed his sister's mood. She hadn't acted this preoccupied since, well, since they had first met Rick. The rest of the trip was silent.
Once in Cairo, Rick and Ardeth lost no time in steering Evie away from everyone else and towards the home of Ardeth's healer friend, Fatima. Jonathan and Izzy were left with the bags to check in and a still sleeping Alex to contend with. Through it all, Jonathan had begun to do some real soul searching. Evie's comments in the car had hurt him deeply and he remembered all too clearly the hopelessness he had felt when Meela/Anck-su- namun had killed his baby sister. Of course he wouldn't have cared about the diamond if she had remained dead. But, then again, he had been shockingly insensitive to the circumstances surrounding their escape. Jonathan shuddered to think of life without his sister. She was the only person who really understood him. At that point, Jonathan Carnahan made the most unselfish decision of his life.
Rick paced the small, dark room. Ardeth watched with sympathetic eyes. It didn't take a brain surgeon to see the torment in his face. When he stopped and spoke, his voice was strangely choked.
"Ardeth, you know I trust your judgment, but is this place on the level?"
The Medjai warrior's brows knitted together in confusion. Rick rephrased his question.
"I mean, is it on the up and up? Or, wait, I'll come up with something. Is this a safe place?"
Ardeth was quick to reassure his friend.
"Yes, yes, yes. This is where I brought Evelyn before we left to find Alex. Fatima is a wonderful healer. The best I've ever known. There isn't much she can't do."
"I'd feel better taking Evie to a doctor."
Understanding that Rick was not insulting his culture, but was merely speaking out of concern for his wife, Ardeth smiled slightly and patiently explained again why Evelyn had chosen to come back to Fatima.
"I told you, my friend. If we took Evelyn to a doctor, she would have to go through the uncomfortable scene of explaining why she is concerned. Your doctors would not understand our culture. They would not understand that your wife was killed and brought back to life with the help of your son. The name of Imhotep means nothing to them. They know nothing of the Scorpion King. Fatima was born into the Medjai tribe. She was raised on these legends and prophecies. And she already knew about the circumstances surrounding our journey."
Rick nodded his head. Everything Ardeth said made sense. The doctors wouldn't understand the problem. Heck, he wasn't sure he even understood it. And he had been there. And Fatima had put him at ease. O'Connell usually had a pretty good instinct when it came to people and Fatima had appeared to be a wise and kind woman. Still, he was worried about Evie.
Just as he was about to speak again, the door leading into the room where Fatima had taken Evie opened. Fatima appeared and shut the door behind her. She was a small woman, not young, but not exactly old, either. Her brown eyes held wisdom and compassion in their depths. As she turned towards the two men, Rick felt his heartbeat quicken. Both men looked at her expectantly as she began to speak.
A/N: Ooohh, don't you hate when people do that? Never fear, I shall update soon. Scout's honor. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. Keep 'em coming. I love it.
Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long, but my new job has taken up a lot of my time. I'll try to write more often. With that in mind, I hope you enjoy the next chapter.
Izzy had managed to get the dirigible off the ground just as everyone finished packing. Ardeth had decided to go with them after all, even though Rick did know about the baby. Jonathan, Izzy, and Alex remained blissfully ignorant of the situation between Evie and Rick. Alex, who was, let's face it, the most insightful of the three, did sense something was terribly wrong. He stayed close to Evie for the entire journey, almost hovering around her. Ordinarily, Evie would have enjoyed this attention from her son, who had begun to despise what he called "mushy stuff", but, under her current stressful situation, the constant attention was beginning to wear on her nerves.
Both Rick and Ardeth knew that Evie needed some time to herself. Rick tried to get his son's attention with stories of how he and Evie had met, but, what Alex had once wanted to know so badly didn't seem to interest him now. Ultimately, it was Ardeth who lured Alex away from his mother. On the other side of the dirigible, he began to give the boy sword fighting lessons. Rick alternated between watching his son and keeping a concerned eye on Evie. Jonathan and Izzy continued their argument about the diamond for the entire trip. Evie managed to tune them out, but silently resolved to punch Jonathan square in the face after all this was over with. And Izzy as well.
All told, it was not a happy crew that arrived back at Izzy's airfield. The car Rick had brought could comfortably hold five people, but Izzy insisted on driving to Cairo with them. So, the six of them jammed into the vehicle and headed down the road. Evie found it was much harder to maintain mental distance when the people you're traveling with were right next to you. Jonathan and Izzy, sitting in the back seat on either side of Ardeth, were still arguing. Ardeth tried to mediate for the first five minutes, but soon gave up and sat silently. Evie noticed that Rick's knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so hard, but whether this was from his irritation with Izzy and Jonathan or his concern for the baby, she didn't know. Alex, without Ardeth to distract him, once again hovered over Evie. She felt herself being watched every time she tried to think. She couldn't concentrate on anything. And Izzy and Jonathan were wearing badly on her already shot nerves.
"I told you that was half mine when we left Ahm-Shere, you stubborn fool."
"I'm the one who picked it up!" Jonathan protested.
"Yes, because I waited for you to do it. It's half mine."
"No. You stayed with that..that.contraption of yours while we risked everything to get to Alex. You deserve nothing."
"Ha! You'd all be dead now if it wasn't for me and that 'contraption' of mine! Am I right?"
This question was directed to Ardeth, who diplomatically ignored it. Both other men began talking and yelling at once. Although the car was an open one, Evie felt as if she was trapped in a room with them as their voices reverberated inside her head. Unable to take anymore, she managed to turn around enough to face them and fixed them with a steely gaze. Even Ardeth was a little frightened, though he knew she wasn't angry with him.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" she yelled. Both men were immediately silent. Jonathan was stunned. His sister had told him to shut up before, but had purposely never used the phrase in front of Alex. She was very picky about what habits her son picked up.
"I am so tired of hearing about this stupid, stupid diamond. Let me ask you this, Jonathan. If I had remained dead, would you still be arguing with him about this? Or would you have the decency to wait a whole day out of respect until you took up this debate? And, Izzy, what about you? If your long time friend had climbed into your dirigible with the news that his wife had died, would you be arguing about some diamond? Both of you should be ashamed of yourselves for being so greedy. I don't care what you do with that diamond, but wait until we get to Cairo to decide. And find a room, preferably one far away from me, to discuss it. But if I hear one more word about that diamond today, I will personally take it and throw it out of this car. Am I clear?"
Neither man had any doubt that she was serious. Evie turned back around only to see the frightened look on her son's face and immediately be assailed with guilt. Despite her emotional state, she wrapped her arm around him in comfort and kissed the top of his head. Happily convinced that his mother's tirade was over, Alex moved closer to her and, though the drive to Cairo was rough, he was soon asleep. The backseat was silent for the rest of the trip. Jonathan and Izzy both were ashamed of their behavior. Evelyn's words had jolted Jonathan back into reality, out of his diamond dreamland. Now he, too, noticed his sister's mood. She hadn't acted this preoccupied since, well, since they had first met Rick. The rest of the trip was silent.
Once in Cairo, Rick and Ardeth lost no time in steering Evie away from everyone else and towards the home of Ardeth's healer friend, Fatima. Jonathan and Izzy were left with the bags to check in and a still sleeping Alex to contend with. Through it all, Jonathan had begun to do some real soul searching. Evie's comments in the car had hurt him deeply and he remembered all too clearly the hopelessness he had felt when Meela/Anck-su- namun had killed his baby sister. Of course he wouldn't have cared about the diamond if she had remained dead. But, then again, he had been shockingly insensitive to the circumstances surrounding their escape. Jonathan shuddered to think of life without his sister. She was the only person who really understood him. At that point, Jonathan Carnahan made the most unselfish decision of his life.
Rick paced the small, dark room. Ardeth watched with sympathetic eyes. It didn't take a brain surgeon to see the torment in his face. When he stopped and spoke, his voice was strangely choked.
"Ardeth, you know I trust your judgment, but is this place on the level?"
The Medjai warrior's brows knitted together in confusion. Rick rephrased his question.
"I mean, is it on the up and up? Or, wait, I'll come up with something. Is this a safe place?"
Ardeth was quick to reassure his friend.
"Yes, yes, yes. This is where I brought Evelyn before we left to find Alex. Fatima is a wonderful healer. The best I've ever known. There isn't much she can't do."
"I'd feel better taking Evie to a doctor."
Understanding that Rick was not insulting his culture, but was merely speaking out of concern for his wife, Ardeth smiled slightly and patiently explained again why Evelyn had chosen to come back to Fatima.
"I told you, my friend. If we took Evelyn to a doctor, she would have to go through the uncomfortable scene of explaining why she is concerned. Your doctors would not understand our culture. They would not understand that your wife was killed and brought back to life with the help of your son. The name of Imhotep means nothing to them. They know nothing of the Scorpion King. Fatima was born into the Medjai tribe. She was raised on these legends and prophecies. And she already knew about the circumstances surrounding our journey."
Rick nodded his head. Everything Ardeth said made sense. The doctors wouldn't understand the problem. Heck, he wasn't sure he even understood it. And he had been there. And Fatima had put him at ease. O'Connell usually had a pretty good instinct when it came to people and Fatima had appeared to be a wise and kind woman. Still, he was worried about Evie.
Just as he was about to speak again, the door leading into the room where Fatima had taken Evie opened. Fatima appeared and shut the door behind her. She was a small woman, not young, but not exactly old, either. Her brown eyes held wisdom and compassion in their depths. As she turned towards the two men, Rick felt his heartbeat quicken. Both men looked at her expectantly as she began to speak.
A/N: Ooohh, don't you hate when people do that? Never fear, I shall update soon. Scout's honor. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. Keep 'em coming. I love it.
