Jonathan was keeping something from her.

Evelyn had no doubt about that because once they'd made the decision to go back to England, he suddenly seemed to be finding ways to delay their departure.

O'Connell had kept his distance after they'd had tea their first afternoon back and he'd not made any attempt to talk to her since. He had told her that he wasn't sorry he'd kissed her, but judging by the way he was behaving she didn't believe him. Why did men have to behave like such children?

After a week of delays she finally found out what her naughty brother had been up to, he'd convinced O'Connell to join them on the trip back to England. It was something that had never entered her mind and she didn't know how she felt about it.

"Where else is he going to go?" Her brother asked as they finally began to pack their belongings. "He hasn't got any family and if you two are going to make a go of things, you can't very well do it with him here."

"Oh Jonathan, really." She frowned. "I would never have taken you for a matchmaker."

"You know me better than that, but I'll tell you what I told O'Connell. Neither one of you will find anyone better than each other."

"He's made his feelings clear on the matter by staying away and it puzzles me why you would even entertain the notion that he would come with us." She sighed and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Because all I've ever wanted is for you to be happy and I happen to believe that O'Connell is the chap who can do that." He told her as he sat down next to her and took her hand in his. "He's just as uncertain as you are and he wasn't too keen on this trip either."

"Then why is he coming?" She looked at her brother.

He chucked her under the chin with his free hand. "Did it ever occur to you old mum, that he doesn't have a clue as to how you feel about him? And just maybe he's coming because he's willing to take a chance."

"Oh." She felt her face flush.

"Evie, how do you feel about him?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not really sure. Everything happened so fast that I haven't had much time to sort it all out."

Jonathan smiled at her. "Then it seems to me the best way to do that is to have him nearby. You can spend time together and see how it goes."

Evelyn laughed softly before she leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I would never have taken you for a romantic my dear brother."

"Come now Evie, I'm as unromantic as they come you know that. But I'm not so unromantic that I can't see when two people set sparks off each other."

They set sparks off each other all right because every conversation they had seemed to end with them quarrelling. Did she really want to give her heart to someone with whom she would always be at odds?

"You won't know if you don't give the man a chance." He had a way of knowing what she was thinking and it drove her mad.

"What are you talking about?"

"He's gotten under your skin baby sister and it scares you. I can't think of any chap who's ever made you feel the way you do and I think that means a lot."

"You sound awfully certain about all this."

Jonathan smiled at her. "Call it keen observation."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was deja vu of sorts for Evelyn as she and Jonathan waited for Rick O'Connell to show up two days later at the Giza Port so they could begin their trip back to England. Everything they owned had been packed, crated and loaded onto the ship and once O'Connell had joined them, they would be off.

"Jonathan, we don't have much time before the ship leaves. Are you sure he's coming?" Evelyn frowned.

"He didn't let us down the last time, Evie. Just be patient." He said as he put an arm around her shoulders for a moment. "Unless you've changed your mind and want to stay here."

She shook her head. "We've been away from home for too long."

"Getting homesick?" The voice of O'Connell startled her and she jumped. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

She looked at him and felt her knees go weak. "Certainly not. We were just wondering if you had changed your mind."

"You were wondering." Jonathan admonished her with a smile. "Glad you're here O'Connell. Now we can get underway." And he walked up the gangplank, leaving Evelyn to carry not only her suitcase, but also his.

She picked up her own and reached for Jonathan's but O'Connell beat her to it. "Let me get that for you." And he followed Jonathan.

Evelyn sighed and followed them. It was going to be a long voyage.

She went to her room after they'd had dinner that night because she was suddenly very tired, but she didn't want to go to sleep. She had told Jonathan that she'd had nightmares after they'd returned from Hamanaptra and he had begun to worry about her. So when she brought up the idea of going home he had been agreeable and she wondered if perhaps he wasn't suffering the same kinds of dreams that she had.

It was the same one that seemed to have plagued her every night since their return. Jonathan and O'Connell hadn't been able to stop Imhotep from making her a sacrifice so that Anck-su-namun might again live. It terrified her beyond reason and there had been nights where Jonathan had sat up with her because she was too afraid to go back to sleep.

She had told O'Connell that if she couldn't see something or touch it, it wasn't real. She knew differently now and it had completely changed how she looked at things.

Evelyn was usually much neater about hanging up her clothes, but a weariness that she'd never felt before overtook her. She undressed, leaving her clothing on the floor and got her nightdress out of her suitcase before she slipped it on and got into bed. She pulled out her hairpins and while she sat up in bed with a book in her lap, brushed her hair out She'd pulled out one of her books on Egyptology earlier and left it on her night table to have it within easy reach.

She wasn't aware that she'd fallen asleep until she began to dream. She was shackled to the table and Imhotep had the sword raised over his head and as he brought it down towards her, she began to scream.

"Evelyn!"

Through the thick fog of her nightmare, she could swear she heard O'Connell's voice.

"Evelyn, you have to wake up." His voice sounded panicked and she tried to open her eyes but she couldn't.

"Evie!" She heard the equally panicked voice of her brother and the tightness that had gripped her chest began to ease and she was finally able to open her eyes. O'Connell was sitting on the edge of the bed holding one of her hands in both of his looking very worried with her brother was standing behind him. "God Evie, that scream could wake the dead!"

O'Connell turned to look at him and Evelyn suspected that he had a frown on his face.

"Sorry, bad choice of words." Jonathan apologized.

"You scared the hell out of me Evelyn." O'Connell said and from the look on his face, she believed him.

"I scared myself." She admitted and she could feel herself shaking. But she wasn't sure if it was her nightmare or the close proximity of Rick O'Connell.

"Is it that same dream you've been having?" Her brother asked.

Evelyn nodded.

O'Connell looked at her with concern. "You've been having nightmares?"

"Yes."

"When did they start?"

She took a deep breath and sighed. "When we got back from Hamanaptra. It's the same dream and it never changes."

"You mind telling me about it?" He asked.

"It's quite silly because it didn't happen the way I dreamed it."

"Evelyn." He wouldn't accept her stonewalling and said gently as he held on to her hand. "Just tell me."

She relayed the dream that had been plaguing her and he sat quietly and listened. When she'd finished he seemed to understand why she and Jonathan had decided to leave Egypt.

"There were a lot of things that happened and it didn't help that Imhotep set his sights on you."

Evelyn nodded. "I understood why it was happening, but it didn't stop me from being more scared than I'd ever been in my life."

"The important thing to remember is that it's only a dream. Jonathan and I were there and we got out in time. We sent Imhotep back to where he came from and Hamanaptra is gone." He told her.

"Thank God." She sighed.

It was then that she noticed her rascal of a brother had disappeared and she was alone with O'Connell. He seemed to realize it too and reluctantly let go of her hand before he stood up. "Are you going to be all right?"

"I think so."

He seemed to be thinking about something and looked at her. "Would you be able to sleep if I stayed?"

Stayed where? She thought.

"I can sit with you if you want... if that would make you feel better." He offered.

"I can't ask you to do that. Those chairs can't be very comfortable."

He smiled at her. "Let me worry about that. Do you want me to stay?"

The idea of his staying with her did ease her mind and she smiled back. "Yes. Thank you."

"No problem." O'Connell said as he pulled up one of the chairs next to her bed and sat down. "Go to sleep Evelyn, I won't go anywhere." And he propped his feet up on the edge of the bed and closed his eyes.

She sighed with relief that he was there before she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.