Author's Note: This is, potentially, a fanfic of a decent length! There will be romance, there will be adventure and, with a bit of luck, the odd flash of humour. Rick, Evelyn, Jonathan and anyone else from the film who may appear belong Mr Sommers and Universal. Everyone else is mine, but I would be willing to do a swap.

Feedback would be gratefully received, thank you. So, enjoy the story and proceed down the page to...

"Deeper Within Darkness"

By Laurie

Chapter One: Personally, I Think the Locusts were Preferable

'Remind me again, why are going to this thing?'

'Because I... Well... We were invited and we said yes, all right?'

'You mean you said yes. It's not like had a say in the matter.'

Evelyn rounded on him, her eyes narrowing. 'Ooh!'

Before she could begin scolding, however, Rick O'Connell caught her around the waist and gently pulled her towards him.

'All I mean,' he said slowly, giving her what he liked to imagine was his most charming smile, 'is that we don't really have to go to this party, do we?'

She didn't answer, simply allowing herself to be pulled into his arms.

'I know you're all dressed up, but we could just run away...' He ran one finger along the curve of her neck and her eyes flickered closed momentarily. 'We could have dinner in one of those quiet little restaurants you like, y'know, where you have to take a water-taxi down the river to get to...'

Evelyn opened her eyes and managed to extricate herself, partially, from that seductive embrace.

'We can't, Rick. We said we'd go and we can't just back out now - it would be terribly bad form.'

She cringed inwardly, hearing her own words. It sounded just like Jonathan in one of his more pompous moments. The reception at the British Embassy was, admittedly, not something she was looking forward to: but Evelyn had been brought up in the tradition that once you had made a commitment, you kept it. It was taking every ounce of self-control she had not to take Rick's suggestion an in those moments she wanted nothing more than to let him do whatever he wanted. But being alone with Richard O'Connell, she had realised fairly early on in their relationship, was a dangerous proposition. Not because he pressured her, but because just being with him weakened all of her resolve. Especially moments like this, when it was a perfect, balmy Cairo night and the moonlight softened the contours of his handsome face and made his blue eyes burn even more brightly than usual. A comma of hair had fallen across his forehead and she brushed it back, her fingers lingering against his skin slightly longer than was absolutely necessary. She heard his shape intake of breath and dropped her eyes from his, feeling a flush burning up her cheeks. Evelyn finally stepped out of his embrace, smoothing her hair with one hand and then readjusting the thin silk wrap around her shoulders. Her eyes were drawn, for the thousandth time, to the unaccustomed glint on her left hand. It was a simple but exquisitely beautiful ring: a square-cut green diamond set in white gold. He had presented it to her with that air of self-consciousness he gained whenever he had anything important to say to her. It had to have been ridiculously expensive and she had told him so. Rick, however, was undeterred by her protestations. The bounty they had discovered hidden in the saddle bags on their return from Hamunaptra had furnished all of them with more money than they could imagine and far more than they really knew what to do with. Jonathan had headed for the nearest gambling house - Rick, on the other hand, seemed determined to spend it on anything and everything he thought Evelyn could possibly want or need.

Or, to put it in his own, more blunt words: "What the hell else am I going to spend my money on?"

Flowery speeches were not something she could expect from her fiancé. What she could expect was a man who would willingly give up his life to save hers and who looked at her as though she were a goddess.

Rather the way he was looking at her now and Evelyn felt herself weakening.

'Rick...'

She stepped towards him, resting both hands on his chest, her head tilting upwards to his.

'Aren't you two bloody well finished yet?'

They both let out groans and Rick briefly allowed his forehead to rest against hers before turning to glare balefully at Jonathan who was waving to them frantically.

'Come on.' He placed one hand under her elbow, gently steering her towards the steps. 'I'm definitely taking you out tomorrow night. And if your brother thinks he's tagging along, I'm gonna drop him into the Nile, head first, with weights on his ankles. Okay?'

Evelyn laughed slightly, 'Okay.'

They joined Jonathan at the foot of the staircase and he looked at the couple in disgust.

'It's come to a pretty pass,' he grumbled, 'when I'm the member of the family with some sense of decorum. Lovemaking in the grounds of the British Embassy isn't really the done thing, you know.'

Rick and Evy glanced at each other, biting back smiles - and in Rick's case a rather rude comment - and meekly followed Jonathan up the stairs and into the imposing Embassy building.

Ever since they had returned from their time in the desert - and since Jonathan had realised that O'Connell wasn't going to go away, but was actually set on pursuing Evelyn - Jonathan had occasionally shown signs of asserting himself as Evy's Older Brother. As someone who had never shown responsibility for anything, it amused Evelyn no end to see Jonathan look at her and Rick disapprovingly and make vain attempts to keep the young soldier at bay.

Such attempts, however, never lasted long and by the time they reached the huge set of double doors and had presented their invitations, Jonathan had reverted to his normal self and was eagerly anticipating a night of free champagne and flirtation with the wives of assorted diplomats.

Evelyn surveyed the room, surreptitiously smoothing her hair again. She had never been one of those glamorous girls and, despite her new dress and coiffured hair, she felt slightly intimidated by the array of satins, silks and jewels floating about the reception room.

'Will you stop that? You look fine. Fantastic,' Rick amended hastily. 'You look fantastic.'

She looked at him, her smile half-chastising, half-grateful. He looked her up and down, a playful glint appearing in his eye, before placing a hand under her elbow.

'I guess you're not a total loss.'

'Ooh!' Her smile broadened slightly. 'Scoundrel.'

'Oh, please!'

Jonathan looked at them in disgust. 'If this is the way it's going to be for the rest of the night, you can bloody well be the designated driver, O'Connell! Now, where's the bar?'

'I could always drive,' Evelyn added, helpfully.

'No!' It was a perfect unison.

She looked between the two men. 'I'm a very good driver.'

'Yeah, 'course you are, honey.' Rick steered her gently towards the top of the staircase. 'I'll drive,' he mouthed to Jonathan over her head. And then winced as an elbow hit him sharply in the stomach.

'I saw that,' she muttered, mutinously. 'Whose side are you on, anyway?'

'I'm not on anyone's... Yours. I'm on your side.'

'Evelyn!' A bright voice, trilling across the room, interrupted any further bickering.

Evelyn turned in the direction of the voice. 'Oh no!'

'What's wrong?'

She inclined her head miserably towards the woman now making her way up the stairs towards them.

'Selina Marshall,' Evelyn replied in a low voice. 'If you thought the ten plagues of Egypt were bad...'

Rick O'Connell looked at his fiancée in some surprise. He had never heard her talk about anyone like that before. He looked at the newcomer with renewed interest, wondering what it was about her that had made Evy sound so ... so ... catty.

It took him about ten seconds to work it out.

'Evelyn, Darling!' Selina kissed the air a few inches from Evy's cheek. 'My, you're looking wonderful! What have you been doing with yourself?'

'Hello Selina,' she replied a little stiffly.

Selina Marshall was the sort of woman who likes to be the centre of attention, and everything about her appearance screamed it. Her platinum blonde hair (bleached, of course) was set in rigid Marcel waves and her oyster silk gown, while the very latest fashion, still managed to accentuate all her curves. Her eyebrows were plucked into a pencil thin line and her mouth heavily painted. It was, overall, a look that Evy particularly disliked.

Jonathan, on the other hand, approved of it wholeheartedly and had already captured one of Selina's bejewelled hands.

'Hello, Selina!' he said effusively. 'Dashed good to see you again.'

She returned him an utterly charming, utterly phoney, smile.

'Hello Jonathan.

Her eyes, however, had already landed on Rick. She extricated her hand from Jonathan's grasp and extended it to him, taking a few steps closer.

'Hello,' she breathed. 'I don't remember seeing you at one of our little soirees before...'

'Yeah, well, that's probably because I've never been here before,' he replied flatly, briefly taking hold of the fingers she was holding out to him before letting them go again. His eyes automatically drifted back to Evelyn and he placed an arm loosely around her waist. She leaned into him, her dark eyes challenging the sultry blonde.

'Selina, this is Rick O'Connell. My fiancé.'

The bright blue eyes widened.

'Oh, really? How marvellous for you!' The statement was finished with a tinkling laugh that made Evelyn grit her teeth.

'Yes, isn't it?' Jonathan interjected. 'Why don't we leave the girls talking and get the drinks, hmm, O'Connell?'

'Oh yes, do!' Selina interjected enthusiastically, laying a hand on Rick's arm.

Jonathan had already started to amble towards the bar and looked over his shoulder, impatiently, to where his soon-to-be-brother-in-law was still being held hostage. O'Connell, reclaimed his arm and looked helplessly at Evelyn.

'I'll be straight back,' he said in answer to her pleading look, before taking off after Jonathan.

Selina linked her arm though Evelyn's. 'My dear, where did you find him?'

She was tempted to reply "In Cairo Prison, just before he was due to be hanged", just to see the look on Selina's face. And while she knew that Rick probably wouldn't care less who knew about that, she also knew that within an hour it would be the only thing that anyone would be talking about.

So she replied, 'Oh, just about, you know...'

Selina's eyes were still fixed on Rick's retreating form. Even amidst a sea of black jackets, he was impossible to miss. His height alone and the breadth of his shoulders marked him out from all the other men in the room. And while any woman who could get one eye open would be able to see that Rick O'Connell was a very handsome man, there was still no excuse for Selina Marshal to be looking at him as though... Well, as she had some right to him.

If anyone was going to look at her fiancé like that, Evelyn decided, it would be herself and no-one else.

With that, she moved directly into Selina's line of vision and forced herself to smile. 'So, tell me what you've been up to lately.'

'Good looking girl, isn't she?'

'Gorgeous,' Rick replied wholeheartedly.

They were both leaning against the makeshift bar, waiting for the drinks to arrive and both were staring up at the balcony where Evelyn was still standing with Selina.

Jonathan looked at O'Connell suspiciously and then rolled his eyes. 'Oh for God's sake, man, I was talking about Selina.'

'Huh?' Rick tore his eyes away from Evelyn and gave the other woman a once-over. He shrugged. 'I guess she's okay.'

'You have a wonderful way with words, O'Connell.'

He turned to his companion and raised an eyebrow. 'I'm engaged to your sister, remember? What do you want me to do? Drool over everything in a skirt?'

'Er, no, I, er suppose not.'

Jonathan cleared his throat, looked hopefully down the bar and then surveyed the young soldier standing next to him.

'I say, O'Connell, you do really, er, love Evy, don't you?'

This time he had O'Connell's full attention. Blue eyes bored into him, part-wary, part-defensive.

Jonathan winced inwardly and, spotting an as yet unclaimed glass of whisky on the bar, launched himself at it and downed it in one.

'I just meant that, well, what with you two being engaged and all... Evy isn't... Well, she's never been the sort of girl who's had much to do with men and, er, well... With a chap of your type-'

'My type?' The blue eyes narrowed. 'So, what? You don't approve of me?'