Well here is my first try at any type of fan fiction.  I have had this story half written for a while now and have decided to post it to see what you all think of it.  Feel free to leave a review if you like it, and if you don't, please tell me, but no flames please!  Sorry if it is Mary-Sueish, I have this thing for taking the hero of a story and writing about his or her kid sister.  Sorry if it is boring, but it will get better, I just have to give you all of the background information.  Enough of my ramblings… on with the show!

Wait one more thing… DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Mummy or any of the characters, I own only Leah and a beat-up 1993 Chevy Cavalier worth about $2.

Now here's the story…

Chapter 1  Lonely

Leah awoke with a start, jerking her head off the desk.  Looking around at the room now lit only by light streaming into the windows from the streetlamps, she sighed.  Then she closed the books in front of her and stood up.  She pulled her warm coat off its hook behind her and slipped it on, wishing she had not fallen asleep and let the fire go out, as now it was too cold in the office to continue working.  She buttoned herself in, donned her heavy down gloves, gathered her books, and started for the door.  She locked it behind her and walked down the narrow corridor, toward the exit of the building.

            She reached into her coat pocket as she walked.  Her hand brushed against a piece of folded paper in the crevice of her jacket.  She pulled it out and unfolded it, the reality of the letter bringing tears to her eyes.

            Although American by birth, Leah preferred the classic and eccentric feeling of England, as it all seemed much simpler than the hubbub of New York City.  Leah loved her current home.  Here in Britain, Leah had her own small apartment that she furnished carefully with her own tastes.  Here in Britain, she was less than three miles from her brother and his wife and son, her only family left on this earth.  Here in Britain, Leah had a good, steady job at the British Museum, which now served as a wonderful diversion from the problem that had become her life.

            The letter she was now holding should have been the best thing that had ever happened to her.  Instead, it just caused a large wave of sadness to wash over her.  Her acceptance letter to the University of Cairo was something she had wanted for over a year.  It was supposed to be the beginning of the rest of her life; she would pursue her degree, while at the same time soaking up the culture and excitement of Egypt.  And while she was doing all of this, she would be making lifelong friends and planning her career in architecture.  A man's profession, she knew, but she had been determined to make it hers, too.  But now this was all just a dream.  Actually, a nightmare.  Her hopes had been dashed by one cruel person.  Andrew Hawkins had been the love of her life.  The English man had been the fabric of her being for the last nine months, until now.

            Leah slipped out of the exit of the building, groaning as she realized that it had begun to rain.  As she started the mile trek to her apartment, the rain began to turn to freezing rain, meshing with the tears streaming down Leah's face and making frozen rivulets over her freckles.

            She and Andrew had met through Leah's job at the museum.  Andrew was a frequent visitor, as he was earning his master's degree in ancient Egyptian history at Oxford and loved the rare artifacts the curator collected.  As he was examining the exhibits one rainy Tuesday, Leah happened to be running through on her way to deliver some mail to her boss.  She collided with him, giving him a golf ball sized bump on his shin.  He hadn't seemed to care about the bump; instead, he was mesmorized by the short and trim curly-haired redheaded creature in front of him.

            Now, a sudden flash of headlights behind Leah made her gasp and turn around.  A car went zooming by her, nearly driving on the sidewalk and coming within inches of hitting her.

            "Damn drunks," she muttered as she continued to walk.  Her thoughts turned back to Andrew again.

            Although he had been nine years Leah's elder, the two had fallen in love quickly—or so Leah had thought.  Andrew proposed only four months after they'd first met.  Leah had always known that she wanted to go to college; at the age of nineteen, she felt that she was in her prime of academic performance, but she did not want to leave her Andrew behind.  The solution to the problem was Andrew's idea: they would both apply for admission at the University of Cairo, where she could earn her bachelor's degree in architecture and Andrew could go on to earn his doctorate.  Eagerly, Leah sent her application.  The two began to plan their wedding and their lives together.  That was, until Leah found out about Andrew's other girlfriend.  It was all over in a nanosecond.  And then, not even one week after the fiasco, Leah received the letter that brought her broken dreams to the surface all over again.

            The letter had arrived this morning.  She and Andrew had now been over for just three days.  Ever since the break up, Leah had spent her time immersed in a book in her office at the British Museum from the wee hours of the morning to late at night.  She would only leave to spend the night over at Patty's house, stuffing her face with chocolate and listening to her friend snore while she herself laid awake.  She couldn't face her apartment—it held too many memories of the could-have-been that would never be.  Now, on this particular night, her body had finally given in and allowed her to slip unconscious over her work, giving her the first strains of sound sleep that she had seen in over three days.  Leah knew she should be angry, not moping around as she was.  And she would be some day.  But the wound was still too fresh; she was just plain sad now.

            At the present, Leah's stride began to slow as she passed a small park to her right.  Turning in the direction of it, she walked up the short stone path, towards the black wrought iron gate.  She stopped at the entrance and leaned on it, the icy surface soaking through her parka.

            She glanced to the right of the fenced-in playground.  This was their park.  There stood the colorful swing set that Andrew used to push her on.  He used to push her so high she thought her toes would touch the tree behind her and she would tumble off into their lush leaves.  To her left stood the jungle gym.  They used to climb to the top of it and sit there, discussing their future.  That was where they had shared their first kiss.  One beautiful summer day, they were racing to the top, and Andrew got there first.  As he reached down to help her up, he leaned in for the kill—and Leah suddenly moved her head, bashing him in the nose.  Leah couldn't understand why she always injured Andrew during their romantic firsts, but that didn't matter, because he pulled her up to sit beside and him and finished giving her his kiss anyway.

            Now, running her hands across the top of the gate, she spied the small bench under the weeping willow tree.  That was where Andrew had proposed to her.  On a beautiful Indian summer day in the middle of October, he placed his diamond on her finger and vowed that she was the one he wanted to marry.  Leah glanced down at her now naked left ring finger.  When she had found Andrew and his other girlfriend together, she had slipped if off and thrown it angrily at his head, hoping to knock him dead, or at least render him knocked out.

            She didn't dare step inside.  If she did, she knew she would never leave.  As much as he had hurt her, she still loved him.  She didn't think anything would change that.  And she knew if she walked into that playground, she would be rooted to the ground, as close to him as she could ever be now.

            More headlights flashed on the road.  Leah never even noticed as one pair pulled off to the curb.

            "Leah!" a man's voice called out.  "Leah!"

            Leah didn't budge.  More memories went flooding through her mind.  More tears fell down her cheeks.

            The tall, well-built man who climbed out of the car continued to call her name.  "Leah!"  He walked up the short stone path, his floppy brown hair littered with small ice crystals.  He reached her and grabbed her shoulders, turning her to face him.  "Leah, I was worried!  I've spent the last two hours looking for you… you should have called me.  You shouldn't be out in this weather, and all alone at this time of night."

            "No.  I'm okay," said Leah.

            "Sure," said Rick O'Connell.  "And I'm the king of England.  I'm not buying it, Lee.  How come I haven't heard from you in four days?"

            She lost it.  Breaking into sobs, she covered her face with her hands.

            Rick pulled her to his chest.  "Oh, Leah," he said.  "You can tell me what's wrong.  You can trust me.  I'm your big brother, remember?"

            Leah continued to cry for almost five minutes in the comfort of Rick's arms, unable to speak.  When she finally found her voice, she pulled away.  "I'm sorry, Rick," she said.

            "No, don't be sorry," Rick said softly.  He was dying to know what was bothering her, but he wouldn't pry.  He pulled Leah's shivering body to his chest.  He noticed the almost violent shaking and said, "We need to get your out of this weather before you catch your death."

            Leah let Rick gently guide her to his waiting car at the curb.  He opened the door and helped her inside, then shut the door behind her.  He crawled into the other side, shook the ice crystals off his head, and gently pushed in the clutch, putting the car into gear.  "Where to, Leah?" he asked.

            "Home, I guess," Leah answered.

            "Are you sure?" Rick asked, pulling the car out into the empty street.

            "Where else do I have to go?"

            "How about my place?" Rick asked.  "We have an extra bedroom… and plenty of heat… I know your place can get sort of drafty at night, especially when it's cold outside… and Evie and Alex would sure love to see you."

            "Rick, I can't impose on Evelyn," said Leah.  "I've got my own place, and that's where I've got to go."

            "You wouldn't be imposing," said Rick.  "They'd love to have you.  Even Jonathan would be happy to see you."

            "No," said Leah simply, and Rick knew it was decided.

            A few minutes later, he pulled the car into the lot of Leah's apartment building.  He placed the car into neutral, letting it idle.  He climbed out and walked to the passenger side, opening the door.  "Leah?  Are you coming?"
            Leah was staring up at her fourth floor apartment, a strange look on her face.  All she could remember was last Christmas, when she and Andrew had celebrated their sixth month anniversary together.  Leah had placed a small pine tree in front of the living room window that faced the parking lot.  On Christmas Eve, she had invited Andrew over to help her decorate it, and they had had the time of their lives.  That was when Leah realized that he was "the one" and that she had done the right thing by accepting his proposal.  They had had a connection… something so deep and meaningful… or so she had thought.

            "How could I have been so wrong?" whispered Leah to no one but herself.  "How did we go so wrong?"

            "What?" asked Rick, leaning into the car to hear her.

            "I—I can't go in there," whispered Leah.  "He's there.  He's every where."

            "Who's there?" asked Rick suspiciously, his hand going instinctively to the holster hidden beneath his coat.

            Leah didn't answer at first.

            "Leah, did you see somebody in your apartment?" asked Rick urgently, and he unsheathed the handgun in his holster, ready to fight to defend his sister.

"Put the gun away, Rick," said Leah, snapping back to reality as she caught sight of the weapon.  One thing she hated more than Andrew was guns and fighting, which was strange for an O'Connell.  Nevertheless, she hated violence, and Rick's gun was giving her the chills.  "Put it away, there's nobody there."  She bit her lip as Rick put his gun away and examined her pale face.  "But I do believe that I will take you up on your offer.  Could I please stay at your place tonight?"

"Of course," said Rick quickly.  He closed the passenger side door and jogged to the other side, jumping in to get out of the weather.

Not a word was said on the five minutes trip to Rick's rambling manor.  He pulled his car right up to the door and let it there, helping Leah out of her seat.  The two dashed through the frozen precipitation, and Rick led his sister inside.

"What time is it?" asked Leah, shaking out her soaked hair.

"Midnight," answered Rick, helping the young girl take off her jacket.  He paused, looking his sister over.  He was bothered by the fact that she was hurting, but wouldn't tell him over what so that he could try to help.  He could tell she was neglecting herself.  Clear dark bags sagged under her eyes.  It had only been four days since he had last seen her, but he could tell she had lost weight, and the light from her haunting blue eyes was gone.  Her fiery red curls hung limply around her face, and her spirit seemed to have vanished.  Leah was outgoing, tough, and bold, but Rick had never seen her look so low.  "Have you eaten dinner?" he asked.

Leah shook her head miserably as she shucked her drenched shoes and set them to dry by the door.  "No.  I'm not very hungry."

"Well, you've got to eat," said Rick, shrugging off his jacket and removing his holster.  He placed the leather over a chair and pulled his gun out, giving Leah more shivers.  "I'm starving, and I'm sure you are, too," he said as he moved to the gun cabinet along one wall of the foyer.  "Now, I'm not much of a cook, but I do believe that I can whip up a couple of platefuls of chocolate chip pancakes.  What do you think?"  He gently placed his weapon in the cabinet and closed the glass door, making sure it was locked before he looked up at the redhead.

"No, thanks," said Leah sadly.  "May I just go to bed?"

Rick didn't say anything at first.  When he spoke, his tone was soothing, a voice that only his family had ever heard him use.  "Leah, I know something is wrong.  Please tell me.  Maybe I can help."

Leah looked up, her eyes glazed over with their now constant film of tears.  "You can't help me," she said simply.  "Nobody can."

Rick didn't know what to say.  He respected Leah, and wanted to do what she wished.  He didn't push the issue any further.  "Okay," he said finally.  "Well, if you're not hungry, how about a hot bath?  I know you must be frozen to the bone, and I'm sure that will help you feel better."

            Leah shrugged.

            "Okay.  Come on upstairs and we'll get you settled in."  As he and his sister mounted the spiral stairs, Rick wrapped his arm around Leah's shoulders and hugged her closer.  "I love you, sis," he said.  "And I always will."

            Leah didn't answer.  Instead, fresh tears trickled down her cheeks.  At least there was one person that still cared.