Here it is, chapter 8! Sorry it took so long to get this up, I ran out of ideas for this chapter, and so it took me a while to come up with it. I think I know where I want this story to go, but I am completely open to suggestions. Let me know if any of you have an idea that you think would work well for this story!

As always, thanks go out to my reviewers, Empathy Is Me, Shlane, Sofia, Cindy, and of course Lilylynn. You guys are awesome!!

Oh, and by the way, I hereby dedicate this chapter to Lilylynn (a.k.a. Mrs. O'Connell, lol!). You are absolutely the greatest, and I really appreciate all of your encouragement!!! I really, really do! Look out, world! Because in 10 years, Lilylynn will be the next Rachel Weiss!!!

Anyways, here it is, chapter 8! Enjoy!

Chapter 8 It Must Be Love

His mind was playing tricks on him. Looking at the spot that she had occupied just five seconds ago, he shook his head and looked again. Yup, she was still gone. She had disappeared right before his eyes. Just like that, Leah was gone (A/N: Ha ha, fooled you all! You all thought she was rescued, but she wasn't!).

She wasn't there in the first place, Ardeth thought as he entered into the lobby of the hotel. I wanted to see her so badly that I imagined her standing right in front of me. Sighing in defeat, the Medjai leader turned down the hall that led to the two suites the O'Connells had rented. He entered the one he had been in the night before, where he was supposed to have been protecting Leah. I failed miserably, he thought to himself as he opened the door.

Evelyn was running around wildly as Ardeth walked in. "But I need those books!" she was shouting as she tugged a large bag behind her.

"No, you don't," Rick yelled from their bedroom. "We need only the bare essentials!" He appeared in the doorway of the bedroom to Ardeth's left. "The only thing these books would be good for is fire wood!"

Evelyn gasped in horror. "You wouldn't!" she shouted as she stormed over to her husband, grabbing the stack of books out of his arms. "You wouldn't dare!"

Rick stamped his foot impatiently. "Evelyn, we don't have time for this! We've got to leave now!" He grabbed his wife's hand and tugged her into the bedroom. "Get your clothes together. And remember, essentials only."

Ardeth stood uncomfortably in the dining room, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, not sure what to do.

"Mom! Dad! Should I bring my ski boots?" Alex shouted from behind Ardeth, entering the suite.

"No!" Rick shouted back. "I said, bare essentials!"

"Okay, okay," Alex grumbled, backing out the door.

Ardeth sat in one of the chairs around the table, waiting for the family to be ready.

"Hello, old chap," Ardeth heard a voice say behind him. Jonathan appeared from the direction of the suite entrance and sat in the chair next to Ardeth. "So I see you didn't have any luck, either."

"What do you mean?" Ardeth asked.

"Finding Leah," Jonathan said carelessly.

"No, I did not find Miss Leah," Ardeth said.

Jonathan shrugged, not showing a bit of concern. "Ah, well, don't worry, she'll turn up eventually."

Ardeth did not answer because suddenly, Rick came thundering in just then, Evelyn hot on his heels. "Ardeth! Did you find her?" he asked, finally noticing that Ardeth was there.

"I did not, my friend," Ardeth said guiltily. "I am sorry."

"Fine," Rick said. "We leave in five minutes for Rathshad."

Evelyn grabbed Rick's elbow from behind.

"Evelyn, no! Lord knows where that undead bastard corpse has taken my sister. That is why we have to leave now, so we can search every corner of this earth if we have to!"

"He is right," Ardeth said. "We must go to Rathshad. We must stop him before it is too late."

"But we musn't rush into this!" Evelyn said. "We can't go unprepared! We must come up with a plan of action!"

"Fine! You can stay here and come up with this plan! My little sister is out there with this monster, and I vowed to always protect her! So I am going now, with or without you!" Rick looked hard at Evelyn, his eyes boring into hers. "Evelyn, if this was your brother out there, you'd be all for this."

Evelyn took a few seconds before answering. "You're right, you're right," she conceded finally. "Leah needs our help. And we're going to give it to her." She clapped her hands. "Let's go. Five minutes!" she said, turning and heading back to the bedroom.

Rick put his hands to his temples, massaging them as he settled into the chair next to Ardeth.

Nothing was said among the three men for a few moments. When the silence was lifted, Ardeth was the one who spoke first. "I am sorry," he said.

"Sorry for what?" Rick asked.

"It is my fault your sister is missing," Ardeth said. "I was supposed to protect her, and I failed. I am sorry."

Rick shook his head. "No, it's my fault. I should have been with her. I knew Imhotep would try to take her, and yet I did nothing. It's my fault."

"Well, as long as we're all blaming ourselves here, then it might as well be my fault, too," broke in Jonathan. "Although I don't know why it would be."

"Jonathan, could you please just go find something better to do? Unless you're going to be of some assistance to us, then you should really just shut-up!" Rick said.

"Jeez, somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed," said Jonathan.

Rick started at his brother-in-law, his lips curved in an angry frown. He was about to say something when he changed his mind. "You know what, forget it. It's not worth it."

Alex came into the suite then, a small bag on his shoulders. "I'm all ready, Dad," he said as he came over to the table. "Hi, Uncle Jon, Ardeth. Is everyone ready to go?"

"Everyone but your mother," Rick told his son. "Why don't you go hurry her up a bit?"

"No need," Evelyn called, and she came out of the bedroom. "I'm ready when you are."

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Leah shook her head and opened her eyes, then closed them again as the world swam around in circles. "Oh, god," she muttered to herself. "I've got a heck of a hangover." Mustering all of her strength, she reopened her eyes and struggled to keep them there. "A really bad hangover," she said, taking in the wall of sand stretching out in front of her. She managed to raise her aching head and take in other details, including the fact that she was laying slouched over the back of a fat camel, and that several other camels were traveling all around her.

"Good, you are awake, Samir-hi," a voice said behind her.

Leah groaned out loud. "Oh, god," she moaned, her head still aching as Imhotep rode up next to her. "What happened?" she asked.

"You took an unfortunate fall out of the window of your room in Thebes," Imhotep said. He raised his long fingered hand to his daughter's cheek. "You hit your head pretty hard on a large rock and were unconscious for quite some time. I am glad you are awake now." He caressed Leah's skin with his thumb. "You were not trying to run away from me, were you, my daughter?"

Her mind was still a bit foggy, but it was slowly becoming clearer. She remembered her escapade the night before, bungee jumping out of the window and attempting to escape. She remembered hitting the ground with a thud, the rope around her waist just short enough to keep her from completely killing herself. She remembered laying on the ground, dazed, her head aching from where she had hit it on a rock, as Imhotep's ugly men surrounded her. She had been too weak to protest as they carried her off into the night while she was slowly slipping into unconsciousness. The next thing she knew, she had woken up on this camel in the middle of the desert. She hung her head, knowing that whatever answer she gave to Imhotep's question would be wrong. "Where are we going?" she asked instead.

"We are going to Rathshad. You are finally going to become who you really are," Imhotep answered, his hand falling from Leah's face. He looked lovingly into her eyes. "I have waited a long time for this," he said softly. "For you to finally know that you are my daughter, not Rathshad's."

"Let me guess. You've waited thousands of years, haven't you?" Leah asked sarcastically.

Imhotep nodded, not detecting Leah's tone. "Yes, I have. And we can finally be together, as we should have been long ago."

Leah turned her head the other way, too upset to listen to any more.

Imhotep would not admit it to anyone, but he was hurt at how the lovely little redhead had brushed him off. He could not understand why she treated him as she did. I love her so much, he thought to himself as he urged his camel forward. She is my child, and all I want is for us to be happy together. Why can she not understand that I do not want to hurt her, I only want to love her? Why did she try to run away from me last night? Oh, Samir-hi, I love you so much it hurts!

Leah could begin to feel herself burning in the desert sun. She remembered back to when she and Evelyn had been sitting in their tent at their campsite in Rathshad, before all of this had started, and they had talked about working on their tans. I didn't want to work on it this way, Leah thought as she felt her lips protesting in pain, as she licked the dryness out of them. Her head was still pounding with its headache, and add to that all of this the desert heat, and you can imagine how miserable Leah really was. It's so hot… I've got to get out of here, she thought to herself. But I can't. I can't see straight thanks to this awful headache, and I if I could, I wouldn't be able to walk straight, thanks to my ankle, and… her mind trailed off. I'm going to die. This is it. I'm going to die in this stupid desert with this even stupider mummy jackass!

Leah must have dozed off because the next thing she knew, she was slipping off the camel, heading towards the sand, her mind spinning, her breath coming in gasps.

"Hold on!" she heard a voice call out urgently from behind. "Hold on tight, Samir-hi! Do not let go!"

Leah shook her head groggily and realized what was happening. "Oh, crap!" she cried, grabbing onto the camel's neck as it ran wildly through the desert. Still, she continued falling. "Please, God, make it quick and painless," she prayed, scrunching her eyes closed tightly.

Suddenly, a pair of arms scooped her up. Through her feverish mind, she looked up into a pair of dark eyes, black tattoos dancing in front of her baby blues. "Thank god you're here," she said breathlessly. "Thank god, thank god."

"You are safe now, Bent Hair," Ardeth said as he pulled her atop his horse.

"Thank you. Thank you," Leah whispered through cracked lips. She clung with all of her might to Ardeth's broad chest as his horse raced across the desert sand, towards nowhere. She sucked in a deep breath and the scent of the man holding onto her. He smelled clean, of soap, and of… she couldn't quite place the second smell. Wood chips. Pine trees, she thought. Except there aren't pine trees in Egypt, so why would he smell like them? She heard his heart beating strongly in her ear, felt the soft wool of his robe on her cheek, saw his muscular chest rising and falling with every breath he took. What a hunk, she thought. "Ardeth?" she asked softly.

"Yes, Bent Hair?" the Medjai asked of his damsel in distress.

Leah began to cling even harder to her knight in shining armor as she began to feel herself slipping off the horse. "Arhoseth… I mean, Ardeth… I love you," she mumbled, her hands losing their grip on their anchor. She squinted her eyes shut as her mind tumbled off into oblivion, her body

plummeting to the ground, Ardeth disappearing as she stumbled back to reality.

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"Mum, I'm hot," Alex whined.

"Me too," Jonathan agreed. "I say we stop for a rest."

"No!" called Rick from the front of the pack. "We can't! We have to catch up to Leah. We can't stop because we'll lose too much time!"

Jonathan grumbled a bit to himself, but didn't say anything.

The crew was riding their camels single file through the desert, a couple of hours outside of Thebes, still about eight hours from Rathshad. The heat was almost unbearable, and there were still several hours left until high noon, the hottest part of the day.

Imagine how Leah must feel, Rick thought to himself. Stuck with some idiot who claims to be her father, who kidnapped her from her hotel room in the middle of the night. And now she's out here baking in this heat. She could be sick or hurt or… well, not cold, but she could be really hot, and I'm not there to help her! Rick urged his camel on faster, anxious to catch up to his sister.

Evelyn rode silently behind her husband, watching his desperation. She shook her head to herself, wondering how she could help. She remembered the last time they had battled Imhotep, when Rick's friend Izzy had proven himself to be more than useful. What we need is Izzy, she thought to herself. Where is he when you need him?

Alex and Jonathan followed Rick and Evelyn, each one of them sitting high atop their own camels. Jonathan was bright red, his skin sunburned, as he had forgotten to apply sunscreen. (A/N: I don't know if they actually had sunscreen in the 1930's, but just pretend that they did!). Alex's blond hair was plastered to his forehead as sweat streamed down his face. Neither were being very talkative, they were too busy being hot to open their mouths.

Meanwhile, Ardeth brought up the rear of the group, riding behind Jonathan and Alex on his horse. His heart was heavy, and he was also quiet as he bounced over his mount's withers. He, too, was feelings the effects of the heat, but it did not bother him as much as the thoughts that were on his mind. He was as worried about Leah as Rick was, although he didn't know why. Rick has known Miss Leah as long as she's been alive. It is only natural for him to worry himself like he is. I have known Leah two days, and while I should worry for Leah like I would any other person, why is my entire life suddenly revolving around her? In his heart of hearts, he knew the reason, that he was slowly falling for the little out-going, tough girl, but he wouldn't admit it to his mind. Instead, as he followed the caravan, he continued searching his brain for the answer to his feelings.

Everybody was hot and tired, and Rick knew it. After another half hour of plodding along, he heard Ardeth call out from behind that his horse needed a rest. With very little protesting, Rick stopped his camel and climbed off, unloading a large bag as Evelyn parked her camel next to Rick's.

The family, minus Leah, gathered around in a circle using the four camels and the horse as shade from the desert sun. Jonathan, who was now as red as a lobster, poured his entire canteen of water over himself and curled up on a blanket to take a nap. As he settled into position, his camel put its head down to Jonathan and licked some of the water off his face.

"Oh, disgusting," Jonathan muttered as he pushed the large tan muzzle away.

"Enjoy it while you can, Uncle Jon," Alex laughed as he spread his own blanket over the sand near Jonathan. "That may be the only kiss you ever get."

Jonathan glared at his nephew, pulling his hat over his sunburned face and turning to face the other direction.

Alex just shrugged and settled onto his bedding.

"Rick, you should try to eat something," Evelyn was saying a few feet away, digging through a small bag. "I've got some fruit here and—"

"I'm not hungry, Evelyn," Rick said as he hoisted down another bag from atop his camel.

"But you've got to eat something," Evelyn argued, coming up behind Rick. "Just a little something, it doesn't have to be big. You need your stength!"

Rick stopped moving, his back to his wife. He closed his eyes for a second, and then reopened them and turned to face Evelyn. "Evelyn, I just can't eat now, not when Leah is out there with that… whatever he is. If she doesn't eat, then I don't eat." Rick look pointedly at Evelyn, then walked around her, towards where Ardeth was holding his canteen up to his horse's mouth, allowing the animal to drink. "How long do you need to rest?" Rick asked as he approached Ardeth.

"Not long. My horse just needs some water and a little air, and we can be on our way again," Ardeth said.

Rick nodded, showing that he understood, and continued on with his bag.

While Jonathan and Alex slept, Rick holed himself up in a corner of the shaded area. When Evelyn came near him, he shrugged her off, too absorbed in his problems.

Evelyn knew that Rick would come around eventually, so she left him alone and made her way over to where Ardeth was, having left his horse to sit on the ground, resting.

"Ardeth, do you mind if I join you?" Evelyn asked as she drew to a stop in front of him, tugging a small bag with her.

"Of course not," Ardeth said, motioning to the ground next to him.

Evelyn smiled as she settled on the sand, reveling in the shade that the animals created. "So how are you holding up?" Evie asked the Medjai.

Ardeth looked up, taken aback, but he answered steadily. "I am fine," he told Evelyn. "I am used to the heat, it does not bother me as much as it bothers the others."

"Uh huh," said Evelyn, looking at Ardeth intently, knowing what was on his mind without him having to say it. "Really."

"Yes, really," Ardeth responded. He looked down to the gun he was shining, not able to make eye contact with Evelyn.

"I see," Evelyn said. "So… uh…" Evelyn stuttered as she wondered how to approach the subject she was trying to get at. Finally, she just decided to come right out and say it. "Ardeth, I've been meaning to ask you… how do you feel about Leah?"

Ardeth jerked his head up and looked at Evelyn suspiciously. "What do you mean, how do I feel about her?"

Evelyn reached out and patted Ardeth's hand, which had stopped shining the gun and was just sitting on the butt of it. "You can tell me, Ardeth."

"Leah is a good girl. She is kind, she is strong, and she is beauti--" Ardeth stopped, mid-word, realizing what he had almost blurted out.

"You think she's beautiful?" asked Evelyn, a smile forming on her lips.

Ardeth looked down at his gun, then back up at Evelyn, knowing he was beat. "Yes," he admitted. "Leah is quite beautiful."

"So I take it that you are smitten with her?" Evelyn asked.

"No, I am not smitten with Leah," Ardeth said, knowing the words were wrong as soon as he said them. However, he did not want Evelyn to know that.

"Oh," Evelyn said. "Well, I remember when Rick and I first met. I couldn't stand him, and he couldn't stand me. We hated each other. And, well, just look at us now." Evelyn gestured around her, to the sleeping Alex, and then to Rick, who had his back to them, lost in thought. Evelyn thought of how he had shrugged her off earlier. "Okay, bad example," she said. "But still, Ardeth. I think you and Leah are star-crossed lovers."

Ardeth looked at Evelyn, confused. "Star-crossed lovers? I do not understand."

"You and Leah are meant to be together, Ardeth," Evelyn explained. "You love her, and I'm sure that Leah loves you too. You two have been together through the ages… do you remember Samir-hi's body guard, Arhoseth?" Evelyn reached into the bag next to her, pulling out a book that she had sneaked along on their trip. She opened it up to the picture of Samir-hi/Leah, and then turned it to the next page. There was a full-paged painting of Arhoseth, who was the spitting image of Ardeth.

Ardeth nodded, knowing full well that he was Arhoseth reincarnated. And he knew what that meant about his feelings for Leah. Though in this life he had known her for just a couple of days, in actuality, he had known her for thousands of years, and that was why he felt as he did for her.

"Just as I was Nefirtiri, Leah is Samir-hi. And just as Rick was a Medjai who protected me all of those years ago, so are you a Medjai who protected Leah. You protected her then, and you are protecting her now."

Ardeth pursed his lips, his heart breaking. "I did not protect her in this life," Ardeth said dejectedly. "I betrayed her by allowing her to be kidnapped by Imhotep."

Evelyn squeezed Ardeth's hand. "No! That's not true! Sure, she was kidnapped, but we'll get her back! We'll rescue her! You love her, remember? And I'm sure that she loves you. And when two lovers are parted, they always find their way back together. Do you understand me, Ardeth?"

Ardeth was about to answer when suddenly, a raquet was heard overhead. Evelyn and Ardeth both stood up quickly, as did Rick from a few yards away. Jonathan and Alex both woke and sat up, shielding their eyes as they looked to the sky.

Evelyn, Ardeth, and Rick gathered around Jonathan and Alex. The five of them continued to stare as suddenly, the object stalled and began falling to the ground, right towards the make-shift camp.

"What is that?" Alex asked as they took in the dark object falling through the air.

"Well, I would say that's what's going to rescue us," Rick started, "except that it's not."

"Then what is it?" Alex asked again as the plane continued to fall, just a couple hundred yards away from them.

Rick shook his head, half laughing, half groaning as the airplane hit the ground with a crash, sending a wall of sand in all directions. "Izzy," he harumphed.