Chapter 8 Rick and Evelyn

A/N: Next chapter. I hope you like it and I know it's short but the next one
is already finished and much longer. It's also very exciting because we'll
learn more stuff about Rick and David and about what happened back then. So,
please if you liked this chapter and would like to read the next chapter
too, please review because I have the feeling that no one is interested in
this story anymore and it's hard to keep on writing when no one wants to
read your stuff! Anyway enjoy

Alex stared out of the window and his sister was leaning her head against
his shoulder. After endless chatting with David, who tried his best to keep
smiling although he was very bored, she had finally fallen asleep. Alex took
a look at his watch and sighed. Of course she was tired, it was 5 o'clock in
the morning and they had been up all night.

He watched David, who stared on the street and drove through the fresh
morning without saying a word. They were out of Cairo know and Alex didn't
fear anymore that they would be found, but somehow he wished that they would
after all. David had stopped at his apartment to pick up some money and food
for them to eat. Alex had wanted to join him to help him carry things but
David had forbidden it very rudely. And this had intensified the strange
feeling he felt in his stomach even more. Maybe this whole adventure wasn't
such a good idea after all.

"Where are we heading?" Alex suddenly asked and startled David who made a
little jump in the air.

"Well." he began, trying his best to smile friendly. "We're going to meet a
friend of mine, he's going to lend us a few camels for the way through the
desert," he answered quickly. This kid was asking too many questions; David
was very afraid that he would get suspicious.

Alex looked at him and tried to figure out if he was telling the truth.
"Aren't you afraid that my Dad will be very angry at you for helping us?" He
asked.

And that made David grin, but it was real grin this time, one that made Alex
shiver. "Oh yes.your father will be very.very angry at me. But we such good
friends.I'm sure he'll forgive me." Oh yes, David was really scared of Rick
O'Connell's reaction but that he couldn't tell Alex. Not yet.

Meanwhile in Cairo airport:

Evelyn was at the Cairo airport and waited for Rick's plane from London to
land. God ,she longed to see him again, to feel his strong arms around her.
She needed him now, she needed him so much it hurt. It had been hours since
she had found out that their children were gone and it had been a terrible
time for her. The police of Cairo was driving around, checking the airport
and the station, showing people their pictures and asking if anyone had seen
them.

But until now Alex and Sarah were gone without a trace. This thought choked
her and left her breathless. She knew that Alex was smart and she knew that
he would make it but now he had his little sister with him. And even if Rick
had already began to teach Sarah too how to survive in this cruel world, she
knew that her little girl was just too young to actually do it yet.

She felt the tears rising again but she wiped them away, enraged. Since when
had she become such a wimp? She was Evelyn O'Connell and she had seen and
experienced so much shit that she should be able to bear this too. But she
wasn't, not at all. She wasn't Evy, the heroine, the strong and brave woman
anymore. She was a mother. One that was very worried right now.

She watched the plane land and then she saw Rick. Suddenly it was all going
like in slow motion. He looked so good. He carried a worried expression but
the rings around his eyes were gone, he had shaved and wore new clothes. He
looked like the Rick O'Connell she had married years ago. When he spotted
her, he let go of his bag and began to run. He didn't care for the people
around them who were staring at them. He just run as fast as he could and
before she could blink he was by her side. He wrapped his strong arms around
her tiny body and embraced her.

All of sudden she felt so protected, like nothing in the world could happen
to her with this man at her side. She felt like now she was finally able to
let her guards down again. And she began to weep. Not only for her missing
children but also for herself and the past years of pain. And he just held
her and let her cry while stroking her hair.

Evelyn sobbed a bit and then she took a deep breath. Beside the fact that
she was still worried about her kids, she felt so much relief and joy. God,
how had she missed to feel safe. And not only to feel safe in general, but
also to feel safe in his arms. She had longed for this moment so long, since
the baby had died. She knew that there were still a few problems to deal
with but right now all this didn't matter to her.

She looked up and she saw much love in his eyes, that the tears started to
rise up again. He hadn't looked at her like this in a very long time. He
softly stroke her cheek and smiled.

"Shh." he said and wiped her tears away. "It's going to be alright,
everything's going to be fine Evy."

She nodded. And then she let him take her hand and followed him back to the
place where he had dropped his bag. She took a look at it and gasped.

"Is that the bag.?" She stuttered.

He nodded and her eyes went wide. "You don't think that we'll need this,
right?" She asked, suddenly afraid. She looked at him and she was really
dumbfounded when she realized that Rick was beginning to get back to his old
self, not just to Rick the loving and caring father but to Rick O'Connell:
The hero and adventurer. But after the death of the baby he had wanted to
bury this Rick. She had been in the room when he'd sworn to himself that he
would never touch this bag again. It was full of weapons and for him full of
memories. It was his "adventure bag" like Alex used to call it.

"No, I don't think we'll need it. But you know me. I want to be prepared,"
he answered and grinned slightly. It was an adventurers grin. His grin.

Meanwhile:

Ardeth Bay, leader of the Medjai, watched his friend Luku taking care of
their camels while he was feeding Horus II, his best friend. Horus the first
had died a very terrible death, being shot down by an enemy of the Medjai.
He sighed. It had been a long day and now they were resting in a small
village not far away from Cairo. It was very early and in a few hours the
men would continue their control round through the desert. It was a hard
work but they were Medjais and protecting the undiscovered treasures of
Egypt that were resting in the desert was their job.

The village began to awake, the first people arrived the market to prepare
their booths. Ardeth watched them and shook his head. He didn't understand
these people, they were cheater and liars and tried their best to steal
money from the tourists, tourists that they needed to survive. He wouldn't
be able to live a life like this.

He sighed and suddenly he stiffened. He saw a small boy with blond hair that
he was sure he knew. He stood up and let his eyes travel about the now very
full market, trying to find him again. And then he did. There he was,
standing beside a booth and beside him a even smaller girl. Ardeth
recognized him at once. It was Alexander O'Connell, the son of a Medjai. He
smiled. The boy was here so his parents would be here too.

He began to walk up to him. Evelyn and Rick O'Connell used to make a lot of
trouble. But he liked them a lot and he knew that this family had a great
destiny in front of them. And some day they would have to face it but for
now it was enough that they at least knew that they were special. And that
they knew.

Ardeth was now almost at Alex's side when the boy turned around. He gasped
when he saw him and a very big smile spread about his lips. This was the man
that had saved his father's life more than once and his too.

"Ardeth Bay," he yelled and ran up to him.

"Good morning Alexander. It's been a long time.how are you?" The men asked
friendly. He had always liked this boy. He was very smart and he was a lot
like his father.

"I'm good," he answered and then he pulled Sarah closer, wanting to
introduce her to him. "This is Sarah, my sister," he said.

Sarah looked down and her face reddened. She was very shy around people she
didn't know. Ardeth Bay knelt down and smiled. She looked up and he stared
into her brown eyes. She couldn't take her eyes away, his gaze was so
intense and even if Alex hadn't told her she knew that this man was special.

The man looked quite friendly and with his fingers he made a small sign on
her forehead. It was sign of the Medjai, one that should protect and bless
the little girl. Then he stood up and looked around confused.

"Where are your parents? I would like to meet them, it's been a long time
since I have seen them last," he asked and Alex looked down, trying his best
to avoid his gaze.

"They're not here," he answered truthfully. He knew it would be in vain to
lie at the Medjai, he would know anyway.

Sarah nodded quickly. "Yeah.Mommy is in Cairo and Daddy is in London. We're
going into the desert, to see pyramids and to have adventures," she babbled.
She liked this man and he seemed very trustworthy, so that she was sure that
Alex wouldn't get angry at her this time for telling the truth.

"Alone?" Ardeth Bay couldn't believe what he was hearing. Just one look at
Alex's guilty face and he knew that their parents didn't have a clue that
they were here. But he didn't have an idea how these kids had been able to
get here alone.

Alex stared at Sarah and wanted to stop her from saying anything but she was
faster. "No.we're here with a friend of Daddy. His name is David and he
wants to help us to get Daddy's missing soul back," she said and sounded
quite confident.

Ardeth took a deep breath. He didn't understand any of this and he couldn't.
He didn't know what had happened the last years. He didn't know of the baby
and that Rick had changed a lot. And he didn't know that this family, that
he had thought to be unbreakable, was very broken at the moment.

Alex saw his confusion and sighed. He took one quick look at David who was
still occupied with other things and then he turned back to his father's
friend. "Do you want to hear the whole story, every bit? The whole shit
story that happened to my family?"

The Medjai saw the pain in the boy's eyes and knew that something was
terrible wrong. He nodded and picked up Sarah. "Let's go somewhere we can
talk in private," he said. He began to walk and Alex followed him.

At the same moment David turned around, looking for the children. But they
didn't stand at the booth anymore.they were gone. He let go of the things in
his hands and looked around frantically. That was not possible, he couldn't
lose them. Not them, not his only chance to get revenge on a man that took
away from him what he loved most. He cursed quietly. He had been so joyful
the whole time, thinking about how great the feeling would be to stand in
front of Rick O'Connell, telling him that he had his children and that he
would kill them. Just like O'Connell killed his brother.

Suddenly he spotted them. They were walking beside a tall, dangerous looking
man. His first intention was to run after them, to get them back
immediately. But on closer observation he saw that the man was looking a lot
like this strange guys that lived in the desert and that thought the desert
would belong to them. And he decided to wait for the right moment. He would
get his revenge but now he had to wait.

He laughed quietly and it was a laugh that would sent a shiver through your
body. "Start praying O'Connell!"