The hours passed by as Rick and Evelyn held each other in their sleep. The clear desert day faded into the darkness of night, bringing the cold that naturally came with it. Jonathan had passed out in his own room about an hour before, sleeping rather peacefully on the floor. In her own room, Evelyn woke. Her eyes flickered open, taking a moment or two to become accustomed to the dark. The grandfather clock in the corner told her that it was very early morning, they had been asleep for hours. She felt Rick's arms around her, and then she remembered what had happened, the confessions of undying devotion they had exchanged the day before. She would be returning to work at the museum for maybe a day or two more, then she would have to figure out what would happen next. Whatever did happen and whatever she decided to do, she wanted Rick there. She pulled her arms a bit tighter around him and inched herself closer, making it impossible for there to be any space between his slumbering body and her own. She felt him shift a bit in his sleep, but he managed to bring his arms just a bit tighter around her middle. They were both still fully dressed because the endless nap had been an accident, Rick in his cotton pants and shirt and Evelyn still in her librarian-ish fashion of a long khaki skirt and white cotton skirt. She had abandoned the process of putting her hair in a bun lately, she wasn't exactly sure why. Her hair surrounded the pillows, her face was nestled safely into Rick's neck. It was still dark outside, she would be leaving in a few hours to go to the library to work out her final duties. Feeling safe in Rick's arms, she let herself drift back into a light sleep that remained uninterrupted until later that morning.
One of Evelyn's eyes popped open and was immediately stung by the surge of daylight that now surrounded her room. Her other eye flinched open as she looked in the direction of the grandfather clock in the corner... 7:09. She would have to be at the library in about an hour and a half. She yawned lazily, not wanting to leave the comfort of Rick's arms. She laid there, thinking for a good while before she decided that she had better clean up a bit. She rolled over as easily as she could, so as not to disturb her slumbering American ex-legionnaire. She smiled once before kissing him lightly on the cheek. She slipped out of his arms effortlessly and decided she had enough time for a quick bath. She walked on light feet, trying not to creak the floor boards. She reached her armoire and grabbed a fresh pair of clothes that were similar to the ones she had on now and continued tip-toeing to the bathroom, she closed the door with a light click.
A few minutes later, Rick broke above the surface of sleep... the absence of Evelyn in his arms mildly startled him until he heard a tap running in the bathroom. He thought about getting out of the bed and letting Evelyn have her privacy, but he couldn't move... he was only barely awake. Before he could have another thought of trying to get up, he had fallen back into the depths of sleepiness. Evelyn reappeared out of the bathroom near around a half hour later, fully dressed but with her hair quite damp and her feet bare. With hairbrush in hand, she peered around the wall into the bedroom and smiled when she saw Rick still sleeping on top of the covers. After a little while longer, she had her hair dried and brushed (still hanging free without the constraint of a bun, falling gracefully around her face and curling down her back), her stockings pulled on, and her shoes placed on her feet. She glanced at the clock... ten past the hour of eight... she had plenty of time to get to the museum. She grabbed her needed papers off of a small table and then she reached for her glasses and pocketed them. She turned to face the door, but was distracted by Rick's sleeping form. She walked quietly over to the bed and shook him gently. His eyes opened, he smiled when he saw Evelyn. He stretched his body to its full extent and let out a yawn before relaxing back, letting his arms land on his stomach and his eyes settled on Evelyn's smiling face.
"I'm leaving for the museum now..." She said as she sat on the edge of the bed next to him.
"Oh... okay," He said, sitting up so he and Evelyn were facing each other. "Aren't you almost done there?"
"Yes," She nodded, "Should be done today or tomorrow. Listen, you can stay here and sleep for a little while longer if you want to. If you need him, Jonathan will probably be in the bar and I'm not sure when I'll be back, but it will probably be a bit later in the evening."
Rick nodded and said "Ok... but I really didn't need you to tell me Jonathan would be in the bar... I coulda figured that one out myself..." Rick laughed once. Evelyn smiled and laughed as well. She started to get up and leave but before she could Rick had taken hold her arm gently and pulled her in, kissing her once, softly but passionately. Evelyn smiled wider as they broke apart. She kissed him once more, lightly, before they exchanged goodbyes and she left a bit hesitantly. She didn't really want to leave. If time and circumstance would have allowed it, she would have let another day pass, resting happily in Rick's strong arms. But all was well enough, one thought would get her through the long day ahead of her without much difficulty—she would see Rick when she got back. With that thought and a smile, she left for the museum.
Evelyn had been working for hours. When she arrived at the museum earlier that morning, the curator greeted her with some good news: she could probably finish everything up by the end of the evening. Since morning when she had arrived at the museum, she worked tirelessly around the library, making sure everything was in place and making sure no more manual labor was required. The library was now almost fully functional. Just some paperwork, a little filing here, cataloguing there, and she would be done. The strange-looking man who was now the new curator had asked her if she wanted any help before he left. She politely refused and he let her take over his office so she could finish her paperwork in peace and relative comfort. She now sat at the curator's desk, glasses planted on her face as she wrote feverishly, trying to finish before night swallowed the museum along with the rest of Cairo. She finished writing and let the pen drop to the desk as she massaged her wrist... writer's cramp. She watched the sun sink beneath the horizon. She was almost finished, she just had to proofread a few things and file one or two more pieces of meaningless paper and she was out the door, ready to be put to work however the Bembridge fellows saw fit. As she let her hand rest from all that writing, her thoughts began to wander to the only thing she thought about when a spare moment would allow her—Rick. She rested her face in a cupped hand as she stared blankly out the window, thumbing the locket around her neck with her parents' pictures with her other hand. How does this happen? Falling in love was more confusing than library catalogues. She would have never thought, at first glance, that Rick would be the one to steal her heart. Then she remembered the first time she saw him after "saving his neck" at the boat docks before boarding the ship to go to Hamanaptra. She laughed to herself and thought of how stupid she must have looked, gaping at "Mr. O'Connell's" new transformation. She remembered how tough he seemed, a rough exterior she thought she could never penetrate. But somehow she had. He had fallen in love with her somewhere along the line, his characteristic toughness taking a backseat whenever he was with her. She sighed happily as she re-read the forms she had just filled out and then put them in their appropriate place. She gathered up her things, removing her glasses and pushing her hair behind her ear, and left the library... feeling happy for too many reasons to count.
Rick stood outside the Fort Brydon, a bit restless because he had slept for hours on end. The day had been fairly uneventful. He couldn't figure out how Jonathan could drink so much and yet seem perfectly fine the next day, no hangover or anything. He had grown tired of staying inside, listening to Jonathan rail on about God only knows what. He hadn't payed attention to a word that Jonathan had said all day, he was too busy thinking about "other things". He had escaped outside to let himself to think, just to be alone and get lost in his thoughts. Although somewhat preoccupied, he was still fairly aware of his surroundings. It was quite dark, but his eyes had become accustomed to the lack of light. He noticed a stranger who eyed him suspiciously. He disregarded the man because he seemed to pose no threat to him. Rick then heard shuffling behind him, he jerked around and instinctively reached for a gun in one of his sidearms. He relaxed when he saw Jonathan walking calmly towards him.
"You alright, then, old man?" Jonathan said, with a slight note of concern as he patted O'Connell once on his wide shoulder.
"Sure..." Rick nodded.
"So... what exactly are you doing out here? It's bloody cold." Jonathan whined, rubbing his arms as to keep some sort of warmth.
Rick just shrugged. "Thinking..."
"Ah... no need to say anymore. I'll leave you with your thoughts. But don't hurt yourself by thinking too hard"
Rick laughed quietly and shook his head. Jonathan laughed once as well and turned to go back inside, but he was distracted when he saw Evelyn a few yards away walking towards the fort, a few ratty books in hand.
"O'Connell... look," Jonathan grabbed Rick's shoulder and pointed to Evelyn. Rick smiled lopsidedly and started to approach Evelyn. But before Rick could reach her, the stranger he had noticed earlier had caught a glimpse of something gold hanging around Evelyn's neck. The stranger seized the opportunity and began striding towards Evelyn. Neither of them noticed until the man had bumped into Evelyn with a formidable amount of force. She felt a surge of pain travel across her torso as the man had come in contact with her and she dropped the books she was carrying. She felt him snatch the locket, it snapped off her neck and the man began to run. Evelyn held her stomach in pain, then gasped "My locket!" as she felt around her neck, feeling the absence of the only memory of her parents. Rick began stampeding after the strange man, gaining on him quickly... 5 yards... 3 yards... 1... Rick took a great leap and knocked the man over and toppled with him. Rick sat on the man's back and wrestled the gold locket out of his grasp. The man whimpered as Rick got up effortlessly, grabbed the him by the scrap of the neck and threw him forward. The man ran off and out of sight. Rick pocketed the locket as he watched the stranger run with a disgusted look on his face.
"O'Connell!" Jonathan called urgently for Rick. Rick turned around and saw Jonathan kneeling on the ground with Evelyn gathered in his arms. Horror pulsed through him as he ran over to them. As he came closer, he noticed spilled blood covering the sand surrounding the two siblings. Blood was also on Jonathan's hands and arms, soaked over Evelyn's shirt, and also on a knife that was laying a few feet away. His stomach dropped ten feet as he realized the blood was Evelyn's. Rick finally reached them with a panicked look on his face. He knelt beside Evelyn's limp form. Her eyes were still open, but her breathing was short and broken. The blood on her shirt was very concentrated on her left side. Rick parted the torn material of her shirt and exposed her torn torso... a huge, bloody gash ran from her naval and stretched across her stomach, stopping somewhere near her ribs. The stranger who attempted to steal her locket had plunged a knife into her skin when he purposely bumped into her. The knife had slid into her stomach and sliced easily up and around her side. She was now laying in her brother's arms, crimson liquid steadily creeping out of her sliced skin.
"Oh m.." Rick sounded like he was about to be sick...
"Wh... what are we going to do?" Jonathan looked panic-stricken, his baby sister seemed to be dying in his arms. Rick gathered Evy in his own arms, blood now staining his shirt as well.
"Go get help..." he said urgently
"But..."
"GO!" Rick roared. Jonathan ran off quickly without another word. Evelyn coughed violently and Rick held her close.
"Evy, you're gonna be okay..." he said, sounding like he was also trying to convince himself. A mixture of negative emotions now coursed through him. He was upset because Evelyn looked so helpless, angry that somebody would even try to hurt someone like Evelyn, he was overwhelmed. But one emotion conquered them all, fear... he was so afraid that even though he held Evelyn so close, he would lose her again. She was slipping away and he was trying desperately to hold onto her.
"R-Rick," she choked out.
"No... just relax, you're gonna be fine..." he tried to sound calm, but there was a distinct note of panic in his voice.
"I..." she coughed "l-love you..." she coughed again, her breathing becoming more detached as more blood surged out of her torn skin.
"Evy... please..." he was choking up... "don't... you're gonna be fine... don't make it sound like..." He saw her eyes flickering, he was losing her. "No, Evy, I'm begging you... please... don't do it..." He pleaded, but she was still fading. Jonathan returned with a medic close behind him, both running furiously.
"Rick...?" Evelyn sounded pitiful, the life draining from her voice.
"Evy, I've never loved before... don't take her away from me... please..." He was bargaining with a "God" that he wasn't sure existed, but he found himself begging for Evelyn's life. He loved her and wasn't ready to let that go. He saw Evelyn's eyes closing.
"Don't... please... no..." Rick choked out.
The medic might have arrived on time, Jonathan might have saved her life by running faster than he had ever before and retrieving the medic. But Evelyn hadn't known all that. She just felt herself fading out of consciousness, hearing Rick pleading with someone whom she couldn't seem to see. Everything was starting to dim and was becoming black. She wondered peacefully if she was now dying. But she didn't see God... or Jesus... or even a heavenly light. All she saw before blackness completely swallowed her vision was Rick's deep blue eyes, begging her to stay in the world of the living for a little while longer.