Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognizable characters.

Author's Note: sorry about the delay, I blame writers block and it took awhile to type it up.

Chapter 2

Seti was about to leave the corridor when he spotted the nearing form off Charla, carrying a couple of very stuffed bags. "It's a nasty temper he's been in lately. He'll be fine when we get to Egypt, probably anyway."

That ends this excerpt from Manuscript T

I reentered the the house to call a last warning for departure, we were of course in no risk of arriving late with Emerson's driving method. Seti came running with his bags.

"I'm ready, the others are coming." Seti picked up one of the passing cats. The large eared tortoiseshell had been named Bastet, the only cat to be granted the honor of that name since the death of The Cat Bastet. On Seti's sixth birthday he had picked up one of the young kittens and had addressed it as Bastet. No one, not even Ramses, had objected to the choice; for by some strange luck the kitten bore an unusual resemblance to that famous matriarch of our feline brood. Ever since, Bastet has been as devoted to Seti as her namesake had been to his father.

Not long after Seti left for the caravan of ears, Charla came in with three suitcases. "They're coming, Grandma, Davy's been acting weird lately." Then she followed her younger brother out. It was another five minutes before David John and Kathy both came out, each carrying a suitcase and a bag full of books and papers held between them.

As they went out onto the drive I popped my head out behind them. We had gathered three automobiles for the trip, enough I hoped to fit us all and our luggage, and it was into these that we filed for the trip to London. From London we boarded the ship that would carry the lot of us to Cairo.

On board the two age groups of young persons generally went about segregated, while Ramses and Nefret tried to be around one or the other at all times. Unlike their elder siblings, who each bore the features of one parent, Seti and Kathy were mixtures of their parents. Kathy's eyes were dark, like her father's, but had her mother's golden hair; on the other hand Seti had his father's black curls and his mother's cornflower blue eyes, their tanned skin color was of a shade between that of Ramses and Nefret.

One evening I found myself on the deck looking out at the open Mediterranean, when I felt Emerson come up behind me. "Are you thinking what I am, my dearest Peabody?"

"I fear my thoughts are more melancholy than yours of that wonderful night on the Nile. Do you remember when it was a danger to one's life to cross the ocean?"

"Yes."

"I have a-"

"Don't say it, Peabody."

"Yes, my dear." Despite Emerson's warning a dark foreboding still lingered. The next day, within the final stretch of our voyage, the greater part of our group was gathered on the deck. Bastet lay curled up at the end of Ramses' deck chair. At his feet was her normal position when not following Seti about; a general sign at he was in no danger, although not always an accurate sign for she was in the habit at times of picking whomever's presence she prefered at the moment. Seti reappeared before dinner, covered in soot and coal dust, he had been in the engine room. The next morning we arrived in Egypt. As our boat came into port, among the usual throng of people we could see Salim with the larger Daoud at his side. The pair met us as we disembarked.

"Welcome back!"

"Thank you, Salim. It is good to be back."

"Indeed it is, but not with all these people crowded about us. Come, let us be going."

"Of course, Father of Curses.' And without further ado Salim began the cry that cleared for us a path. "Make way for the great Father of Curses and his honored wife the Sitt Hakim, their revered son the Brother of Demons, and his beautiful wife Nur Misur, and their children: the Haml Nur (Bearer of Light), the Little General, the Akht Alshms (Sister of the Sun), the One of Many Faces, and their honored guest" I'd nearly forgotten Mr. McGuffy was with us, for he'd spent most of his time in his cabin down with a terrible case of seasickness. By the end of this litany, which seemed to grow longer every season, we had escaped from the crowd. When David John Had first received his sobriquet I was relieved by the positive connotation of it, as opposed to Ramses' Brother of Demons of which I had never approved. However, when Copts began to use it, addressing him by the name of that darkest fallen angel, Lucifer, I resigned myself to the sinister names of the males in our family.

The following is an excerpt from Manuscript H

Leaving the docks, the large Emerson family, accompanied by Salim, proceeded to the site where they would be digging that season. Across the Nile from Cairo the Giza plateau stood with its pyramids and guarding sphinx Ramses looked over the multiple work sites scattered about the plateau. Behind him he heard his mother sigh, it was no Dashur and the proximity to other digs would frustrate his father. Their site was the furthest from the others, on one side of Khafre's pyramid the incomplete excavation which had been abandoned, no great discovery having been uncovered.

"Doesn't look like much, does it?" Luke said, having come up next to him.

"On the contrary. They excavated too close to the pyramid. That edge that is only just uncovered is a causeway. Following it in a straight line leads to that dune, probably the mortuary temple." He hoped desperately that these assumptions were correct, the only reason he got the concession had been lack of success by the excavations in the area.

"Good job, Ramses. Quite the site, I must say. A recent storm must have uncovered the corner of a building on the far side of that dune."

"Emerson, Ramses, Mr. McGuffy, come we need to get to Shepard's."

"Coming, Peabody." Emerson called back. Ramses had never noticed a change in his parents' interaction through the years, they seemed to love each other as much now as when they had married. His only hope was that he and Nefret would be the same. Their start had not been the smoothest.

The children were wandering around the site. "Children, come on, we have to leave."

"Mother!" They complained in unison.

"I'll have none of it. Come on, or you'll all sleep out here tonight."

"That would be fine by me." David John led.

"Agreed!" Kathy said after conceding nods from the others.

"Get over here, you four, this instant!" Nefret yelled. The four came scurrying to the rest of the collected group.

Leaning in to Neferet's ear, Ramses whispered. "You're beautiful when you're angry at the children."

"Are you saying I'm not beautiful the rest of the time?" She teased. "Besides, I wasn't angry, only extraordinarily annoyed."

"Everyone, we need to get back to Cairo. Now let's go." His mother commanded.

This ends this excerpt from Manuscript H

We were walking toward Shepard's when I was heralded. "Frau Emerson!" We halted and turned as a group toward the speaker. "And the esteemed professor."

"Karl, how good it is to see you. And you, Mary."

"Have you an excavation this year, Von Bork?"

"Yes, but that is not our only reason for being here. Last year we left Germany and are residing indifferently in Cairo. The government in Germany is crumbling and I fear for the future of my country."

"How have you been, Mary, it's been so long?"

"Oh, we've been fine, our children are at home."

"It has been a long time since we all saw each other. This can not be young Ramses, and the ever-beautiful Nefret. These must be your children, they're such darlings."

"Thank you, Herr Von Bork." Nefret replied.

"Now, now my dear, you both must call me Karl."

"Amelia, I believe you know the person we brought with us from Germany. She says she is related to you."

"Who could it possibly be, I wonder?" I asked with the frieghtful suspicion that the wife of one of my wretched brothers would be produced.

"I believe I know, Amelia." Said Sethos coming forward to face Karl. "Where is she then, Von Bork?" Karl stepped back, a look of some terror upon his face. I don't recall another time he sounded so much like Emerson.

"Who are you?" Karl asked, hiding his fear, standing to his rather unimpressive full height and squared his shoulders.

"Why, who am I you ask. I'm her hus-"

"Now, now, darling you needn't fuss so. They've not been keeping me captive." Margaret came out from behind the Von Bork and faced Sethos.

"Hello, Margaret."

"Hello. Take me home, won't you. Where is it by the way?"

"I've been staying with Emerson and Amelia."

'Your unusual family seems to be growing by the day, Mrs. Emerson." Mr. McGuffy said from behind my right shoulder.

"Mr. McGuffy your comment was neither necessary nor appreciated." I could feel him shrink back.

"My dear Frau Emerson, Mary and I so look forward to your little party. " This statement had taken me aback slightly, for I had not considered having one this year, and hadn't for a few years.

"Yes Amelia, they are such wonderful little evenings." Mary added.

"Peabody." Emerson growled warning lay into my ear, quite loudly I might add. He had never been a great fan of my little parties, springing from his strong hatred of public dining.

However, placing a restraining and calming hand on his chest, I replied to the Von Borks. "They were quite nice, weren't they. I shall send the invitations out as soon as I can." My mind then made up, I would re-instate my Egyptological dinner parties. The major excavators in Egypt were very similar now as it had been before the war, minus the losses to age, illness, and war that had diminished the numbers of those who traditionally attended my gathering. However new, young, and eager archaeologists and Egyptologists had come in their place.

After we said our farewells to the Von Borks, and custody of Margaret had been transferred to us we continued our trip to Shepard's. Margaret stopped Sethos, and the two fell back. The rest of us eventually halted, once they had fallen behind some distance. Looking back I saw Margaret raise slightly onto her toes to kiss Sethos the begin walking in the other direction up the street.

He returned to our group, which had halted entirely in wait for them, I wondered who else had been watching the exchange between them.

"Where's Margaret going?" Emerson asked, a subtle tone of concern in his voice.

"She said she had to go see some people. But we should be seeing her soon." His tone suggested disappointment.

Later that night, in our rooms at Shepard's, Emerson sat reading a newspaper while I worked on the invitations. He looked up, and folded the paper' and saw what I was doing.

"Amelia, you're not."

"I am, Emerson. I agree with Mary, I think we should reinstate the gathering. Perhaps it will diminish the dark-"

"Don't say it!"

"Well, you know what I mean." He grunted, returning to his newspaper.

"Good Gawd!"

"What?"

"Budge! The incompetent bastard, he finally died!" He showed me the page with great excitement.

"Emerson!" I scolded. "You shouldn't speak so of the dead, even if you didn't like him."