~ For 'Lena, because she's the only other person who truly understands my Rick and Evy feels… ~
Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead, coveted by all who know of its existence due to the treasures hidden within. The threat of a cursed mummy didn't faze any of the pursuers in the slightest; they were driven by pure greed, and greed had a tendency to overshadow common sense.
Evelyn Carnahan had prided herself of her unflinching common sense. Unlike her elder brother, she wasn't one to go getting herself into trouble at every turn. But, like so many before her, the lure of Hamunaptra was simply to dazzling to resist. Of course, Evelyn wasn't after gold or precious jewels like everyone else; she was after the Book of Amun-Ra. If she found that, there was simply no way the Bembridge scholars could reject her again.
She found it alright. But, that wasn't all she found. She also found the Book of the Dead, which ended up waking the high priest Imhotep from his cursed mummification when she unknowingly read from said book. That simply led to disaster after disaster, and nearly her death. If it weren't for Mr. Rick O'Connell and Jonathon, she'd have been sacrificed to bring Anck-Su-Namun back from the dead, and all hope would have been lost.
Roughly a week later, nightmares of the evening were still plaguing her.
No one knew she was having such awful dreams, for she kept them to herself and remained poised throughout the day, no matter how much they were haunting her on the inside. However, when a blood curdling scream woke Rick in the dead of the night, she knew she couldn't keep it hidden any longer.
He'd burst into Evelyn's room of the Giza hotel they were staying in, until the next train passed through, with two guns drawn, looking ready to fight yet another fleet of angry mummies if he had to. It took him a moment to realize that the dark room was empty other than the young woman tossing and turning wildly on the bed with terror.
"Evelyn?" he asked, furrowing his brow as he placed the guns down on the nearest table and approached the side of the bed, taking a seat and shaking her shoulder in an attempt to rouse her. "Evelyn, wake up…"
It took a few more minutes but he finally managed to pull her from the grasp of the night terror, frowning a bit when her screams dissolved to sobs. "No, no, don't…!" she pled, attempting to squirm away from him with great difficulty in the cocoon of blankets she'd wound herself in while she slept. Shaking his head, Rick helped her sit up and rid herself of the sheets, pulling her into his arms.
"Hey… It's me. It's just me…"
Finally catching sight of him in the darkness through her tears, she whimpered and went limp in his arms, crying against his chest as her tears slid down his skin. "I thought you were… thought you were him…!" she gasped out, and his arms instantly tightened. Her fear was a valid one; she had woken up to the undead priest kissing her with his decomposing lips less than two weeks ago.
"It's just me," he stated again, as if it would help confirm that she was safe. "I heard you scream… Thought something was wrong…"
Quivering, she slowly lifted her head to look up at him, her humiliation evident. "I screamed…?"
"You did," he told her with a nod, tucking her messy curls behind her ear. "Scared the hell of out me, too. I thought someone might have really been in here…"
Sniffling, Evelyn cast her gaze down again, shaking her head. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to frighten you…"
"Hey, don't apologize," he said, almost with confusion, shaking his head as he tilted her chin up. "It's not your fault that you had a nightmare…"
Squeezing her eyes shut, Evelyn decided there was really no point in keeping it a secret anymore. Now that he'd caught her, he would know something was seriously wrong if she had a nightmare again tomorrow, which she undoubtedly would. They just didn't seem to want to stop.
"It… wasn't just the one nightmare, Rick," she admitted softly, tears trickling down her cheeks. "I've had numerous… Ever since we got back, I haven't had a decent night's sleep…"
Rick was quiet for a long moment, simply holding her close before he spoke again, his voice almost laced with relief. "Thank God I'm not the only one."
Furrowing her brow, Evelyn shook her head and looked up at him. "You mean, you've had them too…?"
"Every night," he confirmed, gently toying with the ends of her curls. "I thought I'd seem like a wuss if I said anything…"
Frowning, she shook her head and shifted a bit in his arms to get a better look at him, laying a hand on the base of his chest. "Having a bad dream doesn't make you weak, Rick," she said quietly, and he tilted his head as he peered down at her.
"Then why did you feel the need to keep yours a secret, too?"
"I…" Frowning a bit, she shook her head and looked down, placing her hand in her lap again. "I don't know. I suppose I was embarrassed."
"Embarrassed?" he asked with a hint of laughter in his voice. "Evelyn, if any of us have a right to a few nightmares, it's you. You were nearly sacrificed by that psycho priest…"
Trailing off, something shifted in his eyes. Evelyn was certain it was a look of hidden fear that he'd been keeping buried deep. Bringing a gentle hand up to his cheek, she grazed his cheekbone with her thumb and shifted closer to him still. "Rick," she asked softly, uncertain of whether she would get an answer. It was unlikely, but she had to try. "What were your nightmares about?"
He hesitated at her question, dragging his eyes up to meet hers. Greenish-blue hues met hazel-brown, and he swallowed a bit roughly. Rick O'Connell had never poured his heart out to anyone, much less a woman. But… Evelyn Carnahan wasn't just any woman, either. If she was, would he have risked his life to save her from Imhotep? Doubtful. Very doubtful. She was a very, very special girl who somehow knew the way to melt the walls he put up around himself. She knew how to get to him, and how to make him want to be a different kind of guy. Her soft, delicate voice was like the sweetest form of music, and his heart beat a bit faster when he heard her say his name. Evelyn Carnahan was the kind of woman who made him want to slap a ring on her finger and marry her someday.
"I…" shaking his head, he absently leaned into her touch and brought a hand up to touch her own cheek, so close now that their noses were touching. "They're always the same…" he mumbled, that look of fear returning to his eyes. "I don't get there in time… He kills you in front of me, and then his little girlfriend kills everyone else…"
Her eyes widening at his confession, Evelyn felt her heart flutter with shock and… something else. "But you saved me…" she whispered in a soft, reassuring tone, caressing his cheek. "You did get there in time… and you rescued me…"
"I might not have," he muttered, and his voice was hoarse as he pulled her closer to him, clutching her shoulders now. "I could have lost you, Evelyn… and I didn't even realize how much you meant to me until it was almost too late…"
Her heart squeezing almost painfully at his words, she finally realized what that other emotion was. It was love; a feeling so foreign to her that she hadn't even recognized it when it was right in front of her eyes. She was head over heels in love with Richard O'Connell, and it sounded like he felt the same way about her.
"Oh, Rick…" she whispered as her voice quivered a bit, finding herself leaning closer to him as her eyes fluttered shut. She heard him whisper her name in return before their lips met, in a kiss so very different from the first few.
Their first kiss had been shocking, abrupt, and entirely rude and uncalled for. Yet she'd enjoyed it just the same, despite her proper upbringing. It had made her feel alive.
Their second kiss had been one of adrenaline; a kiss for the sake of being alive. They'd shared a few more like it on the way back to Giza, but she hadn't known what to make of it the next day, for Rick didn't mention it again.
But this kiss… this one was almost hesitant. It was sweet, slow, and uncertain; they were testing the waters of an uncharted ocean of emotion. Evelyn's hands found their way to Rick's shoulders, and his arms tightened around her waist, holding her close. When they finally separated, they were quiet for a long moment. Rick was the first to break the silence.
"I love you, Evelyn Carnahan…" he stated quietly, keeping her close to him. "I can't lose you like that… ever…"
Nuzzling her nose against his, her eyes fell shut again and she shifted so close that she was practically sitting in his lap. "I love you, Rick O'Connell… and you won't…"
The confessions lingered in the air, causing it to seem thick with an emotion neither of them were used to. After a moment, Evelyn's voice quietly spoke up.
"Stay with me…?" she requested, her head resting on his chest as his fingers combed through her hair. "Jonathon doesn't have to know… and I would feel so much safer…"
A small grin pulled at Rick's lips at her request, and he kissed her forehead and lied back on the bed, tossing the blanket over them both before his arms found their way around her again. "It would be my pleasure, Evy," he stated with a smile, twirling a strand of her hair around his finger as her eyes fell shut again.
Smiling softly, she let sleep begin to claim her again. "Goodnight, Mr. O'Connell…" she murmured hazily, and he chuckled and held her a bit tighter.
"Call me Rick," he whispered in her ear before stealing a soft, hasty kiss that caused a smile to pull at her lips again.
When they both ended up falling asleep, they'd been certain this event would stay their little secret. Neither of them heard Jonathon run into the room about an hour later, having finally worked up the courage to go save his sister from whatever had made her scream. He knew he was a coward, but it was the thought that counts.
"Fear not, baby sister, I've come to save you from… the…! Oh."
Furrowing his brow, he lowered the sword he had swiped from downstairs and hiked an eyebrow at the sight of his sister curled up in the arms of none other than Mr. O'Connell. Grinning slightly, he shook his head and took a few silent steps backward, shutting the door.
"Sly dog, that one," he remarked, taking a few practice swings with the sword at one of the busts of who he assumed to be Osiris. When it came clattering to the floor and smashed to bits, Jonathon quickly dropped the sword and retreated to his room at top speed.
Maybe he would just leave saving Evy to Rick, after all.