Episode 2: For the Pharaoh's Cat, chapter 1

Eve Baird looked up from their desk. The back door swung shut behind him. He was filthy. There was mud in his hair, his clothes, his skin, his nails. Even the ever present satchel had mud on it. It never had mud on it.

"You just had to join in, didn't you," she asked deadpan. "What did you do? Roll in the mud?"

"It was raining earlier," Flynn shrugged. "Rain is not good for archaeological excavations. You never know what gets washed out of where."

"That's your excuse is it?"

"But we're finding out so much here," he enthused, his eyes shining. "Every day, we learn something new!"

"There it is," sighed Eve.

"And I just love learning!" Flynn continued without pausing for breath. "Especially archaeology! It's like opening a door to the past! It's like having your own personal time machine! Ooh!"

Eve caught the sudden turn and the excited look that made him look slightly like a hound that's just scented a fox.

"Nope!" Baird shouted, getting up and hurrying after him. "You are not trying out that darn time machine!"

Flynn spun on his heel and gave her his most charming smile. "Just a little trip? Come with me. The whole of time and space: what do you say?"

"It's just a time machine, darling, no relative dimensions allowed."

"All of time then?" Those big brown eyes did their best to melt her resolve. They failed. This time.

"Been there, done that," she reminded him. "Not doing it again! You don't even know if the thing works: it was built by a writer, for heaven's sake. What do writers know?"

"You write what you know and you know what you write," he shrugged. "Wells did a lot of research."

"No."

"Pwease?"

"No."

"But there's nothing else on..."

Behind her, Eve heard a noise. It was a noise she had come to recognise. It was a noise that confirmed exactly why her betrothed was now staring sheepishly over her shoulder.

"You had to say it, didn't you," she groaned. "Go shower. I'll see what it is."

"How about we both see what it is, then we both shower? I could use a hand getting rid of this mud. It gets everywhere you know..." Eve's hand clamped over his mouth and she pushed him backwards out of the office.

"Go take a shower," she told him sternly. "A cold one."

Colonel Eve Baird, Guardian, walked alone to the clippings book. Jenkins was dividing his time between his lab and the rooms the Library had created for Ezekiel, who was still recovering, surrounded by the home comforts of video games and various people who were willing to wait on him hand and foot, for the moment. She, Jenkins and Cassandra had been taking turns, but Cassandra and Stone were away and she had covered breakfast and lunch. It was Jenkins' turn now.

She looked down at the book. Great: hieroglyphs. The image of a relief carved wall filled one page of the book. The largest image of those on the wall was that of an androgynous figure wearing the full regalia of Egyptian royalty. Facing it was that of a cat. The cat was half the size of the figure. She sighed and made her way over to the card catalogue. Even with the full Library back, it was still the easiest way to find things. She looked up Egypt. It had a drawer to itself. The drawer was divided into sub categories. She flicked through Ecology, Empires, Gods, History, Indigenous Peoples, Legends, Maps, Mythology, and Papyri to Pharaohs. There was a book listing all the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. It had several volumes. At least they would be together.

The volumes were large and heavy, and Eve Baird, strong as she was, could only carry three at a time. She was on her third trip down the stairs with the last of the volumes when the office doors opened and a clean and tidy Flynn walked in. He met her at the book and looked down.

"Ah, Hatshepsut," he said immediately. "I wrote a paper on her once. Fascinating woman. You know, even as a girl she helped her father rule the country. Then she was married off to her half brother, who became the next Pharaoh after their father died. Then he died and she had to rule as regent for his son by another wife. She wasn't happy with that, though: she declared herself Pharaoh and ruled for another twenty one years and nine months before dying in strange and mysterious circumstances, now identified as bone cancer."

Eve folded her arms across the pile of nine large and heavy books and glared at him. "You know I love you, Flynn," she said, and he nodded. "Sometimes though, I really hate you!"

"I did say we should look at it together," Flynn called after her as she started carrying the books upstairs again.

XXXX

In the hills of Deir el-Bahri, around the timeworn colonnades of the Sublime of Sublimes, sand blew. It hissed over stones and into darkness. It glowed in the noonday heat. It ate away at history, one grain at a time.

In the rocks of Beni Hassan, the temple rooms resonated like empty bottles held to one's lips and breathed over.

Which was remarkable for one very particular reason.

There wasn't any wind.

XXXX

"I like Egypt," mused Eve, looking out over the green and fertile vista of the Nile valley. "Once you get away from people arguing over governments and religions, it really is quite beautiful."

They had set the back door using a gold cartouche from the tomb of the infamous female pharaoh. It had brought them out at the tomb itself, or at least at the metal gate erected at the entrance to the tomb in which Hatshepsut's tomb had later been found. They had searched the walls for any sign of the relief shown in the clippings book, but to no avail. Just to be sure, they had walked round to KV20, the tomb in which both Hatshepsut and her father Thutmose I were supposed to have been buried. That tomb had been much larger than the later, and more hurriedly constructed, resting place of the royal mummy. Now they stood atop the cliffs at Deir el-Bahri, the magnificent mortuary temple of Hatshepsut stretching out below them. Its perfectly symmetrical walls and central stairway pointed the way to the river, the source of life for all Ancient Egypt. Perhaps more accurately it could be said that it led the way from the river to the temple, and the nearby entrance to the famed Valley of the Kings. From life, through death, to afterlife. Just as the Egyptians themselves believed. Somewhere on the walls of the temple below, an inscription praised the great king, Hatshepsut, for building such a grand memorial. The scribe called it fine, great, pure and lasting. They had been right about that.

Flynn wrapped his arms around her and gazed out over the view, his head resting on her shoulder. "You know, we still need to pick a honeymoon," he said. "We could come here."

"I am not spending my honeymoon fighting mummies," Eve retorted.

"We could take a cruise down the Nile on our own personal dahabeeyah. Book into a hotel in Cairo for a few days. Explore Giza. Travel slowly up river in our own little hideaway. Stop at all the major historical sites," he suggested. "Maybe some of the minor ones too."

"How long have you been planning this?" Eve asked, with dawning comprehension.

"Oh, not long," shrugged Flynn. "Just since the last time we were here."

"That was five months ago!" Eve tried to turn her head to look at him. "That was before you even asked me to marry you!"

"I... I get an idea and my brain just runs with it," he admitted. "I just... You remember the cover story we used then?"

Eve nodded and turned fully to face him. Something in his tone was more serious than usual.

"That was it," said Flynn, meeting her gaze. "That was when I first considered the possibility that a Librarian - that I - could even get married. I had always thought it was just... just out of the question, before. But telling that old man that you were my wife: it just felt... I don't know: so perfect. So real. As though the lie was more honest than the truth. So the first thing I did, when we got back and everything was dealt with, was ask Jenkins if it had ever happened before. If a Librarian had ever married, even raised a family, before."

"And had they?" Eve asked, watching him.

"Judson had," Flynn nodded, looking away. "I should have remembered that. His was the first name Jenkins mentioned. Jules Verne had a wife, but he retired when it became too difficult to keep the truth from her. Concentrated on his writing. Consulted from time to time. He's the only Librarian to have done that. Married someone who didn't know. There were others. Not many, but some."

"Any of them marry their Guardians?" Eve smiled.

"One or two, actually," Flynn grinned back. "We're not the trailblazers we think we are. Just an old story told a new way."

"With a few spoilers for the years ahead," she added, her brows raised.

"That may have convinced me to ask you a little sooner," he admitted. "It's not everyday you meet your teenage son from twenty years in the future. At least we know he'll turn out okay. I dread to think what his Uncle Ezekiel might teach him!"

"He did tell me you taught him that you can know too much about your future," Eve nodded. "Didn't mention what anyone else taught him, other than how to get me back to you."

"I can't wait to meet him in the flesh," Flynn looked wistful. "I never really had a father growing up. I hope I do alright. I can just imagine showing him all the treasures of the Library. Teaching him history and hieroglyphs and all sorts of things."

"Can we finish planning the wedding before start painting the nursery, please?" Eve laughed. "Stop worrying. You'll be a great father. Look how you take care of everyone. You graduated the others, didn't you? And you were there for them when they needed you."

"They're adults," sighed Flynn. "Besides, you did most of that! I don't seem to get on well with kids. They think I'm weird. You know, before I took this job, the other students on my courses all thought I was a freak. I didn't get them. They didn't get me."

"They weren't like you," Eve reassured him, brushing his hair back from his face. "He will be."

He nodded and kissed her. "I love you."

"I know," she smiled. "Now let's go explore this temple. I hope you realise: it's a long way down."

The main building of the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, the djeser-djeseru, the Holy of Holies, is possibly the most significant advance in architecture of her era, maybe of all pharaonic eras. It is, by far, the most outstandingly beautiful construction on the west bank of the Nile. Pyramids included.

It took considerable time to climb down the steep hills that flanked the temple. Eventually, footsore and weary, Eve and Flynn arrived at the foot of the cliff, and the foot of the temple. They had finished the climb down, now they had to begin the climb up. There were still plenty of tourists around. Even in October, with the shortening days, the temperature at midday was still hot enough to make the cooler evenings popular with sightseers. Flynn had taken Eve's hand to steady her when her foot slipped on a loose stone at the base of the cliff. She was aware, as they ascended the grandiose stairway to the upper levels of the temple, that he had not let go of it yet. Neither had she.

The majestic colonnades loomed before them, their remaining Osirian statues staring blindly East over their heads. For a moment, Eve was lost, engrossed in the spectacular beauty of her surroundings. Then the sheer magnitude of the sanctuary hit her.

"We're never going to get round all of this in one evening," she murmured, half to herself.

"Home or hotel?" Flynn asked, nodding in agreement.

"If we go home, do I have to climb that cliff again?" Eve wondered aloud.

"No," Flynn admitted. "There is an easier route into the valley. It's the one the tours take. I just thought you'd like the view..."

"I loved the view," she assured him, hearing the disappointment in his voice. "I just don't fancy making the climb with the sun going down. Not when I've only done it once and in the opposite direction."

Flynn seemed to accept the good sense of this and nodded. "If we are going to get back home, we need to leave now," he said. "They lock all the gates at sunset."

"Can't you pick the lock?"

"Well I could," Flynn nodded, "but I couldn't lock it up again after us, and stolen antiquities is still a serious problem in this area. Just ask our allegedly retired thief!"

"Hotel then," Eve decided. "I didn't bring an overnight bag."

"I have one for each of us in the satchel," breezed Flynn. "I just figured, you know, since we're together now..."

"I love you."

"I know."