Alex, as it turned out, was a natural. On her second day, she went through her new routine as though she'd been doing it for years. Larry was so impressed that by the third day, he let her do the rounds by herself. Though he did, secretly, go behind her just to make sure. Dexter, who had actually behaved himself on the first couple of days took Larry's perceived absence as permission to steal her keys. With a little sweet talk, and a powdered doughnut, she easily got the keys back. And just like that, she had the capuchin wrapped around her little finger. After the customary two weeks, she was on her own as Larry left to pursue his thriving business.
On most days Ahk made it a point to stay at her side throughout her entire shift. Not that she minded, since some of the inhabitants did creep her out a bit. Aside from Rexy, Ahk was always the first to greet her. And somehow she was always in his crypt to say farewell when he climbed into his sarcophogus at sunrise. Even though she had promised herself that nothing would happen between them, she just couldn't stay away. It was like there was an invisible tether that kept pulling them together, no matter how hard she tried to pull away. Two years passed this way.
Larry had made a point of coming to visit at least one night a week. During one of these visits, he taught Rexy tug-of-war. Of course, the first time Alex had tried, Rexy had accidentally flung her against the wall. She woke up in the hospital, with a concussion and a broken leg. No one had expected the reaction from Ahk. Pure panic, until Larry conviced him the girl still had a pulse. Then from panicked straight to livid. Especially after Larry relayed the news that she would have to take over a month off from work in order to recover. The only thing that had calmed the young king down was Larry allowing him use his cell phone to talk with Alex from her home, and her promise to keep visiting every night that the pain meds didn't knock her out cold. Not that she wanted to, she had told herself, it was just to calm the mummy down. Angry mummies were never a good thing. Especially an angry mummy with two giant jackal statues as body guards.
Alex was one week into her healing process and the cast itched terribly. Larry had been visiting the museum more often, since he didn't want her out on her own while she was hurt and under the influence of strong pain meds. They'd arrived early today and met McPhee as he was leaving. He'd had to explain why so many of the exhibits were in crates, sitting in the main entrance. He seemed so proud of himself as he left.
She'd been leaning against the information desk through the whole thing. And she was surprised at herself for not going off on him. "How could he just... How could holograms ever be better than the actual exhibits?" She reached over the top of the desk and grabbed a stapler, flinging it in the direction he gone. The sunset without her realizing. "He can't do this. We have to stop him."
"Hey. Hey. Calm down," Larry said touching her shoulder gently.
"Don't tell me to calm down!" She slapped his hand away. She heard but didn't notice the crates opening as their occupants climbed out. She began advancing towards him dangerously. She was shouting now, "They're my friends. My family." She didn't realize she was crying until the taste hit her tongue. "They're all I have. You're the businessman. Do something. Fix this." She had a a crutch raised, pointing in the direction of the now gawking exhibits.
"I can't," he replied, flinching as her crutch swang dangerously close.
A strong arm wrapped around her shoulders and another around her middle, pulling her against a warm body and freezing her in her tracks. "Calm down," she heard Ahk's soft voice in her ear. Instantly, her body relaxed. She'd never understand how he could do that to her. "It's not his fault."
She came back to herself. "I'm sorry. Larry, I'm so sorry." This time she knew she was crying. Her crutches fell noisily to the floor as she spun around in Ahk's arms and hid her face in his chest.
Larry rubbed her back comfortingly. "It's not your fault Alex. I know it's just the meds."
With a sniffle she hopped away from Ahk and wiped her eyes. Teddy handed her a tissue from the box on the desk. She used it, the sound echoing strangely in the room. "I mean, sure we knew about the budget issues. But still..."
"Maintaining exhibits takes money," Larry explained. "Changing a bulb every now then is cheaper in the long run. People just don't come anymore. Not like they used to. They don't see the living aspect of it like we do." Ahk handed her the crutches as she nodded.
When things calmed down, Teddy offered to take everyone for one final stroll around their museum home. As Alex turned to follow, one of her crutches slipped with a squeak, on the marble floor. She would have had a hard landing if Ahk hadn't caught her. "I swear these crutches hate me," she huffed.
"I'm quite certain they're excluded from the life giving magic of my tablet, thus can't feel anything. Even if they could, it is impossible to hate you," he replied, easily lifting her into his arms bridal style. She managed to prop her crutches against the desk, before wrapping her arms around his neck. The first time she'd snuck in after breaking her leg, and every time after, he insisted on carrying her everywhere she wanted to go. She'd learned quickly that resistance was futile when it came to the young pharaoh. It was either let him carry her or knock him out so he couldn't, becuse he'd already proven that he was more than willing to sling her over his shoulder and carry her that way. Besides, no matter how badly she might want to knock him out, she could never bring herself to actually do it. At the sight of his cheeky grin, however, she lightly smacked his shoulder.
Ahk was staying. He wasn't going to leave her as she'd feared. Her heart felt lighter at finding that out. She wanted to slap herself. Teddy would be staying too, but he would be losing Sacagawea. Not to mention all of their other friends who were being shipped out.
She'd never tell anyone, but she suspected he liked her romantically. He was always just a little too attentive. He always knew when she was hungry, sometimes even before she did. When she'd gotten sick on two occasions he'd made it a point both times to make sure she took her medicine on time. She tried her best not to lead him on, she really did. But then he did something like act like her living wheel chair, because he noticed how much she struggled with the crutches. She could swear they were out to get her.
She had figured out months ago, that no matter how much she had tried not to, she was falling for him too. But she would never tell him. Even if she couldn't stay true to her decision to stay away from him, she could and had every intention of upholding her decision that nothing of that nature could happen between them. It was for the best, for both of them.
For Ahk the last two years had been blissful torture. Just being in her presence again had brought him more joy than he'd been able to experience since before his death. Not being able to tell her how much he loved her was pure torture. Whenever she did something adorable he could only smile at her, when he really wanted to kiss her.
Since he couldn't tell her his true feelings, he showed her instead, though he tried to be subtle about it. He was able to do small things, like listen to her vent, when she'd had a bad day. Sometimes they would watch television or movies together, on her days off when she snuck in anyway. He'd learned her favorites and found that he enjoyed them as well. He was there for her as much as he could be.
He had also learned that it took next to nothing for her to... excite him. All she had to do was put her hand on her belt, to reach for her keys or flashlight, and his eyes would automatically shift to her hips. Those hips, slight as they were, he had first hand knowledge about the things she could do...would one day do... with those hips. He had become very grateful of the sash at his waist, the tail of it hung at a rather convenient place and length.
For the first few days after her initial arrival, she had tried to avoid him completely. He had tried to be subtle about making that impossible, often coming to her to ask about the location of one inhabitant or another, even though he couldn't care less about where that particular inhabitant was at the moment. It took him another week just to get her to accept his touch. A light brushing of the hands or shoulders. A fist bump. A handshake. He wasn't picky.
Then, finally, she had gotten comfortable with him. He was fairly certain the other inhabitants saw them as inseperable. If she was here, he'd be right beside her every time.
He knew, though, that she only considered him as a friend and nothing more. But that was okay. He also knew he was going to lose her again. His time with her was limited. And he took every opportunity he was given to simply bask in presence. It was enough for him. It had to be enough.
The night passed quickly, too quickly for Ahk. Everyone returned to their crates, or, for the few lucky enough to stay, to their exhibits. Larry had gone with Teddy and the others to the main entrance. Alex, after grabbing her crutches, had been carried by Ahk to his crypt. Reluctantly, he finally set her down on her one good leg. Something was making him uneasy, though he couldn't put his finger on it. Perhaps it was simply because the others were being shipped off. Still, he found himself dreading this coming sleep, as though he wouldn't wake from it.
If she hadn't come back into his life, he would have relished the feeling. Judging from her somber mood, Alex seemed to sense it too, or maybe she was simply feeling more of the affects of the pain medicine that the doctor had given her.
"It's time," Alex said glancing at her watch.
"Until tonight then," he said, mentally adding, 'my queen.' Their eyes locked. He reached up to tuck a stray strand of hair back behind her left ear, letting his fingertips glide down her cheek when he let his hand drop back to his side. Unable to shake the unease, he grabbed her hand, before she could protest, and brought it briefly to his lips. Without looking for her reaction he climbed into his sarcophagus and closed the lid.
She was glad he couldn't see the blush staining her cheeks, as she hobbled back to the main entrence. It still hadn't faded by the time she got there. All the questions and teasing she received from Larry made her regret letting him give her a ride home.
The following night Larry had some late business and Alex had gone alone despite his protests. She'd arrived late, well after sunset and had gone straight to the crypt. What she saw had her instantly calling Larry. "The tablet is gone," she screamed into the phone.
She could picture Larry pulling the phone away from his ear and glaring at it. "Are you sure it wasn't just moved?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm sure. Ahk isn't... Nobody is waking up." She had her palm pressed flat against the glass surrounding Ahk's sarcophogus.
"Just calm down, I'll be there... Hold on I have another call."
She stared at her phone and cursed. She had a feeling she was going to be here for a while. Hobbling back to the main entrance she hooked one of her crutches onto a wheely chair, and pulled it with her back to Ahkmenrah's crypt. She'd nearly made it when her phone rang. She dropped her other crutch trying to get to it and answered with a curse. "Love you too, Alex," came the sarcastic response.
"Sorry." She put the phone on speaker and set it on the chair on the seat of the chair, so she could, using the other crutch for support, very carefully lower herself to the ground to pick up the dropped crutch. "My leg," she complained. "It's causing grief again."
"Hurting?"
"No." She grabbed her phone and crutches and sat in the chair. She laid the items on her lap, and used her good leg to wheel herself over to Ahk's sarcophagus. The sound that the chair made rolling on the marble floor was almost deafening in the overly quiet room. It made her cringe. "Well, a little. Mainly just getting in the way." She shook her head. "Anyway," she said. "The tablet-"
He cut her off. "I know where it is."
She would have leapt to her feet, if she'd had two to land on. "What? Where?"
"The Smithsonian. Dexter stole it. Jed just called me. I think they're in trouble."
She paused, situating the chair. "I might just kill that monkey. And how did Jed even dial the phone?"
"That's what I said," he exclaimed. "I don't know, but he said something about Common Rah or something. I think he's supposed to be Ahk's brother or something. Anyway, there'll probably be a lot of running involved, so I'll handle it."
"Okay." She glared at the cast on her leg. "I guess I'll just...wait here." She leaned her crutches against the glass case.
"Or you can go home and get some rest, like the doctor told you to. My flight doesn't leave until tomorrow."
"Yeah, I'll go in a bit. Just keep me updated when you do get there."
"I promise. Okay, I gotta go. Talk to you later."
"Kay, bye." She hung up and let her head fall against the case.
From his prison, Ahk heard the dull thuds of what he presumed to be her head banging lightly against the glass. "You know, this job doesn't really allow for a social life. You guys are the only friends I've got." Ahk did the only thing he could in his current state. He listened intently. If he could move, he would have carried her, as he had before, when her leg caused trouble. He would be holding her now as she shared her worries with him. "I love you, Ahk." If his heart had been beating it would have stopped. Oh, how he'd longed to hear those words again. "I mean," she corrected herself. "You're my best friend." And now it felt like he had been stabbed all over again. "What if he can't get the tablet back?"
If it really was Kahmunrah who had it, then they had bigger problems than just a missing tablet. If his brother ever learned of Alexandra's existence in this time period, he would stop at nothing to finish what he'd started all those eons ago. She was in danger and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Sorry. I don't even know if you can hear me. All I can do is whine lately." She cursed once again as she banged her head against the case again. "I feel so useless," she growled out. He believed the modern phrase was: 'Join the club.'
For a moment there was nothing but the silence of the museum, then he could hear her opening the case and coffin. "It's got to get stuffy in there," she said, peering down at him. With the lid off, and the lights on, even though he didn't really have eyes he could see whatever was directly in front of his empty sockets. Right now that was her face, and he couldn't stand seeing her like this. She was frightened and worried, like he'd only ever seen once. But that had been three thousand years ago, in a different life. He wished he could hold her and tell her that everything would work out.
He knew she hated seeing him like this. He'd tried to keep it from her, but she'd seen the actual transformation once. They had spent all night talking, and the sun began rising. He hadn't had enough time to get to the sarcophogus before the change took him. He imagined that for her it had been something straight out of one of the horror movies she had convinced him to watch with her. She had still been extremely upset the next night. It had never occurred to her what really happened to his body when the sarcophogus closed and the sun rose. She'd gone on for hours about how unfair it was that he had die over and over again every morning. After convincing her that it was a painless process, she finally let it go. Yes, he had lied to her, but there were some things that she was better off not knowing. It was a pain he now gladly suffered, because it meant he could be with her again the next night.
"There's nothing for me to do here, right now. I should probably go home." His heart sank until her eyes lit up. "But first, I thought you might want to watch the new episode of Dr. What with me." Yes, he really would.
Dr. What was a television series about a time traveler and it was her absolute favorite. He found it fitting. She'd shown him an episode and he found that he thoroughly enjoyed it, just as much as, if not more than, she did. Though he suspected it was more her presence he enjoyed rather than the show itself. Since then she would always wait and watch it with him whenever a new episode came out.
She situated the chair, so she could lean back and hold her smartphone up so he could see it. If he could see at all. She still wasn't sure. But she needed this. She needed to pretend things were normal or she'd only end up freaking out. Besides she wanted to watch it regardless, so if he didn't remember it tomorrow, she would just show him again. Provided Larry got the tablet back by then.
A few minutes in her arm got tired, but she decided if he could carry her for over eight hours straight then she could hold a phone up for him for forty five minutes. The thought passed through her mind that it might be more comfortable to climb in there with him, but she was afraid of damaging him in his current state. The air was already damaging enough, and if she got caught she'd be fired instantly.
When the episode ended she stood, massaged her sore arm, then leaned over the sarcophogus. "I know it's a long time until sunrise," she said. "I should probably go home, but I don't want to leave you alone." She was so tired, the pain meds really did a number on her. 'Go home. Sleep,' she could imagine him saying. He was always looking out for her like that. Her hand began reaching toward his face, before stopping short. She mentally slapped herself. It would only damage him right now. Besides there could be nothing between them, she reminded herself.
It wouldn't work out, it couldn't. And then she would be stuck with the heartbreak, and the awkwardness of having to see eachother almost every day. Yet, if she were honest with herself, there was a small and growing part of her that still wanted to give it a try. She cursed her luck. Of course she would fall for a guy she couldn't have. Either way, the thought of losing him was tearing her apart.
"I...I have to close you back in again. I'm sorry." She was fighting off the tears as she pulled the lid back over him and resealed the glass case. "I'll be back tomorrow," she said, her voice cracking. "Good night, Ahk."
She snuck in before sunset. She wanted to be with Ahk when she got the updates, just in case he really could hear her. The chair was right where she left it, tucked behind the case. Somebody was slacking. Not that she really minded given the circumstances. As she'd done the night before, she opened the case and sarcophogus. For several minutes she just sat with her elbows propped on the edge of the glass case, staring at him, waiting for Larry to call her. He finally did and caused her entire body to jerk badly. The force of it sent her chair into a spin that was interupted when her casted leg thudded against the case. Her eyes scrunched tightly. With a strained voice she answered and hit the speaker button, "Tell me you have good news."
"Well, I found the guys."
She sat up straighter. "Is everyone all right?"
"Not really. They've been trapped in a crate by Kahmunrah's soldiers. But the good news is that the sun hasn't set yet and the bad guys are only wax statues."
"What about the tablet?"
"Dexter has it. I'll just use this spear and," there were some soft noises coming through the phone as he worked. "Aha. Got it. No, no, no. Not now. Uhhh, I gotta go."
He hung up on her. She left her phone on the edge of the sarcophogus and glanced out the window. "They must have woken up." The minutes ticked by. She gave a noise of frustation, grabbed her crutches and started pacing around the crypt. "I think I might go insane with all this waiting. If that dinosaur wasn't already dead, I'd kill him. Stupid broken leg."
Ahk wanted to comfort her. To tell her everything was going to be all right. But his brother had the tablet now. If Rexy had not broken her leg and she had gone with Larry, Kahmunrah would have recognized her instantly and she would be dead now. As it was, if Larry failed, she would go herself as soon as her leg was healed, and she would die by his brothers hand before she could meet his own past self. His mind went silent until another thought struck him. Alex had gone to the past, so did that mean Larry would succeed? All he could do now was have faith in his friend. That or give himself a headache he couldn't nurse, by imagining all the possible alternative timelines. Perhaps he should take a break from the time travel themed movies for a while.
Hours passed and she found herself pacing through the entire empty museum. That had been the corner where the Easter Island statue sat. And there was the case that had held Sacagawea. There was the tree that Dexter had sat in and the platform that the Huns had called home. Sunrise was coming soon and still she'd had no word from Larry. She finally stopped in front of Rexy, chatting to him. Scolding him and apologizing for scolding him only to repeat the process. What had she thought was going to happen when she played tug-of-war with a freaking dinosaur? It was just as much her own fault as his.
She paused, a loud motor outside the main entrence catching her attention. What the heck was an old plane doing in the middle of the street? Larry stepped out, tablet in hand. Then the other exhibits came piling out too. She walked to the door and waved. She didn't trust herself to go slow enough to make it safely down the steps. Larry waved back and held up the tablet. Suddenly she found herself smushed against the glass, with a giant nose on her back. "Rexy," she shouted. He let her loose just enough for her to turn around and hug his snout. "Ahkmenrah," she realized out loud. She hobbled towards the crypt as quickly as she could on crutches.
He met her half way, and was just as surprised as he was when she dropped her crutches and flung herself at him. Laughing, he spun her around before letting her one good leg hit the floor. Neither pulled away. His joy turned quickly into confusion when she grabbed his face. To his utter delight she kissed him square on the lips. She pulled back, flustered at her own actions. "It's uhhh... It's almost sunrise," she said, blushing.
He snapped out of a daze. "So it is."
"You should... You should go." She clung to his sleaves, holding him in place. She couldn't keep the tears at bay any longer. "I was so scared," she admitted.
He kissed her forehead and pulled her closer. "I know. You told me. And that was very interesting episode last night, don't you think?"
She pulled back to look him in the eye. "You...You're aware when you're...like that?"
He nodded. "Sometimes."
"But you can't move or speak..." she trailed off, now crying for a completely different reason. She tucked her head under his chin, not wanting him to see. She felt him kiss the top of her head.
"Those moments, though trying, mean I can come to life at night and hold you like this. That alone makes it worth it." She sniffled and pulled away, cursing her pain meds again. If they didn't knock her out they made her an emotional wreck.
He touched her face, his hand lingering on her left cheek. She forced herself to pull away from it. "You really should go. The sun's coming up." She saw the pain in his eyes, before he hid it beneath his usual mask.
"Yes. You're right." He picked up her crutches and handed them to her before leaving her to return to his sarcophogus.
The night program at the museum really took off. The people were loving it. Larry had returned to the museum as a night guard. Alex, still on medical leave, was of course at the museum. Where else would she be?
She hopped over to Larry. "So the museum gets an anonymous donation, that just so happens to keep everyone here. I wonder who could have done that."
"Huh, really? I have no idea," Larry replied with a smile.
"Uh huh." She bumped his shoulder with her own. Then hobbled away to see how everone was fairing with the crowds. Poor Rexy had to pretend to be animatronic. He was actually doing very well, until a group of boys provoked him. Attila the scary Hun, was telling stories to a group of children. She just hoped they were appropiate, not that anyone could understand him anyway. Finally she joined the group listening to Ahkmenrah.
"My parents gave me this tablet some three thousand years ago." He gestured to the tablet that Dexter was holding.
"Does it do anything?" a little girl asked.
"Do anything?"
"Yeah, what's the point if it doesn't do anything?"
He looked to Dexter, suddenly getting excited. "Actually, it has a magical power that brings all of the exhibits to life." Alex literally face palmed.
"No, really. What does it do?"
His face fell. "Nothing, it's just for decoration."
The little girl turned to her friend. "I knew it."
Alex had to find a seat before she fell over from the laughing fit.
The last visitor finally left and the museum was locked up. With the night program now in place, everyone thought they were all actors and special effects. Finding more security guards had become a lot easier, so Larry had been able to take off early to give Alex a ride home, provided anyone could find her. She had dissappeared an hour before closing.
Ahkmenrah was the one to find her. She was sitting on a platform near the entrance of his exhibit and leaning back against the ankles of one of his guards. The guard was afraid to move for fear of disturbing her and could not even so much as bow when Ahk entered. The jackal seemed nervous as that could have been seen as a sign of disrespect. Ahk quickly eased his fears by quietly thanking him for taking such good care of her.
She'd been on her feet too long, and had been forced to take some of her pain medication. That, combined with the lack of sleep and the stress of helping to set up the new night program had taken its toll on her. He knelt before her, and gently nudged her shoulder while calling her name. Shifting in her sleep, she muttered his name, but didn't wake. A strand of hair had slipped out of her ponytail and he tucked it back behind her ear. Her hair was so long. He wondered how much time he had before she cut it short like it had been the first time he laid eyes on her. Sleeping still, she nuzzled into his hand, causing a sad smile to form on his face. "I wish I could keep you, Hemet," he whispered.
Scooping her up into his arms he headed towards the parking garage, where Larry was waiting. It had been difficult to get into the car, since the cast kept getting in the way, but between the two of them, they managed without waking her. Ahk carefully set her body into the seat, while Larry carefully manipulated her legs into position. "I think we'll have to talk to the doctor about her perscription," Larry said. "She shouldn't be this out of it, maybe she's too small for the dose." Ahk tried to pull away so Larry could buckle her in, but her arms held fast to his neck. With smirk on his face and a sigh on his lips, he kissed her temple, and like magic she let go. "So," Larry said, a smirk on his face, as Ahk pulled his head out of the car. "There something you wanna tell me?"
He expected Ahk to be flustered, but instead the pharaoh shot a sad glance toward the girl in the car. "Wibbly wobbly timey wimey," he replied with a sigh.
"What? Isn't that something from Alex's show?"
"Yes." He stood tall and looked Larry straight in the eye. "There are many things I wish tell you, and her, but until the proper time I can't." His answer was rewarded with a confused stare. "Know this, I will be whatever she needs me to be, regardless of the depth of my own feelings, or the pain it brings me." After a moment he sighed again. "In this moment, what she needs...what she desires is simple friendship."
"Wow. You got it bad," Larry said as he ducked in to fasten the seatbelt around Alex. When he closed the door Ahk caught his shouler.
"You cannot tell her."
"I won't, but you should. I've seen how she looks at you. I really think you have a shot." Larry went around to driver's side and got in.
As he was pulling out Ahk answered quietly to himself, "I am too weak when it comes to her. If I took that shot, I would give away too much." As he walked back to his crypt he was torn between cursing fate's doom in knowing that he would eventually lose her or thanking fate's mercy in giving him more time with her.