: : Summary : : I wanted to do a more in depth story about Rick and Evelyn after Hamunaptra, and their not being so sure about one another as far as getting married so this one might be a little long, just bare in mind that I like happy endings so have faith
It took a week to get to England by ship, and when Rick arrived it was cold and rainy. As he got of the ship, he found Jonathan waiting for him.
�I think I like Egypt better,� Rick said, as the got his luggage and took it to Jonathan�s car. Once they were in, there was dead silence save for the rain pouring down on the car.
�Evie is at work today. I well she doesn�t know you are here,� Jonathan informed ready for Rick to kill him for not telling her. He was silent for a long while.
�Jonathan why did you send for me?� he asked. Jonathan gulped.
�I can�t tell you, but she needs you Rick, even if she is pig headed, and tries to push you away she really needs you,� he said, and then they pulled up to the house. Rick got his bags and followed Jonathan inside whistling.
�So this is why your house in Egypt is so tiny,� he said as the walked down a hall into a grand parlor.
�So how many rooms do you have in this place?� he asked as Jonathan led him out of the parlor and down another longer hall.
�Thirty. The parlor which we were just in, A dining room, a kitchen, Two bathrooms down here. My fathers old Study, a Day room with mostly dead plants because our mother was the only one who could keep them alive. Lets see we have a wine Cellar, and Attic, and the rest are rooms with bathrooms attached to them,� he said as they arrived to his part of the house.
�You can stay here, trust me its like having your own place, and if she blows a fuse you can run here,� he said lightly.
�Jonathan why will she be mad to see me, and why does she need me here?� he asked cornering him. Jonathan gulped.
�I its really her decision to tell you,� he said trying to get away but Rick grabbed him. It wasn�t a rough hold but a hold none the less.
�Tell me what?� He asked, holding Jonathan in place. He closed his eyes.
�Hit me I can�t tell you,� he finally said. In his eyes it was her place to tell Rick about the baby.
�Jonathan I�m not going to hit you, but I�m going to hold you here until you tell me why she will be mad about me being here, and why you didn�t tell her I was coming, as well as why I should be here at all,� he said. Then he had an idea. He let Jonathan go.
�You know what I don�t need to be here. If Evelyn doesn�t want me here then why should I be,� he said and picked up his bags. Jonathan looked like a rabbit caught in a trap, and moved in front of Rick.
�No you really can�t go, if you go she will never tell you,� he said. Rick dropped his bags and grabbed him holding him up.
�Jonathan no more games what doesn�t she want...� he would have finished, but they both heard Evelyn calling for Jonathan making a fast approach to his room. Rick dropped him and went out in the hall coming face to face with her. She had on a dark blue dress, long, and flowing, and as she always did, she took his breath away.
�You.� She said and her lips pursed. She pushed past him to her brother.
�You told him didn�t you?� she asked coldly.
�Evie I told him you needed him, and he is here,� Jonathan said standing up and backing away from her. She was angry, more so than he had ever seen her.
�I don�t need him, and I don�t need you,� she said. She turned and she bumped right into Rick. He steadied her.
�Evelyn what is Jonathan not telling me?� he asked. Instead of telling him she pulled away from him.
�I�m not going to say a word, and if Jonathan wants his sister to remain his sister he won�t say a word,� she said and stormed out of the room.
Later that night Evelyn sat in her room, a room that had once been her parents, brushing out her long dark hair. She had on a soft peach silk gown and she could see her stomach sticking out with the new life she carried. Once she had finished brushing her hair, she went over to the bed and pulled the covers back then she lay against the mattress. As she was resting there she felt a fluttering in her stomach, and realized that it was movement. She rubbed her hand over her belly, then she closed her eyes and began to cry. This was supposed to be something she could share with Rick, let him be a part of it, but she didn�t want that. Truth be told, she wasn�t sure what she wanted. This baby was something she feared, because it was brought about by love, and a love she didn�t grasp or couldn�t comprehend. Sleep finally found her and it was a deep sleep with no memorable dreams for her.
When morning came Evelyn arose early, earlier than she normally did, but she wanted to get out of the house before Rick got up. After she had a bath, she dressed in one of the new skirts she had bought, and a soft creme colored blouse. She wore her hair up in a bun and wore a gold bracelet that had been her mothers, like the rest of her jewelry, it was all from her mother�s collection. Once she was ready, she headed downstairs, and when she arrived in the kitchen she found Rick there having coffee and toast. Evelyn thought about running out, but she had to eat for the baby she had inside of her. Ignoring him completely, she went to the stove and got out a skillet, and made bacon and eggs, as well as toast for herself. Once that was done, she put it all on a tray, and left the kitchen going to the parlor to have breakfast on her own. Rick watched her wondering what he had done to deserve the silent treatment. When she left he knew he should have just stayed put but he couldn�t, and went after her.
�Okay I�ll leave you if you tell me what this big secret is that you can�t stand to tell me, I�ll get out of your hair and go back to Egypt and find someone who will talk to me. I�d rather it be you, but you have made up your mind that I am the enemy,� he said. His words brought her to tears and she started to cry uncontrollably then she ran out of the room. He followed her feeling bad for making her cry.
�Evie look I�m sorry okay I just don�t know what you want me to do here. If you asked me what I wanted I�d tell you a second...� She had finished getting ready, and she ran out the door slamming it in his face and when he got over his shock and opened the door her car sped down the drive. Rick closed the door and hit his head against it.
It was movement in his room that woke Jonathan. He had slept on the couch letting Rick have his bed, and as he sat up he found his friend packed.
�Wait you can�t go,� he said standing up and nearly falling over his own feet.
�I can, and I will,� Rick said as he hefted his bags over his shoulders.
�Just give her a chance,� Jonathan pleaded.
�A chance for what? She doesn�t want me here Jonathan, and I keep saying all the wrong things. What she needs is for me to get out of her life, so that she can get on with hers,� he said and started out. Jonathan had no other choice none that he could see.
�She is carrying your baby,� Jonathan said, and heard all the bags thud to the floor before Rick came back in.
�I...Did you say what I think you said?� he asked. Jonathan nodded.
�So when the hell was she going to tell me this news?� Rick said angry.
�She is afraid to tell you. I think she is afraid that you will leave her,� he said. Rick took some deep breaths then went to the bed and sat down.
�No I�m not leaving her not anymore,� he said trying to figure things out. The first thing he had to do was get her to see that he loved her, or at least get her to talk to him to tell him how she felt about all of this. He let Jonathan go back to sleep assuring him that he would stay around. Most of his day was spent in thought. It was hard to grasp that he was going to be someone�s father, and thoughts of that brought back thoughts of Elizabeth, and thoughts of his own father. This was his big chance to put right what went wrong with his own family, to be the best dad he could be, if Evelyn would let him, then again she really didn�t have a choice, he would be there no matter what.
Evelyn�s day at the museum was slow, and she worked hard, skipping her lunch, and not stopping till after dark. By then she was feeling dizzy and sick, but she didn�t care. Finally she headed home half hoping Rick would be gone, but then again she knew she could always go up to her room and get away from him that way. When she arrived Jonathan�s car was gone, and the house was dark. She felt relief and sadness both, that he had left her meant he really didn�t care, and that the welfare of this baby fell on her own shoulders. Inside she put her bags down and started to go into the parlor, when she saw light coming from within.
�Jonathan is that you?� she asked. When she entered the room she found Rick sitting on the couch and pursed her lips again. She walked past him and started up the stairs.
�Evelyn I know about the baby,� he said. She stopped and turned around.
�Good, now that you know why don�t you just get out,� she said bitterly. He stood up.
�Because this baby is part mine. It might be inside you, but its part mine,� he said gently.
�We don�t need you Rick. I am perfectly capable of taking care of my baby on my own. This baby needs a daddy who will want to stay through everything, good or bad, and I don�t want to take the chance that one day you will leave us. Further more I don�t love you, and it would be wrong to try to love you just because I�m having your baby,� she said. Saying that hurt worse than anything else, but she wanted him to hurt.
�What right do you have to try to tell me I can�t be a part of it�s life,� he said staying put.
�The right as a mother who loves this child.� She turned and ran up to her room slamming the door behind her, then went to the bed and cried again.
A week passed at the end of which Rick was having his doubts. Evelyn avoided him at all costs, and spent all of her time at the museum. She barily came home, and he was worried sick. Now he sat in the parlor, another night arriving fast. He was about to go pack his bags when the phone rang. Jonathan had said he would go talk to her, and Rick debated on picking it up, but decided he should.
�Hello?� he said.
�Rick Evelyn is in the hospital. She fell, and her doctor said he needs to see you.� After getting directions to the hospital, Rick got dressed in more appropriate cloths, and hit the road. It took him fifteen minutes to get there and when he arrived Jonathan was waiting, and led him to the Maternity ward. Dr. Brigman was waiting and led him down a long corridor.
�Evelyn is under a tremendous amount of stress, and because of that and not eating right, she is at high risk of having a miscarriage. There was some bleeding, but we managed to stop it. Right now she needs you there, even if she can�t see that,� The doctor said. Once he had been told, Dr. Brigman let him go in her room. She was in a bed, and a nurse sat at her side. When he walked in she left, and Rick took her place.
�I�m here, I know you hate me but I�m not leaving you,� he said. She stirred and then looked away.
�Evie I need to talk, and I well, your not going anywhere so here goes. I had a fight with my father when I was 18. I got drunk, and came home one night to find him waiting on me. He and my mother had been fighting over a Hotel he had bought in to, and it was stressful without me adding to it. We got into a big yelling match and I called him a few choice names. He pulled back and punched me, first in the mouth then in the stomach and kicked me out. He said I was no longer his son. So I left and eventually made my way to France. I regret a lot of things, and most of all not going back until it was too late. All three of them left me letters. My mother told me that if I met a woman I loved, I should hold on to her with all that I have, even if it got tough at times. My father put one in too, and said he shouldn�t have gotten so mad, and had intended to tell me that. Elizabeth, my sister was fourteen when she died, never getting a chance to live her life at all. She left me her favorite bear, and had plans of her own to come and find me. I want to try to be a good father to this baby, be the father that I felt I never had. I also want to love you Evelyn, and I�ll try as long as there is breath in me,� he said. When he finished she was crying, and he reached out and took her hand, and for once she didn� pull away.
�I�m afraid Rick,� she finally said.
�What about, talk to me Evelyn please,� he said.
�I�m afraid that you will leave us, that if this baby is naughty or gets sick that you will decide to go.� she said her voice trembling badly.
�Never,� he said.
�I�m afraid of how I feel about you,� she said. He stood up and walked around the bed to face her.
�Tell me how you feel?� he said.
�Confused, afraid, alone,� she said softly He leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss.
�Your not alone,� he said, and she reached up needing to be in his arms. Rick sat on the bedside and held her as best he could.
�I do love you Rick I�m just afraid of this feeling. It�s so big, and It makes me do things that I wouldn�t normally do.� She said. He kissed her again.
�Love does that,� he said and she sighed tired.
�Rest now, I won�t leave you,� he said. She nodded her head and he eased her back against the pillow. Sleep came fast for her, and Rick sat by her side, and reached his hand out placing it against the swell in her tummy. It was still difficult to believe that his child was growing inside of her, but he was also very happy, and knew that time and his love would help heal her heart, and teach her to trust, or so he hoped.