: : 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
December came with all its glory of the Holidays. For Rick and Evelyn, it marked a month since the loss of their child, and a month since they had started more or less dating. So far Rick was keeping it simple, letting Evelyn be their guide on how far to take things. They had been intimate that one time, but right now she wasn�t ready for that. Now the two walked in the fresh fallen snow, their boots crunching as they took each step. Rick held Evelyn�s hand in his as she showed him how beautiful the land was in the winter.
�I bet you and your father shared alot of these walks,� Rick said as they came to the top of a fairly large rise. Ahead of them he could see into the woods, and heard the sound of running water.
�I think my father chose this land because it�s so secluded. He and my mother, well all of us loved taking walks anytime of year, and from him I learned the names of all the trees and wildlife. If you want we can go to the stream, it�s quite beautiful this time of year,� she said looking up at him. He reached out and moved a strand of hair that had fallen in her face.
�Sure, I�ve never been much for the cold, but I actually like this,� he said, and he did. He wasn�t sure whether it was the landscape or the company, but he really enjoyed their walks.
�What was it like, I mean before you left the United States,� she asked, as they moved down the slope toward the woods.
�My life, hmm. Well for the first Eleven years of my life I was an only child. My father raised horses, thats the sort of thing you do when you live in Montana, or did, and then Elizabeth came along. I thought it was odd to have a sister that much younger than me, but she grew on me, and we were really close. Then when she was about four, dad bought into this hotel with his good friend Jake, and thats around when my parents started fighting. He sold all the horses, without telling my mother, and it just got worse by the day. Elizabeth started sleeping with me, and her welfare fell on me too, and for a while I was fine by that. Then I started to hang out with a tough crowd, drinking, smoking, and skipping school, as well as sneaking out at night. When my father found out what I was doing, one night he waited for me. I got home and he yanked me in the house, and pushed me into a chair. He called me a good for nothing self centered bastard, and told me I was no son of his. I fought back, which was really stupid, because he beat the every living crap out of me, and in the end I left home, and hitched my way to New York. Then I snuck aboard a vessel headed for France, and there I was ready to be a Legionnaire.� By the time he had finished his narrative of his life, they had reached the stream, and Evelyn moved away from him then turned to face him.
�I�m sorry that you had to go through that,� she said.
�Yeah I am to. If I had it to do over I would have stuck to being the good guy I started out to be.� She moved into his arms and he hugged her closing his eyes to the pain. It still hurt, all of it, the loss of his parents and sister, and the loss of their child, and at times like these he wanted to hide, but what Evie had been through and was still going through had taught him that hiding only made things worse. After a moment, the two parted and she led him over to the stream.
�Do you ever feel anger toward the way I reacted during my pregnancy?� she asked not looking at him. He stood behind her and eased her against him.
�Anger at myself for not trying to understand you better, not at you,� he said.
�I still don�t sleep at night. I feel an emptiness, a void left when the baby died, and a sadness that goes deeper than anything I�ve ever felt. I kept saying to myself that I didn�t want to be a mother, that the baby was going to take away from what I wanted, and I think it would have added to both of our lives,� she said.
�Evie, I know your not ready to think about this, or maybe you are but I�m not leaving you. I love getting to know you, I love our walks and our talks,� he said leaning down to kiss the top of her head. She sighed and wrapped her arms around his.
�I know I love you, and it terrifies me,� she said softly.
�Can you tell me what about it is scary?� He asked. That was not easy to answer.
�Because its so strong that it blinds me, I�m afraid to feel the full extent of it because when I did that night..that night in your hotel room I didn�t want to stop what we were doing despite the fact that my mind was screaming for me to do so,� she said. Her words made him feel guilty, and he eased her away and turned her to face him.
�Evelyn I�ve thought of that night, and I should have helped both of us by being the strong one,� he said.
�Your not supposed to be strong for both of us. What I�ve learned is that we have to be strong together, equally,� she said. That declaration gave her strength and again she came into his arms hugging him, then shuttered not realizing how cold it was until now.
�Why don�t we head back to the house,� Rick said.
�I think thats a very good idea,� she said and the two started back toward home.
Later that evening Evelyn sat by the fire in the parlor on a bunch of soft pillows, reading a book, Jane Eyre. From time to time she liked to read old books, and to her it was like visiting an old friend each time she read them. She had taken a hot bath after their walk, and now wore a soft flannel nightgown, comfortable as she read. Rick had gone out with Jonathan to drink, and she misssed him, but she wanted him to do his own thing. The silence was broken by his voice, and she was surprised that he was home so soon, but also glad. She stood up as he walked in and found him covered with snow.
�Go put your cloths on,� he said, and his excitement fed her. She hurried upstairs to do that. When she came back downstairs, she had on dark slacks and a warm sweater. Rick had her coat, and helped her put it on then they went outside finding it was snowing so hard they could hardly see five feet in front of them.
�I�m glad we got food today,� Evelyn said as the walked out in the snow, which came up to her ankles.
�I am to,� he said then lifted her into his arms and spun her around causing her to laugh. They fell in the snow with him on his back and Evie on top of him. Before he could think, she got some snow and threw it in his face then got up and ran as he ran to catch her. Jonathan came from putting the car in the garage and they bombard him.
�Hey no fair,� he wined then retaliated. They played like that for nearly an hour then headed inside. Once out of the cold, Evelyn made sure they got their boots off and dusted the snow off of one another, then they all headed upstairs to their rooms to get into warmer cloths.
Some nights Evelyn still had nightmares, and this night was no acceptation. She found herself tied down to the alter, and what was different about this dream was that she was pregnant. Imhotep, and Anck-su-nahmun stood over her and she screamed but nothing came out. She felt the knife cutting into her womb, removing her baby, then when the baby was out, Imhotep put scarabs in her. This time she did scream, sitting up in her bed coughing and sweaty, which brought Rick instantly.
�Hey shh,� he said and pulled her into his arms.
�Oh Rick I had a dream that I was back in Egypt, and he took our baby,� she said and started to cry against his chest. He held her against him, stroking her back as she cried, and looked up as Jonathan came in. When he saw that Rick had her, he left them.
�It was so terrible, he put scarabs in me,� she said and cried harder. Rick didn�t try to stop her tears, and sat with her rocking her gently, rubbing his hand over her back, until the tears subsided. She eased away from him and he reached over on her nightstand and got her kerchief handing it to her so she could wipe her face.
�I�m sorry I woke you up,� she said.
�Don�t be Evelyn, don�t ever be sorry, I�m glad I could be here for you,� he reassured, and that comforted her. She was still tired but wasn�t all that keen on being alone, and Rick seemed to sense that.
�If you would like for me to, I�ll sit in here until you go back to sleep,� he offered.
�You don�t mind?� she asked. He leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips.
�I don�t mind,� he said. Once she was reassured of that, she lay back against the mattress and Rick pulled up a chair. She tried to fall asleep, but the haunting images of her dream kept creeping up, and she felt alone, even with him sitting so close. Rick watched her, and after a few minutes he got up and went to the other side of the bed. He climbed in and Evelyn willingly moved into his embrace. Once he was holding her, Evelyn slept and her dreams were ones she wasn�t afraid to see.
A week before Christmas, Evelyn got a call from her good friend Wendy Copeland who invited she, Jonathan and Rick to her anual Christmas party, and now Jonathan pulled the car up to the large house. It was no where near as big as the house Evie�s parents had owned, but it wasn�t small either.
�So her name is Wendy?� Rick asked trying to get everyone�s name right. He knew how important this was to Evelyn, and wanted to make a good impression on the people she grew up with.
�Right, and her husband is Douglass,� Evie said as they approached the door. Before they knocked Wendy herself answered the door and the two friends hugged.
�I�m so glad to see you,� Wendy said as they parted.
�I�m glad to see you as well. Wendy this is Rick,� she said. Rick smiled and was surprised when she gave him a hug.
�I�m happy to meet you, well come in and join the rest of the crowd,� she said then took their coats. Evelyn smiled and took Rick�s hand in hers and they headed into the Parlor. For a while they spent time meeting and greeting old friends, and new friends, then Jonathan pulled Rick off to play some poker with Douglass and some of the other gentlemen there.
�Well how did you meet him?� Wendy asked as she and Evelyn sat on the Sofa. Out of all the people Evelyn had grown up with in England, she was closest to Wendy.
�In Egypt, in a prison actually,� Evelyn said and spun the tail. In the middle of that a little boy came running over to them.
�Mum Toby said I can�t play with him,� the little boy said.
�Why don�t you go see if Nanny Helen will read to you,� Wendy replied.
�Whose she?� he asked of Evelyn.
�This is mummy�s very good Friend Evelyn, Miss Carnahan,� Wendy said.
�I�m Garret, and I�m four,� he said then ran off to find his Nanny. When Wendy turned to her friend, she found tears streaming down her face.
�Evelyn?� she asked.
�I�m sorry Wendy,� she responded, then got up and ran for the bathroom. Very concerned for her friend, Wendy went to the small room the men were playing poker in, and found her date, whispering in his ear.
�Jonathan take over my hand,� Rick said and left with Wendy.
�My son came out, and she started to cry,� Wendy said concerned.
�She lost a child,� came Rick�s response, then he went to the door and knocked.
�Evie sweetheart let me in,� Rick said. He heard the door click and when she opened it he pulled her into his arms.
�Let me show you to one of the rooms,� Wendy said. They followed her and when she left Evelyn cried for a long time, and as he always did Rick just held her in his arms until the storm passed.
�I am tired of this feeling,� she said still clinging to him.
�I know you are, but at least your letting yourself feel it,� he said, and she sighed.
�Don�t you tire of this, of my tears and emotions?� she asked.
�No Evelyn I don�t. You need to feel these emotions, and you need to stop worrying about me leaving you. I�m here to stay because I choice to, because I think your worth waiting for. The one thing my mom said about finding someone special was sticking by their side no matter what, and I�m going to do that for you,� he said. His words reassured her, and after a little more time they rejoined the party, though Evelyn was quiet and stayed by his side. When they finally headed home she fell asleep in the comfort of his arms, and upon their arrived Rick carried her to her room and gently laid her in bed, slipping off her shoes as he did, then pulled the covers over her and kissed her good night.
The next morning was Christmas, and after a hardy breakfast, which Rick cooked, they all sat around the tree and opening presents. Jonathan got a lounge Jacket from Rick, and a few new ties from Evelyn. From Jonathan, Evelyn got a gold necklace with a diamond on it, and some new books published on Egypt. He got Rick a bottle of Glen Levitz dated back earlier than what the Curator had in Egypt as a joke, though Rick was pleased with that. Evie got him a set of books about King Arthur and the Knights of the round Table, and as she was cleaning up he pulled her over to the couch and had her sit down.
�Now I got you something, and I don�t want you to panic,� he said. Jonathan looked up from trying on his lounge Jacket and saw O�Connell pull from his pants pocket a velvet box and silently prayed Evelyn wouldn�t freak out. She saw the box and started to talk but he pressed his finger to her lips.
�Listen to me okay,� he said. She nodded.
�I want us to get married, it doesn�t have to happen today or tomorrow or even this year. I think its rare when two people meet, and find a love like what we have shared, or have gone through as much as we have. This ring just means that I�m going to wait for you,� he said, then took her left finger and slipped it on. She was shaking like a leaf and he eased her against him.
�I want to marry you,� she said.
�I�m glad,� he replied and the stayed in one anothers arms for quite some time before they parted. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, and Jonathan stayed in his part of the house planning a party for Rick.