: : Summary : : A continuation after Christina�s death. How will the family live life without her, will Rick and Evelyn�s marriage servive? Read and ReviewA continuation after Christina�s death. How will the family live life without her, will Rick and Evelyn�s marriage servive? Read and Review
After that day, when Rick had taken Evelyn to the cemetery, she didn�t try to hide her sadness. Many hours were spent talking about how to move on, what they wanted out of life, and one night the big question for both of them came. Rick and Evelyn while they had slept in the same bed, cuddled in one anothers arms had not made love, and one night when Rick reached for her, and she pulled away, he asked her why.
�I don�t want to have anymore children Rick. I can�t face falling in love with another baby, and then having to go through what we did with Christina. I know that may sound silly, but I�m afraid. If we made love we might make a child,� she said as she turned to face him.
Until she had told him that, Rick hadn�t even considered the possibility of another child, and he now knew why she had been so reluctant to let him hold her. �Evie. Dr. Brown said what happened to Christina was rare. Do you know what you are saying here? Never for us to make love, never to feel the pleasure that comes from that,� he said as he ran his hand through her hair.
As much as she was afraid to have another baby, Evelyn didn�t want to miss out on what Rick was saying, and knew of another option. �Dr. Brown said there is a surgery. It�s new, but it is a permanent solution to not having a baby,� Evelyn said, having looked in on this with the doctor. She told Rick what the surgery entailed, and he was shaking his head when she finished.
�Evie they say experimental, so that means to me that there is a risk, and I don�t want to risk losing you,� he said.
Evelyn closed the small distance between them letting his arms ease the turmoil she had been feeling since they had started to sleep with one another again. �Please don�t be afraid. I can no more resist your touch than to try and stop breathing, but I�m afraid Rick,� she said, and on that last word her voice broke and she cried for the second time that evening. �I�m so confused Rick, I don�t want a baby, and then part of me craves that, to make life with you to wash away the sadness, but we can�t do that. Christina deserves to be remembered, not replaced by another life,� she said, revealing another facet to why she didn�t want to make love to him.
As she told him this, Rick felt awful that he had not gotten her to talk about this sooner, and wished he had, but now they were facing her fears and in part his own. �You say your confused. Evelyn maybe thats your sign that doing this surgery is not the way to go. There may come a point in our lives where we want to try for another baby. Also have you even thought of the fact that we haven�t conceived since Christina?� he asked.
That was not something she had thought of and she eased away from him. �Will it make you angry if we don�t make love? I�m not suggesting forever, but I don�t want to do that until I�m ready,� she said.
All Rick could do was hold her in his arms, and both of them fell asleep that way content.
~*~
While Rick and Evelyn were healing, Alex was doing worse. For two days he hadn�t said a word to his Uncle, and now on the third day, Jonathan couldn�t get him to eat. �Come on partner just eat a little breakfast for me,� said Jonathan as he rubbed Alex�s back. His nephew was still in bed, and shook his head.
�I�m not going to eat anymore,� he said. Alex had decided that if he didn�t eat like his baby sister, that he could got live with her, but he was afraid to tell his uncle, for fear he would get taken to the hospital.
At a loss on what to do, Jonathan left his nephew and went downstairs. After picking up the phone and dialing 0 for the operator, he waited, and finally got a connection. �Yes I need to place a call to London England to the O�Connell residence on 6870 Primshire Lane,� Jonathan told her. He waited and then the call went through.
�O�Connells,� Evelyn answered. She and Rick were ready to go out for a walk, and she had barely gotten to the phone before the operator disconnected.
�Oh baby sister thank the heavens. You and Rick need to get it together, Alex hasn�t talked in two days, and now he won�t eat,� Jonathan said.
His last words alarmed her. �Jonathan is he not eating, like Christina?� she asked starting to shake. Losing Christina had been hard enough, if she lost her other baby, then she would lose herself.
�No, this isn�t sickness, he just won�t eat,� he said.
Wanting time with her husband, but knowing that they had spent too much time away from their son, Evelyn told him not to worry, that she and Rick would fly out, and be there by Evening. Once she hung up the phone she turned to her husband. �Alex won�t talk or eat,� she said. While she went to pack, Rick made the necessary arrangements.
~*~
All day long Alex had not eaten a bite of food, and Jonathan was now pacing in the kitchen. His nephew had also not wanted to get out of bed, and as he was about to lose his sanity, the door opened, and Rick and Evelyn appeared.
�He�s in his room,� Jonathan said, and watched as both parents went up the stairs.
In his bed Alex had woken up. His tummy hurt, and he wanted to eat, but didn�t. He heard the door to his room open, and shut his eyes.
Quietly, Evelyn walked to her little boy�s bed and sat down on the edge. �Alex love, mummy�s here,� she said. Not able to hold in his sadness he rolled over and held on to her and cried. Rick had followed her in, and crawled in bed on the other side of their son, and they both held him.
�Why were you so mean,� Alex asked as he lifted his head from Evelyn�s chest.
Evelyn took in a breath, then kissed his forehead. �I was afraid baby, and when I get afraid, I get very very grumpy,� she said.
Alex sniffed, then looked at his daddy. �You made mummy cry when you kissed her,� he said having not forgotten what he had seen that day when he arrived home from school.
Rick kissed him in the same spot Evelyn had. �Alex, what your mother and I did to one another was very wrong, and there is no excuse for what we did. She and I have talked to one another and talked about Christina...� He was cut off as Alex pushed away from them, and got out of his bed.
�I don�t ever want to talk about her again. I hate her because she made all of us sad, and I don�t want Sasha anymore,� he said suddenly angry.
His words hurt both parents, but like them, they knew he was expressing his sadness. Evelyn was the first to respond. �Alex, it�s all right to be angry about what happened, but we need to remember her,� She tried.
He shook his head, then sank to the ground and started to cry. Both parents went to his side and they held him, letting him get out all the sadness and all the hurt he had been feeling since her loss. Alex cried himself to sleep, and once they put him to bed, Rick and Evelyn went downstairs where Jonathan waited.
It was Rick who approached his brother in law and surprised him by hugging him. �I want to thank you for taking things into hand as far as Alex is concerned. I also ask you to forgive both of us for our faults,� he said as he parted.
Not sure what to say, Jonathan stood there, then smiled. �It�s good to see the two of you together, thats as it should be. If you don�t mind I need to get out of here and try to think myself,� he said.
It was Evelyn�s turn to thank her brother, and she did so by hugging him, then kissing him. �Mum and father would be proud of how you handled things,� she said.
Her words meant the world to him, and after kissing her, he grabbed his jacket and left the two of them alone.
Noticing her frown, Rick approached her, and took her into his arms. �Penny for your thoughts,� he said as he kissed the top of her head.
Evelyn sighed in his arms and then looked up at his face. �I wish we could bring her back,� Evelyn said. Since arriving on Egyptian land, Evelyn had thought about going back to Hamunaptra to get the books. With one she would bring her daughter back, and with the other send Imhotep away.
Surprised by that, and also understanding where his wife was coming from, Rick took her hand and led her into the parlor. There he sat down, then pulled her to sit on his lap. �But we both know the reason�s why it can�t be done. Alex would never understand how his sister suddenly came back to life, and we would have to lie to him so we wouldn�t scare him with the truth,� Rick said.
Having come to that conclusion herself, Evelyn sighed. �I think Mr. O�Connell that all of us need rest. Lets move Alex into bed with us, and just sleep,� she said.
Rick picked her up and carried her easily up the stairs to their room. Then once she was ready for bed, he went into the room Alex was sleeping in and without waking him moved him to their bed. He was the last one to join them, and not long after his head hit the pillow, did sleep find him, a restful sleep for all of them until the next day when a new set of problems arose.