: : Summary : : Evelyn's day is growing lousier and lousier by the second. After everything that happens in her terrible day, what could possible make it better? How about some tender loving care from everyone's favorite gun-toting American? Read to see what happens! ^-^ This takes place after the first movie but before the second. It's about right after the first movie past the part where they ride off into the desert sun.
~
Rick stretched his muscled arms above his head, giving his back a good strong pop before setting them back down at his side. After a long trip back, the three adventurers were now in England, and this would be Rick's first taste of jolly old England. Evie and Jonathan were apparently eager to be home. It showed in their smiling faces. He looked around quietly taking in his surroundings as Jonathan drove them down the bustling streets. It was certainly interesting for Rick to be driving on the left side of the road, seeing as he was an American. But he simply took it in along with everything and everyone else he saw. Evie giggled as Rick craned his head to look at a large clock tower.
"Are you enjoying our sights?" Evie asked with an amused smile.
"It's certainly different from America, that's all I gotta say�" Rick replied, not drawing his eyes away from the buildings passing his gaze.
"Well you'd better turn your head soon because we're almost home." Evie said.
"Home?"
"Mhmm, you and I are going to be living in one of our parent's old houses. They never had the heart to sell it, so Evie got to keep it." Jonathan said as he pulled up a large driveway.
Rick looked up and nearly fell over in shock when he saw the size of the house he was going to be living in with his soon to be wife. The house was a grand size, looking like the royal family had built it as a tiny summer cottage. There was a large stone fountain spewing water from the multiple spouts, and numerous stone statues on the plot of land surrounding the house. Rick could only imagine what the inside of the house looked like�
"Are you coming, O'Connell?" Jonathan wondered, grabbing his bags from the back of the car.
"Y-Yeah�" Rick stuttered, stumbling out of the car. Evie smiled and slipped her hand inside his.
"You like it?" She asked.
"Man, when you said a house I thought you meant like a-a tiny house or something, not a mansion!" Rick replied.
Evie smiled. "Welcome to England, Mr. O'Connell."
They entered the house together, and immediately Rick was awestruck. Everything was just so�big! There was a stairway that led to a large and spacious upstairs, with more than likely even more spacious rooms. The parlor was decorated with what appeared to be battle swords on display in a mahogany case, with other such artifacts adorning the house, showing that someone related to Evie definitely lived here.
"Wow�" was all that Rick could muster.
Evie smiled and made her way up the stairs to her bedroom to unpack. Jonathan immediately made his way to the liquor cabinet in the kitchen area, leaving Rick to wander about in the house. He dropped his stuff at what appeared to be a spare bedroom, and left his things still packed to explore. He found a large library, a grand kitchen, and everything in between that just left Rick wondering how long it would take him to adjust to the change of desert living to a beautiful place like the one he stood in. He barely even noticed that it was growing darker and later while he continued his exploration. Jonathan, however, noticed.
"By Jove, look at how quickly it's darkened outside!" Jonathan exclaimed. "I say, old mum, is there a storm coming?"
"According to what the town is saying, yes. Didn't you notice everyone was bustling about because they're saying this is the biggest storm England is ever going to see?" Evie asked, slightly confused that her neither brother nor Rick noticed the people so nervously watching the skies.
"No, I just assumed they were all just on their way to see the Queen�" Jonathan replied with a cheeky grin.
"And Rick didn't even notice them since he was too busy watching our town, no doubt." Evie said with a sigh. "Speaking of Rick, where is he?"
Jonathan simply pointed towards a window in a room beside them without facing his baby sister, leading Evie to believe Rick was inside. Evie stepped inside the room, which turned out to be the parlor, and immediately found Rick looking out the window and observing the rain beginning to drip-drop, drip-drop against the pane.
"Amused by a bit of rain, are we Mr. O'Connell?" Evie asked with a soft giggle. Rick smiled.
"Just watching what it's like to rain in England." He replied, keeping his eyes on the outside world.
Evie came from behind and wrapped his arms around his waist. "Not very different from rain anywhere else, Rick."
"True, but still, rain interests me. It's kinda like a purification element�" Rick said quietly, putting his hand against the glass absently.
"That was very poetic�" Evie breathed, amazed at his tender wording. He blinked with wide eyes suddenly.
"Ahh, well! HAHA! Whoa was that totally out of character or what?! Ha! I just totally pulled that one out of my ass, now didn't I?" Rick said with a sheepish grin. As he rubbed the back of his neck, Evie arched a brow amusedly.
"Are you�blushing?" she asked with a smirk.
"Don't be absurd! I don't blush!" Rick replied, quickly turning his face away to hide his quickly color-changing face.
Evie merely giggled and moved herself closer against him, resting her head against his back. Losing his embarrassment briefly, Rick smiled and held her arms against his waist. Looking back out the window, Rick watched as the rains began to quicken, falling with a fast and even more furious pace. Thunder began to rumble in the distance, and the suggestive flashes of lightning in the distance caused Evie to tighten her hold on her fiancee. He noticed this and tipped his head back to look at her, but she was too low to be seen.
"Y'scared of a little lightning, Evie?" Rick asked, the sound of amusement being heard in his voice.
"No! No I am NOT scared!" Evie said in annoyance. "It startled me, that's all!"
Rick chuckled. "I think I'm going to head upstairs. I've got some unpacking to do and then I'm probably gonna get some rest."
Evie nodded and smiled as Rick gave her a soft peck on the lips. "Goodnight."
"Night, Evie. Ohh, and be careful when you enter the kitchen."
Evie blinked and wondered what he had meant by that. She pushed the door open to the kitchen and scowled, seeing Jonathan lying on the floor asleep with a liquor bottle in his grasp and a ladies periodical from his collection underneath his head. It amazed Evie how someone so loving and gentle as her brother could down so much liquor and not have died. True, a while back when he said he wished he could join the dead when they were in the museum, Evie was hurt when he said that (though she didn't show it). If he died, goodness knows what would have happened to her then. Before Rick, it was only Jonathan and Evie herself. Big brother and baby sister, surviving on their own. If Jonathan died�she would have been alone�
'Honestly Jonathan, you cut it so damn close sometimes. I don't know how or why I put up with your drinking�' Evie thought as she gently took the bottle away from her brother's hold.
Jonathan slurred something incoherent at her only to roll onto his side and drool on his magazine. Finding it useless to move her brother, she knelt down beside him and gave him a gentle kiss on his temple, making her way upstairs to her bedroom. As she walked past Rick's bedroom, she couldn't help but stop and peek inside the room, watching as Rick unpacked his belongings into his dresser�with his shirt off�
'Ohh�my�goodness�'
Evie watched silently as he sloppily folded a shirt and stuffed it into a drawer, then going to another one. It wasn't so much the sloppy folding that got to her, but the way he folded it. As he picked up the shirts, Rick would shake it out of any excess sand that would possibly be lingering, then place it against his shirt, fold in the sleeves, then fold the shirt over in half. Oh, how Evie envied that bit of cloth�
'What am I doing?! What a fool I am, I'm acting like Jonathan!' Evie mentally scolded herself, reluctantly drawing herself away from Rick's doorway.
She shuffled into her bedroom and shut the door over quietly, re-gathering her composure and slipping off her cloths to change into her nighties. Evie jumped as another thunderous rumble shook the house and her nerves. She shivered slightly at the noise, crawling into her bed. She hated stormy weather. It scared her so much�it scared her when she was a child, but back then her parents would protect her. And then after they died and she was afraid, she was either comforted by Jonathan, or, when he wasn't around, she would curl up somewhere safe and cry. It was something about the thunder and the lightning that simply made her want to be in someone's arms�it always made her feel like something was going to harm her�shoving the memories down, Evie curled in a slight ball and attempted to drown out the noise with sleep.
~*~
Rick yawned softly as he lay down on his bed and covered himself with the sheets. He slipped his arms behind his head, the lightning that crashed every so often gleaming on his exposed chest. Rick never slept in pajamas, normally. When you were out on the battlefield life, you didn't change into pajamas. You either slept in what you were wearing, or you slept naked under a bunch of sheets. Tonight he chose option number two as his clothing choice, which was none. It was a little muggy anyways, and the discomfort of clothing in muggy weather was never pleasurable. Rolling onto his side, Rick closed his eyes and yawned again before slowly slipping asleep�that is, until�
"Rick? Are you awake?"
Blinking, Rick looked over his shoulder to see Evie looking down at him, her hand lightly placed on his shoulder. Suddenly remembering his nudity, he quickly grabbed a pillow and shielded his front side with it.
"Err, what's up Evie?" Rick said nervously. He was hoping she hadn't noticed he was naked�what he did notice was that Evie was crying�
"Evie? Wh-Why are you crying?" he whispered softly.
"I-I can't sleep alone�I-I'm scared�" Evie whimpered. "C-Can I sleep with you?"
"Aww, Evie�of course you can�uhh, wait a sec�" Rick slipped out from beneath the covers and to the floor in record time. Evie tipped her head confused.
"Hang on a sec�wait�I-okay!" Rick slipped back under the covers, now wearing a pair of underwear on his lower body. Confused, Evie slipped in beside him.
"What did you do that for?" She wondered.
"Let's just say I wasn't well fit for my future wife to sleep beside me�" Rick mumbled.
Smiling faintly, she laid back and curled underneath the covers. Before the blankets covered them, Rick couldn't help but stare at Evie's nighty. It was a soft pink step-in with lace around the legs, neckline and two medallions on either side front. The step-in reached above her knees, just stopping mid-thigh. And the way it revealed Evie's skin made Rick want to touch her even more�
"Rick?"
"Hmm?"
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Ohh! Ohh, sorry Evie! I wasn't staring�I was just�umm, thinking!" Rick replied quickly.
Evie was about to respond when suddenly a giant boom of thunder that caused the house to tremble interrupted her. She screeched in shock and grabbed the first thing that her hands could touch. The first thing she happened to touch was Rick. She curled against his bare chest, trembling in fear of the loud noise.
"Evie�it's all right, nothing's going to hurt you�" Rick soothed, brushing her hair from her eyes.
Evie looked up at him sadly. "Promise?"
"Yes, I promise." Rick replied softly, brushing his lips against hers.
She smiled faintly, closing her eyes. Evie was about to drift asleep when another bang startled her. But it wasn't thunder�
"Rick what was that?!" Evie asked fearfully.
"I don't know but whatever it was it's about to meet my gun�" Rick whispered, grabbing his gun off the nightstand.
Slipping into a pair of pants quickly, he cocked his gun and slowly made his way to the door. Evie followed closely behind him in fear of being left alone. He tentatively opened the door and peered outside. Relieved when finding it was clear, Rick and Evie slowly slipped out. They stealthily made their way down the stairs to the noise that seemed to be coming from the parlor. There was incoherent mumbling and things hitting the floor with a sharp thud. Rick peered from behind the parlor door and saw a shadowed figure looming beside the bookshelf. Biting his lip, he aimed his gun at the intruder.
"Hold it!" Rick called out, threatening to shoot the intruder.
The intruder looked over at Rick and blinked. He couldn't see the gun-toting American due to the darkness of the room. But he could make out the silhouette. Evie watched on nervously as they attempted to see who the other was. Then, without warning, a giant crash of lightning shot near the house, brightening the room with electric fury. And everyone was seen in a frightening light. To Rick, the intruder looked like a disheveled old man. To the intruder, Rick looked like a furry beast with long shiny claws. To Evie, the two men looked like Imhotep after they rose him from his crypt.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The three of them all attempted to run away, but couldn't do so because things were so dark. Instead, it resulted in the three crashing into each other and collapsing in a heap to the floor. Getting to his feet first, Rick reached for a light and switched it on. After adjusting his eyes to the light, he blinked at who the intruder was.
"Jonathan!!"
Jonathan, the said intruder, looked up at his sister at hearing his name. He was half-asleep, nearing dead drunk rapidly, and had a cheeky grin plastered on his face. Evelyn, however, was not amused.
"'Ello, Evie!"
"Jonathan, you bloody pain in my ass!" Evie yelled. Rick bit his lip to keep from laughing.
"Ohh come on old mum, I'm not the one who aimed the gun! I'm just another hard working�shlob�" Jonathan said with a hiccup. Then he collapsed with a snore in his sister's lap. Evie could only stare at her brother in shocked amusement.
"I think we'd better put him in his room before he does some more damage." Rick said, picking up Jonathan and carrying him to his room. Evie followed, shaking her head.
After tucking in the drunken man, Rick and Evie went back into Rick's bedroom. Evie lay down and tipped her head as Rick slipped his pants off and tossed them onto the floor before laying down himself.
"Why are you wearing so less?" she asked.
"I dunno�before you came in earlier, I was naked." Rick replied with a smirk.
"What made you put on your under garments?" Evie asked innocently. Rick nearly fell off the bed.
"Ehh, let's just go to sleep Evie�" Rick replied sheepishly, the same embarrassed look streaking across his face that had been there earlier.
She smiled and curled against his chest, her head tucked underneath his chin. Rick slipped his arms around her waist and kissed her crown. Thunder continued to rumble in the distance, and surprisingly, Evie didn't jump or stir at the sounds. Rick tipped his head.
"How come you're not scared?" he wondered.
"After tonight's experience I won't be scared for a long time, I assure you." Evie replied with a smile.