Title: If I Never Knew You (1/?)

  Authors: Sarah ([email protected]) and Alex ([email protected])

  Rating: NC-17

  Category: Romance/drama

  Status: Work in progress

  Disclaimer: We're just borrowing these characters. We'll bring them back someday!

 

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  It was Friday night and the romantic restaurant that Rick had brought her to was nicely lit with a good atmosphere. Evelyn couldn't take her eyes off of him, especially after having a couple glasses of wine. She held both his hands on either side of the table and smiled in an almost enchanted way. "I love you. You're my whole life, Rick O'Connell, I'd be lost without you."

 

  "More like I'm the one who'd be lost without you," he replied. "I love you so much." He smiled back at her, thinking how cute she looked when she started to get a little tipsy. He had decided to take her out someplace nice to celebrate their seventh anniversary and had put Johnathan on baby-sitting duty while they had gone out for a nice evening on their own.

 

  She moved her hands out of his and stroked her palms up his arms.  "Do you know how attractive you are, sitting there staring at me?" She grinned and batted her eyelashes. "I have it in my head to do things to you that wouldn't be allowed on this table," she whispered so that only he could hear.

 

  He shivered a little when she said that and he was tempted to just leave the god damn restaurant right there and then to take her home so that they could celebrate their anniversary in a slightly more...fun way. "Well, feel free to do whatever you want, but bear in mind they might never let us back in this place again," he said, grinning.

 

  "Considering that this is my favourite restaurant I'd rather play nice here and have my way with you later, when we are alone." She raised her eyebrows and emphasised the word 'alone,' trying to tempt him. She watched him closely and smiled, tilting her head to one side and letting her hands continue to massage his arms.

 

  Rick raised his eyebrows and pretended to play dumb. "So, what do you suggest we do once we are alone, Mrs. O'Connell?" he asked, letting his thumbs stroke over her skin. He knew what she wanted, but he liked for her to chase him like this. He was waiting for the mandatory "oooh!" that she did whenever he acted stupid like this, it was one of the many things that endeared her to him.

 

  It was exactly what he got. "Oooh," she breathed and looked aside. She knew that was what he wanted and being their anniversary, she was willing to give him just that. She looked back at him and smiled, her tongue darted over her lower lip as she watched him closely.  

 

  He gazed back at her, subconsciously mirroring her act of licking her lips. What he'd give to be able to reach across the table and grab onto her, crushing his mouth to hers. "How about we skip this table foreplay and just go home?" he asked softly, tightening his grasp on her wrists.

 

  Evie nodded and tapped her foot against his. "I think that sounds like a very good idea," she told him and stood up slowly. She went to go get their coats while he paid the bill and then joined him back at the table ready to leave. She took his arm and he led her from the restaurant.

 

  He guided her over to the car, but before he could open the door for her, he got impatient and he pushed her up against it. He leaned down and kissed her, pushing his tongue inside her mouth and moaning a little, letting his fingers tangle in her hair. He knew they were probably making a scene, but he didn't care; it was dark and almost no-one was around.

 

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. She kissed him back, making her own little moans and cries until she pulled back, breathless. "Rick...if you don't stop, I'll be forced to make love to you here in the parking lot," she gasped. She could feel his erection right against her legs and she moaned.

 

  He couldn't help but rub against her a little which didn't exactly help his cause. He stared down at her, his breathing slightly laboured. "As much as I want you right now, I don't think making love in a parking lot would be a good way of celebrating our anniversary," he murmured, allowing himself one more kiss before pulling away from her reluctantly to open the door for her.

 

  She shook her head as she climbed in. "No, I agree with you there. I'd rather have a hot bath with candles or just go straight to bed.  Put on a record and move with you for hours." She put her hand on his knee as soon as he was sitting down. "Champagne, house to ourselves, perhaps try a new position."

 

  Rick grinned over at her as he placed the key in the ignition, starting the car. "A new position?" he teased. "Think we can find one that we haven't already tried?" He looked over his shoulder as he manoeuvred the car out of their spot and began driving. Her hand on his leg was distracting, but wonderful at the same time and he tried to keep his concentration on the road ahead of them.

 

  "I'm sure there are one or two we have yet to try," she replied.  She scooted over and placed her lips against his shoulder, bringing her hand up his leg. Perhaps she was a bit tipsy from the alcohol or just drunk with love for her husband, but she didn't stop what she was doing.

 

  "Maybe you should stop," he murmured, tilting his head a little so that she could better access his neck. His breathing started to come a little faster when her hand made its way up the inside of his thigh and he squirmed a little, not sure whether he was trying to escape her touch or get closer to it. "This could be dangerous."

 

  She kissed his neck. "Rick, do you want me to stop? I will if you want me to, otherwise you watch the road and I'll touch you." Her hand moved farther up his thigh, coming closer and closer to his desire. 

 

  "We shouldn't..." he whispered, fighting the urge to close his eyes and just enjoy what she wanted to do to him. He bit his lower lip, not taking his eyes off the road ahead of him. He almost jumped out of his seat, yelping in surprise when her fingers found their goal and his hands automatically tightened on the steering wheel. "Oh God, Evie," he moaned.

 

  "Shhh," Evie whispered and began to undo the buttons of his pants. She slipped her finger inside, starting to stroke him. She nuzzled his cheek with her forehead and moved her lips to his neck, sucking on it. This was dangerous, but that added excitement to it. 

 

  He was breathing hard when her small fingers ran over the seam of his crotch and he whimpered when her fingers pushed inside, touching his aroused flesh intimately. It was getting more and more difficult to keep his concentration on driving as his eyelids grew heavy, his mind suddenly going elsewhere. He knew they shouldn't be doing this, but it was such a thrill and he couldn't bring himself to get her to stop.

 

  She was continuing her pursuit of his body and for a moment, she brought her lips away from his neck and looked out the car window. It was then that she saw lights coming towards them. "RICK!" she screamed out, trying to get him to open his eyes and look.  

 

  His eyes flew open at the panic in her voice and it was then he saw that he had veered into the wrong lane and that there was a truck heading at high speed toward them, its horn blaring for them to get out of the way. He pulled frantically on the steering wheel and managed to get them out of the way of the truck, but he lost control of the car.

 

  They careered off the road and down a bank, hitting a tree at the bottom and his head thunked on the wheel despite the fact that he was wearing a seat belt and it took his a few minutes to come to. When he did, he saw that the car was a total wreck and he put his hand to his forehead to find out that he was bleeding. He ignored the pounding in his head to look over at Evie and he began to panic when she didn't move. "Evie?" he whispered, nudging her shoulder. "Evie, are you all right?"

 

  She was a mess on the floor of the passenger side, completely unconscious. Her head was bleeding down the side and she didn't even move an inch. Her legs were up on the seat, but the rest of her body was on the floor.

 

  He resisted the urge to move her, knowing that it would be bad in case she had concussion and that would only make it worse. He reached out a hand weakly and placed his fingers against her throat, feeling for a pulse. Her heartbeat was faint, but she was still alive and that's all that mattered. He bit his lip, trying to keep calm and figure out the best thing to do. He needed to go get help, but he didn't want to leave her. He said her name again, a little louder this time, hoping against hope that she would miraculously wake up.

 

  The first feeling that came to Evie as she was drawn back from a very dark place was the pain. Her head was throbbing uncontrollably and she could hardly breathe. It hurt so much she was tempted to give into the pain, but she couldn't. She moaned out, twisting a bit in her uncomfortable position.  

 

  His heart soared when she moaned and moved ever so slightly. "Evie? Honey, it's me," he said softly. Her eyes didn't open, but he could see the faint rise and fall of her chest. "All right, I need you to stay calm for me. Don't move, okay? I'm here sweetheart, I'm here." He didn't even know if she was aware of what he was saying, but now that she had come to a little, he tried his best to keep her awake.

 

  She opened her eyes and looked at him. Some attractive man was hanging over her and her head swum. She had never seen him before, so why was she on the floor of his car? "Who are you?" she asked softly, not recognising him at all. She pulled herself up a little, but only let her body fall back.

 

  "Try and stay still, Evie, you have to stay where you are in case you damage something," he said, wiping away a little of the blood from her face. "It's me, Rick," he told her soothingly. "We crashed, but I don't think we're too far fro the road. Do you think you can hang on for a few minutes while I try and flag someone down?"

 

  She nodded and then paused for a moment. "Who's Evie?" she asked and brought her hand up to her lips to brush away some of the blood that had come into her mouth. She groaned as she tried again to move; this position was really uncomfortable. "Why am I in your car, Rick?"

 

  He frowned at her, confusion etched over his face. "You're Evie," he said slowly, letting his hand rest very lightly on her shoulder. "We were driving back home from the restaurant. We crashed and it was my fault." He bit his lip, wishing that he had just told her no from the start, then they wouldn't have got into this mess. If only he had just waited until they had got home. "It's all my fault," he muttered, looking away. "I'm so sorry."

 

  She watched him and lifted her hands to him. "Do I know you?" she wondered aloud, completely confused as to why this man was upset over her. She took a deep breath to calm herself and she sighed, not sure what to do about this situation.

 

  Rick stared at her through watery eyes and realised that she hadn't been kidding when she said she didn't know him. He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. The bang on the head must have been done more damage than he thought, but right now he had to keep calm. "I'll explain later," he told her. "Right now, I want you to stay alert for me and don't move. I'm going to see if I can get help." He kissed her hand gently. 

 

  She nodded and let him leave the car. Several minutes passed and with each minute, she grew more and more afraid. She wanted him back, anyone back and she could hardly keep her eyes open. She sang a song softly and tapped her fingers to keep herself awake.  

 

  After Rick had left her, he'd made his way up the bank and onto the road. He knew that at this time of night, finding another car was going to be difficult to say the least, but he waited and waited and he was just about to go back to Evie when he saw a car come round the corner. He ran out in front of it, almost getting himself knocked down in the process and he motioned for the driver to get his window down.

 

  Peter McCoist had been on his way back from work that night when suddenly, a man leapt straight out into the road and he slammed on the brakes just in time to avoid hitting him. He wound down his window, a little scared that the guy might be some sort of nut case, but when he saw the blood on him, he began to grow concerned. "Everything all right?" he asked.

 

  "My wife and I were in an accident," Rick explained. "She's still down there. We need help. Can you please get us to the nearest hospital?"

 

  Peter nodded, getting out of his car and following the man down the embankment and to the mangled wreck of the car.

 

  Rick leaned down next to Evie who was thankfully still awake. "Evie? Evie, we have help," he said, sighing in relief when she turned her head slightly to look at him.

 

  She stared up at him. "All right, just get me out of here. I don't feel like I can move." She closed her eyes and reached out for this unfamiliar man and he took her into his arms. She let her head rest against his shoulder. "Tell me who you are."

 

  "It's me, honey, it's Rick," he said, holding her as gently as he could, cradling her head against his shoulder, trying not to move her much. "This man stopped for us, he's going to get us to the hospital so that you can see a doctor." He looked over at Peter who nodded and he followed the man back to his car, getting in the back seat with his wife. "Can you get us to a hospital as fast as you can?" he asked.

 

  "There's one about twenty minutes from here, it's just by my house," Peter replied, starting the car. "Try and hold on until then, all right?" He glanced back at the couple in the back-seat before focusing his attentions on the road. My name's Peter by the way."

 

  Rick glanced up distractedly. "Oh, I'm Rick and this is my wife, Evelyn," he replied. "Hey, thanks for stopping and all."

 

  "Don't mention it, we'll get her to a doctor as soon as possible."

 

  "Your wife?" Evie asked. She looked at him. She didn't want to move her head from his shoulder, she was in too much pain. She couldn't place that she was married to him one little bit. "I'm not your wife," she told him. "If I was your wife I would know you and I don't recognise you."

 

  He reached into his pocket, taking out a kerchief and holding it to the cut at the side of her head, trying to staunch the flow of blood. He stared at her, frowning slightly at that comment. "You don't recognise me?" he asked. He bit his lip. "Okay, what's the last thing that you remember doing?"

 

  She stayed silent for a long time and then shook her head. "I don't remember anything," she said and tears filled her eyes. She was so frightened by that and she felt suddenly very alone. All she had in her mind was images and those didn't fill up. She started to cry.

 

  "Hey now, it's all right," he said softly, wiping away her tears and trying not to cry himself over her distress. "You might not remember this right now, but I'm Rick. I'm your husband," he told her, taking her hand in his and lifting it so that she could see the ring on her finger. "And you're Evie. Is any of this coming back to you at all?"

 

  She shook her head, closing her eyes and just let him rock her.  Her mind was swimming and she felt afraid and lonely. She wore a wedding band so it must be true that he was her husband. He seemed to be a very gentle man. She cried softly into his chest, not having much energy for tears, but she tried to calm down.

 

  He shushed her, holding her close and trying to keep her calm and safe. "It'll be okay, I'm sure of it," he said, trying to reassure himself as much as her. He was extremely worried over this whole memory loss thing, but he decided to wait until they saw a doctor to worry about it too much.

 

  After a while of driving, the lights of St Anne's hospital could be seen and Peter drove up to the accidents and emergency door. He waited until Rick got himself and his wife out of the car, wished them luck and drove off.