Title : A Grain of Sand

Ingredients: Long fluffy AU fic. Rick has it all, and still feels something is missing. All Evelyn knows of Hamunaptra is what she's read in books. Add Rick's fiancé and an extended jaunt to Cairo. Stir well.

Note: Have had this story forever and a day (years!), in various pieces. Now that it's done, I give it to you for your passing enjoyment. Remember, it's fluff. I can hardly believe how bad this is, but it's really long, so I thought I'd fill in a couple of blanks and post it anyway. Bwahaha. I broke it into three pieces so it's easier to read.

Disclaimer: Don't own Rick. Don't own Evelyn. Don't own Jonathan. Don't own Bob. Enough said. Madeline and Cate, however, are my own handiwork. Please don't steal them:)

PS: I'm announcing a possible "Cost of a Glance" sequel. Nothing to do with this story, just thought I'd...mention it. Pass it along... ;)

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1923 A.D.

Rick O'Connell stepped off of the train and peered into the dimly lit platform for a familiar face. Cate was supposed to meet him at 11:00, but she had never been known for being punctual. Her letters came only a few times a year, an occasional phone call, a visit once every couple of years. Rick had only been eight when she'd left for Egypt, herself only a young girl of sixteen. She'd been determined to go, to leave behind the expectations of her parents, her friends, her teachers...Cate wasn't going to let others run her life, and Rick had always admired that, tried to be like her. That was partly why he had followed her out here, seventeen years later, to escape the life that was suffocating him back home. He didn't know where else he would have gone.

He could have had anything he wanted. For a while, it had seemed like he did. College degree, good position at his father's firm, loving family, beautiful fiancé...everyone agreed that Rick was a bright, determined young man who would do great things in life. Then why did he feel like he needed to escape? He needed...something. Something outside of his perfect life, something that felt real. Something that didn't make him feel like he was dead. He wanted to be alive.

Nobody had wanted him to go. It was just for a few weeks, he told them. I just need a break...

His parents didn't try to stop him. They'd attempted it with Cate, but by this point they knew it was futile to oppose their strong-willed children. The fact that Rick's brother David had just changed his major from pre-law to art history had proved that.

Madeline had been upset when he'd told her, but not as much as Rick had feared. She had tried to talk him out of it, jokingly, thinking that he wasn't really serious. She'd grown very quiet in their last days together. Rick didn't miss her. He should have, he knew. He'd loved her, once. He didn't know if she would be waiting for him when he came back, but somehow Rick couldn't bring himself to care.

After an hour of standing around the train station, Cate still hadn't arrived and the platform was slowly becoming deserted. Rick attempted to ask someone for directions, but he'd never been good with languages, and by the look on their face he guessed he'd said something very insulting. Luckily the Egyptian was understanding, and after a few minutes he pointed Rick in the right direction. He hoped.

Cate had always had a passion for anything to do with Egypt, ever since she was a little girl. When the chance had come to travel their she'd leapt at it, and had rarely left the continent since. Rick had never really understood Cate's fascination with the country. What was there but sand and mummies? She'd sent him books when he was younger, but he'd never really gotten into them. On those rare occasions when she would visit home, though, she'd tell him stories. Stories of legendary warriors, great loves, ancient curses. Her stories were what Rick thought of as he wandered the dusty streets of Cairo, comparing Cate's tales of grandiose palaces and fabulous tombs to the grimy poverty he saw around him.

He'd come here once before, when he was ten. Rick didn't remember much, which may have been a good thing. The entire family, even Cate, had come down with a horrible case of food poisoning, and they didn't leave the hotel for a week. His only real memory of the experience was the bitter disappointment of an ten year old who'd been denied the chance to ride a camel for the first time. That he remembered.

Rick stumbled upon the Museum of Antiquities quite by accident. He was just about to turn around and head the other direction when he spotted it out of the corner of his eye. It was a large sandstone building, guarded by two imposing stone figures carved to look like they'd come straight out of pharaoh's tomb. Even to Rick's untrained eye, it was obvious they were fakes. He wondered what the inside of the museum must look like if this was what they displayed in plain sight.

The cavernous front room was deserted save for a snoring old man in a lounge chair next to the entrance. From the looks of him Rick guessed he was supposed to be a watchman of some sort, though all he seemed to be watching was the inside of his eyelids. Rick tapped him hesitantly with his foot, but the man, whose nametag read Bob, did not stir. He decided to explore, instead. After all, what was an adventure without a little exploring? Living dangerously, sneaking around...

...In a museum where anybody could wander and where your scatterbrained sister was the assistant curator and probably wondering why you hadn't shown up yet. Some adventure.

After rounding a few corners and getting utterly lost, Rick thought he heard faint footsteps in the distance. They got softer by the second, going in the opposite direction. He sped up, hoping to catch the footsteps before they disappeared completely, to find some sign of civilization besides the sleeping watchman.

He came around the next corner too quickly, smacking into something, or someone, a mess of papers flying into the air, books landing on the ground with loud thuds. He grabbed for balance before he could completely tip over, but his attempts didn't really succeed. As it was, the dust settled (so to speak), and Rick found himself lying on top of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

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This was just perfect, Evelyn Carnahan thought to herself as she pulled yet another book off the shelf. Less than a year back in Egypt and she'd already managed to ruin her career. It wasn't bad enough that the Benbridge Scholars had rejected her application for the second time, now the curator hated her. Again.

One look at Evelyn Carnahan and most people would write her off as just another English prude, hair in a neat bun, modest clothing, prim and proper manner. The fact that she was a scholar made it even worse. Women were not supposed to be smart, Evelyn had found. They were supposed to curtsy and smile and mumble and sit around looking pretty. Not that she had ever felt the need to live up to anyone's expectations. Her own were quite enough, thank you very much.

She might have at least tried a little harder with Dr. Bey, though. It wasn't her fault she got into scrapes! They just to seemed to...happen around Evelyn. Blinking could be a dangerous activity for her, as her brother Jonathan had cheerfully remarked once. And where was Jonathan, anyway? He was supposed to meet her here for lunch a half hour ago. In some bar, no doubt, once again remiss in his brotherly duties. Evelyn had long ago learned not be disappointed in Jonathan. It would have taken all of her energy.

As it was, at least she could try to make it up to the curator by working through lunch. She knew he wouldn't fire her; her parents, even in death, were too influential to allow that. It helped to have the assistant curator on her side, too. Evelyn didn't know what she would do without Cate to defend her. What might have become of her? Would Dr. Bey have tossed her out onto the street like the Benbridge scholars were so fond of doing? Evelyn shuddered to think. As unglamorous as this job was, she needed it.

The stack was a bit heavy for her, but she was determined not to have make two trips. She tucked the papers under her arm and precariously made her way out of the library, on her way to the backrooms where the books would be stored. They seemed to have two copies of almost everything, and if Evelyn wanted that library neat, she was going to have to do a little spring cleaning in the process.

Footsteps echoed around the abandoned hallways, and they weren't hers. The Museum was supposed to be closed, and Cate was shut up in her office. The curator, owing to a massive migraine brought on by a certain someone, had gone home already, and had sent everyone else away, too. Bob never ventured down this way. Evelyn, despite herself, was a little frightened. Bob wouldn't let strangers in, would he?

As she timidly rounded the corner, someone came running flat out in the opposite direction, colliding with Evelyn in a storm of papers and books. Her head hit the ground with a painful thud, and she found herself looking up at the most handsome man she'd even seen.

"Sorry," she mumbled. Their eyes met, green to blue, and Rick's breath caught in his throat. "Should have been looking where I was going," she continued, faltering slightly. They lay there for a few moments, neither speaking, when suddenly it occurred to both of them that perhaps they'd better get up.

Rick helped the woman to her feet, both of them muttering apologies again. She swayed a little on the way up; he steadied her with strong arms.

"I really am...so very sorry," she started again. Her accent washed over him like wine, sending a chill up Rick's spine. He saw her shiver too, just slightly. He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts, but before he had a chance to speak he saw Cate come bounding around the corner, smacking into the other girl and sending what papers she'd managed to gather flying again. She flew into his arms again, and if not for Cate on the other end, he was sure they would have ended up on the ground once more.

"Oh, Evelyn, I'm so sorry--" So that was her name: Evelyn! "Rick!" Cate cried. "Where have you been?" Evelyn was pushed aside as Cate hugged him fiercely, then seemed to remember something and straightened. "Oh! I was supposed to pick you up."

"That's all right, Cate," he replied, his attention still on Evelyn. He finally wrenched his gaze from one woman to the next. "Gave me a chance to see Cairo. Three or four times," he teased.

Cate looked at the books scattered all over the hallway. "Have a little accident, did we?" she said, eyeing Evelyn. Before she could speak, though, Cate continued. Rick had forgotten how much he missed his sister's voice. "Rick, this is our librarian Evelyn Carnahan. Evy, this is my brother Rick, just in from Boston. Or have you two already met?"

Evelyn's cheeks reddened slightly, but she managed to choke out, "Just briefly."

Their eyes met again and Rick, with some trepidation, held out his hand. She took it, surprising him with her strong grip. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. O'Connell," she said quietly.

"Charmed," he replied, silently cursing himself for sounding like an idiot. The handshake was quick, impersonal...to anyone watching. Rick could feel the electricity burn through his fingertips and up his arm, sending another chill down his spine. What was going on here?

Cate, observing the handshake a little too closely, asked, "How's Madeline?"

"What?" Rick was startled out of his trance, and turned to face his sister again.

"You know, Madeline, blond hair, yay high, your-"

"Fine!" Rick exclaimed, before she finished the sentence. "She's fine. But how have you been?" he asked enthusiastically. Cate eyed him suspiciously, as if she knew better, but answered as she knelt to help Evelyn pick up the books: "Busy. It was a zoo this weekend."

Rick quickly bent to help them. "Seems pretty deserted now." He wanted desperately to include Evelyn in the conversation, but she wouldn't meet his eyes anymore.

"Yes, well, it gets that way when the basement floods and you have to close half the museum," Cate said, looking pointedly at Evelyn, who looked as though she might cry. "Oh, Evy, don't worry," Cate said quickly. As they all stood she patted the younger girl on the back and placed the stack of books back in her arms. "I'll smooth things over with Dr. Bey. I'd stay out of his sight for a while, though, hmm?"

"You don't have to tell me that twice," Evelyn said, trying to laugh it off but not succeeding very well. "I'll be in the library," she muttered. Rick thought he could hear her still talking to herself as she walked away, clutching the books to her chest as if they contained a precious fortune.

The only treasure Rick saw, however, was Evelyn Carnahan.

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Cate gave her brother a short, uneventful tour, her mind seemingly on something else. She breezed through most of the exhibits, though Rick knew she could have gone on for hours, regaling him with tales of this king and that scandal and this archeologist. "So, that's that," she said as they neared the end of the circle they'd made around the museum. "You want to check into the hotel, and I could meet you for dinner?"

"Why are you trying to get rid of me?"

Slightly startled, she replied, "I'm not! Why would I do that?"

Rick knew he probably shouldn't answer that one, so he broached a new topic. "So," he started, trying to sound innocent, "the name Carnahan sounds familiar...have I heard it somewhere before?"

Cate paused before she answered, thinking that his question was probably not out of any sort of archeological interest. "Yes, probably. Her parents were quite famous. Howard Carnahan discovered Tutankhamun's tomb a few years back." She paused again. The memories were still painful. Cate had almost accompanied them, but something had come up at the museum and she'd been unable to go. "They were killed about a year ago," she continued. "That's when Evelyn came to work here. She's normally very talkative, I think she's just upset about the basement." Cate wasn't sure why she felt the need to add this personal tidbit about Evelyn.

"Must have been hard on her. Her parents, I mean."

"Yes, yes, it was. Her and Jonathan-"

"Jonathan?" he interrupted, a bit too eagerly. "Who's Jonathan?"

"Her brother," Cate replied. She could see the obvious relief on his face, and decided to bring him back to reality. "How are the wedding plans going?"

Rick didn't answer for while. Finally, he said, "I think Madeline is going to break it off."

"You think Madeline is going to break it off. I see. So Madeline is the one who left her fiancé and ran halfway around the globe with no warning?" She almost cringed at the tone of her voice. Cate loved her brother, but sometimes he could be unreasonable. He needed to be brought back to reality. She'd seen the way he was looking at Evy, and he didn't even know anything about her! He was already engaged, for God's sake. The least she could do is try to make him see the facts, even if they were hard to face.

"We're not in love anymore, Cate, it's as simple as that."

"Have you even talked to her about this?"

"Not really."

"Well, then, how do you know?"

"I just...know. We both do." Rick paused. "You know when you're not in love with someone anymore." He didn't know how to explain it. They didn't talk. The relationship had become hollow, cold...at parties they would talk and laugh and mingle, and when it was over they'd go their separate ways sometimes without so much as a kiss or even a goodbye. Rick had a feeling the only reason it had gone on as long as it did was that Madeline had simply dreaded telling anyone. He knew how she must have fumed when she'd realized he was really leaving. That was certainly not that way she had wanted to announce their break up.

"Well," Cate interrupted his thoughts, "I will most certainly not let you start some illicit affair with my librarian before you're even single again! Don't try to defend yourself, I saw the way you two were looking at each other! Is that what your idea of an adventure is, hmm? And then you'd just go back to your little life in Boston, leaving Evy here in Cairo, heartbroken, because let me tell you she is not the type to fall in love, and she would also most definitely not consider living anywhere but Cairo, or London, she would never follow you to America, I'm quite sure!" Well...she'd said a little more than she'd meant to, but Cate knew what a heartbreaker her brother could be, and she wouldn't let him hurt Evelyn like that. "Just so you know," she finished lamely.

"You get to the point quick."

Ha! He wasn't denying it! "Well, I'm right, aren't I?" she asked.

"Cate," Rick said firmly, "I came to see you. I came here because I thought you'd understand what I was going through."

"Rick, I'm sorry. I didn't mean--sometimes my mouth runs away with me, and--"

"It's okay, Cate."

So can you find the hotel all right?"

"Yeah, I passed it on the way here.

"Okay. I'll stop by tonight. I've got to go take care of the basement." Cate gave her brother one last hug and left him to himself in the museum foyer.

Now, if he could just figure out where the library was...

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"George Benbridge, 1865," Evy muttered under her breath. "Temple of Osiris. Martin Benbridge, 1866, Temple of the..." she trailed off again. "Rick O'Connell..." Evelyn sighed to herself. What was wrong with her? She'd known the man for two seconds and she couldn't get him out of her head! But she couldn't stop thinking about those eyes, that handshake...her heart quickened at the mere thought of him. "Damn his eyes," she muttered.

Unfortunately for Evelyn, Rick had very good hearing. "Talking to yourself?" he asked as he entered the library.

"Uh, I, um...no."

"Oh."

"So..." Evelyn desperately searched for something intelligent to say and could come with absolutely nothing. "What are you doing here?"

"Um..." It seemed Rick was equally tongue-tied. "I'm not entirely sure."

"Why did you come down here then?"

"To talk to you."

"Oh. Why?"

"Because I...I don't know." Rick laughed. "You know how sometimes things just... seem right?"

"I suppose."

"Like...I met you and I...it just..."

"Seemed right."

"Yes!" he cried.

Despite the fervor of his response, Rick said nothing more, so after a while Evelyn decided to keep talking. "No one's ever said anything like that to me before. What do we do next?"

"Well, I think I'm supposed to ask you out to dinner."

"All right. Go ahead."

"I know I haven't known you that long, I mean, I don't even know you at all! But I--I mean--"

"Yes?" she said, a bit too eagerly.

"What I'm trying to say is...I'd like to. Know you better, I mean. I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me tonight."

"Absolutely," she said.

Thrown off by the immediacy of her response, Rick didn't know what else to say. "Err, I'll pick you up here at six?"

"Great!" They stood there for a few more moments. "Um, I have to get back to work."

"Of course. I'll see you at six."

"Okay." Evelyn waited until he'd left the library, then burst into a grin. This was turning out to be an all right day, after all...

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After the waiter took their orders Rick leaned over to Evelyn and whispered so no one else would hear. "An Italian restaurant in Cairo? This isn't what I expected."

She laughed. "Vinnie's is my favorite. It's fantastic, trust me. But we can try Egyptian food next time, okay?"

"Okay. It's a date."

Her smile disappeared and the nervousness returned. "So, why did you decide to visit Cate? I understand nobody in your family's come here for years."

"Well, the last trip was kind of a disaster."

The waiter brought two bowls of steaming soup to the table, and for a few moments they busied themselves with eating. "I've never been to Boston," said Evy finally. "Is it a nice city?"

"Yeah. Born and raised there. Sometimes you just need a change though, you know?"

"Oh, I know. I felt that way about London. Like I had to escape."

"Exactly! My life has just become so...I don't know. Disjointed. Half the time I don't know what's going on, and the other half of the time everything makes perfect, wonderful sense. Like an Emily Dickinson poem."

Evelyn nearly dropped her spoon. "You read Emily Dickinson?"

"Well, not really...My mother read it to me as a kid. Nothing else."

"Just Emily Dickinson."

He agreed, noticing at the same time the details of Evelyn's eyes. "Just Emily Dickinson."

"What's your favorite poem?"

"You're going to make me recite it?"

She grinned, which convinced him. "You're the one who brought it up."

Rick put up a good show of protest, but had already determined to perform the poem (and perhaps win her heart at the same time). He stood from his chair, right in the middle of the restaurant, and cleared his throat. Finally, he began: "Hope is the thing with feathers/That perches in the soul/And sings the tune without the words/And never stops at all/And sweetest in the gale is heard/And sore must be the storm/That could abash the little bird/That kept so many warm."

Rick sat down and picked up his soup spoon again. Some of their fellow diners clapped, including several women who sighed at Evelyn's good luck.

Staggered as she was at Rick's display, Evelyn managed to say, "That was beautiful."

"Your turn."

This startled her out of her reverie. "What?"

"What's your favorite poem?"

Evelyn's cheeks reddened. "Oh, I don't know..."

"Yes, you do."

She sighed. "It's William Blake."

"Recite it for me."

"I'm not going to stand up."

"Okay."

Evelyn bit her lip, debating the wisdom of following the Emily Dickinson performance, but then plunged ahead anyway. "To see a World in a Grain of Sand/And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,/Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand/And Eternity in an hour."

Rick wondered if Emily Dickinson had ever been in love. "That was wonderful."

"Yes, well." Evelyn concentrated very hard on her soup. "Short and sweet. So, um... What do you do?"

Ah, thought Rick, my least favorite subject. "I'm a lawyer, in my father's firm. Mostly boring stuff...corporations, contracts, commas...."

Evelyn looked up from her soup, which was not so very interesting. "You sound fascinated."

Rick began to reply but then realized she was kidding. "Well. What else was I going to do?"

She shrugged. "Whatever you wanted to." She bit her tongue to keep from launching into her fascination with Egypt. She could always scare him away later. "There's a total of about two people in my field who think that a woman can do fieldwork. I haven't let that stop me."

"That is what sounds fascinating"--God, he hated that word, he sounded so fake! "Tell me about it."

"You don't really want to know," she demurred, going back to her soup. "It's quite boring."

"Then why do you love it so much?"

He caught her eye as she looked up again, and Evelyn had to take a moment to collect her thoughts. If only she'd stop smiling like an idiot! "It's quite wonderful, actually. Do you ever wish you'd lived in a different time?"

"No time like the present," he said, cursing himself again. She only smiled.

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