Title: Untamable Stallion

Author: The Scientist Wrangler

Rating: T for swearing and god only knows what else.

Movie: The Mummy and The Mummy Returns

Summary: Rick's long lost niece is sent to live with him and his family, unfortunately along with her arrival comes new trouble for the O'Connell's. So they have to turn to the help of a good Medjai friend for assistance. Ardeth/OC

Disclaimer: I don't own anything other then my OC's. Everything else is the wonderful creations of Universal Studios. I like Universal, I don't want to be banished from the theme parks for stealing that which is not mine.

Chapters: 1/10

blah= something spoken in Arabic.

"The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even introduce yourself to, had life not done it for you."

~ Kendall Hailey

Tanis swore under her breath as she sat on the deck of a dilapidated excuse for a ship. The only reason she was even on a one way trip to Cairo, was thanks to one too many 'misunderstandings' with the officials. After she'd accidentally set fire to her junior college, the worthless excuses for 'foster parents' had had enough. So, after spending years trying to find a surviving blood relative…her foster family was finally successful.

At the age of twenty, unmarried and rebellious towards any form of authority, it came as no surprise to Tanis that they shipped her off. They'd booked her a ticket and sent her supposed Uncle a telegram. Imagine her shock upon learning that there was another O'Connell alive and well! Though Tanis was still trying to figure out why in gods' name the man lived in Egypt of all places! She sighed and brushed back a strand of her jet-black hair, tucking it behind her ear in exhaustion.

According to the dossier that she'd been given, her uncle was married to some sort of librarian/Egyptologist/archeologist. To top it all off, he had his own problems to handle. Which was the reason he'd been reluctant to let her come, but the large amount of cash the fosters had offered…made it impossible to say no. She cussed under her breath once more, as she fingered the blade at her side. It was all thanks to the money she earned doing odd jobs, that she now owned her weapons. The presence of the blades she had hidden about her person gave her an odd sense of comfort.

In her peripheral, Tanis could see one of the workers staring at her in horror. It was the tattoos, she was sure of it. Her lashes lowered to shadow her gunmetal eyes, each mark upon her flesh was a reminder. To ensure that leaving the past behind would never be possible. She ran a hand through her short black hair, the ends barely reached her shoulders. Leaving the tattoo upon her neck, free for all to see. In Latin were the words, 'Tempus Omnia Sed Memorias Privat'. Which translated meant, time deprives all but memories. The words were done in an elegantly artistic calligraphy, which arched across her shoulders and the back of her neck.

Before those false parents had thrown her on this shit excuse for a boat, she'd gone ahead and chopped off the hair they'd been so proud of. It had been the only thing that kept some form of feminine grace to her. The worker had vanished into the underbelly of the ship. Once Tanis was alone again, she pulled out a half-empty pack of smokes. Tapping the bottom against her palm, she took out the cigarette and put it to her lips. Didn't want to give the natives heart attacks, seeing as she was the antithesis to how women were expected to behave. Lifting a match to the tip, it glowed softly in the darkness of night.

Exhaling a small ring of smoke into the moonless sky, Tanis felt her nerves relax. It was pointless to get all high strung over something that was entirely out of her control. The night breeze made her three silver dangling earrings tinkle together, creating a sound like wind chimes. Her ears could pick up the sound of commotion upon the decks, and as the lights of the city grew even closer…she knew her freedom was vanishing by the second. Tanis fixed her red silk blouse which was vibrant against the small black vest she wore over it. Rather than deal with the hassles of a long skirt getting tangled around her legs, she'd purchased herself a fair share of trousers. It'd been a pain to smuggle them in her luggage, but anything was better than the atrocities her 'mother' had packed her. At one point, the captain had requested she cover herself more appropriately.

The loose fitting pair of black slacks she had on now was far less offensive. Tanis gathered her two bags of luggage, she couldn't help but wonder what this strange new life was going to be like. According to some gypsy she'd met on the trip, she was supposed to 'finally achieve her destiny'. Whatever the hell that meant. Her balance was thrown off as the ship docked at last. Only when she'd succeeded in regaining her equilibrium did Tanis head down the gangplank, with bags in hand. All her earthly belongings… all shoved into one large trunk, a decent sized duffle, and an old patched up rucksack.

Even though the sun had set over four hours earlier, there were a handful of individuals awaiting the death-traps' arrival. Honestly, that was exactly what the god-forsaken barge was. On the one-way trip alone she'd counted well over three dozen rats; heard at least half as many fights break out which nearly resulted in massive fires; and just as often the crew were patching up all the leaks they could find. Tanis wasn't going to even try to fathom the dangerously inedible state all the food had been in.

Amongst the faces of varying skin tones, were two fellows that caught Tanis's attention. From the description her 'mother' had given her… it certainly looked like the fellow alright. She hadn't the foggiest idea about the identity of the sketchy looking man with him. There was a quirk of an irritated smile and roll of the eyes, to whatever the scrawny guy said. Tanis caught her supposed 'Uncles' attention, and rather than waving in greeting…she arched a single black brow in curiosity.

He found his way through the small crowd, with the stranger tagging along rather frantically. All of Tanis's honed instincts screamed that the guy in the suit was a complete and utter coward. While the tense, and restrained look that her 'Uncle' gave her, told her that he was a cautious and intelligent man. Two complete opposites, just how in god's name did the two unlikely individuals get stuck together?

"I take it you're Tanis? The mysterious long lost niece?" His accent was overtly American, she pegged it was West/Southwest coast. She smiled at him in a hesitantly friendly manner, to which his hostility lowered by a bit. When Tanis offered him her hand, the coward caught a glimpse of her second tattoo. Positioned just above her heart, along her left collar bone, were the words 'Via Dolorosa' which meant 'The way of sorrow'. In reference to those she'd loved and lost. She gave the fellow a vicious grin, one to leave the Cheshire Cat jealous.

"If you find that one interesting… I have two more, care to see them?" She caught the hint of an amused smile as her supposed Uncle went to help with the wooden trunk. Apparently they both found this male to be insufferable, and they're sense of humor was oddly similar Tanis mused, perhaps he was her relative after all. The coward stuttered something incoherent, his accent betraying a British descent. The only two words she picked up were 'bloody' and 'no', everything else sort of blurred into a spew of syllables. Once the luggage was settled in, what appeared to be, a vehicle which had weathered quite a slew of abuse. She paused…was that an old blood stain on the door?

Having noticed her sudden pause, the Uncle took a gander at what she was so fascinated by. A muttered curse escaped him, all she caught was 'goddamned mummies'. That was more than enough for her. Clearly this was a bunch of insane lunatics, Tanis estimated…she'd be out of her arse within the week. As the coward went to occupy the front passengers' seat, her Uncle caught him by the back collar. While holding the poor fellow in a rather uncomfortable position, he spoke in a tense yet commanding tone of voice which left very little room for argument.

"I thought we've discussed this…ladies get front seat. Unless we're in a life or death situation and you were carrying weapons. Seeing as that's not taking place at this moment…where do you sit?" Tanis couldn't help but chuckle, which caught both the males' attention.

" I carry my own weapons at all times thank you very much." The poor fellow blanched as he stumbled out of his mid-sitting position. Her uncle let out a bark of laughter before clapping the poor British companion on the back.

"Looks like yer screwed pal!" With that said, Tanis slid comfortably into the seat. She decided not to question why there was a dried up scorpion husk on the windshield. Let alone why there were random rolls of papyrus parchment rolling about on the floor. Though her uncle took notice and swore vibrantly as he gathered up the abused items. He pointed at her before saying in a serious tone,

"We do not tell my wife bout that." The coward peeked over at try to see what sort of blackmail he could obtain. This only earned him a shove back into his seat. As the engine warmed up, Tanis was impressed how well-maintained the vehicle sounded. Before she got the chance to truly admire the machinery, they were already off down the side roads. It felt odd not to travel along paved streets, but the desert wind was rather exhilarating. The rush of quiet was broken by her Uncles voice once more, though his attention was focused upon straight ahead.

"Never properly introduced myself. The names Rick. That son of a camel back there is my brother-in-law Jonathon. When we get to the house, if they're still awake… you'll meet my wife and son, Evelyn also known as Evy and Alex." They hadn't mentioned he'd had a son, not even in the dossier. How odd…maybe the information was outdated. Ah well…best to just go along with the ride. The night sky was the purest she'd ever seen. Stars were like brilliant spotlights blinding the heavens with their radiance.

By the time they finally reached the house, her neck had a crick in it from staring upwards the entire time. Once her attention refocused, Tanis realized…this wasn't a friggen house. It was a fucking mansion, compared to all the places she'd lived in prior… this was huge. Most of the lights were out except one, the front entrance. Her uncle, Rick forced the brother-in-law to lug in the trunk. It was a rather amusing sight to behold, the poor fellow struggled the whole entire way. Rick showed her to a well-furnished 'guest room' which was now to be hers.

Tanis was grateful that the color theme was of deeps blues and brilliant gold's. Last thing she need was to be chucked into pretty pink wonderfuckland. That would have killed her instantly, so she had to thank whatever deity had her back. Once Jonathon huffed and puffed it pathetically out of what was now 'her' room…Rick paused before offering her his hand. Tanis arched a brow in curiosity before accepting the gesture.

"It might take some time…but, with us…you're family. We O'Connell's take care of ours. And whatever you pulled back in those old homes…probably don't even compare to the crap I did at your age." He let go of the firm grip, and Tanis was stunned stupid for the first time in a long time. Rick gave a small smile, as he headed to the door he called back.

"Oh, and don't hesitate to scream if something…anything comes in through your windows or door. Though, I'm guessing by the gun you just tucked under your pillow… you're set." She chuckled nervously. All he did was chuckle, before closing the door behind him. After he left, Tanis sat and stared at the door. This was some sort of dream… if she fell asleep, she'd wake up back in that hell. Stuck in debutante balls, frilled dresses, and being guilted into dating assholes. A shaky sigh escaped, and for the first time…Tanis realized how tense she'd really been.

It took her all of seven minutes to get changed into her sleepwear, and burrow under the covers. The many layers of quilts, as well as the down-feather blanket atop kept her warm in the cold desert night. For the very first time… in far too many years… Tanis feel easily into sleep.

TBC~~~