Series/Universe: The Mummy
Disclaimers: M7 characters belong to Trilogy, et al. Mummy characters (particularly Ardeth Bey, Lock-Nah, the Carnahan-O'Connell family and Imotep) all belong to Stephen Sommers. Original characters are all mine ... don't mind if you borrow them, just ask first, give them back intact and give credit where credit is due.
Warnings: The usual ... violence, language, and references to ugliness. Oh yeah, and the original characters. Can't forget them.
Spoilers: All twenty-one episodes, both Mummy movies, though more of an emphasis on the second (and my favorite, since it has more Ardeth)
Authors Notes: Get comfy, this is gonna take a few minutes. First and foremost, please be patient ... the prologue is Ardeth-heavy, as I'm laying the groundwork for the rest of the story. Chris and the boys make their appearance in the fourth section, which I'm now writing. There are mentions of them, but Josiah is the only one to actually appear.
This is a one shot deal ... I'm not planning on writing any more stories in this AU (at least, not at the moment). However, if you wanna play in this sandbox, go right ahead. I have no problem with that.
I've changed a few things. First, this is something I've wanted to do for a long time. Mary is Orrin's daughter in this story, not his daughter-in-law, and Stephen's sister.
You'll note, too, that I make reference in later chapters (set in 1933) to the events of the first film being seven years in the past. That's actually canonically correct. While Ardeth and the Med-jai first knew of Rick in 1923, when he was part of the Legion, the two didn't actually meet until 1926. I've also worked around the problem of Alex, since he's eight years old in the second film. Bear with me, I do know what I'm doing.
There's probably a lot more I'm forgetting, but I'll post those author's notes as I post the stories. If you've got the TMR soundtrack, I listened to this often while writing (okay, all the time); especially the pieces 'Evy Kidnapped,' and 'My First Bus Ride.' (the source of one of the best lines in the movie).
With that in mind, enjoy the fic!
He found him exactly where he was expecting ... in the graveyard where his son had been buried three years earlier. Chris Larabee said not a word as he approached his boss and friend, understanding that this was a private time. Chris had lost his own family ... his wife and son ... and he understood about being left alone when spending time with them. At last, Orrin said softly, "Three years, Chris. Three years."
Chris still didn't speak. Orrin continued, "Until she got back, Adriana never told us the whole story. All her letters would say was she was helping with the investigation into Stephen's death. She never told us that she was also looking for Vin." Chris lowered his eyes. That was hard for him to take. He knew Vin had no choice but to disappear after Jess Kincaid's murder, but it still hurt to know that his sister had been chasing leads in a foreign country, when Vin had returned to this one.
She spoke little about the year she remained in Egypt, after the murder of Stephen Travis. To this day, the only thing which Chris and Orrin knew about Stephen's death was that it happened in Cairo and it was at the hands of thieves. She also told them that one of Stephen's final acts was to push her to safety, before he was run through. But to Chris, once a lawman, too many things didn't add up.
Especially the way she wouldn't discuss what happened. She answered their questions, but volunteered no information. Not to Mary, not to Buck, not to Chris himself ... not even to Vin. She was keeping secrets from them, and Chris wanted to know why. The exact reason. He knew something happened to his little sister while she was in Egypt. Not necessarily bad, but she had changed from the girl he remembered. She was harder. Not quite callous, but devastatingly practical. Or was it pragmatic?
Josiah hadn't known her before, but he did make the comment that she behaved as if she lived in the desert for a time, where there was no room for sentiment, not if one wanted to stay alive. Chris never questioned how Josiah knew the things he did. JD still did, even after two years, and inevitably regretted asking. Chris was simply grateful for the man's strength, knowledge, and faith.
He waited silently now, knowing that Orrin Travis had a specific reason for asking him here. He was right. Orrin said quietly, "Mary is in Egypt now. She ... was afraid of losing someone else she loved to that place." Chris made no answer. He knew that Mary was gone, and he knew why. As Orrin had said, she had already lost her brother to Egypt. She wanted to make sure Adriana was safe. The moment Adriana agreed to join Will Richmond's expedition, Mary had decided her best friend wasn't going to Egypt without her this time.
Things got more interesting about a week before the expedition left the States. It was then that they learned the identity of Richmond's backer. Chris shook his head, remembering the confrontation in Orrin and Evie's house when Richmond made that revelation. The backer was a wealthy Dutch Egyptologist named Anton van Gesen ... Adriana's own uncle, by way of her late mother, and it was his influence which had led Richmond to ask Adriana to come along.
It certainly wasn't out of respect for her knowledge of ancient Egypt, or the year she spent in Egypt after Stephen's death. In the week after the revelation that van Gesen was the backer, Richmond had ignored every observation and warning Adriana gave him. His wife Charlotte made several attempts to speak on Adriana's behalf, but she was ignored as well. And, since it was apparent that Richmond didn't care if anyone on his expedition lived or died, Mary had decided to go along, to watch Adriana's back.
That domino struck another, when Orrin's wife of nearly forty years, Evie, decided she would go as a chaperon to the two young unmarried women. Orrin continued now, "I was supposed to get a wire from them three days ago, telling me of their progress. The last time I did hear from them was three weeks ago. Chris ... " Orrin faltered, and Chris knew then what his boss and friend would ask of him.
"When do you want us to leave?" Chris asked. He didn't question whether the others would want to go. He knew Buck was worried sick about his sister. Vin wasn't entirely happy about having Adriana gone, but also knew better than to test family loyalty. Adriana didn't know her uncle that well, but family was family. He would welcome the chance to make sure she was all right. Josiah, he knew, had been to Egypt in the past. Which was probably how he knew about whatever had happened to Adriana while she was there.
That left Nathan, Ezra, and JD. JD would go along with the others willingly. He was only twenty-one, and still searching for adventure around every corner. Nathan would go, because he would probably be needed, and like Vin, Nathan needed to be needed. That left Ezra. Chris smiled faintly, thinking of the seventh member. Knowing Ezra, there was no way they'd be able to keep him here. With the discovery of King Tut's tomb the previous decade in the Valley of the Kings, there was gold to be had. Yes, Ezra would be going.
Chris tried to be annoyed as Orrin withdrew an envelope from inside his coat. He tried, but couldn't maintain it in the face of Orrin's obvious relief. There was just no way he could have said no to Orrin. Even if he hadn't lost Adam. The man continued, "I can give you the information you need. Adriana did warn me before she left that she didn't trust Richmond to update me." Chris smiled tightly as he accepted the packet. That made two of them.
"She still on the outs with Evie?" Chris asked. Evie Travis had never truly forgiven her daughter's best friend for coming back alive from Egypt, when Stephen had died there. Orrin never blamed the girl. In that peculiar way, Orrin had always been closer to his daughter and youngest child, than he was to his son and oldest child. Evie, on the other hand, tended to favor her son over her daughter.
"Not on the outs, as such. She doesn't blame her for Stephen's death any more. She just doesn't understand why Adriana won't talk about what happened," Orrin explained. He drew in a breath, then continued, "She's not behaving the way I expect, Chris. She's not trying to forget something. She's trying to protect someone or something. And I can't think of what that might be ... aside from Stephen's killer."
"It's not Stephen's killer," Chris assured him. Orrin looked at him, startled, and Chris continued, "She's not protecting Stephen's killer, but someone else. Someone who may have been in danger from his killers, or something else." He knew that much about his little sister, no matter how much she had changed while she was in Egypt. He could still recognize her silences and the way her eyes looked when she was worried, scared, or wary. Or when she possessed a secret she wasn't ready to share with anyone else.
"I suppose I knew that," Orrin admitted, "but I needed to hear it from someone else. Buck would have never admitted it; and as much as you love her, you could have said it, if it was true." Chris smiled at that, as they began walking away from the grave together. The old man continued, "I just want to know that my son's murderer has paid. Even with his life, and a judge like myself has no business saying that."
"Revenge and justice aren't mutually exclusive, Orrin," Chris pointed out. He knew that from his own experience. Only a year earlier, he had watched in silence as the woman who murdered his own wife and child died. Just ... watched. He might have tried to save her, if she hadn't tried to kill his family. Again. Orrin looked away, and Chris continued, "Look, I should meet up with the others, let them know where we're going. We'll get them back safely, Orrin. You've got my word on that."
He was rewarded with a tired smile from the other man, who nodded. They had met here before, always when Orrin had something for them to do. It was, in a strange sort of way, a covenant between them. And always, Orrin remained behind. Chris strode ahead, to where his younger brother reclined against the truck. Vin eyed him with interest, nodding to the judge, and asked, "What's goin' on, cowboy?" Chris glared at his brother, who just raised his eyebrows. Of course. Vin wasn't afraid of him. Hadn't been afraid of him, even when he was a scrawny ten year old claimed by Pegeen Larabee after she learned of her husband's infidelity.
"We're goin' to Egypt, and don't call me 'cowboy,' little brother," Chris replied as he shoved his brother off his truck. Vin righted himself almost immediately and circled around the front of the vehicle to get in. Once both brothers were inside the cab, Chris continued, "The girls are overdue, contacting Orrin, and he's worried. He trusts Richmond about the way we do. Not at all."
Vin just grunted, and Chris continued, "Anyhow, we take the train to New York City, then the ship to England. From England, we take an airship to Egypt." At his brother's surprised glance, Chris shrugged and said, "I had a little talk with Adriana before we left. I wanted to know what we should do if they ran into trouble. This is our contingency plan, as Ezra would put it. Hopefully, by the time we arrive in Cairo, Orrin will have heard from the girls. If not, we're to contact the O'Connell family ... in England or in Egypt."
"Well, alright, then ... let's git goin,' cowboy. I can tell ya right now ... if Richmond's done anythin' to hurt the ladies, I ain't gonna wait for some damn curse to git him," Vin answered grimly. Chris nodded his agreement, starting the engine. He knew better than to tease his brother, much less in this situation. He also knew that Vin meant every word he said. What was more, Chris would help him.
It wasn't hard to get along with Vin Tanner, everyone agreed. As long as you didn't harm people who hadn't hurt you, you wouldn't have a problem ... and as long as you didn't harm someone he loved, you were fine. Cross either of those lines, and Vin Tanner would become your worst nightmare. His older brother and the others in their little group fit into that category, as did Adriana Wilmington. The young Egyptologist came from a time in his life when there were very few people whom he cared about.
They met when they were nineteen. Adriana was attending college, while Vin was a bounty hunter in Texas. In this time, women studying in fields such as Egyptology and sociology were rare. Not unheard of, but rare. On the other hand, the duo came of age in what was now becoming known as the Roaring Twenties, which in some ways rivaled the era popularly known as the Gay Nineties.
Besides, Adriana's early life had taught her to never count on a man ... counting on herself was much more important. Much more reliable, and she had told him in those early years that she had no intention to ever marry. It wasn't intended as an insult, though Vin knew of men who would have taken it that way. She simply had no intention of allowing her heart to be broken by trusting the wrong man.
In the years since that first meeting, she had learned some men were reliable. Vin was chief among them, along with Chris. And yes, there were times when Vin let her down, and he knew it. But she never held it against him. There was one other, whom she trusted implicitly. A man whose name Vin didn't know. A man she met in Egypt, a man worthy of her trust and friendship ... a man whose name she would never speak, to protect him.
That made Vin curious. He knew that she had protected him, and that she went looking for him when he disappeared in Egypt. He knew how loyal she was. And he knew what it would take to shatter her loyalty. What he didn't know was about this man whom Adriana met in Egypt, while investigating Stephen's murder and while she was looking for him. What was he like? Had he taken good care of her?
As well as he knew Adriana, he also knew that 'taking care' of her wasn't always the best way to win her loyalty. You won, and kept, her loyalty by taking care of her ... by letting her do what had to be done. By being loyal to her, and honest. As Chris had said many times since her return, she had changed a great deal in the year she was in Egypt. She was always determined, but she was even more determined now. There was a ferocity in her that wasn't there when he last saw her.
So yes, Vin Tanner was curious. He was, in fact, looking forward to his return to Egypt. He could make sure Adriana was safe, Adriana and Mary both. He could find out once and for all what happened to his friend while she was there. And maybe, just maybe, he would find out about the man who had changed her as well. Because Vin felt sure this man she was protecting by not revealing his name was part of the reason for the change in her.
He didn't bring it up with Chris, though he knew his brother had noticed the change as well. However, like Vin himself, Chris was of the opinion that Adriana would share when she was damn good and ready. He was curious ... of course he was curious. Of course he wanted to know what happened, but Chris wasn't a man who interfered in the affairs of others. Not even the woman who was like his little sister.
A half hour after leaving the small graveyard where Stephen Travis was buried, the two brothers pulled up in front of the church which Josiah had been rebuilding in all the time Vin had known him. When Chris received the message that Orrin needed to talk to him, he asked the others to wait at Josiah's church. The favor which was requested surprised neither brother. They had been expecting it.
They found the other five waiting for them with expectant eyes. Chris immediately explained what Orrin wanted them to do. Vin was amused by the reactions of the others. Not surprisingly, Buck was the most vocal about wanting to go to Egypt. He wanted to go to Egypt, make sure his baby sister was alive and in one piece, and kick Will Richmond's ass if something had happened to Drina. In no particular order, although Vin supposed Buck would probably kick Richmond's ass if only for worrying him. True enough, Bucklin would be upset with Drina for going in the first place, though that wouldn't last long. Especially not after the argument they had not long before she left.
Josiah was equally pleased. In fact, strangely enough, the man they called 'Preacher' murmured a name, or what Vin thought was a name when Chris told what they were doing. 'Ardeth.' It sounded like a name, but when JD, who also heard it, asked him about it, Josiah denied saying anything of the sort. Riiiiiiiiiiiight. Vin didn't know if Ardeth was a person, place or thing, but he would keep his ears open. Just like always.
Ezra didn't say a word, but his green eyes glittered with interest. Right up until the time Josiah started describing Egypt. Hot and dusty was the norm in Arizona, and it was even more hot and dusty in Egypt. Josiah remembered sand getting in places it had no place being, and Ezra's face fell. Still, Ezra wouldn't be Ezra if he didn't at least try to talk Chris into seeing about visiting one of the tombs which were being excavated.
Nathan was excited as well ... as a child, his mother told him stories of ancient Egypt. He always wanted to see the wonders she described for him, and this was his chance. Vin knew as soon as he returned to his little clinic, he would be double-checking and triple checking his medical supplies, to make sure he had everything. Vin decided he would stop at the clinic before they left, since he had been to Egypt. He might be able to think of things which Nathan hadn't.
JD was the surprise. He didn't want to go to Egypt. Didn't care about the expedition. He was gettin' along good with Casey, and didn't want to ruin that. Vin knew it was a struggle for JD, accepting that he was Avery Wilmington's youngest child. He knew it was hard for the kid, accepting what kind of a man his father was. Hell, it had been hard on Bucklin. Lord knew, he loved that boy like a brother already, but there were just some things a man shouldn't oughta know about his kin, and Avery Wilmington had no right to call himself nobody's pa.
But Adriana was JD's sister, and Vin couldn't understand why JD didn't want to know if she was okay. Their relationship had been troubled in the beginning, as they tried to get used to each other ... and to sharing Buck. But they had started getting along very well right before Drina's departure. She was his sister, his and Buck's, how could he not want to know? Make sure that she was all right, make sure that she was safe and alive? Vin didn't understand that, and he gazed at JD steadily, trying to understand.
JD wouldn't meet his eyes, wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. Vin sighed and looked back at Chris. They would be leaving the following day. That was good. He wasn't getting the sense that they had little time. He was concerned, but not worried. Not yet. Even if Richmond didn't have the sense to listen to people more experienced than himself, Mary would listen to Adriana, and Evie would listen to Mary. So those three would be safe.
One by one, each of the others left, until only Vin and Chris remained, along with Josiah. The ex-preacher excused himself to start packing, leaving the two brothers in the sanctuary. The younger brother looked at the elder, thinking back more than fifteen years, and the day he found out that Chris was his brother. Chris had just returned from the Great War after being badly injured, and he accompanied Pegeen Larabee to the orphanage where her husband's by-blow had been left. Vin knew, without Chris ever saying a word, that Chris had been fully prepared to hate his young half-brother. But something else happened instead.
Green eyes met blue. It was as if they had always been brothers ... not just during the last twenty-six years, but in previous lives. Drina told him about reincarnation. Vin still wasn't sure if he believed it, but it sure would explain a lot. Includin' how he just ... knew ... Chris. And in Pegeen, he found a second mother. She asked the little boy if he would like to live with her. Asked him, not the matron, who tried to change Pegeen's mind, and take a 'better' worker.
Vin smiled faintly, remembering Pegeen's answer to that. She had glared steadily at the woman, saying, "I want a son, not a slave or a servant. If my late husband had done right by this boy, he wouldn't be here. Vin, honey ... go get your things. Chris, go with him ... I'm sure if anyone in this place gives him a hard time, you can glare them into submission." Vin smiled to himself, remembering the shock in the matron's eyes.
Chris just looked at him, but instead of asking him what was so funny, he asked, "What do you think we'll find in Egypt, Vin?" The young man drew in a deep breath, then released it. There were layers to that question, far more than a simple answer could provide. He didn't answer that question at first, because Josiah was back in the room, and Vin was thinking about the big man's reaction to the news.
Once Josiah left, Vin replied, "Ain't rightly sure, cowboy ... but I reckon we'll finally git some answers. Thin' is, I got the feelin' we're gonna git answers to questions we don't know we got." Chris looked at him, nodding soberly, and Vin added, "I know one thin.' If we git there, and somethin's happened to them ladies 'cause of that stupid sonovabitch, reckon we may need to sit on Buck, or he ain't gonna let the rest a' us have no fun." Chris snorted his agreement, then the two brothers headed out to the truck. They had a lot of work to do before they left.
Buck Wilmington would have get in line behind his sister to kick Will Richmond's butt, because his sister had first dibs on that pleasant assignment. She had signed on, believing they would be going to Thebes, or somewhere not cursed. That was her first mistake. No, they were off to Hamunaptra. That was bad enough, but Will not only knew of the curse and the hom-dai, he was talking about friggin' well raising the Creature. Again!
Her second mistake came from her assumption that Will was a rational, intelligent person. She should have known better, when he told her about wanting to raise the creature. Just to see if the hom-dai was real. As her younger brother would have said if he was here ... huh??? She had stopped trying to talk him out of their little journey once she realized that not only did he know about the curse, he planned to test it out. Instead, she began scrambling about for other ideas. Ideas which didn't include telling Will about her ties to the Med-jai.
Unfortunately, they were few and far between. She couldn't shake the feeling, either, that if she told Will about the Med-jai and about Ardeth, she would end up making things worse, instead of better. And she didn't dare ask how things could possibly get any worse, not when Will refused to updated Orrin Travis, and physically stopped the three ladies anytime they started to leave. By now, Adriana was recognizing a man who was totally obsessed.
It wasn't until the end of the first week that Adriana found out why Will was so obsessed. And it was then that she made a decision that they could not be allowed to reach Hamunaptra. Will was willing to bring about the total destruction of humanity, so he could bring back his daughter from the dead. He had decided, somewhere in that twisted mind of his, that the Creature could bring Allison back from the dead, though she had been dead for two years.
Then again, he had brought Anck-Su-Namun back from the dead twice, once using her reincarnation. Adriana had learned about that whole mess from her old friend Jonathan Carnahan ... complete with his sister's death and resurrection. Adriana was glad his sister was alive, and not particularly worried about the possible repercussions of Evelyn's resurrection. Something which wasn't natural caused her death, ergo, it was never meant to happen.
And she was quite aware that Evelyn didn't like her. That didn't bother her, either. She knew it was due to Evy's protective attitude toward Ardeth. What Evy didn't realize was that Adriana was just as protective of their mutual friend. Especially after the last letter from Jonathan. Adriana shuddered, thinking about how close she came to losing Ardeth for good and she would have never even known it.
She was glad he was alive, for a purely selfish reason now. She hated herself for using him, as Rick O'Connell seemed inclined to do at times, but she needed to warn Ardeth that they were going to Hamunaptra. Which was where her old friend Jon came into the picture. Will wouldn't be particularly suspicious if she headed to the Museum ... he had no way of knowing the Cairo Museum was largely controlled by the Med-jai.
Nor was she about to tell him. Jon would be her escort there ... while she had the black cloak which marked her as being a friend to the Med-jai, Adriana was unwilling to take any chances. Jon was all too happy to take her where she was going, since things were getting mushy in the O'Connell household. Again. Adriana grinned as she carefully laid out the cloak which had been Ardeth's farewell gift to her.
However, she left one minor point out of her plans. Which she realized when a familiar voice said, "Where are you going ... and why are you wearing that?" Adriana jumped nearly a foot into the air, then spun around to face her best friend. Adriana had been partially raised by Chris Larabee, then spent a year in Egypt under the protection of Ardeth Bey. Given the influence of those two men, she had cultivated a deadly glare all her own.
Mary blinked, then said, "Maybe Chris should start taking lessons from you." Adriana couldn't fight back a giggle at that, and Mary continued, "Now, you didn't answer my question. Where are you going, and why are you wearing that?"
By now, the cloak was fixed firmly around her shoulders and Adriana didn't attempt to pull her hair free. That would just take up time. She replied, "I'm going to the museum. I have a friend who needs to know about this expedition, and I mean to see he gets that information." She smoothed out the wrinkles in the cloak, looking back at Mary as she added, "And I'll have a gentleman caller arriving in a few minutes, he'll escort me to the museum."
"You're going nowhere without me," Mary answered firmly, going to her own closet for her own cloak. Adriana opened her mouth to protest, but the blonde girl replied, "I mean it, Adriana! I came along so I could watch your back, and that's exactly what I'll do. I'll just let Mother know, so she doesn't worry." Adriana closed her mouth with a snap, knowing better than to argue. Mary could be just as stubborn as Ardeth, or Vin, when she wanted.
She acquiesced with a nod. Mary left the room, cloak in her arms just as Will Richmond appeared, asking, "Where are you two going?" Adriana just looked at the man silently. He had told her that her uncle was already at Hamunaptra. She had a hard time believing that ... after what had happened at Ahm-Shere, the Med-jai would be increasing watches on the cursed City. It would be possible to slip past them ... but she didn't want to think about the consequences if her uncle had done that.
"I'm going to the museum," she said flatly. Once before, while trying to convince Will to forget about Hamunaptra, she had told him that the City was protected by a desert tribe, mysterious and deadly. He had looked straight at her and replied that he hoped she was lying, just making up stories ... because if he had to kill every member of that tribe to get to Hamunaptra, resurrect the cursed priest and convince him to resurrect his lost daughter, he would do so.
And that was something Adriana could not allow. She regarded her inability to convince Will to give up as a personal failure. Well, she would not fail in protecting the Med-jai. She couldn't keep Will from going, but she could warn Ardeth. She could, and she would, and the devil could take Will Richmond if he got in her way. She met his eyes steadily, and he looked away first, moving out of her way at the same time.
"If you betray me ... " he began as she left the room. Adriana stopped and turned, turning the full force of her own glare on him. Richmond fell silent as Mary joined her in the corridor, wearing her own cloak. The blonde girl took her hand, silently adding her support. She would thank Mary later for staying silent. This was something which Adriana had to deal with on her own. At least for the moment.
"You're making a very dangerous assumption, Mr. Richmond ... there can only be betrayal if there is trust and loyalty. There is no trust or loyalty between us. Therefore, there can be no betrayal. And I would advise you to be very careful about whom you threaten," Adriana replied. He could make of that what he wished. At the moment, she just didn't care. Mary squeezed her hand as the doorbell rung, then the two went downstairs.
Will's wife Charlotte was answering the door, her eyes sliding between Adriana and Mary, and Jon, with a desperate hope and equally desperate fear.
As Adriana reached the door with her friend, and greeted their escort, she winked at Charlotte reassuringly. She didn't hold the other woman responsible for this mess ... she had been dragged along on this ride, in the desperate hope of getting her husband back. Adriana couldn't help Will Richmond. No one could. But up until now, the women had been fighting this battle alone. No more. If things went well, they would be in the Med-jai camp, safe and sound, long before they were supposed to reach Hamunaptra.
If not ... if not, then Adriana had her own pistol. If it came to such a thing ... she would make sure Ardeth Bey wasn't troubled by yet another death ... much less by the death of a friend. Nor would she not allow herself, or the other women, to be sacrificed. Adriana pulled the cloak around herself more tightly, silently praying that she could get a message in time to Ardeth, and save everyone's souls.
The ride back home was unbearably silent. It wouldn't have bothered Buck Wilmington much if it was Vin Tanner riding with him, but it wasn't ... it was his baby brother. A lot of things were bothering Buck ... his brother's silence, and his determination not to go to Egypt. Yeah, he knew that JD's romance with Casey Welles was heating up, but something wasn't adding up. As they approached the house where Buck had grown up, he finally said, "Wanna tell me what's goin' on, or do I need to guess?"
"Nothin's goin' on," JD answered in a sulky voice. He sounded about sixteen right then, rather than twenty-one, and Buck rolled his eyes. JD continued, "I just don't see why Judge Travis is so uptight about them being a few days late, checking in. I mean, things happen, right?" Buck glanced at his brother out of the corner of his eye. JD looked ... like he was trying to convince himself.
"His son died there, kid ... I don't blame him for worryin.' Not one little bit. And I can't believe you ain't worried, too," Buck answered quietly. He pulled into the driveway, staring at the young man, and said, "So you tell me. What's goin' on? You still mad at DeeDee for goin' at all?" Buck had some words with his little sister before her departure for Egypt. She had always given as good as she had gotten. That was how he and Chris raised her after her mother's death.
So when she started crying in the middle of the argument, even as she yelled at him, Buck was undone. He could never stand to see her cry ... and she had never used tears for manipulation. He had gone to her, enveloping her in a fierce embrace, and that shattered the last of her self control. She had whispered through her sobs, "I have to go, Buck. I've let too many people down in my life. I don't know Uncle Anton that well, but he's still my family. And you and Chris taught me that there's nothing more important than family."
And that was the whole thing, wasn't it? Not just that Anton was her uncle, her mother's younger brother ... but because Orrin Travis was her family, as well. She whispered, "There is more to family than blood, Bucklin. I left family in Egypt. I let him down, too." Buck knew something had happened in Egypt, though she would never talk about it. He didn't know who this 'him' was whom his sister had supposedly failed.
But he did know that her sense of honor was as strong as Vin's. He knew she felt she had to make things right with this 'family' in Egypt, no matter what it took. The trouble was, her relationship with JD had just begun to right itself. JD was still reeling from the revelation that Avery Wilmington was his father, and it was Buck's instinct that JD felt like his newly discovered older sister had abandoned him. That, at the very least, played into it.
"I ain't mad at her. I ... why'd she go, Buck? She almost died there!" JD whined. Buck looked at his brother. Come again? JD's eyes widened as he realized what he said. What? What was JD talkin' about, DeeDee almost died in Egypt? When? How? JD hung his head, muttering, "She told me ... I guess tryin' to reach out to me. She didn't realize she said it at first, then swore me to silence. She almost died in Cairo, after Mr. Travis was killed. Same people. 'Cept somebody rescued her, guess it was whoever sent his body back to the States."
DeeDee never mentioned that, and Buck wondered why. JD continued, "I just don't see why she didn't stay here ... I mean, she's twenty-six years old, I thought people my age were supposed to go lookin' for adventure." Buck raised an eyebrow at that. In case JD had forgotten, DeeDee was the same age as Vin. JD added, "But she's a woman! She ain't supposed to be doin' this sort of thing! She's supposed to get married and have babies and ... "
"DeeDee ain't gettin' never married, JD," Buck replied quietly, silencing his brother. He stared hard at the young man. JD opened his mouth, but nothing came out, and Buck went on, "She decided that when she was a little girl. You met that old bastard ... can you really imagine any child raised by him wanting anything to do with a man? Huh? She told me that she would never get married ... so she would never have to depend on a man. Any man."
"But she depends on you ... and Chris ... she depends on Vin!" JD blurted out. Buck ran his hand through his hair, sighing deeply. It wasn't the same thing ... it wasn't the same thing at all. DeeDee depended on them to watch her back. It was something else entirely than the sort of thing which came from bein' husband and wife. Adriana had watched their father destroy her mother, and vowed she would never allow that to happen to her.
"She lets us watch her back, JD ... she don't tell us when she's hurtin.' And she ain't told us about whatever happened to her in Egypt. Hell, she ain't even told Vin ... " Buck began, but his voice trailed off. Maybe she had told Vin, but swore him to secrecy. If that was the case, Vin would honor her wishes. Especially if he didn't think it was Buck's business. Not that made any sense ... DeeDee was his little sister, of course it was his business.
"But Vin's her best friend ... well, one of 'em," JD protested. Buck sighed, rubbing his hand over his eyes, then got out of the car.
He didn't tell JD that like their sister, Vin had hidden places in his soul, places which not even Chris knew about. And Chris never pressured his brother to reveal those places, knowing that when Vin was ready to tell them, he would. Unfortunately, he had a sneaking suspicion that JD wouldn't be nearly as patient. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, JD was growing to love his sister, and Buck's instincts were being proven correct. JD was angry with their sister for going. And unfortunately, Buck didn't think JD would accept things the way Buck had.
"We're goin' to Egypt, with or without ya, son. I'm gonna make sure our sister is okay, I'm gonna kick Richmond's ass, and then I'm gonna find out what happened three years ago in Cairo. I'd just as soon go with ya, but if ya don't care enough about our sister to make sure she's okay, and that stupid bastard didn't get her killed ... that's your guilt," Buck said. He looked at JD, just long enough to make sure he was understood, then went inside the house. As he did, he prayed that his sister was alright ... because if she wasn't, he'd kill her himself.
Buck didn't usually talk to him like that, but when he did, JD listened. Usually. And JD knew he would go to Egypt with the others ... for one thing, he hated being left out. For another, like his older brother, he wanted to know what happened there. But unlike his brother, JD had absolutely no compunction about raiding his older sister's room for information. He did, however, have enough sense to wait until after Buck went to bed.
Two years ago, he had joined up with the others ... and a year after that, he had learned he had an older sister. In the beginning ... in the beginning, he had gotten along well with his new sister, before he learned she was his sister. Until he learned that he was Avery Wilmington's last born child, and suddenly, everything which JD Dunne had ever known became a lie. His mother had told him that his father was a wonderful man, who loved them both and died before he could marry her. That had been the greatest lie of all.
And JD, in his rage, had taken it out on Adriana. When he closed his eyes, he could still see the shock and hurt in her eyes when he lashed out at her. That was the beginning. After spending so much years under the thumb of their father, after watching her mother slowly wither away to nothing, Adriana had enough ... and pushed right back. That began a tug of war between the new brother and sister, but to this day, JD still didn't know what they were fighting over.
Shaking his head, the young man continued into his sister's room, carefully turning on the light once the door was safely shut behind him. He took a deep breath, looking around his sister's room. He had never been in here ... it was Adriana's sanctuary. And JD couldn't help feeling strange about that. But dammit, he needed answers!
He looked around, sitting down on her bed. It was such a quiet room. There were no paintings in here, no decoration, nothing to reflect who Adriana Wilmington was ... what was this? JD frowned and leaned over to the night stand. It was a picture ... of his sister. With three other people. Two men and a woman. No, make that three men, JD corrected himself, seeing the man peeking over the shoulders of the other woman in the picture.
But JD's attention kept returning to the man at his sister's side. He looked ... well ... scary. He was a tall man, dressed in dark clothes. The picture was black and white, but JD felt sure the man's hair would be black, and so would his eyes. Who was this man? Was it possible that this was the man who saved her life, after she and Stephen Travis were attacked? JD stared at the picture hard, not even realizing he was studying it the way Vin studied tracks when he was trying to find someone for Search and Rescue.
The man stood very close to Adriana ... not touching, but almost. JD furrowed his brow in concentration. Something seemed strange about that. He closed his eyes, then tried again, focusing entirely on the man. He was tall ... he towered over Adriana. Then again, most people did. Except JD. He only had a few measly inches on her. But this man was tall ... it was hard to tell his age. He could have been anywhere between twenty-five and forty.
But what truly caught JD's eye was the markings on the man's face. He had never seen tattoos like those before! Well, truly, he had never seen any tattoos, just heard of them. JD skipped over the unimportant details, like the man's features, studying instead the ... now how was it that Vin put it? Damn, he couldn't remember the exact phrase. But he did remember his friend telling him how you could tell things about a person from their posture, their carriage, the way they stood in relation to others.
All right. JD knew from being around Chris that the head up, chin up, shoulders back was pride. This was a proud man. He stared right into the camera, a direct, uncompromising gaze, which reminded JD of Vin. He stood very near to Adriana ... as if shielding her? JD nodded very slowly, his heart racing in his chest. Yes. Yes, this was the man who saved his sister's life in Egypt, three years earlier.
JD picked up the picture and turned it over, removing the back, so he could see the name of the man in the picture. His sister, true to form, had labeled them according to where they stood. The man standing in back, looking over the shoulder of the woman was 'Jonathan Carnahan.' The woman in front, the beautiful woman, was 'Evelyn Carnahan O'Connell.' His cousin, maybe? They didn't look like brother and sister. Adriana was his half sister, but there was some family resemblance. The man at her side was 'Richard O'Connell.'
JD's hazel eyes flickered to the other side. There was his own sister's name, or rather, her initials ... AKW. Adriana Kathleen Wilmington. Why didn't she write her own name out? And then ... a man's name. JD carefully sounded it out. A-r-d-e-t-h ... 'Ardeth.' Hey, wasn't that the name which Josiah mentioned, when Chris and Vin told them about what was going on? JD continued with the rest of the man's name. B-e-y. 'Bey.' How would that be pronounced? JD shook his head. But at least now, he knew the man's name.
And so engrossed was he in finding out the name of his sister's rescuer, JD never heard the door creak open. Didn't even know he was no longer alone in Adriana's room. Not until Buck said very quietly, "You know, in all the time you and DeeDee bickered, I didn't ever find her goin' through your stuff." JD jumped a half mile into the air, almost shattering the picture in his hands as he turned to face his older brother.
His heart sank, seeing the disappointed look in Buck's dark blue eyes. It was the same look he had seen in his older brother's eyes when JD blasted Chris for calling him 'son,' right before Buck had told him about Sarah and Adam. Buck didn't say anything more for a moment, then continued in that quiet voice that never failed to worry JD, "I thought you knew better than this, JD. DeeDee keeps her room closed for a reason. This is her private place ... her ... her refuge, Josiah would call it. Her sanctuary."
Again, Buck paused, and JD started to speak, started to defend himself, but Buck simply shook his head. He continued, "You crossed a line tonight, JD. You took somethin' from her, something you had no business takin.' Now, I don't know 'bout what happened to her in Egypt. But I do know it left marks on her, just as sure as those marks on that man's face, just of a different kind. And those kinda marks take time to heal."
He plucked the picture from JD's now nerveless fingers, staring down at it a moment before replacing it gently on the nightstand. Buck murmured, "I miss her. Didn't realize how much I missed her, 'til I saw the light on in here and came in. You best be goin' to bed. We'll be up early to leave." Buck rose slowly to his feet and moved just as slowly to the door, seeming very tired all of a sudden.
He stopped at the door, turning back, and said, "One other thing. I ain't gonna tell her that you violated her trust. She's still havin' a hard time with acceptin' that she wasn't the old man's last victim. That's somethin' I had to find out from Chris. My baby sister always took comfort in knowin' that she was the last person our father hurt. Now she's findin' out that there was someone after her ... someone she couldn't protect."
Someone she couldn't protect? JD was feeling very dizzy suddenly. Buck nodded and said softly, "See, all the time our old man was destroyin' Katrien and DeeDee, he was tellin' them that he'd do it to someone else. And they believed him. Why shouldn't they? So DeeDee comforted herself, by tellin' herself that she was protectin' someone else from this kind of hell. When all along, the bastard was lyin' about everything. And that's hard for her to take, JD. Knowin' that half of her life has been a damn lie."
Buck's dark blue eyes were now blazing with a fury which JD rarely saw. Buck was the team clown, JD had heard. It wasn't that he didn't take things seriously. But the man thought life was too short to take things too seriously. So when JD saw that fury in his brother's eyes, he knew he was in trouble. The young man braced himself for whatever was about to happen, for an explosion which never came. Buck started to say one more thing, then shook his head. Whether from resignation or simple contempt, JD didn't know, but his brother left the room after one last glance around.
JD collapsed onto his sister's bed, wanting to be angry. It wasn't like he had read her diary, after all. But he couldn't deny that Adriana was as private as he and Buck were open. JD started to wonder if maybe Buck was right ... if he hadn't violated the trust which his sister tentatively offered. Three weeks ago, after Adriana's initial departure, JD would have blamed his absent sister for what had just taken place. After all, if she hadn't been gone, it never would have happened. But JD knew he couldn't blame her. The question was, what did he do now?
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