Chapter Text
The Sudan was in flames on the river and the Americans were causing one hell of a ruckus on the far side, but Rick, slogging through the shallows with Evelyn wailing beside him, was quietly relieved that his little party (even the unwelcome Warden) was safe and relatively sound. He tossed his gun bag onto dry sand and pulled his pistols out of their holsters. They would need to be dried as soon as possible. And the Carnahans–Jonathan might be able to rough it, Rick reflected as he directed them up the riverbank, away from the river, but Evelyn–
At this point Rick took an actual look at Evelyn, standing there soaked to her skin in a white silk nightgown. He looked, and looked away just as quickly. Oh dear God. Her eyes were trained on the burning boat; she didn’t seem to realize that she was basically naked in front of them. He just hoped the Warden hadn’t realized, either. Wincing, Rick opened the gun bag and pulled out his spare shirt.
“Evelyn,” he said, and when she didn’t seem to hear him, “Evelyn. Put this on; you’re shivering.”
She wasn’t, actually, but that wasn’t the point. Rick dropped the shirt around her shoulders and pulled it closed, away from peeping eyes. He didn’t know what to make of Evelyn Carnahan, but she deserved to be treated with dignity.
“We’ve lost everything,” she said sadly, as villagers appeared with lights and blankets, ready to help. “It’s over and we had barely begun.”
And Rick, suddenly, inexplicably, knew that he was going to move heaven and earth to get this woman to Hamunaptra.
Author's Note: this was written to a prompt on Tumblr, asking if I'd ever written Rick's POV of the aftermath on the river barge. I had not--that story was written in Evie's POV--so here is a brief snippet for you all to enjoy!