Author's Note (A/N): Sorry about the amount of dialogue, but it's needed when your setting up the story, especially when it's based on a TV show.
It was a quiet morning in the Annex, or that at least was what jenkins thought to himself as he took a sip of his usual morning tea. There he was, sat at his desk, musing as he usually would, wondering where on earth everyone was. He knew flynn and Eve, since their tethering to the Library some few months ago, had taken some of his, some of the, more maintenance based jobs, and so were currently somewhere deep in the shelves of the library dealing with a argument between some of the Library's more mythological residents. But as for the rest of the librarians, he had no idea. That was until a certain redheaded mathematician stumbled through the doors, shouting something about needing more yellow marker pens before freezing at the familiar sound of the clippings book flipping open with a flash of yellow light, two new pages filling themselves up with news articles detailing the latest mission.
Jenkins popped his tea down on the desk, got up, and wandered over to clippings book, just narrowly beating Cassandra, letting out a small "hmm" as he gazed worryingly over the page:
"This, is not good"...
xxxxx
"So what exactly is so bad about an archaeological dig?" Cassandra asked, just as Stone headed down from the mezzanine and Ezekiel wandered in, Pizza in one hand, phone in the other.
"Ahh, glad you two could finally join us" jenkins paused for a moment "Pizza, Mr Jones? I didn't know it was normal for one to engage in such, frivolities, at such an early hour".
"This?" Ezekiel replied,clearly confused by the caretakers usage of language "Nah, this is just my double cheese extra pep" - Jenkins was even more puzzled by this, but, he had become accustomed to the thief's usage of 'text speech' as Stone had put it.
"So, what's the mission, it ain't another monster is it?" Stone asked. He received merely a shake of the head from Jenkins, who then turned back to Cassandra to answer her previous question:
"I'm afraid it's not the dig itself that's so bad, miss Cillian" He said with his usual sarcastic undertone "but rather would the dig has uncovered", he pointed at the pages, once again drawing attention back to the task at hand. Stone read the page, and then proceeded to explain with enthusiasm:
"It says that a group of archaeologists have discovered an ancient temple" pausing only to receive another sarcastic nod from Jenkins - clearly shocked at the cowboy's ability to read a simple article - "It was built by followers of Hippocrates, probably around 380 BCE -" He was cut short in explanation by Ezekiel, who after swallowing another bite of Pizza, decided to ask a question:
"Who exactly was this hippo what's-his-face, mate?"
This received a scornful look from Stone, who was picking up an old and large book from a nearby shelf, sweeping aside the various scrolls and papyrus on the central desk, placing it on the table with a soft thud.
"And you call yourself a librarian" he muttered under his breath, before actually responding "Hippocrates, an Ancient Greek physician, only the greatest authority on ancient medicine, and the founder of modern medicine too!"
Stone took a moment to calm down, but was asked a question by cassandra, who was currently leaning over the clippings book with a puzzled look upon her face.
"So what has this got to do with this, Ascelpus?" She was corrected by Stone, who went on to explain what he'd found, this time without interruption.
"Asclepius" He gave her a slight smile "The Greek God of medicine and healing, so it makes sense that the dude responsible for the hippocratic oath would make a temple dedicated to 'im. What ain't making sense is why ol' jenkins over there is so worried about it" he looked over at the knight, expecting a sarcastic remark about how they had no idea how old he was, but none came.
"It's not the temple that I'm worried about" he stated, in his usual mostly sophisticated, slightly annoyed tone "It's what's inside the temple - the Rod of Asclepius" he watched as Stone quickly fumbled through the pages of the book he'd put on the central desk beside the clippings book, pushing it over to Ezekiel with a quiet remark about him needing the children's edition as he did so. The book showed a picture of the rod, displayed upon a chunk of greek pottery.
"It's a staff, with a single snake wrapped around it, still used today as a symbol of medicine, but some ol' fool somewhere down the line got it all mixed up with the caduceus, so that's what Pizza boy is probably thinking of" This insult received a small laugh from jenkins, and a slice of Pepperoni thrown across the table from Ezekiel.
"But that's here, in the library - isn't it?" Cassandra thought aloud, as her hands swiped at the purple images of artefacts in front of her, invisible of course to the others. "Hmm, oranges again, that's familiar".
Jones stepped in to reply as jenkin's headed off in the direction of his lab.
"Nah, thats the First caduceus, the one with the two snakes and wings - you know, has the ability to open doors and send magic-y video messages anywhere, like an ancient skype, in the antiquities room"
Both cassandra and Stone looked at him in a confused haze of amazement.
"What? I memorised the inventory after all those artefacts went missing, I'm a librarian too ya know."
Stone, still seemed shocked but the look soon wore off as Jenkins re entered, wheeling in a clear whiteboard, covered in pictures and notes. He left it near the centre of the room, and taking out a long stick, began to point at various scribbles and images.
"The rod of Asclepius - god of healing and medicine - but we've covered the history side of the matter already, thank you mr Stone"
Stone reached up and put his hand on the back of his head, almost blushing when Cassandra let out a small giggle and Jenkins continued on with his usual briefing.
"It has the power to heal, injury, illness - you name it. Unless, of course, it's a magical wound, such as that inflicted upon mr Carson on your first mission together" After a quick frown from Cassandra, and a sympathetic look from Jenkins, Ezekiel, who had by this point finished his Pizza slice, piped up once again.
"Anyway, where are the happy couple? I haven't seen either of them all day" The three librarians all nodded, as cassandra and Stone realised that they too had been yet to see the new eternal Librarian and Guardian.
"Flynn ain't jumping off things again to test his immortality, is he?" Stone asked, remembering the previous week when he had been taking a stroll with Cassandra through the large collections annex, only to see Flynn fling himself from Noah's Ark, and laying, screaming, long after he hit the ground, before getting up in rather a similar manner as a baby giraffe trying to learn to walk, and whizzing off to try it again.
"Err, no, I don't believe do" Jenkin's replied, puzzled "Although that would explain why colonel Baird asked if the Library had a straight jacket yesterday" he paused again, thinking back to the evening before when Eve had offered to take up some of his responsibilities and familiarise herself with the ever growing shelves of the main Library. "I believe she and our new daredevil mr Carson are sorting out an argument between the mermaids in the sub basement and nessie as to who gets usage of the pool, troubling business". He turned back to the bored, ready again to continue, before the replies to what he saw as a perfectly normal sentence came flooding in.
"We have mermaids?!" Cassandra exclaimed in a squeal of delight.
"Err, yes, of course, weren't you listening?"
She squealed again, before ezekiel chimed in.
"We have a pool?!"
Stone replied to this one.
"We got mermaids and y'all worried about a pool?"
Jenkins let out a small cough, and once the Librarians attention had returned to the board behind him, jenkins continued, speeding up his speaking pace as with every word the Librarians got closer to the back door.
"Now, according to the clippings book, the team only uncovered the temple yesterday, so you should still have time to find the Rod first. I have set the door but there are bound to be impediments with reaching the! -" The door had already closed behind them by the time he'd neared the end of the sentence.
"Hmm" he looked worryingly at the door, waving his index finger in front of him as he continued "Tea, I think I'll make a new pot and await their call, of course". Jenkins turned on his heels and, whistling a familiar theme song to himself, headed off in the direction of the annex kitchens.