5:00 AM
Jenkins slowly blinks awake. He always wakes up at 5:00 AM, no matter what. His internal body clock is so reliable by now that he hasn't even thought about using an alarm of any sort in centuries. He is also a creature of habit, and so he takes a moment to lie in bed and call to mind the list of tasks that must be done today. It's a light workload today, at least on paper. In reality, however, Jenkins knows that he has his work cut out for him.
He carefully gets out of bed so as not to disturb his sleeping wife, Cassandra, and doesn't bother with any lighting as he slips into his robe. When he comes out of the bathroom, he notices that she has turned over in her sleep and the blankets have slipped off of her naked body. He goes to replace them over her, but his eye is caught by the delicate curve of her bare hip and thigh in the dim moonlight. He reaches out to place his large hand on her warm buttock, marvels at how soft and smooth it is, how it fits perfectly in the cup of his hand. He gently runs it over her hip, down her milk-white thigh.
Suddenly, Cassandra opens her eyes and rolls over onto her back so that she can face him, a sleepy smile just visible on her face. Jenkins quietly apologizes for waking her, but she only reaches up, grabs the lapels of his robe, and pulls him down on top of her, her hands sliding up over his bare chest and neck and into his sleep-mussed silver hair. She pulls his head down and kisses him, slowly and hungrily. The invitation is unmistakable.
With a low, lusty growl rumbling deep in his throat, Jenkins quickly strips off his robe as he returns her kiss and readily begins to fulfill his first caretaking duty of the day, even though, technically, it's not on his list.
5:57 AM
A contented Cassandra rolls out of bed and tells her equally-contented husband that she's going to take a shower. She heads off to the bathroom, still naked, as he watches appreciatively from the bed. When he hears the water running, a spell of wickedness suddenly overtakes him. He gets out of the bed and hurries into the bathroom, just in time to catch her getting into the shower. Solemnly citing their duty to be environmentally responsible consumers and the importance of not wasting hot water on two separate showers, he gets into the stall with her. Cassandra laughs at his silliness, but makes room for him under the hot stream of water.
He grabs the bar of soap and begins to slather her slender, petite body with thick suds, running his hands slowly and sensuously over her warm wet skin. He feels that familiar, deliciously sharp twinge in his manhood. Cassandra sees his response to her soapy, slippery body, and in her own fit of wickedness, slides her arms around his waist and begins to slowly grind herself into him as she teases his nipples with the tip of her mischievous pink tongue.
More unscheduled caretaking ensues.
7:20 AM
Both are now fully dressed and groomed. Jenkins proudly walks arm in arm with Cassandra to the Annex kitchen; he's very pleased with his accomplishments so far this morning. She begins preparing breakfast for them—steel-cut Irish oats, crispy bacon, and sweet honeydew melon slices.
While she cooks, Jenkins sets the breakfast table, puts out the condiments, and makes the tea. He then goes about preparing breakfast for Franklin, his "animal companion", as Jenkins calls him. The word "pet" is offensive to the Caretaker.
In the wild, tea dragons are foragers and grazers for the most part. They spend most of their days going from tea plant to tea plant, nibbling a few leaves off of each plant as they move through the fields. Until Franklin came to the Annex, there was very little reliable information available—even within the vast resources of the Library—on the life and habits of the notoriously reclusive, semi-magical creatures. The scientist in Jenkins was therefore very excited to learn that sometimes tea dragons actually crave animal protein, and supplement their primarily vegetarian diets with the occasional fat cricket, grasshopper, beetle, cicada, silverfish or worm. This means that Franklin will be invaluable in helping to keep these destructive creatures out of the Library and its collections—a natural solution to a pest control problem, with the bonus of saving the Library money on potentially damaging and harmful chemical pesticides.
To help supplement the tea dragon's protein and enrichment requirements, Jenkins now spends some time each morning preparing a dozen or so puzzle toys for Franklin, hiding a pre-cooked meatball inside one or two of them; the rest are filled with dried tea or dog treats. He will then carry a few with him in his pocket throughout the day, hiding them in various places around the Annex and Library for the insatiably curious animal to find and enjoy, thus helping Franklin to forage in a manner as similar as possible to how the tea dragon would do in his natural habitat.
7:21 AM
This morning Franklin's sharp ears hear the far away sounds of Bái Shān and Chá Huā (the tea dragon names he's given to Jenkins and Cassandra respectively) in the kitchen. Since he's not allowed to sleep in the same "nest" as they do, Franklin has created a nest of his own among the bookstacks in the mezzanine of the Annex. He's not upset by this situation at all. He's not a hatchling that needs constant parental supervision and protection anymore; he knows he's mature enough to have his own nest by now. So after much searching, Franklin has found what he considers to be the perfect nesting location. He has managed to squeeze himself into the narrow crack between two heavy wooden bookcases and dig out a hole in the hard plaster wall itself, high up from the floor to protect against predators.
Behind the wall he has created a roomy little "lair" for himself, where he can sleep at night (or nap during the day) and also stash any little treasures he finds. All species of dragons have a "hoarding drive" which varies in severity depending on the species. Like most Eastern species of dragons, tea dragons have a fairly low hoarding drive, unlike the Western species of dragons that are almost manically driven to hoard. When they do engage in the behavior, tea dragons tend to hoard things related to tea—tea leaves, tea biscuits, tea bags, tea cups, spoons, or even small tea pots if they can manage it.
Jenkins hasn't found his little friend's nesting location yet, but when he does, the Caretaker will be in for quite a shock, for Franklin has a special treasure. While excavating his lair, he inadvertently discovered an horrifyingly powerful artifact created by the long-forgotten precursors to the Maya. It was hidden in the wall in the 8th Century by the Librarian Qabila the Wise after she deciphered the secret of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar which foretold the destruction of the world in the year 2012 through the power of this artifact and the deity it housed.
The artifact is a cult statue of a long-forgotten deity of those pre-Mayan people. His very being and essence is held within the statue, and so he is very aware of his surroundings. He was once known by the name "Chac", and he was feared by his worshipers because of his scandalously short temper—appropriate for a storm god—though the long centuries in complete isolation has mellowed that fearsome temper considerably. The idol is made of dark, blue-green turquoise and sea shells fashioned in the form of a double-headed serpent; it reminds Franklin of the sky dragons of his native China, and so it is not seen as a threat.
Surprisingly, the cranky god actually likes Franklin; the dragon is serpentine in appearance and so Chac assumes he is merely one of the god's distantly-related children. Chac is also curious about and entertained by the things Franklin brings back to the nest. The little dragon chatters incessantly, and while Chac has no idea what is being said, he's grateful for the company nonetheless. And, best of all, Franklin happily cuddles up with the lonely deity every night when it's time to sleep. Franklin, for his part, blithely accepts the god as his rather odd-looking and uncommunicative, but otherwise agreeable, nest-mate.
This morning, the rambunctious dragon emerges from his hidden den, skitters down the bookshelves and races toward the kitchen. He scrambles madly underneath the door, grunting and calling out the whole time. By the time he's clear of the door, Jenkins is ready for him, and Franklin throws himself into the old man's open arms. As the tall human murmurs an affectionate greeting and begins to scratch Franklin's long neck and belly, the little green dragon wiggles wildly and squeals with pleasure.
Cassandra rolls her eyes at the pair, but says nothing. She feels a slight stab of guilt as she prepares bowls of oatmeal for her husband and herself. Jenkins treats Franklin like a human child most of the time, and she can't help but think that's because of her refusal to have a child herself. She knows that Jenkins will never force her to become a mother. They've talked about this issue several times, and even though he's assured her time and again that he is perfectly happy without children, she still feels badly that he's forced to channel all of his paternal instincts towards the little animal that has become—for Jenkins, at least—a substitute child.
The Librarian shakes her head to dispel these gloomy thoughts and calls Jenkins to the table. Humans and tea dragon then settle down and tuck in, Jenkins and Cassandra at the table discussing the day's activities as they eat. Franklin gobbles down his breakfast of dried Darjeeling tea leaves before turning his attention to one of the puzzle toys Jenkins tosses to him to buy a few minutes of undisturbed conversation with his wife.
8:30 AM
After they wash and put away the breakfast things, Jenkins and Cassandra head for the Annex's spacious workroom to begin their day in earnest. Just as they enter the room, they hear the steel door of the Annex's main entrance clang shut in the distance. A couple of minutes later, Jacob Stone and Ezekiel Jones breeze in. Though they've not made any formal announcements or done anything to draw attention, everyone knows that the two young men are a couple. They started off simply as roommates, and their relationship gradually moved into a more intimate and romantic one. No one presses them on it, content to let the pair reveal themselves in their own time, when they're ready.
They immediately ask what's for breakfast and head straight for the kitchen. Jenkins gives them an exasperated glare and acidly reminds them—yet again—that this is the Library, not a roadhouse or a truck stop or wherever else it is that young people go nowadays expecting a short-order cook to cater to their culinary whims.
8:36 AM
Eve Baird and Flynn Carsen arrive at the Annex. Since their tethering, the pair has spent their nights at Eve's roomy apartment, even though Flynn was given a suite of rooms of his own when he became the Librarian over a decade ago. They haven't decided yet if they want to move Eve into the Library or not. She rather likes having a place to go "off base" where she can more easily unplug herself from Library business and relax.
Baird calls out a morning greeting to Jenkins and Cassandra as she sips from a 32oz super-sized insulated travel mug of black coffee. Flynn, totally ignoring them, is wildly waving around a breakfast burrito, oblivious to Jenkins's disapproving, disbelieving stare as the Librarian flings bits of scrambled egg, bacon and grilled onion around the room. He's trying to convince his Guardian/wife that he'll be on his best, non-Librarian-like behavior when they go to her mother's house for Thanksgiving dinner this year. He promises that Thanksgiving won't be anything like it was last year; after all, how was he supposed to know that her family were such hardcore Republicans when he told that joke about Trump?
Eve rolls her eyes as she passes by Cassandra's desk on her way to the kitchen, Flynn bouncing around her like a hyperactive terrier. The redhead has to bite her lower lip to keep from giggling out loud. Jenkins, grumbling, starts to go around the room to clean up the bits of flung food, but Franklin beats him to it, scurrying around the floor and eagerly licking up the tasty tidbits before running off down the corridor after Flynn in hopes of finding more.
10:22 AM
The Clippings Book goes off, fluttering crazily on its stand. There's a wave of apprehension in Jenkins's chest at the sound; a new case means that Cassandra has to leave the safety of the Library to go on a potentially dangerous new mission. He knows he can't hover over her like an overly-protective mother hen, but he can't help worrying about her safety whenever he can't keep a watchful eye out over her himself.
The pages of the Clippings Book inform the Librarians that there is a problem with fortune cookie fortunes actually coming true in Chicago's Chinatown. Under normal circumstances, that might not seem like such bad thing, but these fortunes are wreaking havoc by fulfilling themselves very literally, and very instantly. The Clippings Book cited the example of a man whose fortune cookie informed him, "You will take a long journey soon", and in the blink of an eye found himself smack-dab in the middle of Tajikistan with only the clothes on his back.
As the team prepares to head to the Windy City to investigate, Jenkins expertly sets the Back Door to open in a Chinatown location. He selects coordinates that will set the door inside of a Chinese Community Center; a quick internet search has told him it holds a senior citizen mahjong tournament every Saturday. It amuses him to imagine the looks on the team's faces when they find themselves surrounded by surprised and irritated Chinese aunties.
1:00 PM
Jenkins spends the morning working on some routine paperwork, trying to keep himself busy and productive rather than anxiously fretting about Cassandra. It's at times like these that he's especially glad for Franklin's company.
After a quick break for tea, Jenkins goes to the Library's Rose Gardens. Franklin, who's been draped over the Caretaker's neck like a scarf and dozing all morning while the man works, rouses and begins to make soft little grunts of interest. Jenkins goes straight to the bed of dark pink roses called "Cerise" and examines each one of the perfumed blooms until he finds one that he deems to be the most perfect of the lot. He snips it, giving it a long, elegant stem, and carefully removes its thorns as he takes his prize back to the workroom. He chooses a slender crystal bud vase, fills it with water and places the rose in it, then sets the vase on Cassandra's desk as a gift. He smiles as he imagines her delighted squeals, the way she'll bounce on her toes and clap her hands when she sees it, the hug and kiss she'll give him. She always makes such a fuss over the smallest of presents he gives her, but it's a sincere fuss, and it makes him happy to see her so happy.
1:20 PM
Jenkins decides it's time to tackle a more challenging job that he's been putting off for some time now. He needs to do the annual welfare check on the cocodrillus. He removes Franklin, sets him on the floor and pats his side, telling him that he needs to stay in the Annex, where it's safe.
The cocodrillus is a large, four-legged creature that looks rather like a cross between a king-sized hyena and a dinosaur. It was once a well-known beast, regularly appearing in medieval bestiaries, though usually mistakenly listed under the name "crocodile". Though both animals were native of the Nile River Valley in Egypt, the cocodrillus has nothing else in common with the Nile crocodile.
The cocodrillus has a body that is protected by a thick, nearly impenetrable hide that is covered with a short, dark reddish-brown hair the color of old, dried blood. Ridges of short, hard protuberances further protect its back, running down the length of its body. Its long tail is tipped with thin, bony, blade-like plates, and when it swings its powerful tail the plates serve as a vicious weapon of offense and defense, every bit as lethal as a hatchet or an axe.
The feet of the cocodrillus are equipped with long, grasping toes, each one tipped with heavy, sharp, talon-like claws that it uses to seize and hold its prey. Its muzzle is full of long, slightly serrated teeth that it uses to not only kill, but also to easily rend its prey limb from limb as it prepares to devour its unfortunate victim. Cocodrillii are vicious, cunning and fearless predators, hiding among the reeds and papyrus plants on the banks of the Nile as they lie in wait for an unsuspecting victim to wander too close before they pounce with terrifying speed and ferocity. Once a cocodrillus has gotten hold of its target, its prey rarely escapes death. Once the kill has been made—and this peculiar habit is what made them so popular with medieval cryptozoologists—the cocodrillus will literally shed tears for its victim as it tears it apart, weeping copiously for the life it has taken, with the droplets turning into flawless diamonds the second they hit the ground. Whether the tears are shed out of sincere contrition or not, no one has ever been able to say.
The cocodrillus's favorite prey animal is human beings, of whom they have no fear whatsoever, making it one of the most dangerous animals in the Library's collection. And they make no distinction between mortals and immortals.
1:40 PM
Jenkins makes his way to the Cryptozoology Level of the Library. He goes to the High Security Wing, fingering the large steel key in his hand nervously as he goes. Cocodrillii are nothing to take lightly. He thinks for a moment that perhaps he should wait until at least one of the Librarians or Eve Baird is available to back him up in case of trouble, but he immediately dismisses the thought. The more humans there are in the vicinity, the more likely someone will be injured—or worse. Cocodrillii are apex predators of the highest order, and the Caretaker would never forgive himself if any of the others fell victim to the beast, especially Cassandra. He shudders involuntarily at the bone-chilling thought.
He unlocks the heavy, reinforced steel door and pushes it slowly open. He takes a few steps inside and looks quickly around the humid, sweltering landscape, but sees nothing except a slow-moving river in the distance, its banks thickly covered in tall green reeds and towering papyrus plants in imitation of the Nile River and its environs. Jenkins steps back and closes the door, making sure that it's secure.
He turns back and heads for the river. He's wearing a pair of knee-high green rubber boots and his specially-made gambeson, the one with thick sheets of dragon hide sewn into its lining for protection. He wishes he had a pair of similarly lined trousers, but dragon hide is very hard to come by these days. As he walks, he double-checks his crossbow, makes sure that the safety switch is off and the bolt is loaded and ready. The bolt is tipped with a special armor-piercing head, thickly coated with a powerful sedative. Even so, there are no guarantees that the bolt will penetrate the animal's thick skin. Jenkins will count himself lucky if he can just manage to scratch the cocodrillus's hide; after that the sedative will do the rest.
As he approaches the reed bed, the old Caretaker begins searching the ground for signs of the cocodrillus. He sees old scat and several of the large, unmistakable tracks in the soft dirt, but they are days old. Adjusting his grip on the crossbow, he turns and begins to follow the freshest set of prints along the riverbank.
As he follows the trail, the ground becomes softer and muddier until it's almost a bog, and Jenkins is glad he chose to wear boots. After half an hour more he stops to rest a moment, scans the area warily. Suddenly he hears a soft rustling sound coming from the reeds just ahead of him. Instantly the crossbow is up and aimed at the source of the noise. Jenkins holds his breath and slowly tightens his finger on the trigger, just waiting for the cocodrillus to appear. After several painfully nerve-wracking seconds, the anxious hunter nearly hollers aloud in frustration as, instead of a vicious cocodrillus, an oblivious Egyptian goose waddles out from among the reeds. It stares at Jenkins impudently for a moment, its tail-feathers wiggling back and forth in irritation. With a soft, low-throated honk, it turns away and waddles off in search of clover to graze on.
His shoulders slump with relief and the nose of the crossbow lowers as Jenkins pulls a handkerchief from his trousers. It's beastly hot and humid in the Nile Room, and the heavy gambeson is stifling. He raises the handkerchief to mop the perspiration from his forehead, the cloth momentarily covering his eyes.
Jenkins is struck hard from behind. He feels the crossbow fly from his hand as he falls forward, landing face-first in the mud. He immediately rolls over onto his back to face his attacker. He is horrified, but not surprised, to see the cocodrillus standing over him, thick ropes of yellowish drool trailing from its jaws as it snarls at him. One massive paw seizes Jenkins by the throat, its sharp talons biting into his neck. The Caretaker gropes wildly for the crossbow, but it's hopelessly out of reach. The cocodrillus grabs his searching arm with its other paw and holds him fast, the grip on the old man's throat steadily tightening and cutting off his air, at the same time slowly pushing the back of his head into the soft, watery mud.
Jenkins claws at the limb clutching his throat with his free hand and kicks at the beast's belly and back legs with his feet, struggling desperately to loosen its hold before he loses consciousness. If he passes out now, he will be at the creature's mercy.
His lungs burn for air as he tries to fight off the slavering cocodrillus while also trying to avoid its snapping jaws, but it's too strong and he can't get any purchase in the mud. As he tries to punch it in the side of its head and neck, the beast catches Jenkins's free arm between its jaws, the impenetrable dragon-hide lining of his gambeson being the only thing that protects his limb from being bitten clean off. Jenkins's face turns dark red and his vision begins to darken as consciousness starts to slip away. He feels sick at the thought of how Cassandra will react when she finds him later—or what's left of him.
A screeching green blur abruptly flies over his head and lands on the head of the cocodrillus. The surprised animal releases Jenkins and backs away a few steps, and the immortal quickly scrambles away from the monster, coughing and gasping as he sucks in huge lungfuls of air. As his vision clears and sharpens, he's horrified to recognize Franklin clinging to the angry cocodrillus. Before he can react or cry out, the tea dragon raises one forepaw as far back as he can, and, with an ear-splitting shriek of rage, viciously claws the much larger animal squarely in its left eye.
The cocodrillus rears up onto its hind legs, bellowing in pain and shaking its massive head in an attempt to dislodge its attacker. But Franklin is uniquely built to be able to cling tightly to typhoon-whipped tea plants, and he merely sinks his small, sharp claws into the monster's thick hide and stubbornly holds on, screaming with anger—how dare this thing attack his beloved Bái Shān! The cocodrillus can still feel the dragon on it, and it bucks and thrashes about, wildly clawing at the maddening thing that has managed to blind it in one eye. The beast manages to knock the dragon loose, but Franklin hangs on with one paw. Almost immediately, he's able to reattach his remaining three feet to the monster's hide, flattening his body as close to that of the cocodrillus as possible, making it even more difficult for him to be removed. Carefully, Franklin makes his way to the spot between the creature's shoulders as the cocodrillus thrashes about, frantic to throw him off.
In the meantime, Jenkins scrabbles through the slippery muck to the crossbow and snatches it up, swinging it around to point it from a sitting position at the now-panicking cocodrillus. The huge animal is leaping and whipping its tail about violently as it tries to dislodge Franklin, futilely swiping at him blindly with its huge, clawed forepaws. Thankfully, the crossbow bolt is still in place, but Jenkins doesn't pull the trigger for fear of accidentally hitting Franklin.
He opens his mouth to call the tea dragon off, but is frozen in astonishment as he sees the screaming, infuriated Franklin now determinedly digging into the thick hide of the cocodrillus, his sharp teeth and claws making frighteningly short work of the gigantic beast's "armor". It's the same technique he used to dig into the rock-hard plaster and lathing of the wall of the Library, and it's very effective on the thick skin of the cocodrillus. So much so, in fact, that Jenkins realizes with shock that if he doesn't stop Franklin soon, the tea dragon will very likely burrow right into the body of the cocodrillus and end up killing it!
He raises the crossbow again and takes his aim. He then whistles loudly, the call he uses when he wants Franklin to come. Franklin's head instantly pops up from his excavating, his slightly-bulging black eyes blinking and his snout covered with blood. He sees Bái Shān is alive and well, and at once he leaps lithely from the cocodrillus's back. He lands on the ground and rushes toward Jenkins. As soon as he's clear of the frightened and angry animal, Jenkins fires the crossbow. At this range he can't miss. The bolt barely penetrates into the injured cocodrillus's hide, but within one minute it's all over. The stricken beast falls over onto its side, unconscious.
Jenkins drops the crossbow in relief and flops back onto to the muddy ground, takes a deep breath and heaves a sigh. Just as he closes his eyes, Franklin bounds onto his stomach, squealing happily and running up his chest to frantically lick the old immortal's face, at the same time smearing the Caretaker's clothes and cheeks with mud and cocodrillus blood. Jenkins rises back into a sitting position, his arms instantly encircling the wriggling creature. He fights back a surge of emotion as he gives his little friend a hug so tight that Franklin squeaks in protest. Jenkins next begins to quickly check Franklin for injuries, but he finds nothing. His attention then shifts to the animal's bloody snout and forelegs. He chides the little reptile in a stern voice for his foolhardiness, ordering him to never, ever, ever follow him into the cocodrillus enclosure again. But Franklin only throws his head back and makes the strange hooting-coughing sound that indicates amusement. He can sense the relief and affection of the old man, so he knows that Bái Shān isn't really angry with him.
He carries the squirming dragon to the edge of the river and quickly washes the gore off of him. Jenkins turns him loose to play, then goes over to inspect the cocodrillus.
He's even more amazed at Franklin's abilities when he sees the damage up close. The drugged crossbow bolt barely broke the animal's thick, callous-like epidermal layer, but Franklin has managed to not only make short work of the outer layer, he had been well on his way into the dermis itself. Jenkins wryly thinks that perhaps this episode will teach the monster that it's best to leave its Caretaker alone from now on. Fortunately, cocodrillii are tough, resilient animals, and Jenkins has brought along his medicine bag in case of emergencies. It doesn't take long for him to patch up the five-inch wide hole Franklin has made, though the damage to the creature's eye might be permanent. He also notices also that one of the animal's fangs has been broken; when it fell over, its lower jaw struck a stone that was hidden in the mud and broke the tooth off. It's unfortunate, but all told, Jenkins feels the injuries are a small price to pay to keep from being torn to pieces and devoured. One thing is for certain, though—from now on, he will bring Colonel Baird with him whenever he comes to check on this accursed beast!
5:13 PM
Jenkins finally emerges back into the Library. He is tired, his neck and arm are throbbing, and he's filthy, but he's alive and in one piece, thanks to Franklin. The tea dragon is bounding energetically behind the tall immortal, yipping like a puppy, his battle and victory against the cocodrillus seemingly forgotten. Jenkins wearily strips off the muddy gambeson and drops it on the floor, along with his bag and the crossbow. He calls Franklin to himself, scoops up the animal as soon as he's within reach.
He places Franklin on the worktable and begins to examine him more closely, just to make sure that he hasn't missed any injuries. The reptile squirms and squeals in protest as the Caretaker's experienced hands check more thoroughly over the small body for hidden damage, both internal and external. He finds nothing, though, and is tremendously reassured. He playfully swats Franklin on the rump and tells him that he is one very lucky tea dragon. Jenkins makes a mental note to start keeping a much closer eye on Franklin; the little creature is far too adventurous for the old immortal's liking sometimes.
Jenkins sets Franklin on the floor, and the dragon races off to see if anything new has arrived in the Library since this morning. Jenkins then gathers up his things and trudges stiffly to his quarters for a long hot shower and some clean clothes.
6:46 PM
Jenkins, showered and dressed in a fresh suit, is sitting at his desk, writing up the report of his visit to the cocodrillus enclosure. While the beast's talons had managed to nastily puncture his skin in a couple of places on his neck, and his right forearm is going to have some ugly bruises for the next couple of days, he is otherwise undamaged, though the stiff collar of his starched shirt is chafing uncomfortably against the injuries on his neck. He has no idea how he is going to hide them from Cassandra this evening when they go to bed. It doesn't help, either, that Franklin is insisting on draping himself again over the Caretaker's neck and dozing as he works on the report, further irritating the wounds.
As his quill scritches against the paper, the Back Door activates and a few seconds later the doors themselves swing open to disgorge four dirty, wet Librarians and one dirty, wet Guardian. Cassandra and Ezekiel are also carrying several paper shopping bags that are emitting the most intoxicating aroma of something roasted, making the Caretaker's empty stomach grumble loudly.
Cassandra holds up her bags as she hurries over to the long worktable in the center of the room, at the same time announcing in a sing-song voice that everyone will be having Peking duck for dinner this evening. The others then begin to tell Jenkins all about their latest adventure, everyone talking excitedly at the same time while tracking mud all over the parquet floor. Jenkins is able to make out the gist of their babble—the fortune cookies were ultimately being manufactured by a local company that was unknowingly using water from a forgotten wishing well to make their sweets, the magic from the water imbuing the cookies—and by extension, the fortunes themselves—with the power to come true upon being uttered aloud when its recipient read the slip of paper inside their cookie. With the judicious use of some dynamite, the team managed to block off the wishing well's water supply from the main underground spring being used by the manufacturing company, but it was clearly a very messy job.
Without bothering to change clothes, everyone prepares to sit around the table and enjoy the mouth-watering meal of roasted duck while it's still hot, and all of the other tasty delicacies that they brought home with them from Chinatown. Cassandra notices the beautiful fresh rose on her desk and reacts exactly as Jenkins anticipated. He winces silently in agony as she throws her arms around his wounded neck and squeezes him tightly in thanks.
Everyone begins retelling some of the more memorable episodes from their latest mission as they eat, laughing and teasing each other. Jenkins sits quietly next to Cassandra, enjoying his food, the company and the stories. (He notes that there are no fortune cookies to be seen anywhere!) At one point, Cassandra turns to look at her husband and asks him what he's done today. Jenkins merely smiles and tells her that he took care of some routine tasks this afternoon, nothing to speak of. She then does a quizzical double-take, and asks if he's wearing a different suit from the one he put on this morning. He smiles again and shakes his head. Cassandra shrugs her shoulders and her attention goes back to the group.
Just as the meal winding down, Cassandra's blue eyes fly open wide as she remembers something, then says that she has a little gift for Franklin that she bought in Chinatown while the others were waiting for the food order, and asks Jenkins to call him. He does as she asks, and the dragon comes running at full throttle—no one has ever seen Franklin move at anything slower than a breakneck speed.
Jenkins catches him and holds him up as Cassandra digs around in her ruined purse. She soon pulls out a small plastic bag. Inside is a beautiful little cat collar made of red brocade, embroidered in gold with Chinese characters symbolizing long life and happiness. It also has a tiny bell carved from pale green jade that tinkles faintly when she moves her hand. As she holds it up, the little dragon fairly screams with excitement—it's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen! Laughing at his reaction, Cassandra instructs Jenkins to hold Franklin still so she can slip the collar around the long neck and fasten it snugly in place. Jenkins then sets him on the floor and everyone gathers around to see how the dragon will react to his gift.
Amazingly, Franklin scampers directly over to the magic mirror and sits up on his haunches so he can see himself in the glass. Believing it to be a reward from Chá Huā for saving her mate's life from the river monster, he shakes his head proudly to make the little jade bell ring, then shrieks with glee. It's a wonderful reward, no one in his entire family in China has ever owned such a beautiful thing as this! He turns away from the mirror and runs back to the table. He leaps up onto Chá Huā's lap and begins licking her face, then jumps over to lick Bái Shān's face, then jumps to the floor and races off in search of Cal; his friend will be so jealous when he sees Franklin's fancy award!
The impromptu party finally ends an hour later. Jenkins and Cassandra clean up the muddy floor and the dinner dishes, ordering the other tired members of the team to go to their respective homes to cleaned up and get some much-needed sleep.
9:35 PM
Cassandra, freshly-showered, steps from the bathroom and, yawning sleepily, heads for the bed. Jenkins is already there, and Cassandra frowns. He's wearing a full set of pajamas this evening, which is very unusual. They always share a pair of his pajamas to bed now (when they wear anything at all, that is), with Jenkins wearing the bottoms and Cassandra wearing the tops. He also has the collar of his pajama top pulled oddly up and close, covering his throat. She knows then that something is up.
When she asks about it, he only mumbles something vaguely about the room being chilly tonight. Planting her hands on her hips, she cocks her head and glares at him until finally tells her the truth. As he expected, Cassandra becomes very upset and demands to see his injuries. He obliges, and Cassandra becomes even more upset when she sees the ugly puncture wounds and the ugly, reddish-purple bruise that is beginning to come in on his arm. He tries to downplay the danger he was in with the cocodrillus, but she's having none of it, and gives her husband a scolding on his foolish recklessness that would've made his old sword master proud. She nearly blows a gasket when she learns that it was Franklin who got him out of that mess.
He takes the scolding humbly, agreeing with her that it was a mistake to go into such a dangerous situation alone, especially now that he has others to help him. He promises her that it will never happen again, sealing the promise with quick peck on his angry wife's lips. Mollified somewhat, she apologizes for being so harsh, and tells him that it's only because she loves him so much and that she would be devastated if anything happened to him—or to Franklin, for that matter.
She slips her arms around him and gives him hug. He returns her embrace, repeating his promise not to put himself in danger like that again. He nuzzles her ear as he holds her, whispers little endearments to her as he moves his hands over her back and arms. She giggles as his breath tickles her ear, then snuggles against his body and softly kisses the injuries on his neck, "to make them better" she explains. Cassandra makes sure to press her plump breasts against his chest as she brushes his thigh with one hand, and is pleased when he responds almost immediately. She smiles to herself as her hand then slowly wanders to explore the growing bulge in his pajama bottoms.
Jenkins moves to put his arms around her. Cassandra starts to move eagerly to a more comfortable position, and accidentally brings her elbow down onto the most sensitive part of his bruised arm. He yelps loudly in pain, his eyes squeezed shut tight and his teeth gritted, sucking in air between his teeth while he rides out the agony shooting up his arm and into his shoulder. Cassandra immediately begins to apologize profusely and fusses anxiously over her husband and his bruised limb.
When the pain finally subsides to something tolerable, Jenkins forces a smile to his face and tells her it's nothing. She cocks her head and sighs, tells him he's a terrible liar, then suggests regretfully that perhaps they should put a hold on sexy time for a while, at least until his injuries are more healed. Jenkins begins to protest, but thinks better of it in the face of his aching, throbbing arm. He nods his head reluctantly in agreement. He loves Cassandra dearly, loves being intimate with her and sharing himself with her, but perhaps he should take a break. With a heavy sigh he leans over to kiss her, murmuring a good-night to her before they settle back into the bed and against each other for a good night's sleep. As they drift off to sleep, Jenkins consoles himself with the knowledge that he was able to at least get some quality "caretaking" done this morning.
11:05 PM
Franklin decides to call it a day.
After spending some time with the duly impressed Excalibur, Franklin climbs up the wooden bookcase and squeezes into the crack between it and its neighbor and squirms his way into his nest. The Mesoamerican serpent-storm god is there, as usual, awaiting him, still silent. Franklin hurries over and rubs the side of his long face against the cold stone idol, trilling softly in greeting.
Franklin moves away from his nest-mate and raises up slightly on his hind legs in order to show his friend his new collar, shaking his head again to make the little bell chime softly. Chattering and squeaking excitedly, he tells Chac the story of how he saved the life of Bái Shān from a fearsome water monster. Chac merely stares, his two heads wide-eyed and unblinking throughout the recitation.
Franklin then lowers his head to the floor of the nest. After a couple of hacking, coughing sounds, he carefully regurgitates from his craw a special treasure he's picked up today: The broken cocodrillus tooth. He admires his prize for a few moments, then carries it over to the collection of treasures he has stashed along one wall of the nest. He spends a considerable amount of time rearranging his treasures as he adds his newest acquisition, purring and squealing happily as he works, chittering to his nest-mate.
He has quite an odd assortment of items for a tea dragon: One of Eve Baird's earrings; one of Flynn Carsen's pocket watches; a stale, dried out slice of pizza that he stole from Ezekiel Jones; a bright red western-style bandana from Jacob Stone. Franklin's most prized treasures, though, are from his adopted parents. He has one of Cassandra's favorite necklaces (she's been tearing the Library apart for weeks now looking for it), and one of Jenkins's bow ties (the Caretaker is mystified as to how he could have lost a bow tie), both in the place of honor, and he decides to place the cocodrillus tooth with those. It will be a proud reminder to him of how he was able to save his adopted father and the patriarch of his new family—an accomplishment that any loving son could rightfully boast about!
After making sure that his new treasure is in exactly the right place, Franklin curls up with his oddly quiet nest-mate and makes himself comfortable. As he drifts off to sleep, Franklin replays the day's events in his mind's eye, and sighs contentedly. He did a very good thing today, and he's proud of himself. He also makes a mental note to keep a much closer eye on Bái Shān from here on out. And on Chá Huā, too, for that matter, but most especially on Bái Shān.
The old patriarch is far too adventurous for the little dragon's liking sometimes.