The downside of traveling instantly around the world through a magic door is that one minute you'll be in London, soaking in a rainstorm, because you gave your jacket to your friend. Because she's adorable, you're in love with her, and the other friend you also happen to be in love with wasn't there at the time. And the next you'll be in Northern Russia, in the tundra, separated from your Guardian and any civilization because you had to jump out of a helicopter to get away from a crazy guy with a magic weather stick.
"I think there are caves up this mountain, let's find some shelter. I'm sure Baird will find us soon!" Jake called back, leading them up the scraggly path. Of course he was in the lead, Jake always liked to take charge, when they were alone. Not that Ezekiel envied him, he didn't want to be in charge. But he also didn't like being bossed around. Unless it was in the bedroom, but that was something people didn't need to know. Especially since he never seemed to be able to get in a bedroom with someone, per se. But that was another thing people didn't need to know. And something he probably shouldn't be thinking about, since they were all about to freeze to death.
Jake called back something about how Jones needed to keep up, but Ezekiel didn't bother to say anything, or even roll his eyes. He was a little busy squinting against the whipping blizzard. He had his arms around himself, with his hands tucked in his armpits for warmth. He was wearing a t-shirt and a hoodie, but it did little to combat the ridiculous cold. Especially since he was still soaking wet from the rain.
Well, not really wet. His clothes had frozen before they'd even jumped out of the damned helicopter. He had never been this cold before. Logically, he could just ask for his leather jacket back from Cassandra, but Cassandra had been wearing nothing but a sundress under it. Jake always wore a million layers, but he was raised in the Southern heat, so he probably wasn't well adapted to cold. So Ezekiel didn't lower himself enough to ask to borrow anything. That being said, Ezekiel had been raised in Australia (if you could call it being raised), but he'd spent a lot of time in Europe. So he considered himself to be able to hold up fairly well under temperature changes.
Ezekiel Jones didn't lose to the cold.
He wasn't sure how long they walked and climbed, he felt like his mind was going as numb as his extremities. All that seemed to matter was putting one foot after another. Soon, he heard Jake's voice breaking through the haze.
"Up ahead!" The art historian called back in a rough voice, climbing up a ridge and reaching down to pull Cassandra with him. Ezekiel followed, having a hard time getting a grip on the icy rocks with his numb fingers. Fingers that were looking a little red. But he followed them nonetheless, mind perking up at the prospect of shelter. He was really tired of this damned windchill. As if they didn't have enough problems.
Sure enough, Jake lead them through the rocky ridge to a cave. The cave was covered in ice, but it was better than being in the blizzard. Their breath seemed to echo out into the dark chamber.
"There's nothing to make a fire, w-we'll have to huddle for warmth. We better stay close to the entrance, w-we have n-no way of knowing what's b-back there." Cassandra suggested, teeth chattering as she raised a shivering hand to point to the dark recesses of the cavern. Jake nodded, and jerked his head towards the far left wall of the rocky cave. It was shielded from the wind and weather, but close enough to the exit to where a small amount of moonlight made it discernable.
"Let's huddle up, and wait for Baird. Cassandra in the middle, you have the lowest body mass." Jake instructed. They all did so, huddling together with their backs against the stone. Their arms were drawn in and their sides were pressed together. Their knees were drawn up to their chests and pressed against each other's, and Ezekiel wondered if the other's could feel their toes anymore. Cassandra was wearing some sort of lace up rain boots that matched her leggings and her dress. Jake was wearing his usual work boots, that were probably thicker than his skull. Ezekiel, on the other hand, was wearing converse sneakers. Just perfect.
Their heads were bowed inward towards each other, and Ezekiel reveled in the slight warmth created by their breath, pushing through their lips into the space between them. They were all shivering so hard, they might as well be one large lump of vibrate if librarian meat. Which was a really funny thought to him, for some reason, and he found himself snickering.
"W-what the fuck is so funny?" Jake hissed. Ezekiel looked at him and furrowed his brow.
"I don't know." He replied, feeling like his brain was in a fog. Jake just rolled his eyes, and turned his head more towards Cassandra. Which made total sense, even to his dazed mind, because anyone with eyes knew that Cassandra and Jake were oh-so- destined to be. Once they got over their silly little issues and started noticing how they looked at each other when the other wasn't looking. It was ridiculous, watching them interact was like living in a damn Nicholas Sparks movie. Ezekiel secretly enjoyed lame romantic movies, but that was another thing people didn't need to know.
What he didn't enjoy was somehow falling for two people at once, two people that were obviously falling for each other, leaving him the well and truly fucked third wheel. The pining third wheel. This must be karma's way of punching him in the face.
He watched Jake whisper reassurances to Cassandra, watched her nod along and take deep breaths. What he hated the most about his situation was that he wasn't even really that angry, or bitter, or resentful. He tired to be, but…he was just sad. Which was like, super pathetic and lame.
Get it together, Jones. You're freezing to death and all you can do is mope about how nobody loves you. His mind attempted to say to him, but everything just felt...distant. Besides, he wasn't really moping, he couldn't seem to even if he wanted to. Moping would require resentment, but all he felt towards them in the end was a resigned contentedness. If they were happy, he was happy. Which was super cliche, and something he knew people didn't expect of him. Which was a good thing, he worked to make sure he controlled exactly what people expected of him. What he expected of himself, well, that was a whole other story…
Currently, he expected that he was going to die. And he couldn't find it in himself to panic. He couldn't find it in himself to even think much on it. As if it wasn't real. As if he was just...floating. He didn't even really feel that cold anymore.
He wasn't shivering anymore.
That's bad, very bad. Rapidly progressing hypothermia. Get help, get help, ask for his damn jacket, he's got like four layers on. A part of his brain screamed at him, but it was like he couldn't even hear himself think. Or really decipher it, per se. Why wasn't he supposed to ask for help? There had been a reason...why did he need help? Dying. He was dying. That didn't seem right, didn't make much sense. He didn't feel like he was dying. Or was he? What did dying feel like?
"W-we should last a few more hours, but after that, if we don't…" Cassandra was saying, fear in her voice. Jake pressed closer to her.
"Hey, hey, Cassie. D-don't think about that, it'll all be alright." He tried to assure her, in his calming, low voice. Ezekiel squinted over at Jake. Jake was shivering really badly. Even with those layers, he must not be better off than the rest of them. Was that the reason Ezekiel wasn't supposed to ask for help?
It's just like in that video game you can't remember, that they told you about. You'll die first, but they'll last longer, if you don't ask. His brain told him, by way of explanation. Oh, that made sense. Bummer. What a way to go, Ezekiel Jones, dying of hypothermia. But he wasn't losing - he still wasn't losing to the cold. Because he looked up and he saw them both still shivering, their faces were flushed, not pale. They were pressed against each other, just as he was pressed against them. But it wasn't the same, was it?
Not that it would matter soon.
"Okay, this isn't working, w-we should try-" Jake said, shuffling where he sat. Cassandra blinked over at him, having been in a daze. Her teeth wouldn't stop chittering, and her red hair was frosted. She looked at Jake, as if she were seeing him for the first time. And then her eyes widened in a sudden expression of dawning horror. Jake frowned at her.
"W-what is it?" He asked. Cassandra slowly turned her head towards the body to her other side.
"Ez-zekiel s-stopped shivering...I don't know how l-long ago…" She said, turning and pulling her arm away and reaching to push Ezekiel's hood back a little. His eyes were closed, and his head was bowed. He was paler than the snow around him, his lips were blue and he didn't respond when Cassandra yelped and nudged him.
He was unconscious.
Cassandra made a horrified sound, and scrambled to unfold her limbs and press her numb hands to his neck, searching for a pulse. Whatever slow coming daze that had taken over their minds was gone now, banished by a sharp terror. Jake moved forward with Cassandra, his heart picking up speed in his chest. Cassandra started to recite the time and average statistics of hypothermia, but he didn't listen. He already knew enough to know how royally fucked they were.
"We have to keep him warm, we gotta lay down and rub him, get some friction going, stick together." Jake said hastily, ripping his heavy outer jacket off and moving to pull Ezekiel forward. Cassandra turned to look at what he was doing.
"J-Jake, no, you'll-" She started to say, but he just shook his head as he pulled Ezekiel's arms out of their crossed position and struggled to pull the jacket onto him.
"He needs it more. C'mon, help me lay him down." He commanded. She scrambled to do just that, and soon they were all horizontal, with Jake and Cassandra curled around Ezekiel's unconscious body. Jake glanced over towards the entrance of the cavern.
Where was Baird? They really, really needed a Guardian right about now.
"I should h-have given his jacket back…" Cassandra whispered in a shaky tone, and it wasn't just because of the cold. She reached a frozen hand to pull the drawstrings on his hoodie tight, and then shuffled to pull her hands inside the jacket sleeves before she used them to rub and massage over his arm, shoulder, chest and torso.
"The hands are always the first to go." Jake whispered, and pulled Ezekiel's arm inside his own inner jacket and flannel, curling protectively around it as he reached to rub over the thief's arm.
"H-he needs his hands, w-world class thief...I h-hope Jenkins has something f-for f-frostbite…" Cassandra replied haltingly. Jake nodded, not trusting himself to answer. If his tearducts weren't as frozen as the rest of him, he had a feeling he might cry.
He should have given Ezekiel his jacket earlier, why didn't he notice, why did he trust the thief when Jones had claimed he wasn't that cold, back when they first got off the helicopter? Why had he listened to the self sacrificing idiot instead of common sense? Of course he would give Cassandra his jacket. The kids were in love with each other, anyone with a brain could see that. Even if it hurt doubly so, for Jake, considering his own confusing and strong feeling for the two of them.
None of that would matter if they lost Jones now, to this damned cold. He felt the darkness creeping in himself, and he curled closer to the other two, trying to remind his arm to keep rubbing and running over Ezekiel's arms, chest and legs- he didn't know how long until he glanced over and saw Cassandra wasn't moving anymore. It was probably the same moment he noticed he couldn't seem to move anymore either.
The world narrowed to a thin sliver as his eyes slowly sank closed. The last thing in his field of vision where two blue tinged faces, the two people he loved most, the two people he had failed.
It was the sound, that came first. And with that, came shapes behind her eyelids, senses spiraling through her brain, intertwined yet different. Hues of pink, pink circles...voices. Talking. Distant talking, blurry shapes . Getting brighter, more vivid, more in tune.
She blinked open her eyes, and tried to turn her head towards the source of the shapes and the sound. But she was immediately stopped by a sharp shooting pain, starting from her stiff neck and radiating down through her. She groaned aloud, not daring to try and move her stiff body again.
"Cassandra?" A familiar, worried voice asked, drawing closer as it did. The circles turned into squares, squares within squares. Amazing.
"Eve?" She asked, wincing as she tried to move slightly again, on instinct. Eve and Jenkins swam into her field of vision, peering down at her from above. Eve's eyes were tinged red, like she'd been crying.
"Hey, Red." She said, voice happy but full of emotion. Cassandra stared up at them in confusion.
"I hurt...a lot...what happened?" She asked, swallowing past her dry mouth and throat. Eve and Jenkins exchanged a look.
"You and the others suffered from varying degrees of hypothermia. Eve was able to get there in time to bring you back before it was too late for one of the artifacts from Londinium Project to slowly work on reviving you, you should slowly but swiftly be healed within the matter of a few days. Well, most of you." Jenkins added, face going from factly to grim. Eve shot him a glare, and Cassandra felt her heart stop in her chest. She bolted upright, disregarding the agonizing pins and needles that were sent through her body. She wiped around, eyes searching wildly.
"Ezekiel! Where's Ezekiel? And Jake, Jake, Ezekiel- he-" She began to demand in a croaking voice. Jenkins and Eve put their hands in her arms and shoulders to keep her from falling off the table in a sudden rush of dizziness.
"Here, Cassie…" A rough voice with a southern twang sounded out nearby. Her eyes settled on Stone, who was wrapped in a blanket. He was laying on his back on the cot next to hers. He looked like death itself, and not just because of their physical states. He was staring at the ceiling with a more distant and burdened expression than she'd ever seen. Which was saying something. She felt relief at Jake being okay, but it was eclipsed by a huge amount of dread when he eyes moved a little farther across the room.
Ezekiel was laying on a cot on the other side of Stone, covered in blankets, and passed out cold. He had an IV running into him- since when did the Library have normal medical equipment like that?
"Why isn't he like us? Why does he still look so pale...and his lips are still blue-" Cassandra wiped to stare at Jenkins in fear.
"Why haven't you healed him more yet?" She demanded. Jenkins pursed his lips and held up a hand.
"I would have just brought out a more potent magical waking solution and be done with it, but the cold that affected you all was no natural cold. The blizzard you were afflicted in was a magical blizzard, caused by a madman with a Nuvara. The magic flowing through the air is what caused the storm, and the cold, that was unreasonable even for your situation. Certain magics can't mix with that magic without bad things happening. The Londinian Artifacts was the best I could do that wouldn't make you all turn to stone. It will just take longer for Mr. Jones to catch up, he was the worst off." Jenkins explained.
Cassandra turned to look at Ezekiel. He look so small, lying there unconscious and swamped in blankets. She felt like her heart was twisting itself into knots, and she slowly laid back down, shutting her eyelids against a rising tide of tears.
"It's my fault, I should have given his jacket back…" Cassandra whispered. Eve opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by Jake.
"It's not your fault Cassie, I...I should have noticed. I should have known he wasn't going to say anything." Jake said, voice haggard.
Jenkins looked between the two of them.
"I don't understand at all why would be blaming yourselves for this, nature and magic-" He started to say. Jake sat up a little, proving himself up on his elbow. His brows were furrowed in anger, but they could tell the anger was not truly directed at them. Cassandra turned her head to look at him sadly, blinking against the shapes and tears in her eyes.
"I'm the Guardian, you're all my responsibility, so if you want to place blame-" Eve started to declare.
"He's my friend, and partner. And he's also the same guy who killed himself a million times and one to save us with a smile on his face, and I was too much of a stubborn idiot to realize he was going to be a stubborn idiot, I should have noticed, and done something. Friends don't let their friends freeze to death." Jake said, voice trembling and rough. They were all silent under the weight of his words, but that silence was soon broken by an unexpected noise.
"M'not dead yet, drama queens…" A scratchy, weak Australian voice pipped up from the other side of Jake.
All the heads in the room whipped towards the sound, and before Jenkins and Eve could stop them, both Jake and Cassandra where vaulting off their beds and scrambling to be by his side. Ezekiel's eyes were a little glazed over and his skin was flushed red. Cassandra reached her stiff hands to run over his face, feeling the warmth back in his skin as the tears finally spilled over her eyes. Her hands started to shake. Jake was smiling, despite the darkness in his eyes. He reached out and squeezed Ezekiel's arm through the blankets, and used his other hand to clap him gently on the shoulder.
"Good to see you awake, partner. You…" Jake cleared his throat and cast his eyes downward. "You scared us pretty badly there."
"I'm so sorry, are you okay, do you feel okay, how are your hands?" Cassandra asked rapidly, hands fluttering over him like birds that didn't know where to land. Ezekiel scrunched his features up as he glanced between them, and then at Eve and Jenkins, who had come and stood behind Jake.
"I'm fine, mates. Ezekiel Jones doesn't lose to the cold. Just took a power nap, that's all." He mumbled, shuffling in the cot, as if he was uncomfortable. Then he let out a whimper of pain, that was rather out of character for the brash thief. This was followed by a groan, and Ezekiel let his eyelids drop shut again. He turned his head to the side.
"You almost died, you- you- why didn't you say anything? You were more soaked than either of us, and you-" Jake seemed to be struggling with words over his emotions, his face ranging across a broad spectrum at an extremely fast pace before he finally just squeezed his eyes shut. Cassandra didn't trust herself to say anything, so she just pulled the blankets up a little and reached under so she could hold onto Ezekiel's hand. Then she bowed her head a little, taking deep breathes. There was an immense beat of silence.
"I'm not going to apologize for not wanting you two to freeze along with me." Ezekiel finally said, swallowing past a lump in his throat. He didn't open his eyes. Cassandra looked up, as did Jake. Eve and Jenkins exchanged a look, before Jenkins jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
"We should, uh, give you guys some space, call if you need us." Eve said, and the two of them hurried off out the door and down the hall.
Silence reigned for a little while longer, and Cassandra swore she could still hear the roaring of the blizzard in her ears.
"We were all chosen. To be here, to be together. To be a team. To be Librarians. Together. We all really need to stop being so self-sacrificing, or we're not going to get far." Cassandra said after she took a deep breath. Ezekiel opened his eyes to look at her, and she didn't like the look in them. LIke shattered glass, fractured ice. She felt sure she had seen it before, although she couldn't quite remember, as if it had been in a dream. But then he smiled at her, that warm, kind smile that was still a little cocky. The look melted away, as did the cold grip she could feel around her heart.
"And you need to stop taking the weight of everything on your shoulders, mate." Ezekiel spoke up, turning to raise an eyebrow at Jake. "That's Baird's job."
This earned weak laughs from all of them, and Jake gave his arm a squeeze before looking up to make eye contact with him.
"Don't ever do something that stupid again." He said. Ezekiel raised his eyebrows.
"Stupid, or remarkably selfless and noble?" He asked, in that familiar tone, as if he didn't have a trouble in the world.
"Both. Always both, with you." Cassandra said, and Jake nodded. Ezekiel frowned, shuffling under his covers. He glanced away from them, shaking his head slightly.
"That was a joke, guys. I think you should know I can't make any promises about how arguably stupid I will be. Depends on the day, and all that." He said.
"It's not a joke to us." Jake said seriously. Ezekiel looked down at them, and then looked away again.
"Do we have any grub in this joint? Forget hypothermia, i'm likely to starve to death." He asked. Cassandra and Jake exchanged a glance, before they slowly stood up.
"We'll go find something." She told him. His eyes flicked to look at them again. He tried to sit up, only to collapse back down into the cot with a groan.
"I didn't-" He started to say, but Cassandra held up a hand to cut him off.
"Just rest, for once. It's the least we can do. Sit tight, we'll be right back."
Eve leaned against the table as Jenkins flitted around, tidying things up. She was spinning a metal orb around, lost in thought.
"Jenkins?" She asked, after a moment.
"Yes, Colonel Baird?" He asked, turning towards her. She looked up at him.
"Do you think they'll figure out they'll figure it out?" She asked, cocking her head. Jenkins gave her a smug look, and turned around to keep ordering his shelves.
"I believe that they are as likely to figure it out as you are to with Mr. Carson. Even if they may need a little push from time to time." He replied. Eve stood up, feeling a little affronted by the comparison, before she thought better of it.
"Does helping them with their love lives really fall under my jurisdiction?" She asked, frowning thoughtfully. It didn't sound entirely pleasant, but she couldn't help but feel...obligated.
"Well, i've told you what your job requires, Colonel Baird. I imagine it's up to each guardian to interpret that, to some degree. And even if it's not necessarily under the job description, there's such a thing as friendship, you know. Not that i'd know much about that." Jenkins added. Eve sighed, turning towards the door.
"Whatever you say, Jenkins."
"I should rightly think so."