The Stillness of Quiet

By Alasse Fefalas

Ever since the Librarian arrived with the Guardian and the others in tow, Jenkins thought he would never get his much desired peace again. They would always be there, either one or four, never leaving him alone to his work; Always asking questions, always bothering him. Even when they were out in the field on missions, he wouldn't be able to concentrate on his experiments because of Colonel Baird's calls for guidance and clarification. He had even tried locking his door but they would always come knocking.

Which was why he felt it odd when he went through three straight hours without being bothered by any of them. Had they all decide to leave? It would be great if they did, he thought to himself.

Jenkins put down his work tool and decided to unlock his door and venture out of his lab to investigate. His footsteps echoed through the halls of the Annex as he walked to the darkened main room. Snapping his fingers, the lights came alight.

"Hello?" he called out to the room. "Colonel? Librarians?"

The only sound that answered was his voice echoing off the walls. Looking around, he noticed a yellow post-it on an open page of the Clippings Book. Baird's handwriting was clearly seen in black.

"Jenkins,

Gone out with the Librarians to retrieve this. Be back in a few hours."

Under it, he recognised Jones' messy scrawl. "Don't miss us," it read.

"Hah," he scoffed. Like as if he would miss them. It was this that he missed: peace and quiet.

He certainly did not miss the shuffling of feet or the rustling of papers that was ever present in the background ever since they came. He also certainly did not miss the surprised and confused tones of the questions he was asked nor did he miss the loud bickering they would eventually come about to as they discussed their current missions.

He, too, could say with certainty that he did not miss the silent judging of Jones, Ms Cillian's small giggles, Stone's grunts or the Colonel's sighs.

Huffing, he crossed his arms. Yes, peace and quiet was what he missed. And yet...

Looking around, it just struck him how large the Annex was and, he tried to supress the sigh that came with the revelation, how silent and still it was without its extra occupants.

He perused the clippings on the open page, wondering what exactly they had gone out to retrieve. "Ah, fire pendant," he mused. "Dangerous only if activated."

He glanced at his telephone, expecting a call from the Colonel but it didn't ring. Perhaps they were out of range. Nevertheless, he found himself walking over to it and dialling her. His fingers tapped on his table impatiently as he waited for her to pick up.

"Hello? Jenkins?" Her tone was confused. He could hear the slight worry in her voice.

"Ah, Colonel. I was just checking in. How goes your retrieval mission?"

"Surprisingly well," she answered. "Actually, we're coming in now."

Just as she said it, the Back Door glowed and opened. Jones and Cassandra came in first, followed by Baird and Stone.

"Oh." Jenkins hung up the phone and watched their animated interactions with each other.

Jones fished the red pendant that hung on a golden chain out from his pocket and placed it on Jenkins' table. "One Fire Pendant, perfectly dormant, now safe from the hands of misuse."

"Thank you, Mr Jones." Picking it up delicately, he raised it up and examined it in the light.

"Don't mention it," he grinned. "Actually, we should. I mean, Stone, you did absolutely great flirting with that eighty year old lady."

"Yeah, she was definitely falling for your charms," giggled Cassandra.

"It's harder than it looks," grumbled Stone.

Baird patted Stone on the shoulder. "Great job, guys. I mean it."

"Oh, a praise from the Colonel! How rare," noted Jenkins.

Baird shrugged and gave them all a smile. "They deserve it."

"You know what else we deserve?" asked Jones. When everyone turned towards him, his grin turned mischievous. "A drink. On Baird, of course, since she said it."

"What? Hey!" exclaimed Baird offendedly.

"I agree," Stone said, nodding.

"That sounds like a great idea actually," Cassandra added.

Jenkins shrugged. "Well, you did say they deserved it."

Baird threw her hands up in defeat. "Fine, but only the first round!"

The junior Librarians looked at each other and celebrated their win. As they discussed about which bar to go to, Baird ushered them out, telling them to move before she changed her mind. She turned back and looked at Jenkins meaningfully. "You're welcome to join us."

Jenkins looked up from the pendant in front of him and gave her a small smile. "Thank you, but I'd rather stay here and examine this."

She crossed her arms and lifted and eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Now leave me alone."

"Fine, grumpy," she laughed. "Have fun with the pendant."

Jenkins watched her walk out, listening to their chatter and footsteps slowly disappear. He gave himself a small smile. Picking up the pendant, he walked back to his lab. Perhaps, indeed, they weren't so bad after all.

Fin.

A/N: First time writing in Jenkins' point of view! This was based on terrayoung's prompt on tumblr! Thank you! I've been wanting to write a fic on Jenkins but I hadn't had an idea on what to write on. I really enjoyed writing this and you can tell it's longer than my ficlets but Jenkins is such an eloquent character it had to be written in such a way.

I hope you enjoyed it! Tell me what you think! Thanks for reading!