I just awake, sweating in my bed, alone. Where does she vanish? I look everywhere and I can't find her, as well as the others. Oh God! Tell me that my dream didn't become reality! I come back to my room to get dressed the faster I can and I rush into the main room of the Library. I already had check in the Annex so I know that I have to examine this place now but as I enter in the room where all the ancient artifact has been placed, Excalibur come to me. He wants to show me something so I follow him because I know I can trust Kings Arthur sword as much as one of mine Librarians. He takes me to the doorway and I find a small note on Flynn and Eve door:
"We all get out for a case. Because Cassandra didn't want to awake you she programs the door for us and let you take some rest. I think she would be there before us, but, just in case I let this note under Excalibur vigilance. We all wish you a good day! See you soon!"
I sigh of relief then I come back to the Annex with Cal and I take my phone to ask Cassandra where she is. Five minutes later she answers that she was looking for something for breakfast and that she would need a door to come back from Paris where she made some shopping. I prepare the table in the Annex kitchen, then, to pass the time I play with Excalibur. It has been a long time since I do so and the sword was very happy about it. When Cassandra come through the magic door I was steel opposing my fight skills to Cal. That's makes my dear redhead laugh and caught our attention. The sword welcomes her with something look like a caress then he let me kisses her on her lips. I am so happy to see that's she is well! I wouldn't like to lost the only true love I found since my birth, which was approximately 1 500 years ago, I think.
I offer my arm to my soul mate, she smiles at me, then she takes my arm and I bring her to the kitchen. We eat together in silent then I ask:
- Do you know where the others get darling?
- Sure sweetheart! Why are you asking?
- You will probably laugh at me if I tell you...
- No, I'm not Ezekiel you know!
- I know my dear. It's just... I had a weird dream, but it had seems so real... I haven't had feel as bad since the time you have been at the hospital for your tumor.
- My poor darling. Would you tell me about what you have seen in that nightmare?
- Not until you answer my question, I say, a bright smile on my face.
- That's not fair! But, I'm on a good mood today so I would tell you. They are in Africa, in a place where many people have been turned into children.
I grow pale and I think I could have collapsed right now if she wasn't looking at me, a worry expression on her angel face.
She takes my hand in hers and asks me:
- What's the matter my lovely knight?
- It's like in my dream! Soon the phone will ring. Stone would tell me that they found what is causing that and I would program the door for them. Then they would come back with the artifact and suddenly I will find five children in front of me!
- Five? But they are only four on this mission!
- You would be affected as well. This artifact didn't affect persons as old as I am, but it transform everyone else who are to close to it into children. I think it's a new artifact, just like the plastic flower which came from the funfair.
- Ok. What can we do to avoid that?
- Nothing I'm afraid...
- So in your nightmare you didn't get any clues?
- No this is why it was a nightmare.
She wants to ad something when what I explain to her finally happened. I close my eyes to remain calm then I program the door and wait for the rest of the dream to become true. It didn't take long.
Twenty minutes after my conversation with Cassandra I'm surrounded by five children. They are really cute and I didn't resist to my fancy to photograph them. I take the artifact to examine it but I couldn't move to my lab because one Cassandra, at the age of five was stuck to my left leg while Ezekiel was on the other. I incline myself to look them in their eyes and I intend to explain to them that they must let me go if they want to come back to normal. Jones wasn't to difficult to convince. It seem that, even if his physical appearance changed, his mind steel correspond to his true age. It wasn't the case for Cassie, so I take her in my arms and after I ask the older ones to take a look on Ezekiel and Jake, who ware the youngest because of their appearance of two years old children, I get into my lab. Excalibur follow me and take care of the little redhead during the time I look for a solution by examining the artifact. At the first time I only find something to keep that thing inactive then I find out how to reversed the effects it arouse on my dear Librarians and our wonderful Guardian. So I manage to find the box I was looking for but when I return to my lab my soul mate has disappear one more time. Oh my... What did I do to God to get such a hard day?! I look at every single place she could have hide herself but I can't find her. So I ask for help to the others and, because they are smaller than me, they found her easily. I was so relief by the fact I finally find her that I almost forget what I was planing to do. I think the best way to make them back to their normal age his to recover an artifact which has the opposed effects of this one.
The only problem is that it had been lost into some mess when the Library lost her spirit. This is when I realize I act like a stupid man! I didn't even think about asking help to the place itself. When I do so the Library guide me to the object and with a sleeping Cassandra in my arm I take it then I get back in the hall where the others was waiting for us. Eve and Flynn ask for some precisions on what I intend to do and they seat in circle around me. I awake Cassie and she seat on my lap when I start to apply the ritual adapted to activate the power of this artifact. I wait a few minutes before I can feel the magic envelop the victims of the spell which made them younger. When they come back to their true appearance, they were all asleep. I decide to put those artifact away, at the place they wouldn't affect anyone life. Then I get back in the hall and I put everyone to bed, one after the other. They all need some rest because have been transformed into children take a big source of energy and they also run a lot into the Library without controlling themselves so they have reasons to be exhausted. I start with Stone because he is the heavier, I install him on his bed, he didn't awake when I put him in his pyjamas and I also check if I found some wounds but there was no signs of it. After, I take care of mister Jones. He speaks in his sleep and I think he dream about me because I hear my name many times. Fortunately, he had no injuries as well. When I try to move Flynn, he awakes and helps me to take Eve to their room but he fall asleep just after we put Eve on the bed. So I have to change the head Librarian clothes as well as I did with Stone and when he is under his blanket, I kiss him on the forehead. I did so with all of them, like that, if they remind what happened to them, it wouldn't be any jealousy between them. I laugh a little by thinking at this idea and then, I join the love of my life and take her in my arms.
I undress her with soft moves and put her nightshirt on her, then I cover her with the blanket, kiss her on the forehead and get out from the room. I make some tea, asking myself why my lover mind adapts to the age of her children form. I will think about that later, those children have made the Annex look like there was a huge tornado inside it. I clean all the mess up and I start to make preparations for lunch even if normally Ezekiel his in charge to get out to bring us some food, usually pizzas. I decide to make us some ham and cheese escalope with pastas. I learn how to do that and some other recipes by following some cooking lessons I took when there is no one else in the Annex. I think that the smell of food would be able to awake them and at lunchtime, my thinking turn out to be true because five persons come from their rooms, still in their pyjamas. I take a look at them and ask:
- Did all of you sleep well?
- Yeah, answer Ezekiel. But, how do I get in my bed? The only thing I remember was that I was turns into a child. Is it the same for you as well guys?
The others look at each other and confirm that they are in the same situation as Ezekiel, then they all turn to me at the same time and ask:
- Did you put all of us to bed Jenkins?
- I wouldn't have let you sleep on the floor. It's not comfortable to regain some energy after having been under a spell.
- That's mean that you are the one who put us in our pyjamas?
- Yes. I would have prefer that you did it by yourself especially Ezekiel and Jake but I made what I had to do. I'm sorry if that disturb you.
- You didn't get the choice Jenkins. Thank you. I never had sleep as well for a long time.
- You're welcome mister Stone and thanks. So does someone want to eat now or do you prefer the food to be cold?
None of them answer my question but they all take a seat and I serve them all. After what happened that day we didn't get many cases to solve and even if we find that a bit strange, we enjoy this calm. But I still thinking about why my dear Cassandra didn't keep her normal mind just as the others had and now, she's acting strangely. One day, suddenly, she come to me at my desk, we were alone at the Annex because the others get out to see a movie together and she ask me:
- Do you like children?
She surprise me so much with her question that I almost fall from my chair. She didn't wait my answer to continue on her idea:
- You said that day that it was just like your nightmare so I was asking myself if you would consider, in the future, our children as nightmares too?
I look at her in shock, I wouldn't have imagine that she will say such a thing. And I don't know why she waits until today to ask this question. Does something happen to her or... maybe she is...? No she would have tell me... Or maybe she's thinking that I didn't want to be a father? Could she imagine that? That's true that I hadn't seemed to be full of love for children but since the time I met this wonderful lady, I think a lot about the fact we could have children together. It wouldn't be the same thing if I had my own children. I stand up and look at her in her splendid blue eyes, then I say:
- I do like children a lot. Why are you asking that?
- It's because... You know I get to see a doctor a few days after the accident which turned us into children?
- I remember it. What is the link with... Oh my God! Are you pregnant?
- How did you guess?
- I put two and two together. So, you ware thinking that I didn't want to have children with you?
- Yes, because you haven't given me the impression that you would like that...
- You would have known it only if you had ask. Now tell me... How long?
- I just entered the third month.
- That's explain why you act like a child during the accident! You were waiting for one! I wish I would had guessed that! This news make me so happy!
He kisses his soul mate on her lips tenderly at the same moment the others enter through the magical door and ask:
- What is the good news?
- We will become parents in six months!
- WHAT?! That's wonderful Jenkins! Congratulation to both of you.
That makes my dear Cassandra blush and I tell myself: "This nightmare may have been real for a few time but now I feel more like if I was in some kind of dream." At the though of a child running in the Annex, I smile and since that moment I know I would protect even more the ones I love.
- I have someone to call!
- Who is it? ask Eve. And why do you must call him or her?
- A friend of mine, he works close to this place in a small clinic. I will take an appointment for an ultrasound. We must keep an eye on our little one!
I jump of joy until I reach the phone and at the end of the call and from that moment I pass my free time to count each days which separate us from the GREAT day! When it finally arrived we were ready to welcome the child at the Library even if we didn't know the baby gender. We decided that it would be a surprise for everyone. Just like I had imagine it, it had taken a long time to convince the nurses that I was the baby father. Even my own father had to step in to prove it by showing to them a DNA analyze which had been made by my friend. I thank my father for his help, then he join the other in the waiting room. Right now, Cassandra gets into labor and she have much strength. When she finally gives birth to our first child I have the mark of her hand on mine. I finally have my child in my arms, Cassandra had fall asleep just a few minutes after so the nurses gave him to me. My nightmare finally gets out of my head because now, I'm sure that I still in reality and I love it. Some days after, the rest of our strange family finally could see the baby and take him in their arms. My father is the first one to get this privilege because Cassandra thinks he is the one who need to take his mind of things. After all he never had the chance to take his own son in his arms because of the circumstances he have been made and come in the world. She knows that he is broken inside and she think that, maybe, his first grandchild could help him feel better.
I never had seen such a surprising picture in all my life and I was glad to see my father so happy. He has a bright smile on his face, his eyes are shining like diamonds and he was very tender with the baby. He look at him with a gaze which clearly means:"I never would let anyone do something bad to you." Now that I have this under my eyes, I really believe that Cassandra is right about Lancelot, he is hiding his true nature under a mask. I smile when my father give my son back to Cassandra and he ask:
- What name have you choose for the last member of our family?
- He is Henry Jake Lancelot Andrew Jenkins. It's a nice name don't you agree father?
- It suits him beautifully my son. Thank you.
- For what?
- To let me know my grandson and gives my name to him.
- You deserve this homage dad because you have changed a lot since the time all of us know you and Cassandra think that's would pleased you.
My father smiles and comes closer to the woman I love and give one hand-kissing to her before he says, his voice full of joy:
- I would never regret that day I saved you from Lamia madness my dear Cassandra.
- I remember that I had never thanked you for that my dear father-in-law.
- You just did so with your showing of kindness to me, and you give me the only thing I wished for. A wish I had in common with my son, that was very rare at the beginning to have common points: one and united happy family. The nightmare is far from us now.
I smile at this sentence, if only my father had known how he was right! But, finally, It wasn't really my worst nightmare when I think again about it.