A/N This is my first Librarians fic, and my first any type of fic posted in forever, so I'm a little out of practice. But, I couldn't help but write something after last week's episode (And What Lies Beneath the Stones). It takes place after that episode. It's one of those that just comes out without any planning or anything, so I have no idea where it's going, but there will probably be more chapters because I hate the way I ended it. Hope you like it!
He found her right where he expected to.
Jacob understood that everyone else in the Library also knew that Cassandra liked to come to a certain corner upstairs hidden from view by two bookcases and a wall. But he nonetheless almost prided himself because he knew it too. Baird only knew because it was her job to know where they were at all times like an overzealous mother hen. Jones knew because he'd trained himself to be aware of everything and everybody. Jenkins knew because he paid attention to things like blankets suddenly being stored in a certain spot upstairs behind a bookcase.
But Jacob knew because of Cassandra, not because it was his job, or training, or neat freak tendencies. He'd started to become aware of her, not even completely on purpose (really, though, who could actually keep their eyes off of her, anyway?) In case something happened, Jacob wanted to know where she was, so he could get to her as quickly as possible, in case she had a spell or her tumor started acting up or something attacked the Library or anything else crazy that had suddenly become normal started happening and she needed him. So, of course he knew where she liked to decompress after missions.
Cassandra looked up when Jacob self-consciously came around the corner. "Hey . . ." she closed the book she'd been cradling in her lap on the floor.
Jake swallowed, aware of everything that had happened, everything that had come to light, during their trip to Oklahoma.
"I'm going to publish that paper under my real name," Jake blurted.
Cassie looked surprised, he noticed, but she smiled at him and that, like always, made up for everything. "That's great! Am I allowed to say I'm proud of you?"
Jacob rubbed the back of his neck, "If you were anyone but you, I'd say no."
"I'm glad I'm me, then," Cassandra said softly. She was looking at him strangely, probably wondering why he was just standing there, and what else he had to say.
"Can I sit down?" Jacob asked at the same time Cassandra began to ask, "Is there something else?"
"Yes," the said together, and smiled. It is so easy to smile when Cassie smiled too, Jacob decided as he slid down onto the floor next to her.
"I take it you didn't just come here to tell me about your paper," Cassandra said after a small silence, "Did Baird or Jenkins send you?"
"No, they—"
"Jones get into trouble then?"
"No—"
"Then—?"
"I came about us," Jacob finally got in.
That brought Cassandra up short, "What?"
"I feel terrible about everything that happened," Jacob tried to clarify, "I want to make sure everything is okay."
"Why wouldn't it be?"
Jacob wasn't sure if that was a good response or not. On one hand, it meant Cassie didn't appear to be upset . . . on the other hand, it meant that she probably didn't even notice, or overthink everything like he seemed to always find himself doing.
"I can't believe—" Jacob broke off, took a deep breath, and started again, "I've been kicking myself because I actually thought that thing was you. I don't understand—"
"Jake. . ." Cassie tried to break in, but he wouldn't let her.
"I should have known—I do know—that you'd never be that cruel to anybody. I don't know why I didn't immediately guess. I should have—I'm sorry, Cassie."
Cassie's eyebrows crinkled together, which Jacob would have found adorable under normal circumstances. "You're apologizing because you had no idea that a shape shifter who looked exactly like me wasn't actually me?"
"Yes," Jacob nodded, relieved that Cassandra could articulate his feelings better than he could.
Cassandra burst out laughing, "Are you crazy?" She nudged his shoulder with her own, "Did you think I was mad about that? I'm just sorry that that thing hurt you so much."
Jacob wasn't quite buying it. He'd seen the look in Cassie's eyes in the bar when he'd been so rude to her. "It still didn't give me the right to treat you like I did."
Cassandra still looked confused, "I'm pretty sure it did, Stone."
He shook his head, "Nothing gives me—or anyone—the right to be rude to you, Cassie. I'm sure if you ever were to actually say something like that it would be because I deserved it."
Cassandra was quiet. She hadn't missed the implications of what Jacob had just said, but she didn't want to dwell on them in case she was way off base.
"Cassie?" Jake was looking at her expectantly. The darling man actually felt like he needed to apologize to her.
Cassandra put on a smile just for him, "Thanks for telling me you felt that way. I'm so glad that you're letting us in. Trusting people can be hard but, I'd like to think we're getting close?" she said it like a question, but Jacob didn't answer it.
He opened just his mouth like he wanted to say something, but he closed it again and stood up, smiling a little. Cassandra though he was gone, but he poked his head back around the corner, "Oh, and Cassie?"
"Yeah?"
"Jones told me what you said to keep the door open."
Cassandra's heart thudded faster. Jones promised he wouldn't—
"You hate babies? Really?" Jacob smiled, "How is that even possible?"
A wave of relief washed over Cassandra. She shrugged easily, "No idea."
Jacob smiled at her one more time, and disappeared.
~o0o~
"Seriously?"
Cassandra let out a little scream, whipping around. Jake had only been gone around the corner for a minute or two. "Jones?!" she asked incredulously.
"Yeah?" The thief's voice was coming in loud and clear from . . . somewhere.
"Where are you?"
"Downstairs eating pizza."
"How are you—?"
"Do you really think I wouldn't install some kind of bug in your hiding spot?" Cassandra could practically see Jones rolling his eyes. "And before you ask, yes, I heard everything between you and Stone."
Cassandra groaned, leaning her head back against the wall. "Once again you've dropped my faith in humanity a few notches, Jones."
"Why didn't you tell him?" Jones, as usual, ignored all remarks about his morals. It sounded like he'd just taken a bite out of his pizza, because Cassandra could hear the sounds of his chewing through the speaker.
"Ew, could you hold the microphone farther from your mouth, please?" Cassandra complained, trying to avoid the issue.
"Do you want Stone to hear me? Because I could call him in here."
"No!" Cassandra practically screeched, fully aware that she was falling into Jones's trap. "What do you really want, Ezekiel?" she demanded sharply.
"Yeesh, what's with you? This time I'm actually trying to help a sister out." Chewing noise again, and then, "I take it you won't be telling that truth any time soon, then?"
Cassandra sighed. "I can't. He still doesn't even trust me. And you promised you won't tell either!" she added.
"I won't, crook's honor. But I think you're crazy. He trusts you more than anyone else." There was a crumpling sound like Jones was throwing away a napkin.
"Trusts me more than anyone else does, or trusts me more than he trusts anyone else?" Cassandra frowned.
"I think you know."
"I told you, I can't." Cassandra pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. Why couldn't Jones understand?
"I don't understand," Jones said, echoing Cassandra's thoughts. "You said you love him. The door stayed open, so obviously you do, at least as much as you hate babies. Why wouldn't you want him to know?"
Cassandra removed her hands from her eyes, blinking away the resulting spots. She wished she hadn't blurted out her feelings for Stone like she had. She'd been running out of things to say off the top of her head, and she was worried about him fighting the shapeshifter alone and she was worried about his whole deal with his dad and it just kinda came out. She'd sworn Jones to secrecy, but obviously he wouldn't drop the topic.
"I'm just a friend to him, okay?" Cassandra snapped, probably too harshly. "That's the way it has to be!"
"Fine," Jones surrendered, for now at least. "But I think you're both being silly."
"It's not silly," Cassandra said quietly, more to herself than to Jones, "It's all I've got."
