Hello! This story is going to be a two-parter to go with episode 2x09 "And the Happily Ever Afters." The first chapter takes place in the AU world of Cicely with the AU versions of the characters that we saw in that episode. Chapter 2 will be back in the normal Librarians universe. I hope you enjoy the story!
"Alright," Professor Jacob Stone told his Tuesday morning history class. "That concludes our chapter on the ancient Roman civilization, so be sure to complete the review questions I gave you last week. If you do them, many of the questions on Thursday's quiz will sound familiar."
He said that last bit with a wink, the kind of wink that usually got at least half of his students to do their assignments on time, and turned around to powder down his projector and pack up his notes.
"Oh!" a young blonde in the front row said, raising her hand. "Professor Stone?"
"Yes?" he asked, turning to face his class again.
"Can we push the quiz until next Tuesday?" she asked. "I'm not trying to get out of it or anything. I'm really not. I just think most of us probably won't be here on Thursday."
"Well, where would ya be if not here?" he asked.
"Commander Cillian's homecoming party!" she said with excitement. "I guess it doesn't really start until afternoon, but it's going to be super crowded, so we have to go early to get spots for the parade."
"Commander Cillian?" he asked.
"I know you're not much of a science guy, but you heard about the Grimaldi Crater Mission, right?" the student asked.
"Yeah, the moon landing?" he asked.
"Commander Cillian led that mission," the student said with a little bit of awe in her voice. "Gets back from Cape Canaveral on Thursday morning."
"And this town's throwing a party?" Stone asked. He was new to Cicely, only in his second semester of teaching there. He hadn't known NASA's greatest shared his new home, but a homecoming party – that didn't surprise him, even if he was still getting to know this weird, wonderful place.
"With a parade and everything," his student sighed. "They're shutting down the middle of town."
"And you…all…want to go?" he asked.
One by one, his students nodded eagerly. Stone let out a sigh. He was regarded as a good professor – tough, but fair. He wasn't one to let students make their own rules, but this was an interesting opportunity. He knew a bit about the space programs around the world; he had to, being a history teacher, and he had to admit that despite the fact that people had been traveling through space for decades now, he was at least a little bit curious to meet the person who led the latest moon expedition.
"Fine," Professor Stone conceded. "Quiz next Tuesday. But don't be surprised if there are twice the questions since you'll have twice the study time."
His students seemed too enthused about getting to go to the party to hear his threats, and he sighed, turning back to his notes as his students scurried out of the classroom.
On Thursday morning, Professor Stone walked into a local bar. It was slightly more populated than the normal sparse weekday crowd, and he was surprised to find his friend, the local sheriff, sitting at the bar itself with a cup of coffee in her hands. He sat down next to her and, despite the hour, ordered a beer.
"A little early to be drinking, isn't it?" Sheriff Baird asked in her normal peppy tone.
"Not when you don't got nowhere to be," he said. "Kids pretty much cancelled my classes today. They all want to go to this block party."
"For Commander Cillian?" Baird asked. "Eighteen expeditions to outer space and back – you don't think a hometown American hero like that deserves a party?"
"I guess, but does the whole town gotta shut down?" he groaned.
"Okay, Professor Grumpypants, I know you haven't been here too long, but you should know this town well enough by now to know we never pass up the chance for a good party," she said.
"Yeah," he nodded. "So why ain't you working today? Shouldn't you be all over this block party thing?"
Baird finished off her cup of coffee, stood, and said, "Well, of course. Who do you think's driving the welcome car?"
Stone chuckled and, with another playful wink, said, "Of course the prettiest girl in Cicely's gonna escort the Commander home."
The sheriff's brow furrowed for just a moment before a brief wave of amusement crossed her face. "The prettiest girl in Cicely?" she asked. "I don't know; you might change your mind when you see Cassandra."
"Cassandra?" Stone asked. "Who's Cassandra?"
Her hypothesis confirmed, she let out a laugh and said, "You know, Professor, interesting events aren't only of the historical variety."
"Who's Cassandra?" he asked again.
Without answering, she pulled her keys from her pocket. "See you later, Stone."
A few hours later, Stone made his way out of the local hangout onto the main street through Cicely. His students were right – the sidewalks were already lined with people, some with banners and signs, but he managed to find a decent view behind a little girl dressed like an astronaut. It wasn't long before people down the street started cheering, so he knew Baird and Commander Cillian must be closer than he suspected.
A sleek, black, slow-moving SUV with FBI Agent Ezekiel Jones behind the wheel came into view first. Behind it was the even-slower-moving shiny blue convertible manned by Sheriff Baird in aviator sunglasses. In the back, sitting on top of the seats, was a redheaded woman beaming and waving to the cheering crowds around her.
He had Googled after Baird left him, of course, so he knew that the redheaded woman was Commander Cassandra Cillian, leader of the Grimaldi Crater Rescue Mission, whose crew had just recently returned from the moon. The photo attached to her featured profile on NASA's website hadn't loaded on his phone, so while he didn't see her face until she was in front of him, he'd been able to learn about her career. Her profile listed eighteen flights with NASA, including expeditions on the moon and time on the International Space Station. She had leadership roles on many of those flights and more commendations than he could read in just one scroll of his phone's screen. There was no question that the woman deserved a homecoming party, but the woman in the car with Baird was not what he had been anticipating.
When he saw her, he froze in place on the sidewalk. Her biography was so impressive and extensive that he hadn't expected Commander Cillian to be so young. He knew NASA probably had an age limit for astronauts, but her profile didn't list a birthday, so he hadn't thought someone with her history would be (quite possibly, from the looks of it) younger than him. The beauty possessed by the woman before him was another surprise altogether. The car crept closer and closer to where he stood, and Stone's eyes couldn't wander anywhere other than her. Her straight red hair fell against her shoulders. She wore short, high-waisted, navy blue shorts adorned with round, gold buttons with a blouse designed to resemble the galaxy and knee-high socks matching one of the galactic colors in her shirt. A rocket ship clip held the front pieces of hair out of her face on the windy afternoon as she turned to look at each side of the street, and a crystal hung from around her neck. On anyone else, he thought, the space-themed outfit would look a little ridiculous; on her, it somehow seemed charming.
As the car got even closer, Stone caught a glimpse of Commander Cillian's eyes. Even from the sidewalk, he could see that her eyes were icy blue, the same brilliant color of the seas in the Caribbean or the color always used to depict Neptune on a graphic of the solar system. Those eyes finally caught his as the car neared his spot on the sidewalk, and her steadily waving hand faltered as she caught his gaze. He smirked a bit as her hand remained still, still outstretched in a stationary greeting, and her smile turned into a small look of captivation. She followed him, her head remaining turned towards him even as the car continued to inch forward.
A whistle from the other side of the street finally drew Cassandra's attention away from the mysterious man on the sidewalk, and she turned, waving to the family who had whistled her way. Then, Stone watched as she leaned forward to say something in Baird's ear. Baird sent a glance over her shoulder, tipping her head to glance at Stone over her sunglasses. She looked at Cassandra just briefly and nodded yes before she turned back to the road and pushed her sunglasses back onto her nose. The Commander's blue eyes met his again for just a moment before she cutely waved to the little girl standing in front of him, jumping up and down to catch her hero's attention. Her eyes glanced up to his one last time before she was finally forced to look away for good.
The connection between them was electric, Stone thought. Now that was the kind of science he could find himself taking an interest in.
The parade ended in the center of town, where the streets had been barricaded for a party. Rows of tables full of food lined the sidewalks, and a DJ had taken up residence on the steps to the city hall building, turning the town square into a dance floor. The party was in full swing by the time Stone made his way over. His eyes immediately scanned the crowds for Commander Cillian; it didn't take long to find her signing autographs and taking pictures with some of the locals, a line formed to her left like she was a character at Disney World. He could get in line to talk to her, he thought, but then his conversation would be overheard by half the town, not to mention Agent Jones, who was about ten feet to Cassandra's right. He wandered past, trying not to be too obvious in his eyes adoring her, and a small grin formed on her face as she caught him looking.
A while later, Stone thought he might go ask her to dance. A scuffle between teenage boys had Sheriff Baird running to break it up, and Agent Jones had caught himself looking over, too. Stone thought that was his opening, so he made his way over to the Commander. She saw him coming and smiled again. Before he could reach her, though, a hand against his chest stopped him in his tracks.
"And just where do you think you're going?" Agent Jones asked.
"I was gonna ask the Commander over there if she wants to dance," Stone revealed. Cassandra looked away almost shyly, hiding the growing smile on her lips.
Agent Jones nodded his head. "I don't think so, mate," he said.
"What?" Stone asked, finally tearing his eyes away from Cassandra to look at Jones. "Why the hell not?"
"Have you been properly vetted?" Jones asked.
"Vetted?" Stone asked.
"I can't let just anyone near her, you know," Jones said.
"Come on, man, you know who I am," Stone said. "Baird can vouch for me, too."
"Well, unfortunately, she's not here right now," Jones said. "Maybe later."
Angry, Stone turned and walked away before he did something he would regret, like punching a federal agent. Behind him, Cassandra shot Agent Jones a look and started to go after Stone, but before she could get very far, a couple of kids ran up to her with cameras. She watched him walk away, let out a small sigh, and crouched down to talk to her little fans.
When he finally looked her way again, he, to his surprise, found her staring at him. She was standing off to the side of the party, finally getting a moment to herself. When his eyes met hers, she glanced into a nearby alley, then looked at him again. Hoping he'd get the picture, she ducked into the alley, slipping hopefully unnoticed away from the crowd that was all gathered to celebrate her. Stone faltered for a moment, wondering if he had read her signals right, wondering if he was supposed to follow her into that alley. Opportunity doesn't always strike twice, he thought, so he set his plate of snacks aside and glanced around for Agent Jones as he followed her out of sight.
She was in the alley, arms crossed, waiting almost impatiently for the new object of her affection to join her. When he did, her toe stopped tapping against the asphalt, and her arms dropped to her sides. He came up to meet her, keeping a respectable distance between them.
"So, uh…how'd you ditch the suit?" Stone asked.
"He's easily distracted when it comes to pepperoni," Cassandra teased.
"Just for the record, you were wanting me to follow you over here, right?" he asked.
Cassandra nodded her head, her eyes never leaving his. "Haven't seen you around here before," she said boldly.
"Could say the same thing for you, darlin'," Stone replied.
"Mm…no, this is my town. You're the alien here," she said.
"Alien, huh? Meet any of those up there?" Stone teased, glancing towards the sky.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she replied with a flirty smile.
"Maybe there's a lot of things I'd like to know about you," he said with a slightly husky voice, stepping closer to her.
"Try me," she said.
"What'd you ask Eve in the car?"
"Excuse me?"
"Out there on the street, when you drove by, you leaned over and asked Eve about me," he said.
"Maybe I did," she admitted.
"Well, maybe I'd like to know what you said."
"She's been telling me about someone new in town, a professor. I asked if that was you."
"Professor Jacob Stone, University of Cicely," he said, holding out his hand.
"Well, it's nice to finally meet you," she said. "I'm …"
"The reason I had to cancel all my classes today," he interrupted. He chuckled upon her look of alarm and said, "This whole day's kinda for you. I know who you are, Commander."
She shrugged. "Well, maybe you can call me Cassie instead."
"Cassie," he said, testing out the name. "Is that what your friends call you?"
She looked at him, a sultry look swirling in those blue, blue eyes, and said, "No."
He wasn't sure what came over him in that moment, but the next thing he knew, his hands were on her hips, his lips were molded against hers, and he had backed her into the brick wall behind her. The gasp on her lips when his mouth met hers dissolved into a moan as her back hit the wall, and Stone took full advantage, slipping his tongue in to meet hers. Once she had gotten her bearings against the wall, her hands landed on his shoulders as they kissed but quickly traveled up to his hair. Cassandra curled her fingers into his hair, tugging slightly, and she moaned again when he caught her bottom lip between his teeth as he pulled back to break their kiss.
Still tangled together against the wall, their blue eyes opened and met for just a moment. Her hands still in his hair, she pulled him to her roughly, bringing their mouths together again in another moment of unadulterated passion. One of her hands slid down to his chest, pausing as she felt his racing heart beneath her touch; she was sure hers was racing, too. His hands gripped tighter against her hips, pressing her harder into the wall; a low moan escaped Stone's throat and Cassandra's body tingled.
When they finally broke apart again, Stone brushed her hair over her shoulder, allowing his lips to find her bared neck. Cassandra gently massaged the nape of his neck, and the hand against his chest curled around his body as he suckled on her skin.
"Oh god…" she breathed.
Her breathy moan did nothing but encourage him, and she leaned her head back against the brick wall as he kissed her. His body pressed against her, and her leg lifted slightly to wrap around him, holding his weight in place against her small frame. His hand instinctively slid down her hip to grab her thigh as his kisses turned into soft bites against her neck. She moaned again, and he suddenly pulled away.
"What?" she asked, already feeling the loss of his lips against her warm skin.
"I can't…you, uh….there are cameras out there," Stone stuttered. "News crews and stuff."
"They can't see us back here," Cassandra promised, nipping at his lips again.
"Yeah, it's just…Commander Cillian probably shouldn't go back to the party with a hickey," he said. Her eyes widened as her hand immediately flew to the place he had nibbled on her neck.
"Probably not," she agreed with a laugh, pulling her hair back across her neck. She swiped her finger across her swollen lip, and the same sultry look crossed her face again as she said, "Commander Cillian liked it, though."
"Well, that makes two of us," Stone said.
Finally catching her breath, she pushed herself off the brick wall and looked towards the end of the alley. "I guess I should be getting back," she said.
"So…uh…" he said, leaning one hand against the wall beside her. "How long you in town before you go back to Cape Canaveral or wherever it is you do your astronaut stuff?"
Cassandra grinned. "No more astronaut stuff," she revealed. "At least for a while."
"What?" Stone asked with surprise.
"My flights with NASA have been amazing, but a few other opportunities have come my way, and I think it's time I do some good here on Earth," Cassandra said. With another flirty grin, she teased, "You can't get rid of me that easily."
With a grin of his own, he replied, "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you around then, Commander."
"I guess you will," she nodded. She started heading out of the alley, and he watched her walk away. About halfway back to the party, she turned and shot him a sultry look. "See you later, Professor."
Once she walked away, Stone let out a sigh and leaned against the brick wall himself. Life in Cicely just got a lot more interesting.
Thanks for reading! How about a review?