Jenkins turned from the stricken Eve Baird and walked slowly out of the workroom. It had been very hard to tell her that Mr. Carsen had—yet again—disappeared and left her behind, this time for good, apparently. Jenkins had come to have a great deal of respect for Carsen as a Librarian over the years, but as a person? The young man was far too flighty and inconsiderate of others. Jenkins detested being the Librarian's "hatchet-man", always having to be the one to give Colonel Baird the bad news, always having to be the one to try and soften the blow, always having to be the one who had to try and explain and rationalize and excuse Carsen's behavior, all the while looking into his friend's pain-filled, bewildered eyes while trying to offer support and comfort, however ineffectual.

This latest incident was almost more than Jenkins could handle this time. The Caretaker had had to try and be her support and strength, while he himself hadn't even had a chance yet to fully process and come to terms with the huge changes that had just taken place in his own life a couple of days earlier.

He was mortal now.

He was going to die one day. And much sooner than he was really prepared for.

I sometimes wonder if a final rest might not actually be welcomed?

They had been brave words a few days ago when he spoke them to Flynn, words blithely tossed out there by one who was shielded by the knowledge that he would never have to actually take that 'final rest'.

Numbness now swept over him at the thought. He had done the right thing in giving his immortality over to Nicole Noone; it was the only thing he could have done to make things right after having misjudged her so badly, after having kept her cruelly locked up in that cage for so long. Of course his life was forfeit, there was no question in his mind about that.

Not that that knowledge did anything to ease the icy dread that filled him now. Someday he would have to retire, he would have to leave the Library. Leave the Library! His work, his lab. The Librarians—his family.

He'd have to leave Cassandra.

His eyes began to burn as tears tried to form. He could scarcely take it all in; a painful knot in his chest made breathing difficult.

Jenkins suddenly found himself standing outside of the kitchen door. How had he gotten here? He shook his silver head. It didn't matter; if ever he needed the comfort of hot tea, it was right now. He laid his hand on the door and shoved it open.

He stopped just inside the door, startled to find Cassandra Cillian already in the kitchen. At the sound of the door opening she turned to face him, and he could see a tea tray already laid out on the countertop. She looked at him with large, sad eyes, then waved a hand clumsily at the tea tray.

"I was just about to bring you some tea..." she said in a thin, faint voice. She dropped her head and began to nervously twist a ring on her right hand as an uncomfortable silence filled the room.

"Jenkins, listen, I just want you to know that we—all of us, I mean—we're all going to be here for you." She looked up again, her eyes still full of sadness, but now there was also a spark of something else in them, something like...determination.

"I'll always be here for you, no matter what. No matter what you need or what happens from here on out, I'll always be right there beside you, to the very end. You're not going to be alone in this, Jenkins. I swear!"

The man and the woman stood and stared at each other for several long seconds, neither saying another word.

Jenkins suddenly felt very tired, as though he could feel every minute of his 1500 years of life sitting squarely on his shoulders, crushing him, crushing his spirit. He dropped his gaze for a moment, and the Librarian could see his lower lip quiver ever so slightly. Cassandra stepped away from the counter and held out her arms.

Jenkins stayed rooted to the floor. He wanted nothing more in the world right now than to run and throw himself between the young woman's arms and let her comfort him, but he held himself back. This wasn't like when Charlene passed. He had brought this current situation upon himself; he didn't deserve to be comforted, had no right to seek solace in the arms of another. He must be strong, he must bear the consequences of his own actions alone, not burden others with them, not Cassandra…

Cassandra saw his lips tighten and press together as he struggled to keep his emotions under control. She also saw the utter misery pooling in his brown eyes, the loneliness, the aching longing to let himself be vulnerable, but unable to give himself permission. She took a deep breath and heaved it out, then clenched her jaw with resolve.

Screw this 'noble knight' shit!

She ran to him and threw her arms around him, hugging him fiercely to herself.

"You're not going to be alone, Jenkins, I promise...!" she whispered again, roughly, almost angrily, tears coming to her eyes.

Jenkins was too surprised to react at first, but then, slowly, his arms crept up and around the small Librarian's body. She felt his breathing become rapid and shallow as his arms tightened around her. She felt his head come down and his cold cheek come to rest gently against hers. She felt his hot tears as they fell onto the sensitive skin of her neck, the wall finally collapsing as he gave in to the fear, the anger and the confusion of the last few days.

She held him silently, her own tears flowing quietly down her cheeks as she tried not to think about the world that was inevitably coming, a world without Jenkins in it.