"Well, guys—what do you think?"

Eve Baird and Jenkins were in the process of packing the Shield of Angkor into a large wooden shipping crate when Cassandra Cillian trotted into the Annex workroom. They looked up from their work, and the moment he saw the young redhead Jenkins's eyes flew wide as saucers and his jaw dropped.

Standing only a few feet away, Cassandra spun around in place to show off her "land pirate" disguise: Skin-tight black leather pants tucked into spike-heeled black suede boots that came to her knees and a form-fitting corset-like top, also of black leather and trimmed with metal studs. The lacing crisscrossed loosely up the front of the corset in a way that purposely drew the eye to her full bust. She wore heavy make-up, especially around her eyes, making them look smoky and seductive as her blue eyes flicked back and forth between Jenkins and Eve. Cassandra's hair was elaborately braided along the right side of her head, while the rest was left long and loose and pulled forward to flow in soft russet waves over the front of her right shoulder.

"Wow!" exclaimed Baird appreciatively, "That's some outfit, Red!" She turned to look at Jenkins. "What do you think, Skip?"

The Caretaker only stared at the young woman, completely dumbstruck. The entire ensemble was so…so…un-Cassandra-like! He was used to seeing her in fanciful outfits in bright colors and clashing patterns, accented with whimsical pins and brooches and such. But this—this was so…dark, and dangerous-looking—the antithesis of Cassandra Cillian. She was the very image of the archetypal femme fatale, and she was beautiful.

As shocking as this sartorial transformation was, however, Jenkins was truly alarmed to realize that he also found it irresistibly alluring and provocative, even more so than when Cassandra had been transmogrified into a mermaid. He caught himself wondering if Cassandra was as comfortable in the role of a "bad girl" in real life as she appeared to be right now. Her movements were deliberate, confident, natural. Her sky-blue eyes swept her audience, with just a hint of haughty seduction in them when they brushed over him. It sent a thrill through his gut and into his groin. He was suddenly overcome with a powerful desire to run his hands over her leather-clad body, to feel the warmth of her skin as it soaked through the supple black leather, to look into her laughing blue eyes as he did so. An image of his long fingers slowly undoing the silken lacing of the corset until he could slip one hand beneath it to gently cup one of those plump breasts, his fingers bringing its nipple to a tantalizing point as his fingers brushed over it. He could hear her gasp softly at his touch, just before his mouth found hers and he kissed her, deeply and passionately, her body wilting eagerly against his...

"Jenkins!"

The immortal jumped and yelped softly, his eyes blinking as he roughly pulled himself away from his fantasy. Eve and Cassandra were staring at him, Cassandra with worry on her face, Eve with a knowing expression on hers. It was the Guardian who'd barked his name to snap him out of his daydream while waving her hand in front of his face. Now, with a half-smile, she cocked her head , brow furrowed. Unseen by Cassandra standing behind her, Eve dropped her gaze to look pointedly at Jenkins's crotch for one long second before flicking her eyes up to his mortified face again.

Baird knew, he realized, a wave of shame slamming into his stomach like a fist. He'd been able to hide his lust a few months ago when he'd had a similar fantasy involving mermaid Cassandra, but now Eve knew about his wicked thoughts, too. She knew what he'd been thinking about, as surely as if he'd written it in the sky for the whole world to see! The immortal thought he might actually be sick…

"You okay, Jenkins?" Eve asked. Her voice sounded concerned, but, to his everlasting horror, the astute woman's eyes were now filled with amusement. "You looked a little but distracted there." Humiliated beyond words, Jenkins only grunted and began studiously fussing with the shield in the crate next to him.

"I'm fine!" he finally snapped, fussily adjusting the packing material around the artifact. "I was just thinking about something else, that's all! Something I just remembered! Something...in the lab. I forgot about...an experiment…that I was running there; I really should go and check on it. Now. Before I forget it again!"

He abandoned the Shield of Angkor and turned to bull his way past Baird, his eyes down. She could clearly see the deep pink tinge to his cheeks as he passed her. Baird knew she shouldn't say another word, knew she should let the old man go with at least a shred of his dignity left intact. Everyone in the Annex knew by now how smitten the immortal was with Cassandra, and vice versa. And just now she'd clearly seen his desire for the young Librarian. But she had sternly warned Flynn, Stone and Jones to keep it to themselves, on pain of death. Let Jenkins and Cassandra work it out for themselves, she'd ordered them. No jokes, no cracks, no "outing" them until they were ready to announce themselves as a couple. She tried to hold her tongue now, but she just couldn't do it.

"Can you handle your…'experiment' by yourself, Jenkins," she called after him pleasantly, pausing before the word "experiment" just long enough to signal that she was using it as a euphemism, "Or would you like a helping hand?" The old man stopped and whirled around, gave Baird a glare that could've cut steel.

"I'm sure Cass here would be glad to help you out!" she added sweetly, while mentally telling herself that she was surely going to burn in Hell one day for this.

"Of course!" Cassandra piped up happily, completely oblivious to what was passing between the Caretaker and the Guardian. "You know me, I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty at all!" The immortal cut his eyes to the beaming redhead, utterly flustered.

"NO!" he barked, backing away from the sultry-looking Librarian. "I mean...that's not necessary! I can handle it by myself!" Out of the corner of his eye he saw Baird cover her mouth with her hand and turn away, struggling to keep from bursting into laughter, and felt his face burn with embarrassment as he realized the double-entendre he'd just made. Cassandra's face scrunched up in confusion. Jenkins decided it was time to make a tactical retreat.

"I need to go check on my experiment!" he repeated tersely, immediately cursing himself for using the word "experiment" again. He refused to allow himself to look anywhere in Eve Baird's direction now. He awkwardly offered Cassandra a compliment as he tried to appear cool and in control of the situation. "Your disguise is...very nice, Miss Cillian. You look very...land...pirate-y." Before anyone could say anything more, Jenkins turned and almost ran from the workroom. Cassandra, completely bewildered by the immortal's behavior, turned to look at Eve.

"Is it just me or is Jenkins acting even weirder than usual today?" she asked the older woman. Eve smiled as she walked over to the puzzled Librarian and slung an arm over her shoulders. She regretted having teased Jenkins so mercilessly; she'd give the old man a day or two to let his temper cool off and then she'd go and apologize. She certainly owed him one. But for right now she chose to enjoy the mental image of a discombobulated Sir Galahad of Camelot blushing like a virgin bride on her wedding night.

"I get the feeling, Red, that Jenkins is going to be acting a lot weirder than usual from here on out," she said cryptically. Cassandra narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to ask what the Guardian meant, but Eve lightly clapped her back and turned her around to look at the large packing crate behind them.

"What say you help me finish packing up this shield, huh? Flynn and the boys will be here any moment, ready to go to Shangri-La."