A/N: I don't expect anyone to read this, but if you do happen to stumble upon it and enjoy it, a review would be very much appreciated - thanks :)

Disclaimer: All recognisable characters and any recognisable dialogue from The Librarians belong to people who aren't me.

After Happily Ever After

"Are we ever going to talk about it?"

Cassandra's question comes so suddenly in the silence that it ought to startle him, but it doesn't. In some ways, Jacob has been waiting for it, expecting it ever since they got back. The first moment they are truly alone in the Annex seems as good a time as any.

"I mean, if you don't want to, I guess I understand but... it feels like we should say something."

Jacob lays down his book but doesn't look at her immediately. It feels too hard to face her head on at a time like this, as he admits at least part of the truth he's been carrying around for days now.

"I thought about it. Almost brought it up a couple of times, but I wasn't... Kinda seemed easier not to."

"Right. Sure, that makes sense."

She sounds disappointed, maybe even hurt, and the idea of that makes his heart ache. He really did think he was doing the right thing, just letting it go. Pretending like it didn't matter. As if that could ever possibly be true, and yet, Cassandra seems willing to try and make it so when she continues.

"I mean, it was practically a dream, right? Prospero, he was trying to give us a fantasy to keep us busy, keep us out of his way. Ezekiel couldn't be an FBI agent. I'm never going to walk on the moon, and as much as I absolutely believe you know all of those subjects well enough to teach them, no-one could actually run that number of departments at a university. It was only a dream."

"Yeah, I guess it was."

Agreeing with her final, sad conclusion does make sense, but Jacob can't bear to let that be all that's said, not now.

"It was a dream, but it felt real. Some parts more than others."

He turns his head then, meets her eyes and holds her gaze, because he needs her to know just exactly what he means by that. Cassandra isn't stupid, far from it, but she and Jacob have never had this kind of conversation before. Neither one ever ventured outside the bounds of their friendship. No boundaries had been pushed at all, not until Prospero's spell that granted them every possible kind of happily ever after they could've wished for.

The look in Cassandra's eyes now as she stares back at Jacob, it seems to mean something, and yet, her words are in conflict with it.

"It is amazing, what magic can do, and that must've been a really strong spell. After all, you and me, we're not... I mean, I like to think you've come to trust me at this point, and that we're friends. I feel like we are, but I would never expect you to really, actually... you know, feel that way about me. Just a stupid dream."

When she turns as if to go, Jacob gets up, reaches for her wrist and gently holds her in place.

"Cassie?"

A beat and then she slowly turns her head, looks at him with tears in her eyes that he cannot bear. It is impossible for him not to kiss her, and so, he gives in to temptation and hopes for the best. When she responds, his heart soars. Her arms clasp tight around his neck now, as his hands grip her waist and the kiss goes on and on, until they are both breathless.

They pull apart slowly, still holding on to each other, foreheads still pressed together, his eyes opening to the sight of her brightest smile.

"It still does that."

"Does what?"

Her cheeks are pink, though from the thrill of the kiss or the answer she must give, he can't tell.

"When you kiss me, I hear music. I don't know what it is, but it's a little bit country, unsurprisingly. I like it."

That makes him smile too. He reaches up to gently tuck her hair back behind her ear, marvelling at the way she fits into his arms like she was made to be there, even now. Jacob never thought he could have this, not in the real world.

"Truth is, it may all have been a dream, but I gotta admit, it's one I've been having for a while. Long before some crazy wizard magicked us off to Cicely."

Cassandra just beams up at him.

"Me too. I just never thought... Even if you did feel the same way about me..."

"Which I do."

His confirmation is quick and definite, but the way she still trails off, shaking her head, looking away, he wonders what he did wrong. Suddenly, she's pulling away, out of his arms, the wonder and warmth of the last few moments broken in seconds and leaving him cold.

"It can't really work, Jake. Not with me."

When she looks at him then, the tears aren't just in her eyes but cascading down her cheeks unchecked. Damn, but he hates to see her cry.

"You know, there is no happily ever after for us. I can't... I don't have an ever after to look forward to."

Sometimes he forgets. The tumour in her head. They're all aware of it, but they don't talk about it much. It's the way Cassandra wants it, obviously, but it means that it's tough to keep in mind all of the time. She is so alive, so vibrant and full of energy, so much of the time, how can she possibly be living on borrowed time? Yet, she is, and there's no getting away from the fact. Especially, not in a moment like this.

"Who's to say how far away the happy part has to be?"

He asks his question straight to her, but isn't really looking for an answer. After all, he already knows what it is.

"The things we're all living through in this job... any one of us could be gone tomorrow. So, forget a happy ever after. How about a happy now? Can't we at least try to have that?"

Cassandra has to think about that one. He can see the mental arithmetic going on behind her eyes as she looks at the question and all it's possible answers from every angle, known and unknown. Whether or not she will take the risk, Jacob can't be sure, but he hopes and he wishes. In a world that he now knows to be full of magic, what harm can it do?

After a minute or so, just when he's starting to give up hope, she suddenly moves forward, throwing herself bodily into his arms and kissing him all over again. He kisses her back and he tells her he loves her, and he's sure she says it back, even as he swears he starts to hear music too.

Whatever happens next, however long it lasts, it's starting well, and it'll be worth risking everything to see where it might go from here. They may not live ever after, but as long as they're together, they will certainly live happily.

The End