Jenkins laid his gloved hand on the worn brass knob of the familiar dark-green door and paused. He turned to look at the petite redhead next to him as she nervously fidgeted with the hem of her gray wool winter coat.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Cassandra?" he asked solicitously. "You don't have to if you don't want to, there's no rush." She met his gaze and nodded quickly.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Just a little nervous, that's all." Jenkins reached his hand out and gently took hers, giving it an encouraging squeeze.

"Perfectly understandable, my dear, given the circumstances of your last visit," he said. "But remember, I will be right next to you the entire time. And if you feel like you need to leave at any time, tell me so and we'll go immediately. I promise." Cassandra nodded again, feeling somewhat reassured.

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath as she turned to face the door. "Let's do this." Jenkins held onto her hand as he turned the brass doorknob and pushed the large, heavy door open on silent hinges.

They stepped through the doorway and into a small, snow-covered clearing. A few yards off was the beginning of a foreboding, primeval forest of large, dark, thick-barked trees covered with shaggy moss, ice and snow. Cassandra could see only a few feet into the forest before the darkness swallowed up the daylight. Next to her, Jenkins gave her hand a quick squeeze.

"Still all right?" he asked quietly. Cassandra nodded, hoping she looked braver than she felt right now.

"Shall I call them now?" he asked. She nodded again. The large man put two fingertips into his mouth as he filled his lungs with air and gave a long, shrill whistle, his breath hanging in the cold, still air. The two then waited. Jenkins could feel Cassandra's tiny hand tighten its grip onto his as she stared apprehensively into the ink-dark trees for what seemed like forever. As soon as they heard the sounds of movement coming toward them from the forest, he felt his wife release her grip on his hand and move to hide herself behind him, her hands going now to clutch his arm as she peered around him.

Materializing like spirits from between the eldritch-looking trunks, a dozen or so unicorns suddenly appeared. All of them stopped at the edge of the forest, except for one—a huge, elk-like animal with steel-dust coloring and a single long, perfectly-formed horn spiraling from the middle of his forehead. The closer the beast came to them, the further behind Jenkins Cassandra cowered. The immortal exchanged the traditional greeting among unicorns, the man and the beast touching nose to nose.

"Roger..." the Caretaker murmured softly, raising his arm to stroke the wary unicorn's head as he drew near. "How are you, my old friend? It's been some months since we last saw each other, hasn't it?" The unicorn stretched out his nose to tentatively sniff, then lightly lick the man's cheek. Apparently satisfied, Roger then inched more confidently closer to Jenkins. The fearful Librarian peeked out from behind her husband's large body. As soon as the unicorn saw her, he gave a loud, snorted grunt in alarm and backed quickly away from the two humans. He trotted a few yards off and then turned back to them, pawing the icy ground nervously. The other unicorns immediately became more agitated, some of them turning and disappearing back into the woods. Jenkins heard a sigh behind him.

"This was a dumb idea, Jenkins, I never should've come with you; I should've known that they would remember me," said Cassandra. "I'm going back to the Library before they get angry and decide to shish-kabob me in revenge for what happened to Tim!" She started to head back to the door, but Jenkins caught her hand.

"Cassandra, wait!" he said. "They won't hurt you, I promise. Unicorns don't exact revenge. In fact, they very rarely initiate an attack, the horns are primarily for defense, and for display during the mating season." He gently pulled her back to his side.

"Clearly they remember you and what happened the last time we were here," he said conversationally. "But believe me, my dear—they're literally more afraid of you right now than you are of them." Cassandra only gave a small snort of sarcasm in response. Jenkins ignored it and turned to face her.

"Listen to me, Cassandra: Roger and I have known each other for many years now. He trusts me. He knows that I would never knowingly bring danger to the herd or harm them in any way. If he thought you were a true threat to the herd, he would've sounded the alarm and the entire lot would've disappeared in the blink of an eye." He took her hands into his.

"The fact that Roger and these others are still here means that they're willing to give you a second chance, my dear, despite their own fears," he informed her. "They're willing to make amends, if you are."

As the immortal finished speaking, there was a commotion coming from the forest where the other unicorns were fretfully waiting to follow Roger's lead. The two humans looked over in time to see a much smaller, immature unicorn burst out from the cover of the forest and into the clearing, galloping wildly toward them, making a half-barking, half-bleating sound as it ran. A large smile blossomed on Jenkins's face at the sight of the young orphan he had brought here several months ago to turn over to a foster mother. Jenkins had purposely stayed away since then in order to facilitate the bonding process between the youngster and his new herd.

The baby unicorn had grown considerably since that time, and in his excitement at being reunited with the Caretaker, he knocked Jenkins over onto the ground in his eagerness to greet the man with licks, nuzzles and head-butts. Cassandra couldn't help but to burst into laughter as the sprawled-out Jenkins tried to get back to his feet amidst the boisterous display of affection from the unicorn.

Finally, Jenkins was able to at least get onto his knees, the youngster bounding happily around him and barking-bleating. Cassandra noticed that the other unicorns had inched out of the forest a few feet, and she recognized the golden-colored female that had adopted the little orphan; perhaps the fact that the young unicorn was unafraid of her and Jenkins reassured the adults that they posed no threat.

"There's my happy little fellow!" said Jenkins warmly, his voice full of affection as he stroked and patted the exuberant animal. "Did you miss your poor old Jenkins these last few months?" As if in response to his question the little unicorn recommenced licking the man's face with so much enthusiasm that he nearly french-kissed the Caretaker. The Librarian laughed again as Jenkins, spluttering and frantically wiping his mouth, stumbled to his feet while the unicorn gamboled around them. Jenkins cast her a dour look.

"So, you think that's funny, do you?" he groused, secretly pleased that she was at least more relaxed now. "We'll see how funny you think it is when it happens to you someday!" He turned and called the baby to himself again. After he managed to calm the unicorn down a bit, he began to examine the creature, carefully feeling all of his limbs and body, checking his eyes and teeth, inspecting the hooves. Cassandra went to stand next to them so that she could see more clearly what Jenkins was doing.

"Have you named him yet?" she asked. Jenkins wagged his head from side to side.

"Not yet," he answered. "I was thinking of naming him 'Oscar', or perhaps 'Charles'. What do you think?" Cassandra rolled her eyes.

"When will he have a horn?" she asked, changing the subject.

"He's still far too young for a horn," the Caretaker answered as he struggled to get a good look into the rambunctious youngster's ears. "That won't come until he's reached sexual maturity, around the age of forty or fifty years. He'll need it, then, to compete for females." He stood up and began to inspect the animal's mane and tail.

"Of course, he won't actually be a viable contender for females until he's much older, say one hundred years. Until then he'll only be sparring with other males and learning what he needs to know and do in order to win a mate when the time comes." He reached out both hands to grasp the unicorn's head between them and then briefly looked him in the eyes before laying his forehead against the animal's forehead.

"And by the time that day comes, he will be a magnificent beast! He'll have no trouble finding a good mate and siring many equally-magnificent offspring," he said quietly, almost to himself. Puzzled, the Librarian laid her hand on her husband's shoulder.

"You sound almost sad," she said. Jenkins smiled as he released the young unicorn and brushed off his hands and clothes.

"I suppose I am, just a little," he replied as he watched the youngster trot back to his adoptive mother, named Martha. "The orphaned animals that I've had to take care of over the years for the Library are the closest things to children that I've ever had. I understand that most parents are at least a little sad when their young ones grow up and leave home, begin raising their own families." A melancholy look came to the immortal's dark eyes as he continued to watch the unicorns.

"I try to reintroduce the orphans back to their own kind when they're strong enough; it's better for them, really—to live out their lives in the wild as they were meant to do. Or, as much so as is possible when they're confined to the Library. Oftentimes that means that the little ones, once I've released them, forget me over time, forget that I took care of them when they were very young. I suppose that's as it should be, but still..." Cassandra slipped her arms around his waist and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"At least you have me, now," she said, attempting to comfort him. "You're my magnificent beast, and I could never forget you, sweetheart." She tilted her head so that she could look at him, her blue eyes shining with mischief. "You, or your 'horn'!" Jenkins raised his head slightly and laughed at the double-entendre. He turned and wrapped her in his arms, giving her a tight hug and then a tender kiss before touching his forehead to hers, just as he had done with the young unicorn.

"Indeed I do have you, my love," he murmured affectionately. "And I thank the gods every day that out of all of Space and Time we two were able to find each other!" He kissed her forehead as she smiled at his sweet words, then he stood back from her.

"Now, I must confess, this isn't the only reason I wanted you to come with me to the Unicorn Forest again," he said, a mischievous glint suddenly sparking in his eyes. "I have a little surprise for you, my dear, if you're up to it?" Cassandra was instantly curious.

"What surprise?" she asked eagerly. Jenkins raised his head as he peered down at her.

"Close your eyes, and I'll lead you to it," he instructed. Cassandra protested, but the immortal stubbornly refused to relent. Finally, the Librarian closed her eyes tightly with a huff of frustration. Jenkins put his arm around her and carefully guided her along the snow-covered ground for what seemed like an eternity, refusing even to answer any of her questions along the way. Eventually Cassandra thought she could hear the musical sound of tiny bells. The suspense was killing her by the time Jenkins brought her to halt.

"All right, my dear, we're here now. Open your eyes," he said softly. She blinked her eyes open, and her jaw dropped in amazement at the sight that greeted her: An old snow sleigh, right out of a Currier and Ives engraving, festooned with garlands of holly and lighted lanterns, was hitched to a matched pair of coal-black unicorns, their harnesses tinkling quietly as they waited impatiently for the pair and occasionally pawed the frozen ground. Cassandra turned to look up at her husband, who was looking very pleased with himself.

"Jenkins!" she gasped, her hands going to either side of her face as she stared back at the sleigh. "What is this?"

"It's a sleigh, obviously," he said grandly. "I thought you might enjoy going on a genuine, old-fashioned sleigh ride." As the shock wore off, Cassandra began to squeal with excitement, fairly skipping through the snow as she suddenly rushed toward the sleigh. Jenkins hurried after her and caught her.

"Calmly, my dear!" he cautioned. "These are unicorns, remember—somewhat skittish still, even if they are harness-broken!" The Librarian immediately became still, though even through her heavy coat Jenkins could still feel her body tense with barely-restrained exuberance.

"Omigod, do they have names!?" she asked breathlessly. Jenkins nodded.

"Stanley and Oliver," he answered. "They're twins. Very rare among unicorns!" Cassandra looked askance at him.

"As in, Stanley Laurel and Oliver Hardy?" she said incredulously. "You named unicorns after Laurel and Hardy?!" Jenkins looked nonplussed.

"What's wrong with that? Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy were comedic geniuses," he replied. Cassandra rolled her eyes again.

"Never mind!" she said. "Let's focus on the sleigh ride!"

The Caretaker walked her to the sleigh and helped her into it, then climbed in to sit next to her. He spread a heavy, thick quilt over their lower bodies to help keep them warm during the ride. Cassandra noticed a wicker basket on the floor of the sleigh and asked what was inside.

"Some hot chocolate and Christmas cake," he replied, taking up the reins. Cassandra clapped her hands, squeaking with glee as he snapped the reins and sent the unicorns into a gentle trot at first. As they warmed up, he urged them gradually into a faster pace, the bells on their harnesses jingling merrily as the powerful animals effortlessly pulled the sleigh through the snow. The moon was clearing the horizon now, casting a gentle blueish light over everything, making the snow glow and glitter in its pale radiance. The cold wind in her face, the man she loved more than anything else in the world next to her, the beautiful scenery of romantic, moonlit snowy forest and fields that they passed all combined to make Cassandra so happy that she wanted to cry. She snuggled up against Jenkins and pulled the quilt up a little higher against the wonderful chill.

"Jenkins, sing something for me?" she asked. "One of those old love songs that knights used to sing to their lady loves?" She closed her eyes and laid head on his arm as he gladly obliged her. Unexpectedly, he began to sing lustily in English, the tune stately and light, perfect for a sleigh ride.

O Beautiful one who holds my life

Captive in your eyes,

Who has ravished my soul

With a gracious smile.

Come to my aid

Or I must die.

Why do you flee, dainty one,

If I am near you?

When I behold your eyes

I am lost inside myself

Because your perfection

so affects my conduct.

Your beauty and your grace

And your divine ways

Have melted the ice

Which was freezing my bones,

And have filled my heart

With a loving ardor.

My soul wanted to be

Free of passion,

But love became the master

Of my affections

And put under its law

My heart and my faith.

Come near, my lovely one,

Come near, my dear one,

Do not resist me further

For my heart is yours,

To relieve my ills

Give me a kiss!

I die, my Little Angel,

I die when kissing

Your mouth so sweet.

My very lovely one,

With that touch my spirits

Are completely lifted in love.

Sooner will waves

Flow backwards

And sooner will the moon

Cease to shine

Before the love which conquered me

Wanes a single jot!

"Jenkins, this is all so…wonderful!" she said as the song finished, though the word 'wonderful' didn't begin to cover her feelings at the moment. "How did you ever come up with the idea for this?" Her husband gently reined the unicorns to a halt to give them a rest, then turned to face his wife.

"I've been studying those godawful Hallmark Channel movies you've been making me watch with you," he said playfully as he made an exaggerated frown of disgust. "And it suddenly occurred to me that I have the means and abilities to 'out-fluff' all of those saccharine bits of fluff, in spades!" He waved a hand to take in their surroundings.

"How many of your 'Hallmark heroines' will ever find themselves living in a magic Library, married to a knight of the Round Table, and going for moonlight Christmas rides in a sleigh pulled by unicorns, hmm?" he demanded imperiously. Cassandra laughed with delight. Jenkins smiled and took the opportunity to reach into his coat pocket, quickly pulling out a small box. He held it out to his wife, and for a moment she simply blinked at it in surprise.

"I know it's a bit early, but...it's a Christmas present," he murmured shyly. Cassandra slowly took the box and opened it. She gasped as her eyes fell on its contents, a gold ring set with a large round-cut diamond in the center, surrounded by smaller rubies, sapphires and citrines, everything fashioned to look like an open flower. The jewel sparkled in the lantern-light. She looked up at her husband, stunned.

"Oh, Jenkins! It's beautiful!" she breathed, then dropped her eyes to the ring again. Before she could say anything more, he took the ring from the box, then tugged the glove off of her left hand. He slipped it onto her ring-finger, coming to rest just about her Sealing ring.

"I know I've put the cart before the horse a bit," he said, taking her hand between his. "It's an engagement ring. Things happened so quickly earlier this year, I didn't even think of it until just a few months ago. The gems come from one of the smaller pieces from the Crown Jewels of Sarras, and I had the ring made from them. I wanted you to not only have an engagement ring, but I wanted you to have something to remind you that you are a queen—a true queen, in every sense of the word. Not least of which that you are and always will be the Queen of my heart." He raised one hand to touch her cold cheek as he looked into her watering blue eyes.

"Oh, Jenkins, you didn't have to do this! I didn't need an engagement ring, I didn't even think of it..." He placed his finger against her lips.

"Yes, you did," he said softly. "I love you, Cassandra, so very much, and I will take every opportunity to demonstrate that to you that I can! I will always love you—always." Two tears slipped from the Librarian's eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Jenkins brushed them away with a finger. He suddenly slid both hands into her silky red hair and bent to kiss her, the faint taste of peppermint on her tongue. As they parted, each slid their arms around the other, each held the other close, each basking in the love of the other. After several minutes, Cassandra gently backed away and looked up into her husband's handsome face.

"Jenkins!" she said, her eyes sparkling like crystals in the dim light. "What's the Welsh word for 'Christmas'?" The immortal's brow furrowed in puzzlement.

"It's 'Nadolig'," he answered. "Why?" A huge grin spread across the Librarian's face.

"That's perfect!" she said giddily, and grasped his hand. "Oh, Jenkins, let's name the baby unicorn Nadolig! It's a beautiful name, and it'll always remind us of tonight! Please?" She stared up at him with pleading eyes that he was powerless against.

"Very well," he said, smiling indulgently. "If it pleases you, my love, then Nadolig it is!" Cassandra gave a little shriek of joy and threw her arms around his neck. The sudden sharp sound startled the waiting unicorns, and they took several nervous steps forward, jerking the sleigh into motion. Jenkins instantly grabbed the reins and pulled them to a halt, calling out to the jittery beasts soothingly until they had calmed down again. Still holding onto the reins, he turned to address his wife.

"I think we'd better start heading back now; why don't you break into that basket and pour us some of that hot chocolate?" he said. "And bring out some of that delightful Christmas cake as well? I can hold the mug and the reins at the same time, but I'm afraid you'll have to feed the cake to me."

"Of course!" Cassandra exclaimed happily as she dug into the basket of treats. She froze suddenly, then turned, stretched her head up and kissed his cheek. Jenkins turned his head and caught her lips in another soft, lingering kiss, while a tingling warmth spread throughout his body.

"I love you, Galahad," she said, her small hand brushing through the hair at his temple. Jenkins smiled at her in response, then turned and lightly slapped the reins across the unicorns' backs, and turned them back to the entrance of the Unicorn Forest.

A/N: The song that Jenkins sang is called "Belle Qui Tiens Ma Vie", which was on a Christmas music cd someone gave me this year, even though it's a troubadour love song and has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas! You can hear an acapella version in the original French here: watch?v=ITQQsn-7954