The talk with Jenkins went about as well as Stone had imagined. However, despite the caretaker's grumblings, he had agreed to allow Stone to take Max through the Back Door. Flynn had wandered in during the talk so Stone and Cassandra had also gotten the Head Librarian's permission to have Max inside the Library. Because of his age, Baird and Jenkins had strongly suggested he be restricted to only certain areas and be supervised at all times. Flynn honestly didn't see the problem but he was overruled by the others. Stone himself was more than happy to take the restrictions, the idea of Max running free in the Library actually terrified him at the moment. When the boy was older, they could reevaluate the situation.

Today was the day. Baird and Flynn had left the Library on their own adventures. Ezekiel was waiting rather impatiently for the case in Peru. Cassandra was on hand to say goodbye to Max while Jenkins was setting up the Door to deposit Stone father and son near his sister's home.

Max, wide eyed, was standing in the middle of the Annex with his Thomas The Tank Engine suitcase all packed for his trip.

"Now remember," his father was saying to him. "Everything that happens is our secret, right?"

Max nodded but bit his lip. "You and Andra said so. But lyin' is wrong, Daddy."

Jacob knelt down to get to eye level. "You're right. It is. But sometimes secrets are good things," Stone bit his own lip in thought. "Like surprise parties or what you got for someone for Christmas. Right? Those are good secrets."

Max nodded his head. "Yeah. So this is a good secret?"

Cassandra joined Stone in front of Max, nodding her head. "Yep, the very best secret ever. Only special people like us get to know it."

That seemed to get through to Max and his eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Really," Cassandra reached over and hugged him. "Okay, now I'm gonna say goodbye to you and I'll see you in a few days. You have a good time with your aunt and your mom, okay?"

"Thank you," murmured Stone to Cassandra before turning to Max. "Okay cowboy, time for us to go."

Since Jenkins warned Stone about possible turbulence, he picked up Max and grabbed his suitcase with the other hand. They stepped through into what looked like a barn, Cassandra waved at them when they were safely through and then closed the door behind them. Her sigh as she did so much more audible than she would have liked.

"Are you quite alright, Ms. Cillian?" Jenkins asked her as she turned away from the door.

"Oh, sure. I'm just going to miss Max, that's all."

Jenkins only nodded and went off in search of tea. Cassandra sighed as he left. How was she ever going to distance herself from that sweet little boy?


Peru was not going well. That was an understatement, Stone thought as he stormed off to his hotel room after yet another argument with Jones. The three new Librarians had decided to stay in Lima instead of using the Door and the Library as home base like they usually did. It was one of Jones' few contributions that Stone had agreed with. They all wanted to prove to Flynn that they could do this on their own and what better way than to eliminate the possibility of running to him and Baird for help?

Stone had been running point on the mission even though it was Cassandra's case. As they'd looked into it further it seemed more one of their big clippings book cases, needing a little bit of all of their skills to solve. Cassandra had no problem stepping back and letting him be in charge. He was the oldest and had leadership skills, Baird had been subtly making him her second for months now. Plus it seemed like she'd been concerned with the health effects of juggling too much at once. Concentrating on her side of the mission was just fine with her.

Jones on the other hand, well he wasn't happy at all. Stone did have to admit that his own attitude wasn't helping. He didn't respect the thief at all. He'd respected Baird and Flynn from the get go and while he'd admitted that Cassandra lost his respect when she lost his trust, she'd very quickly regained it. She'd regained it the second she'd given up her heart's desire for someone else. It took a bit longer for his stubborn heart to catch up on the trust issues. But the lack of respect for Jones was mutual and they butted heads constantly.

Poor Cassandra was stuck in the middle, though she sided with Stone more often than not. Which didn't make Jones happy either. She was their common thread, she held them together. And while Jacob was happy that his best friend was on his side, he knew that Jones wasn't happy and considered it a betrayal of his own friendship with Cassandra.

Stone hadn't managed to get in the elevator before Cassandra caught up with him. She looked a bit out of breath as she grabbed his arm.

"Cassie, I need to cool down first before we tackle . . . ." But Cassandra looked really upset, so he softened his voice. "What's wrong?"

"He's leaving."

"Jones? Jones is leaving?"

She nodded. "He said he'd had enough of all of this and that we'd have to do this on our own. Then he ran off."

"Toward the Door?"

Cassandra shook her head. "Looked like the taxi stand."

"Probably heading to the airport, did you try calling him?"

"He won't pick up."

Stone sighed heavily. "If he's not pickin' up for you, he sure as hell ain't gonna do it for me. I think we're just gonna have to let him go. When he's cooled off, he'll be back in the Library."

"Do you think he'll be okay?"

Jacob nodded. "One thing about Jones, he's been takin' care of himself for a really long time. He'll be fine. The Library will call him home when he's ready. We'll just have to finish this without him."

Cassandra looked downcast and worried, but she nodded. They agreed to meet up in the morning and went their separate ways. Since the time zone in Peru was the same as Oklahoma, Jacob decided to check in on Max when he got back to his room, knowing that speaking to his son would improve his mood considerably.

It had, at least for a while. Everything was going well, Max was having a good time playing with his cousins and his friends. Josie had been happy to see her son, though she and Jacob had decided it would be better for the boy to stay at his aunt's during the visit. Jacob had been careful about telling Max about where he really was, but assured him that both he and Cassandra were fine and would see him soon. Max had asked to speak to Andra but Jacob didn't want to bother her.

After saying good night to Max, Jacob laid on the bed. He'd been planning on re-thinking what they needed to do on the case. But other thoughts ran through his head.

Yeah, Jones had an attitude problem and tended to go off too much on his own. But Stone didn't respect him or his abilities and was too quick to naysay. Hadn't he learned that the younger man was way more capable than he appeared? He'd even saved Cassandra's life once by pretending to bail on her.

Stone sighed and couldn't help comparing himself to Baird. She commanded respect even from Jones. It took some time but she'd figured them all out. She'd admitted her initial mistakes with them and had expressed willingness to make things work. That's why she was a good leader. But she wasn't a Librarian, she was a Guardian. And that made her Guardian to all of the Librarians and Flynn needed her right now.

Maybe they were better on their own. He'd already let Jones down on this mission and Cassandra was so sad. He was letting her down too. He couldn't leave her now, though part of him felt like maybe he should. He was failing and he couldn't . . . he couldn't let her down again. But leaving tonight would be failing her. So they'd make a final attempt tomorrow. And if they failed again, she'd probably be glad to see the back of him for a while anyway.

He'd made a decision though. He was through letting her down. She couldn't see him fail again. So after they finished this case, he was going to go off on his own with his book. She'd understand. They were Librarians and Flynn hadn't expected them to team up on all of them. He gave them their own books for a reason.

He needed to stop clinging to her so much and this would be a perfect excuse. He'd still make sure Max saw her plenty and maybe they could still hang out once in a while. But they needed to take a break from seeing each other every day. It was better all around.

Stone groaned and grabbed the book he'd put into his bag. Much as he really wanted to hit the bar downstairs tonight, he really needed to keep a clear head for tomorrow. Even if he wasn't too sure that sleep was going to come.

And when it did, his dreams took two forms. Cassandra getting injured because he failed her. Or Cassandra in tears because he'd managed to break her heart.