A/N - This chapter kind of got away from me. It was originally supposed to focus more on Cassandra and Ezekiel, but the set up took longer than I expected and then Flynn showed up and before I knew it, the chapter I had in mind was getting pushed back into the next chapter. I hadn't meant to focus on the case so much, but Flynn wouldn't let up.
Jake knew it was going to be a long day when he woke to the sound of Cassandra throwing up in their en suite bathroom. Morning sickness wasn't new to them by this point, but he was still usually the first one up.
Sighing, Jake sat up and stretched before getting out of bed. He made his way over to the closed door and knocked gently.
"Cassie, darlin'? You okay in there?" he asked. For a moment there was no response, but soon he heard soft footsteps and then the door opened and Cassandra stepped out, looking exhausted.
"I'm fine. You want in?" she asked, heading to the large closet that the two of them shared. Jake followed her, wrapping an arm around her waist when he caught up and turning her to face him.
"Hey," he whispered, the hand not around her waist reaching up to brush a stray lock of hair out of her face and then resting on her cheek. "We don't have to go in today. If you're not feeling up to it I'm sure everyone will understand if we stay home."
Cassandra closed her eyes and relaxed into Jake's embrace. When she opened her eyes, she forced a small smile.
"I'm fine, Jake. Really," she spoke softly. "I want to go in, The Library is just as much home as this place, after all."
Jake hesitated for a second, carefully studying Cassandra's face. She looked tired, and he really had no idea how long she had been up that morning or how much sleep she had even gotten. But there was no arguing with Cassandra, even when she wasn't charged with hormones. And she had a point, she could take it easy just as well at The Library as she could in their apartment.
He nodded and then left Cassandra to get changed while he headed to the bathroom to get himself ready. When he emerged several minutes later Cassandra was gone, but he could hear the sound of the TV playing in the next room. He spent another minute changing into his clothes for the day and then headed out to join Cassandra in the other room. He found her curled up in a ball on the couch, tears rolling down her eyes.
"Cassie?" He said her name gently as he took a seat next to her and took her in his arms. He knew it was likely just hormones, but it still pained him to see her upset. "Darlin', what's wrong?"
"That old woman," Cassandra sniffled and Jake tighten his hold on her. "She fell down and she can't get up."
"The Life Alert commercial?" Jake couldn't help it, he started laughing. He had been so careful the past few weeks to be understanding and respectful of Cassandra's mood swings, but this was just too funny for him to hold back. "You're cryin' over the Life Alert commercial? Oh Cass!"
"It's not funny," Cassandra sniffled again. "Stop laughing."
"I'm sorry, darlin'," Jake said between laughs. "It's just...the Life Alert commercial! You're just so adorable."
Cassandra pushed away from Jake's embrace, her tears already gone. "I am not adorable!" she snapped. "How would you like it if I laughed at something you were upset about?"
"Cassie, I'm sorry," Jake repeated. He was taken aback by Cassandra's sudden change in mood. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"It's okay, Jake," she muttered, though she didn't sound like she forgave him. "Can we just get going?"
"Are you hungry?" Jake asked, realizing that they hadn't eaten yet. "Do you want me to make some breakfast?"
"No," Cassandra shook her head. "I don't really feel like eating right now."
"You should eat something, Cass," her husband insisted. "Just a few bites?"
"Fine," the redhead sighed. "I'll grab a banana on the way out. Can we go now?"
Jake nodded, not wanting to push the issue any further. On their way out the door Jake grabbed his keys and Cassandra tossed him a banana before grabbing one for herself.
…
Jake wandered into the annex after having made a brief stop in the kitchen for a much needed cup of coffee. He set his mug down on the workspace he shared with Cassandra and Ezekiel and could feel the thief's eyes on him immediately.
"What?" he glared back at the kid.
"Where's your better half today?" Jones asked, his smile widening at the words 'better half.'
"Washroom," Jake mumbled as he sat down. "She's not feelin' all that great today, so you better be nice to her."
"When am I ever not nice?" Jones feigned being insulted. "To Cassandra, at least?"
Jake grunted. "I mean it, Jones. No teasin' her today, no snarky comments. In fact, how about you just don't talk at all today?"
"Where's the fun in that?" Ezekiel quipped.
"Don't say I didn't warn ya," Jake said flatly with a shrug of his shoulders, his head focused on the book he had left out the previous day.
Just then the back door flashed open and Flynn came running through.
"Oh, Stone! Good, you're here," the senior Librarian seemed very excited to see Jake. "I need your help!"
"What, right now?" Jake's head snapped out of his book and he turned in his seat to face Flynn.
"Yes, now! There's this painting I need your help recovering," Flynn sounded urgent.
"Are you sure Baird or Jones can't help instead?" Stone asked. "I was kind of hoping to take it easy today. Cassie ain't feeling too great, I don't really want to leave her alone."
"I'll keep her company, mate," Jones said from across the table.
"You?"
"Why is that so shocking?" the thief asked. "Cassandra and I are friends."
"It's just...today's not really the best...you?" Jake glanced between Flynn and Jones, trying to decide what to do. He really hated the idea of just up and leaving without so much as a goodbye to Cassandra, but Flynn really did look as though the case was urgent. And Jones had a point, he did have a soft spot for Cassandra. She was the sister he never had, and although she was still often the subject of Jones' teasing, he was always much kinder to the redhed than any of the other Librarians. "You really sure, Jones?"
"Well it's not like I'm babysitting her or anything," Jones smirked. "Just keeping her company, really. I do that all the time."
Jacob rolled his eyes. "Yeah, babysitting. There's something that will never happen."
"What, you don't trust me with your kid?" Ezekiel asked, doing his best to look innocent.
"Jones, I wouldn't trust you with my houseplants," Stone narrowed his eyes at the kid.
"This is all well and good, but if you don't mind," Flynn danced nervously by the back door, impatiently waiting for Jake to join him. "I'd kind of like to save the world again."
"Right, sorry," Jake gathered his things and got up, heading over to the door to join the senior Librarian. Just before he stepped through the portal he turned his head to Ezekiel.
"Tell Cassandra that if she needs anything, and I mean anything, to just give me a call, okay? I'll drop whatever it is I'm doing and be back here in an instant."
"This is really great to hear from the guy who is supposed to have my back on this mission," Flynn said enthusiastically. "Can we go now?"
And with that, the two men pushed themselves through the door and disappeared from the annex.
…
Jake found himself stumbling out of a closet in a large, well kept house. Flynn had known this already, having been there before returning to the annex to fetch Stone. He didn't seem the least bit phased by intruding in someone's home.
"Should we even be here?" Jake leaned over and whispered as he followed Flynn through the place.
"Estate sale, they opened their home to the public today," Jake nodded in understanding at Flynn's explanation.
"So what's so urgent about retrieving a painting that you couldn't wait for me to at least say goodbye to my wife?"
Flynn stopped dead, having entered from the back of what looked like the sitting room. The regular furniture had been pushed aside to make room for several wooden chairs, most of which were currently filled. At the front of the room an auctioneer was shouting off numbers as two buyers engaged in a bidding war over a china set.
"Oh no, this isn't good," Flynn spoke just loud enough that Jake could hear from right beside him. "They've already started the auction."
Before Jake could even get a word in, Flynn had grabbed his shoulder and was dragging him out of the room the same way they came in.
"What the hell, Flynn!?" Jake scolded. "Is it too much to ask that you at least tell me why I'm here?" He nagged as Flynn continued to drag him through the house with such determination that Jake was sure the senior Librarian knew exactly where they were going. He soon found himself in a smaller room on the other side of the sitting room they had been in a moment before. This room was filled with numerous items, including several paintings. Jake assumed that this is where the items to be auctioned off were being held.
"That's why you're here," Flynn finally answered, pointing at one painting in particular.
"The Hands Resist Him?" Jake asked skeptically. "The eBay painting? Isn't that just an urban legend?"
Flynn didn't answer, but he raised an eyebrow at his fellow Librarian.
"Right, right. Sometimes I forget we don't live in the real world," Jake shook his head. "So what, are we buying it? Stealing it? Wouldn't Jones have been better for this?"
"I need you to tell me if it's a fake," Flynn said. "See, Charlene doesn't mind budgeting for us to buy the painting if it's the original, but she won't pay for us to buy a forgery."
"And you need me to verify it before it gets auctioned off?" Stone started to clue in. "Couldn't you have just gotten Jones to steal it?" He asked like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Not a chance. There are guards patrolling these halls, we'd have a hard time getting it back to the door," Flynn explained. "And even if we did, they would notice that it disappeared. Charlene refuses to risk drawing any attention to the Library. You never know who's going to be at one of these auctions."
Jake sighed, realizing that it was pointless to argue the point further. "Fine," he mumbled as he approached the painting. He didn't have everything he needed to fully analyze it, but he was skilled enough that he was confident in his ability to figure out whether or not it was more likely authentic.
While Stone studied the painting up close, Flynn stood guard at the door in case someone came in to fetch something for the auction.
"What's going on, Stone?" the senior Librarian asked from his post.
"I'm still not entirely sure, but to the naked eye this does appear to be the same kind of paint Stoneham used, and these brush strokes are definitely his style," Jake mumbled, more to himself than to Flynn.
"That's not what I meant," Flynn eyed Jake. "What's going on with you today? You're usually more than willing to tag along with me on a case, particularly art related ones."
Jake sighed, finally looking up from the painting. "Cassie's been in a mood all day."
"And she's taking it out on you?" Flynn guessed.
"No," Jake shook his head. "Well, yes, but that's not what's bothering me."
Flynn gave him an encouraging look, silently asking for him to continue.
"It's just, she's carrying my baby, our baby, she has every right to be irritable. And she didn't get much sleep last night, she's probably exhausted, and she can't keep nothin' down this mornin'," Jake reached up and scratched his head, suddenly feeling a little awkward. "I'm trying so hard to be patient with her, but it's hard, you know? And I just feel like an ass because she's the one who has to actually go through all this, yet here I am in a bad mood because she snapped at me today."
"Did you try talking to her about all this?" Flynn asked when Jake finally finished.
"Haven't had the chance," Stone shrugged. "She kept nagging me the whole way to the annex, then she disappeared into the washroom when we got there. You showed up shortly after that."
Flynn nodded. "And that's why you didn't want to come with me?"
"I hate leavin' Cassie without everything being resolved. I mean, what if this turned out to be a more dangerous case than it was?" Jake gestured at the painting. "By the way, it's real. I'm fairly sure, at least. As sure as I can be without testing the paint."
"Well then, our work here is almost done," Flynn started toward the door and gestured for Jake to follow. "I'm already registered for the auction. As soon as we buy this creepy work of art we can get back to the annex and you and Cassandra can work this out."