"I'm quite serious, Mr. Carson, I'll be fine!" came the forceful command of Jenkins through the door.

Eve opened the door anyway, to see Jenkins turn at the sound. His face was a rage of frustration and humiliation. His demeanor changed slightly when he realized it was her instead of Flynn.

"Col. Baird, did you need something?" he asked quickly, trying to deflect the attention from himself. And though he was committed to Cassandra, he felt the pull of desire for this woman. And grimaced internally at the thought that in a few days, any woman would do.

She made a quick assessment of his physical condition. Fists clenched, eyes darting back and forth, fidgeting, he was a tiger in a cage.

"Are you going to make it until tomorrow?" Eve asked bluntly. Jenkins looked at her sharply, wanted to reprimand her for being so familiar… he was so on edge, it was so uncomfortable, he hated this….

But her question helped him focus. He breathed deeply, and was finally able to sit down, hands covering his face.

"I don't know," he moaned sadly. But after a couple of seconds, he sighed. "It's much worse than Arthur ever let on. Though I don't think he went this long…after exposure." His cheeks reddened. "I apologize, it's not exactly appropriate conversation-"

Eve brushed that aside. "Have you thought about, maybe…" and she made a slight back and forth gesture with her hand, one that could be interpreted a certain way if Jenkins wanted to do so.

He got the message. His eyes grew wide. "No, of course not!" His voice rose several decibels as he jumped up. "I would never disrespect Cassandra by…I would be thinking of her if I… she's not a tool for my pleasure!" he roared, turned and punched the wall, splintering the wood paneling and bloodying his hand.

Eve was stunned. She had never seen this man lose his temper. Never in a violent way. It made her shiver.

Jenkins looked at his hand, horrified. He had killed men, but only in combat, never out of anger. But the constant driving feeling of aching desire had lessened. This is what the ancients meant about "aggression," Jenkins thought.

"What was that?" Eve finally choked out.

Jenkins closed his eyes, trying to forgive himself. "One of the side effects. Sex is a strong emotion. So is anger." He looked at Eve, sadness lining his face. "They both release hormones, diffusing the effect of the pollen in one's bloodstream. It is specifically why domestic abuse was officially sanctioned for so long."

Eve looked at him for a long while. "You're afraid, aren't you?" she asked, getting to the heart of the matter. She truly was his Guardian.

"Yes," he said, overwhelmed, his emotions forcing tears to roll down his cheeks. "Yes, I am. I'm afraid I will scare her, disgust her, I'm afraid I will hurt her, this is not right, we need to find another way-"

"Stop," Eve held up her hand. Jenkins looked at her, chest heaving. "I don't think you'd ever let yourself hurt her, or me, for that matter, Jenkins. Honestly." She pointed to his chair, indicating he should sit. He did, emotionally exhausted.

After a pause, he said, "Thank you, Colonel. I am just… having trouble reconciling my morals to the reality of the situation. To have to force someone…." He made a face of profound disgust.

"She doesn't think of it that way, Jenkins," Eve said gently. And neither would I.

Jenkins looked at her, and nodded his head in acknowledgement of the unspoken thought. "Thank you, Eve," he said softly.

"I have an idea, though. Trust me?" she asked. Jenkins simply nodded. No words were necessary. She let herself out.

Eve came back to the main room, thoughtful. "Well, is he Ok?" Flynn asked nervously.

"He will be, I think," she said, clearly distracted by her thoughts. "Let's go out, everyone. I'm buying."

"But Cassie's still at her apartment," Zeke protested, offended that Cassie might miss out on free drinks.

"She needs her rest," Eve nearly barked. Everyone started moving towards the non-magical exit. There was a grill down the road from the physical Annex that they frequented so that they weren't asking Jenkins for a magic doorway in the middle of the night.

Eve took out her phone and texted Cassie.

I'm spinning up the door to your apartment. Use it in 30 seconds. I'm taking everyone out to the pub. –Eve

Why?- Cass

Jenkins needs you tonight. –Eve

Um, Eve, we agreed on no sex before the wedding, just so you know. –Cass

Whatever. You don't have to have sex. But he's not going to make it through the wedding at this rate, imo. –Eve

Oh. Well, ok, I'll see what he says. –Cass

Eve put her phone away. Hopefully that was enough of a hint. Eve and Cass were close, but everyone knew Eve and Jenkins shared a special bond. She felt very protective of the Annex's Caretaker. Whatever could be done for him, should be, in her opinion.

JCJCJCJCJCJCJCJCJCJCJC

Jenkins recognized the soft knock on the door. He straightened his short and pushed back his hair, trying to calm himself.

"Cassandra, I would not make for good company this evening," he said, opening the door for her, but then turning to his bookshelf and busying himself with the spines.

"That's what Eve said," Cassie said quietly, watching him try to avoid her eyes.

He stopped moving at her words, breathing heavily, his eyes scrunched shut, trying not to show her how much he needed her.

"Please tell me how I can help," she softly pleaded.

"We should wait. I need us to wait," Jenkins said desperately, emotion making his voice raw.

"There are other things we can do, you know," Cassie said with a small smile, moving closer. Jenkins looked up at her, with the startled look of someone that just realized what it meant that Cassie wasn't affected by the pollen.

She wasn't a virgin.

She had more experience than he. He wouldn't be taking something from her, but would be allowing her to give something to him.

Cassie moved slowly, but inwardly was smiling. She felt strong and confident, as if seduction had always come naturally to her. Of course, it hadn't, the couple of times she had indulged herself with a man being awkward and vaguely disappointing.

But she knew what Jenkins needed, what he wanted, what he desired. She had no idea, really, how she knew, other than a stray thought in the back of her mind that she wasn't just good at patterns of numbers, but patterns pertaining to people, too. She had been watching Jenkins since she first met him in the woods, with all of them carrying a bleeding Flynn Carson. His patterns had mattered to her from the beginning. Now was her chance to put it all to good use.

She stood close to him, barley touching. She used her fingertips to feel the fabric at his hips, watching him carefully. She didn't want to overpower him. She wanted to turn him on - for real.

She understood how it felt to not be in control. She had felt that way for years, forced to work as a janitor, knowing she was going to die sooner than later. She didn't want to make this worse for him by going too fast.

Jenkins watched her slide up to him, and actually had to moisten his lips, they were so dry. She was a siren, a mermaid, beauty itself, a vision. His breath caught as she touched him.

"Cassandra, I'm afraid if you continue, I'll just..." he looked down at himself, embarrassed. Cassandra's eyes followed his, to see his generous erection tenting his trousers.

"We've got all night," she said sensuously, as slide her hands underneath his suspenders and slide them off his shoulders. She had never told anyone how much she liked suspenders on a man.

He made a small noise in the back of his throat that sent an electric shock to her navel. She gasped, desire filling her eyes. God, was this what it was suppose to be like?

But Jenkins was mortified at himself. "I'm sorry, I didn't – I mean, I did, but I would never want you to think I think –" he was babbling.

"That you find me attractive? That this is pleasant?" she asked.

"That you are only…to help me get through this," Jenkins countered, his voice deep and quiet. "You deserve more than that."

"I deserve what I want. And you deserve what you need," Cassandra broke it down simply.

She took off her shoes, but nothing else. She didn't want to rush this, but didn't want to get carried away, either. She knew it meant a lot to him to be married before intercourse. But there were lots of other things she had always wanted to try.

"Sit," she said firmly. He sat in his chair without comment, his eyes wide watching her.

AN: Next chapter is definitely M. You have been warned. :)