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“I just can’t believe you’re drinking a beer in front of me!” Eve exclaimed.
Stone raised his eyebrows playfully and Cassandra covered her mouth to stifle her laughter. It was a completely normal day in the Library, as normal as things could currently be. Flynn was out looking for some old scroll of Gilgamesh, and the LITs were hanging around the annex with a very pregnant Eve.
“I’m not the one who can’t have any booze here Baird.” Stone chuckled. “And I’m not Flynn either, so I don’t think you should be getting mad at me.”
Cassandra rolled her eyes with a smile, but Eve was still ranting.
“I mean seriously! First I have to watch Flynn still running into the field while I’m stuck here on my ass out of commission, and now I’ve gotta watch you swigging back a Heineken while I’m drinking club soda!”
“Can I get you one of these Cassie?” Jake teased, holding up his beer to Cassandra and ignoring Baird completely.
“That sounds lovely.” she joked back.
Baird made a grunt of frustration and the two Librarians gave each other a knowing look. Their Guardian had been a bit more irritable than usual for the past couple of weeks as she was nearing her due date.
Stone raised his eyebrows and Cassandra smirked as he headed to the kitchen, and she got up to continue working on cleaning off the annex table.
“Don’t worry Colonel!” Ezekiel said, sauntering into the room from a back hallway. “While these two are busy drinking it up and making you feel bad, I thought you might wanna head down to the theatre and have a relaxing afternoon watching a movie!”
“Thank you Ezekiel!” Eve said, forcing her words towards Cassandra as she did, who smirked and dipped her head down towards the table to stifle a giggle.
“What movie did you have in mind?” Eve asked, smiling at Ezekiel.
“Oh you can pick!” the young Librarian said. “I’ve got loads of options here: Rosemary’s Baby, Knocked Up, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, She’s Having a Baby….”
Eve gave him a hard glare and rolled her eyes. Cassandra looked at him judgingly, but he had just ignored everything and burst into laughter, in love with his own joke. Just then, Jenkins entered the room, surely the only thing that stopped Eve from launching into another tirade.
“I suggest you all stop worrying about drinking beers, or watching movies, or whatsoever it is you occupy yourselves with in your free time and start worrying about getting back to work!” he insisted. “Might I remind you that you don’t stop being Librarians because you’re able to make jokes about Colonel Bair being with child!”
Jake was frozen in the doorway holding Cassandra’s beer, and the two of them, as well as Ezekiel, shared looks and tried not to laugh. Somehow, all of this was very amusing to them, and neither Jenkins nor Eve was amused by that.
“Come on Jenkins,” Jake said, walking over to Cassandra to give her the drink. “We’re just havin’ a little fun! Nothing urgent about saving the world is poppin’ up today, and I think my research is okay if I take a day off.”
“Yeah,” Cassandra said. “Ezekiel maybe we could watch one of those movies with you.”
“Great!” Ezekiel cheered. “You guys head to the theatre and look through the DVDs. I’ll head to the kitchen and start the popcorn!”
Jake and Cassandra shrugged in agreement, and the three started to make their way out of the annex when Eve called out to stop them.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on!” she exclaimed. “I thought the whole point of me even being here today and not lying in bed is so you all could keep me company and still be at work!”
“Well then why don’t you come join us?” Ezekiel countered. “We’ll still let you pick the movie. I’m feeling Knocked Up. What about you Colonel Baird? Are you feeling Knocked Up?”
“You know you all are really pushing your luck today. You’re lucky I’ve got an eight-pound human weighing down on my ankles or else…..”
Baird suddenly stopped, and she made a strange face. Still frozen in shock, the LITs looked to her and changed their tone.
“Eve?” Cassandra asked.
“What happened?” Jake added.
“I felt something near my….it….”
She looked almost ashen, and her eyes were wide with shock. The Librarians were frozen in fear. Eve never looked like that unless something was wrong, and with a baby on the way, lots of things could go wrong.
“I think my water just broke.” Eve muttered.
“WHAT?!” the other three exclaimed in unison.
“Well it just felt like….ha.” Eve gave a little yelp of pain before looking back to them.
“Definitely broke.” she said through clenched teeth.
“WHAT DO WE DO?!” Cassandra exclaimed, looking panicked back and forth between Jake and Ezekiel.
“I don’t know; do I look like I’ve had a baby?!” Ezekiel snapped back.
“Well you don’t need to have to have an idea of what to do!”
“What about you?!” Ezekiel shot back. “You worked in a hospital!”
“Believe it or not, my job didn’t ever involve getting people there.”
“Well we gotta do something!” Jake yelled.
“BUT WHAT?!” Cassandra yelled back.
The argument was quickly interrupted by a loud yell coming from Baird’s seat at the annex table. They looked over and she was crying out, laying her hands below her stomach and leaning forward. This earned a scream of panic from the Librarians as well.
“aaaAAAH!”
“AAAAAAAH!”
“OKAY OKAY!” Jake yelled, throwing up his hands in an attempt to quiet everyone.
“Eve,” he said, walking over to her. “We gotta get you a hospital.”
“Oh no,” Eve panted, shaking her head. “No-no-no-no, no-no, no….”
The last “no” was muttered with a grunt.
“Flynn’s not here.” she cringed, speaking through clenched teeth. “If I go to the hospital I’m gonna have this baby and I’m not having this baby if Flynn’s not here!”
“Eve I don’t think we really have a choice,” Cassandra said, walking over to join her and Stone. “I mean….you can’t stop labor!”
“We’re in a magic Library!” Eve yelled. “You mean to tell me there’s nothing here than can stop this?! JENKINS!!! Go get me a suppression artifact or something!”
“I’m afraid that wouldn’t be safe for either you or the younging Colonel.” the caretaker said. “Artifacts were not built for those sorts of things.”
“That’s bullshit!”
“Baird you gotta work with me here,” Jake said, urgently but gently. “Did you and Flynn have a plan set up or anything? Is there a bag ready to go somewhere that we can grab?”
“We have one at home and here.” Eve said, breathing slowly. “It’s….in the spare-bedroom across from the East Wing reading room. Underneath the bed on the lefthand side.”
“Alright perfect.” Jake said, quickly jumping up to take charge. “Cassie you stay here with Eve, I’ll go get the bag. Jones, go call Flynn.”
Ezekiel nodded and quickly ran out of the room.
“Jenkins can you dial up the hospital?”
“Oh no,” Jenkins said worriedly. “That’s one of the unfortunate caveats of the magic door being a worm hole. Rearranging and transferring the molecules of a woman who’s, for lack of a better term, already in a transition….not the best idea.”
“Alright well then…warm up the car. Cassie can you get her ready to go?”
“I’m on it.” Cassandra said confidently with a nod.
Jake nodded back at her and then ran off to get the hospital bag, and just like that The Librarians were taking charge again, getting control of an apocalyptic situation. That is, if you considered a woman going into labor before she was ready or wanting to apocalyptic. When that woman was Eve Baird-Carsen, it probably was.
“Alright Eve,” Cassandra said, grabbing her friend’s hand. “Brace on me to stand up and then we’ll go get your coat.”
“Cassandra I think I’m fine.” Eve said, a hint of nervous laughter behind her voice. “The pain’s going away. We don’t need to leave yet.”
“Oh no we gotta go!” Cassandra insisted. “You and I both know that this baby could be on its way any minute!”
“Seriously you’re all overreacting! When my sister’s water broke she didn’t start having contractions unti….AAH!”
Baird suddenly leaned forward again and Cassandra saw her face clench into a tight ball.
“Okay, okay!” she said frantically. “From what I’ve seen in movies I think you’re supposed to take quick little breaths….like you’re breathing through a straw…or something.”
Cassandra quickly began to demonstrate, doing what could only be described as a severely overdramatized show of Hollywood depictions of labor. But Cassandra had never been involved in the real deal before, and, panicked, she had no idea what else to do. She’d not long been demonstrating the breaths when she stumbled forward as she felt Eve clench her hand in a death grip.
“O…okay!” she stuttered, trying not to lose it herself. “We’re gonna get through this Eve! Just…breathe through it. We’re gonna get out of here as fast as we can…JAKE HURRY UP!”
“I need my tea.” Baird grunted quietly.
“What?”
“My special tea……Jenkins gave…Flynn makes when…cramps.”
“I…I think you’re only supposed to have ice-chips now or something like that.” Cassandra said nervously. She wasn’t wanting for any of Eve’s pain-induced wrath to be directed towards her. Then, at just the right time, Jake came running down from the Annex stairwell with a duffle bag on his shoulder.
“Alright,” he said. “Let’s go.”
Cassandra slowly helped Eve to stand, who wasn’t protesting anymore.
“JONES HOW WE DOIN’ ON FLYNN?” Jake called as they made their way to the front door.
“I can’t get a hold of him!” Ezekiel replied, jogging into the annex.
“WHAT?!” Eve screamed, turning around as Cassandra and Jake frantically tried to push her back towards the exit.
“It just keeps going to voicemail! I guess he can’t hear his phone!”
“Alright well keep trying.” Jake said. “Stay here with Jenkins in case he comes back. We’re leaving.”
“No,” Eve panted. “Not without Flynn. I can’t go without Flynn!”
She tried to start walking back into the annex, but Jake and Cassandra put their hands on her back to keep her from turning all the way around`.
“No Baird come on,” Jake said. “We’re not stopping now.”
“But…”
“Flynn will be there, we promise.” Cassandra said, knowing that there was a chance she could be lying, but also knowing what Eve needed to hear. “But we have to get you to a hospital now so everyone stays healthy.”
Jenkins walked in then, holding the keys to the Annex team’s shared car.
“Everything’s ready.” he said. “You know where the hospital is?”
“I do!” Cassandra chimed in. “I went with Eve to get the pregnancy test before she told Flynn.”
Jenkins tossed Cassandra the keys while Jake helped Eve to stand up-straight.
“I will prepare a door for Mr. Carsen, and I will see you later.”
Jake and Cassandra nodded before hastily ushering Eve out towards the parking lot. Ezekiel gave Jenkins a nervous look before picking up the phone again.
“Flynn!” he yelled. “Mate this is the 10th message I left! Get back here! Colonel Baird’s having the baby!”
Cassandra clutched the wheel of the car tightly as she came upon another red light. Baird screamed out in pain from the backseat and she turned around to see her clutching Stone’s arm like a vice grip. She let out a string of curses in frustration; this was the tenth red light they’d hit since leaving the Annex.
“Cassie!” Jake yelled. “No one’s comin’; just go through the light!”
“I can’t!” Cassandra squeaked nervously. “We can’t afford to get pulled over!”
“If we get pulled over they’ll see what’s happening and give us a police escort! It’s a win-win!”
“Guys this baby’s really not happy to still be in here right now!” Eve grunted.
Cassandra looked at Jake and Baird, and then back at the light, which still remained unchanged. She still didn’t feel right just passing through.
“Have you heard anything from Jones?” she asked.
“I just got a text.” Jake said. “Flynn’s still not picking up.”
Without warning, Eve leaned over and snatched the cellphone from Jake’s hand. She dialed quickly and held it up to her ear.
“FLYNN CARSEN!” she yelled. “THIS BABY IS COMING AND YOU BETTER GET YOUR SORRY ASS DOWN TO THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE I’M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR MY ACTIONS IF YOU DON’T SHOW UP.”
Cassandra exchanged one last look with Jake and he nodded at her. She gripped the steering wheel tighter and looked straight ahead.
“Hold on,” she whispered. “It’s about to get bumpy.”
She stepped on the gas pedal and the car shot forward, moving quickly far away from the various honking horns and shouting drivers.
A half-hour later, Cassandra and Jake stood on opposite sides of Eve’s bed in the delivery room. There was still no word from Flynn, and between Baird’s screams and the nervous looks of the nurses, it was becoming pretty clear that they didn’t have much time left.
“Alright Mrs. Carsen” the head nurse said. “I think it’s about time to start pushing.”
“No,” Eve cried, panting. “Not without Flynn. Where’s Flynn? I can’t do it without Flynn!”
“Eve,” Cassandra said softly, grabbing her hand. “You’re gonna be okay. Jacob and I are right here; you’re not alone.”
“Flynn’s not here! He promised he would be here! Where is he?!”
Cassandra looked at Jake questioningly, but he simply shook his head with a frown, indicating that he’d heard nothing.
“This baby’s coming whether she’s helping it out or not.” The nurse said to the two of them.
Jake grabbed Eve’s other hand and moved closer to her.
“Look Baird,” he said. “I know it’s not optimal, but you got me and Cassie! We’re gonna be here for you through this no matter what, just like you always are for us. And when Flynn comes you’re gonna have a baby! And it’s gonna be great! Now, I know it’s not optimal…but do you think you could do this just with us?”
Baird waited for a moment, then nodded reluctantly, her face squinting as a tear made its way down her face. Jake and Cassandra gave each other an encouraging smile and grabbed her hands.
“Alright Mrs. Carsen,” the doctor said. “Here we go. Give me a good push in 3…2…”
Just then the doors to the delivery room crashed open, and all heads turned to see a disheveled Flynn arriving.
“I’m here,” he said, rushing over to Eve’s bedside. “I’m here.”
Jake and Cassandra quickly moved away as Flynn crouched down and grabbed Eve’s hand. They couldn’t help but chuckle as he immediately stumbled, almost falling. After over an hour, their hands were freed from Colonel Baird’s death-grip.
“Where the hell were you?” Eve cried breathily.
“I know…I’m sorry.” Flynn said. “Those demonologists really know how to put up a fight.”
“Just shut up and hold my hand!”
Flynn nodded and put both his hands on top of Eve’s. The nurses and doctors, confused and fed up, looked at the pair of them.
“Are you the Father?” the nurse asked.
“Yes,” Flynn said, wearing a proud smile.
The nurse looked him up and down with a judgmental smirk, which he barely noticed.
“If Daddy’s here, you two….out.” The nurse said, pointing at Jake and Cassandra and then at the door.
“Yep!” Cassandra said.
“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Jake muttered.
They rushed out of the room quickly, and Flynn watched them go before turning back to Eve.
“Alright,” the doctor said. She smiled in spite of herself, finding the whole situation all too amusing.
“Are you ready Mrs. Carsen?” she asked again.
Eve nodded, truthfully this time, and unlike before her tears were now paired with a smile. She smiled at Flynn, and he pressed a kiss to her hand before she turned back to the doctor and nodded again.
“Okay,” the doctor said. “Here we go.”
A while later, Jake, Cassandra, Ezekiel and Jenkins sat around the hospital waiting room. They laughed as Jake and Cassandra recounted the drive to the hospital, and Jake remarked at Cassandra’s driving skills.
“Yeah, Cassie was a natural,” he said. “I don’t think I would’ve been able to do it.”
“Stop it Jacob,” Cassandra replied. “It really wasn’t that great.”
“Once she passed that red light we didn’t stop a single time! She had to swerve to avoid about ten different cars and yet we didn’t hit anybody! And we didn’t get pulled over.”
“I did it for Baird in a dire circumstance,” Cassandra said firmly. “Any Librarian or Guardian would’ve done the same thing.”
“Well I guess that just means you’re a great Librarian.”
They smiled at each other and Ezekiel rolled his eyes at Jenkins, when just then, the doors to the waiting room crashed open like those in the delivery room had before. The team turned around to see Flynn, now in scrubs, and panting again. This time though, a huge smile crossed his face once he’d started to breathe.
“You guys wanna come meet the baby?” he asked.
The Librarians and Jenkins stepped quietly into the hospital room where they found Eve siting up on the bed, holding and looking down at a tiny bundle of blankets. She looked up at them and smiled softly.
“Hi guys,” she whispered.
All eyes were on the brand new baby. The friends all beamed, and Cassandra let out a little giggle, much like the one she had upon first discovering the Library.
“Librarians,” Flynn said, walking over to join his wife. “Jenkins, I’d like you all to meet Ramona Carsen.”
“Ramona,” Cassandra said. “That’s so pretty! How’d you pick it?”
“Well,” Flynn said, smiling down at Eve. “We were brought together by a very special Library. And one day, we were lucky enough to meet that Library, and he told us that his name was…”
“Ray,” Jake said. “You named her after the Library.”
Flynn nodded. Cassandra laughed again, and everyone smiled. Never had a room been filled with so much love. When a family as strong as there’s got a new addition, there was nothing in any universe that could match that level of joy.
“It’s perfect.” Cassandra remarked. “I’m so happy for you guys!”
“Do you wanna hold her?” Eve asked.
Cassandra nodded with a bright smile. Flynn took Ramona from Eve’s arms and brought her over to Cassandra, passing her gently between them. Cassandra gasped as Flynn let go and all of the baby’s weight was in her arms.
“Hi!” she smiled, giggling. “Hi Ramona.”
“Jacob look!” she exclaimed. “She’s so tiny!”
“She’s got your eyes Baird,” Jake smiled. “But that face? Flynn, that’s all you man.”
Cassandra giggled and waved at Ramona, who blinked and looked back and forth between her and Jake.
“I thought you told me in Oklahoma that you hated babies.” Ezekiel said accusingly with his arms crossed.
“Oh maybe I did,” Cassandra said, her eyes still on Ramona. “Maybe I do, but who could hate this little cutie?!
“Well I’m glad you feel that way,” Eve said. She caught the others’ attention, and exchanged a smile with Flynn, who was holding her hand, before continuing.
“Flynn and I were talking, and we want you-all three of you-to be Ramona’s Godparents.”
“If anything were to happen to us,” Flynn said. “Which is likely in our line of work, we couldn’t think of anyone better to make sure nothing happens to her. To be her Guardians.”
The Librarians looked back and forth between each-other before looking at Eve and Flynn.
“Sounds like a mighty honorable job to me.” Jake said.
“We already look after all those artifacts,” Ezekiel teased. “What’s one more scamp?”
Eve and Flynn smiled, but Cassandra was still silent, and looking down at Ramona.
“Cassandra?” Eve asked. “You okay?”
She looked up at them and her eyes were full of tears. She sputtered as she looked between Ramona and her friends trying to find the words to say.
“I never thought I’d get to be a godparent.” she muttered. “Or anything like….”
Cassandra stopped talking and simply nodded as she started to cry. Everyone was smiling at her when Ramona let out a yawn, which earned a giggle from Cassandra, drying her tears.
“Well it looks like this little gal’s awful tired.” Jake said.
“And with that I think we should let Colonel Baird get some rest.” Jenkins said, standing behind them.
Cassandra walked up to Flynn and carefully passed Ramona back into his arms.
“Bye Ramona!” she cooed, waving her fingers in tiny motions. “Bye, we’ll see you soon!”
“Bye kid.” Jake added.
“Give your parents hell for us!” Ezekiel chimed.
“Come on,” Jenkins said, scooping up the Librarians like a bulldozer and pushing them towards the door. “We need to get back to the Library and get some work done, since you all so happily ignored it before.”
“Ooh!” Cassandra exclaimed. “Or we could go get decorations for Ramona’s first visit to the Library!”
Jenkins pushed the Librarians out the hospital room door, then gave a nervous smile to Eve and Flynn before entering the hallway himself, and closing the door behind him.
“Well Guardian,” Flynn said, placing Ramona down in the hospital-provided bassinet. “I think Jenkins is right. You deserve some rest.”
“What’s that?” Eve teased. “An excuse for you to go work on your research while I’m asleep?”
“Oh I could never,” Flynn said. “I wanna stay right here.”
Despite talking to her, Flynn was nowhere near Eve. He was standing over the bassinet, his eyes locked on Ramona, not moving at all. From the bed, Eve raised her eyebrows at him.
“You know she’s not going anywhere Flynn,” she joked. “She can’t walk.”
“What?” Flynn stuttered, looking at Eve like he’d just noticed she was there.
“I know,” he said, turning his gaze back to Ramona. “But she’s just so beautiful.”
“That she is.” Eve agreed, smiling warmly.
“And, as are you,” Flynn added, finally returning to her bedside and grabbing her hand. He kissed the back of her palm and she let out a swooning giggle.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there sooner today,” Flynn whispered.
“Hey, you did the best you can.” Eve replied. “That’s all I can ask. And you were here when it mattered.”
“How did the Librarians do when your water broke?”
“Oh, what you’d expect really.” Eve joked. “A mix between mild-panic and utter-chaos. I was surprised one of them wasn’t admitted with a heart attack when we got here.”
“So….Tuesday then?” Flynn asked, raising his eyebrow.
“Your average Tuesday.” Eve laughed.
Flynn continued to laugh but Eve let out a yawn, and without thinking her eyes started to flutter closed.
“Looks like Ramona’s not the only one who needs some sleep.” Flynn teased.
“No,” Eve mumbled, her words half-replaced by yawning. “I’m staying awake. I haven’t talked to you all day.”
As she spoke her head fell back on the pillow, and in moments Eve Baird was fast asleep. Flynn smiled proudly at his wife.
“Rest well my gorgeous Guardian.” he whispered.
He looked over at Ramona, who’d also fallen asleep, then back at Eve. He picked up their joined hands and kissed the back of her palm again.
“Always and forever.” he whispered.
Flynn sat down in the chair behind him and leaned back, still being sure to hold onto Eve’s hand. He closed his eyes for a second and breathed in. This was, for sure, the happiest day of his life. As he sat in the silence he thought about how lucky he was to finally have a complete home, after all these years.
For the next hour, he just sat and watched his brand new family. As tired as he was, he wouldn’t let himself go to sleep, because he knew immediately that he’d watch over them: always and forever.