A/N: Hey guys! So here is my last story for Librarians Fic Week! Which is why I delayed posting. I'm trying to draw this amazing week of stories out because I'm going to miss it when it's over. People have been rapid fire posting stories and updating quickly and it just makes me so happy to watch our story count keep going up in this fandom! Hopefully you guys will enjoy this too! I did a post on tumblr which was basically me going insane with possible Rom-com Jassandra AUs and this one stuck with me. So I decided I needed to write it. I also did a graphic thing on my tumblr for it as well. So go check out my tumblr (summer-smells, is me) and my "librarians edits" section and you'll find it! ;)

Happy reading!

angellwings

For a Change

by angellwings

Chapter 1: Cassandra

Cassandra took a deep breath to calm herself down as she checked Flynn's podium one last time. Fresh coffee was waiting, quizzes were graded and stacked on his desk, the artifacts and books he'd requested for his lecture were waiting on him. She'd even taken the liberty of pulling a few things he hadn't requested for this particular lecture and she'd called IT to make sure the computers were working and the projector was connected properly.

"You're here way too early every morning," an accented voice said from the doorway.

She turned to find Ezekiel from the university IT department smirking at her.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Well, some us take pride in our work and our punctuality."

Ezekiel dropped his bag by Flynn's podium and chuckled. "I take pride in my work. I'm just not obsessive the way you are. I also do not have a massive crush on my boss."

"Shut up," Cassandra sneered in a panic as she frantically glanced around the room.

"Are you kidding me?" He asked in amusement. "Cass, everyone knows."

Her eyes widened and she gulped nervously. "Everyone?"

"Not the Absent Minded Professor if that's what you're asking," Ezekiel answered with a dismissive wave of his hand as he turned on the lecture hall's computer. "But everyone else? Yeah."

"Well, that's just perfect," Cassandra said with a sigh. "Absolutely perfect."

"No worries," he told her. "No one really talks about it. It's old news. And boring. All you do is moon at him and nothing ever changes."

"I don't know if I'm relieved or depressed by that," Cassandra said as she blinked at him thoughtfully.

Ezekiel shrugged as he focused on the computer he was supposed to be working on. He stopped for a moment too look up at his friend. "I'm assuming you'll be at Kirby's wedding tomorrow."

"Maid of Honor, remember?"

Ezekiel chuckled. "At this point I just make the assumption that you are the Maid of Honor in every wedding. No need to clarify."

"I've got my friend Becky's wedding that night too," she told him as she watched Ezekiel leave the desk with the computer and walk toward the projector that was mounted from the ceiling.

"Two weddings in one night?" Ezekiel asked. "That's a bit much. Even for you." He turned the projector on with the small remote in his hands and then ran back to the front of the classroom.

"No, I can totally handle it," Cassandra said with a nod and a calming breath. "Becky's wedding starts an hour and a half later. That's plenty of time for the ceremony and pictures for Kirby's wedding before I head to Becky's. And then after that it's just going back and forth between the two. No big deal."

"And not at all crazy," Ezekiel said with a chuckle. "What is it with you and weddings anyway? Did you have some experience as a child that made you fall in love with them or something?"

She bit her bottom lip and looked down at the floor hesitantly before she answered. "No, nothing like that."

Ezekiel gave her an awkward glance as he pulled down the projector screen. "Sorry, did I—"

"No, no you're fine. I just—I never thought I'd live long enough to be a part of any wedding is all," she said with a sigh as she tapped her temple and smiled sadly at him.

"Right, the tumor you had removed a few years back," Ezekiel answered with a wince. He should have known it would have something to do with that.

"Yes, the brain tumor that I had surgery to have removed. The brain surgery that Flynn helped me recover from since my parents aren't talking to me and my nearest relative beyond that is about twelve hours away," she reminded him. "He was so great, Ezekiel. I was so scared about the whole thing and about being alone but he was there the whole time! And I'd barely been working for him a year! I just—I could never repay him for that."

"So, naturally, you developed an almost unhealthy crush on him," Ezekiel said with sigh. "Cass, you know you're adorable and any guy, who's not me, would be lucky to have you, but I don't think Flynn's that guy. I mean I think it would have happened by now if it was going to happen at all. And you have your degree now. There's no reason for you to stick around here except for—"

"Are you kidding? I can't leave him," she said with a shake of her head. "He'd never find anything in his office without me, honestly. And it would take too long to train someone else to deal with his brand of adorable. I have to stay. He took care of me and now it's my turn to take care of him."

"If you say so," Ezekiel said as he packed up his bag. "Well, my work here is done. Projector is in working order and ready to go for the great Professor Carsen's next lecture."

"Thank you, Jones," Cassandra said with a bright smile.

"Yeah, yeah," He said with a dismissive wave. "You can thank me by not writing 'I love you' on your eyelids for our professor of archeology, okay?"

Her brow furrowed at him in confusion. "What?"

"Indiana Jones?" He asked her expectantly. "The girl in the front row who had a crush on Indy? When she blinked her eyelids—you know what never mind. The joke is no longer funny if I have to explain it. See you later, kid."

"You know I'm older than you, right?" She asked him as he turned to leave.

"Yet you're the one with the schoolgirl crush," he called to her over his shoulder as he continued to walk away.

She stuck her tongue out at his retreating back and then rolled her eyes. He could think she was being ridiculous all he wanted but she didn't think she was. It made logical sense to her. She and Flynn had a lot in common. They both had eidetic memories and appreciated puzzles and brain teasers. They were both uncommonly smart and loved imparting knowledge to other people. Though, Cassandra preferred math and science to history and folklore and archeology. Still their passion for learning was a common interest. And he certainly cared about her. Maybe not romantically but who's to say that couldn't change at any point? She was reasonably attractive and very loyal. They worked well together and she had a talent for anticipating his needs. Who else could do that?

Her cell phone started ring and she immediately answered. "Hello?"

"Cassie?"

"Eve?" She asked in surprise. She hadn't heard from her cousin Eve in months. She'd been away on a top secret job no one was allowed to know about.

"Good you haven't changed your number!" Eve said with a sigh of relief. "Can you pick me up at the airport?"

Just then Flynn walked in and smiled a greeting at her. Cassandra bit her bottom lip and then smiled back. Flynn observed her work so far with a smile, picked up the coffee, and gave her an approving thumbs up.

"I—I can't right now. I'm working. I mean I would love to pick you up, Evie but—"

Flynn gave her a curious look. "What's going on?"

"Hold on just a second, Eve."

"Yeah, sure, it's not like I have anywhere else to go," she heard Eve say as she covered the receiver with her hand.

Cassandra bit her bottom lip with a guilty expression at the sound of her cousin's sarcasm. She turned to Flynn hesitantly. "It's my cousin, Eve. She needs someone to pick her up at the airport."

"Is that all?" He asked. "Go, it's fine. You can come back once you get her settled somewhere. You've got me all set up for this lecture, Cassandra. I can survive a few hours without you."

"Are you sure?" She asked worriedly.

"Yes, go. I insist! Don't worry," he said as he took a sip of his coffee and then immediately spit it out. "Hot! Ow."

She furrowed her brow and gave him a doubtful look.

He returned her look with a sheepish one of his own and then resorted to physically pushing her to the door. It was a gentle, teasing pushing but she got the hint.

"Go, go," he told her. "Your cousin obviously needs you. I may be a mess but I have taken care of myself before. I am capable of that."

She chuckled at him and nodded. "Okay. Thank you." She lifted the phone back to her ear. "I'm coming, Eve. I'll be there in about forty minutes. Okay?"

"Yeah, like I said. Not going anywhere. Thanks, Cassie. You're the best!"

Cassandra stopped in Flynn's office to grab her purse as she continued to talk. "Do you need somewhere to stay? I have a guest bedroom you can use if you need it."

"That would be great actually! They gave me leave at the last minute so I didn't have time to make any plans."

"Then it's settled. You can stay with me. See you in a bit, Evie."

They said their goodbyes and hung up the phone and Cassandra actually found herself excited to see her cousin again. The last time she saw her was after she'd mostly recovered from her surgery and that was years ago. They tried to talk at least once a week though to stay up to date on each other's lives. If Cassandra was honest with herself she was more than a little jealous of Eve. She was strong and fearless and confident. She traveled the world and spoke several languages. And to top it off, she was tall, blonde, and beautiful. As far as Cassandra could tell, everyone loved her. Everyone.

She met Eve at baggage claim exactly forty minutes later with a big hug. Eve chuckled and returned the hug.

"Good to see you too, Red," Eve told her with a smile.

"What made you decide to come here?" Cassandra asked.

"I haven't seen you in a long time, Cuz," Eve said as they walked toward Cassandra's car. "I thought we should spend some quality time together."

Eve threw her duffle in Cassandra's backseat before they got in the car and drove away from the airport.

"Are you hungry?" Cassandra asked eagerly. "We could stop for some food or go to the store and buy some things you like. I should make dinner for tonight! That would be nice, right? Do you need anything else? We can stop where ever you need to on the way to my place—"

"Cass," Eve said with a laugh. "Calm down, I'm good. Really. I'm sure whatever you have at your place will be fine. You still working for that professor guy?"

"Flynn Carsen," Cassandra clarified. "Yeah, been working for him for five years now."

"I thought you were just gonna do that while you were going to school?" Eve asked with a furrowed brow. "Weren't you going to teach?"

Cassandra shrugged. "I didn't really think I was going to get to do anything to be honest. I always thought I might want to teach, yes. But I like working for Flynn. Plus I actually think I make more working for him than I would as a teacher. And I'm sort of teaching in a way."

"No, you're helping him teach," Eve told her. "Big difference. But, who am I to say, as long as you're happy."

"I…I am happy."

Wow, that was harder for her to say than she thought it would be. She was happy, right? She had no reason not to be. Her life was pretty great, and she'd been tumor free for just over four years now. Of course she was happy. Well, happier, at least.

"So, what are you doing tomorrow?" Eve asked curiously.

"Oh! I have a wedding I'm in tomorrow," Cassandra said as she remembered she was busy. She left out the fact that she actually had to be in two weddings. "I'm sorry!"

"That's alright. I have a couple of friends that I was meaning to visit while I was here anyway. I'll just hang out with them tomorrow," Eve told her with an understanding smile.

"How long are you here?" Cassandra asked.

"A week, probably," Eve said as she busied herself with checking her phone. "I'm not really sure."

Cassandra's brow furrowed and she turned away from the road for a split second to give her cousin a surprised look. "But you always know where you're going and how long you'll be there. You always have a plan."

Eve sighed irritably. "Yes, well, I thought I'd wing it for once. That okay with you?"

Cassandra's eyes widened and she cleared her throat awkwardly. "Sure. Not judging. Just surprised."

The rest of the car ride was filled by a tense silence. Apparently, Cassandra had touched a nerve. Once they were inside of her apartment Eve spoke again.

"I'm sorry," Eve said with an apologetic hug. "For snapping at you back there. It's just…it's been a very weird couple of days. You didn't deserve to have it taken out on you though."

"That's alright," Cassandra said with an understanding smile. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Maybe," Eve said with a sigh. "But not right now. Do you need to get back to work?"

Cassandra looked at the clock on her apartment wall and shook her head. "Flynn's just starting his second lecture now. I still have about an hour before I have to be back at the office. Do you want anything?"

"Coffee, black," Eve said immediately. "Please."

Cassandra nodded and retreated into her kitchen. "Coming right up. How's Frank?"

Eve groaned and collapsed onto Cassandra's plushy couch. "Gone. Seems he couldn't take me being gone so much so I had to end it."

Cassandra frowned as she started the coffee and then came back to face Eve with a supportive expression. "Oh, Evie, I'm so sorry. When?"

"About three months ago. Before I left for my last assignment," she said with a sigh. "Good riddance, I guess. There's not much hope if he can't understand my work. You know?"

Cassandra nodded in understanding. "For sure. I'm sure you'll find someone who can understand."

"Hopefully before I reach middle age," Eve grumbled. "What about you? Any men being charmed by you lately?"

Cassandra chuckled and blushed. "No, no man. Just me, my job, and my little apartment."

"Still on the outs with your parents?" Eve asked hesitantly.

"I do not work for a big company making money off of strip mall science nor do I work for NASA. As far as they're concerned I'm a failed experiment. Even without the brain tumor," Cassandra said as her stature stiffened and her muscles tensed with anger. "Like you said, though, good riddance."

"Yeah, but no one should have to feel that way about their parents, Cassie," Eve said as she patted the spot next to her on the couch. Cassandra joined her and Eve hugged her tightly. "Especially not you. You've been through enough."

Cassandra returned the hug and smiled warmly at her cousin. "I appreciate the thought and it's not like I don't have any family. I still have you, right?"

Eve nodded and released her with a bright smile. "Right."

"Coffee should be ready," Cassandra told her as she stood from the couch and returned to the kitchen.

"Your apartment is so cozy," Eve said as she glanced around the small but warm space. "It's well lived in. I like it."

"Thank you," Cassandra called from the kitchen. "I like it too." She came back with a cup of coffee for Eve and a cup of tea for herself.

"So, tell me about this Professor of yours," Eve said as she accepted the cup from her.

"Oh! No, he's not—I mean—I wouldn't call him…mine, really," Cassandra said with a blush. "But he's wonderful. A little silly, but brilliant. And very kind and caring. Probably the best boss a girl could ask for."

"I'm doubtful of any man who seems that great," Eve said suspiciously.

"You'll just have to meet him for yourself and find out then," Cassandra said with a smirk. "You'll see that I'm right."