AND SHE WAS NOT AN ADVENTURE I FLYNN CARSEN

Wish You Weren't Here

Wish You Weren't Here

"What's taking them so long?" Flynn muttered, making Clara roll her eyes as she dusted down the bookshelves.

To Clara's relief, the lift doors finally opened, revealing Eve and the others, Flynn stowing away his fob-watch at the sight of them. After delivering Ezekiel into Eve's protection, the thief joining Jacob and Cassandra in the safe house sourced for them by Charlene, Flynn had congratulated himself on a job well done, retreating to Rio to celebrate, leaving Clara to the uncomfortable confines of his couch instead. But now the fun and games were over, Flynn now having to face up to the responsibility of having four lives depending on his one.

As Eve led the other potential Librarians out of the lift, Cassandra nervously raised her hand to Clara, Clara waving back, trying to set the other girl at ease. Ezekiel favoured Clara with a brief nod, one she returned just as briefly, the cowboy beside him appraising Clara like she was a painting, raising his eyebrows in appreciation. Clara just tilted her chin, before smoothing down her skirt and turning on her heel.

"Where do you think you're going?" Flynn said, grabbing her arm, halting her in her tracks.

"I'm going to clean the display cases," Clara said, looking at him as if he was stupid. "I'm done here."

"Exactly," Flynn said abruptly. "You're done here now."

"What do you mean I'm done here?" Clara said in confusion. "I've to dust the display cases. You told me so this morning!"

"No more dusting, no more filing, no more anything," Flynn snapped, letting go of her, "you are officially unemployed as of this moment."

"What?"

"You heard me, Clara."

Clara just stared at him, something in her eyes striking Flynn through his frozen heart.

"You wanted me to work out why your life was being threatened," Flynn said witheringly, covering up his guilt with coldness, "so this is me working it out."

"So you're just getting rid of me now?"

"Not quite," Flynn said, "but your place isn't with me, it's with them. You're all in the same boat now, so go and join the galley." He gestured to the others who were all shamelessly eavesdropping, Eve included, all too distracted by the domestics in front of them to notice the labyrinthine Library forming the backdrop to Flynn and Clara's fight.

Again, Clara just stared at him, dark eyes filled with disbelief. Then her face hardened, and she stalked over to the others, crossing her arms over her chest as she did so, turning to face Flynn with a defiant toss of her head. Flynn's jaw tightened, but other than that, he forced himself to appear unfazed.

"Hi," Cassandra reiterated cheerfully.

"Hi," Clara replied, trying to hide her hurt.

"You have got to be kidding me!?" the cowboy exclaimed, startling them all.

As the others raised their heads, attention finally caught and held by the impossible interior, the cowboy took his chance and held out his slightly grubby hand to Clara. Clara raised her eyebrows, exuding disdain like a duchess at a low-brow dinner party.

"I don't think we've been introduced," the cowboy pressed, dropping his hand to his side, "m'name's Jacob, Jacob Stone."

"How delightful," Clara said sarcastically, her gaze finding Flynn's for a moment. They stared at one another, Clara's face suddenly vulnerable instead of fierce, and then Flynn looked away, pretending to become absorbed in a passing butterfly, both unaware Eve was watching this piece of by-play.