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Several days after the final defeat of Apep, Eve Baird walked slowly along a dimly-lit corridor. This corridor—like many of the corridors in the Library—was lined on both sides by doors, each one leading to a room filled with unknown contents. Even after this many years, Eve had managed to explore only a tiny fraction of the Library's spaces; even so, she ignored each door in turn after only a cursory glance. Today she was looking for a particular door."A-ha!" the Guardian exclaimed to herself in satisfaction as her eye caught sight of a door that—unlike the others—wasn't completely closed and she hurried forward: Dark turquoise paint, eight panels, antique brass knob and doorplate. She grasped the knob and turned it, found that not only was the door cracked open, it wasn't locked either. Setting her jaw, she shoved the door open and marched through it."Jenkins!" Eve barked sharply, using her most intimidating NATO commander's tone of voice. "Missed you at the team meeting this—"She halted mid-stride, frozen for a moment as she took in the unexpected interior of the "room". It looked exactly like a gently-rolling meadow of thick green grass, dotted here and there with clumps of wildflowers and trees of various species. A small pond could be seen in the distance, fed by a bubbling little brook. Overhead, the sun shone in a blue summer sky strung with a few wispy strands of cloud. As Eve looked around, she spotted a large, picturesque barn about a few yards off to her left. It looked like something from a picture postcard: Large, two-storied, painted a bright, cheery red with white trim and a large weathervane on top. The large double-doors were open and she could just make out the sounds of a horse neighing and snorting from within. Baird took a deep breath and began to march steadily toward the barn. If Jenkins was hiding anywhere in this…"room", that was the logical place to start looking for him.The Guardian again mentally rehearsed the scolding she was going to give the old man for ditching the morning's meeting. Jenkins made no secret about hating the meetings, and he often found creative excuses to either be late or not show up at all. The last time he missed a meeting she had actually cornered him and given him a dressing down that would've terrified the most seasoned of soldiers. But Jenkins had merely listened, stone-faced, until she was finished, then promised her—yet again—that he would do better in future. Clearly he'd been lying—again.Well not this time. This time Eve was going to read that stubborn old goat the riot act, and if he still refused to take her seriously she was going to punch him in the jaw. Maybe that would get his attention!Eve strode into the barn and opened her mouth to call out to the immortal. All of her prepared speeches and reprimands disappeared before the shocking sight that presented itself to her: Jenkins was standing behind the rear end of a horse, his right arm inside of the animal nearly all the way to his shoulder."Jesus Christ! Jenkins! What the hell are you doing?!" she finally exclaimed in horror. Jenkins twisted his head just enough to see her, then went back to the horse."Colonel Baird!" he gasped in a relieved tone, then swung his left arm out to point at something nearby. "Thanks the gods! Get that chain, the one hanging from that stall door! Bring it over here! Hurry!" But Eve stood rooted to her spot."Jenkins, what—""The chain! NOW!" he hollered angrily. The sharpness of the command snapped Eve out of her shock and she ran over to the stall he had indicated. She snatched the pair of chains that were draped over the door of the stall and then hurried to bring them to him."Here," she said, then froze. She didn't feel him jerk one of the chains from her limp hands; her attention was now entirely taken up by the realization that the large, snow-white horse in front of them had wings!"Holy. Freaking. Crap!" she breathed, her lower jaw going slack for several seconds as she simply stood and stared at the magnificent creature. Was that really a…a...pegasus?! The horse was breathing heavily and groaning, its nose almost touching the ground, its huge white wings sagging, and Eve realized that it was in pain. It tried to move away from Jenkins, but the old Caretaker clung to it like a burr, cursing with every movement. Eve realized that he had now taken both chains and had…inserted them into the rear end of the pegasus?"Jenkins, what is going on?" she demanded, fear unexpectedly filling her chest."She's foaling!" Jenkins barked, his focus on the task at hand. His arm was inside the pegasus again, and Jenkins appeared to be feeling around for something. "The foal is a breech; if we can't pull it free in the next few minutes, it's going to suffocate to death, and possibly take its dam with it! I'm trying to reposition it and get the chains around its front legs so we can pull it out!""We?!" Eve squawked, her eyes going wide in alarm. "Jenkins, I don't know anything about horses or…or pegasuses or…pegasii or…whatever…!""You don't have to know anything!" the old man shot back, completely ignoring her panic. "All you have to do is what I tell you to do, when I tell you to it!" He pulled his arm out and grabbed the dangling ends of the chains, handed one of them to Baird."When I give the word, pull as hard as you possibly can!" he ordered, and adjusted his grip on his own chain. Numbly, Eve mimicked him and waited. A few seconds later, the pegasus mare grunted and her sides moved slightly as she strained to push out her foal."On three!" Jenkins instructed tersely. He planted his feet and went straight into the count without waiting for Eve to respond. "One! Two! Three—PULL!"Eve pulled. She pulled with all her strength, trying hard not to think about what she was doing or about the nauseating sight of blood and fluids seeping from the mare's womb and onto the ground or the new life that was at stake. She simply pulled along with Jenkins. At first it seemed as though nothing was going to happen. She felt stubborn resistance as the chain's links bit into her hands. And then could see a pair of tiny hooves appear.She glanced at Jenkins to follow his lead; he was still straining, so Eve kept the pressure up as well. The hooves were slowly followed by a pair of spindly legs, and then a nose. Just when she thought her shoulders were about to be pulled out of their sockets, the resistance suddenly disappeared. She and Jenkins flew backward from the mare. Eve stumbled and fell hard onto her ass, but Jenkins quickly regained his balance and dashed forward, wrapping the slack on the chain around his fist to keep it taut. One final pull and suddenly there was a whole head."Jenkins! There it is!" she cried and scrambled to her feet. Jenkins let go of the chain as the mare was finally able to expel the foal on her own with one last push. In a flood of blood and amniotic fluid, the skinny foal slid free of its mother. Jenkins partially caught it in his arms to break its fall to the barn floor. As he quickly cleared away the membrane from its head, Eve stepped tentatively toward the little creature, in awe of what she'd just witnessed. But Jenkins had dropped to his knees next to the limp foal, and Eve realized with horror that it wasn't moving."What's wrong?" she barked. By now Jenkins had laid his hand on the foal's side."Heartbeat, but no breathing!" he said flatly. At once he stretched the tiny foal's body out so that it lay flat on the ground. The Guardian watched disgusted fascination as the immortal lifted the small nose and actually sucked the mucus from each nostril, turning and carelessly spitting the mess out afterward. He gently laid the foal's head back onto the ground and jabbed a finger at the place on its body where he had held his hand just a moment ago. "Put your hand here!"Eve fell onto her knees and did as she was told without questioning him. Beneath her hand she felt the small, weak thumping of the foal's heart. "I feel its heart beating!" she breathed, but Jenkins remained silent as he prepared to try and save the newborn's life.The next few moments were some of the longest in Eve's life. She watched as Jenkins clamped one hand tightly over one nostril of the foal's nose while his other hand held its mouth closed. He sucked in a deep breath and lowered his mouth to the one open nostril and forced the air into it as forcefully as he dared. Eve felt the ribcage move under her hand as the foal's lungs inflated."I can feel the air going in!" she informed him tersely, her eyes never leaving the old man. "Heart's still beating!" Jenkins sucked in another deep breath and blew into the foal's nose a second time. There was still no movement from the tiny pegasus, and now its heart was beginning to falter. "We're losing him!""Like hell we are!" Jenkins growled furiously, and took in a third lungful of air. He forced it into the foal. Eve, every nerve in her body taut as piano wire now, thought that she felt the muscles in the foal's side twitch ever so faintly. The heart was weak, but it was still beating."Again!" she said, as fully invested in the little animal's survival as Jenkins was. As he prepared to force another breath into it, Eve found herself muttering encouragement under her breath."Come on come on come on come on! You can do it, little guy, you can do it! Hang in there! Breathe!" As the air escaped its lungs, the little foal's heart suddenly kicked into gear, its fast, strong pulsing catching Eve by surprise. At the same time, a back leg kicked and there was a harsh snort as the revived foal fought to free its nose from the Caretaker's grip. A few seconds later, the foal lifted its head and uttered a sound that was between a squeal and a whine. The pegasus mare instantly turned and moved toward the struggling foal, the air huffing in her nostrils as she took in and recorded the scent of her new offspring. Jenkins got to his feet and signaled for Baird to do the same. She stood up and stepped back from the mother and her baby and went to Jenkins's side."That...that was amazing!" she gasped, sincerely awestruck, "I have never seen anything born before, let alone pulled back from the brink of death like that!" She turned to look at the Caretaker. "Jenkins, you're amazing!" To her surprise, his face still wore a worried expression. Her heart sank. "Jenkins? What's wrong?""The foal still has to stand," he said solemnly, "If it can't stand, it won't be able to run and gather the momentum it needs to fly one day." Eve turned back to the lethargic foal. Its mother was nosing her baby gently, trying to encourage the little one to get onto its feet. The foal squealed weakly and began to struggle, desperately trying to get its feet underneath it, trying to make the muscles of its long, thin legs work the way it instinctively knew they should. But no sooner did it manage to lift its body than the legs failed and it flopped back onto the straw, panting. Eve turned toward Jenkins."What happens if it can't walk?" she asked, her voice low and anxious. He gave her a quick glance, but it was all she needed: The foal would die. She looked back at the struggling infant."Come on, little guy—you can do it!" she breathed over and over, every muscle in her own body taut as she watched it make another try. But the foal kept falling over, unable to stand for longer than a second or two before its legs gave way. It finally lay in the straw, panting and exhausted, its head drooping."Jenkins!" Baird cried, and spun around to try and urge the immortal to intervene. But Jenkins was already on his way. Within seconds he was at the foal's side. The mother pegasus snorted nervously and eyed the Caretaker, but she had known him her entire life and so trusted him. Jenkins knelt and gently, carefully felt each of the foal's legs, checking for any damage or malformations. Apparently finding nothing, he stood up, placed his hands beneath the foal's body and lifted it up. Its legs, slightly splayed, straightened as he carefully set them onto the ground. The foal wobbled, but it stayed up this time. Its legs trembled visibly, but it tried a clumsy step, then two, then three. It almost fell, but quickly regained its balance. Then, with halting, lurching steps it slowly turned and hurried towards its mother. She turned her side to it and it immediately began nuzzling her belly until it finally latched onto a teat. It greedily suckled, taking in the nourishing milk as fast as it could with soft contented grunts. Jenkins heaved a sigh of relief and turned to Eve."I think she'll be all right now," he said. Eve walked over to stand next to him and watch the tiny foal nurse."It's a she?" the Guardian asked, emotion in her voice at everything she'd just witnessed. Jenkins nodded."Yes, a female; very rare, actually," he commented tiredly, "Seventy to eighty percent of pegusus newborns are male for some reason, and of the females that are born, half of those die in the first few hours. Have no idea why. So a healthy female is something to celebrate!" Eve frowned as she suddenly noticed something, a pair of little naked appendages on the foal's back. They looked exactly like plucked chicken wings, only much larger."Are...are those her wings?" she asked, unable to understand how something so weird-looking could be so cute at the same time."They are," he confirmed, amused, "Of course, they don't look like much right now, but she'll grow into them—just look at her mother, after all!" There was a definite air of pride in his voice, and it was easy to see why. The mother pegasus had a magnificent set of snow-white wings. One was partially lowered as if to protect her little one as she nursed."It's very rare for a pegasus to give birth in captivity," he went on, digging a handkerchief out of his pocket to blot the perspiration from his brow. "This is the first one we've had in several centuries.""Captivity?" Eve cast her eyes towards the open barn doors and the clear dome of sky outside. Jenkins caught the look and gave her a tired smile before going to a bucket of water."Yes, well, though spacious and providing everything a pegasus could need or want for a long, healthy life, it is still an enclosure," he answered her as he began to wash his hands and arms. "The outside world has no place for them anymore. All of the living denizens of the Library are, essentially, trapped here forever, in captivity." Eve caught a note in his voice that was somewhere between bitterness and resignation. She turned to meet his gaze."Like you?" she blurted, but not without sympathy. Jenkins snorted and gave her a half-smirk as he raised his head."Like me," he agreed, then paused for effect. "And like you, now that you're immortal, too." It felt as though the air had just been sucked from the Guardian's lungs as she realized the enormous truth of his reminder. She found herself staring at the old man."Wow!" she exclaimed and gave him a hard look as she raised her hands to give him two thumbs' up signs. "Awesome pep talk, Jenkins! Thanks!" The old immortal dipped his head and had the grace to look chastened as he pulled a cloth hanging on a nail near the bucket and used it to dry himself."My apologies, Eve," he murmured, then looked up at her again. "That was uncalled for, I suppose." Once his hands and arms were dry he ran the cloth over the back of his neck. "It was a stupid and cruel thing to say."Eve's shoulders dropped and her head tilted slightly to one side. The baby pegasus bleated in protest when her mother shifted her position and accidentally pulled the teat from her youngster's mouth. As Eve watched the foal settle back into nursing, an epiphany came to her: Jenkins had a bad habit of going straight to the negative in any given situation. Cassandra had mellowed his glum outlook on life considerably, but he sometimes still slipped back into his old doom and gloom attitude.Time for a little attitude adjustment, then, she thought determinedly. She shrugged one shoulder."You're not a mythical creature, Jenkins, and neither am I," she said breezily, "You can leave here anytime you want to. Take Cassandra and go live a normal life somewhere, get a normal job, pay a mortgage, shop at Costco, mow the lawn every week. You know, just be a regular couple…" Jenkins snorted again and started shaking his head in denial before she had even finished speaking."I'm afraid that I am as much a mythological creature as that pegasus mare is, Colonel," he said acerbically, a wry smile on his lips. "My time passed long ago, I don't belong in this world.""Bullshit."Jenkins cocked his head and gave Baird an offended look. "I beg your pardon?""You heard me!" Eve shot back. The foal, its belly full now, had tottered over to Eve and was sniffing, then nibbling her fingers. As she pulled her hand out of reach of the curious foal, she continued to stare into the older man's eyes. "That's a load of bullshit, and you know it is!""I know no such thing!" he sniffed, busying himself with rolling down his grimy, bloodstained shirtsleeves and buttoning the cuffs. Now it was Baird's turn to snort in derision."Again—bullshit," she said matter-of-factly. At their first meeting over three years ago, Eve had had her doubts about getting along with the crotchety old man who made it abundantly clear every chance he got that they were not welcome. But she was a shrewd judge of character and she had quickly seen through the prickly exterior. She soon grew to love and admire the gruff old immortal, despite his perpetually pessimistic outlook on life. And because she loved him so much she never missed an opportunity to call him out on his bullshit, either.Eve turned to face Jenkins, who was now cleaning up the barn now that the emergency was over. She raised one hand and began ticking off points on her slim fingers. "One: You've left the Library before and lived in the 'real' world, but you kept coming back to the Library.""I finally realized that there was no place for me out there anymore!" he interrupted with a wave of his hand "out there" and a little too much outrage."Two: You're the Library's Caretaker. That makes you a big fish in a big pond and I think you relish that position a lot more than you let on—far too much to just walk away from it for a 'normal' life.""Oh, now you're just being insulting!" the immortal blustered grumpily with a deep scowl furrowing his features before he snatched up a pitchfork."Three," Eve continued remorselessly, but her voice now became gentler. "I know you've been hurt by a lot of people over the years, you've lived through a lot of hard times. And I know that because of all that hurt, you've always been afraid to let yourself get too close to us out of fear that we'll abandon you one day, too.""Oh, really, Colonel Baird!" he cut in shortly, voice dripping with sarcasm, "I think you missed your true calling; you should've become a psychotherapist instead of a soldier with such clever insights!" But Eve only beamed up at him triumphantly."But it's too late," she went on, ignoring the outburst. "You fell in love with Cassandra, almost at first sight. Stone and Jones are like sons to you now. And you and me? We're like this!" She held up her hand to show him her crossed fingers to indicate the tightness of their bond."So don't try to psych me out with your 'I'm a prisoner of the Library' routine, 'cause I've got your number now, old man, and it's just not gonna work on me!" she finished. She stepped toward him and laid her hand on his shoulder."And I'll tell you something else: I'm here because I choose to be here, same as you," she said softly and flashed Jenkins a confident smile. "And I'm going to stay here for the rest of my life because I choose to—same as you. Because this is home, now, and we're family. You're never going to be alone again."Jenkins stared at the Guardian for several long seconds, his expression unreadable, while the newborn pegasus finally wandered off to nuzzle her mother again. At last he cleared his throat and turned his gaze onto the new foal."Her name is Wilhelmina," he announced, unmistakable pride in the declaration. Baird narrowed her eyes, her brow wrinkling in confusion."You're naming a flying horse Wilhelmina?" she asked, her disbelief clear. Jenkins turned back to her with a withering look of melodramatic long-suffering, and Baird knew then that he was going to be all right."Not the foal—the mother's name is Wilhelmina," he corrected her slowly. Eve threw her arms out wide and shrugged, shaking her head at the same time."Why would you name any kind of flying horse Wilhelmina?" she repeated, still disbelieving. Jenkins sighed and rolled his eyes and gave the dirty straw at his feet and half-hearted toss toward a nearby wheelbarrow."It comes from German; it means 'determined protector'," he explained with exaggerated patience, "A fine name for a mother, wouldn't you agree?" Eve bobbed her head thoughtfully; she had to admit that that was a good name for a mother. She then pointed to the baby with her chin."So then what about the baby? What's her name going to be?" There was a pause, and an uncertain look fell over the man's face as he paused in his work."Pebbles," he finally answered. A lightbulb flared on in the Guardian's mind as she slowly cocked her head, her blue eyes locked on Jenkins."Wait a minute," she said, suspicious, "You name one pegasus 'Wilhemina'—Wilma, for short, no doubt, and now you're naming her baby 'Pebbles'?" She turned to face him and slowly crossed her arms over her chest."You've got to be kidding me!" Eve exclaimed, giving the old immortal a questioning look, one fine eyebrow raised. "You named flying horses after cartoon characters?!""Again, I have no idea what you're talking about, Colonel," Jenkins huffed loftily and set aside the pitchfork as he began walking toward the mother and her offspring. "I don't watch cartoons; I have far too much work to do to waste time on such nonsense!" He reached out to scratch the mother pegasus behind her ears and beneath her chin."Would you like to see the other mated pair we have?" he called out to the Guardian. "That mare is also pregnant, she should be giving birth within a couple of weeks, knock on wood.""I'd love to!" Baird answered at once, and began to walk slowly toward the man and the pegasii so as not to frighten them. "What are their names?" There was the slightest of pauses, and Baird saw the wide shoulders stiffen beneath the begrimed shirt."Bernard and Elizabeth," Jenkins answered flatly. Eve stopped in her tracks."Oh, come on!" she said loudly, "'Bernard and Elizabeth'? Don't you mean 'Barney and Betty'?" The mother pegasus shied a bit and snorted at the unexpected sound, but Jenkins quickly reassured her with pats on her smooth white neck. He shot Eve a reproving glare at the same time and she raised both hands in surrender."Sorry!" she whispered. Jenkins narrowed his eyes before turning away from her. He began to lead the mare back to the stables, the baby wobbling alongside her dam. Eve hurried after them."Is the father of this foal here, too?" she said quietly as they walked through the barn toward the dam's stall. She thought for a moment that Jenkins was going to ignore her, but he loved talking about his animal charges too much to stay irritated with his friend."Yes," he answered briskly, "It's getting close to feeding time; he's usually waiting for me. Rather impatiently, too, I might add." Jenkins's face took on a look of distaste as they walked."And I really need to muck out their stalls, too," he said grimly, "So many chores have piled up while we were busy dealing with Apep!" Eve reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him to a halt. As Jenkins turned to give her perplexed scowl, she flashed him her brightest smile."Tell you what, Skip," she declared boldly, "If I can't guess the name of this baby's daddy, then I'll muck out the stalls for you!" Jenkins narrowed his dark eyes suspiciously."What's his name, then?" he demanded."'Frederick'!" Baird shot back instantly. Jenkins glared balefully back at her, and she burst into laughter."Face it, Jenkins; you're busted!" she crowed, pleased with herself. "You're a Flintstones fan—just admit it!""You've been spending far too much time with Mr. Jones," he snorted, a sour look on his face as he turned back to the pegasii. Eve only laughed, causing the little foal to toss her head and squeal loudly, as if trying to imitate her. Thinking she might have frightened her, Baird hurried up to pet the little animal and reassure it."I'll still help you muck out the stalls," she said warmly, happy that the baby was going to be okay, happy to be with her friend."Thank you, Eve," Jenkins answered, genuinely grateful for the help. The quick glance he shot her let her know that he was happy, too.Truly happy.