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Rose blew a strand of hair out of her face, and continued to walk through the stacks of books.

She crouched down, and triumphantly, yet quiet said, "Gotcha!"

Rose held Great Expectations in her grasp, and moved between the stacks to the checkout.

The librarian smiled at her, "Good to see you Rose! It's been too long. I was afraid you'd gone to another library!" She said, jokingly.

Rose smiled. "Who'd keep ol' Charlie company?"

They both chuckled, and the librarian checked out the book to her.

The librarian's eyes lit further, "I almost forgot! You have a rival in the Dickens's fan club!"

Rose's eyebrows knit together, "Really?"

"Really!" The librarian exclaimed. "This posh man came in yesterday and checked out nearly every Dickens's book! He went mad trying to look for that one, so I told him you'd be here today and you'd help 'im."

Rose chuckled, "I don't need you playing matchmaker."

The librarian scoffed, "You come in here, everyday at the 6 o'clock, find a Dickens's or other old literature book, and sit in your little hiding place until 8 or 9! It's work, read, and home!"

"The only men I need in my life are dead authors." Rose said, starting to walk away, "If you need me, you know where I'll be!"

"Have fun in your book fort!" She shouted back.

Rose scoffed, at the thought of a man in her life. What do I have to offer? She thought. My library card and book fort?

Rose walked up to her 'fort'. Rose had been coming to this library since she was six, and knew the librarian her entire life. When Rose was about twelve, the librarian gave her an extra room that wasn't being used so she could read in complete silence instead of sitting at a desk, or going to her home with her noisy mother. The room wasn't big, it was about 18x18 feet. Over the years she had collected a small, white Victorian loveseat that sat in the left corner of the room, diagonal from the door. The wall were lined with bookshelves, all mismatched. On the shelve were books, all worn out, taped at the spine, unloved books that the library was going to trash, but over the years Rose collected all of them.

All the selves were filled, and there were still little stacks on the floor. Rose closed the door behind her, and laid back on the love seat. She yawned, but was determined to read a good portion of the book. Within 15 minutes, the stressful day at work overcame her, and she fell asleep.

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A slight shake on Rose's shoulder roused her slightly. "Miss?" A voice said softly, trying to pull her out of the blanket of sleep that had fallen so abruptly upon her.

She cracked her eyes open, yawned, and rubbed her eyes. She looked up, and her eyes went wide.

A handsome man was inches from her, chestnut curls framing his face. He was wearing a Victorian outfit, and looked like he'd been pulled straight out of one of her books!

She blinked a couple more times, and rubbed her eyes once more. Sure enough he was real.

She cocked her head to the left slightly, and said, "Hello?"

He smiled sweetly, with an amused gleam in his eye, and looked around. "Love what you've done with the room."

Rose scratched her neck, "Yeah... everything lost, damaged, or just unwanted goes here. I fix 'em up, and find them a home on my shelves."

Rose looked back the strange man to see him staring at her. "What?" She asked, confused.

He smiled softly, and shook his head. "I do something similar."

"Really?" Rose said, interested. "Have a library of your own then?"

"I do," He said, smiling widely at the gleam of adventure in her eyes, "but I wasn't specially talking about books."

Rose's eyes knit, but before she could ask he said, "I was told you were the Dickens's expert. I was looking for Great Expectations, but came up short. Do you happen to know where it may be?"

She blushed slightly, and handed him the book that she had dropped whilst sleeping. "It was in one of the secret stacks. Usually no one reads my kinda books, and Donna shelves them in little stacks for me."

"Donna?" He asked.

"The librarian." She clarified. "When Donna was younger her mm was the librarian her. She gave me this room. She passed about three years ago, and Donna took over for her."

He nodded slightly, and Rose stood. She was about an inch shorter than him, she noted. She guided him toward the checkout, but locked the door to her room before she was gone. She looked at her clock, "AH!" She exclaimed, looking up at him, "I'm sorry, but I have to go. I was supposed to be home an hour ago! My mum's going to kill me!" Rose was about to run, but was stopped by the man's hand on her arm.

"I'm the Doctor by the way! What's your name?" 'The Doctor' said.

"Rose." She murmmered.

"Nice to meet you Rose!" He said,then flashing a manical grin, "Run for you life!"

She laughed as she ran out of the library, as did he.

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Continue?

-C.S