"Now your job is primarily to clean up before the museum opens and throughout the day. All of the carpets need to be vacuumed, fingerprints cleaned off of the glass cases, garbage needs to be taken out, floors mopped and the bathrooms need to be checked and cleaned regularly throughout the day." nodding mutely the raven haired woman made mental notes of everything that was being said to her before following the elderly janitor as he started his brisk pace again. It was her first day on the job and Mr. Wilke had already given her a new uniform and keys for the janitor closets and was taking her on a brief tour of the museum. Dawn Rutledge hastened her steps so she wouldn't lose Mr. Wilke in the crowds of tourists that were flooding the Smithsonian Castle. The golden glow of the late summer evening bathed the whole museum with an ethereal beauty which caused Dawn to shiver at the reminder that fall was fastly approaching. She noticed that Mr. Wilke was not beside her and mentally noted that he was very quick but she found him and quickened her steps to catch up with him.

"Now do you have any more questions?" Mr. Wilke turned to face Dawn as he stopped walking and found themselves in front of one of the janitor closets. Once again the raven haired woman just shook her head and the older man gave her the key to her supply closet and told her to be at the museum bright and early because it was going to be a busy day tomorrow and she was going to have a lot of hard work ahead. After Mr. Wilke left the young woman took a deep breathe and released it slowly in order to keep her tears at bay, quickly she turned around and made her way back to the main doors of the museum.

Constantly looking over her should and unable to shake the feeling of being watched the young woman was unaware of the person right in front of her until she collided with them and fell on the floor. Groaning slightly as she got up from the floor the man that she ran over jumped up from the ground and started fixing his clothes and dusting himself off. He was a gangly young man with rusty red hair that stuck up in every direction and his brown eyes quickly looked over Dawn in order to ensure that she wasn't hurt.

"I'm terribly sorry, I wasn't paying attention until I bumped into you then we fell and I started explaining myself and, yeah I'm just going to shut up now because I'm just talking in a circle," Dawn just raised her eyebrows and gave a small smile at the strange man's antics "I'm Sam." he stuck his hand out to her and she shook it and noticed that he was looking at her in a way that suggested that he wanted her to give him her own name.

"Dawn," she introduced herself then noticed that Sam was wearing the uniform used for tour guides "I just started working here and I was given the grand tour today before I start tomorrow."

"I must applaud you for being a janitor because I would never want to clean up after other people. I would probably just start yelling at them and tell them to clean up their own damn mess," Sam joked but received a strained smile from Dawn instead.

"I didn't really choose it because I wanted to clean up after people but because I need the money," she stated and effectively ended that conversation leaving the two in a state of awkward silence.

"Right, well it was nice seeing you and I'll see you around," Sam wished her a good night then walked away leaving Dawn alone. Sam was definitely an strange character but his awkward demeanor made her feel at ease.

Looking down at her watch she realizes that she is late and hurries to the bathrooms by the gift shop and heads to a small recess in the wall but stopped in her tracks when she noticed something missing. Seeing that the two small bags that she placed there were still there she whirled around to try and find where her missing brother was.

"Owen?" panic surged through her as she frantically searched through the crowds with her eyes looking for the small blonde figure of her brother. Finally she saw a short boy standing infront of the Information desk and looking over the colorful brochures. Practically running Dawn makes her way over and scoops her brother into her arms and hugs him.

"Dawn you are squishing me!" came the muffled cry from Dawn's seven year old brother Owen. She released him and put him on the ground and gave him a disapproving stare as she kneeled in front of him so she can look him in the eye.

"I thought I told you that you needed to stay put so I could find you again. I don't want you to wander off by yourself or for someone to take you," Owen lowered his green eyes that he and his sister inherited from their mother in shame.

"I'm sorry I scared you Dawn," he says softly. Dawn's scowl slowly melted away because she could never stay mad at her brother for very long and she accepted his apology but makes him promise to stay put if she tells him to. Leading Owen back to the small recess they sit on the floor together as they watch people come and go as Dawn feeds her brother food that she got from the vending machines. Owen sat next to her as he proudly showed her the brochures that he got and read them out loud to her while she listened and occasionally corrected him.

A loud voice called over the speaker and announced that the museum would be closing soon and Dawn told Owen to grab his Batman backpack and follow her. Grabbing her own bag and her brother's hand she maneuvered her way through the crowd but she made sure that nobody was watching them as she took the key that Mr. Wilke gave her and unlocked the janitor closet. Moving things out of the way she took out an old quilt and spread it out the hard concrete ground and sat down on it while her brother sat next to her.

"Dawn, why do we have to stay here?" Dawn looked down at her brother's jade eyes as he look around the small closet curiously and she tried desperately to hold back the tears.

"We need a place to sleep before winter comes so we won't be cold," she explained as gently as possible so he would understand "Don't worry little man we'll have a home again and you'll have your own bed, we just have to be patient okay?" Owen was silent for a while so he could process what his sister said to him and after a while he gave her small smile and nod. Dawn smiled at him then gave him a kiss on the forehead which resulted in her chuckling at him as he gave her a little pout and using his hand to wipe away the kiss. They both got into their pajamas and Dawn draped a blanket over them as they lie down. She ran her hand through Owen's soft hair and hummed softly until he fell asleep then she held her breath when she hears a couple guards pass by the closet as they make their final rounds for the night.

Staring at the ceiling as she listened to Owen's breathing Dawn realized how scared she truly is. She was in a museum closet with her little brother and she had no clue what to do next and she wasn't sure how they were going to get by. The weight that had been baring down on her was now suffocating her almost to the point of drowning in uncertainty. At least it was better than the previous hellhole they were living in and Dawn would be damned if she let her little brother ever see that bitch ever again because she would protect Owen with her life. Finally she was able to slip into unconsciousness and her burdens seemed to leave her for a little while.

Waking up early the next morning Dawn gently woke up Owen and gave him a granola bar from her bag. She straightened out her crumpled uniform and gathered the cleaning materials the she would need and loaded them up on her cart.

"Now remember to stay inside the closet with your books and toys, I'll be back throughout the day so you can go to the bathroom," Dawn instructed her brother then gave him a hug before she began her first day of work.

Mr. Wilke was surprised to see her up so early and already vacuuming the carpet but praised her and told her that he hopes that she will work hard like this every day. The museum opens and people slowly begin to trickle in to see the exhibits. She took a quick break in cleaning and quickly sneaked Owen out of the closet so he could go the bathroom before escorting him back and continuing with her work. She was cleaning the glass case of an exhibit when she felt a presence behind her and she froze.

"Al Capone," Dawn jumped slightly when she heard the voice but turned to see that it was just Sam standing behind her and giving her a goofy smile.

"What?"

"Al Capone," he repeated pointing to the figure of the fierce monochrome gangster that was behind the glass that she was just cleaning, "famous gangster during the 20s." Sam explained proudly but Dawn just gave him a quizzical look which caused him to shift nervously from foot to foot.

"I brought you coffee," he finally said holding out a foam cup out for her "I didn't know what you liked so it's black."

"Thanks." Dawn replied gratefully and took the cup and sat next to Sam on a bench drinking coffee as he told her more about the Chicago mob boss. Dawn thanked Sam again for the coffee and despite her protests he promised to bring her a doughnut next time.

Time seemed to move slowly after Sam's small distraction but she looked forward to every break because she went and saw her brother and made sure to take him to the bathroom and got him little snacks here and there. When she finally got done and was making her way back to the closet she passed by gift shop and saw the clearance table that was filled with different books. Stepping in the store and making her way to the table there was a thick text book that caught her eyes called Eyewitness World History. She took the hefty book in her hands and debated buying it for Owen but in the end she placed it back down where she found it and walked back out of the store dejected. She made her way to the vending machines, shifting through the changed that was in her pocket and placing it in the slot she gathered the snacks while her mind kept going back to that book. Dawn was halfway back to the closet when she stopped suddenly and started walking to Mr. Wilke's office with a determined gait. The man's was surprised when Dawn marched into his office and he was worried that she was quitting and he would have to find another janitor after only a day.

"How can I help you Dawn?" the woman in question gave him a small smile at his friendly disposition but then she quickly remembered the whole reason for visiting him.

"Are there any ways for me to pick up more shifts or get a second job here in the museum?" she questioned bluntly.

"Well you are picking up the maximum number of hours that we can give you," Seeing the young woman's shoulders slump in rejection he quickly added,"but you can always pick up other people's shifts if they can't make it in. In regards to getting another job I don't think there are any other open positions at the time but I can always inform you when there is an opening."

Dawn walked out of the office slightly deterred but she put a smile on her face as she opened the closet and slipped inside. While feeding her brother she asked him what he did that day and was sad to hear that he had read through all of his books and played with all of his toys but was bored for the rest of the day.

"How about on my first day off we take a tour of the museum and you can see all of the exhibits?" Dawn giggled as Owen quickly agreed and made her promise that they would see everything in the museum. After she got him to settle down later that night she was also about to drift off when she saw the museum lights turn on under the door. She was slightly tempted to get up and check to see what it was but she unexpectedly heard voices on the other side of the door in the museum.

It's probably the night guards, she reassured herself then tucked herself under the blanket and next to her brother. Her first day on the job was a success in her mind and although their sleeping and living conditions were not the best it was better than anywhere else at the moment and Dawn was determined to make sure that it was only temporary, overall she was...positive.

This could work, were her last thoughts before she fell asleep.

Hello! So this is a new story that I am working on for Night at the Museum and I have to say that I sadly do not own any of the characters in this franchise and that I only own Dawn, Owen, Sam and Mr. Wilke. My inspiration for this story is from watching The Pursuit of Happyness and the book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler which is a book in which a brother and sister run away and live in a museum. This is Al Capone/OC and it is after the events of NATM2 which means that it will be longer (and hopefully better) than my last story. I would really love suggestions from you the reader because I already know that I am going to run out ideas fast for this story so if you want to see it succeed give me any and all suggestion because I need all of the help I can get. Thank you all again and I love you all! -Christina