A/N: Sorry this chapter has taken so long o_o I will try to update much more frequently, and thank you to everyone who takes a chance on my lil fic ^_^


Cath looks up from her book to check the clock hanging in her living room. Almost 11:40. Cath slides her bookmark into place and rises from her couch. Everyone has always told her it's not right for a woman of her age- 23- to be living on her own, but Cath had never minded it. She liked having alone time, curling up before or after work to read a nice book. If she had a roommate, or God forbid a husband, she probably wouldn't be able to read as much as she did. She likes the quiet. Besides, she accepted 2 years ago that she was going to be spending the rest of her life alone. No use fussing over things she couldn't change.

She rises from the couch, sliding her book into her bag that's hanging over a chair in her kitchen. Her shift starts at noon today, meaning she would have to leave in the next 5 minutes to be able to walk there in time. She grabs a bagel from her cupboard and absently shoves it into her mouth, considering her day. Karen had informed her yesterday that she would not be able to help with her bookmobile project after all. That means she was short a volunteer- no way could Cath do it all herself- and the project was scheduled to be up and running by the weekend! Cath has 2 days to rope someone into helping her, or her project was failed. Cath shoves the rest of the bagel in her mouth and grabs a banana from the table, peeling it while lost in thought. Karen was the other librarian, besides her, Cath really didn't have any other friends. She had absolutely no one else to ask. She pulls a butter knife out of her silverware drawer and begins slicing the banana into small pieces. A squawk sounds out from down the hall and Cath looks up.

"Yes yes! I haven't forgotten about you, be patient my little demon bird!" Cath finishes up cutting the banana and places the pieces in a small bowl and starts walking down the hall towards her bedroom. The Black Lory was clutching the front of the cage, seemingly trying to bite her way through the metal bars. "Calm down, baby," She say's firmly. The bird cocks her head, contemplating Cath standing in front of her holding a bowl of bananas, before stepping down off the cage and onto her perch.

"Good girl, Meg!" Cath coos opening the cage. Meg ruffles her feathers and takes off from her perch, landing on Cath's shoulders. "Hey, you know I have work now. I can't bring you to work."

Meg squawks loudly in her ear as Cath tries to shoo her back into her cage. Cath holds the bowl of bananas out near the cage. "You can't have bananas if you don't go back in there." Cath gives her a stern look.

Meg glares at Cath and gives ones last loud squawk right in her ear before hopping back into her cage. "Good girl," Cath places the bowl inside the cage, and lightly runs her finger over the smooth feathers. Meg coos at her. "I'll be back tonight, be a good girl!"

Cath closes the door to the cage and watches her eat the bananas for a few seconds before exiting. Meg was a spunky bird. Whenever Cath had visitors over, Meg was an absolute nightmare. She would shriek and if she happened to be out of her cage, she would fly at her guests and attack them. That's why Cath called her her demon bird. But when it came to Cath, Meg was an angel, and Cath adored her more than anything in the world. Cath had no idea where the name came from, it seemed to fit her color and personality. But mostly it was something she just knew as soon as she saw her in the store, that her name was Meg and that was her bird. They had been best friends ever since.

Cath grabs her bag from the chair and checks the clock again- 11:46, shoot! Cath shoves her bag over her head and rushes towards her front door. She grabs a pair of shoes at random and hops around trying to shove them on as she catches sight of her hair in her hallway mirror. It was an absolute mess, sticking up in all directions looking like she just woke up and hadn't brushed it in weeks. She had never really been good at styling her hair. Cath reaches into her bag and pulls out a clip as she finally manages to slide her shoes on and turns back towards the mirror. She then flips her head upside down, places the clip, and heads out the door. Good enough, She thinks.

Cath is lost in thoughts of the bookmobile for most of the way to work. A few blocks from work a familiar face pokes her head out of her living room window and calls out to her, "Catherine!"

Cath stops and looks over, smiling. "Good afternoon, Meadow!" She calls back.

Meadow smiles at her, "How's your bookmobile project coming? You start on Saturday, right?"

Cath shakes her head, "Karen just told me last night she's backing out."

Meadow looks horrified. "Bummer! I will be sending positive energy your way all day. I believe in you!"

Cath laughs softly. "Thank you Meadow, I could definitely use some positive energy right now."

"OO!" Meadow calls out just as Cath begins to walk away. Cath stops again, turning back to look at Meadow.

"Yesterday, this absolute hunk of a man was lost on his way to the library, did he find ya?"

Cath thinks back. "Blonde hair, suit, very very green eyes?"

Meadow snaps, "That's the one! Oh good. His aura is very lost, I was afraid it would lead him astray. It reminds me of yours... I think you two could help each other." Meadow nods dazedly.

"Well I will keep that in mind, thank you Meadow," Cath waves and turns away again, continuing down the sidewalk.

"Peace out, sister! Positive energy!" Meadow calls out after her.

Cath laughs to herself and rounds the corner. What had his name been? D... Dan! That was it. He was somewhat amusing, and was very prone to blushing. Whenever she had looked up from her work to check on the library, he seemed to be looking at her, and then his face would turn a deep shade of red. Normally this sort of thing bugged her- but then normally the guys didn't have beautiful green eyes that stared back at her making her forget to be mad. Besides, it wasn't leering, like she normally experienced. This guy was shy... Adorable almost, in his staring, though he obviously found her intriguing. This gives her a thought... Perhaps, if she ends up seeing him again, that is, she could rope him into helping out with her bookmobile project. Chances are, with how he seemed to act around her, she would be able to get him to agree to it and walk away before he knew what he had signed up for. She reaches the library and pushes the doors open, stepping inside. She is immediately greeted by Karen, sitting at the desk, clutching her bag and ready to go.

Karen shoots up from her chair, "Oh, Catherine I am so sorry! I heard you haven't been able to find anyone else to fill in for me, yet."

Cath unloads her bag next to her desk as her eyes scan the room. "Not as of yet," She says as her eyes land on Dan, sprawled out at the same table as last night, looking exactly as he did the day before, almost as if he had yet to leave. As soon as her eyes land on him, Dan lifts his head from his reading and meets her gaze. Cath's face lights up in a smile, and Dan's eyes go wide. "But I do have some ideas."

Karen begins backing towards the door, always in such a hurry to leave after her shift. "Well that's fantastic! Good luck, Catherine, again, I am so so sorry I can't help you out." Karen pushes the door open with her butt, and takes off out of the building. Cath returns her attention to Dan, who is still sitting at the table, but looking utterly confused. Confused looks adorable on this man, Cath decides.


Dan had felt eyes on him, so he had looked up. Cath was staring at him, and as soon as he met her gaze, she grinned. She grinned. Dan's eyes widen in shock. Why is she smiling at me? Do I have leaves in my hair or something? Oh God, did a bird poop on my head on the way in? I thought I felt something but I thought it had just been the wind, and now she is laughing at me because I am in the library with bird poop on my head. Cath looks away to address another woman who is inching towards the door. He quickly reaches up to his hair and checks for anything that should not be there. Not finding anything, he brings his hand away confused. I don't get it, why is she- Cath has turned back towards him and is now making her way over to his table, once again smiling.

Oh God, is it on my jacket? There's bird poop on my jacket, why on earth did I not check my jacket and now she's come to inform me I look like a fool-

Cath stops in front of his table, and he tells his mind to shut up. He looks up at her.

"Hello," She starts. "It was Dan, right?"

Dan's eyes widen as he nods mutely.

Her smile widens and causes little crinkles in the corners of her eyes. "Well Dan, back again, huh? Have you been finding what you're looking for?"

Dan scrunches his face in confusion. This did not seem like a lead in to informing someone of the bird feces on their suit jacket. "Uh, yes, yes I am. I didn't quite finish with all the materials yesterday, so I'm just finishing up with them today," His head bobs jerkily, nodding at her.

"That's great, I'm glad I could help. So, Dan. Lawyer, huh? That must leave you pretty busy."

Dan fumbles for a response. "Um," He swallows. "Quite, actually. Not really much free time, especially with it being my first week on the job, a lot of things I need to catch up with."

"Of course, that must be very hard work. I'm sure you have at least a couple hours on the weekends free though, they can't possibly expect you to work all the time?"

Dan blinks up at her, his brain whirring trying to figure out where she was going with all of this. "Well, most of the weekend is spent with research for one thing or another, but yes I supposed there are a few hours every weekend." He scrunches his face up in thought.

Cath is nodding at him. "You look like the kind of guy who likes kids. Am I right? I find working in a library especially rewarding when I am able to see the delight in a child's eyes when they find a book they really enjoy."

Dan's brain spins, trying to keep up with her train of thought. "I do have a younger sister..."

"Don't you just love helping underprivileged children discover the joys of reading? And when it only takes a few hours out of your weekend, why wouldn't you, right? Doesn't that just sound like something you would love to do?"

Dan is confused. Deeply. Confused. "Yes, of course, it sounds very worthwhile," He stammers out.

Cath claps her hands together, "Oh great! You have no idea how happy I am to here you say that. Karen, my previous volunteer, has just backed out and I found myself with no one to help out. Thank you so much, you will not be disappointed! Come by the library on Saturday, around twelve o'clock, and we can head out." Cath beams at him. "The children will be so excited! See you at noon on Saturday?" She questions, backing away.

Dan is still trying to process what on earth he seems to have agreed to, and his mouth decides to respond without his brain having fully caught up to it yet. "Yes, of course!"

Cath beams at him, "Great! Thank you, so much!" She turns around and heads back to her desk, flopping down and pulling out a book from her bag as she hums.

Dan looks after her, then back down to his notes, and once again back over to Cath. "What?" He says to himself.

A/N: Black Lory- www . birdchannel dotcom / images / species / subspecies / black - lory . jpg (take out spaces and put a . instead of dot)