Cassandra hummed a Christmas carol as she got ready for her day, laying out one of her festive Christmas outfits. This was the first day she'd been in the spirit to be honest and it was all due to the college professor going through their files. She could say that it was because he gave her hope, but there was more to it than that.

Cassandra had a ton of friends. People were drawn to her personality and sense of humor. But she knew that none of them really knew her, they didn't want to know the hidden layers beneath the fun loving outer Cassandra. And none of them certainly understood her deep connection to the library building, not even her co-workers. Her father, the Ph.D. adored her, but she knew that deep down he was disappointed that his math genius daughter had instead followed her mother into the sometimes thankless world of librarianship. He didn't quite get her. The only people who had were now gone, her mother and her beloved great-uncle, the former director of the library.

Even her lovers hadn't quite gone deeper. Cassandra sighed, she'd not met a man . . . or a woman for that matter who'd ever quite gotten her. She'd been in love a couple of times but each had fallen apart. Estrella got her attachment to the library because she was attached to her childhood home. But in the end, in a move well understood by Cassandra, Estrella had heeded the call of her homeland and went back to Spain. Cassandra couldn't fault her as her next relationship had fallen apart because of her devotion to the library.

She loved Tony and he'd loved her. Put a ring on her finger and they'd planned that home that Jacob had spoken of the other day. But he'd gotten his dream job in Oregon and she'd . . .she'd tried, she'd tried so hard to go with him. Because she'd loved him. But this place, this home of hers had meant more.

Now it was in danger and no one understood. No one understood what she'd given up for it. She'd given up the man she'd loved, the woman she'd loved, the children she could have had. All for a place that no one else cared about.

No one other than Jacob Stone. Who had been a stranger just a few days ago. Yet to Cassandra, he was the first person who ever really, truly got her.

And she didn't know what to do with that information.

Stone didn't spend all of his time in the office, today he was wandering around the building, hoping that maybe the building itself would give him a much needed clue. He did indeed have an idea but he was going to have to do some research first. He was hoping that the library had access to some of the databases he needed.

He wandered over to the children's desk where Cassandra was working.

"Hey Cass?"

"Yes?" she smiled up at him, putting aside the book she'd been flipping through.

"Does the library have access to the historical newspaper database?" he asked leaning against the desk. "I think I have an idea."

Cassandra bit her lip in thought. "I think so, but it wouldn't be on the computers in this section as it's not on the children's . . . " She moved the chair over to her work computer and clicked around. "Ah, yes, you can access it here. But I don't know the log in information, I've never had to use it. Let me get Ezekiel."

Ezekiel turned out to be the young man with the Australian accent that Stone had encountered on his first day. He seemed slightly annoyed with having to get Jacob set up, but he ruffled Cassandra's hair as he came in.

"This one, her brain is like a computer yet she's not really that big on actually using one."

There was a generic login in for the library and Ezekiel gave him the information. Then Stone spotted another database on the computer.

"That one have a login?"

Ezekiel looked at him a little sideways. "Didn't Cassandra say you were an uni professor? You should have a login for the full blown version."

Jacob swore to himself. He did indeed, but he had no way of knowing if it would still be operational. With the college on break, IT might not have cut his access yet, but maybe they had. He shrugged and came up with a quick cover. "Yeah, I've been having issues with my logins lately. The regular IT guys are off for break and everything is back burner."

Ezekiel didn't seem convinced exactly, but he wrote down the lower level access that the public library system had.

As Ezekiel left, he cast an odd glance back at the professor on the computer. His story didn't really seem to fly. Neither did the story that Cassandra told him about how the man couldn't access the historical society's files nor make any phone calls for favors. Something about his phone being messed up. Made no sense.

Though Cassandra did say Jacob was a history professor. Probably too into ancient and dusty things to know how to use technology. Probably still had a flip phone.

Still Ezekiel made a mental note to do some research on this Dr. Jacob Stone. When he had some free time, which he didn't really right now. It was the holiday season and Ezekiel Jones had an active social life. So for now, the mystery of this professor who just appeared one day would be shelved.