This is Prompt No. 24-Pick Up Lines

Four days later, Mitchie was walking through Washington D.C.'s downtown shops, looking for the dressmaker's shop that she had visited the day after she had been given her assignment. She wove through the crowds of people until she came to the little shop once again. Situated next to an iron workshop, the small shop with its little sign depicting a spool of blue thread looked like a dollhouse. With windows and sideboards that had recently been cleaned, the shop was the proverbial night and day to the iron shop.

As Mitchie stepped into the little establishment, a bell rung from above, having been agitated by the opening of the door. Almost immediately, an elderly woman scurried out front the back room, smiling as she saw Mitchie standing there. "Mrs. Gray!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

"Hello, Mrs. Carrel," Mitchie greeted her warmly.

"What brings you here today?" the kindly lady asked, pushing her thick glasses up further onto the bridge of her nose.

"I'm here to pick up the dresses you have for me," Mitchie explained to her.

"Oh yes!" Mrs. Carrel exclaimed, wagging her finger in the air. "I did promise you those by today, didn't I?"

"Yes," Mitchie said with a nod.

"Well, you'd best sit down here for a moment," Mrs. Carrel said, pointing to a comfy window seat. "I don't quite have the hem done on one of them."

Mitchie sat obediently, studying this woman that knew all about the UUS. Caitlyn came to this woman for all her dresses, as did many of the other women in the different branches of the UUS. Mrs. Carrel, rapidly stitching away, looked up when she felt Mitchie's eyes on her, and Mitchie felt compelled to speak.

"I was just wondering how you keep it all a secret," Mitchie told her honestly.

"It?" Mrs. Carrel asked, and then she realized that Mitchie was talking about the UUS. She smiled and shrugged. "Simple!" she replied with a laugh. "Who would entrust a little old lady with government secrets?" She shook her head. "I wouldn't," she added with another laugh.

"Do you ever wish you didn't know?" Mitchie asked.

Mrs. Carrel nodded. "Most of the time," she said honestly. "I always worry when one of my young ladies goes away on some mission." She sat back, abandoning her stitching for a moment. "I'm never at ease until I see them again." She pointed a finger, still clutching her needle, and added, "I'm worried about you as well."

"Me?" Mitchie asked.

Mrs. Carrel nodded. "Yes, you. So far from home with no escort." Mrs. Carrel shuddered. "And to just waltz into Queen Victoria's court as though you had every right to be there worries me as well."

Mitchie smiled indulgently and patted Mrs. Carrel's arm. "Thank you," she said, touched that this older woman took such care with her patrons, "but I'm sure I'll be fine." She smiled. "With your lovely gowns, how could I go wrong?"

Mrs. Carrel batted her hand away playfully, but Mitchie could see the pleasure creeping onto her face. "True," was all she said. She snipped a loose thread with her scissors and handed the gown to Mitchie. "There now," she said satisfactorily. "Go and try that on."

Without arguing, Mitchie gathered the dress into her arms and slipped into the back room to try it on. When she came back, old dress in hand, Mrs. Carrel clapped her hands and said, "My dear, that is your shade."

The dress, hued a shade very similar to the ball gown she had worn in Virginia, felt strange and very stiff. Mitchie ran her hands over the bodice and down the stiff skirts. "It's lovely," she told Mrs. Carrel, "it's just very different."

Mrs. Carrel nodded in understanding. "It's the fashion in England, though," she told her. She waved a dismissive hand towards the door. "Wear it home," she ordered. "Get used to the feel of it." She nodded toward the dress. "It's a parting gift from me." She turned and handed Mitchie two large boxes. "Those are the gowns you ordered. They're both evening gowns. The dress you're wearing is the dress you should arrive in, and then your normal clothes will do for the rest of your time there."

Mitchie stared in shock at Mrs. Carrel. "That's too generous a gift for me to accept," she argued.

Mrs. Carrel grinned and took Mitchie's old dress from her. "I have sufficient payment," she said with a wink.

"But that's my dress," Mitchie protested, confused.

Mrs. Carrel grinned again. "Then come back for it," she responded tartly.

Mitchie, understanding, smiled and headed towards the door, changing courses to peck Mrs. Carrel on the cheek. "I will," she promised before she raised her hand in goodbye and slipped out the door.

She made her way towards the theater, smiling as the sunlight filtered down on her. With such a beautiful day, one could almost forget why one was out in it. She tipped her head up towards the sun, letting it wash over her slightly pale complexion. Being stories underground most of the time did nothing to improve one's color. "Ah," she said with a sigh, reluctantly continuing on her way.

She slipped into the theater from the back, making sure that no one saw her, and then tiptoed down the hall to the prop room where she and her two packages disappeared down the trap door. Mitchie smiled as the buggy driver helped her with her packages, and then she was seated, ready for the two hour ride back to the base.

When the buggy finally arrived, the driver hopped down to assist Mitchie once again with her packages. "Thank you," she told him sincerely. He tipped his hat to her, and then she was off, her new dress swirling around her ankles as she walked, resisting the urge to swing her two dress boxes.

She passed Caitlyn in the hall and waved. Caitlyn seemed in a hurry to be somewhere, but she waved back at Mitchie to show that she liked her new dress. "I saw Shane a few minutes ago!" Caitlyn called out.

"Oh?"

Caitlyn nodded, dodging around two men carrying a large board of wood. "He'd just gotten back from the library."

"The library?" Mitchie asked, but Caitlyn was already gone. "Figures," Mitchie scoffed good-naturedly. "Tell me enough to confuse me, and then disappear on me."

She shook her head and then began again on her journey towards her apartments, weaving through the ever-present crowds. As she drew closer to her division's wing, the crowd began to dissipate, each person going their separate way. Soon, she was the only one in the corridor. Checking to make sure that there was no one behind her, Mitchie began to test out her new dress, twirling around and around, dancing with imaginary, dignitary partners.

She had just been asked for a dance from the prince of some far off country when a hand grabbed her and pulled her into the apartment. "May I cut in?" a voice whispered in her ear. Mitchie grinned as she stared up into a pair of twinkling brown eyes. "Because," the voice went on, "I have a new library card, and I am checking you out!"

A/N: Hope you liked it! When I saw this prompt on the list, I just had to use that Joe pick up line. Please review! It makes my day!