Hello Everyone! this is my first fanfic so everyone go easy me please. Just so you get a proper image of Dodger in this story, i am using the Dodger from the Oliver twist movie 2005. As well as the other characters. I hope you enjoy the story :D


Nipper - pickpocket

Chowderhead - stupid, idiot, dumb

Cravats - a necktie

Wipes - Handkerchief


It was a warm, sunny day in London in the year 1835. There were people crowded all on the streets, enjoying the warm day. Among the crowd of people was a young girl trying to get to the bookstore to get some books for her father. She was wearing a pretty lavender and white dress, with a light hat on top of her head. Her blonde wavy hair went just past her shoulders. She put her hand over her eyes, to protect her shocking light blue eyes from the sun. She was carrying a basket over her left arm.

Her eyes roamed the street to look for the shop, when she found her destination she crossed the street, a little bell ringing as she entered the bookshop. The bookkeeper that was also one of her best friends turned to see who walked in and smiled at his visitor. " Miss Roberts! My favourite customer, how good to see you dear" he said and walked over to her to give her a light hug. She chuckled " How many times have I told you Ernie to call me by my first name" she said. He smiled and rubbed his chin " Maybe around a hundred times miss, maybe more". " well make sure you remember this time" she laughed and wandered around the bookshop

" certainly Hannah" he smiled. " Which book are you looking for today?" he asked, following her around the store." I don't really know, my father gave me this note to give to you with a list of books in it, he also wanted me to give you this other note along with it. He made me swear not to read it" she said and handed him the notes from her father. " and did you keep your promise? Did you not read it?" he asked while taking the notes from her hand. She shrugged " I didn't read it".

that was a lie, Hannah did read it and Ernie could see that she was lying " We will keep that a secret between us" he said and smiled, then he walked over to a bookshelf to look for the books that was written in the note. Hannah wandered around the bookshelves. She didn't know why her father didn't want her to read it, she didn't really understand what it was anyway, it sounded more like a secret message than a regular note, using nicknames and weird words. She ran her finger over the bookshelves and stopped at one she liked, Jane Eyre, she loved that book. She grabbed it from the shelf and brought it to the front of the store.

Ernie was waiting behind the counter. She paid for the books, and he handed her the ones for her father.

" Thank you Ernie, I will be back to visit soon" she said, and placed the books in her basket.

" Goodbye Miss Roberts!" he said and smiled when she turned to glare at him.

She roamed around the streets swinging the basket in her arms, it was a beautiful day, unlike most of the days that they had, which were gray and gloomy. She walked over the London Bridge and saw a group of girls hanging about. One of then saw her and ran towards her. It was her best friend Marie. Her long dark curls bounced behind her as she ran.

" Hannah! We were just at your house, but your father said you went out, we were hoping if you wanted to go to the shops with us and then to the park" She said, her large brown eyes staring at Hannah in hope.

Hannah looked toward the small group of girls that were waving at her and waiting for her to come join them.

She sighed " Look, I can't right now, I have to get these books back to my dad and then I promised to help Edna around the house".

Marie's hopeful face dropped " Please come, I can't go without my best friend, and anyway Grace said that she was going to introduce us to some boys that she met in town" she said giggling.

Hannah laughed " I promise I will come next time" she said. Marie pouted and put her hands on her hips

" Sometimes you're such a bore" she said. Hannah laughed again and flicked Marie's nose, which she hated

" Don't pout, I will be free tomorrow, we will go for a walk after lunch okay?"

Marie silently shrieked and cupped her nose, she wagged her finger at Hannah " Fine, fine, but if you break that promise, I will have to come after you Hannah Roberts and it won't be pretty" she said and began to walk back towards the group of girls. " It's a promise!" Hannah shouted after her.

Hannah walked past the group of girls and waved at them, then started her journey home. She slowed down her pace, admiring the look of her neighborhood, the purple flowers, the young couples walking side by side. She reached the front door of her large white house, and walked inside.

" I'm home!" she called out. At once, Edna, the 50 year old maid came rushing down the large staircase

" Miss Hannah were have you been!" she said " you were out all afternoon! I was ready to call the police"

Hannah chuckled " I'm fine, I was just enjoying the moments of this beautiful day, it's been awhile since we had one"

Edna put her hand on her hips " never the less, I was worried sick"

Hannah smiled, ever since losing her mother at the age of 2, Edna had always been a mother to her, and it made Hannah feel good that she cared so much for her.

Hannah smothered her in a hug and kissed her cheek to get her to stop speaking " Stop worrying, I'm fine, our neighborhood is very safe"

Edna huffed " Yes but some of those scraggly poor people, especially the boys, would see a pretty young wealthy girl walking along the street and would love to snatch her right up"

" Shush" Hannah said " I'm home, I'm going to give these books to father, I will be back soon to help you around the house" then she skipped off.

Her father was sitting in his study writing a letter " Hello father" she said and kissed his cheek.

" Hannah dear, you're home! Did you get the things from Ernie?" he asked, she reached into her basket and gave him the books

" Ah, that's a good girl, thank you for doing that for me" he said and smiled warmly up at her.

" Anytime father" she said, and walked out of the room. She walked outside to look for Edna, who was hanging up the laundry.

Hannah grabbed one of her fathers shirts and hung it up " Edna, have you ever met my mother?" she asked.

Edna's face softened " Yes I have dear, and what a pretty and sweet thing she was. Always kind to everyone, even the beggars on the street, you look just like her as well, same blonde hair, same facial features, soft skin, big blue eyes, you two are almost identical"

Hannah grinned, " do you have any good stories about her that you can tell me?" she asked. Edna stopped hanging up clothes to think. " I do remember one time, she was pregnant with you, and she was helping me hang laundry up, just like you do" Edna smiled " and I went inside to get us some water, and when I came back out, she was fast asleep on the chair, and all the clothes that were hanging up were gone" she aughed.

" What happened?" Hannah asked. Edna laughed " Well when she fell asleep, a few pickpockets, walked over, and seeing as she was asleep took all the clothes" she said and wiped a tear from her eye " You should of seen the look on her face, she was so sorry and thought I would get angry, but I thought it was quite funny" she stated.

Hannah laughed " too bad about the clothes though"

Edna smiled " Well your mother did say that she was upset that they took someone else's property, but she was also happy that some needy had new clothes to walk around in"

Edna picked up the empty laundry basket and walked over to Hannah, she placed her hand on her cheek

" You my dear, are such a blessed child, beautiful, kind, not many people help their maid with chores around the house" she said and chuckled. Hannah laughed " Edna your part of our family"

" you see!" she stated " not many people have a heart like you do, and if you keep on going like this, something great is going to happen to you one day, and your going to be one of the happiest girls on earth" she said and kissed her cheek.

Hannah smiled " do you have anymore stories about my mother?" she asked. Edna shook her head sadly

" I don't dear, but why don't you ask your father?" she suggested. Hannah huffed and sat on the stool " he doesn't like to talk about her, I have tried, but he always changes the subject" she said

Edna sighed and shook her head " your father is like a window with the shutters closed, he doesn't like to open up to anybody, he's just hurting Hannah, more than you think, he loved you mother more than anyone on earth"

" But why won't he open up to me? Doesn't he love me enough to open up to me?" she said.

" My gods, he loves you more than anyone, he loves you more than you think, he is afraid to cry in front of you, to make you sad, he knows how much you look like her and it hurts him, I've seen him catch himself from calling you her name, you never noticed, but I have. He cares so much about you Hannah and don't you forget that" she said.

Hannah smiled at her " thank you Edna" she said. Edna smiled back " yes, yes, now go upstairs and read or practice your stitching" she said, and swatted her arm to get her moving. Hannah laughed and ran into the house to her room, Hannah jumped on her bed and sighed,

At the age of 2 her mother went out to get some food, she and her father waited up all night for her, as her father was about to call the police, they showed up at the door. Hannah's mother was murdered. A man a little younger than her mother was did it. She wouldn't give him her wallet, so he murdered her. It tore her father's heart, he never told Hannah about the name of the man, but she saw his face on all the wanted posters, he was scary looking. That's why she was able to understand why her family was so protective of her. She was sad that she was hurting her father because of her looks, but at least he loved her.

She took out her book and began to read. Halfway through the book, her eyes began to close and she drifted into a deep sleep.


Hannah woke up to birds chirping she slowly sat up in her bed, she looked down and saw that she was wearing her nightgown, did she change into it before she went to sleep? She couldn't remember.

She heard a knock on her door, she jumped out of bed " Just a second Edna!" she yelled through the door.

" Wake up lazy bones! Its not Edna!" Marie's voice shouted through the door. " Wait till I'm changed Marie" Hannah yelled through the door.

Marie ignored her " Naked or not, I'm coming in" she yelled, and burst through her door. She smiled at Hannah, who looked annoyed

"Hello" she said and walked over to Hannah's bed, placing her basket on the floor and sitting herself on the bed.

" I thought we were getting together after lunch" Hannah said, as she began to take of her night clothes. Marie rolled her eyes " well considering you ditched me yesterday, I decided that we are going to spend the whole day together" she smiled mischievously. Hannah rolled her eyes " how annoying you can be sometimes Marie, to wake someone up from her sleep"

Marie huffed " quit lying, you were awake, I know you were cause you weren't snoring, and you snore in your sleep". Hannah turned to her, " I do not!" she said. Marie smirked " oh yes you do, everyone knows"

Hannah's face grew red from embarrassment " I never knew that" she said, " how awful"

Marie laughed " its not too bad, sometimes it can get pretty loud but—" Hannah slapped her " enough, I don't want to hear anymore about me snoring"

Marie laughed again and waited for her to change " wear the light blue dress Hannah, I love that one on you" she said.

Hannah went to her wardrobe to pick up the dress, " could you help me tie my corset please" she said.

She waited as Marie tightly pulled the strings together, how she hated wearing it, she saw no need for it and it only made her feel burning hot and stuffy. Then she pulled the dress over her head, did her hair, put on a little bit of makeup, grabbed her basket, and grabbed her mothers handkerchief that she always kept with her and stuffed it in her pocket, then they headed downstairs.

Marie and Hannah sat down at the table. Edna came with their breakfast " Good morning dears, how was your sleep?"

Hannah snarled " it would have been better if I didn't have a snobby friend to burst into my room to wake me up"

" ouch your grumpy in the morning Hannah, and I told you to quit lying, you were awake" Marie said and smirked. She turned to Edna " How are you Edna?" she asked. " Quite well dear, quite well, where are you two planning to go today?" Edna asked.

" Just out" Hannah said. " To the shops, maybe to see friends"

" Well you be careful now" Edna said. " Always am" Hannah said, and finished her last bite of toast.

She and Marie thanked Edna for the breakfast, packed themselves a small lunch in their baskets and went to the living room, where her father was sitting reading the paper, he lowered it when they approached

"where are you two going?" he asked. " We are just going to spend the day outside father, I will see you at dinner" she said and kissed him on the cheek. " You be careful now" he said. Hannah laughed " your starting to sound like Edna" she said, and headed out the door, with her father chuckling after them.

Marie looped her arm through Hannah's as they walked around town, " remember when I told you that Grace was going to introduce us to some boys yesterday?" she said.

" you mentioned it" Hannah sighed.

" Well, you missed out on a lot, they were really cute, and one of them even asked about you" she said. Hannah stopped walking " who asked for me?" she said. Marie giggled

" Hugh did" she said and giggled some more. " Hugh Calvin?" Hannah asked. Marie nodded and giggled again, Hannah flicked her on the nose, Marie shrieked " I wish you would stop doing that, one day I will stomp on your toe"

Hannah huffed "stop giggling, there is nothing to giggle about, he is not that cute"

Marie looked at her in horror " not that cute? Not that cute!, Hannah he is gorgeous, and top grades too, he is a keeper I think"

Hannah rolled her eyes "He also likes to get it on with the women, don't you notice anything?" she asked. Marie huffed and changed the subject, lets look at the paintings she said and grabbed Hannah's hand to pull her over to the paintings laying out on a table by a shop.

" oooooh I love this one!" Marie said and held up a painting of a man and women dancing, she wore bright colours on her dress and the scene around them was quite beautiful, but Hannah had her eye on another painting, it was a painting of a flower. Hannah thought every single colour that was ever made was painted into the flower, it was beautiful. "May I have this please" Hannah asked the man selling them. He smiled at her " certainly, its 3 shillings", she handed him the money, and placed the painting in the basket, she walked back over to Marie and leaned over to see what she was looking at.

Then she felt it, the slightest movement from her pocket, any person who wasn't paying attention wouldn't of felt it, but she did. She whipped around and saw a boy around her age, he was wearing dark pants, a green jacket and a hat, and in his hand was her mother's handkerchief, his eyes went wide when he saw her and then he smirked and ran off.

" Hey you!" Hannah yelled, "you come back here right now!" She lifted up her dress and ran after the boy, she heard her name being called but she didn't care, she wasn't going to lose the only thing she had left of her mother, the boy turned and looked suprised that she was running after him, so he ran faster. Hannah ran faster as well, she tried her best to catch up with him, she got looks from people when she passed, as she was a lady, and ladies were not suppose to be running after dirty boys, but she had to catch him, she needed that handkerchief back.

But soon she got tired, her stupid corset was too tight, she sat on a barrel to catch her breath, tears in her eyes, she lost the only thing she had of her mother, all because of that stupid boy, she should of never brought it with her.

Slowly she made her way back to the store, where she hoped Marie was waiting for her. Half way there, she found Marie walking along the path where she ran, she was scanning the crowed for her, when she saw Hannah she briskly walked up to her and grabbed her hand " Hannah, what happened? That was dangerous, he could have really hurt you!" she said.

Hannah didn't care, tears in her eyes, she whispered " he took it Marie, he took my mothers handkerchief!"

Marie immediately understood and hugged her. " I'm so sorry, maybe your father has more of them?"

Hannah shook her head "no, that was the only one, the only thing left of her, my father gave it to me when I was small and I always brought it everywhere with me, and now its gone!"

Marie just looked at her sadly. She linked her arm through hers " come on, let's go to the park and have some lunch, you must be starving"

Hannah allowed Marie to lead her through the crowd, she was only tying to help after all, even though she knew perfectly well that it wouldn't.

They sat in the soft grass and ate their sandwiches and pie. Marie touched Hannah's arm " is there anything I can do?" she asked.

Hannah shook her head " thanks anyway, but nothing can really help this" suddenly they heard their names being called out and they turned to see their friends Grace and Helen walking towards them and they were accompanied by 3 boys.

Marie huffed and put her hands on her waist " that Grace, she just can't get enough of those boys"

Hannah was too sulky to agree. When they reached them, they sat in the grass beside them. Grace smiled at Hannah and kissed her cheek " Hannah, I'm sorry you couldn't come out with us yesterday, but I would like to introduce you to our 3 new friends, Simon, Edward and you already know Hugh" she said and giggled.

Hannah sighed "my pleasure" she said. Hugh grabbed her hand to kiss it " the pleasure is all mine Miss Roberts" he smiled.

" Just Hannah please" she said. Hannah looked around at all the boys, she could see why Grace liked them, they were all good looking, and she couldn't help but feel embarrassed when they looked at her, she must have been a sight, all red, puffy eyed and sweaty.

"Hannah why are you so mopey?" Grace asked

" Don't ask questions Grace, some pickpockets stole her favourite handkerchief" Marie said.

Everyone looked at her sympathetically " those nippers sure are buggers" Simon said. Helen swatted him and shrieked " Simon, don't say such language!" but she giggled none less. Hannah could care less if he swore, cause at that moment, if she wasn't a lady, she would have been saying those exact same things. And worse.

Hugh looked at her sadly " would you like me to buy you a new one?" he asked. Hannah smiled at him

" Thank you for being so considerate but there is no need" she said.

" But why are you all sweaty and dirty?" Helen asked and gave her a face. If she weren't so sad and tired, Hannah would have punched her.

" I chased after him" she said calmly. Grace and Helen shrieked. Edward and Simon gave Hannah a funny look. Hugh on the other hand looked amazed,

" you did what!" Helen said. " You can't do that Hannah, you're a lady, people would of looked at you funny" she said. Marie glared at her.

" I don't really care" Hannah said evenly.

"I think that's amazing, its good that she didn't let him get away with it, not many girls do that" Hugh said and grinned at her. Hannah once again smiled at him, he was being very kind.

Grace looked a bit annoyed, Marie on the other hand looked amused, Hannah just wanted them to leave.

Grace suddenly stood up " Come on Helen, boys, I am ready to go" she said. Helen stood up, as did Simon and Edward. Hugh though stayed seated on the ground " Well maybe I would like to sit here and talk to these ladies" he said. Marie and Hannah smiled at him.

" That would be nice, but we are going anyway too" Marie said sensing that Hannah wanted them gone. Hannah looked at her gratefully. Hugh looked disappointed and Hannah couldn't help but feel sorry for him that he was stuck with Helen and Grace. He helped her and Marie off of the ground and kissed both their hands, his lips on Hannah's hand longer than Marie's.

" I hope to see you ladies soon, and remember Hannah, if you need anything or want a new handkerchief, don't be afraid to come looking for me" he said and smiled. She smiled at him " goodbye Hugh it was nice seeing you and it was nice meeting you two" she said and looked over to Simon and Edward who smiled and waved.

Hugh waved at them again and walked away. " I told you he likes you" Marie whispered in Hannah's ear.

Hannah rolled her eyes " ugh, she's back to her regular self again, and right when I thought you were going to be different and not boy crazy for a day" she laughed. Marie chuckled " Hannah Roberts I am appalled, I thought you would have been use to me by now" She said and laughed " Besides, I am not as boy crazy as those two bird brains over there"

Hannah grimaced " true, true"

Marie grabbed her hand " Come on, lets go get some ice cream and then I will walk you home" She said.

So off they went to the ice-cream shop, Marie treated Hannah and after their ice cream, Marie made Hannah go into a few more clothing shops before she was ready to go home.

" Are we done now?" Hannah said annoyed. Maried pouted at her " sheesh, be a girl for once and learn how to shop" she said. Hannah flicked her nose " don't pout, you look like a baby, and I am a girl you silly, I just don't like to waste my whole day buying clothes"

Marie grabbed her nose, and then stomped on Hannah's foot, she tried not to wince, but Marie was a good stomper. Marie wagged her finger at her " I told you, next time you flicked me, I would stomp on you foot, now come on, I will walk you home"

" No no, I want to walk you home today, you always walk me home" Hannah said. Marie raised an eyebrow "are you sure? Your promise me that you won't go looking for that boy?"

" Yes, yes, I promise" she said and linked her arm through Marie's. On their way home, Hannah barely listened as Marie was talking, the thing was, that the reason why Hannah wanted to walk home on her own, is because she wanted to think and enjoy the walk on her by herself, she hadn't even thought about looking for the boy. But now Marie put the idea inside her head, and she wondered if she should go looking for him.

Marie kissed her cheek as she walked up the steps to her large white house " remember you promised" she yelled as she walked into her house. Ava just waved not really hearing what she was saying.

And she had to admit, she wasn't really going to go looking for him, she was just thinking it, but next think she knew she was walking toward the store where the boy took the handkerchief from her and she walked up the path where she chased him. But she tried to remember to keep a mental note of the way she was going so she wouldn't get lost. She kept asking people if they have seen him, but they either shook their heads or just ignored her.

She kept walking, she would not stop until she found him. But soon she realized that it was getting dark, she looked up at the sky to try to figure out what time it was, surely Edna would begin to worry, she would go home now, and spend all day tomorrow looking for the boy, he would be sorry if she caught him on the street.

She turned to go, and walked in the direction, from which she came, soon it began to get much darker and she quickened her pace, but she felt like she was walking forever, everything seemed much different in the dark, she tried to ask a few women, but the directions they gave her were always wrong, or maybe she was mixed up.

Now it was fully dark, a few lights on the streets were lit. She heard men and women singing and a few men in the corner of an alley were drinking and smoking. Then he realized that she was in a completely different part of town, the parts where all the poor people lived, pickpockets, drunks, and prostitutes. She slowly began to panic, she kept walking and walking.

Soon her feet grew tired, she sat down to rest, and to think. Edna was mostly likely having a heart attack, would her father be worried, would he of sent for the police? Edna told her not to think twice about her fathers love for her.. Wait why was she thinking of her fathers love, she should be worrying about how to get out of this place.

" Ain't it a little late for a pretty girl like you to be out here all alone?" said a voice behind her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

She jumped up and whipped around. A boy around her age, leaned against a wall behind her, his hands were stuffed in his pockets. She couldn't really tell what he was wearing, but only saw that he wore a very long coat and was wearing a top hat on top of his head, she couldn't see his face too well. But she could tell that by the way he was standing there, that he had been watching her for a while, how long had she been sitting there?

" You leave me alone" she said and turned to walk away, but he stepped in front of her. " What's your name?" he asked. She huffed and put her hands on her hips " that is none of your business, now please leave me alone" she tried to walk away from him again, but he blocked her path " are you lost?" he asked.

" No, I am looking for my father, he is around here somewhere and if he catches you, he will cut your head off" she threatened, and tried to walk past him again. He smirked clearly amused " nice try, you're an awful liar you know that?"

She huffed at him " So what if I am lost, what does it matter to you?". He smirked again " well you are obviously to dumb to get it" he said, she glared at him.

He grinned "you're here all alone, no one to protect you" he said as he stepped closer to her, she was starting to feel frightened, he smirked " and here I am, I could do anything I want to you right now, before you even have time to scream" he said.

She opened her mouth to scream, but he quickly covered it with his hand, he leered at her " don't try that on me" he said " I am way to quick for you" she glared at him menacingly, trying not to show how scared she was. He smirked "now if I remove my hand from your pretty mouth, do you promise not to scream?"

She didn't answer right away, so he backed her against a wall and stepped even closer to her, tears were starting to form on her eyes "do you promise" he whispered. She nodded. He slowly released his hand from her mouth.

" Please leave me alone" she croaked trying not to cry, though a few stray tears were running down her face.

" Stop crying" he said in a low growl, wiping the tears from her cheeks. He looked her up and down " do you need a place to sleep tonight?" he asked. She tried to push him away from her, suddenly angry " Not with you, if that's what you were planning" she snarled. He smiled and shook his head " Well though I would prefer it, I meant at my place, its not just me, a couple of people are there"

she hesitated " can't you just show me the way out". He shrugged " honestly I don't even know the way out from here"

She sighed, it looked like she had no choice " oh all right, but only if you promise you won't try anything" she said. He put his hand up in surrender "I promise, now follow me"

He grabbed her hand and led her through the alleyway, she passed many people kissing on stairs and was hoping that, that wasn't what he had in mind. Soon he led her up some stairs and to an old door. He knocked on it, she heard a voice on the other side " who is it?",

" Its Dodger" he said, and immediately the door swung open and he led her inside. She thought that Dodger was a very peculiar name for a boy but didn't say anything.

He led her up the stairs where a group of boys were sitting either playing cards, smoking or just talking. Her face went pale, all these boys, she was going to be sharing a room with a bunch of boys. Soon the room went quiet as they spotted her. They all stared at her, not knowing what to think. Dodger led her through the crowed to a stove where an old man was kneeled over. " Hey Fagin, I brought someone with me tonight" he said. The old man turned around. He had a scraggly beard, he was hunched over and wore a long green coat. He smiled at her, he hardly had any teeth at all " Well hello my dear, what is your name?"

She hesitated " Hannah Roberts" she said. He smiled at her again " Such a pretty name, it fits such a pretty girl" she blushed and did a small smile, it was very quiet, she knew that everyone in the room was watching her.

" Hey what's going on in here?" said a voice, to Hannah's her relief it was a female voice. She sighed when a woman walked into the room, the woman stared wide eyed at her and rushed over to her, and she slapped the hat off of Dodger who bent down to pick it up.

" Dodger what did you do to this poor girl, she is as pale as a ghost" the woman said and touched Hannah's face.

Dodger snorted " why do you think I did something too her, she was just lost that's all, I was just being a gent and asked her if she wanted a place to sleep that's all" he said. Hannah glared at him as did the woman beside her " Oh yeah, I'm sure that's the reason for bringing her here, just to be nice" the lady said sarcastically.

Dodger just smirked and winked at Hannah. Now that there was light, she could really see what he looked like, and she knew right off the bat, that if Marie was here, she would of thought he was very good-looking, too bad his personality didn't fit, or Hannah would of also thought he wasn't so bad. He had dark brown hair and dark eyes, his long coat was brown and wore an old vest with a cravat around his neck underneith. He also wore black trousers, and his outfit was finshed with a tophat, he turned to join his friends. All the boys still sat there staring at her. Her eyes lay on a boy in the corner sitting all by him self , he looked to be around 11 or 12, he smiled kindly at her,

" I'm Nancy" the women said kindly, she wore a red dress that showed off her cleavage and had dark curly red hair " The one that brought you here, that's Dodger, I hope he didn't do anything a bit to rash to you" she said. Hannah didn't say anything, she just stared at the lady, and she was so gratefully that words couldn't describe it. She just smiled up at her.

Then Hannah turned to look at all the boys, there were about 7 of them all staring at her. But one boy caught her eye. He was the one that let them in, and he looked awfully familiar, and then she realized it was the boy that took her handkerchief! She gasped and marched over to the boy, everyone stared at her. She pushed him to the ground

" What the—" he began, but Hannah cut him off " you're the boy that I have been looking for all day! You give me back my handkerchief you little git!" she yelled. The boy finally realized who she was and his eyes went wide.

A few of the boys began to snicker as they watched their friend get sacked. He stood up calmly and brushed off his coat " I don't have it" he said and smiled.

Hannah was angry " give it back or I will hurt you! That handkerchief was special to me, now give it back!" She yelled

He smirked " like I said, I don't have –" he was cut off when Hannah tackled him, she shook him by the collar " give it back! I will give you one last warning!"

He was struggling, trying to get her off him, she felt two pairs of arms lift her off of him. Fagin went to help him up.

" I swear if you don't give it back, I will hurt you in your sleep! Your not as sneaky as your think you are, I know you have it! If you think that you're such a good pickpocket then you would have gotten away with taken my handkerchief without my noticing you git!"

She heard a snicker behind her, and finally realized who was holding her back, Nancy held her one arm while trying to calm her down, and Dodger was holding her other arm, and tying his best not to laugh.

" Give her the handkerchief Charlie" Nancy said glaring at him. Charlie shrugged " I'm telling you I don't have it!" he said loudly.

" Just give it up Charlie and give her the hanky back" Dodger said trying to suppress his laughter. Charlie's shoulders sagged and he sighed a pulled her mothers handkerchief out of his pocket. She broke free from the arms of the people holding her and ran toward the boy named Charlie, she grabbed the handkerchief from his hand and held it tightly in her arms, Charlie stared at her and sighed " women and their wipes, I will never understand" he said

Hannah glared at him. Then Fagin walked up to Charlie and pushed him down. Charlie looked angry

" What was that for!" he yelled. Fagin calmly walked away " for getting caught" he said and walked back to the stove. Charlie got back up and began to dust off his clothes, when Dodger walked up to him and pushed him back down on the floor, Charlie looked like he was about to kill " What the hell!" he screamed "what did I do to deserve that?"

Dodger just smirked " for getting caught by a girl" he said. The whole room burst out laughing and Charlie blushed and got up, he leaned against the wall, away from everyone.

Hannah still cradled the hanky in her hand, she looked up to catch Dodger staring at her, clearly impressed that she was able to get the hanky back.

Nancy came over to her and put her hands on her shoulders.

" I think its getting a little late, and you seem exaughsted" Hannah nodded gratefully, Nancy led her to her room, the walls in the room were torn and holey, there was a mattress with a couple of blankets over it. She looked at Hannah " I know it's not much but will it do?" she asked. Hannah nodded " yes, its perfect, thank you so much for everything Nancy" she said. Nancy smiled warmly at her " if you need anything just call and I will be right over, I will stay over tonight, just for you"

Hannah thanked her again, and was left to her quiet space, just as she was about to get into bed, the door slowly opened. She groaned silently when Dodger walked in.

" All comfortable?" he asked and smirked. She rolled her eyes " yes I am, thank you" she said.

He walked over " you know, if you need to be more comfortable, I would be happy to help" he said and smirked again.

Hannah stood up and placed her hands on her hips and huffed. " I am not going to sleep with you" she said.

He pouted and she couldn't help but laugh "save it for another girl on the street"

He ignored her comment and stared at her "are you sure it's not going to be too cold? Because if it is, body heat is the best, so I've heard"

Hannah snorted " don't be a chowderhead, where did you hear that?"

He shrugged "just places"

He started to take off his jacket. She stared at him " What are you doing?" she asked.

He smiled " just in case if it does get too cold, take my jacket" he said as he handed it to her, she tried to push it back " No, no, its yours, what if you get to cold in the night? I don't want to make you suffer" she said.

He stared at her and shook his head as if trying to clear his thoughts, he pushed it back in her hand, " take it, I don't sleep with a top on anyway, so its useless to me"

She stared at him, then accepted the jacket " thank you" she whispered, he just nodded. Then something else popped in her mind. " Is your real name Dodger?" she asked.

He looked at her " Dodger is short form for Artful Dodger, but it's kind of like my nickname"

" Well then what's your real name?"

" Jack Dawkins" he said and crossed his arms.

" Well, its nice to meet you Jack, and thank you for helping me tonight" she said, again he just nodded and mumbled something, Hannah didn't ask what he said.

She sat on her mattress and took the hanky out from her pocket and admired it, she couldn't describe how happy she was to have it back.

Dodger walked closer to her and inspected the handkerchief " what's with you and this hanky?" he asked.

She scoffed at him " My father gave it to me on my 5th birthday, It was my mothers" she said. He suddenly blushed, not knowing what to say and turned facing the wall " I'm sorry" he mumbled.

" Thanks" she whispered, staring at him. " Don't you have any parents?" she asked.

Dodger faced her " I don't know, all I remember is Fagin finding me and that's all, but if I did have parents I am fine without them, I don't need rules and chores, I'm perfectly fine on my own" he said.

She stared at him and shook her head " I don't understand how someone wouldn't want parents"

He glared " I don't, and there is nothing to understand, so lets drop the subject and move on"

She stared at him

" Quit staring at me" he said. She didn't stop staring at him

He turned to leave, but she stopped him " Hey Dodger! Who was that little boy in the corner? He was a little younger than us and small and thin"

He stopped to think " I think your talking about Oliver Twist, I found him in the street a couple of days ago and brought him here just like you"

She snorted " is that what you do for a living, finding kids in the street and kidnapping them"

He smirked " yes, I'm kind of known for it"

She smiled at him, and he turned to leave again. " Remember, if you need company or need to be kept warm, just let me know" he said with a wink

Hannah snorted again " thanks for the offer, but I will pass"

He smiled and opened the door. " Goodnight Jack!" she said.

He froze halfway walking out the door, surprised that someone had called him by his first name.

" Goodnight" he whispered, and smiled to himself as he walked out.

As Dodger walked to his room, he thought about the girl. She was very pretty, witty and it shocked him how kind she was, he never met a wealthy person that was so kind to him. Most of them shooed people like him away, well he couldn't blame wealthy people for hating him either, he did steal their wallets, watches and wipes. He was actually very impressed with the way she stood up to Charlie earlier, he admired that.

When he got to his bedroom his took of his shirt and shoes and laid in bed, no one is going to have her, he thought to himself, she is mine.

And with that he drifted off to sleep