April 11, 1912 (Thursday)

The next morning had passed in a quick pace and now it was already noon. Although Amelia had been on the ship for only a day, she began to wonder if she would ever see Mr. Lightoller again. Finding him somewhere on the ship coincidentally was harder than it sounded considering that he spent most of his time on the Bridge or in the Officers Quarters. He probably didn't even have any reason to explore the other areas of the ship. After all, he was an officer and not a passenger.

Amelia knew she could easily follow Eleanor on one of her trips to see her husband, Officer Lowe or even head out onto the deck herself in order to see Mr. Lightoller, but she wanted to be discrete about seeing him. This was hard to do with her mother following her around everywhere she went. The young girl didn't want to be watched. To feel attracted to the man she had only seen once in her whole life felt like a sin, especially with her status of being betrothed to Phillip. She was aware that if the word got out that Amelia had been exchanging letters with a man who was not her fiance, everyone would shun her. Amelia hated it when people cared too much about what others thought about themselves, but for some reason, she was doing the same thing when it came to secretly being in love with Mr. Lightoller. No one in her family had a clue and other people certainly didn't know either. Eleanor was the only one who knew about her and Mr. Lightoller and she planned on keeping it that way. Amelia wasn't ready to face what would happen if the truth got out. Besides, she didn't know what to expect to happen. What was the use of revealing information that would cause unnecessary chaos?

"Amelia," Mrs. Reynolds called in a melodic voice. She sounded too cheerful that Amelia was scared to break the extremely good mood that her mother was in. "It's time for lunch. Let us go." She walked into the suite with her oldest daughter following in from behind her. Anna also seemed to be in a good mood and Amelia knew exactly why.

"Mother. I should have told you last night, but I forgot..." Amelia trailed off.

"What is it, dear?"

"Rose and Mrs. Bukater invited me to join them for lunch today."

Mrs. Reynolds frowned. "But-"

"Mr. Ismay and Mr. Andrews will be there. Wouldn't it be nice to talk to the men who were involved with the building of this ship?" Amelia asked. She watched as her mother processed the idea inside her head. When she wasn't sure how she would react, Amelia quickly added, "And talking to them could add to our family's reputation."

After a long moment, Mrs. Reynolds' face brightened a bit. She answered, "Yes. That would be nice. I suppose I'll let you join them for lunch then."

"Thank you, mother," Amelia said with a small smile. Of course her mother would let her go once she heard that Mr. Ismay and Mr. Andrews were going to be at the lunch table and that it would be good for their family's reputation. Mrs. Reynolds was obsessed with making connections with important people throughout the world, but it really wasn't too much of a surprise. This sort of thing applied to most rich people out there. The more friends you had in the elite society, the higher your reputation seemed to go. It was a well-known idea to folks.

"We will see you in a few hours," her mother said and before she left she reminded her, "You better not go outside in the sun. If you plan to, take your hat."

Yes, right. I certainly will...not. Amelia thought sarcastically. Why would she wear a hat if she were to go outside and relax under the beautiful sun?

With that last comment on her mind said, Mrs. Reynolds began to make her way out of the room with Anna and the maids following behind her. Amelia quickly stepped forward to stop her sister from leaving at the last second.

"Anna, I need to talk to you," Amelia said grabbing her sister's arm and pulling her back in.

Her sister looked slightly annoyed. "Tell me quickly. Mother is expecting me to be right behind her. You saw the lovely mood she was in just now. There's no need to ruin that, do we?"

Amelia sighed and Anna's expression changed into concern, a look that Amelia rarely saw from her sister. She felt good to know that her sister who could be selfish and mean at times could also be caring when necessary.

"Is everything okay?" she asked warily.

"No." Amelia shook her head.

"What's wrong?"

Amelia took in a deep breath before letting it out. "I walked past your suite last night and I heard some things…"

"What do you mean?" Anna asked trying to act as if she had no idea what Amelia was referring to.

"Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about because I know you do," Amelia said in a serious tone. "Look. Last night, I left Rose's room and was making my way down the corridor when I passed by your room. I heard the noises, Anna. I may be naive, but I do know some things. Mother was walking towards my direction, or your room I should say. She was coming by to check on you."

Anna's facial expression slowly changed from worry to complete horror. "My God!" she exclaimed. "How could this be? I tried so hard to keep last night's event a secret."

"You might want to consider that you aren't the only one on this ship the next time you decide to do what you did," Amelia snapped in response. The girl didn't know where the sudden spurt of anger came from. "Do you have any idea how loud you were?"

Truthfully, Amelia wasn't in the right position to be yelling at her sister's wrongdoing. She was guilty herself. She was supposed to get married soon and she was exchanging romantic letters with another man.

"Who was it?" Amelia finally asked after a long pause. She had finally calmed down and was starting to think more rationally. Amelia was glad that her mother hadn't come back into the room to look for her sister. There was an important conversation taking place and she didn't want her to leave before she discussed it through.

"You don't know him, okay?" Anna replied, but the look on her face told her otherwise.

Suddenly everything clicked inside Amelia's head. She knew whom her sister had been with the night before. "You," she exclaimed pointing an accusing finger at her. "You were with Mr. Murdoch last night, weren't you? The officer!"

"W-what?" Anna struggled to react. "No! What in the world are you talking about?" Her voice rose up in an unusually high pitch, which showed that she was lying.

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying."

"Yes, you are. Who else could the man have been? I saw the way you looked at Mr. Murdoch during dinner."

"What? How-how did you?-"

"How could you do this?" Amelia interrupted her with a question. "You are married."

Anna sighed knowing that she had to accept her sister's criticism. "I don't know. I just couldn't help it. He's such a good man." She turned to face Amelia. "You wouldn't understand."

"You're right. I don't understand. You're married. You can't do this!"

"It doesn't matter that I'm married. I don't love Daniel and he doesn't love me either. I'm sure he wouldn't care what I do. Also, Mr. Murdoch is married too. He isn't too happy with his spouse either."

"Oh, so that makes it better?" Amelia asked unable to believe what her sister was saying. "You're stealing a married woman's husband. You need to realize that."

"To answer your question, no. I don't think it makes it better to know that he is also married. In fact, it makes it worse." Anna's voice quivered as she spoke. Suddenly, she broke out into tears. "Oh, Amelia. What have I done? I just-He just-I couldn't bring myself away from him. I think-I think I have feelings for him."

Amelia stood still not knowing how to react before stepping forward and pulling her sister into her arms. It was unusual. Anna was taller and she was also older. It would seem like she would be the one to be comforting Amelia and not the other way around.

"Please," Anna begged looking up at her with teary eyes. "Promise me you won't tell anyone. Please, I beg you."

Amelia nodded and assured her that she wouldn't tell a soul. Amelia wasn't always on good terms with her sister, but she didn't want to purposely get her into trouble.

The sound of a woman's footsteps could be heard through the open door and the two sisters immediately pulled away. They hadn't even realized that the door hadn't been closed. Anna's heart nearly sunk for a short moment as she hoped that no one had overheard their conversation. She quickly wiped her tears and headed towards the mirror by the vanity table to make sure she didn't look like she had just cried.

"Amelia!" Rose greeted her friend with a little too much excitement. She was glad to see her friend's face again, but she also had worries on her mind. She planned on doing something tonight and that would lead to the end of her life. She was scared and unsure, but she had been thinking about this for a while. She felt like she had no one to talk to even if she did. She had her friend, Amelia, but Rose didn't know if she had the courage to tell her all of her thoughts. Her life was simply just too boring. She didn't have a reason to live. Why did she have to live? So she could keep up her mother's reputation?

"Well, you certainly look happy," Amelia said as she placed an overly bright smile to her face. She was too concerned with the fact that she couldn't let Rose catch on that something was wrong with Anna so she didn't even realize how Rose was actually unhappy on the inside.

"Yes, you're right. I'm happy, but not about lunch. I'm happy to see you." It was the truth.

"You just saw me the night before!" Amelia exclaimed.

"I know and that was after many long years of being apart from one another so it's perfectly fine for me to have missed you," Rose responded with a laugh. As Amelia smiled back, Rose noticed the older Reynolds sister standing on the other side of the room fixing her appearance. "Oh, hi Anna."

She turned around. "Hello, Rose. How has your morning been?"

"It's been quite all right. Thanks for asking."

"That's good to hear," Anna nodded. "I had better leave now. Our mother is probably waiting for me. I'll see you girls later, okay?"

"Bye," Rose and Amelia replied in unison.

"So ready for lunch?" Rose asked.

"I guess I am," Amelia answered feeling assured that Rose hadn't been able to notice that Anna had been crying. A secret was a secret.

"Amelia. Truly I cannot stop thinking that you have grown into such a beautiful young woman," Mrs. Bukater gushed as she guided the two young girls out of the elevator.

Amelia thanked her, but did not take the compliment to heart. She was sure that Rose's mother was only saying those words to be nice. In the eyes of a lady like her, her own daughter was the only beautiful woman she knew.

Amelia was surprised to see Margaret Brown joined with them at the table. It seemed to be that Mrs. Bukater did not like that woman at all. She kept telling her and Rose that she was the "new rich." It seemed like she despised people who earned their own success or maybe she despised people who weren't born rich, which did not make sense at all. Amelia didn't agree with the way Rose's mother thought. The rich weren't royalty. Who cared if they were the "old rich" or the "new rich"? She didn't, but apparently some people did.

Lunch took place in the Palm Court, a beautiful sunny spot enclosed by high arched windows. The scenery was absolutely stunning and Amelia couldn't wait to hop outside as soon as she was done eating with the others. The table was made up of seven people: Mr. Ismay, Mr. Andrews, Cal, Mrs. Bukater, Mrs. Brown, Rose, and Amelia. Mr. Ismay sat at one end of the table and the rest of them were divided into three sitting on each side of the table.

"She is the largest moving object ever made by the hand of man in all history and our master shipbuilder, Mr. Andrews here, designed her from the keel plates up," Mr. Ismay revealed as he gestured towards the friendly and charming man.

Amelia could tell that Mr. Andrews didn't like the attention he was getting. He looked uncomfortable. "Well, I may have knocked her together, but the idea was Mr. Ismay's," he said pushing the praise back to the other man. "He envisioned a steamer so grand in scale, and so luxurious in its appointments, that its supremacy would never be challenged. And here she is...Willed into solid reality!" He knocked the table twice with his hand to make his point.

"Why're ships always being called 'she'? Is it because men think half the women around have big sterns and should be weighed in tonnage?" Mrs. Brown asked with her strong southern accent. The way she spoke gave off a fresh vibe after being constantly surrounded by the typical first class passengers for hours throughout the day. Amelia was glad to have a cheerful soul like her with them at the table.

"Just another example of the men setting the rules their way," Mr. Andrews said with a light laugh. A waiter approached the table to take the orders and the conversation stopped momentarily. Rose took this time to light a cigarette.

"You know I don't like that, Rose," Mrs. Bukater stated in a stern tone. Rose didn't care. She didn't even have to think before she decided to blow the smoke towards her mother's face.

Amelia held her breath as she watched cautiously. The table suddenly grew quiet and tense. She was afraid that if she let out a single noise, the invisible bubble of tension would erupt and lead into a fight.

"She knows," Cal said before taking away the cigarette nonchalantly. He stubbed it out and Rose looked very irritated by this.

Amelia had to try her best to keep herself from gaping openly at him. This was ridiculous! Was he her father? What was he doing? Amelia wasn't okay with Rose smoking either, but she knew that it was her own way of showing some rebellion. It was annoying to watch everything that Rose did being taken away from her by her mother and fiance. In some ways, they were worse than her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds were strict, but they did let her try what she wanted to do as long as it was acceptable by society for a woman to do. This was why she had been able to experiment with playing all types of instruments and had even learned some knowledge about fashion. At least her parents were supportive about her passions. This had allowed her to develop who she was unlike Rose who was just stuck inside a bubble that was about to burst any time soon.

"We'll both have the lamb. Rare, with a little mint sauce," Cal said to the waiter. After the young man left to put in the order, Cal asked Rose, "You like lamb, don't you sweetpea?"

Mrs. Brown was watching the dynamic between the two almost as if she believed that a huge scene would erupt soon. "So, you gonna cut her meat for her too there, Cal?" Mrs. Brown asked with a hint of satire. Amelia's eyes sparkled with admiration. She loved this woman. She was a bit outspoken and blunt, but that made her a real person. She was fantastic and so unlike the 'old rich.' When Cal didn't respond and just gave her an annoyed look, she turned to ask, "Hey, who came up with the name Titanic? You, Bruce?" Mrs. Brown asked to change the subject.

Mr. Ismay finished chewing his food before speaking to keep his table manners. "Yes, actually. I wanted to convey sheer size. And size means stability, luxury, and safety-"

Rose interrupted. "Do you know of Dr. Freud? His ideas about the male preoccupation with size might be of particular interest to you, Mr. Ismay."

Amelia's eyes widened for a second before she lowered her head down to hide her face. She was trying desperately hard not to laugh. She noticed Mr. Andrews coughing as he brought up his napkin to wipe his lips. He must have choked on his breadstick while also suppressing the urge to laugh. It seemed like the only people she liked sitting at this table other than Rose were Mr. Andrews and Mrs. Brown. They had a sense of humor.

"My God. Rose, what's gotten into you-" Mrs. Bukater began to say, but once again Rose had stepped in to interrupt.

"Excuse me," she said before abruptly getting up and stalking away.

Mrs. Bukater looked mortified. "I do apologize."

"She's a pistol, Cal. You sure you can handle her?" Mrs. Brown asked.

The way Cal's shoulder were raised revealed how tense he was, but he feigned unconcern. "Well, I may have to start minding what she reads from now on," he stated.

Amelia frowned. What was it with men and their desire to control everything about a woman? When would this end? Hopefully in a hundred years, things would change and women would be treated with the same respect as the opposite gender.

"Freud? Who is he? A passenger?" Mr. Ismay asked and the table became awkward. Didn't the man read? How had he not heard of him?

"I'm sorry. Please excuse me as well," Amelia said. She received understanding looks from the others at the table. She quickly got up and followed after Rose.

Amelia went outside and was immediately fighting with the wind to walk across the wooden floor. She used her hands to grab the short strands of hair at the front of her face that were blocking her vision.

"Rose, what's wrong?" Amelia asked and as soon as those words came out of her mouth, she nearly bit her tongue. Why had she said that? It was stupid. Of course she knew what was wrong. Rose was unhappy because she was being forced to marry a man she didn't like and she didn't like how her mother made her do everything she didn't want to do. Amelia understood that. After all, her life was very similar. However, somehow Amelia had the brightness in her to continue moving on with her life unlike Rose.

Her curly haired friend sighed. "I can't talk about. No, I mean, I don't want to talk about it."

Amelia rubbed Rose's back soothingly by moving her hand in slow circles. "All right. But if you change your mind, remember that I'm here for you. We can talk about anything you want. I'll be supportive no matter what."

Rose was about to say something when Cal rushed outside to see the two girls. "Rose! I do not tolerate your rude behavior. What was that back in there? You are making me appear as a laughable fool in front of the others. What did I say about being lady-like?"

"Oh. Well, I'm truly sorry about that, father," Rose spat out with sarcasm before storming off. Cal didn't even acknowledge Amelia's presence. He cursed under his breath before following after her.

Amelia couldn't help but sigh. Why did it seem like everyone around her was so unhappy? They all pretended like they were satisfied with their lives, but in truth, they were drowning in money without any happiness. Sure. Money did bring happiness, but the happiness the money brought did not last long. Amelia leaned forward and smelled the fresh air. It was nice. Everything about this trip was nice except for the fact that landing in America would bring her one step closer to becoming Phillip's wife. She sighed again as she put those thoughts away. She wouldn't let them bother her, for now at least. The weather was beautiful and the view was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. She just wished she had someone to share it with.

"What's a lovely lady like you doing out here alone?" a voice interrupted the quietness.

Amelia turned around holding her hand over her face to shield her eyes from the sunlight. When she looked through the bright rays, she saw Mr. Lightoller smiling at her. He looked the same, dashing but even more so with his uniform on.

"Hmm. Perhaps I was waiting for you," Amelia said with a laugh.

She had to tilt her head upward to take a good look at the man. He was very tall and she knew that under his clothes, he was hiding a muscular body. A blush appeared on her face as she tried to stop herself from thinking inappropriately, but it was okay because it looked like she was just red from the heat of the sun.

Mr. Lightoller had a playful grin on his face as he took her hand into his gloved one and kissed her soft skin. She felt tingles just by his lips touching the back of her hand and she wondered what she would feel if he kissed her on the lips. He pulled back and released her hand before looking at her. His blue eyes didn't look cold, but revealed the generosity that he had as a person. Her heart beat faster than usual and she didn't know what to do to calm herself down.

Amelia felt butterflies in her stomach just by listening to Mr. Lightoller speaking. His voice was charming, deep, and masculine. His English accent made it all even better. Amelia had grown up in Louisiana and had a small hint of a southern accent. When she moved north with her family at the age of eight, she had lost the accent and developed a new one, but the touch of southerness never really left her. She hadn't noticed until she was talking with Mr. Lightoller how the way she spoke greatly contrasted from the way he spoke.

When she had first arrived in England, she had been fascinated by how they used the same language, but somehow it sounded so different. It was lovely. After spending months living in the European country, she had become accustomed to the different accents, but that didn't mean that she would ever be accustomed to the way Mr. Lightoller spoke. He was truly a magnificent human being. Flawless in every way that was possible. His deep voice rumbled in his chest whenever he spoke and his words came out smooth like silk. The ups and downs of his voice at the right moments made Amelia swoon on the inside. He was amazing. Oh, God. She was hopelessly in love with him and she knew that she was in trouble.

The sound of heavy footsteps was heard and the voice of the man Amelia hated the most broke the peace in the air. Where in the world had he come from? She certainly hadn't expected to see him out here. Had he been spying on her?

"I see you have already made an acquaintance with one of the officers, Amelia. Hello. I'm Phillip Carter, her fiance," he introduced himself emphasizing his name when he spoke. He wanted to make sure the officer knew who he was. He had noticed how the uniformed man had been smiling at Amelia and he didn't like it one bit. Who was he to be charming his fiance? His girl.

Mr. Lightoller was shocked to hear what the young man had just said. He was the Phillip Carter? The famous millionaire he had heard about who would be on this ship? And had he just revealed that he was Amelia's fiance? Mr. Lightoller didn't exactly know why, but he felt betrayed by the young woman. Had she been engaged the whole time?

He noticed that Amelia also looked surprised and uncertain about what to do or how to react. He suddenly felt anger beginning to boil in his chest. He had been a foolish man. Why would a woman half his age have interest in him? No. She was barely a woman, but a young lady. She had probably just wanted a friendship and meanwhile, he had been expecting something more to happen. He felt like an idiot. This girl was engaged to Phillip Carter. How could he ever step up to challenge a rich man like him? He was nothing compared to Carter. Why would the daughter of the Reynolds want to be with a man who worked at sea? Even if he was an officer, he still wasn't good enough for a woman in the first class. He wasn't worth enough. What had he been thinking?

"I am Charles Lightoller," he introduced himself.

The two men exchanged a firm handshake and Amelia watched with worry. Mr. Lightoller probably hated her and Phillip probably did too. No, he was probably extremely angry with her. She was afraid to face him afterwards.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, but I must go now," Mr. Lightoller said.

Amelia wanted to beg for him not to leave not only because she was scared of Phillip's reaction, but also because she felt the need to have a long conversation with Mr. Lightoller explaining her situation.

"So soon?" Phillip asked like he was disappointed to see him leave so quickly, but the arrogance in his eyes showed different feelings.

Mr. Lightoller kept his mouth shut tightly. He was a lot taller than Phillip by many inches. He was also quite muscular from doing a lot of hard work throughout the years. He knew he could easily take out the annoying rich man with one easy punch, but he fought against the tempting idea. He needed to remain professional. That was necessary for his job as an officer.

"Yes," he answered. "I have important things to do."

Once again, Amelia noticed how the manner in which Mr. Lightoller spoke in made him seem so much more sophisticated compared to other men, especially Phillip. It matched his professionalism for his title as a second officer.

For a moment, Mr. Lightoller's self confidence went down. He was a nobody compared to this Phillip, but then he reminded himself who he was. He was a man of the sea, an officer. Who cared if Phillip was a millionaire? Phillip Carter surely would never have the guts to stand up for what was right and be prepared to protect people when needed. This led to the question: who was the real man of the two? It was Mr. Lightoller of course.

Amelia had immediately noticed the change in the tone of voice that Mr. Lightoller used when he spoke of leaving. His voice grew even deeper than it already was and he sounded distant. She felt like her heart was drooping lower and lower as she regretted not telling Mr. Lightoller the truth. She didn't know what would have happened if she had told the truth, but she knew it would have been better than the results of not telling him anything.

Mr. Lightoller noticed her brown eyes looking guilty and regretful, but he didn't care to wonder what her explanation was. He wasn't sure if he was angry at himself or her. Maybe it was a combination of both.

"We hope to see you around the ship again," Phillip said although he meant the total opposite.

Mr. Lightoller gave a short nod. "Goodbye," he said and walked off, the sounds of his footsteps strong against the hard floor.

Oh no. What had she done? She should have told him earlier in the letters. She should have explained everything to him! She had ruined her chances with the man. Suddenly, she stopped herself from thinking more. Was she even allowed to think these things? She knew the right thing to do was to go with her parents' wishes and marry Phillip, but Amelia didn't want to listen to her parents anymore. She was terrified about what her future held for her in a loveless life with Phillip. She had a sudden rush of emotions running through her body. She wanted to go after Mr. Lightoller, but she knew she couldn't. Not with Phillip standing next to her.

She had been resenting her parents for forcing her to get engaged to Phillip, but she was starting to hate Phillip more than them. If he had been a good man, she wouldn't have disliked the idea of marriage so much. Who knew? She might have even fallen in love with him, but Phillip Carter was no good man. He was close to being the devil if a creature from hell could even be that handsome.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded to know.

"What do you mean?"

Phillip snatched her wrist and held it tightly. Amelia raised her other hand to pull his hold off of her, but he quickly reacted by stopping her. Now he had both of her hands locked in his strong hold. She felt self conscious wondering if people were staring. She didn't want to look like the vulnerable girl that she was. No one knew how she couldn't stand up to her own fiance. It would be embarrassing if people knew how he treated her.

"Listen to me," Phillip leaned down and spoke in a low voice. She felt chills on her back as he did so. His threats were always frightening to hear no matter how many times she heard them. He told her what he would do in her ear and her eyes widened.

No, no, no!

Evening approached and it was dark outside except for the little reflections of light gleaming against the ocean coming from the Titanic. Amelia found herself surrounded by the same people as the night before as they sat together to eat dinner. She didn't feel hungry though. She felt sick. She wanted to turn back time. If only she had been able to get away from Phillip... She felt disgusted in herself and she had so much hatred for Phillip that she wanted him thrown off the ship left to die. It sickened her to see her parents smiling at their future son-in-law when they had no clue what he had done to her.

Amelia slightly jumped in her seat when she felt a nudge against her arm. "Amelia." She heard her mother whisper with exasperation.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized. "Yes, mother?"

"I was asking what happened to your face." She continued to speak quietly so no one else could hear them. Their faces were close to each other and Phillip looked over wondering what they were talking about.

"My face?-" She wondered what her mother was talking about when she saw Phillip watching them. Then she remembered. "Oh, it's nothing really. I accidentally scratched myself with my ring," she lied without any trouble. She was starting to get very good at lying, which scared her.

Mrs. Reynolds frowned before saying, "Be careful. You must remember how important it is for women to keep their faces in good shape."

Amelia didn't say anything. She just nodded in response. Unknown to her, her mother was thinking of the other possibility of what had happened to her. She suspected that it had something to do with Phillip. Is he harming my daughter? She asked herself. No. He wouldn't do that. He's a sweet man. Mrs. Reynolds quickly got rid of her suspicions. Phillip was the most perfect man to be her son-in-law and she didn't want to believe anything that would ruin her dream. Phillip was a gentleman. He wouldn't hurt Amelia. That would be impossible.

Amelia noticed Rose staring blankly across the room like there was nothing in her mind. She was like that the whole time. Towards the end of dinner, she had gone off to the bathroom and never came back. It was strange of her to do so, but it seemed like Rose had a lot on her mind lately. Amelia dismissed her friend's behavior. Maybe she was just tired and wanted to return to her room in silence.

When everyone at the table left the dining room, they found themselves standing in the grand hall with a crowd of people. They were all attempting to leave at the same time and it was getting quite hectic. Amelia realized that this was the perfect chance to leave without her family or her fiance noticing. She moved through the groups of people and made her way up and out onto the deck. She stopped by the wheelhouse and saw a few young men in uniform standing in their own positions without moving an inch. It reminded her of military personnel standing before a high ranking individual. They were under strict order and she could see that. It made her tentative to reach out and speak to them.

"Excuse me." Her voice pierced the air and she felt nervous when the men looked over at her. After a quick look at her, they turned away except for one, which she assumed was an officer. He only had one stripe around his cuffs so she knew he wasn't as highly ranked.

"Yes, miss. How may I help you?" he asked as he walked closer to her.

"I-I," she stuttered not knowing how to phrase what she was going to say. "Is Officer Lightoller here? May I speak to him?"

"He is off duty at the moment. He's in his cabin, but passengers cannot enter," he explained. He noticed the slight disappointment that formed on her face and he quickly added, "I may be able to bring him out to you." He immediately regretted his words. Why had he said that? He didn't even have a clue as to how she knew the officer. What if she was someone he didn't want to see? He peered closely at the girl who was a few years younger than him. She reminded him of his sister. She seemed like she wanted to see Officer Lightoller and that it was important to her to meet him. He would have to do as he offered her.

"Yes, could you please do that? Thank you uh-Your name is?" she asked.

"James Moody, miss," the officer replied.

She gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Mr. Moody."

"Please, just call me James, miss."

"I will, but only if you call me Amelia and not 'miss'," she replied.

"Certainly," he agreed with a smile. It was refreshing to see a pretty woman from the upper class who wasn't snobby for once. "I'll be right back. Please do keep in mind that he may not come out to see you." Moody knew that whatever had happened during the day had put Officer Lightoller in a bad mood. He didn't know how the officer was going to react when he told him a young woman was waiting for him outside.

Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to update! I was busy with studying for a bunch of final exams. Anyway, back to this story...I hope you enjoyed another chapter of mine! Mr. Lightoller and Amelia finally met! Yay! I hope you are okay with the way I'm portraying his character. He's supposed to be fun and playful, but also serious when necessary (in my version). It's funny because whenever I read over my writing for this fanfic to edit, I keep reading the characters' lines in such a posh way! LOL. I don't know why it happens, but it's just so silly to me.

Thank you for following/favoriting my story! Also thank you to IcedFrappuccino, Emolichic1, and LoveFiction2016 for leaving reviews! It means a lot. Please continue to review :) See you in the next one!

-Jane