AUTHOR'S NOTE : This was an idea I was playing around with, and decided to use my character Violet McCulloch from a co-written story between myself and another author which will hopefully appear on here at some point. I own none of the historical characters, and I mean no offence or disrespect. James Cameron owns his fictional characters and I own mine. The first chapter will be up shortly. Enjoy! :)

PROLOGUE

Violet McCulloch fled the Waldorf Astoria with such haste that the waiting reporters outside gave her a curious glance before they turned back around, concentrating on more important matters. Running as fast as her legs could take her in low-heeled shoes, she weaved in and out of the sombre crowds of New York City. She leapt through puddles, not giving a damn about the muddy rain water splashing onto her slate-grey dress. All she wanted was to be away from the Astoria, the exhaustive inquiry into the Titanic disaster and the judging eyes that seemed to follow her closely. She came to a stop, however, when she felt like she could no longer run. Fatigue seemed to overwhelm her so suddenly, as though it had just hit her from nowhere. feeling dizzy, she looked to her right to ask someone for help, but collapsed to the ground before she could open her mouth to ask.

It would be several hours later that Violet would wake up, on a hospital bed in a quiet ward with a nurse checking on her. Disorientated, she titled her head slightly to look at the nurse and asked quietly, "What happened to me?"

The nurse pursed her lips before replying somewhat stiffly, "You collapsed in the street. From what I hear, guilt and exhaustion caused it."

"Of course it did," Violet whispered, turning over on her side so that she wouldn't have to face the nurse. Who she did face was her mother, looking equally worried and disappointed at the same time. "I suppose word has gotten out about what I said earlier," She muttered, brushing a long ebony strand of hair out of her eyes. "Do you think I'm a terrible person?"

Eve stood up to her full height and walked over to her daughter's bed. Shaking her head she answered, "No." Perching on the edge of the bed, she sighed and added, "But you made a terrible decision."

Violet rolled her eyes, "Oh, Mother. Not this again ..."

"A married man Violet! I raised you better than that! No doubt that your father will have a few choice words to say when we arrive back in Scotland. How do you think that man's poor wife will feel once she reads about her husband's affair in the newspaper? Or hears some bored housewife gossiping about it? To think that she could have spent hours or even days thinking that her husband was dead, only for him to be alive and the subject of such a tawdry affair!" Eve berated as she watched Violet roll her eyes once more and turning back to her other side, preferring to face the scorn of the nurse who was no doubt listening intently. Nevertheless, Eve continued, "You have brought shame and embarrassment on this family Violet! How will your father ever face his colleagues or his patients now that the whole world knows that his daughter can't keep her hands off a married man! And a sailor, no less! You didn't even have the good sense to keep within the first class passengers!"

"What about what I feel, Mother?" Violet asked pointedly, narrowing her eyes and scowling at the nurse, who took that look as her cue to leave. "Don't you even care about how I feel?"

An exasperated sigh left Eve's mouth as she sank back into her chair. Rubbing her left temple, she said firmly, "There are no feelings in an affair Violet. If you did feel something for that man then that was very stupid of you. He wasn't looking to reciprocate your feelings, he was looking for something he couldn't get while away from his wife. And you gave him it all too easily, so he kept coming back for more."

Without thinking, Violet picked up the small vase next to her bed containing a couple of pale, spring flowers, and launched it at the floor. She watched the vase shatter so easily, with beige shards littering the ward floor. Nobody could understand the hurt and frustration that she was feeling, that she wasn't the villain here. He was the married individual, he chose to engage in extramarital activity with her. She had nothing to lose, he had everything.

"Violet ...?"

At his voice, she immediately sat up on the bed, keeping the hospital blanket over herself. She was vaguely aware of her mother watching, but that didn't matter to her. All that matter was that he was here, wanting to make sure he was okay, because he did care, because he did feel for her. But she was to be so, very wrong.

The man strode purposefully over to her, his eyes locked on hers. He kept himself back, as though there was an invisible barrier separating the two of them. Giving Eve a momentary glance, he turned back to Violet and hissed, "Thanks to your outburst in there, everyone knows what happened between us on the Titanic! My wife will never forgive me, so I'll more than likely end up divorced and never see my children again because she will flee with them back to Australia. You have just single-handedly destroyed my family and my reputation, and I hope you suffer just as badly as I will. What happened between us was a mistake Violet, and I hope I never have to see your face again. Perhaps when your senses return, you'll realise the grave error you just made in that room!"

Tears burning in her eyes, Violet watched as Charles Lightoller walked away from her for what she thought would be the very last time ...