A Life So Changed
AN: This is a one shot as I don't have time to be writing a full story and I've got plenty on the go as it is, though I wanted to write one for Titanic and maybe in the near future I'll write a couple more shots for some of the characters like Tommy the Irish man. Today, this one-shot is about Harold Lowe and I love Ioan Gruffudd as an actor.
RMS Titanic
April 14th, 1912
In the last few days since staying on the Titanic she had grown to appreciate the few minutes she could have with the man underneath her, snuggled up on the deck chair with the sparkling sky above them and the cool air making their noses red leaving the body heat of each other keeping one another warm. "Annabelle." Her name slipped from his lips with a sign as his fingers brushed through the curly brown hair that matched her mothers, the sensation seem to relax him more than herself as he curled an arm around the woman's waist. Annabelle closed her eyes against his chest listening to the steady thump of his heart that didn't match the speed of her own, it was the only thing stopping her from falling asleep in his embrace. A small smile came to her lips as she fingered the his coat, indeed the same coat she first saw him in as the small sparrow brooch sat on the inside of his collar.
"Anna would you please be careful." She turned at the sound of her Uncle's voice.
"Uncle Andrews, you need to worry less." A smile twitched at his lips as he knew the next words. "You'll grow wrinkles, and we wouldn't want you looking like Grandfather now."
"Come along, the captain wants a word with me before we head to dinner." Without a further complaint Annabelle hooked her arm through her Uncle's though her eyes' never left the sea.
As they entered the bridge, Anna's eyes' spotted the stirring wheel but a tap on the arm brought her attention to the white haired man standing in front of them. "Miss Andrews, It's a pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine Captain."
"If i didnt know better I would have thought you were Andrews Daughter." She smiled at the man knowing what he was thinking; she had to wonder some day's as well. Her father was Henry Andrews, the oldest of the brothers but they were complete opposite. Her Uncle's work gave her the chance to get her mind ticking to solve problems that her mother would frown upon, helping her Uncle with a few ideas here and there. It was the appearance that set them apart, she had got the same nose and brown eyes as her Andrews, and the hair...well her mother has it though Annabelle had been told that her Uncle had the same. "I'm glad to have you on the ship."
"If you don't mind me saying, I love the sea and I'm glad to be on the journey." That was another thing, her parents hated the sea though the Titanic happened to catch their attention whether it was the size of it or the importance to the first class society, she didn't know but she doubt it was the later.
"Would you like some tea Miss Andrews while we man catch up on a few last minute plans?" She went to open her mouth but Thomas bet her.
"It sounds long, why don't you head back to our room to get ready for dinner? I'm sure MissDeWitt Bukater could do with some company." Yesterday, she was introduced to Rose DeWitt Bukater and she didn't mind the woman's company as she seem to have a set of brains compared the other women Anna had met already, though she couldn't say the same for Rose's mother Ruth.
"Sounds lovely Uncle, though please remember to feed yourself by the end of the night." Annabelle knew better, her Uncle could get lost in blueprints for hours and his idea of the end of the night meant before bed in some cases that's the morning or mid afternoon.
"I'll get one of the Offices' to take you back." She took a breath to steady her nerves as Annabelle didn't need someone to walk her to the door but...She had already gotton lost on the ship once.
"Officer Lowe, would you so kindly take Miss Andrews back to her room." The Captain reversed a sharp nodded from the Fifth Officer before he came to Annabelle's side.
"Miss Andrews." He held a hand out to the direction of the stairs that led to the deck. She looked at the elbow closet to her that sat limp at his side though his fingers twitched. Without making fuss, she walked passed him and descended down the steps.
"What's your name Officer?" She had to speak as she felt like her father was walking beside her, which was an unpleasant feeling.
"Mr. Harold Lowe, Miss."
"I insist that you call me Annabelle, you are after all walking me to my door." He casted a quick glance making her realise the deep brown eyes that sparked her attention, it only led to her noticing the straight broad shoulders of his lean body that held power even as a Fifth Officer.
"As you wish Mis-Annabelle." She cracked a smile finally making the decision to thread her arm with his, though the action make him go stiff as they continued down the deck. "Miss Andrews." She raised an eyebrow at the man for turning formal on her. "Annabelle, I should inform you that there is a strict policy of Staff and passenger interacting."
"Mr. Lowe, you are merely looking to deep into my actions." She smiled at him thankful that he had relaxed under her arm.
"Let it stay that way."
"No doubt it will."
She traced the brooch on his coat before slipping her fingers through his callous one's own place on her hip. "You hear that Hal? The bands playing inside." She loved the sound of them, something her mother would have taken for granted.
"Will you dance with me Anna?" Standing from the beach chair, she playfully bowed before taking his outstretched hand.
The motion of dancing had her relaxed even as the cold clipped at her bare skin that the dress didn't cover. Annabelle could have been dancing with the best dancer in the world and she wouldn't have felt like she did now in Harold's arms around her. She placed her head his shoulder closing her eyes as he moved them around another smooth circle of steps. Annabelle did not want to be anywhere else, this was her place and once the ship harboured in New York, Annabelle wasn't going to let anything separate them.
...
"You weren't there at my first meeting with Ismay. To see the little red marks all over the blueprints. First thing I thought was: 'Now here's a man who wants me to build him a ship that's gonna be sunk.' We're sending gilded egg shells out to sea."
-Thomas Andrews, Managing Director of Harland and Wolff Shipyards
"The partly filled lifeboat standing by about 100 yards away never came back. Why on Earth they never came back is a mystery. How could any human being fail to heed those cries."
-Jack B. Thayer, Titanic Survivor
"The sounds of people drowning are something that I can not describe to you, and neither can anyone else. It's the most dreadful sound and there is a terrible silence that follows it."
― Eva Hart, Titanic Survivor