A/N – This is my first fanfiction for Titanic which actually takes place at the time so please bear with me, I'm a little nervous about doing it and I really hope I do it justice. This won't be a long story, probably less than 10 chapters and as always, would really appreciate your feedback and reviews. Thanks!

Chapter 1

She smiled as she felt the soft hand touch her pale cheek. His fingers entwined in her curly auburn hair and he gazed deep into her eyes, drinking all of her in. She was beautiful, possibly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He moved closer to her and leaned forward, resting his lips on her forehead, and kissed her softly. He pulled back and tried to take in every detail of her. He memorised the exact colour of her hair, the shade of her eyes and the tone of her skin. She was too good for him. He glanced down at the rags he was dressed in, then back at her. She was like an angel, dressed in a detailed cream a-line dress which had a large red fabric belt covering her petite waist. Her hair was pinned up on her head with only a few loose curls falling down the side of her face. He didn't want to forget anything from that moment. He leaned forward and kissed her again, pulling her tight to him. He smiled as he felt her warmth radiate to him.

"Jack...?" he heard her say. He pulled away from her and looked down at her. He smiled and went to hug her again, but suddenly he felt as though he was hugging thin air, as though she wasn't there. He looked again and just like that, she was gone.

"Jack!"

Jack opened his eyes slowly. He looked around him, trying to make sense of where he was. He looked around the dark room and realised he was lying in his large bed, the sheets were tangled up around his legs and his night shirt had slipped up around his waist.

"Jack!" a sudden knocking at the door startled him. "Are you awake? It's after 9."

Jack rubbed his eyes and swung his legs out of his bed and started to walk across the bedroom towards the door, slowly opening it.

"Finally!" The small blonde headed girl stood in front of him, impatiently tapping her foot on the carpet. "I thought you were never going to get up. Come on, cook has the breakfast ready." She leaned forward and kissed Jack gently on the cheek before flouncing away down the long hallway. Jack sighed and closed the down before making his way over to the bathroom so he could wash. As he ran the water over his chest, he thought back to the dream. He thought of this woman who had haunted his dreams for as long as he could remember but yet he had no idea who she was. Jack had never seen her before but there was something about her, something special. She had crept into his subconscious on and off for the past few months and Jack felt guilty that he was thinking about another woman, even though he had done nothing wrong. He thought about Grace, the young woman who had just kissed him, and who loved him dearly and he felt terrible that he was having dreams about someone else. Shaking his head, he grabbed a towel and quickly dried himself off before walking back through to the bedroom and dressing. Jack pulled on his trousers and buttoned up his shirt before tying a neckerchief around his neck. After washing his face, he quickly smoothed his dirty blonde hair back out of his face and slipped on his shoes. Jack sighed as he pushed the thought of the dream woman from his mind and made his way downstairs where the odour of bacon and eggs assaulted his sense of smell.

"Oh, good morning Mr Dawson." Trudy smiled as Jack appeared in the dining room and took his seat at the top of the large table. Grace was sitting next to him, slowly slipping the hot tea that Trudy, the maid, had poured for her.

"I'm surprised your breakfast isn't cold darling." Grace smiled, making reference to his tardiness.

Jack shrugged and began eating the food that had been put down in front of him. He looked around the room, glancing over his surroundings. He and Grace were living in a large Victorian house in rural England, just outside the city of London. They had been staying there for several weeks but now, the next day, they would be making their way back to their home state of Wisconsin. Jack had uprooted his family for business and although he had Grace weren't married, she had followed him when he announced he would need to leave America. They had been courting for several months and Jack had grown fond of her. His father was keen that he married sooner rather than later and was anxious for the woman whom he married to provide him with an heir to the family business. When Grace had been introduced to the Dawson's at a gala the previous year, she had taken quite a shine to Jack. He was only 20 years old and wasn't in any rush to get married. He wanted to see the world before he settled down and as fond of Grace as he was, he just didn't see himself marrying her.

"Good morning all." Jack's thoughts were interrupted by the tall man who appeared in the doorway.

"Good morning Father." Jack nodded to him. John Dawson quickly walked across the room, clearly making the servants nervous with his presence.

He sat down at the other end of the table and snapped his fingers to one of the maids, signalling for them to fill up his china cup. Jack cringed. Although he lived in this world, he never truly felt a part of it. He never felt as though he belonged and hated telling someone what to do, ordering the servants around. When his father wasn't around, Jack would laugh and kid around with them, knowing that if he ever saw him, he wouldn't hear the end of it but at the end of the day, Jack wanted to behave like any other 20 year old. He wanted to have fun and laugh and joke, not be confined to this boring life. He loved to draw. Jack remembered back to when he was younger and he would disappear for hours on end into nearby woods and find a clearing that he could sit down in and let his imagination take control. Now he could only draw late at night when no one else was around. Sighing, Jack quickly finished his breakfast and got up from the table.

"Going somewhere son?" John asked him, peering at him over his glasses.

Jack spun round and looked at him. "Just need some fresh air. I'm going to go into the village for a while."

John nodded and went back to eating his breakfast and reading his paper. "Send for Lovejoy. He'll accompany you." He murmured between bites.

"I'm fine." Jack insisted. "I'm just going to walk. It's not far."

"Hmmm." John clearly didn't look happy. He didn't like Jack disappearing off without taking his manservant with him but he wasn't in the mood for arguing with him. "Don't be long."

"I won't." He glanced over at Grace who was staring at him. "Good morning." He nodded to them as he disappeared from the dining room. He made his way upstairs and dressed more appropriately. Jack knew it was something that his father hadn't made an issue of him going out alone so he didn't want to give him any reason to get annoyed by going out in the wrong attire. He made his way back downstairs and lifted his morning coat and hat from the coat hook before opening the front door and walking out into the warm air.