FYI-

Pairings: Wellard/OC Archie/OC Bush/OC/Horatio (NO SLASH)

Disclaimer: As you probably know already, I don't own the Horatio Hornblower characters, sadly. Not even Wellard. (sniffle) Though we do have tea parties from time to time... But anyway, this is my only disclaimer for my entire story.

Dear Readers,

Yes, I know you want to skip this part and read my story, but I have necessaries that need to be specified. I know there's a ton of time-travel stories with silly and immature girls from the future who somehow get together with HH characters, but hopefully this one is a bit different and my characters are slightly less silly and immature.

I think I should also recognize two of my closest friends, (who FINALLY got accounts, ahem: HumanAlien and Define X) who take share in my love for these boys. They shared their ideas as well as bits they had written for this story.

Finally, PLEASE review. I accept anonymous ones! It really does make a difference. Thank you.

Peaces,

Lady E.

Chapter 1: Time Travel, Hornblower & Frigates O My!

Lottie felt as though she was going insane. Sitting in the small jolly boat, dipping constantly up and down with the waves, was making her completely nauseous. She turned to her two older companions to see how they were faring. Amy wore a perfect grimace. She met Lottie's gaze and returned her small, encouraging smile. Cat, on the other hand, was hunched down in the bottom of the boat, her eyes closed- fast asleep. Lottie sighed. Cat would be the only one who could sleep through the choppy sea.

The three of them had been best of friends for what seemed like forever. They had cried together, laughed together- their whole lives seemed to have been shared together. Each knew each other inside and out. Amy was the wild and flirty one of the three. There was never to be a dull moment when she was around! Cat was quite the opposite. Although not the oldest of the three, she was the leader of the group. Quiet and cautious, she thought everything carefully before proceeding, unlike her friends. Lottie was fun, bright and fiercely loyal. Though she was the youngest, Cat and Amy regarded her as their equal.

Now, here they sat in quite a predicament. They were tired, miserable and farther from home than they could have ever imagined. Lottie scanned the foggy horizon mournfully. The three of them had been sitting in the jolly boat for the last three days, having just escaped from a particular nasty French frigate called the "Indomptable"- the "Untamable". Lottie shuddered involuntarily at the thought of it. Her back still wore the not fully healed scars, proof of the Captain's wickedness. The Captain. No matter how hard she tried to forget him, the Captain's image haunted her. Every time she closed her eyes, she could hear his loud and obscured laugh, and see his grotesque and crooked smile.

The Captain had not believed the girls when they told him they didn't have the slightest idea how they had come to appear in the water beside his ship. They had told him the blatant truth- that they were from America in the year 2011, two hundred and ten years in the future. Enraged by this impossible explanation, the Captain had accused them of witchcraft, or being spies at the least. All three had now agreed that if they were lucky enough to be found by another ship, though they solemnly hoped for an English-speaking, that they would tell a false story to explain their situation- it would be much safer that way.

he knew it would be a miracle if they would be rescued. They couldn't last much longer out here; the meager rations they had managed to bring with them had been extinguished. Hunger was already upon them, though she knew that it was dehydration, not starvation, would kill them.

Suddenly, she thought she saw something; a dark swift shape that skated in and out amongst the loosening fog. "Amy," she whispered, her voice hoarse.

Amy sat up straighter. Blinking, she looked out across the rippling waters. Lottie pointed to the shape that was now steadily becoming larger and larger on the fast approaching horizon. Amy stared for a moment, hardly able to breathe from the overwhelming feeling of relief that came over her, before shaking Cat awake.

The three of them now stood, which is not something to be easily achieved on a rocking boat, and began to wave and shout frantically, ignoring their aching limbs and dry voices. The ship, as it was now clearly identified, came smoothly up beside the jolly boat and a rope was tossed over the side.

Amy grabbed onto it and hesitated. As the oldest of the three, nearly twenty, she was inclined to be the older sister or even mother of the younger two. She was partial in protecting Lottie especially, being sixteen, and age that Amy still considered 'innocent'. Exchanging a glance with Cat, who nodded, Amy passed the rope to Lottie.

Lottie looked as if she was going to protest, but Amy urged her forward before she could speak. Compliantly, Lottie used the rope and several steps built into the ship to make her way to the top.

"Please, God, don't let this be a French ship," she prayed silently. Several hands helped her over the railing of the ship, and she blinked in shock as she looked at the oddly familiar faces. She knew them, all of them, yet she had never met them before. Every rigging, every mast, every detail was burned into her memory, though she had never been aboard this ship before. It was the setting of her favorite movies, Horatio Hornblower.

"Are you alright there, Miss?" said a kindly gray-haired man that could be none other than Matthews. For a moment, the fact that a character she had formerly thought fictional was talking to her, she stumbled backwards, and would have fallen, had it not been for Matthews and Styles. Now, both sailors looked at her, concerned.

Nothing could have prepared Amy and Cat for the sight before them as they had climbed over the ship's side. There was Horatio Hornblower himself- looking at all of them with a slightly surprised expression. Not being used to seeing women straddle the wooden side would make them a surprising sight, Amy was sure.

Silence followed, as none of the girls knew what to say. How could something like this happen? It was more than impossible to find yourself in a movie; it was completely ludicrous! Amy would have began swearing aloud- in German- if she could have spoken properly.

Cat was the first to recover from the initial shock. "Please, sirs, water," she begged- her voice quiet and ragged. The crew reacted immediately to the sound of her voice and the three were brought wooden mugs filled with water. They all gulped the sweet substance down, feeling it roll down their throats pleasantly. It was curious how good water could taste.

Abruptly, a booming voice arose from across the deck, startling the crew from their silence. Captain James Sawyer strode over to scold his lieutenants. "What is the meaning of this untimely interruption of my afternoon meal, Mr. Hornblower?"

Horatio answered, unabashed by the Captain's inculpatory tone, "It appears we have a few unexpected guests, sir."

"Is that so?" he roared at his lieutenants, clearly unaware of the three girls behind him. "That still gives you no excuse-

"Ahem," coughed Lottie softly, so softly that it was a wonder how anyone was able to hear her at all. The Captain turned around, fuming. Who dared to interrupt him? Then, upon laying his eyes on the new passengers aboard his ship, his face softened.

Now that her mouth had been thoroughly moistened, Lottie found herself able to talk freely. She spoke, "Please, excuse your men, sir. They were only saving us from that pitiful piece of wood they call a jolly boat." A few of the crew laughed, including the nasty bloke she remembered as Randall. Shuddering, she sincerely hoped she wouldn't have to see much of him while staying here.

The Captain's face softened because he was talking to a female, rather than what he thought to be an incompetent young man. "Then let me, Captain James Sawyer, welcome you ladies aboard His Majesty's Renown." He gave a small bow, and Amy, Cat and Lottie attempted curtsies. This was not easy, seeing as they had only seen such maneuvers in movies. The way he said "ladies" made Cat shiver. The Captain looked even more cunning and red-faced in person than he did in on her TV screen. "And what are your names?" the Captain asked them.

Lottie spoke first, "I am Charlotte O'Hara and these are my friends, Catherine Hampton and Amanda Galloway." Then, with a shiver and feeble smile, she tumbled backwards. Amy and Cat managed to catch her and set her back on her feet.

Matthews and Styles now looked more concerned than ever. Lottie could have sworn she heard one of them mutter, "She's not well." Lottie straightened, forcing herself to stand tall, despite the fact that she was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. If only she could sleep! Then she would feel better.

Captain Sawyer turned back to his lieutenants. "What, have you never seen women before?" he asked them chidingly, disgusted with their dumbstruck behavior. "Fetch them blankets- and have Doctor Clive inspect them at once!"

The youngest lieutenant, who the girls recognized as Archie Kennedy, led the three down the stairs and onto the second deck. "Seriously? I don't want that dirty old man 'inspecting' me!" hissed Amy as the trio made their way to the sick bay. Now that her tongue had been considerably loosed by the water, Amy was able to return to her normal chatty- and unashamedly blunt- self.

"Shh!" Cat quickly her, "You don't want to have to spring this ship too, do you?"

"No, not this one," Amy muttered as two tall midshipmen made their way past them, tipping their black hats to them politely. "Too many hotties." Cat rolled her eyes and Lottie stiffened a giggle. They could always rely on Amy to make light of any situation- even one that took place two hundred years before their time, not to mention in a movie.

Cat looked ahead at Archie, who held open the door of the sick bay. "Allow me to introduce myself- Kennedy, 4th Lieutenant," he spoke, tipping his hat at the three.

"Well, thank you, Mr. Kennedy, for escorting us here. We're pretty clueless as to where everything is," Cat told him, color beginning to creep up on her cheeks. Why did he have to be so darn cute? A simple twinkle of his eye sent her head over heels- and blushing besides! It didn't help any that he was right in front of her. He could see her reactions; no longer would she be able to giggle aloud like a lovestruck fangirl.

The three walked through the door and were presently assisted by Doctor Clive, who was quite bored, as he had no patients to assist to at the present. He poked and jabbed, asking how long they had been without food or water and other numerous questions. After several long minutes Lottie was getting quite tired of his prodding, and irritable besides. Her stomach screamed for food, something it had been without for an extended period of time. So when Doctor Clive pressed a hand into her back on a particular raw wound she cried aloud, "Crap!"

At the same moment, Midshipman Henry Wellard opened the door. He was a bit surprised to hear such a phrase from a woman. In truth, he did not actually know if such a phrase existed. Also, he felt a bit awkward at the sight of seeing three women, something he wasn't the least bit used to. "Way to make a first impression, Lot," murmured Amy with a smirk. Cat's foot came swiftly down upon her toe. Amy and Cat both knew who had been predominantly squealing with delight every time Wellard came on screen while watching the HH movies. It was evident; Lottie adored Wellard.

Fortunately for Lottie, Doctor Clive also appeared to be quite irritable, or maybe it was because Wellard had clearly interrupted his private 'inspection'. Nonetheless, he was unable to discover the numerous welts that crossed Lottie's back. She, for one, was glad of this. It wasn't that she wouldn't appreciate medical attention, it was rather that she didn't want to bring up painful memories- or have to try and explain how the welts had gotten there in the first place. Then again, the only 'medical attention' she would probably receive here was a pat on the head and a bottle of laudanum. Lovely.

"Well, what is it, Mr. Wellard?" demanded Doctor Clive. Cat and Amy exchanged knowing glances. By now, Lottie was turning a soft shade of red- the most she had ever blushed before.

"Someone has it bad," mused Amy to herself, disguising a laugh with an exaggerated cough.

"Doctor Clive, sir, the Captain sends his compliments and requests the presence of our guests to his cabin for dinner," Wellard spoke quietly, seeming immune to the Doctor's irritability.

At the mention of dinner, Amy rose to her feet. It had been a long time since she had last eaten a decent meal. Clive dismissed the girls begrudgingly, and the foursome exited the sick bay. As the door shut behind them, they realized that regardless of how many times they had seen the Horatio Hornblower movies, they had no clue where the Captain's cabin was.

As Wellard turned to leave, Lottie called out, "Mr. Wellard," and then, to stay appropriate, "is it?" He turned back to face them, still holding his black little hat at his side. Their eyes now met for the first time, and Lottie certainly hoped it wouldn't be the last. "Could you show us the way? We have no idea where anything is."

Wellard smiled politely and said, "Of course, Miss O'Hara," and turned to lead them to their destination. Lottie thought that all this stiff formality was suppressing. Even though it had been little over a month since she had been called by her first name, she was always reminded of an old, stubborn lady when she heard 'Miss O'Hara'. Yet, she didn't think it would be appropriate to ask Wellard or anyone else to call her by her first name. Supposedly, she was just seeing them for the first time. In fact, Wellard would probably fall over with shock if she called him Henry.

"Boy, it's about time. I'm starving!" exclaimed Amy under her breath. Cat glanced ahead at Wellard to see if he had heard her. If he had, he made no sign of it. Turning to her friend, she frowned disapprovingly.

"Must you always think of your stomach, Amy?" she whispered to her. Cat, for one, thought it best to try and blend into the time period as much as possible. With her often loud and random exclamations, Amy was tragically failing.

"Not always. Just when I'm really hungry- like now!" Amy protested while attempting to replace her dark hair in a large knot on top of her head.

Lottie glanced back at her friends and rolled her eyes. They were always like that- fiercely loyal, yet quarrelsome. She looked back at Wellard, who now stood next to the door of the Captain's cabin, amused at the sight of the two now animatedly bickering with each other.

"Are they like this often?" he asked Lottie curiously.

"I'm afraid so- they're just like sisters," she grimaced and Wellard chuckled. Returning to his serious self, he cleared his throat, causing Cat and Amy to turn around, who flushed with embarrassment.

Wellard, graciously, said nothing, but knocked on the Captain's door. To the sound of a "Come in!", he opened the door, allowing the three passengers to step inside.

Much to the disappointment of Lottie, Wellard was not permitted to stay. No other officers were invited, it appeared it would be a private meal. After a overly warm welcome from the Captain, Amy, Cat and Lottie were seated and told to eat. All three tried to be as polite as possible as they were eating, but found it quite difficult, as they were all ravenous.

After they had all eaten their fill, the Captain wiped his mouth and said to them, "Now tell me, how did three young ladies such as yourselves wind up in the middle of the English Channel?" There was a hint of flirtation among his words, though they tried their best to ignore it.

The three glanced at each other and hesitated. They had all agreed on a false story to tell whoever rescued them, however wrong it felt to lie and however cliché it sounded. It was too dangerous to tell the truth- where they had really come from. Besides, as Amy remembered it, Captain Sawyer was prone to random fits of insanity and telling him an unbelievable tale would probably not help their situation any.

"Well," started Lottie, deciding to be the brave one, "We are originally from America." At this statement, the Captain bristled a little. This was not a good sign.

"Guess they're still not over the fact that we kicked their butts back in 1781," Amy thought, a little worried. It was her sincere hope that the Captain did not hold a prejudice against them simply because they were Americans. She had had enough of that on the Indomptable.

"But our families all have roots in either Britain or Ireland. And we actually favor the British," piped up Amy quickly, not wanting to start a reenactment of the Revolutionary War on the Renown. Actually, that statement was only partly true, seeing as her own ancestors were predominantly from Spain. However, she thought it unwise to mention this to the Captain. Currently, the British were enemies with the Spanish.

"Hmm. I see," was all the Captain said. Tapping his chin thoughtfully, he motioned for them to continue with their story.

"Our families had decided to travel back to England where our ancestors had lived. On our way to England, there was a huge storm. It swallowed our whole ship; any survivors were scattered. Amy found that jolly boat, miraculously still intact, and eventually found Cat and myself- floating on the remaining pieces of our ship," Lottie continued.

It felt odd telling Sawyer this. Occasionally, he would nod in understanding, as if this was a perfectly reasonable story. But it wasn't, not really. After all the times Lottie had repeated the story to herself, it had slowly become more and more real. "I'm sure there were no other survivors but us three. We were the only ones." That much was, in a way, true. As far as she knew, she would never see anyone from her time ever again, unless some unnatural force of nature brought them back to their time. Swallowing, she finished, "So finally, after drifting for a few days, your ship found us."

The Captain nodded. "Well, in a few days the Renown will be docking in Plymouth. There, under the usual circumstances, I would reunite you with whatever relations you have. However, it appears that your circumstances are a bit- different. I see it is better for you to be returned to America. I will be able to do this personally, after our voyage."

Lottie sighed with relief. The longer they could stay on the shelter of the Renown, the better. Who knew what lay in wait for them in England, or America even? At least this ship seemed somewhat familiar, even if it was a completely different world.

"As for sleeping arrangements," the Captain carried on, "It appears the only readily available space is a section of the Midshipmen's Berth. It will be accommodated, I assure you."

Amy perked up at the idea of sleeping in the Midshipmen's Berth. Smirking, she caught Lottie's eye and an eyebrow suggestively. Maybe things would get interesting. Lottie just rolled her eyes. Amy was always the first one to think of anything in, well, that way.

"Thank you ever so much, Captain Sawyer, sir," said Cat, hoping the Captain did not notice the looks exchanged between Amy and Lottie. "We are forever in your debt." Sadly, thought Cat, being in debt to Captain Sawyer wasn't really a good thing.

Tah-dah! Done with the first chapter. If you would be so kind as to review, you are eligible for a place on my awesome list. ;) Be encouraging, be critical, be nice, be mean; I want to know if this is a complete waste of time, total genius, average, etc. Thanks!