Chapter 3

There were only so many places you could go on a ship and Elizabeth seemed to be spending most of her time on the boat deck. She liked it out here; she could escape from everything even if it was just for a little while. At the moment she was avoiding yet more talk about the wedding, her mother was almost obsessed with it but then it was this wedding that was going to secure her future, ensure she got to keep her cushy life. She'd done a lot to make it happen and she probably wanted the moment itself to be perfect.

Elizabeth had made an effort that morning; she had voiced her own opinion a few times, shown a little interest. Her mother, controlling woman that she was, didn't want Elizabeth taking too active a part in the plans but she seemed to have been pleased that her daughter was finally taking an interest in it. She'd only been able to take so much though, the conversation had felt more and more like it was suffocating her and eventually she'd just had to get out of there. She had made an excuse to leave, claiming she wanted to get some fresh air and would come back soon, that had been almost half an hour ago but she just couldn't bring herself to go back inside.

She circled the boat deck, walking around and looking at all the people she passed by. She knew half the people on the upper deck, either by reputation or as an acquaintance. She saw the kids that had been playing on the lower deck the first time she had gone down there, they were playing again, the same two mothers keeping them in line. Then she saw John again, on the lower deck with two other people, a tall man, built and with long dreadlocks, he was almost scary looking. There was a woman with them, brown hair that was tied back loosely, a blue skirt and green top. She stopped, staying a step away from the railing so she could duck away if she needed to.

John was talking, the woman nodded her head smiling and obviously agreeing with whatever he'd said. The bigger guy was glaring at the both, he grabbed hold of John's jacket pretending to throw him over board and Elizabeth had to wonder what these people found so funny about threatening to throw people off the ship, it was the second time she'd heard it on this voyage. Out of instinct John's hand grabbed the railing, the other taking hold of the man's arm to try and save himself even though from the look of it he'd known he wasn't actually going to get thrown over board.

He seemed happy, content with his life, in fact everything she'd seen of third class passengers showed the same. They hardly had anything, few belongings, some barely hada roof over their heads but that didn't seem to faze them, at least not that she'd seen. It was weird to think that they had less then anyone in first class but they seemed to be the far happier group.

"There you are," Simon's voice came from behind her making her jump as she turned to look at him. "I've been looking for you."

"I just needed some air," she told him.

"Yes, your mother said, she's looking for you," he informed her and she nodded her head. "You should go back inside."

It had sounded much more like an order than a suggestion, Elizabeth nodded her head again and Simon turned to walk back inside obviously expecting her to follow. She glanced back at John and his two friends, they were laughing now, enjoying the last hour of their morning. She sighed and turned back to Simon, hurrying to catch up with him.

Ronon and Teyla had gone inside for lunch, John had to admit to liking Teyla, she just seemed to click with them, especially with Ronon, in a strange sort of way. He wasn't hungry though so he'd opted instead to stay on the boat deck enjoying the sea air while he had it. In a few days they'd be back on land, he and Ronon would be setting about trying to make something of themselves in America. Whilst they were on this ship they didn't have to worry about any of that, for a few days they didn't have to think about where their next meal would come from, they could just enjoy themselves.

He walked along the deck playing with the yoyo he usually had in his pocket. He'd had it since he was a kid, he'd found it on the street probably dropped and forgotten about by another kid and he'd never been without it since. He was just contemplating going inside to find Ronon and Teyla when he caught sight of someone familiar. Elizabeth Weir, she was standing on the upper deck by the stairs that led down to where steerage got to come out and play. She looked like she was talking to herself, trying to decide whether or not to actually come down the stairs and he found himself getting more and more curious about her. He walked over to the stairs quietly, watching her debate with herself as he did so.

"First getting lost in third class, now talking to yourself, should I be getting worried?" John questioned as he walked over to her and she looked at him like a dear caught in headlights. It was similar to the look she'd given him when he'd first caught her down here except this one wasn't quite so scared.

"No," she replied composing herself a little and straightening up as she walked down the stairs as though she'd never had a second thought about it.

"Why are you talking to yourself at the top of the stairs?" he asked her as she reached the bottom and stood in front of him. She didn't answer him; she didn't have an answer at least not one she wanted to share. "What is it with you and third class?"

"I prefer it down here," she told him honestly after several moments of silence. He wasn't sure he understood that but he nodded anyway.

"Well since you seem to like it down here so much, how about I show you around?" he questioned. She hesitated again, he could see her once again debating with herself whether this was a good idea or not but eventually she started nodding her head slowly and he gestured for her to follow him. They talked idly as they walked around the ship, he told her about the places he'd been in his life and she told him about her extended vacation in England. She'd done some shopping and seen some of the sites while her fiancé had been in business meetings. He found himself disappointed that she was engaged but shoo that off, it wasn't like he'd ever actually have a chance.

He took her around the deck as though he was really giving her a tour. There really wasn't anything to see in third class, a boat deck with a few lifeboats around, kids playing and people sat around enjoying their time on the ship. Below decks there were small cramped room with narrow corridors, pipes in some places and rats scurrying about in search of dinner, he didn't take her down there.

"What is it you prefer about being down here to being up there with the rest of the rich and fortunate?" he asked her, she stiffened slightly at his question, maybe to the reference he made to the other first class passengers. Calling them that was actually kind of a habit now.

"Everyone is so much more... relaxed down here," she explained and John followed her gaze to the other passengers. They were all going about their business, some of them throwing the occasional glance at the woman who obviously didn't belong but most of them not interested. "Why is that, first class have everything they want or need but all of you have very little?"

"I guess we just know how to live with what we have, being on this ship is a chance to relax and not worry about where our next meals are gonna come from or where we're going to sleep, we want to make the most of it," he told her. He'd been thinking the same thing a few minutes ago, thinking about enjoying the voyage while he could. "So what is it about first class you're trying to escape from?"

She looked at him indignantly for even daring to ask the question "What makes you think I'm trying to escape from anything?" she asked him, the tone of her voice told him he'd been right on the mark.

"You wouldn't be coming down to third class if you weren't trying to get away from something up there," he stated and she continued to look at him angrily. For a moment he thought she was going to repeat her exit from the first time they'd run into each other but then she sighed, her shoulders dropping slightly.

"It's very suffocating," she told him not elaborating any further than that and he wasn't about to push her for answers, he didn't even know her. She was obviously troubled and whatever those troubles were drove her down here, maybe so she could get away from them, forget about them and think about something else. An idea struck him, whether or not she'd be receptive or not he didn't know but it never hurt to try.

"Before you run off on me again," he began "Whatever is bothering you is none of my business but if you really want to escape from it for a while then meet me here tonight about eight o clock."

She looked at him, uncertain and wary but he gave her a reassuring smile and turned to leave. He didn't know if she'd be there, she had no reason to trust him but something told him she might actually show up.

Lunch had been the usual third class, edible food that they had been served since they'd boarded the Titanic. John hadn't missed out on much and no doubt the leftovers would be served at a later date so he'd still be able to enjoy the great meal. Ronon and Teyla were searching the deck for him now but there wasn't any sign of him, it was possible he'd gone below decks but he'd said he wanted to get some fresh air.

"Perhaps he decided on a late lunch," Teyla suggested as they walked along the deck. Ronon wasn't sure what it was about the woman that kept him around, when he'd first met her he hadn't even planned on speaking to her. He was a private person, he liked to keep himself to himself but John had insisted on hanging around with her and so talking to her had been inevitable. She clicked with him though in a way he couldn't quite understand. She was probably the first person he'd met that could tell him what to do and much to his surprise have him actually do it.

"Yeah maybe," Ronon replied as two kids came running up the deck almost running straight into Ronon. He sidestepped the first pulling Teyla out of the way of the second who stopped for a moment to apologise before continuing to chase down his friend. "Kids," Ronon said keeping his dislike for them in check.

"You don't like them?" Teyla questioned picking up on it anyway, she was eerily observant.

"Not so much not like them as get annoyed by their presence," he told her and she smiled at his answer. Maybe he didn't dislike kids that much but when they were around they were constantly getting under his feet, running about with no thought to innocent bystanders.

"Let's just find John," Teyla suggested and Ronon refocused his attention on his friend.

"Now is it just me or is John acting weird at the moment?" Ronon questioned and Teyla shrugged.

"I've only know you a few days," she pointed out "But now that you mention it, he's been quieter than when I first met him. He doesn't spend as much time with us as he started out doing and he always seems to have something on his mind."

"Now, see, that's exactly what I mean?" Ronon said "What is with you, you know people inside out in less than a day?"

"It's a gift," Teyla replied "And as for John, I'm sure he has his reasons, I don't pretend to know what they are but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. We're on a ship in the middle of the ocean after all, how much trouble could he get into?

"You don't know John that well then, if he doesn't find trouble it finds him," Ronon stated "And I think it's a very creepy gift by the way."

"I know, that's why I keep saying things that most people wouldn't know after just a few days," she told him and he glared at the innocent smile she gave him.

Dinner in first class was over, the men had gone to the smoking room and the women were free to do as they liked. Elizabeth excused herself from the latest round of gossiping and left the dinning room. She went outside locating the nearest set of stairs and chastising herself for her stupidity. She had no idea who this John person was, she'd only met him a few times while she'd been in a place she shouldn't have been but she still found herself sneaking away in the late evening to meet him. If she was honest she wanted to know what he had planned, he had seemed pretty pleased with himself when he'd come up with it. He hadn't given her even the faintest clue what it was though maybe because he thought she wouldn't agree to it. If he tried anything funny she'd be out of there before he could blink but for some reason she didn't think that would be an issue.

It was already dark, the lights from the ship the only real source of illumination out on the deck, the sky was pretty cloudy covering the stars and the moon. There were a few people about but most were inside avoiding the chill that was in the air that night. She made her way across the deck wishing she had a coat with her. She was already late meeting him and for a moment she thought he might have gone but when she came around the corner she saw him standing there. He was by the railing looking out at the dark water with no clue she was behind him.

"Sorry I'm a little late," she said quietly to get his attention and he turned around and smiled.

"Thought for a minute you might not be coming," he said and she looked down at the deck for a second before meeting his eyes.

"I wasn't going to," she admitted, she'd been thinking about it all afternoon and the more she thought the more she knew this was a bad idea. She'd been sat at dinner with the others, her mother telling some story that everyone else found amusing. By the end of the meal she'd felt like she was going crazy and all she could think was how she wanted to go and meet John.

"What changed your mind?" he asked her and she shrugged. She might have come down here to meet him but she still didn't know him, didn't known anything about him and she wasn't going to start sharing the more intimate details of her life with him.

"So what did you have in mind?" she questioned and he smiled smugly at her.

"We're going to a party," he told her and her eyes widened. There was no way, she couldn't, she was a first class passenger and she shouldn't even be down on this deck, shouldn't be talking to John never mind going to a third class party.

"I can't," she said trying to come up with an excuse that wouldn't be rude or offensive.

"Of course you can, come on, we'll go and if you're not happy we can leave again and I'll bring you back here myself," he said and even as her mind screamed at her that this was a bad idea, that out of all the stupid things she'd done since she'd come aboard the Titanic this was by far the most stupid, she found herself nodding. He took her hand and the fact that she didn't pull away surprised her more than her agreeing to this in the first place.

She almost had second thoughts when he led her below decks but she followed him anyway. It was cramped down here, some of the corridors were pretty narrow and there was none of the elegant decoration that adorned first class anywhere to be seen. There were people in the corridors and the difference between first and third class had never been more obvious to her. She could here music, quiet at first but it got louder and louder as John pulled her along the corridor. They arrived at the party, John opening a door to reveal a large room, not as big as the first class dining room but big enough to fit plenty of passengers in.

There was a band playing on what could pass for a stage, people were dancing and laughing, huge glasses of beer being passed around and various drinking games or arm wrestling competitions being played. It was nothing like anything she'd seen, everyone seemed to be having a great time and they were so raw and open that it stunned her. There was no pretence in the room, none.

"Come on," John encouraged and she followed him through the room to the two people she'd seen him on the deck with before. "Ronon, Teyla," he shouted and the two looked over at them both looking surprised by his guest. "Did I miss anything good?"

"Only Billy getting so drunk he knocked over half the people on the dance floor, nothing we didn't see yesterday," Teyla replied her eyes going to Elizabeth.

"This is Elizabeth," John introduced "She's a friend of mine, Elizabeth this is Teyla and Ronon."

"It's nice to meet you," Teyla stated getting over her initial shock and reaching a hand out. Elizabeth accepted it though she didn't get quite the same response from Ronon, just a barely there smile and a nod of his head before he reached for his beer. "Here, sit down," Teyla said gesturing to the empty seat next to her and casting a glare at Ronon. Elizabeth smiled and sat down finally letting go of John's hand.

"I'll be right back," John told her and Elizabeth felt a slight moment of panic as she watched him go but Teyla put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Do not worry, you are perfectly safe with us," she said. A few moments later John returned with several glasses of beer balanced in his hands which he put down on the table carefully.

"Sorry Elizabeth but this is all we have, our expensive wine supplies have run out," he joked and she actually found herself laughing at the terrible excuse for humour.

"That's alright," she told him taking the glass he'd brought for her and drinking a substantial amount of it in one go. Her father had preferred beer to wine, he'd drank wine only when he was around important people but given the choice he would have chosen this. He'd made sure he'd passed his love for the drink onto his daughter telling her it was not very lady like to drink it but as long as she did it in private then it was perfectly acceptable. He'd later added the condition that her mother never found out he'd been giving her the stuff since she was old enough to drink, maybe slightly before.

There were three surprised looks thrown in her direction and she shrugged "What?"

"Absolutely nothing," John replied shaking his head and putting his own glass down. "Dance with me?" he requested holding his had out to her and she hardly gave it a thought before accepting. They'd barely been dancing for more than a few seconds before someone bumped into her almost knocking her down, it was immediately apparent to Elizabeth that the man was very drunk. John gave him a shove out of the way sending him back in the direction he'd come from before looking at her.

"Are you alright?" he asked her and she laughed.

"I'm fine," she replied stepping closer to him as he put his hand on her waist to continue dancing. This whole thing was like nothing she'd ever done before, like nowhere she'd ever been. Her father had once told her that rich people had forgotten how to party and she understood what he meant now. Violins playing classical, slow music was nice but this was something altogether different and not in a bad way. She had no idea what she was doing, John was leading her and she spent far too much time looking at her feet trying to figure out where the hell they should go.

"Don't think," John said lifting her chin up. "Just look at me."

She met his eyes, holding his gaze as they continued dancing and she managed to not step on his toes. It was hard to resist the urge to look down and laughed at herself when she lost the battle with it. She was getting the hang of it and she concentrated on looking at John, he smiled at seeing the inner struggle she was having and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"It's not funny," she told him laughing despite what she'd said.

"Of course it's not," he replied and she decided to focus her attention on something else.

"Are they a couple?" she asked gesturing to Ronon and Teyla who were still sat together where they'd left them. Another man had come over and was stood talking to them, Ronon was grinning while Teyla just looked dismayed.

"No... actually you know what, I don't know," John said. "We only met Teyla when we came aboard but I've hardly seen them apart since and with the way they act around each other..."

"Have you tried asking?" Elizabeth questioned and John shook his head laughing.

"I think Ronon might hurt me for even suggesting it," he told her. "He doesn't like to admit he's just a big teddy bear underneath it all."

"I bet he doesn't," Elizabeth replied laughing as they stopped dancing. "Another drink?" she asked.

"Yeah," John nodded. "And I think I may need to stop Ronon getting into another drinking competition, the last one wasn't pretty."

She held onto his hand as they moved back over to his friends and as John had suspected Ronon was getting challenged to what sounded like a rematch. He quickly put an end to that for which Teyla looked relieved and the four of them sat down, Elizabeth stayed close to John as they enjoyed their drinks.

As promised John brought her back up to the boat deck, it was a ridiculously late hour and she could only hope that no one had missed her. John had been right though, up until that moment she hadn't even thought about first class, hadn't thought about Simon or her mother or the wedding. She'd had a good time, the best she'd had in a very ling time, since long before her father had gotten sick and part of her didn't want to leave. She was walking slowly, John sticking to her pace and not rushing her back to the stairs.

"Thank you for this," she said as they walked across the boat deck, she could see the stairs up ahead, the ones that were closest to her room.

"Not a problem," he replied and she smiled at him.

"No really, I had a good time," she emphasised and he shrugged.

"Well so did I, it was fun having you around," he told her and she smiled and looked down at the deck trying to figure out a way to draw this out longer. She couldn't come up with anything and as they came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs she knew it was time to go back to her world and leave this one. "If you're ever in need of a good party just look me up."

"I'll do that," she smiled and as even as they fell silent she couldn't bring herself to go.

"I think Ronon's gonna miss you," he said and she laughed, the big guy as John kept referring to him had warmed up to her a little as the night had gone on.

"Tell him I already miss him too," she replied and then looked up the stairs, it was time to go. "Goodnight John," she said bringing any further conversation to an end. "It's been really great."

"Yeah it has, goodnight Elizabeth."

She smiled and nodded her head, hesitating one last time before going up the stairs. She looked back briefly at the top, John was watching her go and she offered him one last smile before she disappeared from his line of sight. She still thought that going down there, agreeing to go with him to the party below decks had been the most stupid idea she'd had in a long time but she didn't regret it. She'd had a good time, seen a side to life, to people she hadn't seen before and she was glad she'd taken the chance and gone.

Elizabeth had met Simon for breakfast on the private balcony; he'd wanted to spend some time with just the two of them. The whole thing had been an uncomfortable affair and she was glad it was almost over with, they'd already eaten they just had to finish their tea and then they'd be on their way. She was exhausted, it had been almost 2am when she'd made it back to her room after her trip to third class last night and she'd been woken up bright and early that morning, it was the first time her mother and Simon had been awake before her since they'd boarded the ship.

"Where were you last night?" Simon questioned as Elizabeth placed her empty cup down on the table. "I came to say goodnight to you and you weren't in your room."

"I was probably out on the deck, I felt like taking a walk," she lied and from the look he gave her she almost wished she hadn't.

He shook his head "Can't even tell the truth now."

"What?" she questioned hoping playing dumb would help her out here.

"I know exactly where you were Elizabeth," he stated in a voice so low and dangerous Elizabeth shrank back slightly in her chair. "You must have been very tired this morning; the party below decks went on very late."

Despite her fear Elizabeth was angry enough at him to stop shrinking back away from him. "Having me followed again Simon?" she questioned. "I'm sure it was that little weasel Kavanaugh again, when did you set him loose?"

"You will not speak to me like that," he raised his voice at her standing and walking around the table toward her. "If you would act as you're supposed to then I wouldn't have to keep an eye on you so often. I know last night was not the first time you have gone down to third class but I let that slide, you're behaviour last night was unacceptable."

"Then how would you have me behave?" Elizabeth questioned her own voice rising. "Like a caged animal? I'm your fiancé Simon, not an employee and not a possession; you have no right to treat me as one."

The slap across her face was so unexpected it almost knocked her out of the chair and as she reached her hand up to her cheek she knew there was going to be a mark there later. "That's right you're my fiancé and I expect you to behave as such. I will not have you gallivanting around this ship with third class passengers is that understood?"

Elizabeth nodded her head, speaking at that moment would probably only have gotten her into more trouble. Simon stepped back, kicking over the table in his anger and turning back to her again. "I expect you to behave yourself Elizabeth," he warned her before walking away, the door back into the ship slamming behind him, the sound going straight through Elizabeth. A few moments later the maid was there to clean up the mess Simon had made. It took Elizabeth a few seconds to make her body move out for the chair to try and help the maid. The woman took her shaky hand and kindly told her to sit back down.

TBC