A/N: I'd say one of my biggest fears when it comes to this story is that the balance between action vs. dialogue is a smidge off. I do realize there have been a lot of conversations so far, and granted they've usually been between different people... but I wish I could've provided more action through all this. As I said a few chapters ago, the bad thing is, my hands have been tied a good deal on what I could do due to the fact that I'm writing from third class, and there aren't as many opportunities to do exciting things. Not just that, but I think Aimee's kind of needed to form actual relationships (Keely, Mrs. McGalliard, Tommy) in order for her to have a change of heart. If you're a reader who's been dissatisfied so far with the overabundance of conversation and not enough action, trust me when I assure you that's all about to change with the sinking. I'm hoping to have several chapters alone devoted to just that.

Plus, the chapter after this one ought to be interesting enough... get to reading to see why ^_~

It was late afternoon sometime when we heard about yet another iceberg warning.

"Ah yes, I suppose we are that far north, aren't we?" Mr. Cartmell was speaking to the young man who had come around with the news which he had overheard two officers discussing. "Don't worry yourself, Son. We sail with Captain Smith. A more skilled, watchful shipmaster you wouldn't find the world over. He'll get us through this to be sure."

"Oh, I'm not worried," the boy replied. "My father tells me this ship is built of the sturdiest iron there is. She'll just slice right through that ice like a knife through butter."

I listened with only partial interest, holding my book in front of me yet again, but as had been the case during the entire voyage so far, I was unable to focus for all the distraction.

Sitting on deck bundled up on the benches, Keely and I chuckled as two clusters of teenage boys made their own rugby-like game using walking sticks or umbrellas to slide various objects across the planks back and forth to one another. The object they used depended on how long they could get away with using one thing before they were caught, reprimanded, and had it taken away. Then they would find another.

Keely noted my continual pausing to look around. "Lookin' fer tha handsome Mister Ryan, are yeh?"

Having been so diligent before to brush the thought off, this time I answered truthfully. "I am."

"So what changed yer mind about 'im?"

I thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. I just... guess what I thought I was looking for in someone turned out not to be what I wanted after all." I sighed. "... Truthfully, I think Tommy reminded me somewhat of my father when I met him; and at the time, my father was the very last person I wanted to think about."

"Hmm," Keely grunted, shifting positions. "I have this crampin', like, in my stomach."

"Oh?" I turned to her.

She nodded. "Almost like a lass gets durin' her monthly, but we know that can't be the issue," she tried to chuckle, but grimaced.

"Maybe you should go lie down," I suggested. "It seems women in your condition have a lot of odd pains."

"Aye," she slowly raised up from the bench. I happened to glance past her then to see that First Officer Lowe was standing on the deck above ours, his eyes discreetly trained on Keely.

I smiled. "You might have an admirer."

"What?" Keely looked around, surprised. She caught Officer Lowe's eyes then and gave him a short wave, then glanced back at me with a puzzled expression. "Bet he's heard what I can do ta give lads a good time," she rolled her eyes.

I flushed at the mention of such improper things, but shook my head. "He's not propositioned you, has he?"

"No, no. I think he's tryin' to act all virtuous fer tha moment, but mark my words. He will."

Sighing, I realized how much work it might take at this point for Keely's mind to be changed about the existence of honorable men in the world. "Alright, well go rest. I'll come check on you later."

She nodded, and headed below deck. I couldn't resist glancing back over to Officer Lowe and giving a knowing smile. It wasn't so obvious due to his hat shielding part of his face, but I thought I detected a blush.

"Hey, Aimee," Someone had plopped down onto the bench next to me.

"Ah!" I jumped in surprise, turning around. "...Ah," I repeated for lack of other words.

Jack gave me a smile as he stretched out, sighing while he watched the ocean ripple trailing behind the liner.

"Did... Rose have fun down here last night?" I finally thought of something. "I saw you two dancing.

He was quiet a moment, and I was about to repeat myself before he shrugged. "She had a great time, but I don't think it was enough to pull her out of the spider's web."

"How do you mean?"

I listened with interest as Jack repeated to me how he could read all over Rose's face that she wanted to choose a different path, needed to. Yet the pull from her mother and her fiancee Cal had been too strong, and earlier that morning she had told him to stop coming around for good.

"... And I was this close to kissing her," Jack held his fingers up to emphasize. "Something tells me if I'd have done that... it would've given her the strength she needed to break away."

I sat thinking for a moment about what Jack said. This was the first time I'd seen him the least bit stressed out since we'd met, and I could tell this was a very big deal to him.

"The thing is, Jack," I began, not knowing for sure how to put this because I was just sorting it out for myself, "sometimes a girl has to swear something off before she realizes that, without it, she's missed perhaps one of the greatest opportunities for change that will ever come along. If you made the kind of impact on Rose that you sense you did, she still feels it, I assure you; and the odds are good that she'll be back to take you up on all that you promised her."

Jack shook his head. "It wasn't a lot that I could promise her. Just my love, and a life full of adventure..." he brought a hand up to rub his face, looking weary with all of this.

Just then, my attention was promptly pulled away. Tommy had come on deck with Fabrizio and his apparent love interest Helga. The three were lost in their own talk, so he didn't see me, but I watched him for several minutes before Jack waved a hand in front of my face, chuckling.

"Which one, Tommy or Fabri?"

"Oh," I flushed. "... I..." still finding it hard to answer, I gave up on trying to sound sophisticated and ladylike while speaking of a crush. "Is Tommy a good man?" I looked at Jack suddenly. "You're with him a lot of the time, I want to know your honest opinion."

Jack looked at me, a bit surprised. "Tommy? Oh, sure he is," he replied, the paused. "... You're the one!" He burst out laughing.

"The one?" my brow furrowed.

"Yeah yeah, the one he was going on to Fabri and me about the other day. He uh... said he met a girl, and she might be a little hard to figure out, but he meant to give it a try anyway. I haven't talked to him much since then, as I've been a little... preoccupied... but the way he described her, it had to be you."

I glanced down momentarily. "Well... it may have been me at the time, but I've since turned him down."

"Why?" Jack leaned forward. "You might be used to fancier men, but Tommy's as fine as they come."

I nodded. "And now I can see that. But at the time..." it was my turn to flush. "At the time, I was distracted by something else I thought was...going to work out."

"Then go tell him you changed your mind," Jack countered immediately, obviously not seeing why this would be an issue. "Everything you just told me about women needing time to realize what they could lose? Won't you apply that to yourself and go after it?"

Hesitating, I toyed with the fringe of my scarf.

"Hey, if Rose would come back to me right now and tell me she'd changed her mind," his face became serious as he looked out over the water again. "It wouldn't matter to me that she turned me down once. The important thing is, she came back."

Wanting to get the subject off Tommy and I as I needed to think about it, and feeling sympathy for Jack's countenance... I found the words coming out of my mouth before I'd properly thought them through.

"Jack, would you like me to talk to Rose?"

He turned quickly. "What? No offense, Aimee, but... a third class girl she doesn't even know approaching her to tell her to give some guy a chance again, that may not work so well..."

"I know her," I stood up. "We went to finishing school together."

Jack's jaw seemed to drop, and I wondered if he was frustrated at not having known this earlier so he could utilize the connection if he needed it.

"Stay here so I can find you afterward. I will come back, even if it might take awhile to figure out how to get up to the first class decks unscathed..."

I stared up above me at all the parasols that could be seen above the railing, moving across the deck. Was I really clever enough to do this?