Ariel awoke slowly, to the sound of faint voices. They seemed so far off at first, that she couldn't help but wonder whether she were dreaming. Her eyes opened with a flutter, and she squinted against the soft light that blanketed the small room in which she found herself.

How had she gotten here? What had happened?

She tried to shift her weight, only to find herself paralysed by the resilient hold of sleep. Panic flared within her; where was Cory?

The young mother groaned, murmuring incoherent words as she made a second fruitless attempt to sit up. Her eyes widened as a tall figure stepped towards her. Warren!

"No!" she cried weakly, closing her eyes and bringing her hands up, pathetically hitting out in an attempt to protect herself. Her flailing hands were caught, and held within larger ones. Ariel whimpered in fear, fully expecting Warren to strike her as she muttered tearful apologies.

"Ariel! Ariel it's alright, it's me, it's Eric."

Ariel's breath hitched at those words, and she slowly reopened her eyes. Sure enough, she was met by a pair of kind blue eyes that she knew belonged to one person only.

"Eric?"

Again she tried to push herself into a sitting position, and was this time helped by the man sat beside her. Her head lulled as he aided her, as though her neck provided too weak a support.

Eric propped up the pillows behind her, and helped her back so that she may lean against them.

"No... Eric please, please don't go" begged Ariel, mistaking the action. She sat forward, gripping Eric's shirt in an attempt to keep him by her side, but merely succeeded in slumping against him.

"Careful," said Eric softly, slowly pushing her back. "I'm not going anywhere" he told her, trying to ease her worry, certain that he was currently doing enough worrying for the both of them.

He had hoped that resting would replenish her strength somewhat, but she seemed just as weak as she had before, something which was accompanied by confusion and a deep-rooted fear, both of which were perfectly understandable. Eric suspected that hunger and stress had a large part to play in both.

It was just past midday, twelve hours since Eric had brought Ariel and Cory to Edith's room.

Cory had woken a few hours ago complaining head and neck pain, and Eric had immediately called for the ships medic. He hadn't told him the exact circumstances of their situation out of fear that he could be manipulated by Warren.

"Eric, Cory! Wh-where's Cory?"

The young man's attention was drawn by the sound of Ariel's desperate question, both of her hands gripping his left. The fear in her eyes was evident immediately, and Eric sought to ease her worry.

"He's alright Ariel, he's just here, see?" He motioned to the other bed, where the toddler sat watching his mother, a few storybooks spread out around him.

"I called for Doctor O'Loughlin," Eric continued, "he said his injuries aren't serious, and they will have healed within a couple of weeks, though he does suspect a slight concussion and perhaps whiplash too." He spoke slowly so as to clearly convey the message to Ariel, not wanting her to panic unnecessarily.

She nodded, tears welling in her eyes.

Eric swore that he could feel his heart being torn to pieces at the sight of her despair. She had been forced to remain stoic for too long, a little more of the girl he'd grown up with being chipped away every day, never being able to show how much her marriage hurt. In the past four years she'd never been able to cry in the knowing mind that there would be someone there to comfort her, not until now.

Ariel dropped her head into her hands, her frame being wracked by the broken sobs that suddenly filled the room. She was beyond her limits, she couldn't stay strong for her little boy anymore.

All Eric could do was hold her as she clung to him, her hands balling into fists and closing around the fabric of his shirt. He had deposited his jacket around Cory's shoulders earlier, when he had woken up shivering, the entirely too large garment providing the three year old with some amusement.

Eventually Ariel's cries died down, her breath hitching periodically as she continued to rest her head against Eric's chest. Her eyes remained tightly shut as she tried to savour the moment, knowing that all too soon it could come to an end. Perhaps this was a dream, and she'd wake to Warren's rough hands as he climbed into bed beside her.

The thought made her cry out, and she sprang back, pushing Eric away as she did.

They were nothing alike, Eric and Warren, but for so long her husband's behaviour had been all she'd known, and she had become fearful of men altogether. Was that how all men treated their wives?

She looked back to Eric, and the kindness and concern in his eyes was all it took for her to come to a conclusion. No, Eric would never hut her.

Eric watched as she came back to herself, not daring to move in case he only made things worse.

"I'm sorry" she offered brokenly.

Eric's response was immediate. "Don't be, I understand" he said, taking her hand and running his thumb gently across her knuckles.

This time she didn't pull away, and instead scanned her unfamiliar surroundings.

"Where... where are we?" she asked.

"Second class," replied Eric, "do you remember Edith, the women you spoke to when we docked in Ireland?"

Ariel nodded.

"This is her room, she said we could have it until the ship arrives in America. You'll be safe here, I promise."

Again Ariel nodded, becoming gradually more aware of her upcoming headache, something which Eric seemed to notice straight away as she brought a trembling hand to her forehead.

"I'll get you something to eat, maybe that will help" he suggested.

"I'm not hungry." Ariel's voice sounded increasingly weary.

Her words caught Eric by surprise, for he had expected her to be famished after nearly two whole days with nothing to eat, but suspected that her apparent migraine was to blame for of lack of appetite. Nonetheless, she needed to eat something, or risk becoming sick.

"Just something small," he pressed, "I'll see what I can find."

Ariel didn't appear to register his offer, and instead her eyes flitted to Cory, whose own remained fixed upon his mother. She reached out a hand to him.

Eric lifted Cory over the gap between the two beds, taking great care to ensure that he didn't inflict further pain upon the boy.

His injuries were far more prominent now; the lump at his temple, the patchy blue and purple lines across his neck where Warren had gripped him so tightly. There were other bruises too, hidden beneath his clothes, and it was all Ariel could do not to cry out as her little boy sat upon his knees just to the right of her.

"Are you okay?" she asked, stroking her son's cheek with the back of her fingers.

Cory nodded, cuddling up against his mother as she wrapped her arms about him.

Eric smiled sadly, and chuckled as Cory reached out towards the jacket that had slipped from his shoulders. Eric handed it back to him, and stood, starting towards the door to fetch lunch for both mother and son.

"I won't be long," he said, "don't answer the door, I'll lock it behind me."

"What? No! No, Eric you can't!" Ariel began to panic, pulling the covers back as she sought to go after him.

The young man was quick stop her, and was back by her side in two quick strides.

She grasped his hand in both of hers, and stared deep into his eyes as he comforted her, placed his free right hand upon her shoulder. She shook her head in despair.

"You can't go," she said, her voice coming to nothing more than a desperate whisper as she struggled to fight back fresh tears. "Eric please don't leave us, don't lock us up."

Admittedly, it was the last thing that Eric wanted to do, but neither had eaten, and he couldn't risk Warren getting to them whilst he was gone.

"Ariel I'll come back, I'll only be five minutes, I swear."

"No! Eric if Warren sees you... he'll know... he'll know it was you... he'll kill you Eric" sobbed Ariel, clutching his hand as though her life depended on it.

Eric moved his hand from her shoulder to her cheek, using his thumb to gingerly brush away the tears there.

"Ariel listen to me," he said softly, lifting her head slightly with his index finger so that their eyes met. "I'll be careful, alright? I won't ever leave you again. Five minutes Ariel, that's all, but I need you to trust me."

Ariel's body trembled slightly as she gazed at Eric longingly, trying to silently convey to him to remain by her side, but knowing deep down that it wasn't an option. They need to eat. She looked down at Cory, and then slowly back to Eric.

"I trust you."

Eric smiled, kissing her cheek as he had done so many times in the past before rising to his feet and leaving the room, taking a wistful glance back towards Ariel's before closing the door, and triple checking that it was locked behind him.

He sighed as he walked away. Ariel was right, he couldn't keep them behind a closed door for much longer, than didn't make him any better than Warren. But the older man was too much of a threat, and Eric had to exercise every precaution to keep their hiding place a secret.

Since Edith had agreed to help, his new plan had been to keep Ariel and Cory in her room until the ship docked in America, and then avoid Warren and get them back to England. Only now was he beginning to realise how many flaws that plan contained.

Perhaps his original idea of proving Warren a threat was still the best he had.

Only time would tell, and Eric knew that he was fast running out of it.