*Chapter 12*

"She was weird. Why did you make friends with her?" Claire asked, disapprovingly.

Clara ignored her, trying to find a way to climb up to the top deck, without having to go inside and up any stairs.

Claire looked up and spotted Murdoch. She smiled, and then looked at her feet.

"What? What are you so hap"- Clara looked up, and spotted Murdoch waving at Claire, from the bridge.

"Oh, god." Clara scoffed, and looked elsewhere along the bridge for Lightoller. Her eyes kept searching, and then they stopped, at Murdoch.

'What am I thinking?' she asked herself. Clara knew she was being very hypocritive of Claire, for her crush on Murdoch. After all, she was seeing Lightoller. What was wrong with Claire seeing Murdoch? There was just something about him that made Clara cringe, and feel uncomfortable.

'Just let it be,' she thought.

"Come on, Claire, I know a way to get up!"

Clara stepped onto the railing, looking below at Claire, who was looking rather amused by Clara's braveness.

Suddenly, Clara felt arms around her, pulling her onto the top deck. Clara looked up, relieved.

"I was wondering when I'd see you, today." Lightoller smiled, and Clara gave him a hug.

Lightoller leaned in to kiss her, but Clara quickly whispered, "Claire's here!"

Lightoller nodded, and stepped away from Clara.

"I, uh...like your dress," Lightoller said, motioning towards Clara's dress.

"I purchased it in Paris. We went there a couple of weeks ago. Beautiful place."

"Yes, it is." Lightoller nodded in agreement, and linked his arm through Clara's, as they walked along the deck.

"So, how have things been, with you and Claire?"

"Well, right now, she's most likely flirting with Mr Murdoch." Clara gestured to the wheelhouse.

Even though passengers weren't allowed on the bridge and in the wheelhouse, the officers, strangely enough, allowed Clara and Claire inside.

"Would you like to see the wireless room?" Lightoller asked.

"Yes, of course."

They walked into the wireless room, and found Jack Phillips, the wireless operator, and his assistant, Harold Bride (whom Clara had met previously) in the room. Phillips was busy, but Bride was happy to attend to the pair.

"Hullo, Miss Sherbrooke." Bride said happily. "Good to see you, Mr Lightoller."

"Clara would like to know how you send wireless messages."

Bride placed the headphones over Clara's ears, and instructed her.

"Ok, Clara. Now, what you do is listen carefully for any messages. Can you hear any?"

"Yes! Yes I can! It's saying...err...something." She handed the headphones to Bride, who quickly translated the Morse code message.

Clara leaned over his shoulder, to see the message, and accidentally fell into his arms.

"Silly me."

Lightoller helped Clara up, and she turned her back to the Bride and Phillips for the moment.

Bride walked over to the corkboard, and posted the message on to it.

"Erm...what do you do after you post the message?" Clara asked, awkwardly.

"We distribute these messages, every hour, so we don't get a massive build up of all these telegrams," Philips said, from the corner of the room.

"I see," Clara sighed, and left the room with Lightoller.

"Interesting?"

"Yes. A little. Oh goodness that was embarrassing, falling over."

"Heh. Everybody makes mistakes, Clara."

As Lightoller and Clara approached the bridge, Clara glanced up at Claire, who was sitting on Murdoch's lap, and it looked as if she were about to get up.

She had to widen her eyes, and then peered forward, as she couldn't believe what she saw. She looked away quickly. She took Lightoller's arm, and dragged him to the place they had been kissing previously.

"Charles, I have to tell you, that"- Clara thought through what she was going to say.

"Yes, What is it?"

"Mr Murdoch. Something about him makes me feel rather uncomfortable, just by looking at him. And I feel he's making Claire more rebellious. I mean, did you see the way she was sitting on his lap?!!!" Clara waved her arms around frantically, expecting Lightoller to understand how she felt.

"It's ok. Murdoch is a fine man. He knows that he'd be walking on thin ice, if he ever had a relationship with a passenger, who would distract him from his work. He is, First Officer, after all." Lightoller looked down, sadly, remembering that he was First Officer before Mr Wilde came in.

"Hmm, yes, I suppose," Clara said, absently.

Clara looked all around her, impatiently.

Lightoller pulled out his pocket watch and peered at it. He sighed, and glanced over at Clara.

"Its 12:00, duty calls, Clara."

"Can I stay with you?"

"I'd rather you didn't, as the captain gets very suspicious about young ladies hanging around officers."

He smiled. Clara looked up at him, and nodded.

"I suppose I should get going then, have to get to lunch, hehe," Clara laughed nervously.

Lightoller knew that sending Clara away would make her less fond of him, so he decided on an idea he had floating around in his mind, now that they were sitting in the place where they had first kissed.

As Clara stood up, to leave, Lightoller, still sitting, took her arm, and sat her back down.