*Chapter 13*

Clara tilted her head questioningly.

"Madam, may I borrow 5 minutes of your time?" Lightoller asked playfully.

Clara grinned.

"Yes, sir, what is it that you require?"

Lightoller grinned, as well, and leaned into Clara, slipping his hands around her waist, and taking her by surprise, kissing her so deeply, that she lost her balance, and fell on her back, from her previous sitting position.

She ran her hands through his hair, now that his cap had slipped off his head, anyway.

The scene looked much alike to the previous night.

Meanwhile, in the dining room, Claire sat restlessly in her seat, waiting for Clara to come to lunch. She narrowed her eyes and smiled.

'I know where she is,' she thought to herself.

On the bridge, the Captain was wandering around, asking available officers if the had spotted Lightoller anywhere. Finally, out of ideas, he asked Moody to search for him.

Moody unlatched all the gates, on his way down many groups of stairs. Unbeknownst to him, he had walked right over the stairs, under which Lightoller and Clara were situated.

Lightoller opened his eyes, and took a quick glance at Moody, who was standing right opposite them, with his back to them, of course.

Lightoller pulled away from Clara, and helped her back to her feet, just in time, to brush out the creases in his coat, before Moody turned and saw him.

Clara panicked, as she looked very untidy, with her hair scruffed up everywhere, and her dress all turned up at the hem, and not to mention, rather creased, as well.

She acted quickly, and made like she was looking under the stairs for something, while Lightoller spoke to Moody, suddenly realizing that he didn't have his cap on.

Clara passed the cap to him discreetly, and he put it on, while Moody turned the other way and sneezed.

Clara and Lightoller looked at each other, and sighed in relief.

"Mr Lightoller, you are on duty now, if I'm not mistaken," Moody informed Lightoller.

"Indeed, Mr Moody. Thankyou, I'll be there momentarily."

"Yes, sir."

Moody stalked off, back to the officer's mess, to have some lunch, but just before he did turn around, he smiled, a meaningful smile at Clara, as though he knew her fate.

Clara raised an eyebrow at this, thought nothing of it, and turned to face Lightoller.

He chuckled when he saw Clara's messed up hair, and ran a soft hand through the tangled mass.

"I guess we both should head off now, and meet up later," Lightoller said, slipping his hand into Clara's.

"Yes. They're probably all tearing at themselves with anxiety, in the dining room," Clara laughed.

She and Lightoller kissed quickly, one last time for the afternoon, before heading their own ways.

The Captain, however, wasn't too happy about his Second Officer, kissing a 16-year-old first class girl. He had been watching the kiss from the bridge. But luckily for Lightoller and Clara, he hadn't seen the rest of their antics.

Lightoller strolled quickly into the wheelhouse, straightening up his cap, and taking paperwork to the wireless room, from the Captain, to Bride and Phillips.

When he returned, to speak with Robert Hitchens, the quartermaster, about Titanic's heading, the captain eyed him off carefully.

He decided not to say anything, to save it until later, perhaps.