Chapter Two: Facing your fears
Rosalyn sat in her stateroom the next day, brushing her hair. It fell in
delicate curls about her shoulders. She always loved the way her hair
fell. It seemed to fit her. She liked that.
A knock came at the door. Rosalyn stood up and answered it. Of course it
was Ripley. She always was awake all night.
"Come on, its breakfast, and then we need to go and watch the sunrise on
the bow," Ripley commented.
Rosalyn looked at her clock. Five o'clock! She thought it was much later.
She went over to the closet and picked out a dress that was sea green, to
match her eyes. Ripley helped her get into the dress, and rushed her to
do her hair. That took about ten minutes. Ripley rushed her out the door.
Rosalyn was afraid to go to breakfast because she didn't want to run into
Thomas or Will. The walk down was uneventful, but once they got to the
dining room, they saw both of them there.
Rosalyn and Ripley acted as if they weren't there. Thomas was bent over
his blueprints, and Will was talking to Captain Smith.
"You do remember that we are supposed to get a tour from Andrews today,
right?" Ripley reminded her.
"Oh. Well, I guess I'll skip breakfast then. I don't want to go on the
tour. Not after last night." Rosalyn replied.
"Relax," Ripley said with a smirk. "They're just boys. We both know it's
Thomas you want, and I've seen the way he looks at you!" Her smirk
widened to a grin. "So you can either hide, or have what you want."
Rosalyn chose to hide. She walked right through the dining room right to
the bow. She didn't want to face either of them yet, and she didn't want
to miss the sunrise. Ripley followed her out a second later.
"Hey," Ripley started. "Andrews saw you, and he wants to talk to you. He
said he'll be out in a second."
"Ripley, I can't do this." Rosalyn started. " I can't fall in love with
him."
Ripley pulls Rosalyn into a hug and said, " There there now. Things can't
go bad if you both feel the same way. You'll regret it the rest of your
life if you run."
"But I have to." Rosalyn said.
Ripley nodded as she understood. As Thomas Andrews came out of the dining
room, Rosalyn ran. Thomas shoved his blueprints into Ripley's hands, and
ran after her.
Chasing her down the first class deck, he realized that she was a good
runner. He watched as she threw open a door to the right and ran down the
stairs. Knowing the ship, he knew that the door went down to the hold. He
followed her through the door and down the steps. Once he got to the
bottom, he searched around for her. He couldn't see her, but there were
many places to hide.
"Rosalyn!!" he called.
Rosalyn hid behind a stack of crates. She couldn't go out the way she
came in, so she searched for an exit. Seeing one on the other side of the
room, she crept slowly to it. Trying not to make a sound, she tiptoed as
quietly in the cloppy shoes she had.
Knowing the only exit from this room led to the boilers, he headed
towards the door. Too late. She was already running through it and into
the boiler rooms. She shouldn't be in there. Her dress could catch fire,
and burn her. He ran faster.
Seeing a ladder, Rosalyn quickly climbed it. Once she got to the top, she
ran down the hallway to the bow again. She quickly climbed over the rail
and sat on the very front of the ship, hoping that he wouldn't find her
there.
Figuring that she obviously loved the bow, Thomas ran in that direction.
Once he got there, he saw her sitting on the piece for the rope to hold
up the crow's nest. He walked quietly towards her. Once he got there, he
leaned on the railing so she would have no way out.
"Hi." He said suavely.
Rosalyn's heart skipped a beat. She had hoped he wouldn't find her.
Making a mental note not to hope anymore, she held onto the wire in front
of her and turned around, facing her hunter.
"Nowhere to run." She said, noting that he was out of breath.
He laughed and replied, " 'Fraid not lass. Why did you run?"
" That's for me and Ripley to know and no one else." She said, for fear
of him finding out that she liked him.
" Are you afraid of me?" He asked tentatively. He never thought of
himself coming off as scary.
"No." she said defiantly. " I just didn't want to face anybody. And I'm
feeling ill, so I ask you to move."
Thomas stayed firmly in place. He let a small smirk come across his face.
Now he would figure out if they were telling the truth.
" Only if you will go to dinner with me tonight." He said.
" I already have a dinner date, thank you." She said.
Thomas laughed. "Who? Will is on duty tonight, and the only one I've seen
you speak to is Ismay."
Rosalyn shivered at the sound of his name. Seeing her reaction, Thomas
put his hand out for hers. She took it reluctantly, not knowing if he was
gonna pull her over or kiss it. Apparently the first was correct.
"Please have dinner with me. I beg you." Thomas said, looking down.
Rosalyn looked at him, and then smiled. She quietly walked off. She could
tell he was trying to decide if she was gonna run, or what. She just kept
on walking, through the first class dining room and on. She walked with a
smile on her face until she got to her room, closing the door gently
behind her. Thomas, dumbstuck at what to do, walked past her room and
into his.
Closing his door tightly, he walked to his desk and sat down, trying to
concentrate on his blueprints. Ripley had put them there after the
flinging of them into her arms.
After about fifteen minutes of trying to concentrate and failing, he
stood up and walked out into the hall way. He stopped momentarily at
Rosalyn's door. He knocked.
"Who is it?" came Rosalyn's voice from inside.
"Thomas Andrews." Thomas said. "I am scheduled to give a tour about now."
Actually, he was two hours early, but he hoped that she wouldn't notice.
When he heard a faint "come in", he walked in. Closing the door quietly
behind him, he then turned to face the room.
It was nicer than he had designed it. All around were drawings and
photographs of various phases of the Titanic. There were also pictures of
a ship similar to the Titanic with rust all over it. Apparently, these
were pictures of the ship at the bottom of the ocean. Hanging over the
fireplace was a copy of the picture in the smoking room, "The journey to
a new world." He had always liked this picture.
Hearing a knock, he turned around. In walked Ripley, all dressed up and
ready for a walk on the deck. He shockingly realized that if Rosalyn
weren't here, he would have immediately fallen for Ripley. But, Ripley
was too spunky and independent for him. To him she seemed like a free
bird, ready to kill anyone who tried to lock her up. Hearing another
sound, he turned once again. He was getting rather dizzy from all the
turning.
Stepping out of the actual sleeping room came Rosalyn. She looked very
pretty, in a mint-green dress that clung to her figure until it came to
the skirt. The sleeves got bigger at the elbow, looking vaguely like the
dresses he remembered back in Ireland.
"I thought that when I left Ireland, I would have seen the last of her.
Looking at you fine ladies, I see the very beauty and grace of Ireland
shining brightly right on this ship." He said to both.
Rosalyn blushed while Ripley just grinned. She knew that the comment was
mainly meant for Rosalyn, but she took her part. She always felt that she
wasn't pretty, but not ugly either. Despite Rosalyn's attempts to make
her see differently, she stood firm on her decision. Nonetheless, she did
try to make her waist-length curly red hair look its best. Not that she
cared what anyone else thought.
Thomas, trying to take his eyes off of Rosalyn, asked both the ladies,
"So, where would you like to start first?"
Ripley stated, "I would like to see the stern first."
" The bow. Or the engine room. Or the swimming pool." Rosalyn replied.
Ripley rolled her eyes. Being a Pisces, Rosalyn was naturally attracted
to water. But Ripley always liked fire. The boiler rooms would make her
happy.
Thomas laughed. "How about we start here, then work our way aft, slowly
going up. I would prefer not to do the engine room due to the loud
noises. But the others are perfectly fine."
He held his arms out for both ladies. He showed them the entire ship.
When they got to the swimming pool, Ripley and Rosalyn got into an
argument.
" He does not like me!" Ripley stated.
"Yes he does!!" Rosalyn replied in a singsong voice, lightly bapping
Ripley with her hip.
Thomas, being a smart man( one of the rare ones), left himself out of
this conversation, though he was listening.
"No he doesn't!" Ripley yelled.
Bumping Rosalyn a little too hard with her hip, Rosalyn went flying into
the pool, clothes and all. Seeing it was only three feet deep, Rosalyn
stood up and looked menacingly at Ripley. When Ripley finished laughing
her arse off, she walked over to help Rosalyn out of the pool. When she
had a firm grip, Rosalyn pulled Ripley in, laughing the whole time.
Thomas looked on with a mixture of emotions. He didn't know whether to be
shocked or to burst out laughing. He decided to settle on helping the
both of them out.
"You two are very odd.." He said to Ripley as he helped her out of the
pool.
"Thank you." Ripley replied.
Trying to help Rosalyn out, her head landed on a very, um. inappropriate
spot. Both blushing red, Thomas pulled her up harder and landed her on
her feet.
"Reminds me of Rob and Lisa." Ripley said, a devious smirk on her face.
" You suck." Rosalyn said, still in Thomas' arms.
Ripley laughed and walked off on her own, leaving Rosalyn and Thomas
alone in the pool house. They just stood in each others arms for a while.
Rosalyn looked Thomas up and down. He was drenched.
"You didn't even go in and you're soaked." She said, laughing.
Thomas laughed and pulled her closer. "I like water."
Rosalyn stopped laughing and looked him in his eyes. He seemed to have
the type of eyes that you could just look in and drown. As he leaned in
closer, she slowly closed her eyes. Placing his hand on the pack of her
neck, he lightly kissed her on the lips. As she realized what he was
doing, she deepened it, slowly moving her hand up his chest to his face.
They stood there passionately kissing, until they heard an "ahem."
Blushing, they stopped kissing and turned to see Ripley. She was leaning
against the door frame, with half of her body in the hallway.
"Um, I just thought you might want to know that Smith and Will and Ismay
are coming." She said, a smirk on her face.
They both let go quickly and half-ran, half-walked to the door Ripley was
leaning against. All three of them ran back to their staterooms, laughing
most of the way. After they said their goodbyes to Ripley, Thomas pulled
Rosalyn into her room.
" Well, that was.interesting." he said, running a hand through his hair.
"Indeed." Rosalyn replied.
Thomas turned to look Rosalyn in her eyes. He loved her eyes so much. He
took her hand and kissed the knuckles.
"Will you please reconsider joining me for dinner?" Thomas asked.
Rosalyn blushed as she said, "Of course. I would be delighted, but what
about Ripley?"
Ripley, coming through the door connecting hers and Rosalyn's room said,
"Ripley is goin' solo. You two have fun. I will see you at the table. The
whole thing is just to show off."
Thomas turned to Rosalyn and asked, "So I'll meet you at around seven at
the Grand Staircase?"
Rosalyn nodded as he left. She turned to Ripley and squealed.
"Wow. Did you see that? Did you see him? Wow!" Rosalyn exclaimed, clearly
hyper.
Ripley just smiled.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
At exactly seven o'clock, Rosalyn walked down the Grand staircase wearing
a dark blue dress. Ripley, following behind her, was wearing a bright red
dress. Both of their hair had been done by each other, and was pulled
up, some curls falling about their shoulders.
Spotting Thomas at the bottom of the staircase with his back to her, she
walked down as slowly as she could. Ripley just walked past them into the
dining room.
Once she got to Thomas, Rosalyn covered his eyes with her hands.
Leaning on tiptoe to reach his ear, she whispered, "Guess who."
Thomas took her hands and twirled them above his head, turning himself to
face her. He let go of her hands and held out his elbow for Rosalyn to
take. She took it and walked with him into the dining room. Going to
their usual table, Thomas pulled out Rosalyn's chair, then pushed it in
as she sat down. Then he seated himself to her left, careful to make
himself a wall between her and Ismay.
After the last course was served, Ismay started a conversation about the
classes on the ship.
" I personally think that the third class shouldn't even be on this ship.
They are nothing but barbarians. They lack charisma. They lack
cleanliness." He said, running a hand over his greasy hair.
Rosalyn, trying to be as civil as possible, stated, " Well, they do have
what matter most. They have class and respect for each other. I feel as
if you could do with a few days down there, Mr. Ismay."
Ismay just smiled and replied, " Well, clearly you hold some favour for
them?"
Rosalyn smiled and replied, "Yes. As a matter of fact, I am late for a
date. Thomas, would you like to join me and Ripley in going down to the
evil third class level and go to a party?"
Thomas, sensing that she had mocked Ismay, said, "Yes, of course. Most of
the third class are Irishmen, and I am sure to feel right at home."
Thomas held out his hand as Rosalyn stood up. They waited for Ripley,
then marched out, leaving the rest of the table, save for Molly Brown, in
shock.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Rosalyn sat in her stateroom the next day, brushing her hair. It fell in
delicate curls about her shoulders. She always loved the way her hair
fell. It seemed to fit her. She liked that.
A knock came at the door. Rosalyn stood up and answered it. Of course it
was Ripley. She always was awake all night.
"Come on, its breakfast, and then we need to go and watch the sunrise on
the bow," Ripley commented.
Rosalyn looked at her clock. Five o'clock! She thought it was much later.
She went over to the closet and picked out a dress that was sea green, to
match her eyes. Ripley helped her get into the dress, and rushed her to
do her hair. That took about ten minutes. Ripley rushed her out the door.
Rosalyn was afraid to go to breakfast because she didn't want to run into
Thomas or Will. The walk down was uneventful, but once they got to the
dining room, they saw both of them there.
Rosalyn and Ripley acted as if they weren't there. Thomas was bent over
his blueprints, and Will was talking to Captain Smith.
"You do remember that we are supposed to get a tour from Andrews today,
right?" Ripley reminded her.
"Oh. Well, I guess I'll skip breakfast then. I don't want to go on the
tour. Not after last night." Rosalyn replied.
"Relax," Ripley said with a smirk. "They're just boys. We both know it's
Thomas you want, and I've seen the way he looks at you!" Her smirk
widened to a grin. "So you can either hide, or have what you want."
Rosalyn chose to hide. She walked right through the dining room right to
the bow. She didn't want to face either of them yet, and she didn't want
to miss the sunrise. Ripley followed her out a second later.
"Hey," Ripley started. "Andrews saw you, and he wants to talk to you. He
said he'll be out in a second."
"Ripley, I can't do this." Rosalyn started. " I can't fall in love with
him."
Ripley pulls Rosalyn into a hug and said, " There there now. Things can't
go bad if you both feel the same way. You'll regret it the rest of your
life if you run."
"But I have to." Rosalyn said.
Ripley nodded as she understood. As Thomas Andrews came out of the dining
room, Rosalyn ran. Thomas shoved his blueprints into Ripley's hands, and
ran after her.
Chasing her down the first class deck, he realized that she was a good
runner. He watched as she threw open a door to the right and ran down the
stairs. Knowing the ship, he knew that the door went down to the hold. He
followed her through the door and down the steps. Once he got to the
bottom, he searched around for her. He couldn't see her, but there were
many places to hide.
"Rosalyn!!" he called.
Rosalyn hid behind a stack of crates. She couldn't go out the way she
came in, so she searched for an exit. Seeing one on the other side of the
room, she crept slowly to it. Trying not to make a sound, she tiptoed as
quietly in the cloppy shoes she had.
Knowing the only exit from this room led to the boilers, he headed
towards the door. Too late. She was already running through it and into
the boiler rooms. She shouldn't be in there. Her dress could catch fire,
and burn her. He ran faster.
Seeing a ladder, Rosalyn quickly climbed it. Once she got to the top, she
ran down the hallway to the bow again. She quickly climbed over the rail
and sat on the very front of the ship, hoping that he wouldn't find her
there.
Figuring that she obviously loved the bow, Thomas ran in that direction.
Once he got there, he saw her sitting on the piece for the rope to hold
up the crow's nest. He walked quietly towards her. Once he got there, he
leaned on the railing so she would have no way out.
"Hi." He said suavely.
Rosalyn's heart skipped a beat. She had hoped he wouldn't find her.
Making a mental note not to hope anymore, she held onto the wire in front
of her and turned around, facing her hunter.
"Nowhere to run." She said, noting that he was out of breath.
He laughed and replied, " 'Fraid not lass. Why did you run?"
" That's for me and Ripley to know and no one else." She said, for fear
of him finding out that she liked him.
" Are you afraid of me?" He asked tentatively. He never thought of
himself coming off as scary.
"No." she said defiantly. " I just didn't want to face anybody. And I'm
feeling ill, so I ask you to move."
Thomas stayed firmly in place. He let a small smirk come across his face.
Now he would figure out if they were telling the truth.
" Only if you will go to dinner with me tonight." He said.
" I already have a dinner date, thank you." She said.
Thomas laughed. "Who? Will is on duty tonight, and the only one I've seen
you speak to is Ismay."
Rosalyn shivered at the sound of his name. Seeing her reaction, Thomas
put his hand out for hers. She took it reluctantly, not knowing if he was
gonna pull her over or kiss it. Apparently the first was correct.
"Please have dinner with me. I beg you." Thomas said, looking down.
Rosalyn looked at him, and then smiled. She quietly walked off. She could
tell he was trying to decide if she was gonna run, or what. She just kept
on walking, through the first class dining room and on. She walked with a
smile on her face until she got to her room, closing the door gently
behind her. Thomas, dumbstuck at what to do, walked past her room and
into his.
Closing his door tightly, he walked to his desk and sat down, trying to
concentrate on his blueprints. Ripley had put them there after the
flinging of them into her arms.
After about fifteen minutes of trying to concentrate and failing, he
stood up and walked out into the hall way. He stopped momentarily at
Rosalyn's door. He knocked.
"Who is it?" came Rosalyn's voice from inside.
"Thomas Andrews." Thomas said. "I am scheduled to give a tour about now."
Actually, he was two hours early, but he hoped that she wouldn't notice.
When he heard a faint "come in", he walked in. Closing the door quietly
behind him, he then turned to face the room.
It was nicer than he had designed it. All around were drawings and
photographs of various phases of the Titanic. There were also pictures of
a ship similar to the Titanic with rust all over it. Apparently, these
were pictures of the ship at the bottom of the ocean. Hanging over the
fireplace was a copy of the picture in the smoking room, "The journey to
a new world." He had always liked this picture.
Hearing a knock, he turned around. In walked Ripley, all dressed up and
ready for a walk on the deck. He shockingly realized that if Rosalyn
weren't here, he would have immediately fallen for Ripley. But, Ripley
was too spunky and independent for him. To him she seemed like a free
bird, ready to kill anyone who tried to lock her up. Hearing another
sound, he turned once again. He was getting rather dizzy from all the
turning.
Stepping out of the actual sleeping room came Rosalyn. She looked very
pretty, in a mint-green dress that clung to her figure until it came to
the skirt. The sleeves got bigger at the elbow, looking vaguely like the
dresses he remembered back in Ireland.
"I thought that when I left Ireland, I would have seen the last of her.
Looking at you fine ladies, I see the very beauty and grace of Ireland
shining brightly right on this ship." He said to both.
Rosalyn blushed while Ripley just grinned. She knew that the comment was
mainly meant for Rosalyn, but she took her part. She always felt that she
wasn't pretty, but not ugly either. Despite Rosalyn's attempts to make
her see differently, she stood firm on her decision. Nonetheless, she did
try to make her waist-length curly red hair look its best. Not that she
cared what anyone else thought.
Thomas, trying to take his eyes off of Rosalyn, asked both the ladies,
"So, where would you like to start first?"
Ripley stated, "I would like to see the stern first."
" The bow. Or the engine room. Or the swimming pool." Rosalyn replied.
Ripley rolled her eyes. Being a Pisces, Rosalyn was naturally attracted
to water. But Ripley always liked fire. The boiler rooms would make her
happy.
Thomas laughed. "How about we start here, then work our way aft, slowly
going up. I would prefer not to do the engine room due to the loud
noises. But the others are perfectly fine."
He held his arms out for both ladies. He showed them the entire ship.
When they got to the swimming pool, Ripley and Rosalyn got into an
argument.
" He does not like me!" Ripley stated.
"Yes he does!!" Rosalyn replied in a singsong voice, lightly bapping
Ripley with her hip.
Thomas, being a smart man( one of the rare ones), left himself out of
this conversation, though he was listening.
"No he doesn't!" Ripley yelled.
Bumping Rosalyn a little too hard with her hip, Rosalyn went flying into
the pool, clothes and all. Seeing it was only three feet deep, Rosalyn
stood up and looked menacingly at Ripley. When Ripley finished laughing
her arse off, she walked over to help Rosalyn out of the pool. When she
had a firm grip, Rosalyn pulled Ripley in, laughing the whole time.
Thomas looked on with a mixture of emotions. He didn't know whether to be
shocked or to burst out laughing. He decided to settle on helping the
both of them out.
"You two are very odd.." He said to Ripley as he helped her out of the
pool.
"Thank you." Ripley replied.
Trying to help Rosalyn out, her head landed on a very, um. inappropriate
spot. Both blushing red, Thomas pulled her up harder and landed her on
her feet.
"Reminds me of Rob and Lisa." Ripley said, a devious smirk on her face.
" You suck." Rosalyn said, still in Thomas' arms.
Ripley laughed and walked off on her own, leaving Rosalyn and Thomas
alone in the pool house. They just stood in each others arms for a while.
Rosalyn looked Thomas up and down. He was drenched.
"You didn't even go in and you're soaked." She said, laughing.
Thomas laughed and pulled her closer. "I like water."
Rosalyn stopped laughing and looked him in his eyes. He seemed to have
the type of eyes that you could just look in and drown. As he leaned in
closer, she slowly closed her eyes. Placing his hand on the pack of her
neck, he lightly kissed her on the lips. As she realized what he was
doing, she deepened it, slowly moving her hand up his chest to his face.
They stood there passionately kissing, until they heard an "ahem."
Blushing, they stopped kissing and turned to see Ripley. She was leaning
against the door frame, with half of her body in the hallway.
"Um, I just thought you might want to know that Smith and Will and Ismay
are coming." She said, a smirk on her face.
They both let go quickly and half-ran, half-walked to the door Ripley was
leaning against. All three of them ran back to their staterooms, laughing
most of the way. After they said their goodbyes to Ripley, Thomas pulled
Rosalyn into her room.
" Well, that was.interesting." he said, running a hand through his hair.
"Indeed." Rosalyn replied.
Thomas turned to look Rosalyn in her eyes. He loved her eyes so much. He
took her hand and kissed the knuckles.
"Will you please reconsider joining me for dinner?" Thomas asked.
Rosalyn blushed as she said, "Of course. I would be delighted, but what
about Ripley?"
Ripley, coming through the door connecting hers and Rosalyn's room said,
"Ripley is goin' solo. You two have fun. I will see you at the table. The
whole thing is just to show off."
Thomas turned to Rosalyn and asked, "So I'll meet you at around seven at
the Grand Staircase?"
Rosalyn nodded as he left. She turned to Ripley and squealed.
"Wow. Did you see that? Did you see him? Wow!" Rosalyn exclaimed, clearly
hyper.
Ripley just smiled.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
At exactly seven o'clock, Rosalyn walked down the Grand staircase wearing
a dark blue dress. Ripley, following behind her, was wearing a bright red
dress. Both of their hair had been done by each other, and was pulled
up, some curls falling about their shoulders.
Spotting Thomas at the bottom of the staircase with his back to her, she
walked down as slowly as she could. Ripley just walked past them into the
dining room.
Once she got to Thomas, Rosalyn covered his eyes with her hands.
Leaning on tiptoe to reach his ear, she whispered, "Guess who."
Thomas took her hands and twirled them above his head, turning himself to
face her. He let go of her hands and held out his elbow for Rosalyn to
take. She took it and walked with him into the dining room. Going to
their usual table, Thomas pulled out Rosalyn's chair, then pushed it in
as she sat down. Then he seated himself to her left, careful to make
himself a wall between her and Ismay.
After the last course was served, Ismay started a conversation about the
classes on the ship.
" I personally think that the third class shouldn't even be on this ship.
They are nothing but barbarians. They lack charisma. They lack
cleanliness." He said, running a hand over his greasy hair.
Rosalyn, trying to be as civil as possible, stated, " Well, they do have
what matter most. They have class and respect for each other. I feel as
if you could do with a few days down there, Mr. Ismay."
Ismay just smiled and replied, " Well, clearly you hold some favour for
them?"
Rosalyn smiled and replied, "Yes. As a matter of fact, I am late for a
date. Thomas, would you like to join me and Ripley in going down to the
evil third class level and go to a party?"
Thomas, sensing that she had mocked Ismay, said, "Yes, of course. Most of
the third class are Irishmen, and I am sure to feel right at home."
Thomas held out his hand as Rosalyn stood up. They waited for Ripley,
then marched out, leaving the rest of the table, save for Molly Brown, in
shock.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*