Tru walked across the room leaving Harrison looking after her. She heard him swear loudly and hurry after her. He had spotted Jack too.
Jack looked up at Tru with a casual smile. She thought that perhaps he was surprised to see her or annoyed that she had found him, but the look vanished in an instant and his friendly mask slipped into place.
"Isn't this a pleasant cruise?" Jack asked as he took a drink of his beer. "Everyone's so friendly and it's just so nice to relax. Don't you think Tru?"
"Oh, that's sweet," Tru replied. "I'll tell you what you can do to help me relax even more. Jump overboard."
"Tru, I'm hurt that you don't want me here," Jack said in a mocking tone.
"If Death's afraid to jump, I'll help him overboard," Harrison offered with a glare.
"Harrison, really. What have I done to deserve that sort of animosity?" Jack asked as he took another drink.
"You want a list?" Harrison replied.
"You really have got to learn to let things go," Jack sighed. "I keep telling you it's nothing personal. Can't we all just be friends again?"
"We weren't friends in the first place," Tru pointed out. "You lied right from the start and friends don't do that."
"Then how about a clean slate?" Jack asked. "Let's start over right now."
"Does that mean you're going to stop killing people?" Tru asked in a mock innocent tone.
"Preserving fate," Jack corrected. "And of course I'm going to carry on doing that. It's my job."
"And saving people who ask for help is mine," Tru replied. "So until you quit your 'job' we can never be friends."
"Then how about a truce whilst we're all on vacation together?" Jack compromised. "After all, there aren't any dead bodies around here, are there?"
"He's got a point," Harrison whispered to Tru. "Why let him ruin our vacation? Just leave him be and enjoy yourself."
"I would except I want to know why he's here at all," Tru said with a look at Jack that indicated she expected him to answer her query.
"Can't I book a vacation without an ulterior motive?" Jack asked.
"On board the exact same cruise liner I happen to be on?" Tru sarcastically retorted. "Just a bit too much of a coincidence if you ask me. Which means you're up to something and I want to know what."
"Just looking out for my friends," Jack answered with a smile and a shrug.
Tru looked at Harrison who didn't believe him any more than she did. She passed Harrison her glass and leaned forward placing her hands on the table as she advanced on Jack.
"Stay away from me and stay away from my family," she hissed. "I don't know what you're up to but it's not going to work."
"Now look here Tru, I'm just not interested in you like that," Jack suddenly said in a very loud voice that carried over the crowd.
Tru jumped back with a confused look on her face. Jack stood up and put his arm around her shoulder in a friendly, consoling gesture. Tru tried to shake him off but he had manoeuvred her into an angle where she could not quite move out of the way because of the layout of the tables and chairs.
"What theā¦" she started to say before the voice of the missing Meredith drew her attention away from Jack and to her older sister.
"Tru?" Meredith asked. "What's going on?"
"I'm sorry Meredith," Jack interjected. "I just introduced myself to your brother and sister. I thought we could all spend the evening together. But Tru here doesn't seem to understand that I'm already enamoured with the other Davies sister."
"You tried to come onto Jack?" Meredith asked Tru with a glare.
"No," Tru replied in horror at what Jack was implying.
"I'm sorry you had to witness that," Jack said to Meredith with a sympathetic shake of his head. "You saw how she was leaning into me didn't you?"
"That's not how it was," Tru hissed as she tried again to shake Jack's arm off.
"That's how it looked to me," Meredith replied.
"Tru isn't interested in Jack," Harrison said in defence of Tru.
"Well of course you'd say that," Meredith said with a snort of contempt. "You two always stick together."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tru asked as she finally managed to get out from Jack's unwanted embrace.
"It's not like the two of you haven't always had your own private little club which no one else gets into," Meredith snarled. "You've always stuck together and damn everybody else."
"That's not true," Tru replied although she had to admit to herself that she was far closer to her younger brother than her older sister. She had quickly confided in Harrison about her calling but she had never seriously considered telling Meredith about her reliving days. It might have crossed her mind briefly on the occasions when she was keeping her out of trouble, but that was all.
"I don't hear Harrison denying it," Meredith replied with a smug look at her brother. Tru turned to Harrison to see him looking down at his feet. They both knew that Meredith might be wrong on some things but was horribly close to the truth when it came to others.
"Now girls, let's not make a scene," Jack said. "How about we all get a drink and forget about Tru's little misunderstanding?"
"My misunderstanding?" Tru snapped, as Meredith seemed to be considering the suggestion.
"I know you're a little embarrassed by all this Tru, but we'll just forget about it," Jack said with understanding.
Tru glared at him and grabbing Meredith by the arm she pulled her from the room. "Keep an eye on him," she ordered Harrison as they left.
Her last glance at Harrison showed her that he was not going to let Jack out of his sight, nor was he going to be letting Jack follow after her. She breathed a sigh of relief as she considered what she was going to say to Meredith.
"What the hell was that all about?" Meredith asked as she freed herself from Tru's grip. "You ignore me all day and then have the nerve to make a move on the only friend I've made since we came on board."
"I did not make a move for Jack," Tru said with a sigh. "He was lying, that's what he does."
"How would you know that?" Meredith asked. "You've only just met him."
"Is that what he told you?" Tru asked. "Well that was his first lie."
"He would have mentioned if he'd met you before," Meredith said with a huff of impatience.
"But we have, and he didn't," Tru explained. "Doesn't that tell you something?"
"So when did you meet him?" Meredith asked in a calmer tone than she had used since she had walked into the bar.
"He worked at the morgue for a little while a few months ago," Tru said.
"Maybe he forgot he knew you," Meredith suggested.
Tru gave her a look of contempt. "He hasn't forgotten me since he's been practically stalking me ever since. He's followed me onto this ship with the sole purpose of making my life a misery."
"That's ridiculous," Meredith replied. "He was perfectly friendly in there and has been pleasant company all day. Considering your own behaviour in there I'm surprised he still wanted to spend the evening with all of us."
"You're not listening to what I'm saying," Tru said with another sigh. "All that in there was a lie, he's lied to you all day, he was lying then and if we go back in there he'll do it again. It's what he does."
"You're being ridiculous," Meredith repeated as she moved past Tru to return to the bar.
"He's a murderer," Tru blurted out. "He was responsible for Luc's death."
Meredith stopped and turned round at that. "That's a serious accusation Tru, and I'm well aware of the identity of the man who killed Luc. To say that Jack was to blame is really lame."
"Meredith, you have to stay away from Jack," Tru pleaded as Meredith walked back into the bar. She followed after her and looked about for Jack and Harrison but couldn't see either of them where they had left them.
She was about to leave when she saw someone pointing in her direction while talking to a member of the crew.
"What now?" Tru muttered as the crewman walked over to her.
"Were you here with a Mr Davies and a Mr Harper a short while ago?" the crewman asked each of them. Tru nodded as Meredith did likewise. "They have been escorted out of the bar. Fighting is strictly prohibited on board. They are both barred from the bars for the duration of the cruise. Neither were particularly forthcoming about what they were fighting over. Would either of you have any ideas about that?"
Meredith shook her head as Tru did the same. It was easier than trying to explain the whole mess to a total stranger when she couldn't even manage to explain to her own sister.
The crewman looked at her intently before turning to leave with a final comment about keeping their men under control.
"That's just typical of Harrison," Meredith complained as the left the bar again.
"Such family loyalty you're showing there," Tru snapped. "You automatically blame Harry and don't even think that Jack might be responsible."
"Harrison can't stay out of trouble for more than a few hours without you holding his hand," Meredith replied. "Jack is entirely different."
"Oh forget it," Tru sighed as she looked to around to see where the men had disappeared to. They had not seen them leave the bar so they must have gone in another direction to where she had dragged Meredith a short while ago. Keeping that in mind, Tru walked in the opposite direction, keeping her eyes peeled.
She eventually spotted Harrison sitting on the stairs leading down to another deck. From the look of him he hadn't come off best in the fight, he had a black eye and was cautiously prodding a split lip.
"Typical," Meredith said as she looked at her younger brother. "Where's Jack?"
"Charming," Harrison muttered. "You care more about that creep than you do about your own brother."
"Fine, I'll find him myself," Meredith said as turned on her heel and stalked off in search of Jack. "That way you can tell Tru all about it and leave me in the dark again."
"Let me have a look at you," Tru said as she sat down beside Harrison who shifted across to make room for her. She quickly saw that he was not particularly badly injured and the blood spilling from his lip made it look far worse than it actually was. "What happened?"
"Nothing," Harrison muttered looking away and brushed Tru off.
"There must have been something," Tru replied. "What did he say?"
"Nothing," Harrison replied as he stood up. Tru followed him and down the stairs as she continued to press him for details as to what had happened since she and Meredith had left him alone in the bar with Jack.
"Okay, you just decided to let him use you as a punch bag, did you?" Tru asked with a frustrated sarcasm she usually didn't direct at her brother.
"Just leave it Tru," Harrison warned.
"What can be so bad you can't tell me?" asked Tru with more than a hint of impatience.
"Do you have to know everything?" Harrison snapped. "Do you have to be in control of everything, every minute, every day?"
"Of course not."
"Then just leave it," said Harrison, his voice rising.
"I'm just worried about you," Tru said in a quiet tone.
"Well don't be," Harrison replied. "I can take care of myself. You don't have to save me all the time."
"No, I don't," Tru answered as her own temper rose. "Only when Jack's involved and in case you'd forgotten he thinks you should be dead and we know he's not above ensuring that people he thinks should die do."
"Then that's my problem isn't it?" Harrison retorted as he walked off.
Tru didn't follow after him this time. She wondered what exactly had been said between Jack and Harrison in the few minutes that she had been absent. Since Harrison clearly wasn't talking she decided to seek out the one she knew instinctively had caused the trouble.
"What do you mean, Tru knows you're here?" Richard said with a glare at Jack. "I thought I told you to keep out of her way?"
"Well she appeared in the same bar I was in," Jack explained. "A lucky coincidence."
"You mean unlucky?" Richard corrected. "What happened?"
"How do you know anything happened?" Jack asked with a shrug.
"The spots of blood on your shirt are rather telling," Richard pointed out. Jack looked down at his shirt and saw that it was indeed speckled with blood from his fight with Harrison.
"I handled it," Jack replied.
"You better keep on handling it," Richard said as he left Jack's cabin, slamming the door behind him.
Tru looked around the ship but could find no trace of Jack. She wondered if she should try to find Meredith or Harrison again but in the end she decided to leave them both to cool off for a while.
Her wandering lead her in the direction of the pool she had relaxed by that morning. She remembered her dinner date for the next evening and hoped that all the problems would be sorted by then.
She was just turning the corner to the poolside when she heard the sound of a strangled scream coming from the direction she was walking in. She rushed forward as she searched for the source of the scream. She hadn't quite pinpointed the exact location when she saw the shadow of a man and woman on the deck above her.
She rushed for the stairs and had just reached the bottom of them when the man pushed the woman over the railings and she landed in the water with a splash. Tru was about to chase after the man who was hurrying away when she realised that the woman was not moving in the pool and was instead laying face down in the water.
Leaving the man to make his escape Tru dove into the water and swam quickly to the woman. Grabbing her, she dragged her slowly to the side of the pool.
She had just reached the edge when she realised she was too late. The woman's head turned her way in a sudden familiar movement. "Save me," she whispered as time rewound.
