Encourage A Relationship, Save The Titanic
AN: So, after nearly nine months of next to no inspirations for a fanfic, a little plot bunny hopped into my head and made itself very comfortable in there. It's AU, the main character might be somewhat OOC, and even the scenes are different. I hope you enjoy this, my dear readers.
A woman Is hardly ever interested in seeing a ship's propellers, and even if it were so, you wouldn't be able to see them so late at night when the stars are out. So just what was Miss DeWitt Bukater doing in Third Class, leaning over the ship? First Officer William Murdoch thought to himself, lost in his thoughts.
The Scottish officer leaned back against a random wall in the crew's part of the RMS Titanic near the Bridge, not doing much. He wasn't due for a shift until ten that night, and was just about to get himself a cup of tea from the Officers Mess Hall, when a group of First Class passengers walked by, including Miss DeWitt Bukater.
He stood, and saluted them all.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," he smiled warmly, and Rose and Mr. Andrews were polite enough to say, "Hello, Officer," back to him.
The Captain, who was showing the passengers around the Bridge, gave Murdoch a nod of acknowledgement, and the officer saluted him as well.
"Another ice warning, Sir." Sparks said, and handed a slip of paper to the Captain. "This one's from the Nordic."
"Many thanks, Sparks," the Captain smiled, taking in both the ice warning and the somewhat worried faces of his passengers.
"Not to worry. Ice is common this time of year, but the ship is safe."
Will snorted, but when the others turned to him, he somehow managed to pass it off as a sneeze.
When the party had left, he gave the Captain a final salute, and began to make his rounds on the boat he did so, he couldn't help but overhear Rose say something about there not being enough space for everyone onboard to get a seat in a lifeboat.
She's got a good head on those shoulders of hers, he thought to himself before noticing not for the first time just how very uncomfortable he was in his uniform.
Sighing, he pulled off his overcoat, and then instantly saw what the problem was. Along with his uniform waistcoat, he had somehow picked up his dinner jacket as well, a smart black affair that the officers wore at dinner if they were dining with the Captain.
"What a fool," he grumbled to himself in a good-natured sort of way, as he struggled to get the thing off. As he did so, his thoughts turned back to Rose, and then all of a sudden, it hit him.
She hadn't been trying to see the propellers at all. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
He had seen Rose with Caledon Hockley and that Third Class passenger, Dawson he thought was the lad's name, and it was clear to him who she was happier with. Rose was clearly so unhappy with life in high society and Cal was so abusive towards her, that she'd planned to throw herself off of the Titanic, down into the North Atlantic Ocean and die a very chilly and painfully slow death.
It was only thanks to Dawson that she didn't kill herself, and it reminded him of his own wife. He and Ada had found each other on a ship in much the same way as Rose had with the steerage passenger. Ada had been extremely grateful to get out of a high society life and become a very popular school teacher. They had married some four and a half years beforehand, and had a daughter by the name of Brianna.
He grinned to himself as he thought of what Ada and Brianna would be doing at that moment. Brianna would probably be having a nap as young children do, and Ada would probably be reading a book in her favourite window-seat with a cup of tea if it were a sunny day.
Just then, he was alerted by the sound of a commotion, and turned to see two Third Class passengers bolting away from a crew member who was shooing them away from First Class.
Will had a smile to himself when he spotted Dawson; obviously, he had wanted to see Miss DeWitt Bukater. Normally, he would have sent him back to Third Class, but as the relationship between the two of them reminded Will of his own, he decided to help him instead.
As Jack was about to grab a First Class passenger's coat, a shadow fell across him, partially obscuring the sunlight. Looking up, his blue eyes met an equally blue pair belonging to one of the officers onboard, who regarded him with a little smile and a kind look in his gaze.
Jack regarded the officer with an uneasy look in his own eyes. Was he going to be sent back to Third Class? Was the officer going to have him arrested for nearly taking a passenger's coat?
Then he noticed that the man was holding a rather nice jacket out to him that looked like a dinner jacket.
"Take it, lad. Go on and see her," the officer seemed to urge.
"Are you sure?" Jack asked, stunned.
"Aye. You don't meet a girl like that everyday."
Hardly believing his luck, Jack happily took the jacket with gratitude, and ran off to find Rose. The jacket was a little on the big side, but he didn't care at all.
"Best of luck, lad," Murdoch said to Jack's retreating figure with a little smile, before pausing in thought. Miss DeWitt Bukater was right: there was not enough room in the lifeboats for everyone onboard.
If there is a calamity, and this ship sinks, half of us are going to die if we can't get help in time, he thought.
Then, an idea hit him and a smile of realisation fell over his handsome face.
Although he couldn't magically put more lifeboats on board, he had been taught as a child in Dalbeattie how to pick a lock from an uncle who taken up a job as a locksmith.
He had just remembered where the lookouts binoculars were kept, and although they didn't have the key, his lockpicking skills would come in handy.
All he needed was either a paperclip or a pin, and he knew that both would be in no short supply.
Smiling triumphantly, Will hurried off to the crew's area, and began to pursue the cupboards. Most contained either uniforms or dishes for the Officers Mess, but one with a padlock was, he felt absolutely certain, where the binoculars were.
"Hello, Will," called a Welsh voice, and he turned to see Fifth Officer Harold Lowe behind him.
"Harry, do you have a paperclip on your person?"
"Er, no. Can't say I have. Why?"
"This is where we keep the binoculars, I'm sure of it."
"Sorry Will. But shall I help you find one?"
"No thanks. I'm sure Mr. Andrews might have one I can use, but thanks anyway."
Harry nodded, saluted Will, and walked away. Will headed for First Class, determined on finding Mr. Andrews and giving the binoculars to the lookouts. The Titanic was going to make it into New York's harbour if he had anything to do with it.
As he walked, he hummed hymns to himself, and was so fixed on his destination that he failed to notice a passenger coming his way. At least, not until they collided together and were sent sprawling on the plush carpet below.
Molly Brown's face was planted firmly into the officer's stomach but not for long. As soon as she had noticed, she got to her feet and an embarrassed Will did the same.
"My dear Mrs. Brown. A thousand apologies," he said, his face flushed scarlet.
"Not a problem officer, " she said kindly. "Ya seemed to be in awful hurry, mind you."
"Aye, I was looking for Mr. Andrews," he said, his eyes suddenly fixed on the amethyst hat pin that Molly wore in her hat. He wasn't going to steal it, of course, but it would be great for picking the lock.
"Something wrong?" She asked, her eyebrows raised.
"No. Mrs. Brown, this is going to sound strange, but may I borrow your hat pin?"
Molly looked at him. "I guess. But what do you want it for?"
"Going to pick a lock on the cupboard that contains the binoculars for our lookouts," he said, and she immediately handed it to him.
"Thank you, Mrs. Brown. I promise to give it back," he said, before giving her a salute. Then he headed back to the cupboard to start picking the lock.
It took a few minutes, but with effort and patience, the lock popped up, and he was able to find the binoculars. There were two sets in there, and he beamed at his discovery.
"Mr. Murdoch? What are you doing?" An autorotated voice asked.
Will jumped, spun around, and saluted the Captain. He had inadvertently stuck the pin into his thumb, and a small bead of blood welled up.
"Hello, Sir," he said, wincing slightly.
"Why do you have a hat pin stuck in your finger?" The bemused Captain asked him.
"I used it to find our lookouts binoculars, Sir. I must have got it caught when I was saluting you just now."
The Captain smiled. "I'm sorry about that, but well done on finding those. Tonight is going to be a calm one, and without binoculars, it would have been near impossible to spot danger of any kind in time. Now, I believe that you are on the ten till two shift, so I suggest you get some sleep beforehand," the Captain suggested, and Will agreed with him.
"Thank you Sir. Enjoy the rest of your day," he saluted again, pulled the pin out of his thumb, gave it back to Mrs. Brown, and headed off to bed.
PAGE BREAK
As the Captain had said, the water that night was certainly clear. It was also glacial.
Will rubbed his hands together in order to keep warm, and his breath escaped from his mouth like smoke from a roaring fire.
So far, there had been no warning bells from the lookouts, but he knew it could change in a matter of seconds. A door on the First Class deck below opened suddenly, and Jack and Rose spilled out, laughing joyously.
While Will and the two lookouts allowed themselves a little smile at them, they all soon returned their attention to the sea.
As Will glanced down at his watch, however, Fleet and Lee had spotted a massive iceberg in the ship's path. Their faces lost colour, and Lee yelled, "Bugger me!" He then rang the warning bell as hard as he could.
Will's eyes narrowed, trying to see what the matter was, as Lee picked up the phone for the Bridge.
"Pick up you bastards!" He yelled, and on the Bridge, Sixth Officer James Moody did so.
"Is anyone there!?" Lee screamed.
"Yes, what do you see?"
"ICEBERG, RIGHT AHEAD!"
"Thank you," said Moody just as Will ran towards the Bridge, having realised what was going on.
"Iceberg right ahead!" Cried Moody.
"Hard'a Starboard!" Will and Moody yelled in unison. The sailor at the wheel began spinning that thing like his life depended on it, and let's be honest, it did.
Will ran past Moody, not noticing that he had upended the younger man's cup of tea. He was desperately turning the two dials in the middle from 'Stop,' then 'Full Astern.'
Once he'd done this, all he and the others could do was wait.
"Come on," he muttered under his breath, lightly patting the first part of the ship he could reach with his fingers. "You can make it." He wasn't sure if he was talking to the ship or himself.
"Is the helm hard over!?" He yelled out.
"It is Sir, yes," Moody called back.
Gripping the railing so tight that he was sure he going to have temporary arthritis later on, he begged the ship to turn.
"Come on, come on, turn," he willed it. He hoped that the timing had been right, and that finding those binoculars had been enough.
Suddenly, there came an almighty cheer from the sailor at the wheel, Moody, and the two lookouts. Incredibly, they had been fast enough. They had cleared the iceberg!
A sigh of relief escaped Will's mouth, and he felt like celebrating as well.
"Well done old girl," he praised, lightly patting the ship with a smile on his handsome face.
AN: So, this is a one-shot, but I can write another chapter if you want. If you want me to, tell me what you want to see in the next one.