A/N Last chapter was super fun to write, I hope you enjoyed it, I just love Tommy/Cassidy banter. Anyways...the plot should be escalating soon!! Thank you all for reading and reviewing!!

xXxXx

Cassidy hurried into the dining room, flustered at being late. She had spent a good long while getting ready for tonight, and hadn't paid attention to the time. She smoothed her dress. She had picked her nicest one, a green number with short sleeves and satin draped all around. She hoped Tommy would like it.

Looking around the crowded room, she suddenly saw Rose motioning to her from a center table. Gratefully, she headed over to that table. Unfortunately, the only seat left was next to...Joseph. Sighing, Cassidy plopped herself next to him.

"You look stunning," he whispered to her, looking hopeful.

"Thank you," she said politely, cringing. She turned away from him, picking up her fork. Chewing, she looked around. It was mostly the same people she had seen at breakfast and lunch, but then she noticed the sandy-haired man across from Rose.

It was the same man Rose had been looking at earlier, who had been talking to Tommy! He looked a little nervous about being here, so Cassidy smiled at him.

"Hello, Rose...everyone. Sorry I'm late, I...must've fallen asleep," Cassidy lied, not needing everyone to know just why she had been late.

"That's fine, Cassidy," Rose said, smiling. Then she turned to look at the sandy-haired man. Mr. Dawson, Cassidy thought Rose had told her.

"Have you had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Dawson?" Rose asked Cassidy, winking at her.

"I don't believe I have," Cassidy said, smiling at him.

"Please, call me Jack. 'Mr. Dawson' sounds too much like my father," he told her.

"Alright, Jack," Cassidy said, grinning. He seemed nice. She could see why Rose liked him, he was good looking too, but Cassidy was partial to another type. Joseph leaned over to her.

"Mr. Dawson...er, Jack there was just telling us about how he has lived homeless the past years," he said to her loudly. Cassidy was appalled at his rudeness. She quickly turned to Jack.

"Really?" she asked, genuinely curious, but also trying to ignore Joseph's obvious rudeness. "What was it like? How'd you get enough to eat?"

Jack chuckled. "Wasn't too hard. I mean, I had a little money, from selling my drawings and playing poker...I got around well enough." He popped some food in his mouth. "And I had pretty low standards, too. Any poor guy would have to, wouldn't he?"

"I suppose," Cassidy agreed. "So you're an artist?"

"Give or take," Jack said humbly. "I'm not that good."

"Oh, he's just saying that, Cassidy!" Rose cut in. "You should see his portfolio, he's exquisite!"

Cal frowned. "As exquisite as Something Picasso?"

Rose glared at him. "I would say."

"Oh, I would never claim to be greater than Picasso," Jack told Cal.

"Oh, you know him, too, then?" Cal said, his smile strained.

"Hey, you guys," cut in a woman from the end. Cassidy believed she was Margaret Brown. "You're gonna have to either explain what the heck you're talkin' about or switch topics down there, I'm not following anything you're sayin'!"

"Here, here," Joseph said, taking a drink. While Margaret had said it in a joking way, Joseph sounded downright mean when he replied. Cassidy shot a glare at him, but he was looking the other way.

"So, Mr. Dawson," Ruth said (with obvious distaste, Cassidy thought), "How exactly did you save my daughter last night? I am, of course, thankful that you were there." She sounded the opposite of thankful.

Cassidy glanced at Jack. What would he say? She knew what had happened, but he couldn't tell everyone about Rose almost jumping off the ship. He was staring intently at Rose, who seemed frantic.

"Well," he started, still looking at Rose. "I guess you could say I was in the right place at the right time. I had...gone out for a smoke...and I heard a lady screaming. 'Course I figured I needed to help whoever it was, so I found Rose dangling over the side of the ship, holding on for dear life."

Man, he's a good liar, Cassidy thought, impressed. Even she believed his story a bit, and she knew what actually happened.

"So I grabbed onto her hands and pulled her back over. Unfortunately, those officers came along right after that, and she had landed on top of me..." Jack said, not needing to continue.

"Right," Cal said, his smile not reaching his eyes. "I'm so glad you did that, thank you. If it weren't for you, my fiancé here might not have been able to enjoy this dinner with me."

"Yeah," Jack agreed, his eyes hardening at the word fiancé. Or maybe that was Cassidy's imagination.

The rest of the dinner was rather uneventful, and as the courses progressed, the talk grew to be exceedingly boring, politics and such.

Finally, Colonel Gracie stood up and said, "Well, join me in a brandy...gentlemen?"

Cassidy heard Rose whisper in an undertone to Jack, "Now they'll disappear in a cloud of smoke and congratulate each other on being masters of the universe." Cassidy bit back a laugh as the men stood up. Then she noticed how late it had gotten.

"Oh!" she jumped up as well.

"You're not...joining us, Cassidy, are you?" Joseph smirked. The other men chortled.

"No, Joseph," Cassidy said coldly. "I just realized I have somewhere to be."

"Oh, must you leave?" Rose asked.

Cassidy smiled at her. "Yes," she said meaningfully. "It's been a pleasure, everyone, this dinner was wonderful. Jack, it was nice to meet you."

"And you as well, Cassidy," he replied, popping a mint into his mouth, nodding at her. Cassidy wondered when the last time he had a good, nice, meal like this was. She figured he deserved it, though.

"See you tomorrow, everybody," Cassidy called. The rest of the ladies waved to her, and she left.

When Cassidy had walked as far as the Grand Staircase, she realized she had no idea how to get to the C Deck entrance, where Tommy had told her to meet him. Sighing, she looked at the clock. She was going to be so late.

"Cassidy?" She turned around. It was Jack.

"Jack? What are you doing here? Are you finished eating?" Cassidy asked him. He shrugged.

"I'm gonna wait here for Rose," he said simply.

"Oh, did you invite her to the party?"

"How do you know about that?" Jack asked, looking up at her.

"I was invited, myself."

"By who?"

"Tommy Ryan, do you know him?" Cassidy didn't need him to know that she and Rose were spying on them.

"Yeah, I met him yesterday. He seems nice," Jack winked at her.

She blushed, but sighed. "Problem is, he told me to meet him at the C Deck entrance, but I don't know how to get there."

"Well, I could take you down there when I go with Rose," Jack offered.

"Would you?" Cassidy asked, grateful. "I mean, I don't want to be a burden."

"No, no, it's fine," Jack waved her off. "We'll just wait for Rose and be on our way."

"If you say so," Cassidy said smiling, leaning against the stairway rail. It was only a matter of minutes before Rose hurried towards them.

"Hello, again, Cassidy," Rose said hastily, then looked to Jack. "Jack, what–"

"You wanna go to a real party?" He interupted her, grinning. Rose didn't even have to respond, she just grabbed his arm.

"Lead the way," she told him. Jack turned back to Cassidy, his other arm outstretched.

"Coming?" He asked. "We don't want to keep Tommy waiting, now do we?"

Rose smacked him and he laughed, Cassidy taking his other arm.

"It's okay, Rose, I don't mind him," she told Rose. "We don't need Jack here getting hurt."

"Nah, I'm fine," Jack said as they started walking. "It was just a girl hit. I've been beat up by people four times her size."

Cassidy knew immediatly that Rose was offended. She quickly turned away and heard a loud SLAP.

"OW!" Jack burst out, and Cassidy turned back to find him rubbing his neck. "Man, you can hit hard when you want to!" Rose just giggled.

"Are you okay, Mr. Dawson?" Cassidy teased him.

"No!" He said, looking at Rose. She just smiled innocently at him. Then she looked over at Cassidy.

"So...you're meeting Tommy?" she asked, winking.

"Yes..." Cassidy blushed.

"Is he nice?" Rose continued.

"Nice enough, for an Irish bloke," Cassidy said, taking the oppotunity to make fun of him.

"Yes, but you have to watch out for his mouth," Jack said.

"What do you mean?" Cassidy asked.

"That man had taken to swearing like a dog takes to a cat."

"Really?" Cassidy asked. "I've never heard him swear..."

"Ah, no he's too much of a gentleman to swear in front of a lady," Jack grinned.

"I'll have to talk to him about that," Cassidy said, smiling at the thought.

"I feel like I've heard you swear before," Rose told Jack. He chuckled, embarassed.

"Guess I'm not a gentleman," he said. "You don't...mind, d'you?"

"Oh, no, it's fine, I do it all the time to annoy Cal," Rose said.

"Ah, look we're here, Cassidy," Jack told her. She looked up. Tommy was waiting next to a sign for C Deck, whistling. She hurried ahead of Jack and Rose. Tommy saw her and waved, and she waved back. She could her faint music wafting from below them. Cassidy ignored that and ran up to Tommy.

"Sorry I'm late," she said breathlessly. "Dinner went late and then I didn't know how to get here–"

"Aw, tha's okay, lass, makes up for my being late earlier," he amended. Then he noticed Jack and Rose walking towards them. "So Jack got them angles jinxed now, did he?"

"What are you talking about?" Cassidy asked him. He just chuckled.

"Nothin, lass, it's an inside joke. How ya doin', lad?" Tommy called to Jack.

"Pretty great, but man, that dinner was exhausting, Rose, I don't know how you do it every day," Jack said.

"You get used to it," she replied, giggling.

Jack shook his head at Tommy, and gestured toward the door.

"Shall we?" he asked, waving his arm for Cassidy and Tommy to go first. Tommy held out his arm.

"Well?" he asked. Cassidy grabbbed his arm and started running towards the sound of the music.

"Woah, lass!" Tommy laughed, stumbling behind her. She could hear Jack and Rose chortling behind them. Soon the music got louder and she slowed down to let Tommy catch his breath.

"Lass," Tommy gasped, clutching his ribs, slowing to a stop. "Warn me before ya do that next time, would ye?"

Cassidy just smiled. Tommy shook his head, breathing fast.

"Let's just get in there, all right?"

"Fine by me," Cassidy replied. They walked into the room, and Cassidy was instantly breathless with wonder. It was loud, and hazy, and there were people everywhere! People laughing, drinking, wrestling, dancing, and just having fun. The music was loud and upbeat and everyone seemed to be getting into it.

Instinctively, Cassidy grabbed Tommy's hand so they wouldn't be seperated. She turned to him. She could see his lips moving, but couldn't hear him over the tumult.

"What?" she yelled. He leaned in, right next to her ear. Cassidy shivered. He was a bit too close for what was proper.

"Would ye like to get some drinks wit' me?" he shouted in her ear. She nodded hastily, pulling away from him.

"Lead the way," she replied. Somehow Tommy heard her, and he pulled her towards the other side of the room. Cassidy grabbed a cigerette from her pocket on the way down and at Tommy's appraisel, she stuck one in his mouth too. He flashed a grin at her, and grabbed four beers from a random table.

"Why so many?" Cassidy asked him, glancing at him questioningly. Tommy just shrugged.

"Shall we find a table?" he called. Cassidy nodded, and started to head to the little tables in the corner. She saw Rose and nodded to Tommy. He nodded back to show he understood, and they went over to that table.

Tommy elbowed his way through the crowd with Cassidy close on his heels. She quickly sat down while Tommy set down the drinks. Rose grabbed one and smiled at Cassidy while Tommy sat down.

"Where's Jack?" Cassidy called over the din. Rose kept smiling and pointed to the dancing crowd. Cassidy spotted Jack dancing with a little girl, twirling her around. It was a sweet sight.

"Too bad he's not dancing with you," she remarked to Rose. Rose just shook her head.

"I don't dance," she said.

Tommy leaned over to Cassidy, taking a drag of his cigar.

"Do ye dance, lass?" he questioned.

"A little," Cassidy said, dropping her cigerette to take a drink of her beer.

She was interrupted when Tommy grabbed her hand.

"A little's better than nothin'!" he yelled, pulling her into whirling crowd. Cassidy cried out, clinging to Tommy's shirt.

"Tommy, I haven't...I can't–"

He shushed her by putting his finger to her lips.

"It's simple, lass. Just follow my lead, nothin's gonna happen," he told her. He started hopping to the beat. "See?"

Cassidy quickly tried to follow his steps, heart in her throat.

"Sorry!" she yelped as she stepped on Tommy's feet.

" 'S alright, I got strong Irish feet," Tommy laughed. Cassidy grinned apologetically. Soon, the music got faster and wilder and Cassidy got swept into it. It really wasn't all that bad, Tommy was doing most of the dancing.

"Ye alright, lass?" Tommy called, after a couple dances.

"I'm doing wonderful," she laughed. "When'd you learn to be such a good dancer?"

"Oh, ye gotta blame Molly for tha' one," he replied. "Only boy in the town who would dare dance with 'er."

"Well, I should be thankful that someone in here knows what they're doing. I can't even move without falling over someone," Cassidy said, holding on tightly to both of his hands.

"Ah, you're too hard on yerself lass," Tommy told her.

As the music slowed, Cassidy leaned into Tommy's chest and wrapped her arms around his back. She knew that this was probably not proper at all, but she honestly didn't care. Tommy smelled like tobbaco and smoke, and it was a nice combined smell.

"Lass?" Tommy asked.

"Hmmm?" She stayed in the same spot, face in his shirt.

"Did ye ever tell me where ye grew up?"

"Oh, I don't think so..." Cassidy pulled away from his shirt. They were standing in one place now, rocking back and forth, the crowd forgotten. "I was actually born in a small Canadian town...but I don't remember much because we left when I was very little. My parents and I moved to England after that, so I consider myself an English girl, I guess."

"Ah, I like English girls better than Irish girls," Tommy remarked.

"What do you mean?" Cassidy asked, her cheeks feeling warm all of a sudden. He glanced at her, smirking.

"For one, English girls are much prettier," he started. Cassidy looked at her feet.

"Are they?"

"Yes," Tommy said, grabbing Cassidy's chin and looking right into her eyes. Cassidy nearly stopped breathing. What was going on? Was...was he going to kiss her? Tommy's eyes were smoldering. Cassidy's heart was beating rapidly.

Suddenly, they were knocked over by a drunk Swedish man.

"Pardon, pardon," he apologized.

"Watch where yer bloody goin'!" Tommy said furiously, helping Cassidy off the floor. "Are ye alright, lass?"

"I...think I'll be fine," Cassidy said breathlessly. "I'm...gonna go and...get some more drinks."

With that, she turned away from Tommy and quickly walked away, heart beating not slowed down one bit and her brain running furiously.