A/N I have a feeling you guys are mad at me now...also I'm sorry for all the stupid spelling mistakes, autocorrect doesn't work properly on my tablet.

xXxXx

"Rose, I need your help," Cassidy said hurriedly as she sat down next to her. Nobody else was at the table, they were all swept away into the party. Cassidy had no idea how late it had gotten.

"With what?" Rose looked a little pink cheeked. "I'll help, but quickly because Jack is grabbing more drinks and I think we'll dance agd.ain."

"Oh, you did dance with him," Cassidy said.

"Yeah, it was a little against my will, but honestly, I haven't had that much fun in years," Rose confessed.

"Me neither," Cassidy said. "First class life just isn't the same."

"Tell me about it. So...what'd you need help with?"

Cassidy looked at her hands, face flaming. "Well...just now...me and Tommy were dancing...and we were talking...and he...well, I think he said I was pretty...and our faces were so close...and I thought...well, I thought we were going to kiss!"

"Didn't you?" Rose asked, smiling.

"No...some guy ran into us...but I don't know what to do! What if we had kissed? I mean, I've known this man for two days! But...he's the closest friend I've ever had...and I really like doing things with him...I just don't know...'"

"Just don't know what?"

"If I'm ready for all this. I'm seventeen, he's twenty three, that's six years of an age difference...I have no experience...and what if I'm reading this all wrong..."

"No, Cassidy, I think he really likes you," Rose said seriously. "I've seen the way he looks at you when you aren't watching...I'd say he was indeed trying to kiss you there."

"But am I ready for it?" Cassidy asked, wringing her hands. "And...he's six years older than me...and I don't know if this is love, or just the most I've ever felt for someone!"

"Okay, hang on," Rose said. "Does you feel butterflies wheneve he smiles at you?"

"...yes," Cassidy said slowly.

"Do you want to spend all your time with him? Do you want to close to him? Would you ever consider raising a family with him?"

"Yes," Cassidy blushed.

"Well, there you have it!" Rose said, smiling at Cassidy. "You're in love!"

"But what if Tommy doesn't feel the same way?" Cassidy frowned. "What if he just wants to be friends?"

Rose leaned over to her. "This might just be me making quick conclusions on an observation, but I have seen the desire in his eyes when he looks at you, I have seen wistful glances in your direction, and I've only known him for about an hour. I do believe he is crazy about you, and you have to tell him!"

"You really think so?" Cassidy asked Rose. "Well...maybe I should talk to him."

"Talk to who?" Cassidy looked to find Jack coming up behind Rose, two drinks in his hand.

"Tommy," Rose said. Cassidy snapped her head to Rose. She didn't need everyone to know that!

"She can't find him anywhere," Rose continued. "So she needs to talk to him about not getting lost."

Cassidy inwardly sighed with relief. Jack smiled at her, handing Rose a beer. "Well, lucky for you, I just saw him!"

"Really? Where?" Cassidy asked. Jack pointed to the far side of the room.

"Bjorn Gunderson, my roomate, just challenged him to an arm-wrestling contest," he told her. She jumped out of her seat.

"Now this is something I have to see," Cassidy said. Laughing, Jack and Rose followed her. She wove her way through the crowds, eventually spotting Tommy, a look of pure concentration on his face, cigerette in his mouth, straining his arm against the Swedish man across from him.

"Come on, man, you can do it!" a Scottish bloke encouraged Tommy. Cassidy could see the sweat running down his face. Suddenly, Cassidy had a mischievous idea. She pressed closer to the arm wrestling men, coming up right behind Tommy. He didn't notice her as she leaned in right next to his ear.

"Boo."

The room erupted as Tommy's arm slacked suddenly and the Swedish man declared victory as he slammed Tommy's arm down, knocking over many a beer on the table. But Tommy just turned to look at Cassidy.

"Lass," he breathed. "Ye don't scare a man like tha'." She grinned at him.

"I was gonna win, too," he complained. The Swedish man snorted. Tommy turned to glare at him. "Two outta three," Tommy said furiously. Just then, Rose leaned in over the table and grabbed Tommy's cigerette.

"So," she began. "You think you're big tough men? Let's see you do this." She proceeded to have Jack hold up her skirt while she stood up on her toes. Cassidy was impressed, and turned to see how Tommy was reacting to this. She nearly burst into laughter at the look on his face. Just then, Rose fell over into Jack's arms, giggling.

"I haven't done that in years," she explained to him.

Soon, the band struck up a new song, and an Italian man grabbed Rose's arm, and she grabbed onto Jack, and one thing lead to another and soon Cassidy and Tommy were weaving around the room after Jack and Rose, laughing all the while.

xXxXx

"Lass," Cassidy heard. She could feel her arm being shaken. "Lass!" Groggily, she looked up. Tommy was leaning over her, smiling.

"Whazzamatter?" she asked. "What time is it?"

"It's 'bout two in the morning. Ye fell asleep on this table, so we just ket ye sleep."

Cassidy sat up, looking around. The room was pretty much empty, and had a sort of eeriness. She was sitting on top of a circle table, with Tommy leaning back in one of the chairs.

"Where is everyone?" she asked Tommy. "Last I remember, we were all talking, and drinking, and laughing..."

"They all left 'bout an hour ago," Tommy explained.

"And everyone saw me asleep on the table?" Cassidy asked, humiliated. Then she realized something. "And you've been sitting here all this time watching me? You should've woken me up, you need sleep–"

"It's fine, lass," Tommy said. "I enjoyed watching ye sleep. Yer very peaceful."

Cassidy blushed, and slid off the table. She stood up.

"Well, now yer awake, maybe I should take ye back to yer room," Tommy said.

"Yeah, it is kinda late," Cassidy agreed. But she was hesitant as Tommy walked a little bit ahead of her, leading her to first class. Did he want to kiss her earlier? Did he...like her? As more than a friend? She wondered if he felt rejected now. She was such an idiot. Why didn't she just talk to him?

He seemed distant as they walked up the stairs and down the hall, oblivious to Cassidy's tormented thoughts. Cassidy spoke suddenly. "This is my room," she said, pointing to the door in front of them.

Tommy shoved his hands in his pockets. "Alright, goodnight, lass."

She turned to him, but he was looking at the ground, and it seemed all his earlier confidence was gone. She wanted to ask him about what had happened earlier, but she was a coward, and all she got out was,

"Goodnight, Tommy. See you tomorrow?"

"I s'pose," he said, still not looking at her. Cassidy opened her door and glanced back at him.

"I had fun tonight," she whispered.

"I did too, lass."

"Well...goodnight," Cassidy said, and before things got more awkward, she closed her door and went into her room.

"Why am I such an idiot?" she said out loud, flopping onto her bed. Now she'd probably never know if Tommy liked her or not.

She glared at herself in the mirror as she put on a nightgown. Why was she obsessing over Tommy this much? Was Rose right? Was she...in love with him?

Cassidy had only known him for forty eight hours, but she couldn't deny the odd feelings she had. She had never felt like this, and it kindnof scared her. She flopped into her bed, and after restlessly turning back and forth, she fell into a light sleep.

But only an hour later, she woke up and sat bolt upright, clinging to her sheets. She had a nightmare that the Titanic had hit an iceberg...and Tommy...Tommy had been shot while the boat was sinking...and he had...died.

Cassidy started sobbing uncontrollably, why would the world take away such a nice and innocent man? She was shaken, why was she this upset?

It was in that moment that Cassidy realized if Tommy died, her entire world would fall apart. And he didn't even know it.

And it was that realization that made her jump out of bed and stumble down the hall, sleep-deprived but determined. Without even thinking, she ran down the C-Deck stairs, eyes still prickled with tears. Then she realized she had no idea where she would find him.

She stumbled around, eventually finding the room where the party was held. She noticed a few straggelers and headed towards them.

She asked if anyone could help her find his room. They hesitated, but she could tell they felt sorry for her.

Soon, though, Cassidy realized they didn't know either. Suddenly, she remembered her encounter with him yesterday. The room number was...712? It was worth a shot.

She hurried down the hall and ran down the 700s. She arrived at the door she guessed was his and knocked. She knew that he would have other roommates, she just didn't care at this point.

She didn't hear anything, and was about to turn away when the knob turned. She backed up hoping, hoping it was him.

"Lass? What are ye–"

She ran into Tommy, crying. He placed a hesitant arm around her.

"What's going on?" Tommy asked, pulling her closer, rocking her back and forth. She looked up at him, tearful.

"Do you have time to talk?" she asked. He pulled her into his room without questioning why she was here so early in the morning, and why she was crying. Cassidy was surprised to see no one in the room.

"I thought you had a roommate?" She wondered, thinking about Kristoffer.

"Nah, they all moved to a different room. I snore too loud or something," Tommy said.

She sat down on his bed. "I should probably explain why I'm here."

"Yeah, that might be helpful," Tommy replied, standing with his hands in his pockets.

She stared at her hands in her nightgown. "I...had trouble falling asleep, because...earlier, you know, at the party...how...well...I thought..." she turned red, "I thought we were going to kiss. I ran away from you and I didn't know how to feel, I mean...we'd only just met yesterday, so I talked to Rose...and then I got swept up in the rest of the party..."

She took a shaky breath, and continued, not looking at Tommy. "Then, before I went to bed, I thought about what an idiot I am, how could I be so blind? But I fell asleep, and I had a dream...no, nightmare. In it...the Titanic sank...and you...had gotten onto the first class deck near the lifeboats...

"But the officer wouldn't let any men on and had a...gun. He told you to get back, and you...you got pushed by a man...and the officer thought...he thought you were going to attack you...and he shot you..." Cassidy shook as her eyes filled with tears again.

"I woke up and I realized...I...I love you. I don't know how it happened, some random twist of fate...but..." she finally looked up at Tommy, unable to continue. His eyes were gazing at her with a strong emotion. He slowly walked over to her.

"Lass," he started. Cassidy glanced down again. This was it. He was going to reject her, and she would be left with nobody.

Tommy grabbed her chin with his finger and lifted her eyes to meet his. He wasn't wearing his bowler hat, letting his mop of hair fall right above his eyes. His breath was nearly as rapid as her own, Cassidy realized.

"Lass, I don't know how ye came to that realization, but I thank the mighty heavens ye did. I was going crazy inside, I didn't know if ye liked me or not," he told her seriously.

Cassidy smiled through her tears. "Does...that mean–"

Tommy shushed her by putting his finger over her lips. Slowly, he bent down and replaced his finger with his lips, barely grazing hers. Cassidy's heart nearly flew out of her chest. Tommy leaned back.

"It means, lass, I love ye too, and we're both crazy," he said, grinning.

Cassidy flung herself out of the bed and at Tommy. He held on to her, laughing. She hugged him like this and they just stood there for a while. Finally, Tommy glanced down at her, smiling for ear to ear. He had a look of sheer content on his face.

"Lass, you just made this day the best day in my life," he informed her. She smiled back up at him.

"We could make it better," she replied. Tommy glanced down at her again.

"What would ye have in mind?" he asked. Cassidy placed her back on the back of his neck, and her other hand on his back. She stood up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips firmly against hers. She was a beginner at this, for Tommy was the first man she had ever kissed.

She may have been a beginner, but Tommy seemed to know what he was doing. He entwined his hands into her hair, and she pressed closer to him. He started flicking his tongue against her lips, and she opened her mouth, allowing him to enter.

She gasped as the kiss grew deeper. She had never felt like this before, she felt an ache in her as Tommy ran his hands across her hips and her shoulders. Tommy groaned as he did this, making Cassidy even more desperate to taste him. He tasted of smoke and tobacco, and something...friendly, warm.

Suddenly, he pulled back, breathless. Cassidy looked up at him, and touched her lips, just as out of oxygen as he was.

"Tommy," she whispered.

"I know lass," he whispered back. "I know." She backed away from him and sat on the bed.

"Lass, you alright?" he asked, concerned. He came and sat next to her.

"I'll be okay," she said. "In fact, I've never been better."

Tommy's face broke into a smile. "I'm a good kisser, eh?"

"You're the only...so I don't know who to compare you to," Cassidy replied, unsure how he would respond to that.

His smile grew wider. "Are ye serious?"

"Of course," she said, blushing. She sounded childish. "But you...that wasn't your first kiss, was it?"

"Actually, it kind of was."

"Kind of?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, the only girl I've ever kissed...way back in kindergarten. Her name was Daisy. But when a new boy came to town who was rich and well-off she went right to him. That was when I first realized that poor people aren't all that priveleged."

"Well, I'm sorry," Cassidy said.

"It's alright, it was a while ago, I hardly remember her," Tommy said nonchalontly.

"Well, then how'd you get so good?" Cassidy asked, turning bright red at her bluntness.

Tommy just grinned at her. "I just did what felt right, I guess. Ye know, ye blush alot."

"Only when I say something stupid to you," Cassidy said, looking down. Tommy grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.

"Nothing you say is ever stupid," he said seriously. She smiled at him gratefully, still embarassed. He pulled her into his arms again, and they sat there peacefully, Tommy kissing her head once in a while.

Eventually, Tommy loosened his arms. "Ye know, it's gotten really early...maybe ye should go back to yer room..."

"No!" Cassidy burst out. "I don't want to!"

Tommy laughed. "I don't want to either, lass, but ye need sleep."

Cassidy looked up at him, she had an idea, but she was embarassed to mention it. Steeling her courage, she took a deep breath and said, "Could...could I stay here and...sleep with you?"

Tommy was surprised, she could tell. He didn't say anything. She stood up quickly.

"Sorry, I'll go, I shouldn't have said anything," she said hurriedly, blushing again. She turned away, about to leave, but Tommy gripped her arm again, pulling her to him.

"See, lass," he said. "That wasn't stupid. If ye really want to stay..."

"Yes, please!" She hugged him, planting a chaste kiss on his nose. He grinned again.

"Alright, do ye need to grab anythin' from yer room? Yer already wearing a nightgown, so..."

"I should be fine," Cassidy said, walking over to the bed across from Tommy's. She laid down in it and gasped. It reminded her of the bed where she used to sleep in her old house.

Tommy interpretted her gasp wrong. He frowned. "I'm sorry...I know the beds aren't as fine as they are in the first class..."

"No, no, it's not that," Cassidy assured him. "It reminded me of the bed I has at my old home, I really like it."

"That's good," Tommy said, sliding into his own bed. Cassidy felt the most content she had in a long time, and soon fell asleep, oblivious to the fact that Tommy was watching her, eyed smoldering.

She woke up an hour later, her sleep still a little restless. She glanced over at Tommy, who was sleeping soundly, with large snores. She grinned, thinking about how Tommy has said his roommates had all left because of his snoring. She looked back at her own bed and thought about how she was having trouble sleeping.

Glancing at Tommy one last time, she hopped out of her bed determinely and with nearly no hesitation, she slid into Tommy's bed next to him. Feeling his warmth, she felt the most blissful she had in years, and soon fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.