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Disclaimer: Anna Lyn Connor and other unknown characters belong to me. Everyone else (who is NOT in the movie) is real. Any of the enjoyable characters of James Cameron's movie belongs to him, along with all of the legalities and technicalities.

Quick appreciate and love to Raven the Guardian who has stuck with this story, and even gave me the push I needed to continue! Thank you!! And to those also you have been reading the story!

Asides from that, enjoy!

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Anna felt like a chicken that was left in a pen for everyone's picking. Their eyes pierced her like hungry merchants getting ready to cut her up and cook her into a chicken noodle soup. In the very least, there were only a few of them left. But at the other side of the coin, they didn't take their minds off of her, even though their eyes were turned elsewhere; here and there. They were curious about her and what to do about their current situation. Actually, let's correct that, what Officer Murdoch would do with his current position. Officer Wilde had just ruthlessly sold Officer Murdoch out to the sharks. The bait worked, and Thomas Andrews (who was paradoxically portrayed as the shark) bit and made Officer Murdoch responsible for his folly. Officer Lowe didn't think that it was any more of his business to stay and stare any longer, so he left the scene to tend to his duties. Officer Pitman was another story. He wanted to stay to witness what was going to occur next, but first officer William Murdoch motioned to him to go back to tend to his duties. Pitman regrettably walked away. Moody looked between his two senior officers as they sighed in despair. On the contrary to his senior officers' current thoughts, Moody thought that this was an exciting turn of events. He never witnessed anything this adventurous since his days as an apprentice. Imagine! A stowaway!

"Well, what an unfortunate turn of events," Lightoller breathed looking at Anna, who had enough dignity not to look at her capturers. Her eyes roved from this thing and that, taking in the regality of her surroundings. She looked between the gleaming wood floors to each gold imprinted instruments, and even the pure gleam of the officers' golden coat button caught her in a whirlwind of luxury she'd not seen and experienced for a long time.

Anna's ears twitched slight at the sound of their conversation, and said what righteously came to her mind: "You can put me in a cupboard, sir, if anything else," Anna said in an even tone. The three officers standing together looked up at her when she made her ridiculous suggestion. Moody, for some reason, instantly thought of the size of his room. However, the two senior officers had another things come to mind when she said the word cupboard: dishonorably discharge. Anna, yet again, was looking else where instead of looking at her audience.

"I don't think that is wise, Miss Connor. Mr. Andrews would be furious for treating you in such a manner! I rather not see a letter of resignation any time soon. And I myself do not believe that it is fair to keep you cope up like a caged bird. You're not exactly a chicken,"Murdoch said in a point-of-a-matter-type of tone.

"Physically and metaphorically!" Lightoller added with a laugh, gaining him a slight smile on Anna's lips.

Anna finally turned to look at Officer Murdoch. As her eyes roved slowly across the scenery, and on to his face, his breath hitched silently at his throat at the sight of green eyes looking at him with an odd mix of emotions. From he was standing he couldn't tell if she was frightened, joyous, or confused. On the contrary, she was feeling the same emotions rushing into her heart. Both Murdoch and Anna felt their hearts beating a pace faster, and what was even worst, their cheeks started to flare. Lightoller easily noticed Anna's new flare of pink grazing her shallow cheeks for she was much paler than his friend, Murdoch. That new effect made her look like a credulous teen rather than a woman well within her experience. Lightoller took a silent notice of that before turning to Moody, giving him two nudges and a wink towards the two.

Moody, being younger, and not as wise in the games of much the older adults like Murdoch and Lightoller, looked confused a few seconds trying to figure out what the devious Mr. Lightoller was trying to nudge to him about. When Moody realized what was happening, he broke out in a wide boyish-looking grin.

Anna cleared her throw to push away all of those ridiculous feelings growing within her heart, and continued their conversation. "Mr. Andrews seems awfully too kind to loose his temper or get angry with you, Mister—I'm sorry, sir, I didn't catch your name."

"It's William Murdoch, ma'am." Murdoch was old enough to know how to keep his voice even in a situation such as this one.

"Mr. Murdoch," Anna finished, liking the sound of his name rolling off her lips.

The two of them lapsed into yet another silence while sharing quiet, timid glances at each other. Lightoller nearly fell to the floor laughing at how adolescent the two were acting. Lightoller knew of his dear friend Murdoch's fair share of acquaintances, and no doubt, by Anna's expert ways of talking, she must had had many likable suitors before, but this was almost too childish for the two of them.

Lightoller then cleared his throat as Boxhall rounded the corner from his quick trip to perhaps the washroom or the mess hall to check if there were anything left over from breakfast.

"Will, I believe it is time for your shift, and may I suggest something?"

"By all means, I'd dragged you into this," Murdoch sighed lightly, looking away from her. He cursed his raging heart.

Lightoller shook his head wildly. "Oh, no, about that: you, sir, are on your own with this little--shall I say--enthralling predicament! I have nothing to do with this. I merely got my exercise regime done for the week! But I was just going to suggest that Mr. Moody would occupy her time while you are tending to your duties. Unless, you like the idea of putting her in a cupboard." Lightoller turned slightly to wink at the curious looking Anna, gaining him a soft smile that played slightly on her lips.

Murdoch agreed with both a shake and a nod from his head. "Lights," he warned slightly before turning to the by-standing Mr. Moody. "Mr. Moody! I then leave Miss Connor in your care until your shift?"

"Sir?"

"Take her round the officers' quarters and the ship if you want," Murdoch suggested while turning to take in the young man's expressions. He looked shocked and confused at the same time. He was bestowed a babysitting task. Something he didn't find exciting, but it would give him the chance to ask Anna a few questions about her intentions.

"Are you sure you want to let Mr. Moody loose around the ship with a guest without getting lost?" Boxhall teased slightly with a bolstering laugh.

Moody stood rigid at the memory. "Mr. Boxhall, you have no faith in me?" Moody asked with a look of slight exasperation on his face. His senior officers loved to poke fun at him.

"Oh, it's not you, boy, it's the pure fact that you'd gotten lost two days ago down on F deck," Boxhall cried, slapping Moody's arm. He responded by turning his flushing cheeks away from the attention of his other officers. It was truly an embarrassment.

"I can sit around and not say a peep, sir," Anna suggested when they had excluded her from the conversation.

"Another bad suggestion, Miss Connor. Mr. Andrews would give the bridge officers quite a stern talking to if we leave you to grovel in boredom. Not exactly something we want to experience," Murdoch said with a little laugh. Moody, Boxhall, and Lightoller merely offered smiles.

"Whatever you say, Mr. Murdoch." Anna then turned to Moody, and offered him a wide smile that the boy couldn't help but recover from his humiliating memory to smile back. "If it is not a bother, Mr. Moody, I would love to see the ship!"

"That's the spirit!" Lightoller cheered at last. "It is settled then. Mr. Moody, you are responsible for her until your shift, and until then, we shall figure out what to do next."

"Yes, sir," Moody nodded and Anna nod enthusiastically at what she was privileged to do next.

Moody was silent through the first few minutes of their tour. He walked slightly in front of her and allowed for her to follow. Anna was too busy to notice that the boy was allowing her to play catch-up rather than guiding her through the ship. She had seen promenade deck about an hour ago, but not through the same perspectives. Before it was all a blur, the scenery was distorted through her tears, and the fear of her evitable fate of being thrown overboard. Now that they were strolling at a leisure pace, Anna was taken away by the grand scale of the ship; the shininess of the floorboards; the whiteness of the walls; the regality of the people strolling along the first deck; the uniformity of the shipmen, and crew; just about everything took her breath away. She'd never been on a ship that had so much personality within each crooks and crevasses—well, actually, she'd never been on a ship at all.

Anna was about to say something when she realized that Mr. Moody was walking briskly away from her. He had other things on his mind rather than how amazing the scenery was before him. He was actually afraid of getting lost. It was true what Officer Boxhall had said. They sent him on an errand down the crew's passage to look for one of the shipmen, however, before anything could be delivered, Moody realized that he was lost in the labyrinth of white they called the crew's passage. It was already embarrassing to be a ship's officer and get lost aboard her, but being helped back to the bridge was beyond embarrassment. It was devast—

"It's Mr. Moody, is it not?" Anna asked, pulling Moody out of his mental agony. He slowed his pace and turned to look at her.

"Yes, ma'am, but you can call me James, or Jim. Mr. Lightoller and Mr. Murdoch take a liking of calling me, Mood."

"What do you prefer, sir?" Anna asked as they walked slowly on the promenade deck. The ocean's air was whipping her hair around. The people who were strolling along the decks were curious and confused to see such a tattered woman walking side-by-side with a tall, handsome officer.

"James, please," Moody replied, eagerly.

"James, it is then. And please call me Annie. I have not heard a soul call me Miss Connor for quite a long time."

"It wouldn't be proper, Miss Connor!" Moody was aware of their class ranks, even though it didn't matter much to him. He enjoyed everyone's company, regardless of their rank. But it wasn't about class rank he was worried about. He knew that she was a little older than he was and he was just a mere pup. It wouldn't be proper for him to call a lady by her first name without knowing her well enough to gain her confidence! Moody was quite a gentleman in every aspect of the word.

"It would do my heart much comfort though, Mr. Moody," Anna offered, almost urging him. It was true that she hadn't heard anyone call her Miss Connor since the beginning of her horrible marriage. Everyone would call her Anna, Annie, or on special occasions, Anna Lyn! Miss Connor seemed so foreign to her that she didn't want to be called by it, in fearing she would not recognize it when she was being called.

"But you still call me Mr. Moody," the 'pup' protested.

"Because you insist in calling me Miss Connor."

Moody sighed in defeat. My, this woman was truly headstrong. She wasn't going to let it up. Moody finally gave in. "Annie…"

"James," Anna replied almost instantly.

"You're just like Mr. Murdoch." Moody shook his head, laughing lightly at the memory.

Now, not only Anna was curious about his statement, she was interested in the man by the name of William Murdoch. His sharp, handsome Scottish features stirred something within her that wasn't lust, but something else more interesting. Something she hadn't felt in a long while. She felt young again. (Though, to tell you the truth, my dear readers, Anna Lyn Connor had never been a victim to lust. Not to make her appear as pristinely innocent as possible, but after a marriage with a man like her husband in Britain, lust was something far from her emotional spectrum. Every time her husband would come near her, fear was all she felt coursing through her body.)

"In which way?" she questioned with her eyebrows peaking slightly.

"You are very insistent on what you want. Mr. Murdoch is also insistent until the point of being slightly over-commanding," Anna laughed at his comment. "However, he means well to my perspective. He wants us to learn discipline."

"That's fine and well, Mr. James—"

"Simply James," he pursued.

"But you insisted—" 'Miss' Annie cried.

"We are not going to have this argument again." Moody sounded absolute. To perhaps mere shallow minded, goggling girls, they would have been scared of his tone of voice. However, Anna Lyn Connor wasn't one of those goggling girls. She wasn't one to be bullied; especially by someone of her junior.

"Well, young man, aren't you brave to talk to your elders with such familiarity that you have enough courage to scold me for starting an argument."

Moody looked at her in fear and horror. He didn't realize it until she pointed it out to him. Moody actually felt ashamed of his slight actions toward her. Moody started to mumble something in embarrassment. "I do apologize, ma'am. I am such a blundering fool. Even my lady at home says I do not have a wit of a gentleman in me!"

Anna laughed out loud yet again despite their position on the first class deck. "Ah, but I do think you have some within you," she teased, pushing slightly at his arm. "Your lady is quite harsh on you."

"Mothers usually are," he sighed with a shake of his head.

Anna Lyn truly found their current situation a funny one. Moody was very amiable and open when it comes to talking about himself. "Even worst. No sweetheart of your own, James?"

"Yes, ma'am, I do have a sweetheart, as you call it. I miss her terribly."

"I can certainly believe that."

"Yourself, Annie? No man has ever stolen your heart?"

Anna turned to look at the ocean, and smiled sadly at the thought. Moody passed her a questioning glance when she didn't answer his question. "Stolen is true, my dear young James. But, I have nobody."

Moody started to feel slightly concerned for the older woman, and to comfort her, he touched her shoulder, hoping to give her some sense of security. She turned to him again, offering a grateful smile.

"You have the other officers, and I!" Moody said cheerily. "The other officers are quite an agreeable bunch. I can safely and confidently say that even chief officer Wilde is not as strict or cruel like you'd seen him this morning. Mr. Lightoller is a little on the mischievous side, so sometimes it maybe wise to stay out of his path if he feels the need to cause some mischief around the bridge. But don't let that fool you about his nautical abilities; one of the best officers I'd ever seen." Anna watched in awe as Mr. Moody listed out each of his senior officers with much praise. He truly knew what it took to understand a person, and always look for the good in them. Mr. Moody, yes, was truly a gentleman in every aspect. "Mr. Pitman and Mr. Boxhall are a joyous bunch to talk to. Mr. Lowe is a little personal, and very serious when it comes to working his shifts. He does like keep to himself, but please do not take his aloofness as a sign that he is not amicable. He and I got acquainted enough for me to say that Mr. Lowe is quite the opposite! Mr. Murdoch," Moody paused and inconspicuously stole a glance towards Anna to watch for any reaction to his name. One: she smiled almost dreamily at the sound of his name. Moody laughed internally before continuing, "regardless of his strictness, he does have a funny and playful side. He cares a lot for the well-being of his junior officers, and those around him, regardless of who they are."

Moody heaved a large dramatic sigh, but Anna didn't take notice of that because she was still enveloped by his words about her dear Mr. Murdoch. "'Tis a shame that he is still unbetrothed." Sixth officer Moody couldn't help himself but drop that last hint for her. By the rate they were going with shy glances and smiles, they would get no where in this budding love affair, and the end of the voyage was about a week away! After that Anna Lyn Connor would most likely disappear, and she would just be another person noted in the ship's log.

Anna snapped out of her reverie, catching the last bit of his statement. She chose to ignore it, trying not to give away her true emotions about him. Mr. Moody would never suspect anything if she didn't reply to the last statement. She would like to keep her emotions inside, to save herself from any humiliation that could occur if she was to expose her affection for the first officer. "I would think you are having an affair with your officers with all that you know, if I didn't know you so well, sir!"

Moody shook his head wildly, fearing her thoughts. He and the…officers?! Oh my word!! "Oh no, Annie! I respect them very highly! A handful of officers I wouldn't mind serving on a ship again. Besides, I do have a lady, Annie."

Anna Lyn touched his arm with a motherly affection. "I meant no harm to you, James. I was merely teasing you. And thank you dearly for your kindness and that...interesting accounts of each of the officers. I appreciate it." The two of them smiled in understanding.

Moody then made a quick clap in excitement, slightly scaring Anna with his sudden action. "Now, how about that tour?" Moody cried, hoping to change the mood of their current conversation.

"As long as you promise me that we will not to get lost, then by all means, Mr. Moody, forward and onward!" Annie returned with the same enthusiasm that made Moody believe that she truly was going to be a lot more than a person noted in the ship's log.

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