The waves hit the boat in a hypnotic pattern, coming in and going out, and Nanny stared out the porthole at it. Her thoughts though were a million miles away. Many years ago, she had lost something of hers, the most valuable thing she had. And while she had spent so long searching for it, she never found it again. That was when, heartbroken, she accepted the job as William's nanny. But the memories lived on inside of her. Memories of that precious something.

"Are you sad, Nanny?" asked Will, breaking her out of her thoughts.

She sighed. "No Master William, I'm fine. It doesn't matter in any case."

Will shook his head. "Nanny," he said, "you always tell me not to worry so much. 'Don't fret over what you can't help,' you always say. We're on a sea voyage, the perfect time to relax. And when the trip is done, we'll finally be in America!"

Nanny found herself smiling at her charge's enthusiasm. "Yes, of course," she said. "A chance for a new life."

"I have so many plans," said Will eagerly. "I can hardly wait for my first buildings to go up."

"You'll be the finest architect America will ever see," Nanny agreed.

"Ah, America. The land of opportunity," sighed Gaston dramatically as he fixed his tie in the mirror. "All zorts of things are possible there. For example I, your humble secretary, could one day become…your boss even!"

Will tried hard not to laugh at the thought of Gaston one day being his boss. "You're right," he said.

"Of courze I am! Now eef you will excuze me, I will take a stroll on ze deck."

"Alright," said William. "Be back soon, or I'll have to come and keep an eye on you."

"Ah Master William," moaned Gaston theatrically, "you keep me on such a short leash!"

"That's because I've learned that I apparently have to," muttered William as he secretary left the room.

On the deck, Molly was bored.

It was not like she was lacking for company. Tall, thin, and incredibly good-looking, she could have had as many love-struck men to chat with as she wanted. She didn't want that sort of conversation though. What she wanted was to sing.

Ever since she was a little girl, Molly had dreamed of being a famous singer. Her voice was very good and she performed in various locations, nowhere special, just wherever she could find work. So when she was hired to stay on the Titanic as the ship's main source of entertainment for the passengers, she was ecstatic. The pay was excellent, she and her two Dalmatians were given a first-class room to stay in, and every mealtime she sang for the first-class diners.

It was the lulls between performances which got to her though. She filled the time as best she could, spending time with her dogs, relaxing in her room, or deciding what to sing at the next meal.

At that moment, she was talking to First Officer William Murdoch, one of the few who she enjoyed spending her time with on the ship.

"Oh magnifique! What a beauty! What a face! What a divine figure!" cried Gaston. He had, of course, just caught sight of Molly. A silly grin slipped across his face and he put his chest out at he swaggered towards her.

In the middle of her conversation, Molly paused. What appeared to be a self-important French man was coming towards her in a ridiculous fashion. She bit her lip, trying hard not to laugh.

"Excusez-moi, mademoiselle," he said smoothly as he drew near. "Bonjour…?"

"Molly," she sighed, seeing that he was waiting for a reply.

"Ah, Molly," he said. "Such a beautiful name!"

"Yes, isn't it?" she asked, trying not to roll her eyes.

"I must apologize for my terribly forward behavior…"

Did he really think she would fall for a stupid line like that?

"…But I could not help myzelf. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."

Her Dalmatians, lying peacefully at her feet before, growled softly at him. At her side, the First Officer looked like he wanted to growl also. Molly sympathized with all three of them, but decided that she ought to show a bit more class than that.

"That's very sweet of you," she said, trying to figure out how to get rid of him. It shouldn't be too hard. He was hardly the first person to use lines like that on her.

The Frenchman turned to the First Officer. "May I borrow her for jeest one moment?" he asked.

Murdoch gave the man a cold look. "I'm afraid Miss Molly is due to perform for the first-class passengers very soon," he said.

"Are you quite sure?"

Molly gave Murdoch a look that said quite clearly Bless you. "Yes, quite," she said. "I have to go get ready and get my dogs back to the room."

"Ah, yes, I see," he said. "Such sweet dogs, no?"

He reached over to pet the Dalmatians, which were still growling at him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Molly said quickly, pulling the dogs away by their collars. "Pongo, Perdita, time to go."

While Gaston had been trying unsuccessfully to woo Molly, a different conversation had been taking place. Fritz had snuck up on the deck for a word with the other dogs. He started with the Dalmatians."Psst!" he hissed. The two dogs left off growling at Gaston and looked Fritz's way. "Can you get away this evening to the bottom of the ship? We're all meeting to discuss our own party."

"I think we can," Pongo whispered back. "She'll leave us in the room when she goes to sing at dinner, but we should be able to leave and get back before she returns."

"That's fine then," said Fritz. "Then all that's left is…" He trailed off and glanced meaningfully at the Cocker Spaniel, seemingly asleep on the deck a few feet from his mistress.

Hearing the pause in the conversation, the dog opened one eye. "I heard the whole thing," he said lazily. "You can count me in. I ought to be freed up if I can get my job done soon."

"What job's that?" asked Fritz curiously.

"Winnie here lost most of her fortune through bad circumstances," Flopsy said, motioning towards his owner with his head. "All that's left to save us is gold digging, if you get my drift."

"I believe I do," said Fritz.

"See all those jewels on her?" the Cocker Spaniel continued. "All fake, top to bottom. Just a pretty lure. She wears the bait, I catch the fish." He broke off, his nose quivering. "Jackpot. I think there's a winner here," he muttered.

"Him?" asked Fritz, indicating to a middle-aged man in a fine-looking suit and monocle.

"Yep," said Flopsy. "If memory serves, that's Jeremy McFlannel, famous and rich banker. Talk about finding a walking diamond mine. If you'll excuse me…"

When Jeremy was close enough, Flopsy darted across his path. It all happened too fast for the banker to notice and a second later, he tripped on the dog's leash and literally fell into a delighted Winnie's arms. She wasn't the only one pleased though. He caught sight of her jewelry and his eyes gleamed almost as much as the gemstones did.

"Looks like I've got plenty of free time now," said Flopsy, satisfied.

"It was a locket that her long-lost mother gave her," Fivel finished explaining. "Then I fell and she saved me and gave me some bread. She was very nice."

"Ack Fivel, the things you get up to," sighed Mrs. Mouskewitz.

Fivel had only just returned to his parents, both of whom had been searching frantically for him. After assuring them both of his safety, he told them all about Anastasia and her troubles.

"So you found him then?" asked Fritz as he weaved his way through the boxes that littered the room.

"Fritz saved you from that horrid cat," explained Mr. Mouskewitz. "He chased it off before it caught you."

"Thank you!" said Fivel. "If it were not for you, I would now be in someone's digestion."

"You're quite welcome, but try to be a bit more careful in the future," said the Scotty. "I can keep everything alright down here, but if you go running off, who knows what will happen?"

"Oh yes," said Fivel. "The other animals on the ship will be here tonight, won't they?"

"Yes, to plan for the party tomorrow." Fritz looked at Fivel. "Why do you ask?"

"There is something I think they should be told to look out for. It belongs to this very nice girl, you see…"

It had been some hours since Gaston had last been to the room and William was familiar enough with his secretary to know that this would potentially lead to trouble. His book could wait he supposed and he marked his place, stretched, and decided that it would not hurt to at least make sure that Gaston wasn't in any mischief.

At this exact same time, mischief of a different sort was going on. Jasper and Horace had been trying with decreasing success to unlock various first-class doors. They went from one end to another and finally found themselves back where they began.

"Horace old boy," said Jasper. "We'll be in for it for sure if we don't have better luck soon."

"Jasper," said Horace. "Look over there. Isn't that the fat lady's room? The one with all the jewels?"

Jasper looked and saw two things: That Horace was right about the room's owner (a rare occurrence) and that the door was open just the tiniest amount. Hardly noticeable, but it was there.

"She must have forgotten to shut it properly," Jasper chuckled. "C'mon Horace me lad! Our luck has turned."

"Suppose she's in there now?" whispered Horace as they tiptoed to the room. "Maybe that's why the door's still open."

"It's just the old bag and her smelly dog," hissed Jasper. "We can take her if she is."

Silently, Jasper hooked his bony fingers around the door and swung it open just enough to slip inside. Horace tried to squeeze in as well, though it was much tighter for him. The two men froze, ears perked for the slightest sound. The lights were off, and it was pitch-black. There was a faint creaking from the floorboards. So someone was in there besides them. Jasper started to signal for Horace to follow his lead, but realized that with the lights out his associate would be unable to see the signal. Best make the first strike and hope for the best…

Jasper leapt forward with a cry, grabbing at whatever he could. A loud crash to his left signified that Horace had just done the same. He felt something collide with the top of his head and the gave a cry of pain as something claw-like raked down the side of his face. He stumbled backwards into Horace. He grabbed his friend's arm and yanked him towards the door. This wasn't worth it at all.

The pair shot out of the room into the well-lit corridor as fast as they could.

"What the devil was that?" Jasper gasped.

"Dunno," Horace panted as they ran. "Do you suppose she also owns a cat? I think it bit me!"

The clothes were washed, ironed, and mended and all that was left was for Anastasia to bring them back to her foster mother. Perhaps the delivery of their clothes would put them in a better mood. She was feeling almost happy herself and hummed a tune as she carried the heavy basket down the corridor. She was nearly there and only just registered that a blonde man was walking straight towards her. She began to step to the right so that he could pass easier.

"Gangway!" she suddenly heard two men shout somewhere behind her. She glanced backwards and gave a short scream. A tall skinny man and a short fat one were racing down the corridor as quickly as they could. The two showed no intent of stopping and plowed right past her and the young man. The blonde man was just as shocked and dove sideways to avoid being run over. Unfortunately, he also dove straight into Anastasia.

"Slow down you fools!" William shouted after the two racing breakneck down the corridor. Bloody idiots, no regard for any of the other passengers. On top of that, he went and knocked someone else over. He felt so silly as he hastily tried to get to his feet. He could not believe this.

No, he really couldn't believe it, he realized as he got a better look at the girl. It was her, the same girl from the docks! And now he went and knocked her over. Poor thing.

"I'm terribly, terribly sorry about this," he said. "I really didn't mean to -"

"Oh it's alright," she said quickly. "I wasn't really paying attention."

"Well neither was I and I ran into you," he said. "Oh dear," he added, staring in dismay at the large pile of clothes on the floor. "I knocked over your basket!"

"It really is fine," the girl insisted. "It's not the first time, I know how to handle this."

"But please let me help," he said. He bent down and began furiously gathering all the clothing near him. Handkerchiefs, gloves, undergarments - no he couldn't quite bring himself to pick those up. The girl seemed to notice this and smiled sweetly, though he suspected she was suppressing the urge to laugh. He found himself growing warm and tried to cover it up.

"This…I'm sure this would look ravishing on you," he said, snatching up the closest thing - a blue dress, and holding it up towards her. She stared at him blankly and he couldn't blame her. The thing was much too large for her and would fit her about as well as a circus tent. What the blazes was he thinking?

She smiled again. "I'm afraid that's not mine. Let me have that please."

"Oh, yes of course," he said, handing it to her. For the first time, he got a better look at her face. He noticed that her eyes were very blue, just like sapphires. They looked very nice with her red hair.

"Excuse me, could you let go?" he heard her giggle. He realized that while he was busy staring at her eyes and hair like a fool she had been trying to take the dress from him. He let go with a start.

"This is just like last time, hmm?" he asked with a nervous laugh.

"Last time?" she looked confused.

"On the docks," he explained. "In the crowd, you were knocked against me…"

A look of realization dawned on her face. "That was you? Oh dear…"

Now it was Will's turn to chuckle at the look on her face. "It seems fate is determined to throw us together."

She laughed and he found himself pleased she enjoyed his joke. She had a lovely smile as well. "A little too roughly for my taste," she said. "I'm not sure I approve." She stood up. "Now I must go."

"Must you?" he asked with a smile.

"Yes I must," she said. "Now give me the dress back please."

Will tried to fold the dress into the basket as best he could, but suspected that he got it all wrong. Nanny tried to teach him how to do it, but he really never caught on. The girl laughed again and took it from him.

"Let me," she said. "I'm afraid you're hopeless."

Within a few seconds, she had expertly folded the dress neatly into the basket.

"Here, let me," said Will, picking it up from the floor and handing it to her. As she took it, her hand brushed his. It was an innocent touch, but it felt almost electrical somehow.

The girl gave him a small smile. "Thank you for helping me," she said and continued on her way to her destination. Will saw her enter one of the rooms and vanish. He kept the room number in his mind. Perhaps he might see her again. In fact, he very much wanted to…