A/N-Yes, I normally post PWP and TSAL at the same time but i have the baby for parenting class and it's taken most of my time-i barely got this written. Patience please! Thanks to Loku, mistyshadowspym puppy444219, colliewolf3, Seyann, iamNOTafangirl3221, Sakura li 19, SaNdEr-ThE-rUbBeR-bAnDeR, MyNameIsKelsie13 and Denied Love for the reviews!!! Read and review!!!!

Disclaimer-I don't Own

Chapter 16

After they had finished their supper, they went out onto the deck of the ship as they had the night previous, to look at the stars. The ocean was flat and as Sakura looked out onto the sea towards the horizon, she couldn't tell where the ocean ended and the sky began other than the fact that the sky had countless specks of shining silver. She stood at the railing with Sasuke a little ways behind her.

"So…why did you get so mad when I said…" Sakura paused and looked down. "What I said to you." She heard him give a little 'hmph' behind her. "Ino didn't tell you did she?" Sakura turned around to look at the black haired officer, her little purse clanging against the metal railing. "She only said that it was the wrong thing to say. She wouldn't tell me a word beyond that." "And the subject in question, Miss. Haruno, is the only topic that Yamanaka-Nara Ino will never say a word about, upon my request."

"Oh," said Sakura in a soft voice. "So I guess that means that you're not going to tell me. It's alright." She looked back out over the ocean.

"But I'm going to tell you." Sakura looked back at him as he continued. "It happened about six years ago, when I was 14. I had already started working on ocean liners and was on my way back to America from England, working as a deckhand. My parents and my older brother were on a ship sailing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. Just around the time of the great earthquake of 1906. The earthquake…triggered a tidal wave headed straight for their boat. (1) The boat capsized and sank…I lost both of my parents and my only sibling in that shipwreck."

Sakura gasped. She remembered hearing somewhere that a ship had sunk after the quake of 1906 in a tsunami…but if she had known that his entire family had been killed in a shipwreck, she never would've said a word to him-at least she wouldn't have said that to him. "Sasuke I'm so sorry…" he roughly interrupted her. "Don't be. I hate it when people say that they're sorry when someone dies; why say sorry, it wasn't your fault."

Sakura had nothing to say to this but after hearing what she had, she found that she was unable to look him in the eye. "Listen Sasuke. It's getting late, I think I'm going to head back to my stateroom to get some sleep." Sasuke said 'Hn' before saying "That's probably a good idea. The service for the officers is held relatively early, at 8 AM tomorrow-that's the service that Ino and the rest of the girls will be attending with their husbands." Sakura wrinkled her eyebrows for a brief second. 'Service?' She thought in her head before realizing 'Oh a church service. Right.' She nodded and said "Good night then."

She turned to walk off in the direction of her stateroom but before she could get too far, she felt something grab her wrist. Startled, she spun around with such force that yanked her hand out of Sasuke's grip. She recovered quickly, however, and managed to compose herself before inquiring, "What's wrong Sasuke?"

"You do realize that when I told you the time of that service I wanted you to attend with me?" Sakura tinged red and said "Umm….yes?" He smirked. "Good answer."

Before she could react he renewed his grip on her wrist and pulled her into an embrace.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Sakura (finally) got back to her stateroom at around 11:30 PM. Destiny and Fate had waited up for her, both anxious to see what Sakura had made up her mind to do-stay here and continue to fight so Sasuke could live, or give up and go home.

As soon as the door slid closed behind her-the two pounced on her. "So, what happened? What are you-" Sakura cut her off by simply raising a hand. "I'm tired, my corset is aching me, I need to get up early tomorrow morning to go to a church service…I just want to go to bed. Do you two mind if we forego the chat tonight?" However, she looked anything but tired; her façade was lit by a slight smirk mixed with a genuinely happy smile-she knew that by saying what she had, she had answered all their questions.

Smiling, but not saying anything else, Destiny and Fate helped Sakura out of her gown and into bed. "Could one of you please wake me up at like…. 7:30 tomorrow morning to go to the church service?" Destiny nodded. "Fae will. She's the light sleeper and the more morning person of the two of us."

Fate glared at her sister. "Oh I will, will I? Dessy you gotta stop volunteering me for things when I don't want…"

Fate and Destiny continued to quarrel as Sakura climbed into bed, leaving her to wonder if they would keep her awake.

It was foolish to wonder that, however. As soon as her pink tresses touched the pillow…

Fate was shaking her awake.

"MMMmmm," Sakura moaned as she rolled over onto her stomach and looked into Fate's mahogany eyes. "Sunday no school." " The service. It's 7:30." "Fine. Get my cream lace day dress please, and the matching shawl. I'll…try to get myself out of bed and start doing something with my hair."

Within 15 minutes, Sakura was dressed in a simple cream gown, with lace trimming the neck, the hemline, the short sleeves and a wide band of the same type of lace just under the bust. A light lavender shawl served as a warming.

Ten minutes before eight Sakura left the stateroom, looking back to see Fate collapsing onto the couch and falling back asleep. "Morning person my butt." She muttered as the door slid closed.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Sakura walked into the 'church' (the converted dining saloon) and was greeted by Hinata's yawning face. The demure girl immediately blushed and stammered out a sort of apology. "F-f-f-forgive me Sakura…." Sakura laughed, sure that she looked as tired as the Lady Hyuuga. "It's alright Hinata. I'm sure I'm just as tired-looking as you. I was up till…" Immediately she clamped her mouth closed-Ino was coming over.

Unfortunately, however, the blonde had heard. "What was that? You came in how late with Sasuke?" Shikamaru came up behind her and hooked his arm in hers, half dragging her away. "That's none of your business. Troublesome woman."

As Shikamaru 'escorted' his wife down the aisle towards the front of the half empty dining saloon, Naruto came up behind Sakura and said, "Sasuke told me to tell you that he had something to take care of and he'd be along in a few minutes." Sakura nodded, thanked Naruto and took a seat next to Tenten. "So do you know where my wayward officer is?"

"Neji told me that he didn't come back to the officers quarters until relatively late and as such he woke up late," said Tenten thinking. At the front of the saloon, Kakashi stood up. Barely in time Sasuke slid into the seat next to Sakura, as the Captain started the opening hymn.

After the service Sakura spoke with Sasuke for a few moments. "What are you doing this afternoon?" "Duty. All morning and afternoon. I have some time off tonight but I go back on duty at eleven o'clock tonight" "Okay. Do you want to spend that time together then?" Sasuke nodded. "I've got to go, duty. See you then."

They hugged (with everyone else looking on and causing a certain someone in the embrace to blush when Ino whooped) and Sasuke left for the bridge.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Not much really happened that day. Sakura wiled away the time wandering around the deck with Ino, Tenten and Hinata. She had spent some time in her stateroom, but that time only to relax and spend some time away from Ino's questions about Sasuke.

One conversation in particular came up, however, and it temporarily caught Sakura's attention. "W-w-when are you going to tell him Tenten?" Hinata enquired. Sakura knew instantly what they were talking about-Tenten's pregnancy. "I don't know. They're having so many problems with this voyage. For example, Orochimaru…" here the two girls shuddered. "Why are you shuddering like that?"

"Clearly you haven't met Orochimaru." "No, no I have. I just thought I was the only one who didn't like him." Tenten laughed. "Sakura, no one likes him. He's a slimy snake-and he acts like one too. He's ordering more speed on an untried vessel. No one does that but Kakashi won't defy him because Orochimaru is his boss."

"Anyways," continued Tenten. "That's the problem. Orochimaru is ordering the officers around like it's his own ship. All this is causing a lot of stress between the officers. I don't want to stress Neji out even more because I think that if he knows…"

"Tenten, pregnancy isn't something to cause stress-Neji should be overjoyed," said Sakura firmly. "Tell him. Tell him before this night is over."

Tell him before it's too late.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

That night, Sakura and Sasuke ate together, each learning more and more about the other. After the supper, they took a turn on the deck in the dark, looking at the flat calm ocean and the glittering stars. No moon though, just dark starry skies.

Finally the time came when Sasuke had to say "It's 11 o'clock. I really need to get back to my duties." "Okay. But before you do, Sasuke, I have to say something. I'm very glad to have met you. I…" "Sakura you're being…like you were earlier…again." He wasn't going to say the words after how she had exploded earlier. "You're acting like something horrible is going to happen tonight and one or both of us aren't going to survive. You're being paranoid."

She lowered her eyes "Sorry Sasuke…I just have a bad feeling."

He thought for a moment before speaking. "Then come up to the bridge with me. You'll see that everything's okay. We're doing a good job steering the ship." "Okay," Sakura nodded uncertainly. "I'll come with you."

The two of them went up onto the bridge and Sakura watched as Sasuke went about his duties. She tarried on the bridge until she thought that he thought that she grasped that there was no danger. After that she went out the open part of the bridge and leaned on the wooden railing overlooking the bow, out to the ocean in front of them.

In the background she could hear Naruto speaking. "Well I'm off on my rounds."

"So, did being on the bridge calm some of your paranoia?" "Sort of-but not really. I'm still scared that the ship is going to sink. That's something that I think will always be with me. But…some of my fears are gone."

Not really but she had to say something to satisfy him.

"Okay." He turned to look out over the ocean with her. "You know I'd never been much for words before I met you." Sakura looked over at Sasuke, who was leaning against the railing. "Well that's good. If someone keeps too much too themselves, then they could turn into a human ice cube."

Sasuke smirked slightly as Sakura unconsciously used his old nickname.

The starlight in Sasuke's eyes gave his onyx gaze a sharp contrast-white and dark. In the darkness of the bridge, with only the manmade light of the bridge to see by (the starlight was too dim) she could see him coming closer.

Their lips touched. For a moment, Sakura forgot that she was on the Titanic, she forgot about the tragedy that was going to happen, she even forgot about the conflict that she was going through at having left her family.

There was only him, her, his hand settling at the base of her neck…

And the sharp tolling of the bell atop the crow's nest.

A/N-You have no idea how long it took me to type this chapter. And it's longer because I wanted to push through to the sinking. If I wrote one more chapter that drug on like the last two I'd scream and tear some of my hair out. Read and Review!