Erik had helped me most of the night, as I spent it in the bathroom. He was a dear and had brought a blanket and even a pillow and spent the night near me while Marabelle slept soundlessly in the other room, with many of her new stuffed animals that Erik had bought her.

The next day as we traveled to the harbor I let my mind travel to the possibility of a child. The sickness had subsided considerably, and I was comfortable again. Marabelle still wasn't talking to me, and I was unsure why she had changed her mood so suddenly. I had beaten myself up over it and I was almost positive it was because of the lesson I had tried to install in the young lady.

"Erik." I mumbled as we stood at the bottom of the walk way "I don't think I can get on the ship." I mumbled.

"of course you can Christine, once you get on it, it will be like you never got off, it's not as grand as the titanic but it works. It's just for two weeks time, you'll be okay." He grabbed my hand and held onto it tightly "I'll be here, no matter what."

I smiled slightly and squeezed his hand "Promise?"

"of course."

"Come on!" Marabelle whined

Erik sighed and looked at me "She's been a lot to handle lately." He rubbed the back of his neck as we both walked up the gang plank, my stomach twisting into knots.

I looked at him "I didn't notice." I mumbled, in fact I did notice. I noticed that Marabelle changed into a completely different person almost overnight, and in fact, I had spent my waking moments wondering if Marabelle had family to go back to in Ireland. It was awful of me to think such thoughts, as I had loved this little girl and felt the pain of losing one's parents. Except she just didn't lose her parents, she lost her whole family, all her brothers and sisters and her silly stuffed animal who seemed to be her only friend. I sighed slightly and searched for our room numbers in silence, finally finding the tiny cabin on the second deck. Marabelle claimed a bed and laid down in it, almost instantly falling asleep, which in all reality was alright by me.

A soft knock at the door came a few minutes later with what we had accumulated in the week we had spent in New York, a ticket check and of course a small lesson on how to work the lifebelts, which were strikingly like the Titanic's.

I made my way over to the second bed and looked at Marabelle sleeping, her hair was strewn all over the pillow and all over her face, if it was up to me, her hair would be braided, but the little girl barely spoke two words to me since the park incident, and whenever I would try to touch her hair, she'd pull away and walk into the other room. Whatever was bothering this little girl, was defiantly hurting me in the process, as if I wasn't grieving enough already.

"erik?" I whispered, wrapping my arms around myself, my eyes still fixated on the little girl.

"Yeah?" I felt the mattress dip down next to me as Erik had sat.

"I have noticed a change in Marabelle, something is bothering her and I don't know what." I bit my bottom lip, I wasn't going to cry, at least not here, not now "Actually, I think I might." I looked up at Erik "When we were in the park, Marabelle spoke with her mouth open, I corrected her and told her that's not how young ladies act and—and I told her that when we got home I could teach her a few things my mother taught me, she told me I wasn't her mother" I buried my face in my hands and sobbed into them.

Erik's large hand rubbed up and down my back "It's not your fault Christine, Honestly. You didn't do anything." He sighed and pulled me into his arms as I continued to sob. "I don't think that's what she is angry over" he whispered "whenever I ask, she won't tell me and I won't prod an answer out of her."

I wiped my eyes and looked up at him "is it bad that I've been thinking about finding a family member for her to go to when we get home?" I buried my face in my hands again "of course it's bad!" I whispered "I promised this girl we would adopt her, and here I am trying to pin her on someone else."

Erik sighed and stroked my hair "Perhaps, Christine, that's what she needs. Perhaps she doesn't need us like we initially thought. She needs someone she's close to, someone she knows really well, and someone who can understand her."

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply "but I can understand her!" I opened my eyes and let them connect with Erik's deep blue ones "I lost my parent's too, I lost my best friend, and I almost lost you. I understand."

Erik sighed and looked at the little girl sleeping on the bed "I'm just saying Christine, it would be better for all of us for her to go to someone who is actual family. It would be an easier transition."

I looked at him, suddenly angry at him "So, whenever we have children it will just be okay to toss them to the wayside when they turn this age and hate me for no reason?"

Erik looked at me, stunned. His mouth opened and closed like he was a fish, stretching the scars with him "But, you just said you thought about handing her to a family member."

I stared at him "I know what I said Erik!" I stood up and shook my head "Unbelievable!" I mumbled and walked out of the room, trying not to slam the door, even though I was angry. Why was I angry again? I didn't even have a reason to be angry at Erik, it was my idea to hand Marabelle to a family member, I couldn't take care of her, not the way she had been acting and certainly couldn't take care of her when she hated me for no reason.

I stormed up the stairs and over to the side of the ship and looked out at the endless sea. I wondered if making this voyage was the right call. A part of me was missing New York, having spent a week there I realized that it wasn't as bad as it seemed, but a larger part of me missed my home in London. I leaned on the railing and looked down at the water, where dolphins had decided to race with the boat.

I smiled slightly and pushed a curl out of my face. I remembered seeing the dolphin's dance along side of the titanic. I frowned slightly and looked back at the staircase that led down to the cramped quarters that the three of us shared. I chewed on the bottom of my lip and pushed my head inside, where I found Marabelle, still asleep, and Erik laying on the bed, with the bible open. "Erik" I whispered. He looked up at me and I motioned for him to come out.

He placed the bible face down on the bed, reserving his spot and made his way outside of the room and he shut the door silently behind him "hey." He mumbled.

"I'm sorry I got angry." I looked at a couple passing us, who seemed to be lost in their own conversation. "Today, I just feel so emotional" I shook my head "I think it's the fact that going back on a ship is really terrifying." I smiled slightly and looked up at him "I went to the edge of the ship, looked down and saw dolphins on the side; Just like I did when I was on Titanic."

Erik smiled slightly "Then it must be a good sign then."

My face fell slightly "but the titanic sank, Erik. I saw dolphins and it sank."

He shook his head "No, dolphins are a good thing." He led me back into the room and sat me down on the bed "Besides" he whispered "We'll be home in no time and you won't have to worry about dolphins or ships or anything else."

I looked at him and smiled slightly "Erik, we have to decide where we'd like to live."

He nodded "I think we should live in London. It seems practical and would be a wonderful place to raise children."

I looked at him slightly "We have to weigh the options of Southampton too. We can't make a decision just because one of us wants to live there. I'd love to live in London again, but if Southampton is better, or even Liverpool"

He laid his head on top of mine, one of my favorite things Erik had done. It made me feel safe, protected and when I didn't think we could get any closer, he always surprised me with the little head tilt. "Manchester, Blackpool, York and Birmingham"

I smiled slightly "There's always Torquay or Bath, Brighton is always nice as well; Bournemouth or Bristol."

He laughed as quietly as he could "You'd dislike Torquay, it's near a beach and last time I checked, you wanted to stay as far away from the water as you could after the trip home."

I laughed slightly "You're completely correct, Mr. Holloway." I grabbed his hand and linked my fingers with his "What about Cambridge? It's a lovely city. Oxford is lovely as well is Northampton. Or we can live in Nottingham!" I looked at our laps and laughed "Then we can be Robin hood and little john." I moved my eyes upwards to look at his chin "You'd be little john"

"Oh I would?" He laughed "and why is that?"

"Well, little john is supposed to be bigger than Robin Hood, and well, you're much larger than I." I batted my eyes and snickered slightly.

"fine." He grumbled "well, we seemed to decide on a few places anyway."

I nodded "Yeah, choose one of the fourteen we chose and I could probably rattle off facts about it." I sighed and played with my skirts with my free hand "My tutor made me learn everything about England and when I say everything, I literally mean everything."

"You retained so much about England you forgot that Torquay was near a large body of water." He laughed loudly.

I playfully smacked him in the chest "I never learned much about Torquay! It was never any singifance to me then, why should It be now? It's crossed off our possible living choices."

Erik raised an eyebrow and shook his head "What are your thoughts about Manchester?"

I inhaled slightly and stood up quickly "I'll be back!" I exclaimed before rushing out of the cabin and down the hall to a thankfully empty restroom. I shut the door and once again threw up all that I possibly could. After I was sure that the bought of sickness had passed, I stood up and made my way out of the restroom and down the hall once again back into the cabin. I opened the door and smiled slightly before I sat back down on the bed next to a very worried looking Erik "I'm okay. I still think it's that hot dog I ate yesterday. Never eating one of those again." I held my stomach. Perhaps it was the hotdog or perhaps it was something else, and secretly I was hoping for the latter. "Besides, it could also be nerves." I smiled slightly.

Erik nodded, not giving any second thought about it. For the next few hours and well into the night Erik and I spoke to each other about where we had wanted to live, where would be best for us. Before we had gone to bed we decided on Cambridge, for its wonderful rich history and I had to admit, the name was enticing.

The next thirteen days were about uneventful as the first few days on the Titanic had been. Most of the mornings I spent in the restroom, without the knowledge of Erik or Marabelle, who still refused to speak to anyone. She spent most of her time reading a book she had found on the sun deck, and refused to put it back when both Erik and I had asked her. She never put the book down so we could return it and she made sure that we couldn't. During one of the days at sea, we had a lifeboat drill, which had not only sent me into a panic, but Marabelle as well. Poor Erik had spent most of the night comforting the poor girl while I had been in some sort of panic attack most of the night, but could handle myself I was sure.

The ship had plenty of activities that I tried to participate in. some of the ladies onboard had created a knitting circle and they even tried to teach me, but while laughing they had told me I was unteachable and kept Marabelle around to hold their yarn for most of the day. I didn't mind this as much, as she seemed much at ease around the elderly ladies and I had decided that I was going to find her grandmother. When Marabelle was left with the knitting circle, Erik and I made sure that we had plenty of time together, drinking tea and sun bathing on the sun deck. Once or twice following the tea sessions, we made love.

Our last few hours on the boat were exciting. I was ready to get off; I was ready to see England once again. I was just ready to be home. I scoured the room for anything that we might have left, Marabelle had insisted that all of her stuffed animals had been placed in a trunk, besides the one that she was carrying. The first words she spoke to Erik and I in weeks.

When the boat did finally dock, we were among the first to get off of the ship, and touching the ground in England felt wonderful.

"Marabelle!"

I looked up at the sound of the voice, who would know Marabelle in England of all places? I tightened my grip on Marabelle's hand.

"Marabelle!" the voice came again, this time it was closer. A small blond lady appeared through the crowd and smiled down at the girl "Marabelle! You're safe."

I looked at the woman, who wasn't much shorter than I was "I'm sorry… who might you be?"

The blond looked down at Marabelle ad smiled once again before she looked up at me "Why, I'm Nan O'Riley. I'm Marabelle's cousin." She looked at Erik and I once again "My family has been scattered all around the docks that ships might come in at, looking for a trace of our little Marabelle." She kneeled down and wrapped Marabelle in her arms. Instantly Marabelle let go of my hands and it once again crushed my heart "We read in Belfast the names of the survivors and our little Marabelle was on the list!" Tears ran out of Nan's eyes as she stood up, Marabelle close to her. "We have to thank you for taking care of her so well." She looked down at Marabelle and up to me "What do we owe ya?"

I clenched my jaw and looked at the woman, who looked no older than twenty one. She was wearing a long brown skirt and a faded brown jacket with fur around the collar, but patches of it was missing. Freckles dotted her face and upon closer inspection she didn't have blond hair, it was red, just like Marabelle's. I was positive that she was lower class as well, but a lot better off than what Marabelle's family sounded like "You… You owe me nothing."

Nan looked up at me and smiled "You're very kind. Marabelle, isn't this lady kind?"

Marabelle nodded and mumbled a "yeah."

A small chuckle escaped Nan's lips "it's a lovely dress Mara! Come, we must show Uncle David!" Nan started to walk off, Marabelle close to her, looking up at her and chatting about her adventures no less. She carried her suitcase in her free hand and that's when I realized that the trunk of Marabelle's stuffed animals were still on the ship.

"Wait!" I called after them and Nan stopped, Marabelle followed suit. I rushed toward them and inhaled slightly "We bought Marabelle a load of stuffed animals, they are still on the ship but we'd like to send them to her when we can." I looked down at the little girl and smiled slightly.

Nan smiled and nodded "Tha' be wonderful." She squeezed marabelle's hand "Do you have a piece of paper and a pen?"

I nodded and rummaged through the little handbag that I carried and took the O'Riley's address. "I'll send it to you in a few days time." I smiled and looked at Nan "Do you mind if I have a word with Marabelle?"

Nan shook her head "No, go right ahead." She let go of marabelle's hand and looked at the young girl "I'll be right over there, by that fountain. Perhaps Miss-" she looked up at me "I'm sorry, I didn't catch yer name."

"Christine."

"perhaps Miss Christine could walk you over." She smiled and walked to the fountain, sitting on it's edge. I was positive the woman was watching us, but also trying to give us our privacy.

"Marabelle," I started, tears threating to pool in my eyes "I'm sorry you were so angry with Erik and I for the past couple of weeks. If we did anything to upset you we truly are sorry." I chewed my bottom lip and wrapped the girl in a hug "You're sure you know this woman?"

Marabelle looked at me "I'm not mad at you Christine." Marabelle looked down at her tiny feet "I just miss my parents, my brothers and sisters, my family." She looked up at me and shrugged "I know you lost your family too, but somehow you still have yours, with Erik." She shrugged "I guess I was mad at you for still having a family. I'm sorry." She hugged me tightly and I let a few tears slip down my face. She pulled away and wiped my face with her tiny fingers "Don't be sad Christine." She smiled slightly "My cousin Nan is one of the most wonderful people in the world!"

I smiled slightly "well, you best go. Goodbye Marabelle." I hugged her tightly again before I released her. She gave me a small kiss on my cheek before she ran to her cousin.

I watched them walk away, and I felt a pair of arms wrap around me from behind and I leaned into the person. "She's gone." Erik mumbled "Seems weird now."

I laughed and wiped at my face "Of course, what are we going to do without the silence of Marabelle?"

Authors Note: Sorry for the long delay! I get spotty internet connection and when i do get internet connection i forget about my flash drive -_-' Also, i know a lot of you loved Marabelle, but I found her kind of in the way. Would it be possible for a third class family to travel the united kingdom to search for a little girl? Probably not, but as i stated i found she was in the way and so this works. Besides, i didn't want to give her up to an orphanage, as i would not like to go to an orphanage myself. I try to treat my characters the way i'd like to be treated :) anyway, hope the disappearance of Marabelle isn't too much of a disappointment! Please read and review, thank you! :D