The pinks and yellows and oranges of the early morning sun as it rises the next morning indicates that it's going to be a beautiful day. Even if it were overcast, dark and grey with sheets of water pouring down, Damon could not be any happier. He wonders if this new and wonderful feeling that has found it's way inside of him has something to do with Elena. Of course it does.
He looks out over the Atlantic. When he sees a whale breach the surface, he stares at it, his smile widening at the thought that she's responsible for all of this. He's inclined to believe so because everywhere he turns, no matter which direction it is, he can see her deep brown eyes, her heart shaped face and feel her soft skin beneath his hands. As he walks towards the bridge, he pauses to look out over the railing again, the endless vast expanse of ocean staring back at him.
He likes to imagine what she might look like when she smiles. Her whole face would glow, he's absolutely certain about that. Seeing her face light up like a firefly is something he has to experience. She has no reason to smile, the very thought tugs at his heartstrings. Damon promises himself right then and there that if he ever gets the opportunity, he will do everything in his power to ensure that she never has to frown again.
As he continues on his route, he responds to a few passing men, greeting with a quick hello as he makes his way to the bridge. First Officer Mikaelson is still there which surprises Damon because his shift should have ended hours ago. "Good morning, sir."
"Damon," Niklaus replies to his rather formal greeting. The darkness under his eyes and his clouded face are a stark contrast to the sunny blue, cloudless sky.
"What's the matter?" Damon asks. Worry begins to weave inside him like tendrils from a vine that wrap around and squeeze his insides.
"Another warning came early this morning. It seems a ship sank in these waters last night," he pauses, looking out over the ocean. With a sigh, his eyes drift back towards Damon's. "I'll be happy when we're at the port. Fortunately it shouldn't take much longer."
Damon nods and tries to shake off the bad feeling. After checking what needs to be done, he suggests they could grab some breakfast together. Not yet in the mood to sleep with the voyage nearing its end, Niklaus happily agrees. This voyage is no different than any other. Once they get close to their final destination, they're impatient to get everything done.
Since the hour is still early, there are not many passengers in the dining room when they arrive. Much to his great surprise, he finds Elena there already too. She's sitting all alone at an obscured table, one farther away than he's always seen her before. An overpowering need to join her begins to burn through his veins with each thrum of his heart but he knows that he can't. It wouldn't be wise so when she inadvertently meets his gaze, he sends her a genuine smile and bows his head lightly which earns him a smile in return. It's the one he was thinking about earlier and it's more beautiful than he ever could have imagined. He wishes he could march over there and claim her as his right this very second. This is so hard.
He sits with Niklaus at the Mikaelson table where they're soon joined by the rest of the clan. Nik's kids are shoving their pancakes in their mouths. Damon smiles at how cute they are. He looks up when he hears Mikael's voice.
Mr. Mikaelson earnestly questions both Damon and his son about weather conditions, while Kol and Sage take care of the fun part of the conversation. While laughing at something Kol said, his eyes fly towards Elena, but when he raises them the next time, she had taken her leave. It takes about a millisecond for him to feel a sense of loss. He just hopes that she's alright and that her husband is still engaged with Miss Pierce.
They sit for a bit longer to enjoy a cup of coffee. Picking up his mug, he breathes a huge sigh of relief when he spots George Lockwood entering the room with Miss Pierce trailing behind him. The conspiratorial look she gives him makes him freeze in shock.
He's just became an ally to the femme fatale Katherine Pierce? He shakes off the thought and takes a long swallow of his coffee.
Elena feels like she's in a dream, no a fairytale, a wonderful one where true love's kiss arouses her from her long slumber. Did she just share a smile with Damon from across a room full of strangers? It's probably not that shocking.
Did they share something last night, something more meaningful than she's ever felt before?
Nothing she's ever shared with her husband can compare to how wonderful it felt to be in Damon's arms. That wonderful man is full of emotions, good emotions and feelings. Sleep eluded her last night after they said goodnight. It was already early morning when he walked her back to her cabin. Just the soft last touch of his fingertips and the lingering heat in his eyes set her own body alight with desire. He makes her feel good about herself, something she hasn't felt in a long time. George has taken great pride in belittling her and making her feel like someone less than human, but not Damon. He makes her feel alive and it's a wonderful feeling indeed.
She could sense him still watching her even after she slipped inside her cabin. After changing into her nightgown, she laid in bed for a good hour, maybe a little longer. She laid on her back looking up at the ceiling all the while trying to calm her rapidly beating heart and swirling mind. Finding it futile to try to sleep, she sat up at the beside for some time deciding whether or not she should wake Elizabeth to fix her hair and help her change into new dress. In the end, she decided against doing so. It's still much too early for George to return from Katherine's cabin and since the thought of a nap after breakfast was more appealing, she fixed her hair by herself and dressed in something light and airy.
In the dining room she didn't feel like socializing so she sat at a small table against the wall opposite of the door. The Third officer, Damon, arrived with Officer Mikaelson some time later. Although she'd love to stare at Damon till the sunset, she had to make herself leave or someone might have picked up on their shared looks.
She will never be able to keep her eyes off of him or stop the rosy blush from coloring her cheeks.
When she's back in her cabin she takes off her dress, loosens her hair and settles in her bed for hopefully a few hours of undisturbed sleep.
Before noon rolls around, Damon gets pretty busy, once again reporting to the Captain. The man doesn't like him on principle, he's sure of it now, more so than he's ever been. For some unknown reason, the captain really, really dislikes him although Damon has no idea what he did to curry disfavor with the man. The captain even summons him to disentangle a mess in the kitchen and then he's sent to fix some misinterpreted calculation for the navigation process. He waves at Miss Kelly who's on the way to the dining room a bit earlier than usual for lunch but when he sees George and Miss Pierce on the promenade deck having drinks, he rests easier knowing that Elena will have some peace for a little while. He stares at the man with disgust but turns away before anyone notices. It's beyond him how can George get away with his deplorable behavior.
He also spares a few minutes to go to check on the Mikaelsons. He finds them gathered in the dining room for lunch. Damon gives them a nod before grabbing a quick coffee so he can get back to the bridge. He scans the dining room on his way out but Elena's not there and he secretly thinks she may be getting some decent sleep after all.
No matter what he does and how busy he is, his thoughts always turn to her.
He wishes he could be sure that there will be some light at the end of the tunnel for the two of them. Somehow, he just knows she is the one that is meant for him and he wants to hope that he's the one for her too. The thought of defeating George and a million other people who may crawl out of the woodwork to make life hard for them seems daunting at best and impenetrable at worst. Not to be excluded are the social and societal conventions of these times, Elena being a daughter of incredible wealth whereas he's just Damon. He sighs and takes his spot on the bridge to continue his watch. It's not quite 2 pm and nothing indicates any trouble for Lusitania and her passengers.
Twenty minutes later a massive explosion nearly splits her in two.
On February 4, 1915, Germany declared the waters about the British Isles a "war zone" in which submarines would destroy every enemy merchant vessel found there. She warned neutrals that neither the crews nor passengers of such vessels, whether enemy or neutral subjects, would be safe in the zone.
May 6th brought better targets for U 20. Medium-sized liners called the 'Candidate' and the 'Centurion' were both attacked and sunk. Neither sinking led to any casualties – though Schwieger had not given a warning to either ship. The Lusitania received a number of warnings from the Admiralty about U-boat activity off the coast of Ireland. The crew went through a number of safety drills and some watertight bulkheads were closed. But the voyage passed without further incident and the ship continued on its course right through the danger zone.
The German submarine U-20 entered the Irish Sea on May 5th and now, the morning of May 7, she claimed her third victim. The U-20 has only a couple torpedoes left in her arsenal and is running low on fuel. As a result, Captain Walter Schweiger, the ship's commander decides to steer for the open waters of the Atlantic and home. He is unaware that his greatest prize is steaming straight for him and that his actions on this day would ultimately bring America into the war.
When the Ocean liner is two miles away, he sees it changing course. She is coming directly at them. He had already shot away his best torpedoes and has left only two bronze ones.
He watches through his periscope, the steamer is only four hundred yards away now. "FEUER!"
When the temperature of her room gets a little uncomfortable, Elena wakes up with a light sheen of sweat covering her body. She tosses the sheet to the side, throws her legs over the side of the bed and glances at the clock. It's rather late but she feels well rested and surprisingly optimistic. Her belly starts to rumble but she needs to get dressed before she can go to the dining room. Standing up, she slips on her robe and then walks out into the living quarters to see if Elizabeth is around. Not that it matters really, she's certainly able to dress herself.. still George insists that she let the maid do her job but it's actually quite limiting sometimes.
Once she stretches her limbs and washes her face, she opens the closet door to pick out a dress and matching accessories. As she stares at all of her dresses, it dawns on her how unnecessary all of this glitz and glam really is. As soon as she has her dress on, she brushes her hair and decides to leave it down. When she reaches up to fasten the clasp on her petite sapphire necklace, she experiences a strange sensation, realizing almost immediately that the ship is no longer moving.
It must be just a second but she feels like it's many more. Her heart skips a beat and then the movement is back along with a deafening noise as a powerful explosion rocks through the boat, throwing her body back against the bed. She feels a crack in her arm and for long few moments there is no pain. She watches in shock as her sleeve starts to redden and she touches the sticky fluid flowing down her right arm. Before she can snap out of it she starts to cough violently as smoke fills the room. A burst of adrenaline surges through her body, giving her a strength she didn't know she had. She quickly jumps to her feet and runs out of the cabin.
The promenade deck looks like a scene straight out of Dante's Inferno. A great many people are running about, others take it very quietly though while the crew are trying to free the lifeboats from their rigging. It's everyone for themselves. Elena rushes to find a life jacket but the steward won't give it to her, saying she needs to go downstairs for one. She knows that would be foolhardy but she starts down anyway but is soon forced back by thick black, acrid smelling smoke.
She notices how the crew are hurrying to get the women and children in life boats. Surprisingly the women are very calm and the crew is too. It strikes her as surreal since there are no life belts left. Elena is snapped out of her reverie when the ship starts to dip precariously to one side. She keeps stumbling in the direction of the dining room but she freezes in shock when it's not there. There is no deck either. Everyone's running but she can't tell where, the screams of pain and fear are the only sounds ringing in her ears.
We were torpedoed...we're all going to die. Instinctively she knows it must be it, traveling to England wasn't without risks these days but somehow she didn't believe it would happen to them, no one did. There were even jokes about it. No one could have imagined that they'd dare to launch an attack on the mighty Lusitania, a grand ship full of passengers. Frantic, she looks all around, relived when she finally sees another steward. He's trying to maintain order amongst the chaos but there are no other lifebelts left.
"You must go to the lifeboats, keep moving, the ship is sinking. No panic," he repeats but to Elena's ears he sounds like a broken record. We are all going to die... And then suddenly she's calm again. There's no point in running. She looks around and wonders if she could have just one last wish granted. Raising her eyes to the heavens above, she prays not for a miracle, only that he'll know that her last thoughts were of him.
Where are you, Damon? I wish you knew that I love you... I wish to see you one more time.
When the first shock from the torpedo attack fades, Damon runs to take a look at the damage but before he can even begin to evaluate the situation, the ship rocks with another explosion. From where he stands, he can see the lifeboats crashing into the passengers line, many of them falling into the water, along with their luggage.
They have almost no chance to get into the lifeboats on the water. He can already feel the ship sinking, it will drop beneath the surface within minutes, the vortex taking everyone and everything with it in the icy open arms of certain death. The boat is already heeling fifteen to twenty degrees to starboard being drawn down by the tremendous in rush of water into the great holes that were torn into her hull by the force of the explosion. They were, of course, all swinging into the ship's side and it was quite impossible to lower the boats onto the derricks which severely reduces the number of boats on the starboard side.
He tries to maintain his composure but as he looks around, he knows he should be doing something, saving lives, helping the passengers, something, anything. The Captain will hold him personally responsible if anything happens to the Mikaelson's but who's actually responsible here? Shock turns to rage and he starts running because there are people dying and he can't do a thing about it.
But there's one single overriding moment and Damon knows what he has to do. If there's just one passenger he can save, it will be her. He has to reach A deck. Luckily he's on the right side of the ship, it'd be impossible to get to the other. In his mind he says a prayer for the people still in dining room and realizes Elena may have gone to lunch after he left.
A cold fear squeezes his heart and he tries to run faster and harder, pushing himself beyond his limits. When he gets to the stairs he notices a small crying boy calling for his mamma. People are in a panic and tripping over him which only makes the little guy cry even harder. Damon grabs him without slowing his step, pulling his shaking body comfortingly against his chest.
"I've got you," he murmurs just for the child, "I'll find you a nice lifeboat so you can get out of here and wait for your mamma, alright?" The boy must he exhausted because he just holds tight and lets Damon carry him. Damon's finally on Elena's deck and he finds a steward who's trying to organize the escape. "Here, Simon, put him on the first lifeboat available and get away with him," he hands him the boy who surprisingly stays quiet. "Simon, have you seen Mrs. Lockwood? The brunette on this..."
"Yes officer Salvatore, she was right here," he looks around and waves his hand in the direction of the worst disaster in the middle part of the ship. He's already wrapping the boy into a lifebelt and hands him over to another crew member to lower him into his arms when Damon thanks him and scans the surroundings for Elena.
"Elena!" he calls when he sees her looking for the way through a group of people. Damn with protocol! He isn't going to call her "Mrs. Lockwood" when they may die any minute. As he's barges his way forward to reach her, he takes a look over the railing. The ship is sinking rapidly, too rapidly. If they won't get away quickly, they will have no chance at surviving.
Elena hears his voice calling her but is not sure if it's real or if she's imagining it. Almost ready to accept her fate, she grips the railing. When she hears his voice again, she looks up and finally sees him running pell-mell towards her. She lets out a sob and flies into his arms. At this moment the only thing that matters is that he's here with her. He squeezes her for a moment but is already moving, dragging her along back to the lifeboats yet doesn't stop there, he leads her to the stern. In a box under the ropes he grabs a life-belt putting it safely on Elena before she can protest. "No Damon, you need it yourself!"
Damon chuckles and puts his index finger on her lips. "Silly girl, I don't, if I hold onto you for dear life. Literally. You can bet I won't let you go."
Elena searches his eyes and can see the truth, he just wants her to feel better. They're most certainly going to die. A sense of serenity washes through her, they will be together when death claims them. She won't make it more difficult for him.
So she just nods and gives him a small brave smile and Damon wants nothing more than keep her in his arms forever. He leads her to the railing and helps her climb over it. He's right behind her and readies himself to push them off as far from the ship as they can when Elena stops his movement.
"Damon!"
He looks her in the eyes and gives them a second to share what may never be shared later.
"I love you," she says, her voice surprisingly calm.
"And I love you," he vows and with his arm circling her waist he springs them into the raging water below.
The impact with the surface is brutal, like a million tiny needles pressing into his flesh. Damon can feel the cold water soaking his uniform which will slow him down but he knows they need to get as far away from the sinking Lusitania as possible. The suck will submerge them, dragging them along when the mighty ship slips beneath the surface. He has no time to rid himself of the jacket. He does take a moment to check on Elena. She is now unconscious, likely the result of their collision with the hard surface, but she is breathing and her lifebelt is helping to keep her head above water. Keeping her alive is all that matters to him now.
Putting distance between themselves and the ship is requiring a lot of his now rapidly fading strength to swim and pull her along with him. He quickly realizes that if his uniform is a problem, her dress is a much bigger one. It's heavy and weighing her down, pulling her down despite his best efforts to keep her afloat. He keeps pushing himself. Already exhausted, he keeps moving because their distance from the ship is still too close. When he glances away from the ship for a moment, he sees an upturned lifeboat and fights with everything he has left to reach it. He sticks his arms through the ropes that circle around it and leans on the smooth surface now dragging both Elena and the boat further from the ship.
He can hear the sickening noise when the ship slips under the surface of the Atlantic. Everything starts to swirl, a great maelstrom following in the ship's wake. Damon holds onto both Elena and the lifeboat but they're slipping away. They're too close. Damon's heart slams against his chest as he watches death approach. It's like everything is in slow motion. Time stops for him, he doesn't know if it's seconds, minutes or maybe even hours before they swing down a wave and stay swaying above the surface. Damon breathes out a huge sigh of relief. They're not safe, not yet, but now there's at least a chance they might make it. The shore is not far away and there must be someone observing? Surely they'll launch their boats to try to help?
The mournful wails and cries of the others and the floating bodies rip at Damon's heart. He knows that he'll carry this moment with him till the end of his days. As hard as it is, he has to turn away. He wants to cry, his heart is beating intensely and he feels the sting of bile at the back of his throat but somehow he composes himself when he feels the slightest movement from her.
He turns his focus back to Elena. Why doesn't she wake up? He can see a large cut on her arm, it's still lightly bleeding. He wonders if blood loss might be a problem. Even unconscious she still reacts to his touch. It might be even broken too. Damon only now notices the large bruise on her jaw. The skin is broken but the bleeding has stopped. He tries to move her closer but it's almost impossible with the heavy rich dress she's wearing.
"Sorry Elena, this needs to go," he apologizes and tears it open so he can get rid of it. Thankfully she's also wearing a petticoat so a certain decency is preserved. Still he feels bad for doing this against her will. However, after the dress is gone she breathes a little bit easier and he can feel her body is no longer being pulled down.
"Damon," she mutters and Damon's loving the sound of his name from her lips.
"I'm here Elena. You're with me. For now, we are safe." It warms his heart when he feels the tension leaves her body. She relaxes into his arms as much as possible given their still dire circumstances.
"I know..." she breathes. "Don't leave me. Don't ever leave me." Their eyes meet when her head lolls on his shoulder.
Damon pulls her impossibly closer and presses his lips to her forehead. "I won't."
Damon brings the cup of coffee to his mouth and takes a long sip. He needed a little fresh air after this most tragic day. He also wants to be able to thank the men that rowed their boats out from the Isle of Man on the Irish coastline to help pick up survivors. Damon can't close his eyes without remembering the awful sight of their great ship sinking beneath the waves. Although he has no idea the loss of life, he knows it's a massive number. He drops his eyes in a moment of prayer for the dead and those that may yet die from fever or pneumonia after being plucked from the still icy Atlantic waters.
They were pulled from the frigid water by the Wanderer and its crew. Somehow they survived although he has no idea how or why. He could barely feel his limbs but when he looked around the boat, Damon was relieved to see Kol Mikaelson among the survivors. Damon has grown to like the gregarious young man. What struck him the most is the ghost like appearance, empty eyes, shocked faces of those on board. He was certain that his own mirrored those haunted faces.
As soon as their rescue boat reached dry land in Queenstown, Elena was taken directly to the hospital but as an officer, he was required to stay to talk to the authorities. He listens to the rescuers, Thomas Woods and Harry Costain give testimony that they saved 160 people, taking them on their boat, the Wanderer.
"There were four babies about three months old, some of the people were almost naked as if they'd just gotten out of bed. Several had legs and arms broken, and we had one dead man, but we saw hundreds in the water. I gave one of my changes of clothes to a naked man, and Johnny Macdonald gave three shirts and all his drawers."
Another crewman, a man named Stanley Ball adds, "We saw the Lusitania going east. We knew it was one of the big liners by her four funnels, so we put the watch on. We were lying in bed when the man on watch shouted that the four-funneled boat was sinking. I got up out of bed and on deck, and I saw her go down. She went down bow first. We were going off south, and we kept her away to the SSW. We went out to where it took place — to within a quarter of a mile of where she went down, and we picked up four yawls. We took 110 people out of the first two yawls, and about fifty or sixty out of the next two; and we took two yawls in tow."
Damon watches as the man pauses to wipe his brow. "We were at her a good while before any other boat. The first person we took on board was a child of two months. We had four or five children on board and a lot of women. I gave a pair of trousers, a waistcoat, and an oil-coat to some of them. Some of us gave a lot in that way. One of the women had her arm broke, and one had her leg broke, and many of them were very exhausted."
The mention of half naked people and broken limbs turns his stomach. Damon takes a deep breath before he swallows the last of his coffee. The scope of the tragedy is just too much for him to comprehend at the moment. He needs to get back inside the hospital to see for himself that Elena is alright. Just as he's about to pull the door open, someone grabs his arm. Damon looks up, tears fill his eyes when he sees that it's his buddy, Enzo. They embrace and hold each other for a few minutes.
"Thank God, you're alive," Damon breathes, pulling his friend close once more.
"You too, Damon. James is gone... so many others," Enzo says, shock still prevalent in his eyes. When he starts to wobble, Damon wraps his arm over his shoulder and wraps his own around Enzo's waist. Damon carries most of his weight as the two men go into the building, Damon relinquishing his hold on his friend only when a nurse brings a wheelchair.
When Elena wakes up next, it takes her a few minutes to recognize that she's in a hospital. She feels warm and comfortable, there are no sounds of the sea, no taste of sea water in her mouth nor is she wet. For a second she considers if it was just a dream or if she's dead... Where is he?
She tries to sit up and that's when she knows that her nightmare is reality. Her arm is fixed in a white bandage and she can't move it at all. She struggles to get up, stopping only when she hears her name.
"No, no no, Elena, don't move!" comes a voice from somewhere close and her eyes fill with tears as she recognizes the owner.
"Miss Kelly! You're alright?!" She doesn't listen to the protests of both the woman and her own aching body. Instead, she hugs Kelly Donovan with surprising strength, given her condition. "I'm so glad to see you!"
Kelly's trying to calm her down and knows the exact moment when Elena realizes who's the most important person for her to see. Her whole body tenses and she frees Kelly from her embrace.
"Where is...?"
Kelly helps her to lay down despite her many protests. "Officer Salvatore you mean? He's good, worried about you though, that's why he asked me to sit with you until he gets back. He needed not only a breath of air but he also had things to take care of since he's an officer and all. Damon is a good man, Elena. Even though he asked me to sit with you, he wouldn't have needed to. I wouldn't be anywhere else... You gave us quite a scare," she says with a smile, happy that her young friend survived the horrible event.
Many people didn't...
"Elena...," she starts but Elena's already on the same page. Looking intently at the ceiling, she interrupts her.
"Is George...?"
Kelly nods, but realizes Elena needs to hear it. "Yes. He and Miss Pierce most certainly didn't make it. They were in the dining room at the time of the attack so it's likely they didn't survive the first explosion, No one there could have made it out alive. I saw them enter together not long before.."
Elena's eyes fill with tears. Although no explanation is necessary, Kelly understands, Elena adds with a croaky voice, "I... I'm not crying for him. I didn't love him. Sometimes I hated him. But I feel horrible that... that it isn't different. That I feel... relieved. What kind of person does that make me?" She looks at Kelly in desperation. The older woman sits at the edge of the bed and pulls Elena into her arms, letting her cry it out. "I didn't wish him death," Elena cries, her face buried against her friend's shoulder.
Kelly rocks her gently. "I know, Elena, I know you wish things would have been different. But they aren't and that's not your fault. You will learn to live with it. You've been given a second chance, my dear," she says, brushing strand of hair behind Elena's ear. When Elena raises up, Kelly meets her gaze. "Make the most of it."
A short while later, Damon barges into her room, his face awash with happiness although he tries to keep it hidden, unsuccessfully so. Kelly smiles at him then discreetly leaves the room to give them some privacy. Damon nods at her, then moves to sit on the side of the bed. Gingerly he touches her hand no longer able to resist the temptation of feeling her soft skin beneath his fingertips.
Elena turns her hand around and squeezes his fingers. "Thank you."
"For what? Your arm is fractured, you lost everything on that ship. Even your..."
Elena shakes her head. "You have nothing to feel bad about. You saved me. You saved us. I didn't lose the most important thing of all..."
YOU.
TBC...
Lusitania departed Pier 54 in New York on May 1, 1915 at 12:20 p.m. On the afternoon of May 7, 1915 the British ocean liner, Lusitania is torpedoed without warning by a German submarine off the south coast of Ireland at approx. 14:10. Within 20 minutes, the vessel sank into the Celtic Sea. Of the 1,959 passengers and crew, 1,198 people were drowned including 128 Americans.
I don't know why 'Lusitania' doesn't have the notoriety that Titanic does when they both had horrific death tolls.
"Feuer" is fire in German.
Thank you all so much but we're not done yet. There's still a couple of chapters left to be posted. I hope it's okay, Bonnie, that I used this ship instead of Titanic.
Thank you Eva. I love you dearly.
Please check out my other stories. "This Isn't What We Meant" and "Tomorrow".
Special thanks to Delenadreams and MovingOnIsNeverEasy.
Have a fabulous day and thank you all again.