Tuesday April 9 1912 12:08 pm; London
Helen smiled politely and looked from James to Nigel in puzzlement. "What is this?"
"It's a ticket, Helen," Nigel replied proudly. James smiled wider.
"I know it's a ticket. Why do you have a ticket?" Helen smiled.
"For you, Helen," James replied as though she were a frustratingly small child. "You need a vacation, Helen. "
"Oh, no. I couldn't. Thank you both." Helen blushed and shook her head. "But I already had a vacation in the Galopagos Islands-"
"That was five years ago!" Nigel interupted. "And you spent it catalogging frogs. Frogs, Helen!"
"Recent research shows similarities in frog mitochondria with that of the Dragonette. After the groundbreaking discoveries of cows in relation to Welwas in bone structure and density-"
James tapped his spoon on the table. "You need to rest, Helen. A real vacation, one where you aren't working the whole time." He pushed the ticket toward her. "You need a break. Go. See New York. Nigel and I can hold down the fort here a few weeks."
"You need to unwind, Helen." Nigel nodded in agreement. "A few days adrift will do you some good."
Helen opened her mouth and then closed it.
The truth was, she already was adrift. Her future with John was gone, her child delayed. All she saw in store for herself was long endless years in a cold, vast lonliness. A deep abyss no one could save her from. But she could tell neither James nor Nigel. Immortality was her cross to bear.
"Boats really aren't my thing." Helen sighed politely. She perferred to throw herself into work. Keep her mind busy, so she didn't have time to think over everything. John, the Ripper, her broken heart. The pain that hovered constantly on the edge of her conscious mind.
"It isn't just a boat Helen. It's a ship. The ship of dreams. A veritable floating luxery."
"And one of the safest ships on the ocean today," James said replied, pulling out some newspaper clippings about the great ship. "A revolutionary new design gives the Titanic sixteen watertight compartments. Even if one floods, they can close it off, and the ship continues on its way completely unaffected."
"They're calling it unsinkable. Helen." Nigel added excitedly, "The maiden voyage of the unsinkable ship. This is history! Groundbreaking."
"An old pateint of mine works for Whitestar. He sent me a ticket, first class all the way! Helen. You deserve this. You need this. A few days at sea, a week in New York, and then you can come home. She's the first ship of her sort. This is the future. You need to be there."
Helen laughed. "Alright then. Ill go, on one condition."
"Anything," James and Nigel replied in unison.
"Don't tell Nikola."