HELLOOO. Haha, so I'm back with another chapter! Lately, I've been having inspiration troubles writing the other chapters but I am still trying to get these chapters out! School starts in a month for me so by then, I hope that I'd have done quite a number of chapters! I'll continue at the bottom of this chapter! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and please review if you did. :)

Just a friendly reminder, it is STILL 13 April 1912! This would be the second half of 13 April :)

- Elizabeth -

It was now close to 8 at night. Elizabeth found it odd when her father told her that he was not attending dinner, therefore she had no need to go. Of course, this was all an excuse for the little celebration Clara and the officers were throwing her later, during Pitman and Boxhall's shift.

These few hours, Elizabeth and Clara were in their stateroom, talking and reading. Elizabeth didn't have the opportunity to open the notebook her father gave her since she was too busy receiving telegrams from various influential businessmen and suitors, wishing her happy birthday. She couldn't remember how many times she had been to the messenger room just because she didn't want to trouble the stewards and stewardesses to keep bringing her the messages.

Elizabeth sat on her bed as she recalled the events of that afternoon, at about 2.30pm just after she had eaten some light lunch that a steward brought to the room. It wasn't filling in the least, though.

Elizabeth smiled and nodded at the people who passed her by as she made her way to the wireless room. She had heard about the wireless operators on board. Harold Bride and John Phillips or better known as Jack Phillips. They were both very friendly men so she was pretty sure they wouldn't be that annoyed for her to go up and maybe watch them work since she had nothing better to do that day.

She knocked on the door politely and saw one of the operators at the desk, tapping away. "I heard that there were quite a few telegrams for me." She said. The man at the desk looked up and took off his headphones and walked over to her. "You must be Miss Elizabeth Andrews. I'm Harold Bride." He said, as he gave her a light kiss on her hand. "There's a whole stack over there." He pointed to an area on the desk with at least two to three stacks of papers and letters.

"Happy birthday, Miss Andrews." He said as he got back in his seat. "Thanks. But please, Liz is fine." Elizabeth said as she walked over to the stack and began to look through them . "In that case you could call me Harold." She kept a laugh to herself, remembering that Harry's actual first name was Harold as well.

"Well Harold, do you mind if I stayed here for a while? I mean, if it's not too much trouble." She asked. Harold smiled up at her from his seat. "That shouldn't be a problem. In fact, Jack, the other operator, should be on his way back from the mess hall right about now. He'd love to meet you. Meanwhile, you could sit over there. " He pointed to a chair next to a white curtain. "Thank you Harold." Elizabeth said sweetly before carrying her stacks with her to the chair.

No longer than 15 minutes later, another man walked in with two plates of food in his hands. "I'm tellin' ya Harold. The food they give the crew is terrible! I-" He stopped when he saw Elizabeth looking up at him, amused. "I'm Elizabeth Andrews, but call me Liz." She said, walking up to the man. He was about to grab her hand but he realised he had no free hands. "I'm John Phillips, the other wireless operator, but call me Jack." He looked awkward, not very sure what to do. Elizabeth laughed and shook her head before she took one of the plates so that they could at least shake hands.

Jack started to laugh as well. "So you're the birthday girl, aren't you? We've been receiving dozens and dozens of birthday wishes since the day started!" Elizabeth shook her head. "Sorry to trouble you, then. Harold said I could stay here for a while. Think that'd sit with you well, Jack?"

"I don't see why not." Jack shrugged his shoulders, smiling at her. "That's Harold's lunch, by the way." He nodded at the plate she was holding before opening the curtain and pulling out another chair, putting it next to the one Elizabeth was sitting on earlier. She put the plate on the desk and sat next to Jack, looking through her stacks.

The three spent the afternoon making lame jokes and sharing silly anecdotes with each other. She learnt that Harold was on his shift until 8 at night and Jack would take over until 2 in the morning. She told them that the timings for their shifts were ridiculous and they certainly agreed with her.

"Well, I really must be going now." Elizabeth said as she stood up from her chair, with Jack copying her action. He kissed her hand and bid her farewell. Jack even told her that she was welcome to come back anytime she wanted, as she was a joy to be around. "W...Wait!" Harold called out hastily as he was still tapping away and couldn't do the same. Elizabeth giggled before leaning down to his level and giving him a quick peck on the cheek, to which he blushed at.

As she picked up her stacks and was ready to leave, Jack called out. "Don't I get one too?" he joked. She rolled her eyes and kissed her fingertips and brushed them against his cheek before walking away, moving her fingers back and forth in a little wave. "Not fair!" He yelled out, to which she laughed loudly at.

She smiled, remembering how funny the duo were.

Elizabeth was broken out of her reverie by Clara who shook her shoulder gently. "Liz? I have a surprise for you...but you're going to have to dress up nicely. Like how you would for dinner, for example." She cocked at eyebrow at her maid's sudden request. "And why is that?" She asked curiously.

"I told you, it's a surprise!" Clara said, amused. Elizabeth agreed to do so, wanting to see what was in store for her. By the time they were done, Elizabeth was dressed in a short-sleeved midnight blue dress, her favourite colour, with a black sash tied into a ribbon at the back. It had a sweetheart neckline with little flowers sewn on the bodice. It flowed freely to her feet, on which she wore a pair of simple black heels. She put her hair up in a signature bun with a fringe of hair down the side of her face. To top it off, she put on her mother's necklace and a pair of dangling earrings. She also put on the watch that Molly had given her.

"How do I look?" She asked Clara. "Perfect." She answered before looking to the clock to see that it was 15 minutes after 8. "Oh gosh, we're late..." She muttered under her breath. "What?" Elizabeth asked. "Oh, nothing! Let's go." Clara said. The blonde had taken out her apron and white bonnet, letting her hair down.

Clara led her down the hall and as they were approaching the room, Clara 'borrowed' Elizabeth's sash and tied it over her eyes, like a blindfold and held her hand to guide her so she wouldn't trip. Clara's hand suddenly left her and another hand soon replaced hers. Elizabeth could tell this person was wearing leather gloves.

She could hear the sound of tables moving and people 'shushing' each other. "Okay!" The blindfold was taken off for her and the lights were switched on. Elizabeth knew at once where she was. She was in the officers' mess hall.

In front of her, she saw Will, Charles, Harry and Clara there with a birthday cake in Charles' hands. "Happy birthday!" They said loudly in unison, all smiles. Elizabeth started to laugh and she turned to look at the stranger, who turned out to be Jim. He smiled down at her. "Happy birthday, Liz." Jim said softly as he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. Elizabeth leaned against the door frame and he had a hand above her head, holding his weight as they both smiled against each other, the kiss growing deeper and deeper.

"Ahem." Harry cleared his throat, which made them stop immediately.

"Sorry." Elizabeth giggled as she pulled a blushing Jim by the hand to the table, where their friends were.

Elizabeth looked at the chocolate cake in front of her and smiled. She loved chocolate. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to Elizabeth, happy birthday to you." they all sang together. "Make a wish, love." Jim whispered in her ear. She laughed. "I wish all of us can stay friends forever." She said, looking at the people around her with warm eyes, which they returned.

She brushed her fringe back and gave a strong blow, blowing out all the candles on the cake, after which they all clapped. Will took it upon himself to cut the cake as the remaining five of them started to talk. The first officer handed all of them slices of the cake.

"Mmm...Compliments to the chef!" Elizabeth said, savouring every bite of the delicious cake. "Why thank you, Liz." Charles said, tipping his hat. "You can bake?" She said, almost choking on her cake. "Course I can. My wife, Sylvia, taught me a while back." He smiled, remembering his sweet wife at home.

"Anyone up for a drink?" Harry asked, hugging Clara close to him. "We've got a few bottles over here." Will said, walking over to one end of the table with about 5 or 6 bottles of fine wine. "Cheers! From Mr. Thomas Andrews." He read out from a card next to the bottles. Elizabeth smiled. "My dad gave us alcohol?" She questioned. "To our surprise." Harry answered.

The first officer helped to pour glasses of red wine and serve it to them. Meanwhile, Charles pulled Elizabeth aside. "Liz, I just thought I would give you the film which has the photograph of you and Jimmy in it and all the other photographs we took. Maybe you could develop it when the ship docks or even in the photographic darkroom on the ship. Think of it as a...cheap birthday gift." He smiled down at her. "Thank you Lights. It means the world to me." She returned his smile, giving him a warm and friendly hug, to which he bent down to hug her back. They were so close that he was like a second father or even an older brother to her.

It was funny how Elizabeth grew to be so attached to these men even after only knowing them for a few days.

An hour into their celebration, Herbert and Joseph stopped by. Captain gave them permission to go to the mess hall to wish Elizabeth a happy birthday so he himself took over their watch but only gave them half an hour. During this half an hour, they played a variety of card games, poker being the obvious favourite. The officers mostly betted with their shifts and when Elizabeth and Clara played, they betted with money. By the end of their poker games, Herbert and Joseph talked Jim and Will into taking over their night shifts the next day after the First and Sixth officer kept losing to them.

About another hour later, they managed to finish all the bottles of wine, plus some of their own. Together, the officers had been able to pull together about 5 bottles of wine and 10 bottles of beer they 'borrowed' from the third class party. By then, Harry and Charles were completely wasted.

"...and so Willie here had no clue that I was the one who put the seawater in his visor cap!" Charles laughed, banging his fist on the table. Everybody but Will laughed along with him. "That was YOU?" said officer asked in disbelief. Everyone at the table was doubled over in laughter, seeing Will's priceless reaction. Will sighed, rubbing his temples. "I think you all have had enough to drink."

"I for one agree with that." Clara said, pushing off of her a drunk Harry who kept giggling and leaning on her. Charles was the first to stand up and he walked over to Elizabeth's seat as he spoke. "Well I had a lovely, lovely time tonight." He leaned all the way down. "Good night, birthday girl." He grabbed her face and gave her wet slobbery kisses on both sides of her cheeks to which she giggled at.

"Get out of here you bloody idiot." Jim said as he pushed Charles' face away with his hand. "Careful there, Jim. Lights ranks you." Will said teasingly. "That's rights you idiot. Well...I'm off to...my watch...Cheerio." He said, wobbling and staggering over to the door, only to walk straight into the wall. Will sighed. "Jim, you and I will take over their shift later. They're too ratted to function."

"SAYS WHO?!" Harry shouted, shooting up from his chair. "I'm COMPLETELY sober, one hundred percent sober, I say!" He yelled out before stumbling backwards, but eventually falling sideways onto Clara's lap. "Sober, you say?" Will joked, looking down at the fifth officer. "One...hundred...percent..." He said before sleeping on the blonde maid's lap. "Anyway, I'll clear up tonight. Clara, do you need any help bringing that idiot back to his quarters?" He asked, his voice full of care and concern.

She shook her head and gave Will a small smile. "Shouldn't be a problem." Clara, Elizabeth and Jim stood up at the same time and the sober couple walked over to the door. "Want me to escort you back to your stateroom?" Jim asked her politely. "I don't feel like returning yet...Could I maybe stay with you? You know, until you have to leave for your shift?" Elizabeth asked with pleading eyes. "How could I say no?" He smiled, leaning down to give her a kiss. Elizabeth giggled against his lips as he deepened it playfully.

"I'm sorry to interrupt the moment, but I need to get Harry to his quarters..." Clara said awkwardly. They turned to notice Clara and Harry behind them. Harry was practically asleep, only muttering a few words here and there. He had one hand over her shoulder and she was holding him up.

"You sure you don't need help?" Will asked again. "I'll be fine. Liz, Jim, just lead the way." The trio plus Harry was about to walk out when a voice screamed.

"What about me?!" Charles yelled out after them. "I'LL take you back, you bloke." Will said, pulling the second officer back by his collar, making him fall to the floor. They all laughed before walking off.

The walk to the officers' quarters was pretty quiet. The officers' mess hall, bathrooms and quarters were on one side, close to the Marconi Room so they had no one to worry about catching them except for well...no one. Even if the captain and chief officer was strict, they'd probably be let off with a stern warning or something of the kind. Nothing too serious.

"Right, so this is Harry's room," Jim gestured to a door in front of them which had a sign hanging on the door that read 'FIFTH OFFICER: MR. LOWE, HAROLD'. On his sign, there were teacups drawn on any free space, so much that they looked like a pattern or background of the sign.

"and there's the toilet. My room's just down the hall, go straight then right then straight then right again, so come find us if you need any help." He finished after pointing and making hand gestures down the corridors. She watched as Elizabeth and Jim disappeared down the confusing corridors. Clara then looked at Harry again and sighed before pushing him up against the door so that she could fish around in his pockets for his cabin keys.

- Elizabeth and Jim -

Jim opened the door for Elizabeth, letting her enter before he locked it tight. She went over to sit down on his bed. He walked over and sat next to her, lightly pressing on her thigh so he wouldn't make a loud creaking noise as he sat down, a sound he knew his bed was fond of making.

Elizabeth flinched a little at the pressure applied. "What's wrong?" He asked, immediately concerned as he put an arm around her. "Nothing. I guess I'm still a little sore from yesterday night." A little blush crept onto her face as she remembered the passionate night they shared and he laughed light-heartedly. "You were really beautiful." He whispered in her ear. Elizabeth giggled before kissing him on the cheek.

Now, she was fidgeting in her seat. "What's wrong, again?" Jim asked once more. "This dress and corset is so uncomfortable, I can barely breathe in it." She complained, smiling sadly. "I have some night clothes if you don't mind them being a few sizes too big." He offered jokingly. "What about you?"

"I'll have to go on shift in a while so it wouldn't really matter. I'll wake you so you have time to change back into your dress and corset after I return, at about 4 in the morning so there's no problem for you to borrow my clothes." He explained. "Yes, that would be nice, thanks." She beamed at him. Jim walked over to his desk and took his messily folded clothes and walked over to her, putting them in her hands.

Elizabeth stood up with her back facing Jim. "Jim, darling, could you help me unhook my dress?" He walked and stood behind her, looking at the complex dress design with confused eyes. "Jim, it's not that hard, just pull the two silver things apart." She laughed. Unbeknownst to her, he blushed and sheepishly said "I knew that." before taking the dress off for her, leaving her in her corset and drawers. "Need me to help with the corset?" She nodded. "That'd be really helpful."

With his nimble fingers, he quickly unstrung the corset and put it neatly on the chair and passed her his clothing. Elizabeth took off her camisole and slid down her drawers. For a moment, Jim's cheeks were tinted pink as she was totally naked. She seemed to pick up on that. "Jim, why are you blushing again? You've seen me like this before!" She teased. "Come here you!" He reached over to hug her and they both fell on the bed, laughing as they were lip-locked.

"Okay, that's enough. I really need to rest." Elizabeth said, reluctantly stopping him as she put on his clothes. Jim walked over to her and slowly buttoned up the shirt for her before stepping back to take a look at her. "You look adorable!" He beamed. His clothes were so big on her that the sleeves on the shirt reached beyond her fingers and the pants were touching the floor. "Why, thank you, kind sir." She replied in a snobby voice before laughing. He soon joined her.

"Oh yes! Before I forget." Jim said all of a sudden as he walked over to his luggage. He poked around for a moment until he took out something, hiding it in his hands as he went back to Elizabeth. "This...was my father's. Consider it a little birthday gift from me to you. I know it's nothing special but it really means a lot to me." He placed a pocket watch in her hands.

"Jim...It's really nice of you to give me this...But are you sure it's all right for me to take it?" Elizabeth asked. "Yes. But don't worry. When we get to New York, I'll buy you something nicer." Jim smiled at her before giving her a kiss as he held her hands tightly, the tips of their noses touching gently.

The couple walked over to the bed after a while and laid there. Elizabeth rested her head in his chest and his arms were around her, holding her in a warm embrace as his lips were perched at her forehead. "I love you." He whispered as she fell asleep.

- Clara and Harry -

As soon as Clara got Harry into the room and was locking the door, he began to stir. "C...Clary..." He mumbled. "Yes, dear?" She said softly as she put the keys on the table quietly, leaving Harry leaning against the wall. The drunkard staggered his way over to Clara, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. "I'm sorry for this morning..." He said, his face so close to her that she could feel his alcohol breath hot on her cheek. "It's okay." Clara said, turning slightly so she could catch a glimpse of his face. "I love you so much." He slurred, giving her a wet, sloppy kiss on the lips.

Clara pulled away. "Come on Harry, let's get you to bed..."

"Later..." He said again, kissing her once more. Harry turned her around so now she was in front of him. She lightly pushed him away from her. "Be good, Harry." She sounded like his mother, to which he chuckled to himself. Listening to the woman he loved, he waddled over to his bed and fell flat on his face on the mattress. Clara shook her head and helped to turn him over and shifting him so that he was now leaning up against the metal bed frame. She had also helped him to take off his coat and un tuck his shirt so he was more comfortable.

Clara looked around the room and saw a vacuum flask on the nearby desk. After making a short trip to get the flask, she sat next to him on the bed and unscrewed the cap of the flask. "Here, drink some water, Harry. It'll help." Harry frowned and turned his head away, pouting. "No." He said stubbornly. In that moment, he looked like a child, so much that Clara couldn't stifle a giggle.

"Harry, if you drink up, I'll tell you a bedtime story." She said in a higher pitch, acting like a parental figure. To this, he immediately perked up, smiling widely as he nodded, taking the flask from her hands and gulping down water like there was no tomorrow. "Don't choke!" Clara reminded, putting a hand on his shoulder as she took off his cap and put it on her lap.

Harry gave the flask back to her after drinking almost half of the water inside and laid down immediately, looking up at her with excited eyes. "Come on, don't lie down on your back." She helped him turn so that he was now facing sideways, in her direction.

"Tell me a story." Harry said, the slur in his voice no longer as obvious as before. "Okay. Once, there was a lady. She was servant to a fairly understanding family, save for one very shrewd old lady who treated her like dirt. One day, as she went about doing her boring old duties as a maid, she was informed that she would be accompanying her family on a ship. One of the grandest ships in the world at that." Harry smiled, knowing that she was referring to the RMS Titanic. "She was overjoyed, being able to sail on that ship. As soon as she was on board, she got to enjoy a fancy dinner, and in the process met a handsome young officer who caught her eye. You could say that it was love at first sight. He was not the most gentle of men, and neither was he the most slick," He laughed. "but he was the one who had captured her heart in one glance. Every single part of his imperfection was perfect to her. She wasn't sure how it came to be, but she found out that the feelings she harboured for him did not go unrequited. Due to...certain circumstances, the old lady in the family came to know about their relationship. Thinking it would besmirch the family name, she forbade the maid from seeing her lover ever again, and left her with a stinging slap across the face." A tear fell from Clara's eye and Harry wiped it away before holding her hand in his larger one. "After this, she sneaked out to see this officer, now not caring what the old lady thought of her. With every second she was with the man, she felt so happy, so alive. It was as if he made her forget that she was but a servant, someone with little worth. He made her feel like she was enough. He made her feel loved. Eventually, the ship docked and she was torn between serving the kind family and the evil old lady, and leaving with the officer. She then came to the conclusion that the opportunity of happiness was dangling before her and it would never again come by, should she fail to seize it. She then chose to go with the officer, and they lived happily, ever, after."

Clara smiled with tears falling down her face. She looked at Harry to see that he was fast asleep. She leaned down and kissed his forehead before putting his cap on the desk. She then left the room quietly, shutting the door behind her. All the way back to her stateroom, Clara couldn't wipe the grin off her face, thinking about what might happen if the story she had just told really became a reality. As she reached the room, she assumed her young mistress was still with her own lover and so she changed into her nightgown and laid on her bed, drifting off to sleep with sweet thoughts about the man she loved.

Now to thank those who left reviews! Thank you to the guest who reviewed and TARDISonTitanic! Yes, I DID take a LOT of artistic liberties in this story! As I've said before ( I think ) this story is NOT 100% true to what actually happened or the events that occurred in a particular person's life. Also, Augustine is Thomas' sister-in-law, which means they aren't actually blood-related. They do have a 'history' that I want to elaborate on as the story progresses, if I can. But thank you two for your lovely reviews! Have a nice day and review if you liked the chapter! :D