At Cherbourg, the McPhee family did indeed come aboard the ship. They were a quiet bunch, but Mrs. Leery still managed to find to get Mrs. McPhee along with their daughter, engaged in their tight knit little group.
The McPhees had two children, Jack and Andie, who were Dawson and Joey's age and Joey found both of them to be positively delightful. Andie was much like her in the sense that she was a fairly educated young woman, who thoroughly enjoyed long discussions about things other than frilly hats and petticoats. Jack was a shy gentleman, who spoke only when spoken to, and even then answered in a soft tone of voice that Joey found interesting and admirable. Dawson however, was not Jack's biggest fan and insisted to Joey that it was all a façade that he was putting on in order to attract Joey. Joey didn't think so at all, she thought that Jack was just this way in general and Andie confirmed this belief. "He's so shy, you wouldn't believe it, Josephine! At home, he speaks a little bit more, has to look after mother and I of course, but still! Very quiet!"
"My name is Josephine," Joey said when Andie finished speaking.
"Oh," said Andie, looking a bit surprised. "I do apologize, I just assumed, that is what Mister Leery refers to you as,"
Inside her head, she rolls her eyes, but like she always does, she can't show it. "Yes, well, um I prefer to be called Joey if that's alright by you,"
Andie smiles. "Of course. I'll pass on the message to Jack,"
"Thank you," Joey nods.
The following morning, Andie makes a point of sitting next to Joey at breakfast. She's a kind girl with a lively face and a spirit that Joey doesn't quite recognize, she isn't sure how this girl can keep a smile on her face in their upbringing, but perhaps this Andie is just good at putting on a show. Jack helps Joey into her seat and she thanks him, and the moment she sits down Dawson practically grabs her face and presses their lips together. Mrs. Leery scolds him and apologizes to their fellow diners and Dawson explains this by simply saying that he just cannot manage to keep his hands off his fiancee. He makes a point of enunciating the fiancee part while staring down Jack, and Joey is even more uncomfortable than she was a moment before.
Margaret Brown, one of the women who they dine with is a woman like Andie, fiery and talks a lot more than a woman of high society should. Mrs. Leery had been explaining to Joey just before arriving at breakfast that she hoped that the woman avoided them, calling her "new money" and Joey is more than a little happy that Margaret joins them. She even makes a point of asking her how she's enjoying her stay, just to hear her go off on a rant. Andie, also, is fascinated by this woman and the two of them spend most of the meal talking whilst Mrs. McPhee and Mrs. Leery mutter quietly amongst themselves and their husbands talk business.
A server came by their table to take their orders and Joey began to order her own meal – a bit of salmon, but Dawson beat her too it and ordered them both a plate of lamb. Joey absolutely despised lamb and she felt that perhaps she had told Dawson this before, but he seemed to have forgotten. Or more likely, hadn't listened to her in the first place. "Sounds delicious, hmm, Joey?" he says and once more, all she can do is nod. He has his hand on her knee and once more from the corner of her eye, she can see that awful Hitchcock eyeing her from a lone table to her left. She takes a deep breath.
"Oh, Mr. Andrews, you are still planning on taking us on that tour of the ship tomorrow?" Mr. Leery asks once the server leaves.
Thomas Andrews, was the head naval architect in charge of the original plans of the Titanic, and Mr. Leery had been raving about getting to speak with him since they'd bought their tickets months ago. Mr. Andrews folded his hands and nodded. "Of course, Mitch, as long as you still want to,"
"Oh yes, we'd all love to, Mr. Andrews! It's all Gail and I have been talking about. We want to see every inch of this marvel – perhaps we can get some new ideas for the restaurant we're planning on opening in New York,"
Mr. Andrews smiles but holds up his hand. "I'd be delighted,"
Joey thought that a tour around the ship sounded lovely. It would be nice to take a long walk and get to breathe in the fresh ocean air while taking in the scenery surrounding them. Dawson, on the other hand, was less than pleased, whispering to Joey that the whole thing sounded tiresome and he would much rather enjoy staying in the first class lounge, speaking with the other men his age. It was this that caused Joey to stand up and excuse herself from the table. She just couldn't take much more of Dawson's constant negative speak and the fresh ocean air was becoming more and more entrancing by the second.
She could feel Dawson as well as Mrs. Leery's eyes staring after her, pleading her to come back and sit down and eat with them like a proper lady but for what wasn't the first time, Joey ignored them. She'd face the consequences of this later.
Pacey and Jen had traveled out to the third class decks themselves. They'd wanted to spend as much time outside as possible on their voyage, and that was all going to start the second the sky brightened. So at dawn, Jen was awakened by Pacey poking her lightly and telling her to get dressed so that they could go out and run around. The two had decided that it would be best for Jen to change while their bunk mates were sleeping. She didn't mind anyone seeing her naked obviously, but the prospect of the two men being dangerous was a chance she wasn't willing to take.
By lunch time, many other third class passengers had joined Pacey and Jen on the deck. Many of which were unattended children, which Pacey came by very rarely and always enjoyed doing action shots of them running around, carefree smiles on their faces. Jen had been making conversation for the last several minutes with a blonde woman with a strong british accent who was going on and out about her mother, who was a stage actress in Britain and had apparently lost all of her money. Pacey wasn't paying her much attention, he was too caught up in his sketchbook but it was the woman's asking of their names that bade him to look up for the first time.
"Jennifer Lindley," Jen says and reaches forward to shake the girl's hand.
"Pacey Witter," Audrey slides past Jen when she sees Pacey's face for the time and holds out her hand to him. He kisses it.
"Audrey Liddell," she says with a tone that has become all too familiar to him. She's very pretty, a blonde with nice eyes and the sort of face that's welcoming and offers friendship. "Where do you two come from?" She takes a seat in between Pacey and Jen.
"We're both from America originally," Pacey explains. "I came to England about two years ago,"
"I came when I was ten," Jen adds.
"Why are you going back to America, then?"
Pacey's smile lights up his face. "Won our tickets in a poker game yesterday morning. Had no where else to go so we decided to come aboard,"
"And are you two a couple then?" she asks.
"A couple of friends, is all," Jen answers, tucking a few strands of her hair behind her ear. "We met a while back in a pub while Pacey was showing me his art,"
"Ah, yes," said Audrey, noticing that Pacey was looking back at the children who'd been playing near them a few moments ago and sketching down their movements. "Do you make any money off of them drawings of yours?"
"Only the ones I'm in," Jen says and Pacey flips her off jokingly. She slaps his hand away and giggles.
As Pacey stares past Jen, he notices on the B deck promenade, stands an intensely beautiful woman. He's seen beautiful women before, even drawn quite a few of them, but not like this. Her dark brown hair is tied up and she's taking off her white gloves, as if she'd been uncomfortable with them on. She's quite tall and thin, and her eyes mask a certain pain that Pacey can't tell whether or not is always there or if it's just something she's feeling in that moment. Regardless, she is breathtakingly beautiful and he finds himself forgetting that Jen and Audrey are even there. Jen makes a few teasing noises when she sees the woman that Pacey is admiring, but he doesn't hear her because he's far too caught up in this moment.
Audrey shakes her head and then places it on Pacey's shoulder. "Forget it, love. A fellow like you will never so much as be next to the likes of her,"
And Pacey knows that, but he still just wants to look at this girl, admire her beauty. He wants to begin sketching her, but he doesn't want to look away from for a second in fear that she'll leave. She does leave in a few moments, whisked away by a tall blonde gentleman in a suit. She argues with him, but reluctantly goes when he grabs her by the arm.
When she goes, Pacey looks back at his sketchbook as if nothing had ever happened. The two boys he'd been drawing earlier have gone. "Um, Jen, you want to go pose over there?" he points towards the railing next to him.
"So we're just going to ignore the wealthy madam you were just eyeing?" she raises an eyebrow.
He shrugs. "It's not like I'm going to see her again, anyway,"
"She was rather beautiful," Audrey comments and Pacey can't tell whether or not this is going to lead into an insult or not. He doesn't nod, he just looks at this girl with a blank expression. "She was, wasn't she? Isn't that why you were admiring her?"
Deciding that she was being genuine, Pacey shrugged. "It's not every day I come across a beautiful woman of her caliber,"
"Gee, thanks, Pacey," said Jen. She says it deadpan, and only because he knows that she will not be further offended by it, he simply makes a face at her and she grins. "She also seems to be in somewhat of a relationship with that gentleman pulling her away,"
"Looks like a real bastard to me," Audrey admits. "I don't know, I just don't like the look of him,"
Pacey will have the image of this beautiful woman in his mind for the rest of the day probably, but at this time, it's best to just move onto a different topic. Audrey had been correct in what she'd said earlier – he'd never so much as be in the same room with her so there was no point in speaking of her further. Audrey seems to have the same idea as him though because she says, "Would you mind drawing me, Mr. Witter?" and Pacey nods. "It would be an honor, miss,"
Joey had seen a third class boy staring at her when she'd been sulking at the B deck earlier in the day, but she hadn't paid him much attention. He probably thought she had something on her face or something, which she probably didn't because Mrs. Leery hadn't rubbed it off of her.
She'd spent the rest of the afternoon at tea with Mrs. Leery, Andie, Mrs. McPhee and a few elder women who Mrs. Leery was trying to get into her inner circle. They had rambled on and on about Archibald Butt, a general whose name Madam LeRou always chuckled at as well as Edith Russell, who woman who was travelling the ship alone and made her own money, which most of them found very odd.
Joey and Mrs. Leery had walked back to their suites in silence, which was just as Joey liked it. Upon arriving back in her room, she was welcomed to the site of Dawson who was getting dressed for dinner. "Oh, um, I'm sorry," professed Joey as she turned to leave.
"No, no," Dawson said, stopping her and taking her by the hand. "Darling, you're my fiancee. This is nothing you haven't seen before,"
He turns her back around and this may have been calming to some people, but Joey found it more alarming than anything. Dawson pressed their lips together and then kissed her on the cheek. "How are you today?"
"I just finished tea with your mother and a few others," she said.
"I figured. And how was the usual gossip today?"
"Boring, but it usually is," Joey confessed, sitting down on a chair.
Dawson sat next to her and took her hand in his, kissing it. "Well, you'd better get used to it. And I don't mean that in a bad way, it's just that you know, that's what you're to spend your life doing,"
It wasn't a crass thing to say, it was just a fact. Joey's entire life would be spent meeting with other women of her social standing. Every single day for the rest of her life woud be spent like today. Not saying much, laughing when she was supposed to, always sitting up straight, relishing in whatever it was that the ladies she was surrounded by were speaking about. It hadn't hit her until that exact moment, that this was exactly why she'd been so unhappy lately. Because every day was going to be exactly like the last. No spontaneity, just endless days of mindless chatter and then, once they were properly married, nights of making love to a husband that she wasn't even sure she had true feelings for at this time.
And at dinner that evening, she can't even bother listening. She's staring straight ahead, imagining growing into an old woman with no excitement or adventure, only being known as a wife to Dawson Leery and a mother to children who were doomed to live the same life as she. Joey wanted someone to notice how she felt. She couldn't say it because she couldn't speak out of term, but there had to be someone, anyone who noticed how she felt. No one had noticed for seventeen years, why would they notice now? And within seconds, Joey felt a weight on her chest like she'd never felt before. She felt as if she couldn't breathe, like she was going to begin choking right there at the dinner table and she knew that even then, no one would even look up from their plates.
Before she even knows what's happening, Joey's running and she's no longer in the dining room. She's running along the B deck promenade, and she must've ripped her hair out from it's tight dressing because she can feel it against her back as she runs. Her cheeks are streaked with tears and she's sobbing loudly, being stared at by a strolling couple who looked shocked at this public emotional display. She's not one of public displays emotion, she doesn't even explode like this usually, but it's just that she's so angry and she's furious and it just seems like this is the worst time in her life and nothing will ever get better. She'll never recover.
Pacey had snuck away from Jen (and Audrey, who had professed her love for the two of them a few hours ago and had hardly left their side since) to get a moment alone. He figured he was going to have very few of these aboard this ship and he should take the opportunity as much as he could. He's lying on top of a bench gazing at the stars above him and listening to the calming sound of the sea, when he overhears the sound of footsteps, running. He's the only person on the poop deck and he immediately lifts his head to see what the fuss is about.
A woman is running, breath hitching in an occasional sob and running towards the very back of the stern deck – the back of the ship. Pacey watches her from afar for a bit, before seeing what she's actually doing – climbing over the railing. His own breath hitches in his throat out of fear that he's actually going to see this woman jump, and steadily, he gets up from the bench to go on over to her. It's not like he's just going to just let her jump.
Very quietly, Pacey approaches the woman, whose back is to him and holds out his hand so that he can grab her if she were to slip. "Don't do it," he says in a stern voice, but quiets his tone so not to startle her.
The woman turns her head a bit and Pacey instantly recognizes her as the first class woman he'd been gazing at earlier that day. Her beauty takes him by surprise again. "Go away! This is none of your business!" she shouts at him and Pacey is surprised even further that no one hears her.
"Excuse me, miss, I kind of think it is my business. I mean here I am, just enjoying the night sky and you're hanging off the back of the ship – making a lot of noise, I might add. You're kind of making it my business," he knows that this sort of sarcastic tone he's using could go two ways. One, it will upset her and she'll jump, or two, she'll argue with him. It's a fifty fifty chance, but he's pretty sure that she'll choose the second option.
"You could just look away and pretend you didn't see anything," she tells him.
Pacey shrugs, trying not to show his own fear. "I could. But then I'll have them on my conscience for the rest of my life and I intend on living quite a long one. You wouldn't want to corrupt the rest of my life, would you?"
The girl pauses for a moment and he thinks that he hears her whisper "no." And after the "no" comes a "Well, I'm going to jump either way so you'll at least have attempting to talk down the girl before she jumped on your conscience,"
"I don't want that. I want you to climb back over the railing, and for you to be alright. Just take my hand – " Pacey steps towards her once more.
"Don't come any closer!" she commands him and he does as told.
"Alright," he says. "But uh, if you don't mind, until you do jump, maybe we could talk a little. Is that okay?"
The woman says nothing.
"I'm here on this ship going back to America – well, I mean, of course, that's why we're all aboard – but I was born there. Uh, the accent, see? I figure you were born there too. Where are you from?" Pacey asks. Although he and Jen play back and forth with insults, she does often tell him that his way of being able to charm anyone is the best thing about him. He's using that to his advantage in his situation and it seems to be working for him so far.
"Massachusetts," the woman states through hurried breaths, like she is trying to calm herself.
"I went there myself once," Pacey explains. "The ship that I sailed to England on came from Massachusetts. Cape Cod, to be more exact. It's beautiful there –"
"Why are you telling me this?" the woman asks.
"To get us acquainted since I know that you're not going to jump," Pacey states.
"And how, may I ask, do you know that?" the woman backfires in a snarky tone that would've attracted Pacey to her if it were not for the situation at hand.
"Because you would've done it already,"
The woman seems unable to deny this and she turns away, looking back out at the sea.
"Just give me your hand, okay?"
For the first time, the girl looks at him. She sees something in him, it seems, because she looks him up and downa few times and it's not out of disgust for his ragged clothing. She looks intruiged, almost fascinated. And Pacey thinks that it's this alone that gets to her finally nod and say, "Alright,"
She unfastens one hand from the railing and reaches out for him to take it, which he does firmly. She begins to turn, so that he can lift her over, but the height is rather frightening. Pacey, keeps a tight grip on her hand, and she's quite steady and is able to fully turn around. Pacey and the woman meet face to face for the first time and now, knowing, she's safe, he smiles. "I'm Pacey Witter,"
"Joey Potter," she introduces herself, voice quavering.
"Pleased to meet you, Joey," Joey looks as if blushing but it may just be the fright of the situation. It happens in a second, but her foot slips from the railing and she plunges, letting out a piercing scream. Pacey stays gripping her hand, and Joey is still screaming for help. "I've got you! I won't let go!" he tells her, in some attempt to calm her,
Pacey holds her with all his strentg, bracing himself on the railing with his otherhand. Joey is able to calm herself enough for a moment to get a foothold onto the hull. Pacey grabs her from under the arms, clutching at whatever he can to get a good a grip on her to get her over the railing. In an awkward grab of limbs, the two of them fall together in a tangled mess onto the deck.
And it's then that the quartermaster arrives and Pacey can't help but think that of course now would be the time for him to show up. "What is all this?" he bellows and Pacey looks down to see that Joey's dress is almost completely ripped and a blatant Shit, hits him hard. The man practically snatches Pacey, holding him back by the arm to keep him away from Joey.
Joey watches as this Pacey is detained by the master at arms, handcuffed and treated like an animal rather than a hero. She's sitting on a nearby bench watching the situation as she waits for Dawson to arrive at the scene. He does within moments, followed of course, by Hitchcock and another gentleman who must've fetched them from dinner. Dawson hurries over to Joey at first, only to run his fingers through her hair in an act of comfort, but then turns his attention to Pacey. He shoves him a few times, which in any other situation would've made Joey laugh, because Dawson couldn't hurt a fly.
"What did you think were doing? Touching my fiancee the way you did?!" he shoves him once more before Joey gets up to stop his incessant yelling.
"Dawson, stop, please, it was only an accident," Joey wraps her hands around Dawson's arm to relax him, which it seems to.
He turns to her and says softly, "Joey, just let me handle this, okay?"
"No, just please listen!" she says it in a voice she's never used and this catches his attention. "I was leaning over to look at the propellers and I slipped,"
"What - ?" said Dawson and the master at arms almost in unison.
"Yes, I had just gone for a walk and I was interested in how the ship was running so I leaned over and I slipt and I would have gone over board, and Mr. Witter here rescued me,"
"You just leaned over?" Dawson repeated.
The master at arms turned to Pacey, who hadn't said a word since being arrested. "Was that the way of it?"
He doesn't even think of telling the truth, not wanting to embarrass Joey even further than she probably already is. "Yes,"
"Good for you, son. You're a hero," said the man, uncuffing him.
Dawson kisses Joey on the head and while she's surprised and how understanding he's being, she can't help but think of her brave savior. Apparently, Dawson is pleased with this third class man for rescuing her and this surprises Joey, because she always thought that Dawson looked down on the lower class. "Perhaps you would join us for dinner tomorrow, mister - ?"
"Witter," Pacey repeats.
"Ah, yes. We'd like for you to regale our group with your heroic tale,"
Pacey took a look at Joey and then looked back to Dawson. "Sure. Sounds enjoyable,"
"Good. Settled then," Dawson throws his arm around Joey and the two of them walk off together and just as their far enough away, he says, "The boy must be thrilled to be dining in high style, for once? A bit of an honor,"
"That he deserves," Joey reminds him. "He saved my life."
"Of course," Dawson nods, although Joey isn't sure if she entirely believes him.
Author's Note: So now we have all our main characters introduced. Let me know your thoughts by reviewing!