Chapter IX: Break My Fall

A/N: This chapter is a bit heavier than the prior ones. But I hope you all still like it. Again, thanks go out to The Cowgirl Bookworm. She has helped quite a bit! SSD

1100 April 17th

Watching and listening to the officers give each other all grief last evening had been plenty entertaining for Fabrizio. Even Mr. Murdoch had joined in the frivolity, lightening up a bit, after the second officer lured him in.

After finishing with Lowe, apparently it was the Murdoch's turn to get some grief. Fabrizio had not realized that, until Lightoller turned to him and asked what the delightful Miss Lethbridge's advice had been to his old friend.

Murdoch gave him a quelling evil eye, but the second officer struck him as the kind of man that would not let up until he had the information he wanted. The fifth officer also looked quite interested in finding out what had been said.

So against his better judgement, Fabrizio got some paper and a pencil, wrote down the translation, and gave it to the clearly mischievous Mr. Lightoller.

The man's eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas morning before innocently asking, "So… how long will you and Ada take off for when all of this is said and done, will I be godfather?" He passed the note to the other officers who began laughing uproariously.

Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Fabrizio and his fellow murder witnesses were going to be told what to expect once they were in New York by the Executive Officer of the Florida, a Commander Blair.

Cecily had beaten all three of them to the ship's library where the discussion would take place. She gave Murdoch an innocent smile. It fooled none of them, as part of the grief that had been given to Lowe the night before, Fabrizio had found out that they'd spent a significant amount of time there.

"Is there anywhere I should not sit Miss Lethbridge," Murdoch asked, sarcasm clear is his voice.

"Sit wherever you like, Lieutenant. Though you may not want to lean against that wall," she giggled.

Fabrizio barely suppressed his laugh, as the First Officer sat down on the other side of Master at Arms Turner who was not suppressing his laughter at all.

"It seems that you are very much your brother's sister. He and Lieutenant Sperling spent much of their free time verbally sparring the first couple days of on the way to the war game," a dark haired man around Murdoch's age walked into the room in a dark blue uniform with three stripes around the cuffs. "I certainly hope you are up for the challenge Mr. Murdoch. I to give them a direct order to knock it off, and even then the peace barely kept for a day. It was clearly playful though."

"Are you Commander Blair," he asked tentatively. The uniform looked far less elaborate that he would think.

"I am. Since you all beat me here, shall we get down to business," the American naval officer asked.

"Yes, let us get on with it," Murdoch replied.

"The press is going to be all over the sinking. What makes things worse is that the accused is a member of a family that controls a good many newspapers all over the US, but their main power base is in New York. You all will likely receive offers of bribes, threats, and violence to yourselves in order to coerce you to change your stories."

"My father has had prior negative dealings with the accused's uncle. He tried to cheat my father in a business deal; took him to court and won," Cecily muttered.

"Then you will likely have to be even more careful than the others. Though your brother has mentioned that your father has excellent private security," Commander Blair stated.

"Excellent only begins to describe it. And I am sure he would be willing to share it with the others, should they wish to leave wherever we are staying once we arrive in New York," Cecily replied.

"To make things a bit easier, the remaining crew of the Titanic will be bunking in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It'll be easier to keep secure than a hotel. You four will be allowed to leave, but only under escort," Commander Blair ordered.

Fabrizio shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He was unsure of how to bring up the subject of clothing.

"Will, um, we be getting something more to wear Commander? This is all I've got," he looked anywhere but at the other three. Unlike them, he did not have easy access to money.

"I'll do my best to take care of all you. You can stay at the DC house. The inquiry is likely to move there at one point or another," Cecily said in the increasingly uncomfortable silence.

"First Officer Murdoch, Captain Frankling has the idea that you, your officers, and Master at Arms Turner probably don't want to be in those uniforms anymore. We are attempting to get Royal Navy uniforms for you, but unless a Royal Navy vessel is making a port call in New York, that is unlikely to happen. So the higher likelihood is that you will be in US Navy attire," Commander Blair explained.

"Whatever your Captain can do will be more than excellent, Commander," Mr. Murdoch sounded surprised.

"This was pretty much all I had to say to the four of you. You are free to leave and go about your day," Commander Blair said.

Once they'd all left, Fabrizio held back to speak to Cecily.

"Thank you in advance. I hope it won't be too much trouble for your family, Cecily," he said.

"It won't be. Have you heard the term filthy rich?" Fabrizio nodded. "Good. Because we're disgustingly so. But unlike some people I could mention we don't flash our money the way they do. Don't worry about it, Fabrizio," she replied with a smile.

It seemed that there were two types of rich people.

Still April 17th but on land…

While the train was still stuck in Chicago, Antin McLewis had to keep his boss from wearing out his boots.

"Boss, you know that Cecily is safe. Mina is with her. The pacing will do nothing but tire you out so you can't greet them when we get to New York."

There were still times when Antin could not believe how head had gotten here. 12 years ago, he was heading back to Pennsylvania after fighting for the US Army in the Philippines and in China as part of the relief forces against the Boxer Rebellion. Antin had seen a man fighting off someone trying to kill him during his stop in Denver. Deciding to intervene, he helped the man fight them off.

That man had been Albert Lethbridge. His head of security at the time had missed more than a few things. The man was swiftly fired and Antin himself was offered the job. It had taken some persuasion, but in the end he'd accepted.

Over time, Antin had come to see that his boss and his family were cuts above most other rich families. Most would not have paid to move Antin's entire immediate family from Pennsylvania.

He was now head of a security team known as the "40 Thieves". There were only 30 of them, none of them thieves. Most of them were army veterans, with a few marines and sailors rolled in.

I have my standards.

Albert nearly had a fit of apoplexy when he had heard about the Titanic's sinking. It had been hours later when the telegram from Mina had gotten through:

Cecily and I safe. Onboard ship for New York. Please come.

Not needing any further incentive, his boss began ordering things for packing to meet his sister and daughter on the east coast. Half of the security team, himself included would be coming along. Rumors were flying like bullets about the circumstances of the sinking and what happened during it.

One of the more entertaining events leading up to their departure from Denver was Alexander Trent's deafening argument with his mother about Lucy going with them to see Cecily. Alex had won, but a terrified maid of her mother's was going to be watching Lucy. He and Rafaela were already conspiring on how to handle the situation.

Not everyone is blessed with a good boss, Antin thought as the Ohio countryside sped by.

He wondered what Cecily had gotten up to on the voyage.

1345 April 17th, somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean

Something had been bugging Harry during yesterday's lunch with Cecily and Roland. Everything had went smoothly. Both had caught him up with what their father was up to and had even told him a little about some of the people who worked for them. Rafaela their cook who had taught them Spanish and Antin the head of their father's security team were the main features of the stories.

However, when he'd asked about their mother, both of them had changed the subject so quickly that his head had spun.

Shortly after that, Roland had needed to return to the Florida, and he himself had been borrowed by Mr. Lightoller.

Before he'd ran into Cecily in the library, Harry had gotten the answers to his questions about their strange behavior from a Mrs. Brown, also from Denver. She was the one who had threatened to throw Hichens overboard (oh how he wish she had, the man was a pain in the ass), had taken him aside.

"Son, you obviously knew the family before they moved to Colorado. You could probably get away with asking more direct questions than most, just not with an audience."

He'd nodded before asking, "Why'd they change the subject to Colorado scenery so quickly?"

"I'd stop asking further questions about their mother. Mrs. Lethbridge died 14 years ago on Christmas Eve. The house was black instead of green that year. Neither them nor their father really make much of a fuss over the holiday. Not much joy in that house in December, outside of Roland's birthday," Mrs. Brown informed him.

"That's horrible. No wonder they ducked that question," Harry remarked feeling rotten for asking. "It was their mother's favorite holiday."

"You couldn't have known. One further piece of advice on another topic of conversation to avoid unless they themselves bring it up: Paul Thornton. That Bowie knife of hers isn't just for decoration. She's actually used it before."

Returning to the present, he went on looking for Cecily. First he was looking inside, since the weather was just getting worse. It would likely be raining when they reached New York sometime tomorrow.

Only when Harry went outside and upon nearing the bow of the Carpathia did he hear violin music. Deciding to hazard a guess, he made his way over there.

Sure enough, his guess was correct. Harry did not recognize the tune Cecily was playing this time so he asked, "I found you playing Suo Gan that morning. What are you playing this afternoon?"

Cecily whipped around; her eyes wild. Her violin fell from her loose hands and would have hit the wet deck had he not caught it and set it on a bench next to its case.

Trembling, she burrowed into him muttering, "I thought playing it would make it better. Make the demons go away. I was wrong. So wrong!"

Smoothing her hair while holding her he asked, "What song were you playing?"

"Autumn. That was the last song I heard the band playing. None of that nonsense about Nearer My God to Thee. I thought that if I played it, I would be able to get it out of my head. Oh God they died. They all died!"

She burrowed into his chest further, sobbing. Harry held her closer, hoping that the sea spray that had gotten him earlier would not make her too cold. The last thing Cecily needed was to get sick before she saw her father again.

He lost track of time of how long he held her before she calmed down a little. Once she did he said, "Give me a moment, your violin should be in its case."

Cecily nodded, giving him permission.

It was then that Harry realized that he recognized the violin. It was clearly her mother's old violin. Handing the case to her he said, "It looks familiar."

"I imagine so. You certainly saw plenty of it when you were at our home," Cecily replied, leaning into him before continuing, "My father gave it to me for my 16th birthday. He thought that my skill had reached that level and that I would like it. My mother died on Christmas Eve. Fitting isn't it? She died on a day that brought her so much joy, and to this day, Roland, Father, and I don't celebrate the holiday at all, beyond the religious requirements. And even those are excruciating to go through without her. This year will be worse than usual. With this fiasco, I'll be lucky if that murder trial will be over before the new year," Cecily started trembling again.

"How long do you think the trial will be delayed," Harry inquired as they reentered the ship.

"God alone knows. September or October with a great deal of luck," Cecily grumbled. They were headed towards the staterooms.

"It's nice to see something good come out of this mess," Mina was in a nearby sitting area.

"Yes, we all lived," he replied wryly.

"Well, yes there is that, but it was not what I was referring it," Mina nodded at his arm still wrapped around Cecily's waist.

"Yes Aunt Mina. Harry was quite good about me while I cried my heart out," Cecily snapped before apologizing, "Sorry Aunt Mina, I should not have been so harsh."

"We're all a bit on edge. Once we are on dry land, I imagine seeing our loved ones will help us feel better," the older woman replied.

"Thank you for earlier Harry," Cecily squeezed his hand that was at her waist before stepping away, looking more miserable than she did when he had found her.

"I'm certain I'll see you sometime tomorrow," he replied, trying to summon a smile for her.

1730 April 17th

Cecily was not feeling particularly hungry. She had a feeling that her aunt was going to get her to eat some kind of soup with bread. The thought of food made her nauseous.

She was trying to retreat behind her walls, only to find that they were now rubble. Cecily needed to have some semblance of control over her Ice Queen persona before she had to inevitably deal with reporters.

But do I really want that? Do I want to be the Ice Queen again?

Truth be told, Cecily really did not want to. She wanted to let that persona sink to the bottom of the Atlantic, but it had it's uses.

Before further musing could be done, her aunt strode into the room saying, "For him only being an "old friend" you sure do seem to keep on finding him."

"Today, this time he found me. I really should apologize to you again for earlier. Things have not been easy, and Harry's been a Godsend helping me through it," Cecily explained.

Aunt Mina replied, "Help comes from all directions, and often from where we least expect it."

Cecily decided to start cleaning up her violin from earlier. She had let it go longer than she normally would, having been stuck inside her own head.

She should have done it sooner. The repetitive motion soothed her. Only then did she realize that Harry'd caught the instrument before it hit the deck.

I will have to thank him later. But how…

"Nice to see you smiling, even a little. May I ask what it is about," her aunt queried.

"I dropped the violin when I was playing it outside. Harry caught it before it could hit the deck. I was considering how to thank him," she answered.

"We arrive in New York tomorrow. If you want to do something that you would not want others knowing about, I suggest you do it quickly," her aunt implied with no teasing in her tone.

"Aunt Mina, get your mind out of the gutter. We have not done anything beyond kissing and let our hands wander while doing so," Cecily replied.

"How involved has the kissing gotten," her aunt questioned.

"What do you mean "involved"," Cecily asked affronted.

"Oh Dear Lord… I am glad that your father and definitely not your brother are not here right now. Has he touched you at all? I am not just talking about your arm or waist."

"No…" Cecily had a bad feeling about where this could be heading.

"What about his tongue? Has he put it in your mouth?" Her aunt had that glint in her eyes.

"What?! No!" Cecily felt her ears turn crimson as she now knew for sure where her aunt was going.

"Have you done any of that to him?" Her aunt was now starting to hit her stride.

"I had no idea!" she squeaked, looking anywhere but at her aunt. Cecily now hoped that dinner would arrive soon and that the food would work as a distraction for Aunt Mina.

"Evidently. Really Cecily, you should persuade him to put his arms around you. It's a nice feeling," her aunt forged onward.

While Cecily was sure she would not mind Harry's arms being around her, it only made her remember that night nearly 10 years ago.

"Perhaps I could suggests some things for you to do the next time you two find yourselves alone?"

"I don't think-" Cecily began but her aunt was undeterred.

"Next time he kisses you bite his lip. Do it gently. Sounds crazy, but it'll drive him mad," her aunt winked.

Wanting desperately to get her aunt off this topic Cecily blurted the first thing that came to her mind, "Did you get these ideas when you were with your old friend Captain Rostron?"

"That is not something we are discussing. We are discussing you and your potential activities." But she could tell that her aunt had been thrown off a little.

Cecily had never been so thankful to see a bowl of chicken noodle soup!

2100 April 17th

Her niece had been getting more and more impertinent as the night wore on. Not that Mina did not realize that Cecily was attempting to get her own back for the grief she'd been giving her over her budding relationship with Harold.

Mina knew she deserved most of it. She still needed a break from her niece. The night air was soothing and she hoped that Cecily would be asleep by the time she got back to the stateroom.

She took in the moonlight flashing over the waves. This was their last full day at sea. Tomorrow Mina would have to explain to Albert that Cecily had witnessed a murder on top of having to deal with the events of the sinking. That was not a conversation she was looking forward to having with her brother at all.

Figuring that she had spent enough time outdoors, Mina decided it was time to turn in for the night. Only she ran into someone quite literally.

"My apologies ma'am. I did not mean to intrude," she'd know that voice anywhere, despite it having been over two decades since she last heard it closely.

"Come now Arthur. Is that how you greet an old friend?"

"Mina. I didn't see you on the passenger manifest," he walked back towards her.

"I wasn't originally on board the Carpathia," she replied.

"Then you were on-" Arthur started.

"I'd rather not discuss it," Mina replied.

"Of course. Completely understandable. It's been a while," his grey eyes kind.

"Over 20 years."

Silence stretched tensely before Arthur inquired, "How are your boys? Your husband?"

"My husband decided to go riding his horse whilst drunk six years ago. With fatal results," Mina answered. Arthur knew all too well that Wyndam had been a first class bastard to her.

"I see. That still could not have been easy for you. Or your boys. There were Alistair, Brandon and Matthew right? What are they up to now?"

"Actually there are four of them. Alistair is doing well in the family business, Brandon is an army captain, Matthew is a barrister in London, and Randall my youngest is in his third year at Dartmouth," Mina answered.

"That must have raised one hell of a fuss in Wyndam's family. They have a long army tradition as I recall," Arthur stated.

"Oh there was one. I couldn't say no to him. He was and still is my baby boy, no matter how much that annoys him. He's the only one of them who looks like me," Mina smiled.

He stepped a mite closer, brushing her hair back into place and whispered, "I am glad I was there for you during that time."

"You were always my closest friend. You were there Arthur when no one else could be. Albert was on the other side of the country. Try as he might, Albert could not do anything about how Wyndam treated me. And believe me, he tried everything. When he inherited everything from Uncle Robert, Albert offered to get rid of my problem. I refused, as it would have been apparent who had motive behind the act. My husband was enough of an idiot that he'd do himself in at one point or another," Mina finished before saying, "I should be heading back to my stateroom. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

"Allow me to walk you back," Arthur gave a slight bow.

The silence as they walked back was comfortable. Once they reached their destination, he turned to her saying, "It was good to see you again Mina, if only it were under better circumstances."

A quick hug was exchanged, and both went their separate ways.

A/N: I had quite a bit of fun with this chapter, even if it was heavier than the prior ones. Gave a bit of backstory on Aunt Mina. For the crew of the Carpathia, I'm using A Night to Remember. The song that I got the title from is Writing's on the Wall. It just spoke to me. SSD

OC Casting:

Antin McLewis: Woody Harrelson as he looked as Haymitch. But with a haircut.