It turned out that I didn't have much time to prepare for my guests, for all of a sudden the three children were dropped off by a family friend, and Rigel was romping through the house with Nana. The two boys stared at me while Mavis babbled in the chair she had been sat in. I gave them a smile, "Aren't you excited for your new sibling?"

"I want a brother." Roger shifted the small bag he was carrying. "Where are we sleeping?"

"Upstairs," I pointed to the staircase. "There's a cot in the office, I thought you two could share it?"

"We're not sleeping in your room?" Trevor turned to me, his lip wobbling. "Where's Mavis going?"

"I thought Mavis could stay with me, in my bed." I looked from Roger to Trevor, seeing both of them making the same face. "You don't like that?"

"We want to be in your room," Roger jutted out his lower lip. "All of us together."

"Do you sleep with your mother?" I raised an eyebrow.

Trevor shook his head, "No, but-"

"But Trevor gets nightmares when Mother has a baby." Roger elbowed him, "He doesn't want to be alone."

That comment led to a round of arguing and shoves that I could barely follow, until finally I stamped my foot and drew them away from each other. "Fine, you all can sleep in my room," The two boys immediately looked triumphant, but their faces fell as I finished. "But you'll need to move the cot yourselves."

The two of them trudged off, and I collected Mavis into my arms. Almost two years old, she was getting big, but she still giggled when I tickled her belly. A meaty hand was slapped on my cheek, "Anna!"

"Yes, you silly girl." I chuckled, not only at that but at the sound of clattering and whispered curses coming down the stairs. I glanced to the clock, "You'd better hurry boys, I have to go into the offices today and I do not trust the three of you alone here."

It was at least an hour before they came downstairs to insist that I needed to see what they had done. What I found was a bit of a mess, the sewing machine had been moved, the cot was wedged so that I would have to step over it to get to the wardrobe, and their bags had been piled on my bed. Roger looked at me, "Is this okay?"

"It will do." I ruffled his hair, "Now, let your aunt drive you down to the docks. I'm trusting you two with your sister." That set off another argument, for one of them wanted to ride beside me which they couldn't do if they were holding their sister. I gained a newfound respect for Sylvie listening to them, finally getting them to agree to switch who rode next to me on the drive home.

Roger got to be the first to ride next to me, and I spent most of the time answering his endless questions and batting his hand away from the horn. I glanced to him, "You're usually not like this when your father is around, or Will for that matter."

He shrugged, watching as I maneuvered us through a gap and got up to the docks. "Usually Papa answers all my questions, Uncle Will too. They told us not to bother the ladies with them."

I sighed, shaking my head as I got out to open the doors for everyone. "Remind me to thank your father for that." I hefted Mavis into my arms, "Now, boys, I want you to stay close to me."

They both proved game, trotting alongside me. Trevor gave my skirt a tug, "Are we going on a ship again?"

"Maybe," I shrugged, shifting Mavis as she tried to grab at my hat. "But I'm needed in the offices first." To say the children drew attention as we walked in was an understatement, but it didn't seem like that was the only excitement of the day. Clerks and secretaries eyed me like I was going to bite them, a quick look and then hustling off to get away. I made sure the boys stayed close as climbed upstairs, met by Mr. Welton on the landing.

He glanced to my escorts, "I wasn't aware you were bringing the children today."

"My nephews and niece are with my while their mother brings their new sibling into the world." I chuckled, seeing Roger and Trevor blush at being called my nephews.

"I suppose I can have someone watch them," He shifted, holding out his arms for Mavis. Remembering his words about his own daughters, I handed her over. "She's darling."

"She is." I admitted, for she was even if she did have a penchant for pulling pins out of my hair. "Is there somewhere the children can play?"

He nodded, "My office should suffice, I'll have someone keep an eye on them."

Roger stamped his foot, tugging on my skirt. "We want to stay with you, Aunt Anna."

Mr. Welton leaned down, "Aunt Anna has to attend to adult matters."

"What?" Trevor dug his hand into my skirt. "Why can't we be with her?"

"Because it's a very serious matter." Welton looked up to me, "Very serious, ma'am."

I pursed my lips, kneeling to take Roger and Trevor's hands. "Boys, if you're good, I will take you on one of the ships after." They grumbled at that, but allowed themselves to be led away by a secretary who had children of her own. No matter how much she talked of playing blind man's bluff or making up stories, they pouted and kept their eyes on me. I raised an eyebrow at Welton, "Now, what is so urgent I had to come down here?"

"Mary," Welton nodded his head toward my office. "She was caught not only digging through your desk but reading your correspondence."

"What?" I looked toward my office again, seeing now that there were several figures inside. Mary had been sat in a chair, a clerk and a porter staring at her. I walked closer, seeing papers spread across my desk. I recognized them, reports and contracts, but what made me furious was seeing my letters to Will torn open. I had brought them for a man to take up to Rosyth, and now they were laid bare for anyone to see. I could barely think as I threw the door open, "What the hell were you doing?"

Mary almost jumped out of her chair, yelping. "Mrs. Murdoch, please don't sack me!"

"Oh, you're sacked." I growled, stalking behind my desk. "But you're telling me everything! If you do, I won't have you arrested as a spy."

"Spy?" She squeaked, looking to Mr. Welton as he came in. "Sir, I wasn't spying!"

"I found you writing down the contents of Mrs. Murdoch's papers." Welton set a notebook down on the desk, flipping it open to reveal pages of scrawl. I recognized Mary's handwriting, and Welton snorted. "Why? The company has been good to you, hasn't it?"

She was almost shaking now, "I wouldn't have done it, I didn't do it!"

"Mary," I sighed, sitting down. "You understand how back this looks, correct?" She nodded, and I continued. "Your job is already lost, there is nothing that will save that. However," I gestured for the clerk and porter to leave, narrowing my eyes as two small shapes darted past them before the door to my office closed. Welton noticed it to, especially when my curtains suddenly wrapped themselves around two figures. I pursed my lips, "However, if you tell us why you were doing this, I won't reveal why you left the company. You can tell whoever you get with that you left because you wanted to do something more to help the war effort, it doesn't matter. Just tell me, Mary."

She sniffed, rubbing her finger under her nose. "It was Francis, he wanted to know what we do. He was looking for a job." She drew in a shuddering breath, "We, we would meet up for pints in town and he told me all about how he was writing a book about the good work we were doing for the war, only he needed more information for it." Welton and I shared a glance at that. "He said you might mention things in your letters, I only looked at a few, I swear!"

I rubbed my temples, "What does Francis look like?"

"Brown hair, a handsome face." She blushed slightly, "He's got the most wonderful accent."

I almost exploded out of my chair at that, for I had no doubt that it was Campbell. But I merely folded my hands together and laid them on my desk. "You may collect your things and go, Mary. Some of the men will see you out." Welton helped her to her feet, she was shaking like a leaf as she left my office. I looked to the curtains, "Boys, out. Now."

They drug their feet, scuffed their shoes on the carpet, and did everything but look at me. Roger's voice was very quiet. "Yes, Aunt Anna?"

"What did I say?" I came from behind the desk to lean against it in front of them. "You two couldn't behave for twenty minutes!"

"We wanted to help," Trevor piped up, "Papa and Mama said it was our job to help you."

"You could have helped me by staying out of it." I jerked my chin to the window. "Take a good look boys, that's the closest you're getting to the ships today."

The shuffled over to the window, Roger looking over his shoulder. "That's the lady from in here." I joined him, seeing that Mary was indeed down on the docks. She fairly jumped at every man who went past her, pale and twitching. "Are they going to throw her in the harbor?"

"No," I shook my head, watching as she scrambled away. "And you two are going to sit at that table and work on letter writing while I tend to things here. Write one to your father and one to your mother, and one for Uncle Will as well."

I kept a stern eye on them writing their letters, on Dalian letterhead no less, while I put my desk back in order. I refolded every letter to Will carefully, and made sure to check the locks on my desk twice before we left. I answered every one of Trevor's mumbled questions as we drove home, and the only thing that cheered the boys up a bit was when Rigel and Nana came tearing in to greet them.

I tried to push my anger down while I made dinner, roast chicken for everyone. I was angry at the boys for not listening to me, and at myself for being angry at them. I knew the boys were willful, curious and had little respect for firmness, so I should have known better than to trust that they wouldn't be interesting in what was going on. That was their father in them, and a good deal of their mother too.

So, I was extra sweet as I set the table for dinner, giving them each a double helping of the vegetables I had roasted with the chicken. Mavis was pleased with them and her small bit of chicken, and the boys ate every bit on their plates. Instead of having them clean though, I sent them upstairs to ready themselves for bed with the promise I would read to them.

I readied Mavis myself before donning my own nightgown, coming into the bedroom to find the boys on either end of the cot, in their pajamas with a book between them. I smiled when I saw it, and leaned down to pick it up after setting Mavis on the small pillow I had unearthed for her. "You picked a good one, boys."

Roger looked to me, "We did?"

"One of my favorites," I smiled, opening it. "Around the World in 80 Days, and your Uncle Will bought me this copy during our honeymoon in Paris."

"What's a honeymoon?" Trevor asked, making me cough for a second.

Once I had recovered, I was still a bit red in the face. "It's a trip newly married people take to celebrate being married. Now, let's begin." They were rapt with attention as I read, although we didn't get through much. Every few paragraphs there was a question that needed to be answered, and we had barely left London before their eyes were sliding closed.

I laid down myself, hearing the slow and steady breathing of everyone around me. It was a comfort to hear them when I woke up briefly in the night, although in the dark it was hard to tell who was where. But during one of my brief rousings, I heard sniffles and whispered comments. "Trevor, shush."

I turned over, doing my best to see in the dark. Trevor was sat up in bed, shaking as he did his best to quietly cry. I whispered so as not to disturb Mavis, "Trevor, what is it?"

He gave no immediate reply, instead hurling himself into my arms and burying his face against my breast. "Mama's going to die."

I hugged him tightly, rubbing his back. "No, she's not, why would you ever think that?"

"Ronnie Jenkins in school said so." Trevor sniffed, "And then they're going to send us to an orphanage!"

Roger joined me on the bed, muttering curses on Ronnie that his father would have been proud of. I shifted Trevor to lay next to me, patting the mattress for Roger to join us. I kissed Trevor's forehead, "Your mother is a strong woman who will have your new sibling waiting for you before you know it." I pulled the boys a bit closer, "And if, God forbid, anything happened to your parents, you always have a home with Uncle Will and I. Now, let's think about happy things, hmm?"

I kept up a chatter of silly things, stories I remembered Mother telling me when I was a child. Eventually everyone settled back to sleep, although there was barely any room on the bed left after Trevor and Roger wrapped themselves around me, and in the morning the boys were much better behaved. They didn't even pester me about what was in the note that was delivered halfway through breakfast, which I tore into quickly. I waved it in front of their noses, "Boys, your mother had the baby!"

They almost stood in their chair, grabbing for the note. I stood, dangling it above their heads. Roger was laughing, "Give it!"

"Don't you want to know if it's a boy or a girl?" I teased, pulling the note closer. "Oh, look, you two have a new sister! Claire Doreen, and your mother is in perfect health." I examined it closer as they started bemoaning their new sister, they had wanted a brother. Scrawled in Sylvie's hand was one more line, Anna, be a dear and keep the children for a week? Thank you so much, you will love your new niece.

Will found himself anxious as the cruise grew closer. It wasn't a training cruise; this was a demonstration to scare the Germans and keep them in their harbor. Ships were being moved as provisions were loaded, half the fleet was anchored in the Firth to leave on the morning tide. Will worried about how his performance would be judged, given that his past was known now.

He found himself checking and rechecking their preparations, and fretting over the smallest details. He glanced up when he heard the tapping of a cane, "Sharpe?"

"Sir," Sharpe came in, his cane in hand. He would never walk without it, although at least he no longer leaned so heavily on it. "We've had an officer from the Indefatigable, he brought this for you."

Will accepted the note, reading quickly. "Four of my men in his brig?"

"We have had four men from damage control missing from roll," Sharpe shrugged, "Perhaps you should pay a visit."

"I believe I will," Will looked to the window, "Have a boat readied."

"Of course, sir." Sharpe nodded, moving towards the door. "I'll round up some Marines, have to keep up appearances."

Will sighed, "Have Tyne and Nettles come with, I could use them." It was yet another performance, being rowed out to the battlecruiser and piped aboard. The Marines were clearly expecting some kind of trouble, having brought their rifles with them in addition to their sidearms. Will hoped they looked frightening enough as his party stepped out of the boat.

The captain of the Indefatigable, an older man with close cropped gray hair by the name of Sowerby, stepped forward. "Captain Murdoch, I wish we were meeting again under more pleasant circumstances."

Will shook the man's hand, "I'm afraid I may not be invited to the next party Mrs. Beatty throws after that one."

Sowerby chuckled, "Yes, well, it made it all the more entertaining." He sobered, noting the Marines. "Ah, good, you'll need them to keep those men of yours in line."

Will glanced at the Marines over his shoulder, "Might I ask why you have my men locked up?"

"Come," Sowerby turned, clearly wanting Will to walk with him. They started off, trailed by their officers and the Marines. Sowerby waited until they were belowdecks to speak. "They were caught fighting with some of my stokers outside some pub in town. The police had no idea what to do with them, so they brought them all here."

"Ah," Will pursed his lips. "My thanks for your hospitality."

"I trust you know what to do with them." Sowerby led him into the brig, revealing a rather cramped cell currently occupied by four men.

Will took in the sight of the four; black eyes, bloodied noses, no doubt some loose teeth and bruises hiding under clothes. He did his best to look stern, "If you could release them to me, I'll see to them back on my ship." One of Sowerby's officers moved forward at his captain's nod, four pairs of handcuffs dangling from his hands. Will pursed his lips, "Those won't be necessary."

The officer paused, the cell door half open, and Sowerby turned to him. "I know you probably haven't dealt with this situation before, but they are supposed to be restrained."

"Look at them, Captain, all the fight has gone out of them." Nettles spoke up, and Will had to agree. The men looked miserable. Nettles turned to Will, "I will take personal charge of them, sir, you have my word."

Will could have kissed the man he was so grateful to have had him intercede. "Very well, men, Lieutenant Commander Nettles will see you to the boat." Will waited as Nettles led the men off, the Marines escorting them.

Sowerby shook his head, "You can't keep a gentle hand with them like that, Captain Murdoch. They need an iron grip."

"They will be seen to." Will promised, "I can assure you of that." He could feel the eyes of what seemed like everyone onboard on his party as they made their way back to the boat. Yet more piping and ceremony ensued as they were lowered down, the sailors unloading the oars and beginning to pull them back to the Unicorn. Will cast an eye at the four men, huddled in the middle of the boat. "When did you all last eat?"

One of them, a burly man with an impressive beard, glanced up and looked at him through his one unswollen eye. "Yesterday, sir."

"And were you seen to by Captain Sowerby's surgeon?"

"No, sir." The man shook his head, wincing as he did.

That statement brought a grumble from the sailors, although they quieted when Tyne looked over. Even the Marines appeared a bit uncomfortable though, and Will had to bite down his initial curse. "Lieutenant Tyne, you will bring these men to the wardroom when we get back and ask the cook to throw together something for them." Tyne nodded, and Will looked to the men. "We'll discuss what happened over lunch and I'll have the surgeon see to you."

Another of the men, rather young and scrawny, did his best to smile around a split lip. "Thank you, sir." They were the center of attention as they came back, and Tyne drew a small crowd as he escorted the men to the wardroom. The Marines followed, stationing themselves outside the door.

They each gave Will a nod as he entered, finding the four men gingerly sitting on officer's chairs and staring greedily at the platter of sandwiches that had been brought. Will took a seat across from them, helping himself to a chicken sandwich. "Eat, you must be starving." They didn't need any more encouragement, tearing ravenously into the meal. Will waited until they had each eaten one before continuing. "Well, what happened?"

They shifted in their seats, the burly man speaking again. "Well, we had gotten an afternoon of leave and were having some beers at the pub." He winced as he chewed, shaking it off. "While we were there, there were some other sailors and we called out to them. They asked us what ship we were on, and when we said the Unicorn, they started laughing."

The skinny lad spoke up. "They insulted you, sir. They said you were the one who sunk the Titanic and that we'd probably spend most of our time at sea keeping an eye out for icebergs."

Another man nodded, "They also made some unkind comments about Mrs. Murdoch."

"We know you're not one for crashing ships, sir," The first man sat a little straighter. "They were just repeating gossip, but when we told them to shut it, well, they wouldn't."

Will sighed, pinching his nose. "Who threw the first punch?"

"I can't rightly tell, sir." He shrugged, "It happened rather fast, and then we were all tearing the bar apart." He looked down, "We're all sorry to have done this, sir, but we couldn't stand to have them insult our captain."

Will leaned back in his chair, feeling a bit of pride well up. "Lads, I do not need you to fight my battles." He held up a hand to forestall the comments that were already starting. "Those sailors were not lying, boys, I was on watch when Titanic struck the iceberg, despite my best efforts." The quieted at that, staring at him. "As for the comments about my wife, I can assure you she did not buy my position but I would beg of you to not tell me if they said anything else."

Considering the way the burly one was blushing Will had an idea of the nature of the comments. "They were not of kind nature."

"I didn't think they were." Will bit the inside of his cheek, thinking. He couldn't very well let the men get off freely, there had to be some discipline on the ship. But he couldn't have them hauled off to a prison for defending their ship. He tapped his fingers on the table, thinking. "After the surgeon has seen to you, I want you to report to the officer in charge of the damage control crews. Tell him that for the next two weeks you four are on laundry duty for your department."

The men breathed out a sigh of relief, and Will smirked. It might seem like an easy punishment, but the damage control crew had several hundred men who worked hard and were rough on their clothes. These four would be stuck in the laundry rooms, cramped quarters that grew hot and steamy even in winter. In summer it would be almost unbearable, but it wouldn't put the men in a place to injure themselves again and it would be hard work. A punishment, but far more lenient than having them up at dawn to holystone the decks every morning.

He took in the men in front of him, now eating as much as they could. He sighed, "Lads, I understand wanting to defend the reputation of the ship, but you can't be doing that." They glanced away and Will snorted. "We have enough on our hands fighting the Hun, alright? You're only getting off easy this once, the next time I'll have whoever gets caught locked in the brig."