Written by Hippogriff Tamer
Based on some situations originated by James Cameron.

I stood at the rail, looking up at the stars shining brightly above me. The cool sea air rushed past, making tiny goosebumps appear on my arms. I instinctively ran my hands over my arms to try to warm them up. I should have known better than to wear a dress with short sleeves.

"Are you all right?"

I turned and smiled. Fabrizio was standing behind me.

I nodded. "I left my shawl in my room."

"Well, here. Put ‘a this on," he told me as he took his jacket off and held it open for me.

I smiled shyly at him as I walked towards him and put my arms through the sleeves. Once it was on, I snuggled into the warm fabric. It smelled like him. "Thank you."

He nodded. "Di niente."

"Won’t you get cold?" I asked.

"Jack and I…we’ve been in worse," he answered.

"So, why aren’t you still at the party?" I asked quietly.

"I look ‘a for you, Helga," he told me.

I smiled. "I wanted to look at the stars."

Together we walked to the rails again. Standing in a comfortable silence, we gazed at the numerous stars in the sky.

"Beautiful, aren’t they?"

He nodded. "Bello."

I let my eyes fall on the calm Atlantic. "I wonder if we can see the Statue of Liberty yet."

He nodded. "It’s very small, of course."

I couldn’t help but smile again at his accent. "You know, it was built by the French and given to the United States in 1886."

"Jack might have said something like that once," he said.

"I can’t wait to see it."

"Can I ‘a show you something?"

I nodded. He brushed up against my shoulder and arm as he started to move. Goosebumps reappeared on my arm again, but not from the cold air.

"Follow me," he said.

I followed him. He was leading me towards the bow of the ship.

"Where are we going?" I inquired.

He looked at me but said nothing, just motioned to me to continue on after him. When we reached the bow of the ship, I looked up to see two crewmen up in the crow’s nest, watching the open waters. Looking back at Fabrizio, I saw that his eyes were shining with excitement.

"Can I ‘a take your hand?" he asked, almost shyly.

"Yes," I answered, blushing as his hand touched mine. His skin was warmer and softer than I would have thought.

He led me to the tip of the bow. He let my hand go as he stood behind me.

"See out there?" he asked, pointing in front of us.

"Yes."

"The Statue of Liberty is there."

I squinted as I continued searching the vast space in front of us. "I do see it, and it is very small, like you said," I told him.

He smiled. "When we reach America, we’ll be able to see it better."

I tilted my head so I could see him properly. "We should stand right in this spot when we do."

"This spot," he agreed.

Another cool breeze made me shiver. Fabrizio frowned.

"Let’s get you ‘a back inside, all right?" he said.

"All right."

I let him take my hand as we walked back to the third class party. As soon as we got down there, we were met by Jack.

"There you are, Fabri," he said.

He smiled at Jack before gazing at me fondly. I blushed. "I was just showing Helga the Statue of Liberty."

I looked at Jack and he smiled at the both of us. I blushed again and gave him a small smile.

"Wait until we are closer to New York. Then you’ll get a better view of it," he told us.

We nodded.

"I think they are starting to play again and I promised Cora I’d dance with her," Jack said.

"Cora is enamored of you, Jack," I told him.

He nodded. "She’s a sweet kid."

I saw Cora come and tug on his hand. He turned to her and allowed her to lead him to the dance floor. I noticed that I still had Fabrizio’s jacket on, so I took it off and handed it to him.

"Thanks again for the coat. I don’t think I need it now," I said softly.

"Di niente," he said again.

The high energy Irish music started playing again and I couldn’t help but start moving a little with the beat.

"Would you like to dance with ‘a me?" he asked me.

"I’d like that," I answered.

He put the coat on a nearby chair and led me to the dance floor. We passed some of the other passengers drinking beer and having a card game. Other people had started dancing to the jovial tunes coming from the small band. Jack was swinging Cora around. She was laughing and smiling with every step.

"Is it ‘a okay if I put my hand here?" Fabrizio asked.

I was immediately brought back to the person in front of me and what he had asked. He was asking if he could put his hand on my back. I simply nodded. He smiled and put his arm on my back. I took his other hand in mine as we started dancing along with the others. We were dancing for only a few minutes when I felt a small tug at my skirt. I looked down to see Cora staring up at me, her eyes filled with excitement.

"Helga, did you really see the Statue of Liberty?"

I giggled. Jack must have mentioned something to her, for he was watching us with an amused grin on his face. "Yes, but it’s very small."

"Will you show me?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Let’s go, then," she said eagerly, tugging on my hand again to follow her.

I laughed.

"Here, Cora. Why don’t we both take you?" Fabrizio asked.

She smiled up at him. "Thank you!"

"When do you want to see it?" he asked.

"Now!"

He chuckled at her enthusiasm.

I glanced down at her. "Will your parents mind if we take you up on deck?"

She shook her head.

"Why don’t you go ask them?" I said, motioning to where Mr. and Mrs. Cartmell stood.

Cora nodded and ran over to her parents. She spoke to them for a moment, then was back in front of us. She had a small jacket on.

"Ready," she stated.

I smiled at her, then looked up at Fabrizio. He had the same smile plastered on his face. He grabbed his coat and held it out for me again. I slipped into it easily.

"Thank you."

"I don’t want you getting ‘a cold up there."

He offered me his arm. I smiled shyly as I took it. He offered his other arm to Cora. She beamed up at him as she took it. It took just a few minutes to get up on deck.

"The Statue of Liberty is right this way," he said as the three of us began walking towards the bow of the ship.

The End.

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