ALL I NEED
Chapter Six

Harry stayed with me for almost two hours. Then, knowing that Cal would be back and that he was still on duty, he left. He made sure I took all of my medicine and went to sleep before he left. He woke me up to say good-bye and left safely.

The next day, feeling a lot better, I woke up, and finally got out of bed. I was holding the foot board while Trudy tightly laced my corset when she started talking shyly.

"Mr. Hockley came back long after the officer left. Miss Rose looked sad..." she said, and I gasped as she pulled the laces. "Is it too tight?"

"It's always too tight. But don't worry, that's not what made me faint...it certainly contributed, but anyway," I said distractedly. "So, you were saying, Rose was sad? Why? Did you hear something?"

"Well, you know how these things get around--"

"There's no need for ceremony, Trudy," I said with a small laugh at her discretion. "Just tell me."

"Well, Miss Rose suffered an accident." I stopped everything, looking back at her. "I heard them saying that she leaned over the back of the ship, the stern, to see the propellers and she slipped, almost falling overboard."

"My God!" I said quickly, but then I stopped to think about it. Rose wanted to see the propellers? What? Something was wrong there.

"And then a boy, around your age, I think, from steerage...he helped her," she concluded.

"Did he?" I asked, curious, and turned around so she could keep going with the corset. "And then what happened?"

"Well, it seems that Mr. Hockley invited him to dinner tonight with you and all the others in the first class dining salon." She finished with the corset and walked towards the bed, picking up a white dress with lavender floral details.

"A dinner with first class as...a token of his appreciation? God, that's no way to thank anybody. Dinner with first class is like a living hell. Everywhere you go is a different circle that you could burn in," I commented sarcastically, and we both laughed.

She helped me put on the dress and tidied my hair into a bun, a few locks falling graciously over my shoulders. She also helped me apply some very light lavender eye shadow, and with my white gloves on, I left my bedroom for the sitting room, where Cal was sitting on a couch...drinking, as usual.

"You shouldn't be up," Cal said, looking me over from head to toe. "Though I must admit you look a lot better."

"The medicine is starting to take effect, I believe." And just when I finished saying that, Trudy stood beside me with a spoonful of colorless liquid and a glass of water. I took the spoonful, grimacing at the bitter taste. Afterwards, I took a large sip of water. She left us.

"You have to look your best when we dock in New York. Otherwise, Mother and Father will kill me," he said, looking up at me. "So, do your best."

"Well, if it depended on you, I would never get better, really..." I said quietly, rolling my eyes.

"What was that?" he asked me.

"I asked where Rose is," I lied.

"She's off for a walk, I believe." He gestured distractedly. "I see the servants already gossiped to you about what happened last night."

"No. I haven't heard anything," I lied again, and managed to sit beside him.

"Well, Rose almost fell overboard when she leaned on the railing to see the propellers and a steerage boy saved her. The end. Beautiful tale, isn't it?" Cal was jealous. I knew he was jealous.

"Well, you were not there to save her." I rolled my eyes again.

"He didn't save her. They lied," he said suddenly. And then I looked with interest at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"He had his shoes untied and his jacket off. He wouldn't have had time to do all of that if she had slipped suddenly. Rose is hiding something, and that boy is too, now," he said without looking into my eyes. He took a long sip of his drink.

"And did you buy the story?" I asked, as if I didn't know that he had and had invited the boy to dinner.

"Of course I did. It's better for me to buy the story, don't you think?" He looked at me with a sarcastic smile on his face. Well, he was right. It was better for his reputation. "He's coming to dinner tonight. I want you there."

"What for?" I asked suddenly, frowning.

"Well, so he knows one more Hockley and he realizes who is he dealing with." He gestured distractedly. I didn't know if I considered that a compliment or an offense, so I just ignored it and stood up. Harry had asked me if I could meet him today at noon when his shift was over.

"I will see if I am all right tonight," I said, and walked towards the sitting room door. "I am going for a walk. See you later."

"Wait," he said suddenly, and I stopped by the door. "Trudy will go with you. God knows whether or not you will faint again."

*****

Before going to the open deck, Trudy religiously took me to the Palm Court and asked for my special meal, only this time it was tomato soup mixed with raw steak. It wasn't any better, but I managed to eat it all.

When I stepped onto the open deck, the first person who I saw was Rose talking to a boy who I didn't know. From the look of his clothes, I deduced that he was the boy who helped her. Without wanting to bother with other people's business, I turned in the opposite direction, and then I had the misfortune to meet Mr. Lovejoy. He was watching Rose closely, but apparently she didn't see him, because she was acting very natural.

"Miss Hockley." He managed a nod, looking me over from head to toe, that strange look. "Trudy." He looked at Trudy with the same nod.

"Spying on Rose for my brother, I see," I said sarcastically, looking from him to Rose.

"And you, too. Just so you know." I knew it already. Goddamn Cal.

On the other side of him, I saw Harry a few yards away, leaving the boat deck and coming down with another officer. Both were laughing and smoking while walking and talking. He saw me a few seconds after he had reached the same level that I was on and stopped, suddenly glaring at Mr. Lovejoy. The other officer looked from him to me with a very puzzled look--it wasn't Officer Moody or Officer Murdoch--and then Harry said something to him and he looked back, smiling at me.

"Right," I said while all of that was happening. Mr. Lovejoy was no fool, and he turned around to see what I was looking at.

When Mr. Lovejoy started to turn around, Harry and the other officer also turned and stood by the railing distractedly, as if nothing was happening. I stifled my laughter and looked at Trudy, who was doing exactly the same thing.

"What has got your attention on the boat deck, Miss Hockley?" Mr. Lovejoy asked, turning back to me.

"Men in officer’s uniforms. It's very...breathtaking," I said sarcastically, though my tone was serious. Trudy blushed at my side. I knew that she agreed with me, even though I was being sarcastic...men in officer’s uniforms are breathtaking.

"I see. Perhaps that's why the young man was looking for you yesterday," Mr. Lovejoy said quietly. "He must think the same of young ladies in corsets."

"Who doesn't?" I winked at him. God, he was disgusting! And with that, I looked at Harry, who stood there with his friend, waiting for me.

I had to think. I turned around and saw Rose sitting on a deck chair with the boy beside her. She was looking at some kind of portfolio. Then I got an idea. I walked towards Rose and the boy, Trudy following me at some distance.

"Excuse me, Rose?" She looked up at me nervously and attempted to stand up as I gestured for her to stay seated. "Don't worry. Rose, I need your help."

"Uh…all right. Well, first..." she said, confused at my last words. She pointed to the boy. "Jack Dawson, this is Catherine Hockley, my soon-to-be sister-in-law."

Mr. Dawson looked as concerned as her when he heard my last name, but he managed to smile and looked up, puzzled, at Rose.

"She's nothing like Cal," Rose said with a smile.

"Don't worry. I won't…uh...say anything," I assured them, and I could see Mr. Dawson sighing in relief. "You know Mr. Lovejoy is watching us, don't you, Rose?"

"I noticed." She nodded. "But I'm not doing anything wrong."

"Well, I am...I mean, I will be," I said, and they both stared at me. "But I will need your help."

"She really is nothing like Cal," Mr. Dawson said with a laugh. "Well, Miss, how can I help you?"

"Well, Mr. Lovejoy cannot split into two, thank God. So, I need you to head in a different direction than I will head, and he will certainly go after you, because...let's put it that…uh...Rose is with you, so apparently she's the one doing something wrong," I said, and they both laughed.

"May I ask where you want to go?" Rose asked.

"Uh…well, be discreet...you see the two officers far away on your right?" I asked, and she attempted to fix her hair and look where I said. So did Mr. Dawson, but he simply looked. They both nodded. "Well, I have to go there. But first, I will need a sheet of paper, Mr. Dawson, and I am asking you to write something, because it will be too obvious if I sit down to write."

Mr. Dawson laughed and nodded, opening his portfolio and flipping a few pages of drawings until he got a blank sheet of paper.

"Bring it on," he said, still laughing. He must think I'm crazy.

"Uh...I need someplace where he could go and Mr. Lovejoy wouldn't see us." I looked around discreetly, thinking.

"You can go to the stairs to moment class," Mr. Dawson suggested, looking up at me.

"Is this the same officer who Cal dragged out of the suite yesterday?" Rose asked suddenly, and I nodded. "Catherine, Catherine..."

"You won't tell him, will you?" I asked.

"No. Of course not. Go on." She gestured to Mr. Dawson, waiting for me to say what he had to write.

"All right. Tell him to meet me at the bottom of the stairs to moment class," I said, and he started to write, ripping the piece of paper slowly as I bent down, pretending to be admiring his drawing and pointing to it, but actually folding the small piece of paper under the portfolio and taking it in my hand. "Now, I will tell Trudy to give it to him, attempting to go past him, and if Mr. Lovejoy stops her, to tell him that she is getting one of my medicines. When Harry, the officer, starts to walk, you two go to the left. Please?" I asked, and they both nodded.

"Certainly, Cathy." Rose nodded and laughed. "I can't even imagine what your brother would think if he heard how well you can fool him."

"It's the Hockley blood." I winked at them and they both laughed again.

As I had said, I called Trudy and she approached us. I gave her the instructions, and she, still a little reluctant, took the piece of paper, pretending to check my pulse, and then left, walking past Mr. Lovejoy, but as I thought, he stopped her and must have asked her where was she going. With my lie, she kept going, and the last few moments were synchronized. She passed Harry, handing him the piece of paper and not stopping. Harry took the paper and read it, laughing to himself. He left his friend and walked towards the stairs, disappearing as he went down them.

As Harry walked away, Rose and Mr. Dawson stood up and both, with a nod, left me in the opposite direction of Harry. Then I started to walk towards Harry. Mr. Lovejoy did not even notice me. He just walked after Rose. I sighed in relief as I passed him, and Trudy, waiting on the stairs to the boat deck, just laughed as I gestured to her that I would be down the other stairs. She nodded, and I headed for the stairs.

I walked down them, and as I reached the bottom, the corridor stretched both left and right, but as my feet touched the floor, Harry's hand took mine, gently pulling me to the left, where he was leaning against the wall.

"You look stunning, Miss Catherine Ingenious Hockley," he said sarcastically, taking my waist with both of his hands, his face close to mine, the tips of our noses touching. "And I see you decided to share your beautiful smile. Well, thank you very much." He smiled himself, that same wide smile as always.

"You have to stop complimenting me, or I will get too used to it," I replied, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"I'm sure I am not the only one," he said, and kissed my lips for a moment, looking back into my eyes again. "What were you planning to do this afternoon?"

"I don't know, but you need to sleep," I said, noting that his eyes were a little red from lack of sleep. "I will not hold you here. I can't, really. I have a lot of medicine to take throughout the day."

"Well, we can arrange that," he started, and I narrowed my eyes. "You can come with me to my room, and I promise I will not do anything to you, just like yesterday, and we can ask your nice maid to give us the medicine and the schedule, so you will take it while you keep me company. It's not fair that I watched your sleep yesterday, and--" I was smiling as he made his speech, trying to convince me to stay with him, but it was obvious that I preferred to stay with him than by myself on the first class deck. With that thought, I interrupted him with a gentle kiss. He smiled, our lips still very close, and whispered softly, "I'll take that as a yes." His eyes closed, and then, with another brief kiss, we left together, walking upstairs. Trudy was at the top of the stairs, gesturing for us to come up, that Mr. Lovejoy wasn't anywhere around.

*****

"I believe if you dock in New York with that bag of medicine, they will arrest you for illegal imports," Harry commented sarcastically, opening the door to a cabin. It was in a special corridor for the officers and the rest of the crew.

The cabin was quite simple. It had a bed in a corner and a table with lots of papers and maps. A lamp stood on the table and a small wardrobe stood in another corner.

"These are my first class accommodations," he said sarcastically as I entered and looked back as he closed the door behind him. In my hands I had a paper bag with five different bottles of medicine and a piece of paper with the exact time to take every one of them.

"It's not so bad," I said as he took the bag from my hands and put it on the desk with his papers, adding a pitcher of cold water with ice that he brought with a glass.

"Don't try to be polite. This is probably the worst place you have ever set foot in." He leaned against the table and crossed his arms as I looked around. He started to laugh, and I looked back at him.

"What? Why are you laughing?" I asked, smiling, stifling my own laughter at seeing him laugh at nothing. He offered me his hand and pulled me close to him, intertwining his fingers with mine and looking into my eyes.

"You look so lost here," he said, still laughing a little. "It's just funny to watch your curious blue eyes searching for something familiar to you." He gestured with his free hand.

"Why, I think I just found it." I smiled, looking at his lips, and kissed him softly. He kissed me back and took his hat off, putting it on my head. "Well, Officer Lowe, now you get to that bed to sleep. You look too tired."

"Yes…uh...sir," he said, and laughed, looking at the hat. I couldn't help but laugh with him as he walked through the cabin, messing his dark brown hair up with his hands. He really wouldn't do anything to me. It didn't take more than a few minutes for me to find myself lying on the bed with him. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happened, as he promised. He was more of a gentleman than most men from first class I had known.

He had me in his arms, while I had my head on his chest and a book, a novel set on the ocean and a ship, in one of my hands, supporting it on his chest, too. I stayed quiet as he slept deeply, like a child. Sometimes I looked up at him just to make sure that he was still there...stupid reason, but every reason was a good reason to look at him.

Chapter Seven
Stories