Author: WhimsicallyAwkward

Title: Little Hero

Summary: Connor was just a boy when the cruise he was on flipped upside down. He found himself fighting to survive alongside his mom, and a man who refuses to stop. Alongside a lot of heroes, but he was maybe the biggest hero of all. Albeit in an unknowing way. Drabbly One-shot.

Beta: No Beta, so please ignore any simple errors, but inform me of any glaring mistakes.

Disclaimer: Nope, not a one of these characters are mine. Not the adorable Connor, or the brave Dylan. No copyright infringement was intended.

A/N: My first, and probably only venture into the world of Poseidon. I don't know. It just depends. Enjoy :)

Valentine gave his life to get them upstairs.

Robert drowned to turn off the propellers.

Dylan, with his desire and knowledge, led them through the ship.

But for all of that, it's a little boy and his questions who truly saved them.

"What are you doing?"

A simple question. Slipping past the lips of a scared little boy in a raggedy suit.

The little boy only met the man briefly, scattering his poker chips, but he's a child, and fearless of strangers. And he thinks that there is something really cool about this man.

"I'm getting out of here."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going up. And out. Through the bottom."

"Wait. How are you going to get out of the bottom of the boat? That's the part that's all sealed up."

Dylan looked at the scrawny little boy in exasperation.

It's all chaos in the ball room. People scrambling over people, crying out in pain.

The ship is upside down, and in the end, only six people will survive.

And it's all because of the little boy, Connor.

He's the catalyst in his simple desire to go with Dylan, the man who's eyes are bright, and who's desire to live is palpable.

"Dylan! What did you say to him?"

Connor looks at his mom, in quiet desperation.

"Mom, there's holes in the bottom of the ship, with propellers in them."

"You can't get out that way, sweetie. Please tell him you can't"

"Will you please take me and my mom?"

Maggie raises her voice. "Tell him you can't, please!"

It's that raise of voice that attracts Robert's attention.

It's the loud conversing that draws the Nelson over.

Without the little boy, and his questions, the journey would have never begun.

Robert would have tried to find his daughter and her boyfriend, and would have been unsuccessful.

Lucky Larry, Christian, Jennifer, and Elena would have been stuck outside the ball room, desperate and alone.

Dylan, would have gone on, but with the obstacles he faced, he would have never made it out alive. Not on his own, anyway.

So it's Connor, who blew the New Year's horn, and got stranded on a piano when the boat flipped, who is the true savior of the group.

In two instances, really.

Barely an hour after they begin struggling through the boat, Eight people are stuck in a vent, and their only way out is if Connor - with his tiny hands - can pop open the vent.

If he can keep them steady, and hold onto the little silver cross. If he can manage to twist it open right.

Dylan is at the bottom of the group, and the water is closing over him as it would the other seven in the vent if Connor hadn't opened it. So, he's a hero for the vent, but for his questions too.

They're were many heroes that night.

Dylan, of course. Robert, definitely.

Valentine who guided. Christian, who put Connor on his back and swam as best as he could. Nelson, who went back for Elena.

Even Larry, who originated the plan to get Christian out from under the steel.

But an often overlooked one is Connor, wide eyes, and tiny hands.

Even Connor doesn't think about it.

So when they're a few months down the line, and he walks out of his room to find everyone in his living room, he's surprised.

And Dylan, who Connor has decided he want's to be just like, kneels before him, saying thank you.

"You're a hero too, Connor. For your actions in the vent. You know, I was going to drown…we all were. We all wouldn't be here if it weren't for several people along the way, and you're one of them."

And Connor watches stupidly, his mouth hanging open, as they all come up and hug him. Six people forever connected by a tragic, and ultimately victorious journey.

Jen's eyes are sad still, but she is smiling bigger than she ever has before, and Christian has become something of a brotherly figure to Connor.

Then there's Nelson, patting Connor on the back.

His mom hugs him too, before stepping back into the circle of Dylan's arm.

They stay there well into the night, six completely different people brought together.

As the years go by, they will stay touch. Some stay closer than others, in Maggie, and Dylan. Or Nelson and Jennifer, who form a friendship. A few phone calls every month, a visit every once in a while.

They always know that Connor is a hero, but they will never realize how much of their survival is because of him.

"What are you doing?"

Short, I know, but it came to me a few days ago when I was watching Poseidon for the umpteenth time. Review Please!