My friend Bonnie aka Salvatoreboys4ever asked me to write a "Titanic" story. I hope you will all enjoy what Eva and I have done with her request.

The Night We Met: Day One

It's just after noon on a cool spring day. The harbor is humming with activity as the majestic liner is preparing to set sail on its transatlantic crossing. Standing in his starched uniform, Third Officer Damon Salvatore watches from above. People from all walks of life are on the pier. As he scans the crowd below, he stands a little firmer when he recognizes a couple of men from the most wealthy of society as they disembark from their carriages and with great fanfare start to climb the gang plank.

Once they're out of sight, he takes a hold of the railing and continues to enjoy the festivities. Because of security precautions, it's taking a little longer for the embarkation procedures. Feeling a nudge, Damon looks to his side and shakes hands with his buddy Enzo, who's also a member of the ship's crew. Damon visits with his friend for a bit but immediately stiffens when he happens to notice Captain William Forbes-Turner looking down at him with a disgruntled look on his face. The older man is on the bridge also watching the crowd. He stares at Damon for a few moments until someone else gets his attention. Following his line of vision, Damon sees that he's staring at Mr. Frohman, his valet and playwright Justus Forman. Charles Frohman is an American theater manager. Since it's his job to know the VIP's, Damon knows who he is. The man is known for creating the Broadway star system and bringing James Barrie's 'Peter Pan' to life on the stage.

Shaking his head, Damon latches onto the railing and once again drops his eyes to the passengers. He can't help but smile when he hears the effervescent laughter of children as they step onto plank to embark. When he sees First Officer, Nicklaus Michaelson and his wife, May urging their children to slow down, Damon laughs. He finds it especially funny when their little daughter, Hope plants a big sloppy kiss on her daddy's face. Of course he can't see the slobber from their distance but judging by the way she kept her lips on his face, he thinks it's a pretty good guess.

After breathing in a big gulp of salty sea air, Damon starts to walk along the railing. Suddenly he stops in his tracks and his mouth parts slowly. Below him is the most beautiful woman he's ever laid eyes on. Her shimmering chestnut colored hair is piled on top of her head, her olive skin looks flawless from his vantage point. She's wearing a black dress with a tan colored lace overlay and a big black feathered bonnet. When she looks up, their eyes meet for a millisecond and Damon finds himself falling, tumbling, flying into the vast unknown. His heart sinks when he sees a man grab onto her arm and pull her firmly onto the stairs. Before he can even think to react, they're out of sight.

She's way out of your league Damon. Shaking his head, he moves down towards the port side of the ship. When he hears children squealing excitedly, he looks over the railing again, he chuckles a little himself when he sees one of the children toss a ball that hits and older man in the head. He supposes that it's the kid's father who picks him up and swats his bottom, his cries now fill the air.

As he continues to scan the crowd, he looks twice when he sees another regal looking lady. She's wearing a pin striped black and white jacket over her long skirt, slit slightly in the back. Her hair is covered with a huge bonnet that all but covers her face. When she looks up, Damon finally sees what she looks like. Her long brown curly hair cascades down her back. Her lips are red as the apple and her cheeks are pink as if they'd just been pinched. It strikes him as strange that she's alone, a woman like that without an escort?

Loud noises fill the air along the waterfront. People are shouting, bells are ringing and the shrill blast of the tugboat's whistle is answered by three deep bellows from the ship's horn. Confetti, now being tossed from the deck adds to the festive atmosphere as passengers bid goodbye to their loved ones. Once everyone is aboard, the mighty ship starts to pull out of her berth, much to the applause of the guests still on the pier.

Now that the voyage is underway, Damon goes about his duties. He walks the long halls and the corridors to see if there's anything he can do to assist their guests. The weather is turning a little rough now that they can no longer see land.

Being a seasoned seaman himself, Damon can detect the subtle changes. He feels the boat pitching and swaying just slightly. In inclement weather such as this, it is work that tests the strength and mettle of even the strongest men. No officer is allowed to leave the bridge while on watch.

If one were to violate this rule, they would be dismissed at once. In addition to his watch, The Third officer, himself in other words, has charge of all of the flags and signals by night and day. Damon is also responsible for keeping the compass book while the fourth officer, besides his work on the bridge has charge of the condition of the boats.

Observations are taken every two hours, as on an ocean greyhound, rushing over the course between America and Europe at the rate of twenty miles an hour, it is of the first importance that the ship's position should be known at all times. Fog may come down at any moment, halting their observations for several hours at best, even more in a worse case scenario.

The positions of more than one hundred stars are known, and by observing any of these the ship's whereabouts can be ascertained in a few minutes. The "road" does become more or less familiar to a man who crosses the ocean along the same route year after year, yet this familiarity never breeds contempt or carelessness, for no man knows all the influences that affect the currents of the ocean, and while the current in a given place may be the same for forty times in succession, on the forty-first trip it may be entirely changed.

Occasionally a big storm that may have ended four or five hours before the ship passes that point. It could give the surface current an appearance of being strongly set in one particular direction. There is no means of telling when these influences may have been at work except by taking the ship's position at frequent intervals. Once Damon finishes his rounds, he goes to the first class area to check on the VIP's that are aboard ship. He stops in his tracks when he hears his captain's voice.

"Salvatore," he hears, standing at attention when he sees the captain approaching him.

"Sir?"

"We have some very important people on board."

"I'm aware sir."

"You are to be at the beckon call of the Mikaelson family. They are big investors in the ship's line and we're to treat them as kings. Do you understand?" he asks, looking down his nose at Damon with a sour look on his face.

"Yes, sir," Damon adds, saluting the man just before he walks away.

"Mr. Mikaelson, this is Third Officer, Salvatore. He will be at your service day and night. Feel free to call on him," Captain Forbes-Turner tells the older man. Because Damon needs his job, the only thing he can do is smile and nod. He offers his hand which Mr. Mikaelson shakes vigorously. The captain looks at him rather smugly before walking off with the older man. Damon doesn't know why the man hates him so much. He has never done anything to cause disfavor with the man and yet.. every crossing he finds someway to humiliate him. After checking on some of the other passengers, he searches for the clan to see if they need anything.

Despite the crisp weather, he finds the patriarch of the Mikaelson clan and his wife stretched out on one the deck chairs. He's surrounded by Esther, his eldest son Finn and his wife Sage. The youngest son, Kol is playing tops with his niece and nephews. First Officer Nicklaus, who must be taking a little break, and his wife May are sitting on the other side of his father. Mikael is smoking a big cigar, blowing the puff of smoke from his mouth. Damon chuckles a little when May coughs and waves the smoke away with her hand.

From what Damon knows about their crossing, the family is on their way home after attending their daughter Rebekah's wedding to a Mr. Marcel Gerard. Damon remembers reading about their nuptials. It made the front cover in several newspapers nationwide. Swallowing thickly, he gingerly approaches them. He pauses just before he reaches the group to make sure his uniform is still clean and that he looks presentable. When Mikael sees him, he waves for him to come close.

"Officer... what's your name?" he asks haughtily.

"Third Officer Salvatore, Sir. May I be of service?"

"Yes, I'd like some of your finest brandy. Can you please bring a bottle and several glasses... NOW!"

"Of course, I'll see what I can do sir," Damon agrees. As he starts to back away, he notices the red haired, green eyed beauty Sage, eyeing him, appreciatively if Damon is interpreting her correctly. He nods his head just slightly at her and then hurries away. Once he's out of their line of sight, he rolls his eyes at their arrogance. In order to attend to his other responsibilities, Damon sends someone from the bar with a platter of glasses and their finest bottle of Brandy.

As soon as he's done with his assigned duties, he goes to check on them again but they're just getting ready to go to their state rooms to dress for the evening meal. He helps them carry the children's toys back. He starts to walk away when someone grabs his arm. Damon stops to see who has attached himself. He relaxes slightly when he sees that it's the youngest one of the bunch. Damon peruses him as he approaches. He has a boyish looking face and brown hair., It's a little wild looking but striking nonetheless. It suits him.

"Mr. Mikaelson is there anything else I can help you with?"

"You can call me Kol.. You can relax, I'm not here to order you around."

Damon relaxes his posture a bit. The guy is smiling albeit a smirk and he doesn't appear to be a snob.

Stepping beside him, Kol gets close to his ear and lowers his voice, "I just wanted to warn you buddy, my sister in law has her eye on you." Kol starts to laugh when Damon's mouth opens and closes, gawping much like a fish.

When he can finally speak, he steps back. "I assure you, Mr. Mikaelson, I mean Kol, that I would never take up with a married woman, especially not one who's father in law has the power to send me to Davey Jones locker."

"That's a little melodramatic don't you think?"

"Nope," Damon retorts, shaking his head back and forth.

"Go about your business then but don't say I didn't warn you." He gives Damon a teasing wink and then goes back into his stateroom leaving him to wonder what that was all about.

After finishing his rounds, Damon goes into the great dining hall. The tables are all dressed in their finest tablecloths and china. The silver and crystal stemware are beautiful. They spared no expense, he thinks to himself. As he walks to his table, he happens to notice the strikingly beautiful woman that he saw embark on the ship this morning. She's even more stunning in person, he thinks, letting himself get lost in her beauty. She's wearing a pink lace and silver dress that drapes around her front. Layers of lace form a tier of sorts and she has a big floral like bundle of it on her left shoulder. Her hair is adorned with pink ribbons that match the lace of the dress. He's simply mesmerized.

He jumps when his buddy Enzo bumps into him. Damon smiles and follows him to their table. As he continues to look around the room, he sees the taller, dark haired man that he knows to be George Lockwood IV, knowing who the VIP's are is an important part of his job. Although it didn't click when he first saw her boarding the ship, he now knows who the fetching woman is, Elena Lockwood, the second wife of George. He's worth a pretty penny being heir to one of New York's richest families.

He turns away and leans back when one of the wait staff sets a plate in front of him. When he picks up the fork, he hears a huge booming laugh coming from Mr. Vanderbilt who is sitting beside the Captain. Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, a native of New York City, is a millionaire sportsman who is traveling with his valet Ronald Denyer. They are on their way to attend a meeting of the International Horse Breeders' Association.

Sitting by herself, a couple of tables away is the other brown haired woman. She's wearing a sophisticated black and gold creation. The thin straps run over her shoulders but it also has a black lace overlay that forms sleeves and covers the rest of the gold dress. The black and gold is very fashionable. Her left ring finger is bare but she has beautiful lapis locket draped around her neck. That one is trouble Damon senses.

He startles slightly when he feels Enzo step beside him. "Do you know who she is?"

"No," he whispers.

"Her name is Katherine Pierce. She travels alone. At least officially.. I'll give it two days before the ladies will hate her and the men will knock on her door at night."

Damon turns to face Enzo, his mouth gaping. "You mean, she's a paramour!?"

"Yep," Enzo laughs, winking at Damon before urging his friend to join him for supper.

As he walks with Enzo, he can't help but notice how the men's leering looks are quite the contrast to the sour ones that the other women direct at her. What strikes him the most is how Miss Pierce seems to be oblivious to all of it.

Damon walks out onto the top deck to breathe in some of the fresh sea air. The moon is shining brightly. It reflects off the water creating a shimmering effect. It's really quite lovely. Looking up, there's a blanket of stars as far as the eye can see. The air is still quite chilly this time of year so he runs his palms up and down his arms to warm himself up a little bit. He's not yet ready to go inside though. As he approaches the bow, he stops, his mouth parting slightly when he sees that gorgeous woman, Elena Lockwood.

Perhaps she's doing the same thing he is, gazing at the endless sky above. She's all alone, staring up at the sky. Her hands are gripping the railing. Suddenly laughter fills the air, he notices her look up. When he follows her line of sight, he sees that other woman, Katherine Pierce, but whoever she's with is hidden from his vantage point.

Sighing, Damon drops his gaze and starts walking again. With his eyes on the wooden decking, he strolls alone when suddenly he walks right into her. He quickly grabs onto her so she doesn't fall. As soon as she steadies herself, he lets her go. "I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to run into you."

She raises an eyebrow, looking at him rather disparagingly, "Most people are in the habit of watching where they're going," she hisses. Their eyes meet for a few seconds before she turns on her heels and hurries away.

Stunned and speechless, Damon watches until she disappears through one of the state room doors. Damon chuckles a little bit when he thinks of the beautiful brunette. She's full of fire.

There you have Day 1.

Thank you so much, Eva. I have to give her credit as a co-writer. She would give me bullet points, set up scenes, suggested and even wrote out pieces of conversation all in addition to her normal beta activities. Thank you my dearest friend. I love you dearly.

Story title: 'The Night We Met' by Lord Huron. There's a wonderful DE video on you-tube using this song by itskatie. She claims not to be a DE shipper but she did a lovely job with the video.

Synopsis quote courtesy of Erik Larson.

I really hope you all will like this short voyage into the past.. I have posted Elena and Katherine's dinner gowns on my scarlett2112 facebook page. I will post more as we get further into the story.

I did update EOT yesterday. 'Tomorrow' will update likely Saturday.

Both Eva and I are anxious to hear your thoughts.

Have a safe and wonderful day. Thank you all.