A/N: COPYRIGHT! Before I begin I'd like to just make it clear that I do not own anything. This follows the movie (deleted scenes, too) very closely with the exception of a few parts that I'll add. About 98% of this is directly accurate to the film, all events will occur in order (This story skips the old Rose/Keldysh parts-this only takes place in 1912 before and during Titanic and after the sinking). All characters and script lines belong to James Cameron. Again, I own NONE of this. (Except my added parts but even then the characters still belong to James Cameron.)Thanks!
** I went through and EDITED this fanfic (from chapters 15 down to 1, chapters 16+ didn't need editing), so for anyone either returning or new to this fic... hopefully it will be easier and more enjoyable to read.
Now I just have one question for you; Are you ready to go back to Titanic?
~If not, please exit back onto the dock.~
~If so, step aboard and keep reading!~
The Unsinkable Slave Ship-A Game Of Luck; April 10th 1912
Today was the start of the RMS Titanic's maiden voyage. Titanic was the pride of the White Star Line, as the largest, strongest, most stable, and most luxurious, of their steamships yet. And apparently, it was unsinkable.
It would be taking over 2,000 people to New York, where many poor immigrants would begin new and hopefully better lives in America, or where rich people would go to business events, parties, or just vacation.
People from all over Southampton, England, where Titanic was docked, came out to say goodbye to relatives (and/ or) just see the great ship's departure. There was a large crowd of immigrant steerage passengers admiring the great ship, as they awaited their turn in the mandatory health inspection queue.
These people came mostly from all over England, Ireland, and Scandinavia. But there were many immigrants of other nationalities as well. 6-year-old Cora Cartmell from England admired the ship from the arms of her father.
Next to them, was the Dahl family from Norway; Olaf Dahl, his wife Johanne, and their 18-year-old daughter Helga. Olaf was rambling on and on in excited Norwegian to his wife about the grand ship, as Helga looked on, her eyes wide in awe.
"That's a big boat, eh?" Bert Cartmell asked his daughter.
"Daddy, it's a ship!" Cora corrected him.
Bert laughed. "You're right!" he said. Just then, there was the loud beep of a car horn, and Cora turned around.
17- year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater stepped out of the car and looked around. Rose was engaged to Caledon Hockley, the son of Pittsburgh steel tycoon Nathan Hockley. Cal was nearly twice Rose's age, and an arrogant, snobby, jerk. Rose hated him.
Her mother, Ruth DeWitt Bukater, had made a sort of business deal with Nathan. Caledon needed to find a wife in order to inherit his millions, and the DeWitt Bukaters needed money.
Nathan Hockley wanted his son to get married, then and only then, would he let him have access to his inheritance. Rose's father had passed away when she was 14-years-old, leaving herself and her mother in a legacy of bad debt.
The only thing that was keeping Ruth from becoming a seamstress, was their surname, but they were running out of time. So, Ruth and Nathan had arranged a business deal in which they would marry and breed their children. The arrangement was perfect for everyone except Rose.
Rose's mother would get money and get to keep her high social status, two things she couldn't live without. Nathan would get grandchildren, whom he hoped would be grandsons to someday carry on the Hockley Steel legacy. Cal would get a beautiful fiancé to show off and make his old Harvard buddies jealous. But Rose, all she got was the realization that she'd never be free.
She'd never get to travel, or become an actress or an artist, and she'd never again be able to have her own thoughts and opinions without Cal's approval. And she knew she'd never get that. Cal was so controlling of Rose, so controlling that she felt as if she may as well be chained atop a pedestal in Hockley manor.
As Rose examined the great ship, she found herself unimpressed. Why should she have been impressed, it was taking her closer to her new life with Cal. They were going to Philadelphia with Ruth, Rose's maid Trudy, and Cal's valet Lovejoy, for Rose and Cal's engagement gala.
"I don't see what all the fuss is about, it doesn't look any bigger than the Mauritania," Rose commented dryly. It's just a ship afterall.
Cal stepped out of the car beside her. "You can be blasé about some things, Rose, but not about Titanic! It's over 100 feet longer than Mauritania, and far more luxurious!" he boasted with a smirk across his face.
Ruth DeWitt Bukater stepped out of the car last. "Your daughter is far too difficult to impress, Ruth!" Cal said. Ruth gave a snobby chuckle.
She looked around. "So, this is the ship they say is unsinkable?" she asked haughtily.
Cal smirked. "It is unsinkable! God himself couldn't sink this ship!" he boasted, waving his walking stick around.
Just then, a crew member had tried to get Cal's attention by yelling "Sir!" but Cal had ignored him. He tried again. "SIR!"
Cal spun around. "WHAT?!" he snapped.
"You'll have to check your baggage through the main terminal, it's round that way, Sir," the crew member told him.
Cal scoffed and handed him a wad of cash. "I put my faith in you good sir. Now kindly see my man." He pointed to Lovejoy.
"Of course sir if there's anything I can-" Lovejoy put his hand on the man's shoulder.
"Ah yes, all those from that cart there, twelve from here, to the parlor suite rooms B52, 54, 56," Lovejoy said. There was a loud blow of a whistle, announcing that Titanic was leaving in 10 minutes. Ruth, Cal, Rose, Trudy, and Lovejoy boarded the ship.
As they were walking up the ramp, Rose looked back at Trudy. "My coat?" she asked.
Trudy smiled. "I have it," she replied.
They walked up the first class ramp, with Ruth in the lead, to give their names. Cal had his arm linked with Rose's as they stepped over the threshold into the ship. To everyone else Titanic was indeed quite accurate to it's nickname, the Ship Of Dreams. But Rose saw it as a slave ship taking her to America in chains. Though on the outside she appeared calm and collected like the lady she was raised to be, inside, she was screaming at the top of her lungs.
Meanwhile, in a local Southampton pub, there was an intense poker going on. It was between 20-year-old Jack Dawson, a travelling artist from Wisconsin and his best friend, 19-year-old Fabrizio De Rossi from Italy, against two Swedish cousins, Olaf and Sven Gunderson. Sven had foolishly bet his and Olaf's Titanic steerage tickets, and Olaf was extremely angry at him for it.
"Bastard! Idiot!" Olaf growled.
"Käften!" Sven replied, telling him to shut up.
Fabrizio looked at his cards, realizing he didn't have anything. Dio mio Jack better have a good hand... He was getting nervous because Jack had bet all of their money.
"Jack, you're pazzo! You bet everything we have!" he said. Jack blew out a puff of smoke from his cigarette at Fabrizio.
"When you've got nothing, you've got nothing to lose," he reassured him. Fabrizio shook his head, telling himself that he would kill Jack if they lost all of their money.
The Swedes were still arguing. "Du idiot jag kan inte fatta att du satsar våra biljetter!" Olaf hissed, he couldn't believe that Sven had bet their tickets. Sven replied something that Jack nor Fabrizio could understand.
Jack took a long drag on his cigarette. "Alright. Moment of truth, someone's life is about to change, Fabrizio?" he prodded, glancing at the peeved Italian man beside him.
Fabrizio shot him a dirty look and shrugged, indicating that he had nothing. Jack smiled innocently. "Niente," he noted.
"Niente," Fabrizio replied with an annoyed and angry glare.
Jack looked across the table. "Olaf?" he asked. The Swedish man just huffed, glaring at him with cold gray eyes. He looked to his right. "Sven?" he tried, noticing that the other Swede wore a faint smirk across his face, that he was hiding behind his card fan.
Sven picked a card and placed it on the table. "Hit."
Jack examined his cards, seeing that he had a full house. He decided to play a trick on Fabrizio. "Uh-oh, two pair. I'm sorry Fabrizio..." he started.
Fabrizio was infuriated and slammed his cards down on the table. "Che sorry?! Vaffanculo! You bet all our money!" he yelled.
Jack smiled mischeviously. "I'm sorry, you're not going to see your mom again for a long time..." he continued.
Fabrizio was confused. "CAUSE WE'RE GOING TO AMERICA, FULL HOUSE BOYS!" Jack yelled, slamming down his own cards.
At this, Fabrizio was overwhelmed with excitement, and he grabbed the tickets. "DIO MIO GRAZIE!" he yelled happily.
Jack was whooping triumphantly, and Olaf grabbed his collar. "Förbannade usling!" he hissed, going to punch Jack. Jack cringed, then felt Olaf release him. He looked just in time to see Olaf punch Sven, who went flying off his chair to the floor. Olaf grabbed him and slammed him repeatedly on the ground, cursing in Swedish that he was going to kill him. Jack laughed.
He turned to Fabrizio. "Come on!"
Jack and Fabrizio hugged each other, overjoyed that they were going to America. Jack was finally going home, and Fabrizio was going to a place he'd always dreamed of going. "Figlio di puttana!" Fabrizio yelled.
Jack whooped again and kissed the tickets. "I'M GOIN' HOME!" he shouted. "I'm goin' home!" he panted with a chuckle.
Fabrizio danced around the pub. "I GO TO AMERICA!" he yelled.
Just then, the pubkeeper chimed in. "No mate...TITANIC go to America, in 5 minutes!" he said, holding up his pocket watch for them to see.
Jack looked at the clock. "Shit! Fabri, come on!" he exclaimed. They quickly scooped their winnings into Jack's big potato sack and ran out of the pub.
They ran through the crowded streets of Southampton, dodging in and out between people. "WE'RE RIDING IN HIGH STYLE NOW! WE'RE A COUPLE A REGULAR SWELLS! WE'RE PRACTICALLY G.D ROYALTY, RAGAZZO MIO!" Jack was yelling.
Fabrizio was panting to try and keep up with him. "Si, is my destino! Like I told you, I go to America to be millionaire!" he shouted, nearly getting trampled by a horse.
"WHOA!" Jack yelled.
"Bastardo!" Fabrizio shouted at the horse.
They kept running. "You're pazzo!" Fabrizio yelled.
Jack laughed. "Maybe, but I've got the tickets! Come on, I thought you were fast!" he shouted over his shoulder.
Fabrizio was running as fast as he could. "Aspettare! Aspettare!" he yelled, wheezing.
They ran up the steerage boarding ramp, just as the officer was getting ready to close the doors. "Wait! Wait we're passengers! We're passengers!" Jack yelled, waving his hands. They ran up to Sixth Officer Moody, who held out his hand for their tickets.
"Have you been through the inspection queue?" he asked.
Jack glanced at Fabrizio. "Of course. Anyways, we don't have any lice, we're Americans...both of us," he lied.
Officer Moody nodded. "Right. Come aboard." He shuffled them inside.
Jack and Fabrizio could barely believe their good fortune. They ran as fast as they could down the corridor up to the steerage deck, where people were going to wave goodbye. "WE'RE THE LUCKIEST SONS OF BITCHES IN THE WORLD, YOU KNOW THAT?" Jack yelled. Fabrizio couldn't stop laughing.
They ran up to the deck where all the other steerage passengers were lined up against the rails, waving and shouting goodbye to family and friends, or just random people if they didn't know anyone. Jack and Fabrizio hopped up onto the rail, too, and waved excitedly at the hundreds upon hundreds of people below.
"GOODBYE I'LL MISS YOU!" Jack yelled, waving wildly.
Fabrizio shot him a confused glance. "You know someone?" he asked.
Jack chuckled. "Of course not, that's not the point!" he explained.
Fabrizio nodded. "I'M A' GONNA NEVER FORGET YOU!" he yelled. They continued to wave goodbye.
Below decks, crew members in the engine room ran around yanking levers to start the engines, and in the boiler room the stokers were frantically shoving coal into the furnaces. The propellers started moving, and slowly but surely, Titanic started to leave port. It was escorted by two small sailboats. Hundreds of people below clapped, cheered, and snapped photographs of the great ship's departure.
Once the Titanic left port, the passengers went back inside to find their cabins and settle in. Jack looked at their tickets. "G-60," he said, reading their tickets. Fabrizio nodded. They made their way down to G deck and started down the first corridor. "G-60, G-60..." Jack was mumbling as Fabrizio jogged to catch up with him.
They dodged between many confused immigrants, some unable to even read their tickets. "This way darlings." An Irish mother directed her two small children down another hallway.
Jack accidentally bumped into someone. "Excuse me, sorry," he mumbled.
They rounded the corner just as the Norwegian Dahl family was about to round the corner from the opposite direction. Fabrizio caught a glimpse of their daughter Helga, and he thought she was the most heavenly creature to ever walk the Earth. He thought she was so pretty, that he didn't even realize he was staring at her.
He checked her out up and down, from her silky blonde hair pulled into a tight bun, her electrifying blue eyes and angelic face, to her Norwegian bunad that fit her in all the right places. He tried to figure out her nationality, he knew she must have been Scandinavian, perhaps Swedish or Norwegian because of her outfit and coloring.
Helga noticed Fabrizio staring at her out of the corner of her eye, and turned around. She flashed him a shy smile. Fabrizio felt like he'd just gotten the wind knocked out of him as they made direct eye contact. He smiled back weakly, completely lovestruck.
Fabrizio and Helga held their locked gaze and smiles. Helga suddenly realized that she found Fabrizio extremely handsome, she liked how his blue hat covered his messy brown hair, and she fell in love with his sweet smile. She figured he was probably Southern European like Italian or Spanish. She liked his foreign appearance.
Helga's father, Olaf Dahl, turned around to see what was taking her so long. Helga broke their gaze and turned to follow her father. They had only held the gaze for a few seconds, yet it felt like an eternity.
"Ah, G-60! Right here!" Jack announced, finding their cabin. Fabrizio turned to follow Jack as he opened the door, then he glanced back for a last glimpse of Helga. He saw her round the corner, and he thought that she looked almost as good from the back as she did from the front.
Jack opened the cabin door, and inside sat two Swedish men, who were extremely confused. Jack went over to one of the men, who sat against the wall below the porthole, folding a sweater. "I'm Jack, Jack Dawson, nice to meet you," he said, shaking the man's hand.
Jack turned around to see that Fabrizio had already claimed the top bunk. So, he over and started tickling him. "Hey, who says you get top bunk, huh?" he asked. Fabrizio giggled mischeviously.
The Swede looked at the other one. "Var's Sven?" he asked. The other Swede shrugged. The first Swede was Bjorn Gunderson and the second was his cousin Olaus, they were relatives of the two men in the pub, and they obviously hadn't gotten the memo on Sven's stupidity betting his and Olaf's tickets.
Meanwhile up in first class, Caledon Hockley was checking out his private promenade deck. "This is your private promenade deck, Sir, would you be requiring anything?" one of the stewards asked.
Cal shook his head and gave a dismissing wave. "Excuse me," he said. The steward left.
Rose was putting up her prized Picasso paintings in her suite. She was mumbling to herself. "No...it had alot of faces on it...this is the one." She picked up one of her favorite paintings.
Trudy came up beside her. "Would you like all of them out, Miss?" she asked.
Rose nodded. "Yes, we need a little color in this room," she decided. She set the painting she had been holding down on the sofa.
Lovejoy was telling the stewards where to put things. "Ah, put it in there...in the wardrobe," he ordered, as the stewards carried their things into the rooms.
Just then, Cal came in from the promenade deck. "Oh God, not those finger paintings again, they certainly were a waste of money," he commented, seeing what Rose was doing.
Rose huffed and ignored him. Cal was always so critical of everything that brought her even the tiniest ounce of pleasure. "The difference between Cal's taste in art and mine is that I have some...they're fascinating. It's like being inside a dream or something, there's truth, but no logic," she mused haughtily.
Trudy reached out to touch the painting. "What's the artist's name?" she asked, fascinated.
Rose went to grab another painting. "Something Picasso," she replied.
Cal scoffed and stepped out of the doorway, walking further into the room. "Something Picasso, he won't amount to a thing! He won't, trust me!...Atleast they were cheap!" he commented.
Rose and Trudy had already walked into the other room. A steward walked past Lovejoy with more luggage. "Ah, put it in the wardrobe," he said, as Cal slammed a glass of wine into the ice bucket in their room.
Rose and Trudy walked into Rose's room. Rose was trying to figure out where to put her favorite painting. "Let's see..." she mumbled.
Trudy looked around in awe. She had a wide smile across her face. "Ah, it smells so brand new! Like they built it all just for us!" she mused. She gained more excitement in her voice and rushed to help Rose with her blouse. "I mean just to think that tonight, when I crawl between the sheets, I'll be the first!" she squeaked happily.
Rose smiled. "Oh Trudy..." she laughed softly.
Just then, Cal snuck in, unnoticed. "But tonight when I crawl between the sheets, I'll still be the first," he boasted, startling Rose and Trudy. He motioned for Trudy to get out.
Trudy's eyes got big, and she realized that she wouldn't want to witness this anyway. "Excuse me, Miss," she said to Rose. Then, she left the room. Cal locked the door and started walking towards her.
Rose turned to face the mirror, so she didn't have to look at Cal, she started to feel nervous and uncomfortable. "The first and only," Cal said in a hushed tone. Rose stiffened as Cal wrapped his arms around her waist, and nuzzled his face between her head and shoulder.
"Forever..." he said. He inhaled her sweet perfume and made pleased mumbling sounds. He leaned towards her face as if to kiss her on the lips, so she quickly kissed the side of his head. She didn't want to kiss him on the lips, as, the very idea repulsed her.
"Egh." Cal made a displeased grunting sound. He had hoped for a real kiss, but Rose had denied him once again.
Down in steerage, Jack and Fabrizio decided to go exploring. Fabrizio was daydreaming about Helga Dahl. "Wanna check out the general room?" Jack asked.
Fabrizio didn't hear him, and walked into a wall. "Fabrizio...you okay?" Jack lifted his eyebrows.
Fabrizio shook himself. "Si I'm okay...I just...a' nevermind," he mumbled, rubbing his sore shoulder.
Jack smiled at his travel companion. "What is it, Fabri? Spill it ragazzo mio!" he prodded.
Fabrizio blushed awkwardly. "I don' know, is fine, nevermind," he insisted.
Jack chuckled. "Come on, I swear I won't tell!" he pushed.
Fabrizio grinned. "Well, I a' kinda saw this girl..." he admitted.
Jack laughed. "Oh, really?" he teased.
Fabrizio nodded. "Si, she is a' so pretty...I think I'm in love with her an' I a' don't even know her name!" he told him.
Jack shook his head. "Let's go explore the general room, and you can tell me more about this girl," he suggested.
Fabrizio blushed bright red. "Si, okay," he agreed. They walked into the general room and looked around, and Fabrizio stopped in his tracks because Helga was playing cards with her father at one of the tables. His face grew beet red, and he started to back up, nearly tripping over his own feet.
Jack grabbed his arm. "What?" he asked, cocking a suspicious eyebrow.
Fabrizio pointed. "A' that's her," he said with a nervous grin.
Jack grinned. "Damn, ragazzo mio! You've got it bad!" he slapped Fabrizio's back playfully.
Fabrizio shifted on his feet. "She's like an angel..." he whispered dreamily.
Jack laughed. "Fabri, ya might wanna wipe that," he told his friend.
Fabrizio quickly wiped the drool that was dripping down his chin. "And I a' think she might like me too..." he said.
Jack clapped Fabrizio on the back. "Want me to go ask her for you?" he teased.
Fabrizio punched his arm. "No!" he shouted. They both laughed.
Fabrizio's heart was pounding. Just then, Helga dropped her card fan all over the floor. "Ugh, pokker!" she cursed in Norwegian under her breath. Olaf Dahl looked down to see what had happened. In a rush of adrenaline and courage, Fabrizio rushed over and dropped on one knee. "A' let me," he said.
He picked up all of the cards, then slowly rose off of his knees to meet her shocked gaze. "Here you go..." he mumbled. They were staring at each other again. Fabrizio felt like he could get lost in her mesmerizing blue eyes.
Helga cleared her throat. "Takk..." she said quietly, too shy to even smile now.
Fabrizio backed up. "Is a' no problem..." he stuttered. Then, he took off running out of the room. Jack couldn't help himself and bust out laughing. Helga was confused, but shrugged and went back to her card game. Jack ran to catch up with Fabrizio.
A/N: Thanks to the Norwegian guest reviewer Taurauthiel for pointing out the appropriate word is "Pokker" not "Knulle", I fixed it now :)
