Jack's POV
I slowly felt myself drifting out of a deep sleep. It was strange, I felt as though I were floating, my body felt weightless... I opened my eyes... And felt the sharp sting of the icy water force them shut again. I suddenly realised I was underwater. Realisation came flooding back to me as I frantically began kicking for the surface, forcing my stiff, frozen muscles to awaken. I gasped for air as I reached the surface at last, drinking in the oxygen my body was so starved of. I opened my eyes. I was surrounded by a seemingly endless field of death - a vast number of bodies floated all around me. Most wearing life jackets, some frozen to the pieces of debris they had clung to in the hope of surviving, as I myself had done with the piece of wood I had made Rose climb on.
Rose! My tired mind suddenly jolted awake at the mere thought of her name. How could I have forgotten about her for even a moment? I jerked my head around wildly, praying to see her close by. I felt panic build within me as I realised that she was nowhere to be seen. I tried to call out her name, but the words that came out were hoarse and barely loud enough to hear myself. It was hopeless. I must have drifted too far away.
I clung to a piece of wood, suddenly exhausted. I listened all around me for signs of life, but all I could hear was the gentle lapping of the water and the sound of my own heavy breathing. The harsh reality began to dawn on me, though I wanted so hard not to believe it. Rose hadn't made it. She must have let go of my hand when she fell asleep, succumbing at last to the harsh cold night, and let me slip into the water. I felt my heart breaking as the truth sunk in; indeed the only part of my body I could currently feel. This was all so wrong. We were supposed to survive together.
I don't know exactly how long I floated there, clinging to that piece of wood, before I suddenly became aware of more noises. It was the noise of oars hitting the water, and a boat pushing it's way through the still night. Very vaguely, I heard a voice.
"Is there anyone alive out there?" it called. "Can anyone hear me?"
I turned my head as far as I could to see the blurry outline of a while lifeboat, it's silhouette framed by torchlight. A lifeboat. A chance to live. But why would I want to? The girl I truly loved was dead. Why should I bother trying to survive?
My moment of hopelessness was suddenly interrupted by my memory of the last thing I'd said to Rose. I'd told her that she was going to go on living, with or without me. I realised that that was what I had to do. I'd told her to go on living for me, now it seems I'd have to go on living for her.
A new determination filled me, giving me the strength to try and shout for the lifeboat. My voice was still pretty hoarse, but I kept trying nonetheless. I fought with all my strength to haul myself out of the water and onto the piece of wood, trying to make as much noise and splashing as I could to draw their attention. My efforts were exhausting, but thankfully they were enough. The lifeboat suddenly shone it's light in my direction. I blinked in the harsh light, such a blinding contrast from the black night, but felt relief wash over me as the lifeboat began to steer towards me.
"Jack! Oh my God, Jack, it's you!"
A strangely familiar female voice. Not Rose, but familiar. Oh yes. Molly Brown. Wonderful Molly Brown, in her thick fur coat and hat, sitting alongside the oarsmen. I was too tired to even think about the logistics of why she was there, I was just so glad that she was. She rushed over to the side of the boat to join the officer as it approached me. The officer extended his hand for me to grab onto. He shuddered as he felt how cold I was, but began to quickly haul me into the boat.
I rolled over the edge of the boat and landed unceremoniously onto the wooden floor, where I was quickly wrapped in the several thick blankets they had on board.
"Oh my god, I can't believe it, you're alive..." I heard Molly repeating such phrases as she pulled me into a tight hug. The effort of climbing into the boat had exhausted me, and I could barely find the strength to reply. I rested my face in the warm fur of her coat, journeying back to remembering what it was like to even feel warmth. I didn't even have the energy to think. All I could manage was to focus on breathing.
This was how I stayed for the remainder of the night in the boat. Few people had the energy or the wish to talk about much. There we sat in the silence of the sea, where just hours earlier the mightiest ship on Earth had floated, and floundered, taking hundreds of people with her. Even Molly, brightest and more talkative of people, couldn't bring herself to say anything. She sat with me the whole night as I drifted in and out of consciousness, my mind as numb as my body.
By early morning, I was finally awoken by the sound of a ship's horn. The Carpathia. The ship that had sailed to rescue us, but arrived too late for so many. Ours was the last boat to be emptied onto the ship. When the time came, I was helped shakily to my feet by the officer, and began to climb the ladder to the deck of the ship. It was a task I could surely have done with ease on any other day, but after my ordeal in the water, I passed out as I finally landed on the deck.
I was back in the water, drifting aimlessly through the endless water, but this time my eyes were wide open. I tried to kick for the surface, but no matter how I tried I couldn't go up. I could see the surface above me. I could see Rose. It was the first time I'd ever seen her. She was standing on the deck of the ship, with Cal. She was arguing with him, a symbol of how she would spend the rest of her life if I couldn't reach her. I kicked furiously, but to no avail. No matter how hard to tried I just seemed to be going down... I tried shouting her name, but noe voice came out under the water. I just kept going down, into the icy sea... "No!" I shouted silently. "No!"
"No!"
I sat bolt upright in the bed, panting heavily as I recovered from the dream. I looked around me in alarm before realising that I wasn't underwater anymore. I was in some sort of hospital room. Just as I began to feel dizzy, a nurse approached me, alerted by my shouting.
"Oh good, you're awake" she sounded relieved. "We were starting to wonder if you ever would"
She was a young woman, possibly late twenties? With blonde hair tied up in a knot and trusting brown eyes.
"What?" I asked in a daze. How long had I been asleep?
"You've been asleep since you were brought on board yesterday"
I glanced at a clock on the opposite wall. Half past twelve. I'd been asleep for over a day?
"Rose..." I muttered, trying to organise my thoughts inside my dizzy mind.
"Rose?" the nurse repeated, before shaking her head. "Sorry, I don't know anyone called Rose"
Memories came swimming back to me. The ship, the water, Rose, and how she hadn't made it. I lay back onto the pillows hopelessly.
The nurse stepped forward to put her hand on my forehead.
"Still slightly feverish" she sighed. "I'm afraid you've had a bad case of hypothermia, what with being in the water so long. It took ages for us to eventually warm you up"
I turned my head away slightly, not bothering to respond. I wasn't interested.
"I'll go get the doctor to have a look at you, he'll want to evaluate you in more detail, then we can focus on getting you better"
Getting better... Without Rose, that wasn't something I felt like I could be bothered to do.
I closed my eyes and tried to fall back asleep again, but was rudely interrupted by the nurse returning with the doctor. He checked my temperature and pulse, and asked questions I could barely be bothered to answer. He prescribed some cough medicine when I told him my throat hurt, combined with my still slightly hoarse voice. I willingly swallowed the spoonful, and found it did soothe the soreness a little. I was looking forward to them leaving me in peace, but that wasn't to be. Just as they were about to move on, in came Molly Brown.
Her face filled with relief as she noticed I was awake, and I was surprised when she rushed over and pulled me into a tight hug. Very informal for a high class woman like her who barely knew me.
"Thank God, you're alive!" she said, squeezing me tightly.
The nurse smiled.
"She's scarcely left your side since yesterday, you know" the nurse told me before leaving to attend to her next patient.
I smiled slightly in surprise.
"I just left to grab a quick bite of food, I can't believe you're finally awake, I was so worried!" Molly spoke rapidly, overcome with joy. Finally, she released me from her hug "God, I can't say how happy I am that you made it! How on Earth did you manage it?" Molly asked, still looking me up and down like she couldn't believe I was really here.
"Another lucky hand I guess", shrugging slightly.
Molly chuckled slightly, but a sad smile was still etched on her tired face.
"And... Rose?" she asked quietly, as though dreading the answer.
I shook my head silently. I couldn't even look at her.
Molly's hand went to her face as she let out a gasp.
"That poor girl..." she muttered to herself, shaking her head. "She was so young..."
She raised her eyes to look at me pitifully.
"I'm so sorry, Jack" she said, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"Thanks" I replied blankly, still staring down at the bed.
"She went to find you, didn't she?" Molly asked.
"Huh?"
"She was supposed to get into the lifeboat with myself and Ruth, her mother. I was already in the boat myself, but I could see her talking to Cal... I don't know what he said but the way she looked at him and ran off made me wonder..."
"Yeah, she did" I replied. "She did more than find me, to be honest, she rescued me"
Molly's confused face prompted me to explain the events of the previous night. How Cal had framed me for stealing the necklace and had me left below decks to die. How Rose had found me and broke the handcuffs with the axe. I looked down at my wrists, the cuffs still locked into place, the severed chain reminding me of how brave Rose had been in breaking them. I'd been so proud of her. Now all I felt when I thought of it was pain.
Molly, always so happy and cheerful, looked to be going through several different emotions at once.
"That rat..." she seethed, clearly thinking of Cal. "I mean I never really liked the man, but I can't believe he would actually do such a thing"
"I can" I replied blankly, still staring at nothing.
Molly let out a sad laugh.
"I never thought those two were right for each other, y'know." she said, shaking her head. "She always looked so unhappy with him. Not like the first time I saw you two together, before dinner that day, on the deck. She looked so relaxed, so laid back. I don't think I've ever seen her look like that"
I couldn't think of anything to reply with. Just thinking about Rose for too long was hard. I decided to change the topic.
"What were you doing on the lifeboat?" I asked.
"Oh, that" Molly replied. "I had a... disagreement with the officer of our lifeboat. He refused to go back for survivors. So I transferred myself to another boat with an officer who would. I think there were only the two boats, in the end. None of the others wanted to..."
Her voice trailed off, her brow furrowing in annoyance. Clearly she was still furious about the lack of support for saving those in the water. I couldn't believe it either. 700 people sat there, safe and dry in their boats, and listened to the hundreds of people dying around them, without coming to help...
"You were the only one we found" Molly continued sadly.
"And the other boat?" I asked.
"Six" Molly replied.
A grave silence followed, before Molly finally asked "Do you have anywhere to go when we arrive in New York?"
I shook my head. "Nope, not really"
I hadn't thought about what I would do in New York. Even when I'd boarded the ship after that poker match, I hadn't given it a thought. Just another leg of my seemingly endless travels.
"No family at all?"
"My parents died when I was 15, and I don't really have any other relatives, not that I know of, anyway"
Molly reached out her hand to squeeze my hand lightly.
"You can stay with me if you like" she offered. I finally looked up at her. There was genuine concern in her eyes. It had been a long time since I'd had such a helpful offer, and never from someone as rich as Molly Brown.
"Thanks" I replied, and finally smiled a genuine smile.
She squeezed my hand supportively, smiling back.
"Right, I'd better go and get a message sent to my people in New York" said Molly, getting to her feet. "Rest. And when they bring the food round, make sure you eat. You need your strength"
Yep, that was more like the real Molly Brown. Ordering everyone around in the friendly way that only she could perfect.
Alone again, I lay back down against the pillows and pulled the blankets tighter around me. I dozed off again, content. Things seemed just a tiny bit brighter than they had done before.