Author's note: I just watched Titanic yesterday, and knew I had to write another version of that ending! My story picks up from when Rose is laying on the board and tells Jack that she loves him. Enjoy, and please review.

"I love you Jack." Rose whispered. She could feel herself fading, the night had slowly taken on a dreamlike quality. Jack seemed to jerk himself awake.

"No…don't you do that! Don't you say your goodbyes Rose. Don't you give up. Don't do it." He said in a fierce voice. Rose noticed that he was slurring his words, and could feel his hand in hers shivering uncontrollably. A desperate thought tried to penetrate her fuzzy mind, and she struggled to focus. He needs to get out of the water. He doesn't have a lifebelt on. She tried to find a way to get around the fuzziness, tried to fight it.

"I'm so cold." She murmured to herself. But she had to do something…say something…

"You're going to get out of this...you're going to go on and you're going to make babies and watch them grow and you're going to die an old lady, warm in your bed. Not here...Not this night. Do you understand me?" Jack continued, and Rose could tell he was using the last of his strength. Time was running out, and quickly. She had to move, had to fix this. She tried to pull herself upright, and was met with frustration.

"I can't feel my body." How could she help Jack if she couldn't move?

"Rose, listen to me. Winning that ticket was the best thing that ever happened to me. It brought me to you. And I'm thankful, Rose. I'm thankful. You must do me this honor...promise me you will survive...that you will never give up...not matter what happens...no matter how hopeless...promise me now, and never let go of that promise." Jack was speaking lower now, he was fading quickly. He is saying his goodbyes. She thought in horror. I have to find the strength, I won't get another chance! The very idea of Jack dying, leaving her forever, was the motivation she needed. Blowing all of the air out of her cold lungs, Rose moved to the side, still holding on to Jack.

"Hurry Jack! Get up on the board, get out of the water!" She tried to pull him when he didn't respond, and the board lurched dangerously, almost capsizing. "Jack! I need you to move!" Jack nodded, his eyes closed tightly. Moaning, he got his elbows up on to the board, and let Rose pull him. Sliding on his stomach, he maneuvered carefully up, while she slowly moved back to balance the weight. The board lurched again, and Rose almost lost her balance. She let go of Jack's hand to grip both sides, trying to stabilize the slab of wood that was their only chance of survival. "Jack, you're almost there! Come on, TRY!" She remained almost on all fours, holding the sides as tightly as she could with her numb fingers. "I won't let you die!" The last statement came out in a desperate sob.

Jack's eyes flew open, and he grunted and reached for the other end of the board. His fingers slipped off, and his hands slid down, nails scrabbling. "No!" He locked eyes with Rose and stopped himself from falling back into the water. With a sound between a roar and a cry, he reached out again. This time his hands made contact, and slammed against and over the edge. Gritting his teeth, Jack slowly and painfully inched his way up on to the slab. When it had stopped rocking, Rose eased her way down and carefully moved herself against him.

"You did it Jack." She whispered, trying to get as close as possible to him. His body felt like ice against her.

"Because of you." He whispered back, shivering violently.

"Here…" Although her heavy coat was wet, it would still be more protection than what he was wearing. With shaking, numb fingers, Rose undid the clasps on the lifebelt and then the buttons on the coat. Trying to use small movements, she maneuvered half of the coat over him as best she could. "Are they coming back? They've got to come back…" She knew that they didn't have much time left. The night was eerily silent, the cries and desperate splashing around them had gone silent. "Jack…please don't leave me…" The fuzziness was returning, threatening to overtake her.

"It…will…just take a while…to organize…the boats." Jack murmured, his teeth chattering.

Trying to keep awake, keep alert, Rose stared up at the stars in the black sky and began singing, hoping Jack's voice would join her own. "Come Josephine, in my flying machine…and it's up she goes, up she goes…" Her voice was slurring now, her words coming out in whispers. Beside her, Jack was quiet, although he still shivered against her.

Minutes passed. Or hours. Or merely seconds. Rose couldn't tell anymore. Her head felt heavy, disconnected from her body as the stars seemed to float closer in the dark sky. Was that a voice she heard in the distance? She couldn't tell what it was saying, it sounded slow and disembodied. She found that she was only mildly curious, as if she were watching the scene from up above somewhere.

"Rose…" Jack mumbled. His shaking hand shook her shoulder. "Rose…a boat…I think they're…coming back…I can't…move…anymore." He sighed and his hand was still.

What had Jack said? It sounded important. Was it important? She tried to turn her head toward him, toward that strange voice in the cold distance. Her vision was blurry, as though she were half asleep. She thought she saw a boat, a man standing in it, calling out into the dreadful, silent darkness.

"Is anyone alive out there?" Rose closed her eyes and tried to process what she had heard. Alive…alive….alive….That word seemed like something she should pay attention to. Alive…alive…Yes! She was alive! Jack was alive! She tried to raise herself up, and was horrified to see the boat moving away, that man's back to her.

"Come back!" She tried to call, but her voice, cracked and frozen, was no louder than a whisper. "Come back!" They did not hear her. They would never hear her. They would leave, and she and Jack would die on this door. I have to make them hear me! She thought desperately. They have to hear me! And then, as if Jack's voice was speaking directly into her mind, the thought slammed against her. The whistle. Rose knew what she had to do, and there was no time to think about it, to plan, to decide on another course of action. This was her only chance, Jack's only chance. Purposefully, she cautiously moved away from him and slid into the icy water. He tried to reach for her, but his weak hand was no match for her determination. The cold hit her like a thousand knives stabbing every inch of her body, making her gasp in pain. Held up by the unstrapped lifebelt, she half floated, half swam the almost insurmountable distance to the dead crew member. The whistle was frozen to his lifeless lips. Trying not to think about what she was doing, Rose pulled it away and blew into it. At first, all she could manage was a weak trill. She took a breath, and then blew that breath into the piece of metal. It worked, and a louder sound cut through the night air. She kept doing that, breathing, blowing, breathing, blowing, until she could hear the splashing of the oars and the voices coming closer.