The Fine Line

by CaledoniaDraconia

"Man is not one but two/He is evil and good/and he walk the fine line/we'd all cross if we could." Part 1 of the Facade trilogy: Cal lost the love of his life that night; Emily lost her entire family. They were brought together by tragedy, but will the love of one child finally melt his heart of stone? R/R No flames please:)

1. Introduction

I know it probably seems pretentious to include an introduction, but I feel it necessary to explain myself about this story. What I see in Caledon Hockley and what the overwhelming majority of the Titanic fandom sees in him are two opposite things, so if you are one of those people who don't want to acknowledge the possibility that there might be more to Cal than meets the eye (and it's okay if you are. You're certainly not alone in that respect), you probably won't like this story.

Some may find my version of Cal to be overly emotional; there is a reason for that…I didn't just write him out-of-character willy-nilly. My intention was not to completely dispense with the character James Cameron created but to add to it, to bring a tortured side of Cal to the forefront for all to see. I believe Cal's arrogance and anger that we see in the film is a façade to cover some larger insecurities. Underneath that, I think he can be sensitive, affectionate, and all those other things fans don't normally associate with him. That's the way I tried to portray him in this story, so I hope you'll enjoy it and maybe rethink him by the end.

NOTE: I've included dates at the top of each chapter to clarify the timeline; if you see a chapter without a date, it's a continuation of the previous one. All chapters are from Cal's POV unless otherwise noted.

UNIVERSAL DISCLAIMER: I do not own Caledon Hockley or any other characters from James Cameron's Titanic, any historical likenesses, or anything else licensed that may be referenced throughout this fanfic.