Hello all! This is my first fanfic that I've have the courage to publish, so be kind! I would so appreciate any reviews or suggestions! Thank you so much for reading, and PLEASE review!

Chapter 1

Rose awoke slowly, her eyes adjusting to the sunlight that shone so brightly on the last of the survivors in the lifeboats. She sat up and looked about, tugging at the blankets around her, pulling them closer as if they were the only source of warmth that existed. They were approaching a ship: C A R P A T H I A. Rose blinked once, registering that this is where she was to spend the rest of her voyage. She then looked around her, at the other tired faces aboard, and at the sea. There was no wind, no waves. Just calm. No evidence of the horror that had taken place only hours before. No sympathy. No remorse. No memory of the man she loved and lost. That's all the sea was: an abyss with no memory. There was just calm. Rose closed her eyes and lay back down, tears rolling down her cheeks, as she waited for her name to be called.

Rose arrived on board the Carpathia within the next hour. Warm hands and calm eyes handled her as she stepped unsurely on to the deck of this new ship. She looked about her and saw a slew of other third class passengers, many wailing in the arms of their loved ones. Even worse were the ones wailing alone. Children held tight to the skirts of their mothers and widows swayed with the sorrow of loss. Grief was all about her. A spectacle such as Rose had never before seen. Her whole life she'd been sheltered and kept from sorrows like these. But tragedy, true horrific tragedy could never be treated so lightly. This was animal instinct she was witnessing. Panic. Panic at the thought of never again seeing those that a person holds so dearly to their hearts. Rose simply walked on.

She found the soup line and took her place, receiving a cup of black coffee and broth when at last it was her turn. She then made her way to the edge of the ship, staking out her own place where she could think and grieve in solitude. She sipped the broth slowly, feeling its contents warm the length of her body as it found its way to her stomach. She realized for the first time just how hungry she was, but the very thought of eating made her turn pale. She felt an overwhelming guilt just breathing – how could she be expected to indulge in the pleasure of nourishment? She looked to her right and saw a woman of 80 or so, hugging herself tightly within the confines of the blankets provided her. Rose smiled weakly and held her bowl of broth out to the woman. The woman looked at Rose, inquiring.

"Please, it's my pleasure."

The woman smiled at Rose in gratitude as she accepted the nourishment and drank it within the next thirty seconds, grateful for the unexpected gesture of kindness.

After two nights and nearly three whole days, the Carpathia arrived in New York harbor. It was early, still dark. A steady fall of rain came from the sky, as if God himself were weeping for the lost opportunities of those who had perished. Rose stood alone, staring up at the symbol of freedom before her. Lady Liberty. As she studied the massive structure she'd read so much about, she couldn't help but think of Jack. 'When the ship docks, I'm getting off with you'. She closed her eyes and swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat. No. She would get off alone. She would be without Jack. And she would miss him every day henceforth. But she'd made the promise, and the promise she would keep. She would never give up, no matter how hopeless, and she would live her life for Jack, never allowing the memory of him to die.

"Can I take your name please, love?"

Rose looked to her right and saw an officer with a clipboard. He was taking the names of survivors. Rose simply looked at him, her eyes somewhere other than reality.

"Dawson. Rose Dawson."

The man wrote down the name, giving birth to the new identity she would keep for the rest of her life. She was his now, and would be always. Her name proved that now. She would never return to the gilded life she had once led. She would never again see her mother or Cal. She would never again have anything handed to her. She was of a different class now, in uncharted waters. She was a survivor, and so she would survive – making her own way and living life as she'd always wanted. Free.