Tommy kept pushing his way through the crowd, looking back every few seconds to make sure Máire was still with him. Even though they were holding onto each other for dear life, he didn't want to take any chances and not keep an eye on her. As they were slowly making their way toward the lifeboat, it was all Tommy could do to keep his composure. He had to stay strong. Strong for Máire. Strong for himself. Even if he wouldn't survive, at least he'd die knowing that the love of his life would.
They eventually made their way to the front only to be stalled because some man was angrily talking to the officer who was trying to load more women and children onto the life boats. The officer reached into his pocket and threw something at the man before telling him, "Your money can't save you anymore than it can save me." The man that tried to bribe the officer stormed away and the officer then ordered the people to stay back, and the officer made sure the people could see that he had his gun.
Tommy pulled Máire close to his side and told her she had to get on the life boat now. He kissed her for as long as he dared, took off his hat and pressed it into her hands, then released her. As soon as Máire was in the lifeboat, Tommy shouted over the crowd so Máire would hear him. "I love you, Mrs. Ryan. No matter what happens, I'll always love you. Goodbye for now."
As soon as Tommy had finished what he was saying, another passenger made an attempt to jump into the lifeboat Máire was on, only to be shot in mid-jump by an officer. That was when the crowd began to panic. Tommy realised it and tried to back away into the crowd, but they were too tightly packed and they were pressing forward, not leaving any room for the people in the front to stay away from the edge of the ship, or the gun that suddenly went off again. The last thing Tommy Ryan ever saw was the horrified look on his wife's face as she jumped back onto the sinking ship and held her dying husband in her arms.
As the lone lifeboat slowly made its way through the maze of frozen bodies, the officer who had ordered the boat to go back for any and all survivors looked on mournfully at the people he knew he could have saved, had he just gone back sooner. Still he held on to the small glimmer of hope that someone would still be alive and called out, "Is there anyone alive out there? Can anyone hear me?" He called out again and again, hoping for any kind of response. Something to let him know that he was right to go back; that he wasn't too late to help someone. As his gaze fell on a lady with her arms frozen around a man with a bloody lifebelt, the officer choked back a sob and said, "We waited too long."