Credits: This fanfiction is co-authored by two tumblr friends and me. Author credits also go to citiesofsong and lovelurpak on tumblr. Credit for the idea that sparked it all goes to citiesofsong. Thank you, ladies! :-)
Disclaimer: The usual. We don't own Cameron's Titanic, or anything or anyone in it, etc., etc.
II. Those Who Stay, Those Who Leave
Captain Smith is standing on the bridge looking out into the heavens' sea; white clouds and a blue ocean-like shimmer lie ahead towards the horizon. He's joined by Murdoch, his hands together behind his back. "Take her to sea, Mr. Murdoch. Let's stretch her legs," Captain Smith announces, extending his arms and resting his hands on the rail. Murdoch's face illuminates as he is given the order, the white light above shining off of the orderly buttons on his jacket.
Mr. Andrews is sitting by his desk alone in his room, looking at his blueprints in his necktie and waistcoat. He gets up and puts on his suit jacket and hat, and makes his way to top deck through the long, rabbit-warren like corridors of the great ship, bowing his head courteously to the wondering passengers. The ship's architect strolls along, notebook in hand, with a proud smile on his face as he looks at Titanic in all her beauty. Her funnels tall and bold against the heavens' sky, exhaling, in a sense, large amounts of smoke that then trails behind her. All 882 feet and 9 inches of her glides through the glorious, gleaming ocean, her three engines roaring from the depths of her innards.
From the outside, the ship is the same size as she was in earthly realms. Inside, she somehow holds many, many more staterooms, and far larger dining saloons. The gymnasium and swimming baths are massive, the galleys seemingly endless. The passengers and crew are a bit nonplussed, at first…
Then they realize who will accommodate the extra space- other dearly departed loved ones who were not actually aboard the ship, but would like to stay on her awhile as their loved ones relive the happy memories. (Perhaps the first big clue was the kennels next to the captain's quarters, full of decades' worth of Captain Smith's prized bulldogs.)
They don't all stay on Titanic, of course; for some she is merely a gateway, and they wander from her in pursuit of their personal heaven. But they all find their way back to Titanic from time to time. She is home… or a chance to relive a much loved moment in their lives.
Perhaps spending the least amount of time on the ship is her owner, J. Bruce Ismay, who arrives on her promenade some years after the sinking, and immediately runs and jumps into Collapsible C all over again. Some of the crew point and laugh, eager to watch the bloke furiously paddle himself all the way to New York heaven. But Captain Smith intervenes and informs the shaky, wide-eyed Englishman that he simply has to will himself to any place in the world that he would rather be. Ismay then disappeared. They say he spends most of his time in New York heaven and Liverpool heaven, but seldom on the seas in between, and never on Titanic.
Conversely, spending quite a lot of time on the ship is her chief designer, Thomas Andrews. Both family members of victims, and deceased survivors, often arrive eager to see the beautiful, undamaged ship in all her glory. Mr. Andrews likes to be available to give them a tour; after all, it's the only part of his work during the maiden voyage that he can still continue. The heavenly ship is too perfect for even him to make notes for improvements!
But Mr. Andrews also disembarks in Belfast heaven for long stretches of time, always returning to Titanic with a particularly joyful, serene glow on his face. He and his daughter Elba, in particular, have a lot of lost time to make up for. She regales her dad with stories of her life's adventures: tending wounded soldiers as a nurse during a war, working on an African safari, and even piloting a flying machine! If anyone on Titanic asks, he will gladly brag about his little girl, and even show off photographs of her.
