Fun fact: I turned seventeen yesterday! I am now the same age as Rose was when she was on board the Titanic!


Captain Edward John Smith smiled as he stood on the enclosed wing on the bridge, his hands on the railing as he breathed in the salty sea breeze. He appeared to look every bit of the classic storybook picture captain of an amazing fairytale ship, and in a way, he was. He was a great patriarch of the ocean right now across the globe. He was the captain of the extraordinary Titanic, and as this would be his last time being captain of a ship before he retired, he would go down in history.

It was just past noon. They had left Ireland not even an hour earlier, and already it was nothing more than a brief speck on the horizon behind them, and the only thing up ahead of them was the great, endless ocean. This was the true beginning of the Titanic's maiden voyage. In his opinion, the journey for any ship never really started until it was way out at sea with the land far behind them. Only then could it start, because by then, it was far too late to turn back…

He was brought out of his quiet, nostalgic moment by a sudden movement on one of the lower decks. Then he realized that it wasn't one, but three sudden movements. Three people on B-deck were running right up to the bow. Even from a distance, it was evident that they were from third-class, two young men and a little girl. The little girl was leading the way, playfully being chased right up to the railing by the men. They looked like they were having a swell time, smiling and laughing as they looked down to where the prow cut through the perfect watery surface like a knife, parting the sea into two sheets of glass. Captain Smith himself couldn't help but chuckle as he watched them. Then an idea came to him. He turned to face First-Officer William Murdoch.

"Take her to sea, Mr. Murdoch," Smith said, keeping his eyes fixed on the people at the bow. "Let's stretch her legs."

"Yes, sir," he replied, entering the wheelhouse. "All ahead full, Mr. Moody."

"Very good, sir," Moody said as Murdoch moved the engine telegram lever to All Ahead Full. He returned to Captain Smith a moment later.

"Twenty-one knots, sir," he told him. Smith smiled in reply, accepting a cup of tea from Fifth-Officer Lowe as he continued to watch the passengers at the bow. It wasn't much, but he considered his order speed up right now a gift to those steerage passengers. They would most likely never have enough money to board another great liner like the Titanic again. He wanted them to enjoy themselves right now, before they would be forced to leave forever… He wanted them to know the thrill he felt whenever he was flying on the sea…


"You can't catch me, Jack, Fabrizio!" Clara shouted as she raced down the deck to the bow of the ship, Jack and Fabrizio hot on her heels. "I'm gonna win!"

"We'll just see about that, squirt!" Jack called back, he and Fabrizio pretending to strain themselves to catch up to her. Jack was more than happy to play with her. He knew that Clara didn't have the same childhood he did when he had been her age.

She was only three when their parents died, and because of how young and stupid his grief-stricken thirteen year-old self had been after their funeral, he just took his sister and boarded the first train out of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, that he could afford. While their life wasn't perfect, Jack knew he and Clara had a fun life traveling from place-to-place with their friend, Fabrizio De Rossi. But at times like this, Jack would remember how his actions had consequently forced her to grow up quickly from living her life on the road, and now she was being deprived of her chance to enjoy her childhood because of it. So seeing her act like the little girl she was right now made him very glad.

"Ha! Winner!" Clara shouted, slamming her free hand into the railing of the bow to halt herself since the other was holding onto her nutcracker as tightly as possible so she wouldn't accidentally drop him into the Atlantic.

"You like little fast rabbit, Clara," Fabrizio said as he and Jack joined her.

"Wow, do either of you feel how fast we're going right now?" Jack said. Clara and Fabrizio stopped talking to focus on the speed of the ship. Sure enough, they both could steadily feel that the ship was going slightly faster than it had a few moments ago, and since they were standing right at the bow, the feeling of the wind whipping through their hair and clothing was astounding.

"Wow, you're right, big brother!" said Clara. "We're almost flying, we're going so fast!" Jack and Fabrizio laughed and glanced down at the ships' prow. They gasped and gestured for Clara to look down, too.

"Clara, look, look!" Jack said, pointing down at the blue sea. Clara carefully stepped up onto the railing to see what they were looking at. Two sleek, and shiny gray dorsal fins were skimming the surface of the water. "You see them? There's another one, look!"

"Dolphins!" Clara cried, clapping her hands excitedly as he pointed to the third nearby. They soon realized they weren't just watching three dolphins, but an entire pod race against the mighty Titanic, leaping gracefully up in the air every few moments or so. "Wow, look at them jump!"

"I can see the Statue of Liberty already," Fabrizio declared, pointing straight ahead on the horizon at the twinkling sun sparkles. "Very small, of course."

"I'm the king of the world!" Jack shouted out at the ocean blue, deciding to let loose and have fun. He was simply too happy and excited not to do so. He didn't give a damn if the entire ship could hear him. He just whooped and howled to the sea, truly feeling as though he was a king.

"Then that makes me princess of the ocean!" Clara cried out to heavens. She was just too filled with excitement and joy that she couldn't hold it in. Jack smiled, and pretended to bow before her.

"And where exactly are we sailing to today, Princess Clara?" Jack asked as high class as he could be, even managing to squeeze in a little bit of British accent. Playing along in as much sophistication as she could muster up from how hard she was laughing, Clara curtsied and replied,

"To wherever the wind may take us, King Jack!" The three of them laughed. None of them could even remember a time they were as happy as they were right now. They stayed there like that for a while, just looking out at the ocean. Then Clara, out of the blue, started to hum. Jack and Fabrizio grinned.

"Do I sense ispirazione, Clara?" Fabrizio asked. She smiled and nodded.

"Better hurry then," Jack said, scooping her up onto his shoulders. "We wouldn't want you to forget your next brilliant idea!" They laughed and walked off.


In the upper decks, Rose was just sitting down for lunch with her mother and Cal in the Palm Court restaurant, accompanied by the managing director of the White Star Line, Bruce Ismay, the ships' designer, Thomas Andrews of Harland and Wolf Shipbuilders, and, to Ruth's dismay, Molly Brown. Rose, personally, was bored. The only thing Ismay appeared to show interest in discussing was his beloved Titanic.

"She is the largest moving object ever made by the hand of man in all history," he said proudly. "And our master shipbuilder, Mr. Andrews here," he nodded to the Irish gentleman, "designed her from the keel plates up."

"Well, I may have knocked her together," said Mr. Andrews modestly, "but the idea was Mr. Ismay's. He envisioned a steamer so grand in scale… and so luxurious in its appointments, that its supremacy would never be challenged. And here she is…" He slapped the table to emphasize. "…Willed into solid reality."

Rose placed a cigarette in a holder and lit it, uninterested in hearing them boast about the ship.

"You know I don't like that, Rose," her mother said sternly. Rose ignored her, exhaling a cloud of smoke right in her face as their waiter approached their table.

"Of course she knows," said Cal, seizing it from her lips and stubbing it out. He paid no mind to her surprised look as he said to their waiter, "We'll both have the lamb. Rare, with very little mint sauce. You like that, right, Sweetpea?" He asked only when the waiter moved on. She only smiled to him. Yes, she did enjoy lamb, but she preferred to have it prepared well-done, covered in mint sauce. It made no difference if she told him this, though. She knew he wouldn't even try to remember.

Molly, however, could see her true feelings on the matter. "You gonna cut her meat for her, too, there, Cal?" She joked. His eyes flashed dangerously and she quickly changed the subject. "Hey, who thought up the name, Titanic, anyway? Was it you, Bruce?" She asked, turning to Mr. Ismay.

"Yes, actually," he replied. "I wanted to convey sheer size, and size means stability, luxury, and above all, strength."

"Do you know of Dr. Freud, Mr. Ismay?" Rose abruptly asked. "His ideas about the male preoccupation with size might be particular interest to you."

Mr. Andrews nearly choked on his breadsticks as he suppressed his laughter. Molly Brown grinned at her cheek. Ruth, on the other hand, was mortified.

"What's gotten into you?" She hissed. Rose ignored her and got to her feet.

"Excuse me," she said before stalking out of the restaurant.

"I do apologize," said Ruth quickly.

"She's a pistol, Cal," Molly said with a chuckle. "Hope you can handle her."

"Well I may have to start minding what she reads from now on," said Cal tensely as he pretended not to be concerned. "Won't I, Mrs. Brown?" Ismay, however, was puzzled.

"Freud, who is he?" He asked. "Is he a passenger?"


Back on the lower decks, Jack and Clara were sitting together on one of the benches with Fabrizio, but not talking to him or to each other. They both were very busy.

Jack had his art portfolio open in front of him, and was sketching the little girl Cora with her father, who was looking out on the horizon at the railing. If there was one thing Jack enjoyed and was very talented at, it was art. He loved art, and would never give it up. Not for all the wealth in the world. He made sure, precise strokes with his charcoal pencil, gazing up every few moments or so to get a better look at Cora and her father. Fabrizio glanced over his shoulder to see how he was doing.

"Very nice," he said, nodding approvingly. Clara, however, was silent, too engrossed in her own thoughts to notice anything else going on around her.

Like her older brother, Clara, too, had a sheet of paper in her front of her, and a pencil in her hand. However, she was currently was tapping it excessively against the wood of the bench, stumped on what to do next. Unlike Jack's paper, which was full of charcoal from drawing, her sheet was only halfway filled, and had makeshift music bars scribbled across it, with several measures filled in with musical notes. Just like how people needed air in their lungs to breathe, Clara needed music. Music was to Clara as art was to Jack: impossible to live without. Jack glanced over at her.

"Hit a writer's block, Clair?" he asked. She nodded, keeping her eyes glued to the paper.

"You have no idea," she mumbled, biting the eraser of her pencil.

"What are you having trouble with?" Jack asked, peeking at the sheet to see how far she was in her song. "Maybe I can help." Jack didn't know as much about music as Clara did, but he did recognize the basics in writing music for the piano and for vocals. She shifted the paper so he could see it. The title of the song, 'Ode to Titanic,' was written in big, bold letters at the top. Fabrizio saw it, too, and chuckled.

"Love the ship so much, you write song?" he asked. "It is nice ship."

"Yeah," said a new voice in a thick, Irish accent. "It's an Irish ship." They turned to see an Irish immigrant in his early twenties was the one who had spoken. Fabrizio was puzzled.

"It's English, no?"

"No, it was built in Ireland," the stranger said. "Fifteen thousand Irishmen built this ship. Solid as a rock. Big Irish hands."

"It's a cursed ship is what it is." The adults turned to Clara, who had turned her attention back to her incomplete song.

"Beg your pardon, lass?" The man asked.

"This ship has been cursed from being determined, 'unsinkable,' by the newspapers. I guarantee it, and it seems like I'm the only person on board that can see that." She stated. "Someone has to tell whoever's in charge here that aside from its size and luxury, Titanic is no different than any other ship. It could sink, and if it does, I know I'm never trusting another ship built in Ireland again."

"What makes you say that, sis?" Jack asked, confused by what she meant. She stared at him, shocked that he didn't remember.

"You don't remem- Ah!" She cut herself off when she saw a group of dogs being walked by a crewmember come onto the deck. "Dogs!" She hastily hid behind Jack, her nutcracker locked safely in her arms. One of the few things Clara was scared of was dogs, having been attacked by one when she was six. The stranger glared at them as they went past.

"That's typical," he said, "first-class dogs come down here to take a shit."

"That's so we know where we rank in the scheme of things," said Jack.

"Like we could forget." The stranger puffed on his cigarette. "I'm Tommy Ryan."

"Jack Dawson," said Jack, shaking his hand. "And this is my younger sister, Clara."

"Hi," Clara said cheerfully.

"Fabrizio." Fabrizio said, shaking hands with Tommy as well.

"Hello," said Tommy, tipping his hat to them. "Do you make any money with your drawings or her music?" He asked, nodding to Jack's portfolio, and Clara's unfinished song. Jack was about to reply, when something, or rather, someone, on the upper first-class decks caught his attention.

A beautiful girl in a white and yellow dress with her flaming, curly red hair pinned back neatly, walked gracefully over to the railing on the deck and rested her forearms against it. He wasn't much older than her, if even older at all. She stared out, mesmerized, into the horizon at the radiant, splendid ocean, deep in thought. Tommy, Fabrizio, and Clara noticed where he was looking, and turned to look at the girl as well.

"Excellent choice, big brother," Clara said, grinning madly. "She's a pretty one, I must say!"

"Nah, forget it, boyo," said Tommy with a chuckle. "You'd as like have angels fly out o' your arse as get next to the likes of her."

If Jack heard what they had said, he didn't acknowledge them. He just kept staring at the woman, completely entranced by her beauty.

Suddenly, the woman glanced over at them, feeling his stare. She looked surprised to see that they were showing an interest in her. Clara, Fabrizio, and Tommy quickly looked away, but not Jack. It didn't even faze him to know that she was aware that he was staring at her until she looked away. His initial thought was that she was disgusted by his rudeness, but then she looked back, keeping her gaze locked with his.

For a single moment, time seemed to stop for both of them as they stared at each other between the spaces of the well deck, acting as an ocean of in itself between them. They were worlds apart from each other. She was on her promontory; he was on his much lower one. They would most likely never meet or speak to each other, but somehow, Jack felt at peace when he looked at her, and something inside him told him that she felt the exact same way.

Fabrizio waved his hand in front of Jack's face. He didn't even blink. Clara decided to give him some help.

"Don't just stare at her like an idiot, big brother!" She snapped, hitting his arm playfully. "Wave to her!" As if to emphasize her point, she stood up on the bench, and waved her free hand high over her head. The woman looked surprised for a moment when she saw Clara, then she smiled and politely waved back, giggling slightly. "Go on, try it!"

Jack Dawson felt nervous, something he rarely ever was. He started to lift his hand, but then a man dressed it a suit walked briskly over to her, and grabbed her elbow. The girl turned around, surprised at first, but her expression slowly turned to annoyance when she saw whom it was that had disturbed her. They couldn't hear what they were saying, but less than a moment later, the girl walked off, leaving the man standing there alone on the upper A-Deck.

"Oh, that's too bad." Clara said, frowning as they watched the man follow after her while she sat back down. "You didn't get a chance to wave hello."

"Best to forget her, mate," Tommy said, flicking his cigarette into the ocean. "You'll likely never see her again."

"Don't say that!" Clara snapped at him. "Maybe he will!"

"No, Tommy's right, Clair," said Jack sadly, turning back to his drawing. "I probably never will see her again, and even if I did, I certainly would never get a chance to talk to her…"

Clara huffed, setting her nutcracker down before folding her arms. "I never took you to be the type of guy that doesn't even try to defy that," she mumbled before glancing back up at the first-class decks. "Who knows? Maybe you will get a chance to talk to her again, Jack, maybe even before the day is over!"

Although he laughed along with Fabrizio and Tommy, Jack couldn't help but feel as though this was just wishful thinking. That girl was a first-class beauty, and he was nothing more than a wandering drifter. She would never even look twice at him if they passed each other in the street. Still, a spark of hope welled up inside him at his sister's words, and he couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Yeah, maybe I will…"


Rose felt as though she were suffocating.

It was dinnertime, and she was sitting with her mother and Cal in the first-class dining hall. All around her, men in suits were smoking cigars and drinking down large glasses of brandy, and the women were all sitting at the tables, chatting happily about pointless matters. Cal was holding a conversation with her mother and Lady Duff-Gordon, entertaining them with his brilliant lies as he sipped champagne. The orchestra was playing a slow, heartwarming waltz, and the food and drink were all delicious. It was a perfect dinner party, and everyone was having a wonderful time. Everyone, that is, except Rose.

Could no one here even see her? See how miserable she truly was?

She shut her eyes and envisioned how her life would be like once she married Cal. She would always be attending these frivolous parties, partaking in the same mindless chatter she couldn't stand. Everyday she would be forced to smile, and act as though she were the happiest woman on earth. She would be forced to be the wife of a man she truly hated…

Rose opened her eyes and glanced down at her hand, staring at the ring that branded her as soon-to-be-wed. She wanted nothing more than to tear the blasted thing off her finger, and throw it into a deep ravine by the edge of a great precipice. No… she wanted to jump into it herself. Why bother trying to live on? She wasn't truly loved by anyone. Not by her mother, and certainly not by Cal. The only person who had ever truly cared for her aside from Trudy had been her father. But he had passed away less than two years ago, and now she had no one…

"Sweetpea, your arm!" Cal said, alarmed. Rose glanced down. She had been so caught up in her thoughts, she hadn't even realized she had been digging fork she had been using for her salad into the bare flesh on her arm, and was now leaving a small trail of blood behind.

"Oh, I was so caught up in my thoughts, I wasn't paying attention," Rose feigned, pretending to be startled by this sudden injury.

"Here, I'll escort you back to your cabin," Cal said, starting to stand up.

"Oh no," Rose said innocently. "I can go by myself."

"Are you sure?" Ruth asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I'll have Trudy clean me up. I'll only be a moment."

She quickly left the table. By the time she was back in her room, she was barely keeping hold of her emotions.

"Trudy?" Rose croaked out as she took off her black gloves. She desperately needed a friend right now. Someone who would tell her that she was being ridiculous and needed to go back and play her part as a refined young woman. She received no response.

"Trudy?" She said again. Silence. Rose sighed and tried to untie the back of her dress. She could barely breathe with it on. She needed to get it off if she were to be able to think clearly. But the ties were complicated and she didn't know if she was untying it properly.

"Trudy?" Rose went over to the mirror with her back facing it so she could see the ties and buttons in the back. She tried to reach behind her again and attempt to undo them, but it was no use. She couldn't reach them.

Rose tore at the neckline of her dress. Her desperation to remove it from her body was conflicting with her common sense. She screamed as she ripped the pearl necklace she had been wearing off her neck, flinging them onto the wooden floor of the cabin. She hated pearls, but her mother had insisted she wear it. Was that all she was to her mother? Someone for her to dress up and present like a doll to her friends?

"Trudy!" Rose called out, ripping the pins out of her hair. The pins scraped her scalp as she tore them out, but she couldn't even feel the pain. She was too hysterical to feel pain right now. Before she could even realize what she was doing, Rose flung all her items off her dresser, screaming in rage. It didn't even matter to her if they wound up being damaged or broken. Why should she bother to care? They meant nothing to her. She would happily trade every diamond she owned to be free of living her life in a tiny cocoon.

When she finally glanced at her reflection in the mirror, she froze. The woman staring back at her was not the Rose Dewitt Bukater she had presented to the people at dinner. Instead, she saw the reflection of a young girl with absolutely no hope inside her. The girl was panting heavily, tearstains cascading down her red cheeks, and her bright, flaming hair was disheveled. She looked so miserable, the girl in the mirror. Miserable enough to end her own life…

At that moment, Rose knew exactly what she had to do. She punched at the reflection in the mirror and flew out of the cabin. All common sense had left her brain. She had to do this. It was the only way for her to ever truly be happy.

She ran down the corridors in the upper decks. She was blinded by her tears, and couldn't even acknowledge the people she shoved past in her distressed state of mind. Feelings she didn't even understand were bubbling inside her: self-hatred, anger, and determination… They, however, noticed her, and were shocked. This girl was showing emotion in public! What a scandal! They didn't even stop to think twice about what could have possibly caused this girl to become so distressed. They just looked down their noses at her as she flung open the gate that separated them from the steerage passengers, and ran down the short flight of stairs.


Jack and Clara were alone at the moment, lying down together on connected benches to stare up at the night sky. They had had a wonderful day. And they were nearly ready to end it, and continue their voyage when they woke up tomorrow morning, just as soon as they named a few of the constellations, first.

"What about that one, big brother?" Clara asked, pointing at a small cluster of stars in the shape of an hourglass. "What's that one called?" Jack chuckled.

"That's part of Orion," He said, puffing on his cigarette. "The three in the middle of the hourglass is called, 'Orion's belt,' and the two above and below it make up his legs and chest."

"What about his arms, and the rest of his body?" Clara asked, flipping onto her stomach to look at him. "Where are they at?"

Jack was about to reply, when something bright red zoomed past them. Jack and Clara shot up, startled. A woman of first-class, wearing a bright red dress, was running towards the stern of the ship, crying hysterically.

"Isn't that the woman we saw earlier, big brother?" Clara whispered. Jack nodded.

"Yeah, it is," he said. A moment later, he got up, and started walking in the direction she was headed.

"Hey, wait for me, Jack!" said Clara, picking up her nutcracker and briskly followed after him.


Rose didn't even notice the people following her. She just kept on running until she finally reached the stern section of the ship, slamming herself against the base of the Union Jack flagpole to come to halt. For a few moments, she just stood there clinging to it as she panted heavily, trying to suppress her sobs as she stared at the inky black water below.

There's no need to be afraid… Rose thought to herself. It's better this way... She took a deep breath, clutching the railing tightly as she mentally prepared herself. Then she started to climb.

She hitched up the sides of her dress, and stepped up onto the railing. She clung onto the Union Jack flagpole as she carefully stepped over the railing to stand on the outer edge. She grabbed onto the railing behind her tightly with both hands, staring at the murky water beneath her. All she had to do was let go. She just had to let go of the railing, and she would be free. Free from Cal. Free from her mother. Free of living her life as a first-class beauty. She would never truly be the perfect debutante her mother had always strived to have her become, nor would she ever find someone to love, with Cal as her husband. One jump would end it all.

Her grip started to loosen on the railing. She started to slip away-

"Don't do it."

Alarmed, Rose grasped the railing tightly and turned around. A young man about her age, holding the hand of a little girl of maybe seven or eight, who was staring at her in shock as she hugged a doll of some sort tightly to her chest with her free hand, were standing there. They both appeared to be from third-class, judging by their clothing.

"Stay back!" Rose cried. "Don't come any closer! Neither of you!"

"Come on," said the man, cautiously stepping forward. The little girl behind him snapped out of her stupor when his hand left hers, and moved forward slightly, too, grabbing his hand again. "Just give me your hand, I'll pull you back over."

"No! Both of you stay where you are!" Rose ordered. "I mean it! I'll… I'll let go."

The man took the cigarette he had been smoking away from his lips. He showed it to her, and nodded to the sea. He took another giant step forward, dragging the little girl behind him, and threw it into the ocean. There was silence for a few moments.

"No you won't." Rose and the man turned to the little girl, who, despite clutching the doll she was carrying very tightly, was looking at Rose fearlessly.

"Wh-what do you mean, 'no I won't?'" Rose snapped. "Don't presume to tell me what I will, and will not do, you don't know me! Neither of you!" The girl flinched slightly, but kept her eyes locked with Rose's.

"…Well, wouldn't you have done it already, ma'am?" She squeaked, letting go of the man's hand to hug the doll tightly with both her arms.

"You two are distracting me!" Rose snapped. "Go away!"

"We can't," the man said, taking off his jacket. "We're involved now. If you let go, I'll have to jump in there after you while my sister goes and gets help." The girl nodded, setting her doll down beside his coat.

"Don't be absurd!" Rose said. "You'll be killed!"

"Big brother's a good swimmer, just like me," said the child as the man started to unlace his left boot.

"The fall alone would kill him…" Rose protested.

"It would hurt," said the man as he started to untie his other boot. "Neither of us said it wouldn't."

"To tell you the truth, miss," the little girl piped, "I'm a lot more concerned about the water being so cold than of big brother dying from the jump." Rose frowned, glancing down at the water. She hadn't thought about that.

"…How cold?" she asked.

"Freezing," the man replied. "Maybe a couple of degrees over…"

"…Have you ever been to Wisconsin?" said the girl suddenly as the man took off both his boots. Rose stared at her. Was this little girl actually trying to have a normal conversation with her?

"What?"

"Well, they have some of the coldest winters around, ma'am," she explained. "That's where big brother and I were born, near Chippewa Falls. One of the few things I remember was that when I was little, me, big brother, and our father went ice fishing out on Lake Wisota. Ice fishing is, you know, when you-"

"I know what ice fishing is!" Rose snapped, cutting her off. The girl flinched again, but didn't look away.

"S-sorry," she said. "You just seem like, you know, more of an indoor girl… Well, anyway, I ended up falling through a spot of thin ice. Big brother had to jump in after me to help me get out. So, we of all people can tell you…" She paused and glanced down at the black sea, gripping the railing tightly. "Water that cold, like right down there, it hits you like a thousand knives stabbing you all over your body… You can't breath… You can't think… At least not about anything but the pain…"

"Which is why I'm not looking forward to jumping in there after you," said the man. Rose nearly let go. She had almost forgotten that the man was standing there, too. "But like I said," he continued, taking off his vest, "I don't have a choice… I guess I'm kind of hoping you'll come back over the rail and get me off the hook here…"

"Y-you're crazy!" said Rose, facing the ocean again.

"That's what I tell big brother all the time," said the little girl hesitantly. "But, with all due respect, miss, he's not the one hanging off the back of a ship, here."

Rose frowned. She had a valid point, there.

"Come on…" said the man, slowly stretching out his hand. "Give me your hand… You don't want to do this…"

"Please," the little girl begged. "Take his hand!"

Ever so slowly, Rose unfastened one hand from the rail and took his hand, carefully stepping around to face them. The man and the little girl sighed in relief.

"I'm Jack," said the man, introducing himself. "Jack Dawson, and this is Clara, my younger sister."

"Rose Dewitt Bukater," said Rose, introducing herself to them as well. Clara giggled.

"We'll have to get you to write that one down," she said. Jack and Rose laughed, too. Now that she had decided keep living and not kill herself, the tension in the air around them had simmered down considerably.

"Come on," Jack said, holding her firmly. Rose, unaware of the fact that she was stepping on the edge of her dress, attempted to step back up onto the railing. She slipped and screamed. Jack leaned over the railing, clutching her hands tightly. Clara grabbed her, too, to help.

"We've gotcha!" Jack shouted, trying to reassure her. "C'mon!" Rose attempted to pull herself back over, but slipped again.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" she screamed. "HELP, PLEASE! HELP ME! PLEASE, HELP ME!"

"Listen, listen to me!" Jack shouted back. "We've got you! We won't let go!"

"You heard my brother!" Clara said, squeezing Rose's hand tightly. "We're not gonna let you go overboard!"

"Now, pull yourself up!" Jack encouraged. "Come on, you can do it!" She nodded, and with Jack and Clara's help, she managed to pull herself back over. As she came back over the railing, she slipped slightly, and wound up not only knocking little Clara back first onto the deck, but Jack, still clutching onto her, fell on top of them both in a rather comprising position, though she doubted that Clara realized that, being so young.

"Are you both okay?" Jack asked, concerned.

"Yes," Rose said, panting heavily. "I'm fine."

"Me too, big brother," Clara moaned, rubbing the back of her head.

"What's all this?" Said a new voice. Jack got off them in alarm. Three crewmen were staring at them. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making. They should have realized that someone was bound to hear them. The crewmen slowly took in the scene before them. Rose was panting heavily on her back. Her hair was disheveled, and there were tearstains running down her cheeks. Part of her dress was torn, and pushed up to her knees, revealing part her stockings and one of her bare legs. Clara, lying down beside her, was moaning in pain as she rubbed the back of her head, where a bump was beginning to form. The bottom of her tiny cotton dress was pushed up midway to her waist from the fall, nearly revealing her undergarments. Jack had not only his jacket and vest off, but his boots, too, and had been leaning over both of them. It wasn't hard to guess what the crewmen assumed he had been attempting to do.

"You stand back!" One of them shouted, pointing at Jack. "Don't move an inch!" Jack did as he was told. He didn't want to make the situation worse.

"You," said second to the third. "Fetch the Master at Arms!"

Less than ten minutes later, the Master at Arms was placing a pair of handcuffs on Jack, as Clara, horrified by the terrible misunderstanding, fought furiously against the two men that were restraining her from going over to Jack. Like Rose, she had initially been covered in a warm blanket and been given a cup of hot tea by Colonel Archibald Gracie, an acquaintance of Rose's, but when she saw the Master at Arms approach with a pair of handcuff's, she understood why Jack was being restrained by the crewmen. She had attempted to try and explain that she and Rose hadn't been hurt by him, but nobody had listened. Angry, she had then tried to go to him, but the Colonel and Lovejoy held her back, ignoring her protests.

"Let him go!" Clara screamed at the top of her lungs as she struggled against the grips of Colonel Gracie and Lovejoy. "He didn't do anything! Please, let him go!"

"I'm sorry, kid," the Master at Arms said, securing the cuffs. "You'll understand why we're doing this some day when you're older."

"No, you understand, right now!" She spat back. "He's innocent, I tell you!"

"Lovejoy, shut her up!" Cal ordered, walking furiously over to Jack. Lovejoy placed his hand over Clara's mouth. She bit and struggled harder than ever, but her attempts were in vain. Lovejoy was simply much too powerful.

"Completely unacceptable!" Cal spat at Jack. "What made you think you could put your hands on my fiancé?" Jack didn't look at him. He glanced over to Clara, concerned about what might happen to her now that he was under arrest. Then he looked over to Rose. She almost seemed scared of her so-called fiancé. Cal was enraged.

"Look at me, you filth!" He shouted, grabbing Jack by his shirt. He was beyond livid. He didn't give a damn about the screaming girl from steerage, but this boy had attempted to have his way with his fiancé! Something he had yet to enjoy! He would not stand by and ignore this. He would see to it that the boy in front of him paid for what he had done!

"Cal!" Rose protested. He ignored her.

"What do you think you were doing?" He continued. Rose got to her feet.

"Cal, stop!" She shouted, grabbing his arm. "It was an accident!"

This caught everyone's attention. Including Jack and Clara's.

"An accident?" Cal asked, not believing his ears.

"It was," she said, stalling for time to think up a plausible story. "It was stupid, really… I was leaning over, and I slipped."

Jack and Clara stared in disbelief. She was lying for them?

"I was leaning far over," she continued, "to see the… um…" she started making a circular motion with her index finger, trying to think of the word, "the… uh…"

"Propellers?" Cal guessed. She nodded.

"The propellers, and I slipped," she went on. "And I would have gone overboard, but Mr. Dawson and his younger sister here saved me," she nodded over to Clara, who started to struggle against Lovejoy again, who, this time, didn't hold her back. She ran to Jack, flinging her arms around him. "And they almost went over, themselves."

"She wanted to see the propellers?" Cal said, laughing uncertainly.

"Like I've said," Colonel Gracie interrupted. "Women and machinery do not mix." The Master at Arms forced Jack to turn around.

"Was that the way of it?" He asked. Jack, discreetly, glanced over at Rose, who gazed at him pleadingly.

"Yeah," he finally said, "yeah, that was pretty much it." The Master at Arms then turned to Clara.

"What about you, miss?" He asked. "Do you agree?" She glared at him.

"The only wrong thing I've seen happen tonight from anyone," she said icily, "are from those three men!" She pointed to the crewmen. Everyone stared at her, confused.

"I beg your pardon?" The Master at Arms asked.

"It they had stopped to find out why Rose and I were on the ground instead of jumping to whatever conclusions they did, none of this would have happened!" She explained. The Colonel chuckled.

"Well, you and your brother are heroes, then," he stated as the Master at Arms removed the handcuffs on Jack. "Good for you, son, miss! Well done!" Then he turned back to Cal and Lovejoy. "So, all's well. Back to our brandy, eh?" Cal nodded, wrapping an arm around Rose.

"Look at you," He said, rubbing his hands up and down her arms to warm her up. "You must be freezing! Let's get you inside." He started to walk away, leading Rose away with him.

"Ahem," Colonel Gracie interrupted. "Perhaps a little something for the boy and his sister?" He reminded him.

"Of course. Lovejoy, I think a twenty should do it." Rose glared at him.

"Is that the going rate for saving the woman you love?" she demanded.

"Rose is displeased…" he said, biting his lip. "What to do…? I know…" He walked back over to Jack and Clara. Jack was putting his jacket back on, and Clara was examining her nutcracker for any dents or chips that may have occurred when she had set him down. Seeing him come over, Clara ducked behind Jack. She already was scared of him, especially after what had almost happened. Cal chuckled at her.

"You don't have to hide," he said, slightly amused by her behavior.

"How do I know you're not going to try to throw me or big brother in jail again?" She retorted. He became very tense.

"My apologies for the misunderstanding," he said delicately. Then he turned to Jack. "Perhaps, you and your sister could join us for dinner, tomorrow evening? To regale our group with your heroic tales?" Jack glanced down at Clara, wanting to know what she thought.

"No handcuff's?" she asked. Everyone laughed.

"No handcuffs." Cal assured her. She turned to Jack and nodded.

"Sure," he said to them at last. "Count us in."

"Good," Cal said with a smirk. "It's settled then." Then he said privately to the Colonel, not intending for Jack and Clara to hear, but they did: "This should be interesting."

Rose glanced over to Jack and Clara one last time before she walked away with them, saying her own silent farewell. Lovejoy was about to follow them, but Jack whistled to him. He turned around, surprised.

"Can I have a smoke?" Jack asked, gesturing to his packet of cigarettes. He wordlessly walked back over, handing him the package and a lighter.

"You'll want to tie those," Lovejoy suddenly said as Jack lit his cigarette, pointing to Jack's feet. He glanced down. He hadn't yet tied his boots. "It's interesting," Lovejoy continued. "The young lady slipped so suddenly, and yet you still had time to remove your jacket and your shoes, Mr. Dawson, and your sister didn't accidently drop that toy of hers overboard from seeing her slip…" With that, he walked away, wanting to catch up to the others. Clara clutched Jack's hand tightly. This man could tell that Rose had lied.

"Jack," Clara whispered as soon as Lovejoy was out of earshot. "Why didn't he say anything?" Jack shrugged.

"I don't know, Clair," he whispered back, shaking his head. "I don't know."


Rose sat in front of the vanity mirror in her cabin, listening to the melody from the music box her father had given her on her twelfth birthday. She wasn't sure what to make of what had just occurred. Less than an hour ago, she had been absolutely miserable as she sat beside Cal and her mother in the first-class dining room, then the next thing she knew, she was standing on the back of the ship, wanting to jump off and kill herself. Then Jack and Clara appeared, and convinced her not to do it, just before Cal took her away. It was almost like being in a dream, with how fast everything had happened.

Rose stared at her reflection, still trying to comprehend the events. How had they done it? How had Jack and Clara been able to see past the mask she wore in front of everyone and truly see her? It was a gift not even Trudy or her father had had. They, out of everyone she had ever known, had actually made her feel as though she was worth listening too… As though she had a purpose to be alive…

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. Cal entered, holding a small box. She glanced at him through the mirror.

"I know you've been melancholy," he said gently, shutting the door behind him and walking over to her. "I don't pretend to know why… I had intended to save this until the Engagement Gala next week…" he paused to close her music box. She fought back the urge to scowl at him. She truly had no desire to receive any more of his heartless gifts. "But… I thought tonight…"

He opened the box.

"Good gracious!" Rose exclaimed, bringing her hand up to her chest in shock. Even for him, it was too much. Inside the box was a beautiful, heart-shaped cut blue stone on a gorgeous gold chain. Rose couldn't even begin to imagine how much it had cost, or where he had managed to obtain such an exquisite piece of jewelry. Cal chuckled at her surprise of his gift.

"Perhaps as a reminder of my feelings for you," he said.

"Is… Is it…?"

"A diamond?" He finished, taking the necklace out of the box, and placing it around her neck with a grin. "Yes. Fifty-six carats, to be exact. It was worn by Louis XVI, and they called it Le Coeur de la Mer."

"The Heart of the Ocean…" Rose translated in wonder, gently touching the edges of the necklace. "It's overwhelming…"

"Well, it's for royalty," Cal said proudly as he stared at their reflections in the mirror. "We are royalty, Rose." He glanced at her and continued. "You know, there is nothing I couldn't give you. There's nothing I'd deny you… if you would not deny me. So open your heart to me, Rose."

Rose glanced at him for a moment before staring at the mirror again as she wrapped her hand completely over the stone, shielding it from both his, and her own eyes. How could she even begin to open her heart to Cal, when he constantly shut it with his meaningless gifts like these? They were only reflections of Caledon Hockley's supreme wealth and greatness, not of his love. Therefore, they meant nothing to her at all, because in reality, she meant absolutely nothing to him…


"It was a cold stone, a heart of ice," Rose explained, her hand upon her neck as she remembered that day. "Even after all these years, I can still feel it closing in around my throat like a dog collar…"

Jack was squeezing her hand comfortingly. He knew how hard it was for her to remember how it was when she had been engaged to Cal. He himself could remember how miserable she had been back then.

"I can still feel its weight around my throat," she continued. "If you could have felt it, not just seen it…" Brock Lovett chuckled.

"Well, that is the general idea here, Rose," he replied, grinning happily. He was beyond pleased. He finally was getting information about the diamond. He could finally have a possible lead to where it was in the ruins.

"Wait a second," said Lewis suddenly as he fought back an obviously concealed laugh. "I want to get something straight. You were going to kill yourself by jumping off the Titanic?" He couldn't hold it back. He started laughing at Rose madly. "That's great!"

"Lewis…" Brock said warningly, seeing the cold glares on Jack and Rose's faces. Bodine ignored him.

"All you had to do," He continued, still laughing, "was wait two days…!"

"Please," Brock said, wanting to get back to the main subject. "Tell us more about the diamond. What did Hockley do with it after that?"

"Rose, you look a little tired," Jack said, brushing back a strand of her white hair out of her eyes. He could tell Rose needed to stop for the moment.

"Oh, I am, Jack," Rose said, catching his hint. "I think I ought to lie down…"

"Would you both like some more coffee?" Lovett said quickly, not wanting them to leave.

"She's tired!" Lizzie snapped, starting to wheel Rose out of the room first before going back for Jack.

"Wait!" Brock begged, following after them. "Before you go, could you give us something to go on, here?" Jack and Rose ignored him. "Like… who else had access to the safe? What about this Lovejoy guy, the valet? Did he have the combination?"

"That's enough!" Lizzie spat, silencing him as Jack and Rose waved goodbye to him over their shoulders.


Jack and Rose stood at the window of their stateroom on the Keldysh, watching the activity on the main decks from the crewmen. They were alone for the moment.

"Mr. Lovett is certainly becoming impatient with us," Jack said, watching one the deck cranes bring one of the submersibles out of the water. Rose nodded.

"Yes, I agree." She said. "He's too worried about the diamond to actually listen to the story."

"He better start to listen!" Jack said angrily, clenching his fists. "He hasn't even asked us about why Clara isn't with us, yet! She's the key!" Rose gently turned his head so he would look at her.

"We knew from the beginning who we were meeting when we decided to do this, Jack," she said tenderly. "We knew he wouldn't be interested in the details…"

"Well, he better start to get interested," Jack said, turning to pick up the nutcracker they had set down beside the pictures on the bureau. "Because we're not going to just tell him what he wants to know! He needs to know everything!"

"Yes," Rose said, resting her head on his shoulder. "Only by telling the whole story will be able to understand how truly worthless that necklace truly is…"

They both were brought out of their private conversation by seeing Brock and Bobby walk down the decks below.

"I need time," They heard Brock say to him. "Just buy me more time!"

"Time?" Bobby said, amused. "Brock, we're six days over as it is! We're running thirty thousand dollars a day! At this rate, I won't be able to raise twenty-five cents for a phone call! The partners are pissed- Brock!" He suddenly shouted, realizing that he wasn't even listening to him. "Are you hearing this? I'm telling you what they told me: The hand is on the plug, and it's starting to pull!"

"You tell the hand," Brock said irritably as Lizzie slowly approached them. "I need another two days! Bobby, we're close! I smell it!"

"Don't smell it," Bobby said, annoyed by Brock's insistence. "Okay?"

"I smell ice!" Brock continued, ignoring his protests. "He drew her wearing the diamond that night! They were photographed with the kid wearing the diamond on the same night! I just… got to work them a bit more, okay?"

"Alright…" Buell said begrudgingly. "We'll develop satellite trouble or something… You've got two days, Brock," He said warningly, raising two of his fingers to emphasize his words. "Two days!" He ran off. The smirk of relief on Lovett's face fell when he finally noticed Lizzie. Seeing the furious glare she was giving him, he realized she had heard the entire conversation.

"Hey, Lizzie," He said cautiously. "I was… just coming to find you. Can I… talk to you for a second?"

"Don't you mean work me?" She spat. He grinned sheepishly. He could tell she was disgusted with him.

"Okay, look," Brock said, "I'm running out of time, here. I need your help."

"I'm not going to help you browbeat my hundred and one year old grandparents," Lizzie said firmly. "I came down here to tell you to back off!" Jack and Rose smiled. They were proud of their granddaughter.

"Please…" Brock said desperately. "You have got to understand something. I mean, look at all this," He glanced around him at all the commotion from the other workers as they unloaded the nearby submersibles. "I've got guys diving around the clock… it's a three ring circus… My partner and I? We've got all our dough tied up in this thing! This is three years of my life going down the drain, here. I've bet everything to find the Heart of the Ocean. My wife even divorced me over this hunt, and took my kids away." He suddenly held out his hand. "You see this? Right here?" Jack and Rose peered over the windowsill. His hand was empty, in a cupped form. Lizzie was as puzzled as they were.

"What?" She asked.

"That's the shape my hand's gonna be when I hold it!" He said excitedly. Lizzie just stared at him. "I'm not leaving here without it," he continued. "I can't leave here without it… I need to unlock what's inside your grandparents memories…"

"Look," Lizzie said to him. "They are going to do this their way, on their own time. Don't forget that they contacted you. They're out here for their own reasons, God knows what they are… I thought they just wanted to see the drawing, the photograph, and those sheets of music, but there's something else… I can tell there's something else…" Brock nodded hesitantly, realizing her point.

"Maybe they want to make peace with the past…" He murmured.

"What past?" Lizzie demanded. "They have never, not once, ever said a single word about being on the Titanic until two days ago!"

"Then that means we're all meeting your grandparents for the first time?" Brock asked, surprised. Lizzie nodded. "Strange…"

"You really think they were there?" Lizzie asked. Jack and Rose frowned. They had thought for sure that Lizzie believed them.

"Oh yeah," Brock said, nodding. "I'm a believer… They were here…"

Jack and Rose stared at each for a moment, and then they both leaned out the window slightly.

"Lizzie? Mr. Lovett?" Jack called out. They turned around and glanced up at them, startled. "Rose is feeling much better. We're ready to continue when you are." Brock smiled.

"Excellent! We'll meet you both back in the imaging room with the others!"