As they sat in their lifeboat, Grace seemed to grow used to the cold engulfing her. She held Lilly and the other little girl, Viola, in either arm, keeping them close to her body. Cal sat in front of her, not looking back at any of the three.
When they got to the Carpathia, their rescue ship, Grace spoke to Cal for the last time.
"Never come near me again, remember? I won't say anything about Jack and Rose, or what you did to them, if you stay away from me for the rest of your life," Grace reminded him.
Cal nodded, still looking completely distressed.
The two separated once on board, never to see each other again. Grace kept both of the girls with her, knowing Cal would have no clue what to do with either.
"Miss, would you like some help with your daughters?" a woman asked Grace.
"They're- they're not my daughters," Grace muttered. "I found them."
The woman's face grew to understanding. "Oh," she said softly. "I can help with them, if you'd like," she offered again.
Grace nodded, pushing the girls forwards a bit. "Thank you," she murmured, and turned away, leaving them with the stranger. She went and sat on a bench, resting her head in her hands as she felt the tears begin to form. She missed Jack, who she'd never said goodbye to, and she missed Rose, who she'd recently met but grown close with, and she missed Tommy, who hadn't even been given a chance to escape on a lifeboat.
"Grace?" a familiar voice said hoarsely, and Grace looked up in shock.
"Rose," Grace muttered. It took her brain a second to really register who was standing in front of her, but when she did, she quickly stood up. "You're alive!"
The girls hugged each other, holding on tight. Rose was freezing, and had a thin blanket draped over her shoulders.
"Oh… what happened? Where's Jack?" Grace asked.
Rose's eyes seemed haunted as she looked into Grace's. "When the ship went down… we were still on it, and we got separated when it was pulled under," Rose answered. "I think he went down... with the ship."
Grace couldn't speak. She sat on the bench again, her hand covering her mouth. She had known there was little chance of Rose and Jack being alive, and she was grateful Rose was, but she didn't think she could bear losing Jack.
The girls sat in silence, mourning the loss of their beloved Jack when a man came around collecting names of survivors.
"Grace Ryan," Grace answered immediately. She had promised herself she would live for Tommy, and taking his last name was a good start. Besides, if Cal ever did choose to break his promise, when he wasn't in the midst of a sinking ship and back in Philadelphia royalty, this might make it harder for him to find her.
"Rose Dawson," Rose added. Grace looked at her and smiled softly. It seemed as if Rose had made the same promise to Jack.
As the girls sat together after the man collecting names had left and finally decided to talk about those last few hours. Both had many questions for the other, since they'd had such different experiences getting off of the ship.
"Cal planted this extremely expensive necklace on Jack to get him arrested and trapped in the bottom of the ship as it sank," Rose recounted to Grace, her voice still scratchy from the time she had spent freezing on a makeshift raft of wood. "I was able to cut the handcuffs off, and then we found you."
"Of course, we were at the lifeboat together, and I got on one, but I jumped back onto the boat. 'You jump, I jump'. I couldn't leave him," Rose continued. "Lovejoy chased us around the dining room with a gun. I'm not exactly sure why, still. And then the ship was going down and Jack was… and I found a board to lay on, and that's where I stayed until a lifeboat came back for me."
Grace told her about finding Lilly, and Tommy getting shot, making it onto the lifeboat only to be joined by Cal and the little girl some would say he rescued. She explained Fabrizio being crushed, and Cal's promise to never come near Grace again.
"What if he breaks that promise?" Rose asked tearfully, the fear of Cal evident in her voice.
"We'll keep each other safe," Grace said, hoping her voice sounded strong and not as weak as she felt in that moment.
"Where… where are Lilly and Viola now?" Rose asked.
"A woman offered to help. I left them with her, I needed to be alone and take it all in," Grace explained hastily.
Rose nodded softly, understanding what Grace meant.
Those next few days on the Carpathia were some of the strangest Grace had ever experienced. She and Rose had been given their own small cabin to sleep in with the girls, shared with another two people. Grace didn't know too much about what to do with them, and for the most part she spent the days locked away in there with them and Rose, all grieving different losses.
Rose had discovered something that lightened the mood a bit. In the pockets of the coat Cal had given her was a pile of money and The Heart of the Ocean.
"What do we do once we reach New York?" Rose asked Grace as they watched the land drift slowly closer.
"We'll go home," Grace answered surely. "Back to Chippewa Falls. Jack and I grew up there. We have a house there still, that belonged to our parents before they died. I guess it's only mine now…"
They arrived in New York three days after being rescued after Titanic, and were swarmed with people. Chaos engulfed them as soon as they stepped off. People were confused as to what had happened. Surely the Unsinkable Ship hadn't sunk, they all thought.
But the onlookers were proved wrong, as the few hundreds of survivors walked onto the dock in New York City, all looking stressed and sad.
Rose and Grace fought their way through journalists and curious citizens, each clutching a hand of either Viola or Lilly. They found a small inn a few blocks away, and checked in for the night, using some of Cal's money. They needed to get settled before doing anything else.
After the two children went to sleep, Grace and Rose stayed up to talk.
"What do we do with them when we get there? We certainly can't raise them," Rose said.
Grace shrugged half-heartedly. "I know some people in town. I'm sure someone will take them in," she answered.
She didn't want to abandon them further, but she was too young to raise the girls. She wanted to do much more before children. Maybe that wasn't customary, but since when had Grace been customary?
"Want to go for a walk? I need fresh air," Grace suggested.
"Sure," Rose agreed, and the two left the little girls asleep in their room to go for a stroll around New York.
"What's Chippewa Falls like?" Rose asked as they stepped into the chilly evening air. She pulled the blanket she had brought with her closer around her shoulders, not wanting to feel cold ever again.
Grace hesitated, wondering how to introduce Rose to the town she had grown up in. "Familiar," she said finally. "Everyone knows each other. There's small town gossip, as normal."
"Are the people nice?" Rose asked.
"Mostly. Some nasty girls… but we don't ever have to talk to them. They'll marry, and become their parents, fall into the same cycle they all do, exactly what they said they wouldn't do," Grace replied. "They want to marry rich, but instead will go off with a farmer or some other nobody."
"I know those types of girls. I grew up with and was friends with those types of girls," Rose said.
"What's it like, growing up in high society?" Grace asked. She'd always been curious about that, just as Rose had been curious about the lower class.
"Boring," Rose said immediately. Evidently, she didn't have to think as much about her description as Grace had had to think of one for Chippewa Falls. "The girls are all too concerned with looks and riches. The boys are arrogant. All the same as Cal, promised a future fortune so they know they'll never have to work for anything in their lives, and no one can touch them."
"I hate those people," Grace said. She was glad she grew up as she did, humble and with her parents love, and then traveling the world with Jack, learning other cultures and beliefs.
"They're the worst," Rose agreed. She then had a thought. "We don't have clothes, Grace. I mean, we have the borrowed garments from the Carpathia, but no proper coats or dresses to wear after today," she pointed out.
"You're right…" Grace said, realizing that if they were to survive in the world, the first step was have something for them to wear. "We have all that money from Cal. We can go shopping for clothes for us, and Lilly and Viola so we don't just leave them with nothing," she suggested.
"I brought some of it with me, just in case. Come on, we'll find a simple store and get stuff," Rose said.
The girls walked down the street, finding a clothing shop for children that they stepped inside. They got a few dresses, all with sturdy fabric and less fancy patters and colors. Rose didn't want them to be restricted from playing and being children by soft fabrics and light colors like she had been. They also got a few shirts and skirts, again nothing that would force them to behave like small, middle aged women.
They next went into a store for them, and got some dresses and skirts for themselves, along with coats and shoes. All were simple things they could wear doing anything, and Grace loved that she finally didn't have to really consider money while shopping. Her style wasn't too fancy, so this was perfect.
As they walked back to the small inn they stayed in, they passed by a store of journals and portfolios and sketchbooks. Grace stopped walking and stared wistfully in, the store reminding her of two very important things she had lost during the Titanic disaster: Jack, and her journal.
"Oh, you lost the journal, didn't you?" Rose said, looking sorry.
Grace nodded. "It had everything in it. All the stories I had written, all of my memories with Jack and Fabrizio… and Claude," she said sadly.
"Claude?" Rose asked, not remembering the boy Grace had mentioned briefly while walking around the Titanic.
"My…" Grace said thoughtfully, wondering how to explain her relation to Claude to Rose. "We met in Paris. Do you remember that drawing you saw in the portfolio, of the hands?"
Rose nodded, her face showing a very slight understanding of the boy.
"I was sitting outside one day, while… Jack… was drawing those French girls, and Claude came up and we started talking. We… well, I guess we did have a love affair," Grace confessed. She could tell Rose now that they were alone, not wanting to reveal all of her secrets to Jack.
Rose raised her eyebrows, a smirk appearing on her face. "How improper, Miss Dawson. Most un-ladylike," she said, her accent extra posh.
Grace gave a faint smile. She missed Claude so, so much, and that pain seemed to settle on top of the pain she felt losing Jack.
"We explored Paris as a little team. Of course, he already knew it, but we went places he'd never gone before, or he showed me his favorite places. And… yes, made love," Grace revealed. "I was so sad when Jack and I left. He couldn't come with us, I asked. His family is there, him and his three siblings, parents, sister-in-law, and niece. He couldn't leave them. And Jack and I never stayed anywhere long enough after that to send letters."
"I can tell he meant a lot to you," Rose said.
Grace nodded in agreement. "He was everything. Him and Jack, I guess. At the time, I felt the three of us could run away together, make it on our own."
Rose examined some of the items inside the store window. "We'll get you another journal and portfolio," she decided. "The last ones clearly meant a lot to you, and now that they're trapped at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, never to be seen again… well, we'll have to get new versions."
"Rose, I couldn't possibly-" Grace said, although it was more out of politeness than actually not wanting the items.
"No, Grace, we will get the portfolio and journal, and that's that," Rose said firmly, and the girls walked together into the store, before purchasing some paper, a portfolio, pencils, and a new journal.
"This walk has been nice. Few people, fresh air… once we get back to the inn, I'll just be thinking of Jack," Grace said. "And losing him, and Tommy and Fabrizio. And how Lilly and Viola have no one, but I can't keep them, there's too many memories surrounding them. I can't look at them without getting a painful reminder of all that's been lost, and I can't live with that every day."
Grace felt herself slip to that dark place in her mind, of the ship going down and the people crushed, the screams as people died all around her. The fact that, while she had Rose, she had lost everyone else with meaning in her life. She felt that she had nothing.
"Grace…" Rose said slowly, noticing her friend's sadness.
"I miss them so much, Rose. My parents, Jack, Fabrizio, Tommy, Claude… all of them. Why does everyone around me have to die?" Grace said, not noticing she felt that way until it was said.
"You have me," Rose volunteered. "I know I'm not Jack, I'm not even close… but we'll do this together. We'll get back to your hometown, and we'll find families for the girls, and we'll make it on our own," she said. Rose had no idea how the two of them were to accomplish that, but knew they could. Grace was a fighter, and Rose was learning how to be one too.
"Rosie and Gracie against the world," Grace said, managing a sad smile. She took a deep breath, the cold air cutting through her lungs as they stood outside the inn. "Time to go inside," she said sadly. She wanted to be out, but at the same time wanted the security and safety of the inn.
"We'll get a train back to Chippewa Falls tomorrow," Rose said. "And… you can show me that lake Jack fell into. We can watch the girls sometimes, and you can show me all around there. You must know it all," Rose said, hoping to sound like the cheerfulness she lacked.
"It's been a while… but I'm sure I still remember," Grace agreed.
As Grace lay in a bed that night, the steady sound of everyone else's sleeping breaths behind her, her mind ran over everything. She hated what she felt. She was relying on Rose for happiness, for hope, when Rose had just gone through the same losses she had.
She hated relying so much on someone. Sure, she and Jack had relied on each other, but that had been a near equal balance. With Rose, Grace felt she was the one taking and not giving enough. She wanted to do something to help, but she didn't know what. She seemed to have lost herself on Titanic, and as desperately as she wanted to get herself back, she had no ideas on where to start.
Going back to her origins might help, though. Chippewa Falls was where she had grown up, and where her personality had been born. The town, the people… yes, this would be good for her. She could rediscover herself, and maybe start her own family there. It was perfect, she tried to convince herself. It was all perfect.
Grace, Rose, Viola and Lilly packed what little belongings they had the next morning, and headed to the train station, where they caught the first one they could out to Chippewa Falls.
A day and a half later, they were in the town Grace wanted to refer to as home, but didn't think she could anymore.
"My parent's home is still here," Grace said as they walked together into town. "They were in a church when they died. It caught on fire, and they got us out but went back to help others, and we never saw them again," she recalled.
Rose looked at her friend sadly. She knew the pain of losing a parent that you loved and they loved you back, and Grace had lost two of those. She wished there wasn't so much death in the world, that her perfect, handsome, brave Jack was still with her, to hold and love. She wished none of the people on that cursed ship had died, that they had all made it back safely. The thought of them all haunted her at night, the lifeless bodies floating in the water.
"Grace? Grace Dawson?"
A man approaching them shook Grace and Rose out of their thoughts, and the looked up to find the source of this voice.
As soon as she spotted him, Grace realized maybe there was a good reason for coming home after all. "Theo!" she cried, running over to him and wrapping him up in a hug.
"Grace, you're back!" he said happily.
"I told you I'd come back someday, didn't I?" Grace replied, unleashing him from her grasp.
"I was starting to doubt that. See, it's been five years, and not a word," Theo told her grinning.
"I never break a promise," Grace told him, smiling.
"Ah, who are these fine women?" Theo asked, seeing Rose, Lilly, and Viola.
"My friend Rose, and… that's Lilly and Viola," Grace explained. Titanic's memories washed upon her once more. "Theo, there's so much to tell you. And Rose, too. I must explain to you who he is," she gushed.
"I was just heading on a walk. I could help you take some of this back to your house, if that's where you plan to go," Theo offered.
"That would be lovely," Grace replied. "I think you deserve a proper introduction. Rose, this is one of my childhood friends, Theodore Calvert," she introduced. "Theo, this is my friend Rose."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Calvert," Rose said politely.
"Call me Theo. Everyone does, it's weird not to," Theo instructed.
Rose nodded.
"So, where did these two come from?" Theo asked, gesturing to the two shy girls trying to hide behind Rose and Grace.
Grace turned and picked up Viola, who was behind her. "This is Viola. It's kind of a long story how we ended up with her," she said unsurely. "Viola, this is my friend Theo."
"Hi, Theo," Viola said very quietly.
"Hello, Viola," Theo replied kindly, giving the little girl a small wave. "And I'm always up for a good story, especially one told by the Grae Dawson."
Grace let a small chuckle slip out, and turned to Lilly, who was peeking out from behind Rose's legs. "This is Lilly, by the way," she added.
"Nice to meet you, Lilly," Theo said, squatting down to reach Lilly's level. Lilly smiled softly, slightly intimidated by this stranger. "Where is Jack, may I ask?" Theo questioned, standing up straight again.
Grace's face fell, and she looked at the ground. "So much to tell you…" she said slowly. "Can we talk about it later, please? I'm not in the mood right now," Grace confessed, keeping her voice as steady as possible.
"Of course," Theo agreed. "We could talk about… Oh! You must've heard of Titanic, right? It's all so crazy. I can't believe what happened. It seems like every day, they're posting a new survivor list in the newspapers," he said.
Grace screwed her face up a bit. She had avoided checking the survivor lists so far, not wanting to be sadder when she didn't come across Jack's name. "Can we not… talk about Titanic," she said, spitting out the word quickly. She hated thinking about it, wishing it could all settle in the past. But she knew that could never happen, at least not for a long while.
"Sure," Theo said, wondering what he could talk about. "We're here," he said instead, because it was true. They had reached the old Dawson house, and Grace looked at it strangely.
It had been a long time since she had been there last, and the house seemed so different. Five years ago, it had been a cheerful and lively place. There always seemed to be people and noise, kids sneaking or running around. Now, it looked rather depressing, a large, two story family home with no family in it for years.
"Let's go in," Grace said, and, still carrying Viola on her hip, she walked up to the front door and twisted the knob open.
I hope you all like the story! I'm thinking I'll continue this on for a while, kind of explaining what happens with the characters after the Titanic. I have a lot of ideas on what to do, and I'm super inspired so let's hope that sticks. Thank you all for reading, and I'd love to hear your thoughts in the reviews, they make me very happy to get. Have a good day!