Part 8~ The End
Titanic lost sight of Jack and Rose in the chaos but she felt they were no longer aboard and felt a wave of relief. She was pleased they had made it off for to remain on board her meant death. Smith wondered her decks, aimlessly making his way to the one place they could be connected. The bridge.
"I'm so sorry." He could feel her pain, it radiated from every wall. She was being subjected to stresses she was never meant to withstand. A groan sounded from deep within her as still she fought back the rising tide to by her precious people more time. Even if it was measured in minutes. "It's my fault." The groan this time sounded almost scolding. "No it is! I'm captain, it's my fault." She whined, pleading with him for something. He listened closer then shook his head. "No, not in a million years." He answered. She creaked again. "Then so be it. Ismay may be the coward of Titanic. I'm just the fool who sank you." She sighed and he grasped one of the spokes on the wheel, giving it a pat. "I'm staying." Again there was a groan. "No, I'm staying. A captain goes down with his ship." He sighed. "My ship. You're my ship Titanic. And I won't abandon you." He grasped the wheel with both hands now, feeling the smooth carvings on the inside of it with his palm. "We go together. I'm right here, I promise."
Outside they could hear the violins still playing and it sounded like the hymn "Nearer My God to Thee". That would be Hartley's choice. He'd said it would be the song he'd play if he was ever shipwrecked. And it was fitting too, in a way. Titanic's groans sounded like sobs and Smith realized he was crying too. Both wept for the souls they couldn't save, for the days that will never be.
The sea behind the bridge windows was pressing in on them now and as the bridge went underwater they collapsed. Smith grasped the wheel as tight as he could, reassuring his ship that even the sea couldn't part them. For her, the pain was almost unbearable now. She wasn't sure how much longer she could hang on. And then she realized, she didn't have to. She'd done all she could. For those that remained their fate would be decided by a hand stronger than hers. So she closed her eyes and allowed the sea to take her.