This has taken a few days to actually perfect but after watching the movie last week, I realised that if I could have written the perfect ending to the movie then this would have been it. To convey the true tragedy but also to show that their was hope for the survivors afterward, regardless of their loss, most had to go on with their lives.

promises kept;

In lifeboat number four, Rose clung to a pile of blankets, containing everything which she loved most in the world. The only reminder that Jack was alive and somewhat breathing was the shudders which his body had succumbed to, in a total state of dazed confusion and something which could only resemble the closest thing to Hell which either could imagine. None of that seemed to matter though, in the oddest moments, she could only concentrate on Jack and the mass of tragedy seemed to completely be blotted from her memory, as though it was pieces of a forgotten and fractured dream. Her own eyes were heavy, bodily she was aching beyond any ache one could ever have imagined. The freezing air bit at her cheeks, her hands and the sound of the ice crackling about her hair was a constant reminder of the temperature. She wore a heavy woollen coat which Cal had shoved upon her before trying to put her on a lifeboat, and all Jack had was a linen shirt. God knows how long he had spent in the water, trying hard to keep his upper body clear. The shivers had caused constant tremors, and for her, laying on a piece of floating debris, and blowing warm air upon her and Jack's joined hands, she had felt the biting a lot less than he had but still enough to contemplate just how they could ever recover.

Jack's last words tormented her; she now knew that he truly believed that this would be his last night on earth. There had been a great divide of loss and death and now, time had to be on his side. There was no such thing as a beautiful goodbye, and after that she had prayed to God to spare him a thousand times. When he had laughed about sending a strong worded letter to the White Star Line about the sinking, it had sounded like a gasp of great fear. Of death, or of living, she hadn't known anything other than this...

''I love you, Jack.''

Jack had looked at her, piercing her with those once sparkling blue eyes which had since lost some of their soul. He was haunted. He was in pain.

"No... don't say your good-byes, Rose. Not yet, do you understand me?''

"I'm so cold."

"Listen, Rose, you're going to get out of this...you're going to go on and you're going to make lots of babies and watch them grow, and you're going to die an old...old lady, warm in your bed. Not here. Not this night. Do you understand me?"

She didn't. She hadn't wanted to listen. How could she when he was speaking of a future without him in it?

"I can't feel my body."

"Rose, listen to me. Listen. Winning that ticket is the best thing that ever happened to me." Tears had appeared in Jack's eyes. He was having trouble getting the breath to speak. "It brought me to you. And I'm thankful, Rose. I'm thankful." His voice had been trembling with the cold, which was working its way to his heart. But his eyes were unwavering. Perhaps that was the part which pierced Rose the most; the fact that he still possessed sheer determination even in what he could believe to be his last moments and that was for her; the absolute certainty that she would go on.

"You must do me this honour...promise me you will survive...that you will never give up...no matter what happens...no matter how hopeless...promise me now, Rose, and never let go of that promise."

It was only the pure purpose within his waning eyes which made her agree to such a heart-breaking premise; a thought of life without him within hers.

"I promise."

"Never let go."

"I promise. I will never let go, Jack. I'll never let go." Jack had gently kissed Rose's hand as he breathed harder. He was struggling. His heart was struggling to beat. It had to be.

Rose had gripped his hand harder, a fine sheet of ice forming about them, completely numb in their entirety. It had been making that promise that had propelled her to move. To keep moving. Left in the water longer, Jack would die. His breathing came in hitches. How great a sacrifice would his life be for her? But she would never live without him. He had told her to not say goodbye, yet, there was hope. There was life still. A chance...

''Keep moving, Jack. Do you remember what you said to me? Keep moving.''

He was moving. Involuntarily shivering. His eyes opened, reflecting the pain evident in his body. ''I...I can't.''

The water lay calm and still, the blackness hovering over the ocean. The only sound was the water gently splashing up again the debris, then becoming calm once more. It was like glass; clear and crystal and yet, above them, the sky was a beautiful haven of stars all twinkling a dance about the sky. As far as she could see, bodies bobbled about, clinging to something, anything. Bodies of women, of children and of the men who would never see their surviving family again. This would be the memory forever ingrained into her mind, bearing witness to a watery graveyard of the beautiful people, most of who were just steerage passengers wishing to experience a better and more fulfilling life. Rose hitched a sob, and a wave of life seemed to come to her. Jack closed his eyes, growing still as though some part of him was giving up.

''Don't you do that,'' she shook his hand, blowing warm breath upon it to break their contact. ''Don't you dare slip away from me.''

A fire started in the pit of her stomach. Jack wrinkled his eyes, and she knew of the pain he was feeling. Oh, how she wished to get his body out of the water. Once she had parted their hands, his weakness was evident as he started to sink beneath the water as though he was already about to sink to a watery grave; to join the rest of them. Another flare of determination flared. The movement caused her to catch his arms, and his eyes were suddenly wide, locked with hers.

''Fight for me, Jack. Fight with me.''

He must have found the strength to kick his legs because in a small manoeuvre she rolled off the side of the debris and encountered the water enveloping her entire body. A long and large gasp came to her and she ignored the stabbing of a thousand knives. Barely able to breath, she fought harder, for Jack. For him. Always.

''R-rose, no.'' He struggled, unable to make large movements and she came to him, holding the bobbling debris steady.

''Get on it, get on top.''

''No.''

Rose heard his breathing stall and then when he managed to open his eyes for a moment, saw the absolute, sheer agony ravaging him.

''For God's sake, Jack, I don't want to live without you. I don't want to go on because my heart is here with you.'' With clattering teeth, she placed a hand upon his hunched back and tried to accommodate a movement, anything slight to aid him. Unable to speak further, Jack murmured and with stiff, jerky limbs he found the sudden urge to move, somewhat freely. The blackened waters seemed unable to claim him just yet. He puffed out the pain, his breathe there as a reminder that he was still alive.

"Come on, get on top."

Rose's voice was filled with a steely determination and seemed to ignite a flare within him, too. In a move which seemed to knock down the walls of immortality; Jack grasped onto the edges of the wood, ignoring any splinters, and when he slipped, Rose was a strength to push him upwards just as he had when she had been unable to move properly. There, he lay, atop the floating debris and with dying eyes, exhaustion finally coming to claim him. His eyes floated closed.

''There are no goodbyes,'' he whispered, and she heard his shaking murmur. ''I-I lo-''

''Shh,'' she pressed her icy finger to his lip, and stopped him from speaking his own goodbyes. ''Tell me tomorrow.''

She saw the fear, felt it gripping her own bones and the depths of her soul. Glancing out, to the soulless laying within the icy waters with her, she looked back to Jack. Her own body was jerky, clattering and she was unable to make such smooth movements as she once had. Turning about to Chief Officer Wilde who lay, now with the angels, a whistle within his mouth, she started for it and her arms and legs struggled to pierce through the water. Jack was in the forefront of her mind, as she swam to the debris which had kept him afloat, but not for long enough to save him. She wanted to sob, to scream for help but it would be useless; who would there be to listen? Sanity had been chased away and replaced by a desperation to survive this Hell and hope that time could come to erase some of the pain.

The whistle sounded, slapping across the still ocean. With each breath, Rose wilted as she propelled all of her strength into blowing it with her eyes upon Jack. She was captivated by him, seeing him laid so lifeless when he had so boldly saved her life and she would do so in return. Even if this was the last night on earth with him, she would die in his arms. She kept Jack in sight. His fading eyes, his body covered in ice and he managed to smile. He was like a ghost there in the blackened, eerie night. She had attracted the attention of a lifeboat rowing back to the site of the sinking and adrenaline hadn't stopped until she was sure that Jack was safe, wrapped in endless blankets aboard a rickety lifeboat. The words he had whispered were inaudible, senseless but whilst he was still making those sounds, she hadn't cared.

Jack was alive. Barely. There were no more gasps of fear, just the feel of his cold cheek against her chest, pulling and twisting and shivering but she never let go of him. She would never. There was a light in the darkness, like a beam. A beacon. It was almost peaceful. The moonlight above had provided a beautiful illumination across the stillness. The stars shone for her...for them both. It was beautifully wicked; to gaze at such wonder above her, to bear witness to a gorgeous still night, one which claimed so much. Claimed lives. Claimed innocence. Claimed everything. Was God watching or did the heavens not exist anymore?

There was so much death. So much stillness. How were they alive just mere hours before? Now, they rested in the arms of the ocean. Lulled to sleep forever by the gentleness. Death had taken a gentle hand to their mouths and silenced their cries. Answering their prayers to take their souls now, before the pain grew too great. Breathing was painful; once expanding lungs were gripped by that clutching fist which wouldn't let go until their soul left them. Numbness. It was as though a body was disappearing along with all feeling, draining away before their life would be taken. Children in their mothers' arms, cradled forever in their watery grave but now safe away from the cruelness of this world. Officers who had died during their duty. Immigrants who wanted that much better life for themselves, for their families. It was a sea of stillness now, replacing the hysteria of hyperthermia which had claimed most of them. How had each of them screamed, and shouted? How had they moaned with such shock, utter grief and terror? Children cried for their father, for their warm bed. Mothers for their children's safety. For the boats to return. Would they return? Why didn't they return?

Why did this happen?

Blinking through painful eyes, she saw the sea of bodies. Tranquillity fell over the world. The screams were long gone and replaced with the slow, steady rhythmic rocking of the water carrying them endlessly into their eternal life; wherever that may be. The bodies which bobbled about, now frozen beyond almost recognition were a graveyard of the ones who were once full of hope. Hope of a new life; of adventures. Of love. Of happiness. She had joined them. Though boarding the great ship had felt as though she had been led off her execution, eventually her melancholy had been chipped away. Jack Dawson had entered her life. He had sucked her into a vessel of freedom. She had sinned; given herself to a man who she barely knew. Barely had known. But loved him. Endlessly. Her voice crackled, shattering across the eternal sweetness of the empty world. The world had lost its glory. How could a brand-new story begin? How could this be repaired?

Dry lips parted. And then, his lips sealed over hers. Stealing her breath from her lungs, causing her eyes to spring open. His tongue was caressing her own, his fingers threaded within her hair. Acting on impulse, she reached to his shoulders beneath the blankets and dug her nails into the flesh to gain some hold of reality. Green eyes focused, finding his blue in the dim light of the morning. They flashed, warm; they were her safe place. Her home. Reacting to him, she pulled at his shoulders, clasping across his back; any way to become closer to him. The water which had gathered in the rim of her eyes spewed as soon as she closed them again, and he tasted the salt of them, kissing away the tears. His own gathered within.

''It is all right,'' his lips came down against her forehead, swatting away the iced hair. His breathing felt better then, calmer, but still it was accelerated in parts as though there was still the most profound of struggles as he continued to intake the foggy air.

Within his eyes, the fear matched her own. He was just as broken as she. Yet, he was strong; for her. When the shadows descended for him, invading his dreams and cruelly taking away any sense which they had come to; then she held onto him and refused to let go. Jack's own hot tear trickled, landing upon her cheek and with a trembling hand, she reached to swipe it away. Pinned beneath his intense blue gaze, his terror matched her own. His trembling tortured him, also. His hand lifted to his chest and rubbed, as if to soothe a pain there. The way his gaze fell upon her face made her feel more beautiful than she could ever even imagine. Here she was, wrapped about a man who she barely knew. She was innocent to the ways of the world, but she was willing to allow him to guide her. Willing to give himself to her. Willing to be his. Willing to die for him, and also, to live for him so they could go beyond this. Beyond today.

It was painful, out in the endless abyss of bodies, of a blackened night which had faded into an early morning. Time had felt shorter as the navy blue of the sky faded into a pink, orange and purple. It was as though colour had returned to the world; a great reminder than life would go on. It had to. The last time that Titanic had ever seen daylight, Rose had stood at the bow with Jack, him showing her just how to soar so beautifully across the ocean. The ocean then had felt like her freedom and now, it had claimed so much from her, but from a great liner sinking she had found another life. Wounded, broken and battered as she was, there would be another life for her and Jack beyond this morning and she had to believe such things.

With the new morning brought a clear vision of the large icebergs which had claimed Titanic, heaving out of the Atlantic waters like great boulders and whilst Rose had witnessed the berg with her own eyes, to come face to face with several now caused her to close her eyes and a single tear finally escaped. It was hot against her skin, trailing down her cheek and then onto Jack's nose. She wiped it away, clearing his pale face and pressed a small kiss there.

''Hold on tight,'' she whispered against his face, feeling just how little warmth was left there. ''hold on tight for me.''

As the morning broke further, in the distance a ship's hull loomed, the word Carpathia emblazed across the front. Rose watched, rocked by the sea, her expression blank. They seemed to be lulled forward to it, and slowly, flares were lit to catch its attention. It seemed mountainous above them all, with pale faced passengers glancing down to those in the lifeboats. Within her arms, Rose clutched Jack to her, in a sleepless solitude, his eyes wavered and caught her own. They were almost lifeless until a tear leaked, down his cheek and she wiped it away. She could drown within him, and feeling just a slight pull of him returning her touch. Her grasp. Her love.

''We're safe,'' she told him, maternally covering any exposed areas with her hand, with blankets and with her heart.

''We-we are-,'' Jack struggled, his body trembling and in a second, she was taken back just hours before when she had laid within his arms having just discovering what it felt like to truly make love for the very first time. Her arms had been his sanctuary then, and she had trembled for him in return after exchanging the most beautiful and intimate moments.

''Don't try to speak, not now.'' Rose soothed him but another tear came, then another and her own couldn't be stopped then as the watery lines escaped and joined with his own. His cold, frigid fingers reached out from the blanket to touch her cheeks and she should have gasped at the frozen cold connection but she closed her eyes instead just to relish the fact that he had enough strength to just raise his hand. When he said that everything was all right through the quietest and faintest of voice; she in return had made herself a promise to ensure that he survived. That he would go on, with her. Together.

She would stay awake forever if she had to watch him.

If that's what it takes.

With every beat of her heart, until there was nothing else left to give.

Every second since that moment, she had not left his side. His sight. Through the wind, the rain and the fear, they had held onto the other as though their own life depended upon it. Silent promises were made. Promises would be fulfilled.

And then, hours later, laid within a cot, amongst broken families and fractured dreams, Jack was strong enough to speak the words he had wished to since they had laid in the water. ''I love you.'' Without a shadow of a doubt, he did. This time it wasn't spoken as a goodbye, but as a promise of their new beginning.