*Eleven*
The Hurt Continues

Zipper raced back into the cold. She was so tired from everything that had happened that day. She'd been up nearly sixteen hours. So, she wanted to sleep. But she knew rest was out of the question, until she made up with Lowe. Made everything right, perfect again.

"Officer Lowe!" She called out, when she didn't spot him right away. "Harold!" She thought for sure he'd still be on the starboard side. But, he was no where to be seen.

She was beginning to get frightened, when she spotted Sixth Officer Moody. "Mr. Moody!" She called out to him.

Immediately he turned his attention to her. They walked towards each other.

"Is something wrong, Miss. Rosenberg?" He asked. He could tell she was tired, tell she was upset. He didn't know what to think. He had heard the news from Murdoch. He almost blamed himself, for rushing their engagement.

"No. I just-" She had to catch her breath, from where she had been walking to swiftly. "I need to talk to Officer Lowe. I thought he was on duty?"

"Oh. He is. But we decided to switch rounds. He's over on the port side." He said. "Come on, I'll take you."

"No. thank you." She started to race back into the ship's interior. She wanted to get to him as quickly as possible.

She raced down the promenade deck. Then the boat deck. She couldn't find him anywhere. She decided to try the bottom.

She burst through one of the port doors. It was terribly cold, as she expected. But she didn't care.

"Lowe!" She shouted. She ran past a few third-class passengers, who were out late. Having a smoke.

She ran to the stern. When she got there, she finally found him. He leaned on the stern rail, just watching the waters, deep in thought.

"Harold." She said softly.
He quickly jerked his body around to face her.

"Michaela? Can you please let me explain?" He pleaded again.

She slowly walked over to him, not taking her eyes from his. "No, Harold. I believe it is I, who needs to explain."

He stared at her a moment. He leaned back against the stern rail. Wanting to know what she had come to talk to him about.

"I'm sorry. I misunderstood… and…" She started.

He smiled, thankful Frank must have made her see the light. He wrapped his arms tightly around her. He kissed her lips. But she pulled away.

She suddenly felt bad again, for her actions with Cal. She had to find a way to tell Lowe, what had happened exactly.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Look, I misunderstood you…because we were set up…" She trailed off. She turned her eyes away from him.

He immediately grabbed her shoulders and made her turn back to him. "What? By who?" He demanded. "Who would want to ruin what we have?"

She was very reluctant to tell him at first. But she knew it would come out eventually. "Caledon Hockley." She looked back into his eyes.

He pushed past her, and started towards the entrance. She knew where he was going. "No, Harold. Don't do anything." She pleaded.

"Why not?!" He asked. "I'll not have some rich bastard try to ruin my life."

He turned away again. She ran up to him, nearly running into a deck bench. She didn't care about her clumsiness. She still had much to tell him. She just didn't know how he'd react.

"Remember, I didn't have to believe him." She said. She held onto the sleeves of his uniform tightly. Not wanting him to go to Cal. Cal would tell him more than she had. And it would definitely be better if Lowe heard of the affair from her, herself.

"He tricked you. I know what it must have looked like. But believe me, the lady simply wanted to see the keel, then she slipped." He said.

"I know." She mouthed the words. Finally she found her voice again. "But, there's more to it than that."

He looked at her. He knew something bad must have happened. He could see it in her eyes. "What is it, Michaela?"

"Harold. I- Well It's just- You were with that other woman… and well- well you know what I thought… and Mr. Hockley offered much needed comfort and…" She trailed off. Though she could tell he knew what she was getting at.

"No, Michaela?" He shook his head.

Slowly she nodded. Feeling slightly relieved that he knew. But bracing herself for what was bound to come.

"What in the bloody hell were you thinking?!" He demanded.

"I thought you were with her. I'm so sorry I didn't trust you." She said fighting back tears again. God, how she hated being this emotional. But his anger was clear.

"When you love someone, you can trust them completely…" He started. "I guess you didn't love me, else you would have trusted me enough to listen to me to begin with. And now… I can't trust you."

She could see the hurt in his eyes, but nothing could compare to the pain she was feeling in her heart. The tightness in her stomach. He wasn't going to forgive her. That was apparent enough.

'Please, I'm sorry." She pleaded. "I love you, Harold."

He turned away from her. Looking back only long enough to say. "It's Officer Lowe. If you wouldn't mind. Miss."

She sobbed out as she heard these words. She slowly sat down on the bench. She sat there alone for the longest time. Then slowly she turned her eyes towards the stern.

She remembered Rose, in the movie. She stood and slowly walked over to it. She placed both hands on the cool metal. Maybe this was the way back home. She'd rather be miserable there, than here. Where here she'd still see officer Lowe. Not to mention all the other things she knew were coming.

She watched the icy blue waters. She knew how cold they could get. She knew it was about one-hundred feet down. She stepped up on the rail.

"Hey! I know you've seen this all before." A friendly voice spoke from behind her.

She knew immediately who it was. Jack Dawson, of course. The only person who believed her from the beginning.

"Yes, Mr. Dawson. But unlike Rose. I don't have some handsome, strong, love to pull me back." She said sadly, thinking of Officer Lowe still. She didn't turn back to him.

She continued to climb over the rail. At this point she had one leg over one foot still on the in-side.

"How about a handsome, strong, friend?" He asked, smiling.

She turned her head to him. He was right. He was a friend. And a great one at that. He only had one night of his life left. She should be kind enough to spend some of it with him. She knew how greatly she'd miss him later.

"Jack." She sighed. "I'm lost. I don't know where to go from here."

"May I suggest, coming back over first." He laughed a little.

Slowly she stepped back over the rail to talk to him. She still leaned on the rail though. So if she really wanted to. If it really came down to that, she could fling herself backwards. And Jack would never have enough time to grab her.

"I heard, what he said. I'm sorry…Might I add I'm sorry you slept with that-that- well I'm not sure what you would call him." Jack laughed.

She did too. He took her hand and led her to the bench again.

They sat down. Talking like two old friends. "So, if you've seen this. If you are from the future, and they're going to make a picture-film about us… then shouldn't you have known how Cal is?" He asked.

She looked at him, knowing he was right. "Yes. And I was suspicious. I just wanted to give him a chance. Ya know? I just thought he was misunderstood."

Jack laughed a bit at that.

"No, I'm serious. I cared for him. I never thought he'd do something like this for money. Why do they care so much about money?" She asked.

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "That's something I may never know."

She nodded. "Jack, I still want to go home."

He looked at her a long moment. "Were you happy there?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Then, why not stay here?" He asked. "You'll have Rose, and I. And Officer Lowe loves you. I could see it in his eyes, while I watched you two a while ago."

She shook her head again. "Jack, if only you could know everything." She sighed.

"Like what?" He questioned.

"It doesn't matter. Listen are you going to tell Rose how you feel about her?" She asked.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to tomorrow morning." He said.

"No, don't try the church services. Cal will have that awful manservant Lovejoy watching for you. You won't be able to get in." She said.

"Okay….then when?" He asked. "Do I even have a chance?"

"Yes. Well you may not see it right away. But talk to her, tomorrow after noon. She'll be touring the ship, with Mr. Andrews, Cal, and her mother. Wait for her by the gym." She said.

She knew he would've thought about it on his own. But at least he wouldn't be embarrassed by the stewards and Lovejoy when he arrived at church.

He shook his head. "Are you sure you know what you're saying. I mean how does this film end? The one you were talking about."

She opened her mouth to say something. But what could she say. She couldn't tell him.

"Well, there's a promise that's kept eternally. And a return to Titanic…." She said. She told the truth, in a sense. But Jack knew something was wrong.

"Are you not telling me something? I mean, do I really have a chance with Rose? I know I asked too many things. But this is the first time someone can tell me my future, and really know for certain." He laughed a little.

She knew his future alright. But how do you tell your best friend, he will die in less than twenty-four hours? How can you say something like that to anyone?

"Believe me, Jack. You'll get Rose. I promise that much." She sighed.

He smiled. He knew she had to be telling the truth.

"Well, I gotta get some sleep. Fabri will kill me when he realizes I haven't been to the cabin yet." Jack said.

"Yeah, I'm exhausted too. See you tomorrow." She said.

They hugged and went their separate ways. She took the lift up to B-Deck. And directly went to her room. When she arrived, Frank was pretty much passed out on the divan. He hadn't even heard her come in.

She smiled and turned out the sitting room lights. She walked to her room, and quickly dressed for sleep.

She crawled under the plush covers on the bed. She hated being in this bed. She could still see Cal's face, feel his caress. And she hated it.

Her body was so exhausted that she drifted off rather quickly. Dreams of the Titanic raced through her mind as she slept. She dreamt of the wedding that wouldn't take place. And the tragedy that undoubtedly would.