Jack was falling. Not through time or space, but through ice. He then realized that it was water. Rose! Everything came rushing back to him as he swam to the surface. The boat was leaving, and Jack prayed that it would return. Seeing as he didn't have the strength to follow it.
Rose had to move to another empty boat, so the original boat she was in could go look for more survivors. Rose just lay in the boat, with no strength to move. The only sounds were orders from the surviving officers, and people crying. Rose thought she heard her Mother's voice, but ignored it. Time crawled by, a young man had been found, but it couldn't be Jack.
"Jack's gone," thought Rose. Those two words rung endlessly in her head.
The boat returned.
"Is anyone out there!" cried out an officer.
"Yes! Please help me!" Jack yelled. His voice was hoarse, but it was heard. Jack felt himself being pulled into the boat. The sun was rising a new day was born. Rose was gone.
"Rose. Did you find Rose?" he asked the closest officer.
"Rose? I'm sorry sir, but we haven't taken names yet," the officer replied. Jack sighed, and pulled his blanket closer around his shoulders.
The Carpathia finally arrived. Rose had to be helped onto the ship.
"Class?" a crewmember from the Carpathia asked.
"Steerage," Rose replied, like it was no big deal. A cup of coffee was pressed into her hands, and she was directed to where the few 3rd class survivors were.
"Name?" a young woman asked.
"Rose…Dawson," she said.
"Thank you, ma'am," the woman said, and she moved on.
Jack insisted on climbing onto the Carpathia on his own. He had survived the sinking of the Titanic, hadn't he? Jack gave his name, and stood at the back of the ship. He laughed bitterlyto himself. This was the same spot he had met Rose at, only on a different ship. He looked over to see a hunched over figure weeping. His heart went out to the strange immediately, he knew what it felt like to loose someone you loved.
Rose walked to the bow of the ship, and crumpled to the ground. Jack, her only love was gone. Sure, she had promised to go on, but how could she? How could she go on without the man that had saved her? She wrapped her arms around her small body, and began to cry silently to herself. She wasn't alone; at the bow was a young man with a worn outfit on. It appeared that he too had lost someone. Rose looked back down at the ground. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a comforting arm around her shoulders.
"Are you alright?" a male voice asked. Rose looked up immediately, and saw deep blue eyes. Not just any deep blue eyes, but his blue eyes!
"Jack!" she exclaimed. Jack grabbed Rose, and pulled her close into a passionate kiss. "I didn't mean to let go, I'm sorry!" Jack brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.
"Don't apologize, Rose. We're together now, and that's all that matters. I thought you were dead. I swam up the surface and you were gone."
"A boat came to get me, and I, I had to let go. I didn't want to. I would have stayed with you forever, but I made a promise, and I'm not one to not keep promises." Jack smiled. They were together again.
Hand in hand, they walked to the steerage section of the Carpathia, and sat down. Half an hour later, Rose spotted a small figure crying alone. It appeared to be a child. She got up, and walked over to the figure.
"Are you alright?" she asked in a soothing voice. The figure shook its head, and looked up. Rose recognized her as Cora Cartmell. "Cora! What's wrong baby?" Rose picked up the small child, and carried her over to where Jack was. Jack held out his arms, and Cora immediately curled up in his lap.
"I can't find my Daddy," she cried.
"Are they on the ship?" asked Jack.
"I don't know. I can't find him anywhere."
Rose said, "I'll go and find out if he's here. Cora, what's your Daddy's name?"
"Bert….Cartmell," she replied between sobs. Rose gently kissed the top of Cora's head, and went off in search of a stewardess.
When Rose returned a little while later, Cora had fallen asleep in Jack's lap, with her thumb in her mouth. Rose sighed as she sat down next to Jack.
"Cora's Father isn't on the ship. Not only did I look everywhere, but I asked five different stewardesses with lists of survivors. None of them has a Bert Cartmell on it. He didn't make it, Jack. How are we going to tell Cora? And what are we going to do with her?" Jack kissed Rose's cheek.
"I was thinking about taking her with us, wherever it is that we end up. I know we don't have a plan yet, but I was thinking of finding a job here for a while. Then, after we get enough money, we can go to Santa Monica together." Rose rested her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes.
"It seems like you've given this quite a bit of thought, Mr. Dawson. Shouldn't we make sure that Cora doesn't have any other family before we take her?"
"We'll ask her when she wakes up," Jack whispered into Rose's hair, right before she fell asleep.
A/N: Next chapter up soon! I decided that the original "If…" was a load of crap, so here's the new version…enjoy!