Chapter Ten
TWs: None for this chapter but read at your own risk.
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Notes: Welcome to Chapter 10, folks! Please enjoy!
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While 2nd Officer Lightoller ordered the operators to lower the lifeboat, Ruth called out for Rose, who had disappeared out of their sights as soon as they had started to lower the boat. Regina could only imagine how painful it must be for Ruth to lose sight of her daughter in the chaos.
As soon as they hit the water, the titanic ship loomed over them like a cliff and Quartermaster Hichens was none too comfortable with their current position. He sat uncomfortably at the tiller and ordered the seamen they had taken with them to pull away from the sinking ocean liner.
Unfortunately, they couldn't row for the life of them. Ruby climbed over Ruth and stepped on the older woman's feet as she grabbed the oars. At the same time, Ruth and Regina tried to keep themselves and Henry warm.
The twelve-year-old was half asleep between the two of them, softly whining as he burrowed his face into Regina's coat while Regina put an arm around him.
"Do you think they'll be all right?" Ruth finally dared to ask quietly. "I don't know. We can only hope," Regina replied honestly.
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"Where are you going? To him? To be a whore to a gutter rat?" Cal had asked as she had tried to break free from his grasp.
"I would rather be his whore than your wife," she had shouted before hurrying inside. She had to find Jack. He couldn't die. They were supposed to have a future.
She knew that it was insane, willingly staying on a sinking ship to save a man she'd barely known for three days, but it felt like the right thing to do.
In the A-deck corridor, she ran into Mr Andrews, who was checking if people got out safely.
"Mr Andrews!" She shouted, trying to get his attention. He spun around, facing her. "Where would the Master at Arms take someone under arrest?" She asked.
"What?" He said stunned. "You should get to a boat right away!"
She rolled her eyes. "I am doing this with or without your help, Mr Andrews, but without takes longer."
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "All right. Take the elevator down to the very bottom. That should take you to E-Deck. Then go right, into the hallway. From there, you go left until you reach the end of the hallway at the front of the ship. Then go through the door, it's the first door on your left."
She smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Mr Andrews," she said. "You wouldn't happen to have visited the staterooms on B-deck yet, would you?"
"Good luck, young Rose, and hurry," he said. "B-deck you say? No, not yet. That was my next destination. Why?" He asked.
"Because I happen to know that the occupant of B57 isn't up yet. The woman is a piece of work, but she should at least get a chance to escape," Rose said, without giving him time to respond.
She hurried to the elevators and ordered the poor operator to take her all the way down to E-Deck.
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While the evacuation was well underway, Robin and Emma hurried to help people up toward the Boat Deck. Oftentimes they had to explain themselves or wave around frantically with their arms to get people to understand that they were in a dire situation.
They tried to get people in line and toward the main stairwells, so that they could go up to the upper decks. Unfortunately, it was utter chaos, because people had lost track of their loved ones, children were crying and those foolish stewards tried to keep order in the most chaotic way possible, constantly shouting at people.
It took much longer than necessary for the people to be allowed through the gates. Not because the stewards tried to lock people down in the bowels of the ship, they just didn't know how to deal with chaos and the situation outside was already quite chaotic on its own.
So, to say Emma was surprised to see Rose come down to E-deck was quite the understatement. The younger woman ran down further into the bowels of the ship, water already as high as her calves. And it could only get worse from there.
"Rose!" She shouted. "What are you doing?!"
Rose turned around with quite some difficulty. "I have to save Jack! He was locked up here for no reason. It's not fair!"
"But Rose," Emma tried, "he wouldn't want you risking your life to save him!"
"You can't stop me, Emma. Either I save him, or we both drown, but at least we will be together."
Deciding that it wasn't worth her time to try and convince Rose to change her mind, Emma made to head back toward the crowd who needed her help to get out.
"As you wish! Best of luck!" She shouted after the younger woman, who hurried down the hallway.
Emma and Robin herded the people up to C-Deck, where so far it was at least still dry under their feet. Some people stayed behind or went back to their bunks on purpose and Emma tried not to think of the fate that awaited them, instead focussing on those who wanted her help. If she got out of this, she swore, she would never cross the ocean like this again.
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The clock struck half past one when Thomas Andrews encountered a man in his robe walking the hallway on B-deck.
"Sir!" Andrews tried to get the man's attention. The man whirled around. "The ship is sinking, sir," Thomas Andrews said. "You might want to dress up warmly and head up to the Boat Deck."
The man huffed something inaudible but didn't say anything and headed into stateroom B51. Andrews decided that he did what he could for the man and should at least wake the occupant of B57.
He knocked on the door incessantly. "Hello? Is anyone in there?!" When he got no response, he knocked again. "Hello! Sir, Madam? Is there anybody in there?"
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Rose waded through the water down on E-Deck that was starting to rise quickly now. What a strange thought. Just a few hours ago they had all been so sure that they were making good time for New York on the grandest ship in the world, and now it was all going to disappear into the North Atlantic. Never to see daylight again.
When she turned left at the end of the hall, the water already came to her middle. Oh boy. She quickly headed into the first room on her left, where she found Jack, who seemed surprised to see her.
"Oh Jack, I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry," she said, pleading for him to forgive her.
"That guy Lovejoy put it in my pocket," Jack said simply. To which Rose replied, "I know. I know. Now how do I get you out of these?"
"See if you can find a key," he said. "It's a little brass one."
Rose started rummaging through drawers but could only find silver ones. "They are all silver!" She shouted frustratedly.
"How did you find out I didn't do it?" Jack asked, suddenly curious.
"I didn't," she said as she kept searching for a sign of a brass key. "I just realised I already knew."
"Okay, there really is no other key in here. I am going to see if I can find some help. I'll be right back!" Rose said, as she started wading through the water again.
She climbed the stairs up to D-deck, as the metal that holds the ship together groans loudly. Rose decided to just run to the next intersection, hoping somebody hears her when she screams, "Hello?! Can anybody hear me?!"
The only response she gets is the groaning of the hull and flickering lights. There really is no time to waste. A steward with his hands full of lifejackets came running past her, dragging her with him by the arm.
"No! We're going the wrong way! There's a man trapped down there, we need help!" She shouted, but the steward ignored her and kept dragging her with him, so she pushed her nails into his hand and at his terrified scream, shrugged herself loose, running back the way she came.
As luck would have it, she came across a fire-axe in a glass case, and someone had left their suitcase behind. Breaking the glass and seizing the axe, she hurried back toward the stairwell.
Unfortunately, the bottom steps had flooded already. Rose charged on down and hissed at the freezing cold of the water that now came to her waist.
Wading through the water back to the Master-at-arms' office, she found Jack who had managed to keep his feet dry. "Will this work?" She asked, holding up the axe.
"Well, we'll find out, won't we?" Jack replied dryly. "Something's better than nothing."
Rose made to swing, but he pressed her to take a few practice swings first. Rose hacked into the wardrobe, and Jack told her to try and hit the same spot again.
Unfortunately, she missed the mark by a couple of inches at least.
"It'll have to do," Jack said with a sigh, fully prepared for her to hack his hands off, but at least he'd be free. "I trust you, Rose," he said, spreading his hands and closing his eyes.
Rose swung, and it shouldn't have been possible, but she opened her eyes to find Jack looking at her as though they had won the lottery. He was free and he still had both his hands.
"Come on, let's go," he said.
They run toward the aft of the ship, and burst through a door, leading them to the crewman's alleyway on E-deck. Spanning across almost the entire length of the ship on portside and used by crew and passengers alike, it had been nicknamed Scotland Road.
A lot of people seemed to be waiting here, though some were allowed up in small groups. A woman handed Rose a blanket, which she took gratefully before thanking her.
There really was no time to waste. Hopefully it was their turn soon.
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Thomas Andrews stood perplexed when he reached the boat deck at portside where 2nd Officer Lightoller was frantically trying to launch the lifeboats at the aft of the ship and noticed that they were launched half full.
"Mr Lightoller! Why are those boats being launched half full?!" He demanded. "There, look!" Andrews pointed at the water to make his point. "Twenty or so in a boat with a capacity of sixty-five. And I saw one with only twelve. Twelve!" He shouted.
Charles Herbert Lightoller flushed under Thomas Andrews' gaze. "We—we weren't sure of the weight, sir."
"Rubbish. Those boats were tested in Belfast with the weight of seventy man. Now fill those boats, Mr Lightoller. For God's sake, man!"
Not far behind Mr Andrews, Spicer Lovejoy hurried toward Caledon. "She isn't on the starboard side either," he provided as way of explanation.
"We're running out of time," Caledon grumbled, "and this fool isn't letting any men on at all."
Lovejoy shrugged. "The officer on the other side seems a bit more practical."
"Then that's our play," Caledon agreed.
Meanwhile, down on B-deck, Cora frantically looked around for her daughter. All dressed up and warm now, she headed out of the hallway and into the foyer, where she nearly collided with Leopold.
"Leopold!" She shouted, hoping he would listen. He turned around on the spot. "Where is my daughter?" Cora asked.
He whirled on his feet. "I don't know where she is, Cora! And at this moment, I frankly don't care," Leopold said.
Cora furrowed her brows. "What do you mean you don't care? She is your fiancée!"
"Yes! And she hit me over the head and ran away with that stupid maid of hers! It's absolute chaos out there, so I am getting off this ship and you can either come along or stay behind. But I couldn't care less about what happens to you or whether she got off or not," he shouted, now towering over her.
Cora refused to cower under his gaze. "Fine, but I am not going anywhere until I know she's safe," she said.
He just shrugged and said, "As you wish. Goodbye, Cora." Then he stalked off and left the older woman behind.
Hoping that one of the officers might know if her daughter got out safely, she climbed the grand staircase to the boat deck. Looking toward the front of the ship that had almost disappeared into the ocean, she saw a group of steerage passengers crowding around the last lifeboats.
It was nearing two o'clock now and she knew there wasn't any time to waste. Where there were passengers, there were officers.
When she reached the crowd, she noticed one Rose DeWitt Bukater. "Rose!" She shouted, hoping that the young woman would recognise her.
For a moment, Cora was led to believe that Rose didn't hear her or chose to ignore her. But then the crowd parted, and Rose walked up to her.
"Mrs Mills," Rose addressed her, warily. "What do you want?"
"I –" Cora searched for words. "I just want to know if my daughter is safe," she said eventually.
Rose huffed indignantly and arched a brow as she asked, "Oh, so now you care if she is all right or not?"
Cora flushed under Rose's gaze. "I always cared, Rose. You can choose to believe me or not, but if I don't make it off this ship alive, I would like to die in the knowledge that my daughter made it out safely," she said.
Rose's gaze softened and she looked down at her friend's mother, who suddenly looked so much older and frailer. "She got off the ship safely on one of the first lifeboats, Mrs Mills," she said.
"Thank you," Cora said sincerely. "I am assuming you're getting off this ship in that lifeboat there?" Cora asked, pointing toward the collapsible that had just been attached to the davits.
"Probably, yes." Rose confirmed. "Why?"
"Well, since I can be sure that you will see her again," the older woman said, "please give her this." Cora took off her wedding ring and put it in the coat Rose was wearing. "And please tell her that I love her, and I'm sorry," she said finally.
"Why now?" Rose asked with a frown.
"Because it doesn't matter anymore, Miss DeWitt Bukater. I am too tired to fight. I should have realised that she would've been enough. All I ever wanted was for her to be happy, taken care of – and I failed. I don't expect her to forgive me, but I want her to know that in the end, I did love her," Cora eventually said with a sigh.
"I'll tell her," Rose said, before turning on her heels and heading back toward the lifeboat she had been about to board.
Cora watched as the lifeboat was lowered and noticed that the crew was trying to launch a lifeboat from atop the officer's quarters, but it fell to the deck upside-down.
The men seemed to have disappeared to the starboard side, perhaps realising that on this side they didn't have any chance of leaving. Cora estimated that Leopold and Mr Glass had to be on that side too, together with Caledon and Mr Lovejoy.
She headed to the starboard side, and while she didn't see Mr Lovejoy or Mr Hockley, she did see Leopold. And she knew what she had to do to ensure Regina's safety and happiness.
Taking advantage of Mr Glass' distraction, she took his pistol. Cora watched as the crew tried to fasten the final lifeboat to the davits but failed to do so.
Cora walked up behind Leopold and pushed the pistol into the arch of his back. "This is for my daughter," she said, and pulled the trigger.
Then, she headed back inside and stopped at the top of the staircase, in front of the clock. 2:15. Then, water.
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Rose and Jack desperately tried to hold on to the stern as it was pulled vertical when the bow sank and ripped the ship in two. "I still don't understand why you would jump back onto the ship after boarding a lifeboat, Rose," Jack said. "But I'm grateful that you did. Now we just have to survive the icy cold water of the North Atlantic. Remember what I told you about the thousand knives?" He asked.
Rose nodded frantically. "Yes," she said simply.
"All right. Well, the ship is going to try and suck us down. You have to let go and take a deep breath when I say," Jack said, some authority to his voice now.
Rose nodded and didn't get to say anything else as the stern started to go down. When they were nearly at the waterline, she let go at Jack's command.
She was pulled underwater but fought to get back to the surface. When Rose finally got her head above the water, she tried to find Jack in the chaos, but couldn't find him until she felt someone tug at her sleeve.
Jack tugged her toward a wooden rococo panel from the Lounge that had somehow ended up floating in the ocean. She pulled herself up, but when Jack attempted to do the same, it didn't hold.
So, he opted to stay in the icy water while Rose laid down on top of the panel. Jack assured her that the boats would be coming back soon. Well, she sure hoped so.
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Ruth, Regina and Ruby watched in horror as the great ship finally went down. Regina, who desperately tried to keep Henry from falling asleep, held her hands in front of Henry's eyes to protect him from the horrific sight.
Unfortunately, the worst part of it all was the loud screaming of those passengers that drifted in the icy cold ocean. Finally, it started quieting down and that was somehow even worse.
Earlier, they'd had quite a discussion with quartermaster Hichens about whether they should return, but he had claimed that when the ship then finally would go down, they'd get sucked down right with it. So, they had stayed where they were.
But now, they were done with waiting around. Despite the cold, they managed to convince a couple of other people in their lifeboat to their cause.
Quartermaster Hichens objected loudly but was overruled and Ruby even threatened to throw him overboard if he didn't shut up and lead them back to the site of the sinking.
When they finally got there, they noticed they were already too late to save many of the people in the water. The lifeboat that officer Lowe was in charge of, followed them into the darkness of what had become a mass grave.
Lowe and Hichens called out for possible survivors. In the end, they managed to pull out a dozen or so survivors between them. Rose among them, but not Jack.
The fates of Cora, Leopold, Caledon, Emma, Robin, the captain, and the valets were unknown to those in lifeboats 6 and 14. Ruth, grateful that they had found her daughter, demanded that Rose be hauled into lifeboat 6.
Rose was barely conscious and unable to speak, only slowly warming up under the blanket she had been given.
They took a crewman from boat 14 to help with the rowing, before heading off. Lifeboats 6 and 14 eventually separated from each other, and boat 6 later came across boat 16, which lent them a fireman so that a very exhausted Ruby could finally stop rowing.
They reached the Carpathia early in the morning. The ship was already somewhat crowded, so it would appear they were one of the last to reach the rescue ship. But none of that mattered, they had been saved.
All were given coffee and blankets, before being herded to the dining saloon. As they were finally about to eat, none other than Caledon Hockley came walking up to them.
Rose stared him down. "What are you doing here, Cal? I am not your property anymore," she told him. He held up his hands in surrender. "I am not here to argue, Rose," he finally said. "You can keep the stupid diamond. I am here for her," he said, pointing to Regina, who looked him up and down wearily.
He looked downright twitchy. Perhaps the sinking had mellowed him out somewhat, just as it had exhausted him. "I don't expect you to trust me, miss Mills, but you have nothing to fear from me. I just wish to tell you something," he finally said.
Regina narrowed her eyes at him. "Whatever you have to say to me, you can tell them," she said.
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's about your mother," he said. "Are you sure you want everyone here to find out about her final act?"
Looking around, Regina finally gave in. "Fine," she said. "But only if Rose is willing to come along with me. Otherwise, you'll just have to tell everyone here," she finished.
Rose nodded tentatively. "I also saw your mother, so if he's going to tell you about what he saw, I might as well just tell you what she told me. Cal witnessed our conversation," she said. "Was it before or after my conversation that you saw her?" Rose asked Caledon.
To which he replied, "After."
The three of them headed out into the corridor. Rose and Regina with their steaming cups of coffee in hand.
"All right, what do you two have to say about my mother?" Regina asked impatiently. She knew the chances were slim that her mother survived but did want to know what Rose and Caledon knew of her fate.
Rose, whose encounter with Cora had happened before Cal's, started off. "Well, just after you were taken down in the lifeboat and I went to save Jack from the master-at-arms'…." She paused, gauging Cal's reaction, but he didn't say anything and just motioned for Rose to continue.
"I encountered Mr Andrews in the A-Deck corridor, may his soul rest in peace, desperate to wake any passengers still asleep or in their rooms. I practically begged him to go to B-Deck to wake your mother.
He said he would, and he did, because when I was about to board the last lifeboat, she suddenly called out for me," Rose said.
"Yes, she had most inconvenient timing, your mother," Cal added. "Jack and I were just about done convincing Rose she should get in the boat when Cora suddenly appeared," he said.
Regina just nodded and motioned for Rose to continue her story. Especially now that Rose glared Caledon down for some reason unbeknownst to Regina.
Rose heaved a deep sigh and then continued, "So, I walked over to her, through the crowd of steerage passengers that were desperate to get off the ship. She wanted to know if you were safe. I considered not telling her, until I realised she had already resigned to her fate.
So, I told her you had gotten off the ship safely on one of the first lifeboats. She looked terribly relieved to hear that. Then she asked me if I was going to go on that lifeboat, I told her yes." Rose paused again, to let her words sink in.
Regina just gasped and asked, "And then?"
"Then, she gave me something to give to you," Rose said. She turned to Cal. "I didn't even know I had the diamond until you just told us. She put something else in the coat," Rose said as she reached for the ring in one of the pockets stitched on the front.
Caledon frowned but didn't say anything as Rose turned back to her friend and held up her hand. Regina picked it up.
"My mother's wedding ring," Regina said in astonishment. Then, she looked up at Rose. "Thank you for holding on to it for me. I can't imagine it was easy to do so when you ended up holding onto that ship until the very end. Did she say anything else?" Regina asked, putting on a neutral face.
Rose took a deep breath. "It wasn't easy, no," Rose said before continuing, "I didn't even know it survived. But, she did say something else. She wanted me to tell you that she loves you and that she's sorry.
That she should have realised you were enough and that all she ever wanted was for you to be happy and taken care of – that she knew she failed you in that regard. Hence the apology."
Regina gasped, something close to hope in her eyes, before it was gone. "She probably said that to clear her conscience before the end," she said.
Rose looked at her friend in sympathy. "You can choose to believe that, but she sounded genuine to me," Rose said.
Caledon nodded. "I can attest to that. Not to mention that I saw her final act of bravery very shortly before Titanic went down," he said.
Narrowing her eyes, Regina made a gesture for him to continue talking. She wanted to know what he had seen.
"I just walked out onto the boat deck to get to the very last lifeboat when I witnessed your mother struggle with Sidney Glass. She managed to grab his pistol. I had just walked past when Cora pushed it into Leopold's back.
She said something along the lines of 'This is for my daughter' before she shot him. Then she shot Glass. With the pistol still firmly in her hand, she walked back inside and that's the last I saw of her," he finished his tale.
Both Regina and Rose gasped. "She did what?" Regina finally asked. Rhetorically, of course, but Cal took it seriously.
"She shot them. Frankly I don't even know if I would have made it out alive if she hadn't done that," he said.
"Yeah, and I wish you didn't! Jack is dead because of you!" Rose snapped at him before storming off.
"Rose…" he tried, but to no avail. That left him alone with Regina, standing in that stupid corridor. Their eyes met, and something crackled in the air.
"Thank you for telling me. I cannot imagine it was easy to approach us after everything that happened. I – I really should get back to the others," she said genuinely, before finishing somewhat lamely.
"You're very welcome, miss Mills, it was only the right thing to do," he said as he watched her turn around to head back to the others.
She turned around to face him one more time. "Call me Regina," she said with a smile. "I don't much like formalities," Regina said before finally walking back to the dining saloon where the others were waiting for her.
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Regina didn't dare to look at the survivor's list, so instead asked a steward if there was an Emma Swan on the list. She bit her nails nervously while the steward turned the pages, frowning deeply.
The longer it took and the more the steward started turning pages back and forth, the more nervous she got. She didn't know what she would do if Emma didn't make it out alive.
That would mean telling Henry his mother was gone and that he was coming to Philadelphia with her. For her, it would mean that she suddenly had a child only six years her junior. At some point Regina had started tapping with her foot, growing more impatient by the minute.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the steward looked up to meet her eyes and she just knew. The look of sympathy in his eyes said everything even though he hadn't spoken a word.
Henry was rightfully upset when she told him. He was inconsolable and had stormed off in a huff. She wondered how she was ever going to be a mother figure to him when she could practically be his sister.
Regina walked out onto the deck and looked down at the water sloshing around below. Her whole life had changed in less than twenty-four hours. She wondered how her father would react.
It wasn't long after that she felt a presence beside her. Looking up and clearing her thoughts, she noticed it was Hockley. What did he want?
He seemed to read her mind and broke the silence. "Strange, is it not, how less than twenty-four hours ago, we still believed ourselves to be on a virtually unsinkable ship and here we are, looking out over the calm waters that swallowed said ship last night…." he said. She just hummed in response, not feeling much like talking.
Unfortunately, Caledon didn't go away as she had hoped. He started asking questions instead. "Is there something in that part of the ocean that has done you harm, with how intensely you are staring at it, or is it something else?" Cal asked, seemingly genuine.
"Something else," she said simply. "What is it to you?"
Cal shrugged. "Nothing, really. But Ican see that something is clearly bothering you. So, want to talk about it?" He asked.
She frowned, this isn't the Caledon Hockley she had come to know. "Since when do you care about how anyone feels? Less than twenty-four hours ago you treated my best friend as property and didn't care about anything but yourself," Regina said.
"Point taken," he said. "But did you perhaps consider that you do not know me as well as you think you do?"
Regina's expression hardened. "I think Rose told me just about enough," she hissed.
Caledon scoffed but didn't respond. Yet he still didn't leave her alone. "Wouldn't you rather make your own judgment?" He asked eventually. "You know as little about me as I do about you," he said.
Fair point, actually. This conversation was already longer than any they'd had on Titanic. And yet, she wasn't about to let him in.
"Perhaps, but I know enough to know that you drown other people out. You absorb their whole identity – make them an extension of yourself and treat them like property. You hear but you don't listen, and you look but you don't see. Trust me, I know your kind. By some twist of fate, I just broke free of one," she said.
"Well, I know the bar isn't high, but I like to think I was at least better than your guy. Did I try to encourage Rose to let me in? Sure, but I'd like to think I at least respected her enough to let her choose her moment. And I hope that I am at least man enough to admit I have faults and made mistakes, even if it felt as though I was right at the time," Hockley said, regret seeping into his voice.
Regina scoffed but nodded her head in acknowledgment. "Wow, that's a first. A man admitting he's not perfect and even talking about emotion or feeling. I will give you this, you were probably the only one that didn't know anything about the situation everyone was so concerned with. So, I am sure your ignorance of the severity of the situation influenced your actions, even if they were wrong at the end of the day," she said.
Caledon chuckled wryly. "Fair observation, but I think you forget that we men are raised not to share anything – to only care about material matters and that women are weak and need protecting. When I was but a boy, I thought I could avoid becoming like my father – condescending and materialistic – and look where I ended up. I ended up doing things that I never thought myself capable of," he admitted, sadness and regret laced through his voice.
Regina had been staring daggers at him, but his honesty softened her somewhat. "So, why do you talk to me like I am your equal when you didn't do the same for Rose? Didn't she deserve to get to know you and make an informed choice?" Regina asked, genuinely curious.
Caledon shrugged and looked out over the ocean. "She did and I failed her. Then again, a few days ago, I genuinely believed what my father had told me. It took this disaster for me to reflect and come to my senses. Right now, it doesn't matter who we are or how much money we have – we all survived the same disaster and all we have are the clothes on our backs. I have barely been able to sleep. There were tonnes of Hockley steel in that ship – and it should have been safe," he said.
Regina sighed, feeling somewhere in her gut that he was speaking the truth. "Maybe you should tell her this, no?"
Cal just scoffed and said, "I don't think she has any interest in listening to a word I have to say. Can't say I blame her for it. Although I do think it is slightly unfair she blames me for the boy's demise. Indirectly responsible I may be, but I didn't kill him."
"She knows, but she's hurting right now. And it might help if you even acknowledged what you've done and how it's affecting you now. I doubt you'll earn her forgiveness, but at least she will know that you're capable of self-reflection and feeling remorse," Regina said with a shrug.
"You're right," he agreed. "I should've talked to you sooner. Hard to imagine you only have a year on Rose, you seem so much more mature."
"That's probably because I was forced to grow up quickly. My mother didn't fool around. But what are you doing here, talking to me and complimenting me, anyway?" She asked, finally striking up the courage to do so.
Cal shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, you are quite literally the only person who will talk to me. And you looked like you could use somebody outside your tight-knit group of women to talk to. Not to mention that I think I would like to get to know you," he admitted.
Regina's expression hardened immediately, her dark eyes stone cold. "Thank you, but I have a twelve-year-old who just lost his mother who needs me. We've just come off the back of a great maritime tragedy that is undoubtedly going to raise a lot of eyebrows and we are all still feeling raw and emotional.
I just lost my mother and I want to find out what it's like not having to live under her thumb. I want to be independent instead of arm candy. So, let's see if you still think the same this time next year. Then we can talk," she said, before turning on her heels and striding back inside.
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Regina told Rose and Ruth about her conversation and tried her best to be there for Henry. They sailed through fog and terrible weather on those last few days of the trip.
Finally, they reached New York on the night of April 18 in heavy rain. Regina hadn't spoken to Hockley since their conversation, although their eyes had met across the dining saloon.
Rose hadn't forgiven Cal when he tried talking to her, but she had at least heard him out.
At the harbour, lots of people crowded the dock. So much so, that stewards had to lead people backwards to allow the passengers to get off the ship.
When she, Henry, Ruby, Rose and Ruth got off the ship, they were met by Regina's father. Henry Mills hugged his daughter tight. "Hi sweetheart," he said.
Regina let herself fall into his strong awaiting arms. "Hi daddy," she choked. When he let her go, he looked at the group of women and the young boy.
"So, would you perhaps like to introduce me to your friends? And where are your mother and Leopold?" He asked.
Regina had expected the questions. "These are Rose and Ruth DeWitt Bukater and Ruby Lucas. We met on board the Titanic and became friends, somehow. And this fine young boy is Henry Swan.
At the time of the disaster, his mother gave him into my care and unfortunately she didn't make it out. I promised I would take care of him in her stead. As for mother and Leopold, neither made it out alive. But I think she'd want you to have this," she said as she took her mother's ring out of her coat and handed it to her father, who just had a look of shock on his face.
"Rose DeWitt Bukater? As in Hockley's fiancée? I got the invite," her father said.
"Ex-fiancée, actually," Rose piped up. Henry Mills tried to hide his shock but failed miserably.
"Well, I assume I will be taking you and young Henry home to Philadelphia with me then. Do the other ladies need help getting anywhere?" He asked.
"I don't know about Rose and Ruby," Ruth said, "but I would like to get home to Philadelphia as well, if possible."
All eyes went to Ruby and Rose, who both shook their heads. "No," Rose spoke, "I think I would like to strike out on my own and make a life here in New York or maybe California."
"And who is going to take care of you?" Ruth asked, concern lacing her voice.
"I will accompany her, Ruth," Ruby piped up. "She will get to do her own thing and be independent, but she won't be alone in the world. I am sure we will keep in contact, right, Rosie?"
Rose nodded. "Of course, it's not like we are never going to see you again. Our ways will just separate for a little while," she said.
"So, just young Henry, Regina and Ruth then," the older Henry summarised. "Well, if you change your mind, we will be staying at the Waldorf-Astoria tonight and head to Philadelphia tomorrow," he said.
The women hugged each other tight, and then the group split up. With Ruth, Regina and the Henrys on course for the Waldorf-Astoria and Ruby and Rose flying out on their own.
⸻ Line Break ⸻
End Note:
Only an epilogue remains, where we look into the future. Although I do think it might end up being the length of a regular chapter. If you are wondering what happened to Robin, I promise you will find out in the epilogue.
Please let me know your thoughts.
Much love,
PW