Here I am with Chapter Three! In order to get in the mood to write more of this, I've found myself listening to Titanic: Special Edition on Spotify. The album consists of the original OST and Back to Titanic.

15 April 1912

Everything had seemed to happen in slow motion since the unsinkable Titanic had sank to the bottom of the Atlantic. Rose found herself looking at the stars, thinking about how brilliant they looked. Counting them was a way to fill in time until they were rescued but after a while, she gave up, opting instead to sing "Come Josephine, in my flying machine" to herself.

The sounds of those who had initially survived the sinking had slowly subsided, casting an eerie silence, as many of them died due to hypothermia from being in the freezing water for too long. Rose wasn't even too sure how much time had passed until she felt the light of a torch on her face from a distance, with the sounds of "Is anyone alive out there? Can anyone hear me?" sounding extremely muffled to her. But that light meant hope. Hope that she and Jack would be rescued.

It wasn't until Rose turned her head that she realised that her hair was frozen to what she was laying on, but she was able to free it, turning to face Jack, trying to wake him to let him know that a lifeboat was close by. Despite her calling out Jack's name several times, he wasn't responding, and it took Rose several seconds to realise that he wasn't responding because the frigid waters of the Atlantic had claimed him. Saddened, Rose briefly thought about staying where she was, but she remembered what Jack had said to her – "You're going to go on and have lots of babies and watch them grow" … "You're going to die an old lady, warm in her bed. Not here. Not thing night" – and she knew that she couldn't let go of her promise to him. That she would go on.

With that thought in mind, she tumbled back into the frigid Atlantic, somehow swimming over to where an officer from Titanic bobbled, the whistle he had been blowing still in his mouth. Rose managed to grasp the whistle and blow, gaining the attention of those in the lifeboat who were rescuing anyone they could, refusing to stop until she was finally in the lifeboat, with several woollen blankets wrapped around her.

From that point on, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. From the Titanic officer lighting a flare to the lifeboat finally reaching the Carpathia to finally getting aboard, walking as if she was in her own world, which, in a way, Rose was. She wasn't even aware of a mug of soup being placed in her hands. She just wanted to be by herself. Alone with her thoughts and memories of Jack.

Rose found herself sipping on the mug of soup as she wandered, trying to decide where to stay for the time being. When she saw the masses of third class survivors, she decided that she'd go there, because she knew how Cal and her mother had felt about Jack. She probably looked as if that was where she belonged, with the blanket that was draped over her head and shoulders – if no one happened to look at her feet to see the shoes she was wearing. For they were definitely not those of a third class woman.

Rose found herself standing at a rail, trying not to listen in to what was being said around her. Most of the people were weeping and there were some who were asking Carpathia officers if any of their loved ones had survived by giving them descriptions of them, sounding distraught when they got some news that wasn't the news they wanted to hear. The Carpathia officers were also going around, collecting the lifebelts the Titanic survivors had worn, offering mugs of hot soup or tea and coffee.

Jack deserved to be with her. They were going to go to Santa Monica and drink cheap beer, ride on a rollercoaster until they threw up and ride horses in the surf. She would even be riding said horse with one leg either side – you know, "none of that side saddle stuff." It had taken Jack for Rose to realise that she really didn't belong in the first class world because she had dreams that she wanted to achieve and they wouldn't be, because of society and how it dictated her life. She barely had a say in whether she really wanted to marry Cal in the first place. Once the engagement ring was on her finger, she was Cal's property and she had to adhere to his every word and command. Rose knew that she was trapped. Ruth had made her expectations very clear, essentially telling Rose that she would be blamed should the marriage not go ahead, which would mean the true financial situation of the DeWitt Bukaters would be revealed and Ruth knew what would happen if that did come true – literally everything they owned would be sold. The mansion that Rose had called home for all her life included. Ruth would have to find work as a seamstress.

The mug of soup had long been discarded at her feet. Rose stayed close to the railing but she could hear footsteps that didn't sound like those of a third class person. She turned her head to the left, in order to see if it was a Carpathia officer wanting to get more names so they could get a list of just who had survived and froze somewhat when she realised that it was Cal.

He'd survived. And he had a somewhat despondent look on his face.

Belatedly, she remembered something he'd said about having an arrangement with an officer on the other side of the ship that would allow both him and Jack on a lifeboat. She knew that didn't happen because she'd gotten back on the sinking Titanic to be with Jack. Cal had probably said that in order to make her feel better, knowing full well what the real arrangement was – and Jack wouldn't be included.

"Rose…?"

Damn. She hadn't turned away quick enough and he'd found her. But he'd sounded hopeful and she felt that Cal couldn't be ignored now. Despite his faults, he had gone looking for her, after everything they'd been through. She waited until he stood beside her at the railing before speaking.

"Cal."

Cal moved to say something but the words couldn't come out. Rose turned so that she was perpendicular to the railing in order to get a truly good look at the expression on Cal's face. Like everyone who had been through the sinking of the unsinkable Titanic, he looked stunned and shocked. Yet Rose could detect a slight smile on his face and that she was probably the reason for the smile.

She could tell that he had barely slept. The left sleeve of his tuxedo jacket was torn. His hair was dishevelled. Apart from the occasional shivers, he appeared to be fine. Cold and tired but alive. Unlike Jack.

"Where is…?" He couldn't decide whether to say Jack or Dawson but when he saw her lower lip start to tremble, he knew he had his answer. Without thinking, Cal stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Rose, not really expecting her to return the gesture. Who could blame her? He'd treated her like a piece of property, not allowing her to speak her own mind, deciding what she would eat, what she would wear. Maybe that was why she had felt she had no other option but to jump off the Titanic. But he'd talk about that later.

"I'm so sorry, Rose."

Cal wanted to move a hand to cup the back of Rose's head but thought better of it. The intimacy she was experiencing with him holding her in his arms was probably too much for her, even at that point of time. Rose couldn't remember the last time Cal had held her in the way she was being held now. She pulled away from Cal a little to gauge the expression on his face…was that a genuine look of grief?

"And Mother?"

"She's sleeping. Molly is with her."

Cal felt Rose relax a little when he spoke yet he was certain that Rose seeing Ruth right away would be too much, for even he remembered the words the two women had last exchanged, with regards to Ruth's comment about the lifeboats being seated according to class. Cal mentally thanked Molly again for keeping an eye on Ruth and vowed that he would pass the mental thanks to her in person before Rose and Ruth saw each other again.

Cal removed his arms from around Rose's waist, mentally afraid that she would run off on him again. He knew that forcing her to see her mother again wouldn't be a good idea but the two of them getting more sleep, if they could, would be good.

"Do you want to rest somewhere? Perhaps something to eat?"

Rose looked around her. From what she could see, most of the deck chairs were already taken and she knew that she didn't really want to sleep on the decks of the Carpathia but it was likely that Cal would still try to use his influence in order for them to find somewhere private to sleep. She was weary, as was Cal. They both knew the other needed sleep.

With a small nod, Rose watched as Cal moved to her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, just as he had done on the night she'd tried to throw herself off Titanic, before they set off. That time, it had been an act of possession. This time, it was an act of support.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw Cal's hand on her shoulder and thought that it didn't look anything like it normally would. Cal's fingers would normally be gripping her shoulders, the knuckles of his fingers turning white, telling her in his own way that she was now his and that his word was law. Now, they were relaxed.

Rose watched as Cal asked a Carpathia officer if it was possible for them to gain access to a first class state room or suite that that had at least two, preferably three, beds. She smiled inwardly as she realised that Cal's request would be granted. Sleep, if and when it would come, would definitely be a most welcome thing.