A/N: Sorry the update took so long. I had to completely rewrite this, so it took some time. If you haven't noticed, I've updated AWOL. Enjoy and please review!

Back in Rome, Jack had shared stories of his childhood with Rose. One of those stories dug itself out from the back of her mind and leaped forward. When Jack was nine, he and his father had gone ice fishing with a few neighbors. The ice was thinner than anyone had anticipated; Jack and his father had fallen in. Jack described the few minutes that he had spent in the water as being stabbed all over with a thousand knives. It had taken him a few days to recover from hypothermia. Jack's father however was not as lucky. His father had insisted that they pull Jack out first, and by the time they got Jack out, the ice had cracked further. No one was able to make it out to the hole to save Jack's father. Jack didn't know if his father had succumbed to the elements or simply became exhausted trying to stay afloat and drowned, but his father's body had never been recovered.

The water was freezing and it did feel like a thousand knives. Rose felt as though they were red hot knives stabbing her, for she felt a burning sensation as the water touched her skin. She tried hard to ignore it, and managed to push Jack's story from her mind. She had to focus on one thing only, getting to a lifeboat.

"Come on, this way," Jack said. She grasped his hand tightly as he led her down a corridor. It seemed to be the right way, or at the very least a safer way, as the water was becoming shallower. The chain from the handcuffs on Jack's wrist skimmed her hand and she again felt a rush of anger. Who could chain up a human being to a pipe and leave them to drown? She wanted to believe that in the panic, his imprisonment – as false as it was – was forgotten. But at the same time, she couldn't help but think that perhaps Cal had ordered it.

It doesn't matter now, she told herself. You got Jack out and amazingly didn't chop off his hands in the process. Just focus on surviving.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked, pulling her from her thoughts.

"I'm fine," she lied. Jack stopped for a moment and looked at her intensely. "Okay I'm not fine. I'm scared," she confessed.

"Rose, we'll get out of this," he said.

"I'm not scared for us," Rose replied. She placed her free hand over her stomach. Making only eye contact with Jack, she said nothing more. Jack stepped forward and placed his hand over hers.

"I am too," he said quietly. He kissed her forehead. "The sooner we get to a lifeboat, the better." Jack had a feeling that the chances of him making it to a lifeboat where slim, but he kept silent. "Let's go," he said.

He guided them up a stairwell. He tried to open the door, only to find it locked.

"Shit," Rose said. Jack looked at her.

"Such language from a lady," he teased. Despite the situation, they both smiled.

"Can you break it down?"

Jack nodded. "I've broken down a few doors in my day." Without a word he backed up as far as he could on the landing. Rose automatically moved out of the way. He moved fast and slammed his body against the door, making her jump. The door weakened a bit. He repeated his movement and heard the door splinter. One final time and he stumbled through the door with Rose behind him.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" a steward demanded, having seen the whole thing. Jack ignored him and looked around, deciding on the best way to go. "You'll have to pay for that you know!" Jack grasped Rose's hand and they began to walk away from the steward. It didn't stop him. "That's White Star Line property!"

Jack and Rose turned around without a pause in their steps. "SHUT UP!" they yelled in unison. The steward stopped dead in his tracks while Jack and Rose continued on.

…

Cal grabbed every last stack of cash from the safe and shoved it into his pocket. He grabbed the Heart of the Ocean and shoved it into another. "I make my own luck," he quipped to Lovejoy.

"So do I," Lovejoy said, revealing a pistol at his side. Cal snorted as he closed and locked the safe.

"Come on," he ordered. Lovejoy had told him there was an officer allowing men to board the lifeboats. Figuring money could once again assure that he got his way, Cal was prepared to hand all the cash he had on hand over to get a seat.

"So are you giving up on her then?" Lovejoy asked.

Cal sneered. "What choice do I have?" They pushed their way through the crowd as quickly as possible. "Being that she's a woman, she'll be able to get on a boat," Cal replied. "The rat however, has a better chance at drowning," Cal said, not hiding the hope in his voice. "You did leave him locked up to a pipe. He's probably dead already."

They were silent as they walked – or rather pushed their way – along the boat deck. Cal's thoughts were heavy. Though unlikely, he couldn't deny that it was possible that she had found Jack and freed him after she had run off. Lovejoy had searched for her, but with no luck. Cal couldn't ignore the situation was becoming more dire. What other choice did he have other than to save his own skin? Besides, if she went looking for him, she probably got lost and is now dead too. She was always a stupid woman.

"This one," Lovejoy stated. Cal had been so absorbed in his thoughts he hadn't paid much attention to where they were going. "Murdoch. Stay with him," Lovejoy said. "He seems quite practical."

Cal nodded and caught Murdoch's attention and began talking to him. Lovejoy followed behind, barely listening. He wasn't worried that Cal wouldn't arrange for him to board the lifeboat as well. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of something that he hoped Cal didn't.

"We have an understanding then Mr. Murdoch?" Cal asked as he slipped a stack of bills into his pocket. Murdoch looked at him with shock. Since the whole thing began, Murdoch had been allowing men to embark if seats were empty after he had allowed all the nearby women and children to embark. He would have done it without the money, but said nothing. He gave Cal a nod.

Cal smiled arrogantly. "Good."

He turned to face Lovejoy and saw he was watching something. Instead of interrupting him, Cal followed his gaze.

"How in God damned hell did they make it out here?" He began to walk toward them, as they weren't far, but stopped when he noticed Lovejoy wasn't following him.

"Lovejoy!" he barked. "Let's go."

Lovejoy paused a moment before giving in. "Shit."

…

"I'm not going without you," Rose said.

"You have to," Jack told her.

"No Jack," she argued. "No."

"Rose please – "

"No," she repeated. "I've already lost you once, almost twice. I'm not going to lose you again."

Jack took a deep breath. He was feeling the same thing. In his heart, he knew he probably wouldn't see morning. The entire time he had been hoping and praying that another ship would appear out of the darkness to rescue everyone, but with the panic raging through the ship, he knew his prayers were going unanswered. He pulled her into a kiss full of so much love, passion and comfort that it made them both frenzied.

"Rose, sweetheart," he said softly as they broke the kiss. He pressed his forehead against hers and entangled his fingers in her hair. "I'm not asking you to do this for me," he whispered. He freed a hand from her hair and placed it over her stomach.

Rose closed her eyes and swallowed hard. Her tears still snuck out of her eyes and down her cheeks.

"I know Jack."

"I need to know that you and the baby are safe," Jack said. "Do this for our child," he pleaded.

Rose nodded and opened her eyes. She gazed into his, trying to memorize the way they saw into her heart and soul.

"Promise me something Rose." He saw the women boarding the lifeboat and knew it wouldn't be long before it was her turn.

"Anything Jack."

"Take care –" Jack felt his words catch in his throat. He didn't want to say good-bye. But he couldn't let her go without say what he wanted to say. "Take care of our baby."

"Yes Rose. Take care of the rat's baby."

Rose's eyes widened with fear and shock. Cal stood right beside them and had listened to the entire conversation unfold. Jack immediately placed himself between Rose and Cal.

"Leave her alone. Leave us alone," Jack growled at him.

Cal ignored him and glared at Rose. "I knew that there was more to this! You stupid little whore!" Jack's fist collided with Cal's jaw without warning. He stumbled back, colliding with Lovejoy

"Get on the boat," Jack said as he turned to Rose. She shook her head violently.

"I'm not leaving you alone with him."

"Don't worry about me. I'm a survivor alright? You have to go!"

Rose was about to protest when she saw Cal pull a gun from Lovejoy's side.

"Jack!" He turned, saw Cal aiming the gun at him and immediately ducked, pulling Rose down with him. Cal fired the gun, completely ignorant to the fact that there were hundreds of people around. Fortunately, no one was behind Rose and the bullet sailed overboard. People screamed and ducked, but no one really gave them a second look. Shots had been fired by officers several times already and everyone was so distracted with saving their lives that no one bothered looking for who shot the gun.

Before Cal could do anything else, Jack jumped up and slammed his body into him. The force knocked Cal off balance and he took Rose's hand and ran, shoving their way through the crowd. They looked back a couple times, but the crowd prevented them from seeing anything.

Lovejoy grabbed Cal's arm and pulled the gun from his hand. "What the hell are you doing?" Lovejoy wasn't one to interfere; it wasn't his place. But Cal had clearly lost his mind. "You could have killed someone!"

"I would have killed him if he hadn't ducked," Cal hissed. "It would have been his fault." Cal straightened out his jacket. He scanned the area, but they had managed to disappear into the crowd. Sighing with defeat, Cal began to make his way back to the lifeboat. The crowd had thickened and had grown more panicked, slowly him down.

Even though they were sure Cal wasn't following them, Jack and Rose didn't stop running until they reached another lifeboat. It wasn't far from where they had been, but Jack knew they had very little time. He had to get Rose on a lifeboat.

Rose was even more reluctant to leave Jack. She didn't exactly know what she could do to keep him safe from Cal, but she felt like he was safer with her nearby. Or maybe it was the opposite. You're being selfish, she scolded herself. Think about the baby.

Jack squeezed her hand until an officer assisted her in embarking the lifeboat. "Jack, I love you."

"I love you Rose," he said, putting all of his love into those four words. He kissed her hand before it was pulled away by an officer. Jack stepped out of the way, never taking his eyes from Rose. He knew she was safe now from freezing to death in the frigid waters, but now he was worried that Cal may go after her if he made it off the ship.

"Murdoch, we still have seats," Jack overheard one officer tell another. Murdoch nodded. He looked back to the deck. A half a dozen men stood nearby and he ushered them forward.

"Please. Step lively. We don't have much time."

Jack couldn't believe it. His prayers had not gone unanswered. Rose was stunned into silence. Jack politely asked a woman if she would change seats and she complied. He pulled Rose into his arms. They barely heard Murdoch give the order to lower the lifeboats as Jack kissed her hair.

"Murdoch!" The voice shook Jack's core.

"No!" Rose whispered in fear. Jack looked up to see Cal running as fast as he could toward the lifeboat. Acting quickly, he informed the officer on board about Cal shooting at him and his pregnant 'wife'. The officer didn't ask for explanations and relayed the message to Murdoch.

Cal reached Murdoch as the on board officer finished telling him what Jack had said. Murdoch looked to Jack and Rose as the officer discreetly pointed them out. Jack's face was full of worry and Rose's wore a look of pure fear. Though there were a couple of empty seats left, he refused to allow Cal to board the boat. Though he didn't have full knowledge of the situation, or know why Cal shot at Jack and Rose, but the looks on their faces – especially hers – convinced him to keep Cal off the of the lifeboat.

"I'm sorry Mr. Hockley, but you'll have to wait for another boat. This one is full," Murdoch said.

Cal stomped his foot. "We had a deal damn you!"

Murdoch felt disgusted by Cal. He grabbed the money that Cal had jammed into his pocket. Without warning, he flung it at Cal causing the bills to scatter. "Your money can't save you anymore than it can save me." He pushed Cal away. Cal cursed Lovejoy for taking his gun back.

As the boat began to lower, Jack and Rose clung to one another. It was freezing, and it didn't help that they were still wet from being in the water below deck. Rose shivered. She had shed her coat earlier before going in the water to save Jack. She had no lifebelt or blanket around her. She wore nothing but her dress. Even wearing a corset would have been a bit warmer.

Jack's arms were around her and her rubbed her vigorously. The officer who Jack had talked to about Cal handed him a couple of blankets. "Thank you," Jack said.

"And not just for these," Rose added as Jack wrapped the blanket around her. The officer smiled softly and continued passing out blankets.

They sat as close as possible. For the next hour they watched in horror as the scene unfolded. When Titanic disappeared under the icy waters, the screams were loud and endless. They slowed and finally stopped. Rose began to sob.

A/N: I had done some reading and found that Murdoch did in fact allow men to embark the lifeboats if all women and children nearby had embarked and there were still empty seats. He took the "women and children" order as "women and children first," whereas other officers, such as Lightoller took it to mean "women and children only." So there…you've learned a bit of Titanic trivia.