Jack, Rose, Cal and Ruth DeWitt Bukater are property of James Cameron. Lucile Duff-Gordon and the Countess of Rothes were real people.

Jack covered Rose's head with a blanket, so her distinctive red hair wouldn't betray her. Rose made sure that it was completely hidden, and stood still like a statue.

Jack also covered himself. As much as he would like to kill that man, he wouldn't make a scene in that moment. He would not put Rose in danger.

They heard the sound of shoes tapping against the deck, but they couldn't turn their heads to see how close he was. They didn't even dare to breathe too loudly.

Cal walked back and forth, looking for any clue that led him to Rose. He thought it would be easy. A beautiful young redhead with a sleek, lightweight dress could not be that hard to find. But of course, that was what he had told Lovejoy, and eventually he had to wait until she returned. Lovejoy ... How useful he would have been in that moment. The last time he saw Jack and Rose, in the dining room, was also the last time he saw him.

Only now he realized how stupid he had been. If he hadn't pursued them with the gun, perhaps he would still have hoped to find Rose, to convince her to return with him. He would treat her better this time, he said to himself. If the Lord had left her live, and gave her the good sense to go back with him, he would be good to her. He wouldn't hit her again, he would treat her like a queen for the rest of her days, and especially, he would not tell her any unpleasant word about that affair with Dawson.

Dawson. Just thinking about him made him want to break something. The uneducated, dirty and sneaky steerage rat, who somehow had managed to seduce his fiancée. If he found him, he would throw him overboard when no one was looking. And if he had lived, and Rose hadn't... He tried to remove those thoughts from his head. Rose had to be alive. Rose had to be well...

For what seemed like hours, he searched and searched in the deck, but eventually he had to admit it. There was no sign of them.

A part of him burst into calumnies against Rose, calling her irresponsible, impulsive, prostitute, and worse, and against Dawson (calling him things I will not repeat). Damn both! They had decided to die together. And they did! Nice tripto Hell, ungrateful rats.

But another part of him, which until then he had not noticed, seemed to collapse. It felt as if someone hit him in the stomach, leaving him with no air. Suddenly, his limbs were numb. And he cursed himself for insulting Rose. He continued blaming himself for her death, and mourning over her. He wanted her to be there again, to look at him, even if it was with disdain, to speak to him, even if she didn't forgive him.

He sighed heavily and finally started walking back to first class.

. . .

Ruth, Rose's mother, was sitting next to Lady Duff-Gordon and the Countess of Rothes, who patted her back and gave her words of encouragement.

"Don't worry, Ruth. She must be there. Mr. Hockley will find her soon and she will be back to you" the countess said.

"Besides" Lady Duff-Gordon added "She is a first-class young woman. Chances of her not surviving are a million to one."

Ruth nodded, but she was doubtful. In those moments everything seemed surreal. She loved her daughter. She had been selfish, she could no longer deny it, but she loved her and just wanted what she considered best for her. And what she thought was best for her was a wealthy husband, beautiful jewels and a quiet and luxurious life.

Silently, she prayed for Rose's life.

"Here he comes!" the countess exclaimed. Ruth raised her head, looking for her daughter, but she only saw Cal, slowly approaching. For a moment she hoped Rose would come after him, but she did not.

A few minutes later, Cal was standing before her. His black eyes were dull and dispirited as they looked to the ground.

"So...? " she asked.

Cal looked up, and she knew what he was going to say.

"I did not find her. I'm sorry, Ruth. Truly sorry."

And, for once, he meant it.

. . .

"Oh, my God..." Rose whispered, leaning back against the bench "That was close."

"Really close." Jack agreed.

Rose remained there for several minutes, looking down and saying nothing. Jack looked at her with slight concern. Suddenly, he opened his arms, inviting her to curl up in them. Rose did so, marveling at how he seemed to know exactly what she needed.

"Relax. He's never going to find you. I swear it."

They remained embraced for several moments. Finally they let go, but Rose kept her head on Jack's shoulder. He wrapped the blanket better around her body, in an attempt to keep her warm, and stroked her left hand. Rose, to warm up a little more, put her right hand into the pocket of the coat Cal had given to her. In doing so, she felt a cold, hard object at the bottom.

Startled, she raised her head and closed her hand around it.

"What's goin' on?" asked Jack. Rose pulled out a closed hand from the pocket. And, when she opened it, she revealed the 'Heart of the ocean'.

"Shit." was all Jack said. Rose was equally surprised, but she managed to speak.

"He must have returned to the suite to retrieve it after I went to look for you" she said. After taking another look at the necklace, she said "I don't think that's all he went to retrieve."

"Neither do I. Check the other."

Rose put her left hand in the other pocket. This time she felt something soft, like papers tied in bundles.

"Bills. I will not get them out, not here" she said.

"Don't. It would attract attention."

"Although it appears that there are many bills. And Cal said I was carrying too much luggage."

"We'll count them soon as the ship arrives to New York. Money may be Cal's, but it will help us to eat and sleep."

"I think he would have a heart attack if he knew that his money is going to help a rat and his prostitute" Rose said jokingly, but as the words escaped from her mouth, she knew she would have done better by not saying them.

"What?" Jack asked, astonished "I know that he considers me a rat, but how did you said that he called you?"

"Nothing. It's nothing, seriously."

"Rose..."

The girl sighed.

"He called me prostitute. Twice."

"When?"

"The first time was right after you were arrested. When my mother left the room, he hit... he said that."

However, Jack did not miss anything.

"He hit you?"

Rose conceded defeat with another sigh.

"Yes. He slapped me and told me I was a slut. If it weren't for that officer that came to tell us about the lifebelts... And after, when I ran to find you, he took my arm and asked me where I was going. There was no need to say it. He said that I was going to be a whore to a gutter rat. I replied that I rather be that than his wife, and I spit in his face. I was never so proud of myself."

Jack smiled briefly upon hearing the last part, but his face immediately retrieved a serious expression.

"If I had known, I would have... No, don't interrupt me. I would have thrown him into the sea last night. Hitting a woman is too much even for him."

After a few seconds of silence, Jack spoke again.

"Was it first time it happened?"

"Yes. Well... in essence, yes, but yesterday morning... Oh, what the hell. Just before the church service, we were having breakfast on the private promenade deck. Suddenly he asked why I hadn't ... come to him the night before" The mention, even euphemistically, that Cal had tried to sleep with her disgusted her to death. "I told him I was tired, but apparently he had sent Lovejoy to spy us and he knew I was at the party with you. So when I told him he couldn't give me orders, he..."

"What, overturned the table?" Jack said sarcastically. Rose looked down, and her silence was clearer than water.

"Rose, tell me he didn't."

"Yes. He overturned it and yelled that I was his wife in practice and that I had to honor him. That I would not make a fool of him. Then he left me alone with the maid to clean up the broken glass."

Jack felt like when Lovejoy hit him in the stomach.

"That son of a..."

"Shh, Jack. It's alright. I mean, it was not right, it was horrible, but there's nothing we can do about it now. What happened, happened. And it will never happen again."

"Never. Nothing will hurt you, not while I live."

"I know. I love you" she said again, burying her head in his chest.