Third chapter's up, not much to say except it's a sadfest, again.

Sorry it took a while though, but I'm extremely sensitive about getting everything right, thus took ages to research as much as I could about the third class facilities to make it as accurate as possible. I now know that the toilets in each class on the Titanic were made out of a different material and what those materials are.

...

"You're lying," Érzsebét whispered as she pushed Alin away after the latter attempted to wrap his arms around her. She didn't want his pity.

"Take a look for yourself," he replied with a shrug, gesturing towards the loading bay, where the ladder was now being pulled up and as the crew prepared to close the doors.

"You're lying," she repeated, louder this time; "you're a dirty liar!"

"Enough of the denial," Alin rolled his eyes; "take a look around you. They're gone! And, given who we're talking about here, were you honestly expecting it to be any other way?"

Érzsebét would've strangled him there and then, had another figure not stepped in front of her, and she found herself staring at one of the Carpathia's crew members, holding a clipboard.

"Name?" he asked, and Érzsebét blinked, not understanding.

"He wants your name," Alin told her, and Érzsebét gave her full name to the crewmember. She tried to peer at his clipboard, to see if Roderich or Franz Edelstein was on his list, but the man quickly moved on to another survivor. Another blanket was wrapped around her shoulders, and Érzsebét turned to thank whom she assumed to be one of the Carpathia's passengers, but found herself looking at Alin.

"Why are you being nice to me?" she croaked warily.

"It's not like I have a choice," Alin told her; "I'm not particularly fond of you, but you're all I have left. Besides, how could I even attempt to be hostile to you when I know exactly what you're going through?"

"How could you possibly even understand-" Érzsebét stopped herself, knowing she didn't have enough cruelty in her to even finish that sentence, "of course, and I'm so sorry."

"Look, let's just go and find a doctor. My legs feel really odd and I'm sure you need medical attention too."

Érzsebét paused, staring at the other before eventually sighing.

"Fine."

…

10th April, 1912

…

"Are you settled comfortably?" Érzsebét asked yet again, fussing over Roderich as he lay on his bunk, wrapped under several blankets, most taken from his old bed and thoughtfully packed by Érzsebét. He was back in his nightshirt, freshly cleaned after Érzsebét's trip to the washroom. Both he and Franz had also had a bath for the first time, Érzsebét dragging them to the communal bathroom before most of the other passengers had finished packing, which was lucky because- there being only two baths for all 700-odd steerage passengers- there was soon quite a queue. As the men and women bathed separately, Érzsebét had donned her male disguise in order to be allowed in with them, since nether Roderich or Franz could bathe themselves.

"I'm perfectly well, thank you," he smiled as she ran a hand through his hair, now cleaned, shining and back to its original deep brown, which she had never really seen before. Érzsebét sat next to his bunk for a few minutes more, stroking his hair whilst he began to doze off, then she turned back to her son.

Franz was also asleep, wrapped up in his own bunk. His hair was splayed across the pillow and he had the tiniest smile on his face. For once, he wasn't hungry.

The trio had eaten tea in one of the dining saloons on Deck F with hundreds of other steerage passengers packed into wooden benches. When Érzsebét saw the dinner they were being served, her eyes nearly popped out of her skull. Her plate was filled with pie, potatoes and bread as well as butter and jam on the side. She turned to Roderich, whose mouth was wide open as he stared down at a similar plate, glasses halfway down his nose. She pushed them up with a finger, and he turned his head as much as he could to face her.

"Am I dreaming?" he gasped out. Between them, Franz poked at his pie slice.

"If you are, then we must be sharing a wonderful dream," Érzsebét replied, though the warmth of the food and those around her told her this was all real.

"Is this all for me?" Franz asked, stroking the edge of the plate with a finger.

"Of course sweetie!" Érzsebét told him, and the child took it as a sign to tuck in. He didn't bother with his knife and fork, breaking off pieces of pastry with his hands and popping them in his mouth before starting on the bread. This caused several others at their table to chuckle, although they themselves were astounded by the food as well.

"How cute," cooed one lady, sat opposite them.

Érzsebét herself ate a few mouthfuls of pie before helping Roderich with his meal. She fed him a few forkfuls of pie and potatoes before bringing a slice of bread up to his mouth to take a bite out of. They ignored the curious stares of other passengers.

"Can we live on this boat?" asked Franz through a mouthful of potatoes. Érzsebét wiped his hands, which were also covered in potato, before pressing a fork into his hand and answering.

"I'm afraid we'll only be here for a week or so." Franz's face fell, and his mother sighed. "But we'll be living somewhere even better when we land! We can find a nice flat in New York and eat all kinds of food."

"Wow," Franz stabbed a cube of rabbit meat sat in the remains of the pie pastry and tore a chunk from it. "And I can go to school too?"

"Of course!" Érzsebét sighed dreamily as she fed potatoes to Roderich; "you can be around children your own age and learn so much. Then you can come home and tell us everything you've learnt."

"What if the other children don't like me?" Franz paused, setting his fork down; "what if they think I'm weird?"

"It doesn't matter," replied Roderich, "there will be people who like you for your weirdness. Just stick with them."

...

Érzsebét could still taste the jam in her mouth as she sat on her cabin floor. Rhubarb. Her new favourite.

She looked around at the cabin. There were six beds in total, two occupied by her boys, one- the bunk above Roderich- containing her bag, and the three loaded with luggage from their mystery roommates. They had yet to see the people they were sharing a cabin with, who were probably off exploring, and Érzsebét was more than a little curious about them.

She couldn't blame these strangers though, since the ship was so huge and full of so many things she'd never even dreamed of. Érzsebét decided that tomorrow she'd go off exploring too, bringing Franz along, probably. She loved the idea of standing on deck in the fresh air, and if she went there in the morning, she could even catch a glimpse of Ireland as the ship stopped at Queenstown.

The third class library was another particular place of interest, even though she and Roderich couldn't read and write in their own languages, let alone English. But Érzsebét had never been in a library before, and just wanted to be around books, to smell and touch them, even if she couldn't read them.

Their cabin was neat and cosy, the six bunks taking up most of the space and a tiny washbasin and wardrobe making up the rest of the furnishings. The carpet was soft and there were electric lights fitted in the room, something Érzsebét thought she would never be fortunate enough to see for herself. It truly was a place of luxury, and she wouldn't have minded if they never left the ship again.

It was then that the door opened and two men entered, taking extra care to be quiet once they saw Roderich and Franz. One was carrying a small child of his own, wrapped in a coat too big for him and asleep, head resting on the adult's shoulder so all Érzsebét could see of him was a mop of dark hair.

"You must be our cabin mates then," the young man carrying the child began in French, deciding that- since they'd all boarded at Cherbourg- that was their best means of communication, "nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet-" Érzsebét stopped, frowning at his accent.

"Oh, I'm Mr Radacanu, or Alin, if you prefer, and this is my, err, companion, Mr Borisov."

"Call me Tsvetan," the taller one replied, making his way over to one of the empty bunks. Alin followed him, tucking his child into the bunk above Franz.

"And this is Andrei, my little brother," he replied, staring at the infant lovingly, stroking his long hair as he slept.

"My name is Érzsebét," she glared at the man icily.

"A Hungarian?" Alin hissed, throwing an arm protectively over Andrei.

"Romanian," Érzsebét narrowed her eyes, wondering if snatching Franz away would be overreacting.

"Calm down, you two," Tsvetan said, swinging his legs over the side of his bunk and glancing over at the duo warily.

"I'm perfectly calm," Alin replied innocently.

"Good, well, we're going to be stuck together for the duration of the crossing, so please try to get along." Tsvetan pulled off his hat and waistcoat, folding them in a pile at the end of his bed before kicking his boots off.

"We'll see."

"No offense," Érzsebét began, "but why are you in our cabin?"

"Offense taken," replied Alin coldly, "and it's our cabin too."

"I mean, what are you- two single men- doing sharing a cabin with a family? Shouldn't you be in a cabin with the other men?"

There was a pause before anyone spoke.

"Not with Andrei," Alin began slowly, glancing back at his travelling companion, "me and him are technically a family group. And since Tsvetan is travelling with me, we were all put in a room with another family."

"I see. Fine," Érzsebét picked up her folded nightdress, and stood up; "I'm going to have a bath."

"That's an image I didn't want to see," Alin muttered, taking off his hat and running a hand through his scruffy hair. She caught him glaring at her as his face twisted into a snarl, revealing a pointed fang.

"Hmph," Érzsebét paused at the door, glancing at the sleeping forms of her family with worry.

"I'm not going to do anything to them!" Alin rolled his eyes, jumping into his own bunk; "I'm going to sleep anyways."

After a few moments deliberating, Érzsebét nodded and walked out, switching off the lights as she did so.

…

Érzsebét allowed Alin to lead as they walked towards one of the first aid stations. When Alin had asked some of the other survivors where he could get medical help, they pointed him in the general direction of the third class dining room, and Érzsebét just quietly went along with it.

Alin, indeed, appeared to be having trouble with his feet. He limped along the corridors, wrapped in a new blanket and still shivering, for some reason having discarded his lifebelt hours ago. Érzsebét herself was drinking coffee passed to her by a sympathetic passenger, but had refused other forms of aid. She clutched at her own lifebelt like she still depended on it.

She was still refusing to believe Roderich and Franz were dead. They had to be on here somewhere! The Carpathia was a big ship, not as big as Titanic, but still large enough for them to be anywhere. Someone would've helped them onto a lifeboat. No one would've left a dangerously ill man and small child in the water to fend for themselves.

Right?

"Wait!" she called. Alin stopped, rolling his eyes as he turned.

"What now?"

"We still have to look for them!" she jogged over to him, grabbing his shoulders, "we have to search the entire ship! They're on here, I can feel it!"

…

12th April, 1912

…

"Does the rest of your family know you married an Austrian?" Alin commented airily, "and a crippled one at that."

"Don't call him that," Érzsebét hissed, storming ahead, "and if you must know, they don't, but it doesn't matter because now because they'll never find out."

The pair were walking down one of the corridors back to their cabin, after having the misfortune to bump into each other in the General Room and being forced to be in each other's presence as Andrei and Franz played together. Their two children were lagging behind now, talking and giggling, even though they couldn't understand each other. They got along swimmingly, much to the horror of the two guardians, Franz having taken the younger boy under his wing.

"What about you?" Érzsebét replied smugly; "does the rest of your family know you're a homosexual?"

Alin paused, staring at the other in horror. "Tsvetan is my friend, that's all," he whispered.

"Who said anything about Tsvetan?" Érzsebét's smile grew wider at his obvious distress; "I was just talking about yourself. You're the one who brought him into this."

"Shut up!"

"So he's your… partner? I'm not sure what you call it. Partner, yes?"

"No!" Alin lunged forward, covering Érzsebét's mouth with a hand. She quickly ripped his arm away, caught between wanting to laugh victoriously and wipe her mouth in disgust. She did both.

Alin was trembling now, gripping the wall for support. The two children had caught up by then, staring at the adults in confusion but not intruding on their conversation. They had both been brought up to be polite to adults.

"You're a liar!" she sang, "a dirty liar!"

"Please," he whispered, "don't tell-"

"Why would I tell anyone?" Érzsebét raised an eyebrow, "that would just cause unneeded trouble for everyone. Besides, our children get along, and so do my husband and… Borisov. This is the first time both of them have made friends outside the family so, in a sense, I'm grateful. Not grateful for you though."

"I could tell."

"I'll keep your secret though."

Alin paused, pulling a face before forcing out a 'thank you'. Érzsebét just grinned as she continued walking.

"You two go well together," she commented, "in that you're both very annoying and stupid." Andrei looked up in horror before bursting into tears, realising whom she was talking about.

"You're mean!" he cried, rushing to the defence of his two parental figures.

"No, no, child, shush," she cooed, bending down to ruffle his hair, "I'm sorry."

"Get off him!" Alin picked his brother up and stormed off. Érzsebét rolled her eyes, taking Franz's hand and following.

"I said I was sorry!" she growled as she levelled with them.

"Apology not accepted," Alin grinned wickedly, "get on your knees and beg for Andrei's forgiveness!"

"His forgiveness doesn't mean that much to me, in all honesty."

"Oy!" Alin yanked at a lock of her hair, and Franz in turn kicked his ankle.

"Stop!" cried Andrei, close to tears again, and the trio ceased their fighting. Érzsebét couldn't help but feel more than a little disappointed; she'd been prepared to punch Alin right in the jaw.

As they neared their cabin, Érzsebét heard voices coming through the open door and stopped, holding an arm in front of Alin.

"Hey, what?!" he snapped before she shushed him. Érzsebét moved closer, curious, and found the two voices belonged to Borisov and her husband.

"I've heard of cases like yours before, but I'm afraid I have never personally met anyone with a similar illness," Tsvetan was saying, and Érzsebét remembered him mentioning the previous day that he was a doctor. Of course Roderich would want to take advantage of his knowledge...

"Well, can you tell me what you know, at least?" Roderich replied, and even from where she was, Érzsebét could hear the hope and desperation in his voice.

"Of course," Tsvetan paused before beginning; "it seems you have some form of muscle dysthrophy. I'm afraid there's little known about it, other than it primarily affects boys and progressively weakens the muscles. Even your particular condition is unlike many of the others I've read about. Your condition sounds a lot like Duchenne's variation, but if that was the case then you'd be nearly paralysed by now. Dead, even."

"So, thankfully, it's not that."

"Indeed," Tsvetan thought for a moment, "it appears the condition hasn't affected your brain development; that's always a possibility with this. You seem well-spoken and intelligent enough."

"For someone who is illiterate?"

"Yes. And well done for keeping up with your sewing, it's slowed down the progress of the disease in your arms, but I fear a life of bed-rest has done you no favours."

"I didn't exactly have a choice."

"I know," Tsvetan chuckled, "if only we could access the ship's pool. That might help somewhat."

"I cannot swim either."

"I'm sure either myself or Alin could teach you. But the pool isn't an option so it doesn't matter." He paused again. "Would you mind if I had a quick look at your torso?" Érzsebét tensed, and next to her, she heard Alin tut.

"He's asking as a professional," he hissed.

"Just as I thought," they heard Tsvetan begin, "you have developed scoliosis as well."

"Is that bad?"

"Well, it's not ideal, never is, but comes with the territory. As your muscles weaken, and you become less mobile, your bones cannot develop properly."

"So scoliosis is…"

"A curvature of the spine. Though yours is mild compared to some I've seen. Look at how your ribs and pelvis are more prominent on one side. That's how you know."

"But why do I have all this? Did I do something wrong?"

"Not at all! From what we know, Muscular Dystrophy passed on from parent to child. It seems only the men in the family are affected though, with the women being carriers. Though once in a blue moon you see a girl with this illness, but that happens nearly never."

"So there's a chance that Franz can develop it too?"

"He's already showing symptoms."

Érzsebét gasped, clutching her son closer to her, but the boy wasn't listening to the conversation. He couldn't understand them anyway.

"No," Roderich whispered, "it can't… he… there must be a cure!"

"There isn't, I'm afraid. The process can be slowed though."

"How?"

"Keep him active. Make sure he runs around like other little boys and doesn't spend his life in bed. Give him something for his hands to do. Don't treat him like he's delicate, if you understand. Teach him how to swim too, it's good for the body and heart."

"Thank you, Tsvetan. You're a smart man."

"Hey, it was my destiny to be a doctor. I've wanted to be one since I was a small boy, back in Bulgaria."

"Why did you leave there, if you don't mind me asking?"

"There was a war and lots of people were being killed, so I ran."

"Surely, as a doctor, it would've been better to stay and help the wounded, right? Why didn't you?"

"Because I was two and my father was shot protecting me and my little sister," Tsvetan replied bitterly, "so my mother took us and fled to Russia."

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I truly didn't mean-"

"It's fine. You didn't know." There was a pause before either spoke.

"So you didn't like Russia then?"

"It was a nice enough place, but a little cold. The fighting started there too so I left for France, met Alin and Andrei, and the three of us decided to try our luck in America."

"Do you think you'll ever return to Bulgaria?"

"I'd like to. My mother told me it is a beautiful place. And yourself? Would you go back to Austria?"

"I'm afraid I won't have any choice but to die in America." Tsvetan, to Érzsebét's horror, didn't argue with that.

…

"Érzsebét, please, I want to go to the first aid station!" Alin gave an exhausted sob.

"Don't you care about your family?" Érzsebét glared at him, "we have to find them first!"

"They're not here! Look, I've understood that they're gone, and I'm hurting and trying to come to terms with it. Don't get my hopes up again just to dash them! My heart can't take it anymore. It's already shattered... broken beyond repair..." His eyes brimmed with tears, and he swayed dangerously, but Érzsebét was undeterred.

"Come on, please! Just do this for me;" she stood back and sighed. "Imagine when we find them. Will it not be the most beautiful moment in your life?"

"They're not-"

"My love and yours, and our children are on this ship somewhere, I just know it!"

Alin paused, breathing heavily as his face crumpled.

"Fine," he spat, "one last try."

…

13 April, 1912

…

Érzsebét made sure she and Roderich were sitting comfortably in the corner of the General Room, away from the crowds that danced to guitars, violins and even a set of bagpipes. There was no common language amongst the steerage passengers, but they were united by the sounds that entranced them.

Couples danced together whilst others sat on the wooden benches and clapped, and children ran about chasing each other. Franz and Andrei too. At one point, Franz had tripped over his own feet, and burst into tears after hitting the ground. Érzsebét had dashed over and scooped him up, kissing his knee better and telling him he was a brave boy, but soon sent him off again, Tsvetan's advice fresh in her mind.

The man himself was dancing with Alin, their pair keeping far enough apart to not arouse suspicion. No one paid them much attention anyways.

Now, Érzsebét was back by her husband's side, watching as he put all his energy into clapping along with the musicians, improvised and messy, but capturing his full attention nonetheless. The reflections of the steerage passengers danced across his eyes, and he sat mesmerised by the music, lively and fun. Beside him, Érzsebét clapped along joyfully, swaying to the sounds.

"Maybe we can teach Franz an instrument," she suggested, speaking up over the din.

"I'm sure he wouldn't object," Roderich replied, "the boy likes to be busy."

"Be good for his arms too," Érzsebét commented, and her husband stiffened.

"You're right," he forced a smile.

"You're feeling guilty, aren't you?" Érzsebét sighed; "look, these things are out of your control. At least this time round we know in advance and can help him together."

"We can't cure him though," Roderich stopped clapping, resting his hands on his knees, "or even give him proper help."

"Tsvetan wouldn't mind helping out; I'm sure he'd be glad to work with Franz. He'll probably write about him too, and use that writing to help even more people."

"But Franz will still get worse. In a few years he won't be able to walk!"

"And we won't love him any less!"

"That's not what I meant! He won't have any quality of life. He'll be wheelchair-bound and probably die early. And the stigma… no one will want anything to do with him."

"We will!" Érzsebét glared at him fiercely, eyes blazing, "and so will his friends. You underestimate people, Edelstein. There will be people who want to associate themselves with Franz because he is intelligent and an interesting person! He's a people person too. Look how that little Romanian kid has taken to him! I like to think he and Franz will be lifelong friends."

"Of course," Roderich sighed in relief, "I'm sorry."

"That's quite alright. Now, why don't we enjoy the music some more?"

...

So that's about it for now.

Yes, all three classes on the Titanic had their own libraries! As well as that, third class passengers had a general room and a smoking room to entertain themselves in, which was extremely luxurious compared to third class facilities on other cruise liners back then. Heck, even them getting served meals was a pretty new thing, as they would usually have to take their own food. They could've added more baths though. Then again, back then people thought having too many baths damaged the lungs.

So the particular type of Muscular Dystrophy Roderich has (Emery-Dreifuss, to refresh your memories) wasn't identified as such until the early 1960s, (though it was first recorded in the early 20th century) and was at first believed to be a milder form of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which is the most severe type. People with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy usually die in childhood or adolescence.

Scoliosis is usually a side-effect of Muscular Dystrophy, and as someone with scoliosis, I couldn't resist writing about it. I never can, sorry.

Um, I have to admit I took some artistic licence with this chapter, in that third class cabins didn't usually contain more than one family. Each family would've had their own cabin, and single men would share cabins with other single men, same with single women. So sorry for that.

Oh, and the first class toilets were made out of marble, the second class ones out of porcelain and the third class ones out of iron, for those who were curious, and for those who weren't.