A/N: I've sort of imagined the lullaby that Tommy hums as the one from Tuck Everlasting, the movie. You know, the one from Mae Tuck's music box.

April 14th, 1912

Once again, Emily woke up in Tommy's warm embrace. As she lay in bed, studying his handsome face, she could not help but feel blessed to be with this man. She reached out to run her fingers through his curly hair, the corners of her mouth twitching into a smile as Tommy's did the same, as if he were having a lovely dream. It was perhaps another quarter hour before Tommy woke, opening his hazel eyes to look at her.

He did not say anything, merely closing the gap between their lips.

"I love you," Emily whispered, feeling a thrill at how much she meant these three simple words.

"I love you too." These words sent more chills of pleasure dancing up and down her spine. Emily snuggled into Tommy's chest, and he began to hum a soft lullaby.

"My mum used to sing that to me, when I was small." Emily's voice was sad. "I wish I remember more of her."

"This is the lullaby me mam sang ta me, ta get me ta sleep," Tommy replied. He hummed a few more bars of the sweet song.

"Tell me about your family," Emily said curiously, pulling her head back to look at him.

Tommy chuckled softly, meeting her inquisitive sapphire eyes. "As you wish, love." His tone was teasing, but he knew that he would do anything that Emily wished. "I lived with me mam, dad, three older brothers, and three older sisters, in Limerick, Ireland. I'm the baby o' the family." He chuckled again. "Me older brothers all went to America, lookin' fer work. Me sisters, all but one, stayed in Ireland, though, ta marry."

"What are your siblings' names?" she asked, intrigued. Having never known her family, she was fascinated and enchanted by the thought of a large one.

"Me oldest brother, he's t'irty-t'ree, his name is Seamus. He's married to an American named Elizabeth, and they have a girl and a boy, Meg and Seamus Junior. The next brothers down are twins, Oliver an' Ethan, an' they're t'irty-one. Oliver married an American, too, and they have two boys, Ethan and Adam. The older Ethan hasn't married yet. Then there's me sister Margaret, named after mam, an' she's twenty-nine. She's married, o' course, and she's got three little boys, James, after dad, David, and Michael, and a little girl, Hannah." He looked over at Emily. "Are ya bored yet?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"No," she said honestly. "I've never had a family, so hearing about yours is like having my own.

His eyes were soft and speculative as he continued. "After Meg there's Sarah. She's twenty-seven, married, an' she's got two girls, Katie an' Emma. Me youngest older sister, Rachel, is twenty-five. She's married to a Scot, and she's the only sister that lives more than ten miles from mam and dad. Her kids are Tommy, Leah, and the twins, Aila and Anna."

"I would love to meet them someday," Emily said, a bit wistfully.

"I'd love ya ta meet them," Tommy replied, smiling softly. Emily smiled in return, and then sat up.

"I suppose we had better get out of bed if we want to do anything today."

Tommy agreed, and slipped out of bed. He dressed quickly while Emily averted her eyes, then Emily got up, and Tommy left the room respectfully, so that Emily could get dressed. She came out of the room a moment later, clothed in another borrowed dress. Even though the dress wasn't nearly as fancy as her first class gowns, she still looked stunning to Tommy.

"What would you like to do today Love?" Tommy asked as Emily slipped her hand into his.

"I don't know." She thought for a moment before a slow smile spread across her face. "You know what I would love to do?" The smile was very evident in her voice, and Tommy's heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

"What would ya love to do?" His voice was slightly strangled, but Emily didn't seem to notice.

"I would love to just sit with you on the deck, and talk all day." Tommy was slightly disappointed, but cheered greatly when he thought of spending the whole day with Emily.

"What would ya like to talk about?"

"About where you grew up, and more about your family."

"I'd love to hear more about you, as well." Tommy smiled again.

"There's nothing to tell," she protested. "You already where I grew up."

"I'm sure I'll think o' somethin'," he replied.

"Alright," she said, a bit dubiously. She led Tommy to a secluded spot, dragging a deck chair with her. Tommy sat down, and Emily plopped herself comfortably onto his lap. "Tell me about Limerick."

xXx

The day passed quickly, and soon it was dark outside. Emily had managed to keep Tommy talking, asking question after question, giggling at his stories. It wasn't until 11:30 that Emily remembered to ask a very important question.

"Tommy?" she began, her voice questioning. "How old are you?"

Tommy gave a short, startled laugh, realizing that they had never exchanged ages. "I'm twenty-two," he replied. "And you?"

She did the math quickly; relieved with the answer she came up with. "Eighteen. That's only four years difference."

"It wouldn't make any difference," Tommy whispered into Emily's hair.

"No," she agreed, burrowing into his shoulder. "It wouldn't make any difference at all.

They were still sitting in this position when, ten minutes later, they felt the ship give a great shudder.

"What was that?" Emily exclaimed, sitting up straight, listening. There was not a sound, and the shudder went away, but Emily couldn't help but feel that something was not right.

"I don't know," Tommy admitted, standing up after Emily had done the same. They walked to the railing, looking over it into the night. When they saw nothing, they walked around to the other side of the ship, an act that took a good fifteen minutes. They gasped in shock at what they saw there.

A large iceberg, gleaming whitely in the black night, was falling behind the ship. Judging by how close it still was to the side, Emily guessed that this iceberg was what had caused the jerking shudder.

"We've been hit," she whispered. "Do you think it damaged the ship?" Her voice was anxious.

"This ship is unsinkable," Tommy assured her. "Even if it did hit, it won't do anything."

Emily wished, more than anything, that she could believe him, but a gnawing doubt still lingered in her mind, refusing to leave despite his reassurances.

April 15th, 1912, Midnight

Tommy and Emily went back to his cabin, but they could not sleep, despite the fact that it was midnight, and they were both tired. At five after midnight, a knock came on the door. When Tommy opened it, they saw a steward standing on the other side, the reassuring look on his face not quite masking the panic in his brown eyes.

"Put your lifebelts on, please," the steward said, without preamble. He entered the room and opened the closet door, taking the lifebelts off of the top shelf and handing them to Emily and Tommy. He left quickly, moving on to the next room.

Emily stared down at the cork and canvas lifejacket in her hands, feeling numb. "The ship's sinking," she whispered. When she looked up at Tommy, there was a wild sort of desperation in her eyes. Tommy dropped his lifejacket to the floor, kneeling down next to it in front of Emily. Taking her shoulders in his hands, he waited until she met his eyes.

"Listen to me, Love," he said urgently, holding her gaze. "We may be sinkin'," he acknowledged reluctantly, "but I'll never let anything happen to ya, understand?" Emily nodded slowly, clinging to his words like the lifebelt in her hands. Tommy pulled her to his body, engulfing her in a hug so loving that Emily felt better immediately. "Now," he said, pulling back. "Get that lifebelt on." Emily obeyed, slipping into the lifejacket a bit reluctantly. Tommy helped her to tie it, and then shrugged into his own. As they stepped out into the hallway, a few rats ran past, their skinny tails up in the air. "This way," Tommy said, gesturing in the way the rats were running. "Wherever the rats are goin' is good enough fer me!" Tommy grabbed Emily's hand and pulled her along the hall.

The rats led them through the halls, but dead-ended at a closed gate, already crowded with people. There were two employees on the other side of the gate, making sure that no one went through.

"...back down the staircase," one of the employees was saying as Tommy and Emily joined the fray. Tommy pushed his way forward, pulling Emily with him.

"Let us through," he demanded, grabbing onto the bars with his free hand.

"Go back down the staircase like I told you," he guard said adamantly.

"Let us through!" Tommy yelled louder.

"Back dow-"

"The ship's bloody sinkin'!" Tommy shouted, rattling the bars of the gate angrily. "There's women an' children down 'ere!" The guard looked at Tommy, then glanced at Emily next to him, who was looking scared and desperate.

"Please," Emily whispered. The guard's icy façade melted, and he unlocked the gate. Tommy pushed Emily through, then, before he himself went, he helped several more women through. Unfortunately, not all of the men were that polite. Many of them surged forward, pushing past the guards, who were struggling to get back to the gate. The closed and locked it firmly, to prevent anyone else from getting through.

"Back!" one of the guards commanded. Emily rushed to the gate, twining her fingers with Tommy's through the bars. A flash of red over Tommy's shoulder caught Emily's eyes, and she turned to see Rose, along with Jack Dawson, pushing her way through the crowd.

"Rose!" Emily cried, pleased to see her friend.

"Emily?" Rose's voice was shocked. "Where have you been?"

"I'll explain later," Emily promised. "They're not letting anyone through." She turned her head to glare at the guards. Jack studied the gate for a moment, then tugged on Tommy's arm, pulling him down the stairs. Tommy let go of Emily's fingers reluctantly. Emily felt a momentary pang of sadness, which was quickly replaced by joy when she saw what they were doing.

Tommy, Jack, and Jack's friend Fabrizio had grabbed a bench, pulling it up out of the nails that held it to the floor. Rose cleared a path, wide enough so that the men could get the bench through. Emily back away from the gate, wincing slightly as the wood collided with the heavy metal. One more collision, and the gate was broken. The passengers piled out, and Emily searched frantically for Tommy. He found her, after a while, and took her hand in his again. Jack and Rose joined them then, and Emily quickly recounted the events of the night of the 12th up until that point. Rose, as was to be expected, was furious.

"If I could just see that pompous ass," she growled, "I would punch him in the face."

Emily laughed slightly, the sound feeling odd in her throat because of the situation. They had made it to the topmost deck by now, and began looking for space in a lifeboat. Cal found Rose during their search, so Tommy and Emily left to find seats for the two of them, plus Rose and Jack.

They searched for ten minutes before it became apparent that there were no lifeboats left.

"I hope Jack and Rose found one," Emily fretted. "What are we going to do?" The deck was beginning to tilt perceptibly beneath their feet, and Emily could feel tears prickling her eyes.

"I don't know, Love," Tommy answered quietly, putting a slight pressure on Emily's cold hands. The night was freezing, and Emily's teeth were chattering. "Here," Tommy took off his lifebelt, then his coat, and untied Emily's lifebelt from her waist. He slipped his coat over Emily's slim shoulders, then helped her back into her lifejacket before replacing his own. Over Tommy's shoulder, Emily saw something that caused her gasp in horror and clutch Tommy's sleeve. "What is it?" he asked with alarm.

"Edward!" she whispered frantically, still clutching his arm. Tommy growled deep in his throat, turning slowly to face the man who was now coming towards them.

Edward was walking purposefully towards them, a look of determination on his face.

"Emily," he greeted her when he reached them. Emily did not reply, merely looking at him in terror. "I know where you have been." The statement sounded slightly menacing.

"That's none o' yer business, is it?" Tommy's voice was low and dangerous, and Edward gave him a look of disdain.

"Of course it is my business," he said loftily. "This young lady is traveling with my mother and I, and it has been my duty to cover for her these past days." Turning to Emily, a sneer crossed his face, causing Emily to cower further into Tommy's back. "I've missed you, Em." His voice was leering. Edward reached out a hand, as if to pull Emily towards him, but he got no further. With such strength Emily had not known he possessed, Tommy punched Edward in the nose, causing bright red blood to stain his knuckles, and Edward's face. Edward's hands flew up to cover his broken nose, staring at Tommy in disbelief. Tommy was shaking with anger, but he took Emily gently by the arm and steered away, towards the stern of the ship, which was rapidly lifting higher and higher above the water.