Rose's POV
I feel someone shaking my shoulder, trying to awake me from my dreamless sleep.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry to awake you, but i'd like to inform you that lunch is being served." I open my eyes to see a crew man standing overtop of me, shaking my shoulder. I look around for a moment, as I realize i'm lying on a cold wooden bench, and I sit up, my back aching slightly thanks to my poor sleeping conditions.
"Oh thank you sir, I should be heading off to lunch then. May I ask, where can I find the dining hall?" I ask him, still trying to keep myself awake.
"Just keep walking straight till you see the first door to your left, have a nice day ma'am." He says, before tipping his hat down and bidding me a goodbye. I drag myself up from the bench and I make my way across the deck, following the crew man's directions to reach the steerage dining room.
Once I get there, I walk into the over crowded room, finally finding the long line up for food. Once I reach the front, I'm served a warm bowl of soup and a slice of bread, along with a cup of tea. I walk around the room a bit, only to find that each table's full, so I settle with sitting on the ground against a wall.
When I'm about half way through my meal, I remember chatting to a man yesterday, recalling that he told me that the survivours list would be posted on deck today. I immediatly look around the room, searching for a clock. Once I come across one, I realize the time is a little after 1:30. I grab all my dishes, full of my food, and I walk over to the dirty dishes basket, and place them in there.
While I'm walking out of the room, I stop to ask another passenger if the list had been posted yet.
"Um, excuse me, would you care to help me?" I ask a lady, atleast 20 years older then me, and she turns around to face me.
"Yes dear, what can I help you with?" She asks me smiling. She must be a passenger of the Carpathia, there's no way you'd see a Titanic survivour smiling like that.
"I was wondering if you would know if they had posted the survivour's list yet?" I ask her in a rush. I just have to find Jack. Her eyes immediatly soften, and her smile fades.
"Oh yes, they have, just a few minutes ago. I'm so sorry you had to go through that dear. I can come with you if you'd like." She offers. I'm suddenly filled with fear, constant negative thoughts rushing through my mind. Will his name even be on the list? What if Cal does find me? What if Jack's dead? Will i have to marry Cal? Cut it out Rose! Quite jumping to conclusions!
"Oh yes, I'd love that, thank you." I could use support right now, even if I don't know this lady, she seems like someone that's good to have around. We begin to make our way out onto the deck, sharing small talk along the way.
"I'm sorry, I haven't gotten your name yet?" I ask her politely.
"Oh yes, I'm Catherine Lacey, and you?" She asks in return.
"Oh, I'm Rose De-Um, Rose Dawson." I say, stumbling upon my words, feeling embarrased. Suddenly, I spot a small crowd of people, and I grow hopeful, realizing that Jack's name could potentionally be on that list! By the Time, Catherine and I reach the list, the crowd had died down and only about 5 people remain around it.
I grab Catherine's arm and pull her up to where the paper's posted, but it's a little hard to read, seeing as there's someone in front of me blocking my view.
"Um excuse me, would you mind pushing over a bit?" Catherine asks the stranger, and I notice that she seems just as eager to get a look at the list as well. I look up to meet eyes with the mysterious man in front of us, and I just about faint, as I realese my grip on Catherine's arm.
"JACK!" I shout out, flinging my arms around his neck, beginning to sob into his shirt.
"Oh my god Rose!" He whispers to me. I pull back from him and he kisses me passionatly. For a few moments, its just us, until I pull away, sobbing.
"Rose, what's wrong?" Jack asks me, concern taking over.
"It's just I-I thou-thought that you were de-dead." I cry out as I let myself fall into his arms.
"Shhh, darling. It's okay, I'm here, and I'm safe. Look, I even brought someone with me." His eyes begin to tear up as well, but's soon replaced with a small smile at the mention of this 'someone else' He turns around and picks up a small child. Why does she look so familiar? Suddenly it hits me. Cora!
"Cora! oh my gosh!" I gasp and Jack places her down, as I pull her in for a hug.
"Where's your father?" I aks her, and she looks up at me innocently.
"My daddy left. Uncle Jack told me that you'd be my new mommy and that he'd be my daddy." I look over to Jack and he smiles, as do I. He comes in closer, whispering into my ear.
"Her father jumped off the ship. I told her we'd take care of her." He informs me, and I just nod and smile. I can't wait to get off this ship, and finally start my new life with my first real family.
A/N: Cause nothing says Valentine's day like a Titanic fanfic! Well this is gunna be short cause i'm in the middle of watching Titanic for like the billionth time, and I paused it just to update so yeah, off I go!~Jaime
