Jack grabbed Karen's hand pulled her up the stairs behind him, a little more roughly than he had meant to. She giggled.

"Honey! Careful!"

"Sorry, sorry," he laughed. Karen watched in awed contemplation as his head crested above the top of the narrow staircase, the bright light of the sun illuminating a thin, glowing outline around his head. As they emerged onto the upper deck of the ferry, the ocean breeze ruffled his hair and brought a flush to his cheeks. Her angel looked perfectly angelic.

Jack dragged Karen over to the railing as the ferry trudged towards the Statue of Liberty, which was growing bigger in front of them by the second. The ferry was unusually empty for a Saturday afternoon, but the chill of late fall had finally begun to set in, and most tourists had decided to venture to indoor attractions today.

"I haven't done this in years," Karen mused, spreading her arms in front of her and gripping the cold railing lightly as she studied the bronze curves of Lady Liberty.

"Me neither," Jack agreed, he too studying the statue and waves below her. "When I was a teenager I used to love coming out here." He looked down at her, so peaceful and pensive. He moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her small waist, breathing in the scent of her hair which was heightened by the breeze flowing through it. "She was always kind of a beacon of hope for me, you know? A reminder that I was free, and could be free in knowing who I was."

Karen didn't say anything, but let his words sink in. She wished she had been like him when she was a young woman; confident, independent, sure of the fact that there was something better out there for her and that her life could be whatever she made it. Instead, she had been reliant on the men in her life, always feeling that she wasn't deserving of her own freedom. Ever since she was little she had been bending to the will of other people, and she had paid for it dearly.

After a few moments of silence, she licked her lips, spoke slowly, still looking out over the glistening water.

"You're still free, Jack," she told him softly, finally turning in his arms to look at him. "However you want to spend the rest of your life is up to you."

Since Jack had told her about his illness, Karen had been having trouble putting into words everything she wanted to say to him. All she wanted was for him to know that she would never leave his side, even up until he took his final breath, and that she would do anything with him and for him to make sure he was happy and fulfilled. She had hoped that he would read into that with her last sentiment.

Jack looked down into her eyes, knowing exactly what she meant. As scared as he was about what the future held for him, he took comfort in the fact that Karen was with him, no matter what.

He smiled at her, and without really knowing why, bent his face down to kiss her lips.

When Karen broke their kiss, she quickly turned back to face the statue in front of them. She didn't want him to see the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. He resumed his grip on her body and kissed her hair.

"Hey, remember how you told me that when you were little you wanted to be a ballerina?" he asked, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Yeah?"

"How come you never pursued that?"

"Oh, I wasn't a good enough dancer to be a professional, honey."

"That's not what you said before. You said you were a soloist with a professional dance company."

"For young people - a professional dance company for young people."

"You could've done it, Kare."

"Yeah, well, things happened."

"Do you think if you hadn't gotten married you would have tried to go pro?"

"I don't know, honey…my priorities changed a lot during those years. I can't even begin to remember what I was thinking."

"But don't you ever regret not going for it?"

"No, honey. No regrets."

"Well, what do you have regrets about in your life? I mean, if there was one thing you could go back and change, what would it be?"

"Hmm…nothing."

"Really?"

"Really. I learned a long time ago that its useless to have regrets. Sure, there are some things that could've gone better, some people that I didn't take the time to appreciate as much as I should have…but everything that has ever happened to me, and every decision I have ever made has been a learning experience. Besides, if I had done even one thing differently in the past, I might not be here with you now."

Karen turned her head over her shoulder and flashed Jack a grin before stepping up onto a lower run of the railing.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked, slight panic in his voice as he gripped her body tighter for fear that she might fall overboard.

"Get up here," she instructed, finding her balance.

"Are you crazy?"

"You know that I am."

Jack frowned before removing one of his hands from her waist to grip the railing in front of her and pull himself up, placing is his feet just outside of hers on the lowest rung. Immediately, a shot of adrenaline went through his veins as the wind whipped his face and the rest of the ferry behind them seemed to disappear.

"Look Jack, I'm flying!" Karen laughed, releasing the railing and extending her arms out next to her. Jack laughed too at the cheesy "Titanic" reference.

"I knew you were gonna say that," he groaned. Karen continued to stretch her arms out next to her, but he opted not to play the dare devil, preferring the warmth of the embrace he had on her.

"Thanks for playing with me today, Kare," he whispered into her ear. He felt her smile against his cheek.

"Anything for you, Poodle," she replied, and lowered her arms to rest them on top of his, feeling the fabric of his shirt and the strength of his arms beneath it, not knowing how many more times she would be able to.