Chapter 7: All Night Long

"Are you sure we're not going to get caught?" Emma asks, pulling on comfortable shoes.

"Relax, we're not sneaking up to the higher class, we're going lower," Peter says. "Apparently third class has the best parties around. Music, cheap beer and lots of fun."

Emma swallows hard as she picks up Sybil and begins to feed her from a bottle.

"The neighbour next door will check on her every fifteen minutes and she's a mother herself," Peter says, trying to reassure the protective sister.

"I don't know," Emma mutters.

"Come on it'll be fun, what's one night out gonna do to you?" Peter smiles.

He kneels down to Emma's level and takes her free hand.

"You need to get out and spread those wings a bit. You've kept them so folded recently and I know you've been really down; I just think you need a bit of cheering up."

Emma feels that warm glow she always feels with Peter and manages a small smile. If Sybil will be safe, then she feels slightly better.

"Okay."

When Sybil finishes her bottle, Emma, and Peter both kiss her and put her to bed. They shut the door and head down one of the halls. They eventually come to the dividing gate between classes.

"One of the guys in the dining hall told me that this one is always unlocked," Peter says and they slip through.

As they go deeper into the ship, Emma starts to get nervous again. Her nightmares of being trapped down so deep in the ship with water filling it come back and she swallows hard again. She holds onto Peter's hand tightly to try and soothe her anxiety. They hear a loud ruckus coming down one of the lower hallways.

"Follow the music I guess." Peter snickers.

He pulls Emma along until the fiddle music becomes loud and the cheery sounds of laughter are heard.

A dance floor had been set up in the dining hall, all the tables are moved to one side and chairs spread out for patrons to sit. Some of the tables hold card players and another has a bartender serving pitchers of beer. People of all ages and nationalities are there, the accented voices overwhelming each other. The energy was amazing and so lovely. It seemed to bring everyone together.

Peter pulls Emma over to a corner of the dance and begins to dance with her. She is slightly self-conscious about dancing in front of strangers, but Peter twirls her a few times. Emma tries to keep the dancing minimal, but she manages a small smile as the music seemed to lighten her mood a bit.

Peter, at one point, goes up and dances with another woman, the whole time encouraging her to join him on the platform, but Emma just smiles and claps to the beat.

She eventually decides that she needs a drink and heads to the "bar" area.

"One please," She yells over the music.

The bartender smiles and begins pouring her one out of a Keg. Emma watches everyone dance around, all of them strangers to her, but they seem so warm and welcoming. Many of them are from families and many are immigrants coming to America for a new life. Emma wishes she was starting a new life, but she's going back to the old one, one that is quite painful to think about. When her glass comes, Emma sips it down. She sees two people dancing, both of whom are laughing all the time. They seem familiar, but they're moving too fast for her to positively identify who they are.

Emma is slowly sipping on her beer when the two people...Jack and Rose were their names, the artist, and the debutante. She is surprised to see the two of them together, but they had both met Emma previously.

Rose looks over at the girl and recognizes her.

"Hello Again!" Rose hollers over the music.

"Hi!" Emma smiles, the redhead's joyous demeanour was contagious.

"Where's your beautiful sister?" Rose asks.

"Sleeping, hopefully," Emma says.

"Two beers please," Jack orders. He turns to Emma. "How's that sketch coming along?"

"All right, the sunset on the Titanic is my next inspiration." Emma answers.

"How come you're not dancing?" Rose asks as the beers are placed in front of her. She takes a pause to down the whole beer in 15 seconds. Emma stares on impressed and clearly, she wasn't the only one. Rose smacks the glass down and laughs hard. Emma can't help but giggle with her, like a pair of little girls.

"You think a first-class girl can't drink?" she says loudly to some of the other boys, some of whom seem to be Jack's friends.

"Impressive for a rich girl." A bystander said gruffly, putting a cigar in his mouth.

Suddenly, the Irish man that Emma had seen the other day, calling to Jack is bumped by another dancer, causing a beer to be spilled onto Rose's dress. The redhead just laughs, and Emma can't help but join in. The Irishman however, is not too pleased, he raises his fists for a fight, but Jack intervenes.

"Boys, boys! Did I ever tell you the one about the Swede and the Irishman goin' to the whorehouse?" he asks.

So, you think you're big tough men? Let's see you do this." Rose says.

In her stocking feet, she assumes a ballet stance, arms raised, and goes up on point, taking her entire weight on the tips of her toes. The guys gape at her incredible muscle control. She comes back down, then her face screws up in pain. She grabs one foot, hopping around in pain.

"Oooowww!" she moans. "I haven't done that in years."

Jack catches her as she loses her balance, and everyone cracks up.

"So, what brings you down here?" Jack asks Emma.

"Peter heard about the party and decided I needed some cheering up."

"I know the best way to cheer someone up," Jack says with a mischievous grin. He grabs her hands.

"Wait for me to..." Emma says.

Jack takes Emma's hands and pulls her out on the dance floor. Emma is very flattered, and she sees Peter dancing with Rose. Emma is trying, but her feet won't move to the beat.

"Come on!" Jack says. "Don't be the only person, not dancing."

Emma shuts her eyes and pictures the music in her mind. The memories of her father teaching her how to dance come flowing back, the way he twirled her and laughed so jovially, full of hope and excitement. A small smile begins to grow on her face which eventually leads to a big wide grin and it finally gave way to a laughing fit. Emma picks up her knees and began taking off with the music. She looks at Jack's lively blue eyes and the smile on his face, she realizes what Jack said about living life to the fullest is very true. She may have lost a lot, but she didn't have to be sad about it all the time. Her parents had always wanted her to enjoy her life because she was only young for so long. They would want her to be happy.

The two spun around and then they swap partners with Peter and Rose. Emma looks lovingly into Peter's eyes, his laughing so infectious, his smile so pure. He holds Emma close and the two dance, spinning until their sick. Emma can't help but laugh continuously. The rhythm of the music and beat created by people clapping along made her feel so free and happy. This is definitely how she wanted to spend her life.

...

As the night goes on, Jack and Rose become more like friends than acquaintances. They always trade with each other when it comes to partner swaps. Peter buys a round of beer for all of them and Emma, always a bit skeptical of alcohol finishes, at least one. She is allowed at one point to play the keyboard, something she loved to do when she was young. Everyone seems impressed and they even try to tip her money. Peter stands by her side the entire time, kissing her frequently and always laughing.

At some point, Emma sits down to rest. She watches the fiery redhead and the blonde boy dance until she swears their legs will fall off.

The two of them make the perfect couple. she thought to herself. She puts her arm to her face and begins to ponder some things.

Rose is definitely not like other rich people, she thinks. She's special and I think that's what draws Jack to her. They are complete opposites, but so are Peter and me, two different things can come together to make something even better.

She watches the couple, the smiles on their faces strong and genuine. She'd never seen a rich person so happy; they always wore plastered on smiles that were fake and meaningless in every possible way. They never truly had happy lives and were so contained in their own fancy worlds that they never had any fun or cut loose.

I definitely want to be happy, Emma thinks to herself. She begins twirling the engagement ring on her finger, the tiny diamond set against silver, something Peter had selected himself. When he proposed he said that this diamond was a perfect symbol of their love and no words could describe how they felt for one another. Emma never hesitated once to say yes, she knew what love was and what they had been indeed perfect. She contemplates her behaviour the past six months and was amazed on how much she had avoided Peter and neglected their engagement. She had been so preoccupied with mourning her mother and caring for her father and Sybil that she had little time or energy to even give her fiancé a hug or tell him she loved him. She was amazed that Peter had stayed with her for so long even after the closeness faded away after her father died. She now understood why Peter wanted to bring her here, to bring her out of that shell she had been carrying and spread the carefree and loving wings she had had when they first met.

He really does love me. she smiles to herself. She looks down at the diamond again and Jack's words about living every day to the fullest comes back.

Should we? She thinks... It seems so crazy… but maybe it's what she needs to show Peter that she still loves him and wants to spend the rest of her life with him. it would also be easier on Sybil and herself.

Jack and Rose come up to Emma.

"I need a smoke and Rose needs air, do you guys want to come?" Jack asks.

"Sure," Emma says and she gets up. She pulls Peter away from a game of Craps and heads up with Jack and Rose. They follow the laughing couple up the stairs towards the deck. Emma clings to Peter's hand the entire time keeping a smile on

The two couples come out into the open aired deck and fortunately, both of them have brought their coats.

Rose and Jack are singing loudly the song "Come Josephine in My Flying Machine" as they go.

Emma and Peter find a bench further back from where Rose and Jack are so they can talk in private.

"Listen," Emma says, taking his hand. "I want to thank you for being the most amazing man I've ever met..."

"Oh, Emma..."

"Let me finish... I'm amazed at how supportive you've been, and I know I haven't been acting like the girl you fell in love with, but..." She pauses. "I want to start being that girl again, at least once in awhile. I know I've had to take on a lot in the past month and what is between us can never be like it used to..."

Emma looks at Peter and she can see he has a look of fear in his eyes as if she's about to break up with him.

She smiles warmly. "But I want to have new and fresh start when we get back home. I don't want to be confined to the past forever. I want to be with you forever."

She leans in and kisses him.

"I want to get married tomorrow."

Peter's eyes become wide and his mouth drops open in shock. It takes a few moments for him to process it… it was extremely impulsive, but he wants to do it. He loves her so much, that he does want to marry her, but so soon?

"Are you sure we should do it?" Peter asks.

Emma leans over and kisses him hard.

"Why not?!" Emma says, the excitement building inside her. "We're on the Titanic for God's sake, the biggest ship in the world and it will be the first ever wedding on it too."

"Are you sure you're ready for this?"

She kisses him again. "I've never felt more ready for anything in my life," she smiles. "I want us to be a family, I want new things, and this is one of them."

"Do you think we can..."

"I'm sure there's a pastor or two on the ship, it doesn't have to be a lot of people. We always intended to do it soon, so why not now? We have simple clothes to wear and this could count as our honeymoon too. We just need a few witnesses and we already have two," she nods to the happy couple who are further up the deck, still singing.

"We just met them."

"Then let's go over and get to know them better," Emma says taking his hand.

The two go to join Jack and Rose. Rose still giggling away and Jack puffing smoke from a cigarette. Rose continues to sing, with the largest smile on her face.

"You know those things can kill you," Emma smirks.

"I know," Jack says. "It's a bad habit that I wish I could break."

Emma leans her head back and looks at the stars. Rose joins her, going towards the rail of the ship.

"Isn't it magnificent? So grand and endless…" Rose asks.

"It is beautiful," Emma nods.

Soon the two men join their ladies at the rail.

"They're such small people, Jack... "Rose says to the blonde man. "My crowd. They think they're giants on the earth, but they're not even dust in God's eye. They live inside this little tiny champagne bubble... and someday the bubble's going to burst."

"You're not one of them. There's been a mistake," Jack says to Rose.

"A mistake?"

"Uh huh. You got mailed to the wrong address."

Rose laughs. "I did, didn't I?"

All of them continue to look upwards.

"Look! A shooting star!" Emma calls out, pointing upwards

"That was a long one. My father used to say that whenever you saw one, it was a soul going to heaven," Jack says.

"I like that," Rose agrees. "Aren't we supposed to wish on it?"

"I don't need to," Emma says, leaning in close to her fiancé. "I have everything I could ever want."

"Me too," he whispers.

Both couples look at each other lovingly. Emma and Peter smile and then kiss deeply under the starlit night. Jack looks at Rose and finds that they are suddenly very close together. It would be so easy to move another couple of inches, to kiss her. Rose seems to be thinking the same thing.

"What would you wish for?" Jack asks quietly.

Rose frowns and swallows a lump in her throat. "Something I can't have."

The two star-crossed lovers feel the heaviness in their heart of being unable to express their feelings for one another. They look at Emma and Peter with envy and then look back up at the sparkling canvas of stars.

"Do you think one day man will go to space?" Jack asks.

"Nothing's impossible." Peter answers.

The four of them spend what feels like hours talking and laughing. They end up laying on the wooden deck, joking around, sharing stories of their lives, and discussing the future. By the time the moon is low in the sky, Emma feels like she's made two friends, two friends whom she likes a lot.

"Do you see yourself getting married anytime soon," Peter asks.

"I'm going to be married in a month," Rose says quietly.

Jack swallows hard. "I don't know, I'd probably do it when the right girl came around."

Emma shoves Jack's shoulder playfully. She gives him a knowing look and rolls her eyes to point at Rose.

"I'm hoping to get married really soon," Emma smiles. "Like maybe tomorrow on the bow."

Jack and Rose freeze and look up at Emma.

"Are you...?"

"Yes, I'm serious and no I'm not joking," Emma says. She scrambles off the deck and goes to Peter.

"Peter and I are in love and we want a fresh start when we get back..."

"Are you sure you're thinking this through?" Jack asks nervously.

"Aren't you the one who always says to seize every moment?" she raises an eyebrow.

"Yes but..."

"Marriage is forever," Rose says.

"We know, and we want to be together forever."

Emma looks at Peter. They lock eyes and then Peter's eyes look up at the stars a then at his fiancée.

"Yes..." Peter says. "Better late than never."

"Would you guys like to come?" Emma asks.

Rose swallows hard and looks down at the deck for a second.

"I... I don't know if I..."

"It'll be really simple, there's a pastor or two on board we can talk to and you can't think of a greater location to have the ceremony. Nothing too fancy, you guys are certainly welcome."

Rose looks at Jack and they gaze at one another for a long few moments. Rose isn't sure if she could sneak out again to do so, her mother and Cal... they would be so mad... And then there are her feelings for Jack, she's never had so much fun in a long time and her overwhelming emotions for him... It would be hard.

"I'm coming for sure." Jack finally says. "Is it okay if I bring my friends, Tommy and Fabrizio? They're suckers for spur of the moment romances."

"Absolutely, just tell them nothing too fancy and try not to make too big a deal out of it," Emma smiles.

"That's fair." Jack nods. He turns to Rose.

"It would mean a lot if you were there," Emma says.

Rose swallows again. "I'll do my best, but I'd be honoured to come."

The engaged couple cheers and gets up to hug their new friends. Rose gets up and forces on a smile, though still hesitant.

"Let's head back inside," Peter says, brushing his blonde bangs out of his face. "Or we're going to turn into human icicles."

Emma and Peter join hands and head on inside. Jack and Rose bring up the rear, also holding hands. Rose does her best to keep a smile on her face, but she can't mask the fear she feels inside for what tomorrow might bring.

The couple look at each other sadly, feeling the pull of what was coming next.

"Goodnight Jack. And thank you," she says.

The two lock eyes for another long moment before she hurries off to the first-class entrance, leaving her friends behind and she fears it may be for the last time.