Tommy Ryan and Fabrizio DeRossi stood in line, waiting to disembark. They were both immigrants, on their way to Ellis Island, but not only that, but they were survivors as well. They had boarded the Titanic, expecting a great trip on the luxury ocean liner as they headed for a new life in America. Instead, they were met with loss and disaster. No longer were dreams of a better life taking up their minds. Now it was just a matter of survival and grief. All they could think about were the people they had lost. For Tommy, friends he had bonded with in steerage. Shared dreams of making something of himself. Onboard that ship, he had friends and family. Now, all he had left was Fabrizio. Thankfully, the Italian knew English, so there was no language barrier. For Fabrizio, he had lost more than Tommy. He had lost his best friend and travel companion, Jack. A friendly, kind, mischievous artist that had won their tickets to America in a game of poker. Neither he nor Tommy knew what had become of Jack. The last time they had seen their friend was when Jack had been trying to get Rose, a first-class girl he had grown smitten with, onto a boat. They both doubted that the artist had survived. The other loss was Helga. She had been a Norwegian passenger that Fabrizio had fallen in love with. She couldn't speak English, nor Italian and he didn't know her language, but they had managed. The last time he had seen her was below decks, when she had refused to leave her family and join him in their race for survival. He doubted very much that she had survived. Now all he had left was Tommy Ryan, the friendly Irishman that had befriended both himself and Jack and had been at his side since the ship had begun to sink.
"Did you check the list for Jack, mate?" Tommy asked, just realizing that he hadn't bothered to check the list of survivors himself.
Fabrizio groaned and shook his head. Everything had been chaos and he hadn't really had time to check either. He doubted that Jack had survived though. He would have found them by now, wouldn't he? "Jack is gone. He would have looked for us if he had lived."
"I'm sorry, mate. Boy-o was a good man and talented. He could draw anything. "So, what do you plan to do once we're done here? I reckon I'll find a job somewhere. Maybe travel. Jack sure did make it sound like fun. Where was he from again?"
"Wisconsin. A Chippewa Falls. I think he was going to go back there."
"I wonder if boy-o had any family there."
Fabrizio shrugged, feeling sad talking about the man who had been his best friend ever since he had left home to head to America. Jack had been his constant companion. It was so weird to finally be in America, but without Jack, especially when it was Jack who had got him here. "I don't know. He never talked about any family. I just know he was from Chippewa Falls Wisconsin."
"Well, what do you say about us heading there to see once we're finished here? At least tell whatever friends he had that he won't be coming back. Boy-o deserves to be remembered by that town, don't you think?"
"What if they no believe us?"
"I have a feeling that they will. There's no reason why they wouldn't," Tommy sighed, suddenly craving a cigarette. It had indeed been a stressful couple of days. He had a feeling it wasn't over yet. Not by any means, but at least he wasn't alone.
Fabrizio sighed as he looked off into the horizon. Ever since he could remember, he had dreamed of coming to America and becoming a millionaire. He had always dreamed of making something of himself and making his mama proud. He had thought that Jack would be by his side through it all, but his friend was gone, but he was still here, thanks to said friend. Perhaps going to his friend's hometown would be an honor to him. It wasn't much...but it was something.
"Alright. We go to Wisconsin. Honor Jack," Fabrizio nodded, feeling good about the decision. With a smile, he looked up at the sky and wondered if Jack was looking down at him, happy with his plans. He sure hoped so.
…..
Jack Dawson squinted his eyes against the sunlight as he stepped out of the Carpathia infirmary. He had been bed-bound for the past four days and finally, he was allowed to leave. He had no idea where he was going to go, but that wasn't his first order of business. The first thing he wanted to do was find Rose. He was sure that she had survived. After all, why else would she have let him go?
He remembered letting his eyes drift close and waking up as the freezing water enveloped him. He was barely able to swim back up to the surface, just to find Rose gone. He had felt relief, thinking that a boat had come back for her. Now the only problem was finding help for himself. He found the now abandoned door that Rose had been on and lifted himself onto the wooden surface and felt relief to see another boat drifting among the frozen corpses. He waved and flailed about, shouting for help as much as he could. Finally, the crew member heard him and took him on board the lifeboat and wrapped him in blankets, hoping to warm him up, which didn't work. Once they were boarded onto the Carpathia, Jack was taken directly to the infirmary, where he was diagnosed with a serious case of hypothermia. The doctor ordered him to stay inside and in bed while the nurses kept him covered in blankets and filled with hot soup and coffee. Now that it was time to disembark, Jack was allowed to leave. But first, he needed to find the list of survivors so he can find and be reunited with his Rose at last.
"Sir," An officer approached him, carrying a duffel bag. "The passengers of the Carpathia have arranged some care packages for the survivors of the Titanic sinking. Here are some clothes and some money for you, sir. To help you get back on your feet. There is also a voucher for the Waldorf Astoria hotel. They will be taking in Survivors for the next two weeks. You do have our condolences and we wish you luck."
"Thank you," Jack accepted the duffel bag, grateful for all that was being done for him. "Um….do you know where I can find a list of survivors? I'm looking for someone. I'm pretty sure she's on the ship somewhere." Hopefully not with Cal and her mother. If that was so, he'll never see Rose again most likely.
"Here you go, sir. I have a list right here," The officer handed him the clipboard that he had with him and stood aside as Jack scanned the list.
Jack scanned the list from top to bottom, trying to keep his hopes up. There was no Rose Dewitt Bukater that he could see, but that was good. That meant that she was not with her mother and Cal. He continued to scan, his high hopes beginning to sink. His hopes vanished as he reached the bottom of the list. He had felt a sliver of hope when he saw Rose Dawson, but there was a Lily Dawson with that name. Rose wouldn't be with a child. It had to be someone else, which meant...she hadn't made it after all. She had broken her promise.
"Did you find who you were looking for, sir?" The officer asked as a dejected Jack gave him back the clipboard.
"No. Unfortunately, I didn't. She's gone. My Rose is gone."
"You have my condolences, sir. I do wish you the best. We will be disembarking soon."
Jack just nodded and walked away, no longer in a .good mood. Rose was gone and so were Tommy and Fabrizio. Once again, he was alone in the world with only one place to go. Back home to Chippewa Falls. There he could heal. He could mourn. He could start over. Maybe even someday, he'll feel like living again. But for now, he just wanted to take a break from life. If he couldn't be with Rose...well, he didn't want to live at all.