A/N Whoo! Five reviews. This was supposed to be a little-bitty one-shot, but let's see where this goes.
Thanks, FireAngel375. It is a slight retelling of the movie, and the characters are swapping roles to make things work.
And to all the readers, thanks for reading and reviewing.
And now, back to Titanic.
Fabrizio jumps off from his top bunk onto the water logged floor. He flips on the light, awakening his Swedish roommates as his feet were soaked with cold Atlantic slowly seeping in. He opens the door, and sees Tommy and a few passengers running through the hallways.
"Come on! We've got to get the hell out of here!" he yelled, as he lugs around his meager belongings, along with a few passengers who were suddenly awakened from their slumber.
Up in the first-class corridors, passengers check out of their rooms to see what is going on. A steward comes along, as he tries to reassure the passengers that all is well.
"Why have all the engines stopped? I felt a shudder?" A woman asks. A steward turns to her.
"I shouldn't worry, ma'am. We've likely thrown a propeller blade; that's the shudder you felt. May I bring you anything?" Soon Mr. Andrews walks past them very fast, carrying his plans as he was called to the captain's bridge as soon as possible.
In the well deck passengers kick around a block of ice and laughing, as if making a game of sorts. A third class passenger had pulled Thomas in and was part of the group, as the leader who kicked the ice first began to make up his own house rules. Jack dragged Thomas out of the group, and put his arm around his neck as he was led away from the rowdy group. Soon, Thomas led the way up the stairs, back into the upper classes, before being stopped by the captain and Andrews, who was clearly unnerved at what was happening to his beloved ship. The conversations he heard between Andrews and the officers made Thomas' blood run cold.
"Boiler Room 6 is flooded eight feet above the plate and the mail hold is worse. She's all buckled in the forward hold."
"Can you shore up?" Smith asks.
"Not unless the pumps get ahead." one of the officer says, as they made their way past Thomas and Jack. Jack wrapped his arms tightly around Thomas' waist, and laid his chin on his shoulder.
"Have you seen the damage in the mail hold?" one of the officers asks.
"No, she's already under water."
"This is bad." Jack says, after what they had witnessed earlier that night. Thomas reaches his hand around and puts it behind Jack's head.
Back down the steerage corridors, Fabrizio and Tommy made their way through the crowded corridors, to get quickly away from the rising flood waters as fast as they can. Other passengers also brought with them their meager belongings, some of which were soaked with water.
"If this is the direction the rats are runnin', that's good enough for me!" Tommy says, as Fabrizio catches up, agrees with him.
Mr. Ismay makes his way down the corridors in his robe and slippers, as he tries to figure out why the ship had just stopped out of the blue. A steward tries to coax the passengers back into their rooms, assuring them that all is fine, and that they will be on their way soon.
In the chart room Andrews unfurls his plans on the desk, panting, as he was clearly unnerved.
"Water, fourteen feet above the keel in ten minutes. In the forepeak, and all three holds, and in Boiler Room 6."
"That's right, sir." The carpenter agrees.
"When can we get under way, dammit?!" Ismay asks impatiently.
"That's five compartments!" Andrews fired at Ismay, then turns to the captain. "She can stay afloat, with her first four compartments breached. But not five. Not five." He then looks down at his plans. "She goes down by the head. The water will spill over the tops of the bulkheads. At E deck. From one to the next, back and back. There's no stopping it."
Captain Smith points to the plans. "The pumps-"
"The pumps buy you time, in minutes only. From this moment, no matter what you do...Titanic...will founder."
"But this ship can't sink." Ismay began, but Andrews cuts in once more.
"She's made of iron, sir. I assure you, she can. And she will. It is a mathematical certainty." he looks back once more at his plans.
"How much time?" Smith finally asks, as the room got eerily quiet.
With uncertainty, Andrews finally gives his answers, as he knew over half of the passengers wouldn't survive the night in the frigid temperatures in the water below. Even the captain knew this. "An hour...two at most."
"And how many people are on board, Mr. Murdoch?" Smith finally asks.
Murdoch answers with uncertainty in his voice. "Two-thousand, two-hundred souls on board, sir."
"I believe you may get your headlines, Mr. Ismay." Smith says, looking back at the distraught Ismay.
Jack, still holding onto Thomas' waist as they slowly make their way through the corridors full of confused people wondering what has happened, as a few passengers began to even ask Thomas what has truly happened. Jack only shushes Thomas in his ear as they silently walk through the corridors, and smiling as if nothing has happened. Through the confusion Thomas suddenly heard the distant whoosh, as residual steam pressure is being released through the funnels, with the shrilling sound. He knew what the sound meant, but they were still days from New York. They were too far from Southampton at this point, and he shuddered, as his fears were being confirmed. Slowly, Jack and Thomas made their way back to his first class stateroom, where Cal and Lovejoy were waiting for them.
"We've been looking for you, Master Thomas." Lovejoy says, with a smirk on his face. He soon follows the men, and Cal hands his valet the diamond. Unbeknownst to them, he slips the diamond necklace in the coat pocket Jack was wearing.
They soon entered the room, where Rose was waiting for them as well. She stood up, as her brother and Jack entered the room, with Cal and Lovejoy bringing up the rear. Also in the room was the Master at Arms, and another steward.
"Something serious has happened..." Thomas began, but Cal cut in.
"That's right. Two things dear to me disappeared this evening. Now that one is back," he soon turned his attention to Jack. "I have a pretty good idea where to find the other." Cal turned his attention to the Master at Arms.
"Search him!" Cal points to Jack, as the Master at Arms walked up to him.
"Remove the coat, son." Jack looked at him, but does what he is told, as he shrugs out of the heavy coat. Lovejoy soon grabs the coat, while Jack still wriggles out of it, as if impatiently waiting. Soon, a steward makes his way to Jack, then pats him down.
"This is horsesh-!" Jack says.
"Cal. You can't be serious. We're in a middle of an emergency, and you-" Thomas was abruptly interrupted, as he saw the necklace being pulled out of the coat pocket.
"Is this it?" the steward asks, holding up the Heart of the Ocean, while the Master at Arms held the jacket, then hands it to Lovejoy. Thomas was stunned, his mouth hung open. To his astonishment, Jack was also surprised, his eyes went wide of the sight of the diamond.
"Yes. That's it." Cal says coolly, as he takes his hand off his chin. The Master at Arms turns his attention back to Jack, while Lovejoy's lips curled into a sneering smile.
"Right then. Don't make a fuss." he says, as he handcuffs Jack, then begins to slowly lead him away from the cabin.
"Don't you believe it, Thomas! Don't!" Jack begins to call out. Thomas looked at him, with uncertainty, as a tear gently rolled down his cheek.
"He couldn't have..." he says softly, then puts a hand to his mouth. Cal stood behind him, then puts his hands on his shoulders, then whispered in his ear.
"Of course he could. Easy enough for a professional; just like those snake oil salesmen. He memorized the combination while you were opening the safe." Thomas blinked a few times, then remembered he was the one who opened the safe. He looked in the mirror, their eyes met, as he stood behind him.
"But I was with him the whole time," Thomas began, as Cal lowered his head even closer.
"Maybe he did it while you were putting your clothes back on." Meanwhile Jack yells out.
"They put it in my pocket..." Lovejoy holds up the jacket.
"Its not even your pocket, is it, son." then reads inside of the tag. "Property of A.L. Ryerson." Lovejoy hands the jacket back to the Master at Arms. He looked at the tag as well.
"It was reported stolen earlier. We'll make sure it goes back to its rightful owner."
"I was going to return it! Thomas-" Thomas feels utterly betrayed, hurt and confused, as more tears come to his eyes. He shrinks away from him. He starts shouting back to him as Lovejoy and the Master at Arms drag him out into the hall. Thomas can no longer look him in the eye.
"Thomas, don't listen to them... I didn't do this! You know I didn't! You know it!" Thomas is soon devastated, as his heart drops and shatters in pieces. His sister lays a comforting hand on his shoulder as she also tears up as well.
Out in the boat deck, Mr. Andrews walks about, as seamen and officers scramble about to quickly uncover the lifeboats. Steam is venting and hissing from pipes on the funnels overhead, as residual steam pressure from the boilers and water are released, and the din is horrendous. Speech is difficult adding to the crew's level of disorganization and disorientation. Andrews sees some of the men fumbling with the mechanism of one of the Wellin-type davits and yells to them over the roar of steam.
"Turn to the right! Pull the falls taut before you unchock. Have you never had a boat drill?" He yelled over the confusion.
"No sir! Not with these new davits, sir!" Mr. Andrews looks around, disgusted as the crew fumble with the davits, and the tackle for the "falls"... the ropes which are used to lower the boats. A few passengers begin coming out on deck, hesitantly in the noise and bitter cold.
Back in their stateroom, Cal walks over to Thomas who was sitting next to a table, with a glass of brandy on it. It sat next to him, undisturbed, as he didn't touch any of the drink for the rest of the night. Cal looked at Thomas, then balls his fists as if to punch him for good. He decided against it the last minute, then slaps him hard. Thomas recoiled, as he looked in the opposite direction. To Thomas, the blow is inconsequential compared to the blow his heart had been given. Cal angrily pulled Thomas' shoulders and away from his chair, and nearly making him spill the brandy.
"Look at me, you little-" Cal shakes him a little, as Thomas' neatly combed hair falls over his face.
There is a loud knock on the door followed by an urgent voice. The door opens and the steward puts his head in.
"Sir, I've been told to ask you to please put on your lifebelts, and come up to the boat deck." he says, as Cal angrily shoves Thomas away from him. He collapses on the floor, breathing very hard, and was shaking slightly from the ordeal.
"Can't you see we're busy?!" Cal retorts, while the steward continues to persists, even coming into the cabin to get the lifebelts down from the top of a nearby dresser.
"I'm sorry about the inconvenience, Mr. Hockley, but it's the Captain's orders. Now please dress warmly, it's quite cold tonight. May I suggest topcoats and hats?"
"This is ridiculous..." Cal snickers. This was supposed to be an unsinkable ship. Surely, this was just some sort of drill, and hopefully, they will be back in their cabin in a few hours.
"Everything will be alright sir, but the ship is in a state of emergency." He then turns his attention to Thomas, who was slowly getting back onto his feet. He helped the young man back up, then gently told him.
"Not to worry, sir. I'm sure its just a precaution." and hands him a lifebelt.
Soon, Rose, Cal and Thomas leave their sanctity of their cabin, and out in the corridor where the stewards are being so polite and obsequious they are conveying no sense of danger whatsoever. However, it's another story in...