Come Josephine, in my flying machine

And it's up she goes, up she goes...

The morning after the raucous party in steerage came a little too early for Rose DeWitt Bukater's liking, but she had to keep up appearances. She really didn't want to though, and she admitted as much to Jack Dawson the previous night before parting his company. She could still taste the Irish beer she gulped and the cheap cigarettes she smoked, and her feet throbbed slightly from the dancing she did. More so from going en pointe for the first time in almost a decade, which produced a smirk on her lips as she recalled it.

We're going to have to get a little closer. Like this.

She stretched, then got up from the warm bed she slept so soundly in last night. Then she remembered the last thing she'd said to Jack after they both saw the shooting star.

Why? What would you wish for?

Something I can't have.

Why did she say that? Was it because she was caught up in the notion that Jack joked about? She frowned as she gently ran her brush through her wavy locks of flame, wondering if it was at all possible to reconcile the good Philadelphia society girl with the dreams that took over her thinking the most these days. Not to mention that Caledon Hockley and his family would most assuredly try to quash those dreams almost entirely. She felt tears prick her eyes, then shook her head as if to ward them off. 'No. I've been weeping too much since the engagement announcement. But what am I going to do? I want to do all of these things that Cal and Mother would never approve of. Why am I so different from everyone else?'

At that moment, Trudy Bolt quietly stepped into Rose's bedroom to assist with getting Rose washed and dressed for the morning. "Good morning, Miss," Trudy stated, picking up Rose's discarded brush to continue where Rose left off.

"Good morning, Trudy."

"Miss, if we do not make haste you will be late for breakfast with Mister Hockley."

Another reminder of how trapped she'd been since the engagement announcement, and how Cal needed to prove what a conquest he'd landed at every waking moment. Rose sighed softly, then nodded. "Of course."

Trudy could tell that her young charge was distraught, but there was little time for that since her fiancee awaited. Who knew what there would be to pay if Rose was any later than usual. Trudy smiled, motioning for Rose to stand up.

Oh, say, let us fly girl

Where, dear? To the sky, girl!

I don't want to go back.

You know, there's been a mistake. YOU got mailed to the wrong address.

I did, didn't I?

Rose much preferred Trudy's light touch to Ruth DeWitt Bukater's rough one, especially with her corset. "Breathe in deep, Miss, your robe and gown must look perfect."

Rose grimaced against the corset strings being pulled so tight, but she knew that the ensemble would look better if the corset was tied that way. She nodded as Trudy deftly but gently pulled, then finally stopped.

"There we are, Miss. You look beautiful as always."

Rose wasn't sure how beautiful she could look when she felt as if she couldn't breathe, but she couldn't think about that with time running so short.

Do you love him?

"My slippers?"

"I have them right here, Miss."

It's a simple question. Do you love him?

That "simple question" was getting harder for Rose to answer the more time passed, and the closer that Titanic got to America.

A/N: Welcome to what was the first writing foray into another fandom! This was originally published on AO3 on 6 July 2024 and I've only just now mustered up the courage to post it here too. Why I wrote this in the first place was that it the idea had been running around in my head for a a bit before I received a tarot reading the night before I wrote it, and Spirit said to get this on "paper" already. This was loosely based on the deleted scene where Jack and Rose are singing "Come Josephine In My Flying Machine" as he escorts her back to First Class after the Steerage party. Her thoughts on that, and on her whole situation, definitely propel her to the decision she ultimately made to want to disembark with Jack and not Ruth and Cal... before anyone but Murdoch and crew knew of the doom that awaited Titanic in the ice field. I also decided to mirror the boarding scene, where Rose asks Trudy about her coat. I love throwing in little mirrors and call backs like that. The title is a play on the saying "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride". Even though Titanic is an imperfect movie, I still absolutely love it. One, because James Cameron is one of my favorite directors/producers and he is one smart cookie. Two, because Kate Winslet absolutely NAILED Rose and she is such an advocate for body positivity.