Chapter 1:
August 13th, 1906. The Royal London Hospital
"Come on Nancy! Push!" Jack Dawson yelled at his girlfriend in encouragement
He was kneeling beside his girlfriend Nancy Bates, who was currently in labor delivering their first child.
"One more push, Nancy! Come on!" The doctor instructed
Nancy gave one last long grunt and then she and Jack heard a new noise, and that noise was the cries of their child.
"What is it Doc? A boy or a girl?" Jack urged eagerly
"Mr Dawson, Miss Bates. Say hello…. to your daughter." The doctor announced, handing the baby to Nancy
Jack sighed in disbelief at the sight of his little girl, amazed at the fact that he was now a father.
"Do you guys have a name picked out?"
Jack turned to Nancy.
"Well, I was going to name her Ellen, but it doesn't seem right now." Nancy admitted
"I could name her." Jack offered
"What do you think she is, Jack?"
Jack took a good look at the child.
"Maxine." He announced
"Lovely." The doctor complimented
"Do you have a middle name?"
"Claire." Said Nancy
"Maxine Claire Dawson." The doctor recited, marking the name down on what was now Maxine Dawson's birth certificate.
3 years later
"You can't just leave your own child like this!" Jack yelled at his now ex- girlfriend
"I just can't put up with this anymore, do you think I wanted to become a mother at 20?" Nancy hollered back
As mother and father argued, they paid no mind to their three year old daughter climbing her way down the stairs in search of her missing teddy bear.
"Look Nancy, this is your choice. If you walk out that door right now, don't you ever think about crawling back." Jack warned her
Young Maxine heard her father's raging voice and hid herself behind the sofa.
"Trust me, I won't." Nancy screamed in his face, storming out the door
Jack slammed the door shut and ran a hand through his crisp blonde hair. He made his way into the living room and sat down, pondering over how life would be from that day on.
"Daddy?" Maxine asked, emerging from the side of the sofa
"Maxi? Oh, my god. Sweetheart, did you just hear all that? What are you doing down here so late?" Jack asked in a panic
"I came down for Mr Peaches." Maxine answered
"Oh, did you leave him down here?"
"Where's Mommy going?"
Jack hesitated, knowing full well he couldn't reveal to his three year old daughter that her mother had just abandoned them. But he had to, she would find out eventually.
"She's going away now, Maxi."
"Will she come back?" Maxi whispered
"No, sweetheart. It's just you and me now." Jack informed her, smiling slightly
He held her tight, as silent tears rolled down his daughter's face.
April 10th, 1912
Jack sat perched on his chair in a Southampton Bar, in a nerve wracking game of poker, hoping to win two third class for the dazzling Titanic ship that sat on the water waiting to depart. Just one lucky draw stood between him and his daughter traveling across the ocean to a place they could call home.
"This is it."
"You sure you want to bet all that away? You got a kid with you!" Sven yelled, referring to the little girl by her father's side, clutching a teddy bear and a small suitcase.
"When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose. Plus, if I win I can get me and my little girl back to where we belong."
The men just glanced at each other and continued the game, they all drew their cards and waited.
"Alright, moment of truth. Somebody's life is about to change."
Each player revealed their cards except for Jack.
"What are you waiting for?"
"I'm sorry… FULL HOUSE!"
Jack swiped all his winnings from the table into his bag, threw it over his shoulder and picked his daughter up.
"Come on, Maxi! I'm taking you home!" He yelled, racing out of the bar to the ship
Maxine didn't have a clue as to what was going on around her, she just buried her face in her father's shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck, waiting for her surroundings to be calm.
Jack raced over the door that led to the ship, yelling to the ticket conductor that he and his daughter were passengers.
"Have you been through the inspection queue?" The conductor asked
"Of course." Jack lied "Anyway, my daughter and I don't have lice, we're American."
"Very well."
The conductor then stepped aside to let Jack and Maxine on. Jack took his little girl up on deck for their last view of Europe.
"Come on Maxi, wave!" Jack instructed his daughter
"To who?" Maxine asked confused
"Everyone down there!"
Maxine followed her father's instructions and waved to the people below. Once the ship had sailed, Jack and Maxine headed down to their cabin. They found it in the south wing of F-Deck. Jack opened the door to find their roommates, two young men around Jack's age
"How you doing? I'm Jack Dawson, this is my daughter Maxine." Jack introduced offering his hand to the young men.
"I'm Tommy Ryan."
"Pleased to meet you." Jack said, shaking Tommy's hand
"And this is my companion Harry Gibson."
Harry shook Jack's hand.
"Great to meet you." Said Harry
"You as well. Maxi, this is Tommy and Harry." Jack said, introducing his daughter
"Hi." Maxi mumbled, giving them a small wave
Tommy and Harry smiled and waved back.
"Well, now we all know each other. Maxi, what do you say we go exploring around the ship?"
"Ok."
"We'll see you guys later." Jack said to his roomates
"Have fun!" Harry called out to them
Meanwhile, in First Class
Rose DeWitt Buckater was unpacking her paintings and arranging them around her cabin.
"Anything else you need, miss?" Trudy, her personal maid inquired
"No thank you Trudy, you can go and explore the ship if you like."
"Thank you, ma'am."
"All unpacked, sweet pea?" Cal Hockley asked his fiancee
"Yes, dear." Rose answered
"What do you say we take a look around?"
"Perhaps later, I'd like to rest before dinner."
"Very well, send for me if you require anything."
Rose took a sigh of relief when Cal left. She knew she didn't love him but was doing it only because she had no other choice. She held her head in her hands and contemplated what she was getting herself into. It was quiet until she heard a light knock at the door. She looked up to see her sister Martha standing there.
"You ok?"
"I wish I could just run away where neither Mother nor Cal could find me."
"I'd come with you."
Rose spent the rest of her afternoon reading, until it was time to get ready for dinner. She put on a white dress with black trim and an orange flower at the chest.
Out on deck, Jack and Maxine were on their mini tour of the ship. They were strolling along calmly when Maxine saw a pod of dolphins swimming alongside the boat, she got excited at the sight and ran off after them, letting go of her father's hand in the process.
"Maxi! Wait, I don't want you to get lost!" Jack yelled after his daughter
But it was too late, Maxine had disappeared into the crowd and Jack could no longer see her.