A/N: I do not own Titanic, sadly. James Cameron had a brilliant mind and behind his perfectionist tendencies, there was such detail he put into his work into creating a piece of history before CGI really took off. He made it come to life and it will always remain a special piece to me. Kate Winslet is still one of the golden favorites in my opinion as an actress and the depth she put into her character. Even the changing emotion in her eyes remains a powerful and emotion-invoking performance to this day. And the love story, though fiction, still captures many hearts.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

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April 19, 1912

Carpathia

Steerage

Late evening

Three days.

Though for her it felt as though time itself had suspended, the seconds ticking by painstakingly slow. Every passing breath unraveled into the misted air, physical evidence she was still breathing.

Alive warm and healthy.

However, why breath still drew from her lungs and not the frigid waters of the Atlantic any longer--was not an easy one to accept. Not when she'd seen so many lost in the arctic waters never to resurface again. Instead, they remained like ghosts haunting her memories even in the waking hours. The desperate cries of survival left to echo for many many years to surely come.

Even as old age passed her by, those last moments of her youth would not.

Now, the rain poured as a mist settled around the RMS CARPATHIA. Yet as the ship drew closer to the Americas, the atmosphere remained silent as a tomb. What should've been a lively bout of cheers from travelers and immigrants bound for better lives, instead was a weighted sorrow. Countless losses had been accumulated from the sunken ship of the RMS TITANIC. There her wreckage would remain as a gravesite for the hundreds of lives left at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

While their loved ones grieved around her.

There were many pale, drawn faces of widows and orphaned children. In her newfound reality, Rose was practically orphaned from her own, having no intentions of returning to the Dewitt-Bukatters. Such a test had already been passed once she'd spotted her ex-fiancé, Caledon Hockley. Ever the survivalist cockroach that God himself deemed him not worthy, he'd come down to third-class deck the day they'd boarded...

The steerage

She'd watched him like a hawk, keeping him in her peripheral as he approached a woman with long tresses in nearly the same hue of red. In a desperate, uncharacterized manner, he'd grasped the young, timid woman by the shoulders. Before he'd pardoned her and made a swift depart seemingly embarrassed.

No doubt, he'd believed the woman to be she.

But Rose had taken precautions just in case of such a contest. Encased in a thin, plaid blanket handed off by 5th Officer Harold Lowe who'd captained their lifeboat. She'd curtained herself amongst the clusters of searching, sorrowful widows questioning the officers. All of which she'd taken pity in her heart, leaving none for him. The tears of those she heard and shed of her own were left for those worthy of her love.

So while Caledon Hockley, an American industrialist and the heir to Pittsburgh's steel tycoon made a fool of himself, Rose remained sitting there in the quiet. Unable to feel even an ounce of sympathy for the soon-to-be-proclaimed millionaire. Once he found another life to pillage and dominate, that is. He'd make sure she was subservient of course, more willing to be molded into the docile dove--

Rose would never be.

It was there on the 3rd class deck she watched him disappear into the horde of passengers. Even in her most desperate hour, Rose vowed never to return to his side. Willing to sacrifice such luxuries her mother would desperately cling to if it meant having better fortune in life going forward...

Jack had once told her she would die if she didn't get out. That the fire he loved about her, would burn out. As terrified as she'd been in the situation, Rose believed him. No, Jack believed Rose to be no preening dove. Rather she imagined herself like a phoenix risen from the ashes the moment a first-class woman, ready to thrust herself from the ship's stern encountered the third-class traveling passenger.

Jack had been a simple but limited man of means from the Midwest. Never would he have crossed her eyes in the opulent lifestyle she held, had he never talked her down from her suicidal ideations. Rose would've probably bowed out before the deed was done. But having Jack there would truly change her perspective on the monotony of her life. Some would've called it a short, fervid fling. Except Rose had been willing to give up the only world she knew just to live in his. This had only been further conveyed when he'd shoved her onto a lifeboat, and she, reluctant to part ways.

Seeing her life with him rise and fall as a flare eclipsed the starry skies overhead. The revelation started with the single, captured look he'd bidded her, a shift in those eyes of endless blue even an artist such as Monet, couldn't replicate. Before he'd slowly angled his chin down, brow furrowed, and lips tightening in pained regret.

A goodbye.

With reckless abandon, she'd hastily jumped for the ship just minutes after. Lest she foolish enough to believe Cal would uphold his end of the bargain. Which was confirmed the moment he'd seized Lovejoy's pistol at their frenzied union, resolutely firing upon them.

Death seemingly beckoned with each step she took with Jack, after. Once the ship had been suctioned down into the ocean's inviting depths, a panicked survivor used her as a floatation device. Then she'd nearly frozen to death while afloat on a piece of the ship's debris. Because Jack had been unable to balance their weights without the icy waters capsizing, he'd remained by her side, as an act of love.

Out of the very selfless spirit she'd fallen for.

So it had been hard to unclasp their frozen linked hands once she realized he'd passed into the heavens beyond her reach. Beyond the stars that she'd only moments ago been singing "Come Josephine". With a mournful, agonized cry she'd come dangerously close to caving. Until she remembered the promise she'd given to Jack. The oath he'd made her swear upon.

Had the lifeboats drifted farther, Jack's death would've been in vain.

Thus it was with haste she encompassed those frozen hands with a single kiss. The kiss would carry such implications for many a year to come. And as her love sunk into the depths of the sea, she'd pushed through the waters and made way for survival.

For him.

Rose knew in her heart no matter where life took her next, Jack Dawson would endure in her heart as the first true love of her life. No one would ever come close to replicating what they'd both shared, sustained and experienced the night they'd watched the infamous RMS TITANIC sink into the Atlantic's glacial depths.

Literally.

Jack had shown her a glimpse of a world beyond propriety and endless cotillions, of porcelain, painted faces and wealthy bred socialites stuck in an endless cycle. He had her experience the reckless, exciting moments to be had in a single dance, stolen moments of joy lost to the upper echelons properly brought-up girls. He'd harbored compassion for the sea of faces she'd never thought of twice before. With a perception from an artist's hand that drew such life, combined with a passionate touch that could steam the night air and wrap her in the security all at once—

No one would ever compare.

As the rain pelted her, cloaked in the thick over jacket thrust upon her days ago, a shadowy figure began to emerge from the thicket of fog. Rose looked closer, pale eyes drinking in the intricate details that began to shape her vision. Droplets of rain fell into the thick of her lashes just as her eyes widened at the realization. The green, picturesque face was a stark contrast against opaque clouds. But there it remained, one arm outstretched, brandishing a torch that spoke for the Americas. It was nearly overwhelming and struck her more than its significance ever had.

Lady Liberty: Liberty, Justice, FREEDOM.

"Can I take your name please, love?"

Caught out of the midst of her thoughts, Rose turned to a uniformed Carpathian officer holding a clipboard. He stretched out an umbrella; the proper edict of a gentleman. She was quite unbothered by the weather. Rather, she welcomed it for what this moment meant. "Dawson," she told the young man, glancing up once more at the crowned statue of Lady Liberty. Its structure was illuminated by the port lights as the ship slowly drifted past.

"Rose Dawson."

The officer nodded politely, though Rose hardly saw it. Every memory of Jack passed through her mind just then committing to her memories.

The curled, red strands of hair became plastered to the victorian beauty, a single tear trickling down her porcelain face. Everything remained yet unknown. In truth, she'd been relying on Jack to see them through. However, she would flourish in this second chance at life and what awaited beyond. Free to make her own choices and mistakes. Free to set out and make sure her promise to Jack came to fruition. Rose was not a fool to believe that such a life would be easy. But it would be her first act of spontaneity. Just as Jacks had granted him a ticket to come aboard the world's largest, most luxurious ship. All, from a free-handed game of poker with a couple of Swedes.

Unknowingly leading to their first meeting more than just passing ships in a sea.

Where Titanic had sunk, Rose knew it was where her most precious secret would remain; a timeless love that had transpired between two unsuspecting strangers from two opposing worlds of class. Someday, she knew it was where she'd find Jack again. When she would be ready to pass from this world with a fulfilled life of accomplished dreams.

And she would make it count.

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Thank you for whoever took the time to read this. I truly, deeply, appreciate it. Titanic has always been near and dear to my heart since I first saw it on the old VHS in the prime of the 90's. Yes I am a early 90's baby and proud and yes, I wore out my moms tape from watching it on repeat many times.<br />I chose not to include the scene after where she finds the heart of the ocean. Many have done that scene beautifully and I felt it ended perfectly here. Please feel free to express any comments. I really enjoyed writing this piece and hope I did the scene justice. I am currently deliberating on a Rose and Cal post sinking story but that is still in debates. Don't come for me.;)