Written
by Kait
Arrington
Based on some situations originated by James Cameron
Gabriel looked silently out at the clear,
dark abyss surrounding the Titanic. It had only been a few minutes since the
iceberg, but already the deck was filling with the curious passengers. He then
turned once again to scan the hoards of people for the only face he cared
about. Kait.
He thought back to the last time he had seen
her. They had both left angry...and it had all been his fault. If only he had
just kept his mouth shut. If only he hadn't argued when she said...when she
said...
Gabriel yanked himself back to the present.
The past wasn't important now. He had to find her. He took off at a run towards
the third class cabins. He had seen the iceberg, and he knew that the great
ship would not make it through another day above the sea. There wasn't much time
to lose.
When he reached the lower decks, he found her
room empty. "She must have felt us hit the 'burg," he thought to
himself. "She must be on her way to the boat deck. That, then, is where I
must go as well. I can't let her leave me yet. I may never see her again."
When he reached the main stairwell, he found
it blocked with people, a massive iron gate at the top. Disgusted, he turned
and fled down the corridor. A familiar looking man with sandy blond hair ran
past him in the opposite direction, with him another man whom he had just come
to know on the ship. The man paused for a moment when he saw Gabe. Fabrizio?
Gabriel thought, trying to place that face. He then raised his eyebrows to
Fabrizio, asking acceptance to join them in their escape. Fabrizio quickly
nodded his approval, and he and Gabriel took off in the direction the
sandy-haired man had gone a few moments before.
When they reached another stairwell, adorned
with yet another gate, they pushed their way to the front to argue for its
removal. After an exchange of words, they quickly lost their patience in the
growing panic around them, and turned to look for another way. Still arguing,
pressed against the gate, Gabriel almost didn't see the bench the other men
wielded in his direction, until he was pulled away at the last second by the
sandy-haired man's red-haired female companion.
It was over within three runs at the gate,
and the panic ridden passengers fled the bowels of the ship, anxious for the
chill of the open air above. Gabriel, too, fled the corridor, after quickly
thanking Fabrizio and wishing him well. That wasted too much time, he
thought. I must find her now, before it's too late!
With that, he turned towards the upper decks.
They were much more crowded than before, and the noise that resulted was almost
unbearable. He was starting towards the starboard side of the grand ship when
he realized exactly where Kait was. How stupid he was being! He hurried back to
the door that led down to the first class stairwell. That red-haired friend of
hers--her cabin was here somewhere...there! He had forgotten about that girl.
She and Kait had met in the common room during the past night's party...Kait
would never forget one of her friends. She had to be with her.
A flash of a lavender caught his eye. That
has to be my Kait, he thought, hurrying after her. She adores that
color. The woman turned the corner quickly, heading for the stairs that led
to the third class areas.
"Kait!" he cried in desperation.
She turned, revealing a beautifully disheveled Irish vision, glorious brown
curls swinging around her luminous blue-green eyes.
"Gabriel?" The sheer surprise on
her face was quickly washed away by relief and...something Gabe couldn't quite
place. She took a slow, timid step in his direction, then abandoned her
inhibitions, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him for all she was
worth.
"Oh, thank God, Gabriel! How did you
ever find me?" She was crying now with pure emotion, and Gabe couldn't
tell if they were tears of joy or sadness.
"It isn't important. We don't have time
to be talking. I have to be taking you off this ship, now!" He grabbed her
arm, half gently leading her, half sprinting in a panic to reach the boat deck.
"Gabe, wait, Rose..." She tried to
slow him. "I can't leave without seeing that she's okay!"
For some reason, Gabriel thought that he
might have something to say about Rose. "Rose..." he said, almost to
himself at first. "...now I remember! I saw her with that man. You know,
Fabrizio's friend...Jack? I'm sure they'll be taking good care of her. For now
we must take care of you!" He once again took off for the deck, this time
with Kait on his heels.
Gabriel headed for the first lifeboat he saw.
Kait turned to him. "I can't leave you like this," she pleaded.
"Please, come with me!" Her eyes blurred with unshed tears at the
thought of losing him. She couldn't hold back her emotions any longer.
Appearances and proper manners held no meaning to her now. She took hold of his
rough jacket, pulling him over the small space between them.
She had never kissed a man before...but this
seemed like a logical time to change that. Slowly, she let go of his coat,
placing her fingers clumsily on his shoulders. Her body trembled with pent-up
emotions as their lips met. Gabriel, still stunned, had no time to think about
what was happening. All he knew was that he wanted it, more than he had ever
wanted anything he had wished for.
His arms extended to encircle her waist, his
fingers lacing behind her back. The cold held no power over them now. Time had
no meaning. Their thoughts drifted, mingling with the passion of their kiss.
Gabriel remembered again the last conversation they had had...
*****
"Gabriel? I have something I'm needing
to say," Kait said, as they left the third class dining room earlier in
the night.
Gabe, confused, stopped to allow Kait to
gather her thoughts, which she seemed to be having much difficulty with that
evening. She looked around, obviously nervous, and he knew not to push her.
"All right. Let's take a walk on the
boat deck before I take you back to your cabin," he said. Kait nodded,
looking relieved at this suggestion, which would allow her a few more minutes
to gather her courage.
When they reached the deck, she knew it was
now or never. "Gabe," she began. "How long have we known each
other?"
Gabriel was confused. This was not what he
had expected her to say. "As long ago as I can remember...I can't imagine
my life without you, now!"
Kait seemed to brighten as he said this, and
stopped walking to turn to him. He too stopped, confused at her strange
behavior. "What is it you're wanting to say, Kaity darling?"
Instead of answering right away, Kait turned
to look at the cold ocean passing them by. Her papa trusted Gabe. They had been
together all of their lives. That was why her papa had allowed him to escort
her on this trip until she got to her new job as a nanny in Boston...but then
what? Would he leave her then? She knew she couldn't let that happen.
She took one last breath, and let it out
slowly saying at the last instant, "I love you, Gabriel..." She
waited another moment before continuing. "I couldn't go on living without
you. Please don't leave me when we get to America. Gabe, please." She
wanted to turn to look at him, to see his face, but she hadn't the strength.
She couldn't stand without the railing's support now. Gabriel's silence was
deafening.
Finally he spoke, but his voice sounded so
cold, so distant. "You don't love me. You have a new life to start when we
get to America, and I won't be getting in the way of it, Kaity."
This gave Kaity enough strength to turn to
see his face, but this was in vain, since by this point he had turned his back
to her. A silent tear ran down her cheek. She should have known! How could she
be so stupid? No boy had ever looked at her with more than a friendly eye. Why
did she somehow expect more from him?
"Gabe," she began timidly.
"No! I won't hear it, Kaity. I...I...I
don't love you. You're not...I'm not...we aren't...just...no!" His nerves
were gone by now. He did love her. He always had. He had threatened any boy who
came near her back in their small village in Ireland, but of course she had
never known that. He wanted so much for her. He couldn't let himself love her.
She deserved more. Much more than he, a humble farm boy, could ever hope to
give her. Denying his love was the only way to save her.
"Gabriel, please," she cried,
desperately. "Just listen to me for--"
"Stop it, Kaity. Stop this foolishness.
I have to be going now. I'll walk you back to your room. It's getting cold
out." With that, he took off his coat and placed it around her trembling
shoulders.
Kait turned away from him to look out at the
ocean. She refused to let him see her hurt. She took a moment to regain her
composure. She then shrugged off his jacket and quickly edged past him with one
fluid motion. She was too proud to show her defeat. He wouldn't see her tears.
She didn't need him to walk her back.
Gabriel stood shivering on the deck, too
shocked to stop Kait from leaving. She had never acted like that towards
him...so cold. So...unlike herself. He didn't stop to think about how unlike
himself he was being.
*****
A scream nearby pushed Gabriel back to the
present. Reluctantly, their lips parted, the air between them seeming
dreadfully cold, more so even than the freezing water below.
Gabriel wanted to apologize, to tell her the
truth...about everything, but there wasn't time now. "Go," he
whispered in Kait's ear. It was all he could manage to say in his still shaken
mental state. He nudged her towards the women waiting to board the quickly
filling boats.
"Wait," she pleaded. "You must
come with me, Gabe. I won't be going without you. I know you love me,
Gabe...you know it as well. You're just too damned stubborn to admit it!"
"Kait," he sputtered.
"I...I...I do love...I can't go with you, and you know it. No men are
allowed. You go. I'll make it, Kaity. I promise. I'll come for you when this is
over...I wouldn't lie to you, you know that."
"If you can survive here, I'll survive
right along with you. I'm just as strong as you are, and twice as
stubborn!" She screamed the last few words, as if an increase in volume
would change Gabe's mind.
"You would survive if you stayed here
with me, but you don't have to go through that. You go on the boat so I'm sure
you're okay and I won't have to worry about you. I'll stay here, and I'll see
you when this is all over." Kaity shook her head, reluctant to leave him
alone on this quickly sinking ship. Gabriel grew impatient, and grabbed her by
the shoulders, shaking her just enough to let her know that he wasn't giving
in. "This isn't a debate, Kaity! Stop with your foolish pride and get into
that boat! Either get in, or I'll be putting you there myself!" He cried
this, giving her a last shake before pulling her tight in a rough hug. When
would this girl ever use common sense instead of her fierce and foolish pride?
Shaken, Kait turned to the line of women
waiting to board the boats. When she reached the front, she turned to Gabriel
again. "I've always loved you, Gabe. You know that, don't you?"
Gabriel couldn't answer. He was hanging on
her every word, since he knew he was never to see her again. He wasn't stupid.
He knew he'd never make it through this night alive. He couldn't even find the
words to say that he loved her. He stared at that face he'd seen every day of
his life. The arms that had comforted him when his mother died, holding him
tight as he cried. The eyes he'd gazed into when he thought she wouldn't
notice, which now were closed as tears streaked her face.
He reached out to wipe the tears away, to try
to give her comfort, but the gesture only seemed to make her cry harder. He put
his arms around her to support her, and suddenly her mind seemed to clear. She
opened her eyes, and kissed him with more passion than she had ever expressed
towards anything in her life. With a note of finality, she drew away from him
and said, "I love you. Never forget me. That's all I ask."
With that, she climbed into the lifeboat as
he had asked, with one last glance back at Gabriel. He stood still as a marble
statue, one silent tear running down his cheek.
Kaity nodded, the tears running harder again.
"I trust you. Please come for me. Never forget that I love you, Gabriel."
Gabriel nodded, turning quickly away from the
descending boat. He couldn't bear to see her go. He had to find a way to
survive, to get back to her. It was then that he noticed the man standing next
to him. It was Fabrizio's friend, Jack. He seemed to be watching the boat
descend. Suddenly he cried out. "Rose!" he screamed. Gabriel watched
as Jack turned and ran for the nearest door that led down into the ship.
Gabriel sympathized with that man. He must
really love her, Rose. Gabriel turned and started towards the back of the ship.
He was close to the very rear of the ship when a crewman stopped him.
"You there," he said to Gabriel.
"I'm short on crew, and I need a strong man to row this boat. You seem
like a sturdy lad. Can you help me, then?"
Gabriel quickly nodded in agreement.
"Right, then. Get in right quickly. We haven't much time. Row away from
here as quickly as possible. Watch for a signal from the other lifeboats to
assemble together. Good luck, lad, and thank you."
Gabriel felt a strong pity for this man. He
was going to die, and knew it, but he was helping others to live. He saluted
the man with as much honor as he could muster, all the while trying to hold in
the tears of gratitude he so longed to shed.
The crewman nodded his appreciation, and began
lowering the boat towards the sea below. The next half hour or so was the
longest of Gabriel's life. He listened to the tortured and panicked screams of
those not fortunate enough to escape the Titanic. Never before had Gabriel felt
so much guilt. Why had he been allowed to live when so many others must die?
Why did he have an impulse to scream for joy when so many near him were
suffering? He had Kait's love. He knew that for certain now. He had been
granted his life. He had now, at this moment, more than he could ever wish for,
even in his wildest fantasies.
He turned in vain to try to comfort the
borderline hysterical women in his boat. He knew what it would be to lose
someone. He had felt it as his Kaity had been lowered down in the lifeboat. He
was certain he was not to see her again. He could easily sympathize with these
women, though he could do little to console their loss.
The time it took the Titanic to disappear
beneath the ocean passed in a vague blur before the emotionally exhausted
Gabriel. It was a torrent of screams, tears, and sights so horrible as to be
the subjects of the viewer's nightmares until death...whenever that might be.
Soon, the lifeboats gathered, and Gabe relinquished his command to an officer
from another of the boats. He didn't see Kait, but there were many boats, and
Gabriel quickly volunteered to man the boat that returned to search for
survivors.
The pale green light of the flare dimly lit
the ocean where the Titanic had once floated. The flare now cast its light over
countless lifeless figures. Gabriel couldn't bear the sight of it, and instead
resigned himself to his rowing.
"Is anyone alive out there?" an
officer shouted. "Can anyone hear me?" He shouted this over and over,
begging for some sign of life. The seconds dragged by, and the silence became
deafening.
Suddenly, a shrill whistle sounded behind
them. "Turn about!" the officer shouted, desperate to save any soul
from the freezing waters. It only took a few moments to reach the source of the
sound. It was a beautiful young woman, a bluish pallor to her face and ice
strands in her hair. Somehow she looked familiar to Gabriel.
Rose? he thought. Is this the same Rose Jack had screamed at? The girl who
was on his Kaity's boat? Suddenly, Gabriel was stricken with a sickening
premonition. If Rose was here, where was...Gabriel glanced around them. Please,
God, he thought. Not my Kaity. Please... Just then, a flash of
lavender caught his eye.
Gabriel was on his feet and throwing himself
into the icy waters before he had a chance to register what he had seen. He was
by her side almost immediately, the freezing waters having little effect on his
numbed brain. He grabbed her coat, and began dragging her back to the lifeboat
as quickly as his half-frozen limbs would allow.
As they were pulled into the boat, Gabriel
refused to let his grip on Kait's coat be loosened. After they were pulled in,
Gabe quickly grabbed every blanket possible for her, ignoring his own frozen
state. He cradled her in his arms gently, rocking back and forth
unintelligibly, his lips forming a silent prayer.
"Kait, can you hear me?" he
whispered in her ear after a moment. "Please, Kaity, open your eyes. Kait?
Kaity?"
Slowly, Kait's eyes fluttered open.
"Gabriel?" she asked, her voice almost too quiet to decipher from the
silence of the rest of the boat.
"Yes! Oh, Kaity, thank God! What
happened? Why are you not on the boat where I put you?" The obvious relief
in Gabe's face was partially obstructed by his sudden confusion.
"There isn't time, Gabriel," she
said. Her body was frighteningly still, her only movements in her slight intake
of breath and the fluttering of her eyelashes. "I'm sorry I didn't trust
you more, Gabe. I didn't listen. Rose knows what happened...ask her...I'm
almost out of time, Gabriel." A look of regret passed over her face just
then, but never fear.
"Don't say that, Kaity," he said.
"You're going to be fine." He said this with as much confidence as he
could find, but he could no longer suppress his tears, which now fell freely
into Kait's frozen hair.
"I don't want it to end like this,
Gabe," she said. "Don't be sad." She feebly reached her hand up
to gently wipe his tears away. "I want you to be happy, Gabriel. I love
you."
Gabriel looked heavenward to the stars in an
attempt to find his strength. Looking back down to Kaity, he said, "Kaity,
I...I can't be happy without you. You're my life. You're my...I can't...I..."
He took a deep breath. "I love you, Kait. I've always loved you." His
tears had subsided now, and he held her tightly to his chest. "Don't leave
me, Kaity!"
"I know you love me, Gabriel. I always
have...it was nice to hear you say it just once though..." Kaity smiled
weakly up at him. "I don't want to go, Gabriel. I want to stay with you.
It's where I belong...but it isn't up to me anymore. Don't forget me,
Gabriel." She was fading quickly now, and it was all she could do just to
keep her eyes open.
"Kaity, I'm so sorry. I was a fool. Know
that I love you, Kaity...I always will. I could never forget you." With
that, Gabriel pulled Kait up to him, and he kissed her with all the passion and
tenderness he had always felt for her, but had been to afraid to express. Later
in his life, Gabriel would come to look at this moment as the most beautifully
happy and bittersweet of his life.
Kait smiled up at him once again, using the
last of her strength to open her eyes and say, "Thus...with a kiss...I
die. I love you, Gabriel." Her eyes closed as she said the last word. She
fell back into his arms, motionless.
"Kait? Kaity? Can you hear me, Kaity?
Kait, please...oh, Kaity," he moaned, cradling her motionless body.
"I'm so sorry. Oh, God, please, not my Kaity..." He sat like that,
rocking her in his arms until daybreak, when the Carpathia came and he was
forced to let her go. To let her go forever. Unimaginable pain coursed through
his body as a crewman gently lifted Kaity from his arms. Kaity was
gone...forever.
It would be over a day before Gabriel had the
strength to go in search of Rose. She was in the infirmary, of course,
recovering from the severe hypothermia she had suffered. Her eyes opened as he
sat on the coarse blanket beside her. "Hello, Rose," he said gently.
"How are you feeling?"
Rose looked at him strangely, confused at
first. Then, the realization hit her. "You're Kait's friend, aren't you?
Gabriel, was it?"
"Yes," Gabe replied, only wincing
slightly at the mention of his Kaity. "She told me right before...she told
me you could tell me what happened to her after I saw her onto the lifeboat. Is
that true? Can you help me, Rose?"
Rose nodded weakly, closing her eyes as
though trying to gather her thoughts. "Well, as you know, she got onto the
lifeboat. You were standing there, on the deck, next to..." She paused for
a moment and swallowed hard before continuing. "Anyway, I think you turned
away. Did you not?"
"Yes," Gabe said, nodding.
"Just before Jack called your name and ran off..." He allowed his
sentence to trail as Rose succumbed to forceful tears. "Oh, Rose," he
said. "I'm so sorry. I had forgotten that Jack...that he...I'm so sorry,
Rose."
After a time, Rose's tears subsided for the
moment. "I would suppose that I'm just not ready to talk about...about
Jack. I will try to tell you about your Kaity, however, being that is what she
wanted for me to do. You see, after you put her in the lifeboat..." Rose's
eyes glazed over as she was encompassed by her memories.
*****
Numbing pain gripped Rose as she sat cold and
alone in the lifeboat. Jack's resolve shone through the pain on his face as he
looked down on her. He had made it clear that she was to be saved. It was what
he wanted. Rose's eyes helplessly scanned the boat for the answer to a question
she hadn't realized she'd asked. A girl about her age caught her eye...was that
Kait?
Suddenly, the girl in question leaped to her
feet, dove off the boat, and back onto the doomed ship. Sitting still just a
moment longer, Rose soon followed suit and also jumped off the boat, desperate
to be reunited with her Jack. Almost missing the edge of the promenade, several
people had to stop to help her over. Kait was among them.
They stood staring at each other for but a
second, but in that second they both knew their feelings were the same. Neither
could allow their love to die alone. "Good luck," Kaity whispered,
just before they turned in unison to go off in search of their prospective
loves.
Rose was not to see Kaity again until the
very last moments of the sinking. As she and Jack ran to the rear of the great
ship, they passed a group of panicked passengers encircling a priest, praying
for salvation. Kait was among them, silent tears wetting her face.
As Kait stood from her kneeling position,
Rose was struck by her confident movements, and her still apparent grace. The
bravery on her face was only slightly marred by her pain. "Rose," she
breathed. "I'm so glad you found him." She gestured to Jack.
"Where is your Gabriel? Did you not find
him?" Rose glanced around, as if expecting him to appear at any moment.
Kait's confidence shattered, and her head fell. She shook her head, her wild
hair flying.
"He isn't here," she said. "I
didn't trust him, Rose. He said he'd come for me, and I didn't listen..."
The remembrance of the past hour sent a flood of memories into Kait's head all
at once...
*****
Turning away from Rose, Kait found herself
facing the main first class stairwell, a part of the ship she had never seen.
She was awed for a moment by the ostentatiousness of it, the sheer luxury. She
had thought the third class common room a beautiful sight, but it paled in
comparison...
She disregarded these thoughts as she bounded
up the awe-inspiring stairs as quickly as possible. She ran to the last place
she had seen Gabriel, on the boat deck next to what had been her lifeboat...but
which had been hers? It could be the one to the left...or the one behind
her...or that one to the aft. It could be any of them!
Oh, God, Kaity thought. Which one was it? And where is my
Gabriel? With thoughts of Gabriel, she started off running, not quite sure
where she was running, or even why. She ran from lifeboat to lifeboat,
searching for Gabriel's familiar black hair, his tall, strong figure, his deep
eyes.
A strong pair of arms grabbed her suddenly,
holding her still. Kait looked up to see the face of her assailant, but at that
moment a flare went off overhead, momentarily blinding her. When time
surrendered her vision, she was surprised to find that these strong arms
belonged to Mr. Caledon Hockley, Rose's ex-fiancé. Rose had told Kait about
him.
Frightened, Kait struggled to get away from
the man, but his grip was firm, and she was worn from the events of the
evening. Exasperated, he pulled her away from the remaining boats and pressed
her up against a wall, anger flashing in his eyes.
"Listen you...you...well, whatever your
name is, listen to me," he whispered harshly. "I don't want to have
to hurt you, but I will if need be. I just want your help. You are familiar
with my...fiancée, Rose DeWitt Bukater, are you not? I need to...speak to her.
She has something of great...sentimental value to me. A beautiful
necklace...that isn't the point. The point is, will you help me?" He shook
her to emphasize his disparity.
Kait shrank away from him in feigned fear.
Cal, sensing her to be terrified, loosened his grip on her just enough. Kait
flew into action, twisting out of his grasp and punching him in the face with
all the force she had in her. She turned and ran in the opposite direction. She
had only run a few feet, however, when she saw one of Gabriel's friends.
"Your name is Tommy, isn't it?" she
asked. "You know my...friend, Gabe, don't you?" She glanced over her
shoulder to see a very angry Caledon Hockley advancing on her. She turned back
to Tommy, a look of pleading fear in her eyes. Tommy glanced behind her, then
looked down to nod to her his understanding.
As Cal grabbed her arm, Tommy stepped between
them, startling Cal to the extent of releasing her. Kait took a step back, into
the arms of Fabrizio, another of Gabe's friends. He shielded her from what was
to come next, so all that she did know was that Mr. Hockley was lying on the
deck when it was all over.
Kait turned to Tommy to thank him, but he
just returned her gaze questioningly. "Why aren't you with your
Gabe?" he asked.
"Whatever do you mean?" Kait asked,
confusion and dread spreading within her.
"I saw your Gabriel get into a boat a
while back. I guessed you'd be with him," Tommy said. "Why would he
leave you here?"
Kait was beyond hearing. Gabriel, she
thought. Gabriel got off this ship. He was coming for me. He told me he
would! Oh, why didn't I listen?
Tommy and Fabrizio soon left to search for
some form of salvation, but Kait was still frozen to that spot, contemplating
her own doom. She wandered the length of the ship, and found solace gathered
around the ship's priest. She kneeled before him and began to pray...
*****
Back in the present, Kait fell again to her
knees as her slight frame was racked by forceful sobs.
Rose quickly dropped to her knees beside
Kait, oblivious to the hoards of people surging around them in every direction,
gently wrapping her arms around Kait's trembling shoulders. "You did what
you did with good intentions, Kaity. Now you’ll have to try to save yourself,
so you can live to see him again."
This thought seemed to clear Kait's numbed
mind a bit. "You are right, Rose. It's done now. I have to change my
destiny, not dwell on the past," she said. With that, her tears quickly
subsided and she rose gracefully to her feet.
Kait was to stay with Jack and Rose
throughout the remainder of the sinking. As the three floated half frozen in
the Atlantic after the ship went down, Jack allowed Kait and Rose the place on
the piece of floating driftwood. Being that both did not fit, the lower half of
Kait's body remained in the frozen water below.
"Rose?" Kait asked after Jack and
Rose's passionate whispering had stopped. "Tell Gabriel that I'm sorry.
Tell him that I want him to be happy, Rose. And Rose? Watch over my Gabe. Help
him to be happy. Please, Rose?"
Rose was hesitant to make such a
life-changing promise. She took a slow breath to clear her thoughts, before
slowly nodding her agreement. "I will, Kait. I'll watch over him for you.
I swear it."
With that, their conversation ended, and the
deadly quiet once again set in. It was not until the lifeboat began ever so
slowly approaching that Kaity spoke again.
"Rose," she started. "Tell
Gabriel that I'll be waiting for him. I love him so much, Rose. I'm going to
miss him, but I know he'll come for me some day. Thank you, Rose. He means the
world to me."
Rose opened her mouth as if to reply, but she
was silenced by a loud shout. "Is there anyone alive out there?" it
called. "Can anyone hear me?"
Rose turned to Jack. Kaity was never to hear
what was said between them, but she saw the look on Rose's face as she moved to
call out to the boat. Silent tears ran down her ashen cheeks, her fiery spirit
doused by the cold water which had enveloped the great unsinkable ship, as well
as the love of her life.
Stiff limbs barely supporting her, Rose
propelled herself somehow off the saving piece of driftwood, and back into the
numbing pain of the water. She moved slowly, half-swimming and half-drowning.
When she reached the man's body, she pulled the whistle away from his frozen
lips. Placing it to her mouth, she blew with more force than she thought
possible.
*****
"And that is all. You know the rest, I
believe," Rose whispered. Her tears had stopped now, though her pain never
would.
"I thank you, Rose. You were a good
friend to...to my Kaity. Thank you for telling me her story. I know how painful
it was," Gabriel said.
Rose nodded in return, words failing her. She
would learn to control her tears. Her Jack was gone. This thought hit her with
a renewed pain, and she bowed her head in remembrance.
"I'll leave you now, Rose. You need your
rest. I promise you, we'll be seeing more of each other. This isn't the
end," he said, as he rose from her bed and turned to leave the room.
"Wait," Rose called. "Gabe,
may I ask your name? Your full name?"
Gabe turned to face her, pausing a moment to
gaze into Rose's deep blue eyes. "I'm so sorry, Rose," he said.
"How rude of me. My name is Gabriel Calvert." With that, he nodded
his good-bye, turned, and left the room.
The End.