THE SHIP OF DREAMS
Chapter Thirty-One

Up on the boat deck, the initial panic amongst the officers ceased, but First Officer Murdoch stood at the rail. His dark eyes focused on the shape of the iceberg as it sank into the distance, and beads of sweat poured down his face. He was still in complete shock, unable to believe what had just occurred. He had just run the largest moving object ever made by the hand of man in history into an iceberg, and was faced with the possible threat of it sinking on its maiden voyage. He eventually turned to Officer Moody, who stood nearby, and said, in a stiff voice, "Note the time. Enter it in the log."

"Yes, sir," Moody agreed, and hurried off.

Once the alarm bell stopped blaring, the door to Captain Smith’s cabin opened, and the old man stepped out, buttoning his white shirt. "What was that, Mr. Murdoch?" he asked, joining him at the rail.

Murdoch hesitated, but clasped his hands behind his back and raised his head. "An iceberg, sir," he replied. "A big one. I put her hard a’ starboard and run the engines full astern, but it was too close. I tried to port around it, but she hit…and I…"

Captain Smith’s face paled slightly, and he peered over the edge, noticing the loose blocks of ice the berg had shed onto the deck below. "Close the emergency doors," he ordered, and Murdoch nodded respectfully.

"The doors are closed, sir."

"Find the carpenter and get him to sound the ship," he added, and Murdoch did as he was told.

*****

"Mac, Ana, Fabrizio, wake up! Quick!" Michael splashed down the quickly flooding steerage hallway with Callista at his heels. He knocked on the door repeatedly until he heard shrieks of surprise from inside. Mac was the one to open the door, and she had turned a complete shade of white.

"We’re sinking!" Anastasia wailed, and for the first time in her life, Mac saw that the Grand Duchess was truly frightened. "Oh, no, what are we going to do? Why hasn’t anyone come and told us?"

"Don’t go into hysterics…that won’t help you," Callista told her. "But we have to get out of here and be prepared when they start to let us up on the boat deck."

"Do we have time to dress?" Mac asked, not wanting to go out into the freezing cold with only her nightgown on, and Callista shook her head seriously.

"We have time for nothing. Get on your coat and a pair of shoes, and find the spare lifebelts."

"What spare lifebelts?" Fabrizio asked, peering under the mattress.

"They can’t be serious not to have given steerage passengers their own lifebelts!" Callista exclaimed, grabbing a lock of her hair in frustration. "How low are we considered, for heaven’s sake?" She waited impatiently as the girls splashed about, gathering their things. Mac found the frame with her mother’s picture inside, took the picture from the frame, and quickly put it into her coat pocket. "Leave everything," Callista added. "They won’t let it in the lifeboat."

Just as they were preparing to leave, they heard voices down the hallway. "Everybody up! Put your lifebelts on!" Callista wrenched the door open again, having one shoved at her as a steward passed by. "We need four more," she told him, and Fabrizio stepped out to help her gather them. "Are we allowed up to the boat deck?" she added, but the steward ignored her as he continued down the hall.

Anastasia scowled. "That was rude," she whispered to Mac, who shrugged.

"What are we going to do?"

Callista helped the girls put their lifebelts on, which were quite bulky and uncomfortable, and they, along with other steerage passengers, made their way out of their rooms. "Come along!" Callista ordered. "If they aren’t letting us up yet, at least we can be ready for when they do."

The girls turned back towards their cabin, frowning at the prospect of never being able to see it again. "I hope it doesn’t sink!" Anastasia sobbed as they walked. "Oh, this ship is so beautiful! It’s not fair…"

"Wait! What’s that?" Mac suddenly interrupted as they turned down a rather empty corridor.

"What’s what?" Michael asked, and Mac cupped her hand over her ear.

"Don’t you hear that?"

Callista strained her hearing, and sure enough, she could hear what sounded like very faint cries for help from one of the last rooms. "I know that voice!" she breathed, and the group ran towards it. "Tommy?" Callista called, and Michael pointed to the door he suspected the voice to be coming from.

"Help!" the voice called.

Callista attempted to turn the doorknob, but found it to be locked. "Damn!" she cursed, and Mac cupped her hands over her mouth so she could make herself heard.

"Tommy? It’s Mac! What’s wrong? The door’s locked, and we can’t get in!"

"Kid!" Tommy replied. "I fell out o’ the bed when the ship hit the berg, and the metal frame slid off and trapped my leg!"

"Oh, my God," Callista breathed, covering her mouth with her hands. "Oh…" She stiffened. "Sam. I have to save Sam…"

"What?" Michael asked, his eyes widening. "We have to get Tommy out of there first! He might drown if we don’t get to him now!"

Callista removed both of her hairpins, shaking her locks loose. "Michael, I’m putting my faith and trust in you. You’re good at picking locks, and Fabrizio and the girls will help you. But, Sam…I need to go right now."

Michael stood staring at her, holding the pins, and watched as Callista instructed Fabrizio to keep a close eye on everyone, which he agreed to do. When Callista disappeared around a bend, Mac looked at him.

"She’s giving you another chance to prove yourself," she whispered, and Michael nodded.

"We’re coming in, Tommy!" he shouted, and set to work picking the locks.

*****

Back in the hospital wing, Rose watched from her post as an officer stood speaking to the doctor, a very serious expression on his face. "We must move everyone who is able to walk onto the boat deck."

Rose gazed at Jack, who had fallen asleep again, and stroked his cheek gently. He moaned softly, opening his eyes. "Sweetie, I hate to do this, but we have to get you out of bed. It’s an emergency."

Jack stared at her, his breathing coming in raspy gasps. "Rose, where’s Mac?" he croaked, cringing as she eased him into a sitting position.

"She’s where she’s supposed to be," Rose replied, trying to make it sound as though everything was under control. The doctor saw her trying to slide Jack off of the bed, and immediately went to help her.

Jack nearly fell when he finally struggled upright, and Rose held on tightly while the doctor wrapped a heavy overcoat around him. "Where are we going?" he whispered, clinging to her as they shuffled towards the door, which the doctor held open for them.

"The boat deck," Rose replied, hoping her mother had Coddie Anna situated and ready to go. Then again, Ruth hadn’t seen the iceberg, so the possibility that the ship could be sinking wasn’t a thought in her mind. Cal will probably remember her, she thought suddenly, remembering how awfully close her fiancé and daughter had been lately.

It took them quite a while to reach the area where the lifeboats were kept, but Rose was rather surprised to see no other passengers, or very few, gathered there. Jack leaned his head against her shoulder, trying to keep his balance. "I know," she whispered, wrapping her arms more tightly around his waist. "I know, sweetie."

One of the officers noticed her, and pointed towards the door to the lobby. "We’re not quite ready yet, ma’am, so I would recommend going back inside where it’s warm until we give the signal."

Rose sighed wearily, dreading the thought of facing her mother and Cal. "Here we go," she whispered.

"Huh?" Jack croaked, and she held him upright again. "We’re going to go back inside. But not to the hospital, unfortunately." She led him towards the main door, where one of the stewards held it open for her. At that particular moment, she could hear Cal’s voice.

"It’s the God damned English doing everything by the book!" She saw him, carrying Coddie Anna in his arms--she was still in her nightgown, but wearing her heavy coat and a pair of boots.

"There is no need for language, Mr. Hockley," Ruth replied warningly, but clearly Coddie Anna was still too sleepy at the moment to have comprehended what he just said, and had her head on his shoulder as a pillow. The group stopped short when they saw Rose approaching with Jack.

"Rose!" Ruth cried in alarm, startling Coddie Anna, who glanced behind her.

"What do you think you’re doing, bringing this piece of…trash up here?" Cal snapped.

"You said he was ill!" Coddie Anna added, once she managed to find her voice. "You lied to me! He’s just drunk, isn’t he?"

"Coddie Anna!" Rose gasped, horrified at her daughter’s behavior, but refrained from saying anything else when Jack broke into coughing.

"You are bringing shame on this family," Ruth finally broke in. "Rose, I am absolutely disgusted with…"

"Stuff a sock in it, Ruth!" another familiar voice called over the din, and the group turned to see Molly Brown rushing towards them. "Rose, darlin’, let’s get him over to a chair. Quickly now." She helped Rose by taking one of his arms, and the two women led him to the closest chair, which, thankfully, was by the door.

"Thank you," Rose gasped, grateful for Molly’s sudden appearance.

"Dear God, he’s burnin’ up." Molly felt Jack’s forehead. "What’s the matter with him?"

"Pneumonia," Rose replied, feeling her voice shaking.

"Jesus. Let me get him some ice water, and we’ll do what we can." She was about to fetch a steward when Ruth stormed over, having finally gathered her wits.

"I will not allow you to encourage my daughter to stay with this bohemian," Ruth spat, just as Molly stood up.

"And you call yourself a mother!" Molly snapped back. "If you thought you were such a person, you could easily see he’s sick. I’d think you’d be mature enough to have some compassion."

Ruth stood staring at the pudgy woman in front of her, unable to think of anything to say in response. Cal stood by the staircase, Coddie Anna on the ground at his side now. He was itching to wrap his hands around Rose’s throat. It was bad enough she had been sneaking around with Jack before, but to be seen with him in the public eye was even more humiliating.

"Excuse me." Molly finally found a spare steward carrying a tray, and pulled him aside. "We need a glass of water with extra ice," she added. "Make it quick…it’s an emergency. This man has a terrible fever." She pointed to Jack, and the steward took off. After he left, Rose managed a small smile.

"If you wanted some extra ice, Molly," she half-whispered, "you could have just collected a few chips that came off of the berg we hit."

Molly was very quiet for a moment, her face paling. "Say that again, Rose?" She unbuttoned Jack’s coat, trying to allow some cool air against his burning skin. She smoothed his forehead, clicking her tongue.

"We’ve hit an iceberg," Rose repeated. "We’re sinking."

"When did you find this out?" Ruth demanded, as Jack’s coughing started up again.

"About an hour ago," Rose replied, just as the steward returned.

"Thank you," Molly told the young man, accepting the glass. "How long has it been since he’s taken any fluids down?" she asked, and Rose thought for a moment.

"He hasn’t had anything since this afternoon, and he could barely keep it down," she replied.

Molly nodded in understanding. "Jack, will you take some of this for me?" she asked, and he merely looked at her, his eyes clearly unfocused. "Come on, now." She tipped the edge of the glass against his chapped lips, easing the liquid very carefully into his mouth.

Coddie Anna stood watching the process, her fists clenched at her sides. At this point, she could definitely tell he wasn’t drunk, but that still did not make the situation any less infuriating. She felt Cal squeeze her shoulders comfortingly, and looked up at him with a frown.

"That’s good," Molly complimented, after he managed to take a small sip. "We’ll have to keep him awake until they start loading the boats. Won’t do us much good at all if he passes out beforehand." She smoothed some of the excess ice against his forehead, clicking her tongue with sympathy.

"What can we do? He doesn’t understand half of the things we’re telling him, I’m sure." Rose wet her lips, knowing that trying to start a conversation with Jack wasn’t the best solution she could come up with.

Molly reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. "Leave it to me," she insisted, and Rose blinked, not sure what Molly meant, but decided it was best not to argue.

*****

Back down in steerage, Michael managed to unlock the door. "Got it!" he announced, and shoved it open. The girls were shrieking as the water rushed out from the room, nearly freezing their ankles. Fabrizio glanced over his shoulder, and found more seawater quickly flowing down the corridor. "Get in!" he ordered, and the four of them entered the room, finding Tommy grasping the edge of the bottom bunk, trying to keep his head off of the floor.

"Tommy!" Mac cried, and splashed towards him. She covered her mouth with her hands when she saw the metal head frame on top of his right leg, and turned to Michael.

"Fabrizio?" Tommy asked, his voice barely a squeak, and he grunted as he attempted to sit upright.

"How long has this been on you?" Fabrizio asked, as Michael gripped one edge of the frame and attempted to lift it. Mac and Anastasia ran around to the other side, but Michael refused to allow Anastasia to exert herself.

"But I want to help!" she exclaimed, wanting to add that because she was a princess, he should not be ordering her around. However, that wouldn’t be wise, considering that neither Tommy nor Fabrizio knew of her true heritage yet. Mac pulled her friend aside, and the two little girls watched with wide eyes as Fabrizio gripped the other end, and, between he and Michael, managed to lift the metal frame off of Tommy.

"It’s been on me for as long as it’s been since that grinding noise," Tommy gasped, grasping his friends’ hands and allowing them to help him to his feet. "Shite!" He nearly fell over, a sharp pain shooting through his leg.

"I think it’s broken," Michael told Tommy sorrowfully, noticing that the injured leg was indeed at a strange angle.

"Wouldn’t surprise me," Tommy muttered, gritting his teeth and limping around on one foot.

"I’m surprised no one heard you when they were passing out lifebelts," Anastasia squeaked as they all aided Tommy out into the hallway, where the water was quickly rising.

"Like they would have cared enough to stop," Mac muttered. "You saw how they just ran around throwing the lifebelts at people with barely a glance. Come on. Let’s get to the main stairwell and see if they’re letting us up yet."

Tommy limped along, using Fabrizio for support, and shook his head. "I do appreciate it," he added.

"Well, Mac heard you yelling first." Fabrizio chuckled, and Mac turned to smile at him. "If she hadn’t been listening, we wouldn’t have known, eh?" He winked, and Tommy nodded.

"Thanks, kid."

"This water is so cold," Anastasia whispered, her teeth chattering. "I can barely feel my feet, and my ankles are throbbing."

Mac groaned. "I don’t know why you only put on your flats," she breathed.

"I don’t have my boots with me," Anastasia pointed out as they turned a corridor and made their way towards the main stairwell. She added in a lower voice, whispering into Mac’s ear, "Mama didn’t think I would need them." Mac rolled her eyes a little. Well, the Empress did have a good reason not to allow her daughter to carry a heavy pair of boots, mostly because she might get into trouble with them.

When they got there, they found an enormous crowd of passengers waiting at the gates, shouting in a variety of languages. There were two stewards keeping watch, one holding a gun in his hand.

"What’s goin’ on?" Tommy asked, and a young man with a mustache turned to him.

"They’re not letting us up until the first and second class passengers are already in the boats," he growled. "Do they expect us to drown down here? Is that it?"

Anastasia gasped. "We’re going to be left to die?" She hugged Mac, who shook her head.

"No, we’re not."

"But it could take hours to load all of the other passengers!"

"Let me go, Fabri," Tommy ordered, much to his friend’s obligation. "I need to have a word."

Fabrizio snorted. "You can’t even walk. How are you going to go up those stairs?"

Tommy narrowed his eyes. "Watch me," he seethed, and gripped onto the rail, literally pulling himself along.

Mac and Anastasia edged their way through the crowd, clinging to each other. "I hope Callista manages to find Sam in time," Mac whispered.

Tommy yelled, "For God’s sake, man, there are women and children down here! Let us out so they can have a chance!"

Anastasia took a deep breath. "I don’t think," she added, "that I’ll ever want to go sailing again."

Mac couldn’t help but agree.

Chapter Thirty-Two
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