THE SHIP OF DREAMS
Chapter Thirty-Six

At last! Michael couldn’t believe it; it was going to be their turn to get on board the rescue liner. It seemed like forever that they were bobbing on the ocean and waiting to get close enough, but now he could see passengers on board the Carpathia peering down at the weary Titanic passengers with curiosity.

He shook Anastasia awake, who said, "What?" rather grumpily, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"We’re saved!" Michael told her, and she stared at him, confused.

"What?" She looked where he was pointing and her mouth fell open. They were now approaching the side of the ship, and a ladder was being lowered. An officer from the Carpathia made his way down and began conversing with Officer Moody, who was in charge of their lifeboat, about what to do. "The strongest of the adults will use this ladder to climb aboard, but I think the children should be sent up in our mail sacks."

"A mail sack!" Anastasia suddenly exclaimed, forgetting she was supposed to be disguising herself as a steerage passenger and not royalty. "How dare you?! I refuse to be treated so badly!"

Michael snorted and saw Cal’s astonished expression at her outburst. Both officers stared at her, stunned as well, and whispers of curiosity broke out among the other passengers.

"You’ll do as you’re told, Missy. This is not a time to give anyone lip, eh?"

Anastasia’s face had turned a brilliant shade of magenta. "I am perfectly capable of climbing the ladder, sir," she added, and Michael gestured anxiously with his hand for her to calm down.

The officer looked at Moody, who shrugged. "If she feels strong enough, I don’t see why you shouldn’t let her," he replied, and the Carpathia’s officer sighed.

"Oh…very well, very well! If you fall, we won’t be in any hurry to fish you out, girl!"

Anastasia looked ready to retort again, but Michael pinched her arm and she turned to him angrily, but kept her mouth shut when she saw his expression. "Shall we proceed?" Moody asked, and the others agreed, grateful for the prospect of being able to warm up at last.

Anastasia, when it was her turn to climb the ladder, kept her head high and gripped the metal bars tightly. She’d climbed a great number of trees in her life, so the height of the climb did not bother her at all. She climbed steadily, much to the officer’s surprise, and reached the top deck with ease. "Ana!" A loud shout filled the air and Anastasia saw Rose dashing towards her, arms opened wide. Before Anastasia could reply, she was swept into a rib-crushing hug and kissed all over her cheeks. "You’re all right," Rose breathed, laughing with relief, and noticing as Michael practically fell onto the deck by the time he reached it. "Oh, we were so worried, so very worried!" She gave Anastasia another kiss and then went to hug Michael with relief as well.

"Is Jack all right?" Anastasia asked, shivering a little as an icy breeze ruffled her long hair. Rose nodded.

"He has been taken to the infirmary, but is rather out of it at the moment. I told him I would look for you, and make sure…" Rose lifted her eyes and saw Cal coming towards her. She stiffened, grateful that he did not notice her. She took Anastasia’s hand and pulled her aside so they would be out of sight, and then she sighed with relief. "Mac…" she began, and Anastasia lowered her head. Rose covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh, God. She’s not with you."

Anastasia shook her head. "No. She—she stayed behind to help our friends, and I…I haven’t seen her." Her lips trembled, and Rose closed her eyes.

"I don’t think she died," Michael added, and Rose looked at him. "I mean, we’re such close chums now that I probably would have felt it if she did."

"And not all of the lifeboats have been pulled up yet," Anastasia added. "So…so…she could have gotten on one of the last boats. Don’t tell Jack anything yet. Go back to the infirmary and be with him; I’ll wait here and look for Mac. I’m sure she’ll be all right."

Rose nodded, kissing Anastasia again on the forehead, and dashed down the deck. Anastasia looked at Michael, blowing out her breath. "Do you reckon she’s all right?" she asked, and Michael shrugged.

"I honestly don’t know." He gratefully accepted a bowl of hot soup from a steward who came amongst the survivors, and Anastasia took one, too.

"Oh, I’m so hungry!" Anastasia gasped after she took most of the soup down in three gulps. She wished she could begin exploring the new ship immediately, but she wanted to do so with Mac; it would not be the same without her. So she and Michael went to sit on one of the deck chairs, watching as Carpathia passengers led distressed Titanic survivors inside, reassuring them that everything was going to be all right.

"Do you think Callista and Sam made it?" Anastasia asked as she drank the last of her soup. Michael rubbed his cold hands, blowing into them.

"I don’t know," he admitted. "Part of me thinks they did, but part of me says I shouldn’t be so hasty."

Anastasia lowered her head. So much had occurred in the past several hours that it was difficult to take in. She couldn’t believe that the Titanic was gone; it wasn’t fair—the ship was brand new, and was just on its maiden voyage! It was not as though it had been on several trips beforehand, but the fact that it had not even made it to its first destination made it even more upsetting somehow.

For the next half hour, the two of them searched through the crowds of survivors coming onto the deck, many very sick and weak from exposure, and others looking extremely grateful for their good luck. "Oh! Oh, dear," Anastasia breathed, wringing her hands. "What if she did not make it, Michael? It has been so long!"

"I’m not sure how many people survived," Michael told her. "But I wouldn’t panic just yet. There are still people coming up."

Anastasia bit her lip. If Mac had died in the sinking, Jack would be heartbroken. He already lost his wife, which he was still having difficulty getting over, and to lose his daughter, who was his main pride and joy in his life, would ruin him. Even when Mac had been very ill with measles at the palace two years before, the sorrow in his eyes had not been easy to forget.

"Oh, look!" Michael suddenly cried, and nudged Anastasia’ arm excitedly. "Just look! Did I not say?" He pointed ahead, and Anastasia followed his finger. He was pointing to a very exhausted, very weak Mac, who was being helped out of a mail sack. The officers in charge of her were easing her to her feet, but she looked ready to faint at any moment.

"Mac!" Anastasia squealed, dropping the china bowl to the ground, ignoring its earsplitting crash as she dashed towards her friend. "Mac, you’re alive! You’re alive!"

Mac stumbled a little as her friend enveloped her in a great hug and merely let out a small moan before she fainted dead away. "She a relative of yours?" the officer asked, and Anastasia nodded.

"She’s my cousin," she lied, and he gave her a look.

"Well, she’s going to have to go to the infirmary. She’s suffering from mild hypothermia."

Anastasia let the officer lift Mac into his arms, wrapping her little body into the blanket she’d worn around her shoulders before. Anastasia and Michael looked at each other anxiously and dashed after the officer, both extremely relieved but worried half to death at the same time.

*****

Rose sat next to Jack in the crowded hospital, watching as nurses made their way from patient to patient, administering morphine, cough syrup, as well as bandaging wounds and preparing to put casts on broken limbs. Many of the passengers who were awake and alert were very upset; there were very few men, and the wives who had lost their husbands in the disaster were hysterical.

Jack’s fever had come back again, but he was not nearly as warm as he had been on the Titanic. The doctor gave him a dose of cough syrup and aspirin for the fever. "It just has to run its course," the doctor explained after Jack coughed up a few bits of phlegm and passed out from exertion. "Looks like he’s been through the worst of it already, though, so he should be pulling through soon."

Rose wished she could believe him, but Jack was still in so much pain.

The sound of the hospital’s main door opening caused her to turn, and she gasped when she saw an officer carrying a little bundle in his arms. "This bed is free, sir," the doctor announced, pointing to the cot beside Jack’s, and Rose couldn’t understand why she felt so relieved. Then she knew; she saw Anastasia and Michael peering through the door, and the two friends hurried in.

When the doctor removed the bundle of blankets from the patient, Rose felt her heart lift; it was Mac. She was lying very still, though, and her skin was deathly pale. "Oh, sweetheart." She stood up, went over to stand beside the cot, and touched the little girl’s cheek. "Is she bad off?" she asked, and the officer shook his head.

"She’ll be just fine once she warms up a bit. She’s taken in quite a bit, and is in a faint currently. A little hypothermia is in the works as well, but it’s not serious."

Mac stirred very slightly at Rose’s touch, but didn’t wake. The doctor came over to check on her and pulled the cot’s blankets up around her shoulders. "When she wakes, we’ll give her some tea."

"Would smelling salts help at all?" Rose asked, and the doctor smiled softly.

"I’m afraid I’d rather let her ease herself awake this time. I assure you, she’ll be perfectly fine. She’s not running any fever, and if anything, she might have a small chill to deal with. Don’t worry, Ma’am." After making certain that Mac was settled comfortably, he went to check on the passengers who were worse off. Rose sighed and looked at Anastasia and Michael.

"Well, I’m afraid there’s not much to be done in here," she said quietly. "I’ll look after Mac and will come and find you when she wakes up."

Anastasia started to protest, but Michael took her arm. "It’s best if we just stay out of the way," he told her, and Anastasia reluctantly agreed. She followed Michael out onto the deck, watching as a pair of sisters stood close by playing pattycake.

"This is truly devastating." Michael sighed, his eyes searching through the crowds of steerage passengers. "I’m afraid to find out how many died in the sinking. If they only had enough lifeboats for half…"

"How many were on the ship?" Anastasia asked. "Do you know?"

Michael shrugged. "I think at least two thousand something."

"Oh, God." Anastasia closed her eyes.

"But the main thing is you’re all right," Michael told her. "Your parents won’t have heard about the Titanic just yet; at least, I’m thinking not until we get to New York. We’ll be able to write to them and let them know you’re safe; no doubt they’ll go into a panic when they find out."

Anastasia nodded. "Yes," she said softly, "they would." She gave Michael a hug, which was so sudden that it nearly knocked him off of his feet in surprise. "Thank you for saving me," she told him, and his face turned a brilliant shade of red.

"Oh, well…I…er…it was nothing," he insisted, and then his face went from red to almost green. "Oh, damn."

Anastasia turned to where he was looking and her breath caught in her throat; she saw Coddie Anna coming towards them, a thick blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Anastasia set her jaw and felt Michael put a hand on her shoulder. "So you made it off the ship, then?" Coddie Anna asked, and Anastasia nodded.

"Obviously I did, or would I be standing here in front of you?" she snapped. "What do you want? Don’t you think you’ve caused us enough trouble?"

Michael smacked his forehead, wanting to give Anastasia a swift kick in the shins.

Coddie Anna sighed heavily. "I honestly do not think so," she growled. "Have you seen my mother?"

Anastasia glanced at Michael with a raised eyebrow. "Why should we tell you anything?" she asked, and Michael rolled his eyes.

"She’s in the infirmary," he replied, and Coddie Anna gave a stiff nod.

"Thank you," she replied coolly, pushing past them. When she disappeared around a corner, Anastasia kicked one of the deck chairs.

"I hate her," she growled. "It is so difficult to believe that she is Rose’s daughter!"

"You don’t hate her," Michael replied.

"Oh, yes, I do," Anastasia insisted. "She’s terrible! I am still so angry about what awful things she said to Jack at lunch the one day! About Mac’s mother…I refuse to forgive her for it."

"Life’s too short to be holding grudges," Michael said. "Come on. We might as well explore the ship, and figure out where we’re going to stay for the next few days. I’m sure they won’t make us stay out here on the deck."

*****

Rose sat between Jack and Mac, and was adjusting the blankets around Jack’s body when the door to the infirmary squeaked open again. "Mama?" Coddie Anna made her way slowly down the main aisle and Rose looked up.

"Oh, darling," she breathed, embracing her daughter tightly. "Are you all right?"

Coddie Anna nodded. "I’m fine. But I wanted to come and say that Cal is looking for you."

Rose closed her eyes. "Coddie Anna," she began, "I know this is going to be difficult for you to hear, but I am not going to marry him. I am going to break the engagement."

Coddie Anna’s face paled. "What?!" she cried, alarmed. "Mama, you can’t…that’s…"

"I don’t love Cal," Rose continued as calmly as she could, keeping a tight hold on Jack’s hand. "I know you don’t agree with my choices, Coddie Anna, but it is my life."

Coddie Anna started to say something else, and Rose held her hand up. "If you do not wish to live with us, then you may live with your grandmother. I understand how upset you are about changing your lifestyle."

"No," Coddie Anna began again. "I do want to be with you, Mama. But I just…I don’t understand. You’ve only known Jack for three days. How could you possibly love him?"

"When you’re older, Coddie, you’ll understand."

Coddie Anna lowered her head. "So…what should…what should I say to Cal?" she asked. "He’s going to be heartbroken when I tell him."

Jack began coughing, moving about restlessly, and a gentle kiss on the forehead from Rose calmed him.

"Tell him that I do not wish to marry him."

"Are you going to marry Jack?" Coddie Anna asked, her eyes focusing on Mac’s sleeping form. The thought of that wretched girl becoming her sister was almost like a nightmare.

"Jack and I will probably discuss it when he recovers," Rose replied. "We haven’t exactly decided on marriage just yet."

Coddie Anna nodded. "All right. I’ll tell Cal." She allowed her mother to kiss her, and with one more glance at the patients, made her way back onto the deck.

Chapter 37