THE SHIP OF DREAMS
Chapter Thirty-Seven

"How can she do this to me?!" Cal’s voice sounded menacing after Coddie Anna reported her mother’s news to him later that afternoon.

"I’m sorry." Coddie Anna spoke softly, trying to comfort him. She didn’t like the situation any better than he did, but she was in no position to do anything about it.

"Where is she?" Cal asked through gritted teeth, and she saw that he was clenching his fists so tightly at his sides that his knuckles were turning white.

"She’s at the hospital," Coddie Anna replied.

"I need to be alone to take this in," Cal told Coddie Anna.

"Are…are you sure you’re…" she began, and he looked at her, his dark eyes blazing.

"Get out!" He shouted so loudly that she jumped and immediately dashed from the room. She shut the door quickly and found Ruth coming towards her.

"Grandmother," she gasped, and Ruth raised her eyes.

"Come with me, Coddie Anna," Ruth ordered, and Coddie Anna swallowed nervously. She hated to be in the middle of things, but she knew her mother was not planning on leaving the hospital anytime soon. She followed her grandmother into an empty stateroom and Ruth sat down on the couch. "Tell me what is going on."

Coddie Anna lowered her head. "Mama doesn’t want to marry Cal," she said in barely a whisper. "She…she said she wants to marry Jack."

Ruth’s lips set in a tight line. "She does, does she? And did you tell Cal about this, dear?"

Coddie Anna nodded. "He’s furious," she croaked, feeling a bit sick to her stomach.

"As I would presume…"

Cal suddenly burst through the stateroom door, and both Ruth and Coddie Anna turned to him, shocked. "If that daughter of yours marries that gutter rat, I’ll wash my hands of you completely," he snarled, and Coddie Anna squeaked with fear. "Our contract will be broken, Ruth."

"Surely you don’t mean…"

"I won’t have your family bringing shame upon mine!" he hissed. "I’ll say you were lost in the sinking. That will be the easiest route to take as far as bringing this matter up to my father." He turned on his heel and stomped out again, slamming the door to the stateroom so hard that the wall shook. Coddie Anna had her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide with terror, and Ruth looked ready to faint. The older woman eventually pushed herself upright and stalked out after Cal.

"Grandmother, where are you going?" Coddie Anna cried, but Ruth didn’t answer.

"Oh, no," Coddie Anna breathed, clutching her stomach. Cal was going to tell his father that they were all dead, and was not going to help them at all if her mother decided to stay with Jack. She was certain Cal would take the news badly, but she had no idea he would be quite this irrational. Well, given his attitude towards matters in the past, she should have expected it. Coddie Anna flung herself onto the empty couch, weeping bitterly against the rough fabric.

*****

Ruth somehow managed to find her way to the Carpathia’s medical facility without having to ask for any directions and burst in. Rose looked up, the blood draining from her face at the sight of her mother’s expression.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, and Ruth gripped her daughter’s arm.

"Come with me!" she snapped, and Rose glanced at Jack, who groaned in his sleep. Mac stirred as well; she’d been sleeping rather soundly ever since she was brought in. "This instant!" she added sharply, and Rose rolled her eyes, standing up. She followed her mother out onto the deck, and Ruth pulled Rose around to face her.

"Are you really so selfish, Rose?" she hissed. "Coddie Anna told me of your plan. Oh, yes, she did," she added, when Rose started to protest. "Do you realize that Cal will disown us completely if you decide to marry that…piece of…trash?" she spat, pointing towards the hospital’s door. Rose didn’t reply; to her, this really wasn’t anything to be upset over. "Rose, are you listening to me?" Ruth asked, and shook her daughter. "Because of your selfishness, your daughter and I will both be living on the streets."

"My daughter will have nothing to do with your problems, Mother," Rose growled. "She will be with us."

"Oh, really?" Ruth snapped. "And how, exactly, does Mr. Dawson plan to support you? I’ll bet he hasn’t got a dime to his name! Rose, I swear to God, if you choose to go with him, I will disown you. Both you and your daughter, Rose. Do I make myself clear?"

Rose closed her eyes. "I am not going to marry Cal," she said firmly. "I never loved him."

"You are making a big mistake, Rose," Ruth told her daughter. "Coddie Anna will have no family to turn to besides yourself if you make this decision."

"It is all for the better, then," Rose replied heatedly. "Bring my daughter to me, and after that, I do not ever want to see you again."

"You are worthless, Rose!" Ruth snapped, and stormed away. Rose watched as her mother disappeared around a bend, and suddenly felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She was free at last; free from the world she felt so horribly trapped in. Perhaps not the way she would have preferred to be set free, but she was free nevertheless. She went back into the hospital to find Jack’s eyes fluttering open. She gasped and rushed to his side.

"Jack?" she asked, sitting beside him on the mattress.

"Rose," he whispered, and she felt his forehead.

"You’re much cooler," she breathed, kissing him. "How are you feeling?"

He sighed, shivering a little. "So sore and tired," he told her.

"Jack," Rose whispered. "I…I broke my engagement to Cal."

He blinked weakly, and at that moment, the door to the hospital flew open again, and Coddie Anna was shoved rather roughly through it. The young girl gulped with tears, and Rose held up her hand to signal Jack to wait a moment, stood up, and went to her.

"Mother! Mother!" Coddie Anna sobbed. "They hate us! They hate us!"

Jack struggled to prop himself up on his elbow, and when he happened to turn his head to the other side, Mac’s still figure caught his eye. "Mac," he croaked, coughing dryly. Rose held Coddie Anna tightly to her and watched as Jack managed to sit. "Oh, Jack, don’t…" she begged, just as the doctor came towards them.

"Sir," he said calmly, placing a hand on Jack’s shoulder. "I would not advise getting out of bed. You are just starting to recover from pneumonia."

Jack stared. "Please," he whispered. "She’s my little girl…"

Coddie Anna’s sobs turned the doctor’s attention towards Rose. "Is she all right, ma’am?"

Rose nodded, smoothing her daughter’s hair.

"Is my daughter going to be all right?" Jack asked, motioning towards Mac, and the doctor smiled.

"Of course, sir. She’ll be just fine. She was just suffering from a bit of mild hypothermia."

"Perhaps they can share a cot," Rose suggested, and the doctor hesitated.

"I’m not sure," he began as Jack started coughing again.

"He’s not contagious," Rose began, helping Coddie Anna to sit down on one of the chairs. Coddie Anna pulled Cal’s old coat around her shoulders, snuffling into the folds of the fabric. For some reason unbeknownst to her, she hadn’t taken the coat off since they got out of the lifeboats. Though it surprised her that Cal hadn’t asked for it back, she certainly wasn’t willing to go and return it to him now, either. It was the only piece of warm clothing she had now.

"Perhaps her father’s body heat will warm her up a bit faster," she added, and the doctor sighed.

"I suppose," he added, and carefully lifted the still unconscious Mac into his arms. Jack scooted over as far as he could to give Mac enough space to lay down in. When she was eased under the covers, he eased his aching body back down against the pillows, smoothing her hair. He was immediately reminded of how they used to share a bed in their two room cottage in the Russian peasant fields.

"Is there anything I can fetch for either of you?" the doctor asked kindly, and Rose kissed the top of Coddie Anna’s slightly tousled curls.

"Tea would be lovely," Rose replied, and the doctor nodded, leaving them to find a nurse. "Coddie Anna, darling, everything’s going to be all right," she promised, and the younger girl wailed even louder.

Jack reached for Rose, who came to stand beside him again. "What were you going to tell me before?" he asked, taking her hand.

"I…broke my engagement to Cal," she repeated, and his eyes widened.

"You did?" He cleared his throat. "How did he take it?"

Rose smiled faintly. "Not very well. I have been permanently disowned by both him and my mother, Jack."

Jack sighed. "Oh, Rose," he croaked. "I’m so sorry."

"To be honest, Jack," Rose whispered. "I’m not at all sorry."

"Coddie Anna?" Jack asked, and the little girl stopped crying at once. "Are you all right, honey?"

She set her jaw and turned her head away from him, sticking her nose in the air. Rose frowned.

"Coddie Anna," she hissed, and her daughter said nothing. "She’ll…get used to everything in time," she added, and Jack caressed Rose’s cheek.

"Rose, I feel that this is rather selfish of me to ask you now, after all that’s happened."

Rose felt her heart lift. "Jack, if you ask me, I’ll say yes," she told him, and he smiled.

"I don’t have anything to offer you," he told her, and she squeezed his hand.

"I don’t need anything," she choked, and, at that moment, Mac let out a small moan.

"Will you marry me, Rose?" he whispered, and she laughed in delight, bending down to kiss him passionately. Coddie Anna turned towards them, horrified, and watched as Mac shifted from her side of the bed.

"Yes, Jack," Rose replied. "I will."

"Papa?" Mac croaked, and Jack immediately sat up again, clasping a hand to his forehead as the world spun around him.

"Oh, honey," he gasped, pulling her into his arms. "Oh, my baby girl…" He kissed her all over her cheeks and her forehead, just as Anastasia and Michael entered the hospital room. "Thank God you’re all right," he gasped, and Mac started to cry, clinging to him.

"Jack! Mac!" Anastasia cried, and both turned to her.

"Ana?" Jack cried weakly, and Anastasia dashed towards him, flinging her arms around him. Michael stood back a few feet, feeling a little awkward. He looked at Coddie Anna, who was glaring so menacingly at the happy scene before her that it wouldn’t have surprised him if she’d sprung a sudden attack.

"And she was so very brave!" Anastasia was speaking a million miles a minute, reliving everything that had occurred just hours before.

"Not that brave," Mac said, blushing, just as the nurse came by with a tray full of tea mugs. She beamed; this was the first happy reunion she’d seen yet from Titanic survivors. "I think I was rather stupid, really."

"Mac," Jack said softly, "I am so proud of you."

"You’re not angry that I stayed behind on the ship?" she asked, and he kissed her.

"You’re all right," he replied, "and that’s all that matters."

Anastasia looked at Rose, and then turned to Coddie Anna. "You are going to marry her, aren’t you?" she asked, and Jack laughed as heartily as he could. Mac stared at her father, waiting anxiously to hear his answer.

"Well, I suppose so," he told them in a joking, half-hearted voice, and Rose gave him a playful rap on the shoulder.

"But what about Cal?" Mac asked, her voice still a little hoarse from just having come out of a faint.

"He’s disowned us, thanks to you," Coddie Anna muttered, and Mac gulped. The two of them stared at each other, and Mac opened her mouth and closed it again. If her father married Rose, that would mean…Coddie Anna seemed to catch her expression, and her eyes widened in horror.

"Sisters?!" they both cried, pointing at each other, and Anastasia gasped, smacking her forehead with the palm of her hand. Jack accepted a fresh cup of tea from the nurse, who felt his forehead just to be careful.

"You still have a low-grade fever, dear," she told him, "but you are much cooler."

Jack sipped from the mug, coughing after he swallowed.

"And are you all right, dear?" she added, feeling Mac’s forehead, too. Mac nodded.

"I’m okay," she promised. "Just tired‘s all."

"That’s good. Drink your tea, and if you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to call for me."

Jack’s coughs resumed after he drank more tea, and Rose took the mug from him, setting it on the table beside the cot.

"You should lay down and rest, Jack. It’s really not been that long since we got out of the lifeboats."

Jack kissed her again, and Mac smiled softly. "What can I call you then, Rose?" she asked softly, and Jack felt his heart melt as he lay back down on his pillow. She stared at Mac, and looked at Coddie Anna. "Can I call you my mother?"

Coddie Anna glared. "You most certainly may not," she snapped, and Rose put a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. "She’s my mother, thank you very much! You have one already!"

"Coddie," Rose warned.

"My mother’s dead, in case you forgot," Mac snapped, and Coddie Anna scowled. "And I never met her."

"That does not mean that you can go about calling my mother your mother!"

"Girls!" Rose hissed. "Mac, you may call me whatever you wish. I do not wish to take the place of your original mother, of course."

"You won’t," Mac insisted, and Jack kissed the top of her head.

"Well, let us rest a while. I’m not feeling well still," he announced, and Rose nodded.

Michael, who’d been standing off to the side the entire time, cleared his throat, and everyone turned to him.

"Congratulations, Mr…Mr. Dawson," he stuttered a little, and Jack looked at him suspiciously.

"Thank you," he replied quietly, and Rose smiled.

"Jack, I think Coddie Anna and I are going to take a bit of a walk around the ship. You and Mac need to catch up and rest."

He nodded, coughing into a fist.

"I need to go and see if I can’t find Callista and Sam at all," Michael told Anastasia, touching her arm.

"Oh," she breathed, realizing that she didn’t see them at all in the hospital wing. "All right…"

Michael glanced once more at Jack before turning away and leaving the hospital after Rose and Coddie Anna.

When just Jack, Mac, and Anastasia were left, Jack hugged both of the girls. "We’re all together again," he whispered, and Anastasia smiled.

"Oh, Daddy," Mac said sadly, "Tommy and Fabrizio…they…they didn’t make it off the ship." Her eyes filled with tears, and Jack wet his lips, lowering his head.

"Are you sure?" he asked, and Mac nodded.

"I was put into the very last lifeboat, Papa, and that was the last time I saw Fabrizio."

"And we didn’t see either of them coming up onto the ship when the other boats were brought up," Anastasia added. "I am so sorry, Jack."

He sighed. "Me, too." He nodded, clearing his throat.

"You need to rest, Papa," Mac insisted. "I think your fever is starting to come back a little again." She felt his cheek and he closed his eyes.

"Lay down," Anastasia encouraged.

"You, too, pumpkin," Jack told Mac. "You’re still a bit too pale."

Mac lay down obediently, and Jack took Anastasia’s hand gently. "Do you have a place to stay, honey?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Yes," she replied. "One of the officers put Michael and me into a spare steerage room to sleep in. We still have four days until we reach New York, I heard."

Jack nodded. "Good."

"I’ll be all right, Jack," Anastasia promised, kissing his cheek. "I have Michael to look out for me." She beamed, and, after hugging Mac tightly, left the hospital. When Anastasia was gone, Mac looked at her father and watched as he drifted into another doze. When his breathing steadied, she found herself drifting off, and soon fell sound asleep again.

Chapter Thirty-Eight