As Rose felt the constant jerking of the lifeboat being rowed, she felt as if each jerk was ripping her heart apart even more. She sat cataonic, looking at the ocean, willing it to let Jack come back to her. Rose could not comprehend living without Jack. Who would push her to do all that she wanted? Who would be there with that trusting smile to help her along the way? Who would be there to pull her back from the brink of death? Now that she had met Jack, it seemed like there was no way to live without him.
Finally, there was a cheer, and Rose looked over her shoulder to see that there was a boat coming! Rose could just barely make out the letters on the side ,"Carpathia." Rose began to panic about what she would do. Should she go back to her Mother? Should she jump off the boat now and die with Jack? No no, she thought. Jack would be so dissapointed in me. She could even see him shaking his head at her, his blue eyes penetraing hers, telling her that wasn't the way to survive as she had promised. Tears began to stream down Rose's cheeks. She couldn't bear the thought of living without Jack. At least here, in the ocean, above where she lost Jack, she was close to him (in a sense), and their short lives together.
Eventually, their little boat rowed up to the Carpathia. A ladder was let down for the survivors to climb up onto. One of the crewman in the boat leaned over to Rose, "miss?? Do you think you can climb abord?" Rose cleared her throat and replied,"yes, I do think I can handle it." Then Rose stood up, steadied herself, and heaved herself up onto the ladder. Rose just concentrated on each rung until she was finally aboard. Once there, she passed out, falling into someone's arms.
Rose awakened with a startle, not sure of where she was. Rose discovered that she was in the infirmary. Rose got up, and waved the nurses off. When she spotted an officer, she asked where to go. Judging Rose by her tattered rags, he led her to the third class area, and told her to talk to the officer in the middle holding a clipboard. Taking this as a sign, she decided that from then on she would be "Rose Dawson" for everything that was to happen to her from now on, Jack had a part of the credit. For he was the soul reason for her survival. If it weren't for Jack, Rose thought, the shuddered, thinking about what she knew was the truth. She would have frozen to death. This is the perfect way to thank Jack, Rose thought. She spoke to the officer, who handed her a blanket, and told her that he would be with her shortly.
Rose looked around the deck, trying to see if any of Jack's friends had survived. But, even after her careful search, she only found that there was no sign of Tommy, Fabrinzio, nor little Cora. Tears began to run freely down Rose's face again. It saddend Rose to think that none of them survived. Then Rose noticed that there were only a handful of men in third class. What a shame, she thought, these men all deserved to live more than the first class men did.
Heads began to turn, and a dull roar began to filter throughout the deck. Rose, curious as to what all the fuss was about, turned her head as well. To her utter amazement, there stood Cal, looking just as dreadful as she felt, his tux was in ruins, one sleeve nearly torn off, he had a five o'clock shadow, his hair was a mess, and he was wearing scuffed shoes. He had a crazed look in his eyes, it seemed that he was intent on finding something, and Rose assumed it might be her. He walked up to the lady seated beside Rose. Rose huddled under her blanket even more.
"Pardon me miss, but do you know if there is a Rose DeWitt Bukater down here??" Cal looked deeply into the young lady's eyes.
"No, sir. I don't know a soul down here. I haven't seen a girl lookin' as fancy as you down here, that I know for sure."
Cal looked crestfallen, "Oh, well, have you seen a lady, with reddish, curly hair, wearing a pale pink dress, with a man with long blond hair wearing pants and suspenders anywhere?" Cal gestured as he spoke.
The lady shook her head, "no, I haven't seen many men down here, and almost all of the ladies have reddish hair. Sorry, I can't help you."
"Thanks anyways, I just hope that she lived. She was my fiancee you know? And I loved her, although I didn't know it, until she fell in love with another," Cal seemed to almost be talking to himself, "I am just hopeful that she survived so I can tell her myself. I never showed her I loved her..." disapointment was apparent in Cal's voice. Cal then turned, and walkled towards the deck, the suddenly turned, almost catching Rose peering out of the blanket, Rose held her breath as Cal stared, and walked slowly away, still glimpsing back at the area Rose was in.
Rose was amazed that Cal looked so distraught over the thought of her dying. She began to remove the blanket, thinking maybe life wouldn't be so bad if she lived with Cal. The experience seemed to have changed him. Then, she thought about Jack, and how she wanted to carry on his legacy. Rose pulled the blanket over her again, and buried herself in it more.
After about ten minutes, Cal gave up and went back to his area of the ship. A man with a clipboard came, just as it began to pour. "May I have your name please Love?" inquired the man.
Rose, who was staring intently upon the Statue of Liberty, replied in a daze, "Dawson, Rose Dawson." Rose shivered, and wished again that Jack was there to hold her hand, and tell her that it would be alright.