Satine's POV
There was a body floating in the water, face down, his face obscured from view. His hair was a dark color and the jacket was the one Christian was wearing. And suddenly I was screaming, screaming because my world had ended, surely, because I could not live while my one love was dead, floating in the water next to the lifeboat.
"Christian! Christian!" I howled to the star-spangled sky. "Why?" I started trembling violently, my eyes welling up with tears. "No…please, no…"
"Ma’am, it'll be okay," a small voice said. I felt chubby arms wrap around me in a soothing gesture. Glancing down, I saw Ethan looking up at me with an understanding smile on his face. I remembered suddenly that he had lost family, too, a mother, father, and sister. Perhaps together we could heal our broken hearts. Together, with Jack and Rose. I felt a surge of resentment that they were still together, still happily in love, but I shoved the feeling away. I had Christian's child to live for. Our child.
"Yes, it will, won't it, Ethan? We'll get through this together." I smiled down at him, a little shakily, but a smile nonetheless.
He smiled back, lit from behind as the sun began to rise, the sky turning the rosy pink of dawn. In the distance, I could see a ship approaching us slowly, our rescue from this hell.
It wouldn't be long until we'd be on land in a place I had only imagined being in with Christian by my side.
Ethan’s POV
Miss Satine was still upset. It was obvious from the way she looked at me with haunted green eyes, tears glistening on her cheeks. She looked like she was in incredible pain from the way she was clutching at the spot above her heart and murmuring a name over and over. She spoke as if it took a great effort, and as we rowed away from the people, she looked like she wanted to dive into the water and join them in their watery grave.
I tried handing her the kitten, but she refused to take her, staring at Aureole with something akin to repulsion and once-happy memories. I cradled Aureole to my chest instead, missing my sister and father even more with each passing second. I had this nagging feeling that they hadn't gotten into a boat; that they had sunk with the ship. I shuddered and wiped away my tears. Daddy and Stella had to have made it out all right. Daddy would never leave me. He had told me, told me that he would love me forever and always.
"Daddy…" I whimpered. "Stella…"
"We're here!" one of the crewmembers crowed, pulling up to a ship. "Saved at last!" He tied the lifeboat to the ship with a length of rope and picked me up. "Climb up the ladder there," he instructed. I obeyed him, pulling myself up slowly, glancing beneath me once to see that Miss Satine was behind me, climbing up rung by painful rung.