Titanic (Jack X Reader)

Chapter Twenty-One: Waiting For Rescue

(Y/N) called out for Jack but she could only hear other people screaming and yelling for help or just in distress. (Y/N) was just concerned about staying afloat and finding Jack. People scrambled to find anything thrown in the water that could float. (Y/N) just swam around, trying to find Jack who was still nowhere to be found. When she swam past the priest, he held onto her, pushing her under the water to keep himself afloat.

(Y/N) did everything to keep her head above the water but the priest wouldn't let go. When she got up for air, she called out for Jack before being pushed down again. Jack had reached the surface and was looking for (Y/N) when he heard her cries. He swam over to her and told the priest to let her go. But he was in too much distress to listen. So Jack punched him in the face and brought (Y/N) back up to the surface, telling her to swim.

The two swam away from the crowd and to a piece of wood that had broken off a doorway. He let her get on first before trying to get on himself but the wood almost tipped over. So, Jack told (Y/N) to give him her lifejacket since he had an idea. (Y/N) took it off with some struggle and handed it to Jack who put it underneath the wood, making sure the straps were visible. With (Y/N)'s help, they tied the lifejacket to the wood and both got on.

This time, it didn't topple over and both could get on. People continued to call out for help while an officer blew a whistle, telling the offers in the boats to return for survivors. Jack assured (Y/N) that the boats would come back for them, saying that they had to leave because of the suction so they'd come back soon. But one of the officers had no plans to go back, having to argue with Molly about going back.

"You don't understand," The officer said, "If we go back, they'll swamp the boat. They'll pull us down, I'm telling you."

"Knock it off," Molly said standing up, "You're scaring me. Come on, girls! Grab an oar, let's go!"

"Are you out of your mind? We're in the middle of the North Atlantic! Now, do you people want to live or do you want to die?"

No one stood up for Molly or even agreed with the officer. They just stayed quiet.

"I don't understand a one of you," Molly said disappointed a the lack of thought for the survivors, "What's the matter with you? It's your men out there! There's plenty of room for more."

"And there'll be one less on this boat if you don't shut that hole in your face!" The officer threatened Molly.

Knowing that no one was going to help, Molly just sat back down. Meanwhile, Mr. Lowe was making sure all the boats stuck together. One of the collapsible boats wasn't buoyant enough so it was almost ready to sink but it kept everyone inside alive. Hearing the cries of the survivors, Mr. Lowe made the call to go back for them.

He ordered the passengers to get into some of the boats so that there was room for survivors and had a few men come with him to row and help people into the boat. But it would take too long as the crowd of people slowly became quiet. (Y/N) and Jack were still alive on the wood but shivering badly. They had been in the water too long. The officer blowing the whistle had stopped, the hyperthermia taking his life along with many others.

"It's getting quiet," (Y/N) said

"It's just going to take them a couple of minutes to get the boats organized," Jack assured her, "I don't know about you but I intend to write a strongly worded letter to the White Star Line about all this."

(Y/N) knew he was just trying to lighten the mood but all she could think about was the cold

"I love you, Jack," (Y/N) said, ready to say goodbye

"Don't you do that," Jack told her, "Don't you say your goodbyes. Not yet. Do you understand me?"

"I'm so cold."

"Listen, (Y/N)... you're going to get out of here. You're going to go on and you're going to make lots of babies and you're going to watch them grow. You're going to die an old... an old lady warm in her bed. Not here. Not this night. Not like this. Do you understand me?"

"I can't feel my body."

"Winning that ticket, (Y/N), was the best thing that ever happened to me. It brought me to you... and I'm thankful for that, (Y/N). I'm thankful. You must-- You must-- You must do me this honor... You must promise me that you'll survive. That you won't give up no matter what happens. No matter how hopeless. Promise me now, (Y/N) and never let go of that promise."

"I promise."

"Never let go."

"I will never let go, Bert. I'll never let go."

Jack kissed the back of her hand, still shivering. When Mr. Lowe and a few men reached the survivors, everyone had gone quiet. They had left the recuse too long. All the bodies were dead and pale and no one was moving. Even so, they checked the bodies just in case. As they moved through the crowd, they moved the bodies out of the way and made sure not to hit them out of respect.

Mr. Lowe called out asking if anyone was alive or if they could hear him. But all was quiet. Mr. Lowe refused to give up until he had found all of the survivors. On the wood, Jack sang to himself while (Y/N) tried to join in, just to make sure both stayed alive. Neither of them had much energy anymore until they saw the flashlight that Mr. Lowe was pointing into the sea. Both of them tried to call out to Mr. Lowe but their voices were horse from the salt water they had accidentally swallowed that night.

But Jack had one last idea. Getting into the water, he swam over to the officer with the whistle and swam back before blowing the whistle to get their attention. Mr. Lowe looked over in their direction and made their way over to the couple who were happy that they were going to get out of this alive. As Jack blew the whistle, (Y/N) in the present opened her eyes to see everyone around her crying.

"1,500 people went into the sea when Titanic sank from under us," (Y/N) continued, "There were 20 boats floating nearby and only one came back. One. seven were saved from the water myself and Jack included. Seven... out of 1,500. Afterward, the 700 people in the boats had nothing to do but wait. Wait to die, wait to live... wait for an absolution that would never come."

The survivors waited for another hour and a half for rescue. (Y/N) and Jack shared a blanket to keep warm. Cal and many others drank whatever alcohol was available to keep warm. (M/N) had heard nothing about (Y/N) and had assumed she died in the freezing cold ocean. The sun had barely started to rise when Mr. Lowe set off a flair when he saw a ship on the horizon. The Carpathia had finally arrived after three and a half hours. When the sun rose, passengers could see their rescue and more icebergs around them.

Everyone was let aboard and both lifeboats and lifejackets were collected from passengers. The crew started to take the names of survivors while others asked if their loved ones had survived too. Cal just looked for (Y/N), seeing if he could get the diamond back. But he never found her. And that was the last time the two ever saw him. He married, of course, and inherited his millions but the crash of '29 hit his interests hard and he put a pistol in his mouth that year or so (Y/N) and Jack read. They arrived in America days later. The rain was pouring as the city was lit up by the lights of the buildings there.

"Can I take your names please?" an officer asked, approaching the couple.

"Dawson. Jack Dawson."

"Dawson," Jack looked at (Y/N) surprised, "(Y/N) Dawson."

The officer just wrote down the names and left. Jack didn't argue with the name change, just giving her a side hug and a smile.

"We never found anything on Jack," Lewis said, "There's no record of him at all."

"No, there wouldn't be, would there?" (Y/N) asked him, "And I've never spoken of him until now. Not since his passing, anyway. A woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets. But now you know there was a man named Jack Dawson and that he saved me in every way that a person can be saved. I have pictures of him. But what he was like as a person lives only in my memory."