The sound of the wooden lifeboat hitting the hull of the rescue liner The Carpathia awoken Sasha and Neleh from their nice long sleep they had during the cold and emotional roller coaster of a boat ride in the middle of the North Atlantic.
Sasha opened up her huge brown eyes to see that it was no longer the dark and starless night that she had last seen it was now dawn. The sun was just beginning to rise on the horizon as their small boat was beginning to be lifted out of the water and up to the boat deck of the small passenger liner.
�August, what�s happening?� Neleh asked her older sister who was in tears for David, and was almost frozen solid from the below zero temperatures on the ocean.
�Where being lifted out of the water and up to the boat deck of the rescue ship. You�ll be able to see your mother very soon Sasha� August said turning her head to the other little girl resting her head on one of her shoulders.
Sasha smiled with a twinkle of hope in her brown eyes. She had been waiting to see her mother ever since they were sent to go onto this little lifeboat. She feared that her mother was in trouble when she heard her scream out Catherine�s name in the mix of all the other screams of the other stranded passengers.
She was trying her best not to think the worst. Sasha knew that her mother was strong and would be able to survive. She knew that her mother would stop at nothing to see her again. They had never been apart from each other for this long of time before and Sasha hoped that it would never happen again.
Once the lifeboat had finally made it to the wooden boat deck of The Carpathia two crewmembers from the rescue ship began to help the hysterical and emotional young mothers and wives out of the boat along with the tired, cold, hungry and confused children.
August was having a hard time trying to stand up in the small boat since she had been sitting in the exact same position in the freezing cold weather for over 6 hours waiting for the little boat of survivors to be picked up by a passing by ocean liner.
One of the crewmembers helped Sasha and Neleh down while a Nurse came by and wrapped two nice warm blankets around their small shivering bodies. August soon joined the two girls as they clutched their dolls with their lives. It was the only personal effect that they were able to salvage from the sinking ship in time.
�There is warm tea and hot chocolate in the lounge of the ship for you to have to warm up your bodies. You poor things, it was so terrible what happened to you� the nurse said as she directed them towards the lounge.
�Have the passengers Sara Sidle, Catherine Willows, David McAdams, Greg Sanders, or Gil Grissom arrived on the ship yet?� August asked as they walked down the hallway seeing that many of the other survivors wrapped in blankets huddled close together.
�No I�m afraid not Miss, they could be aboard another lifeboat. The captain said that he had spotted 3 other lifeboats out in the ocean filled with survivors.� The nurse replied and then left them to go back to sickbay.
August looked down and saw the panicked look on Sasha�s face over hearing what the nurse had said. She crouched down to be eye-level with the girl and smiled at her. �Don�t worry Sasha, I promise you that you will see your mother again.� August whispered and gave the little girl a kiss on the cheek.
Back out in the ocean Sara opened her eyes and saw that they were being lifted out of the water. She saw that they had finally reached the rescue boat and they were lifting them up to the boat deck. After the 6 hours that they were out in the rocky, cold and murdering ocean they had finally found help.
She looked over at Catherine and for the first time she saw how blue her friend actually looked. It was easier to see since it was light out instead of a pitch-dark sky. Her eyes were still closed and she could hear and feel her warm breath in her almost dying body.
Catherine was wrapped in a layer after layer of blankets that woman had generously given her knowing that she was as cold as an ice cube when Sara had pulled her out of the water. It was helping her fight the hypothermia from being submerged in the freezing water for so long but it wasn�t enough. She needed medical attention immediately before she did die.
�She needs to see a doctor.� one of the ladies that was being helped out of the boat proclaimed as she pointed towards Catherine and Sara.
One of the crewmembers stepped inside of the small lifeboat and picked up Catherine out of Sara�s arms. How light her unconscious body felt as he stepped out on to the boat deck surprised him.
He began to walk down the boat deck a he was closely followed by a nurse as they headed towards sickbay. Sara wanted so desperately to follow them to see if Catherine was going to be all right but she was to cramped to even move at the moment.
Her legs were numb and stuck in one place from sitting in the same position for the last 6 hours. All she was thinking about was her daughter and how frightened she must have been having her not with her. How her nightmare that she did have a few says before did actually come true.
She also thought about the looks on Gil and Greg�s faces when they saw Catherine fall off and plunged about 4 stories down into the ocean. How scared they looked when they saw her life belt come up but not her. How she was trying so desperately to fight her way to the surface.
The look of relief that came across their face when they saw her pull Catherine up into the lifeboat. They were happy that she was still alive but was worried that she was going to die soon after from hypothermia since she was pulled out of the water wearing only her slim silk blue nightgown.
�Miss, take my hand Miss and I�ll help you out of the boat� the soul crewmember said to Sara who ended up being in the last person in the lifeboat.
She grabbed a hold of his nice warm hand that felt good compared to her shaking, cold and clammy one. He helped her over the edge and on to the boat deck planting two feet firmly on solid wood. A nurse wrapped a blanket around Sara�s shivering body.
�Can you take me to my friend?� Sara asked the young woman who nodded her head and smiled as she began walking down the boat deck that headed towards Sick Bay.
Back in the lounge August, Neleh and Sasha were all drinking their nice warm hot chocolate and tea. The warm liquid felt good going down their throats causing their whole body to warm up.
�Excuse me sir� August said trying to catch the attention of the crewmember that passed by the small group of passengers.
�Yes Miss?� he said turning his head towards August with a smile on his face.
�Have the passengers Sara Sidle and Catherine Willows boarded the ship yet?� August asked for the 5th time in the past hour.
�Yes, they were taken to Sick Bay I believe� he said and then walked off.
�Is mama alright?� Sasha asked with tears forming in her eyes. She feared that her mother could be seriously injured or dying.
�I�m sure she just has a small case of hypothermia or something� August said as the small group walked down towards Sick Bay.
�What�s hypo-hypoermia?� Sasha said trying to pronounce the huge word.
�It�s what you get when your in cold water for a long time� August said with a smile as she tried not to laugh at Sasha trying to pronounce the word.
They walked down a maze of corridors and passed many cabins but no Sick Bay. They weren�t sure exactly were they were going. August forgot to ask the man were sickbay was but she was to focused on hearing that they were aboard that it just slipped her mind. They would have asked for directions but there was no one to ask. It would be a matter of time before they would just stumbled across it.
Twenty minutes later they had finally reached sickbay seeing cots after cots lined up along one wall with a dividing curtain between each one. They saw that passengers aboard the Titanic that were male occupied most of the cots. You would assume so since most of the woman and children that were on the boat deck when they were filling the lifeboats were aboard one. They kept going until they saw an older woman sitting by one of the cots.
August recognized her as the woman that Catherine was looking at in the first class dinning room when they bumped into them on there way to Sunday Mass. She remembered that Catherine had said that it was her mother. So that cot must be hers, but where�s Sara?
�Excuse me Miss?� August said holding on to the two girls hands.
Catherine�s mother looked over and saw the three third class passengers standing there looking at Catherine sleeping soundly in her cot. �Yes?� she whispered.
�Have you seen another third class woman around here, her names Sara.� August asked. Sasha hid her face in Augusts dress at the frightful sight of Catherine lying in her bed.
�Yes, she was here when I came to see my daughter. The nurse said that she could use the cot beside Catherine to have some rest. She must have known my daughter to have stayed with her while the doctors came and checked on her� Catherine�s mother said and pointed to the cot beside her.
�Thank-you� Sasha said and she walked over to the cot on the other side of the dividing curtain.
Sasha was crying seeing her mother once again. They were tears of joy of course since she had finally been reunited with her mother and she was still alive. Sasha saw blood splattered on her face and some on her hands and she wondered were that had come from.
Sara was wrapped in nice warm blankets with her head on a nice fluffy white pillow. She loved the warmth that the bed provided and made her feel almost 100% better. Her eyes were closed as she was softly breathing in and out while she slept.
Sasha walked over to her mother and gave her a kiss on the cheek feeling how warm she was. Sara moaned thinking that it was Greg coming to give her a good morning kiss. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that her daughter was standing at her bedside with tears in her eyes and smile on her face.
�Sasha,� Sara whispered and put her arms around her daughter for the first time in 6 hours. She had totally forgotten that August, Neleh and her were aboard the ship. She had been so concentrated on Catherine for the past hours that it slipped her mind.
�Mama, I missed you so much. I�m so glad that you�re okay I was so worried that something had happened to you when we were told that you were in Sick bay� Sasha said crying on her mother�s shoulder who was also in tears.
�I missed you too. I just needed to rest that�s all. Last night was one hell of a night. As you have probably seen Catherine isn�t doing to great,� Sara said as she helped her daughter up on the cot so she could cuddle with her.
Sara pulled back the adjoining curtain and saw that Mrs. Willows was still at her daughter�s bedside. In the exact same place she had seen left an hour ago. Sara was actually surprised that Catherine�s mother had come to visit her but was more surprised that Gil had not yet and neither had Greg and that worried her.
�Has she woken up yet?� Sara asked looking over at the distraught older lady sitting in one of the uncomfortable chairs holding her daughter�s cold clammy hand.
�Nice to see you well rested Sara, it looked like you needed that after the nightmares of the night before. No she has not woken up. I�m scared for her, it�s as if she never will wake up� Mrs. Willows said and busted out into a fresh batch of tears.
Sara frowned seeing that her friend had not awoken from her unconscious state yet which she had been under for the past six hours. A few seconds after she pulled her into the lifeboat she was out cold from exhaustion and fatigue.
She then remembered that Greg had said that his parents were aboard The Carpathia, which was the ship she was aboard at the moment. Maybe he, Gil and David had gone to their cabin to warm up and get rested before they came looking for the women.
She pulled the warm blanket off of her body seeing that she had some of the man�s blood still on her dress from the events in the evening before. That man will haunt her and Catherine in their dreams for the longest time since he was the reason they were in this predicament in the first place. If he had just obeyed like all of the other men then he wouldn�t of got shot and wouldn�t have pushed Catherine overboard almost killing her.
�Mama where are you going?� Sasha asked seeing that her mother was getting up out of the nice warm cot.
�I need to go check something, you stay here with Catherine and everyone and I promise you that I will be back in a few minutes� Sara said and gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead.
She walked out of sickbay and wanted to find the Pursers office that was aboard this ship. She knew that it was on C deck on the Titanic but wasn�t sure if it would be the same on this passenger liner that was half the size of Titanic. But it was worth a try.
She figured out that she was on A deck so she had to go down two decks to get to C deck. She found the main staircase that lead all the way down to F deck and took it down until she reached C deck.
Sara ended up in another lounge, one that was not occupied by any passengers at the moment. She saw rows upon rows of stateroom doors with passengers smiling at her knowing that she had been in the terrible disaster and needed all the comforting she could get.
At the end of the long narrow corridor she saw a small office. It was none other than the Pursers office. She was glad that it was on C deck or she would be on a wild goose chase looking for it for a very long time.
Sara walked up to the desk and rang the small brass bell on the side of the counter trying to get a hold of the Purser. A small man dressed in a uniform came out of the small office and smiled seeing Sara standing at the other side of the counter.
�How may I be of assistance Miss?� he asked eyeing the blood on her dress thinking that someone was in trouble.
�I need to know what stateroom someone that I am meeting is in� Sara asked with a smile.
�Well what are their names and I can try and find out what room they are staying in?� he asked taking out the passengers manifest.
�I don�t know there first names but there last names are Sanders S-a-n-d-e-r-s� Sara said spelling it out for the man incase he didn�t understand her British accent.
�Yes, Mr. Greg and Mrs. Caroline Sanders. They�re staying in room B14 it�s one floor up and turn to your right then head down that corridor until you reach the cabin you�re searching for.� The man said.
�Thank-you,� Sara said and turned around ready to leave when the man touched her arm. She turned back to look at him and was about to slap him across the face for touching her.
�I don�t recognize you Miss. Who are you?� he asked more serious.
�I�m Sara Sidle, I�m one of the survivors aboard the Titanic� she replied.
�Beg my pardon, I thought that you might be a stowaway or something judging by the outfit your wearing. I�m so sorry that you had to go through such a tragedy as the one you had endured.� He apologized.
�Thank-you, now can you let go of my arm?� Sara asked.
�Yes of course Miss. I couldn�t help but notice the blood on your clothes, are you alright?� he asked letting go of her arm.
�Yes I�m fine thank-you� Sara said and walked away before the Purser asked her any more obscured questions.
She headed up the staircase that she had just came from and saw that she was now on B deck. She took a right just like the Purser had said and ended up down another long narrow corridor filled with staterooms.
Sara looked at the brass numbers on each of the wooden doors and saw that they were increasing from B5 all the way to B20. She had finally made it to the right stateroom and took a deep breath.
She wasn�t sure if she was making the biggest mistake of her lifetime or not. She wasn�t even sure if these actually were Greg�s parents or not. Sara had never known that Greg had the same name as his father but she decided to take this chance and see what the result was.
Sara rapped her knuckles on the hardwood door three times and then pulled her hand back placing it at her side. She was scared thinking that she was making a mistake and the wait for someone to answer felt like it was lasting forever.
She could hear the door being unlocked on the other side and saw it open up with an older man standing there still in his pajamas smiling at Sara while he looked her over.
�Who are you?� he asked with a strong Irish accent. He had the same facial features as Greg and Sara huffed knowing that it was the right room.
�I�m Sara Sidle,� Sara introduced herself.
�What are you doing here? You look like your lost or something?� he replied and smiled showing off his yellowish stained teeth.
�I�m ah I�m here to see you�re son� Sara said ignoring Mr. Sanders last comment.
�My son?� the man asked shocked at the question �I�m sorry Miss but you have the wrong ship, my son is aboard the marvelous Titanic� he replied.
�I�m from the Titanic as well, we were dating and I was just wondering if ah if he was here or not?� Sara asked and the man gave her a quizzed look.
�How can you be from the Titanic? You�re aboard this ship. If this is some kind of sick prank then you have crossed the line�
�I�ll ah take that as a no that he has not come to see you. It was nice to meet you and ah sorry for intruding like this� Sara said and turned around beginning to walk back down the corridor. The man shook his head confused and shut the door behind him.
Sara couldn�t help but being to cry. She had thought of every possible thing to try and find Greg and Gil. The only answer left was that they didn�t make it. That they did die aboard the Titanic. It will shatter Catherine�s heart when she hears the news along with Sasha.
She used the corner of her dress to wipe away her tears when she thought she heard someone calling her name down the hallway faintly. It sounded like Greg and thought that it was just her imagination until it began to get louder.
Sara turned around and saw Greg and Gil running down the corridor towards her. Her eyes lit up with excitement and a broad smile appeared on her lips as she ran towards the two men.
�Greg!� she yelled as she jumped into Greg�s arms as he spun her around like a child. He gave her a kiss on the lips and they couldn�t help but cry tears of joy that they had found each other.
�I told you that nothing could pull us apart� Greg whispered in Sara�s ear as she laughed at him spinning her around.
�Where�s David?� Sara asked as they headed down the hallway once again.
�I�m sorry Sara but he didn�t make it. We were all together at one time and then all of a sudden he took off into the crowd and we never saw him again.� Gil said and Sara frowned knowing that her friend was going to be hysterical at hearing that news.
�August will be devastated� Sara said and gave Greg a kiss before she turned to Gil �Catherine is down in Sickbay I�ll take you guys two her. Everyone else is there as well� Sara said and hopped down out of Greg�s arms and hopped on to his back instead.
She rested her head on his strong shoulders, which she felt safe and secure around. She was glad that she had not lost her only love that she had ever really cared about besides her daughter. The feel of his nice warm skin and the sound of his Irish accent made her happily ever after fairytale become real.
The small group of friends headed down the flight of stairs passing by the Pursers office. Sara looked inside the small area and saw the Purser staring back at her with a smile on his face. She laughed as they headed down the stairs to C deck.
August saw Gil, Greg and Sara heading her way seeing the smile on he friends face as she was finally reunited with her lover. She frowned when she didn�t see David with the small group and then knew that he hadn�t made it to one of the lifeboats.
Her heart shattered at that moment in time. She had only known him for a few days but she had felt like she had known him for years. Neleh wasn�t that close to him as she was but she didn�t expect her to be.
August had a feeling that Neleh wouldn�t feel very comfortable with a man in her life. It had always been just the two of them since their parents had died when they were very young.
�Sasha,� Sara called and saw the head of her daughter poke out from behind the hospital curtain with a broad smile on her face from hearing her voice.
�Look who I found wondering the boat,� Sara said and Sasha ran towards them seeing that Greg was giving her mother a piggyback. She was now happy that the three of them were all back together again, like a family.
�GREG!� Sasha yelled causing Catherine�s mother to wake up from her nap that she was taking in the chair next to her daughter�s cot.
�Sasha I missed you so much!� Greg said kneeling down as Sara got off his back and Sasha ran into his arms. He picked her up and spun her around causing her to laugh with happiness.
�Greg I�m so glad that you�re alright! Mama and I were so worried� Sasha said and gave Greg a huge bear hug.
�Where�s David?� Neleh asked not seeing her older sisters boyfriend in the room.
Sara, Greg and Gil all looked at each other not wanting to explain the death of someone to a 7 year-old girl who would become upset after hearing the news that she would only be able to half understand.
�I don�t know how to explain this Neleh but David didn�t make it� Gil said trying to be as gentle as he could with the little girl.
�What do you mean?� Neleh asked confused.
�What Gil means Neleh is that David has passed away and gone to a better place now� August said crouching down to be eye-level with her younger sister.
�You mean he died?�
August nodded her head with tears rolling down her cheeks morning the loss of her lover. Neleh couldn�t stand seeing her sister crying and depressed. She reached around her sister�s shoulders and gave her sister a huge hug trying to make her feel better after loosing David.
�Excuse me Mrs. Willows?� Gil asked as he approached Catherine�s mother trying not to break down into tears seeing Catherine the way she was.
�Yes,� Mrs. Willows said hearing a man�s voice say her name and saw that it was Gil. �Oh Gil, I�m so glad you survived. Maybe you�ll have better luck than me at waking your sleeping beauty up� Mrs. Willows said and got up out of the chair.
�She hasn�t woken up yet?� Gil asked dumbfounded.
�No sadly she hasn�t. But maybe if she knows that you�re here she will. I�ll leave you alone with her, I need to get some rest anyway� she said and got up leaving the group in Sickbay.
Gil took the seat that Catherine�s mother wasn�t sitting in to long ago. He couldn�t help the tears that were rolling down his cheeks hating the sight of Catherine like this. He grabbed her small blue hand in his large warm one and could feel that she was still cold to the touch.
�Catherine, I don�t know if you can hear me but it�s me Gil. I survived and I�ve come to see you� Gil said trying to make small talk with her.
�Why don�t we go and get something to drink and eat in the lounge?� Sara suggested as she grabbed Sasha and Greg�s hand while they left sickbay with August and Neleh following behind leaving Gil alone with Catherine.
�I was going to give you this last night after dinner but we were interrupted by a huge chunk of ice hitting the ship� Gil said pulling out a ring box in his breast pocket of his tuxedo�s coat pocket. �I�m actually surprised that I didn�t loose it in the Atlantic Ocean while I was fighting for my life� Gil said.
He looked up Catherine�s face and saw that her face was still a light shade of blue from the hypothermia caused by the bone chilling water. She was breathing regularly as her chest rose every few seconds. One of her arms was draped over her stomach while the other one was in Gil�s hand as he rubbed it trying to warm her up. He knew that their baby was still in her even thought after everything she had been through.
Gil could still see the bruise that Eddie had scared her with in the � La Carte Restaurant days before the iceberg had fatally injured the hull of the Titanic. He knew that he would no longer be a threat to Catherine since he had drowned being chained to a hot water pipe down on E deck.
�The whole time I was submerged in that icy water I could only think of you and how you had fought your heart out trying to surface so many times. How much courage and how brave you were to take off all your warm clothing to get to that lifeboat. I don�t think I could have even had the energy or the determination to do that if I were in your predicament.� Gil said feeling stupid like he was talking to himself.
Catherine could faintly hear Gil�s voice in her mind talking to her about how brave she was. She felt as if it were a dream and as if he was saying it in her mind. She then could hear it louder as if it were right next to her sitting there in flesh and bones.
She moved her hand slightly feeling that softness of someone else�s hand clasped around hers. Catherine gave a small moan as she slowly opened up her blue eyes seeing that everything around her was blurred. She shifted her eyes to the side and came face to face with a blurred vision of Gil sitting there with tears of joy in his eyes.
�Catherine, your awake� Gil said hysterical and leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek as she smiled knowing that it wasn�t a figure of her imagination Gil really did survive the Titanic.
�Gil, I love you� Catherine whispered having hardly a voice and smiled with tears rolling down her still numb cheeks.
�I love you too Catherine. I was meaning to give you this after dinner last night but other events got in the way,� Gil said as he opened up the ring box that was beside him.
Catherine saw the sparkling diamond ring sitting in the ring box as it twinkled in the sunlight making it look more beautiful then it was. She began to cry again knowing that Gil was proposing to her.
�Catherine Willows, will you marry me?� Gil asked as he slipped the ring on Catherine�s left ring finger that ended up to be a perfect fit.
Catherine lay there in silence for a few moments trying to process all of this at once. First she had survived the disaster and so had Gil, which made her more than happy. Now he had just proposed to her, which was a huge shock. She had never expected that to happen.
�Of course� she finally said and gave Gil and hug and a kiss while she still cried tears of happiness and joy becoming a mother and wife.
�Catherine!� Sasha yelled as she ran over to her first class friend who was now awake.
�Sasha, how nice to see your pretty little face again� Catherine said as she gave the little girl a hug.
�We were very worried about you, you hadn�t woken up for 6 hours!� Neleh said as she came to join her at the side of the bunk.
�Really? That�s a long time isn�t it� Catherine replied and the girls nodded their heads. Catherine spotted Sara with her arm around Greg smiling at them.
�How can I ever repay you for saving my life Sara� Catherine said as Sara came over towards her and gave her new friend a hug with tears rolling down her cheeks.
�You don�t have too,� Sara whispered and gave Catherine a kiss on the cheek. She looked down and saw that Catherine was wearing an engagement ring.
�Congratulations� she whispered in her ear pointing down towards the ring on her finger. Catherine saw that she had seen the ring and smiled.
�Thank-you� she replied and gave Gil another kiss causing the kids to burst out laughing at the engaged couple.
�I don�t know if this will surprise you or not Catherine but your mother was here� August said knowing that her and her mother were like oil and water.
�She was?� Catherine asked flabbergasted
�Yes, she was here for hours waiting for you to wake up. She told me to go get some rest since I was with you waiting for you to wake up as well. I didn�t really sleep though since I heard your mother talking to you while you were passed out,� Sara said.
�I bet she had lots to yell at me about� Catherine stated sitting up in the cot with the help of Gil.
�Actually she was saying how much she loves you and would be lost if you had ever left her. She also apologized for not listening to you or believing you when you would talk about this guy named Eddie. I think you really scared her laying here looking like you were dying� Sara replied causing tear to roll down Catherine�s cheeks again.
�She really said those things?� Catherine asked whipping away her tears.
�Yes,� Sara replied hearing it all as she was trying to fall asleep in the bunk beside Catherine.
�Leave it to her to tell me those things when I�m unconscious although she won�t admit it when I�m wake and walking around.� Gil couldn�t help but laugh at that knowing that even if she did know her mother really did say those things nothing will change between them, they have too much fun fighting.
�Catherine?� Sasha asked.
�Yes Sasha� Catherine said turning towards the young girl.
�My mama said that you and Gil are going to be having a baby,� Sasha blurted out and Sara went beat red with embarrassment.
�Yes, that�s right� Catherine said trying not to laugh.
�Did you think of any names yet?�
�Sasha!� Sara said scolding her daughter for asking a personal question.
�It�s alright. We have thought of a few. For a girl we think Lindsay and for a boy Richard or Rick for short� Catherine said with a smile.
�I have another name for you to choose from� Sasha said
�What name would that be?�
�My name, Sasha� she said and everyone laughed.
They all stayed together in sickbay for the rest of the voyage was only about 2 days. They had lots of fun hearing life stories with each other and they all became real good friends. It ended up that Catherine, Sara, Gil and Greg all wanted to get into the science field of detectives so they all ended up staying together in Catherine�s mansion along with Sasha, Neleh and August.
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