Voyage to the Sea

By-christianqueenofegypt

Summary

AU Rose is a poor Irish girl on board the ship Titanic with her mother, Ruth DeWitter. While working, Rose befriends both the shipbuilder Thomas Andrews and Jack Dawson, a young artist. Despite her mother's desire for Rose to have a better life and marry Cal Hockley, Rose finds herself in love with the sea, and a certain Irishman…

Disclaimer: I do not own Titanic

Chapter 1: To Be...or Not to Be?

Ninety-two-year-old Rose Andrews paced up and down her living room apartment in Manhattan, New York, while waiting for her granddaughter Lizzy to call.

If they've found what I think they will…Oh, Thomas! If only you were here! The elderly woman thought as she looked up at the old photograph of her deceased husband Thomas E. Andrews upon the living room wall.

Suddenly the telephone rang. Rose nearly jumped. Then with anticipation and excitement, she picked up the phone.

"Hello?" she asked, not sure who was on the other end of the line.

"Grandma?" Lizzy asked. Rose smiled. "Yes, dear…what is it?" Her granddaughter, Lizzy Calvert had gone to run some errands, and was due back any minute.

"I wanted to tell you earlier, but I lost signal. Turn on the TV to CNN…there's a story about a historian and a computer whiz who found the sunken liner…"

Rose's eyes were as big as saucers. "What did they say her name was?" she asked breathlessly.

"The Titanic" The phone dropped. Rose felt dizzy as if she was going to fall over. Slowly she made her way over to the television and grabbed the remote turning it to the desired channel.

"Grandma?" Lizzy hollered. Frustrated, the woman hung up the phone. She had to get home!

"... I have museum-trained experts here, making sure this stuff is preserved and catalogued properly. Look at this drawing, which was found today…"

It was Thomas' drawing! The one where she was posing near the stern at sunset, the evening of their engagement! How had it survived?

The man called Brock Lovett told the reporter.

"... Its a piece of paper that's been underwater for seventy-two years... and my team was

able to preserve it as if it was drawn yesterday. Should this have remained unseen at the bottom of the ocean for eternity, when we can see it and enjoy it now...?"

Rose was hypnotized by the portrait. She blanched as she looked at the drawing. "Well, Glory be" she whispered.

Lizzy came in just then, carrying several bags of groceries in her arms. Rose turned to her, her face still as white as a ghost.

Lizzy looked with concern at her aging grandmother. "Grandma? Are you all right? You look as if you've seen a ghost."

Rose smiled a little. "Yes, perhaps…the ghost of your grandfather"

Lizzy gave Rose a funny look then looked at the television screen. The picture of a young woman on the stern of a liner, at what appeared to be sunset, was frozen on the screen.

"She's beautiful" Lizzy commented, admiring the portrait.

Rose smiled softly. "Oh, she was at one time, perhaps" Rose blinked back tears looking over at the wall.

Lizzy looked at the initials on the drawing. T.A. 4/13/1912

T.A. Lizzy thought. The younger woman whirled around at stared at her elderly relative.

"Thomas Andrews?" she cried in disbelief.

Rose chuckled softly. "Yes, my dear. Your grandfather Thomas Andrews drew that picture. And the girl he was drawing… was me"

Meanwhile…

Brock Lovett started whistling as he got ready to enter one of the submarines that would take him and Lewis Bodine down to the liner to investigate.

Suddenly he turned as Bobby Beull ran over to him, satellite phone in his hand.

"Phone call for you boss…some lady says she's a survivor of Titanic…she was married to the guy who drew that picture"

Brock raised an eyebrow. "What's her name?" he asked.

"Rose Andrews" came the reply. Brock sighed and took the phone. If this was some kind of prank…

"Hello?" he asked.

"Mr. Lovett?" came an Irish accent over the phone.

"Yes, I'm Brock Lovett…May I ask…?"

"My name is Rose Andrews. My husband and I were survivors on the Titanic"

Brock couldn't help but feel a sense of 'prove it'.

"Look at the picture closely, Mr. Lovett…Does the young woman have a dragon-fly comb in her hair?"

Lovett looked at the picture closely. Yes. The artist had taken special precaution to draw a comb in the young woman's hair.

"Yes, I see it" Brock said. Rose smiled at the other end of the line.

"What is your purpose, Mrs. Andrews? Why are you so interested in the drawing?" the historian asked, purely impressed that she had uncovered a detail that even he had missed.

"I'm only telling you this because I was the girl in the portrait."

Brock nearly dropped the phone. His mouth went dry.

"Also Mr. Lovett…perhaps you'd like to know about the 'Heart of the Ocean' as well?" Rose said, a twinkle in her eye.

Brock hurried out of the submarine and nearly knocked Anatoly over.

"How soon can we meet?" he asked.

Rose smiled. "As soon as you'd like" They said their goodbyes and Rose hung up the phone.

She smiled at Lizzy who looked confused. "Everything will be explained in due time" Rose winked.

She smiled sadly at the picture of Thomas again. Shaking her head, she called for her Irish setter, Shepherd.

"Here, Shep! There's a good boy…now, we have company coming, and I want you to be on your best behavior"

The dog barked. Rose smiled at the dog as she patted him. He'd been a great comfort when Thomas had died of a pneumonia ten years ago.

The Irish woman smiled to herself as she grabbed the dog's leash. She couldn't wait for tomorrow!

Lizzy unpacked Rose's things in the small utilitarian room. Rose is placing a number of photo frames on the nightstand, arranging them carefully, next to the fishbowl. Brock and Bodine are in the doorway.

"Is your stateroom alright?" Lovett asked.

"Yes. Very nice. Have you met my granddaughter, Lizzy? She takes care of me." Rose said with a smile. She'd seen the way Brock Lovett had eyed Lizzy.

"Yes. We met just a few minutes ago, grandma. Remember, up on deck?" Lizzy responded.

"Oh, yes. That's right" Rose answered.

Brock glanced at Bodine... oh oh. Bodine rolled his eyes.

Rose finishes arranging her photographs.

Lizzy looked at them remembering fondly her parents, her aunt and uncle, her cousins and siblings, and finally her dearly departed grandfather, Thomas Andrews, the ship's builder.

"There, that's nice. I have to have my pictures when I travel. And Shep of course." she grinned at the dog.

Rose smiled to herself as Lovett filled Lizzy in on the history of the diamond and so forth. They didn't know what she knew.

She looked at Thomas' picture again. So handsome, so bright and alive; and very mischievous.

She listened in on the last part of the conversation.

"If your grandma is who she says she is, she had the diamond two days before Titanic sank." Lovett said with a smile.

He looked at Rose.

"And that makes you my new best friend. I will happily compensate you for

anything you can tell us that will lead to its recovery."

"I don't want your money, Mr. Lovett. I know how hard it is for people who

care greatly for money to give some away." Rose said with a smile.

"You don't want anything?" Bodine asked skeptically.

Rose pointed at the drawing. "You may give me this, if anything I tell you is of value."

Lovett nodded. "Deal."

Rose smiled. "Then I'm ready to begin my tale."

She waited for everyone to get comfortable then began her story…