1913 nearly a year after the Titanic

Rose had been gone nearly a year and the last year had terrible for Ruth Bukater. She was lucky that Cora Hockley who was Cal's aunt had taken her in. She was the only family member who treated Ruth with any respect or dignity.

Cal Hockley threatened to have her evicted and said that once his aunt was dead, that she would be evicted. Whenever he was around, her verbally abused her calling her low class filth just like her daughter who was a slut and a whore. Once time she tried to slap him after having enough of his verbal abuse, he grabbed her left wrist very tightly, yanked her around and warned her that he would have her arrested for assault. He also told her that if he and Rose had married, he would have put it her in a sanatorium as she was no use to him. He then spit in her face after she called him a bully and coward.

This is when a light bulb came on in her mind.

The next morning the wrist was sore and there was bruising on the wrist. She had severe pain in the wrist whenever she tried to use it. As she was soaking her wrist in cold water, she thought about what Rose had said about Cal. Everything that she had said was true and correct. She knew it was only a matter of time before Cora died. Cora slept most of the time and eat very little. This was a sign that death was near.

A year to the day of the Titanic sinking, Cora Hockley died in the wee hours of the morning. As soon as Ruth knew that the aunt had died, she left a note saying that she had left and wouldn't be returning. She had packed a bag of what she could carry and it wasn't much. Cal Hockley had all her possessions and property sold but he never gave her a dime of it. He kept the money saying this was payment for her to have a roof over her head.

She had nothing to lose by leaving and she never wanted to see the Hockley family again.

The sun had just come up when she left. She had hid some money in her purse which was enough to get her out of town. She had no family and no friends. She didn't know where she would go except that she would get as far away from Cal and the Hockley family as she could. The swelling in her wrist was down considerably but she still had severe pain. She knew Cal Hockley hated Florida and it was unlikely she would see him again there.

Three months after the Titanic

"I know you love New York ,Rose, but we can't stay here. It's dangerous. God forbid if Cal sees us. We have to leave. You are an emotional and physical wreak with worry Rose. If he find us, he will kill me at the very least. Most likely, he would kill both of us."

"Too bad he survived. Cal was beaten with an boat oar when he stepped outside the hospital. When he was hit in the back of the head, the oar broke and the person who did this hit him in the back with the broken part which also broke. He was then pushed into a glass door. He was knocked out cold. Bastard, got what he deserved."

Jack didn't say anything else. He didn't have to.

Rose panicked every time she went out. A couple of hours earlier she saw someone that looked like Cal walking towards her and nearly freaked out. It turned out it wasn't him. She had been very disappointed when she found out that Cal Hockley had survived a vicious attack when he had tried to find her at the hospital. He had almost died in the attack.

In a very bold move, Rose and Jack had gone back to where she lived at night several weeks earlier (right after they were released from the hospital) and had taken some jewelry and other items that they could carry. She was surprised that the door was open. Jack was looking at a painting when it fell to the ground and money came out. Neither one could believe it. There was an old suitcase that they put the money in. There was more money hidden. They took what they could and then left quickly. No one saw them.

A train was leaving from New York to Jacksonville Florida. In a couple of days, the train finally pulled into Jacksonville. Rose had been sick the entire trip. When she got to Jacksonville, there was a nurse waiting for her. She was quickly taken to a hospital.

Jack paced the floor not knowing what to do. Finally the doctor came out after what seemed a very long time.

"Mr. Dawson, your wife is pregnant and she needs to rest."

"Can I see her?

Rose looked very pale and looked very tired.

"How are you feeling?"

"Just tired and worn out."

The feelings that Rose had about being pregnant was a combination of joy as well as fear.

"Well, we need to get married right away if we want to be a respectable couple."

A couple of days later Rose and Jack were married by the Justice of the Peace at the courthouse in Jacksonville.