"Come Josephine, in my flying machine, going up she goes, up she goes! In the air she goes! Where? Up she goes!" Jack and Rose chanted while walking back to first class after they had been to the party below the decks while the members of the third class. Rose had had a marvelous time, and hadn't had that much fun in years. Well, actually, not that much fun in her entire life. The two started to bust out in laughter, and Rose looked above her, into the deep, endless sky. The stars were so small, nothing could compare. Not even the selfish people in her class as much as they thought of themselves. "Isn't it magnificent? So grand and endless," she mused to Jack beside her. She then walked over to the rail, and felt that her opinion on her class needed to be said. "They're such small people, Jack… my crowd. They think they're giants, and they're not even dust in God's eye," she exclaimed, still staring above. He leaned next to her and put his hand on hers and she blushed in the slightest way. "Well, there's a mistake. You're not one of them. You were mailed to the wrong address," he told her with a chuckle. She laughed back at him, "I did, didn't I," she spoke rhetorically. Suddenly, a bedazzlement of a star shot across the endless sky and Rose gasped. "Look, a shooting star!" and patted Jack's hand. They stared at the sky for a long moment, and took it in. "That was a long one. My father used to tell me that whenever you saw one, it was another soul going to heaven," he informed her. "I like that," she mused, "Aren't we supposed to wish upon it?" They were incredibly close now, close enough so that Jack could have kissed her and she realized it. "Why? What would you wish for," he asked her and leaned in closer to her and she backed up a beat in return. "Something I can't have," she said regretfully. "Goodnight Jack. Thank you," she said gratefully as she walked towards the first class door only patting Jack's back.
When the older Rose stepped back aboard the Keldysh, she felt weak and felt like she could be much anything else. She had been the woman Jack had wanted her to be, and pursued everything she was capable of in her power. She missed him so much. She held herself together for Eighty-four years for him, and she couldn't hold up any longer. She suddenly felt dizzy, and grabbed her forehead. She knew her body was catching up to her age as she felt pains everywhere. She could feel the tears forming in her eyes, and she tried to hold them back, but failed. She had promised Jack that she wouldn't give up, and that she would live a great life with children and husband, but there were only so many tears a woman could keep inside. These were the tears that should have been shed back in 1912, but she had made a point not to give up back then. "It's alright, you'll be alright now," she heard replay in her mind, but wasn't so sure it was a flashback. "I'm sorry I'm crying tonight, Jack. It's been Eighty-four years since I held you, and I miss you. I'm trying, I tried. I can't stop these tears," she pleaded to Jack. Why in the world was she crying tonight though?
Out of these years, why tonight? What was different? Was it because she had thought of him and saw the ship again? She wiped the warm tears from her eyes, and smiled. She then realized that she was free and had lived to the maximum ability. Not only had she moved on, got married, had children and made life count, but she helped someone else. That was Jack's mission for Rose, and maybe it had been her mission to save Mr. Lovett. She got up steadily out of her wheelchair and walked over to one of the luggage pieces she had brought with her. She pulled out a familiar, black jacket that Jack had stolen to see her. A familiar black jacket that she had worn in the water, while holding his hand. In a sentimental way, she could still smell the way he smelled, and she held it close. She reached into the pockets, and turned away, out of the cabin. The floor was chilled from the icy air, but she never really was really cold again. She walked out towards the end of the Keldysh, holding on tightly, and put her feet on the top of the railing.
She opened her hand and there lie the heart of the ocean, still as stunning as the way it was back during Titanic. "Grandma, wait! Don't—," Rose turned her head looking at them in the most curious manner. "Don't come any closer. I'm warning you. I'll drop it," she warned and held up the diamond for Mr. Lovett and Lizzy to see. Mr. Lovett stood staring at rose with astonishment. "You had it the entire time?" he asked while Rose smiled at his miscomprehension. "The hardest part about being so poor was being so rich. But every time I thought about selling it, I thought of Cal. And somehow I got by without his help," she spoke, perhaps from a different source, and hold the diamond out closer to the water.
Mr. Bodine approached and couldn't believe his eyes. "Holy Shit," he murmured. "Don't drop it, Rose," ordered Mr. Lovett, "Look, I don't know what to say to someone who tries to jump off the titanic when it's not sinking and jumps back on when it is, but I'm talking logic here, I know that- but, please…think about what you're doing." Rose laughed at the memory of those moments. "Oh, well, I've thought about this for years, and I've come all of the way out here to put it back where it belongs," said Rose confidently. She held out the necklace and it sparkled under the moonlight. Mr. Lovett reached out his hand like he was going to grab it. "Okay, please, just let me hold it in my hand, Rose," Mr. Lovett begged. He moved closer to her, and it reminded Rose of the way Jack edged closer and closer to her on the titanic. She was amazed about Jack's presence with her tonight, and calmly placed the stone into Mr. Lovett's hand, while still holding onto the necklace. Mr. Lovett gazed at the object of his quest. An infinity of cold scalpels glint in its blue depths. It is mesmerizing and it fit in his hand just like he imagined.
"My God," he mused. He stroked the diamond with his thumb and just stared. He tightened his grip on the necklace, not wanting to ever let go. He looks up, begging in his eyes, and Rose laid her head to the side, her eyes full of wisdom. "You look for treasure in the wrong place, Mr. Lovett. Only life is priceless, and making…making each day count," she quoted Jack in her mind and Mr. Lovett's hand started to loosen in response. She then slipped the diamond back out of his hand, and before he could ever complain, she threw the necklace up behind her. They all stood over the rail, watching the necklace slowly spiral down into the abyss.
"Aww that really sucks, lady!" whined Mr. Bodine, and sighed. Mr. Lovett was having difficulty settling on a reaction, and finally settled for laughing. He laughs until the tears form in his eyes, and then he turns to Lizzy. "Would you like to dance?" he asked her, and she nodded, grinning sheepishly. Rose smiled to herself, and looked above, only to see a shooting star. Another soul going to heaven, she thought to herself, and walked directly to her cabin. Her chest was starting to ache a lot more than it had. This was her final few minutes with the earth, she knew, and she planned to spend them wisely. Jack had told her that they would go to that pier in Santa Monica, so she went. She drank cheap beer with Mr. Calvert, they rode the roller coasters until they threw up, and she most certainly rode like a man on a horse, with Jack's help, of course.
"You'll die an old lady, warm in your bed. Not here, not this night. Do you understand me?" she heard in her head, and she was ready. Time had consumed her and she needed to go home, so she put on her best night gown and got into the bed. She was very warm, and so comfortable. Had she been this tired earlier? She put her hand on her heart, and said a small prayer to above thinking how much her faith in God she had after she had lost everything, and from knowing that Jack was there with him.
She started to doze off, and then a bright light suddenly pierced in front of her. It was like someone had captured her soul with the light, and she flying. She felt young, and energetic, so she smiled. The angel, white light took her out of her cabin, and they dove into the abyss. Deeper, deeper, and deeper, until the reached the ghost ship and they walked in. She was flying through the decks, and recognized exactly where she was. The hallways started to resurrect themselves, and everything looked exactly the way it was in 1912. They were then at the door for the grand staircase, and she reached for her pocket. She was surprised to see the note that said, "Make it count. Meet me at the clock!"
The doorman opened the door for her, and there stood hundreds of people. Hundreds of people that she knew had died that night were there, brightly smiling at Rose, making her feel welcome. There stood one of the maids, and Mr. Astor. She looked to her left and saw the band that had played the whole way through the sinking, and Tommy Ryan behind them, waving. Beside Tommy, was Mr. Guggenheim. To her right, there was the little girl, Cora, that jack had been dancing with at the party that she hadn't forgot a detail of. As she made her way through the path, she also saw Mr. Andrews nodding to her and smiling. She wanted to stop and hug him, but she was suddenly distracted. There was Jack at the top of the steps, waiting for her at the clock. She took the first step up towards him, and he turned around looked at her. He was grinning from ear to ear, and she rose up the steps only to take his hand. His hand felt like it did eighty-four years ago, still warm, large, and Rose was still amazed about how her hand still fitted perfectly in his.
She was astonished to see that she was in her seventeen year old condition, and leaned into kiss Jack. He was already a step ahead of her, and she embraced his broad shoulders. He kissed her like the first time they had kissed. It wasn't like the last time on the lips, where they were in a rush for their lives and she had found him after jumping from the lifeboat. She felt his back, trying to get a feel for him once more and it wasn't hard. When he let go of her, he smiled and spoke, "Rose, I'm so proud of you. You, all by yourself, made life count." What could she say to him? Anything, she guessed. "I rode horses on the beach like a man, and I actually flew an airplane. I had two children with a man that loved me for me too," she told him as she knew she'd have so much to tell him about the rest of that life she lived.
"I know. I watched you, Rose. And regardless of whether you knew it or not, I was standing beside you all of the time. You made me shed tears when you told the officer your name was Rose Dawson, and that was the day you decided you weren't going to cry. I never wanted you to feel guilty for leaving behind what we had since I told you to never let go, you seemed to get exactly what I meant. The time when you got married, I was walking beside you taking place for your father, and that day made the happiest man in heaven. When you had your first daughter, little Jacqueline, I was sitting beside you, holding your hand, fretting like a worried father-to-be. You never let go," he informed her, while he played with her fingers. "I promised you that didn't I?" she said playfully.
Jack smiled at her, and Rose just stared at his presence that she would have forever and ever now. He reached into his pocket, and pulled something out. He gripped it tightly into his palm, and then opened it for Rose to see. It was the heart of the ocean and Rose gasped. "Thank you for the little gift," he sighed, and then finally put it around her neck. This time she wore it for simplicity and meaning, because even something so extraordinary couldn't beat having gone through a completely lived life and a forever with someone you love.
This is my one-shot that I played out in my head in the car earlier, so I thought I'd jot it down. I will finish 'What if?', but the chapters for the story come in as ideas when they decide to as I have a bad case of writers block. ;] Enjoy, and please criticize. I will also say that I made myself cry while writing this, but who knows, I might just be hormonal. :]