Disclaimer: all characters that were used in James Cameron's 1997 film Titanic whether real or fictional belong to him. All others depicted in this fanfic are entirely fictional and created by me.

Chapter 1

He didn't remember dying, but he remembered the pain. It was the cold grip of death sinking its fingers into his skin robbing him of all strength and life. He remembered the bite of the freezing water, its daggers ripping and tearing into his flesh. He was almost surprised that there wasn't any blood. As much as it hurt, he thought there should be. He remembered her face. It was frozen and pale; her hair was covered in ice. Her eyes, once a beautiful green, had become a cold, winter, blue. Rose Dewitt Bukater, the woman he had met and fallen in love with in a span of only three days. To him however, it did not feel like three days. It felt as if he had known her for a lifetime. As if he had been waiting for her his entire life and even though he was dead he would not trade those days for anything. He remembered her final words to him. "I love you," she had said.

But he had not allowed it. His heart ached to return the words; he so desperately wanted to tell her. He had planned to tell her when they made it to New York together but that chance never came. He would have said it if it were not for the situation. Rose was saying goodbye and that was something he could not allow. Instead he made her promise to "never let go" to go on, to be happy, live her life for both of them, to not cry for what they will not have but find joy in what they had. Still, not a day goes by where he wished he had said it.

Days? What were days here? There was no sense of time. Here he was back aboard the Titanic, sailing across the Atlantic, wind ripping through his hair, the smell of the sea, and yet they seemed to be going nowhere. It was hard to tell if he was moving .But the waves were crashing at the bow as though they were traveling at top speed. Were they still headed to New York? Would they see land soon? He didn't know. The sun neither rose nor set. It just stayed at its highest point in the sky. Strangely, Jack couldn't help but notice that all the clocks aboard the ship stopped at 2:20 in the morning and yet out here it was always sunny.

Was this heaven or some strange limbo between life and death? If this was heaven this wasn't exactly what Jack had in mind. It seemed a cruel punishment to condemn the Titanic's lost passengers to an eternity aboard a ship that resulted in their deaths.

Jack had lived a free spirited life. No worries, just going wherever the wind may take him. The moment Rose had entered it made him realize just how lonely he truly was. Of course there was Fabrizio; but Rose opened up something new inside of him. She may not have been the first woman to enter his life; but she was the first to have any kind of effect on him. The others, he couldn't deny, were beautiful. But that's all they were and to Jack there was much more to a woman than just a pretty face. As an artist you learn to look beyond such superficial things and into the soul of the person. Rose was incredibly different. Her name truly fit her, beautiful to look at but beware of thorns. She was the full package.

Arms folded across his chest Jack leaned over the bow railing. His left foot resting on the first rail from the bottom. It was here where Jack spent most of his time. It was his favorite part of the ship and the place where felt the biggest connection to Rose. He remembered how he taught her to fly. The sound of her voice and her childlike enthusiasm made his heart flutter. He didn't have two dimes to his name. But at that moment he wanted to give her everything. He wanted to give her the world. If he was the king of the world, she was his queen. The feel of her body fit so snug against his chest as if it belonged there. Her soft smooth hands dancing and intertwining with his rough calloused ones. Her scent, the smell of rose water still lingered in his nostrils. It was a smell he would never forget. But most of all he remembered her kiss, their first kiss at the bow. What started off slow and unsure began to build with unrestrained passion. The soft, wet smoothness of her lips pushing insistently against his own, parting them, paving the way for her tongue to dance with his. Her arm hooked around his neck and her delicate fingers tangled into his hair, drawing him close. Jack would have given anything to feel that kiss again.

"Thinking about her?"

Jack looked up from his thoughts and turned to see a woman standing not far from him looking out over the ocean.

"Rose?" she asked again turning at last to face him.

Jack's first thought was that she looked absolutely stunning. She wore a long sleeved black silk gown cut into a v-like shape at the neck. The dress hugged her shapely figure. Her hair was honey blonde styled in little ringlets that traveled down the length of her back. It was a style that painfully reminded him of Rose. The most bewitching quality about her was her eyes. They were as blue as sapphires and above them were two perfectly arched eyebrows that resembled a bird in flight.

Jack couldn't recall ever seeing this woman before, or anyone so beautiful, apart from Rose. To him no one was as beautiful as her. This woman's looks were almost unnaturally beautiful. She didn't appear to be real. Still he couldn't deny that the sight of this woman made his palms sweat and his tongue feel thick.

"I'm—I'm sorry?"

"Rose. You're thinking about Rose."

This time her words didn't come as a question but more of an accusation. Even her voice was silky and smooth. She spoke with poise and class. It was almost regal.

"How do you know about..."

"I know a lot about you…..and her."

"Have we met?" He asked making a rotating gesture with his hands, "I don't think I've ever seen you before."

A slow smile spread across her lips. It was a cunning smile, a knowing smile. The sight of it sent a cold chill down his spine.

"Yes, we have met. As a matter of fact I would say we know each other quite intimately."

Jack's eyebrows wrinkled. What was she talking about? Jack wasn't always good at remembering names, but he knew faces, and he would have remembered hers. Frustrated he tried to think of any encounter that they might have had but nothing came to mind. Jack wasn't in the mood for games and he didn't appreciate the one she was playing with him.

He lifted an arm and let it fall to his side "Alright, am I supposed to know you?"

"I should say you should."

"Well why don't you just tell me because I'm beginning to lose my patience."

"But where's the fun in that?"

Jack fought to control his temper and frustration from seeping into his voice but he feared he was unsuccessful. "Look lady, I don't know who you are, or how you know me but I'm really not in the mood for games. If you don't mind I'd like to be left alone."

"I believe this is a public ship, Jack. I have just as much right to be up here as you."

He found her smile irritating. She was patronizing him like a parent would a child.

"Fine if you're not leaving I will." Jack fumed.

"Jack." The woman said with a rising inflection in her voice

"Forget it!" he shouted back.

Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew and before Jack could take another step, there she was standing right in front of him. Wisps of black vapor rose from her black dress as if she emerged from a cloud of smoke.

"Shit!" Jack said stumbling back a couple steps

"I don't believe I was finished talking. Are you absolutely positive you don't know who I am?"

"Lady, I already told you, I don't know you." He said stressing on each word.

"Come now Jack, think about it, think really hard. Our first encounter was when you were eight years old, that day you went ice fishing with your father. You fell in and nearly drowned, but not before feeling the cold painful sensation of the freezing water prickling at your flesh, which I believe you described as 'a thousand knives stabbing you all over your body '?"

When she saw that Jack wasn't going to say anything she continued. "You almost died and as you lied sprawled out in the snow with your father desperately trying to revive you, you felt the presence of someone there with you. You saw someone, although you couldn't make out who it was."

Jack had only just realized that he had been holding his breath. His eyes went wide.

"Who are you?"His voice came barely above a whisper.

"Why….I'm the reason why you're here, why everyone is here. Tommy, Fabrizio, Helga, you, and all 1500 passengers….well, most of the 1500."

"What do you mean 'most '?"

"Usually in some cases when people die their spirit travels to the one place in their life in which they were the happiest. In your case it was the Titanic and I imagine that was because of Rose wasn't it?"

"Are you….an angel or something?"

"I am of a sort."

Jack's eyes wandered down to her black dress "but you don't look like, I mean…"

"The lack of my birdlike wings and a flowing white gown misleads you?"

"We'll you know, I just kind of expected…"

Her voice came cold and serious "I'm not that kind of angel."

"Jack you're a bright young man. You know who I am. It's right there in the back of your mind. Why won't you say it?" Her arms slid over his chest and around his neck as if embracing a lover. Jack gently but firmly took hold of her wrists and pulled them away.

"Who am I Jack?"

He knew she was right. He did know but he was afraid to say it, he was afraid not to say it. She just looked at him with those innocent blue eyes. But Jack knew they were anything but innocent. He knew. This was no ordinary woman. He removed his hands from her wrists as if they were hot coals. Still she stood there unblinking patiently waiting for his reply.

"Death."

He saw the slightest flick of her eyes, signaling that he was right.

"You'll have to forgive me I left my black cloak and scythe at home."

"Death?"

"Right again Mr. Dawson. But you can just call me Morana"

"You're a woman."

She lifted an eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"

"No not at all. I'm just a little surprised that's all."

"I know." She sighed. "I've seen the way mankind has depicted me over the years. 'The Grim Reaper', I believe is what you all call me. A dried up skeleton in a hooded cloak?"

"How nice of you all."She said rolling her eyes. "I'm always portrayed in such a negative light. No one ever has anything nice to say or is happy to see me. People think I'm evil, when they fail to realize I'm just doing the job no one else wants to do."

"So….what are you doing here? I'm already dead."

"You didn't answer my question."

"What question?"

"You were thinking about Rose. Correct?"

Jack leaned back over the rail and clasped his hands together. He didn't like the idea of talking to a complete stranger about Rose. It was too personal. But in the end he figured it didn't matter anyway, with her being death and all.

"Yes, I was. I miss her. There isn't a day that goes by where she doesn't cross my mind."

"I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that Rose misses you as well."

"I'm sure she does." Jack said with quiet finality. "So how long have I been dead?"

"I'd say about nine years."

"Really? That was fast. It still feels like yesterday."

"Time has no meaning here Jack. What may seem like a simple day for you could mean several months to a year in the living world."

"I see."

"I can see that you're not really in the talkative mood so I'm just going to get to the point of why I'm here. Jack Dawson I wish to make you a proposition."

He looked up. "A proposition? What kind of proposition?"

There was that smile again. She gave a slight shrug of her shoulder "Oh it's nothing really. What would you say if I told you that I was going to give you your life back?"

Jack nearly jumped with excitement. Was she serious? Was he really hearing this? Without thinking he grabbed both sides of Morana's shoulders and shook her.

"Really? You're really going to give me my life back? This is great! Thank you, thank you so much! This is fantastic, I can finally see Rose again! We can live out our lives together, grow old and have children. We'll do all the things we said we would do together. Yes! Thank you Morana!"

"Hold on there Jack, this isn't that kind of a gift."

"What do you mean?"

"You were meant to die on the Titanic, regardless if you met Rose or not. That was your time and you were never meant to make it to New York. That's just the way it is. This gift that I'm giving you is not a permanent one."

Jack could feel his hopes fading. He should've known. Such a thing was far too good to be true.

"Alright, so what's the catch?"

"I'm going to give you back your life but it will only be for a certain amount of time."

"And…how long will I have?"

"One month."

"A month? Well,why not a year?"

"Do you want to make it a week?"

Jack scowled "Alright fine, a month. But it hardly seems like enough time for anything."

"Trust me it's enough. It's enough time for you to tell her how much you love her, how you think of her always, or simply live out those days enjoying each others' loving embrace. Isn't that what you want? The chance to tell her how you feel?"

Jack ran his fingers through his hair "I don't know it doesn't seem fair. I would be walking back into Rose's life only to leave her again. I couldn't possibly put her through that. Besides its been nine years. I'm just a small chapter in her life. I know she misses me but I'm sure she's placed me in the back of her mind by now."

Morana turned with her back to the railing. "On that Jack, I beg to differ. You said it yourself you know she misses you. Tell me, how do you know this?"

Jack paused a moment to gather his thoughts. "Because sometimes when I'm alone I can feel it, as if her heart is crying out for mine." He clutched a hand over his chest. "Sometimes it's painful like a constant ache in my chest. After all this time I spent being dead I would've thought that I could no longer feel pain, but I do. And somehow it feels far worse dying."

Jack's eyes were brimming with tears. He tried to blink them back but a few of them escaped.

Morana lifted a hand to cup his face and turned it towards her. "Jack, take my hand."

He looked at her doubtfully.

"It's alright."

He hesitated a bit before finally grasping her hand. All around them everything began to spin at lightning speed the ship was beginning to fade and morph into another place. The boat deck beneath his feet suddenly changed into a hard wooden floor and the sky above him had become a drywall ceiling with peeling paint. A dresser had slammed down onto the floor along with a simple writing desk. The air smelled of mildew, no longer the smell of the sea. After a few moments the room stopped shifting.

"Where are we?"

"Rose's bed room, nine years ago, the following night after the Titanic sank. A lot of the surviving passengers were left with nothing so a lot of the hotels and apartment buildings were offering food and shelter."

"What is that noise?"

"See for yourself."

Jack had heard the sound of soft sniffling. On the far side of the room he saw a figure lying on the bed locked in a fetal position. The moonlight reflected the square shape of the window over the still form. It was the only light source in the entire room. When he saw what it was his heart stopped. It was Rose, arms locked tightly together and in her hands she looked to be clutching what he recognized as the Heart of the Ocean diamond necklace. She was grasping it over her heart. A flood of emotions overwhelmed him. He was torn between intense joy in seeing her again and yet aching pain at seeing her in such a broken state. She was sobbing uncontrollably. Every now and then short breaths escaped her lips. The tear stains on her cheeks did not have time to dry before knew tears fell. Jack knelt beside her bed and reached out to cup the side of her face only to find that he couldn't. His hand passed right through her.

"Jack," he heard her moan in between her sobs "Why did you leave me? Why did you force me to make that promise? I can't do this without you. I'm not strong enough. I loved you, I still love you, and yet I hate you for leaving me."

"I'm right here." He said in a gentle and consoling voice but he knew it was no use she could not hear him.

"She did this nearly every night for almost year you know." Morana said stepping close behind him.

"In time though she started to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. She got a job, moved out of New York and moved down to Pennsylvania. I believe she's working as an actress now. Of course there are times when her mind would drift to thoughts of you and she would start crying again. Not as much as she used to, but I can tell it's still painful to think about."

Jack looked over his shoulder. "She's an actress?"

"Well, an up and coming." Morana snapped her fingers and the room began to shift again. Rose's figure blew away like dust in the wind and once again Jack found himself to be in a completely different room. This room was a lot cleaner, white walls, a simple full sized bed neatly made with a big red comforter. There was a brown trunk lying open with a mess of clothes inside. The wooden floor was clean enough to eat off of.

"Now where are we?"

"Rose's current apartment." said Morana falling back onto Rose's bed. "I'd say the girl is doing pretty well for herself."

Jack was no longer listening. He walked over to Rose's dresser and spotted something. "What's this?" Morana leaped from the bed to where he stood and saw what he was referring to.

"Hmm looks like a flyer for tonight's show." She cleared her throat.

The Actors Playhouse

Is proud to present:

"Angels of Streams"

Starring Jacob Hemminger, Claudia Winters, and Rose Dawson.

Claimed to be the most astonishing play of the year.

9:00pm May 1 –June 9, 1921

Hillman Theatre

Come and witness this marvelous spectacle.

"Where's Rose?"

"It is about 8:30 I imagine she has already gone. So Mr. Dawson, do you accept my offer?"

"Let me get this straight. You give me my life back…. and I get one month to spend with Rose?"

"That's right." she said with a slight lilt in her voice.

"Why are you doing this? If your death shouldn't you be taking lives not granting them?"

"This is true but I see this as a special case. I like you Jack, you've led a very interesting life. Your death was already planned but what I had not counted on was you falling in love with Rose. That I did not see. It made my job a little more complicated. In the end I even felt bad for having to take you. As you were dying in the water the most I could do was extend your life long enough for you to say what you felt. And even then you didn't exactly say what I thought you would. I must say I was a little disappointed. I may be death Jack, but I don't exactly take pleasure in breaking families apart and ending such loving relationships. I'm giving you a very rare opportunity, one that I don't give often."

"So just think of this as a gift. You and Rose only had three days together. I'm giving you one month. No more, no less. You are free to do whatever you want. When your time is up you will return to the land of the dead and the next time you see Rose will be when she meets her death, however long that might be. So Mr. Dawson, what is your decision?"

Jack looked down at the flyer and thought about it for a moment. It had been so long since he had seen Rose and the thought of holding her again, kissing her soft lips again made his heart ache with longing. At the same time it felt wrong somehow. Morana said that his time was done, it didn't seem right to jump back into Rose's life especially when things were going so well for her. Who knows she might even have someone now and even if she didn't there was still no future for them, they could never get married. His mind was screaming for him to decline Morana's offer. But his heart ached to see Rose again; he had to see her again, to hold her again, to touch her again. In the end his passion overtook his reason.

"Alright, when do we start?"

Morana snapped her fingers "Right now."