Here's my first chapter, I don't know how often I will be able to update so bear with me. It follows the ending of the movie, so the beginning is basically just that, I promise Jack will come back in the next chapter (update very soon because I already wrote that one)

I am numb, frozen, completely withdrawn into my self, although the chill of the water has since left my body. All I can here is the echoe of Jack's plea and my trembling response, playing on a round in my head,

" I love you, Jack. " i whispered my voice shaking

Jack gave me a determined look, as he commanded in the strongest voice he could, "Don't you do that, don't say your good-byes. Not yet, do you understand me?" His voice quivering as his teeth clattered.

I am so tired and the icy air seems to penetrate my bones, as I choke back, "I'm so cold. "

Jacks icy fingers grip mine as he stares into my eyes, his blue eyes reflecting the stars as he continues bravely, "Listen, Rose. You're gonna get out of here, you're gonna go on and you're gonna make lots of babies, and you're gonna watch them grow. You're gonna die an old... an old lady warm in her bed, not here, not this night. Not like this, do you understand me?"

I hear his words as if he is very far away, I am so cold, the frigid air seems to blow through my body like a leaf in the breeze, it seems so easy to just give into its icy embrace, I strain to reply, "I can't feel my body. "

He pulls me back with his determined voice, even though it is barely a whisper it is enough to tether me to the surface, "Winning that ticket, Rose, was the best thing that ever happened to me... it brought me to you. And I'm thankful for that, Rose. I'm thankful. You must do me this honor. Promise me you'll survive. That you won't give up, no matter what happens, no matter how hopeless. Promise me now, Rose, and never let go of that promise."

I stare into his eyes, as I force my cracked lips to whisper, "I promise."

" Never let go." He almost pleads, although his voice is determined, his eyes are desperate.

I nod and lay my face on his hands, unable to fight my heavy lids any longer as they slowly shut.

I awoke to the sounds of one shrill song in the dead silence of the sea. My eyes snap open as I recognize the whistles shriek and I turn excitedly to Jack, I shake his hands gently as my eyes search for a boat, I whisper excitedly my voice cracking, "Jack, Jack get up! Its a boat!"

When he doesn't answer, I shake him more forcibly, pleading, "Jack, wake up! We're saved."

My voice trails off as I am almost suffocated by despair, my voice welling up with tears, "Jack?" I squeak.

His wet hair is matted and weighed down with ice, his skin a ghastly white and his cracked lips a deep blue. I choke out a sob as I realize his cloudy breath is no longer billowing softly in the stinging air.

My heart sinks, weighed down with raw and burning grief, I want so badly to lie here, waiting for the kiss of death to reunite me with my Jack. A frigid tear rolls down my numb cheek as Jack's voice rings happily in my ear, "You jump I jump, remember?"

I want so badly to jump after him, to follow him where he is, to escape this painful void.

Then I think bitterly of my promise to Jack, his last request. How disappointed in me he would be if I did not do everything in my power to continue fighting without him. How could I ever face him if I did not do everything I could to make sure his sacrifice was not in vain.

I squeeze his frozen fingers one last time as I lay my lips gently on them and whisper in the strongest voice I can, " I'll never let go, Jack. I'll never let go."

Reluctantly I pry my fingers from his and watch with a heavy soul as he slides away from me, my heart sinking with him.

I tear my eyes away from him as he disappears into the murky water, calling desperately for the life boat in the distance. I start to panic as I realize my weak voice is not reaching their ears. With the last of my strength, I heave myself off the door and let the freezing water envelope me. I am almost paralyzed by the biting water but I paddle with all my strength to a dead officer with a whistle dangling in his mouth. I yank it free and blow into it with my weak lungs. I watch despairingly as the boat drifts farther and farther away from me, leaving me to die. Just as I am ready to give into the waters icy call I see them turn around. I hear the men shouting away from a distance, numbly remember them heaving me into the life boat and wrapping me in a heavy blanket as I drifted in and out of consciousness.

Back in the present a tear wells in my eye, as I see the statue of Liberty gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. My heart aches as I think of how Jack would have loved to see it, towering overhead welcoming him home to the country he longed to return to. Although it is warm as the afternoon sunlight beats down on my back, I keep the heavy blanket wrapped tightly around me, unable to shake the memory of the chill from my bones.

I step off the ship, letting my feet touch the ground for the first time in what seems like an eternity, I breath in the crisp spring air. Guilt and grief plaguing me with each delicious breath, I feel so selfish experiencing the simple beauty of life without Jack, he belongs here not me. He was full of so much goodness and sunshine, overpowering my murkiness and despair.

I am startled out of my brooding thoughts with a persistent tapping on my shoulder. I turn to see an officer who asks softly, "name miss?" holding up a clipboard

Astonished I hesitate, thinking, who am I? Certainly not Rose Dewitt Beaucater, no she is gone, no longer a part of me stripped away like a curtain to reveal a gentle ray of sunshine. Then who am I now?

The answer seems clear, one of the clearest thoughts I have ever had, of course, what better way is there to keep Jack alive, nothing else seems more fitting than what I reply to the man, "Dawson, Rose Dawson."

The name fits like a glove, as if the two names belonged side by side, again my heart yearns for Jack as I realize that he was my savior, he saved me in every way a person can be saved, and I owe my life to the man who is now gone, nothing left of him but the name I have strapped to the end of mine.

Suddenly I am aware of an object weighing down my left pocket. To my surprise I pull out the heart of the ocean, shimmering in the light as it catches a ray of sunshine, making it dance in shimmering aqua beams of light. A smile spreads across my cheeks, thinking how this could be my chance to start a new life. But that smile fades as quickly as it had appeared, I can't live off of Cal, no thats not how I want to live my life, forever tethered to Cal's wealth. I shove the diamond back in my pocket and briskly stride away from the docks, not knowing or caring where my feet take me, determined to seise life in Jack's memory.