A Rose by any other name

Hello to all of you who are taking a moment to read this story! Just a few notes before we start:

First of all, I have a horrible track record for finishing stories however, that will not be the case with this one as it is pretty much already done. I am posting it chapter by chapter in order to clean it up and fix any inconsistencies I find. I plan to post at least one chapter a week, possibly two, depending on my work schedule and how it allows me to time to edit.

Yes, this is a Cal/Rose story, although of a different type than usual. There are several twists to this story so I hope it keeps even the die hard Rose/Jack shippers entertained! I originally wrote two versions of this story so I may post the second one after this one if it get enough feedback. The whole reason I wrote them in the first place was because I was having such a horrible time finding Cal/Rose stories at all and then, finding Cal/Rose stories that met the standards of what I wanted to read. So I decided to write the story I wanted to read for myself.

No, I do NOT think Cal was an evil, abusive, fill-in-the-blank whatever fiance. I have a whole theory about it and apparently so does somebody else cuz the wrote an article about it. If you are interested, here's the links: /4-reasons-rose-stayed-cal-titanic/

and /movies/2017/09/20/titanic-billy-zane-cal-defense/

Yes, this is a mature rated story. I try to keep it classy though. I don't like reading porny dialogue or descriptions myself so I write it as if I was the only one reading it. So, if you are underage, stop now before you are scarred for life.

Also, I don't own Titanic, either the ship or the movie, nor do I own any of the characters real or imagined and I damn sure don't own Billy Zane cuz if I did I wouldn't be bothering to write this, I'd be livin' la vida sexual cachonda loca!

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2012 Milwaukee, WI

"Damnit, Shishkabob!"

Rose McAdams fought the urge to stomp her foot in a childish tantrum at the mess her black and white and VERY spoiled cat had made in her kitchen as she tripped her way through the doorway. Kitty litter and food were strode across the tile, white dusty footprints she really didn't want to know the origin of danced merrily across the floor, a chair and the dinette's glass tabletop. Some shredded something-or-other had pride of place on the countertop next to her coffeemaker. Rose gave a wail of distress when she saw it was the package of cheese croissants, one of which she had been hoping to have as a quick out-the-door breakfast...along with some much needed coffee.

And she was already running late for work.

Granted, being a librarian was not exactly the most demanding work but she took a particular pride in running things a certain way and always having the doors open when the hours sign said they were was part of that.

She sighed gustily and finished putting in her earrings as she danced around the mess to the coffeemaker and started a large travel mug brewing. Her Keurig had been her present to herself last Christmas and was well worth the expense. She cast a weather eye out the window and noted the rain. She hated driving in the rain. Especially when the weather was this cold. It turned it into a sleety, slushy mix that could become snow or could just stay a straight up nasty mess.

And she was running late.

With a determined sigh, she scooped up Shish, who was nonchalantly licking his paw and dropped him in the laundry room and shut the door. She knew it would aggravate him to be confined there for the day but she didn't want to come home to anything else she had to clean up...or anything else destroyed. He'd been behaving all pissy ever since she had him fixed a month back.

Maybe she could stop by the store after work and pick up a peace offering…

She raced back into the bedroom, grabbed her blazer and overcoat and took a final check in the dresser mirror. Satisfied that it was a good as it was gonna get, she pressed two fingers to her mouth and then to the picture on the bedside table.

"See you later, hun."

As she exited the bedroom to get her purse, coffee and head out the door, she thought a moment on what it said about her that the only relationship she could manage to keep for any length of time was with a man in an old picture.

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As much as she hurried she was still nearly 25 minutes late for work, not that there was anyone there banging down the door for admittance but still..

As Rose got out of the car and headed toward the door she thought it would be surprising if she saw anyone at all today, with the way the rain was coming down.

She would have to keep a weather eye out. As cold as it was, it could turn to snow anytime and she hated driving in ice and snow.

Finally in, she put her coat, purse and galoshes away, slipped on her work shoes and prepared, coffee tumbler in hand, to start her day.

If anyone had told Rose 10 years ago that she would still be living in her hometown and running the library 10 years later she would have laughed in their face. Then, she had had a burning desire to leave and see as much as she could see. A scholarship in hand and a sense of adventure brimming inside her she had only made it thru her first semester of college when she came home for Christmas break to the news that her mother had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. What followed were the worst 18months of her life. An only child with a father she could barely remember, the bulk of her mother's care fell to her. Dad had left when she was six and she had only spoken to him a handful of times and there were no relatives to lean on, her closest one being a distant cousin in Cincinnati she had never met. Her mother had tried to protest her leaving school but she refused to hear it. Her mom had always been there for her, she would be there now for her mom and no amount of argument could change it.

However, at 18, she had not been prepared for what it would be like to watch her mom, her only real family, slowly deteriorate and die in spite of every treatment they tried.

Because her absence extended past the allowed time, she lost her scholarship. She hid the fact from her mother, in the days before she lost her lucidity, by saying they granted her an extension.

And she only let herself cry about it, and everything else, at night in her closet with a pillow to her face.

At the funeral, she had been surprised when her mom's boss had come up to her and said she would like to speak with her in a few days when she was feeling up to it.

She had nodded numbly at the time, promptly forgetting about it until the lady had called her a few weeks later and asked if she could meet.

That's when she offered her the position of librarian that her mom had held.

It was an incredibly generous offer. Rose had helped her mom on and off in the library practically her whole life. She knew it as well as she knew the house she grew up in, as it was practically an extension of it she had spent so much time there.

To say she was shocked would have been an understatement. Pam, the county overseer for the library, had said she could have a few days to think about it but Rose had required little time. With no money and having used most of what they did have on medical expenses, and now no college prospects, she had taken the offer.

She had always thought that she could save enough to take a few classes at a community college, maybe get her required stuff done with before she tried for a four year. But the years rolled by and there was always more bills and not enough money and so here she was. It wasn't a bad life, but it was a far cry from the adventure and romance she had once dreamed of.

Here, the most adventurous thing she did was tick off her cat and as for romance? Well, there had been a few semi-serious dating escapades but, truthfully, there just wasn't anyone here that matched up to the ideal she had in her head.

Rose had always been a dreamer and a fantasy lover. She knew it. She comforted herself about it with the thought that she was ruthlessly pragmatic otherwise.

Growing up around books as she had, and with a mother who had a devoted love of classics, she supposed she had rather ruined herself for getting a guy. After all, what modern guy that tried to hit on her with cheap pick-up lines at the Safe-way checkout could compete with Mr. Darcy's cool wit and polished manners? Why would she want some beer-swilling sports fanatic when she dreamed of dancing the night away in a handsome stranger's arms?

It sucked, but it was what it was.