Chapter 2

(A/N: Had nothing else ready to post, so here's chapter 2 of After Titanic:) Thank you for all the replies to this story so far. I really appreciate it:))

Rose woke up facing a plain white ceiling. She looked around, taking in her surroundings. Where was she? How did she get there? Where was Jack and was he still alive? All of these questions swirled in her aching head, causing her to frown in frustration.

"I see that you're awake now," a blond haired nurse with friendly blue eyes and a bright cheerful voice replied as she entered the room to see Rose looking around. "We were beginning to wonder if you ever would, you poor dear."

Looking at the nurse, Rose was reminded of Molly Brown, one of the few first class women that she had come to admire. "Where am I?"

"In the infirmary of the Carpathia, of course. You poor thing, you had nearly died out there. Rest is the best thing for you now," The nurse strolled over to Roses' bed and began to fluff her pillows, much to the red-head's annoyance. She didn't want her pillows fluffed. She wanted Jack!

"The infirmary?" Rose frowned, slowly processing the information.

"Yeap. The infirmary. You've been out for two whole days now. We were thinking that you weren't going to survive."

Rose could barely think. She could only think of one thing. Finding Jack. He had to be here somewhere. He had been alive when she had blown the whistle. He must still be alive now! "Jack...where's Jack?"

"There, there. That's enough questions. It's time to rest. Getting all upset is not going to help anything," The nurse cooed sympathetically.

"But you don't understand, the man who was with me...where is he? I have to know..."

"Sleep," was the nurse's final command as she strolled out the door, failing to answer Rose's question.

Frustrated, Rose laid there and tried to gain control of her reeling emotions. The nurse was right about one thing. Getting all upset was not going to help her find Jack. If anything, it would hinder her search.

Damn it, there had to be someone who could tell her something about Jack. Even if he was dead, knowing that would be better than not knowing anything at all.

"Oh Jack, where are you?" Rose whispered, her voice bordering on tears.

"Rose," a familiar voice, barely a whisper, spoke out.

Startled, Rose looked around. She had thought that she was alone, the person, whoever it was, had been so quiet. They must have been asleep. Was it Jack? Did she dare to hope?

"Rose...is that you?" The voice spoke again when she had failed to answer.

Half afraid to look to see who it was talking to her, in fear that the voice belonged to someone in first class, namely Cal, Rose turned to face a closed curtain that was hiding the other person from view. Knowing that she probably shouldn't get up, but not caring, she slid out of bed and onto wobbly legs. She stumbled over to the closed curtain and pulled it aside to reveal Jack, who was pale and looked to be very weak, but his blue eyes, when they looked upon her, were as bright as ever and his face immediately lit up with joy and relief.

"Jack!" Rose cried, feeling the same emotions that he must be feeling at seeing her alive. "You're alive! I thought...I thought that maybe you didn't make it after all. You were so weak!" She rushed to his bedside and threw her arms around him. She couldn't help but notice how cool his hands were and how week his embrace was when he hugged her back.

"I'm a survivor, remember? It'll take a lot more than an iceberg hitting a ship to do me in," he gave a weak laugh, trying to keep the atmosphere light, even though the emotions that they were both feeling were pretty heavy.

"Oh Jack," Rose began to sob, the meaning of the tragedy really hitting her. They had been through so much in the past several hours. They had seen so much. How were they ever going to process it all. "We could have died..."

"Shhh, Rose, don't even think about that," Jack gently stroked her hair. He didn't want to think about what had almost happened. Thinking about it...remembering all they had been through...all that they had lost...it was too much for him to handle at the moment. "We did survive and everything will be alright now. You'll see."

"Oh, I see that you've found your friend," The nurse returned, breaking the emotional moment between them. "Now it's back to bed with you. You both need your sleep."

The nurse headed towards Rose, but the red-head just glared at the woman as she tightened her hold on Jacks' hand.

"I am not leaving his side," Rose's voice was strong and determined. She was not going anywhere. "He needs me."

"Come now, don't be like that. I am sure that he understands. He wants you to get your rest as well so you can get your strength back as soon as possible," The nurse tried to soothe Rose, but Rose wasn't having it.

Seeing that Rose was going to put up a fight, Jack spoke up. "She's right, Rose. That is what I want. The sooner that you're better, the sooner that we can start our lives again," he pushed a red curl out of her eyes. "Go to bed Rose."

"But Jack...," She looked at him with pleading eyes, silently begging him to let her stay at his side. She needed to be with him. She needed to make sure that nothing would happen to take him away from her. Why couldn't he see that?

"Go to bed, Rose. I'll see you in the morning. Don't worry, I'll be right here, just the next bed over," Jack reassured her as he gently caressed her hand. "For me, Rose. Go to bed. Get some sleep. You really do look exhausted."

Roses' shoulders slumped in defeat, realizing that she couldn't say no when he asked her like that. Really, she couldn't refuse him anything.

"Alright. I'll go. But as soon as I wake up, I'm going to be at your side and no one will be able to make me leave. Not even you."

"Fair enough," Jack smiled, pleased that he had won. He then yawned, beginning to feel tired himself. "Good night Rose."

She sighed, still not moving, yet knowing that she had no choice. "Good night Jack."

She leaned down and lightly kissed him, before allowing the nurse to lead her back to the bed. Now that she knew that Jack was alive and well, she could sleep somewhat peacefully.