AN: Thanks for reviewing! I really appreciate them. I hope you like this one!
Rose couldn't breathe. She felt the cold steel of the gun against her cheek, the heard grip of Thomas's arm around her, and his fingers digging into her skin, but none of felt quite real. It was as if she were outside her body, watching the scene play out from somewhere safe and faraway. She saw the fear flash through Jack's eyes and the anger that replaced it. Samantha was behind him now, her hands pressed to her mouth. Rose watched Jack inch forward. His eyes were fixed on Thomas, waiting for him to move. To speak. To do something.
"Don't come any closer," Thomas yelled, squeezing Rose harshly. She yelped. He kept the gun firmly pressed to her cheek. "Don't you move either," he hissed.
Jack seemed to be moving in slow motion. She saw him reaching back, but for what? His jaw was set. His back was straight. Rose recognized his look as that of a solider going into battle. She knew the War hadn't been easy for him, but she didn't know just how difficult it had been or how deeply it had affected him. He rarely talked about it, and when he did he only told light stories, downplaying the medals he had been given. He preferred she tell stories of nursing on the battlefields.
Rose gasped as she realized what he was reaching for. A split second later, the same realization hit Thomas. He pointed the gun at Jack. Jack pushed Samantha to the floor. "Get down!" he yelled, throwing himself onto her. Rose seized her chance and twisted out of Thomas's grip. She ducked down as he fired. The bullet hit the stairs. "Stay down," Jack ordered. Samantha pressed herself against the floor. Her heart beat wildly; her hands trembled. It couldn't all really be happening, could it? Everything was happening so quickly. She watched in horror as Rose began to run, only to be stopped by a well-aimed blow from Thomas. The barrel of his gun collided with the back of her head; it made a sickening thwunk.
A blinding pain filled Rose's head. She couldn't remember where she was. Someone was screaming. It sounded like Jack. She couldn't fight as she was thrown over Thomas's shoulder. Was she moving? Her stomach lurched. The boat was rocking on the waves, but for her everything was spinning. She forced her eyes open and saw Jack, his gun drawn. He wore an expression she had never seen before. Had he been anyone else, it would have been terrifying. She tried to speak, but no sound came out. Or maybe it did. She wasn't sure. The roar of a gunshot filled the hallway again. Samantha covered her eyes and began to cry quietly.
Thomas sped up. There was another shot; the bullet grazed his arm. He howled but didn't lose his grip on Rose. Jack fired again. This time, it took off part of his ear. Thomas screamed, a mix of fear and pain thickening his voice. He stumbled, flopping Rose's limp body onto the floor. As Jack ran toward them, he recovered enough to point his gun at her. "Don't," he snarled. "Don't you fucking dare. I'll kill her."
Jack knew he meant it. He remained still, gun drawn, waiting for an opportunity to fire again. All he needed was one clear show. There was no doubt in his mind that he could do it. It wouldn't be the first time.
"That's more like it," Thomas said. He kept his eyes on Jack and his gun on Rose as he backed toward the stairs. "Follow, and she's dead," he threatened. With that, they disappeared from sight.
Jack stood frozen, unable to accept what had just taken place. How could he have let that happen? Why hadn't he moved faster? Shot straighter? It had been a risk even taking a shot with Rose so close, but he was sure he wouldn't hit her. He jumped, startled by Samantha's hand on his arm. She shrank back, as if expecting a blow.
"I forgot you were there," he said, letting out his breath.
"What are we going to do?" she asked.
"We?"
"I'm helping," she insisted. "Just tell me the plan."
"No, that's too dangerous. Just go back—"
Samantha lifted her chin. A quiet strength burned in her eyes. "She helped me," she said. "I have to do the same for her."
….
While that was going on, Cal and Clarence were fighting the storm to get to the bridge. It was raining even harder, which made walking across the deck nearly impossible. Lightning crashed all around them. They held to each other's arms in an effort to not get lost or swept overboard. Finally, they reached the bridge. There, they found Smith, desperately trying to control the boat. He didn't even notice when they came in.
Clarence motioned for Cal to sneak up on Smith from behind. And a few seconds later, it was all over. Cal pinned his arms to his sides, and Clarence pointed a gun at him. Smith's eyes widened with shock and fear. He twitched, as though about to fight back, but a click of Clarence's gun stopped him. "On the floor," Clarence commanded. "Hands up." To Cal he said, "Tie him up. I'm gonna try and get us back on course."
"Can you do that in this storm?" Cal asked.
"There's a chance, but the best I'll probably manage is getting us closer to where we're supposed to be," Clarence replied. "What the storm didn't do, this weasel did." He gave Smith a light kick in the leg. "Where did you think you were going?" he demanded. Smith just glared at him sullenly. "We already found you stuff," Clarence added. "I know you were trying to run somewhere. What'd ya do? Rob a bank?"
"I'm not tellin you anything," Smith muttered.
"Have it your way," Clarence said. "We'll figure it out eventually." He turned to Cal. "You watch him." Cal just nodded.
….
As Thomas dragged her down the stairs to the hold, Rose began to recover slightly. She kicked wildly, but there was no real strength behind it. She tried to twist out of his grip, but her best efforts were useless. Ignoring the pain in her head, she screamed angrily and swung her fists, hoping to land a decent punch.
He grabbed her by the hair and threw her to the floor. She landed on the edge of a crate. A sharp pain filled her lungs, and she struggled to breathe. The next thing she knew, he had grabbed her again. He flopped her onto her back, pressing her against the crate. He hovered over her, his knees against her legs. Blood dripped from the wounds on his ear and arm. His face was a mask of cold fury. The control he had lost before was now being regained.
Rose forced her features into a First Class sneer. She couldn't see the gun, but that didn't matter. She knew he could kill her with his bare hands if he wanted to. She knew she didn't have the strength to fight back. With a sinking heart, Rose realized he didn't intend to kill her—at least not yet. Where was Jack? It felt like she had been pinned against the crate for hours. Why hadn't he come yet?
….
Everything was moving too fast for Samantha. Jack had instructed her to stay behind him. "No matter what happens," he said. "Stay back. If I go down, he's going with me. Get Rose and get out. Understand?"
She nodded. "Get Rose and get out."
"I don't matter, got it? She does," he said, softening his tone slightly.
The boat swayed back and forth as they raced down the stairs. She held her knife up. Jack's gun was drawn. It was over before Samantha knew what happened. She saw Rose's legs; one show was missing. Her dress was torn even more. She saw Thomas's back and understood he was pinning her down. Jack's yell ripped through the air. His foot slammed into Thomas's stomach. With a loud groan, Thomas collapsed onto the floor. Remembering Jack's instructions, Samantha ran forward and gathered Rose into her arms.
Rose's skin was cold. She was limp, like a ragdoll. Her eyes closed, and her face was pale. Samantha covered her as best she could, despite the torn skirt. Rose's eyes fluttered open, but she didn't see Samantha. "Jack?" she whispered hoarsely.
"He's coming," Samantha said, trying to sound reassuring. She flinched at the sound of Jack's foot hitting Thomas's face. It wasn't a fight at all. Jack's anger eclipsed anything Thomas had in him. Finally, Jack stopped. His breathing was heavy; beads of sweat covered his forehead. Thomas was curled up in a ball in a vain effort to protect himself. He groaned loudly as Jack lifted him roughly by his arms. He looked at Jack through half-closed eyes. Jack stared at him for a long moment before throwing him down. Thomas offered no resistance as he was tied up.
Jack's knuckles were bruised; one of them was swelling. He wiped blood onto his pants as the realization of what had just happened sank in. Shame washed over him. How could he have let himself lose control like that? He hand' even known such violence was in him before the War. Now, he was always aware of it, afraid something might set him off again. And now something had.
The boat gave a lurch, bringing him back to the present. "Rose." He dropped to his knees next to her. Gently, he took her into his arms. She felt lighter than he remembered. "Rose," he said, stroking her face. She murmured something unintelligible. Samantha was transfixed by him. The look of pure love in his eyes was something she had never seen. No-one had ever looked at her like that. Nothing existed but the woman in his arms. She couldn't help but feel jealous. Cal would never look at her like that, and he would never save her like that. At best, he would send someone else to do it.
The boat gave another lurch. "We've gotta get out of her," Jack said. "C'mon." He scooped Rose up and followed Samantha back up to the deck.
"Hang onto something!" he yelled as the rain and rocking boat threatened to send them overboard. He held Rose as best he could while clinging to the railing, slowly making his way to the common room door.
Shivering, Samantha dropped into a chair, arms wrapped around herself. The boat was swaying violently from side to side now. "Try to stay balanced," he said. "Find something to hold onto." He held Rose against his chest with one hand and held a window frame with the other, doing his best to remain on his feet. He tried no to hurt her any further. "Rose, you gotta wake up," he said. "C'mon, open your eyes."
She began to stir. "Jack!" she called fearfully.
"I'm right here," he assured her. Her eyes opened slightly. "Look at me," he said. "Keep your eyes open."
"I'm so tired," she said weakly. "And my head hurts…"
"I know, but you gotta stay awake," he insisted. "Rose, I know it's hard, but you can do it. Fight, Petal, for me."
Just then the door opened and Cal burst in, followed by Clarence, who drug the tied-up Smith behind him. "You find Thomas?" Clarence asked. "What happened to her?"
"He's tied up downstairs," Jack replied. "She got hurt."
Cal went over to Samantha and laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him as if she didn't know him before turning away. Any other time, he would have demanded an explanation, but too much had happened. He just stood, unable to speak.
"I tried to get us back on course," Clarence said. "But with the storm, I couldn't do very much. To be honest, I don't really know where we are."
"How long do you think the storm'll last?" asked Jack.
"The rest of the night? Through tomorrow?" Clarence speculated. "I don't know, and I don't know where we'll be when I ends."
Cal fell backwards as the boat gave another violent lurch. He looked up, suddenly noticing he was the only one not clinging to something. "Could have told me," he muttered, annoyed.
"All you had to do was look around," Samantha snapped. He gaped at her. Clarence grinned. Jack chuckled quietly. Even Rose managed a smile, but her eyes were starting to close again. "Stay awake," Jack said, holding her head up.
"She hit her head?" Clarence asked.
Jack nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Look at me, Petal. Talk to me."
Her voice was weak. "What do you want me to say?"
"Anything. What's nine times nine?"
"Eighty-one."
"Right. Eight times four?"
"Thirty-two."
"The square root of sixteen?"
"Four."
"Good girl."
Her eyes were less glassy, but she was clearly still feeling the effects of the attack. "It hurts when I breathe," she said.
"Your ribs might be bruised," he said, hoping that was all it was. With the boat's erratic movements he didn't feel safe trying to check them. The storm showed no sign of ending; if anything, it was getting even worse.
"We might capsize," Clarence pointed out. He looked at Jack.
"I know," Jack replied. "Any ideas?"
"I was thinking, maybe we should go outside…" he trailed of.
"Yeah, I thought about that," Jack said. "But we might all go overboard for nothing."
"There's the boats," Cal said. They all stared at him, shocked by the sound of his voice.
"We'd definitely capsize in one of those," Clarence explained. "We wouldn't have a chance."
"So, what are we supposed to do?" Cal demanded. "Wait to drown?"
Samantha rested her head on her free hand. "Be quiet," she said. "Let them handle this. They know what they're doing." Cal couldn't believe his ears. Not once had she ever spoken to him that way. Not once had she ever questioned his judgment or decisions. He told himself it was the stress of the situation making her act that way, but he wasn't entirely convinced.
"Hang on," Clarence said. He forced the door open and went outside, returning a few minutea later with rope and five life preservers. "We'll tie 'em together," he said. "Everybody take one."
Jack also tied himself to Rose, looping the rope around their hips, careful to avoid her ribs. There was just enough space in one ring for them both, so he didn't bother with two. She forced a smile. "At least I'm with you," she whispered. "I think we're bad luck for boats." She laughed weakly. "Maybe someone's trying to tell us something."
"With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven/Coveted her and me," Jack replied. She nodded. Her eyes began to close. "Next line," he said. "Rosepetal, open your eyes."
"And this was the reason that, long ago/In this kingdom by the sea," she said.
"That's my girl." And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven
Coveted her and me.