Rose's POV

I followed Molly through the ship in disbelief. How could she possibly be right? How could Jack really be alive? I saw his body sink into the sea. Surely there was no way he could have survived. Molly was surely mistaken, but I simply didn't have the energy to argue with her, strong willed as she was, and simply let her drag me through the ship, bracing myself for the fact that whoever she was bringing me to would be the wrong person.

And then she led me into the infirmary, and my heart skipped a beat.

"Jack!" I screamed in shock. I broke free from Molly's grasp and ran towards him. Jack, my one and only true love. He was here, he was alive.

I ran to his bed and threw my arms around him, not caring that he wasn't even awake. I hugged him tight, tears falling from my eyes.

"Oh my God, you're alive... oh God..." I muttered repeatedly, my face buried in his shoulder. He suddenly squirmed in my arms and groaned; he was waking up. I forced myself to unwind my arms from him and lean back. I sat down beside him, holding tight to his hand, and watched him wake up. I was afraid to blink in case I was imagining the whole thing. I forced myself to blink hard, bracing myself for it all to disappear, but when I opened my eyes, he was still there. I watched him slowly open his eyes and blinked hard in surprise when he saw me. He had clearly thought me dead too.

"Rose?" he asked, his voice shaky.

I couldn't help but smile through my tears at the sound of his voice. "Oh Jack" I sobbed. "I thought you were dead!" I through my arms around him again, not wanting to ever let him go again. He wrapped his own arms around me, holding me tight against him.

"I thought you were too" he replied. "God, it's really you.."

We stayed like that for a few minutes, happy to just hold each other, a luxury we both never thought we'd have again.

"How?" I asked, finally pulling back to look him in he eyes. "How can you be here? I saw you go down into the water..."

"I guess I was just unconscious" he shrugged. "But when I came back up you were gone, I couldn't see or hear you anywhere... I thought you must be gone... I was picked up by a boat"

"So was I" I replied, awestruck at how similar our stories were and yet we had been oblivious to each other's survival. "I tried to wake you up when I saw the boat, but I couldn't. I was so sure you were gone..."

"I guess that's why I couldn't find you when I came back up" said Jack vaguely, probably thinking back. "I didn't even assume there had been another boat, I just assumed you hadn't made it either"

"Thank God I managed to get those ridiculous officers to send another boat back" came Molly's voice from behind us. We had both completely forgotten she was here. She stood watching us, a tear or two of happiness in her own eyes.

I couldn't help but chuckle. The thought of Molly Brown ordering the officers of the Titanic around was not unbelievable at all.

"Molly, how did you find her?" Jack asked, one hand still softly stroking my hair.

"Well" Molly laughed slightly. "There I was adding both of our names to the survivors list, when I suddenly found a name on the Third Class section. Rose Dawson. Well something told me that it was well worth a look, at the very least" She smiled at me, seeming impressed at my disguise.

"Rose Dawson?" Jack smiled at me.

I suddenly felt slightly guilty at having taken his name.

"I figured the best way of hiding from Mother and Cal would be to change my name. Oh, I just feel like such an idiot now! I didn't even think to try to look for you... I just assumed... You must think me so stupid"

Jack swept a lock of my sea-salted and matted hair away from my face, lifting my chin to look me in the eye.

"Rose, I could never think that about you. I love you"

"I love you too" I replied, smiling through the fresh tears forming in my eyes. We both leaned forward and kissed, wrapping our arms tight around each other once more. In that moment I'd never been happier. I had everything I wanted right here.

I suddenly felt his body tremble, and was surprised when he quickly pulled away from me as a short coughing fit took over. I rubbed his back concernedly and handed him a glass of water from the bedside table once the coughing passed.

"Jack, are you OK?" I asked, pained to see him troubled.

"Just a bit of hypothermia from the water" he replied, shrugging it off as though it didn't matter. "It'll pass, it's not important"

"Of course it's important!" I replied seriously. "I'm not losing you to sickness after everything we've been through"

"Don't worry, you won't" he smiled back at me. "I'm fine, I can probably get up soon"

"No you won't" I said firmly. "You'll stay here and rest properly til the doctor says otherwise. Besides, the sooner you're better, the sooner we can start our lives together"

His smile widened still, but his eyes suddenly narrowed in concern.

"Rose, are you sure you still want to be with me? I know you said you were getting off the ship with me, but please think. This is a big step you're taking. You're giving up money, security, safety. I know I said those things weren't important, but after last night... I don't ever want to see you in danger again, Rose. I won't hate you if you want to go back to your mother"

It was truly touching to hear him say such things about me, but nevertheless my feelings were as adamant today as they had been before the sinking.

"Jack, I've made my decision, and I don't regret it one bit. I've been happier in these few days I've known you than I have been for years, my whole life, perhaps. I know exactly what I'm giving up and what I'm taking on, and I wouldn't have it any other way"

"It makes me so happy to hear you say that"

We shared another smile for a moment, before we were suddenly broken from our shared trance by Molly politely clearing her throat to get our attention.

"I hate to interrupt, but I just thought I'd let you know, I'd already offered Jack a place to stay with me in New York, Rose, but of course I'd be happy to put the two of you up for as long as you need"

"Thank you Molly" I was genuinely grateful for her kindness, which was so rare amongst our circle. "But..." I hesitated. "I don't know if that would be safe. Cal is alive, and he's looking for me. You know what it's like with our lot; someone may see us with you, and then it's only a matter of time before someone tells him where we are. Or worse, the papers. There's bound to be reporters waiting for us in New York"

"Oh Lord, that's true enough" Molly sighed sadly. "God if I'd known that money came with the curse of not being able to sneeze without it being in the gossip columns, why I'd still be in my Colorado log cabin this minute"

"Yeah, it's probably best we lay low somewhere" Jack agreed. "I've never really spent a lot of time in New York though, I don't really know of anywhere we could stay"

I knew New York slightly better, though of course most people and places I had frequented would never let us through their doors. Besides, any one of those people could easily inform Mother or Cal of us. I raked my brains for anyone at all who may be able to help.

Mother hadn't allowed me to choose my own friends; she knew I'd go for the ones she wouldn't approve of. She had chosen for me, and arranged tea parties and lunches with the daughters of her own friends; spoilt, snobbish rich girls whose main occupation consisted of gossiping about others and what fashion was currently in style; the exact image of their mothers. I had loathed them all. Whenever possible I had snuck out of the house to the stables, where my one friend worked as a stable boy; Nathan Calvert. He had been my favourite companion during my early teens. Only a few years older than me, he was the only friend my own age I'd had. Mother knew I was fond of him, but had she discovered my evening escapades to spend time in the stables with him, he would surely have been dismissed. Thankfully, I was a quiet sneaker. Countless happy evenings had been spent with Nathan in those stables, probably the happiest times of my childhood.

Alarm bells rang in my head as I thought of him Nathan Calvert! That was it!

I had been crushed when he had told me he was moving to New York, to work with carriage horses there. We wrote frequently up until I left America for Europe with Mother. He had done well, and now lived in New York with his wife and young daughter. Nathan and I had been very close for several years during my early teens. I was sure he wouldn't turn me away in our time of need.