3:00 pm
Thursday, April 25th, 1912Rose and Lilly walked into the house to see Jack sitting on the sofa, reading the newspaper. "Jack!" Rose exclaimed, running up to him and putting her arms around his neck.
Jack laughed and gave her a kiss on the lips. "Somebody's happy to see me."
"I missed you!" Rose said back. It was true. Ever since they got off the Carpathia, they hadn't spent more than a few minutes apart from each other. Rose was used to being by his side and although she had a great time shopping with Lilly, she missed her husband.
Jack felt the same way. He hadn't seen Rose since he left around ten to go to the factory. That was five hours without his beautiful wife, and he missed her every minute. "I missed you too, Rosebud. How was your day?"
"It was wonderful. We went shopping for some clothes, and we ate at this adorable café. Oh, and we went grocery shopping for dinner tonight," Rose told her husband.
"Rose is going to help me cook dinner tonight," Lilly chimed in. "So, Jack, how did it go at the factory?"
Jack smiled. "I got the job. It's five days a week, from nine in the morning until four in the afternoon. I have weekends off, so it isn't that bad. It pays well, too."
Rose immediately gave him a passionate kiss on the lips, forgetting for a moment that Lilly was in the room. "Jack, I'm so proud of you! This is wonderful!" Rose exclaimed as she pulled her mouth away from Jack's.
Jack smiled. He was so happy that Rose was happy. Nothing made him feel better than making Rose proud, especially since he was a penniless artist when she met him. Now, he had a home for them and a steady job. Could things get any better? "I'm so glad you're happy, Rose."
Rose smiled and the two lovers stared into each eyes, neither one believing how happy they were. Their moment of bliss was interrupted by Lilly, who cleared her throat. Jack and Rose looked up, embarrassed that they again forgot that she was in the room. "We should get dinner started, Rose," Lilly suggested. "Congratulations on the job, Jack."
"You're right," Rose said before giving Jack another kiss on the lips. "I'll see you in a bit, Jack."
"Have fun cooking, sweetie," Jack said as he watched her walk into the kitchen.
Three hours later, Rose and Lilly served up the dinner that they had prepared for all four of them – pasta, salad, and garlic bread. Rose had actually done most of the cooking, with Lilly just telling her what ingredients to use and how to mix them together and what not.
"Lilly, this looks delicious!" Charlie exclaimed. "I'm starved."
"Actually, Rose did most of the cooking. I just explained what to do. Didn't she do a great job? Wait until you see dessert," Lilly said. Rose smiled, proud of her accomplishment.
"Rose, you did all of this?" Jack asked as he took his first bite of his meal. He wasn't too shocked – he knew that Rose could accomplish anything she put her mind to. The food was delicious, and he was proud of his wife for learning something new today. He knew she was pretty sheltered growing up, and this was a big accomplishment for her.
Rose smiled as she started to eat. "I did, actually. I couldn't have done it without Lilly's wonderful instruction, though."
"Well, this is delicious, Rose," Charlie said.
"I agree. You did a great job, sweetheart," Jack commented.
Rose blushed, not expecting so many compliments. "Thank you."
The four of them continued to eat their dinner while chatting away about Jack's new job, among other things. For dessert, Rose had made an apple pie from scratch, with Lilly's assistance. Everyone enjoyed the meal, and after dessert, Charlie brought out a bottle of wine to celebrate his cousin's return to Chippewa Falls. After a few hours of drinking wine and hanging out, Rose and Jack decided to retreat up to their bedroom. Both of them were tired from the day.
As they walked into their room, Jack sat down on the bed, bringing Rose down with him and giving her a kiss. As their kiss became more passionate, Rose remembered the wedding gift she had purchased for him and pulled away from her husband. Jack pouted, disappointed that Rose had pulled away so suddenly, making Rose giggle.
"So, Jack. Now that we're alone, I have a surprise for you," Rose said
Jack raised an eyebrow at her, curious as to what the surprise could be. "Oh, really now?"
"Well, you got me this beautiful engagement ring, and I didn't get you anything in return. So, I thought you deserved a wedding gift.."
"Oh Rose, sweetheart, you shouldn't have.."
"Well, I did," Rose said as she handed Jack a small box. "Open it."
Jack untied the bow on the box and slowly lifted the lid, wondering what she could have possibly gotten him. He gasped as he picked up a beautiful, gold pocket watch. "Oh, Rose.. this is beautiful," Jack whispered. He flipped over the watch, immediately noticing the words that were engraved into the back. You jump, I jump. 04/21/1912. Jack smiled as he remembered the times that him and Rose said those words to each other. "Rose, I love you. Thank you."
Rose leaned forward to give her husband a peck on the lips. "I figured you could use it. And I want you to always remember that wherever you go, I'm coming with you. I never want to be away from you."
"It's perfect, Rose. You're perfect. I love you so much, I want to be with you forever."
"I love you, Jack." Rose smiled and kissed her husband passionately, pulling them both down onto the bed. "Take me to the stars, Jack. Show me how much you love me?"
Jack laughed. "Of course, my love."
Later on that night, Jack and Rose were supposed to be sleeping peacefully, but thoughts of Titanic were invading Rose's mind once again.
Rose laid on a piece of wood in the middle of the Atlantic, noticing how quiet things had gotten. She knew what the quiet meant.. that people were dying. Suddenly, she saw the light of a flashlight. She turned her head to find the source of the light, seeing a lifeboat off in the distance. She grabbed Jack's hand, trying to wake him up. "Jack! Jack! Wake up!" Jack wasn't waking up. In fact, he didn't stir at all. "Jack! There's a boat! Jack!" Rose shook his wrist harder, trying to get a response out of him. Finally, she noticed he wasn't breathing. "Oh Jack, please… please don't die.. Jack! He didn't move. Rose laid her head back down on the wood, crying quietly to herself. "Oh Jack… Jack.. Jack.."
Rose finally woke up, sitting up in the bed and collapsing into her husband's arms, crying.
Jack wrapped his arm's around her, kissing the top of her red curls. "Shh, Rose. It was just a nightmare.. I'm here.. I'm here.."
"Oh, Jack! You died! You died in the water and left me… you weren't breathing.. Jack…"
Jack cupped Rose's face in his soft hands and brought her face to his. "Rose, I'm right here. I'm here with you, and I'm not going anywhere.. not now, not ever. I love you too much."
"Jack, I'm scared. So scared of losing you. I don't know what I would do without you…"
"Shh, it's okay, it's okay," Jack said as he rubbed Rose's back, trying to soothe her. He hated the fact that Titanic was still haunting his wife. He thought about the tragedy everyday, of course. He lost Fabrizio, his best friend, to the tragedy. However, when these thoughts got to him, he remembered that if it wasn't for Titanic, he wouldn't have met Rose. Hell, she might have died if he wasn't there to save her when they first met. And Rose was the love of his life – he would go through any tragedy if it meant he would end up with her.
"Oh, Jack. Why won't Titanic just leave me alone?"
"I don't know Rose, I don't know. But I'll be here to get you through it, and love you, and make you feel as safe as I possibly can."
"How can you be so calm, Jack? I feel so stupid for crying and having these nightmares.."
Jack looked at his wife seriously, disappointed that she could ever think that her sadness was stupid. Titanic was a terrible tragedy, and it affected different people in different ways. She had every right to be upset. "I don't know Rose. I think about that ship every single day, but in a way, I'm grateful for it, because it brought me to you. Whenever I start to remember the bad memories, I focus on the good."
"You're right, Jack. I'm just so scared. I came so close to losing you, I don't know what I would have done… I just don't want to lose you again."
"Rose, you're never going to lose me. I promise you that. I love you."
"I love you, too," Rose responded as Jack wiped the tears off of her face.
A/N: Poor Rose! I think that I'll be doing a bit of a time skip in the next chapter (just a couple months or so). As always, thank you for all of the reviews! They really do make my day.