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Jack followed Helen along the path to Rose's room only a step behind her. He was full to bursting with anger and hatred towards Cal. He couldn't wait until he could get his hands on him.

"Its this room here," she said putting the key in the lock. "Are you sure you want to do this now? Mrs. Dewitt Bukater and Mr. Hockley are still here. It might cause some trouble."

"Open the door," he said frantically. She did as she was told and twisted the key in the lock until it clicked and she opened the door. Jack pushed past her into the room to find Rose laying on the bed with a cut and bruise near her eye. He rushed over to her side and sat next to her on the bed. "Oh, Rose," he whispered as he brushed a stray curl away from her face. He leaned down and gently kissed her on the lips. He moved his mouth over to her ear and whispered lovingly into it. "I promise you Rose, I'm gonna take you away from this forever. You'll never have to worry ever again, I'm always gonna be here to protect you." Helen watched the scene in front of her with tears in her eyes.

"Does this door lead to the suite?" Jack asked Helen, pointing towards the other door in the room.

"Yes sir…" she said hesitantly, "they're in there."

Jack stood up and walked towards the door with fire in his eyes. Without any hesitation he opened it and quietly closed it behind him as not to disturb Rose. He walked in to find Ruth and Cal finishing up their breakfast. Neither one of them seemed to notice that he was there until he spoke up.

"You're gonna pay for that, you son of a bitch."

Cal looked up and stared at Jack with a surprised and horrified expression on his face. He calmly put his napkin down and stood up from the table. "I see you've recovered. I was hoping you wouldn't wake up."

"How on earth did you get in here?" Ruth asked, disgusted.

"How could you do that to her?" Jack asked stepping closer to Cal. His fists were clenched and his jaw was shut tightly.

"Easy," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Almost as easy as it was for you to get her to fuck you." Jack's fist connected with Cal's jaw, causing Cal to stumble backwards and hold his jaw in pain. Ruth shrieked and jumped up from her chair.

"Mr. Dawson, I can have you arrested for that!"

"That's your concern right now?" He asked her in disbelief. "Your daughter has been beaten by this piece of shit and all you care about is getting me arrested? You should want Cal arrested!"

"Mrs. Dewitt Bukater understands," Cal said gaining his composure back, "she understands that if a wife disobeys her husband that she must be punished!"

"Maybe in your family but not mine," Jack said with conviction. "No man should ever put his hands on a lady, especially not one that he loves."

"Love?" Cal said, mockingly. "You really think you love her? You might love her for her body, but you don't actually love her."

"I love that girl with every fiber of my being," he said stepping up to Cal. "I would give my life for her and I would do everything in my power to make her happy. While you on the other hand are slowly killing her inside."

"Mr. Dawson, you are not what's good for her," Ruth said. "You don't have anything to offer her. But Cal can give her everything she's ever dreamed of."

"He can't give her love. He can't give her happiness. He can't give her freedom."

"Enough!" Cal screamed, his voice booming through the room. "If you don't leave this instant I will have you arrested."

"I'm not leaving without Rose," Jack said, standing his ground.

"Why? So you can just fuck her some more? Make her even more of a slut than she already is?" Jack swiftly punched Cal in the face again, but this time much harder. Cal tried to throw a punch at Jack, but he was able to dodge it and punched Cal hard in his stomach. Ruth let out a cry and ran out of the room to find the master at arms, leaving Jack and Cal alone in the room. Cal was doubled over in pain, and it only took Jack one more punch to knock him to the ground.

"Mr. Dawson!" Helen screamed, running into the room. "Miss Rose has woken up and she's asking for you."

Jack turned to look at Helen and nodded in her direction. He gave Cal one swift kick in the crotch before running into Rose's bedroom. Helen had taken Rose's shoes and coat off and gotten her under the covers. Rose's hair was sprawled out on the pillow and she was slightly on her side. Jack ran strait to her side and sat on the bed next to her. He quickly scooped her up in his arms and gave her short kisses all along her neck and cheek.

"Jack I'm so glad you're here," she said, cherishing the feeling of him holding and kissing her.

"I'm so sorry I let this happen Rose," he said holding her face delicately in his hands.

"No, I should have listened to you. You knew what would have happened if I left. Its my fault."

"No," he said, gently putting a finger on her lips. "All that matters is that I'm here now, and I'm never leaving you again." She smiled up at him and tenderly touched his cheek. She could hear Cal in the other room moaning in pain.

"Helen, gather some clothes for Rose and put it in that suite case over there. I'm taking her down to the infirmary. She won't be coming back here." Rose smiled at the words that Jack said. She couldn't believe that they would finally be together. Helen quickly gathered up some things for Rose while Jack put on Rose's shoes and the black coat back on her. He then scooped her up in his arms and the three of them quickly walked out of the room.

--

Jack stood next to Rose as she laid in a bed similar to his in the infirmary. He watched anxiously as the doctor examined Rose carefully. "Mr. Dawson I'm afraid you're gonna have to step out of the room now. I have to examine the young lady more closely." Jack nodded slightly and began to leave before Rose desperately grabbed onto his hand.

"Please let him stay," she said, looking at the doctor with pleading eyes. "I need him here with me."

"Miss…it's a little inappropriate."

"Please, sir." The doctor looked at the girl lying in the bed before him. He hadn't seen eyes as sad as hers in a long time, and he knew that Jack was the only person to bring happiness to her. He simply nodded at her and allowed Jack to resume his position standing next to Rose. The doctor laid Rose on her side so that her back was facing Jack and he slowly began to lower her dress to inspect the injuries on her back. Jack watched in horror as he saw a large bruise on Rose's delicate white skin. The doctor gently pushed on the bruise causing Rose to wince in pain.

"That is a very deep bruise you got there," the doctor said sadly. "What happened?"

"He kicked me," Rose said quietly. Jack had to put his hand on the wall to support himself. He was so overtaken with anger and rage that he was sure he would faint. The doctor then gently rolled Rose onto her back, revealing her bare breasts and bare stomach, showing another bruise, equal in size, on her abdomen.

"Same thing here I presume?" The doctor asked, examining the bruise. She simply nodded. She saw Jack quickly wiping his eyes so that she wouldn't see the tears that he was silently shedding for her.

The doctor helped her slip her arms back into her dress before he began to examine her neck which had a large red mark across it. He tilted her head back as he rubbed his finger across the swollen flesh and shook his head. "This appears to be skin to skin contact," he said, "much like the marks you have on your arms. Was this the result of his hand around your neck?" He asked carefully. Again, she simply nodded. "And we've already established that the cut on the side of your face is from his fist, correct?"

"Yes sir."

"Well Miss, your injuries are definitely consistent with those of physical abuse. I presume you will want to press charges?"

"Yes."

"Very well. I'll be right back with the master at arms."

The doctor left the small room, leaving Jack and Rose alone. He slowly sat down next to Rose, avoiding her eyes. She could see that he was trying to hide his face from her so she wouldn't see him cry, no matter how subtle of a cry it was.

"Jack," she said, shyly touching his arm. He turned to look at her and gave her a small smile.

"I'm sorry," he said, wiping his eyes, "that was really hard for me to watch. I'd kill him if I could."

"I don't want to talk about that anymore," she said, tugging at his arm. "I just want to enjoy this moment I have with you."

He smiled down at her and lowered his lips to hers, kissing her softly and sweetly. She rubbed her hand on the nape of his neck as he continued to kiss her. When they finally broke apart, Jack took Rose's hand in his own and looked her deep in her eyes.

"Rose, I deeply regret not being able to tell you this when I first felt it…but I love you, Rose. I love you so much. I can't believe how lucky I am to have found you, and I'm never gonna let you go. I promise that I'll protect you and you'll never have to worry about anything. You're the most amazing woman I've ever known, and I love you."

Rose stared at him with tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe how lucky she was. "I love you too Jack. And even though this is the first time you said it, I already knew."

They smiled at each other and resumed their kiss from earlier.

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