Chapter 14

Jack and Rose took their time walking back to their staterooms, taking a detour along the boat deck. It was the evening of the 12th and according to Mr Ismay; they were making excellent time on their crossing of the Atlantic. Jack noticed Rose was shivering as they walked along the long deck. He pulled off his jacket and placed it over her shoulders. She smiled, pulling the lapels tight to her chest. Jack suddenly stopped and stared up at the sky. The sky was black but with traces of blues and purples through it. The stars looked like little diamonds dotted around a blank canvas and the moon lit up the night sky, spreading light across the water in front of them. Rose noticed he had fell behind her and turned, following his gaze up to the dark sky.

"It's so vast and endless." She said. "And we're so small."

Jack turned to look at her, watching her grab onto a rope, pulling herself around.

"My old crowd; they think they're giants. They're not even dust in God's eye. That's why I had to get away, no one should think they're bigger than they are." Rose stared out to sea, seeming lost in thought.

"You got mailed to the wrong address." Jack smirked.

"I did, didn't I?" Rose laughed. "Look! A shooting star!" she said, pointing up at the sky.

"My mother always said that every time you saw one, it was a soul going to heaven." Jack sighed, trying to push the memories of his mother to the back of his mind. It still hurt when he thought about her and sometimes Jack thought that he would give anything just to see her one last time. He hadn't been home when she had died and Jack had always regretted that, wishing that he had made the effort to spend more time with her.

"I like that." Rose smiled. "Aren't we supposed to wish on it?"

Jack turned to her. "Why? What would you wish for?"

The smile disappeared from Rose's face as she studied him. "Something I can't have."

Jack tried to understand her words. He thought they were on track and now she wasn't sure they could be together? He didn't understand it.

"Come on Jack, I'm cold, I'd like to go back now." She said, walking towards the first class entrance. Jack turned and watched her walking away before gazing back out to the sea, then finally following her inside.

Eventually they made it back to their cabins. Jack checked his watch and noted it was now well past eleven. His father was likely already in bed. He followed Rose to her door in silence, stopping when she opened it. She turned to face him and smiled before reaching up and brushing a strand of his hair out of his face. The corridor was silent as most people would have gone to bed by now so it was just the two of them.

"I had a lovely evening Jack, thank you." She said.

"You're welcome." Jack fidgeted with the watch in his pocket. This woman made him nervous and he didn't know why.

"Goodnight Jack." She said, disappearing inside and closing the door behind her. Jack stood staring at the door for sometime before finally making his way to his own room. He sat down in the armchair and kicked off his shoes and loosened his tie. Jack leaned forward and put his head in his hands, trying to think of how he could prove to Rose that she should be with him. Eventually, trying to think of how to fix this began giving him a headache so he stood up and walked towards the closet to get changed. Once he had done this, he made his way to his bed and climbed in, pulling the sheets up to his chin before finally falling asleep.

"Don't give up on me Jack." The voice came to him out of nowhere, startling him. He looked up and that's when he saw her coming towards him. She was breathtaking. Jack stood as she appeared before him. She was dressed as she always was in his dreams, wearing a long flowing white dress which almost blended in to her pale porcelain skin. Her emerald green eyes popped and were one of the first things that Jack had noticed about her and they shimmered as the light caught them. Her hair fell loose over her shoulders and delicately framed her face.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Don't give up on me." She repeated. "Give it time. You know we belong together."

Jack smiled. He enjoyed these dreams, it was as if Rose was giving him messages giving him advice on what to do and he knew that if he followed them, things would be alright.

Suddenly there was a loud noise. Almost like a clock chime. Jack looked around, trying to see where it was coming from. It continued several times with long intervals in between.

"I must go now Jack." Rose smiled.

"No, Rose please stay with me." Jack pleaded. The loud noise continued.

"Good bye Jack." And with that she was gone. But the noise kept going, but it was getting louder.

Jack woke up with a start. He shook his head as the loud noise continued to ring in his ears. Eventually the room quietened and Jack looked around, trying to get his eyes to focus. He jumped as he heard another bang. It took him a few seconds to realise that the noise was coming from his door. Jack wondered who could be knocking at this hour. He climbed out of bed, pulled on his robe and slid his feet into his slippers. He walked towards the door and slowly opened his, squinting his eyes as they were met with the bright light from the next room.

"Hello Jack."

"Rose? Are you alright?" Jack opened the door completely.

"Yes. I'm sorry for waking you. I just had to speak with you." Rose clung onto the robe that Molly had given her, holding it tight across her chest.

"Of course. Come in." Jack stood aside and allowed her to come inside, quickly checking behind her as she passed to make sure no one saw her enter. He didn't need anyone making a fuss about her being in his room at this time of night. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." She turned to face him. "I just felt awful about how I left things with us this evening. After you had been so good to me. I was just a bit overwhelmed. It's a lot to take in, being back here."

Jack nodded, taking a seat in one of the armchairs. "I understand Rose. Take all the time you need, there's no rush. I want you to be happy and if things are going too fast for you then we can slow it down. But I love you Rose." He said, standing to his feet and walking towards her. "I don't know how and I don't know why but ever since I saw you, you hypnotised me. I've been seeing you in my dreams for months and as soon as I noticed you standing next to that river, I knew it was a sign."

Rose looked down. Staring at his hands, she reached forward and took one of them, rubbing her thumbs over his knuckles. She lifted her eyes back to his face, having to lift her head quite far back. Without her heels on, she was quite a bit smaller than Jack. They stood watching each other before Jack reached up and moved a strand of her hair back behind her ear. Without warning, Rose lifted herself up on her tip toes and pressed her lips to Jack's, startling him. He pulled back away from her, wondering where that had come from. He felt a pang in his heart as he noticed the look of hurt in her eyes because he had stopped. Jack took a deep breath before placing both of his hands on the side of her face, pulling her back to him, pressing his lips against hers. Rose wrapped her arms around his waist, clinging onto him as his tongue began to explore her mouth. Rose was taken aback as she had never experienced this level of intimacy with a man before but she trusted Jack and she knew he wouldn't push her into anything she wasn't ready for. But she was well aware why she had come to his room, she knew that she wanted him. Jack slowed their kiss right down, eventually placing short sharp kisses on her lips and cheeks, finally pulling back from her. She smiled as she took a step back from him. Jack watched her, wondering what she was going to do and his breath caught in his chest as he saw her hands travelling up to the tie around her waist. She loosened it, allowing the robe to fall open, revealing her night gown underneath. Jack stared at her before closing the gap between them.

"Rose?"

She nodded as if giving him an answer to a question that he hadn't actually asked but she knew what he was thinking. She lifted her hands to his chest and pushed his robe from his shoulders, letting it fall to the ground revealing his undergarments.

"Are you sure?" Jack watched her as she started to loosen his pants. She nodded slowly, reaching up and gently kissing him. Jack allowed her to continue, quite happy to let things go at her pace. She suddenly stopped, taking his hand before leading him across to the large bed in the corner of the room. She sat down on the edge of the bed and motioned for him to come over to her. Jack did as she wanted and slowly made his way across until he was standing in front of her. Rose lifted her arms up in the air, making it clear to Jack what she wanted him to do. Knowing exactly what she meant, he reached down to her sides and lifted up her night gown, slowly bringing it over her head. Jack dropped it on the ground, before letting his eyes drift over her body. She was even more beautiful that he could have ever imagined, and completely flawless. She lay back and took Jack's hand, pulling him on top of her. That night, Jack made love to her as if his life depended on it. He took his time, being sure to be careful with her, almost treating her as though she was a fragile vase that could break at any moment. If this was how he could show her how much he loved her, he didn't want to risk anything by being too rough or forceful. Afterwards, Rose lay in his arms, her arm draped over his stomach and her head resting on his chest, listening to the sound of his beating heart. Never in her life had she felt so content.