Chapter 25

"Shall I take that upstairs?" Langford pointed to the trunk that was lying in the middle of the foyer.

"Yes, please." Jack said, turning back to Rose and kissed her cheek. "I can't believe you're really here."

"Well I am." She smiled.

"Come on, let's get you settled in." Jack took her hand and pulled her towards the large staircase. Rose looked up at it. She loved how to split at the top to go off in different directions, much like the grand staircase on the Titanic. She smiled at the memory as she followed Jack up the steps. They walked past several doors before Jack finally stopped outside one of them. He turned the handle and opened the door into his bedroom. He scanned the room before closing the door again. "Not in here." He smiled. Jack continued along the hallway until he stopped at the next room and open it and sighed as he saw the trunk sitting in the middle of the room.

"Here we are. You know, you don't need to stay in here." Jack said, looking down at the floor.

Rose smiled. She knew exactly what Jack was getting at but she knew that if she was to fit back into this way of life she would need to follow correct etiquette which meant continuing to sleep in their own rooms. "I'll be fine here thank you."

Jack's face fell as she answered but he knew better than to push it. "Whatever makes you happy Rose."

"I have something for you." Rose smiled, quickly changing the subject. She placed her purse on the bed and walked over to the trunk and opened it up, slightly screwing her face up at the smell of damp. She tried to ignore the smell as she lifted up the bundle in her arms and walked over to Jack, handing it to him. He took it in his hands and allowed it to fall open, his eyes widening as he realised what it was. "I can't believe you kept this." He pressed it to his face, trying to ignore the stench and attempting to find any trace of his father's scent.

"I couldn't throw it away." Rose smiled. "And that's not all." She walked over to the bed and picked up her purse, opening it. She lifted out the large item and Jack stared at her as he realised what she was holding, before finally breaking into a wide grin and letting out a laugh.

"He really did think of everything didn't he?" Jack chuckled. "He must have lifted it before we left to find you."

Rose smiled and sat down on the bed, motioning Jack to sit beside her. He happily obeyed, taking her hand in his. "You know I never did get a chance to find out if he was definitely not on the survivors list." He told her, looking down at her pale fingers.

"We can look into that. They've been starting to publish names in the papers." Rose promised, kissing his cheek. He looked up at her and smiled and started leaning towards her almost touching her lips. Suddenly Rose jumped as she heard a loud banging coming from underneath them. "Who is that?"

"I don't know but wait here; I'm going to find out." Jack jumped up and rushed to the window and turned on his heel as he realised he couldn't see the door. Rose watched as he disappeared out of the door and rushed down the stairs.

Jack managed to get to a few steps before the bottom and sighed as he saw Grace standing in the door way.

"Where is she?" she yelled, rushing past Langford who was standing holding the door open. "Huh? Where is she? Is she staying in my room? Wearing my clothes? It's like I was never here!"

"Grace, what part of disappear do you not understand? I do not know how many more times I can tell you. I do not want you here." Jack shouted, now standing right in front of her.

Rose shuddered as she heard the commotion coming from downstairs and decided to go down to help Jack. She wandered slowly along the balcony and started descending the stairs. She was almost at the bottom when Grace finally noticed her.

"You!" she screamed, rushing past Jack and straight up the few stairs till she reached Rose and grabbed her by the shoulders. "You! You've destroyed my life! I was going to marry him but you ruined it." Grace shook Rose hard by the shoulders before finally letting her go, pushing her as hard as she could. Rose screamed as she felt the floor disappear from underneath her feet and could only watch as she helplessly tumbled towards the marble floor.

"Rose!" Jack screamed, running towards her. But it was too late. She clattered to the floor with the thud, thumping her head against the banister as she fell. Grace stared in horror as she watched Rose fall away from her. Jack fell to his knees and scooped Rose up in his arms, running his hand over her head trying to find any trace of cuts or bumps. He pulled his hand away and recoiled as he saw a trace of blood on his fingers. "Langford! Call for a policeman and the doctor!"

"Yes Sir." He rushed to the phone that was hooked up on the wall.

"Jack, I...I'm..." Grace stared down at the scene in front of her, unsure of what to say.

"Just stay back Grace! I mean it, stay away from her." Jack warned, holding up his free hand. "Rose? Darling? Wake up, please wake up."

Her eyes remained closed as Jack clung onto her tightly. Jack turned quickly as he heard a loud knock on the door. The policeman appeared in the room, studying the scene in front of him.

"What's all this then?" he finally asked. "Mr Dawson? What's happened here?"

"Her! She did this. She did this to Rose!" Jack yelled, pointing up to a still stunned Grace.

"Miss, I think you should come with me." The officer quietly said, motioning for Grace to come down the stairs. Finally she did, walking past Jack and Rose and towards the policeman, following him out of the door.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief as she disappeared and the doctor appeared in the doorway some time later. He kneeled down beside Rose and encouraged Jack to lay her flat on the floor. Jack disappeared with Langford through to the next room under instruction from the doctor so he could examine her. After a while, he called him back into the foyer. Jack's eyes darted around as he finally saw Rose sitting in and arm chair, her eyes opened.

"Rose!" Jack cried as he rushed to her, kneeling in front of her and grabbing her hand. "Are you alright?"

Rose nodded and smiled weakly. "I'm fine." She finally mumbled.

"She's gone Rose. She'll never get near you again darling, I promise." Jack reached up and kissed her cheek.

"She'll need plenty of rest." The doctor interrupted them. "I've cleaned the wound up on the back of her head but she may feel dizzy and disorientated for a while but she should make a full recovery."

Jack smiled. "See, you'll be fine." He kissed her hand gently. "Come on, let's get you upstairs and into bed to rest."

Rose nodded and slowly got to her feet, holding onto him and allowing him to guide her upstairs.

"Shall I make some tea?" Langford called after him. "Some sugary tea may help the shock."

"Yes, that would be lovely, thank you." Jack called back. They finally made it up to Rose's room and Jack helped her into her nightclothes and into bed, pulling the covers up to her chin. "We'll be alright now darling." He whispered, kissing her gently on the forehead as he watched her drift off to sleep.