Chapter Twenty One: Caution by The Killers

It was a few days later, and Rose was in her hotel room. She took out her phone to text Jack.

R: Hey.

J: Hey. FaceTime?

Rose instantly smiled at his text. She loved him so much. She had no idea love like this existed before Jack. She called him.

Suddenly, his face appeared on his phone. "Hey," said Jack.

Rose smiled. "Hi," she said. "What's up?"

"I just got back from work, and Fabrizio's here. He and Helga are fighting," said Jack.

"We're not fighting! She's just being a bitch," said Fabrizio.

Jack chuckled. "What about you?"

"Icing my ankle," said Rose. "There's a stunt that I have to do and it's hard on the ankles."

"Sorry, babe. That sucks," said Jack.

"Jack, my whole body aches," said Rose sadly. "I don't know how much more of this I can take."

"Well, the good news is, it's almost over," said Jack. "You have the performance tomorrow, and then you're free until the spring."

"Thank god," said Rose.

Jack looked up as if to check if Fabrizio was listening. "And when you get home day after tomorrow, I'll give you as many massages as you want."

Rose smiled. "I would love that. I miss you."

"I miss you too," said Jack.

They talked for a few more minutes before they both went to sleep. The next day, Rose got up and got ready for the competition. Finally, they were ready, and the competition was about to start.

Jack had turned on the TV in the boys' home living room and turned it to the cheerleading channel. Everyone had come to watch. Finally, New York All Stars, Rose's team, ran onstage.

"There she is," said Helga. "I've never had a friend who was on TV before. This is cool."

They started the routine, and Jack nervously watched. He knew how hard Rose worked on cheerleading, and he wanted her to win so badly.

Suddenly, something went wrong. Rose had fallen out of a stunt. The boy who was supposed to hold her lost his gripping, and she fell on her ankle.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Someone asked.

"No," said Jack.

"Is she okay?" Fabrizio asked.

"Well, she somehow saved it. It looked seamless," said Helga.

Jack couldn't take his eyes off the screen. "It still looked like she hurt herself."

Finally, the routine was over, and Jack watched as they walked off the stage. He saw Rose's expression change.

"I'm calling her," said Jack, and he stood up and called her, but the call went straight to voicemail. "Damn it."

Jack called Emily. "Hello?"

"Emily, is Rose okay?" Jack asked.

"Is that Jack?" Jack heard Rose say. "Give me the phone."

"Rose?" Jack said. "Are you okay?"

"I hurt my ankle," said Rose. "I'm okay."

"Are you?" Jack asked.

Rose sighed. "They told me it's a fracture or worse."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," said Jack, and he hung up the phone. He called a car service to drive him to Connecticut, and he watched the awards ceremony on his phone.

He saw Rose standing on the stage. Her foot was wrapped, and she was on crutches. He hated the fact that she was hurt. He never wanted her to be in any pain.

"And the winner is… New York All Stars!"

Jack smiled and watched her cheering and hugging her teammates. Rose called him back. "Congratulations," said Jack. "I just saw the awards."

"Thanks," said Rose. "What do you mean, you'll be there as soon as you can?"

"I'm on my way," said Jack. "I'm in a car, and I'm about twenty minutes away."

"You are?" Rose asked with a smile.

"Yes, I am," said Jack.

"Okay, well I'm about to leave to go to the hospital," said Rose. "I need to get an x-ray."

"Okay, I'll be there soon," said Jack. He finally arrived and ran through the emergency room, looking for Rose. "Rose!" He exclaimed when he saw her.

Rose smiled and hugged him tightly, kissing him. "I missed you," she said with a smile.

"What's wrong? Did you get your x-ray yet?" Jack asked.

"I did," said Rose. "They said they'd be here any minute to tell me."

The doctor came over to them. "Ms. DeWitt Bukater?"

"Yes, that's me," said Rose.

"Okay," said the doctor. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but you dislocated your ankle."

"Oh my god," said Rose. "How did I manage to finish the routine if I dislocated it?"

"Adrenaline is a powerful drug," said the doctor. "Regardless, we're going to have to set it, and you'll have to have crutches for a month, then a boot for two."

"I'm going to have crutches and a boot for three months?" Rose asked.

"Unfortunately so," said the doctor. "If you follow this routine, you should be fine for your next season."

"Okay," said Rose.

"A nurse will come over and give you some morphine, for when we set your ankle," said the doctor. "And once it kicks in, we'll set your ankle."

"Okay, thanks," said Rose, and the doctor left. "I can't believe this. This sucks!"

"I know, baby, I know," said Jack, kissing the top of her head. "It's going to be okay."

They gave her morphine, and it finally started kicking in. "Is this what being high feels like?" Rose asked.

Jack laughed. "So I guess it's not hurting you anymore?"

Rose shook her head. "I feel fantastic."

The doctor came over to them. "Okay, Rose. Are you ready?"

Rose looked at him for a minute. "No."

Jack and the doctor both laughed. "I'll be here the whole time, and I'll hold your hand," said Jack. "Squeeze my hand."

"Okay," said Rose. Jack wrapped his arm around her and held her hands.

"3… 2… 1…" said the doctor, and he set her ankle.

Rose screamed loudly and squeezed his hands tightly. "You're doing great, Rose. You're doing great," said Jack.

"Okay, we're all done," said the doctor, and he put Rose's foot in a cast.

Rose looked at Jack. "Hopefully we'll be in this position again," Rose whispered, still high on the morphine.

"What?" Jack asked.

"One day, when we have babies," said Rose.

Jack smiled. It was obvious that Rose wasn't in her right state of mind, but they both wanted this. "One day, Rose," he whispered. "One day."