Chapter Twenty Four

I walked into our bedroom. Rose was still reading, and she smiled once she saw me. "Hi, how's Fabrizio?"

"It's complicated." I gently crashed down onto the bed.

Rose rolled over to look at me. She brought her hand up to caress my cheek. "Talk to me. What happened?"

I looked at her and realized how much I stood to lose from this exhibition. What if somehow I messed up how Rose and I met? What if I ruined everything? What if I didn't make it, and Rose ended up all alone?

"Fabrizio made his own time ship," I explained. "He plans on going back to try to save Helga."

"I asked him why he didn't go back," Rose said thoughtfully. "I'm glad he decided to try it."

"Yeah." I avoided eye contact with her for a minute.

She looked at me for a moment and read my mind. "He wants you to go with him, doesn't he?"

I nodded. "Yes, he does." I waited for a reaction from Rose.

What Rose did next surprised me. "Well, I think you should," Rose shrugged.

I was shocked. "You do?"

Rose nodded. "You have good judgement. If you think that this is safe, then I support you in doing it." She took my hand. "I know you won't do anything stupid to get yourself killed, because you know that we need you. So if you promise to stay safe and let Fabrizio take all of the dangerous stunts, I don't see why you wouldn't."

I smiled. "You never cease to amaze me."

She blushed, then looked at me. "But listen, if you don't want to do it or don't feel comfortable doing it, then that's your decision."

"I feel comfortable doing it," I smiled. "Believe it or not, my biggest concern is messing up our timeline."

"You know where we'll be," Rose assured me. "You need to just avoid the ship until the last moment, where Helga lost her grip on the railing."

I looked at Rose and realized she was right. "You're a genius. I have to call Fabrizio."

I suddenly felt really determined to do this, which meant I would do a good job. "Wait," Rose pulled my arm back. I looked at her, and she was smiling. She gripped my neck and pulled it downward, so I was only an inch or so away from her. "I'm so proud of you."

"It's because of you," I said seriously. I wanted her to know I wasn't joking. "You make me a better person each and every day."

We shared a passionate kiss before I called Fabrizio back and started strategizing.

•••

I woke up the next morning to find Rose in my arms. I glanced out the window, trying to figure out what time it was. It must have been about… eight thirty? I tapped my phone: it was only eight o'clock.

Rose was still asleep, and I was determined to keep her that way. When she slept now, she was always interrupted by nausea or pain. As for myself, I was so concerned about Rose's health in the middle of the night that I'd wake up every hour to make sure she was okay. So good sleep was few and far between for both of us.

She stayed asleep for quite a while, to my relief. She looked so peaceful, so at ease. I didn't dare move. I stayed as still as I possibly could, trying to protect Rose from her consciousness. A little later, Rose woke up. She opened her eyes and looked at the white ceiling. After only a second, she closed them again. And that's when I knew today would be one of those bad days.

She had a certain look on her face. The kind of look you have when you suck a lemon and the bitterness is still on your tongue. She squeezed her eyes shut and gripped my hand tightly; I could tell she was trying to steady herself from the dizziness. "Jack, you there?" She whispered.

"I'm here," I whispered.

"Trash." That was all she said, but I knew what to do. I jumped up and ran to the bathroom, picking up the small garbage and bringing it back to her. As soon as I did, she started to throw up.

My heart sank as she did so, not out of disgust or discomfort, but out of love. Nothing hurt me more than to see Rose in pain. All I wanted to do was end it for her somehow, but I couldn't. I quickly grabbed her curls and held them back. I rubbed her back and tried to soothe her, but it was all useless.

Finally, she finished, and she sank back into the pillow. She closed her eyes took deep breaths, trembling. I knew I couldn't do anything to help her, so I just sat next to her and held her hand, stroked her curls, stroked her cheek - she was burning up. "Rose, you're burning up."

"I'm freezing," she said, hugging herself for warmth.

I unfolded another blanket and put it over her before trying to find a thermometer. "Open your mouth," I instructed.

"If you're trying to get me to eat-" Rose began.

"It's a thermometer," I told her, and I heard her exhale in relief. "Open your mouth."

I took her temperature and examined it. "You're at one hundred point seven."

She didn't respond. She just closed her eyes and shivered. I left the room and called my mother.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mom," I began. "Rose was throwing up again and she has a one hundred point seven fever. She's shivering like crazy."

"Give her a Tylenol and put her in a warm bath. Not hot; warm." She paused for a minute. "How does she look?"

"Pale, slightly green," I said, my voice cracking. "She's okay, right?"

"She's fine, Jack," my mother assured me. "Medically, she's fine. She'll probably feel weak for a while."

"Okay, thanks," I said, nodding. "Bye."

I went to the bathroom and turned on the bathtub, feeling the temperature. I took out a towel for her and a fresh set of pajamas.

"You need to take a bath, sweetheart," I said softly. "It'll make you feel better, I promise."

"Okay," she said, opening her eyes slowly. I slowly walked away, wanting to give her some privacy. "Jack?"

I turned back to face her. "Yes?"

She looked up at me with a look of desperation I hadn't seen in her before. "I don't think I can make it to the bathtub."

My heart broke for her. I picked her up, holding her in my arms. Rose wrapped her arms around my neck and rested her head against my chest. I gently set her down on the toilet. "Arms up," I whispered. She put her arms up weakly, and I pulled off her shirt. I undressed her before lifting her again and placing her in the bath. "Is the temperature okay?"

Rose nodded weakly, her eyes still closed. I picked up a loofah and started washing her gently. She opened her eyes finally and looked at me. "Thank you for taking care of me." She smiled weakly. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"You wouldn't be pregnant without me," I reminded her.

She laughed quietly. "Right."

I finished bathing her, and I drained the water. I started drying her off. "Hands up," I told her again. I slid the shirt over her head and arms and pulled it over her belly. I helped her put on her pajama pants, and carried her back to bed.

"Can I get you something to eat?" I asked. "Some toast?"

Rose just shook her head. I took her hand and held it, and immediately she started to cry. "Can you just hold me?"

My heart broke as I climbed into bed next to her. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "Is it that you don't feel well?"

"It's everything," she cried. "I'm sick of this." She pointed to her belly.

"It'll be over soon," I whispered. "I promise."

"And this is not how I pictured our first few months of marriage," she cried.

I didn't know what to tell her. "I know this is awful for you," I said quietly. "I know. And soon, we will have our beautiful baby, you'll be okay, we'll all be okay."

"I know." Rose whispered. She grabbed me and pulled her head up so it would be on my chest.

I wrapped my arms around her as she drifted off to sleep. All I wanted was for her to feel better.

•••

It was a few days later. Fabrizio and I had figured out exactly how we were going to pull off the mission. And today was the day we were going back to Titanic.

I got dressed in my third class shirt, pants, and suspenders. I walked out of the closet and passed Rose, who laughed. "Oh my god," she laughed. "You look like someone I used to know. A bad-dressing ghost."

"Joke all you want," I began. "But this is who you fell in love with."

"That's true," Rose smiled. She grabbed my hands and had me sit down next to her. "How long until you have to leave?"

"Two minutes," I smiled sadly.

Rose nodded, and I could tell she was disappointed. "Promise me you'll be safe."

"I promise."

"Promise me you won't do anything stupid."

"I promise."

"And when you see Cal…" she began. "Punch him in the face."

I laughed. "I'll try my best."

"And call me right before you go through and then the second you get back."

"You realize the calls will be like, a minute apart?" I asked

"I don't care," said Rose. "You still call me the second you get back."

"Of course."

"And… I love you." Rose smiled and gave me a loving kiss.

"I love you too." I smiled. "Listen, if anything happens-"

"Then I'll go back for you," Rose said confidently. "I'll build my own time machine if that's what it takes."

"Don't do that," I told her. "You can't risk hurting yourself. Our baby will need you. Instead, have Fabrizio go back for me. And if he still can't save me, then you have to go on without me."

"And never let go?" Rose cracked a smile.

"Yes," I took her hands. "I mean it, Rose. I love you so much. Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

Rose nodded. "Okay."

I gave her another kiss before waving goodbye. I drove five minutes down to the docs and got on the ship with Fabrizio. "Are we ready?" He asked.

I nodded nervously. "We're ready."

I called Rose and told her that I was about to go back and that I loved her. "Let's go to 1912," Fabrizio said, and before I knew it, we were back.