Chapter Twenty Six

I snuck back to the time boat and slept for a while, thinking about Rose. She would have no idea that any time passed, but I did. And I missed her so incredibly much.

What I would give to be in our bed, holding Rose in my arms, my hand secured on her belly. The only comforting part was that I knew Rose wasn't lonely or missing me. For the time being, Rose was safe. As long as I was here, nothing could happen to her, and there was something comforting about that.

I relaxed on the ship the whole day leading up to the sinking. I wanted to see our talk in the gymnasium, our first kiss, everything. But we couldn't risk them finding out again, so Fabrizio and I decided to lay low for the rest of the day.

Fabrizio figured out that Helga had let go of the bars and hit a small structure of some kind. I wasn't sure what she hit, but Fabrizio was. He laid out some padding over it so when Helga hit it, it wouldn't hurt. She'd end up in the water as planned. Then, I would bring her to the boat. I worried about Fabrizio, since he had the most dangerous job of sneaking onto the sinking boat. All I had to do was be in the water with warmers for a few minutes.

It was finally showtime. Helga, Rose, and past Jack were all on the rails as the ship went vertical. I stayed on the boat, ready to pick Helga up.

Fabrizio looked at the time. "It's time," he said.

"Good luck," he said.

"Thanks." I dove into the water.

Although I was wearing warmers and a wetsuit, the water was still freezing. I waited as I looked up at Rose and past Jack. My heart leapt out of my chest as the ship started to sink. Everything would be okay, I told myself. I knew everything would be okay.

To my surprise, Helga ended up in the water before the boat did. I quickly swam over to her. "Helga!"

"Jack?" She looked at me like I was crazy. "Weren't you just on the back of the boat?" It was so funny to me to hear Helga's American accent after listening to her fake Norwegian one. She and Fabrizio both did their fake accents so brilliantly I almost forgot they were fake.

"It's a long story," I said. I explained to her how she died, and that Fabrizio and I had come back to save her.

Helga looked at me. "So, Fabri just thought I was permanently dead?" I nodded sadly. "I feel horrible."

"There was nothing you could do about it," I said.

"Well, thank you so much for coming back for me," Helga smiled.

"You kidding?" I said playfully. "Of course I did."

She nodded as we continued to swim to the boat. "So tell me about Rose. Did you save her?"

"Yes, I did," I laughed. "And Joe was pissed. He tried to kill her at first, since she was supposed to… not make it."

"Right," Helga said. "So what happened?"

"I promised I'd take her back with us, that I'd look out for her," I explained.

"And?" Helga asked.

"And now we're married," I smiled. "She's pregnant."

"Really?" Helga asked. She laughed. "I always figured you'd be the first out of the two couples. You were always popular with girls."

"Well, you were the one in a relationship," I replied.

Helga smiled, and I could tell she was thinking about Fabrizio. "Is he different now?"

"Not really," I said honestly. "When you died, he threw himself into finding a way to get you back. He never accepted the fact that you were really gone."

Helga nodded. "It's weird. I'm nervous to see him."

"Don't be," I told her. "Everything's going to be fine."

We finally arrived at the ship. I jumped onto the boat and then pulled Helga up. She dried her hair a bit before looking at her reflection in the mirror on the boat. We slowly walked inside, where Fabrizio was waiting. "Helga!" He exclaimed, running towards her and lifting her off the ground.

"I'm so sorry, Fabrizio," she cried. "I'm so sorry."

My heart melted watching them. It reminded me of when I had Rose come down in the ship and find out I was alive. I'll never forget the huge smile on her face. I desperately wanted to go back to her. I didn't want to rush Helga and Fabrizio, but I wanted to go back.

They embraced for another minute, and then Fabrizio smiled at me. He looked so much better than he had the last few months. "We ready to go back?"

I smiled back and nodded. "Let's go."

•••

We got back to twenty twenty, and I immediately took out my phone and called Rose. "Hello?"

I smiled. I had missed her voice so much. "Rose, I'm back. Everything's fine."

"Oh thank god," Rose exhaled. "I was so worried.

I laughed. "It's been two minutes."

"And the scariest two minutes of my life," Rose shot back. "Now get back here so I can kiss you."

"I'll be home soon, I promise." I hung up the phone and looked at Helga and Fabrizio, who were still in an embrace. "I have to go check on Rose. I'll see you guys later."

"Jack," Fabrizio stopped me. I turned around. "Thank you again. For everything."

"Of course," I smiled. "Good to have you back, Helga."

I quickly drove home and found Rose sitting on the bed. As I got closer, it became obvious that she had been crying.

I quickly walked over to her and hugged her. "What's wrong, Rose?"

"I was so worried!" Rose cried. "I know it was only two minutes, but I really was."

"I'm sorry," I held her in my arms and gave her kisses. "Everything's okay."

Rose smiled and looked up at me. "So Helga's okay?"

I nodded. "Yep."

"And you didn't mess up our timeline I guess," Rose said, then paused. "Not that I would know."

"Well, I did mess it up a little," I smirked. "I was hiding, watching us come out of the steerage party, and I sneezed."

"You did?" She asked.

"Yeah," I rolled my eyes. "I had to get you to drink the memory medicine, and you wouldn't do it."

"Of course not," Rose scoffed. "I'm too stubborn."

"Right, of course," I smiled. "Finally, I had to tell you that I was pregnant to get you to believe me. And you finally agreed to drink it."

"Good," Rose smiled. "Stuck in that engagement to Cal, it must've been nice to hear you tell me that I'd get out, and that a few months later, I'd be happily married and expecting a baby."

I smiled. "You were happy."

Rose stroked my cheek and smiled. "You look tired."

"I am," I said.

Rose patted the pillow. "Take a nap." She pulled me down onto the pillow and ran her fingers through my hair as I quickly fell asleep.

I woke up an hour later to find Rose watching the office and laughing. "Hey," she smiled, pausing the TV. "You're awake."

"Thanks for telling me to take a nap," I rubbed my eyes. "I needed that."

She leaned down and kissed me. "So I had kind of an unconventional idea."

"Tell me," I said.

"What if we invite Helga and Fabrizio over for dinner?" Rose asked. "I don't know Helga well, and I honestly don't know Fabrizio super well either."

"Well, you can't get out of bed," I reminded her.

"That's where the unconventional part comes in," Rose smiled. We could bring the dining room table in here with a few chairs, I can stay where I am." She took my hand. "What do you say?"

"I say that sounds like a great idea," Jack smiled.

•••

It was the following night, and Rose and I were having dinner with Helga and Fabrizio.

I walked into the bedroom with Helga and Fabrizio. "Hey, Rose!" Fabrizio exclaimed, kissing Rose's cheek. "It's been a while."

"Yes, it has," Rose smiled. "I think it was the wedding."

"I'm telling you, most memorable wedding ever," Fabrizio laughed. "Bride passes out right after the ceremony."

We both laughed. Helga walked over to Rose and smiled. "Hi, I think we met briefly on Titanic."

Rose looked at Helga. "Yes, I think we did. It's nice to see you again."

"You too," Helga smiled.

"I must say, it's funny hearing you without a Norwegian accent."

Helga laughed. "I'm sure."

"So do you know if you're having a boy or a girl?" Fabrizio asked. Now, we were sitting and eating dinner.

"We don't know yet," Rose answered. "The baby's been at a weird angle every time we've had an ultrasound, so we don't know."

"What do you want it to be?" Helga asked.

"I don't have a preference," I smiled. "Rose?"

"Me neither." Rose smiled and took my hand under the table.