Jack kept a tight hold of Rose's hand as they made their way across the ice, using the tracks that earlier ice fishers had made across the ice before them. He pulled the sled full of supplies behind them, all the time keeping his eyes straight ahead.
"Are we there yet?" Rose questioned, wondering what she looked like bundled up in the coat, gloves, and boots Jack had insisted that she wear.
"Just a few more steps," Jack grinned, pulling her along, not stopping until he found the exact spot where he wanted to cut the ice. "Here we are. I think this is far enough so we can get plenty of fish."
"Okay, so what now? How do we do this?" Rose looked at the ice, wondering how the hole was made.
"Okay, first...we make our hole. We use an auger," Jack pulled out a tool that Rose had never seen before. "We drill a hole with this. Usually, I come out earlier to test the ice and make sure it's at least six feet thick so the ice will still support us, but it's been frozen over for a while and all of this is kind of spur of the moment. Luckily, we have each other to rescue the other if the worse should happen."
"I suppose freezing water is not new to either of us," Rose sighed, watching as Jack knelt down and began to use the auger to make the hole in the ice.
Jack just gave her a grim look and shrugged. "Trust me, experience does not make it any less painful."
An uncomfortable silence fell between them as Jack finished cutting the hole. Memories of that cold April night came back to them, almost crowding out all other thoughts. Once the hole was finished, Jack stood up and turned to look at Rose, who was almost as pale as she had been that night two years ago. Knowing what she must be thinking about, he dropped the tool he had been using and went to wrap his arms around her, pulling them both out of memories that were best left for another day.
"We're alright. We're not in any danger here. The water is below the ice and we're safely on top. We won't fall in, I promise."
Rose shuddered, allowing herself to relax in his embrace. "I'm sorry...the memories...they still feel so fresh, even though it's been years..."
"I know. Sometimes, it feels like we were just on the Carpathia," Jack sighed, pressing his head against Rose's. "Will you be okay?"
Rose nodded. "I'll be fine. It's not like two years ago. I don't feel so...overwhelmed. The memory comes and then it goes just as quickly sometimes. It doesn't linger. Not like it did before my memory loss. I really do think writing it all down for that play helped."
Their eyes met, the experience of Titanic, something that only they shared washed over them both once more, binding them together even more. Jack gently rubbed her pale cheek before leaning down to place a lingering kiss against her chilled lips.
"I meant what I said that night, Rose.," his voice was barely a whisper as he pulled away, but remained close enough so she could feel his warm breath against her lips.
"What?" She stared into his eyes, losing herself completely in a deep ocean of blue.
"Winning those tickets was the best thing that had ever happened to me. It brought me to you and I'm thankful for that Rose. I am."
"Jack...I...I'm thankful too. I mean...even though going through the sinking had caused me to lose my memory, it gave me more than it had taken. It gave me you and Cora. I may have gotten lost there for a while, but I've found my way home."
"Yes, you have and I'm going to make sure that you never get lost again," Jack kissed her again, nearly forgetting where they were and what they were supposed to be doing. It was an excited whoop from a nearby fisherman, whose line had just been bitten, that brought both Jack and Rose back to reality.
"We better get on with it, shall we? Before all of the fish are gone," Rose reluctantly stepped out of Jack's arms, knowing that no fishing would get done if they remained that way.
"Yeah, you're right...um…the buckets...we sit on the buckets," Jack stammered, feeling his cheeks go red as he turned to retrieve two of the three buckets he had brought with the sled. He placed them beside each other, upside down, making two seats for himself and Rose. "We sit on these."
"Will they hold us?"
"Of course," Jack chuckled as he began to retrieve everything else from the sled.
Rose frowned as Jack handed her a fishing pole. "Okay, so I put the wire in the water and wait for a fish to bite?"
"Not yet," Jack chuckled, taking out a round container with a lid. He opened it up to reveal worms, alive and wiggly. "We bait the line and then we put it in the water. Hand me yours, I'll bait it for you..."
Jack's words faded away as Rose simply plucked a worm out of the container herself, looking rather matter-of-fact. Jack had to admit, he was impressed. Most women he knew would be too squicked out by the sight of worms or any other insect.
"What?" Rose frowned, catching him staring at her. "Am I doing something wrong?"
"No, no. I mean...most women would be rather disgusted and wouldn't want to touch the worms. Of course, you're no ordinary woman. I think I had forgotten that until now."
Rose just laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "I figure the worm is more afraid of me and rightfully so. Besides, what is there to be afraid of. I doubt very much that they'd bite."
Jack just smiled at her, totally impressed. "Alright then. How about I show you how to hook the bait?"
"That would be preferable," Rose laughed, taking hold of her own pole.
Jack held up the hook in his hand and showed Rose how to hook the worm. After she had her own pole ready, they placed the hooked bait into the waiting water.
"Now what do we do?" Rose questioned. Surely this couldn't be all.
"We entice the fish by bobbing the poles either side to side or up and down," Jack gently moved the pole up and down. "Do it gently though. We want to entice them, not scare them away."
Rose simply nodded and followed Jack's movements. "How long until we catch a fish?"
"There's no set time. We just sit here and wait," Jack shrugged. "Not as exciting as it seemed, huh?"
"Well, it's no roller coaster in Santa Monica, but with the right person, I'm sure it's anything but boring."
"I agree. I probably would have been bored to death if I hadn't been with my dad," Jack smiled, feeling the familiar ache of grief as he thought of his father. It had been an ache that he had run from back when his parents died, unable to deal with missing them so much and being left with nothing but a house full of memories. Now it was different. Now instead of pain, the ache brought back memories that brought him comfort and warmth, that made him glad to have had the love of such wonderful parents. It made him happy to have people who were a great model for him when it came to parenting Cora.
"What were they like, Jack? Your parents? You know what my mother is like, but I know nothing of yours," Rose asked, not missing the sad mistiness in Jack's eyes.
"They were wonderful. Warm and loving, never a harsh word, even when I was in trouble. Especially my dad. He was smart, Rose. He should have been a teacher instead of a farmer, really. He knew everything there was to know about nature and the world and he had so many stories. He always made me feel safe and loved. Then there was my mother, I wish you could have known her, Rose. She was so sweet and beautiful. My dad always joked that I was lucky because I looked so much like her."
"You must have loved them a whole lot."
"I did. I remember one time when I was hanging out with a group of boys that I shouldn't have been and we been caught...well...stealing. I'll just say it," Jack laughed. "We were caught and the store owner called my father. While the other boy's father threatened to kick their asses for what they had done, my father took me to the side. Told me how much of a good boy I was and that he had always been proud of how I turned out until that moment. That being called to the store, to be told that his boy was stealing, he had never been more disappointed than he was then because he knew I was better than that. Rose, I'm telling you...having my father, the man I respected and loved dearly, say he was disappointed in me and to see that disappointment in his eyes...I never stole anything else from that moment on...at least not anything you can own. I don't think he'd be mad about me stealing Caledon Hockley's fiancee away," Jack snorted.
"Haha. You were only able to accomplish that because I wanted you to, Jack Dawson," Rose laughed herself, not surprised to find just how easily they were slipping back into an easy companionship that they had enjoyed that day on the deck of Titanic.
"What was your father, like Rose? Was he like my Uncle? Is that why your mother is so taken by him?"
"My father was nothing like your Uncle, Jack. Don't get me wrong, he could be charming, but in a more quiet way. He was kind and bookish. He never had a hard word to say about anyone. Sadly, I do believe he was naive and that's why he lost his fortune. People would always take advantage of him. Mother tried to tell him to be more...stern but he wouldn't listen. He would always say that mother was always too hard. Unfortunately, mother was right. In the end, his soft-heartedness and willingness to give people chance upon chance ended up killing him and leaving me open for mother's manipulations," Rose sighed, staring at the still waters. She hadn't really given much thought to her father and what had happened to him, but thinking about it now, she felt sad. She didn't care about the money he had lost, but she felt sad that in the end, he felt as if he had failed his family. In truth, Rose felt like he hadn't failed her at all. If it hadn't been for her father, she would never have felt loved at all as a child. She knew that her mother loved her, but Ruth had never shown it, not like her father had.
"My Uncle must be a shock to your mother's system, then."
"I think she was a bit taken aback at first. It's been quite a while since anyone has paid mother so much attention, especially romantically. But I'm happy for her, regardless of the past. I'm happy that she's found love and companionship again and she now sees that there's so much more to life than money."
"He'll take good care of her, Rose. You won't have to worry. It's really good to see him in love again. When Lisa's mother had died...we all thought he may follow afterward, he had been so devastated...then Lisa became his world and we all relaxed knowing he'd never leave her. But with her a grown woman now and ready to start life on her own, I'm glad that he won't be lonely now. I'm happy for both of them, really."
"So I shouldn't give them a hard time, Jack? Revenge for how mother had treated you?" Rose laughed.
"It's a little too late now, don't you think?"
Rose was about to answer when she suddenly felt a tug on her line. She gasped and got to her feet. "Jack, I think I've got one!"
"Hold on!" Jack hopped up and stepped right behind Rose. He wrapped around her hands that were gripping the pole and helped her pull her catch out of the water. "Wow, nice for your first catch!"
Rose stared wide-eyed at the medium-sized gray fish that wiggled and flopped in the air, trying its best to escape back into the freezing waters.
"What do I do now, Jack?"
"Depends. Do you want to keep it or do you want to let it go?"
Rose turned around and stared at him in disbelief. "Why would I catch it just to let it go? Aren't we supposed to eat it?"
"Of course," Jack laughed, unhooking the fish and tossing it into the unused bucket. "Some do prefer to let the fish go at times."
"Well, this is not the time. This is my first catch! I want to cook and eat it!"
"Yes ma'am," Jack grinned, grabbing his pole once again as Rose placed more bait on hers. Staring at her, he felt his heart beat faster. Today, he was seeing the Rose he had fallen in love with. The optimistic girl that was ready to try any and everything. He could only hope that it was the same for Rose. That she saw glimpses of the Jack she had known from Titanic, not the indecisive young man she had come to be wary of in the past several months. Hopefully, that young man was gone and the Jack that had captured Rose's heart from the start was here to stay.