Chapter Nine
Jack and Rose had gone to the nearest bank and put their money and the necklace in a deposit box. Earlier, without Rose noticing, Jack took some money and put it in his pants pocket. He was going to buy Rose something very special later on. After they made sure everything was in the deposit box, Jack and Rose left the bank and walked hand-in-hand down the block, back to their apartment. Ruth was talking to a middle-aged woman, whom she had met while she was going out for a walk. She was a nice lady, a lady that Ruth would love to become friends with. She hadn't had a real friend since she was young, and she was hoping that she would finally have a real friend after all these years of loneliness.
As they were walking, Jack stopped and faced Rose. He looked down at her emerald-green eyes and smiled. He placed his hand on her cheek and leaned closer as he kissed her passionately--in public. Rose responded and hugged him close as she kissed him with the same passion Jack had. Rose felt free. She felt as if she could do just about anything she had wanted to, without anyone objecting or telling her what to do with her life. She felt as if she could do anything she wanted in the world and be loved by the most handsomest man in the world. She felt like a butterfly, which was free to fly in the horizon whenever they felt like it. Rose knew that someday, Jack and herself would head out for the horizon and ride horses on the surf and ride the roller coaster until they threw up--just like they had talked about when they were on the Titanic.
Jack was the one to pull away. He looked into her eyes and just smiled. He was glad that he had Rose by his side. He was glad that he had won Rose's heart and saved her from the one evil man who would've ruined her life forever. Jack caressed Rose's curls gently and smiled down at her. He moved his hand down her neck and down her arm, until they interlocked hands as they continued walking back to their apartment. They had reached the front entrance, when Jack stopped. He ran his finger through his hair and smiled down at Rose.
"Uh, I gotta go somewhere. I'll be back." Jack said.
"Where are you going?" Rose asked. "Can't I come with you?" Jack just laughed.
"No, my sweet Rose." Jack said as he caressed her cheek. "I'll be back soon. Don't ya worry." Jack kissed the top of her head and left, smiling at her as he waved. Rose smiled back and waved as she went inside the apartment building, and up to their apartment. Rose went in their bedroom and grabbed a clean dress and underclothes as she made her way towards the bathroom, to take a nice, long, bath.
Jack walked a couple of blocks away from the apartment building, until he reached a jewelry store. Jack made his way inside the small store and went up to the counter. He looked through the glass and saw a few engagement rings. He looked at each of them, but one had caught his eyes completely. It was a solitaire diamond engagement ring with a gold band and a shining diamond in the middle. It wasn't much, but he knew Rose would love it. He smiled and rang the bell, until a middle-aged man came from the back room.
"How may I help you?" The man asked, looking at Jack with curious eyes.
"Uh, I would like to purchase this engagement ring, please." Jack said, pointing to the one he wanted. The man opened the counter and took the ring he had selected.
"Uh, this could be engraved for you if you want anything special for the lucky lady." The man said, looking at Jack hopefully.
"Uh, engrave the words make it count and have Jack and Rose forever beside it." Jack described. The man nodded and disappeared into the backroom where he began to engrave the words. Jack waited patiently for ten minutes. He leaned on the counter until the man came back from the back room and held the ring to him.
"How's this?" The man asked, handing Jack the ring. Jack looked through the ring and smiled.
"Perfect." Jack said, handing the ring back to the man.
"Okay, that'll be a hundred and ten dollars." The man said, placing the ring in a small box. Jack took two hundred dollars from his pocket and handed it to the man. He took his change and placed them in his pocket, along with the small box, which contained Rose's engagement ring. Jack ran his fingers through his hair and left the jewelry store, heading back to the apartment building which was his new home. He walked up the stone steps and opened the front door and walked in the lobby. He looked up the stairs and sighed. Slowly, Jack walked up the steps until he reached the third floor, where he entered his apartment. No one was in the living room, so he went to their bedroom, and didn't find anyone there. He searched the whole apartment, until he came up to the bathroom and heard Rose humming happily. Jack couldn't help but smile. He knocked on the door gently.
As Rose was humming a cheery tune, she heard a knock on the door. Rose looked at the door, wondering who it was. Her mother was at her new friend's apartment, and Jack was out. Rose swallowed and stared at the door.
"Who is it?" Rose called out, her voice a bit shaky.
"Rose?" Jack's voice was heard through the door. "It's me."
A smile appeared on Rose's lips.
"Come in." Rose said, as she continued to scrub her body with soap. The door suddenly opened, and there stood a happy Jack, smiling at her.
"Well, well, well." Jack smiled. "If it isn't little Miss Dawson taking a bubble bath." Rose smiled up at him. Suddenly, Jack had a sly smile on his face. "Mind if I join ya?" Jack asked.
"Not at all." Rose smiled as she watched Jack strip out of his clothes and joined her in her bubble back. Jack sat behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Rose leaned back and looked up at him, smiling. "This is comforting." Rose said, kissing the top of his nose.
"Really?" Jack said.
"Really." Rose said, as she took a handful of soap bubbles from the tub and placed it on top of Jack's shaggy blonde head. She couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh, and you think that that was funny, don't you?" Jack asked and saw Rose nod, with a smile on her face and a shine of happiness in her eyes. Jack smiled as he grabbed a handful of soap bubbles and spread it across her cheeks and her chin, making a beard of soap bubbles for Rose. He laughed and ducked as Rose tried to playfully slap him across the head. They ended up splashing each other, then kissing each other. When they broke apart, they smiled and continued washing each other until their hands were wrinkled from being in the water for too long.
Thirty minutes later, both of them got out of the tub and dried themselves with towels. Rose then changed into her clean clothes as Jack wrapped the towel around his waist and went to their bedroom to get clean clothes. Once Rose was changed, she brushed her hair, which was now soft and untangled. After Rose picked up the dirty clothes, she looked at Jack's corduroy pants, perplexed to why there was a bump in the pant pocket. Curious, Rose set the other clothes down and dug her hand into the pocket, retrieving a small box from the pocket, along with money. She stared at the box, wondering if she should open it or wait for Jack to show it to her--if it was for her. Quickly, Rose placed the items back into Jack's pocket and picked up the rest of the clothes as she exited the bathroom and went to the living room. There, she found Jack, fully dressed in his new pair of corduroy pants, a white shirt, and suspenders holding up his pants. He was also wearing his shoes and his wet hair was falling in his eyes. He smiled at her and watched as she set the clothes on the bed. She spread out her dress and caressed it.
This dress hadn't meant anything to her before, but now, it's a prized possession. When she first wore this dress, her life changed--good ways and bad. When she wore this dress, she ran away from Lovejoy with Jack beside her, and she wore this dress when they went down to the cargo hold and into the Renault where they had made passionate love. But she had also wore the dress when the ship sank, and when she had almost lost Jack on that dreadful night. Rose decided to bring the dress to the cleaners, as well as Jack's attire, and save them for memories. Precious memories aboard the ill-fated ship, which changed their lived forever.
Jack saw how Rose was looking at her dress, which she had worn for the past few days since the sinking. He wondered why it had meant so much to her. To him, it was only a dress, which had looked beautiful on Rose, but he hadn't understood why Rose was looking at the dress as if it were her prized possession, as if she was remembering something so wonderful, yet so horrible. He went closer to her and wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek.
"Something wrong?" Jack asked, holding her close.
"No." Rose whispered as she still admired the dress. "It's just that, we wore these clothes before we made love, and we wore it while the ship sank. I'm not sure, but I want to keep these clothes for memories. That way when we get older, we could look at them and remember the precious moments we had together before we became husband and wife." Rose said, looking up at him, only to see him smile.
"Sounds like a wonderful idea to me." Jack said, kissing the top of her head. Rose smiled and leaned her head against his chest. Suddenly a lonely tear slid down her cheek. Wiping it away quickly, Rose gathered up the clothes and put them on the chair, preparing to bring them to the cleaners later. Rose then sat on the bed, and gestured for Jack to join her, in which he obeyed. There, they just sat together, enjoying each other's presence. Rose then covered her face with her hands as she cried. She just let it all out. She couldn't hold it in anymore. Everything that happened from the fifteenth of April finally had gotten to her. Jack just held her close, knowing her pain since he, too, went through that tragedy. "Shhh. I'm here, everything will be okay. Don't cry." Jack said, holding her head to his chest and caressing her hair gently. Rose just clung to his shirt and cried.
It took Rose about ten minutes to calm down. When she did, she got up and wiped the tears away. Jack stood beside her and looked down at her, hoping that she was all right. Rose just looked up at him and smiled sadly, as she just hugged him close. She couldn't bear the thought of losing Jack. She wouldn't know what to do with her life. They just stood there and hugged each other, neither wanting to ever let go.
"They're gone." Rose whispered. "All of them are gone." Jack hugged her close and closed him eyes, realizing that Fabrizio and Tommy hadn't survived. Then, tears began pouring down his cheeks, as he quickly wiped them away. He just hugged Rose close and they both cried. They both mourned to those they lost, and to the other innocent people who died on that night, in the freezing North Atlantic. They heard the door open. Quickly, both of the wiped their tears away and went to the living room, to see if it was Ruth. Sure enough, they saw Ruth enter their apartment.
"I got good news." Ruth announced. "I'm going to move into Patricia's apartment."
Patricia was the lady that Ruth had befriended earlier. She was a couple of years older than herself, but they became good friends immediately. As Ruth was in her apartment, having tea, Patricia explained how her son had moved out with his fiancée a month ago, and now she was alone, with nobody to accompany her. Ruth then made a suggestion. She asked Patricia if she would like it if she moved in with her, and Patricia immediately agreed. Now, Ruth was going to get her things from her bedroom and leave. Besides, she thought it was a good idea to live with someone who was about her age, and she wanted Jack and Rose to live alone together, that way they'll have enough privacy.
"Why?" Rose asked.
"Well, darling, you two are engaged and are soon to be married, and I don't want to interfere with your lives. Besides, you guys need your privacy. You don't need a middle-aged woman living in your apartment. I'll be on the fourth floor if you need me, okay? You two need to live alone together. Not live with Rose's mother." Ruth said. Rose smiled sweetly.
"Okay, mother." Rose said. Ruth smiled and went to her bedroom to get her clothes and other things she would need. Once she retrieved her things, she left her bedroom and went into the living room. Rose went and hugged her mother.
"What was that for?" Ruth asked, once they pulled away.
"That was for being a good mother, and for changing." Rose said. Ruth smiled and hugged her daughter tightly.
"I'll see you, Rose. I'll just be upstairs if you need me." Ruth said. Rose nodded and watched as her mother walked out the door and heard her walk up the stairs to her new apartment with her friend. Rose turned and stared at Jack and smiled.
"Guess we're all alone, in our new apartment." Rose said, smiling.
"Guess so." Jack said, going towards her and caressing her hair. He kissed the top of her head and smiled. "I'll be right back. Gotta go get something." Jack then disappeared into their bedroom and took out the small box from his pocket. He clutched the box, then went back to the living room, where he found Rose standing where he left her. She was wearing a light blue dress which she had bought earlier when they went shopping. Jack smiled and went towards her. He wrapped his arms around her waist as he still clutched onto the small box. Rose turned around and smiled, kissing him on the lips. Jack smiled and took a deep breath. "Rose..."
"Yes, Jack?" Rose smiled, looking into Jack's piercing blue eyes.
"I know I did this before, on the Carpathia, but I wanna be traditional here." Jack said. He then went down on one knee, and held Rose's hand as she looked down at him, with tearful eyes and a smile on her face. "Rose, I've known you for a week now, and having to know you in that week made me fall in love with you. I knew, from when I first saw you out on first class deck, that I loved you. It was something in my gut that told me that you're the one. The one and only for me. I cherish the moments we had together. From when I saved you to the night in the Renault. Most importantly, I cherish you, Rose. You're my soul mate, my best friend, and my lover. I can't imagine living the rest of my life with anybody else but you, Rose. Rose, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" Jack asked, looking at Rose's expression. Tears were flowing down her cheeks and she nodded.
"Yes, Jack. I will be your wife." Rose cried. Jack got up and wrapped his arms around her waist, as he kissed her. He then spun her around and held her close. After he put her down, he opened the small box and showed it to Rose. She gasped and took the ring from the box. "Oh, Jack, this is beautiful." Rose said.
"There's a message in the ring." Jack said. Rose smiled and looked at the inscribed words in the gold band. Rose smiled and threw her arms around him, kissing him all over his face.
"I love it!" Rose said. "I love you." Jack leaned down and kissed her. He then took the ring from her and took her left hand, where he placed the engagement ring on her ring finger. He kissed the ring and smiled.
"Now, I'm going to marry the woman I love." Jack said. Rose hugged him and kissed him once more. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Both were confused as to who it was, but they went towards the door and opened it. To their surprise, it was Caledon Hockley. Rose sighed and Jack just stared at him, with a not so friendly stare. "What do you want, Cal?" Jack asked, holding Rose close.
"Can I come in." Cal said, innocently.
"Why should I trust you?" Jack asked. "You shot at us, nearly killing us, and now you want to play innocent with us?" Cal sighed and ran his fingers through his dark hair.
"Look, I just want to have a talk with you two, nothing more." Cal said. "Besides, I already know that you have Rose. What would I want to do with a slut anyway?"
"She's no slut, Cal." Jack said, angrily.
"She is, Jack. Trust me." Cal said. "She had a love affair with you, while she was engaged to me."
"Listen, Cal." Rose said, angrily. "I told you once, and I'll tell you again. Our engagement is off. It has been ever since you proposed to me. I never loved you. I only did it for my mother, but I couldn't live with it anymore. You're nothing but a lying, stupid, unimaginable bastard. You had the nerve to frame Jack for stealing the necklace, having that fucking asshole put it in Jack's coat pocket. You have been aggravating me ever since I first accepted your proposal, and I have had enough of it, Cal." Cal just looked at her with hurt eyes, but Rose could careless. "Oh, and Cal, meet my new fiancée, Jack Dawson." Rose said, interlocking arms with him. "I'm sure you've met before."
"Rose, why do you always have to be so selfish?" Cal asked.
"I'm being selfish?" Rose exclaimed, remembering the last time she had said that. Only, she said it to her mother, not to Cal when her mother had forbidden her to see Jack again.
"Listen, Rose." Cal said. "I want you back. I want you to give me a second chance, please?" Rose just laughed.
"Cal, I'm engaged." Rose said, looking at Cal straight in the eye.
"How could you be engaged to this worthless bastard?" Cal asked, looking at Jack from head to toe.
"He's no bastard, Cal. You are. Now get out!" Rose said angrily, as she pointed to the door.
"Not just yet. I want to get what I want." Cal said, going towards Rose and grasping onto her arms.
"Let go of me!" Rose screamed, struggling under Cal's grasp.
"Get off of her!" Jack yelled as he pushed Cal away from her. He then went to see if she was all right. "Are you all right?" Jack asked, caressing Rose's cheek softly. Rose nodded. Cal got up and straightened up his clothes. He then looked at Jack with anger shining in his dark eyes.
"You have ruined everything, Dawson." Cal said angrily. "You're nothing but a gutter rat."
"You could say all you want about me, but don't you dare hurt Rose in any way, you hear me!" Jack yelled pointing at Cal angrily.
"Don't worry. Someday, you're going to pay for this. Both of you." Cal said. With that, he left, leaving Jack and Rose alone, together.
"Oh, Jack!" Rose cried, hugging him tightly.
"Shhh." Jack said, comforting Rose. "It's okay. Everything is okay. I'm here." He just hugged Rose close and kissed the top of her head, hoping to erase all her worries. Rose cried and clung onto his shirt, not wanting to ever let go, fearing that if she did, he would disappear forever.
"I love you, Jack." Rose whispered. "I love you."
"I love you too, Rose. I always have, and I always will." Jack said, hugging her more tighter. Rose buried her face in his shirt and just breathed in his scent and cried.
"I love you." Rose whispered once more, hugging him tighter. Jack just hugged her to him, not saying a word.
As Rose brought her hands to his back, she caught a glimpse of her new engagement ring. A different engagement ring from Cal's. Cal's engagement ring just confirmed that she had belonged to Caledon Hockley, the steel tycoon. The engagement ring she wore know, confirmed Jack's love for her. The ring showed that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. This ring is a ring of love. An engagement ring given to Rose, by her beloved Jack.
A/N: How do you like this chapter? I sorta made Cal a jerk again, but knowing that he was in the movie, I decided to keep him that way. Yes, he was nice to Rose on the Carpathia, but knowing him, you know that he'll do something to get her back. Did I make this chapter more interesting? If not, I'll try my best on the others. It's just that I have the ideas smushed on my head, that it's hard to choose what to write. lol. Review!!!!!!