Authors note: Thanks for the reviews. Don't worry, Jack and Rose are definitely not divorcing. Now on with the story.
A loss and forgivness
While Jack was out at Macys with the girls, Rose was on her way to her mother's house. Ruth lived in a two-story brownstone house in a quiet residential neighborhood in Brooklyn. When Rose arrived, she gazed up at her mother's window to see if anyone was home and saw that there were no visible lights in the windows. She decided to ring the doorbell anyway because she thought Ruth in a different part of the apartment. Suddenly, she saw someone come out of the door to Ruth's building. She recognized the woman instantly; it was Shelia, her mother's neighbor and friend. Shelia walked up to Rose and said hello and then Rose asked her if Ruth was home or not. Shelia said that Ruth had gone to her fiancée's home for the holidays and would not be home until the 26th. Then Shelia mentioned that Ruth had given her a key to her apartment and asked Rose if she wanted the key. Rose said yes and followed Shelia into the building. Sheila disappeared into her own apartment for a moment and then returned with the key to Ruth's apartment. Then Rose went across the hall to go to her mother's apartment. Suddenly, she felt a stabbing pain in her back and saw a puddle of blood on the floor, she screamed and then fell to the floor in hysterics and pain. Sheila found her on the floor in a pool of blood, clutching her stomach. Sheila quickly ran back to across the hall to her own apartment and called an ambulance. She then ran back to where Rose was on the floor and asked her what happened.
" I was standing there starting to unlock the door and then the pain came and then this" said Rose
" Just lie still, the medics are on their way," said Sheila reassuringly.
Five minutes later, the medics arrived and took Rose to the hospital. Sheila then went home and called Ruth at the Hockley house.
" Ruth, there has been a problem with Rose and she is on her way to the hospital, they need her next of kin there and I don't have her husband's phone number or address. Could you meet Rose at the hospital and contact her husband?"
Ruth was shocked and said that she would be at the hospital within the next few minutes and would contact Jack. After Ruth hung up, she went to the parlor to talk to Nathan. She explained the situation and Nathan said that he would send a car to pick up Jack and get him to Rose. Then Ruth left for the hospital and Nathan drove off to get Jack.
Back at the Dawson apartment, Jack had just seen Cora off to bed and had sat down at the table to work on some sketches. While he was flipping through his sketchbook to find the place where he left off, he happened upon a sketch he had done of Rose that summer at the beach. She was sitting on a rock in light pink summery dress, her arms wrapped around her legs. He thought of her then and missed her. He was sorry he had ever called her spoiled; in fact, she was the least spoiled person he knew. Suddenly, he heard a knock at the door. He was surprised to see Nathan Hockley at the door.
Then Nathan told Jack about what had happened to Rose and that he was needed at the hospital. Jack was shocked and demanded to know what was wrong with Rose. Nathan said he didn't know yet and that there was a car waiting downstairs. Jack rushed into Cora's room and woke her and then went to the nursery and woke Molly. While Cora got Molly dressed, Jack went to the bedroom to change out of his pajamas. Finally, all three were ready and they headed to City hospital.
Ruth was waiting outside of the hospital when they arrived and the took the sleepy children home so that Jack could be with Rose. Jack rushed the stairs to the ward were Ruth had told him that Rose was. The ward was quiet and smelled like medicines and sickness. He went up to the night nurse to ask where Rose was and then was lead to her room. The doctor was there when he walked in and then took Jack aside to explain what had happened to Rose.
" Your wife has had a miscarriage, Mr. Dawson," Said the doctor in a sullen voice.
" Is she going to be ok?" asked Jack quietly.
" Physically, she will be back to normal in a few days, but mentally and emotionally it could take longer for her to recover. She is going to need a lot of support to get through this," replied the doctor.
Jack went back into Rose's room to try to comfort her. She was lying in bed staring up at the ceiling and had tears running down her cheeks. Jack immediately took her in his arms and held her while she cried.
" I killed our baby. I worked too hard, there was too much stress, I killed our baby," she cried.
" It's not your fault, Rose. Don't you ever think that it is for a moment. There will be plenty more babies in our lives. Just you wait and see. Meanwhile tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Maybe Santa will bring you something nice," said Jack quietly. On the outside, Rose smiled a little at the mention of Christmas. However, on the inside, she was falling apart. She began sobbing again and Jack lie down next to her, put his arms around her, and quietly began talking to her about Christmas and the girls. And little by little, Rose began to calm down and fell asleep in Jack's arms.