People often say that all dreams come true. Everything you ever thought about was possible to happen in real life. They all meant it in a positive way, but no one had ever spoken about bad dreams. The nightmares that haunt you even when you are awake. Even those come true as well. Her dream from last night had come true. It had made her life turn into an ordeal within seconds.
Rose only stared at the policeman. She then turned her head towards Louise who had grabbed her hand. They were all talking to her, all trying to get her attention, but she didn't respond. She stayed on her feet although it felt as if she could collapse onto the floor any moment. Had her heart stopped or was it beating so fast she couldn't even feel it anymore. Her gaze remained steady and focused.
"Rose, can you hear me." Meredith had joined them too and was standing in front of her friend, "what on earth is happening to her?"
"I believe she is in shock," the officer said, "please give her some space." The girls allowed him inside and he walked Rose towards the living room and placed her on the couch. Her skin felt sweaty and hot and he could hear her breathing heavily.
"Can someone fetch me some water please? And a towel." He started to dab her face slightly until she gained back some color.
"Is he." She croaked. Her throat hurt. Her whole body hurt. She thought she was going to be sick.
"We don't know, miss," The officer responded, "He is in the hospital now. You think you can come with me?"
She only nodded and let him help her back up again.
"You go with her, Louise." Meredith said, "I'll inform Tom and Mrs. Brown."
The girls were escorted into the car. Louise held her friend close to her and stroked her head. Rose still wasn't speaking but only listening to the words that were echoing in her head. "I would like to ask you to come with me, miss. I am afraid Mr. Dawson has been shot." It couldn't be true, it was simply impossible for him to go out and have this happen to him. He was still possibly strolling around the city, getting drunk in a bar. It was a trap. It had to be a trap. The policeman was taking him to the station where Cal would be waiting for her. Perhaps they had already found him.
"Stop the car." She suddenly yelled. "Stop the car right now!"
"Rose, what are you doing?"
"He is tricking us, Louise." She turned her head towards the officers who was staring at her through the mirror, "I know you are working for Mr. Hockley. Tell me at once."
He raised an eyebrow, "Miss, I have no idea what you are talking about. I am taking you to the hospital. Look." Through the darkness the building was already in sight. He parked the car in front of the entrance. Louise mouthed an apology to him for his friends behavior and he nodded. Waiting in front of hospital was John. He was smoking a cigarette when he saw the girls walking up to them. There was pain in his eyes. Unfortunately, it was all true. Louise embraced him and planted a kiss on his cheek. "What happened, John?"
He looked at Rose for a second, not sure if she wanted to hear it, but she nodded her head. She needed to know whether or not it would be cruel.
"I-," He started, "I met him in the park around four O'clock I believe. We went to the bar to get something to drink and when we were heading back home for dinner I heard a loud banging noise. I- I looked beside me and saw Jack laying on the floor." He spared the girls the details of the horrible image he had faced and walked them inside. The officer had been waiting for them and marched along as they had to go past multiple wards . Rose slumped beside him and looked up. He was tall and broad, his dark short hair, prominent mustache and tanned skin gave away a mediterranean appearance. She hadn't even noticed that he actually looked rather friendly.
"I am sorry, sir." Rose whispered, "I shouldn't have spoken to you like that." she could feel the tears burning behind her eyes.
He simply smiled at her, "It is all right, miss. I don't take it personally. This way." They turned the corner.
"It's just that the past few months have been like hell. I don't want it anymore." Her attention was caught by a group of nurses and doctors pushing a stretcher through the corridor. She looked closely and saw a man crying out in pain as his leg kept bleeding. Her stomach dropped and sensation of nausea seemed to come back. It was likely that Jack had been brought in the same way as that man.
"I even forgot to ask your name."
Again he smiled at Rose, "Charles Brody at your service, miss. But you can call me Charles." Charles pointed at the chairs in the waiting room where they could sit down. As Louise and John did so, the last thing Rose wanted to do was wait. No one was giving her the answers she wanted as she talked to every nurse and doctor who passed her by.
"What kind of doctor are you if you can't give any information." She spat at one of them.
The doctor took off his glasses and cleared his throat. "Because I know as much as you do. He is being operated. There is nothing more I can say." He nodded and headed into the opposite direction. Louise called her, begged her to sit down beside her. Rose sighed and after a few minutes she finally gave in. Time was ticking by slowly, but the sound of the clock seemed to smash into her head. The doors opened and Molly came up to them.
"Oh dear," She reached her arms out to Rose and held her close to her chest like a mother protecting her child from the world. "As if things for you aren't bad enough."
"Someone shot him deliberately, Molly." Rose whispered angrily, "I just know it."
"You think..."
Rose nodded her head. It had to be Cal. If her dream was a prediction of this disaster it had to be him. He was a man who would go to hell and beyond to get what he thought he deserved. He was a monster and that monster was now walking around freely. Was her mother involved, she thought to herself. Would she still let him marry her is she found out what he had done. It didn't surprise her if she would. Also she was someone to always go after the things she wanted, but with putting in the minimal effort herself.
Another door suddenly burst open. By the looks of it it was the surgeon. He headed straight for the group and scanned them each individually. Then his gaze stopped when he met Rose's eyes. "You are Miss DeWitt Bukater?" She asked. She nodded and looked how he took off his cap.
"The operation was a success, miss." He finally said after what seemed an eternity of silence. "He definitely has an angel on his shoulder since the bullet did not hit any vital organs and we were just in time to stop the bleeding."
"Thank God." Rose cried and Molly grabbed her arm before she could fall down onto the floor. "Can I go to him?"
"He is still unconscious and very weak, but yes you can see him. But only you." She followed him through the corridor listening to extatic remarks behind her.
It was like history was repeating itself. Walking through the door she tried to catch her breath. His face was bruised due to his fall on the concrete. Her heart was aching. Once again, he looked like he was in so much pain. The doctor grabbed her a chair and she thanked him. Her thoughts wandered off to the Carpathia. How she snuck into the cargo hold and waited until he'd wake up. What if he woke up now and had forgotten her again? Her illusions were interrupted by a nurse entering the room.
"I have his belongings here, miss. Perhaps you'd like to have it."
"Thank you." Rose gladly took it from her. It was only his coat together with his shoes for the rest had probably been ruined so badly. It smelled exactly like him. Sweet, but with a slight bitter scent of tobacco. Something fell out of it onto the floor. It was envelope with her name on it. Picking it up, she opened it and gasped as it revealed two train tickets to Los Angeles.
"Say we'll go there someday, to that pier. Even if we only ever just talk about it."
"No we'll do it. We'll drink cheap beer, ride in the rollercoaster until we throw up and we'll ride horses on the beach, right in the surf. But you have to do it like a real cowboy, none of that side saddle stuff."
He was going to take her there. There was also a card along with the tickets. A small white one with a big pink Rose on it.
I hope you would like to escort me to the beach where the horses will be waiting for us. Like two cowboys we'll ride towards the horizon, towards our future. Together.
I am sorry.
Love, Jack
A smile. A tear. Relief. She was feeling everything at once. Her eyes stayed focused on him. She watched every breath he took to make sure he was still there. After a while, still through closed eyes there seemed to be a form of relief in his expression. Was he sensing her despite being unconscious. She touched his face for a second and quickly pulled it back. He felt so cold.
"You'll be fine, my love." She whispered to him, "We'll also get through this and were are going to find out who did this to you even if it will take the rest of my life." It was already midnight when the same nurse came back inside the room.
"It's late, miss. You don't want to go home?" Rose shook her head heavily. She was staying with him until he'd wake up. Leaning back in the chair she watched her leave and allowed herself to close her eyes before she drifted off to sleep.
"Rose." He tried to speak and reached out for her hand. It was already morning when she opened her eyes to the sound of his voice. He was staring at her intensely. His eyes were still sleepy but he saw her and she saw him. A smile appeared on his face and she was in a way relieved too that he said her name.
"It's all right, darling." She spoke calmly, "Try not to move. I will fetch the doctor."
"What is all of this, Rose?" He couldn't quite feel his body. All he remembered was seeing a shadow and his was out. He didn't know what had happened to him, but looking around the hospital room he assumed it must have been bad.
Her smile disappeared quickly. "You had an accident, Jack. You were shot."
It both sounded logical and illogical at the same time. It must have been the shadow who pulled the trigger, but he hadn't felt a thing before he went unconscious. Jack looked down at his body. His bare chest was almost completely wrapped up in bandage and it was then he felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder. "Is it bad?" He asked her.
Rose shook her head. "No. They managed to remove the bullet in time," she slowly touched his hand. Noticing it didn't hurt for him, she took it in her and kissed it gently, "I'm going to get someone."
Luckily it didn't take long for her to find the doctor. Following him back into the room she watched as he inspected Jack from head to toe. After writing a couple of thing down he shook his head and placed his glasses on the top of his head.
"You're a very lucky man, Mr. Dawson. One or two inches further and the bullet would have gone straight through your lungs." A shiver ran down Rose's spine whilst hearing those words. Looking back at Jack he was trying to keep his eyes open, but it seemed impossible for him to fight against the exhaustion. He closed his eyes and fell back into a deep sleep. She looked at him for a short while. Listening to the sounds of his calm and steady breath the doctor moved closer to her. She looked up at him.
"I think it is best for you to go home, miss. Get some rest yourself. You can come back tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? But it is only morning. Can't I come back later today?"
"He really needs his rest, miss. As you just saw, he can barely keep his eyes open for more than five minutes."
Hesitant at first Rose finally gave in. She didn't know where to go anymore. She wanted to disappear for awhile and only come back whenever it was possible to be with him. She placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. His skin felt slightly warmer. Turning her gaze at him for one last time she left the room. It was a little bit past nine O'clock. Her lips longed for the taste of coffee, her body longed for the energy it would give her. Walking back into the waiting room she was surprised to see Charles Brody waiting. The rest had already gone home. He was tapping his feet impatiently onto the floor until he saw Rose walking up to him. He stood up. He had a worried expression plastered on his face and it took Rose completely by surprise.
"How is he doing?" He asked her.
"He has just woken up, but he is still very weak." There was a long silence between the two of them. He was still tapping his feet. "I am sorry, but is there anything you'd like to tell me?"
He then looked straight in her eyes. His dark orbs were both bland yet full of emotion.
"Your friend is at the police station. Sorry I forgot her name the uh not the english one the-."
"Louise?" Rose interrupted him, "why?"
"She is being questioned."
It didn't make sense to her why she was being held there. She had been with her for the whole day. Rose buttoned down her coat and straightened her back. She knew he wasn't allowed to tell her why. Simply the best thing to do was to go with him and see for herself. She was at a point where she thought nothing could shockk her anymore. She had seen it all. Looking back once more to the direction Jack's room was she walked with him. It was slightly drizzling when she came outside. The type of rain that was soft but would make you drenched in no time.
After a short time of again another silence between them, officer Charles Brody took a sharp turn. "I am glad Mr. Dawson is doing all right."
"He is a fighter." She softly said, slightly smiling, "He doesn't give up that easily."
"How did you two meet?"
Was she going to lie? Was it still necessary to hide from the world because when they did, bad things still seemed to happen.
"We met a while ago. On board the Titanic. You see, I was engaged to another man at the time. But then there he was, saving me from something bad happening to me and I couldn't get him out of my head since that moment."
Charles could see her start blushing. He smiled at her. Before her could say something back he realized they were already there and he parked the car on the terrain. Still confused Rose looked around the building to see any sign of Louise. Then she was taken into a small room where her friend was sitting. She shot up from her chair and jumped in her friends arms. Rose saw she had been crying.
"I don't know what is happening, Rose. They won't tell me a damn thing." She wiped her eyes and the girls were asked to take a seat. Charles Brody was joined by another man. He was much older, wearing a smart suit. The man put his cigar out and leaned back in his chair. He cleared his throat.
"Miss Anderson, we have asked you to come here to ask some things about your father." He began, "About a mile from the accident we found a gun. A gold one. Does this mean anything to you."
"He does have a golden one yes, but I don't see why he has to do anything with it. He never uses it."
"Well, we know who your father is. On the gun there are some initials engraved into it which correspond with your father's name."
Louise almost choked on her water. Her eyes widened, panic building within her. As officer Brody took the gun from behind him and placed in on top of the desk, she felt like she was going to faint. It indeed was her father's weapon, she had seen it many times before. Rose looked at her, scanning her facial expressions and could feel a lump form in her throat.
"Louise, please tell me it isn't true." Rose gasped as she leaned forward to look closer at the weapon that was supposed to murder Jack. Louise stood up from her chair once again and fled the room. Bursting through the doors of the police office, the fresh air cut her skin like a knife. She was greeted by Meredith and John who had come to wait for her. They rushed over.
"Darling, are you all right?" John asked and took her hands in his.
She didn't respond but brushed them off and headed towards the other side of the streets, disappearing into the crowd. Meredith looked back and saw Rose walking out of the building followed by an officer. Her face looked even more pale than she already was.
"It was her father." Rose said surprisingly calm. The shock was too big, "Her father shot, Jack."