Chapter 27

May 19, 1912

"Rose…"

That was the sound of the first survivor who was pulled from the water, after the sinking of the Titanic. The young man's eyes try to adjust to the bright white surroundings, as if trying to wake up from a dream.

Jack tries to sit up. His body aches as he tries to even put his body up. He winces in pain. He looks down, surprised he is in a white hospital garb. He turns to look at the chair next to him; his clothes was folded in a neat pile; the same clothes he wore the night of the sinking, and the remains of the handcuffs Rose broke free for him. In his arm an IV tube has been injected, and the bag is over his head. His body shakes slightly as he tries once again to sit up, with considerable amount of weakness consuming him. The last thing he remembers from the sinking is he and Rose were out in the middle of the freezing Atlantic, and the promise to her is to not let go. He remembers the extremely cold and how hopeless the situation has become. Then everything seemed to go black as he heard Rose, as if from a distance, calling him in an echo. He wanted to live, he truly wanted to, badly, but his body was giving up and the complete exposure was unbearable. And as if from a considerable distance, he heard a whistle blow...

Against all odds, he survived.

A nurse, who seemed a few years older than him, walked in the room.

"You're awake?!" she yelps in surprise, as she sees Jack trying to right himself in the bed.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Jack says, shrugs and manages a weak laugh, before cringing in pain, then lays back down in the bed with a slight groan.

"I'll go get the doctor." the nurse says. He then tries to get back up to sitting position once more, before he begins to scan his surroundings to try and look for Rose, as those red beautiful curls had stood out, anywhere he could see as far his eyes can see. But he is in a room, by himself, while a occasional hubbub occurred outside his room. She had told him she'd promise to be alive for him. He told her that cold night she's better off in a warm bed at old age, and made a promise she'd never let go. The doctor comes in, before acknowledging.

"Where am I?" Jack asks, as the doctor flips through his papers and charts in a clipboard.

"Welcome to New York, son. You're in St. Vincent's Hospital." The doctor answers, before checking his vital signs, after he tells the nurse to bring something warm. "You were one of the lucky ones who were pulled out of the water and into the rescue ship. Here, put this under your tongue." He says, checking Jack's chest and back with his stethoscope.

"Here. Up." the doctor motions Jack. He closes his eyes and winces as the doctor puts Jack in sitting position. "Your limbs are pretty stiff. But I will check to see if you have any reflexes left." He gets out his little reflex hammer, and taps it at Jack's knee. The boy's legs barely kick.

"How long have I been out?" Jack asks.

"Hmm. Oh, about a month now." Jack was stunned, then blinks a few times, trying to comprehend what the doctor was saying.

"Yes, you were completely out. To be honest, no one was expecting you to survive. You were almost frozen when you were brought aboard the rescue ship, and yet you were still breathing. I must say, that was some fight you had going on."

Jack was stunned beyond belief. He was overwhelmed by the fact he's unconscious for a month, yet here he is, sitting in a hospital bed. Listening to the doctor.

"Your limbs are stiff, but they're in good working order, and you were lucky we didn't have to amputate any." the doctor says. The nurse comes in with a hot soup and places it in front of Jack. She gives him a wink before leaving the room. The nurse's attraction to Jack was clear, even when he was still recovering. He reached for the cutlery with his pale hands.

"Oh, you better not eat too fast, now. Your body's got to get used to eating again." The doctor insists. Jack obeys and takes a small sip of the soup. He thought Rose could be in the hospital.

"H-have you treated a young woman, by the name of Rose? She has red curls..." Jack began, his eyes began stinging with tears.

"No, I'm sorry. Never seen her, nor have I treated someone with that description."

Jack's heart sinks. He sighs deeply, the hope of finding Rose was slowly slipping away.

"But there is still a chance she survived, son," the doctor says, keeping the boy's hopes up. "You and the others are just one of the many individuals from the disaster. The reason you had a John or Jane Doe as your name because we couldn't identify you."

"Oh, my name is Jack Dawson."

"Jack, huh. I'll go put your name on the list of survivors." the doctor says, writing his name on a piece of scrap paper, then gets ready to leave.

"How long do I have to stay here?" Jack asks

"About a week, until your body has a chance to heal and become stronger once again. By any chance, are you meeting anyone outside?"

Jack sighs, as he felt a little lump beginning to form in his throat, and his voice cracked a little. "No sir, not that I know of..."

Fabrizio was dead, so was Tommy; even Jesse was gone. Rose was still missing and who knows if anyone has ever seen her. He had no one looking for him. Had Rose thought he was dead as well? He knew he had to go out and find her; he needed to look at the survivors' list and see if Rose was among the survivors. He had known her for only three days, yet she has run away with his heart, as she had risked her life to save him from the sinking ship. Now would be the perfect chance to rekindle that love for Rose, even if she knew he was dead.

How can you fall in love with someone for just those three short days? Jack wondered, feeling the tears beginning to well in his eyes again.

"Well, I'm sure you'll be okay." the doctor smiles at Jack, then places a kind hand on his shoulder.

Jack shrugs, as he tried to swallow the lump. "I have been on my own before." The doctor turns to walk out, before noticing the cuffs that were sitting on top of his piles of clothes.

"May I ask you something, son?" Jack looks up, surprised. Then he knows why. He looks at the broken cuffs. Jack becomes embarrassed and gets even more nervous. The doctor points with his pencil. "The-broken cuffs…" he began.

"Oh that. I was framed on the ship for something I didn't do. That girl I talked about-she's the one who freed me before the ship went down."

The doctor clears his throat. "Ah, I see. Do you think they will ever find you again?"

"No, sir. I can assure you the people who did this to me have gone down with the ship. I have never done anything illegal in my life." That was a half lie. He had gambled his way on the ship, and taken a jacket, but to be framed, that was something entirely different.

"Well, that's excellent to hear. May they burn in hell for doing that to you." He turns for the door again.

"Sir..." Jack began. The doctor looks back, eyebrow raised.

"Yes?"

"I-I was wondering if you have any paper and pencils, to uh, pass the time." Jack says, a little nervous.

"Why, certainly. I will get the nurse to bring you some. And it will also get your arms working again and to strengthen your muscles once more." Jack smiles more now, as he finishes his meals, when the nurse came and cleaned them from Jack's room. She was smiling at him the entire time.

Unbeknownst to him that, just two days later, another patient is waking from his coma-like state, in the next room behind him.