Rose was in a state of shock. She was walking through Southampton with Jack Dawson. She had been so overwhelmed by the aspect of traveling back in time, she hadn't thought of the fact that he would be alive.

She cringed at the way they met. But, as she thought about it more, it wasn't as horrible as the first time.

Rose was a little worried about this. If they met under different circumstances, how would the rest of their story unfold? Would he still love her?

But looking at Jack as he led the way through Southampton, Rose couldn't worry. She couldn't even think. The man was just too beautiful for his own good. He still had the gorgeous floppy sandy hair that fell over his eyes; he still had a confident Wisconsin air about him.

She couldn't help but long about pressing her mouth to his, for him to remember the times they had been through, but she would take what she could get. Her dead lover was now alive, so who was she to complain?

"So, Rose," he turned around, flipping the hair strands out of his face. Rose had to resist the urge to feel them between her fingers. "How'd you end up missing your ride to America?"

She shot him a sideways glance. "You're a curious one, aren't you?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. Used to get me in trouble, too. I would ask so many questions, no one wanted to be around me."

"Oh, that's terrible!" Rose said, mentally filing away this new information about Jack. "To answer your question, I...woke up this morning...and I felt...I just couldn't get on that ship. There was no doubt in my mind as I walked away from my family that I was making the right choice."

Jack looked at her curiously. "So you're saying it was fate that we met?"

She met his eyes quickly. "Yeah...maybe. Do you believe in fate?"

"I believe in miracles," he replied simply. Rose wondered what he meant by that as they kept walking.

"Alright, Rose, I don't know how much money you have in there, or how long it can last us, but I know where we can find a cheap motel to live in for the time being."

"A motel?"

"If you're okay with that," Jack said quickly. "I mean, we'd probably be in the same room..."

Rose coughed.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, maybe there will be a pull out couch or something," she said quickly, trying to hide the dissappointment that she and Jack did not have their previous relationship.

"Yes..." Jack said slowly. "And I could always sleep on the floor if you want."

"I guess we'll figure it out when we get there," Rose said, trying to avoid the shaky topic of sleeping.

"Yes," Jack repeated. They walked in silence for a little, then Jack stopped abruptly.

"How are you so calm right now?" He demanded. She backed up a little.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you're obviously a girl who comes from high society, you're family just left on the Titanic, and you're wandering around Southampton with a homeless poor guy you just met. How are you not freaking out?"

Rose grimaced. What on earth would she tell him? She laced her fingers together. She didn't want to argue with Jack, she wanted all her moments with him to positive.

"I...Jack..." He stood patiently waiting. "I...just needed to get away from it all." That was a simple enough answer.

"Away from what?" Jack Dawson, why are you making this so hard?

"Away from my mother, my fiancé," she said, cringing at the word fiancé, hoping it wouldn't cause Jack to back away from her. It hadn't stopped him last time, but she had no idea how things would play out.

"Fiancé?" Jack's eyebrows raised. Rose hoped to spot something in his face like...disappointment, but his face was blank.

"Do you love him?" Jack asked suddenly.

Rose was so taken aback she burst out a quick, "Pardon me?"

"Do you love him?" Jack repeated. The sense of dejá vu washed over her again.

"My fiancé?"

"Yeah, simple question, do you love the guy or not?"

Rose hesitated. How would this go if she answered differently? But she couldn't lie to Jack, not anymore.

"If I'm being honest with myself, Jack, no," Rose said. "My mother is forcing me to marry him for money, but I'm not like that. I'm not the perfect rich girl everyone wants me to be. I want to be free to work and do what I please!"

Jack's shoulders seemed to relax, Rose hadn't realized they were tensed.

"So you ran away?" He asked. Rose shook her head slowly.

"I don't like to think of it that way. I like to think that I was trapped, and I've finally broken free," she said, remembering the way she had felt when Jack had allowed her to see this in herself.

"Well, I'm glad you did," Jack smiled at her.

"I'm glad I did, too," Rose said, feeling glad that she didn't have to completely be dishonest with him. Eventually, Jack cleared his throat.

"Ehm, we should probably go," he said, gesturing down the street with his sack. "It's just down there."

Rose nodded and followed him. They soon came to a somewhat run-down building that was a creamy color.

Jack pushed through the door and held it for Rose.

"Why, thank you," she said, thinking he looked like a perfect gentleman even her mother would approve of. He nodded her along, grinning.

As she stepped into the main lobby of the motel, her first thought was how nice it was compared to her old apartment. Jack really got around, didn't he.

"I know it's not much compared to what you're usually used to," Jack apologized, walking in behind her.

"It's great," Rose said honestly. In fact, it was much nicer than what she was used to.

"It's a motel me and my friend Fabrizio spotted when we were looking for places to live when we first came here. It has super cheap rent, and we stayed here for a few weeks before we couldn't afford it anymore."

"Fabrizio?" Rose asked, remembering the Italian friend that had accompanied Jack. Jack suddenly looked dejected.

"What is it?" Rose asked.

"Fabrizio," Jack said. "I just realized he got on the Titanic without me..."

"I'm sure he'll be okay," Rose said quickly, but she actually didn't know if he would be. She could only hope, for Jack's sake.

"Yeah, I suppose," Jack said. "He's Italian, he's tough."

"How about we go find a room?" Rose asked, switching the topic. Jack looked distracted but quickly agreed. They walked up to the front desk, where an old man was seated. Jack still didn't look like talking, so Rose cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, sir?"

The man looked up with squinted eyes. "Yes?"

"Hello. My name is Rose, and this is Jack. We'd like to rent a room from you," she told him.

He looked them over. "Rent is twenty dollars a month, you think you can manage that?"

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Jack asked, frowning.

"Nothing, Sir, can you pay the fee or not?" The man asked grumpily.

"Of course we can, otherwise we wouldn't be here!" Rose exclaimed angrily.

"I wasn't talking to you, Madam," the man glared at her.

"Oh, of course not, because women can't do anything, can they?" Rose fumed. She grabbed a twenty out of her purse and thrust it at the man.

Jack was frowning as well. "You treat her with respect, you hear me?"

"Alright, alright," he said, taking the money. Your room is 345. Keep it clean, we don't get the luxery of room service around here."

Jack and Rose hurried out of the sight of the man to their room.

Rose spotted Jack giving her a sideways glance.

"Sorry about that back there," she said. "I just don't like when people assume I can't do anything."

"I understand," Jack said. "I wasn't gonna get mad at you or anything. I like that about you. You're fiery."

Rose blushed, which was silly. "Thank you, Jack."

He smiled back. Rose suddenly had the breath knocked out of her. This man was a fallen angel. She could almost see a glow behind him. He was radiant. His blue eyes sparkled with joy, his mouth curved upwards in a mischievous way...she remembered when she had kissed that mouth. But Rose turned her head away. She couldn't wish for that, not now. She had been the cause of his death, she didn't want to hurt him anymore.

"Oh, here's our room," Jack said, and pushed the door open. Rose quickly walked in, surveying the room. It was a decent size, with a bed in the corner, a bathroom, a living room. She spotted a glass door across the room and felt drawn to it. She walked over to it, pushing it open.

She gasped as she walkd onto a balcony, the cool late afternoon breeze falling over her, causing her dress to flow behind her. Southampton was beautiful from this view. She was amazed as she leaned over the rail to see the busy streets.

She didn't notice Jack until he was leaning next to her silently, eyes intent on the road below. She studied his perfectly chiseled face, wondering how on earth she had been lucky enough to get not just one, but a second chance with this man. If that didn't mean they were meant to be together, she didn't know what was.

But it would all be Jack's choice. She didn't want to cause him anymore pain, even if that pain technically wasn't relevant anymore, and he didn't even know about it. Rose felt her eyes tear up as she thought about all the things he didn't know.

He didn't know that he was the reason she fell asleep with a heavy heart every single night, he didn't know he was the cause of painful nightmares that caused her to cry heart-wrenching calls to him. And in her mind, she deserved nothing less. It was all her fault, she had jumped back on the boat, lessening his chances of survival, she had let him go...why? He didn't deserve that fate.

"Rose," she heard, but she was drifting away.

And the last thing Rose heard before the familiar waves of grief fell over her and dragged her under was his beautiful voice.

"Rose!"