Rose stared at the beautiful cityscape before her. It was lush and busy and sparkling and looked like it was straight out of a storybook. The sun shone down on the city of Paris and caused the entire city to seem to shimmer. Everything seemed so elegant and modern.

She turned to Jack with wide eyes.

"Welcome to Paris," he said, eyes twinkling. She couldn't find any words to say, so she just grabbed hold of him and hugged him tightly. He gripped her back securely, his cheek resting on hers. When Rose pulled back, she knew her eyes were glistening but she didn't care.

"It's beautiful," she whispered. Jack nodded, still grinning from ear to ear.

"It's not home by any means, but Paris sure knows how to get ya." Rose laughed at his sentiment. He smiled warmly and pulled her back into his embrace.

Rose decided she never wanted to leave his arms again. His strong, firm hands gripping onto her back, his slow breathing joining together with hers, it was all she needed. But all to soon, he pulled away and pointed out something in the distance. The station.

"Here's our stop," he told her and she nodded. They quickly went in to check and make sure they didn't leave anything behind, having grabbed the sack on the way out but wanting to double check. "Make sure to brace yourself for the impact. It shouldn't be too much of a bump, the train's going pretty slow."

Rose felt her breathing get faster, even as she nodded. It's fine, you can do this. You survived the Titanic, you can jump off a train.

"Rose."

She looked at him, and he grasped her hand.

"We'll jump together." She nodded again, the three simple words hitting her deep and causing her to steady.

"Together."

"Alright," Jack paused, making sure she was ready. "Three..."

You survived the Titanic sinking.

Two..."

You're holding on to Jack, he won't let anything happen to you.

One..."

Jump!

Jump!"

Together, Jack and Rose jumped and stumbled into the city streets of Paris. Nobody really seemed to pay attention to the two as they stood up shakily, and Rose was relieved.

"You alright?" Jack asked, holding a hand out to her, helping her up. She glanced around at the oblivious people. The street was quite busy at this time of day, people running errands all over the place. She saw mothers with children, rich and poor people alike, she saw people walking an assortment of dogs. She also spotted an elegant-looking woman yelling at her valet for dropping something and frowned.

"Rose...?" She realized she hadn't answered his question. She turned back to Jack and gave a small smile.

"Yes. That wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be," she told him honestly and he grinned at her.

"Let's get moving," he said, starting to pull her with him. They began to walk along the colorfully paved road full of cars and carriages. "I know this place not too far from here were me and Fabri stayed that's super cheap–"

"Fabri and I, you mean?" Rose corrected, giggling.

"Huh?"

"When you're saying your name and someone else's name, you always put your name last. It's a common courtesy, I thought you would know that."

Jack just rolled his eyes. "Rose, I don't give a crap about speaking like a middle-aged first-class 'polite' lady."

Rose slapped him playfully. "Excuse me, it's how I was brought up."

"Maybe we should see if we can get you to forget some of that, then," Jack joked. "If you're gonna be living with me, I'm gonna get real annoyed if you keep correcting me like that. I was brought up in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin and we don't know how to speak back yonder up north."

Rose just laughed. "I'm teasing, I don't really care either."

Jack laughed, the sound bright and welcome in Rose's ears. "Anyway," he continued as if Rose had never interrupted, "I know this place near here that is really cheap, me and Fabrizio could usually afford one night a week, and the owner knows me so we should be able to get a good room."

"Define the word good," Rose said, remembering their last room. It was pretty decent for being cheap.

Jack's smile faltered a little. "Well, good for a homeless guy, I mean. It's kinda dumpy for your taste...I didn't want to waste your money with a more expensive place, and me and Fabri were frequents at this place, and I thought we should stay in a familiar area–"

Rose couldn't contain her smirk as he rambled on and on, trying to make sure she was satisfied.

"Jack, I'm sure it'll be fine."

Jack stopped mid-sentence. He paused. "Yeah."

Rose giggled and Jack turned pink. "Jack, you don't have to change to try to impress me. I'm already impressed."

Jack smiled gratefully at her and she just shook her head at the way he tried so hard to make sure she would stay with him. Didn't he realize she would follow him anywhere?

They continued on their way, hands clasped together tightly. Rose smiled. She was free. She was with Jack. Finally, she had a second chance with him. She would do everything in her power to make it count. For Jack. He deserved a second chance at happiness. At living until he was old and ready to die.

It was an amazing feeling, walking through Paris without worries, without cares. She was with Jack. She felt safe now. Rose knew she was a strong woman and could fend for herself pretty well. She was capable of doing many things on her own. But distancing herself from everyone around her was unhealthy. The pain of it would have eventually broken her. Having a strong, steady figure in her life like Jack was what she needed. And he was here.

"What?"

Rose snapped out of her thoughts. "Huh?" Jack was looking at her with a smirk.

"You were staring at me," he grinned.

Rose turned pink, but shrugged. "Oops."

Jack burst out laughing. "And this is how far we've come. You know, I bet a year ago you would've yelled at me for noticing and then blamed me for staring."

She thought about it. "Yes, that does sound like me."

"I bet I had no idea what I was getting in to when I saw you that first day on the ship," Jack teased her. Rose smiled back, but could see he was doubtful. It made her sad that he still didn't know about their previous time together and probably never would. But that was the past. She had to make the present count. She would make it up to him.

"Oh, there's the building," Jack said suddenly, pointing. Rose followed his line of vision and saw a dark brick bar with a green roof with broken shingles.

" 'Emily's Pub and Bed?' " Rose read. Jack smiled sheepishly. It was appealing at the time."

"Jack..."

"Don't worry, it grows on you," he said and pulled her down the street. When he pushed open the door, the first thing Rose noticed was the smell. There was a faint smell of smoke and whiskey, like you'd find in any bar, but there was the odd smell of...citrus. She looked around to see a decently crowded dining area, with a bar off to the side.

Jack took a deep breath in. "Oh, I missed that smell."

"What's making it?" Rose wondered aloud.

A waitress nearby turned around and smiled at her. She looked to be a few years older than Rose. "That would be the famed citrus beer we have on tap here, hun. It's very popular around this time of day especially, so the scent is stronger now–" she stopped mid-sentence. She was staring at Jack.

"Dawson!" She breathed. "You're back!"

Jack gave her a genuine smile, but Rose could tell he was being cautious. "Emily."

She pushed past Rose and have him a tight hug. Jack gave Rose an apologetic look. She wondered who this woman is...or was to Jack.

"Honey, I didn't expect to see you ever again! I thought you were headed to great and grander things in America!"

Jack gave a small laugh and pushed away from this Emily. "I was, I was. I...was too late to get on the ship."

"That's terrible!" Emily said, twirling her hair around on her finger, looking like she just got free tickets on the Titanic herself. "So, why'd you come back here, to my silly ol' pub?"

"We came to get a room with someone familiar," Jack explained.

"You and Italian boy?" Emily asked, looking around, expecting to see Fabrizio. Jack clenched his jaw.

"No, me and Rose, Jack said, pulling Rose over to stand next to him. Rose gave a tiny wave and a hesitant smile.

Emily looked her over, her smile slipping off her face. Jack pulled Rose even closer to him.

"You've gotten yourself a lady there, Dawson," Emily observed. She leaned in close to Rose with a huge smile plastered on her face. "Don't get your hopes up, hun, he's a lot to deal with. A day into this and you'll see he's not for you."

Rose glared at her. Jack was about to say something but she shushed him.

"Well, hun," Rose said with an equally fake smile. "I think that after a year I can handle him pretty well."

Emily's jaw dropped.

Jack rubbed his head tiredly. "Can we just get a room, Emily?"

Emily paused. "Of course, Jack," she said sweetly. "Just let me go see what we have available."

Rose turned to Jack the instant she left. "I'm so sorry, I mean, I made her mad, and I know she's your friend–"

Jack gave her a small smile. "Rose it's fine, I would have said the same thing. She...we...she was one of the ones I used to draw..."

Rose tried to not feel any jealousy, but it was almost impossible.

"She tried to...she wanted more than just a drawing. She wanted a...relationship."

Rose frowned.

"When I made it clear I wasn't interested in her, she kept trying to make advances, so eventually I just left."

"So she's...not anything to you?"

Jack gaped at her. "Of course not! Rose..."

Then Emily came back. "I'm back, sweetiepies!"

Jack rolled his eyes. "So do we have a room?"

"Well...there's no single or double rooms available...but a staff member told me one man is willing to share."

Rose glared at her, almost positive that there were plenty of rooms available, but Emily didn't want them alone together for her own selfish reasons.

Jack seemed to be thinking along these same lines. "Are you sure there's no room anywhere else?"

"Of course, honey. Would I ever lie to you?" Emily asked, batting her eyelashes. She was so blatantly flirting with Jack, it made Rose furious.

"Fine, we'll take the room," Jack said, looking like he just wanted to get out of Emily's sight.

"Wonderful!" She exclaimed. "Room 75."

"Alright, come on Rose," Jack said, gesturing for her to follow as he left, and Rose knew he was desperate to get away from Emily.

"Who's this man that we have to share a room with?" Rose asked, annoyed.

Emily sneered at her now that Jack wasn't looking. "I don't know and I don't care, missy, it's not my business." With that, she turned on her heel and left to go take care of the bar. Rose glared at her retreating figure and ran to catch up with Jack.

"I'm so sorry about her," Jack said to Rose the instant she was walking next to him. "I never would have come here if I knew she was gonna be like this..."

"It's fine, Jack," Rose told him as they walked up the stairs, but she had to admit she was a little jealous.

"Rose, you have to believe that she is nothing to me. You know that right? You're the only woman who matters to me."

Rose looked down at her feet, ashamed that she had believed he loved Emily. They paused at room 75 and knocked on the door, and after they heard a muffled voice yell, "In a minute!" Jack continued.

"Never doubt that I will always be here for you, Rose. We stick together. We've been through so much together, we're not gonna let Emily or anything get in our way. You know why?"

"Why?" Rose asked softly, still staring at her feet. Jack placed his thumb under her chin and forced her to look up at him. His blue eyes bore straight into hers.

"Because I love you." And he pulled her to him and she slanted her lips against his and the kiss was beautiful and sweet and a promise of their future together.

Rose heard the door next to them open and she pried her way away from Jack and turned to look at the man that they were to share a room with. He had dark hair, large eyes, and dirty clothes. He was staring with an open mouth at Jack and Rose. They stared back at him.

Rose spoke first. "Fabrizio?"