AN: Thanks so much for the reviews! It was great to publish a new chapter after such a long hiatus. In addition to school and a 3 year old, I had some awesome personal changes going on in my life. I love my readers, and I'm glad you guys haven't forgotten me!

Rose awoke the next morning and realized immediately that Cal was not in bed with her. It was a relief to her, because she didn't want to contain her excitement if she didn't have to. A smile played on her lips as she tossed the blankets back at sat up. It took less than a second for her to realize she had done so too quickly. Nausea washed over her and she immediately began to breathe deeply. Fortunately it subsided and she was able to stand up.

Grabbing her robe from the chair beside the bed, she tossed it around her and walked into the living area of the cabin. She figured Cal would be on the private promenade deck having breakfast. Instead, she found Ruth sitting there. Rose waited until she finished her yawn before greeting her.

"Good morning, mother," Rose said.

"Rose. How are you?" Ruth looked up from her breakfast at her.

"I'm feeling a bit better, but I'm still not feeling that well, I'm afraid." Rose sat, noticing that few things looked appealing to her. She wrinkled her nose at the sight of the sausage links and had to look away from the eggs immediately. "I think I'll just have some toast with marmalade Trudy," she said.

"Is that all Miss Rose?"

"A glass of water with some lemon please."

Ruth waited until Trudy got what Rose requested and left the deck before speaking. "You haven't been seasick since you were a child," Ruth commented. "Is there something else going on?"

Rose felt adrenaline shoot up her body. "Perhaps I'm just ill then," she responded smoothly. "I did have a horrible headache last night."

"Yes, Cal told me about that this morning."

"Where is Cal? I expected him to be here." Rose squeezed the lemon, letting the juice drip into the water.

"He had some business to attend to. Rose, please!"

Rose stopped sucking on the lemon and looked at her mother. "What mother? I enjoy lemons, and they help my stomach feel less uneasy." Just to irritate Ruth further, Rose put the lemon back in her mouth.

Ruth exhaled in frustration. "Rose, I wanted to talk to you. And I would much rather do so with you making those disgusting noises."

Well you'll just have to wait then, Rose thought. In some ways, compared to her mother, Cal was fun. He at least had the sense to know that when she was told to do one thing, she would do the complete opposite. If she wanted to suck the juice from a lemon while they were by themselves in the comfort of their own dining room, Cal said nothing. Rose finished the lemon and dropped the peel on the corner of her plate.

"What is it mother?"

"I'm concerned about your health. You haven't been yourself since we left Rome, and you've been sick since we boarded the ship. Have you given any thought to the idea that your body is trying to telling you something?"

Rose knew where Ruth was going with these questions. In fact, she knew exactly what her mother was concerned about. Rose had to shut down her suspicions, firmly and quickly.

"You think I'm pregnant," Rose said blankly. Ruth nodded. "Well I can assure you that I'm not. Cal and I haven't had a night together since we boarded. I wouldn't be having symptoms this soon." Rose noticed Trudy standing in the corner of the room and remembered their conversation. She made a mental note to pull Trudy aside as soon as she could to make she hadn't said anything, nor that she would.

Ruth seemed satisfied with her daughter's response. "Very well then. I think it would be a good idea to go to the infirmary and speak to a physician though."

"I'll go this afternoon," Rose said. Whether she would or not, she didn't know for sure. She wanted to have a doctor confirm her symptoms as the early stage of pregnancy. On the other hand, she was afraid that Cal would bribe the truth out of any doctor on board. "Like I said though, I am feeling a bit better." Rose believed that she was feeling better because she knew Jack was nearby, waiting for her, ready to take her away from all of this.

"Well, alright," Ruth said. "Now Cal tells me that you have invited a guest to dinner this evening?"

Rose suppressed a groan of annoyance. Damn him! "Yes mother I did. His name is Jack Dawson. He's in third class and – "

"Oh Rose, really! A lower class man, of all people! Are you trying to embarrass us?!" Ruth tossed the napkin from her lap onto the table. "What were you thinking? Do you know what people will think?"

Rose ignored her. "As I was saying, he's a gentleman. He's very…charismatic. Everyone at dinner will enjoy his company, even if he doesn't have an eighth of their fortunes." Rose took a final sip of her water and stood. "It won't kill you to meet him and be polite to him mother."

Before Ruth could recover from the shock of her last statement, Rose left to get dressed. Once she and Trudy were in the bedroom with the door closed, Rose began to talk, keeping her voice low.

"Trudy, I know you overheard my conversation with my mother."

"Yes Miss," Trudy said. "I know that that it's not my place to ask, but I'm curious to know why you told her you aren't with child."

Rose walked over to the door and flipped the lock. "Trudy, I need to know that I can trust you with what I'm about to tell you. My mother and Cal cannot find this out under any circumstance."

"You can trust me Miss," Trudy promised.

"I lied to my mother for two reasons. First, I am not certain that I am pregnant. More importantly however," Rose took a deep breath. "If I am, the child is not Cal's." Trudy's eyes widened.

"Are you sure?" Rose nodded and began to tell Trudy about Jack. She ended up telling her the entire story, from her crashing into him in Rome to falling in love with him to her broken heart upon leaving him behind to their reunion last night.

"If I may ask, what are you planning to do?" Trudy asked her.

"Unfortunately, Cal interrupted us before I could tell Jack. After I get dressed, I'm going down to third class to find him." Rose opened the closet door and began to look for the least conspicuous dress she owned. She settled on a dress with long white sleeves and high collar. At her breasts, the remainder of the material was yellow. "It's still too much, but it'll just have to do," she said.

"May I ask another question Miss?"

Rose couldn't help herself and smiled warmly at Trudy. "With everything I've just told you Trudy, you hardly need to ask my permission to ask a question." Trudy smiled back.

"What if Mr. Dawson – "

"Jack," Rose corrected.

"What if Jack doesn't believe the child is yours? Or what if he simply doesn't want it?"

Rose had dismissed those concerns long ago and told Trudy as much. "He's not that kind of man," she concluded. "Now please, help me get dressed."

…

Rose found the entrance to third class with ease. She glanced around to see if there was anyone who would recognize her but saw no one. Sliding the lock, she opened the gate and began to descend the stairs.

Immediately after getting dressed, Rose had gone to the infirmary. She didn't need her mother or Cal checking up on her to see if she had actually went. She lied to the doctor though, saying that there was no chance of her being pregnant. The doctor diagnosed her with seasickness, gave her some ginger to help ease the nausea and sent her on her way. On the way to see Jack, an idea had popped into her head. With the assumption that the doctor who treated her would be off duty, Rose would return to the infirmary to see another doctor to confirm her pregnancy. She would just use a different name.

Rose heard a piano playing a cheerful tune and heard children laughing and running around. She felt a pang of jealously, knowing that they would at least have a childhood. Despite the lavish luxuries that she experienced from birth, she had never known that one. It was all tea parties and manners. Children were to be seen and not heard. And there was absolutely to never be any running. Running was for boys and she was to be a lady.

The smoke from hand rolled cigarettes hit her nostrils and it made her slightly queasy. As she neared the bottom of the stairs, she saw sunlight streaming through the windows. She found the common area very bright, not at all what she expected. People were sitting on the bench, talking and laughing. There was such a mixture of languages. Some Rose could easily understand while others she barely recognized.

When Rose stepped off the bottom stair she felt as if every head had turned in her direction. The man at the piano kept playing and a few paid no attention to her at all. But what Rose noticed were the voices dying away as she walked through the area. She smiled politely at the friendly and curious faces, her eyes scanning the crowd for Jack. It didn't take her long to spot him.

He was busy working on a drawing and she smiled. For a moment she was taken back to his little apartment in Rome. Rose had seen all of his drawings; there were dozens and dozens of them. It was now that she realized that she had never actually seen him working on one. Part of her wanted to stand there and watch his hands work magic.

She saw a blonde woman on the opposite side of the bench look at her in awe. The black haired man who was speaking with her noticed and turned to look. His look was one of shock and he tapped Jack on the shoulder and pointed to her.

"Rose!" Jack practically jumped from his seat to greet her. "I didn't expect to see you here."

A wide smile crossed Rose's face. "I'm just full of surprises," she teased. "I was wondering if I could speak with you before dinner tonight."

"Yeah," Jack said, making no movement to walk away from the crowd. Rose sighed and rolled her eyes.

"In private."

"Oh…er, yeah." Jack leaned down to retrieve his drawings and his jacket. "Where would you like to go?"

Rose thought for a moment as they approached the stairs. She had originally considered walking around with him on the boat deck, but decided against it. There were too many eyes and ears. She needed to be alone with him.

"Is there somewhere we can go so we're alone?"

Jack glanced around the common room. "We can go to my cabin. I see my two cabin mates are over there playing the piano and drinking cheap brandy." Rose let out a laugh. "And Fabrizio is so enamored with Helga over there. I don't think we'll be bothered."

"Okay then," Rose said with a smile. If Jack hadn't been looking at her, he'd still be able to tell that she was smiling. He could hear it in her voice. "So Fabrizio? Was he the one who tapped you on the shoulder and pointed to me?"

"Yeah. He's rude like that," Jack joked. "I'll introduce you to him. I have a feeling you two will adore each other."

"I'd like that Jack." Rose sighed quietly as they strolled slowly down the corridor. It felt so easy and natural to her, like they hadn't been apart for the past several weeks. Without a thought, Rose slipped her hand into Jack's. She was safe down here; no one knew her. "How did you end up on this ship?" Rose asked.

Jack chuckled. "Poker."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The guys that me and Fabri were playing against had nothing else to raise the bet with but their tickets. I won with a full house."

"Jack, I don't know anything about poker."

"Well then, I'll teach you," Jack offered. "Needless to say, the two Swedes that were already there were quite shocked when we walked in, and not their cousins. Here we are." Jack pulled out his cabin key from his pocket and unlocked the door. He held it open for Rose.

"Thank you."

"I'm sure it is not to your expectations Miss. It's small and drafty and very, very plain." Rose chuckled.

"I don't mind it." Jack dropped his belongings on his bed and turned to pull Rose into his arms. He sighed loudly. "I'd never thought I'd get to hold you again."

Rose smiled, listening to his heartbeat. "I missed you so much Jack." She raised her head to look at him. "Jack, there's something I want to tell you."

"Okay, but can I just do something first?"

"What?" To answer her question, Jack kissed her. It lit a fire and Rose got lost in the kiss quickly, letting him glide his tongue over her bottom lip. She moaned into the kiss and felt him growing hard against her thigh. "Mmmm….Jack."

There was a flicker of a certain thought in Rose's mind. But her body quickly betrayed her mind as Jack backed her against the wall. She wanted Jack. She wanted Jack now. All of her thoughts disappeared.

Jack pulled her dress up and her undergarments down. Rose struggled to free him from his trousers and underwear, her hands shaking with anticipation. Then suddenly, he was in her thrusting hard. Rose moaned, crying out his name. It took almost no time for her to come. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as she held onto him for balance. He held her tightly and began to thrust faster. Rose came again, this time pulling his hair. Jack groaned loudly, coming with her.

Rose's legs shook as she leaned against the wall. Jack's breath was ragged and uneven. "That was rather unexpected," Rose whispered hoarsely.

"That actually wasn't my plan," Jack said with a quiet laugh. "But I'm glad you're not complaining." He noticed Rose's shaking and scooped her up and sat her on his bed.

"I guess we should straighten up before anyone decides to come to the room. How's my hair look?"

Jack studied her hair quickly. "How many pins do you have in there? It doesn't look like it's moved."

Rose laughed. "That's a relief."

"So," Jack began, sitting next to her, "What was it that you wanted to tell me?"

The high Rose had been on dissipated. "Jack, I don't know how else to say this, so I'm just going to get it out." Jack nodded, looking concerned. "I think I'm carrying your child."