Here we go! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I had to think of something. I did some minor changes to the first few chapters after a few reviewers told me that the main first class characters are American, and re-watching the movie proved them right. So I apologize for that little mess-up. Also, Rose is 17 on the Titanic, but I made up the fact that her birthday is on June 4. And Jack's is December 29. So he's nineteen now. This is in July.
I own nothing but Molly and the plot. Quite proud of both, actually. But spending my life writing on fanfiction will not get me anywhere. So I'll write on fanfiction, but I'll do other stuff. That I'll actually own. And people will write fanfictions about that. Wahoo!
Rose was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. She felt Jack turn over beside her. A smile crept up her face. Sleep had been more generous to him than her. (A/N- She smiled about Jack, not the sleep thing.)
Moonlight turned her gold wedding band to silver. Rose gazed at it, loving what it symbolized. She was Jack's. When she had been engaged to Cal, she did not like being treated like an object that was owned. But Rose knew Jack didn't think of her in that way. He didn't expect her to think that way. But she did. And she loved it. Mrs. Rose Dawson.
A few months ago, Rose never would have believed that this would be possible. But it was. She loved Jack and Molly (in a mixture between sisterly and best friend) and her new life. Cal couldn't ruin this. Not this time.
The eighteen-year-old redhead was finally drifting off into the same world as her nineteen-year-old husband was in when she heard footsteps downstairs. Probably just Molly getting a drink of water, her sleepy mind registered. If she had been more alert, she may have heard the door open. But as it was, with sleep finally talking her into its arms, she did not.
There were more footsteps. Then a voice, cool and commanding, said quietly, "Take her."
Several pairs of hands grabbed her and lifted her up. Immediately she was wide awake and panicking. Out of sheer terror, for she had absolutely no idea what was going on, she started to scream. She thrashed and fought those holding on to her. She heard rather than saw Jack get up as soon as she made a sound; the moonlight was not sufficient light and her eyes were not adjusted to the darkness. Jack yelled, "Get off her!" and he began to hit everything in reach (besides Rose).
Rose was dropped to the floor. Her captors were trying to fend off Jack. They had the look of overpaid henchmen. Before she could get up off the floor and help Jack, someone else grabbed her and began to drag her away from the fighting. An all-too familiar voice whispered in her ear, "Still his whore, then?"
She whipped around, half by her own free will, loose, long hair slapping Cal in the face. "Actually not," she said, still trying to pull free from him. She held up her left hand. "See this?" she said forcefully, pointing to her engagement ring, "This means that Jack proposed and I accepted. And do you see this?" she said, still more forcefully, pointing to her wedding ring, "This means that we got married. Today, in fact."
Jack and Cal's men had stopped fighting, watching the girl too long pushed around and misunderstood talking out her anger to the man who had caused most of it. She was not yelling; she did not need to. "So no," she concluded, "I am no longer his whore."
Jack, in spite of the situation, grinned. That was the girl he loved. The whole whore thing he didn't get, but he'd ask Rose about that later.
Cal stepped away from Rose. Even though their employer was in a state of shock, the man took advantage of Jack's moment unguarded. One of them grabbed Jack's arms and pulled them behind him with brute force.
Que Molly. She had heard Rose's screams, ran upstairs, and waited for her moment. This was it. She punched the man holding Jack in the temple with all her might; he dropped like a stone.
Jack was released, but Cal seemed to have regained his senses. He took out a revolver and pointed it at Jack. Molly was shoved out of the way, then ignored, for the most part. She was being held in the same way Jack had been, but she was not fighting. She was watching this scene unravel.
Rose was looking at Cal with ultimate hate, but there was also terror in her eyes, terror for Jack.
"Marry me," Cal said simply, "and I will not shoot the gutter rat."
Jack twitched at the 'nickname'. He didn't like being put down; like all men, he had his pride. But one move could kill him. That was one of the last things on his to-do list.
Rose looked at him. They both knew what she would rather do. She didn't want him to die. He mouthed frantically Don't do it, Rose! Let him shoot me! She shook her head. She couldn't let him die, and yet if she did marry Cal, she had murdered both of them.
"I always win, Rose."
Rose lunged for the nearest brainwashed overpaid idiot of Cal's and grabbed his gun out of his pocket. She aimed it at Cal's chest.
"You shoot him," she said, voice dangerously quiet, "I'll kill you."
Molly had absolutely no idea how Cal smiled just then. If Rose had been looking at her like that, she would have been running as fast as she could in the other direction.
But smile Cal did. "I'd still win," he said, "Even if I were dead and not with you, you wouldn't be with him."
Rose made a split-second, scary decision. What made it even more terrifying was that she did it without a second's hesitation. She pointed the gun at her own head.
Jack stiffened. He knew if he moved he would kill them both. "You're so stupid, Rose," he said passionately, under his breath.
"Yes I am," she replied, "You're right, you son of a bitch, you would still win. But now I have changed my proposal. You shoot him, and I'll pull this little trigger, and we will be together in heaven, and no matter how hard you try, you will never disturb us again." Her voice was as calm as a duckpond on a windless night, and as cold as an iceberg floating in the middle of the North Atlantic.
Cal, now, was thinking. She was right. If she shot herself, and he had no doubt that she would if he killed Jack, they would win, not him.
The first classman slowly lowered the revolver.
"I'm glad you see it my way, Mr. Hockley," she said, voice sweet but still cold, "Now if you will get out, you are trespassing on private property."
Jack shoved off the guy who was holding Molly. She nodded in thanks, still too shocked at what she had seen to move or speak much.
Cal was following his men to out the door when he turned, grabbed Rose, and dragged them both out the window. Jack and Molly ran to the window just in time to see Rose land, then Cal land on top of her.
That was when Jack lost it completely. With a nearly inhuman roar of fury, he jumped out the window, hit the ground rolling, got up, dragged Cal off Rose's motionless body, and beat the hell out of him. Every bad feeling he had towards the other man, every awful thing he had said to and about him and Rose, every horrific thing he'd done to them came out as those blows. Jack was yelling every word he could think of to describe him. Cal fought back as best as he could (not very well, then), but he was nothing to Jack in a complete fury.
Cal was finally losing consciousness. The last thing he heard was Jack's deadly whisper, "What made you think you could put you hands on my wife?" Then blackness.
So what did ya think? Pretty good, eh? I think so. I like my references to the movie. There will be more of those, I guarantee it. I've already written the next chapter. Cal is not dead for all the people who wanted him to. I won't make him die. But I have my reasons. You wouldn't get it. But I did want Jack to beat the everloving snot out of Cal. At least, I wanted somebody to do it, and Jack seemed to be the most... ah... able.
So that's it. Like I said, I've already written the next chapter and that will be coming out as soon as I can type it.
Thank you to Meytal, even though she annoyed the heck outta me to let her read this and the next one, she told me it was good. With her words as well as her obnoxious actions.
Later!
-Arnold-