Chapter 2: Holding On

"Jack…"

There it was again, her voice, his name, and the sound of it so soft and resonant in his mind. Hearing her speak was the most wonderful thing he ever heard. Except, she sounded so distant from him. It was as if she were miles away, like a fog had pushed its way between them and he was lost in it. He had no idea how to fight his way back to her. Her fingers dug deeply into his arms, shaking him. Her breath was icy against his skin, begging him to open his eyes. Yet, try as he might every part of him remained still, refusing to cooperate.

She was so far away from him now.

"Jack…Jack!" She urged, an anxious sob catching in her throat. "There's a boat Jack." Her tone appeared to fill with a frightful realization.

A boat? He wondered if he heard her correctly. It seemed impossible that after all this time a boat could actually be coming back for them. Until now he was resigned in believing that he would die here, frozen in the ocean while holding the hand of the woman he loved. It would have been a brilliant way to go. Though he prayed with everything inside of him that Rose would somehow pull through. He never thought to do the same for himself. He never expected to live. Not before her.

So much had happened that had propelled him to this point.

It was a fire that had stolen his parents from him, which had forced Jack to survive on his own much too soon. At the time he was only fifteen, just a pitiful kid unable to rescue the two most important people in his life when they truly needed him. He had never felt so helpless before. After their death, he fled. Leaving behind Chippewa Falls without so much as a backwards glance, determined to live life to the fullest the way his parents could not. He made it day-by-day, travelling and making money where he could with his artwork. Jack relied on no one, nor did he ever want anyone relying on him. It was a life he had grown accustomed to, one that he preferred. That all changed with a lucky hand at poker and one astounding red head. Rose had shown him that it was alright for him to care about someone other than himself again. He was thankful for her because of that.

In many ways, he believed she was stronger then he was. While he had chosen to run from his past, Rose had stood up to Cal, disowned her upbringing and elected to follow her own path. She had jumped head first without hesitation, sacrificing so much to be with him. In all his travels, he never encountered any person quite like her. She was someone he admired because she made him question everything he had ever lived by. More than anything, he wanted to live for her. He only wished that were a possibility.

From the very moment the Titanic began its decent into the ocean, Jack had stopped caring about his own wellbeing. He made it his purpose to ensure Rose would be the survivor this time. Even if it meant she'd be surviving without him. Only then could he rest easy knowing she would go on living for the two of them and do all the things that they had planned to do while still on the deck of Titanic.

A small glimmer of light flashed across his closed eyelids, passing quickly.

"Jack…please wake up Jack! The boat is leaving." She shook his arm once more, frantic, causing his near lifeless body to sway against the ripples circling the raft.

He wanted to open his eyes and tell her it was alright to go on without him. That he would die happy knowing she never forgot her promise. Only he couldn't. Something dark was pulling at him, clutching tightly and refusing to let him free. When he listened for her voice again he heard nothing. Silence.

It was in that moment Jack realized how terrified he truly was. Not because he feared death's brutal hand, but because Rose had gone quiet. She had stopped fighting. He felt her rest her head back down on his arm, and he wanted more than anything to scream at her from the top of his lungs with frustration.

"Don't be so stubborn Rose! Call the boats back. Live, you need to live goddamn it!"

The ocean had taken nearly everything from him; his lungs were collapsing, his heart beating slower with each passing instant. A dense cloud began to build between his ears, the thickness plucking away at his consciousness. He couldn't let the same fate befall Rose. She was greater than that. Desperately he began to search his mind for any moment he could latch onto to keep himself present.

Memories surged chaotically in his mind, dozens of different images coming into focus behind his eyelids. He thought of their first meeting, Rose's laughter as they twirled in third class, her arms outstretched and flying as he held her and sang to her at the ship's bow. Finally there was just the beauty of her emerald coloured eyes, as they stared intensely and deeply into his while they made love. He held onto this memory with everything he could, unable to say goodbye to her yet, not until he knew Rose had made it.

"Please…" he prayed to himself. "Do not give up."

Just then he felt Rose turn her head, lifting her chin off of his arm just slightly.

"Come back!" She squeaked. Her voice, which was weak and harshened from the cold barely made a shudder of sound against the whir of water surrounding them.

Jack's heart leapt. That was his girl! He wished he could cry out with pride, knowing now Rose had never forgotten her promise. He felt almost foolish for believing she had.

"Come back!" She wailed again. "Come back! Come back!"

It occurred to him almost instantly that Rose could still be in danger. Even if she yelled till her throat bled, not a single effort would make any difference if the boat were still to far away to hear her.

He cursed inwardly at the White Star Line for putting them in this situation; to the iceberg that had buckled the ship, to the boats that still remained in the distance while they waited for death, and more than anything he cursed himself for once more being powerless to save someone he loved.

The pull of the darkness seemed almost alluring now.

"Rose, I let you down…" he thought, knowing it was only a matter of seconds before he slipped away entirely.

He felt Rose take hold of his wrist, her fingertips pressing deeply into his skin as she began to pull her hand free from his.

He couldn't blame her from wanting to be apart from him. He only hoped that when they did meet again she could forgive him.

With a shatter of ice between their palms, they came undone. He heard Rose let out a sob pulling his hands toward her lips. "I'll never let go…I promise." When she kissed him, her lips were cold but tender against his knuckles.

He expected for her to release him then. That he would drift slowly, beneath the depths of the Atlantic and eventually fade into obscurity.

Only her hold on him never faltered. Instead she took his collar in her hand and with a firm grip, and all the effort she could muster, Rose forced herself sideways and right off the edge of the raft.

With a dense splash, she entered the water. He heard her breathing grow more ragged as tired gasps of pain and struggle passed between her lips while she pushed forward.

What was she doing?

He felt himself being pulled through the water, the liquid separating in protest against his body.

It was then that Jack realized Rose had no intention of letting him slip away peacefully. Whatever her plan was, she was taking him with her.

"No! Rose you need to save your strength. It's okay to let me go. Just let me go!"

She was practically breathless now as she coursed through the water.

He heard the heavy thud of her hand hitting something solid. The water splashed loudly around them as she clambered onto the piece of debris.

There was a dull clink of something metal and then almost as forcibly as the iceberg hit the ship, the sound of a whistle pierced through the silence of the North Atlantic, echoing loudly. The shriek so sudden and haunting was enough to draw all the attention from those still floating in the lifeboats toward them.

"Come About!" was the last thing Jack could make sense of. It meant the lifeboats had heard her and that they were coming. Knowing now that Rose would be safe, he finally allowed the night to overtake him.

…

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I know there wasn't much story progression from Chapter 1, but I wanted to write this scene from both Rose and Jack's perspective before I could move forward. Hopefully I did them justice. I'd love to hear what you all have to say, any reviews would be much appreciated! Till next time guys, thank you so much for reading, following and reviewing! I'll update as soon as I can.