Hey guys! Thanks for reviews, as always, and hope you're all doing well. You guys have been so kind and I hope you know that you are truly the reason this story is still alive. Right now it's approximately 38,000 words long, and if you new me you'd know that that's one heck of an acheivement! I usually can't keep focused on one idea, but all of the amazing and productive feedback has really been helpful. So, thanks again. :)

Psst... I know I sorta combined two scenes from the movie in here, but it just fit so well. I actually found myself doing it without thinking about it, so I guess that means it must work. And sorry for the lack of updates, but I've been really busy. Here's chapter twelve...

If I should become a stranger,
Know that it would make me more than sad.
Caledonia's been everything I've ever had.

Chapter Twelve

The Penthouse Suite

#400 East 67th Street

Six hours ago Rose had completely destroyed her own life; she was well aware of this. She was such a coward, so afraid to take responsibility for her own actions... from the moment she'd walked away from Jack behind her school, she'd been regretting it. But then, what was she supposed to have done? Run off with him into the sunset, never to see her mother or Cal ever again? If only it was that easy.

"Rose!" her mother snapped. "Where are you today? Felicity asked you a question!"

Pulling herself out of her daze, Rose said, "I'm so sorry, Felicity. What is it?"

Felicity was a seamstress from Dolce and Gabbana whom Ruth had hired to make Rose's gown for her coming out party. The debutante ball was now a little less than two weeks away, and Rose was having her final fitting. Her mind was anywhere but dresses, though- all she could think about was Jack, and the awful, heartbroken look in his eyes as she walked away. God, what kind of idiot was she?

"Is the hemline alright with you, Miss DeWitt Bukater?"

Oh, screw the hemline. Who gives a damn about the hemline? What does the hemline have to do with anything? How is the hemline going to make a difference in anybody's life?

"It's fine, Felicity. Perfect."

Felicity pinned the hem of the dress where it was and stood up straight. Rose crossed the room and looked at her reflection in the full-body mirror. The dress she wore was light purple, with one off-the-shoulder cap sleeve and a slit down the left leg, which revealed skin up to just above her knee. A thin line of Swarovski crystal detailing traced the seam of the dress from the sleeve down the slit and to the hem. It looked absolutely wonderful on her, but Rose couldn't enjoy wearing it- not when she had to go to this stupid party with Cal, and walk down the staircase, her arm linked in his, with everyone staring at them. Everyone except Jack, who wouldn't be coming. Jack, who she'd never see again.

Outside of Rose's trance, her mother was complaining away at a mile a minute about every little detail of this stupid ball.

"Oh, Felicity, you have no idea what an odyssey this whole thing has been," Ruth said, sighing heavily. Of course, the invitations had to be set back to printers twice. Oh, and this dress... You've done a splendid job, really Felicity. But I really don't know about the colour on Rose. She insisted on lavender, you know, even though she knows I hate the colour, and it especially clashes with her hair..."

Rose still stared into the mirror, not listening at all the chatter going on behind her. The person who gazed back at her did not belong in that dress. She was supposed to be out in the world, doing things, having fun, living her life. She wasn't meant to be getting married at seventeen. She wasn't meant for any of this. Behind her, her mother continued complaining endlessly about anything and everything under the sun. Was that all she ever did? Complain? Didn't she realize that she had the world at her fingertips, and that she should shut her mouth and be thankful? Ruth's entire way of life made her feel sick.

By this point, she just wanted to see Jack again. She had been so stupid to allow him to walk out on her life- no. It wasn't him. It was her. She was going to take responsibility for once in her life. She had walked out of his life, and now she regretted it more than she'd every regretted anything in her life.

But it was such a simple solution, wasn't it? Just undo it! Go back to him... just make things right.

"Mother," she said simply, "I think I'm going to be sick."

With that, Rose bolted out of her room and ran into the bathroom. Locking herself in, she fake-coughed a bit and ran some water, so that her mother wouldn't be suspicious. Luckily, she'd left her pajamas on the counter that morning. Sure, she'd look stupid, but it'd be better than walking around in an evening gown. Even in New York, that would be way out there.

She left the dress on the ground, really not caring what happened to it, and slipped into her pajamas. As she cracked open the window, a gust of cold air flew into the bathroom. It was starting to get quite chilly in the evenings. The fire escape was outside the bathroom window. As she climbed out onto it, Rose was flooded with memories of her childhood and early teenage years when, frustrated with her mother, she would sit for hours on the rickety steps, waiting for her father to come home. She knew that as soon as he couldn't find her, he'd climb out the bathroom window and take her in his arms. That had all changed when he died. She hadn't entered into their sanctuary since then- it would be like swearing in a church or something. Now, though, she felt like her father would be fully supportive of what she was doing. He would want her to follow her heart.

The apartment Rose and her mother shared was seventeen storeys from the ground, which meant 34 flights of rickety, rusty, metal stairs. Rose was a fair bit heavier than she'd been at eleven, and that coupled with the fact that she hadn't been on the stairs in three years made her feel even more shaky than she normally would. She bolted down the fire escape, fearing that her mother might catch her running away and lock her in her bedroom for all of eternity. There was no way she could let that happen.

Out in the street below, traffic zoomed in all directions. Rose had to wait nearly five minutes before it was safe to cross the street. She was four blocks away from Central Park, which was about a half-hour walk. She hoped and prayed that she'd find Jack in the same place as she had last time. Unfortunately, her apartment was on the opposite side of the park from her school, which meant another fifteen-minute walk just to the spot she'd found him and his friends yesterday afternoon.

Although the sun was setting, the city was far from winding down. In fact, it was as though the City That Never Sleeps was just waking up. Bright lights shone all around and people young and old played music on street corners. Rose allowed herself to imagine the place she'd like to be right now- at the Santa Monica pier, with Jack. They would have already ridden all of the crazy roller coaster by now. In fact, they'd probably just be dismounting the horses they'd ridden into the surf and getting ready to go on the Ferris Wheel. As embarrassing as it was to admit, Rose had never been on a Ferris Wheel before, or a roller coaster, and she'd never ridden a horse either. It would be such a romantic night.

She remembered the night before, resting her head on Jack's shoulder, and him whispering the words 'You're beautiful' into her ear. She loved him. She really and truly did love him, with all of her heart.

All the tourists were starting to slowly file out of Central Park, but most of the local still hung around. Rose followed the path through the grove of trees that lead her to the place she'd met Jack the previous afternoon, praying that he'd be there again. There was definitely someone there, sitting on a bench, staring across the pond that lay in the middle of the park. Even though it was nearly dark, it took her only a moment to recognize the man she had fallen in love with.

"Jack?" she said, more as a question than a statement. He immediately snapped his head around. From the way his face suddenly changed, Rose guessed that he had been frowning before she'd arrived- not that she could blame him. Now, though, his smile reached his eyes as his mouth formed her name, though no sound came out.

"I thought I might find you here," she said.

Still smiling, Jack ran towards her and wrapped her in his arms. The feeling of his strong, warm hands around her waist was one she'd missed since the night before. It was as though her body just fit right beside his.

"Rose," he said, trying to string together a coherent sentence. "Oh, Rose..." He pulled away from the embrace and took her hand.

"I want to show you something. Tommy's got this little motor boat, and I want to take you out on it. You're gonna see something you've never seen before."

Silently, for there was no need for words when Jack was around, she followed him. They had to cross to the other side of the city to get to the Manhattan docks, but time went by so much faster when she was with him. They didn't need to do or say anything- they just needed to be together. The sun was setting rapidly in front of them, a sight so ironic it made Rose laugh out loud. And here she'd thought, only about an hour ago, that she'd never get the chance to run off with Jack into the sunset. Well, now she was doing just that!

When they finally reached the public docks, it was completely dark. Jack took her firmly by both hands and helped Rose into a little motor boat.

Pulling a key out of his pocket, he explained, "I borrowed this from Tommy this morning. Now," he said, turning the engine, "I want you to close your eyes, okay? It's gonna be a bit bumpy, but you gotta go with me on this one. Just close your eyes."

Rose gently shut her eyes as the engine roared to life. Before she knew it, it felt as though the world was speeding out from under her- not being able to see really made it difficult to get her bearings. At first, her stomach lurched and jolted with every movement of the little boat, but soon she was used to it. She kept her eyes closed, as Jack had instructed, for what felt like forever. She felt a warm hand grab hers, and she laced her fingers into Jack's. He wrapped his arms around her waist and positioned her so that she was resting her body weight across his chest. She blindly followed his every silent instruction. Everything was perfect.

Finally, when they must have been a good few hundred yards from land, Jack whispered, "Open your eyes."

The view from where she lay was unlike anything Rose had seen in her life. The stars never came out in the city- night was like a black silk sheet draped over the silver skyscrapers. In fact, save for a trip to the Pennsylvania countryside to visit family when she was eight years old, Rose had never seen stars before. The brilliant, shimmering expanse above her head seemed to be the most beautiful thing in the world.

"Oh, Jack..." she whispered. "It's just endless..."

There were really no other words to describe the sight before her eyes. It really was endless- an endless sky of diamonds, shining as though they'd practiced it a thousand times before and were putting on their best show, just for Jack and Rose.

"Look at the island," Jack whispered back, tightening his grip around Rose's waist. The lights of Manhattan shone so brightly that, from where they were, Rose couldn't even see the buildings... just the brilliant glow of a hundred thousand lights.

Their reflection against the dark backdrop of the sky was just so beautiful. It made Rose think life in general – the life she'd been given, the life she'd rather have, the life that she thought was waiting for her somewhere out there. Life that her people like her mother didn't appreciate. Life that people like Jack lived to the fullest. Life that she was having a damned hard time figuring out.

"Look at it! It's so vast and wonderful... You know, Jack," she mused, "we're so small compared to it. My kind, they don't think about it like that. They think they're just giants... totally invincible. We're just dust in God's eyes."

Smiling, Jack said, "There's been a mistake. You got mailed to the wrong address."

Rose laughed out loud. It was so true. Leave it to Jack to make such a situation seem hilarious. "I did, didn't I?" she asked.

They sat in silence for a few long minutes, breathing gently and gazing up at the stars above them. Rose was acutely aware of Jack's fingers on her waist and his breath on her neck, warming her down to the core. She felt him lean in towards her ear, whispering the words of the song they'd danced to the night before.

"Let me tell you that I love you," he sang softly, "I think about you all the time..."

Slowly, his hands crept up from her waist and into her hair. They seemed to get lost in the curls as Rose turned her head around slightly, brushing her cheek against his. Without even thinking about it, her lips met his, slowly and gently at first, then more strongly and passionately. As they moved in sync with each other, Rose felt her heart flutter up through her chest and into her throat. She had kissed her share of boys before, but never had it been anything even remotely like this. That was probably because she'd never kissed a man who she was in love with before. As they drew apart, Jack looked serious at first, then a cheeky grin spread across his adorable face.

"Wow," he said quietly, barely managing to get the sound out.

Rose smiled back at him, not knowing what to say. She loved him so much. "Yeah."

"C'mon," he said, climbing into the driver's seat and turning the engine over again. "Let's get outta here."

Rose didn't want to go back home. At first, she was a little surprised that Jack would even take her back. Did he understand how she felt about her home life by now? He'd just proved to her, in a very romantic way, that he cared a lot about her, but maybe he didn't know her as well as she'd thought he did. It occurred to her after a moment's thought, though, that his words had not been 'Let's go home.' He'd said 'Let's get out of here.' There were going somewhere else... somewhere where it was just the two of them. And then it struck her. Tonight was the going to be the night. She'd thought about this night since she was about twelve or thirteen, at first with disgust and then with hope. When she'd realized that she was going to be married to Cal, she'd stopped dreaming of the night and started dreading it. Now, though, that was all about to change. Tonight was the night, and she was going to share it with Jack.

The idea of having that night with Jack filled her mind so completely that she was unable to think about anything else. They jetted back towards the deck in comfortable silence, Rose wondering if Jack was feeling the same way she was... excited, but a little bit nervous. After a few long minutes, they arrived at the shore. Jack docked the boat and helped Rose out, unable to hide his smile.

"I know somewhere we can go," he said, taking her by the hand. "Do you wanna see my apartment?"

It hadn't occurred to Rose before that neither she nor Jack had never been to each other's homes or even gotten to know each other very well. Right now, though, she loved the idea of going to Jack's apartment.

"Of course I do!" she exclaimed.

Still holding Rose by the hand, Jack ran through the streets to his apartment on West 45th Street. It was a far hike away from the docks, but Rose's legs refused to tire as they ran the whole way. She didn't even think about it- all she could think of was Jack's hand in hers, and the new chance at a life she'd never been able to lead before.

Smiling and laughing as they went, Jack and Rose made their way down the sidewalk, mesmerized by the bright lights and upbeat music coming at them from all directions. The mood was infectious, and the further they got, the giddier they acted. After a couple minutes of dashing through the crazy New York City traffic, laughing all the way, the pair had reached the foot of an old apartment building.

"You'll have to excuse the state of the place," Jack apologized as they walked through the double doors and into an elevator. "It's certainly not what you're used to, but it's home."

"Are you kidding me?" Rose asked, as Jack pressed a round button with the number 3 engraved in it. "This is one of the coolest places of I've ever seen. I can't wait to see your apartment!"

Jack laughed as the elevator grinded to a halt, but it was only half-hearted. Rose worried that she'd embarrassed him, which was the last thing she wanted to do. She knew that opportunities like this were once in a lifetime- she didn't want to do anything at all to screw it up. Tonight had been perfect so far, but now she was left feeling insecure and awkward, and worrying that Jack was feeling the same way.

All of that went out the window, though, as Jack slipped his hand into hers and opened the door to his apartment. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, as though he could read her thoughts. He was so perfect.

Jack's apartment was really small, but it was overflowing with homey comfort. The doorway stood at the entrance to a sort of living room with a well-worn couch and arm chair, as well as a small TV. To the right of the living room was a little kitchen with a microwave, a fridge, a few cupboards and table with two chairs. In the back of her mind, Rose imagined herself and Jack sitting at that table together, eating and talking and just being the family she'd never had before. Wouldn't that be a blessing?

"C'mon," Jack said with a broad smile, "I'll take you to the bedroom."

"No," Rose said simply, grinning coyly. "You'll take me to the stars!"

With that, Rose ran after Jack into the bedroom, her heart pounding in her chest. This was it. A big step in her life, and maybe she was a little bit young, but still... it felt so right; like nothing bad could possibly happen from here on in.

Jack flopped down on the bed right away, but Rose was a bit hesitant. He patted the place beside him in a gesture for her to join him, which gave her a little bit more confidence. She climbed in beside him and snuggled close to him, feeling the warmth from his body. As she looked up to see that perfect smile on his face, all of her worries and anxieties that had been floating around in the back of her mind from her realization on Tommy's boat seemed to disappear. With Jack, the world was beautiful and everything was going to be okay.

"Are you nervous?" he asked, knowing that she'd never done this before. Rose just shook her head, unable to speak. There was just one thought that came to her mind; one thing that she could manage to formulate on her tongue. By most circumstances such a thing would seem improper for a young, unmarried, high class lady such as herself, but right then, nothing had ever sounded so right. Her breath tightened in her chest as she said it, preparing herself for what was to come.

"Put your hands on me, Jack."