June 23rd, 1912

"School's out," Jack announced, walking through the front door of his house on Ocean Avenue. He dropped his hat on the ground next to the door and began walking through the house, trying to find Rose. "Where's my darling wife?" he called up the stairs, listening for the muffled giggle he was sure would follow. Today, it came from the bedroom and he scaled the stairs two at a time, smiling.

The bedroom door was open and Rose was sitting at the edge of the bed, but stood when Jack came in. He picked her up in one quick motion, twirling her around and kissing her passionately. When he finally put her back on her feet, she was grinning ear to ear. "How's my precious wife on this lovely afternoon?" he asked. "Lovely," she said, placing her hands on the sides of his face. "School's out, Mr. Dawson? I'm glad."

Jack put his hands over hers and moved them to his lips so he could kiss her fingertips. "I was thinking that you and I should go down to the ocean today. We've lived here a whole month and we haven't been to the beach once." Rose frowned. "Sure we have," she pulled away from him, going to the bed to pick up the scattered pictures she had been looking at.

"We were there last week. We watched the sunset and everything." Jack sat next to her, helping her gather the pictures in a neat pile. "But we haven't gone in the water, yet. It's really nice. And it won't be crowded because it's our private part of the beach, so…" he let his voice trail off as he looked at the papers in his hand. "You were looking at my art?" he asked, handing a stack over to Rose. She blushed slightly, placing them delicately back in the portfolio she had bought him when they arrived in Santa Monica.

"You could sell some of them," she offered and they both stood. Jack wrapped his arms around Rose's waist and pulled her over to the dresser that faced their bed. "You have that nice swimsuit," he whispered in her ear, gently brushing her hair away. "And you haven't worn it yet."

"Jack, just so you know, you're a jerk." Jack smiled tugging Rose's hand and pulling her over the dunes and towards the dock they owned. "Rose, just so you know, I love you." She smiled and gave in, allowing Jack to easily lead her through the sand. They reached the dock and Rose stopped short, her hand slipping through Jack's as he continued trying to pull her.

"Hey, c'mon… I'm not jumping in alone, hon." Rose scoffed, crossing her arms defiantly over her chest. "I never said I'd jump in. I told you I'd put on my bathing suit," "Which you look ravishing in, might I add," Jack teased, grabbing her hand again. Rose smiled and didn't pull her hand away. "And I came down to the beach with you. What more do you want?"

Before she knew what was happening, Jack hoisted her into the air and carried her down the wooden dock to the end where the waves weren't as big as the ones crashing on shore. "Jack! Stop it! Stop it right now!" she screamed, kicking her legs and pounding her fists on his back. She trashed her head, her wild hair getting in Jack's face, and he laughed, holding her tighter. "Let me down or I swear I'll divorce you in an instant!" she screamed, kicking harder, and Jack finally let her go.

She pushed him back as soon as her feet touched the ground and wiped the hair from her eyes. Jack was almost shocked to see the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. "Oh, baby, I'm sorry," he cooed, moving towards her to embrace her in his arms. "I didn't mean to scare you. I wasn't really gunna throw you in." She didn't hug him back and he could hear her sniffle, trying to hold back her tears.

"I don't know how," she whispered, and Jack moved his hands to her hair. "I never learned to swim. It's not something they teach you in finishing school." Jack smiled in spite of himself and held Rose back at arms length. "We'll have to fix that, now won't we?" She nodded shyly, feeling very much like a young child. Jack kissed her gently on the forehead before moving past her to the end of the dock, letting his toes hang over the edge.

He turned back to her. "Watch very closely," he instructed before diving perfectly into the ocean's water, breaking the surface with hardly a splash. Rose crept closer to the edge of the dock as Jack surfaced. He grinned at her, shaking his head to get the hair out of his face and she sat with her legs dangling over the water. Jack reached up and touched one of her toes and she instinctively moved her foot back.

"It's not even that deep," Jack promised, going under again and resurfacing under the dock, behind her feet. He grabbed one of her ankles and she gasped, trying to pull away, but his grip was too strong. "Jack," she warned, fear evident in her voice. "Let go." He didn't let go, but instead swam around and grabbed her other ankle with his free hand. "Come in," he called, tugging her feet slightly. "Let me go!" she shrieked, her voice raising an octave. "Let me go!"

Jack loosened his grip, though not enough to allow her feet to slip through. "Please come in," he pleaded, tugging her feet again. Rose swallowed hard and looked down at Jack, whose feet seemed to be kicking madly to stay afloat. "It's not even cold," he tempted and she finally pulled her feet free. "Will you catch me," she asked, backing up unsurely. "If I jump?" Jack nodded earnestly and swam backwards a few feet, anticipating her landing.

She was in the air before she knew what was happening, desperately sucking in as much air as her lungs could hold and closing her eyes so tightly it hurt. She felt Jack's arms encircle her body before she even noticed she was in the water.

Rose slowly opened her eyes and the sight of Jack grinning wildly met her vision. She felt his legs kicking gently, keeping them both afloat and for an instant, Rose was aware that they weren't very close to the bottom. "I caught you," he told her and she swallowed hard, smiling. "You jump, I jump, right?" The kiss took Jack off guard and he was momentarily paralyzed, forgetting to kick and their chins touched the water. Rose pulled away, panicking, but Jack held her tightly. "I won't let you go," he promised and she tried desperately to calm her erratic breathing.

"You said it wasn't deep," Rose moaned, frightened as she buried her face between Jack's neck and shoulder. "Ten feet's not that deep," he reasoned, beginning to swim towards the shore while still holding her. She looked up, slightly alarmed and looked to the shore, where a large wave was crashing to the shore. "Where are we going?" she whispered digging her nails into Jack's back.

Jack looked down at her, her face pale and her eyes wide with fear. "How else are we supposed to get out? Besides, I can't teach you to swim in water you can't stand in." Rose sighed, loosening her grip on Jack. Maybe this isn't so bad…

Author's Note: Hope you love reading as much as I love writing. :D Thanks, , for commenting on virtually every chapter. It means a lot. As for you stories, I'll start commenting again as soon as I get unpacked and actually have time to do more on my laptop than post.

Reviews make me smile like this: :)