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Oh, and sorry… There's a cliffhanger. You've been warned.

Disclaimer: First Chapter.

Jack rolled over, his arm instinctively reaching out for Rose. His arm, however, came to rest on Rose's side of the bed, the sheets cold, though unmade. "Rose?" he called out groggily, barely lifting his head off the pillow. He didn't even have enough willpower to open his eyes, yet. "Rose?" he called again, slowly opening an eye to be met by bright sunlight. "Christ…" he muttered. "What time is it?"

"Jack?" Rose's voice sailed through the house and within a minute, she was at the bedroom door, dressed and already wearing an apron to cook breakfast. Jack sat up rubbing his eyes with his palms and moving his greasy hair back out of his face. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of him. It took every ounce of self-control she had not to climb back into bed with him. "Hi, Rosie," he said, finally opening his eyes and smiling lazily at her.

"Plan on getting up, today, Mr. Dawson?" Rose asked, the corners of her mouth turning up in a smile. Flopping back down onto his pillow, Jack groaned loudly, earning a giggle from Rose. "No. What time is it, anyway?" Not being able to stop herself, Rose moved towards the bed and sat down next to where Jack lay. She gently placed her hands on his bare chest, causing Jack to smile up at her. "It's almost ten thirty. Why are you so tired, baby?"

She found herself laying down next to him and nuzzling her face into his neck. Rose, her mind whispered. Rose, you can't do this now… You're cooking breakfast. You'll burn the house down if you don't go back downstairs. Jack rolled over and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer into his embrace, his fingers beginning to undo the tie on the back of her apron. "Jack," she whispered reluctantly, pulling away and trying to sit up. "I'm cooking breakfast… I'll burn the house down if you don't let me go."

Jack moaned, releasing her and sat up again as she stood. "I'll be downstairs, okay? Breakfast should be ready in a few minutes if it's not already burnt." Jack nodded stretching his arms so that his joints popped and standing up. "I'm just gunna bathe. I'll be down soon." Rose kissed his gently on the lips and quickly moved to the door before Jack could take her kiss any farther. "See you in the kitchen," she called over her shoulder. Jack smiled to himself and grabbed a towel from the bureau.

J&R

The instant he stepped out of the bathroom, already dressed and drying his hair with a towel, Jack heard voices downstairs. Who's here? he wondered. The only person he could imagine coming over would either be Ted or one of their neighbors. As far as he knew, Ted was still at work and all their neighbors were either away or working, as well. Fear struck him as he weighed the odds that the other voice downstairs was Cal's.

Frowning, Jack reached under the bed and grabbed the gun, slipping it into his back pocket. He took a deep breath and calmly walked from the room, down the hall and down the stairs to where he found the front door open. He closed it gently and listened for voices, which were coming from the kitchen. Cal was definitely in his kitchen with Rose.

As a precaution, he grabbed the telephone and dialed 9-1-1. "Hello? Yes…. Someone has broken into my house. He has a gun…. My address? 415 Ocean Avenue…... Thank you." Hanging up the phone, he carefully went to the kitchen and pushed open the door. He was not happy with what he saw.

J&R

"My husband is home and will hear me if I scream," Rose told Cal plainly, successfully erasing all traces of fear from her voice. "Oh, Sweetpea, do you really think he could do anything to stop me?" Cal laughed a low, wicked laugh and leaned against the kitchen counter next to where she was cracking more eggs into a bowl. She had already cooked a plate of almost-burnt bacon, and she knew that Jack always liked his eggs cooked in bacon grease.

"I've already forced my way into your house, and there wasn't much you could do about that. Now, I'm in your kitchen, watching you make breakfast. Couldn't stop me there, either, could you now?" It took all of the strength in Rose's body to be able to unclench her fist and continue preparing breakfast.

"Look, Sweetpea, I want one of two things. I either want the Heart of the Ocean, or I want you. This can be over very quickly, you know." Rose scowled, moving to pour the eggs into the frying pan. They sizzled instantly. "The only way this can end, Cal, is with you leaving this house and never entering our lives again. I suggest you leave now before Jack comes down here and sees what's going on."

Cal smirked lazily as she turned her back on him, going to stir the already boiling eggs. Resting one hand on Rose's shoulder, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the silver gun. "Get your damned filthy hands off me, you bastard!" she screamed, turning around only to have the pistol shoved against her head. "What was that, Sweetpea?" She opened her mouth to scream but Cal's hand covered her face instantly.

"If you make any sound as I drag you out to my car, you will be shot. Is this clear?" Rose nodded, noticing the sudden movement behind Cal, and forced herself not to look. She knew Jack was here and she could only pray that he had brought the gun. "Is it?" Cal growled, pushing the pistol against Rose's skull. She nodded, her hand groping behind her for the handle of the pan. Grabbing it, she quickly brought the steaming eggs over her head and smashed them upon Cal before he could react. The clang of the metallic pan colliding with Cal's skull brought a smile to Rose's lips.

He screamed an animal-like cry, stumbling back and Jack took the opportunity to tackle him. Recovering quickly, Cal twisted, wrapping his arm around Jack's neck and shoving the gun into Jack's mouth. "Get in the car, Rose, or I will kill him." Jack's eyes were wide with fear and she saw his hands reaching into his back pocket. She could just barely make out the shake of his head as he threw her his gun.

Jack choked as Cal shoved the pistol more harshly into his mouth and Rose caught Jack's gun, instantly turning it on Cal. Infuriated, Cal kneed Jack in the groin, causing him to double over in pain, allowing Cal to more easily thrust the gun down Jack's throat. He let out an un-Jack wail. Cal grinned sickly, turning to stare at the gun Rose pointed at him.

"Well, isn't this lovely, then? Chances are, one of us will end up dead. Who will it be?" Rose felt her stomach drop and her heart fluttered like a humming bird in her chest. This is not happening…

Suddenly, Rose blinked, a bang echoed out through the house, and there was blood at Cal and Jack's feet. Both men fell to the floor.

Yup. Review, and maybe I'll update. Ever. Haha, just kidding. I've already got the next few chapters written, so yeah. It's just a matter of when I update them. Love it. :)