The train was trudging along towards Wisconsin, and would be there around noon the next day. Rose couldn't wait to get to Chippewa Falls – she was so excited to see where Jack grew up, and she was excited for them to start their lives together. Jack, on the other hand, was fairly nervous. He hadn't been to Chippewa Falls in five years, and he didn't know what people would have to say about him leaving. Would they ostracize him for leaving so quickly after his parents died? Hopefully, they would understand and welcome him and his wife back with open arms. He just wanted Rose to be happy, and he hoped that everyone in his small hometown would treat her with kindness.

After eating dinner on the train, Jack and Rose went back to their cabin to rest and spend some time together. As they walked into their cabin, Jack picked Rose up and carried her to the bed, making her laugh. They started to kiss passionately as Jack positioned himself on top of his wife.

"Oh, Jack.." Rose said as he kissed her neck. "Not now. How about we just talk?"

Jack lifted his head up from Rose's neck and looked at her, confused. "What would you like to talk about?"

Rose gave Jack a peck on the lips. "Well, we haven't known each other all that long, and we still have a lot to learn about each other. I don't even know your middle name!" Rose laughed.

"I guess you're right," Jack said. "Should I start?"

Rose grinned. She was excited to learn more about her husband, whom she fell more in love with everyday. "Sure."

"I, Jack Alexander Dawson, was born on March 12th, 1892 to Charlotte and John Dawson. My dad was a farmer and my mother helped run the household. We were never rich, but we lived comfortably. My parents tried for years to give me a younger sibling, but after two miscarriages, they decided to stop trying. Since I was an only child, I was very close to both of my parents. My dad and I spent a lot of time together – we went hunting, ice fishing, and played a lot of baseball. I got my talent for art from my mother. She always supported me in my dream of becoming an artist. I attended school and had a pretty normal childhood until I was 15. I was walking home from school one day when I saw smoke coming from the area that my house was.. I starting running towards my house and realized that my barn had caught fire. I couldn't find my parents anywhere – that was when I realized that they were trapped inside the barn." Tears started to develop in Jack's eyes, something Rose hadn't seen since the night the Titanic sank. She put a comforting arm around her husband and suddenly regretted asking him more about his life. However, Jack kept going, wanting to tell his wife everything about him. "I stayed in Chippewa Falls until the funeral, but I couldn't stand the sympathy I kept getting from everyone. I needed to move on, so I packed a few belongings and set out for Santa Monica the next day, where I stayed for about eight months. Then I went to New York for a bit, and then moved onto Europe."

"Oh, Jack. I shouldn't have even asked to know more about you – I'm so sorry about your parents," Rose said.

Jack gave his wife a soft smile. "No, I want you to know everything. I don't want any secrets between us. Now tell me more about you."

"Well, I, Rose Elizabeth Dawson, was born on December 20th, 1894 to Ruth and William. I was an only child, and I was extremely close to my father – we did everything together. My mother was always cold and standoff-ish while I was growing up.. She cared more about our family's appearance and place in society than she did about spending time with me. My father died of cancer three days before my 16th birthday – I was absolutely devastated. He had always stuck up for me when my mother tried controlling me, and now I knew I had nobody on my side. Shortly after my father passed away, my mother learned that he had a gambling problem that had put us in a lot of debt. Desperate to maintain our place in society, my mother scrambled to find an appropriate husband for me who could pay off our debts and keep us wealthy. A few weeks after my 16th birthday, my mother announced that she had found me a husband – none other than Caledon Hockley. He didn't even propose to me – the marriage was basically a business arrangement between Cal and my mother. I felt so trapped – I didn't have any mother to go off on my own, and I didn't want to leave my mother to be poor, no matter how poorly she had treated me. And that's why you found me on the back of the ship." Rose took a deep breath as she finished speaking. She hadn't realized how difficult her past life would be to talk about. She missed her father dearly, and she hated to remember anything that involved Cal.

Jack immediately pulled his wife into a comforting hug. "Oh, Rose. I'm so sorry. About your father's death, and how your mother treated you. Forcing you into an engagement to a horrible man such as Cal.. how terrible. I'm sorry I asked you to talk about it.."

Rose gave him a kiss on the cheek. She was so lucky to be married to someone as kind and caring as Jack. "No, Jack, don't be sorry. You're right, no secrets between us. And you saved me – you saved my life, you saved me from my mother and Cal. And you gave me the greatest thing in the world – your love."

Jack brushed Rose's red curls away from her face and gave her a deep kiss. "I love you. And I love learning more about you. I fall more in love with you everyday."

Rose stared into her husband's deep blue eyes. Those eyes – you could drown in them. She pulled Jack on top of her as she laid down on their bed. "Now I want you to make love to me, Jack."

Jack smiled. "Anything you want my love."

Rose groaned as he started to kiss her neck. "I love you, Jack… Oh god, I love you."

They united as one, falling more in love with each other with every minute they spent together.

-

That night on the train to Chippewa Falls was when the nightmares started. For the past week, Jack and Rose had both been successful at repressing their memories of the Titanic. They were so grateful that each other had survived that they hadn't thought about everything they had been through and everyone that they they'd lost. However, the memories that they had been so good at repressing were bound to come back to Jack and Rose eventually.

Rose was in a lifeboat, rowing through hundreds of bodies of the people who were left to die when the Titanic went down. She saw all of the frozen bodies of those she knew and cared about – Thomas Andrews, Trudy, Fabrizio, Tommy, Cora, and Mr. Cartmell.

Tears came to Rose's eyes as she realized her friends were good – and there was nothing she could do to save them.

As the lifeboat moved through the bodies, she came to a face she recognized. It was Jack. "Jack! Jack, wake up! I'm here! In a boat..There's a boat! Jack!"

She started to cry as she realized that Jack had passed away from the freezing water. "Jack!" she cried.

Rose woke up sobbing, only to realize that Jack was right next to her and had his arms around her.

"Shh, Rosebud. I'm here. What's wrong?" Jack asked, extremely concerned. He thought that both he and his wife were in a peaceful slumber. What could have shaken Rose up so badly?

"Jack! You died in the water!" Rose cried.

"It's okay, it was just a dream. I'm here."

"Oh, Jack. It was such an awful nightmare. All of our friends were dead in the water.. and then I saw you.. and I was in a boat, safe.. but you were gone.. Oh, Jack.."

"Shh, Rose, sweetie, it's okay. It was just a dream. I'm not going anywhere," Jack whispered as he rubbed Rose's back soothingly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Rose sniffled. "Oh, Jack. I've just been so good at not thinking about the Titanic these past few days, and it's catching up with me. So many people died and for no good reason.."

"I know, Rose. I know. But something great came out of that ship.. I found you. And you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'd go through a thousand tragedies if it meant I would end up with you."

Rose tried to smile. Jack could always make her feel better, even when things seemed hopeless. He had saved her life, and now he would always be there for her. She was so lucky to have him, but what if she had lost him on the Titanic? "Oh, Jack.. I'm so scared that I'll lose you. I almost lost you that night.. I don't know what I would do if you had passed away."

"Rose, I'm not going anywhere. I'm here with you, forever. We're going to start our lives together, do everything we talked about on the ship..I promise. I'll never leave you."

Rose laid her head on Jack's shoulder, determined to believe him. They had survived the Titanic, and nothing on earth – not even a tragedy that horrible – could come between them. They were together forever. "Oh, I love you, Jack."

Jack kissed the top of his wife's forehead. "I love you too, Rose. We went through a terrible tragedy together, and we're going to have some bad memories. But I promise you, we will get through it together."

A/N: Well, what do ya'll think so far? I want readers to get to know the characters of Jack and Rose more – well, more than the movie tells us - before they start their lives together. I'll write another chapter soon! I have some exciting plans for this story and I'm having a lot of fun writing it. Hope you all enjoy! Please review J