December 25th, 1912
The sun shone brightly into Jack and Rose's bedroom, causing Rose to stir in Jack's embrace. She brought a hand to her face as a shield from the bright sun and slowly opened her eyes. She looked up, seeing that the sun was out, shining over the snow that laid on the ground. It was Christmas morning, and mother nature had made sure that it was a beautiful white Christmas. Rose stretched quietly and yawned, waking herself up after such a peaceful slumber. After a few moments, Rose turned to face her husband, who was still sleeping peacefully. He looked younger when his eyes were closed and his long blonde hair was falling in front of his face. Rose smiled, deciding whether or not to wake Jack yet. Part of her hesitated, as he looked so peaceful when he slept. Finally, Rose decided to scoot closer to him and press her lips against his own, waking him up. Jack stirred, kissing her back in response. Rose pulled away to see Jack staring back at her, a small smile on his face.
"I love waking up to such a beautiful angel kissing me," Jack whispered as he wrapped his arms tightly around his wife.
"Merry Christmas, Jack," Rose responded, kissing him again. This time, Jack pulled away first to respond to her. "Merry Christmas to you, Rosie. This is our first Christmas together."
Rose smiled and propped herself up on her elbow, her cheek resting on her hand as she stared at her handsome husband. "It sure is, Jack. It's going to be a wonderful one, too."
"Of course it is, Rosebud," Jack said, leaning over to steal a kiss from his wife.
Rose smiled, pressing her lips against his. Their kiss grew more passionate with each moment, and Rose put an arm around his neck, pulling him closer. Jack pulled his body on top of her, getting as close to her as he could with her pregnant belly.
Rose pulled away, earning her a disappointed look from Jack. "Rosie?" Jack asked, trying to seem innocent, but wondering why she had pulled away from him.
Rose laughed at Jack's pouting face. He was so cute. "Now, Jack, we can't make love right now. We need to go downstairs and see what Santa Claus brought for us." Rose laughed even harder when Jack didn't respond, and instead just stuck out his bottom lip and pouted. "Oh, Jack, don't look so sad. We have all night tonight to be together…"
"But Rosie…" Jack protested, laughing as well.
"Now, Jack, if you're a good boy today then maybe I will reward you tonight.."
"Fine, you win, Mrs. Dawson. But you're gonna get it tonight."
"Can't wait," Rose said, giving Jack a devilish smile, which made him laugh. "Let's go downstairs," she suggested as she got out of bed and put on her nightgown. Jack slipped on his pants, remaining shirtless, before taking Rose's hand and leading her downstairs to the living room, where they had set up their Christmas tree a few days before. The Christmas tree had several presents under it, waiting to be opened. Daisy, who was sleeping near the tree, woke up at the sound of Jack and Rose entering the room. The puppy immediately ran to the couple, causing Jack to bend over and scoop her up into his arms.
"Seems to me that we've been nice this year," Jack said, smiling as he held Daisy close.
"Seems so," Rose agreed. "Should we open them?"
"Why not?" Jack asked as he led Rose over to the sofa, where she could sit. It was hard for her to bend over with her large belly, so Jack decided to let her sit down with Daisy while he picked up the wrapped gifts and moved them to the coffee table, where Rose could get to them more easily.
Rose scratched Daisy behind her ears, waiting for Jack to finish moving the presents over. Once he had done so, Rose looked at the gifts, wondering which one she should open first. "Which one should I open first?"
"How about this one?" Jack suggested, handing her a thin, wrapped package.
"What's this?" Rose asked, confused. The package was very thin and light. "Is it a piece of paper?"
"I guess you'll have to open it and see," Jack said, watching Rose, a smile on his face.
Rose eagerly but carefully started to unwrap the gift, not wanting to accidentally rip whatever was inside. A thin envelope was inside, which Rose immediately opened, revealing two train tickets. "Jack, what are these for?"
"Read it, sweetheart," Jack urged, wanting to see her reaction.
Rose read the tickets, and a wide smile came across her face as soon as she saw where they were for. "Oh, my God, Jack. We're going to Santa Monica?!" Rose looked up at her husband, only to find that he had a huge smile on his face. She immediately threw her arms around Jack, holding him close, and forgetting about Daisy's presence in between them.
The small puppy barked, not happy at being crushed between Jack and Rose. Jack chuckled, pulling away from his wife and giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Yes, Rose, we're going to Santa Monica. I never got to take you on a honeymoon, so I saved up some money from the factory and made a hotel reservation for a week."
"Oh, Jack! This is the best present you could have given me. We can do everything we talked about on Titanic. We can ride the roller coaster.."
"Drink cheap beer, ride horses right on the surf.." Jack finished for her, just as excited as she was. "We're going to have a great time, and I promise we will do everything that we talked about."
Rose smiled. She couldn't believe that they were actually going to go to Santa Monica. Suddenly, a revelation hit her. "But Jack.. What about the baby?"
Jack smiled and kissed his wife again before answering. "Well, we're leaving at the end of April, so the baby will be over three months old then, not too young for us to leave for awhile. I already talked to Lilly and Charlie, and they said they would be delighted to watch the baby. In fact, Lilly said she would love the practice for when their baby is born."
"Oh, Jack. You planned everything out? This is perfect!"
"I'm so glad you're happy, Rose. I thought you'd like this gift."
"Like it? I love it, Jack! I love you."
"I love you too, Rose."
Rose smiled, remembering that she had a gift for Jack. She picked up a wrapped gift from the coffee table and handed it to her husband. "Here, this one's from me."
Jack smiled and started to unwrap the small package. Once it was unwrapped, Jack opened the box and pulled out a beautiful leather portfolio. He already had a portfolio that he had been using since he had purchased it in New York, but this one was much nicer. "Rose.. you shouldn't have. This is beautiful."
"Open it up. I got a message engraved inside the front cover."
Jack smiled and opened up the portfolio, scanning his finger over the engraved words. He began to read the message out loud. "Jack Dawson, you are the man who has saved me in so many ways. From jumping off the Titanic and being trapped in a marriage with a horrible man, to being willing to give your life for mine during the sinking. You gave me a freedom that I had never had in my seventeen years of life. You taught me how to fly, to head out for the horizon and be whoever I want to be. Above all else, you have taught me what true love is. You make me feel loved every single day, just as I hope that I do for you. You are not only my husband, but you are my best friend and my soul mate. You are always there to support me and love me in every way. I could never thank you enough for all that you do for me, but I hope that this message comes close. We have survived so much together, and I know that nothing on Earth will ever come between us. I love you, and I will love you forever. All my love, Rose."
Jack's eyes welled up with tears, something that was extremely rare for him. He looked up at Rose, who had tears in her eyes as well as a huge smile on her face. "Rose, this is the best gift I have ever received. Thank you so, so, so much, sweetheart."
Rose smiled and nodded. "I thought you would like it. I just wanted to show how much I love you. I could never describe my feelings for you in words, but I thought I could at least try."
"Rose, you don't have to try to express your love for me. I already know, just as you should know how much I love you. Sometimes, my feelings for you almost scare me, because the love I feel is so strong. God, I love you, Rose. I just love you so much," Jack whispered as he embraced his wife, forgetting again that Daisy was between them. Rose wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. "I love you so much, Jack. Don't ever forget it."
Daisy barked again, not liking the fact that she had been almost crushed twice now. Rose laughed and pulled away from Jack, bending down to pet Daisy. "I don't think Daisy is too happy with our constant hugging."
Jack laughed, too, and bent his face down so that it was the same level as Daisy's. "Aw, little Daisy. You don't like being crushed by us, now do ya?" Jack scooped Daisy up in his arms, rubbing her head between her ears. Rose laid her head on Jack's shoulder, content to be with him and their brand new puppy.
The day passed quickly, and before Jack and Rose knew it, it was nine o'clock in the evening. They had spent the rest of the morning together, opening gifts and enjoying each other's company. There was even a dog treat in the pile of presents for Daisy. Later on in the afternoon, they went over to Lilly and Charlie's house to have a Christmas dinner that Lilly had made.
Now, Jack and Rose were heading back to their house. Both of them were exhausted from the day's events, especially Rose. As soon as they got home, Jack carried Rose up the stairs to their bed, where they both dressed in their night clothes. As soon as they slipped under the covers, Jack put one arm around his wife and laid his other arm on Rose's stomach, feeling the baby kick inside of her. Rose leaned into her husband's embrace, putting her hand on top of the one he had laying on her stomach.
"Good night, my love," Jack said, smiling.
"Good night." Rose smiled. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas," Jack said, shutting off the lamp, lying down, and pulling Rose close to him. He leaned down to his wife's stomach, kissing it before he started to talk to the baby inside her. "Merry Christmas, little one," Jack whispered, making Rose smile.
The two lovers fell asleep in each other's embrace, glad to have spent a wonderful first Christmas together.