When Rose came down the next day feeling completely worn out, breakfast was already made. Tea, bread, eggs, pancakes - everything one could wish for along with a note.

My dearest Rose – I'm off to work – will be back later on – Roger.

Rose scrunched up the paper. She didn't want to eat anything of what he had prepared for her, but realized that it would be better. Jack wouldn't want her to get sick as well. She needed to stay strong for him.

Nipping at her tea, she was considering her options. She knew that Jack wouldn't want her to reside here, but where else should she move to in her current state? She had no money on her own and no working experience either, aside from her experiences as a prostitute. Not exactly what she needed.

Her reputation always preceded her. Sadly she remembered the situation in the shop once more. She didn't need another one of these.

The hot liquid running down her throat indeed did something good to her.

She instantly rejected the idea of taking up a job in some other city; she couldn't and wouldn't leave Jack alone. Maybe she should talk with Roger? He seemed to be the only one she could trust now and he had the right amount of money to help her and moreover Jack through everything.

Rose was visiting Jack every day and talked to him, because the doctors had said that it would be possible to hear her and might wake up sooner. Rose wanted to believe them, but seeing Jack completely defencelessly lying in the hospital bed, she didn't know how long she could still cope with it.

And my mother is responsible for everything.

Hastily Rose grabbed a pancake and ate it together with some marmalade. She left a note for Roger, before making her way to the hospital. There was no need to waste time with waiting for him to return.

….

"No, absolutely not," Mrs Pearson vetoed his suggestion about giving Rose the diamond back.

"You misunderstood me. Of course I've no intention to really hand her over the necklace for good. However, I'm sure she'll be completely committed to me, if I do."

"So you're going to give it back and then steal it from her again? Is that what you're proposing?" she blew at her cigarette her eyes resting on the diamond.

"Precisely, yes. I do believe that Rose needs some sense of achievement. You see, if she's ever going to trust me, I've to really convince her."

Mrs Pearson shook her head forbidding the idea again as too risky. Rose might return it to Mr Hockley and then they would be in real trouble. Roger, though not happy about the decision, realized that he had to follow her requests. After all Mrs Pearson was the only one, who really knew what happened to Jack and moreover, who wouldn't wait one second to inform anyone about his part in it. She had made that quite clear.

"I think you'll find some other way to make her fall in love with you. Perhaps it would be better not to spend the whole day here with me, but with her and this Mr Dawson at hospital."

Roger nodded knowing she had gotten a point in this.

…..

He found her in his room. Jack had one of his own, because Roger was paying for it, just to please Rose of course. She should know that he would always be there for her and that she didn't need Jack for her happiness.

When he arrived Rose was sitting at Jack's bed holding his hand.

"You'll see, Jack…" she instantly stopped, when she noted Roger coming into the room. "Oh, hello, I've been talking to him. I know that's probably stupid, but the doctors say that it could help and…," she spoke in a rush of words.

"Rose, you don't have to excuse yourself. It's perfectly understandable that you're clutching at every straw," when her face went dark he immediately added "…but you never give up hope and that's what I lov…like about you," he corrected himself.

Rose squeezed Jack's hand. "He's so cold."

The last time he was so cold, was, when we were in the icy waters of the Atlantic.

How could god be so gruesome? No, it wasn't god; it was her mother, her own mother, who had betrayed her. Her lawyer had tried to contact her on behalf of her mother she assumed, but Rose refused to speak with either one. She just would've thought that her mother would be more intelligent and chose a better method to murder Jack.

She obversed Jack breathing. At least he did still breathe.

"The doctors told me that if he doesn't wake up soon, then he…he…"

She felt his arm on her shoulder.

"Oh, Rose, don't cry, whatever happens to him don't think that it was your fault," he spoke softly.

Rose shouldn't think that he was forcing her into anything. If she did turn to him, she needed to do it by her own choice.

Or else I'm going to lose her again as soon as the next poor idiot comes along.

"Jack, please, open your eyes, look at me," Rose was leaning forward the tears dwelling up again. "Please, Jack, I beg you…you can't leave me alone again…remember how we talked about having a family. How am I supposed to have one with you?"

Oh, dear, he almost felt sorry for him, almost.

Roger smiled at her, when she looked back at him, in tears now. He was burning inwardly with hatred. Jack Dawson didn't deserve a woman like Rose. Only he could give her what she required. Rose returned his smile, before once more paying attention to Jack.

"You know, Jack, after you're out of here, we…"

You'll never get out of here, if I've a say in it.

Roger wondered, what he should tell her, if she chose to ask him about the diamond. Mrs Pearson was obstinate that Rose wouldn't get it back. Luckily so far Rose was too occupied with Jack than to think about the diamond.

Roger heard her whispering something into Jack's ear and grew even angrier, when he noticed her kissing him on his lips.

"I love you, Jack. I wished that I would've told you that more often, when I had a chance to," with that she stood up knowing that visitor hours would soon be over.

…..

"I'm sorry, Mrs Dewitt Bukater, but your daughter wouldn't talk to me," Mr Hastings, her lawyer, informed her.

He was only an assigned counsel, but Ruth couldn't come up with the money for anyone else. She refused to contact Cal or even worse asked this foam Mr Lindsay for assistance. It was bad enough that Rose was under his spell. He shouldn't think that she needed him.

Mr Hastings then informed her about the process.

"Mrs Dewitt Bukater I've to ask you this, but you've told me everything, right?"

Ruth looked at him with questioning eyes.

"Of course," she answered. "Rose is my daughter. You don't really believe that I would try to murder her husband?"

"I'm not talking about this, Mrs Dewitt Bukater. I'm sure that you didn't do it, but the thing is that we've to verify it and here comes the hardest part," he stopped for a second, before continuing "Actually, who was giving him all those coffees?"

"I…please I've told you this before…," she said to him. "I don't think that you can make something out of this."

"And who was preparing them?"

"Moi…," Ruth mentioned towards her heart. "I made everything and I gave them to him every day...and oh so that you don't have to ask, no I never left the cup alone, before I brought it to Mr Dawson."

Mr Hastings started walking around obviously deeply in thoughts. That wasn't good at all, now he couldn't just tell the court that someone else had made it or maybe put something into it later on.

"I see…," he mumbled asking himself what he could do. Then suddenly remembering something he looked back at Ruth.

"What's wrong?"

"What did he drink it with?"

Ruth looked at him astonished. Why would he want to know that?

"Milk and sugar," she answered although having no idea, why he would ask her that question. "Please, Mr Hastings you've to call my daughter again. If I could just speak with her for let's say five minutes, only her and me, I can convince her that I'm innocent. I know I can, but I've to see her alone without Mr Lindsay at her side."

"I can see what I can do," he told her not saying anything else or informing her about his plans in case it might go wrong. "I'll go now. I'm going to get in touch with you as soon as I've heard something of your daughter. In the meantime just follow my advices and remember don't talk to the press."

Ruth had to laugh slightly at this. Didn't he know who he was talking to? She was Ruth Dewitt Bukater, not some twenty-year-old caught in a bank robbery. She knew exactly how to deal with the press. Still she nodded to his wish.

….

Rose knew she wouldn't be able to stand more nights with those awful men. Roger wasn't forcing her into anything, but he was doing what Mrs Pearson wanted and Rose was aware of her hatred towards her.

Rose was sitting on the couch in the leaving room already half asleep, but she couldn't go to bed now. There was too much on her mind.

"Here, my dear," Roger said putting a sheet around her from behind.

If he took it slowly she might as well fall for him and still stay with him, if even – god forbid – her good for nothing husband should still get better.

"Thank you."

Rose pulled the sheet tighter around her body, while Roger took the seat in front of her.

"You should get some more sleep, Rose," he told her taking her hand in his, which Rose this time didn't withdraw. Roger grinned at her. "You're so young; you don't deserve any of this."

Neither does Jack…

"Listen, Rose, maybe it would be better to transfer him to some other hospital, where they have better doctors. I heard that in Colorado they've…"

"Colorado? And what about me? I couldn't afford the money for a living there, you know that."

But, of course not; you don't have to. Stay here with me. I provide for you.

Sure, he couldn't tell that Rose without making her suspicious.

"Look, I only want to help."

"I know, it's just…I'm so confused."

"Hey, that's normal and nothing to be ashamed of."

Rose yawned once more, before once more before standing up and going over to bed.

….

Mr Hastings later on didn't get to talk to Rose again, because Roger stopped him from doing so telling him that she had already gone to bed. He promised of course that he would forward Ruth's appeals and forgot it as soon as Mr Hastings had left. When Rose stood up on the next day, she found Roger studying his papers in his office.

She had that feeling already a few weeks and now she was completely sure.

"Roger?"

He looked up at hearing her addressing him by his first name.

"Yes, my dear?"

Rose gulped. She hated it, when he called her that. Taken aback for a moment, but then - reminding herself - that she was only doing it for Jack, she smiled at him, before voicing out what she knew she needed to tell him.

"I'm pregnant and you're the father."

Roger at first couldn't believe what he had just heard, but then, after a minute of shock, his mouth formed into a smile and he jumped up and hugged her, drawing her close to him.

"You don't know how happy you make me, Rose," he said to her kissing her hair and lips, while Rose forced the urge to throw up again.