Beth and Phil Dawson stretched their tired muscles as they woke up. It still felt like a wonderful dream to have the house to themselves once again, even though in the coming year Jack will be leaving, and most likely Julie will be gone too. But the week was a nice preview of what was to come. The first few days, they hadn't known what to do with one another, but now some plans were beginning to take form and they were looking forward to what was to come.

"I think going to that beach house today is the best decision we've made in a long time, sweetness," Phil chuckled, coming into the living room and switching on the mornings news. "Jack said the place needs to be visited a lot more. I have to agree with him."

"We should leave soon though. I want to beat the traffic," Beth came in after him, her eyes on some last minute bills. She glanced at the TV and froze at the sight of a cruise ship leaving the docks. "Babe, turn that up some, will you?"

Phil turned the TV up and listened, his heart dropping into his stomach the more he heard.

"Last night, the cruise ship Titania had disappeared off radar. It's reported that it was on it's way to the Bahamas islands, carrying a class of teenagers from California. We will have more information for you as news comes in," The reporter read from the small card in her hand.

"The Titania...Phil, that's the kid's ship!" Beth gasped in horror. "Disappeared off the radar? What is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know...but let's stay calm, alright? I'll call Carnival Cruise Line and you call the school...maybe they've heard something," Phil stammered, already dialing the number for the cruise line, hoping for the best. The Dawson family just couldn't take anymore loss.

…..

Matthew woke up with a face full of sand and a sunburned neck. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and looked around at his surroundings. Rose was not too far away and neither was Trudy and some of the others. He watched as people that he took to be medics came running up with stretcher's and supplies.

"Excuse me sir," a black man approached, a medicine bag in hand. His voice held a heavy accent signaling that he was an islander.

"Where are we? What happened?" Matthew moaned, feeling discombobulated.

"Freeport, Bahamas island, sir. There were bad waves last night," the man explained. "I am Doctor Jacob. I will take care of you."

"My friends…?"

"They will be taken care of too. I promise you. Just relax and let us do our job," Doctor Jacob reassured, beginning to examine Matthew.

"Jack…," a soft moan came from Rose, who was only a few feet away. Matthew was relieved to see a woman doctor examining her. He looked around for any sign of Jack, but he didn't see any sign of him. He shivered, hoping that Jack would show up.

"Can I go to my friend now?" Matthew asked, once the doctor seemed to be done with his examination.

"You need something for your sunburn. I will make out a prescription."

Matthew's attention was more on Rose than his sunburn. He watched as the doctor looked her over. He watched as she woke up even more. He watched as she realized that they were on dry land again, but there was no Jack in sight and the look on his face broke his heart.

"Jack?! Jack where are you?!" Rose pulled away from the doctor and got to her feet, looking everywhere for her fiancee. "Jack?!"

Matthew got up to his feet and made his way over to her, forgetting about his prescription. "Rose!"

"Are you Jack?" The doctor questioned, her voice hopeful.

"No. I'm a friend though. Is she okay?"

"She's very dehydrated and exhausted. I think a day in bed and plenty of liquids should fix her right up. Not to mention finding this Jack..."

Matthew gently took Rose by the shoulders. "Rose, stop. Calm down. You're exhausted and dehydrated. You need to rest..."

"I need to find Jack," Rose pulled away, her eyes scanning the beach for any signs of her fiancee. He had to be here somewhere. He wouldn't just leave her! "Jack!"

"I don't know what to do..."

"Help me get the girl to the hospital so we can get her back on her feet. That is what you can do," The doctor instructed, her voice tinged with impatience. Everything was in chaos at the moment and there were other patients that needed her attention. She didn't have time for this girl to walk around in search of her lover.

Matthew just rolled his eyes at the annoyed doctor and grabbed Rose's shoulders again, making her stand still. "He's probably at the hospital now, Rose. He's probably there waiting for you. I think we should go with this doctor and find out."

"But..."

"You're dehydrated and exhausted, Rose. You won't last long like this. What good would you be to Jack if you pass out while looking for him? Go to the hospital with the doctor. I'll look for Jack and the others. Right now you need to take care of yourself. You know Jack would tell you the same."

She wanted to argue. He could see it in her eyes. But something he said must have reached her because she sighed and slumped her shoulders in defeat.

"Bring him back to me when you find him," she mumbled, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"You know I will. Now go, so I can start looking," Matthew tried to smile, watching as the doctor took her over to an ambulance, where they strapped her in and finally drove to the island hospital. He sighed, pushing his hair away from his face as he looked around at his surroundings. People were beginning to wake up and realizing what had happened. What a disaster.

"Matthew? Is that you?"

He turned and smiled in relief to see Trudy. She looked like a drowned rat, her formal dress caked with sand, her dark hair laying flat against her shoulders as she approached him carrying only one shoe. He rushed to her and wrapped her in his arms. "Trudy, thank god!"

"What happened? Where is everyone?"

"Rogue waves destroyed the ship. Looks like most of us got lucky and washed up on shore in Freeport. They took Rose to the hospital. She's exhausted and dehydrated and in desperate need of Jack. Have you seen him?"

"When the second wave hit...he had just rescued Julie and a wave...it swept them away...oh my god...I don't know what happened after that...oh god, what if..."

"No. Don't think like that. We all were swept away...we ended up here. Surely Jack and Julie must be here too, somewhere," he looked around, trying his best to be optimistic. There was no reason why Jack and Julie wouldn't have survived, even though there was no real reason why they would either.

"Let's start looking," Trudy started to go in search of her friends, but found her arm gently grabbed by a concern Matthew. "What is it?"

"Are you alright? You don't have to go to the hospital?"

She sighed and shook her head. I'm fine. I just need to find my friends. Are you going to help?"

"Of course."

During the search, they found everyone in their group of friends, except for Jack and Julie. They were nowhere to be found. This left everyone heartbroken. For Jack's friends, it was a double blow because they not only lost a great friend like Jack, but his cousin Julie, despite the recent strife, had been their friend as well.

Fabrizio stood away from everyone, crying uncontrollably as Helga held him, tears of her own dampening his sun dried shirt. They all were in need of a hospital really, but none of them really wanted to go.

"What am I going to tell her?" Matthew sighed, thinking of Rose, who was at the hospital, probably asleep and unaware of the loss that was awaiting her.

Fabrizio wiped away his tears, a Stoicism had taken him over as he approached Matthew and Trudy. "I was Jack's best friend. I will tell her. It should come from me."

"Come on you guys, why are we giving up? Jack can be here somewhere...he….he can be at the hospital. We don't know. We shouldn't just give up," Tommy shook his head, refusing to believe that his friend and ex-girlfriend was gone. "Come on. Let's go to the hospital. See if someone brought them in. For all we know, he's with Rose right now."

No one believed Tommy's words, but they didn't want to give up hope either. So they all found their way to the island hospital, hoping for good news.

…..

The stars shone brightly up above. The screams have died down and there was nothing but quiet. She laid on her back on some kind of board in the middle of the ocean, no longer feeling the biting cold. The only thing in her head was the song he had sang to her on the bow of the ship. She sang it now, hoping that it would take her back to a happier time, when she was in his arms, where he had given her the best kiss that she had ever received in her life…

"Come Josephine in my flying machine...and it's up she goes...up she goes..."

Suddenly a voice breaks through her stupor, drawing her back to reality.

"Rose...Rose..."

A bright light filled her vision and she closes her eyes against it's brightness. She grimaced, wishing that the brightness and the voice calling her name would go away as well. She just wanted to float there. Float there and forget…

Rose opened her eyes to stare into the bright ceiling light of the hospital she had been taken to and given a sedative. She looked around and frowned to see not a large body of water, but her friends, surrounding her bed. Where had they come from? Where was she? Why was she here? Where was Jack?

Her eyes fell on Matthew, who seemed to cower behind a grim Fabrizio.

"Hello, Rose. Good to see you awake," Trudy greeted, also seeming grim as well. What was going on here?

"Where's Jack? Matthew promised to find him," Rose croaked, the past hours before the sedative coming back to her. Her eyes fell on Matthew, who seemed to want to shrink back, away from her sight. "Where is he?"

Fabrizio walked over to the bed and sat next to Rose, taking her hand in his. This was the hardest thing that he ever had to say and he wasn't sure that he could. But looking at Rose, he knew that he had to. Jack would want him to. "Rose..."

"Fabri?"

"You know that I love Jack. He was a brother to me. I would never lie to you about him."

Rose nodded, beginning to get scared. "I know. What is going on here? Do you know where Jack is? Is he hurt bad?"

Fabrizio winced, wishing that it was only a matter of Jack being hurt. "We looked everywhere for Jack and Julie. We searched the whole island and the hospital...but he is not here. He is gone, Rose. Jack...he didn't make it..."

Rose frowned, her mind refusing to process Fabrizio's words. "What did you just say?"

Tears came to Fabrizio's eyes, his grief written all over his face and posture. Jack had been his first and best friend. It broke his heart to lose him like this and it broke his heart to see Rose hurt as well. She was Jack's girl. His fiancee. His other half...and it tore his heart apart to tell her that Jack couldn't be found. "We searched the island and the hospital...he is nowhere to be found. He is lost...I am so sorry..."

Rose shook her head, unable to believe Fabrizio's words. He was sitting there, telling her that Jack was dead. That he was lost at sea...but her heart...her soul…it told her different. It told her that Jack was still of this world. They just had to find him.

"No Fabri. You're wrong. Jack is not dead...I would feel it if he was, and right now I feel that he's still out there. You just didn't look hard enough."

"Rose," Matthew began, feeling wretched himself. This was a major blow to Rose, who had lost so much already this year, so he heard. Losing her boyfriend turned fiancee...he didn't know if she would even survive it.

"No, Matthew, no! Jack is out there! He wouldn't leave me! He promised! He's out there...I'll go find him myself...I'll be able to find him," Rose moved to get out of the bed, just to be pushed back down by Matthew.

"Rose, no. You need your rest. We've already looked. We've searched this island high and low, but he's not here. I'm sorry..."

"No! No, I won't accept that, I refuse! Jack is alive! He's alive and I will prove it...just let me up," She struggled against Matthew's hold, wanting to go in search of Jack. But Matthew didn't let her go. He had Trudy go fetch the nurse, who came in with another sedative. Five minutes later, Rose was once again asleep and calm.

"Damn it," Matthew cursed angrily.

"She can't accept it. She went straight to denial," Trudy shook her head sadly, feeling the tears threaten her eyes. "Oh what a mess this is."

"I'll go make arrangements to fly home, I guess," Helga sighed, wrapping a comforting arm around Fabrizio, who was silently crying over the loss of his best friend.

"We tell Julie's parents. They will be devastated. Both Jack and Julie..."

"Don't think about it, boy-o. It'll drive you mad," Tommy sighed, feeling the heavy weight of loss as well. He may not have been dating Julie anymore, but he still cared for her and there was no better person than Jack with his sunny disposition and friendly nature and artistic talent. It killed him that both of them were gone.

Dejected and depressed, the group of teens left Rose's room, missing the friends they had lost and worried about the one who was now sedated. They knew that nothing would ever be the same again.