Chapter 40: Reunion Part 2
"Rose, is that you?"
Rose's eyes fill with tears and her heart begins pounding loudly.
"Jack…is...is... am I dreaming?"
Jack embraces Rose tightly.
"I'm here Rose, and I'm not going anywhere…not ever again," he whispers
Rose lifts Jack's face to hers and they kiss. It is a deep and passionate kiss. Rose feels whole once again, her heart bursting with happiness. Now her child would have a father and she could leave the life she hated so much.
"I missed you so much," Rose says, once they break apart. She keeps her hands on his face and feels his skin as if he'll disappear. Tears are pouring down her face and her heart is going to burst in joy. Jack clings to her too, running his hand through her hair, her beautiful curly hair that he had attempted to capture in his painting. But now, here was the real thing, safe in his arms. God's work of art.
"I missed you too."
"But…but Cal…" Rose stammers and realizes how easily she was fooled. She felt awful for not trying to escape sooner and looking at the survivors' list for herself. She had simply given up all hope.
"Cal? Please don't tell me you're…"
"He found me when we were brought on board and I've been under lock and key ever since," Rose explains.
"But what are you doing in New York?"
"I donated some of those paintings for the auction, I just can't believe that 'Lady in Red' one was me,"
"It's how I saw you," Jack says. "A lady of beauty."
They kiss again. Rose cannot believe that Jack is here, alive and they can finally go off and do the things they had talked about on the ship and explore the world as they so desired. She felt a wave of emotions; happiness, sadness, anger, joy, all flowing through her and coming out in the form of tears and pressure of her holding him close. She never wanted to release him again. She'd almost lost him once, she doesn't want to again.
Suddenly, the front door of the hall opens in the distance.
"Rose?!" an all too familiar voice calls out.
"Oh no!" Rose screeches and shrinks into Jack's arms. Jack puts his arm around her tightly.
"Quick, we'll sneak in the back and get a taxi!"
Rose nods and they both go back towards the building. They press their backs against the wall and shift to the back entrance. Both of them slip inside, giving both of them a slight reminder of the night they were running away from Cal's manservant, Lovejoy. Except, Lovejoy wasn't as angry and wouldn't kill at the drop of a hat.
Once inside, they can hear the music playing from the nearby hall and the chattering crowd. This gives Jack an idea
"We should go through the crowd to give ourselves more cover," Jack suggests.
"I'm never going back to him again," Rose says. "Lead the way."
Jack squeezes her hand and leads her forward. They hurry back into the hall. Many people around them are swaying to the music enjoying the night. They begin shifting along the side, trying to make it to the front door exit to get to the street. It becomes difficult when the music picks up, but fortunately, it would take a miracle for Cal to find them. Rose struggles in her heels to keep up with Jack, she doesn't want to let go of his hand. Not ever again.
Suddenly, someone steps on Rose's gown, pulling her from Jack's grasp and she trips over someone's foot and lands on top of someone else, hard. They both grunt. Rose's mind immediately thinks about her baby. She landed on the man pretty hard and her ankle hurts now. It's the darn shoes she's wearing. Some people look down at them, suspicious looks on their faces, while others gather around to offer some kind of assistance.
"Rose!" Jack practically yells, trying to help her and the man up.
Rose blinks to see who she ran into. She recognizes the blue eyes and blonde hair; last time she saw them they were being loaded into a lifeboat.
"Peter?" Rose says in shock.
"Rose?" he responds, stunned.
Rose looks up to see Emma standing over them. When they lock eyes, Rose practically screams.
"Oh my God, Emma?!" Rose says, tears in her eyes.
"Rose? Jack? Is that you?" Emma gasps. She feels like she's going to pass out in surprise. Neither of them was dead after all. Tears fill Emma's eyes and she impulsively leans forward to hug Jack and then Rose.
"Emma..." Jack says in surprise, pulling her against him. He too has tears in his eyes. He then pushes against Emma to get a better look at her. "How? When? You... You went over the railing?"
"Takes more than a sinking ship to take me down," Emma smirks slightly through her tears.
Those of the four standing lean over and help both of their partners up. Once Rose is up, her ankle explodes in pain. She winces and exhales through gritted teeth. Peter too, did not escape unscathed, his chest is aching in pain and the fall didn't help with his leg.
"Rose are you alright?" Jack asks anxiously.
"My ankle…" is the response. She can hardly stand.
"Are you okay Peter?" Emma asks, mostly concerned about his bad leg.
"I think we should go to the hospital," Peter says. "My leg and my ribs are hurting."
"I've got the car out back," Emma says quickly. "We'll go together."
"But Cal!" Rose gasps. "He's here too, he'll see us. He's looking for me."
"He doesn't know that Peter and I are alive," Emma says quickly. "You two go back the way you came and we'll meet you out the side."
"Okay, but hurry," Rose says.
Emma and Peter rush away to get their things and go out the hall door. The crowd that had gathered around the scene had dispersed back to dancing and drinking.
"Can you walk Rose?" Jack asks.
Rose puts pressure on her foot and winces. "I don't think so," she says.
"Here," Jack says, he puts Rose's arm over his shoulders and holds her side. "Lean on me."
Rose leans on Jack, keeping pressure off her foot and the two limp back towards where they came in. Rose's heart is pounding in her chest. What if one of Cal's associates saw them and told him? What if Ca comes across them? What would he do to Jack?!
She tries to shake the awful night where gunshots were being fired at them as they went into the heart of the sinking ship and Cal yelling after them that he hopes they enjoy their time together. She tries to keep her head low and uses her loose curls to hide her face. Every little sound from around them makes her flinch. Her heart is pounding in her ears, as well as the music.
Once they are in the shadows of the outside, the two lovers work their way towards the side of the hall, where Emma and Peter would be waiting for them.
Neither of them can believe that Emma is alive. They were both horrified and devastated when they saw their friend get shot in the shoulder. It all happened so quickly that there was nothing that either of them could do before Emma vanished beneath the waves of the Atlantic, seemingly forever. And yet here she was, at the dinner and dancing, as happy as ever.
"I guess miracles can happen," Rose whispers. Jack tries to smile as they limp to the side of the road.
A small car pulls up, with Emma driving and Peter in the passenger seat.
Peter opens the back door. "Hop in!" he says. "And hurry, we saw Mr. Hockley out in the parking lot, we barely got to our car without him recognizing us."
Jack lifts Rose into the seat and then climbs in after her. He shuts the door and Emma takes off down the street.
Now that they were safe, Jack reaches over to Rose and tries to hold her foot in place.
"Ow Jack!" Rose gasps in pain. "Please don't touch it!"
"The hospital isn't too far away," Emma says, turning into traffic. "Hang in there."
Despite the fact that they were safe, Rose is extremely worried. The fall with Peter made her fear for her child. The impact could've very well killed their baby and the fear made Rose cry, tears streaming down her face. She is gripped by fear and worry.
"Rose, what's wrong?" Jack asks frantically.
"I-I'm worried about the baby Jack," Rose says, without even thinking.
Jack's eyes go wide and his heart drops. The colour drains from his face. Emma too nearly crashes the car and Peter gasps.
"Did you say, baby?" Peter asks.
Rose nods and she looks at Jack.
"It's yours," she says tearfully. "He or she was the only thing that kept me going and drove me to chase my dream. I was so sad that you'd never get to see him/her, I know you…"
Jack leans forward and kisses Rose hard. He is now crying too. Not only had he found Rose, but he was going to be a father. He couldn't be happier, reunited, safe and they really could start their lives together. He never wants to let Rose go again.
"I'm so happy," Jack finally says.
Rose feels great relief, so happy to have her life back, with the man she loves.
"I love you," Rose says.
"I love you too," Jack smiles.
Emma can feel herself tear up. Rose and Jack are finally getting the life they wanted and it was clear that not even a sinking ship could get between them. She's so overwhelmed that she nearly misses the turn for the hospital.
Once she parks, Jack carries Rose into the hospital bridal style while Emma and Peter take it slower.
The nurse at the counter greets them and Jack explains what happened. The nurse brings wheelchairs for Rose and Peter and they are wheeled in to see the doctor. They were all seated in a private examination room together.
The doctor who walks in immediately recognizes Emma and Jack.
"My miracle patients!" he says in surprise.
Emma and Jack look at each other while Rose and Peter look on in confusion.
"You were a…" Emma begins.
"Yes," Jack says. "You too?"
Emma nods. She felt a little bit of remorse for not actually looking at the other John and Jane Does to see if they were her friends so they wouldn't be alone, but then again the odds were against her actually finding them considering how many passengers were aboard the ship. Plus, Mr. Jamieson kept her busy all the time she was here, so it made a bit of sense.
"These two were brought in from the Titanic in coma-like states, but they managed to wake up," the doctor explains. "They defied the odds, especially the boy right here, and that's why they're called the miracle patients."
Peter too felt remorse that he hadn't thought to check the hospital for Emma, he was even there with get treatment for his leg. He wanted to beat himself up until he moved his chest and he grimaces. Emma puts her arm on his leg and looks at him with concern.
Rose reaches over and holds Jack's hand. "He's certainly a miracle to me."
"Okay, what seems to be the problem?" the doctor asks, looking at his charts.
"We had an accident on the dance floor, I ended up tripping and falling on top of Peter here and I think I twisted my ankle or even broken it," Rose explains.
"Well, let me take a look here," the doctor says.
The doctor works carefully, poking and prodding at Rose's ankle which makes her groan and wince frequently.
"Well, it's not broken, but you do have a bad sprain," the doctor concludes. "We'll have to wrap it up and you'll have to stay off it for at least two weeks."
"We're also worried doctor, you see Rose is pregnant and we're concerned about the baby," Jack adds quickly.
"Well, I'll do an inspection, but I'll have the nurse prep you for it," the doctor says. He rings for a nurse and she begins to wheel Rose away, except Jack tries to follow her. The doctor puts his hand out. "A private inspection," the doctor adds. "Don't worry, she'll be in safe hands."
Jack swallows and kisses Rose once before she leaves the room. The doctor goes to work on Peter. He does a full inspection of the boy's chest and leg, checking his breathing and feeling around the ribcage.
"You've got some bruised ribs son," the doctor concludes. "We'll wrap them up too and you should put ice on them frequently and take cooler baths. I'll also prescribe you some aspirin for the pain, as well as give you breathing exercises and you should get plenty of rest."
"But what about…" Peter begins but Emma gives him a look that cuts him off.
"I will handle the company," Emma says. "I've been doing it for several weeks now."
"Right," Peter says, turning red in embarrassment.
"I'm going to check on your wife now," the doctor says.
"She's not my…" Jack begins, but again meets Emma's warning stare. She's trying not make this any harder than it has to be. For now, Jack and Rose were married. The last thing the needed was unfair treatment from a doctor.
The doctor frowns, but then shrugs and leaves the room.
"Thanks, Emma," Jack breathes in relief.
"Just for now," Emma says. "Until you can do it legally."
A nurse comes in and helps bandage Peter's chest and gives him his pain killers and they wait for news on Rose.
Eventually, the doctor comes back. Everyone holds their breath.
"She's fine," the doctor says. "I can still hear a separate heartbeat, but she must be very careful with the remainder of the pregnancy. Which is why I won't be prescribing her any aspirin."
"Thank you, doctor," Jack says, standing up to shake his hand.
"It's the least I can do for my miracle patient," the doctor jokes. "She'll just be a few more minutes and then you can see her."
Jack sighs in great relief. He looks over at Emma and Peter.
"I can't believe I'm going to be a dad," he says in amazement.
"It definitely won't be easy," Emma says. "I should know."
The three of them laugh.
Meanwhile, in the other room, Rose is relaxing as the nurse wraps up her ankle.
"You're such a lucky woman to have such a great husband," the nurse comments.
"He's…" Rose stops and realizes the last thing she needs is to admit she's having the baby out of wedlock. "He is amazing, I am lucky."
"That about does it," the nurse says, tying the gauze up. "Just remember to rest a lot and put ice on it when you can."
"Thank you," Rose says, relieved that the child is fine and she's back with Jack again.
"Can I just get your name for hospital records," the nurse asks, going through some sheets.
"Rose Dawson."