After the Rescue
by Erin Salvatore
Disclaimer: I don't own Titanic. I'm just borrowing. Only the story belongs to me.
Note: The idea for this came to me a while ago, and I thought I'd do a one-shot about happened after Jack rescued Rose from committing suicide. Every time I watch the movie, I wonder about it. The plot centers around Jack returning to the third class once he gets the cigarette from Lovejoy.
HERE WE GO!
A million thoughts went through his mind as Jack Dawson returned to the third class portion of the ship, primarily the scene he had just been in. While he had been fortunate enough to prevent her from jumping off the stern (even volunteering to jumping in after her), he wondered why she was going to do it and what drove her to wanting to take her own life. Young ladies like her didn't just jump unless they had a good reason. What was Rose's reason?
I'll have to ask her about it, he thought. I'm sure something must've happened to her and she had no other option except to end her life.
"Ah, the prodigal artist returns."
The voice of Tommy Ryan, the Irish steerage passenger he met earlier in the day, brought Jack out of his reverie. He gave him a smile.
"Prodigal artist, huh? Yeah, I guess you could call me that."
"What happened? We were about to send out a search party for you."
Jack's smile faded. "Well, I kind of had a run-in with the Master at Arms."
"You haven't even been at sea three days and you're getting into trouble?" said Tommy. "I told you to steer clear of that man, didn't I?"
"That's not the whole story, though," said Jack.
"No? Well, enlighten us, me lad. What led up to the 'run-in' with the Master at Arms?"
"Remember the first class girl I saw earlier today? The one you told me to forget about? Well, I saw her again tonight. I was gazing up at the stars and having a smoke, minding my own business, when she came running past the bench I was laying in. I heard her sobbing and, curious and concerned, I got up and followed after her. When we got to the stern, I saw her climb over the rail. It was here that I saw why she was there – she was going to jump into the water."
"She was?" said Tommy. "What did you do?"
"What you think I did? I tried to talk her out of jumping," said Jack. "At first, she didn't want to listen, telling me to go away and that I was distracting her. Of course, I didn't listen, either. I kept talking to her, hoping that I'd get through to her. Thankfully, though, I was able to convince her to change her mind. She took my hand and I turned her toward me. Once we were facing each other, she told me her name was Rose DeWitt Bukater."
"Ah, Rose, beautiful name."
"Wait, I'm not finished yet," said Jack. "Just when she went to climb back over the rail, her feet slipped on her dress and she's dangling as I'm still holding onto her hand, screaming for help. I keep a firm grip and I tell her I won't let go of her. She pulls herself up, her other hand grabbing onto my other hand. Once she's safely over the rail, we both fall onto the deck. The officers come running and when they see Rose's knee, they think I'm taking advantage of her and send for the Master at Arms."
Tommy nodded. "Then what happened?"
"I get an earful from this guy as I'm being arrested. His name is Cal and Rose is his fiancee. He's all territorial, calling me filth, something I've been used to being called. Thankfully, Rose came to my aid, saying that she was leaning over to see the propellers and slipped."
"But that's not what really happened, was it?"
Jack shook his head. "No, but I went along with what she was saying. You know, I didn't think they'd believe us, but they did, much to my relief. So, I'm released and Cal tells his valet to give me money for what I did. However, Rose didn't like it and instead, I've been invited to the first class dining room tomorrow evening for dinner."
Tommy smiled. "How about that? You save the lass's life and you get to dine with the first class as an award."
"And, by coming up with that story about the propellers, I think she saved me too," said Jack. "I didn't expect her to do that, but she did."
"I'll bet you're exhausted from your heroics."
"Not really, but I'll try to get some sleep," said Jack. "Never know what tomorrow will bring."
Note: I think I'll end this one shot here, since I don't know what else to add. Hope you guys enjoyed. This would have been a great scene had it been added to the movie.