It was past bedtime for the Dawson household. The guests had long gone home. Lily had been put to bed for the evening and Tommy and Fabrizio had each gone to bed for the night as well, knowing that there was not much nightlife in Chippewa Falls at that hour. It was best to turn in for the evening and then start the day refreshed. Which left only Jack and Rose, who were sequestered in their room.

They had just finished another session of passionate lovemaking. Rose now lay breathless on top of Jack's warm body, satisfied, safe, and loved. She kissed his chest and ran her hands along his well-formed muscles, just admiring how he was so well put together. She loved this man more than she could ever say. Right now, she just couldn't believe that he was hers.

"What's on your mind, Rosie?" He asked, noting how quiet she was.

"I think this is a dream and I'm going to wake up, either still engaged to Cal...or still alone, somewhere in the world with only Lily for company."

"You still don't think this is real? After all of this time?" Jack frowned, not knowing how to respond.

"How can I? Jack, this is just...so perfect, this life we have. I have you, and you're everything I've ever hoped you'd be and you love me and Lily both so much and you're taking care of us. Then, I'm totally free to do whatever it is I want to do. No mother to tell me that I'm silly or inappropriate. No Cal to dismiss my ideas and tell me that I should be striving to be a wife and mother, not...whatever it is I'm wanting to strive to be. My life is my own. And that's more than I had ever dreamed of. To be honest...I'm much too afraid to accept that it's real. If I do...then I'll wake up. Just like always…"

Jack's heart ached for Rose. It was awful to be afraid to accept the reality of having a happy life, to expect it all to disappear. He wished that there was something that he could do to reassure her somehow. "Rose...I don't know what to say or do to convince you that this is real."

"I don't think that there is anything that you can do."

"I'll tell you what I am going to do. I am going to love you. I'm going to love you forever and then, when we're old old people, warm in our beds, ready to move on to the next life, then you'll know it's real. Because you would never have woken up."

Rose's smile was sad as she linked her hands with Jack's. "That's a long time to promise to love me, Jack."

"Not nearly long enough if you ask me," Jack smiled, kissing the top of her head.

"I promise to love you for that long, too Jack! Forever and beyond!"

Jack laughed and hugged her tight. "Oh my beautiful Rose, I have no doubt that you will."

"Call me that again."

"What?"

"Your beautiful Rose," Rose sighed happily, just loving the sound of her name on his lips. She didn't know what it was about Jack. Everything about him was just...magical. He made the most ordinary things seem wonderful and full of life. She had never known anyone in the world like him.

"My beautiful Rose," This time his voice was a whisper and full of total adoration. "That's what you are. Beautiful and mine."

"I want to be yours always. And you are mine...my beautiful Jack with his smile of sunshine and his eyes of the bluest oceans…"

"We should write poetry about each other, huh?"

Rose just laughed. "My poems would turn into big essays about the beauty standards of men and how every man should look like one Jack Dawson."

"That sounds...rather wordy."

"I'm a wordy girl."

"Let's read some more of Anne of Green Gables," Jack reached over for the book and flipped it to where they had left off last.

"Now? After a most awesome session of lovemaking?"

"When's a better time? We're both wide awake still...we're together...who knows when we'll actually fall asleep…"

"Alright, alright. But you read to me. I'm not in the mood to look at words right now, but I would love to hear your voice. I can listen to your voice for the rest of my life and never get bored."

"Don't you think that's a bit extreme? You'll have to get bored of me some time or other."

"Me? Get bored of you? Pft! Never!"

"Ok...the next chapter is Anne's history. Hmm, this should be interesting."

"Oh, it is! Every good heroine should have a back story," Rose nodded.

"In her back story, she seems to have something against red hair. Which is a shame, because redheads are the best. So many different shades from bright red to the shade of yours...deep and rich...god, I love your hair…"

Rose looked at him amused. "You have a thing for redheads, don't you?"

"Huh?"

"I bet, if I look at your romantic history, all of your girlfriends had red hair," Rose couldn't help but giggle at the look in Jack's eyes. He was like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Rose. It's not my fault that your hair is lovely and fits your name."

Rose felt something inside her melt. "Stop it. You're going to make me think that I'm actually as beautiful as you say."

Jack gently touched her cheek, and his thumb brushed against her pink lips. "You are beyond as beautiful as I say. You are truly exquisite, Rose. I see why Cal was so determined to keep you. You're the most beautiful girl in the world."

Rose blinked, feeling tears in her eyes. "Jack...you are the exquisite one."

His fingers went from her cheek to tangle in her red curls. "Let's continue reading, yeah?"

"Go ahead. I'm listening," Rose sighed, her head going back to resting against his chest.

Jack continued to read and then stopped again. "You know, I see a lot of you in Anne and a lot of Ruth in Marilla."

Rose gasped. "Take that back! Marilla is nothing like my mother!"

Jack chuckled. "Really? Here's beautiful Anne, so full of daydreams, turning everything into something hopeful and beautiful and there's Marilla, ready to drag her down into boring depressing reality."

"Marilla is nothing like my mother. She's just a realist...and an adult who had a hard life. She can't build on daydreams like Anne, who is still an adolescent child. She doesn't mean any harm. She's just pragmatic. But she does love Anne and wants the best for her. She'd never make her marry a man like Caledon Hockley just to stay in the lap of luxury. Anne is a romantic. Everything is a dramatic fairy tale for her...which in a way is good, seeing that her beginning is a rather tragic one and it didn't ruin her."

"I see why you like the book, though, and why you relate so much to Anne. Heck, I relate to Anne."

"That's because we're both like Anne I think. Like Anne, you had lost your parents at a young age, and like Anne, you didn't let it destroy your outlook on life. You always look on the bright side."

"I still say your mother is like Marilla."

"No. More like Rachel Lynde. Leave poor sweet Marilla alone," Rose playfully slapped his arm.

"Ow," Jack playfully winced. "Alright, alright. I'll leave Marilla alone. For now."

Rose simply rolled her eyes. "Really though, how are you liking Anne of Green Gables?"

"It's good. I like it. I like Anne. I just wish she wouldn't be so down on her red hair. And yes, I do have a thing for redheads. I'm not ashamed to admit it."

"Ha, I knew it! What do you think of Sarah and Leah, really?"

"I like them. They're very interesting and I can see why you're friends with them. You're very much alike, surprisingly seeing that Sarah is Cal's sister. She's so different from him. Like night and day, which is good since she seems to like Fabri."

"She is wonderful, isn't she? I do kind of hope that something happens between her and Fabrizio. I feel so sad, seeing him still grieving Helga."

"I...I have mixed feelings. I'd love for Fabri to find love again and move on with his life. But for it to be Sarah, he'll most likely have to face off with Cal and we both know how...violent Cal can be. I don't want Fabri to have to go through that."

"I don't want that either...but Sarah deserves to have love in her life too...with a man of her choosing, not Cal and her father's. If that's Fabrizio, I can't help but to support it and help them in any way I can. Even if it means having to face off with Cal again. Funny, now that he's engaged, he doesn't seem all that scary anymore."

"Yeah, I doubt he'll want you back now, plus we're married now. There's nothing he can do about that."

"I guess we better go to sleep now. We both have to get up for Lily and then to get ready for dinner at the Flowers."

"Hmm...I had almost forgotten about that. I feel kind of guilty. I never did reconnect with Harold Flowers...and the reason isn't very nice really."

Rose frowned. "I thought it was because you were so depressed over me. At least, that's what I had told his mother."

Jack gave a relieved sigh. "Oh, that's a good excuse. I'll go with that when he asks…"

"But what's the real reason?"

Jack winced and looked away, feeling ashamed. "To be honest...after the sinking, losing you, realizing that Cal had survived and thinking you didn't...I didn't think too kindly of people from high society. I blamed them for all of it and even though this is a small town, the Flowers are still high society and I just didn't want to have anything to do with them when I returned to town. So I avoided Harold. I made sure I was never anywhere that he had a chance to be. Looking back at it...it was a shitty way to treat someone who had been nothing but kind to me. Who I had considered a childhood friend. I had probably hurt him. Now I have to face up to it…"

"Oh Jack...look, back then you were traumatized. Of course, you would have felt the way you did and he had no clue that you did feel that way. There's no need for him to ever know. Your secret is safe with me. If he asks, we'll go with my excuse. That way, he won't be too hurt."

Jack looked at her, wondering if maybe her opinion of him had changed. She thought he was this happy-go-lucky guy who never had a bad thought or word for anyone. Now she probably knew that he wasn't like that at all. "What do you think of me now, Rose?"

"I think that you're a young man who has been through a lot of trauma in your life. More trauma than most really and even though it knocks you down like it would anyone, you work to make sure it doesn't knock you down for good. Sooner or later, you bounce back stronger than ever. Really, Jack. You are the strongest person that I had ever known and I admire you, I really do."

"I don't feel very strong. Most of the time...I'm fucking scared out of my mind. The fire that took my parents and ending up on my own, Titanic, and now, having a wife and child that are depending on me to take care of...I'm terrified…"

"I understand losing your parents and Titanic...but the wife and child...how is that scary?"

"You and Lily...you both look to me for love, protection, and just your overall well-being. What if I fail, you Rose? What if no matter what I do, how I try, no matter how much I love you both and you're my whole world...what if I fail you like I had my parents? I loved them so much, but nothing I did could save them. If I lose you and Lily like that...I'll die, Rose!"

Rose felt her heart break at Jack's words and the pain in his eyes. "Oh Jack, there's nothing to be afraid of. Sweetheart, you were a young boy when your parents died. There was nothing that you could have done to save them. As for Lily and myself...well, you're not alone, Jack. Lily may be a child, but I'm not! I'm your wife! Your partner! I not only can take care of myself, thank you very much, but I am here to help you take care of Lily and any other children we may have together! We're in this together! You're not alone this time, my love. You're not. You can lean on me, just as I lean on you."

"I just love you so much…"

"I love you too," Rose kissed him again.

The kiss turned passionate and turned into yet another trip to the stars that sent them tumbling into exhausted ecstasy. Once they were back on earth, they lay exhausted in each other's arms and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.