Hello everyone! I know this chapter is rather short compared to the others, but I really wanted to focus on this special moment between the two of them. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it xoxo

Chapter 20

Together

"Cora?" His voice echoed again. Then his footsteps stopped. Without a second thought, Rose stepped out of the room into the main hall. Jack was standing with his back towards her as he put his outerwear onto the coat rack. It felt as is she completely forgot how to breathe. His frame was still as tall, but a bit broader; as if he had grown into a real man. From the back she saw that he had made an attempt to comb his hair back neatly, but there still was a trace of messiness.

"I am sorry I am late," Jack continued, "I got held up in traffic."

"Cora is not here, Jack." Rose finally dared to say.

"It's you." He breathed, still gazing at the opposite direction.

"Yes. It is me, Jack." She whispered.

He did not respond right away, but remained standing in the same spot without moving an inch. There was a fear within him that he was going mad now that he knew she was alive and in his presence. Her voice could be nothing but a ghost playing tricks on his mind. Then the sound of her movements filled the room. Jack's body eventually started to loosen up. He then dared to turn around and Rose appeared in his vision. With a rapidly beating heart, he took in her form. At first, Jack struggled to comprehend that she was in fact real, for she had only existed in his memory for over ten years. But her voice was still the same as he had imagined. He noticed that she had grown into a confident woman. Her red curls looked lighter and were neatly put up into the latest fashion. Still, after all those years, Rose's appearance was nothing but mesmerising. Jack wanted to speak; say what was on his mind, but he kept standing, his body frozen to the floor.

Their eyes met, and time seemed to stand still, leaving only the echo of their shared past. Without a word, Jack then dared to close the distance between them, and Rose took a tentative step forward. In that moment, the weight of years fell away, leaving only the raw, unspoken emotions that bound them together.

Jack reached out, his hand trembling as he cupped Rose's cheek, as if confirming that she was real, that this wasn't a dream. His voice, filled with a mixture of disbelief and overwhelming joy, broke the silence. "I thought I lost you."

As his words fell from his lips, Rose quickly came to the notion that not only she, but he, too, had faced the same grief. The agonising thought of the other one's lifeless body drifting in the icy Atlantic. A choked sob escaped her, and she threw herself into his arms. The embrace was desperate, as if trying to bridge the chasm of time and separation. The gallery, filled with the sounds of their reunion, faded into the background.

"I thought the same, Jack," Rose whispered, her words muffled against his chest. "I thought that damned ship had taken you from me."

They pulled away, their eyes locking once more, searching for the truth in each other's gaze. The burden of years apart, the pain of mourning a love prematurely severed, lingered in the air. As Jack found Rose's hand, his fingers tracing absentminded patterns, his gaze fell upon the engagement ring that adorned her delicate finger. The glint of the diamond caught his eye, and a bittersweet smile played on his lips. It was a beautiful ring, a symbol of a future that once again did not include him. Rose felt as if she could read his mind when she felt the weight of his eyes glued to, what now felt like a chain around her finger.

"I know you told Cora not to tell me about you and she didn't. But when I found out myself I simply had to go and see you." She admitted.

With a soft smile, Jack nodded his head. "Of course."

"Why didn't you want me to know?" She asked desperately.

The truth was now wrapped around her ring finger. The universe, it seemed, was once again conspiring against him. Fate, like an unrelenting force, had always found a way to keep them apart. The pain in Jack's eyes, hidden behind the mask of a smile, betrayed the depth of his emotions.

"I didn't want to upset you." He simply answered as he pushed his honesty away from the surface.

Rose quickly wiped away her tears. "Upset me? How on earth would knowing that you are alive upset me? Jack," it was now her who placed his face in her hands, "I feel so overjoyed that I hardly know what to do with it."

Then, like a dam breaking, the realisation hit Jack with a force that took him by surprise. The heaviness of all his emotions surged through him. He staggered backward, his legs giving way, and he collapsed to the floor. Tears streamed down Jack's face uncontrollably. The sobs that wracked his body were a release of the pent-up emotions he had carried for over a decade. The mere existence of Rose before him was an overwhelming truth, a reality that seemed almost too good to be true.

She knelt beside him, enveloping him in a tender embrace. "It's all right, Jack. I am here." Jack clutched Rose as if she might vanish if he let go. His heartache, the years of longing, and the fear of losing her again to the remaining uncertainty of the future had manifested in the torrent of tears that now stained this clothes.

Rose gently stroked his hair, whispering words of comfort. Gradually, Jack's sobs began to subside. He pulled away from Rose, his eyes red and swollen, but a sense of peace settling within him.

"We found each other again, Jack. We're here, together," she reassured him. Jack nodded, his breaths steadying.

He nodded. "I am sorry," he said, wanting to apologise for his behaviour. But Rose shook her head, trying to tell him that she admired his honesty of emotions. It's what she had always loved about him.

After hours of processing one another's existence they had moved themselves outside. The sun hung low in the now evening sky, casting a golden glow over the deserted beach. Jack and Rose walked side by side, the soft crunch of sand beneath their feet accompanying the distant murmur of the ocean. A gentle breeze played with Rose's hair, as the two figures traced their steps along the shore, catching up on a decade lost to separation.

As they walked, Jack couldn't help but steal glances at Rose, absorbing the changes that time had etched upon her. Her once-youthful face now carried a maturity, a subtle grace that spoke of the experiences she had weathered in his absence. He felt a mixture of awe and nostalgia as he gazed at the woman who had haunted his dreams for so many years.

"Eleven years is an awful long time, isn't it?" Jack finally spoke, breaking the comfortable silence that had formed between them.

Rose nodded, a wistful smile playing on her lips. "Too long. So much has happened."

They continued walking, the rhythmic crash of the waves providing a backdrop to their conversation. Rose began to share her journey, recounting the years she spent carving a life without Jack by her side.

"After the Titanic, I was lost," Rose admitted, her eyes distant as she stared out at the expanse of the sea. "I had to keep going, had to survive. Not only for be but also for Cora. On the Carpathia I promised her father that I would take care of her. So took on her surname, moved to a small village in Oklahoma before eventually moving to San Fransisco. It was the only way I knew how to escape the past."

Jack listened attentively, his eyes fixed on the horizon. "What I once dreamed of somewhat became a reality," Rose continued, "I have friends I actually care about, I have a job and make my own money and I even bought my own house. Not to forget I have and still am raising a girl to become a young independent woman. But in a way, you always carry the past with you. No matter how hard you try, you can never really escape the past."

"Does he know? About your 'past-life'?" Jack suddenly asked. Holding her breath, Rose realised he had never lost his directness.

"No," she admitted, "To him, I am just a simple librarian who is taking care of her cousin. I've never told anyone about who I was before," she took a deep breath, "His name is Henry by the way. Henry Calvert."

"So, when's the big day?" Jack asked, his attempt at nonchalance faltering for a moment.

Rose hesitated, her eyes avoiding his. "Next month. It's all happening so fast."

Jack nodded, the weight of her words settling heavily on his shoulders. He glanced up at her, desperately trying to suppress the tumult of emotions threatening to spill over.

"You deserve all the happiness in the world, Rose," he said, his voice low and sincere, "always."

Again, A strained silence developed between them, broken only by the distant sounds of laughter and music from the outside world. "I hope he makes you happy."

"He does." She admitted.

"That's all I want, Rose. For you to be happy."

The kept walking both the warmth of the summer heat and each other's presence easing them. They kept walking until the responsibilities of the real world had to call them back.