The next morning, Jack woke up to the bed shaking ever so slightly. He opened his eyes, surveying the room to see what was happening. He looked over at Rose and noticed her shaking, and moved closer to her, trying to figure out if she was still asleep. She was, but she was also burning up and sweating, despite shivering. "Rose," he rubbed her arm gently. "Wake up."

"I'm so cold," Rose said quietly. "What's happening to me?"

Jack put one arm under her knees, the other behind her back, lifting her into his arms. "I don't know, but I'm taking you to the hospital," he carried her towards the door, down to the lobby, and had Rose taken to the hospital. "You're going to be okay, Rose. I promise."

Rose was taken to the hospital and put in the section with the rest of the survivors who were still sick. Jack was glued to Rose's side, refusing to leave her even for a second. Her eyes were closed, and Jack wondered if she was just resting or if she was asleep. He reached for her hand, holding it in his. "Please, Rose, please be okay," he whispered. "I can't live without you. I can't live with myself knowing that I let you go into that water."

After a moment, Rose opened her eyes and forced a smile. "I'll be okay," she told him. She was still trembling, and her breathing was thick, as it was when she was on Carpathia. "I know you're scared, but I'll be okay."

Jack smiled and kissed her hand. "Good," he told her.

A doctor came in and talked to Jack and Rose. "Mrs. Dawson," he said to Rose, and Rose looked over at Jack and smiled. "You're okay, this is just one of the symptoms of pneumonia. This could continue for a few days, so we'll keep you here for observation, and then we can let you go. But after you're gone, it's very important that you continue to rest, that you have somewhere warm to stay, and that you continue to have warm fluids. That's the only way to get better."

Rose nodded. "Thank you, doctor," she said to him, and he nodded, leaving the room. "See?" she smiled at Jack, squeezing his hand as much as she physically could. "I'll be fine. I'm fine."

Jack shook his head. "We need somewhere warm for you to stay after you recover from this sickness. And you can't possibly have that warmth and safety wherever we end up after this, working from place to place. This isn't safe for you."

"So what's the other option?" Rose asked. "You send me back to Mother and Cal? They try to have you arrested, and you and I pretend that this never happened? That we never happened?" Rose shook her head. "I can't do that, Jack. I won't. We have to be together. Because I can't survive without you."

"I'd never force you to go back to that life, and I'm not even suggesting that you do," Jack shook his head. "There's something that I've been keeping from you. And I never intended to keep it from you, but it was just… easier for me to pretend this wasn't a part of my life. But now, it can save you, and as much as I want to keep pretending it doesn't exist, I love you more than I want to deny it."

Rose knit her eyebrows. "What is it?" She asked. "What haven't you told me?"

"All right," Jack paused, thinking about how to tell her. "Do you remember how I told you my parents had died when I was fifteen, and that I have no close family?" Rose gave a little bit of a nod. "That was a lie, I'm afraid. My family is part of the Boston Dawsons. I have never felt like I belonged in that world, and I've been avoiding the responsibilities of being the heir to the family business for most of my life now. So I ran. I told my family I needed my freedom, at least for a while, before I could return and live the life I was meant to live." He looked at Rose, who looked nothing but shocked. "I'm sorry I lied to you. Once we… got together, I was planning on telling you the truth, especially once you said you wanted to get off Titanic with me. But the sinking happened, and then you were sick, and I wanted to wait until you were better before I added this to the list of things to worry about."

"It's all right, Jack," Rose soothed him. "We all have parts of ourselves that we hide occasionally. And we all have things we don't talk about. I didn't expect you to tell me everything about yourself in the few days we've had together."

Jack smiled. "Thank you for being so understanding." Relief filled him as Rose placed her thumb on top of Jack's hand, rubbing his hand a bit. "The reason I told you all of this now is because money doesn't have to be a concern. My family obviously has plenty, and they have an estate where we can go, and we won't have to worry about keeping you warm and safe."

"Do you want to go back to your family?" Rose asked.

"I want you to be okay," Jack answered, evading the question entirely. "I love my family, and I know they love me and that they'll absolutely adore you. But they don't understand why I'd choose a life of struggling in poverty when I could be living the life of the elite." Jack shrugged, looking down at his hand holding Rose's. "They couldn't possibly understand. They were raised in that life, they did exactly what they were meant to do, and they don't understand why I have to live a different life when I was born into what most people would consider the perfect life." Rose nodded knowingly, and he remembered that she understood exactly what he meant. "My point is, going back isn't a bad thing, but I just haven't been back in years."

"I understand," Rose nodded. "If you're okay with going back, if you want to go back, that's fine with me. I just want what's best for both of us."

Jack nodded. "I think this is the best option, at least for now." He held her hand, hating that he had to rely on his name and family to take care of her. "You ran from this life. You grew up in this life, you hated this life… hell, you tried to kill yourself because of this life. How can I drag you back to it?"

"I ran from the life of being seen and not heard, of being overlooked, of being treated like some delicate flower incapable of working or doing anything worthwhile, but then being made responsible for saving my family and their fortune." Jack nodded, understanding. "You've never made me feel that way, not once. You have given me what I've always wanted, you have given me a life that I love, and I love you so much for that. I know that won't change no matter where we're living, no matter how much money we have."

Jack smiled and kissed her lovingly. "Alright, then," he said finally. "Boston is close, so the train will be short. And I'll make sure you're healthy enough to travel before we go." He touched her face, trying to hide his shock from how hot she was. "If you change your mind, promise me you'll tell me. If we're there and you want to leave, we can. It doesn't have to be permanent."

"You haven't been with your family for years, Jack," Rose reminded him. "I know you love your freedom, and I know that we're both attached to the idea of not knowing what comes next, but isn't there a part of you that wants to just… settle? At least for a little while?" He looked down, avoiding her gaze. "Don't you want to just stay with your family, live in one place for a while, and focus on… us?"

For a moment, Jack thought about what he said. "I guess I might want that," he told her. "I want us to stay there for at least a month, just so you can recover fully, and then we can… reassess. But I'm not just making all of the decisions, Rose. You're making them with me. Now, and forever." Rose smiled, leaning into his hand. "And no matter where we are, no matter what we're doing, I will always be focusing on us."

Rose leaned forward and kissed him. "What about your parents?" She asked. "Won't they think we rushed into this?" The next thought that entered Rose's mind was scariest of all. "What if they think I'm only with you because you have money? They'll find out about my family losing their money, they'll know about the engagement to Cal… what will they think?"

"I won't let them," Jack assured her. "You fell in love with me before you knew about any of this, and I know you would still love me even if we didn't live that life. I know you, I love you, and they will too."

"Tell me about your family," Rose told him. "I need something to think about other than the pneumonia coursing through my body and the fact that my mother and Cal are probably looking for me. Please?"

"Well," Jack began, getting into bed next to her and wrapping his arms around her. "My father was born wealthy. His parents raised him similar to the way you were raised: not giving him any options, but he didn't really mind. He grew up wanting that life for himself. But he's still a wonderful father, he still loves all of us more than anything. He just thinks that the life he has, the life that he wants me to have, is the best life for us.

"And my mother," Jack began. "She grew up poor. She was the daughter of a maid that worked in my father's house, and she started working there too. And… they fell in love," he shrugged, looking over at her and smiling. "She gave up her life for his, not that my father had to do much convincing. Her parents weren't good to her, she grew up in poverty, and she was happy to live a life with my father, a man who loved her, and she loved that she could give me a life different from hers."

"She sounds wonderful," Rose smiled. "They both do."

Jack nodded. "They are," he smiled back at her. "And my sister… She's a pain in the ass." He laughed as he spoke, and Rose smiled. "She's beautiful, kind, and brilliant… far too much for her own good. She's a lot like you; I think you'd like her. She's always had more of a brain for that business stuff than I ever did, and she knows that she should really be the one to take over the family business. If I had it my way, she would. But for everything my father has done right… he won't put her in charge in my place."

Rose knit her eyebrows. "Why not?"

"He knows that she's fully capable of taking over, of keeping our business successful, but he thinks that our allies and partners won't take us seriously." Jack shrugged, then looked back at Rose. "She wants it so badly, and I know she does. And maybe if I'm there, maybe if I take over, I can put her in charge."

"That's too much for you to worry about," Rose shook her head. "You don't have to cure all of the unfairness between men and women all on your own."

"I know," Jack replied. "And I know that I can't fix all of the problems on my own, but I'd like for this to be the last time this is a problem." He shrugged. "If our daughter wants to take over, I don't want her to have to fight like my sister does. I want her to be able to live the life she wants."

Our daughter, Rose thought to herself. She avoided thinking about her possible children with Cal, since she knew if they had a daughter, she would be treated as an afterthought, and if they had a son, he would turn into a mini-Cal. But with Jack… children wouldn't be something to dread. Children would be a blessing, and the children that they would have together would be raised with kindness and love instead of anger and threats.

"I scared you, didn't I?" Jack asked, his cheeks turning red. "I know having children was something you would have been forced to have, whether you wanted to or not. I'm not going to do that to you, alright? If you don't want to have children, that's okay with me. I don't want you to feel like I made that decision without you, or that I'm rushing you into this-"

Rose interrupted him with a kiss, silently telling him that it was okay. She pulled away after a moment, smiling at him ever so slightly. "I want to have children with you, Jack. I want everything with you." She placed her hand on his cheek, brushing her thumb over his bottom lip. "But let's take our time. We squeezed an entire relationship into a few days. I want to explore the world, to have some time, just the two of us, before that happens."

Jack smiled and nodded. "That sounds like a plan," he kissed her softly, holding her close. "At what point do I get to make you my wife?" He asked, and Rose looked up at him, shocked by what he had asked. "I love you, Rose, and I know we haven't had much time together, but I know that you're the woman I'm meant to spend my life with. And I want to marry you." he paused, realizing how much he was probably scaring her. "I know you just escaped from a horrible engagement, I know you just got your freedom, so I'm not asking you to marry me now, or any time soon. I just want you to know that I want to marry you, whenever you're ready."

"You do?" Rose asked.

"Are you kidding?" Jack asked in return. "Of course I do!"

Rose smiled, tears filling her eyes. "I want to marry you too, Jack," she told him. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And please, please, stop comparing yourself to Cal. You could never be like him, no matter what. And a life with you is a dream come true, not a nightmare." She leaned forward, kissing him lovingly. "Do you want to wait to get married with your family there?"

Jack nodded. "And I want you to be healthy. I want to both know we are doing it because we want to, not because we have to." He took her hand, holding it in hers. "I'll get you a ring, I promise. And one that you love, you can even pick it out yourself if you want. And I'll propose to you again, officially."

"This was special, and that makes it official," Rose smiled, her hands cupping his cheeks. "And I don't need a ring, Jack. I love you, with or without a ring. In fact, here." She reached over to the table, where there were a few pieces of paper with a quill and ink. She picked up the quill, making a circle around her fourth finger. "There, now it's official."

Jack laughed, leaning forward and kissing her. "I love you."

xXx

It was a few days later. Jack and Rose were leaving the hospital and leaving for Boston. "Are you sure you're alright with this?" Jack asked, as Rose was packing some of her things from the hospital. Jack had gone out earlier and bought Rose some clothing, just enough to get them to Boston, at which point they could buy more.

Rose nodded. "I feel a lot better," she told him, and he knew it was true. The color had returned to her cheeks, she didn't appear as frail and weak anymore, and the warm light had returned to her eyes. "I want to meet your family, Jack. I want to spend some time with you where neither of us are worried about making ends meet or finding somewhere to live. I want to have time to just be."

"We will have that time, sweetheart," he walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. Rose's arms settled around his neck, and she sighed contently as she leaned against him. "I know the last few days have been really hard, and I know this isn't the life we thought we'd have when we decided to get off the ship together. But I'm going to get us those easy days, the days where we can spend all day together, tangled in each other's arms, talking and laughing. Maybe we can spend a few days at a hotel in Boston before we go to my family's estate, just the two of us…"

Rose smiled at him, then leaned forward and kissed him softly, though Jack's hand on the back of her neck pulled her closer. Rose giggled, then pulled away. "I love you." She smiled at him, staring into his beautiful blue eyes.

Jack smiled right back at her. "I love you too," he pulled her closer, kissing her again. "Are you ready to go?" He asked, and Rose gave a nod. "Good, let's go." He took Rose's bag, Rose's hand, and gave her one more kiss before leading her to the door.

They walked out of the hospital hand in hand, and Rose couldn't help the wide smile on her face. "We've never even walked hand in hand before," Jack turned to look at her and rubbed the top of her hands. "I know we did for a little while on TItanic, but that honestly feels like a different life now."

"I know," Jack said, his thumb tracing circles on the top of her hand. "It really does. And then sometimes it feels like I'm still there, still in the water." He looked over at Rose and found her looking up at him with concern. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

Rose squeezed Jack's hand, attempting to comfort him somehow. "You never have to hide your feelings from me, and you never have to apologize for sharing what you're thinking." Jack looked back at her, smiling ever so slightly. "We went through something horrible, and the only person who had almost the same experience is each other. So if we can't share with each other, who can we talk to?"

Jack nodded. "I promise, I won't hide from you anymore," he told her, kissing her cheek. "And if I do, just know it's unintentional, and it's only because I love you and I want to protect you from what I'm feeling."

"I know," Rose assured him. "But I can handle whatever it is you're feeling. I'm probably feeling it too, or have at least thought about it. You're probably not going to say something brand new."

Jack brought Rose's hand up to his lips and kissed it. He couldn't even understand how he got so lucky to have someone who loved him as much as Rose did, who cared so much for him, who would risk her own life for his. But he did know that he felt the same way, and he would do anything for her.

They arrived at the train tickets, and Rose made a beeline for the ticket booth. Jack kept his grip on her hand, and she turned back confusedly. "I got the train tickets when I went out this morning, so we can go straight to the train."

"Good thinking," Rose smiled, and they began walking to the train. She was tired, ready to sit and look out the train window, resting against Jack's chest. "There it is, there's the train."

Jack smiled and led Rose to the train, to the first class car. "Jack, what-" She looked over at him and found him grinning back at her. "Did you buy first class tickets?"

"I may have," Jack shrugged, smiling at her. "We've had a hard few days, and we're about to do something kind of scary, so I just wanted to do something nice for us." Rose smiled back, kissing his cheek. "What was that for?"

Rose grinned back at him, placing her hand on his cheek. "For being the most wonderful man in the world," she answered, and Jack blushed. "And for continuing to be the man I fell in love with. My knight in shining armor, my hero, my soulmate."

Jack leaned forward, kissing her lovingly. They knew it wasn't appropriate to kiss in such a way, especially in the first class section, but neither of them cared. "Are you ready to go?" Jack asked, once they had separated. Rose nodded. "Let's go."