Chapter 16

Jack carried the bags and trunks to the waiting car while Rose said goodbye to Liza and Betty. She hugged Liza while Betty helped Jack, already missing her friend. "I'm going to miss you so much," she told Liza. "Being with you these last few days has reminded me of when we were young girls. Now I'm only going to live with a man." Rose scrunched her nose jokingly.

Liza laughed. "Not just any man, silly," she told her. "Jack is amazing. He loves you so much, and he takes such good care of you. I can tell. And if it's any help, if I was going to marry a man, I'd look for one like him."

"Speaking of that," Rose began, sitting on the couch with Liza. "What happened between you and Betty? Last night, on the beach, things were… strange. And now this morning, things are awkward, sort of like… like you're in love." Liza paused, and Rose could tell what was going on. "Tell me everything."

Betty had stopped on the porch to pick up a bag, hearing Rose and Liza's conversation. "I've had feelings for her for a while," Liza admitted. "I just didn't realize she felt the same way, and last night, things… happened." She smiled as she played with a loose thread on the knee of her pants. "My feelings are scaring me, honestly. I don't know what to do about it."

"You think you feel too strongly?" Rose asked, and Liza nodded. "I don't think that's true. You've been living together for months now, and you've gotten to know each other. You've shared parts of yourself with each other that others haven't seen. Feelings come along with that; they did for me and Jack. And I've felt the way you do now, where you feel like your heart is moving too fast."

"So what do I do?" Liza asked.

Rose smiled and shrugged. "Let things progress as they progress," she answered. "But don't be afraid to tell Betty how you feel. She's great, and she cares about you too, and hiding your feelings from her is likely worse than just telling her the truth."

"You're right. I will," Liza smiled, standing up. She hugged Rose, hating that she had to say goodbye again. "I'll come visit you. We can't let this long go by without seeing each other. And besides, I want to see that baby." Rose smiled and nodded, hugging Liza one more time before walking away.

Just then, Betty and Jack walked back in. "The car's all packed," Jack told them, walking over to Rose and wrapping his arm around her. "Liza, thank you for everything. We really appreciate it." He released Rose and hugged Liza.

Rose walked over to Betty and hugged her tightly. "We're going to find him," she told her. "Until then, stay strong. And tell Liza the truth about how you feel. She loves you, I know she does."

Betty smiled against Rose, squeezing her for another moment before they released each other. "I'll see you soon," she smiled. She touched her fingers to her lips and then to Rose's stomach. "Take care of my brother."

"I will. Always." Rose walked over to Jack, taking his hand and waving back at them. "Goodbye, thank you for everything."

As they walked out the door, Betty stood behind Liza, wrapping her arms around her waist. "And then there were two," Betty smiled. "Whatever will we do with the time?"

Liza turned in Betty's arms and kissed her, walking her backward until she hit the couch. They both sat, then kissed once again, holding onto each other tightly. Liza's lips moved down to Betty's neck, and she gasped for air. "Liza," Betty whispered, her eyes fluttering closed. "Wait."

As soon as she said that, Liza pulled away, looking at her confusedly. Betty looked upset, and Liza didn't know why. "What are we doing?" She asked. When Liza still looked confused, Betty clarified. "This. Us. What is this?"

Liza sat back on the couch, looking at Betty. "What do you want this to be?" She asked.

Betty shrugged. "The world isn't fair to people like us. We can't do anything that normal people can. We can't be together anywhere outside of this house. Even here, if someone sees us, it's dangerous. And besides, as soon as they find Cal, I have to go back to Boston."

Liza nodded, understanding Betty's concerns. "I know," she reached out, taking Betty's hand and holding it in hers. Their fingers intertwined, feeling the softness of the other's hand. "But none of that is happening right now. Right now, you and I are here, in this house, and that's all that matters. Cal doesn't matter, the world doesn't matter. Let's just be us, you and me, doing what we both know we want."

Betty smiled at her, nodding in agreement. "I like that idea," she whispered, kissing Liza once again.

xXx

Rose looked out the window, the trees and houses passing quickly and disappearing. She missed Betty and Liza already, but she knew that her honeymoon with Jack would be amazing, and that Betty and Liza were fine and had each other.

Sensing her sadness, Jack reached for her hand, holding it in his. "We'll go back," he whispered. "We'll see them soon, Rose, I promise." She looked over at him and smiled, and Jack lifted her hand to his lips.

"I know," Rose smiled, playing with Jack's fingers in her hand. "You know, there were a few minutes… where everything was alright. You and I were engaged, I recovered from pneumonia, your family liked me and approved of us getting married. And then, everything just fell apart. Cal was back, I was going to call off the wedding, you were shot, Betty was sent away. And I'm just trying to get back to the bliss we felt before."

Jack wrapped his arm around his bride. "I know things are hard, and they're different than they were," he said quietly. Rose took Jack's remaining hand in her two, holding it tightly. "Things will be good again, Rose. We're married now, we're having a baby. And I have never seen Betty as relaxed as she is with Liza, so that's not bad either. Things are only going to get better from here, I promise. It's just hard to see that now."

Rose smiled and nodded. "I just can't shake this impending doom feeling," she placed a hand against her chest. "I can't shake the feeling that a disaster is coming towards us, and that it'll destroy everything again."

"No disaster is coming, Rose," Jack promised. "And if there is, we'll get through it the way we get through everything else: together. We're husband and wife now. Nothing can tear us apart. Ever."

Rose looked up at him, leaning forward and kissing him gently. She pulled away slowly, looking down at their hands, their fingers intertwined. She smiled at her engagement ring and wedding band, sitting together on her fourth finger. His hand also had a silver band on his fourth finger, which Rose adored.

Giving his hand a gentle squeeze, Rose looked up at him and smiled. "I can't believe you want to wear a wedding band," she said, still in awe of her husband. "I don't think any man has ever done that before."

"Not so," Jack shook his head. "I read a book about ancient Egypt, and it turns out men wore wedding rings then." He had a way of explaining things to her that was different from anything she had ever experienced. She didn't feel like he was talking down to her; rather, he was expressing something he loved, something he found interesting, to someone he loved. "And I think in our society, wedding bands show ownership. And I don't think that's true for us, I think wedding bands show love. Which is why I'm wearing one too. But if it is about ownership, and your ring shows that I own you, then…" Jack lifted his hand. "You own me too."

Rose smiled, taking Jack's hand back in hers, leaning against him. "I love you, Jack Dawson," she whispered, closing her eyes. "I love you so much."

Jack kissed the top of her head. "I love you too, Rose Dawson." He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him as she closed her eyes.

xXx

Jack's hands covered Rose's eyes as they stepped off the train. Even while having her eyes covered, she could hear the giddiness in Jack's voice and could tell that he was grinning. "Don't peek," Jack instructed her.

"I'm not," Rose smiled, and Jack positioned her exactly where he wanted her to stand when she opened her eyes. "Where on earth are we, Jack?" She asked. After the planning, the train ride, and pulling into the station, Rose had no more patience. "When is the blindfold coming off?" She asked, putting her hands on top of his.

Jack chuckled. "It's coming off right now," he said finally, removing his hands from over her eyes, and Rose gasped. Before her eyes was the Santa Monica pier. She smiled, staring in disbelief. "You like it?"

"Like it?" Rose asked. She reached out and took Jack's hand, smiling at him. "Jack, you made everything we talked about on TItanic happen. You made all of our dreams come true." She turned to him and smiled.

Their arms wrapped around each other as they pulled each other closer. "All of your dreams will come true now, Rose," Jack promised her. "If it's humanly possible, I will make your dreams come true."

Rose grinned. "We can walk on the pier, we can ride horses along the surf," she went through the list in her head. "I think riding the rollercoaster while in my condition would be a bad idea, but we can do anything else."

"Of course," Jack smiled. He reached for Rose's hand, pulling her along. "Come on! Let's go drop our bags and then explore." While Rose struggled to keep up with Jack, she was just thrilled to see how happy he was.

Three hours later…

The sunset over the ocean was even more beautiful than Rose could have ever imagined. Jack and Rose sat on the beach, both dressed warmly. Rose was wearing pants, something she hadn't experienced, but she knew she liked them far more than dresses.

Legs a tangle of limbs, arms wrapped around each other, they held each other as they talked. Rose was resting against Jack's back, her head leaning back against his shoulder. "I can't believe how beautiful it is here," she said quietly, so happy and relaxed. "I love Boston, and I love living there, but we should come here once a year or something."

"I agree," Jack smiled, kissing her temple. "Just imagine us back here, five years from now, a couple kids running around and doing cartwheels on the sand." He placed his hands on her stomach, and Rose knew how excited Jack was for their baby to arrive.

"That sounds amazing, Jack," Rose smiled back at him. She placed her hands on top of his, feeling the roughness of them. "Do you think about things like that?" She asked, turning to look at him.

"Sometimes," Jack blushed. "Don't you?" He asked.

Rose shrugged. "I think about you and I growing old together, I think about what this baby will be like," she looked out at the waves crashing, the sun setting over the horizon. "I've never had a future that I wanted to plan. I've never had a future that wasn't so dark. And I don't think that I've accepted that yet."

Jack nodded. "I understand," he comforted her, tightening his arms around her. "I think it'll get easier over time. I never thought I'd have this future either, but I'm just so glad that I do."

Rose smiled, leaning forward and placing a kiss against his lips. "Me too," she whispered, holding the person she held dearest as close as possible as they both stared off into the horizon.