Chapter 4
A Love So Strong
Rose woke up to feel Jack's warm and comforting arms wrapped around her. Lifting her head up from Jack's shoulder, she found that she was still in the infirmary…lying next to Jack in his bed. She gently shifted herself to look up at him, only to find him peacefully sleeping. What would my life have been like if we had never even met? Would I be here today? No. Would I even be alive? Possibly not. I may not always understand it, but Fate sure did lead us down a lucky path this time.
Her mouth curved slightly as she watched him stir slightly, pulling her a little closer. Gently pushing herself up slightly, Rose began to slowly plant dozens of tiny kisses all over Jack's face. A mixture of confusion and playfulness played on his face and eventually, as he began to awake, a smile began to form. With his eyes still closed, Jack smiled and returned the kisses back to Rose as she brushed past his lips. He heard her giggle and he opened his eyes, a wide grin spread across his face as he looked deep into Rose's eyes.
"I love you." He gently whispered as he brushed back a strand of curly auburn hair away from her eyes. Rose responded by brushing her hand against his cheek and planting a loving kiss on his lips. "Hey, what do you say we get out of here?" She smiled and picked up his hand, holding it and stroking it as if she were some mythical palm reader, trying to read his fortune in the many lines spread across his hand.
"Are you sure you feel ready though? I mean, I don't want you to work yourself to hard. The nurse said you were pretty sick-"
Jack placed his hand upon her cheek and smiled playfully. "Well….that was also before I saw you yesterday. I feel much better now."
Rose smiled and played along. "Oh…is that so Mr. Dawson?" Jack just smiled even wider and nodded. "Well then…we'd better get a move on it then, huh?"
Throwing off his covers and jumping out of bed almost as if Jack were no longer twenty years old, but magically thrown back into his childhood, he stood up and pulled Rose with him. Both were giggling wildly and Jack turned around to see some of the other patients sending them disapproving glances their way. He didn't care though. What mattered was that he and Rose were here together and quite frankly, having a good amount of fun together.
Jack looked back at Rose who was trying to straighten her wrinkled dress out with her hands. A sudden urge ran throughout his body and he quickly filled the space in between them, unsuspectingly and surprisingly picking Rose up in his arms. He couldn't help but laugh as she squealed with pure enjoyment as she found both embarrassment and amusement in the moment. He twirled her around several times in the middle of the infirmary floor, this time catching everyone's attention as the whole room directed their curious eyes towards the couple. When Jack stopped, he noticed the very nurse who had been so flustered yesterday when he lead Rose towards him had been calling his name aloud.
"Mr. Dawson! Why Mr. Dawson! What on earth do you suppose you are doing?" She said, hands upon hips and her grayed hair pinned up crisply back in a bun. Jack just smiled at her, his usual self shining once again.
"Well nurse…I do suppose that I have fallen in love. That's all. Nothing to get all flustered over I assure you. But I do thank you for your concern." He replied quite playfully, a little too playfully for the nurses strict and orderly standards.
Out of the corner of Jack's eye, he could see an elderly man lying in bed. He nudged his neighbor in the next bed over, nonchalantly pointing towards the couple with his cane. "Kids these days, huh? Crazy little lovebirds…" he whispered, remembering the day when he had once been their age and just as much in love so many years ago.
"But honestly Mr. Dawson.. You are in no condition to be…frolicking around like this." The nurse said, quite distraught that he was not listening to her.
"But I'm perfectly fine, don't you see?" Jack said, his wide smile fading slightly almost as if his mother had forbidden him to go outside to play. "Can't I just go out for a little while? I'll be back later for you to check on me if you like…" Jack whined almost he really was trying to convince his mother to let him out. This brought a little smile to Rose's face as she ran her finger up the back of his neck..Jack smiled and turned to the nurse with pleading eyes. "Please?"
Muttering something under her breath, the nurse slowly nodded. "Fine, do what you like. Just be back by dark so I know you are safe in your bed where you belong." Jack smiled and twirled Rose once more and continued to carry her out the door, setting her down once they were outside.
Both were so wrapped up in laughter as they made their way up to the boat deck. Calming down a bit, Jack placed his comforting arms around Rose's shoulders. Although she was walking right there beside him, Jack felt like Rose was a million miles away. There was an almost uneasiness that he could sense about her and this worried him greatly.
"Rose?" She looked up at him, pulled suddenly from her thoughts. "What's the matter? You seem to be thinkin' about something pretty serious there."
Rose gave him a reassuring smile before replying. "Oh nothing to worry about Jack….just lost in thought yet again."
This still didn't satisfy Jack though. "You…you aren't having….second thoughts are you? I mean…"
"No Jack…don't be silly! If anything, it's the total opposite."
Rose thought back. Her life had been a lonely and lifeless one before she met Jack. She certainly didn't want to go back to that now that she had a future awaiting her with Jack. The pressures of High Society had always been so lifeless and suffocating. As a child, she had always thought of venturing off on her own someday… to be free as a bird without a worry in the world. But her hopes and dreams had suddenly disappeared after she had become engaged to Caledon Hockley and she finally excepted that he was her inevitable fate. It seemed as though she had been traveling through a tunnel with no light at the end. Then out of nowhere, she met Jack- the key to the lock that would finally set her free. Her life was now becoming everything that she had ever hoped it would be. She had finally found true love. She never wanted to go back to Mother or Cal- not for all the biggest diamond in the world. Deep down in her heart, she knew that if she ever went back, her only love would be ripped away from her just as quickly as it had come.
Next to her, Jack had been deep in thought as well. He was mainly thinking about his parents and more importantly, the love in which they had shared. He remembered looking up to them even as a young boy, thinking if he would ever find a love so strong as theirs. He remembered the last day that he had spent with them. It had been just horrifying. It started out an ordinary day…just like any other he had waken up to. But that day…that day had been different. It had ended in disaster…in death. It had been a little over five years ago but had seemed like just yesterday.
His father had taken him to a ball game in a nearby town and he and his younger sister Sarah, Jack being eight years her senior, had gone swimming in the lake. It was only an hour or so after they had gone to bed later that night when Jack had been awaken by Sarah. He had just barely been able to smell smoke in his room as he heard her screaming and shouting that there was a fire in the house. Following his instinct, he had immediately ran out of his bedroom door and bolted towards the stairs, holding his sister's hand tightly all the while. But to his horror, the fire had spread throughout the hallway and it had seemed impossible to escape…
"Come on! Well, have to find another way out!" he yelled as the flames engulfed the house. They ran back to his room, opened the window and climbed out onto the rooftop since Jack's room was upstairs. "Sarah, we're going to have to jump ok? It'll be alright- don't you worry." Jack jumped first, landing with a thump on the ground. He looked back up at Sarah, extending his arms upward to her. "Come on Sarah, jump. I'll catch you." He said as he motioned for her to follow him. "Jack! I'm scared!" "Don't worry, I promise I'll catch you." The window that belonged to Jack's room suddenly burst into flames, sending sparks dangerously out onto the roof. Sarah screamed and looked at Jack absolutely terrified. Finally, holding her breath and closing her eyes, she jumped. Thankfully, Jack caught her in his arms, making him let out a sigh of relief….
Jack remembered back. He remembered the crowd of people who had begun gathering nearby. He remembered the heart-wrenching and panicked feeling that had been jolted throughout his body as he and Sarah had searched desperately for their parents. They had been nowhere to be found. By then, the entire house had been ablaze and it seemed that Jack was slowly seeing the truth in what had happened. Somewhere in those horrifying flames had been his parents.
But it wasn't until the following week that had been one of the roughest Jack had ever experienced. Their Uncle Henry, who also had a son about Jack's age, had been kind in offering them a place to stay. Friends of the Dawson family donated old clothes and some much needed necessities to them as they began to adjust to living a whole new life without their parents. It seemed the whole town pitied them, something Jack wasn't too fond of. He felt that everyone was just making things worse, constantly reminding him of their deaths. Of course Sarah had adapted fine to the move. But Jack…he just became too uneasy with the whole thing and it was only a matter of months before he decided to run away. He only told Sarah the night he left, giving them both an emotional memory locked in their minds that would never be forgotten. Living on the streets as a fifteen-year-old had been hard at first. He usually had very little money and scarcely had a decent meal for most of the time. However, once in a while he would find some sort of income, whether it be hauling logs up in Oregon or catching fish in Monterey. He was constantly on the move and found that although the lifestyle he had chosen was rough and sometimes even cruel, it was worth the experiences and new outlook he now had on life. He grew up much faster and learned things much quicker than any other kid his age would have if he had stuck around to be babied like he were once again some helpless little kid in Chippewa Falls. And more importantly, he understood that life was a gift- not one to be wasted. But somehow he managed to get by because here he was now, almost five years later and on his way back home with the only woman he ever really truly loved.
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted though by the feeling of someone gently touching his cheek. He shook himself out of his thoughts and focused on the woman standing next to him. Of course it was no other than Rose. His Rose. Thinking of her made another thought run through his head. What if I hadn't packed my bags up and left five years ago? Would I have never met Rose? The woman that I can't spend a minute away from…could Fate work in such a twisted and distorted way that if we hadn't been brought together by unseeingly forces such as my parents' deaths and her engagement to Caledon Hockley, would we have ever met and fallen in love?
"Jack?"
Once again jolted from thought, Jack looked down at her and smiled at the site of her concerned eyes shining right into his own. "I'm sorry Rose. What was that you were saying?"
"Oh nothing. What a daydreamer though Mr. Dawson. You seem to have been deep in thought. What is it you could possibly be thinking about?" She asked as they found a bench to sit curl up on. Jack placed his arm around Rose, giving her the comforting feeling of security sitting next to him.
"Oh, I was just thinking of my parents… my kid sister. As much as I'd like to tell myself that my parents' deaths were painless and quick ones, I know deep down in my heart that they were in fact it was just an absolutely horrible way to go. You see, they died in a fire in our house during the middle of the night. My kid sister Sarah and I just barely escaped through my bedroom window before everything was up in flames. I think that besides Titanic, it was the most horrifying experience in my entire life. I remember hugging Sarah as we just simply watched the house burn down, knowing that somewhere in there were the two people that brought us into this world. It was just one of those things you never forget, I'll tell you that. Never."
Rose could feel herself almost go numb as she glanced over at Jack's stoned and pale face. She couldn't even begin to imagine what Jack had been through. At least she had been prepared when her father died. Thankfully, the doctors had been able to give them an estimate of how long it would take before the disease would kill him. But Jack….Jack had experienced something truly awful that had given him a new aspect to life. Then again though, no matter how it happened, death was never easy. But at least they were all in a better place now…a place without worries or sicknesses or fires.
A tear gently slid down her cheek and she felt herself saying a silent prayer. "I'm sorry Jack. It's never easy to lose someone you love." Rose thought to herself as she watched Jack simply nod his head slowly. "Jack?"
"Hmm?"
"What ever happened to your sister?"
"Well, after the fire, my Uncle Henry took us in since he was the closest living relative. He and his family only lived a few, short miles from our house so I guess that worked out pretty well for us. I think Sarah eventually got used to living with them, but I don't think I ever did. I ended up running away, thinking that by doing so I'd also run away from all my troubles. I remember telling Sarah the night I was leaving that I wouldn't be back for a while. It was probably one of the hardest decisions I ever made. She's probably still there now, just as I left her...only a bit older now I'm sure. Probably a lot different than the little eight-year-old I left behind when I was fifteen no doubt. Let's see… she would be about twelve, thirteen years old now. God, I miss her." He said as he looked down at the deck.
"Jack, don't you think we ought to go back to see her? I can see that there's obviously a strong bond between you two and I think you kind of owe it to her. Don't you think so?"
Jack thought this over. "I would love to see her, when we have the money. I don't know about you, but I'm broke. Everything I ever owned in the world is at the bottom of the Atlantic. I promise that I'll find a way to see her again though."
"What about your family though Rose?"
Rose couldn't help but chuckle. "Family? What family? My Mother and I never got along very well, even more so after my father's death. It was an arranged marriage so my parents despised each other and never had any more children after me so I have no siblings. Any other family I might have had I don't know very well anymore."
Jack's forehead creased. "What about your father?"
Rose's smile faded slightly and she became serious. "He died when I was thirteen."
Jack looked surprised. "He did? Oh, I'm so sorry Rose. I had no idea." Jack gently kissed her forehead lightly and gave her a thoughtful smile. "I guess you know what it feels like then, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess I do unfortunately. He was a great man though Jack…a very great man. He would have really liked you, I know that's for sure. I know just what he would have said too. He would have gotten out his pipe and smiled at me simply saying, You know something Little Rosebud? If this is what makes you happy, then go for it. Don't you listen to those crazy kooks telling you otherwise. Do it for yourself and nobody else. Now go for it."
This made Jack's face lighten and he felt his mouth curve into a smile as he listened. "You know something? I think I would have liked your father too. He does seem like a great man. It's just a shame I never got to meet him."
"I wish you could have met him Jack, I really do. It just seems like everything that ended up going wrong in my life was just a result of his death."
Jack's forehead creased slightly. "What do you mean?"
Rose just shrugged her shoulders. "Well…I mean, my mother and I never would have had the money problem if my father had lived. He just would have slowly taken care of it I guess."
"Money problem? What money problem?"
Just then the realization hit her. She had never told Jack about the money between her and her mother. But she had to tell Jack…it was only right. She would be marrying him soon and if she didn't have enough faith in him to tell him the truth, she didn't think she was truthfully worth the title of Mrs. Jack Dawson.
"Jack…I think we need to talk. There's something important I need to tell you."
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