The tiniest whimper came from the crib. A fisted hand waved in the air slowly.
Jack opened his eyes to see his son baring his tiny pink gums. He knew what time it was. Silently, he removed the blanket from his body, feeling the chill from the room. Through the dark, heavy curtains, dawn was breaking. He could just about see the sun through the window.
Jack felt his heart fill with warmth. His tiny son’s body was swamped by layers of blankets and laying in the crib, which he had carved himself. He had made it a little bigger so his son’s small body could grow into it.
Another whimper came and Jack scooped him into his arms. He glanced over to see his wife, Rose, still sleeping soundly. He hated having to wake her, but it was breakfast time for their son.
Tiptoeing to the other side of the bed, he saw her face. He smiled. Her lips were slightly parted as she slept peacefully. He glanced at the clock. It was almost a quarter to six. She had been asleep some five hours. A good night’s sleep, since their son was just over a month old.
In the first few weeks, they had survived on two to three hours a night, but their little bundle was worth it. He felt the warmth from his son’s blanket and felt him fidget slightly. It was still hard to believe the little treasure was his and Rose's.
He couldn’t lie. Her pregnancy had come as a shock to them both. They hadn’t even been married yet when she had passed out during a trip to the park, but once the initial surprise had settled in, they had been overjoyed. The first time they had been intimate, they hadn’t exactly been careful, but that awful night had brought them so much joy, too. He had been born in the early hours of January the twentieth. They had finally settled on the name John, after both of their fathers.
He had a small tuft of dark blond hair and a perfect, pert nose, just like his father’s. His lips were his mother’s, soft and full. People always said to both Jack and Rose, “You won't know what the baby inherits from who until it’s older,” but this little boy was a perfect mix of both. He opened his eyes slightly and then opened his small mouth and let out a small wail. His tiny, bare gums were visible as he wailed. Jack gently rocked him in his small blanket, back and forth. He soon closed his eyes again, but his soft whimpers continued. Jack smiled, knowing it was breakfast time.
“Rose...” Jack gently shook his wife. He hated waking her up, but she had always told him to wake her when it was feeding time. She opened her eyes a little, closing them, and groaned. “It’s breakfast time,” he whispered softly, smiling.
Her mouth curved into a small smile and she opened her eyes. “Is he always hungry? I fed him two hours ago.” Her voice was low and sleepy. She stretched a little before rubbing her eyes. Her vision adjusted and she saw her husband standing with their son in his arms. Her heart skipped a beat there and then. She had always known he would make a wonderful father, and he did.
“Actually, you slept for about five hours, darling.” Jack smiled. He sat beside her on the bed. “It’s the longest he's slept through without a feed.”
Rose propped up her pillows, getting herself comfortable. “I slept for so long?” Jack gently kissed her forehead. Her hair fell perfectly around her shoulders, and even when she had just woken up with little sleep, she was still the most beautiful woman in the world. She turned to Jack, who gently touched her cheek and then kissed her forehead lightly again.
“You were so exhausted.” Rose held out her arms and Jack passed their son to her. They were still both so in awe of the small person laying in his mother’s arms.
He sat on the edge of the bed, placed one arm around his beautiful wife, and watched as Rose unbuttoned her nightgown and allowed her son to feed. He could feel his warmth and he loved the smell of the baby. He was so pure and innocent and so unexposed to the horror of the night he was conceived. Jack hoped he never found out. Jack knew he would do everything in his power to shield his son from the world's horrors. John opened his blue eyes for a brief moment and Jack smiled, seeing them gaze around in wonder.
“Hey handsome,” Jack whispered as him just as he closed his eyes and wriggled, as if getting comfortable. Jack smiled. He would be sitting here for some time. He had a hungry son. “Look at him, Rose. Look at how perfect he is.” Jack could feel his eyes brimming with tears again. He gently touched his little boy’s tiny fingers. He stroked them gently, and it seemed to have a calming effect on his son. It was as if he knew his father was there to comfort him.
“I never knew motherhood could be like this.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Jack, I thought it was magic and special, but by God, this is so much more. The love I have for this little boy is more overwhelming than I thought. I feel I have to do everything I can to keep him safe and happy.”
Jack pulled his wife closer to him. They might be young, eighteen and twenty respectively, but they knew this was what they had always wanted. They were both grateful to have boarded the Titanic. It had brought them together. “I will keep you both safe from harm, Rose. I promise.”
Little John suckled loudly and Rose touched his little cheek. It was so soft. He closed his left eye when she touched it, as if it tickled him. She giggled quietly so as not to disturb his feeding. It was obvious he was still tired. His eyes were constantly opening, then closing.
“I could cry for hours now just looking at him. I've never felt so emotional.” With that, a tear ran from her eye and she did her best to conceal it. Since finding out she was pregnant, she had cried for unknown reasons, another joy of hormones.
“God, I'm so new to all of this. I'm so in awe I could just gaze for hours at his small, perfectly beautiful face.”
“We're both new to this, Jack. But we'll learn.”
Rose felt the tiny body within the blanket begin to stir. He whimpered a little before opening his eyes. His beautiful, sea blue eyes. He let go, finished feeding.
“I think he's ready to sleep again.” Jack smiled. Rose buttoned up her nightgown once again with her one free hand. Jack gently kissed Rose's hair and smiled. Her body was warm as she leaned against him. Her fingers gently touched her son’s tiny feet and she smiled, simply and tiredly.
“I love you, Rose,” he whispered softly, hoping she heard him.
“I love you, too,” she replied.
Minutes later, Jack saw that her eyes were closed and she was sound asleep. Jack smiled. He would be sitting here for some time. Rose was asleep against him and John asleep in his mother’s arms, but Jack didn't care. This was where he wanted to be, now and forever.
Jack thought, though, of all of the tragedies that had occurred in the world, especially the Titanic, the magical ship where he had first laid eyes on his Rose.
He had lost his best friend, Fabrizio, who was almost the brother he never had. Together they would do everything. Fabrizio knew of Jack's feelings for Rose and had backed him all the way. He was a big believer in true love, and Jack had hoped that someday Fabrizio would find his. He never had.
Tommy, too, had been a proud Irishman. He'd become something of a friend, and he, too, was never recovered from the wreck.
A small tear ran down his face. Since the disaster, he hadn’t allowed thoughts of those who were lost, instead choosing to block it out and concentrate on Rose and the child she was carrying. He knew he had had a lucky escape. As he sat here now, with his wife and his son, he knew the ending could have been very different.
The End.