Jack awoke to the steady drum of rain beating down on the ship. He stretched, and then rolled over to see if Fabrinzio was up yet. Jack rolled over to see that there was no one below him, and all of the sudden the shock of all that had happend came back to him. Tears came to his eyes, as he remembered his heartache over loosing Rose. Why, he asked himself, would God let someone like Rose die? She has so much to live for, she had a fire like no one else, she had the spirit and true beauty...
Suddenly a sound came from the hallway, "I see you are up Mr. Dawson. You have been out for the majority of our trip back to Boston. We expect to dock in about an hour," Capt Lord stated, "We have decided to pass you off as a sick crew member. Otherwise, you will be swarmed by the media, and I don't think you are up to it. The moment we embark you will be admitted to the Boston Memorial Hospital, and I will assume total resposibility for the bills and whatnot. Our ship is in a lot of trouble for not "saving the Titanic", although if we had tried we may have gone done as well. If you need a job once you are discharged, you are more than welcome on my boat. Is this satisfcory to you Mr. Dawson??" Lord glanced towards Jack, a small smile on his face, and in his eyes.
Jack sighed, sizing up the Captain's request, "Thanks, I don't know what would come of my survivng getting out. Rose's fiance' was quite upset with me, for stealing her away, and her Mother wasn't happy with the situation either. I would most likely end up in jail for not saving Rose. Once I get out I will repay you. I appriciate this."
"Maybe you can just work for me when you are done. I am glad we have come to an understanding. I hope that our arrangement will benefit both of us." Lord replied. He reached over and gave Jack a pat on the sholder. "Things will get better, maybe never the same, but they will get better." Lord peered into Jack's eyes, "do you have any family that you would like notified that you survived?"
"None. My Mother left me as a baby, and my father raised me until he died when I was 15. He left me a small sum along with the instructions to live life to the fullest. He never got the chance to do what he wanted, so he wanted me to do everything for me, as long as himself," Jack had a wistful grin on his face, "you know? That was the best thing he could have ever given me."
"Aye, that was a nice thing your Pa did for you. I wish my Pa had done that for me. Well, I had better be getting back to the stern. Knowing the bozos I have running this ship, they'd find an iceberg in Florida!" Lord gave a hearty laugh and turned and walked away.
Jack got up and began to put his things in order. He only had the clothes on his back. In a pocket, he found a piece of paper. Must be my ticket, a lotta good it does me now! Jack shhok his head at the idea that a ticket would survive the sinking, and not Rose. He opened up the folded paper and saw that it was a letter. Now, Jack thought, how did that get in there??? He carefully unfolded the note the ink was smeared, but still legible. My God, Jack thought, it's from Rose! Shaking his head in disbelief, Jack began to read:
Dearest Jack,
Tonight when you read this, I will be thinking of you, and our time together this evening. I know you will be doing the same. When I first got on this boat, I would have done just about anything to get off of it, and now there is no way you could get me off! My love for you goes so deep, it is unfathomable to me how much you can grow to love someone in the short amount of time we have been together. When this ship docks, I am getting off with you. No matter what the circumstances may be. Mother can scream all she wants. I don't care about anything but remaining with you. I want to go to that pier with you Jack, I want to ride toller coasters till I puke with you Jack, I want to drink cheap beer with you Jack, I want to star in moving pictures with YOU Jack. You have given me the will to survive Jack! You have given me the inspiration to DO something with my life! I am not fit to be a little wifey to Cal for the rest of my life! And the reason that I am going to go on and do something is all because of YOU. Jack, you have done more for me than anyone in my life. I just want you to know HOW MUCH I love you. I don't know if I can tell you all of this, that is why I am writing it all down. My head is turned upside down right now. The only thing that I know is that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. No matter what the circumstances may be! Well, I am sure you are wondering what is taking me so long. I love you Jack, never EVER forget that!
Love,
Rose
Jack sat stunned. Shaking, he refolded the letter and carefully placed it into the pocket where he had found it. She must have slipped that into my pocket when we were in the renault. Tears began to form in his eyes, but he put up his arm and wiped them away. No, he thought, I have cried enough. I am going to live every moment for Rose. I am not going to give up. I know that in her heart, she wouldn't have. I am going to do everything I told Rose to do. He just hoped that she was the one that would greet him at Heaven's gate. Jack blew a kiss to the air. "Till then Rose..." Jack got up, steadied himself, and walked out of the room.