I need you.
Chapter One
A hard bang on the door made Jack Dawson get out of bed. Not that he was asleep anyway.
He couldn't get her face out of his thoughts. Every time he closed his eyes he could see her. The whole night rolled over like a film every time he closed his eyes. Her face, her smile, her fiery hair and her eyes. Those radiant eyes.
They had shone tonight. For the first time since he had met her. For a few hours the sadness which seemed to be eternally in her eyes had faded away and nothing but pure joy had taken over. The dinner, the steerage party and the walk back to the first class entrance kept rolling in his mind.
He had really fallen for her this night. She had been so beautiful, so alive, so his. As if they had known each other for years. He could still feel her touch, the way she felt in his arms.
Everything about tonight had seemed so right to him, until their walk on the boat deck.
"What would you wish for?"
"Something I can't have."
That's when he realized that whatever he felt for her couldn't be. She was engaged to someone else. She lived in a world completely different from his.
Then why did everything he felt seem so right? He needed to know if he was the only one feeling the way he did. He would confront her with his own feelings tomorrow. Now he just needed to get to sleep and forget about her, just for a couple of hours.
Another hard knock on the door woke him up from his daydream.
"Jack, are you there? Jack, I need you." That was Rose's voice. What was she doing here? Jack could sense there was something wrong. Her voice sounded different from other times. It was obvious she had been crying.
He opened the door just in time to catch Rose in his arms.
Thank God." was the only thing she was able to say before losing consciousness.
"Rose, wake up. Rose, what's wrong?"
Jack suddenly saw the swollen cheek, the bruises on her face and the little stream of blood rolling out of her mouth. She was black and blue all over and he knew something terrible had happened to her. It didn't take him long to realize what.
Cal must have found out where she had been all night, with him.
"God, wait till I get my hands on him." Jack whispered under his breath.
He had to get her to a doctor immediately. But he couldn't keep her here in his room, in third class. He had to get her back to first class.
Molly would help him. He knew where her stateroom was and he still had to return the tuxedo anyway. She would be safe there.
In the morning Cal would be sending his footman out to find Rose as soon as he discovered she wasn't in her stateroom. And Cal would know where to find her.
So he gently laid Rose down on his bed and changed into his tuxedo. There would be a lot less questions asked if the stewards thought him to be a first class passenger.
He made a little bundle of his own clothes because he knew he could not stand another two hours in the tux.
All this time he didn't keep his eyes of Rose, making sure she was still breathing.
As soon as he was ready, he took her in his arms again and started the long way back to first class. He decided to go by the boat deck. At this time of night there would hardly be any passengers left outside and he would be able to get Rose safe before Cal found out she was gone.
Jack shivered as the cold wind swept around his body. He had no idea it got this cold out during the night.
As he reached the first class entrance he took a deep breath before getting inside. He quickly made his way through the long corridors trying to remember where Molly's room was.
"Hold on Rose, we're almost there." He said to calm her down even though she was still unconscious. Suddenly he was standing in front of Molly's stateroom. He knocked softly on the door.
"Molly, are you there? Please wake up. I need your help. It's Jack."
A stumble could be heard coming out of the stateroom and very soon after that the door opened.
"Boy what are you doing waking people up in the middle of the night?"
Jack stormed through the door still carrying Rose in his arms.
"Oh my God." Was all Molly had been able to utter as she saw Rose's face. "What happened?"
"I don't know," Jack replied, "a few minutes ago there was a loud knocking on my door, when I opened up Rose was standing there, looking like this. Molly you gotta help her."
"Calm down boy. I'll go and fetch the doctor; you better stay here with Rose in case she wakes up or something. You can put her in my bed for the time being. Don't worry Jack, she's gonna be alright, I promise."
And with that Molly was gone.
"Come on Rose, let's put you in bed. Let me clean this mess of your face. Rose please wake up, just give me some kind of sign you're alright."
Jack got a towel out of the bathroom and wiped the little stream of blood out of her face. He sat down beside her on the bed, gently stroking her hair, and whispered some words into her ear.
"I'm here Rose, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, at least not unless you want me to. I swear I'm gonna get Cal for this, he won't get away with it. But right now I just need you to wake up alright. You gotta tell me what happened."
At that Rose mumbled something he couldn't understand but at least now he knew she could hear him. She was still unconscious and Jack was starting to get worried why it took so long for her to wake up.
After what seemed to be an eternity Molly came back, a man carrying a leather bag walked in right behind her.
"Can anyone tell me what happened?" he asked.
"We don't know exactly. Mr. Dawson here found her like this close to my room. She fell unconscious just as he found her some 30 minutes ago." Jack got up and took a seat in a chair next to the bed, giving the doctor the opportunity to examine her.
"Well, it's obvious she has been hit. Pretty hard it seems. Was she bleeding when you found her?"
"Yes," Jack replied, "a little bit out of the corner of her mouth. Nowhere else though."
"Would you two please excuse me as I examine the young lady a bit further. I have to make sure she's not bruised or wounded anywhere else."
"Of course. Come Jack, I think a glass would do both of us good. Come with me to the sitting room."
Even though he was reluctant to let Rose out of his sight, he joined Molly, knowing that the doctor had to be given time to check Rose thoroughly.
Molly poured a glass of brandy for both herself and for Jack.
"Here, this will do you good." She said, handing the glass to Jack.
"I'm still trying to figure out why Cal would do such a thing. I reckon he's not the gentlest man on the planet but he ain't a beast either."
"It's all my fault." Jack replied. "I never should have taken her to that party. But she looked so happy Molly. She had the best time in years."
"What party Jack?"
"After dinner Rose didn't go to her stateroom as she said she would. I had asked her to come to a steerage party. I just wanted to show her a good time, I wanted to see her enjoy herself. Apparently Cal found out."
"Jack, I told you you were going into the snake pit but I was wrong. You're already in it. You're in love with her aren't you?"
"Yes, desperately. And I know it's not gonna work out and that I'm gonna be left with a broken heart and everything but it just feels so right Molly. I've never felt this way about anybody ever before. I know everything about it is wrong, she's engaged to another man, I've got nothing to offer her, hell I don't even know how she feels about all this but I just can't help feeling the way that I am."
"Boy, you're not only stupid but blind too."
Jack looked at Molly in awe.
"Don't you know when someone is in love with you? I can see, Ruth can see, hell even Cal can see it. She's crazy about you! Why do you think Cal reacted the way he did?"
"Rose loves me?"
"More than she knows. It takes a woman to know."
Chapter One
A hard bang on the door made Jack Dawson get out of bed. Not that he was asleep anyway.
He couldn't get her face out of his thoughts. Every time he closed his eyes he could see her. The whole night rolled over like a film every time he closed his eyes. Her face, her smile, her fiery hair and her eyes. Those radiant eyes.
They had shone tonight. For the first time since he had met her. For a few hours the sadness which seemed to be eternally in her eyes had faded away and nothing but pure joy had taken over. The dinner, the steerage party and the walk back to the first class entrance kept rolling in his mind.
He had really fallen for her this night. She had been so beautiful, so alive, so his. As if they had known each other for years. He could still feel her touch, the way she felt in his arms.
Everything about tonight had seemed so right to him, until their walk on the boat deck.
"What would you wish for?"
"Something I can't have."
That's when he realized that whatever he felt for her couldn't be. She was engaged to someone else. She lived in a world completely different from his.
Then why did everything he felt seem so right? He needed to know if he was the only one feeling the way he did. He would confront her with his own feelings tomorrow. Now he just needed to get to sleep and forget about her, just for a couple of hours.
Another hard knock on the door woke him up from his daydream.
"Jack, are you there? Jack, I need you." That was Rose's voice. What was she doing here? Jack could sense there was something wrong. Her voice sounded different from other times. It was obvious she had been crying.
He opened the door just in time to catch Rose in his arms.
Thank God." was the only thing she was able to say before losing consciousness.
"Rose, wake up. Rose, what's wrong?"
Jack suddenly saw the swollen cheek, the bruises on her face and the little stream of blood rolling out of her mouth. She was black and blue all over and he knew something terrible had happened to her. It didn't take him long to realize what.
Cal must have found out where she had been all night, with him.
"God, wait till I get my hands on him." Jack whispered under his breath.
He had to get her to a doctor immediately. But he couldn't keep her here in his room, in third class. He had to get her back to first class.
Molly would help him. He knew where her stateroom was and he still had to return the tuxedo anyway. She would be safe there.
In the morning Cal would be sending his footman out to find Rose as soon as he discovered she wasn't in her stateroom. And Cal would know where to find her.
So he gently laid Rose down on his bed and changed into his tuxedo. There would be a lot less questions asked if the stewards thought him to be a first class passenger.
He made a little bundle of his own clothes because he knew he could not stand another two hours in the tux.
All this time he didn't keep his eyes of Rose, making sure she was still breathing.
As soon as he was ready, he took her in his arms again and started the long way back to first class. He decided to go by the boat deck. At this time of night there would hardly be any passengers left outside and he would be able to get Rose safe before Cal found out she was gone.
Jack shivered as the cold wind swept around his body. He had no idea it got this cold out during the night.
As he reached the first class entrance he took a deep breath before getting inside. He quickly made his way through the long corridors trying to remember where Molly's room was.
"Hold on Rose, we're almost there." He said to calm her down even though she was still unconscious. Suddenly he was standing in front of Molly's stateroom. He knocked softly on the door.
"Molly, are you there? Please wake up. I need your help. It's Jack."
A stumble could be heard coming out of the stateroom and very soon after that the door opened.
"Boy what are you doing waking people up in the middle of the night?"
Jack stormed through the door still carrying Rose in his arms.
"Oh my God." Was all Molly had been able to utter as she saw Rose's face. "What happened?"
"I don't know," Jack replied, "a few minutes ago there was a loud knocking on my door, when I opened up Rose was standing there, looking like this. Molly you gotta help her."
"Calm down boy. I'll go and fetch the doctor; you better stay here with Rose in case she wakes up or something. You can put her in my bed for the time being. Don't worry Jack, she's gonna be alright, I promise."
And with that Molly was gone.
"Come on Rose, let's put you in bed. Let me clean this mess of your face. Rose please wake up, just give me some kind of sign you're alright."
Jack got a towel out of the bathroom and wiped the little stream of blood out of her face. He sat down beside her on the bed, gently stroking her hair, and whispered some words into her ear.
"I'm here Rose, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, at least not unless you want me to. I swear I'm gonna get Cal for this, he won't get away with it. But right now I just need you to wake up alright. You gotta tell me what happened."
At that Rose mumbled something he couldn't understand but at least now he knew she could hear him. She was still unconscious and Jack was starting to get worried why it took so long for her to wake up.
After what seemed to be an eternity Molly came back, a man carrying a leather bag walked in right behind her.
"Can anyone tell me what happened?" he asked.
"We don't know exactly. Mr. Dawson here found her like this close to my room. She fell unconscious just as he found her some 30 minutes ago." Jack got up and took a seat in a chair next to the bed, giving the doctor the opportunity to examine her.
"Well, it's obvious she has been hit. Pretty hard it seems. Was she bleeding when you found her?"
"Yes," Jack replied, "a little bit out of the corner of her mouth. Nowhere else though."
"Would you two please excuse me as I examine the young lady a bit further. I have to make sure she's not bruised or wounded anywhere else."
"Of course. Come Jack, I think a glass would do both of us good. Come with me to the sitting room."
Even though he was reluctant to let Rose out of his sight, he joined Molly, knowing that the doctor had to be given time to check Rose thoroughly.
Molly poured a glass of brandy for both herself and for Jack.
"Here, this will do you good." She said, handing the glass to Jack.
"I'm still trying to figure out why Cal would do such a thing. I reckon he's not the gentlest man on the planet but he ain't a beast either."
"It's all my fault." Jack replied. "I never should have taken her to that party. But she looked so happy Molly. She had the best time in years."
"What party Jack?"
"After dinner Rose didn't go to her stateroom as she said she would. I had asked her to come to a steerage party. I just wanted to show her a good time, I wanted to see her enjoy herself. Apparently Cal found out."
"Jack, I told you you were going into the snake pit but I was wrong. You're already in it. You're in love with her aren't you?"
"Yes, desperately. And I know it's not gonna work out and that I'm gonna be left with a broken heart and everything but it just feels so right Molly. I've never felt this way about anybody ever before. I know everything about it is wrong, she's engaged to another man, I've got nothing to offer her, hell I don't even know how she feels about all this but I just can't help feeling the way that I am."
"Boy, you're not only stupid but blind too."
Jack looked at Molly in awe.
"Don't you know when someone is in love with you? I can see, Ruth can see, hell even Cal can see it. She's crazy about you! Why do you think Cal reacted the way he did?"
"Rose loves me?"
"More than she knows. It takes a woman to know."