Love lasts for Eternity(Chapter 1 and 2)

Jack's POV
I slowly felt myself drifting out of a deep sleep. It was strange. I felt like I was floating...my body felt weightless. I opened my eyes...and felt a piercing sting in them. I snapped them shut again in pain. Then I realized I was underwater. Without opening my eyes again, I quickly kicked for the surface. I gasped in the cold night air. I filled my lungs again and again, my body desperately craving oxygen. I glanced around me. I was surrounded by dead bodies, most floating in lifebelts, some floating on deck chairs or pieces of wood like Rose. Rose!
I jerked my head around wildly, looking for her, but I couldn't see her or the wood anywhere. I must have drifted too far away. I tried to shout her name, but all that came out was a feeble whisper. My throat felt sore, unable to make the words properly. I tried again and again, desperately trying to find her. I eventually realized that she must have let herself die, thinking I was dead. I felt a tear fall down my cheek at realizing the girl I loved more than anyone was dead. I decided that if she couldn't live, then I would live for her. I decided I had to survive for her. I scanned the dark field of bodies and found a discarded piece of wood, smaller than the other one, but still big enough to climb on. I scrambled on top of the wood, my joints stiff and aching with cold. I immediately began to shiver uncontrollably. Suddenly, it felt warmer to be back in the water. But I didn't let myself retreat back into the icy sea. I stayed gripping the wood tightly, shivering so violently it hurt my muscles.
I suddenly saw a light in the distance. I opened my eyes as wide as I could, given the frost that had formed on my eyelids. I lifted my head to see where the light was. My vision was blurred, but I could just make out a white lifeboat, empty except for five people, four crewmen and a officer flashing the light around and yelling, "Is there anyone alive out there?! Can anyone hear me?!"
I tried with all my might to call to them, but my voice was just a feeble whisper. I called desperately but they couldn't hear me. As they carefully rowed towards me, searching for people alive, I tried splashing the water and banging on the wood. I felt so weak. I couldn't make much noise, but I tried as hard as I possibly could. I kept trying to regain my voice, shouting and calling for help as loud as I could bear. In my desperation, I began to cry. I cried because I was trying so hard and yet they couldn't hear me. I was crying because I'd lost all my friends--Fabrizio, Tommy, Helga, Cora. Rose. I couldn't stop the tears falling from my eyes. I finally was overcome with sorrow. I lay my head down on the wood, sobbing heavily. I felt like I was accepting my fate, to die here in the freezing Atlantic, alone.
The light finally shone in my direction. It shone right in my face, damned near blinding me. I opened my eyes to see the lifeboat about twenty meters from me. I tried to shout again. "Help! Please, help me! Please, help!" I shouted as loud as I could, though not very loud.
However, it was enough for the officer to see that I was alive. He shouted at the rowers, "Row over there! As fast as you can! Hurry!" He shone the light back onto me.
I suddenly heard a familiar voice from the boat. "Jack! Oh, my God! It's you!"
I glanced in the boat to see that one of the rowers was none other than Molly Brown. She must have insisted she help go back to look for survivors. I tried to lift myself up, but I couldn't. I still felt so weak. I collapsed back onto the wood hopelessly.
As soon as the boat was a few feet away, Molly dropped her oar and moved through the boat to join the officer. The officer extended his hand to me. I took his hand--he shuddered as he felt how cold I was--and he pulled me closer to the boat. Molly grabbed my other arm and they both helped pull me into the boat. As soon as I was on board, my legs buckled underneath me and I collapsed into Molly's arms. I was still sobbing uncontrollably and shivering like mad. I felt several thick blankets being wrapped around me tightly and the officer shouting orders to the other crewmen. Molly didn't go back to rowing. She stayed with me. I was still shivering uncontrollably through my heavy sobs. I felt like I just wanted to fall asleep. I was wrapped so tightly in blankets that I couldn't move. I suddenly started coughing uncontrollably. I could barely breathe through the coughing. Molly stroked my icy hair, gently calming me. I felt exhausted. The world around me suddenly became a blur as I felt myself falling asleep.
*****
I awoke to the sound of crewmen shouting orders. I opened my eyes to see a ship with the word Carpathia painted on the side. Several rope ladders dangled over the side of the ship and people were climbing up from the lifeboats. Our boat was rowed over to one of the ladders and people began to climb up on board. Molly had stayed with me. When she saw that I was awake, she asked, "How're you feeling?"
"Tired," I muttered feebly. The officer had stayed behind, too. He shouted something up at the crewmen onboard and came over to us.
"Can you climb?" he asked me. I managed to sit up well enough.
"I think so," I replied. He and Molly helped me to my feet and the officer went up the ladder first. Then I began to climb, and Molly went last.
I slowly but surely climbed up the ladder and climbed over the top of the railing. When I finally got to the top, I felt so exhausted, I collapsed onto the deck. Dry blankets were immediately wrapped tightly around me as I grew closer to falling into a deep sleep. The last thing I felt before going unconscious was my body being carried into a warm room.
*****
I was floating in the water again. Drifting weightlessly through endless water. But this time my eyes were open. I tried to kick for the surface, but I couldn't. I was slowly sinking downwards, down into the black ocean. I kicked furiously. I could see the top of the water. I could see Rose. It was the first time I'd seen her, standing on the upper deck of the ship with Cal, arguing with him, a symbol of how she would spend the rest of her life. I tried to reach her, but couldn't. I kept going down...down...
"No!" I screamed. But nothing came out except bubbles of air. I shouted over and over again. "No! No! No!" It was no use.
I thrashed my head around wildly, my eyes tight shut, still screaming "No! No!" I was sweating heavily and tears fell from my eyes as I thrashed around. I opened my eyes wide. I was panting heavily. I didn't know where I was. I couldn't remember how I'd gotten there. All I knew was that Rose needed me and I wasn't with her. "Rose? Rose!" I found myself shouting. I was so confused. All I knew was that I was lying in a bed in a strange place.
A doctor and nurse entered the room. The doctor smiled when he saw I was awake. "Ah…good. You’re awake," he said.
"Where am I? Where's Rose? Where is she?" I shouted.
"Shh. Calm down," the nurse said calmly. She felt my burning forehead and said to the doctor, "Still no improvement, sir." The doctor frowned and wrote something on a form. I grew frustrated.
"Where is Rose?" I shouted again. I sat up in bed, staring at the doctor.
"Shouting won't get you anywhere. We don't know a Rose, but you can check the survivor list when it's been completed. Now, calm down and rest," said the nurse firmly. I didn't move.
"I need to know where she is! Please. Where is she?" I pleaded. The doctor ignored me, continuing to write on the form. The nurse pushed me firmly back onto the pillows.
"Now, stop this," she said sounding annoyed. "Calm down or we'll have to sedate you," she said threateningly. I wasn't giving up.
"Not until you tell me where Rose is!" I spat back at her.
She didn't reply. Instead, she held me down while the doctor checked me over. No matter how I struggled, it was useless. The nurse was stronger than me, and I was weak from illness. I felt a raw pain in the back of my throat and suddenly had a coughing fit, struggling to breathe between the violent coughs. The doctor listened to my heart and felt my throat, which caused me to moan in pain. I still struggled against the nurse's grip, but in vain.
The doctor eventually got the thermometer under my tongue and had to hold my jaw shut so I didn't spit it out. When he finally took it out, he frowned at the nurse and said, "One hundred and four." The nurse frowned, too, and finally let me go.
The doctor spoke to the nurse, who nodded and left the room. She came back a minute later with a bottle of cough syrup. I refused to take it, a memory of taking it when I was a child resurfacing in my mind. Not only had it tasted bitter and horrible, but it also made me feel dizzy and drowsy. Eventually, the nurse had to hold me down again and pinch my nose so I'd have to open my mouth. Then the nurse quickly tipped the dose down my throat. I coughed and choked, but was forced to swallow it. I was nearly sick, the taste was so horrible. The nurse sighed and said irritably, "You're worse than a child."
The medicine soon took effect and I felt drowsy. I tried to stay awake, but couldn't. I soon fell into an uneasy sleep.
*****
The next few days were hell. I spent most of the time in an uneasy sleep. I'd wake up, spend a while thinking of ways in which Rose could've survived. I still held hope in my heart for her. I would often be stopped in mid-thought by the doctor or nurse. After a while, I figured out that it was four times a day they forced that horrible medicine down my still sore throat. I'd resist, but would soon be overcome with drowsiness and fall asleep. I'd have the nightmare almost every time I was asleep. It was always the same as the first one. I'd wake up, tossing and turning violently, sweating and often shouting Rose's name. The doctor or nurse often had to inject me with a sedative to calm me down. It was horrible.
When I woke up on the third day of being in the infirmary, I could hear someone talking. It was one of the very rare times I wasn’t awakened by the nightmare. I recognized the voice. I knew without opening my eyes that it was Molly. I slowly opened my eyes, which suddenly felt very heavy. My vision was blurry, but I could make out the shape of Molly sitting beside my bed, talking to the doctor. Neither of them realized I was awake.
"Well, sonny? How serious is it?" Molly asked the doctor.
"We don't really know for sure. He has a very high fever we can't seem to bring down and yet his body is showing all the signs of severe hypothermia. Plus, he keeps having nightmares and wakes up screaming."
"Well, I'm not surprised after what he's been through!" Molly shot back at the doctor. "Plus, it can't be good knowing that the minute you wake up, you're gonna have that stuff forced down you."
"I’m sorry, Mrs. Brown, but it's for his own good."
"If you ask me, it doesn't seem to be doing any good if you say he hasn't improved." I couldn't help but smile then. That was exactly the thing I'd expect to hear from Molly Brown. The doctor gave up and left, hastily saying he had to check on something. Molly sighed. I chose that moment to stir like I'd just woken up.
Molly looked at me and smiled when she saw that I was awake. "Hiya, Jack," she said cheerfully.
"Hi, Molly," I said back, my voice still a little hoarse.
"How d'you feel?" she asked.
"Horrible," I replied. I did. I was drowsy, I felt sick, I was hot and cold by turns, and I was weak. I summoned all my strength to pull myself up. Molly looked at me sympathetically.
"I'm not surprised with the amount of drugs they're injecting into you," she said with a glare at where the doctor had been standing.
"Molly?" I asked. "Please. Have you seen Rose?" I asked.
She hesitated for a moment, then said sadly, "No. No one has, not since she ran away from the lifeboat." My heart sank. I felt tears welling in my eyes. My worst fear was that Rose was dead. "Jack, I'm so sorry," she said, putting her hand on mine and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I don't know why she did it. She just ran off. Cal ran after her, but she spat in his face and was gone. You don't know how upset her mother was. She begged the crewmen to stop lowering the lifeboat. I honestly don't know what possessed her to pull a stunt like that."
I lowered my head. "I do," I muttered, more to myself than to Molly.
"You what?" Molly asked, confused. I lifted my head and looked her in the eye.
"I know why she ran away from the lifeboat." Molly's eyes widened. "She did it to save me," I continued. Molly looked at me, stunned and confused.
"What do you mean, Jack?" she asked me gently, sensing that it was a sensitive subject. I drew in a deep breath and told our story. I told her everything, from when I'd been arrested to when we were in the water. From when I passed out after making Rose promise, to when I woke up drifting in the water. Molly was almost in tears when I was finished. So was I. It was so painful reliving each detail of the sinking. It was then that I remembered that I was still wearing the handcuffs on my wrists. The nurse had been unable to remove the strong metal. When I reluctantly told Molly about the nightmare I'd kept having, I couldn't help tears falling from my eyes. I reminded me that either Rose was dead or trapped in her life with Cal, and I was unable to free her again.
"Oh, Jack," she said softly, pulling me into a hug. I lay my head on her shoulder and cried.
When we finally broke apart, Molly told me the one thing I didn't want to hear. "Cal survived," she told me, her voice bitter after I'd told her the details of the sinking. "He's acting like he's grief-stricken over Rose, but now that I know what he's been up to, I bet he's not."
"Well, the last thing he needs to know is that I survived," I said.
"Barely," said Molly. "You lived, but you're very sick. The doctor says it'll be a couple more weeks until you're fully better."
"Great. Two more weeks of being drugged every other second," I said, feeling frustrated.
"Well, you don't have to stay in the infirmary. You already sound better than when we found you. Have you got anyone you can stay with when the ship docks? Your parents, perhaps?"
"Dead," I replied. "They died when I was fifteen."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Molly said, looking uneasy. "You could always stay with me." I looked at her.
"Really?" I asked hopefully. She smiled.
"Of course you can. You can stay with me as long as you need."
I hugged her again in gratitude, just as the doctor came in. I felt a jolt in my stomach, thinking about the dreaded stuff they called medicine. He did walk towards the cupboard where they kept the drugs, but Molly beat him to it.
"Oh, come on, sonny. You can see he's doing fine as it is. Anyway, any more of them drugs and he may as well have that stuff instead of blood," she said.
The doctor reluctantly closed the cupboard again and began to check me over. He said my heartbeat had slowed down--good news, apparently--and my temperature had gone down slightly, too--again, apparently good news, but I didn't think so, as I as already felt cold despite my burning forehead. He asked me if I felt I could stand and walk. I tried, but the second I stood up, my legs buckled underneath me. I felt so weak. When I was back in bed, the doctor told me to get some rest. I was reluctant at first, but Molly convinced me.
"Come on. Do as you're told," she said lightly. "If you don't go to sleep yourself, they'll just drug you again."
Not wanting anymore drugs inside me, I gave in and snuggled down under the blankets. Molly stayed until I was almost asleep. Then she stroked my hair and quietly left.
I enjoyed my best sleep since I'd arrived. The dream didn't haunt me and I didn't have to worry about the drugs waiting when I woke up. I was however, gently shaken awake by the doctor and Molly. I panicked when I saw the doctor was filling a syringe with liquid.
"Jack, calm down. It's okay," said Molly, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "It's just something to help bring your fever down."
I relaxed and let the doctor slip the needle into my arm. He said I had to take some other medicine to help me regain my strength, too. I willingly took the foul-tasting medicine, even though I had trouble swallowing the disgusting stuff. After checking me over, the doctor said I was making good progress, but was still very sick.
"I'll be back in a couple of hours for your next dose. You need an injection every six hours and two doses of the other medicine every five hours. The injections might make you feel a bit drowsy, but I promise you they're not intended to make you go to sleep," he explained, and left.
Molly pulled out a long sheet of paper from her pocket. "I managed to track down this list of survivors," she said. I sat up, eagerly staring at the paper which held the answer I'd prayed for. "I've got some bad news, and some maybe good news," Molly continued. She unfolded the paper and said, "There are three Roses named on the survived list. A Rose Jacobs, a Rose Coombes, and a Rose Dawson." As soon as she'd finished speaking, I sat bolt upright.
"That's her!" I said in delight. "It's got to be her!"
"Jack, calm down!" Molly urged. "I said I had some bad news, too. There were four Roses listed on the deceased list. A Rose Henderson, a Rose Parker, a Rose Canning and...Rose DeWitt Bukater. I'm sorry, Jack, but Rose is dead."
Those words hit me like a punch in the stomach--not unlike the one Lovejoy had given me the night the ship sank. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, which soon overflowed and fell down my face.
"No! She can't be dead. She can't!" I said, my voice shaking. "She promised she'd survive." Molly had tears in her eyes. She'd always been fond of Rose. "She can't be dead. She wasn't in the water with me. She was lying on a piece of wood." I was pleading with fate to be wrong. I had one last glimmer of hope, though, a small, tiny chance that she might still be alive. "Molly, please, you have to find out who Rose Dawson is," I said. She looked at me like I was crazy.
"Jack, the chances of it being her are one in a million," she tried to persuade me.
"Molly, the chances of me surviving the sinking were one in a million. And I survived. Please, Molly, you have to try," I begged.
Eventually, she gave in reluctantly. "Okay." She sighed. "I'll try, but don't get your hopes up too much. Chances are, it's not her. And she was under third class, which makes it even more unlikely."
"Thanks, Molly," I said gratefully. "Please try."
She said good-bye and left. I sank back into the pillows, hoping against hope that the Rose Dawson on the list was my Rose.



CHAPTER 2
Rose's POV
I sat huddled in a corner of the third class dining area, sipping soup from a bowl and occasionally dipping a piece of bread in it. All around me, I was surrounded by grief, sorrow, and sadness. Women sat clutching handkerchiefs, sobbing into them heavily, grieving for their loved ones. Children sat solemnly, leaning against their parents or weeping into each other, overcome by what had happened to them. I felt like I should be one of them. After all, the tragedy had hurt me just as much. The cruel ocean had snatched the only man I'd truly loved from me. Jack. I wasn't crying. I was too overcome with grief to feel anything. I felt numb inside, like no emotions could possibly reach me. I sipped the last few drops of my soup and left the room.
I strolled along the deck of the ship, the light wind blowing in my face. I had kept the blanket that was wrapped around me as soon as I boarded the ship. I needed it to hide my features from anyone who came looking for me, especially Cal. I shivered at the very thought of him and what he had done. Now I truly knew him for what he was--a coward, trying to bribe his way off a sinking ship. A heartless devil, pushing people away from the last remaining lifeboat and using a small child to board it. A cruel beast, framing Jack for a crime he didn't commit and leaving him locked in a sinking ship to die. I thanked the Lord I had met Jack, the man who saved me, in every way that a person could be saved. He saved me from suicide, from Cal's evil clutches, from the sinking Titanic, giving his life to unlock my chains so I could be free. I was just sad that my freedom had cost his life and our happiness. I felt tears prickling in my eyes. I told myself firmly that crying wouldn't bring Jack back, but I couldn't help it. I collapsed onto a nearby bench and buried my face in my hands, overcome with sadness. I sobbed my heart out. I sobbed until I suddenly stopped at the sound of a familiar voice.
"You--let me through here."
Oh, no. it was the voice of Cal. He had come looking for me! Without a second thought, I whipped the blanket up over my head to hide my hair and shuffled towards a group of three people, making it appear I was one of their family.
I heard the steward say, "Sir, I don't think you'll find any of your lot down here. It's all steerage."
Nevertheless, I heard Cal stomp down to the deck. I heard him strolling along the wooden deck, gazing around and looking for me. I kept my head low, huddling closer to the family, who looked at me oddly, but had no objections. I guess they thought that I had lost everything and everyone and that I just wanted to be near people. I at last dared turn my head in his direction. His face was pale, his usually sleek black hair ruffled and out of place. His once perfect black tuxedo was tattered and torn. But his eyes were as calm as they had been this time yesterday. His eyes suggested that this awful tragedy hadn't occurred. He was glaring around the deck at everyone. I cupped my face in my hands and pretended to be sobbing heavily when he looked in my direction. I was very convincing, because the young woman from the family I was huddling with put a gentle arm around my shoulder. Thank God for this. It made me look one of their family.
Cal gave up, stomped back up the deck, and disappeared back to the first class section, his face a mixture of fury, rage, and shockingly, a hint of grief. I wondered if he had indeed loved me in his own twisted way. Could he have actually cared about me in his heart? I had read some romantic novels of men controlling their wives' lives, for they were scared of losing them. I wondered if maybe...just maybe...could Cal be one of those men?
I thought of the time before Titanic when we were in Europe. He had proposed in one of the most expensive restaurants in Paris, his eyes full of love and desire. He charmed me, flattered me. If I so much as complimented a dress or piece of jewelry, he had already pulled out his permanently bulging wallet. He had treated me like royalty. Now that I looked back at it, I was thoroughly relieved that I hadn't become a horrid spoiled brat.
Then I thought of the days leading up to and on the Titanic. He had threatened me, controlled me, told me what to do, ordered my food for me, told me what to wear, where to go, what to do, as thought I was incapable of deciding for myself. He'd slapped me for arguing or disobeying, never let me do what I wanted or go where I wanted, and constantly pressured me for sex. He seemed set on taking my virginity, but I was equally adamant that he wouldn't. Thank God he never would. Jack now had my virginity and I his. I had been quite surprised when I found out that he was still a virgin. I felt sure after seeing his portraits of naked women that he must have been seduced by one or two.
After reliving the horrid memories of what Cal had done to me, I was now certain that Cal was a control freak who wanted me for no other reason than to show me off like a trophy. And now he assumed his prize show horse was dead. With a bit of luck, I would never see him again. Good riddance.
I pulled down my blanket and lifted my hands from my face. The woman who had been comforting me looked puzzled when I emerged dry-eyed, but still looked at me kindly. I smiled at her and nodded kindly in a form of good-bye. I tried saying good-bye properly, but she shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, indicating that she couldn't speak English. She looked vaguely familiar to me. She had a thin face with thick, wavy, pale blonde hair falling past her shoulders and into her sky blue eyes. She had a somewhat Scandinavian look about her. Her face was tear-stained, the skin around her eyes slightly red. I wracked my brain and suddenly thought of someone. No. It couldn't be, could it? I decided to ask her as best I could.
"Helga? Helga Dahl?" I asked clearly, pointing to her. Amazingly, she nodded, puzzled. I then pointed to my chest and said, "Rose. Rose Dawson," I said, emphasizing my fake last name. I used Jack's name, hoping she'd make a link between him and me. She had known Jack though Fabrizio.
Her eyes widened. She pointed at me and then said "You, Rose Dawson. Know Jack Dawson?" she asked slowly, wracking her brain for the little English she knew.
I nodded eagerly. "Fabrizio?" I asked her. I'd hoped to find Fabrizio. If he was alive, he had a right to know about his closest friend's death. However, at the mention of his name, Helga broke into tears. I crouched behind her and put my arms around her.
"Don't...know…" she stammered. Suddenly, I felt someone touch me from behind. I turned my head around to see Helga's mother, an older version of her daughter with gray eyes. She asked me something, shockingly, in French. I was sure they was Scandinavian! I understood what she'd asked. "Do you know my daughter?" I had been taught French at finishing school in France and was fluent.
I replied, "Yes. My husband's friend Fabrizio was her beau. Am I right?"
She nodded sadly and said, "True, true. The Italian man. We don't know where he is. This makes my daughter very sad."
I told her sadly, "I lost my husband, also. They were great friends." She nodded sadly.
"I am sorry. Many people died. My husband also. Helga, my sister, and I were in a boat."
We talked a little, and soon Helga stopped crying. When she saw that I spoke French, she asked me, "Have you seen Fabrizio? Do you know where he is?"
It broke my heart to say, "No, I don't. I'm sorry. I haven't seen him."
She cried a fresh flow of tears then and all I could do was comfort her as best I could.
I suddenly felt someone tap me softly on the shoulder. It was an officer, carrying a clipboard and pen. He asked me softly, "Can I have your name, please?"
I had already given my name twice already, to two different officers. It seemed that they were taking down lists every day, updating them again and again with each new survivor discovered. As I had done twice before, I said, "Dawson. Rose Dawson."
I was one hundred percent sure of my name choice. I had taken Jack's surname for two main reasons. One was because I didn't want Cal and Mother to discover my survival. If they did, I would be hunted down and forced into a loveless marriage with him. I couldn't let that happen. Jack had died to save my life and freedom. To give up and go back to a life of imprisonment would be dishonoring his memory. The second reason was also because of Jack. He was the one man I truly loved with all my heart. I had said to him, moments before the iceberg hit, that I would leave the ship with him. I was willing to give up everything I had and knew for this man. I loved him so much. I was ready to marry him when he was cruelly taken from me. I decided to take his name as proof of our everlasting love. I was sure I would never love again, not anyone besides Jack Dawson. This was why I had told Helga's mother he was my husband, because in my heart, he was.
So I told the officer I was Rose Dawson, and in my heart, I was. I was no longer Rose DeWitt Bukater. She had died with the Titanic. After all, couldn’t one exchange one life for another? A caterpillar changed into a butterfly. If a mindless insect could do it, why couldn't I?
I was a new person, I was young and free to do whatever I wanted with my life. And one thing was certain. Rose Dawson would not waste her life. She would make each day count.