"Jack, this has been such a wonderful evening."

Rose stood resting her head on Jack's shoulder.

"In fact, this whole day was something special. But I'm really tired now."

Rose and Jack had just returned from the theatre with Molly Brown. The three of them had spent the evening watching a vaudeville show starring the rising new star George M. Cohen. For Rose, this evening has been yet another experience in her new way of life. She had never done things like go to vaudeville shows or eat ice cream sodas. And she had loved every minute of it. These pastimes were not dignified enough for her old crowd. Now the evening had drawn to a close. Molly headed home in a taxi leaving Jack and herself alone. They had walked home from the theatre and while she and Jack had savored every second in each other's company, Rose was soaking up the sights and sounds of ordinary life.

Jack held Rose in a tight embrace. They were to be married in two days and so far their life had been a frenzy of stolen moments on board the Titanic, tense times in a hospital when Rose's life had been in danger and most recently the last two hurried days of trying to ready for a life together. He had not actually been able to court Rose in the way most normal couples learn to know each other. But then their relationship had been far from normal.

He kissed her and whispered, "You get ready for bed Rose, and I'll be back in a little while."

"Jack, where are you going?"

"Just down to the hotel pub to have a beer."

Jack wanted Rose as much as she wanted him, but he had that old fashioned Wisconsin upbringing in him and even though he had cast caution to the winds that night on Titanic, he wanted their wedding night to be special for Rose and himself. He had to leave until she was asleep. He could hardly stand to be in the same room with her without touching her.

"You go on and sleep, catch up on your rest," he told her. "Don't worry about me Rose, I won't let anything happen to me."

She looked relieved, though she was confused as why Jack was leaving her again. But she trusted him. The only thing she really worried about was that something would happen to him.

"Goodnight," she said and they broke from their embrace.

"Now sleep Rose, you have to sleep."

"Alright, Jack, see you in the morning."

She watched as he left Molly's suite of rooms. After she had prepared for bed, Rose took a long look at herself in the mirror. Outwardly, she looked like the same person that had boarded Titanic twenty two days earlier. But neither her mind, nor her body, would ever be the same. For how long would she hear the screams and cries for help, when would she stop fearing for Jack's life, for hers. Would she ever take anything for granted again, would Titanic overtake their lives forever?

Rose got into the bed and tried to put these thoughts behind her. For a moment, she wondered about her mother. She was sorry in a way that her mother thought her dead. Still though, it was Ruth who had forced her into the nightmarish alliance with Cal. "Maybe the Hockleys will take care of her."

And then an alarming thought came into Rose's head.

"What if I saw my mother again. Could I ever make peace with her, or accept her?"

Then Rose decided these ideas were only upsetting her. She had to get some sleep. The window was open and it was cool for a May evening. But Rose did not have the energy to get up and close it.

"I'll just snuggle down more under the covers."

She tossed and turned a bit, listening for Jack to return, and finally fell asleep.

Rose stood in an empty room dressed in a wedding gown. From a few feet away, Cal sneered at her.

"Well, Rose," he began, "now I am the envy of all Philadelphia. You are my wife, and you will honor and respect me and you will do what I tell you. And one more important thing that you had better learn fast, get Dawson off your mind. Anyway, he won't bother us, I've had him put away for stealing that necklace. He won't see the light of day for twenty years or so."

Rose screamed and she felt Cal's hand come across her face.

"One more time Rose, he is dead to you and if you ever mention his name again, I will fix it so you won't be able to leave this house for weeks."

Rose felt anger rising within her and began to sob uncontrollably. She managed to dash past Cal without his grabbing her and ran out of the house. It didn't matter where she went, but she had to escape from Cal, from this marriage. She knew that somehow she had to help Jack.

Jack had gone to the small pub in the hotel. He stood quietly at the end of the bar, finishing his beer. In his mind, he was filing away people and scenes for some future drawings. He thought that by now Rose must be asleep. In another few minutes he would head back to the room.

Jack opened the door. The door to Molly's room was closed and no lights showed underneath. The rest of the rooms in the suite were dark, but from somewhere inside, he heard moaning sounds, like those of a wounded animal. He stood for a minute and listened quietly. It was so awful, that it was painful to listen to. It could not possibly be coming from a human being. No, it must be something else. But as Jack headed further into the main room of the suite, the sound got louder. Now it sounded like sobbing. He turned on the light and saw Rose. She appeared to be so upset, so distraught that she had not even heard him.

He knelt down on the floor next to the couch where she lay. Slowly he put his hand on her shoulder to let her know of his presence. He began speaking softly to her.

And slowly the sobbing changed to sniffling and in a scratchy, disbelieving voice asked, "Jack, is that you?"

He reached out to her and turned her around so she was facing him. Her eyes were red and her face was swollen. Jack wondered what could have caused her to get into such a state. Surely it wasn't because they were getting married. Rose spoke before he could question her. And it all came out in a jumble. About the dream of Cal and his hitting her, wanting to control her and sending Jack to prison. And at that she started crying again.

"Oh Rose, I should never have left you alone. You don't have to worry about any of that again. That's all behind us. Cal will never see you again. Let's go put some cold water on your face. You wouldn't want anyone to think that I did this to you?"

Rose smiled a little and sniffled through her tears. She got up and allowed Jack to lead her to the bathroom where he bathed her face in the refreshing water.

When they were finished and she was calm. Rose got back into bed.

"Please Jack, don't leave me again. Please. I couldn't stand having another dream like that."

Jack came back across the room where he had closed the window.

Trying to lighten the mood, he teased her saying, "Rose you will do anything to get what you want. You can drive any man mad."

Jack undressed and got into bed with Rose.

"Are you going to be alright now," he asked.

She nodded her head and he felt her body begin to relax. Rose slept dreamlessly with Jack's arms wrapped tightly around her. Jack lay there quietly thinking about all the circumstances that had changed their lives and began to think that they would be affected by them forever.