April 14, 1917

Rose sat quietly on the beach looking out at the gray ocean. It was a gloomy, overcast day. The beach was deserted; there was still a chill in the air that kept the crowds away. 'Matches my mood exactly,' Rose thought solemnly. Her long slender fingers dug into the soft sand creating tiny holes all around her. It was as if she was trying to dig a hole in the sand where she could sink away from all the sorrow and worry. The wind blew her cascading red curls into her face; nonchalantly she pushed them away.

It had been five years since Titanic sank. Today was Rose's birthday, or that was what she had told everyone, even Brandon. She was twenty-two. It really wasn't a lie; Rose Dawson was born five years ago on April 14, 1912.

The past five years had been the best years of her life. She had proved she could take care of herself, make her own decisions, and fulfill her dreams as she saw fit. Allan, Eliza, and Brandon had become the family she always dreamed of. Secretly Rose was hoping Brandon would propose soon. They had lived together at Miss Emery's on the third floor for almost four years. If not for having two bedrooms, the situation would have been considered scandalous. Of course, Rose didn't care what anyone thought as long as she and Brandon were happy; that was all that mattered.

Rose had started to make a name for herself in Hollywood. She had made five films, all of them with Lillian Gish. One of them was "The Birth of a Nation", the greatest motion picture ever made. 'Well, that was what Mr.Griffith said,' Rose thought.

Twice a week she had lunch with Mary Pickford. The two had become very good friends since they had met on Rose's first day at Biograph. She had taken Rose under her wing and shown her the ropes. Rose admired Mary. She had a good business head on her shoulders and knew just how to handle the Hollywood moguls. It was a riot to watch her operate. But for all her joy, this day always brought back the memories of what could never be.

This day every year made her somber. She always tried to keep it from Brandon for fear of ever having to tell him about Jack and Titanic. Allan had told Brandon she was a steerage passenger on Titanic, and how he had met Rose at the hearings. Bless Brandon's soul, he was a wise enough man to realize if Rose wanted to talk about it she would. He never asked or questioned her about her past or her time on the Titanic. He took her for whom she was at the time he met her, not who she was before they met; that only made her love him more.

During their first year living at Miss Emery's, Rose had dreadful nightmares about the sinking. Brandon would wake to her terrifying screams and come to her side. He always rocked her gently back to sleep, reassuring her she was safe, and he would protect her. In the four years that she had known him, he never once pressured her to tell him about her nightmares. 'Thank you, God, for Brandon,' she thought.

Rose closed her eyes as the tears slipped down her cheeks. She whispered a prayer for all the souls who perished on Titanic. Then she whispered a prayer for herself, Brandon, Allan, and Eliza.

On April 2, 1917, just a few short weeks ago, President Woodrow Wilson declared War on Germany. Brandon and Allan planned on enlisting as soon as the draft was scheduled. 'Oh God, I just can't survive anyone else I love dying,' Rose thought. The quiet tears that had started to slip down her cheeks had now turned into gut wrenching sobs.

She had begged Allan and Brandon to run away as soon as she heard the news. "Please don't enlist. Don't leave me here alone," she had begged. Rose knew in her heart that both men prided themselves on their family honor and sense of moral duty. If their country needed them to go fight, then by God, they would. Deep inside she would have been disappointed in both men had they decided not to go. She just couldn't keep her terror at bay. One or both or them could die.

Brandon had tried to reassure her. He too, had admitted it was quite possible that he wouldn't come back. "But life is about risks and chances you have to take. No matter what, you still have to be able to look yourself in the eye at the end of the day. That doesn't mean I love you any less, Rose. It means that if I don't do what I think is right, I won't be the person you have fallen in love with, just the shell of the man I used to be," he had said while stroking her hair, his eyes looking tenderly into hers.

She couldn't argue. He was right, and she couldn't bear the thought of him hating himself for something she had asked him to do.

Jack knew this was coming. He knew the pain, worry, and terror this would cause Rose. It nearly killed him that there was nothing he could do to ease her mind. "Let her know you're always with her, and she had nothing to fear," Thomas Andrews had told him.

"Jack," she said out loud. Instinctively she felt him close.

Jack mustered all his strength. It had been a few years since he had shown himself to Rose. Slowly he appeared. He looked just like he did on Titanic. His blond, shaggy hair was falling over his face. The cocky smile that had driven Cal crazy was still present. Those piercing blue eyes that Rose dreamed of every night were looking upon her with great tenderness and compassion. He was wearing the same white shirt he wore on Titanic. His brown trousers were rumpled as if he had been sleeping in them. On his wrists still hung the separated handcuffs, compliments of Caledon Hockley.

"Happy Birthday, Rose Dawson," Jack said, grinning.

For a moment Rose was self-conscious. Jack had not changed at all. He was still the twenty-year old man she knew on Titanic. She, on the other hand, was not the seventeen-year-old girl he had fallen in love with. She had become a woman. 'Do I still look the same to him?' she wondered.

Reading her thoughts, Jack answered her, "You have blossomed into a very beautiful woman, Rose."

Rose looked deep into Jack's eyes and saw his love and desire for her stronger than ever. Any feelings of self-consciousness slipped quickly away.

"Jack, am I going to lose them? If so, both or one? If one, then which one?" Rose blurted out. She couldn't control herself. Jack could see the future. He could either put her mind at ease or prepare her for what was to come.

Jack stifled his hurt feelings that Rose wasn't gushing to see him. It was ridiculous, of course, but he still yearned to be the man in her life.

"Rose, I can't tell you that. Only God knows," Jack answered, hoping she would understand.

"But you know what is going to happen, don't you Jack?" Rose said, sounding more frantic by the minute.

Jack looked at her, his eyes pleading for her not to put him in this position.

"You know, don't you? Tell me!" She screamed as she stood up and started to pound on his chest.

A casual observer would only have seen a crazy woman pounding her fists into thin air, but Rose could feel the warm flesh that she was pummelling.

Jack grabbed her hands. "Rose, listen to me. Yes, I know what is going to happen. But I can't share it with you. It would jeopardize us spending eternity together. I just can't risk that, Rose. I lost you once in life. I won't lose you a second time in eternity," Jack said with tears streaming down his face.

Rose pulled away from him. Her eyes angrily met his. "Go away, Jack Dawson. I never want to feel you again." Rose spat at him.

"What? Rose?" Jack stammered as she cut him off.

"You have been jealous of Brandon from the beginning. What? You think I did not know that? I feel your feelings just as you do mine. I know how you felt. You wanted to be the one I shared my life with. But it didn't work out that way. Now I have a second chance at love and you're too damn jealous to help me. I could save his life if I knew the truth," Rose said, glaring at him with a look as cold as the icy waters that had torn them apart.

"Rose, that's not it. You know it. You know it, Rose!" Jack emphatically cried.

"Goodbye!" Rose said abruptly, walking away.

Instantly Jack let himself drift back on Titanic. As soon as he felt the deck under his feet, he collapsed crying. Tommy was the first to get to him.

"Jack, are you okay?" Tommy asked with great concern.

"She hates me," Jack said over and over again.

"She doesn't hate you. Rose is angry and scared, and in great need of someone to lash out at. Who better than the person who loves and understands her more than anyone else? She loves you so much, Jack. Deep down inside Rose knows you will never leave her. That's why she took her feelings out on you," Tommy reassured soothingly.

"Tommy is right, young Jack," Thomas Andrews interjected, "In time, she will realize that you, like Brandon, can not do something you don't believe is right and she will love you more than ever. Trust me, lad, she will thank you for not jeopardizing your eternity together. Don't fear, Jack, you are the love of Rose's life. Remember I told you that you complete each other. Neither one of you will be whole until you are reunited in eternity. Stay as close to her as she will allow. Give her time, for she will need all your strength and love to handle what lies ahead of her."

Jack nodded and quietly looked down at Brandon holding Rose tightly, comforting her in a way he was not able to do.