Jack
Part Six
Jack wondered what Rose was doing as he sat on his bed, staring up at the cobwebs of the ceiling. Even the spiders seemed to have a normal life compared to him, and he was bored out of his mind. Rose refused to have anything to do with him, and he had even seen her galavanting around with other men.
He wanted to scream. To scream so loud people on the other side of the world would hear him. But that most likely wouldn't bring Rose back to him in any way, shape, or form. On TITANIC, Jack had caught a whif of her temper, and once she was angry, there was no turning back and all hell broke loose. Jack felt like he WAS in hell.
A knock on the door awoke him from his reverie. "Come in,"Jack said, sitting up. A woman walked in, perhaps around Rose's age. She was trying to catch her breath, and breathed heavily.
"Rose's baby.......is.....coming,"she panted, "She wanted....you.....to know."
Yes, it had been six months since that foul day that Rose had left him. And now she was about to have their child. "Where is she?"
"She's up in her room at the tavern. We don't think we can get her to a hospital in enough time. She'll have to have the baby there."
Jack pushed passed the woman, whom he was sure was Rose's friend, and hurried down the street to the tavern. Downstairs, everything was normal, what with the local drunkards drinking themselves into a stupor. They were unaware to the fact the woman he loved was directly above them, giving birth to his baby.
"Come with me,"the woman grabbed his arm and led him up some very narrow back stairs, covered in cobwebs and the like. He jumped when he heard a loud sob coming from a back room. "That's Rose. She has been asking for you, but Miss Tilbald wouldn't let any of us girls leave to get you. You're all she's been talking about."
Jack entered the room, aghast at the site before him. Rose was pale, and she had obviously lost a lot of blood. "Which one of you brought him here?"an obese woman, obviously Miss Tilbald, asked.
"Please, I wanted to see him,"Rose cried. Her voice was so weak, and she was soaked with sweat. "I must speak with Jack."
Miss Tilbald shook her head and motioned for the other waitresses to follow behind her. Jack heard her whisper to them. "These may be her last words, girls, so let them be."
Jack felt his heart sink as he inched closer to Rose. Her skin was pure white, and her hair was matted to her face. "Jack, the baby...."she began, "She's healthy." She forced a smile.
"But you're not,"Jack stated, "And we have to take care of you before we take care of our child."
"Miss Tilbald sent our daughter out with one of my friends. She's perfect, Jack. In every way."
"But you-"
"I don't matter anymore, Jack. I can't go on. I'm not afraid to die. After facing it once, I can do it again."
"And you will survive again."
Rose shook her head, amazingly calm. "No, no. I have betrayed you. I still loved you, but I stayed away. It was foolish of me, and now I'm paying for it."
"No. Rose, you're gonna live and see our daughter grow up. You will be the best mother."
"We need to name her, Jack. Before I.......we need to name her."
"YOU name her, Rose. I want to give you a reason to live."
"Name her........Sarah."Rose smiled, "That's a lovely name."
"Rose, promise me you'll live. PLEASE!"
"You must take care of her, Jack. I love you two so much."
"Rose, wake up. Rose! ROSE!"
Miss Tilbald had heard Jack's cries and came rushing into the doorway. The other waitresses stood behind her. The one who had come for Jack began weeping and ran from the door, and Miss Tilbald sighed. "She was like family to us."
Jack heard the crying of an infant in the room across the hall. "Is that--?
"The baby,"Miss Tilbald stepped aside so he may see.
He took one last look at Rose, so peaceful, and stepped into the other room. The woman who had come for him sat in a chair, holding the child. She rocked it back and forth, singing her a lullaby.
"Who ARE you?"Jack asked quietly.
"My name is Mary Ashford,"the woman replied, "I am-was-Rose's best friend here. We wanted to be actresses someday, and I promised her we'd leave for California someday and pursue our dream."
"Why didn't you?"
"We never had enough money, and frankly, she didn't want to leave you. Since you never visited often, she got depressed and talked about not wanting the child. She thought you hated her."
"I never did. I always loved her more than anything."
"Even the girl you were with? Liz, was it?"
"I wanted her to be Rose before I knew Rose was still alive. Once I knew, I thought we could never be seperated, even by death."
"You don't have to be,"Mary gave him the baby, "There IS your daughter. Rose wanted you to take care of her."
"I'm afraid I won't be a very good father,"Jack sighed, "I don't know where to start."
"Well, if you stay around New York for a while, I'm sure all the girls here, even Miss Tilbald, will stop by and check in on you. Just to make sure she's alright."
"Rose named her Sarah."
"That's a lovely name,"Mary replied, "But I hope you decide to keep the poor dear."
"I do. I hope she'll look like Rose when she grows older."
"She already does, but she has your eyes." Mary looked up at Jack, and blushed when he returned her gaze.
"I guess I'd better be going and find out what I'm gonna do,"Jack sighed, "Can I leave Sarah hear while I go out and think?"
Mary nodded, and took the baby back into her arms. "You need some time to think."
"No,"Jack replied, "I just need Rose back. She has helped me through everything, and now she won't be here anymore. That's the price I pay for being too trusting with Liz. She ruined my life. And if I ever find her again, I'll scream at her. I swear. I loved Rose too much to lose her like this, this way."
The End
Alright, I know I left it kinda hanging at the end, but I have a good reason. I could leave it here and have you guys guess at what happened and have you enter my stories contest OR I could just leave it end like this. To view the full info for the stories contest, visit the main page under ANNOUNCEMENTS. I'm only doing this because I need more story ideas for the contest. Otherwise, this story stays as is. |