CHANGES
Chapter Sixteen
January 13, 2005
"My God, I look horrible." Rose
muttered, staring intently at her reflection in the mirror on her dresser. Her
eyes were surrounded by dark circles from lack of sleep, her dark tresses were
a disheveled mess, sticking out every which way and she was fat! Choosing to
ignore her protruding middle the past few months caused her to criticize it to
no end now. A happy note to that though, was that she was due any day now and
then she could get back to her regular size. Rose wasn't usually so
superficial, but lately she had felt as though Jack wasn't finding her
attractive anymore. It was her imagination of course, Jack found her more and
more beautiful everyday.
"What did you say?" Jack asked,
coming into the bedroom.
Rose sighed. "Look at me!"
Jack looked confused as he hugged her from
behind. "I'm looking."
"I look like some homeless person or
something. How can you stand being with me?"
Jack smiled. "Because I love you. I
don't care what you look like, you're still absolutely gorgeous to me."
Rose's angry face softened a little.
"What did I ever do to deserve you?"
"Being you. Come on, dinner's done and
Ashley and Simon are going to be here any minute."
Rose nodded and followed him downstairs.
*****
"And I, of course, want you to be my
maid of honor." Ashley announced happily.
Rose smiled. "Only if you'll be mine,
too."
Ashley squealed. "Of course I
will!"
Simon, who was standing with Jack on the
other side of the room, eyed them. "What have we gotten ourselves in
to?"
Jack laughed. "I don't know about you,
but I made the best decision of my life."
Simon nodded. "Agreed. Have you set a
date?"
Jack shook his head. "We decided we're
going to wait until after college to do it. Things are going to be hectic
enough, with the move and all, without adding the pressure of planning a
wedding. Besides, I think Rose wants our kid to be in the wedding. All in all,
it's for the best."
"I wish I could say the same...wait,
that sounds bad, doesn't it?"
Jack grinned. "Yeah. But I know what
you're talking about." He gazed fondly at Rose who just a minute ago was
talking animatedly to Ashley, but was now silent, a pained look on her face.
"Rose?" Ashley said worry creeping
into her voice.
"Jack..." Rose whispered, her
expression turning to panic.
Jack was at her side immediately and took her
hand. "Rose? Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"It's time." Rose nodded.
"You're sure?"
"Yes. We have to get to the
hospital."
Jack glanced up at his friends. "Could
you take us there? I don't wanna leave her side."
"Yeah, sure. I'll go get the car."
Simon said, heading out the door. Ashley grabbed all their coats and helped
Jack get Rose outside.
Three Hours Later, 11:45 PM
"Why aren't they here yet?" Ashley
asked Simon, who was pacing back and forth.
"Look at it out there, Ash! There's a
freaking blizzard going on. You try making the drive from Knollwood to here in
that!"
Just then Ashley's cell phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Ashley, it's Joe. How are things
going?"
"We don't know. Jack hasn't been out
with any news in at least two hours."
Joseph sighed. "Damn. Well Ruth and I
are on our way. We're stuck in St. Paul, on the freeway, but should be there
soon."
"Okay. See you then."
"Good-bye."
"Who was that?" Simon asked.
"Joe. They're coming, but they're stuck
in St. Paul."
Simon shook his head. "I hope everything
is okay. Wonder where Jack's parents are, though."
"They'll be here. You know Elaine
wouldn't miss the birth of her first grandchild."
"I hope you're right."
January 14, 2005, 1:20 AM
Joseph and Ruth DeWitt-Bukater burst into the
waiting room, startling Ashley and Simon.
"Any word yet?" Joseph demanded to
know.
Ashley shook her head. "No,
nothing."
Ruth sighed and sat down next to Simon.
"Well, I wish someone would tell us something."
"I'm going to go find a doctor."
Joseph announced. "I'll be back."
*****
A few minutes after he disappeared, the
Dawsons showed up. Elaine rushed over to the group while Don parked the car.
"Is everything okay? We didn't miss it, did we?"
Ruth smiled. "No. We just got here
ourselves. Nobody's heard anything."
Elaine's shoulders sagged as she sat down. It
was going to be a long night.
2:25 AM
"Come on, Rose, you gotta push!" Jack
urged, wincing slightly as she squeezed his hand tighter.
"I...am!" She hissed through
clenched teeth.
Rose had been in labor for over five hours
now and each second that went by, the more painful it became. She was dilated
enough, but no matter how hard she pushed, the baby just didn't want to budge.
"I hate you! You stupid son of a--oh
God!" Rose screamed as a ripple of pain shot through her body.
Jack shot the doctor a worried look and she
winked. "It's the pain talking. Don't let it get to you."
Jack nodded and went back to coaching Rose.
4:15 AM
Ruth glanced worriedly at her watch for the
hundredth time. Every time anyone asked how things were going, all they were
told was that they were fine. There was still no sign of Jack and everyone was
getting anxious. Suddenly the doors flew open and a very tired, but very happy
Jack appeared with an astonished look on his face. Before he could blink an
eye, everyone was on their feet, surrounding him. The grandparents looked at
him expectantly.
"Well..." He started, smiling.
"It's a girl. Amanda Rose Dawson was born at 3:49 am, weighing seven
pounds and two ounces and twenty-one inches long." Elaine broke down into
tears and the others stood with broad smiles on their faces. "Do you want
to see her?" Jack asked, knowing it was stupid. He led them to Rose's
room, where he paused for a second. Flashing his eager parents a smile he
opened the door. Rose was awake, but barely and there was a cradle next to her
bed. Rose smiled weakly when they came in and sat up slightly. Jack went over
to the cradle and picked up the sleeping bundle and sat on the edge of Rose's
bed. "Everyone, this is my daughter. Amanda."
*****
Elaine watched her son with an enormous
amount of pride. So young, but so eager to take on the role as a father. The
love she saw pouring from Jack to the little girl in his arms filled her heart
with such a sense of happiness. Between her parents and grandparents, this baby
wouldn't ever be lacking in the love department.
"You want to hold her, Mom?" Jack's
voice broke through her thoughts.
Elaine nodded and felt tears spring to her
eyes as Jack lay the infant in her arms. This was her granddaughter. Her first
grandchild. And somehow she knew that this would not be the last from Jack and
Rose. Not with the love they shared.