SWEET INNOCENCE
Chapter Twelve
The hospital was very busy when
they brought in Cal's body. It seemed that he had died for a while, but was brought
back. The nurses and the doctors were happy that he had made it. He had a
severe concussion, and it seemed that he had lost his memory, due to his being
dead for ten minutes. The only way they had identified him was by his driver's
license. He hadn't remembered a thing. There was no one to contact. His father
and mother were dead, and he had no one. The only name that was listed in case
of emergency was Rose DeWitt-Bukater. The doctor called the number. Rose's
mother answered.
"Hello. Is a Rose DeWitt-Bukater
there?" Dr. Mercer asked.
"No, but I am her mother.
Can I take a message?" Ruth was rubbing her eyes while she spoke to him.
"Sure. Tell her that we
found her friend, Caledon Hockley." The doctor waited for a response from
Mrs. DeWitt-Bukater.
"Right away. Where at?"
she asked, putting on the light, grabbing her reading glasses, and getting a
pen and paper.
"Mercy Hospital. Do you know
where we're located?" he asked.
"Yes, I do. Thank you,
Dr…" Ruth said.
"Dr. Mercer," he
replied.
"Yes, Dr. Mercer. Thanks
again." She hung up and dialed Rose's number right away.
The phone rang a couple of times.
Jack finally answered, breathing heavily.
"Hello," he said,
wiping his forehead.
"Jack, can I speak to Rose?
This is her mother." She didn't even bother to ask what they had been
doing.
"Sure. Rose, it's for
you." He passed her the phone and lay on his back.
"Hello?" Rose lay on
her side.
"Hi, Rose. It's Mom,"
Ruth said.
"Hey, Mom. What's up?"
Rose wiped her forehead of the sweat that was on her head.
"A Dr. Mercer called from
Mercy Hospital. It seems that Caledon Hockley is in the hospital," Ruth
told her.
"But, Mom. Cal's dead, I
heard it on the news." Rose got up.
"Well, you’d better go to
Mercy. The doctor's expecting you," Ruth urged her.
"All right, Mom. I will call
you later to let you know what's going on." She knew that it was
impossible that it was Cal, but she had to know for sure.
"All right. Thanks,
Rose." Ruth hung up.
Rose passed the phone over to
Jack. He hung it up and kissed her.
"What happened?" he
asked.
"Cal--he's alive. He's at
Mercy. I have to go." She got up, putting on her clothes.
"All right. Let's get
dressed, then." Jack got up, put on his underwear, some sweats, and a
t-shirt, and quickly combed his hair.
Jack was still sweating from
making love to Rose. It was just too bad he had never finished. He got his car
keys and helped a very pregnant Rose to the car.
They drove, and got there as fast
as they could. Rose got out slowly, holding her stomach as Jack pulled her hand
to get her out. They walked to the hospital entrance.
When Rose stepped in, she went to
the visitor's desk.
"Hello. May I help
you?" a security guard asked.
"Yeah. A Dr. Mercer called
me about Cal Hockley," she said.
"Yeah. Right this way."
She led her through the hospital wing to Cal's room.
It seemed that he was doing okay,
since they weren't headed to the Intensive Care unit.
When they entered Cal's room, it
was very quiet, and it was sad to see that no one was there.
Rose went to Cal and looked at
him. He opened his eyes.
"Who are you?" he
asked.
"It's Rose. Cal, you know
me," she told him.
"The doctors told me I have
amnesia. So, sorry if I don't know you that well," he said calmly.
"It's all right, Cal. I am
just glad you’re okay." She really felt bad for him.
He saw her stomach.
"How are you doing,
love?" He touched her stomach, thinking it was his.
"I am fine, Cal. But I am
not married to you. I am married to Jack. Remember?" She let him down
easily.
"Jack?" He didn’t know
anyone by that name.
"Yes. Jack Dawson."
Rose saw Jack standing in the doorway.
"I don't recollect that
name," he said.
Jack thought that Cal was feeling
guilty about what had happened.
"Hey, Cal. How are
you?" he asked.
"Okay, I guess, Jack."
He seemed like a nice guy, even though Cal couldn't remember him.
Dr. Mercer came in.
"Ah…Caledon. You’re doing
great, but we are going to keep you for one day for observation. Then you can
go home," he said, bringing the good news.
"Doctor, will he need any
care after he gets out?" Rose asked.
"Yes, he will. Nothing
major, but I don't think he will able to go to school for a while. He will need
care, since he has broken his leg." Dr. Mercer checked Cal's chart.
"All right. If he needs
anything, let me know. Cal, I am gonna go. I need some sleep, but I will be
here tomorrow morning to pick you up. All right?" She patted his head.
"You sure your husband won't
mind?" he asked.
"No. Jack doesn't have a
problem with that," she said.
"All right. See ya,
Rose." He smiled at her.
She hugged him before they left,
wondering if Jack was mad that she had done that. All she knew was that when
they headed back to the car, he didn't say a word. On the way home, Rose looked
at Jack and touched his thigh.
"Are you mad, Jack?"
she asked.
"No. Why should I be
mad?" he asked in a steady tone.
"I thought you would be,
because I asked Cal to stay at our house." She looked at the road as he
drove.
"No. I am not mad. It's
fine. It's your house, too, although I do have some concerns if he remembers
things," he said, not wanting to act like a jerk.
"I do, too, but I don't
think that he would ever hurt me," Rose answered him.
"I hope you’re right about
that, Rose." He kissed her head and drove on to their home.