THEN YOU LOOK AT ME
Chapter Nine

Saturday, August 5, 2001
5:00 AM

Ruth watched from the window as her daughter ran out to meet Jack at his car. He kissed her gently and then took her bags. He set them in the trunk of his Explorer and then asked Rose something. She answered, and then smiled at him. He laughed and then came over to her again. Jack kissed Rose on the cheek and then said something else to her. She nodded and then started for the house. Ruth backed away from the window then and started downstairs to say good-bye to Rose. She was leaving today to go to Seattle with Jack. Ruth had been totally against it when Rose had first asked. But somehow, Rose had talked her into it. Saying things like it would be better for her to get a good look at the campus and how it would be nice to get a feel for Seattle before she started living there. And then Rose had said that she was going to go whether Ruth let her or not. She was eighteen now, old enough to make her own choices. And if she wanted to go to Seattle, she was going to go. Ruth had given in, saying it was fine. But really she was worried about Rose. Her daughter had done some wild and crazy, almost stupid, things before. Who knew what she would do in a big city with her boyfriend? Ruth tried to look happy as she saw Rose come in, a big smile on her face.

"Bye, Mother," she said coming over.

Ruth hugged Rose and then pulled her away to look at her. "Good-bye, sweetie. You be careful, all right?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Aren’t I always?" she asked.

Ruth raised her eyebrows. "Rose, I am trusting you here. Make sure I don't regret it," she warned.

Rose blushed, thinking about what her mother might mean. "Mother, I am old enough to know what I should and shouldn't do. Don't worry about me."

Ruth sighed. "I'll try not to, Rose."

Rose smiled. "Thank you. Now, Jack wants to show me his old house and then we are going to say hi to his Aunt and Uncle up in Yakima. So depending on how late we get there, we might not get into Seattle until tomorrow. Jack doesn’t like driving over the pass at night, and frankly, neither do I. So, we might be spending the night in Ellensburg or Yakima or wherever. But I'll call you around eight, wherever we are. I've got my cell phone, so call me if you need to."

Ruth nodded and kissed Rose on the cheek. "All right, dear," she whispered.

There was a honk from outside, making both of them jump.

"Geez, he's gonna wake up the whole neighborhood. I better go, Mom." Rose smiled again and then started toward the door. "Good-bye, Mother! Love you! See you in a week!" she called as she ran down the front walkway.

"Bye Rose!" Ruth called back weakly. She watched as Rose jumped into the car and closed the door. She and Jack waved one last time and then they left. Ruth wiped a tear from her eyes and then went back into the house, hoping to get some more sleep.

*****

"Why the hell is there so much traffic at 5:20 in the morning?" Jack asked Rose. She was looking out the window, trying to see what was going on.

"Ah, I think they are doing something with the road. We could be here a little longer," she said before sighing. Jack rolled his eyes and then turned on the radio.

"Hey, some news to all of you out on Division; there is a twenty or thirty minute wait to get onto I-90. So avoid that area if you can. I'm Jay 'Mad-man' Kelly and this The Zoo. Up next we have Jennifer Lop--"

"Okay, that answers my question," Jack said, turning the radio off again.

Rose smiled at him. "Hey, we've been here ten minutes already. It can't be that much longer," she said, trying to cheer him up. "Come on, this is suppose to be fun! We get to go to Seattle for a week."

Jack looked over at her and smiled. "Well, with all the stuff we brought, you think it would be a month," he said, gesturing his head toward the back of the car.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Jack, you're starting to sound like my mother."

Jack grinned. "Sorry," he apologized. He reached over and took her hand. "But seriously Rose...I am glad we are going. I'm a just a little tired, that all." He kissed her hand and then smiled again.

"Well, sweetie, I love you...but five in the morning is much to early. Let's make it like ten next time."

"Okay," Jack whispered. He let go of her hand and then turned his attention back to the road.

"Hey, I'm hungry. You have anything to eat?" Rose asked, looking around. The only thing she could find were a bunch of CD's, maps, tapes, and a few books.

"Didn't you eat?" he asked.

"No, I wasn't hungry at home. But that bakery back there made me want breakfast," Rose explained.

"Ah, there is a Safeway bag behind my seat. I think there is some stuff in there. We can stop and get coffee in Ritzville or somewhere if you want. Just let me get out of Spokane."

"Kay," Rose said. Her voice was muffled, though, because she was leaning down, looking behind Jack's seat. "Ah ha!" she exclaimed, sitting back up. "I found scones and bottled water!" she said happily, fixing her seatbelt. Jack laughed and watched as she quickly ate one of the treats and then took a sip of her water. All the while, they were moving forward little by little. Finally, after was seemed like hours--it was really only twenty minutes--they finally made it onto the freeway and started toward western Washington.

Two hours later...

Jack softly drummed one hand against the side of the steering wheel and drove steadily with the other. He was on a long stretch of road between Moses Lake and Vantage that seemed to be taking a long time. Out the windshield was road, out his window was cornfield after cornfield, and out the passenger window were countless wheat-fields. He was beginning to get a little restless, and bored. Jack glanced over at Rose, who had fallen asleep right after they stopped for coffee. She was still asleep, much to his disappointment. But she looked lovely, he decided, watching her breathe in and out softly. A bit of her hair was lying in her face and her mouth was parted slightly, as if she was drinking something. Rose also cuddled one of her many pillows to her chest and kind of off to the side. Jack sighed softly, thinking how it would be nice to be that pillow, before turning his attention back to the road. He debated turning on the radio, or a CD, fearing it would wake Rose up. Finally deciding to take his chances and risk her getting mad at him, Jack slipped Rose's Faith Hill Breathe CD into the stereo and turned it on softly. At first, Jack hadn’t like Faith's music at all; he usually didn’t like country. But he had been with Rose so much when she had been listening to it that he found he liked it. Course, Rose had been turned on to some of his types of music as well. He found her listening to more and more rock than she had when they first met.

Jack continued to drive on, wishing more and more that Rose would wake up. He didn't mind that she was sleeping really, it would just be nice if she could talk and sleep at the same time, he decided. Finally, he heard her make a soft noise and he quickly turned his head. She yawned and sat up before opening her eyes and looking around. "Hey," she whispered sleepily when she saw him.

"Hey yourself," Jack whispered back, smiling at her.

Rose sighed and stretched her arms. "How long have I been sleeping?" she asked as she started reaching down in her backpack for something.

"About an hour and a half...we're almost to the river," Jack responded. He watched as she sat up and ran a brush through her hair.

"Sorry I fell asleep." Rose laughed as she put her brush back and then sat back up. She smiled at Jack. "I was so tired. I'm sorry if you got bored; you must be if you're listening to Faith Hill," she joked.

Jack rolled his eyes at her. "I like Faith Hill, so just back off..."

Rose started laughing again and reached over to turn the music up. "Oh, so you like listening to Faith and her husband sing about making love? I never knew you had such a feminine side, Jack Dawson." She grinned at him again. "Let's make love...all night long!" she sang in unison with the song, hitting the notes higher then she should have.

Jack started laughing as well as he reached over to turn the song back down. "Can I help it if it makes me think of you, Rose?" he asked, making her blush and bite her lip.

Rose cleared her throat and shook her head. "Yeah, um, well...that’s great. Now, let's see...what could we do." She glanced at Jack and looked thoughtfully. Suddenly she snapped her fingers. "I've got it! I saw this on Friends once. Okay, I am going to say a word and you have to say the first word that comes to mind. Know what I mean?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. But what is the point of this?"

Rose shrugged. "I don’t know...I just think it sounds like fun." She shifted in her seat and adjusted her seatbelt. "Okay...clear your mind."

"Okay, cleared..." Jack responded.

"All right...let's see...water!"

"Wet," Jack responded uncertainly.

"TV!"

"MTV...I think I am getting this."

Rose laughed. "This is fun. Okay...computer."

"Ah...Internet."

"Seattle!"

"You!"

Rose laughed once again. "All right. That’s great. Um, let's see. Hot dog!"

"Not going there!" is what Jack responded, making Rose crack up again. She took a deep breath and tried to think of more questions.

"Mini Me!"

"Same answer as before!" Jack yelled again, making himself laugh this time.

"Stage."

"Romeo and Juliet."

"Church."

"Getting married," Jack said without thinking.

Rose gasped and looked at Jack. She raised her eyebrows at him and he blushed. "Sorry," he mumbled softly. "Forget I said it."

Rose said she would, but the idea stuck in the back of her mind. "Um...let's see...ten cents."

Jack hesitated on this question. "Why do I have the feeling that’s suppose to be something really important?"

"That’s not how you're suppose to answer," Rose responded playfully. "But never mind, this is getting old right now."

Jack looked over at her and grinned. "Fine by me. Now what are we gonna do?"

Rose shrugged and looked out the window. It was quite for a moment, while both of them tried to think of things to do. Finally, Jack got an idea.

"What if we just talked?"

Rose turned from the window and smiled. "What do you mean?" she asked softly.

Jack shrugged. "You know, just talk. About things we don't know about each other and…you know...things like that."

Rose grinned at Jack and rolled her eyes. "Okay, sure...we can talk about things and stuff."

And that is just what Jack and Rose did; talked about things and stuff.

*****

"So who is this we are going to see?" Rose asked some time later, around three in the afternoon.

They had been traveling all day except for the few hours around lunch when they had stopped in Ellensburg and the hour in Vantage. In Ellensburg Jack taken Rose on a mini tour of the whole town. He had shown her where he went to elementary school and middle school, where he used to hang out, and his old house. He even showed her where he had jumped off a bridge and almost broke both of his legs because the water was shallower then he thought. Rose had even gotten a chance to see where Jack's parents were buried. They had stopped at the graveyard and sat down for a while. Jack seemed a little nervous when they first got there, but after a while it seemed, to Rose, that he was at peace. They ate a late lunch and then stopped one last time at a small gift shop Rose had heard about. After all that, they were on their way Yakima, where Jack's relatives lived.

Jack started to speak again, breaking through Rose's thoughts. "It's my Aunt Monica and my Uncle Steven. And their four children. Monica is my Mom's younger sister. She's awesome; you are going to love her. I promise. And Uncle Steve, well, he's great, too. Just be sure you don't diss baseball, especially the Mariners."

Rose grinned. "Hey, I can talk baseball with anyone. Believe me. My uncle who lives in Seattle is about the biggest fan I can think of. And every time we are over there, he fills me in on everything that has happened since the last time we talked. It's not bad, actually."

"Well, that’s good," Jack answered. He looked over and smiled at Rose. "I guess you’re covered."

"Yeah...now who are your cousins?"

Jack paused for a moment. "Well, let's see. Mary is the oldest. And, well, she's must be around fourteen, fifteen now. Then there is Kyle, and he is eleven, I think. Next is Joey who is about eight. And last is Gweneth. But don't call her that, it always Gwen unless she in trouble. And she is...seven...maybe six."

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Wow, okay. Let's see...Mary, Kyle...Joey...right?"

Jack nodded in response to her question.

"And then it’s Gwen."

"You've got it.

Rose grinned at Jack. "How much longer until we are there?" she asked softly. She was getting excited to meet his relatives. And Rose needed to stretch her legs very badly.

"Ah, about fifteen minutes. We are just coming into town right now. Then I gotta figure out how to get to their house..." Jack trailed off, as if speaking to himself. Rose smiled and then looked back out the window again. She had never been to Yakima, so the sights were new to her. At the moment she could only see trees and a river, but before long they got off the freeway and Rose got her first glimpse of the town. Looking around, she could see a lot of hotels and restaurants on one side of the street and pretty much what were trailer parks and low-income houses. Driving on, the scenery began to get a bit nicer. The ghettos gave way to more business, nicer than the ones before, and more sophisticated buildings. But there was still a lot of graffiti and run down areas, ruining the whole area. At lot of Hispanic influence, Rose noticed. Not that it is bad, she mentally corrected herself. It's just there is a lot of it.

They came to a stop a few minutes later and Jack looked over at Rose. He raised his eyebrows. "It's not the best area of town," he commented, as if reading her thoughts.

Rose nodded and then smiled at Jack. "Yeah," she mumbled. "But that’s okay. I’ve seen worse."

Jack nodded back and then turned his attention back to the road. The light turned green, allowing him to turn and start going down another street. They started going west, and as they did so, Rose noticed everything slowly started getting nicer. There started to be a lot more doctor's, real estate, and lawyer's offices and a lot more parks. Here and there, Rose also saw a few schools and a couple of quaint shops.

"Is this downtown Yakima?" she asked, wondering if it was, where the malls and big restaurants were.

Jack shook his head. "Not really. The real downtown is back the way we came. You just turn the opposite way. I think there is like a mall and Nordstrom's or something. And banks, The Olive Garden, YMCA...things like that. But the thing I think you would really enjoy is the Capitol Theater. Big, famous stage with, you know, the whole deal. Balcony, dome ceiling with art decorating it, elegant reception room, grand staircases, awesome seats and carpet. It's great, I've been there a few times."

Rose's eyes lit up at the mention of the theater. "Are there any shows playing tonight?"

Jack shrugged. "Nah, the season usually goes September through May or something. But I think Aunt Monica knows someone that works there, maybe she can get us in."

Rose grinned. "That would be awesome." She started fiddling with the car stereo then. Jack looked over and became confused.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Ah, looking for a radio station. Do you know what they have here?"

Jack shrugged. "I have no idea," he said. "Try like 106 or something. There might be something around there.

Rose followed his instructions, finding a station on 107. The One, by the Backstreet boys was on. Rose rolled her eyes, she was so sick of Boy Bands. She switched the tuner again and found a different station. This time How Do You Like Me Now? by Toby Keith was on. "Yes," Rose exclaimed, turning the volume way up.

Jack started laughing as she rolled down the window and started singing along.

"...then you married into money girl, isn't it a strange and funny world! He took your dreams, and he tore them apart. He never comes home and your always alone and your kids hear you crying down the hall. The alarm clock starting ringing, who could that be singing? It’s me baby! With your wake up call!"

Jack finally gave up and started to sing along with her.

"How do you like me now! Now that I'm on my way. Do you still think I'm crazy, standing here today? I couldn’t make you love me, but I always dreamed about living in your radio...how do ya like me now?"

They finished the rest of the song together, singing and yelling it at the top of their lungs. People around on the sidewalks turned and a few stared, but Rose and Jack didn't care. They were having fun. And that was all that mattered.

Afterwards, Rose started laughing along with Jack who was having trouble concentrating on where he was going.

"Oh, Lord, I would love to get up and sing that to Marianne's face someday. Except I have my own version," Rose explained, giggling after every sentence.

Jack started laughing again at the image of Rose singing to Marianne. He could just see her standing on a stage with her rival in the audience. She would start signing and then everyone else who didn't like Marianne would come out and join in, himself included.

Rose sighed happily, breaking his thoughts. "Wouldn't that be wonderful..." she trailed off.

Jack smiled at her. "Yeah, it would be great," he agreed after a moment, the vision of Rose on stage still in his mind.

Rose shook her head and turned down the radio. "Are we almost there?" she asked again.

Jack laughed. "You sound like Aaron...yes, we are almost there."

Rose grinned at Jack. "How much longer?"

Jack pretended to be exasperated. "Ugh, not much." He started to slow down, looking at the different houses. "In fact..." he finally said, pulling up in front of a house, "here we are."

Rose looked outside and gasped. They were in a totally different part of town than they originally had been. She couldn’t see anything but neighborhoods and the whole area looked antique and really, really nice. Top of the line houses. Her eyes finally focused on Jack's aunt and uncle's house. "Wow," she said softly. The blue and white Victorian beauty stood before her, drawing her into the house. Trees stood all around the property, shading the entry area. It was her dream home, she decided.

All at once the front door opened and a woman ran out. She had blond hair, much like Jack's and was a little shorter then Rose was. She was yelling something and Rose noticed that Jack had jumped out of the car. Rose unbuckled quickly and opened the door. She saw the woman, who must have been Monica, hugging Jack tightly. He was laughing and smiling a lot, making Rose smile herself. "Rose! Come here!" Jack said excitedly when he noticed Rose standing there.

Rose came over and stood next to Jack and his aunt.

"Aunt Mon, this is my girlfriend, and best friend in the world, Rose DeWitt-Bukater," he said proudly, taking her hand and pulling her closer.

Monica smiled at Rose and extended her hand. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Rose. I’ve heard a lot about you, dear."

Rose extended her free hand and shook Monica's hand. "It's a pleasure, Mrs..." she trailed off, realizing she didn't know Jack's aunt's last name.

"It's Raines, dear. But don't call me that. Just Monica is fine."

Rose smiled and nodded her head. "Well, it’s a pleasure, Monica. Thank you for having us."

Monica looked from Jack to Rose and then smiled. "You two are staying the night," she finally said.

Jack started to protest, saying they had to get to Seattle, that the hotel was expecting them. But Monica cut in.

"Nonsense, Jack. We haven't seen you in about a year. I'm not letting you just stay a couple of hours. You and Rose can sleep downstairs, leave tomorrow morning. Whatever. But you are staying. And don't try to argue with me, Jack. I'm your aunt."

Jack rolled his eyes and finally gave up. He started to laugh and then just smiled. He turned to Rose and raised his eyebrows as if to ask Is that okay? Rose nodded quickly and then smiled at him reassuringly.

"Okay, Mon, we'll stay," he agreed finally.

Monica clasped her hands together and exclaimed, "That is wonderful!" She gestured toward the car. "Now, grab your bags and come inside. I'll tell the children you are here." She ran off into the house, leaving Jack and Rose.

Rose turned to Jack and smiled. "Well..." she started. "I guess we'll be a little late."

Jack just grinned and started toward the car. He opened up the back and looked around. "Which suitcase do ya want?" he asked. She had brought three.

Rose came over and looked around. "Um, this one," she said, pulling out the smallest of the three. "I think it had everything I need. I am just going to grab my pillow out of the front."

Jack nodded as she dragged the suitcase onto the grass and then went to get her pillow. He rummaged around and found his backpack that contained a pair of shorts, a shirt, and clean underwear. That was about all he needed. He joined Rose on the front walkway and together they walked inside.

Rose gasped when she walked into the front hall. It was like looking at a movie set from a film set in 1900; a big lavish staircase, dark woodwork, beautiful pieces of furniture. Rose was in heaven.

Jack smiled at her reaction, it was the same as his had been when he first visited his aunt and uncle's new home back in 1997. Before that, they had lived out in the country. He gently took her hand and started pulling her toward the right. "Come on," he said softy, breaking through her thoughts.

Rose followed him in a trance, still in shock. She was led down a less formal staircase into a big, what looked like, bonus room. There was a couch, a few armchairs, and a television set. There was also a mini-bar and refrigerator. Jack started leading her down a different hall then, coming to a stop outside a door. He dropped her hand and pushed open the door, revealing a spare bedroom. There were two twin beds, a dresser, a closet, and a television.

Jack set his suitcase down on one of the beds and then Rose did the same. They looked at each other and just smiled at the same time.

"What do we do now?" Rose asked after a minute.

Jack thought for a moment. "First, we need to call the hotel and tell them we'll not be there until tomorrow," he said thoughtfully. "Then I don't know what."

Rose nodded and then smiled. "Come on," she said coming over and taking his hand. "There is a phone upstairs, right?" Jack nodded and then followed her out of the room, switching off the light as he did so.

Jack and Rose walked upstairs and managed to find a telephone in the kitchen. Jack ran over and quickly found the telephone book. He looked for the directory number for Seattle and then started dialing. Rose sat down on a nearby barstool and watched as Jack started talking to someone on the other line. Monica came in a moment later carrying a basket of clothes. She looked at Jack, confused as to what he was doing.

Rose spoke up. "He's changing the reservations at the hotel."

Monica looked over and nodded. "Ah, all right. I'll be back in a minute, hon, I just have to put these clothes away."

"All right," Rose said softly. Monica smiled and then left the room quickly. Rose turned her attention back to Jack. He was arguing with someone now, and she wondered with whom and what about.

"What do you mean? There has to be a room available!"

Rose raised her eyebrows. No room? 'Oh no,' she thought to herself.

"What? You do? Well?" There was a pause while Jack listened to the person on the other line. "Whoa, wait, one be--hold on a minute please." He took the phone away from his ear and covered up the sound part. He looked at Rose and rolled his eyes. "There is a room tomorrow Rose...but...there is only one bed. It's the last room in the place," he added softly.

Rose just shrugged as she broke into a smile. "That's fine Jack. I don't care." She laughed just then. "Just don't tell my Mother though. I'd be in deep shit."

Jack chuckled and then put the phone back up his ear. "All right sir, we'll take that room. Yeah, through next Saturday please. Ah huh, reservations under 'Jack Dawson.' Yeah..." Rose looked at Jack, trying to catch his eye. But instead she saw him trying not to laugh. His eyes were shining and he was sucking his lips in.

"Oh wait...Ah...that’s right, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Dawson," he looked at Rose and winked. She started laughing so hard after that that she almost had to leave the room. Jack went on, "Yes, Jack and Rose Dawson. Yeah, we'll be there tomorrow. Probably early afternoon. What time is check-in? Eleven? All right. Thank you sir. Good-bye." Jack hung up and then started laughing so hard that tears were coming out of his eyes.

"Why did you do that?" Rose asked, giggling.

Jack tired to stop laughing long enough to answer her. "He asked if the reservations would be under Mr. and Mrs. now since I had one bed." Jack laughed again. "So I just went with it."

Rose grinned and waltzed over to Jack. "You can pretend we are just married and carry me over the threshold!" she exclaimed. Suddenly, she jumped into the very surprised Jack's arms. He caught her, luckily, before she felt to the ground and held her much as if he WAS indeed carrying her over the threshold.

Rose wrapped her arms around Jack's neck and smiled at him.

Jack smiled back and then kissed her on the nose. "I like having you in my arms like this," he commented.

Rose laughed. "And why is that?" she asked softly.

Jack tried to shrug, but Rose made the task difficult. "Ah, I am not sure," he said. "I just do."

Rose grinned, kissing him on the cheek and then the mouth. After a moment, Jack set her down, keeping her close to his side afterward. "Where did Monica go?" he asked, looking around for his aunt.

"I'm right here, Jack." Monica suddenly appeared from the hallway. "I was just putting away some things."

Jack and Rose glanced at each other, their eyes asking the same thing. Had she just heard what they were talking about?

After a minute or two, Monica hadn't said anything, so they assumed the coast was clear. She sat down at the table and then motioned for Jack and Rose to do the same.

"Okay, guys, here is the deal. The younger three went with Steven to the store, without telling me," Monica laughed. "I can only imagine what is going on. And ah, Mary is upstairs on the phone. She'll be off in a few minutes and then I can introduce you to her, Rose. Now, I was thinking, for dinner, we could all go out. Red Robin okay for you?"

Jack and Rose both nodded, making Monica laugh again. "You guys crack me up. Anyway, okay, that is what we'll do. And then, I was thinking, we could go to the drive in movie's later--"

"Awesome!" Rose exclaimed without meaning to. She had never been to a drive in movie before. She had always wanted to, but there wasn't one in Spokane so she never got the chance. Rose turned bright red and mumbled sorry.

Jack and Monica stared laughing this time, making Rose blush more. "Its all right Rose, you don't have to apologize. So I take it you want to do that?" Monica finally said.

Rose just nodded and Jack stared laughing at her again.

Monica rolled her eyes. "All right. Now, is there anything else you both would like to do?"

Jack spoke up after recovering from his little laughing outburst. "Actually, I would like to show Rose around town. Do you mind if we take off and meet you guys for dinner?"

Monica shook her head. "No problem. How's about six at Red Robin? Or wait, five thirty would be better. It may be packed tonight."

Jack nodded. "That sounds good," he agreed. He looked at Rose. "How about we go change and then head out?" he asked her.

Rose nodded. "That's fine Jack," she said softly, still embarrassed by her actions before.

"All right," Jack whispered. They stood up together and said goodbye to Monica before walking back downstairs. Rose slammed the door once they were inside the room.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked timidly.

She sighed and looked at him, tears filling her eyes. "Your aunt probably thinks I am...oh I don't know..." she whispered. "I just shouted out like that. And she probably heard us talking about the one bed thing. And she probably thinks I am a slut."

Jack pulled her closer to him. "Hey," he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers, "this isn't 1880, okay? You did nothing wrong. Mon loves you, I know. I can see it. You can tell when she doesn’t like someone. She likes you Rose. She doesn’t think you’re a slut or anything. Okay?"

Rose nodded and blinked back tears.

"Okay?" Jack softly asked again.

"Okay," Rose reassured him. "I believe you Jack."

Jack nodded and then gently kissed her. "Now come on. Let's go start our vacation."

Rose tried to smile and kissed Jack back. "Okay," she repeated. "Lets go Jack."

*****

Rose came out of the bathroom and softly closed the door behind herself. Crossing the hall, she pushed open the door to the bedroom where she and Jack were sleeping that night.

The lights were off, and Rose could make out Jack's form lying in the bed closest to the door. She quietly crept over to her own bed and pulled back the covers, quickly getting in and snuggling under blankets.

Rose rested her hands on her stomach and sighed, thinking about the day. Jack had shown her all over Yakima. The beautiful landscape, unique characteristics, and many other things that Rose had not expected. He also showed her the ghettos and the less reputable parts of the town. They had met up with Jack's family later and she had been introduced to his cousins. She found the oldest one, Mary, to be the picture of a typical teenager these days: blond, tall, skinny, and obsessed with boys. Rose noticed that the girl was flirting with the waiter thought all of dinner, much to the embarrassment of everyone else. Kyle was a normal little-league loving eleven-year-old. He and his father, who proved to be quite nice, talked about baseball the whole time. Joey was cute, Rose decided. He was missing a few teeth and just made you want to smile when you looked at him. And Gwen was obviously the entertainer of the children. She was making jokes and talking the whole time. Everything was mostly directed toward Rose, but she didn't mind. The dinner was fun. And the movie had been too. They had gone to a kid movie, but Rose didn't care. The drive in had been everything she expected and looked like something out of Grease. She and Jack had parked the car backward toward the screen, opened up the back, climbed in, and cuddled throughout the whole thing. She sighed at the memory...the whole evening that been perfect.

Rose closed her eyes and smiled to herself. She attempted to clear her mind so that she could get to sleep at a reasonable time. If not, she was going to be very PMS-like the next day, and Jack didn't deserve that this week. He had had to put up with it last week.

She had almost drifted off when she heard a noise. Deciding it was nothing; Rose let her body once again start to sleep. Then all of the sudden, Rose felt something on the bed and climb on top of her. She opened her eyes quickly and let out a little scream. A hand quickly covered up her mouth.

"Shh," Jack's voice came softy, "its just me."

"Jesus...Jack you almost gave me a heart attack!" Rose whispered harshly. She could make out his face in the dark now, leaning over her own. He was grinning.

"Sorry," Jack whispered. He kissed her forehead. "I missed you."

Rose giggled. "I was a whole three feet away," she whispered back. Changing the subject she asked, "Weren't you asleep?"

Jack shook his head. "Nah, without saying goodnight to you, how could I."

"You planned this whole thing?"

"Yes. Sorry if I scared you."

"Its all right," Rose whispered. She brought his head down with her hand and softly kissed him. "What are you doing anyway?"

"I missed you," he repeated. "I haven't been farther away then two feet from you all day. Well, except for when you used the bathroom those few times. It was a big change."

Rose laughed quietly and started running her fingers through Jack's hair. "What are we going to do when we get back home?"

Jack shrugged and reached down to take one of her hands. "I don’t know, I guess we'll decide when we get there." He softly started kissing each of her fingers, making Rose smile.

"I love you," she whispered after a minute. "I can't believe I haven't known you my whole life. I love you so much Jack Dawson."

Jack stopped kissing her hand and looking into her eyes. "I'll love you forever Rose. Always."

And with that he leaned down to kiss her on the mouth again. Rose responded warmly, caressing his back with her free hand as she did so. After a minute, they pulled away from each other and just smiled.

"I want you to stay here all night," Rose finally whispered.

"Can I hold you all night?" Jack asked, still smiling at her.

Rose nodded and grinned up at him. "Yeah, yeah Jack you can. But one thing..."

"What's that?"

"You can't stay on top of me all night," Rose laughed. "You are going to have to lay on the side."

"Fair enough," Jack agreed. He moved off of her and Rose scooted over to make more room. When they were finally situated, Jack put his arms around Rose and she rested her head under his chin.

"What happens if your aunt or uncle walks in?" Rose wondered as she started to close her eyes.

Jack kissed the top of her head. "We'll deal with it if it happens," was all that he said.

Rose smiled and sighed happily. "I love you Jack. See you in the morning."

"Love you too. Goodnight Rose..."

Chapter Ten
Stories