AFTER DISASTER
Chapter Seven

The next morning, Jack raced to the infirmary where Joshua was, only to find his cot empty. Jack grabbed a nearby nurse and shook her.

"Where's Joshua?" he demanded angrily.

"Mr. Dawson, I'm so sorry. He passed away in his sleep," the nurse told him. Jack stared at her before bursting through the infirmary door—startling Rose—and running towards the bow.

"Jack! Jack!" Rose called. Jack was much faster than her, so Rose didn't catch up with him quickly. Jack stopped at the railing of the bow and started to climb over it. Rose, out of breath, finally caught up. "Don't do it, Jack! Don't jump!"

Jack looked at her. "Why not, Rose? Joshua's dead! It's all my fault for not noticing his breathing problems!" Jack said. "Why shouldn't I jump? I deserve it!"

"Because if you jump, I jump," Rose told him.

"What? You can't use that on me!" Jack snapped.

"If you jump off this bow and into that freezing water, not only will you be endangering yourself, but you'll be endangering me, too!" Rose shouted at him. They both stopped speaking, and Rose climbed over the railing as well. "Go ahead. Jump. I'll be right in after you."

Jack looked at her and sighed. "No. I'm not. I'm not going to endanger you. And even if you didn't jump in, we'd lose each other. I can't lose you, Rose," Jack explained to her.

"Then don't jump," Rose said. They looked at each other for a few moments. "I won't let you." Jack finally climbed over the railing again, and once safely on the deck, he helped Rose over. Rose threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Thanks for not jumping."

"Thanks for talking me out of it," said Jack. He was still upset, obviously.

"Everything will be all right. Think about it. Joshua is with his real parents now," Rose told him.

Jack sighed. "Yeah. I guess," he said. He kissed Rose on the cheek and whispered to her. "I don't know where I'd be without you."

"Dead, I assume," Rose replied. They laughed.

"Hmm…I hope so," said a voice. Jack and Rose turned around and saw Cal standing there.

"What do you want now, Caledon?" asked Rose through gritted teeth.

"Caledon? That's your real name?" Jack asked, shocked. "Wow, that is one sh—" Rose hit him in the stomach. "Thanks, Rose."

"I'll tell you what I want. I want the ten thousand dollars I left in that coat," Cal replied coolly.

"You left ten thousand dollars in that coat?" Rose asked, pretending she didn't know.

"Don't be stupid, Rose! You know I left ten thousand dollars in that pocket! If you checked one pocket, you'd obviously check the other!" Cal snapped in an irritated tone.

"Don't speak to me that way, and just so you know, the coat is hidden in our room. You don't even know where it is!" Rose snapped.

"Probably down in that sewer of a mess you call third class!" snapped Cal. He took off towards the third class deck.

"He won't be happy when he finds out that we're not in third class," whispered Jack.

"He's an idiot. It'll take him a while to remember that there's a second class as well as first and third," said Rose.

Jack laughed. "But his name is Caledon?" Jack asked, still surprised. He was smiling, though.

"Yes, it is. Quite a stupid name, don't you think?" Rose asked.

Jack was laughing. "Clearly! Who names their child Caledon?" he asked.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself, Jack," Rose said.

"Yeah, I am! Because that's an extremely stupid name!" Jack exclaimed.

"You seemed happy for some reason yesterday. I would have asked, but I sort of…forgot," Rose said.

Jack wrapped his arms around her. "And do you know why?" Jack asked. Rose shook her head. "A ship is leaving the dock early tomorrow morning, and we're docking ten minutes after they leave!"

"Seriously?" Rose asked.

"So I've heard," Jack replied.

"Oh, Jack! That's wonderful!" Rose exclaimed, kissing his face.

"You want to know who else has a stupid name?" Jack whispered.

"Oh, goodness," Rose said.

"That guy who acted like Cal's bodyguard. That Lovejoy guy…what was his name?" Jack struggled to remember Lovejoy's name.

"Spicer Lovejoy?" asked Rose.

"Yeah! Spicer Lovejoy! He and Cal have prizewinning stupid names!" Jack exclaimed. Rose laughed. She let go of him and started to walk away. "Hey! Where're you going?" Jack took off after her.

"To go find something to eat," Rose said. "I haven't had a real meal since lunch on the Titanic."

"Good point. Let's go find some food," said Jack, and they set off towards the second class dining room.

Chapter Eight
Stories