CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO WORLDS
Chapter Two

April 11, 1912

Rose sighed sadly as she entered her aunt’s room. It was after another fight with her mother. Ruth had been again airing her opinion about Rose’s awful red hair. How she wished she had had a blond child instead. The last time Ruth had made this comment, Rose had gone out and tried to dye her hair blond, but instead of turning blond, her hair had turned a sickly green. It had taken three months for it to turn back. Her mother had had a fit. She had kept belittling Rose for being so stupid as to pull such a stunt.

"Rosie, darlin’, don’t let her get to ya. She doesn’t mean any of this. She doesn’t mean to hurt ya so." Molly came and sat next to her niece, placing a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"Why does she hate me so much, Molly? Why am I so unlovable?" Rose sobbed. "Even that horrible Caledon Hockley didn’t want me." Rose remembered how one of the suitors her mother had picked out had rebuffed her.

"Oh, Rose, you’re not unlovable at all, and believe it or not, she does love ya. It’s just that she was never shown love all her life. Her ma and pa had ignored her and neglected her to no end. She didn’t know how to love ya when you were born. I, of course, hoped she would take a lesson from your father, but she didn’t. She got worse, it seemed. And as for that Hockley fella…you’re lucky he wasn’t interested. Word has it that the girl he’s engaged to now has had quite a few accidents with the stairs lately." Molly hugged her niece. "Don’t you worry, Rose. You will find love...that one person who was meant just for you."

Rose wiped her tears and looked into Molly’s eyes, deciding to humor her. "How will I know him when I meet him, Molly?"

"Oh, you’ll know. You’ll know the moment you lay eyes on him. It’ll be as if nothing else exists but the two of you. You’ll be in your own little world, and you’ll move heaven and earth to be together."

"Oh, Aunt Molly…you’re such a romantic." Rose smiled, not believing a word her aunt had just told her. She knew for a fact that such love never existed. How could it, when her own mother didn’t even love her? How could she ever hope that anyone besides her Aunt Molly could ever love her so strongly? "I’ll be back, Aunt Molly. I’m going to take a walk on deck. Maybe explore the ship a little." Rose smiled.

"Don’t be gone too long, darling. You don’t want to be late for lunch. Ruth would kill ya if you were." Molly smiled sadly, watching her niece walk out the door. Poor Rose. Molly felt so sorry for her. If only she’d meet the love of her life on this ship…that would be the answer to her prayers.

*****

"This ship is nice, no?" Fabrizio asked the Irishman leaning up against the wall while Jack was drawing a man showing his little girl a dolphin. Jack and his art…nothing could come between them. He might as well start up a conversation with the man standing in front of him. "It’s British, no?"

"No, it’s Irish. Fifteen thousand Irishmen built this ship." The man took a drag of his cigarette. "Solid as a rock. Big Irish hands."

Fabrizio nodded and looked over to see a steward walking a group of expensive-looking dogs.

"Now, isn’t that typical." The Irishman snorted bitterly. "First class dogs come down her to take a shite."

"Ah…it just lets us know where we rank in the scheme of things." Jack smiled good-naturedly.

"Tommy Ryan." The man held a hand out to Jack, already taken by Jack’s sunny disposition.

"Jack Dawson." Jack shook his hand.

"Fabrizio," Fabrizio replied.

"Do you make any money off your drawings?" Tommy asked, noticing the portfolio. But Jack didn’t answer. He was staring straight up at the first class deck. His eyes were dazed, like he was off in his own world or something. Tommy looked up to see what had captured Jack’s attention that was so mesmerizing. Then he saw her. The loveliest vision he’d ever seen, and she was staring, too, right back at Jack. It was as if they were making some sort of connection. Tommy was touched, but he was also a realist. That lady up there was first class, and Jack was obviously poorer than poor. It looked like the only thing he truly owned was that portfolio. He had to bring Jack back down to earth. "Ah…forget it, boyo. You’re more likely to have angels flying out of your arse than get next to the likes of her."

But Jack didn’t come out of it. He continued staring up at the red-haired beauty above him. To him, she was an angel from heaven, and he’d do anything to just talk to her, if nothing else.

"Jack Dawson! There you are!" A loud and angry feminine voice called to him, breaking the spell. Jack blinked and turned to his angry fiancée.

"It’s those stupid drawings of yours again! They’re going to make us late for lunch! Now, come on!" Caroline grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the third class dining saloon, not noticing how Jack had looked back behind him at the girl who was staring at him with a certain sadness in her eyes. On his way to the dining saloon, Jack wondered why the girl was so sad, and if there was anything he could do to put happiness in those beautiful green eyes.

He sighed again. Of course there wasn’t. Not only was he engaged to Caroline, he’d probably never see the girl again, anyway. He was third class, and she was first. There was no way he’d get close enough to even talk to her.

*****

Rose stared after the handsome man down in third class. He was certainly the handsomest she’d ever seen, and she was amazed at how everything but him had disappeared. It was like, as soon as their eyes met, that they were in their own world. In his blue orbs, she could swim forever, and not care whether anyone found her or not. Jack. Jack Dawson. That was what that awful girl who had angrily pulled him away had called him. Jack Dawson…the most wonderful name in the world. It seemed to suit him, as well. It was a shame that she was never going to have a chance to talk to him. He was obviously third class, and her mother would never allow her to associate with a third class man. It would be bad for her reputation, Ruth would coldly reply. Destroying the chance that Rose had of ever finding a first class man that would feel sorry for her and marry her. Rose sighed sadly as she turned and walked away, the man named Jack Dawson still on her mind…wishing that there was a way she could meet him.

Four Hours Later
The First Class Saloon

Rose could feel the hot, unshed tears burning in her eyes as she listened to her mother berate her in front of the other first class passengers they were seated with. Ruth was going on about what a plain daughter she had, and how she wished she had a daughter as beautiful as Madeleine Astor. How it was so unfair. Aunt Molly had tried to stop Ruth, but her sister-in-law kept going and going. There was no stopping her.

"I’m sorry, Rose. Just ignore it." Molly squeezed the girl’s shoulder, unaware that Rose was stabbing her wrist with the crab fork under the table.

"Will you excuse me?" Rose couldn’t take it anymore and got up to leave, ignoring the pitying glances from the other passengers around the table.

*****

Jack lay on the bench, smoking a cigarette and staring at the stars. Thinking about his coming marriage to Caroline. Why was he marrying her? She was rude, she treated him like he was lower than her and that he ought to be glad that she graced him with her company, and she had higher aspirations than he did. Fabrizio had once asked him, a couple of weeks ago, why he was marrying her, and he had answered that it was because he loved her, and it was true. He did love Caroline. But the experience earlier today had made him wonder. That eye lock he had held with the beautiful redhead earlier had awakened emotions in him that he hadn’t even known he had. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. What was he going to do? What if this didn’t go away? What if he still thought of this girl on his wedding day? Could he honestly marry Caroline while he was daydreaming about a girl he hadn’t even spoken a word to? What was he going to do? What could he do? The mystery girl was in his blood, obviously, and he didn’t think he was going to be able to get her out.

He was trying to shift his thoughts to something else when he heard the sound of sobbing and running feet heading towards the stern of the ship. He was curious, so he followed the sound. Hoping that this was something that could take his mind off the girl who wouldn’t leave his thoughts.

*****

Rose wiped her tears away as she climbed over the rail. Tonight was the night. She couldn’t take her mother’s ongoing hatred anymore. She was going to escape…escape to the one parent that she knew did love her. She was going to join her father. She was staring down at the dark ocean when a worried voice spoke up.

"Don’t do it."

Rose turned, and her eyes widened when she saw the man she had made eye contact with earlier that day. He was the last person she had expected to be here. But nonetheless, she was going to go through with this. Not even he could stop her.

"Stay back! Don’t come any closer!" Rose sobbed.

"Take my hand. I’ll pull you back over!" Jack looked at her, noticing the tear tracks on her cheeks in the faint glow from the stern lights. This girl didn’t want to die. Sure, she was terribly upset, maybe even devastated, but he could also see in her eyes that she didn’t really want to die. Maybe he could use that knowledge to get her to climb back over.

"No! Stay where you are. I mean it. I’ll let go." Rose leaned out a little over the ocean, as if to prove her point. But this didn’t fool Jack.

"No, you won’t."

Rose grew angry and indignant. Who was this man to tell her what she was and wasn’t going to do? "What do you mean, no, I won’t? Don’t presume to tell me what I will and will not do. You don’t know me."

"You would have done it already," Jack simply pointed out, and held his hand out to her again. "Now, come on. Take my hand."

Rose stared at him, or more, into his eyes. She was almost mesmerized by them again, but she was too emotional to get totally lost. She had to get rid of him. She really didn’t want him to see her ending her life. Her mother, maybe, but not him. Not Jack. "You’re distracting me. Go away."

Good. He was glad that he was taking her mind off of jumping off the end of the ship. And there was no way he was going to leave. He could see it in her eyes that, as long as he was there, she was never going to let go of that railing.

"I can’t. I’m involved now. If you let go, I have to jump in after you."

"Don’t be absurd. You’ll be killed."

Jack took off his jacket, as if he was preparing to jump into the freezing ocean after her. "I’m a good swimmer." He started untying his shoes and removing them.

Rose gasped. He was serious. She deserved to die, but he didn’t. She couldn’t let him go through with this. She had to get him to change his mind. "The fall alone would kill you." Rose tried to scare him.

"It would hurt. I’m not saying it wouldn’t. To be honest…I’m a lot more concerned about that water being so cold."

Cold? She had never thought about that. "How cold?"

"Freezing. Maybe a couple of degrees over." Jack took off his shoes. "Ever been to Wisconsin?"

"What?" What did Wisconsin have to do with her jumping off the back of the ship into a freezing ocean?

"Well, they have some of the coldest winters around. I grew up there, in Chippewa Falls. Once, when I was a kid, me and my father were ice fishing out on lake Wissota….ice fishing is where you…"

"I know what ice fishing is!" Rose yelled irritably. She hated it when people acted like she didn’t know anything.

"Sorry. Just…you look like kind of an indoor girl," Jack apologized. "Anyway, I fell through some thin ice, and I’m telling ya, water that cold…like right down there…it’s like a thousand knives stabbing you all over your body. You can’t breathe, you can’t think…at least not about anything but the pain. Which is why I’m not looking forward to jumping in there after you. But like I said, I don’t have a choice." He smiled. "I guess I’m kind of hoping you’ll come back over the rail and get me off the hook here."

"You’re crazy!"

"That’s what everybody says." Jack laughed lightly. Then his voice turned serious and he slid a little closer. "But with all due respect, miss, I’m not the one hanging off the back of a ship here. Come on. You don’t want to do this." Jack held out his hand…this time his hand was practically in front of her.

She stared at him, realizing that he was right. She didn’t want to die. She didn’t want give her mother the satisfaction of knowing that she had gotten to Rose like that, and she couldn’t bear to hurt her Aunt Molly like this, either. Molly was perhaps the only person who cared, and maybe, so was this kind stranger, who didn’t even know her. He obviously thought her life was worth something if he was standing here threatening to jump in after her if she decided to let go. She tentatively took one hand off the rail to tightly grasp Jack’s warm and inviting hand. She gasped when an electric shock ran through her at the contact of his skin. She looked back into his eyes and could tell he felt it, too.

"I’m Jack Dawson." He smiled as she turned to face him.

"Rose DeWitt Bukater."

Jack smiled, his blue eyes sparkling with laughter. "I have to get you to write that one down for me."

Rose had no choice. She laughed at the joke. For the first time, Jack saw her smile, and he was dazzled. The girl was even more beautiful up close than she was far away.

"Come on." He pulled on her hand.

Just as she stepped back up on the railing, the sequined train of her dress got caught under her foot and she slipped. Jack tightly held her hand, preventing her from falling into the ocean.

"Help! Help me!" Rose screamed, tightly grasping his hand.

"I’ve got you!" Jack got her attention. "I won’t let go. Now, pull yourself up! Come on! You can do it!" He began to pull her up. It was when she helped by pulling herself up on the railing that he succeeded in pulling her back over the railing, where he landed on top of her.

"What’s going on here?" An angry female voice came above them.

Jack looked up to see Caroline glaring angrily down at them just as two crewmen came running. Rose’s screams must have attracted them. By the position he and Rose were now in, it didn’t look too good. In fact, it looked as if Jack had been attacking Rose.

"Stand back, and don’t move an inch!" one of the crewmen yelled at Jack, and turned to his companion. "Fetch the Master-at-Arms!"

*****

"I can’t believe this!" Caroline was pacing the deck. "This is totally unbelievable! Jack, how could you do such a ridiculous thing? How completely stupid of you. This is the most embarrassing thing you’ve done yet!"

Rose stared at the girl as she began to belittle Jack as he was put in handcuffs. Rose waved away a shot of brandy that her aunt offered her as she watched the scene. How dare this girl treat Jack like that? She was treating Jack just like her mother treated her, and Rose wasn’t going to stand for it. Jack was kind and brave for talking her back over the rail, and she wasn’t going to let this mean-spirited girl belittle him for doing that for her. But how could she do that without letting her mother and aunt know what she had been planning to do? She didn’t know, but she was going to put a stop to it, and she was putting a stop to it now!

"Stop! Stop!" Rose stepped in-between the girl and Jack. "It was an accident."

"Rose…" her mother warned, wanting Rose to stay out of whatever was going on.

"An accident?" The girl looked at Rose skeptically.

"Yes, an accident. I was leaning far over to look at the…" What? What could Rose possibly be looking at that would cause her to fall over the railing? She looked at her aunt for help.

"Propellers?" Molly looked at her niece, wondering what was really up. This was obviously a falsehood, and she wondered what had really happened tonight to make her niece jump to the young man’s defense like this.

"Yes, the propellers." Rose’s eyes lit up as if she had just remembered what she was trying to say. "I was leaning far over to see the propellers, and I slipped, and Mr. Dawson here saved me and almost went over himself."

"She wanted to see the propellers!" Ruth threw up her hands in total annoyance. "How completely stupid of you, Rose! You should know better! Honestly, you get more and more dense every day!"

Jack looked at Rose and noticed the pleading expression in her eyes to back up her story. She was trying to save him from both jail and Caroline’s wrath, but at the same time she was being punished by her mother’s cruel words. Why was she doing this? He didn’t know. But the least he could do for her was not contradict her story. It was all she was asking of him.

"Now, Ruth, there’s no need to yell at Rose. She’s been through enough tonight." Molly came up and placed an arm around Rose’s shoulders.

"Was that the way of it?" the Master-at-Arms asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, that was pretty much it." Jack nodded, meeting Rose’s green eyes again. Now they shared a secret together.

"Very well, then. You may go." The officer removed the cuffs.

"Well, I’m glad that’s over." Caroline rubbed Jack’s shoulders, her earlier rage gone. She now seemed only concerned for Jack, but Rose found herself disliking Caroline. The woman had been awful to Jack, not only tonight, but also earlier today when she had yelled at him on deck. Jack deserved better.

"Mr. Dawson...would you and your lady friend here like to join our group for dinner tomorrow evening?" Molly asked. "A show of our appreciation for what you did."

Molly had caught the way her niece looked at the young man, and how the young man looked at her. This was the beginning of something wonderful for Rose, and she wanted to encourage it. This young man might be third class and poorer than dirt, but he obviously cared for her niece, and that was what Rose needed. Inviting him to dinner was a great way to ensure that Rose saw him again.

"Great. We’re in." The girl grinned from ear to ear as she answered for Jack. She wasn’t going to give Jack the chance to turn down the chance to get into first class. This was her big break.

Jack nodded in agreement. He definitely wanted to see Rose again, and perhaps talk to her a little more. Maybe get the real reason behind what had happened tonight.

"Very well, then." Ruth sniffed arrogantly. "Back to our cabins. Good night, Mr. Dawson."

Ruth grabbed her daughter’s hand and led her away from Jack. Rose looked back at him, not wanting to leave him alone with that mean girl, but she had no choice. She’d see him again first thing tomorrow. She was going to make sure of it, somehow.

Once everyone was gone, Caroline turned to Jack and looked at him with an arched eyebrow. "Funny. She slipped so suddenly, and yet you had time to remove both your jacket and shoes." She didn’t believe the girl’s story for one minute, but she really didn’t care what happened. She was going to first class tomorrow evening, and she had to prepare. She just wanted Jack to know that she didn’t buy the story for a second, and that when they were married, such behavior was not acceptable. But she’d have that conversation at a later date. Right now, it was freezing, and she wanted to get back inside where it was warm. "Come along, Jack. It’s late. I’m sure Fabrizio is wondering where we are." She took his hand and led him back to their room.

Chapter Three
Stories