Written by Jeanita Sheffey
Based on some situations originated by James Cameron.
Jack Dawson glanced out the
window, watching the scenery pass him by as the train neared the town of Eau
Claire, where his wife, Rose, would be awaiting his arrival. It had been well
over a year since he’d seen her last. But, surprisingly, the upcoming reunion
was not what was on Jack’s mind. In fact, it was far from it.
Jack was not returning from a
business trip, a social visit, or a vacation. He was on his way back from
Europe after serving his country by fighting in WWI. It had been a hard and
dangerous fight. Bombs, smoke, and screams had been everywhere. But through it
all, the luck that had gotten him through the horrors of the Titanic had held,
and had gotten him through the war. Like the Titanic, he was coming back
different. Gone were that lively step in his pace and that happy sparkle in his
eyes. Gone was that carefree spirit. All that was left of the pre-war Jack was
the all-consuming love he held for his wife. Through all the death and gunfire,
Rose was still his lifeline.
"All passengers! We are now
approaching Eau Claire!" The conductor ranged through the car.
"Please gather your belongings and be ready to disembark!"
Taking one last look at the car,
Jack grabbed what little belongings he had and headed for the exit.
*****
Rose bit her lip as she made her
way through the already crowded station. Jack’s train had just pulled in and
wives, fiancées, mothers, and girlfriends crowded each other to get a glimpse
of their soldiers. But there was only one soldier that Rose wanted to see.
Jack. It felt like a thousand years since she had seen him last. She couldn’t
wait to feel those strong arms around her again. To feel his heart beating in
rhythm with her own.
"Rose." The voice spoke
from behind, soft and familiar. Tingling with anticipation, Rose turned to
stare into a pair of beautiful yet tired blue eyes. She stood there, wanting to
just throw her arms around his shoulders, yet not sure if it was a good idea.
Something told her that Jack wasn’t the man that he had been when he had left
her side so long ago. That he had changed somehow.
"Jack," was all she was
able to croak out, wanting so badly to feel his arms around her. But, no. She’d
let him make the first move.
The silence was thick and heavy
as Jack and Rose stood looking at one another, not really sure of what to say
or do. Finally, Jack made the first move. With tears of joy for being home at
last, safe and alive, mixed with tears of grief for those he had watched die,
never to see their families again. He embraced Rose tightly. Tears from the past
several months were falling from his eyes. "I’m home, Rose. I’m finally
home!"
*****
Hand in hand, the Dawsons entered
the dark house they’d shared for the past four years. Quickly, still holding
onto Jack’s hand, Rose found the nearest lamp and switched it on. It had been a
silent cab ride home after their emotional reunion. But they never let go of
each other’s hands. It was like the physical contact reassured them that this
wasn’t a dream. That Jack was finally home for good.
"Are you hungry? Or did you
eat on the train?" Rose asked, leading him deeper into the house.
"I ate on the train."
Jack eagerly took in his surroundings. He was finally somewhere warm and
familiar. Somewhere totally and completely safe. Suddenly, he was extremely
tired. It felt as if he hadn’t slept in years. "If you don’t mind, all I
want to do right now is to collapse in a soft, warm bed and sleep for a month
or two."
"Oh. Okay. The bed is
already made for you." She forced a smile, disappointed that Jack would
rather sleep than spend time with her.
He just nodded, holding her hand
for one minute longer before heading upstairs. Rose watched him go, worry
clouding her happiness. Her Jack was different. Oh, he still loved her. That
was very clear by how he had refused to let her go up to now. But he was
so…subdued. Gone was that eager spirit that enjoyed life to the fullest, that
had shown her the joy of being alive. In its place was a man lost in his own
skin. A man who seemed to be eternally sad.
"Oh, Jack…what happened to
you?" she wondered aloud before disappearing into the kitchen to make
sandwiches for them both.
*****
Night had fallen. After cleaning
the kitchen, Rose made her way up to their room, a tray of sandwiches and fruit
and a pitcher of lemonade in hand. She found Jack wide awake and staring up at
the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought.
"I brought up some
sandwiches. Just in case you got hungry." She set the items on the bedside
table.
"It’s quiet here." Jack
sighed, turning his eyes to Rose. "No bombs. No gunfire. Just
silence."
"Did you sleep okay?"
Rose sat next to him, taking his limp hands in hers.
Jack laughed sarcastically.
"I haven’t slept well for over a year now. Every time I close my eyes, I
see…things that I hope to God never to see again. But I do…every time I close
my eyes."
Rose swallowed, her eyes growing
even more worried. What Jack had been through must have been horrible. Even
more so than the Titanic. At least with the Titanic, he had her to relate with.
But with this…Jack was all alone. She had no idea what the war had done to him.
Tentatively, she wrapped an arm around his shoulder, letting him lean on her.
"I’m here, Jack. Whenever you need me. Remember that, every time you close
your eyes. That I’m here and the war is over."
"No, Rose. I don’t think
it’ll ever be over." A tear slipped from Jack’s eyes.
Her heart breaking, she tightened
her embrace, wanting to protect him from whatever it was that was haunting him.
*****
It was midday. The day was bright
and sunny. The men of Unit Forty-One sat in their trenches, awaiting the first
sign of enemy activity. Jack leaned against the mound of dirt, listening to
Maxwell, his new best friend since they’d arrived in Europe, talk on and on
about his plans after the war. Maxwell Dubois was from New Orleans. He was
tall, with brown hair and green eyes. He was twenty years old and happily
engaged to a girl named Lily Henri. A southern belle to the hilt, from what
Jack had seen of her picture.
Jack and Maxwell had become fast
friends when they had discovered their common love of life. Neither of them
wanted to be in this war. They just wanted to go home to their lady loves and
live happily ever after.
Right now, Maxwell was telling
Jack about his promise to return to Lily and how he couldn’t wait to hold her
in his arms again.
"I can smell her perfume,
Jack. Fragrance of roses and violets." Maxwell sighed, closing his eyes to
relish the memory. Jack just smiled, remembering how his own wife had felt in
his arms. That was when the bombing and gunfire began.
Both Jack and Maxwell picked up
their guns, ready to shoot anything that appeared to endanger their lives. It
was either kill or be killed. Jack was so busy shooting that he almost didn’t
hear the coming of the falling bomb above. He quickly jumped out of the way,
just in time as the bomb caused devastation all around.
Jack remained down until the
smoke had cleared. Groans, cries for help, and screams rang out from the mass
of bodies and limbs. Maxwell was the first to come to Jack’s mangled mind.
Where was he? He had been standing right next to Jack when the bomb had hit.
Was he okay? He had to be. After all, Jack wasn’t hurt at all, and Maxwell had
been standing right next to him.
"Maxwell!" Jack called.
"Maxwell!"
"Jack." The once strong
voice was now weak with coming death and despair.
"Maxwell!" Jack looked
down as his foot accidentally hit a solid mass on the ground, to find his
friend terribly wounded. "Maxwell!"
He knelt down and pulled the
wounded man into his lap, knowing how scared he must be. He wiped the blood out
of the young man’s eyes, determined to keep Maxwell alive until help came. He
would not lose him to this blasted war. Not like he had lost Fabrizio to the
Titanic. He shivered, remembering the blackened and crushed corpse of his
friend when he and Rose had gone to Halifax to claim his body. He had barely
recognized his traveling companion. Jack had lived with the guilt of Fabrizio’s
death for years now. If it hadn’t been for him winning those tickets…Fabrizio
would be alive now. Maybe he’d even be in America right now.
"Jack…" Maxwell’s
weakening voice brought him out of the dark memories and back to the present.
"Hey, you’re going to be
fine." Jack forced a smile. "You’re going to get out of here. As soon
as they fix you up, you’ll be going home to Lily."
Jack’s smile wasn’t contagious.
Maxwell’s face was grim, full of pain and devastation. "You’re a terrible
liar, Dawson. I’m a goner. We both know that."
"Maxwell, no…"
Grimacing, Maxwell pulled a
diamond ring out of his pocket. He held it up towards Jack. "When I first
proposed, I couldn’t afford to get her a ring. I finally bought this, but the
draft notice came, and it slipped my mind…until I left. I was hoping to give it
to her when I returned."
"Really?" Jack looked
at his friend and the ring.
"I wanted to have something
of her with me, so I brought this." A tear slipped from his emerald eyes,
reminding Jack just then of Rose when she cried. She had the same emerald gaze.
To Jack’s surprise, Maxwell pushed the ring into Jack’s palm. Green eyes again
met blue, burning into them intensely. "Take this to her, Jack. When you
get home…take this to my Lily." Breathing was becoming nearly impossible
now, and coughs began to rake his body terribly. "Tell…her…I’m sorry.
I…love…her. Tell her…to go…on…" After that last word, Maxwell grew still,
his eyes glazed over with death.
Jack blinked several times, not
able to comprehend that he had lost his friend. "Maxwell? Maxwell, come
on. Stop playing around. Maxwell…I…can’t…please, wake up." His voice
cracked as tears began to fall.
"Please, Maxwell…no!"
His sobs filled the smoky air, rising a notch above the mass of bodies and
survivors. Jack was found that night with Maxwell’s body still held closely to
his chest and sobbing for his friend to wake up. After prying Jack away from
the corpse, he was sent to another platoon until the end of the war.
*****
Jack awoke from the dream, at
first disoriented, until he felt the warmth of Rose’s body nearby. A tear in
his eye, Jack got out of bed and stood at the window, looking out at the quiet
street below. He wiped the tear away, sick and tired of crying. Tired of
thinking about Maxwell’s death. "It should have been me."
"Jack?" Rose stood
behind him, a frown marring her lovely features. "What are you doing out
of bed, and what should have been you?"
Jack swallowed, turning to face
his wife, wishing that he could return to the way he had been before the war.
When he had been happy, finally free from the guilt of the Titanic. Could he
ever be that happy again? Jack didn’t think so. "I couldn’t sleep. I had a
nightmare."
"Oh." Rose placed a
cool hand on his shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Jack shrugged. "It was just
a memory. That’s all."
"Jack…don’t do this."
"Do what?"
"Shut me out. You’ve been
distancing yourself from me ever since you came home. You’ve barely even spoken
to me…Jack, please. Talk to me. What happened to you over there? Why are you so
withdrawn?"
Jack closed his eyes, wishing
that Rose didn’t love him as much as she did; that he didn’t love her twice as
much. That love was the reason why he could never deny her anything; the reason
he couldn’t deny her now.
"Jack, are you even
listening to me?"
"Of course I am. I’m
just…it’s a long story, Rose. Long and sad."
"Well, I have nowhere else
to be but here." Rose took his hand in hers and led him back to the bed.
"Now, tell me. What happened?"
Jack looked away from her, all
the time keeping her hand in his. His voice trembling with emotion, he told her
all about Maxwell, how he had died, and his final request. "It should have
been me, Rose. It’s so unfair." Tears ran down his face as he remembered
his time with Maxwell. "He was so young and full of life. Now he’ll never
see his Lily again, and it’s all my fault! I should have tried harder to keep
him alive! Instead of jumping out of the way, I should have pushed him out of
the line of fire!"
"Jack, no…listen to me. What
happened wasn’t your fault. There was nothing you could have done. Just holding
him like you did, making that promise…that probably gave him great
comfort."
"It was just like Fabrizio.
Being my friend got him killed, and it did the same to Maxwell. I’m here, alive
and healthy, while they’re buried in the dark and cold."
"Jack…Fabrizio’s death
wasn’t your fault, and neither was Maxwell’s. Look at me, Jack, and hear what I
say." She forced him to look into her eyes. "You are not responsible
for Maxwell’s death. Neither are you responsible for Fabrizio’s."
"But, Rose…"
"No! No, Jack! I am not
going to let you blame yourself for something that was out of your control! Bad
things happen to good people all the time. There’s no excuse for it!"
Rose’s voice was stern and full of love and conviction. She was determined to
make Jack stop beating himself up over something that was beyond his control.
"There’re just some things that we cannot control. Wars and sinking ships
are only two of them. There was no way you could have stopped Maxwell from
dying, and it should not have been you. Do you know what your death would have
done to me? I wouldn’t be breathing. You’re my life, Jack. My whole reason for
living."
"So, I should move past it?
Let the war go?"
Rose nodded. "Now, repeat
after me. Maxwell’s death was not my fault."
"Maxwell’s death was not my
fault." Jack sighed. "Some things can’t be helped."
Rose nodded. "Feel
better?"
"A little." He smiled
slightly, just for the smile to fade again. "But what am I going to tell
Lily when I give her the ring?"
"Tell her that he fought
bravely and that his last thoughts were of her."
Jack bowed his head. "She’s
going to hate me."
"No, Jack, she won’t. If
anything, she’ll be grateful. If you like…I can come with you. We’ll go the day
after tomorrow. Give yourself time to rest first."
"Rose…you don’t have to if
you don’t want…"
"I want to. I want to be the
supportive one this time." She giggled. "Besides, I just got you back
after a year of separation. I won’t be able to be away from you again for a
while."
Jack smiled, the glow of love and
gratitude glowing in his eyes. "Keep it up."
"Keep what up?" Rose
asked, a bit confused.
"Keep making me fall even
more in love with you." He pulled her into a warm embrace, full of love
and safety.
For the first time since his
return home, the clouds of guilt and despair began to lift, letting the rays of
love and joy shine through. Jack knew that, no matter what happened from here
on out, everything would be all right, because Rose was by his side. With her
love and support, he could make it through anything.
The End.