Loud sobs could be heard as Jack ascended the flights of stairs to his studio. He knew it was Rose—and he knew he was the cause of her pain. He felt heavy as he literally dragged himself up the last few stairs. Fabrizio must have heard his heavy footsteps as he opened the door. Jack could barely look at his friend in the face. He knew how much of an idiot he had been and that Fabrizio was right from the start. He should never have gotten involved with Burns.
“H-how is she?” Jack stuttered in a low voice.
“Upset, Jack, very upset. I will leave you two alone for a while. But don't upset her even more,” Fabrizio warned. Sighing, Jack thanked him before holding out his hand to Fabrizio, who looked at him calmly and shook his head. “We're friends, Jack. I will always be your friend.” Fabrizio nodded his head towards the door and Jack heard the sobs from Rose. “Go see to your girl.” Nodding, Jack watched as Fabrizio descended the stairs and closed the door to the studio. Rose heard the door close, and she glanced upwards momentarily, seeing Jack. His face was covered in bruises and cuts. A cut on his chest was at least six inches long and bloodstains surrounded it. Jack stood before her for a few seconds, seriously not knowing what to do or say. Before he could do anything, she slowly came to him, unsure of her actions. She was unsteady on her feet, her eyes blurry from crying so much. She was unsure of why she was so upset, maybe because she was scared—of so many things.
“I'm so sorry,” Jack whispered, feeling tears prick his own eyes. She leaped into his arms and he held her so tight he never wanted to let her go. She sobbed into his bare chest and he felt the sting of his cut. “I just didn't want you to get hurt. Don't cry, Rose. I cannot bear it.”
Pulling away, she sniffled and wiped her eyes. Kneeling, she pulled him with her to his knees. She gently touched his face and examined his bruises and cuts. “Why, Jack? Why did you choose to fight for him?”
“I don't know. But it’s over now. I don't want you to see me like that again. I don't want to fight ever again. I'm the reason that you started the job there at the bar. I'm the reason Lamb wanted you on his knee.” Jack felt his heart beat faster and he felt sick. He couldn't believe what he had put Rose through. But Rose shook her head.
“No, Jack. It was me who wanted the job at the bar, because of Maria. She taunted me and I wanted to prove I could be just like her.”
Jack frowned and touched Rose's face. “No, Rose. You could never be like her, because you're worth so much more, darling. You could be anything you wanted.”
Rose hung her head slightly, listening to Jack's words and knowing he meant them. She felt a few more tears escape her eyes and he brushed them away. Their eyes met and he smiled at her, almost melting her entire body. She let her eyes travel to his chest, where he was cut, and she lowered her head carefully and kissed it ever so lightly.
Jack closed his eyes, feeling her so close to him, her hair tickling him ever so slightly and her breath on his skin. He touched her hair and she raised her head back up and was closer to him. He held her face with both of his trembling hands and stroked her cheek. “You don't know how much you mean to me,” he whispered to her.
She smiled a small smile back at him, feeling herself tremble. There was so much more he wanted to say to her. He loved her so much, but he didn't want to scare her, so maybe he could show her how much he wanted her.
He felt her hands move up his back and stroke his hair softly. He leaned forward slightly and closed his eyes for a second, feeling their closeness. He opened them to look at Rose and saw her eyes closed, and it was then he knew what he had to do.
He leaned towards her more, opened his mouth slightly, and planted a small kiss on her lips, something which sent sparks through both of them. Rose opened her eyes. Jack felt her eyelashes flutter against his cheek and he looked at her.
Their eyes interlocked and they saw the passion and love they had for each other. Nothing could hold them back anymore. Rose kissed Jack with more passion than either had dreamed about.
They had wanted each other for so long. Rose wrapped her arms around his neck and they fell backwards, Rose beneath Jack on the floor. He moved her hair and kissed her neck.
Her breathing quickened. Her dress hung from her shoulder loosely and Jack pulled the material further down, almost exposing her breasts, but was careful not to. He knew he had to be gentle with Rose, although he knew how much he wanted to make love to her right there.
He kissed her shoulders before leading back up to her lips. She moaned slightly. She had never experienced this before, but she knew that whatever was to happen tonight, she wouldn't stop any of it.
She ran her fingers through his hair and pulled him closer to her. Neither of them knew how much more they could take. They wanted each other so much, but could they wait? They hadn't spoken words of love to each other, but being honest, it was inevitable.
Loud bangs from the stairs outside disturbed Jack and Rose and he stood immediately, pulling Rose up with him. He sensed trouble was coming, and before he could look again, Mr. Burns burst through the door with several men.
“What the hell do you want?” Jack jumped, backing Rose behind him. He knew he had come for trouble and didn't want Rose getting caught in the middle of it. The men Burns had brought with him had gone into the kitchen.
“I've come for what's mine, Dawson.” Mr. Burns smirked, puffing his cigar. “Everything you've ever purchased with the money I gave to you—I want it back.”
“Take it. Take it all.” Jack didn't want anything to do with the man anymore. He could hardly believe he had become involved with someone like him in the first place, especially when he had heard about his reputation already. Jack walked to the cabinet where he kept all of his suits and hats and began to throw them at Burns. “Take the whole fucking lot!” he shouted.
Burns smirked at his pathetic outburst. Rose sat on the sofa and steadied her breathing. She was still shaky from the passionate way she and Jack had been kissing before Burns had burst in. She didn't want the men to hurt Jack. Just at that moment, Rose remembered that Jack had been keeping his savings for them to move away beneath the sofa cushion which she was sitting on.
She knew that if they knew about that money, they would take that, too, leaving them with absolutely nothing. Burns kept his eye on Rose as she sat, obviously in fear of him from the way she was wringing her hands. For a second, she lifted her head and made eye contact with Mr. Burns. He still had the smug smile plastered across his face, but she lowered her lashes and felt her heart beat faster.
She knew she had to discreetly get the money from under the couch. Slowly, she edged closer to the left side of the couch before spreading out the skirt of her dress so it covered almost the entire sofa. She looked upwards once to see if she had been seen by Burns. Her actions obviously would be seen as suspicious, but luckily, he hadn't seen. Jack was in the kitchen while the men ransacked the place she called her home, but she didn't care one bit. All she was worried about was Jack's safety.
Slowly, she took her left hand and slid it down the right side of the sofa, fiddling about to find anything which felt like a wad of bills, but she found nothing. She shuffled further away from the edge of the sofa and looked up at Burns once more before frantically feeling about beneath the cushion to find the money. Finally, she found it, but then realized something—she had nowhere to put it. Burns walked into the kitchen, leaving her alone in the living area. Quickly, she pulled the bills from beneath the sofa and, without even thinking or looking at the money, she shoved the wad down her corset.
“I want you to get the hell out now. You have what you want.” Jack pulled a shirt over his body, a shirt Rose hadn't seen him wear for months. It was old and wasn't one of his fancy ones.
“By the time I've sold all of your shit, if I haven't made all the money back I want, then I will be back, Jack. You can count on that, son,” Burns warned.
“No, you won’t,” Jack assured him, opening the door for Burns and his cronies to exit.
“I won’t? I assure you one thing, Jack. I will be back—for her.” He pointed to Rose, who stood and felt her stomach sink with fear. Jack turned to Burns, his eyes filled with anger.
“I don't think so. You touch her and…”
“You'll what?” Burns grinned, his face close to Jack's. “You'll do nothing at all, because you know you don't have the power to do so.”
The door slammed heavily in Jack's face and he slammed his fist against it hard, feeling the pain. Rose stood silently, just watching him, unsure of what to say. Slowly, she came towards him, a tear running down her face. She didn't know what to do or say to make him feel better. He lifted his eyes from the floor and noticed her standing beside him, her hand on his shoulder.
Immediately, he turned and simply pulled her towards him. She played with his hair softly and he closed his eyes, taking in her scent. After a few moments, she pulled away with a small smile on her face.
“He didn't take everything, Jack.” Rose reached down into her corset and Jack frowned, confused by her words. Seconds later, she pulled out the wad of money she had sneaked from beneath the sofa into her corset.
“Rose, you…” Jack did nothing but burst out laughing, taking the money from her hand and pulling her towards him one last time. She never ceased to amaze him. She had the guts to retrieve money when Burns had come for payback. “Thank you.”
Pulling away, Jack slowly and unabashedly leaned towards Rose and kissed her lips just once. He knew how much he wanted her, but he wasn't sure if she returned any of his feelings. He guessed that she did from the passionate way they were kissing before Burns interrupted them.
“Things are back to normal now, Rose. I'm not getting involved with him again, ever.”
“I'm glad. I can’t bear to see you fight, to get hurt. I feel like…” Rose trailed off, unsure what to say. “I'm just glad it’s over.”
“It wasn't me at all. You were right all along, I was stupid to think I was somebody wearing suits and hats, because that isn't me, Rose.” Jack sat on the sofa. He reached down next to the sofa, picked up his sketchbook, and flicked through a small selection of his art. He had almost forgotten how to draw. It had been over a month since he had even attempted anything.
“No, Jack. This is you.” She came beside him and touched his leather portfolio. “All of the creations you have made, all of the things you captured on paper. Jack, you have a wonderful talent, so don't let it go to waste.” Jack felt encouraged by Rose. He felt like he could do anything. “You have a definite talent, Jack, whereas I have nothing.”
“You do, Rose. You could be anything you want to be.” He took her hand in his. “You have had an education, more than I have had.”
Rose thought of her dreams as a young child, how she had always wanted to become an artist, or a dancer like Isadora Duncan. How she spent hours fantasizing about being up on a stage and the audience clapping wildly for her. But she knew that would always remain a dream. Her mother had dismissed her childish ambitions right from the start, and even now that she was free to do what she wished to do she knew, she didn't have the talent to become a singer or a dancer or even an actress. “But I still will never be able to do what I really want, Jack.”
Placing his portfolio on the floor, he turned to Rose, intrigued. “What do you really want to do, Rose?” he asked softly, looking her straight in the eyes.
Rose had not discussed her dreams with anyone else except her father, who had passed away four months before. Her mother had forbidden her to speak of her ambitions, fearing it would take over her life. Ruth knew they were just dreams and that Rose could never act on them. “I want to act, to dance, or to sing,” she admitted. “I wanted to live poor but free. I didn't care where. I just want had a vision of myself onstage.”
“Then do it, Rose,” Jack urged her.
“I can't. No one would want me here. Besides, I cannot draw too much attention to myself, because the last thing I want is for Cal to find me.”
“Rose, he won’t find you, and if he does, then we'll get out of here. We can do that now, anyway. We can go anywhere you want to go. We have money.”
“No, Jack. You have money. I don't even have a job.” She turned away from Jack, but he came towards her and gently stroked her hair.
“We'll put our heads down for a few months, scrape together some money, and then go someplace else away from here. Maybe England or Spain,” he whispered to her. “Then we'll have new dreams together.” His words made Rose tingle, and the word together was emphasized. She didn't know what this meant, whether he wanted her as much as she wanted him, but she didn't care, because she knew that she would never be alone.