"You should have waited for me. We could have gotten Gabbie together," Jack scolded after he was sure Elizabeth had left. "If you had waited, you wouldn't have had a confrontation with her."
"Jack, I don't sit well with authority figures. Especially upper class ones," she said, taking Gabbie from Jack and attempting to walk down the hall to her small room.
Jack's strong hand grabbed her arm, preventing her from leaving. His touch wasn't rough or unkind at all. "Rose, I was just saying that you didn't have to leave so soon...but, I know you felt uncomfortable. I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to act like an authority figure."
She avoided his gaze, glancing at Gabbie, then at the wall and back at him.
She bowed her head, finally agreeing with herself and him that he spoke only the truth. He didn't mean to be rude at all. Especially after their encounter in the cargo hold. "All right." She looked back up at him.
He smiled, took Gabbie from Rose's arms, and carried her to Rose's small cabin. Rose took the child back again, asking Jack to come in and sit on the bed while she put Gabbie down.
Jack watched as Rose laid Gabbie in her bed. He stared as if in awe of her nurturing actions. He glanced down at the sleepy little toddler he'd fallen in love with. Rose began to sing softly to the small girl, who closed her eyes sleepily. "You're just trying to torture me, aren't you?" he asked, breathless, as though he had been running all day.
Rose looked up at him, baffled. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He grinned, leaning closer to fill the short distance that separated them. He let his lips softly touch hers in a small, intimate kiss only he could carry off.
"I think you do."
"Stay with me tonight...please." He looked at the sleeping girl in the crib next to them. "Oh, no, no. I didn't mean that. I just--I just don't want to be alone tonight," she said, blushing.
He pulled her down onto the bed with him. "You know I cannot resist you."
"So, you're staying?" she asked, smiling.
"Yes, I want to stay right here forever. You're my world now. And I'll love you forever."
Rose gasped. "You love me?" she asked, quietly.
"Yes," he answered, belatedly. "I love you very much."
"I love you, too, Jack."
The rest of the night was spent talking giddily and laughing quite a lot.
Then, finally, they succumbed to a peaceful, dreamless slumber in each other's arms.
The Next Morning
Monday, April 15, 1912
Jack walked back into Rose's small cabin, finding Rose sitting up in bed with a terrified look on her face. She looked up at him and sighed with relief. "I thought you'd left me," she said, her voice hoarse. She cleared her throat.
"I just woke up early and decided to get you some breakfast," he said, walking to her and sitting on the bed.
"I was worried sick."
"Oh, Rose, I'm sorry," he replied. "I hope you're hungry."
"Famished. I truly thought you were a gentleman until last night, since you never asked if I was hungry or not." Her tone was mock high society, which made him laugh.
"I had my mind on other things, if you do recall."
She blushed. "All right. Then you're still a gentleman." She began to eat after he set the tray in her lap.
"I don't think I've ever slept so peacefully, Rose. Then, I woke up looking at you and I was in heaven," he said, and she blushed again. "You really look gorgeous this morning."
"You're quite a charmer. I know how I look. My clothes are rumpled and my hair is sticking up every way it possibly can," she smiled. He laughed at her description. She was quite accurate, but to him, she looked like the goddess Athena, the goddess of love, beauty, and war. "But I slept peacefully, too. I can't remember the last time I slept so wonderfully. Aren't you still tired?" she asked, taking her last bite.
"A little." He put her tray on the bedside table. When he looked back, he noticed a small figure next to Rose on the bed.
"She woke up and climbed in bed with me after you left," she answered his unspoken question. "The realization was what woke me up completely."
He leaned over and kissed her softly. "Come on, let's go back to sleep."