Written by Ida
Based on some situations originated by James Cameron.

"Why are you here? I thought that you would be waiting by that big oak in our backyard. Just like you did every day. Don’t you remember?"

"I remember, son, but there is no point. I have always known that."

"But she was your wife, my mother. Where would she go if not to you?"

"Titanic."

"Titanic? Mom was on the Titanic? She never told me that."

"Me, either, but you will be surprised at what you can find out when you’re dead. That is, if you really want to know."

"But why the Titanic? She loved…loves you. You are her husband. She promised to spend eternity with you."

"She never did. She said ‘til death do us part, but I knew that long before she said it. I knew she was never mine forever. I knew she would always return to him."

"To whom, Dad? Why? Weren’t we enough for her?"

"We were for a little while, but she always went to him. During the days, she belonged to us, but every night, she went to him, and that is what kept her alive. And I am grateful for that, because having her even for the shortest amount of time has been the greatest happiness I have ever experienced. She gave me you. And your two brothers. Don’t hold it against her. She was his before I even knew she existed, and her life, our life together, was a promise to him. I am grateful, because if it had not been for him, she never would have lived."

"And you just accept that so easily? Why, Dad? You have to fight!"

"Come here."

Light appeared, bright light, and suddenly James saw himself standing in the back of a crowd on the Titanic. Then his mother walked in through the door. She was beautiful, young, looking like she had in the picture she never took down from the mantle, the one where she was sitting on a horse with a roller coaster in the background. He remembered that, as a child, he had asked his mother why she looked so happy in that picture, and she had just smiled and said that she had kept a promise. Then she had started telling her oldest boy about the importance of a promise and to, no matter how dark the situation got, never let go. He hadn’t understood what she meant, but now he had a feeling he soon would.

James could feel his father standing beside him, looking at his mother like it was the last time he would ever see his wife, and then it dawned on him that it probably was. Again he put his focus on his mom. She had always been a mystery to him. He had always had the nagging feeling that he didn’t understand her, didn’t see her--that no one did. No one knew the real Rose. But now, when she walked past all the people he didn’t recognize, he could see she was home. In this crowd, someone saw her in ways that neither he nor his dad ever could. It was when she first started waling up the staircase that he noticed the young man standing there. This is him. This is whom she is walking towards. And then he witnessed his mother kissing another man, someone who was not his dad, and his father didn’t do anything about it. A sudden anger started to bubble within him, but then he heard his father’s voice, although he was pretty sure no one else did.

"She gave her heart to him a long time ago, and when you give away your heart, it can’t be returned, and we were only allowed to borrow it for a little while, but don’t ever mourn the time you didn’t get to spend with her because of this. Instead, celebrate the time you did have with her. That is the real blessing here; we got something that was never meant for us because a ship sank in 1912."

James stared at his mother. She was no longer kissing the other man, and the anger he had felt a minute ago was gone. Then, he realized, so was his dad. But James knew he would see him again soon. But for now, he needed to focus on his mother. Deep down, he knew this was the last time he would ever see her. There was a peace in her face he had never seen before. She was safe now.

Her hand now rested on Jack’s cheek; finally, she had felt her lips against his again.

"Jack." Her voice was soft, and nothing more than a whisper. Suddenly, all the people were gone, and it was just her and Jack left on the marvelous oak staircase. She stared at him; he was just as she remembered. Beautiful, and so full of life. He smiled at her.

"You never let go."

"I promised I wouldn’t."

"I love you."

She smiled. "I know." He smiled back.

"They weren’t dreams, Jack, were they?"

"No."

"You never left me."

"You never let me go." He smiled.

"Thank you."

"What for?"

"Everything." That word needed no explanation. He knew what she meant. Her life away from Cal, her life in the water, strength that first night on the Carpathia, all the conversations that had been held during the nights, support when her firstborn, James, had died in Korea, more conversations, sharing joy when children and grandchildren were born.

"She is beautiful, Rose."

"I know, Jack."

"What are they going to name her?"

"Elisabeth Rose."

"She has your spirit; she’ll look like her grandfather. She is going to have your temper and passion."

"Is that a good thing?"

"It’s the best."

Jack was hugging her tightly when she heard a little girl scream in the distance.

"Mommy! I want my mommy. Why isn’t she here?"

Rose gazed up at Jack.

"Is that…?" He nodded.

Together, they started making way towards the small voice so filled with fear.

"In here, Rose." Jack led her into the suite that had been hers eighty-four years earlier.

"I want my mommy! Mommy!" A small girl of maybe five years old, with piercing blue eyes and red locks framing her face, cried out to her and stretched her small arms out for an embrace. Rose bent down to her knees by the bed the girl apparently had been sleeping in and hugged the child tightly. Amazed and admittedly a bit surprised, she had no doubt of who the child was. Her daughter, her first child, the one she had always believed to be true but never certain. She had seen her in her dreams. Sometimes she had been there with Jack. But most of the time he had been alone. A tear fell from her eye as she whispered her name.

"Josephine."

"Mommy, I was so cold."

"It is all right, sweetheart. I’m here now, and I am not leaving you ever again. I promise." She turned her head and smiled at Jack, who returned it before he turned to the woman next to him.

"Thank you, Trudy."

James saw how this other man made his way over to his mother and embraced both her and the little girl. Now he didn’t want to intrude anymore, even if he was almost sure they were not aware of his presence. He left them alone, now even more certain this was the last time he would ever see his mother. His father had been right. She didn’t belong with them. They had just been lucky enough to borrow her for awhile, and now she had made her way home.

The End.

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