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

Jack woke up after his fitful night of rest, and left the boarding house to find some breakfast. He didn’t really feel like eating, but he knew that he had to eat. He walked over to the closest restaurant and sat at a table in the back. There were few customers, and Jack was happy that he wouldn’t have to talk to anyone. He ordered food, and while he was waiting, the man at the next table got up and left. He left his paper on the table, and it had a headline that caught Jack’s eye. BOATS SENT OUT TO RETRIEVE BODIES OF TITANIC DISASTER. Jack got up and took the paper. He read the article while he ate. It seemed that the White Star Line had hired boats to go and retrieve as many bodies as they could. The first had left yesterday. They were going to bring the bodies back to Halifax.

Jack got up, and left the money for his breakfast on the table. He started to head back to the boarding house. He was hoping that his mother’s friend would lend him the money for a train ticket to Halifax. He entered the boarding house, and ran to her door. After explaining to her why he wanted it, she agreed to lend him the money, and she gave him more than he needed. For food, and new clothes, she said. All Jack had to do was promise to come back and paint a mural for her. At the mention of new clothes, Jack realized that he was still wearing what he had worn into the water several days ago.

The train ride to Halifax went too slowly for Jack. He wanted to be there when they brought the bodies back. He knew that they wouldn’t be back for a few days, but still, he felt like he had to be there. As the train pulled into the station, he got up and was the first one at the door to leave. He got off and went to look for someone who could tell him where they were planning to bring the bodies.

He presented himself at the warehouse door.

"What do you need, sir?"

"My wife…she didn’t survive. I’d like to look for her body. Also our friend who was traveling with us," Jack lied. He didn’t like having to lie, but he wanted to see their bodies, if possible.

"Come back after the boat docks, and I’ll help you find them. We’ll find them if they are brought back," the man said.

Jack waited impatiently for the boat to come back. He was at the warehouse the day after. There were a lot of bodies. Each one had been laid out, and those that weren’t identified had all the belongings from their pockets laid out next to them. The same man that Jack had talked to earlier went around with him. Jack looked at every body. He found Fabrizio first. He had a lifejacket, and there was a queer hole in it.

"What made the hole?"

"It’s a gunshot, sir. But he wasn’t shot. The coroner believes the funnel crushed him. He had soot all over him when they found him."

"That’s him. His name was Fabrizio di Rossi."

"I’m sorry, sir, but would you like to look for your wife some more?"

"Yes." Jack didn’t even realize that he had started to cry.

They looked at some more bodies, and Jack was starting to hope that maybe she really did survive. Without a body, he could hope. But he looked at the next body, and he slowly realized that it was Rose. He saw the dress, the shoes, and then her face. It was definitely her. He dropped to his knees, and picked up her hand. The hand that he had kissed the night that they ate in first class. He was crying again, and realized this when her face blurred.

The man stood back, not willing to interrupt his grief. After a few minutes, Jack stopped crying, and stood up. He was given a sack containing what they had found in her pockets. He looked in it briefly, and then closed it.

The next day, Jack went to a jewelry shop. He sold her engagement ring to pay for the two funerals. He thought about selling the Heart of the Ocean, but he could not part with it. It would be his, to remember her by. With the money from the ring in his pocket, he went back to the warehouse, and found the man. "I have the money for their funerals," he told him.

Jack was taken to a priest from the local Catholic church. He asked for Fabrizio to be buried there. He also asked the priest to write to Mrs. di Rossi and tell her that her son had died, and where he was buried.

For Rose, he paid to have her buried in a non-denominational cemetery, with other of the Titanic dead. She was buried the next day, as Rose Dawson.

Jack was ready to leave Halifax. He had stayed a week after their funerals, and he had attended all the funerals for Titanic’s dead. He went to the cemetery to say good-bye to Rose.

He knelt at the foot of her grave, and silently talked to her. He told her how sorry he was that she died, and that he knew that it was not enough. He told her that he would miss her every day of his life. He told her that if he could give his life to bring her back, he would. He vowed that he will always love her. And he promised to live his life in her memory, and hoped that if he lived his life to the fullest, that she would watch him, and be happy. "I will never let go, Rose. I will never forget." And a calming peace settled over him. He was struck by the feeling that she had heard him. And that she wanted him to live, that she did not blame him for her death. He found peace.

The End.

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