ONLY HALF THE MAN I USED TO BE
Chapter Three
Rose was awakened from her sleep
as her shoulder was shaken roughly. She blinked at her surroundings for a
while, and then the terrible memories of the night before came flooding back.
"Miss, they’re here,"
the man said, smiling widely. "They’re here to save us."
Rose looked up and saw a ship a
few yards away.
Carpathia was written on the
side, a name that would stay with her forever, just like Titanic. Rose
instinctively looked over at Jack, who still looked unconscious but was now
breathing faster.
"Is he all right?" Rose
asked timidly, reaching for Jack’s hand.
"Well, he hasn’t woken up
yet, miss," the man said sadly. "But his breathing got better."
"Good," she said. Then
she leaned across Jack one more time. She stared down at his handsome face. The
ice still hung in his hair, but his lips were starting to regain their natural
color.
"You next!" Rose heard
a voice shout, and she looked up. A man was leaning over the railing on the
Carpathia, signaling for the lifeboat she was in to board.
"We have an injured man. He
needs the infirmary," the man who had helped Rose said as they reached the
ship. "He’s unconscious, but alive."
"Okay. One moment," the
man said, looking down at Jack worriedly. "Quickly, men!" he shouted
across the deck. "I need a stretcher now."
The two stewards quickly got a
stretcher and Jack was loaded onto it. Rose was helped onto the ship after
Jack.
"Thank you," she said
to the man who had rescued them and helped her with Jack, and she hugged him
tightly.
"It’s okay, miss," he
said, smiling at her. "I hope everything is okay for you."
"I hope so, too," Rose
replied, and hurried off after Jack.
*****
Jack was taken to the small
hospital on the ship and tucked into a warm bed. Hot water bottles were placed
under the sheets in an attempt to warm him.
"Hello," said a young
man coming into the room. "I’m the doctor on this ship," he said,
extending a hand to Rose, which she shook. "I’ll be looking after Mr.
Dawson. If we get him awake, he’s going to have to rest for some time," he
said, looking down at Jack. The ice had melted from his hair and his lips had
fully regained their color.
"What do you mean, if you
get him awake?" Rose asked.
"There is a chance he might
never wake up. He could still die," he said softly to Rose.
"No. He’s not going to die.
He’s come all this way. He won’t die now," Rose repeated over and over
like a mantra or a spell. The more she said it, the more she reassured herself.
"I’ll come back to check on
him later," the doctor said, leaving the room.
*****
Rose sat beside Jack for the rest
of the day. The doctor returned several times to try to get her to eat and
sleep, but she wouldn’t leave Jack’s side. He said that she could stay with him
as long as she liked, but she really must get some sleep. She promised him she
would, although she didn’t want to.
She had been holding Jack’s hand
all day, whispering to him. She sang their song softly as she sat beside him.
"Come Josephine in my
flying machine and it's up she goes! Up she goes!"
She rested her head on the bed
beside his legs and shut her eyes. She would sleep, but she wasn’t going to
leave him.
Rose’s thoughts traveled to the
good times she had had with Jack, and she was almost slipping into a peaceful
sleep when something disturbed her. She could feel Jack’s hand moving in hers.
She snapped her eyes open and looked down at him. His eyes were blinking open.
He was looking around worriedly.
"Rose?" he asked, looking
at her.
"Yes, Jack, it’s me!"
she said. She was almost crying with happiness. She jumped up and hugged him
tightly.
"Where are we?" he
asked, looking at his surroundings. "We were in the sea…waiting for boats.
Where are we?"
"The Carpathia," Rose
replied. "The rescue ship. A lifeboat came back, and you were unconscious.
They all thought you were dead, but I knew you weren’t. I insisted that you be
put in the boat, too."
"Oh, Rose" Jack said,
smiling up at her. "I love you so much."
"I love you, too,
Jack," she said, smiling back at him.
"Are you okay?" he
asked, looking caringly at her. Her eyes were red and puffy, her skin paler
than he had ever seen it before. Her hair was matted and damp.
"I’m fine. I was just so
worried about you, Jack," she said, stroking a hand across his now warm
face. "Are you all right?"
"Well…" he said,
checking himself over. He had a dull, throbbing pain in the back of his head,
and he couldn’t feel his right arm. "My head’s hurting, not that I wouldn’t
expect that, but I…I can’t feel my arm."
"Which one?" Rose asked
worriedly.
"The right one," he
said. Looking at the worry in Rose’s face, he said, "It’s probably just
taking longer to defrost than everything else." He laughed weakly, but it
hurt his chest.
"Yes," said Rose.
"That’s it."
"You really should get some
sleep, Rose. You look terrible," he said, looking at her swollen eyes.
"Thanks," she joked
weakly.
"No. You’re beautiful, Rose.
You know what I meant," he said, smiling at her.
"Yes, I do," she
replied.
"Get onto the bed,
Rose," he said, moving over as much as he could. Rose lay beside him. Jack
put his working arm around her and stroked her hair.
"It’s going to be okay now,
Rose," he assured her.
"I know that, Jack,"
she replied, "because I’m with you."