WHAT HURTS THE MOST
Chapter Thirteen

Loud music filled the third class dining area. Bagpipes sounded, people were dancing as if they didn’t have a care in the world, men played cards...it was a perfect party.

Rose walked down in her red dress with Jack. They danced together to an up-tempo song, quickly becoming the center of attention. Rose looked positively radiant.

All of a sudden, she saw darkness. Rose was on a piece of wood and Jack was in the ocean. Rose’s teeth were chattering, their hair sprinkled with frost. Rose saw a light and heard a boat coming closer.

"Jack," she said quietly, shaking him. "There’s a boat, Jack."

No response.

"Jack," she said, shaking his hand again, her voice cracking. "Jack!"

Jack was being shaken just enough to have his hands off the piece of wood. His body slowly began the descent down to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, along with many others.

*****

Sarah gasped as she sat up. It was the same man who she saw last night at Richard’s when Rose was singing. She saw the ghost of Jack Dawson.

Her heart was beating fast. She felt uneasy. Jack Dawson was with her last night and she didn’t even realize it. She knew she had to tell Rose. But then the crazy factor was there again.

Sarah got up and put a robe on, then walked downstairs. She had dreamed of the night that Jack had died. Rose looked so sad.

This had been going on for Sarah her whole life. She was always surrounded by spirits. They were ones who had not yet crossed over because they had unfinished business with the living. Sometimes they came to her in dreams, sometimes physically. They looked like normal people to her. It was always just a simple message, from what she had experienced, at least. But she was puzzled when it came to Jack. What could he need to say to Rose?

Sarah saw Jack in the kitchen, looking out the window with a smile on his face. "Hello," she said.

"Hey," Jack replied.

"I dreamed about you," she said. "That party that Rose went to with you. And then when the Titanic sank."

Jack nodded.

"Why didn’t you just tell me your name last night?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I don’t know. I was scared, I guess. I mean, I always hoped one day I’d come across someone who could see me. But once it actually happened..."

Sarah nodded in understanding. "I can help you, Jack. You don’t belong on earth anymore. You said you had a message for Rose?"

"Yeah, I do." He sat in a chair in the kitchen. "You aren’t my daughter, are you?"

"Your daughter?" Sarah asked as she sat down on the counter facing him. She was sick of that question. "No."

"That’s what I thought. You don’t look like us. You look like that bastard, Cal."

Sarah’s eyes went to the ground. "I get told that a lot."

Jack paused, then asked, "You’re his kid?"

"Adopted," Sarah defended. "Perfect match, though, huh?"

"Oh, I am going to kill him for what he did to Rose! Where is he?"

"I’m afraid the killing’s already been done, Jack. He died."

She could tell Jack was about to say something, but bit his tongue.

"You can say it," Sarah egged him on. "He deserved it. And he did."

Jack nodded. "He did deserve it."

"What do you mean? What did he do to you and Rose?"

Jack looked at her. "She didn’t tell you?"

Sarah shook her head. "She mentioned that he basically owned her. She failed to mention anything horrible." She sighed. "This has been really hard on Rose. You being gone, I mean. It’s been fifteen years, and she still misses you like it was yesterday."

Jack’s blue eyes widened. "It’s been fifteen years?"

Sarah nodded.

"Wow. That’s a long time."

"It is." She played with her hair, then stopped. "She still loves you, Jack. I can see it in her eyes when she talks about you."

He nodded. "I know. She told me right before I died that she loved me. And I told her not to say her good-byes." Silence. "I love her."

"I know you do, Jack. That’s why you’re still attached to her."

"No, I mean...I love her. I never got to tell her that. That’s why I’m still on earth."

Sarah thought that was the sweetest thing that she had ever heard. Now she realized why Rose had taken his name when she docked in New York.

"And Miss..." Jack fished.

"Dawson, now. But call me Sarah."

"Sarah. Could you please give her that message?"

She nodded.

"Sarah?" Rose asked.

Sarah looked away from Jack to Rose. Her face turned red. She prayed that she hadn’t heard what she was saying.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked.

"Oh, nothing." She hopped off of the counter. "Just looking outside."

"I thought I heard you talking to someone."

"You must have been dreaming," Sarah said.

Rose nodded in agreement. "Yes. Dreaming." She walked over to the teakettle and made two cups of tea. While she was waiting for the water to steam, she leaned against the counter. All three of them were quiet.

"Sarah, can I ask you something?" Rose asked.

"Anything," Sarah said.

She chuckled lightly. "You must think I’m going crazy, but do you feel something in this house?"

"Do I feel something?" she repeated slowly.

"Yes. Like a spirit."

Sarah felt relieved that someone had felt Jack. "Yes. I sense one very much."

"I knew it!" Jack said. "I knew you could see me, Rose!"

"Do you feel one right now?" Sarah asked.

"Yes," Rose replied. "It’s not just you and me."

"It’s because it’s not."

Rose gave her a questioning glance.

Sarah prepared herself to tell her biggest secret. "Jack’s here. He’s sitting in the chair by the window."

"What...you can see him?" Rose asked.

Sarah nodded, her heart racing.

"Tell her, Sarah. Please," Jack pleaded.

"Just wait," she whispered.

"What?" Rose asked.

Sarah shook her head. "Nothing. But…uh…Jack’s here for a reason. He has unfinished business with you. Only positive, though."

Rose let a breath escape from her. Her green eyes were wide. "What kind of business, Sarah?"

"He wants to tell you something he never got to tell you. It was after the Titanic sank, and you were on a piece of wood and he was in the ocean. You said I love you to him. He never said it back."

Rose kept her gaze on Sarah. Rose hadn’t told this part of the tale of the Titanic to her yet.

"I love you, Rose," Jack said. "I love you so much, and I’m sorry I never got to say it when I was alive."

"He says he loves you," Sarah said. "He regrets not saying it when you could hear him."

Rose put her hand to her mouth, tears brimming in her eyes. "Can I tell him something?"

"Anything."

Rose’s eyes strayed from place to place. "This is all my fault, Jack. If I had gotten in the lifeboat when you and Cal told me to, then that door that I was on you could have been on and lived. We would have been living in Santa Monica or maybe even in Paris. We would have gotten married, we would have had children..." Rose wiped a tear from her cheek. "I still love you."

"Rose, no. Don’t you do this. This is not your fault. Don’t you dare blame yourself for something that was out of your control," Jack said.

"He says it wasn’t your fault. He doesn’t want you to blame yourself," Sarah said.

"Well, I can’t help but feel a little guilty. There are always going to be a lot of what-if’s with the Titanic. What if Jack had lived? What if Cal hadn’t gotten in a lifeboat? What if I had gotten in a lifeboat..." Rose trailed off.

"Rose," Jack said sternly. "Stop. What was your song titled?"

"He wants to know what your song was titled," Sarah interpreted. "The one you and I wrote together."

"M-my Heart Will Go On," Rose said quietly.

"Yeah," Jack said. "Your heart will go on. And so far you haven’t kept that promise you made to me."

"He said you haven’t kept that promise you made," Sarah said, not totally sure of what Jack was talking about.

Rose wiped another tear from her cheek. "Never let go," she whispered.

"Yeah. Never let go, Rose," he said gently. His light blue eyes widened at as he looked at something past Rose. "Is that light for me?"

"You’re the only who can see it," Sarah said.

Jack smiled and got up. He went over to Rose and kissed her on the cheek. "I’ll be waiting for you," he said.

Sarah felt a lump start to form in her throat. This had to be the most romantic couple ever, their love tragically cut short.

"What’s going on?" Rose asked, touching her cheek where Jack had just kissed her.

"He’s ready to cross over. Go to heaven," Sarah said.

"What?" Rose asked.

"This is good for him," Sarah said. "He doesn’t belong here."

Rose stood in stunned silence at the news. Sarah saw Jack walk towards the parlor, then slowly disappear. Sarah felt a chill go through her body.

"He’s gone," Rose said, the tears flowing freely from her eyes.

"Oh, Rose," Sarah said, hugging her. "He had to. He said he’ll be waiting for you."

Sarah felt a tear slide down her cheek as they both stood silently in the kitchen. She knew life for both of them was changed forever. But they could handle it together. They were Dawsons, after all.

The End.

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