JACK AND ROSE: TOGETHER FOREVER
Chapter Forty-Nine

October 10, 1914

Rose dried the last of the dirty dishes and set the plate in the cupboard. She closed the cupboard door and made her way to the table where she scraped all the crumbs into her hand. Throwing the trash in the trashcan, she flopped down on the couch. It had been what seemed like a short time from when Rose told Jack about the baby to this day. The Langstons and Fosters had been told, without too much teasing from Dianna, and things so far had been going great. Brittany had been sent a letter, telling her the news, but so far they hadn't gotten news back from her. Jack and Rose had gone in to see Dr. Lennox again, got some more questions answered, learned some more facts, and made sure the baby was doing okay. So far, everything was happening as it should. Finally, last week, things had started to calm down. Jack and Rose could finally relax and dream about what was yet to come. Rose looked at the clock for the umpteenth time in the last five minutes. Jack had left right after dinner saying he would be back in a half-hour with a surprise. She wondered what he could be up to now. He was so excited for the baby, almost more excited then Rose. Almost every day he would think of something that they had to do for the baby and get started on it right away. Whether it was buying a baby crib (which Jack had already dragged Rose into doing), to getting diapers and clothes, Jack was right there with her. She thought it was funny, the baby wasn't due for over six and a half months, but Jack was already prepared like it was tomorrow that the baby was coming. Suddenly Rose heard the front door slam and footsteps in the entryway.

"Jack?" she called, getting up and walking toward the sound.

"Wait, Rose! Don't come any farther!" Jack said, suddenly appearing and standing next to her.

"What is going on Jack?" Rose asked, as she raised her eyebrow.

"Shh," Jack whispered. "Close your eyes."

Rose obeyed and felt Jack slip his arm around her waist.

"Now Rose, can ya see anything?" he asked, waving a hand in front of her eyes.

"Not a thing," Rose said truthfully.

Jack led her into what Rose presumed was the entryway. "Okay, you can look now," he whispered in her ear.

Rose opened her eyes and saw that sitting in the middle of the entryway was the cutest puppy she had ever seen. It was a grayish blue with white and black mixed in.

"Oh, Jack!" Rose exclaimed running over to the young dog, who licked her hand.

"Do you like her?" Jack asked, sitting down next to Rose and the puppy.

"She is the cutest thing I have ever seen!" Rose exclaimed, scratching behind that puppy's soft ear. "What kind of dog is this? I have never seen this kind of coloring."

Jack smiled and scratched the puppy's head. "It's a collie, a blue merle collie. A friend of Scott's had a dog who was having a purebred litter. And you mentioned that you wanted a dog, so here you go," Jack explained as he picked up the eight-week-old puppy and studied her.

"Oh Jack! Thank you!" Rose whispered, taking the puppy from Jack's arms. "Does she have a name?" she asked, as she held the puppy against her body.

"No," Jack said. "Why don't you pick one?"

Rose thought for a minute. Finally, she said, "How about Addy? I have always wanted a dog by that name."

Jack smiled. "I like that."

"Little Addy," Rose whispered, kissing the puppy's small head.

*************

Later that night, Jack and Rose were walking along the beach with Addy running around in front of them, sniffing the ground and playing in the sand. They had their shoes off and were walking with their feet in the surf. The sun had just gone down and only a little shimmer of light still showed on the horizon. The October moon hung high in the sky and was lighting a small path for Jack and Rose to walk in. In only two hours, Addy had gotten used to Jack and Rose and was acting like one of the family. Rose smiled as Addy ran up to the surf, ready to jump in, but then ran back onto the dry sand before the wave came.

"She's such a cute dog," Rose whispered to Jack.

Jack smiled back at Rose. "Hmm, yes, she is."

Rose closed her eyes and leaned against Jack, who had his arm around her shoulders. She sighed happily and put her hand on her stomach. Little Baby Dawson was in there, growing and developing into a child. Baby Dawson, that's what Rose was calling it. She and Jack hadn't discussed names yet. Rose knew they still had some time before they had to have a name set, but it was bugging her; it couldn't remain Baby Dawson forever.

"Jack," she whispered opening her eyes. Why not bring the subject up now?

Jack looked down and smiled. "Yeah?"

"What are we going to name the baby?" she asked, her eyes shining into his.

Jack chuckled. "We do have to figure that out, don't we?"

Rose laughed. "Well, not right away. But I think we should get an idea. Just so we aren't arguing over names two days before the baby comes."

Jack smiled and called Addy over. "Why don't we sit down?" he suggested as he sat himself on the sand.

Rose sat down next to him and snuggled up into his embrace. Addy came up wagging her little tail and then curled up at their feet.

"Names, names, names," Jack said, blowing some hair out of his eyes. "Well, we need a boy and a girl name, right?"

Rose nodded. "Well, yeah, I would think so."

"Okay," Jack said, "let's start with boy names. What is one boy name you like?"

Rose thought for a moment. "I like Michael, a lot."

Jack smiled. "I was thinking that too."

"Really?" Rose asked.

Jack nodded. "I love that name. Ever since I was little I liked that name."

"Hmm, me too," Rose said. "Michael Dawson," she whispered. "That sounds good. I like it."

"Me too," Jack said. "It sounds good together. Now we need a middle name."

"How about Andrew?" Rose suggested. "That was your father's name, right?"

Jack nodded. "Yes, it was. That would be nice, to have the baby have a part of my dad."

"Michael Andrew Dawson," Rose said, nodding. "I like that. Now, what about girl's names?"

"Margaret," Jack said right away.

"That's my middle name," Rose said, laughing.

"I know," Jack said, as he smiled. "I like it; it's a pretty name."

Rose laughed. "Okay, Margaret it is. What about a middle name?"

"What was your mother's middle name?" Jack asked.

"Christine," Rose answered.

Jack thought for a moment. "Let's do Margaret Christine. It sounds pretty and I think it fits together well," he said.

Rose nodded. "Yes, it is pretty. One thing though--we can't call her Molly. It reminds me of Molly Brown. She was so nice to us, I don't think anyone could ever take her place. Besides, I had a doll named Molly when I was little. We could call her Maggie for short if you wanted to."

"All right," Jack agreed, laughing. "Margaret Christine Dawson and Michael Andrew Dawson."

Rose nodded. "Yep, I like those."

Jack smiled. "That takes care of that."

Rose laughed. "I thought this was going to take us a while. Guess I was wrong."

Jack laughed along with her. "It sure was easy."

Rose smiled and kissed Jack on the cheek. "We should be getting home," she said. "It's getting late."

Jack nodded and got up, pulling Rose up with him. "C'mon, Addy. You wanna go home?" Jack asked as the dog.

Addy barked and then ran ahead of Jack and Rose, eager to get home.

********

Rose came down the stairs with her bathrobe tied tightly around her body. She entered the kitchen and found Jack laying newspaper down on the floor. Addy was sitting close by, watching Jack attentively. After the paper Jack placed a few towels down and called for Addy to come over. The puppy waddled over and circled around on the blankets. Finally she decided she liked her position and lay down. Rose smiled and walked over to Jack, who was standing up, examining the dog.

"She's a wonderful dog. So smart," she whispered, hugging her husband from behind and resting her chin on his shoulder.

Jack smiled. "Yeah, she is."

"C'mon, Jack, it's late. Let's get to bed," Rose whispered, after a minute of staring at the dog, who was now resting peacefully.

Jack nodded and whispered, "Good night, Addy."

Addy brought her head up at the sound of her new name and cocked her head to the side.

Rose smiled. "Night, Addy."

Addy yawned a big puppy yawn and then laid her head back down. Rose shook her head happily and turned to go upstairs, Jack right behind her. Once they were both settled in bed, Rose and Jack said their good nights and turned out the lights. They were both tired; it had been a long day. Rose went to sleep right away, but Jack lay there in the dark and watched her. To him, she was still the most beautiful woman in the world. And now she was pregnant with his child. Jack smiled and traced Rose's face with this finger. Suddenly, the bedroom door swung open, and Addy pranced in, wagging her tail and panting.

"Addy!" Jack whispered, trying not to laugh.

The dog walked over to the bed and jumped up, putting her two front paws up on the bed. Jack rolled over and looked the dog in the face. Her little puppy eyes were staring right into his and Jack just sighed.

"All right, all right, you can sleep up here. But only for tonight," he whispered, picking the dog up and setting her on the end of the bed.

Addy licked his hand and then curled up, going right to sleep. Jack shook his head and lay back down, pulling Rose into his arms. Rose smiled in her sleep and then mumbled something. Jack bit his lip to keep from laughing. Ever since Rose had gotten pregnant, she had started talking in her sleep. He shook his head and kissed the side of her hair. Closing his eyes, he was soon fast asleep.

Chapter Fifty
Stories