LOVE IS MORE THAN A FEELING
Chapter Twelve
Jack was having a peaceful dream. He was with
Rose, and they were on the Titanic again. They were on the bow of the ship
again until someone woke him up.
"Jack! Jack, wake up!" Monica shook
him.
Jack slowly opened his eyes, then spoke.
"Any news on Rose?"
"I'm sorry, hon. Not yet," Monica
said.
Jack sat up on the uncomfortable couch he had
slept on that night.
It had been a week since Rose had gotten
shot, and Jack hadn't been home once.
"Jack, don't you think you should go
home for a while? We'll come and get you if there's any news on Rose,"
Fred offered.
"No! I can't. She needs me more than
ever. I'm not leaving."
Fred nodded at his friend. "All
right."
Just then, a nurse came into the waiting
room.
"Mr. Dawson," she said.
Jack jumped up off of the couch. "How's
my wife?"
"Well, they're finished with the
surgery. The bullet is out and she seems to be doing fine, but that doesn't
mean she will recover completely."
"But..." Jack tried to get out.
"Do…do you think she will live?"
"Mr. Dawson, that's all I can tell you
for right now. Just keep praying. I'll be back later with any news," the
nurse said before leaving.
Jack sat back down and ran his fingers
through his hair. "You guys can go home," Jack said, looking over at
Monica and Fred. "I'll let you know if there's any change in Rose's
condition."
"All right, Jack. Are you sure you'll be
all right?" Monica asked.
Jack nodded. Fred and Monica left. Once they
were outside, Monica looked up at her husband. "Do you think Rose will be
all right?"
"Ah…Monica. You know that Rose is a
fighter," Fred said.
She gave her husband a kiss on the cheek and
they walked back to the apartment.
Meanwhile, back in the waiting room, Jack just
thought—thought about Rose.
About six hours later, at five o’clock PM, the
nurse came out again.
Jack ran up to her. "How is my wife
doing?"
"Mr. Dawson, she's doing much
better."
Jack let out a sigh of relief. "Can I
see her, please?"
"I'm sorry, Mr..."
"Please! I'm begging you. I really need
to see her! Please."
The nurse paused. "All right..." she
said, unsure of herself.
Jack followed her to Rose's room. "Is
she awake?" Jack asked.
"Yes. In fact, she's been calling for
you."
When they reached the room, Jack smiled at
the nurse and thanked her before she went back to work. Jack opened the door
slowly.
"Rose?"
"Jack?"
When Jack saw her, he went right to her.
"Oh, Rose. Thank God you are all
right!" Jack said as he started to kiss her all over her face.
Rose smiled. "I'm doing fine, darling. I
love you so much!"
"I love you more, Rose...oh, God. Rose,
I almost lost you. But you are a fighter."
"Yes, I am. You didn't think you could
get rid of me that easily, did you?" Rose joked.
"I love you so much. I'm gonna kill Cal.
That bastard..."
"What happened to him?" Rose asked.
"Don't worry, Rosie. Thanks to Fred,
they caught him and he's going to be tried."
"Jack, thank you for being here for
me," Rose said.
"Rose, they couldn't have dragged me
away from you. I'll always be there for you," Jack said. "But Rose, why
did you jump in front of that bullet? You were almost killed."
"Jack, I couldn't let him hurt
you."
"Rose, don't ever do that again. I never
want anything bad to happen to you because of me..."
"Jack! It's not because of you. It's
because of Cal! He's the one who shot me."
Jack smiled. "Thank you, Rose, for
saving my life. I love you. But never do that again," Jack said with a
smile.
"I love you, too, but Jack, I will always
be there for you, too."
"You're crazy," Jack said as he
kissed her again.
"That's what everybody says..."
Rose said as she thought back to that night on the Titanic.
"I'm the luckiest man alive, Rose. I
have everything. I'm so lucky I met you that night."
"I'm the lucky one, Jack."
"I love you, Rosie."
"I love you, too."