UNTIL I FOUND YOU
Chapter Three

Two days had passed since their rescue, and one day since Jack’s lapse into a coma. Rose had kept her word and stayed at Jack’s side the entire time, praying and waiting for him to wake up. Her prayers were finally answered that night.

Rose had drifted off into a light nap, and Molly was sitting at the foot of the bed, reading a medical book on comas when, out of the blue, Jack opened his eyes and groggily looked around. Molly was the first person he saw, but that didn’t make sense, because he felt someone else holding his hand, and it couldn’t have been Molly because she was sitting at the foot of the bed. He turned his head to find Rose sound asleep next to him. She held his hand tightly against her cheek. She looked so peaceful…so beautiful…

"Rose…" he weakly whispered.

"Jack! Oh, my goodness, Jack! You’re awake!" Molly hopped up from the bed. "Nurse! Nurse!"

"Molly?" Rose woke up and sat up, not noticing that Jack had awakened.

"Rose, look! Jack’s awake!" Molly excitedly pointed.

"Rose?"

"Jack!" Rose gasped, her eyes widening with tears of happiness. "You’re awake!"

"You’re alive." Jack smiled weakly.

"So are you. Oh, Jack, I was so worried! I thought I had lost you forever!" Rose cried, throwing her arms around Jack.

"I thought the same. How did you survive?"

"I found a board to get on. Then I blacked out. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a lifeboat."

"I found a chair and held on. I didn’t know if I would survive or not. I blacked out when they pulled me into a lifeboat," Jack explained. He gently touched her cheek. "I’m so relieved you survived. I thought I had lost you forever."

"Excuse me, Miss. We have to check the patient. It’s regulation when a patient has lapsed into a coma." The doctor tapped Rose’s shoulder. She moved out of his way so he could check on Jack.

"Coma?" Jack asked. "How long have I been out?"

"All day and all night," Rose explained. "I sat by your side, waiting for you to wake up."

"Hmm…he’s suffering from severe hypothermia. This young man is lucky that he’s not losing any limbs." The doctor snorted. "Poor Mr. Bride isn’t going to be that lucky."

"But Jack will be all right, right?" Rose asked hopefully.

"As long as he stays out of the cold. I suggest he remain indoors the duration of this voyage. Give him lots of hot food and drink, and perhaps sit him in front of a fire in one of the staterooms. If you do those things, he should be well enough to disembark when the time comes." The doctor nodded. "If not…we’ll have to hospitalize him until he is better."

"So, I can take him back to my stateroom?" Molly asked.

The doctor nodded. "Just follow my instructions to the letter. Good day, ladies." The elderly gentleman tipped his hat and went about, checking on other patients.

"Well, up you go, Jack. Let’s head to my stateroom and start nursing you back to health." Molly and Rose helped Jack stand up, and together, the trio headed for the first class section of the ship, where Molly’s stateroom was situated.

Chapter Four
Stories