Titanic II: Revival (REVISING!)

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"So, how did you and Rose meet?" My mother asked as she filled her mouth with a spoonful of Honey-Nut Cheerios.

I swirled the steel spoon in my hand through the contents in my bowl. "He had recently became a member of my team." I told her, not completely lying yet.

"The one focussing on the Titanic discovery?" She looked at me and Jack who sat beside me, eating his cereal quickly. We shared a quick glance, before I nodded. "Oh! By the way honey, I forgot to ask! How did your research on Jack Dawson go?"

The young man who sat beside me stiffened in his seat. "Oh uh, it went well. I found all the stuff I needed to know." I nodded, before taking a spoon full of cereal and eating it.

Jack cleared his throat beside me. "Research on Jack Dawson?" He asked.

"Yes! Jack Dawson played a significant role in my grandmothers life." She explained to him. "They met on the Titanic. But sadly he passed away the night of the sinking..." she sighed, wiping her mouth with her napkin. "The only proof of his existence is the stories my grandmother told me about him."

"Did...did he have any children with her? Is he your grandfather?" He asked nervously.

"No... my grandmother was forced to marry a rich man from London. They had children, but divorced once she was independent enough. Jack Dawson is not related to us." She told him.

"And why did you guys decide to keep the name Bukater? Shouldn't the husbands name be the last one?"

"Family tradition I guess..." suddenly, beeping sounds emerged from the kitchen behind my mother. "My cake! I'll be right back. Feel free to show Jack around, Rose." She quickly got up from the table and exited the dining room.

"So it's true." He looked at me.

"Of course it's true! I wouldn't lie to you." I put my napkin down on the table after wiping my mouth thoroughly. "Now let's go get your room ready."

• • •

I lead Jack into the guest room on the second floor. The room consisted of a queen-sized bed, a nightstand, lamp, and various pictures hanging on the walls.

As I laid the blanket and pillow I had in my hands down on the bed, Jack began to wander around the room, gazing at the pictures.

He then stopped in front of a specific one. "That's her." He said, pointing at the frame.

I walked up beside him, and looked at the picture with him. It was a picture of my great grandmother, with her mother and the rest of her family standing in front of the ship.

"She looks sad." I say, realizing I had never taken time to actually look closely at the picture.

"She was." Jack responded. "She was depressed. Suicidal."

"How do you know that?" I asked, not believing what I heard at first.

He sighed. "Because she tried to commit suicide." He admitted, and I stiffened. My great grandmother tried to commit suicide? "I stopped her. It was how we met."

"I never knew she was suicidal." I said, looking back a the picture.

"Neither did her family." He shoved his hands in the pockets of his black sweatpants, before sighing. "They planned her life out for her. She was a pawn of their little rich game."

I silently stared at the picture, as Jack moved onto the one beside it. It was a picture of me at my University graduation two years ago.

"You graduated early?" He asked.

I nodded, looking over at the picture. "I spent four years in University. But since I skipped grade nine and ten in high school, I attended University at the age of 16."

"You were a scientific prodigy?" He asked, admiring the picture closely. I nodded. "You look exactly like her when she was your age."

No one understood how or why I had so many similar traits as my great grandmother. The hair colour was the only difference. I'm blonde, and my great-grandmother was red-headed.

"So I've heard." I laughed slightly, looking over at Jack beside me. "Should we tell my mom?" I asked.

"She wouldn't believe you." He told me as he walked over to the soft mattress of the bed and sat on the edge.

"I'm a scientist! She'll understand that crazy shit goes on in the lives of scientists." I explain. He shakes his head.

"We can wait." He tells me. "The last thing I need is your mother getting offended because she thinks it's some sort of prank, and kicking me out."

Just as I was about to answer, I heard foot steps approach the room we were in. The door slowly opened, and my mother peeked around the door.

"Rose..." she mumbles as she walked in. "Who is he?" She asked, pointing at Jack who sat on the bed still. I looked down at my friend who sat beside me.

"He...he's my friend from the labs." I told her.

She shook her head. "He is a science experiment!" Her voice raised. Only then did I realize she had a phone in her hand. "Do you know who I just got off the phone with?"

Jack nervously ran a hand through his floppy blonde hair.

"Who?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Dr. Johnson. He said you snuck out. With a gun! And you shot him!" She began to yell now. "I wondered why the glass of the car you came in was broken. And I wondered why you drove a Johnson Labs car. But I never expected you to break out of a billion dollar facility, with a subject!"

"HE IS NOT A SUBJECT." I yelled, causing everyone in the room to flinch. "I'm tired of everyone calling him a subject! Or an experiment! This young man right here, is the reason you're here. The reason I'm here."

My mothers eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "What do you mean?! I've never seen this man in my life!"

"Mom, meet Jack Dawson. Victim and survivor of the Titanic sinking." I motioned towards the man sitting beside me.

She scoffed, placing her hands on her hips. "You're very funny Rose. But our past is not a joke."

"Miss..." Jack interrupted. "She is not lying." He stood up from the bed and approached her. "My name is Jack Dawson. I was born May 25th, 1892. I won my ticket in a poker game at a pub in Southampton, England. I was born and raised in Wisconsin, USA. I met Rose Dewitt Bukater on the ship, and fell in love. I saved her life."

My mother listened intently, blinking several times. "If you're Jack Dawson, tell me this: who framed you for thievery, and with what?"

"Caledon Hockley." He answered. "Roses 'fiancé'. He framed me for thievery the night of the sinking by putting the diamond necklace he bought Rose in the pocket of my coat." Jack explained.

Even I did not know that.

"Impossible... I never told anyone that! My great-grandmother only told me!" She stepped back in shock.

"M'am, that's because I'm Jack Dawson."