Come, Josephine

Chapter 53

1928
Rose
I was sitting on the top step, my arms folded on my knees and my head atop them. The dim light of the hallway glared, just as it had a moment before-
   The reality tore through me. Josephine.
   "Jack?" I was on my feet within a heartbeat, falling over myself with the momentum. I was across the hall, my hand flying towards the door, "Jack!"
   I fell through the door and his arms were there to catch me. He pulled me to him, his hands finding my face, "you okay? Rose- look at me."
   I glanced wildly around the room but his shoulder obstructed the bed, "where is she-"
   He tried to console me, tried to keep me calm, but with every passing second my panic rose, "where's Josie?" 
   "She's resting," he moved to allow me to see the bed. She stirred a little, her hand in Nick's. He looked at me, a little nervously.
   Above all, she was alright. She looked drained; her skin lacked colour, and her cheeks looked hollow. But she was breathing. She was safe, and Nick watched over her, and all was well.
   There were plenty of blankets over her, and the window was ajar to let in some fresh air. Jack had taken good care of her, and I could be certain that no harm had come to her. She was weak, but still fighting.
    My knees buckled, but Jack held me up, "I had a really bad dream."
   "Oh, Rose," he sighed, his face soft and kind. Worry filled his eyes, but he didn't express it, "come on."
   He led me out of her room, and once we were outside, I broke down. Big, curdling sobs broke free, and his arms were around me. He was trying to hold me together, but it seemed to only make me cry harder.
   "I had a dream that I lost her," I cried, "she was gone."
   He didn't tell me not to cry, or to be strong. He just held me silently until all I could think about was the way his mouth was pressed into my hair, or how his arms held me so tightly.
   It was in those moments that I knew why I was with Jack; he was home. He was always so steady, so reassuring, without ever trying to pin me down. Every day I was thankful that he continued to love me through it all, particularly during the hardest of times.
   I pulled away at last, and he looked down at me with a curious look in his eyes, "hey, you okay?"
   "It's probably just hormones, right?" I half-laughed.
   "It's probably all of that stress I've put you under," he frowned,  "come on, go sit with Josie for a moment, and then go get some proper sleep, okay?"
   I nodded and pushed passed him into the room. Josie lay in the same position that we had left her in. Nick had moved a fraction so that he cradled her, but as he heard us enter, he pulled back. A sheepish smile swept over his face, and he stood to allow me to take his place.
I knelt down by her bedside, holding her a little nervously, "how has she been?" I asked to no one in particular.
"Her fever spiked a few hours ago," Nick said, "and your mother sat with her for a while, but her fever broke a little while afterwards. It keeps breaking, but it doesn't stay down."
I turned my attention back to Josephine. Her colour had improved a little- or so I hoped. Her chest rose and fell in steady beats, and her eyes fluttered with sleep. She was not out of the woods, but her condition had not worsened. It was all that we could hope for.
I sat with her for a half an hour more before I retired to my room. Everything ached from kneeling by her bedside, and Jack insisted that I get some rest. I was exhausted, he had said, and it wouldn't do me any good to watch over her. He would wake me if her condition changed, and promised me that he would not leave her side.
"Nick won't leave her either, you know that," he said as he helped me into bed, "Rose, go to sleep, or you'll make yourself ill."
I relented and went to sleep and no nightmares followed. I was too tired to dream, I supposed, and one day fell into the next.
When I next awoke, Josephine was awake.