DAPHNE’S STORY OF FINDING HER FATHER
Chapter Four

Rose's POV

I stared into Jack's beautiful blue eyes as we broke from our kiss. I noticed that Jack hadn't changed one bit. There was love and caring in his eyes, and I already knew that he loved Daphne because she was our daughter, and everyone that knew Daphne loved her. I couldn't believe how being back in Jack's arms made me feel. I felt as though I were seventeen again, and my heart pounded fast as everyone around us clapped.

"Rose," Jack whispered.

"Jack," I whispered back. Jack laughed slightly as he pulled me into his arms, where my head lay on his chest. I sighed happily, but then I remembered that I could only visit Santa Monica for one day. I was only able to close the shop for a few days. I pulled out of the embrace. "You know, I have to go back to New York tomorrow." Jack frowned.

"You can't leave, Rose. Stay here with me."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Jack. I only closed the shop for a few days," I said.

"Is there any way for us to stay together? I can't go on without you, Rose. I love you!" Jack pleaded. The intensity in his voice confirmed that he really did love me. I couldn't help pulling the collar of his shirt towards me so that I could feel his precious lips on mine again. If it was possible, this kiss was even more passionate than the last one.

After pulling back, I chuckled. "Of course," I answered.

"I'm sure we can find a way, and I have no doubt that Daphne will come up with an idea. After all, she reunited us," Jack said.

I chuckled. "She's a wonderful daughter." Jack nodded his head in agreement.

"Even though I haven't known her for long, I love her," Jack said.

"Everyone does."

"How about you, Daphne, and I go back to my place and I can tell you two how I survived?" Jack offered. I nodded my head.

Jack smiled, slipping his hand into mine as we made our way down the steps. We didn't see Daphne. I shot Jack a worried look. He looked towards me and gave me a reassuring smile.

"Jack, where is Daphne?" I asked him.

"Last time I saw her, she was at our table," Jack said as he pointed to a table. I got even more worried when I saw two empty chairs. Daphne wasn't at the table.

"Looking for someone, Rose?" a cold voice asked behind us. We turned around and saw a red-headed woman in her fifties. I already knew who it was.

"Hello, Mother," I said, half-shocked. Where did she come from?

"And yes, we are looking for someone, Mrs. DeWitt-Bukater," Jack said coldly.

"Um...we're looking for our daughter," I said, a little nervous.

"Mr. Dawson, if you're looking for your daughter, I suggest you look in the front entrance of the restaurant. If not, she might be outside," my mother said as she pointed towards the door.

"I'll be right back, Rose," Jack said.

I looked at him and nodded. "Okay, Jack." Jack walked off, leaving my mother and me to talk. My mother laughed slightly as she shook her head.

"So, you married the gutter rat?"

I glared at her. "He's not a gutter rat, Mother, and no, we didn't get married...yet."

My mother shrugged. "I can't believe you!"

I was getting very frustrated with my mother. "I was just reunited with him. For sixteen years, I thought he was dead…and so did Daphne." My mother raised an eyebrow.

"She's fifteen years old?" my mother asked.

"Yes. She was born in January of 1989," I said proudly.

"You mean you slept with him on…that night?" my mother asked, half-surprised, half-angry.

"Yes, and I thank the Lord every day that we did, because if we hadn't, I wouldn't have my wonderful daughter, Daphne."

"Well, Daphne is the spitting image of her father. I'm sure she's proud to be the daughter of a slut and a gutter rat. I thought I raised you better than that!" my mother shouted. I couldn't stand it anymore.

"Mother, we love each other with all of our souls, and it's because of you and Cal that we almost died on that horrible night. I'm not a slut, and Jack is not a gutter rat! If I had done as you told me, I would have been married to that jerk who goes by the name of Cal, and I would have been miserable for the rest of my life! But you were just so greedy about the money that you couldn't even see it. Did you know that Cal ran after Jack and me with a gun, trying to shoot us? And did you know that he smacked me right across the face? No, you didn't, because you were too blind to see that Cal was a controller, and I would have eventually burned out if I did marry him!"

My mother looked at me, not sure what to say. "Well, how did you manage to survive?"

"Just let me explain, and I'm sure you'll understand." My mother nodded, urging me to tell her.

Daphne’s POV

I'd been out there for ten minutes and it was getting pretty cold out. After I found out that the lady was my grandmother, I left the room. First I found my father, and then my grandmother. I found two people that I hadn't known in my fifteen years! The truth was, I didn't even want to speak to my grandmother because of what she did to my mother.

I heard the door of the restaurant open. I knew it was Jack.

"Hey, kiddo. What are you doing out here? It's cold out. Is something wrong?" Jack asked softly as he sat beside me on the bench.

"Nothing's wrong," I lied.

I heard Jack chuckle. "No need to lie, Daphne. I guess that's another thing you get from your mother. Both of you are bad at lying." I turned my head away from Jack, refusing to look at him. "You won't even look at me," Jack pointed out. "I know there's something wrong."

I didn't answer, even though I knew I should. I felt as though Jack could read me like an open book.

"Please, Daphne. Tell me," Jack pleaded.

I turned my head towards him. "There's nothing wrong, Jack!" I almost shouted, surprising him. I got up from the bench, walked towards a pole, and leaned my head against it. I closed my eyes, trying to stop the tears.

That was when I felt him put his hand on my shoulder before he sighed. "I know there is something wrong." Jack took his hand off of my shoulder before pulling my head away from the pole, forcing me to look at him.

"You wouldn't even want to listen to me," I said as I felt tears sliding down my cheeks. "No one cares what I say or think." Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Your mother cares, doesn't she?" Jack asked me. Of course she did.

"Yes." Jack smiled and nodded.

"Good. Now, how about you tell me what's wrong?" Jack asked, getting me to laugh lightly. Although I wanted to tell him, I couldn't find a way to start. Jack put his hand on my cheek, gently caressing it. "It's okay, Daphne. You can tell me anything. I care about you and I'll listen. I don't ignore the ones I love. I love you and your mother tremendously."

"Me?" I asked. Jack nodded.

"You. After all, you're my daughter."

"All right," I said as Jack took his hand off of my cheek. "There is something wrong."

Jack smiled. "Go on. I'm all ears."

Rose's POV

"I don't believe you, Rose! Cal wasn't that bad, and you would have been happy if you’d married him. You would have had anything you wanted."

"Apart from two things."

My mother raised an eyebrow. "What are they?"

I sighed. "Love and happiness."

My mother laughed. "Who gives you that?"

"Jack does."

"But, Rose--"

I held up my hand to silence her. "Don't talk. Listen," I said firmly. "When Father died, you began to treat me like I was a trophy, and so did Cal. I wanted to be loved and cared for by a man, and that man was, and still is, Jack Dawson. He loves me and our daughter. Now, if you cannot accept me loving Jack…then leave me alone." My mother gave me an icy glare before she nodded.

"All right, then," my mother said. "Good-bye, Rose." My mother turned around and exited the restaurant.

Daphne's POV

I was starting to tell Jack about what was on my mind as he listened carefully to every word I said.

"And then, a week after the fight at school, people started teasing me about not having a father." Jack looked at me guiltily, but I smiled at him. "Don't worry. It's not your fault. You didn't even know you had a daughter."

Jack sighed. "I wish I had known, Daphne. I mean, it broke my heart thinking that your mother might have passed away. And I guess I tried taking all of those passionate moments between her and me out of my head. I didn't even want to remember after a while. It hurt too much."

"How do you think it affected me?" I asked, hurt in my voice. "For fifteen years, I wondered who my father was and what he looked like. I tried imagining what kind of father this Jack Dawson would have been, and how it would feel to be in his arms. I remember one night when my mother and I were at a restaurant and it was near Father's Day. I was only about seven at the time, but when I saw all these girls dancing with their fathers, it hurt, knowing that I didn't have one," I said. I felt more tears slide down my cheeks, and I didn't even bother to wipe them away. "It wasn't until I was ten that my mother told me the story," I said. "I remember asking her almost every night to describe a different memory of you so that I could get to know you better." I wiped away my tears with my hand. "It was hard on me when my father was never there when I needed him most. There were even some problems that only you could fix, Jack, times when I needed my father."

Jack sat there. He looked as though different emotions were running through him like a chilly wind on a damp night. I think he felt a kind of love he had never felt before, a love for his daughter. He loved my mother with all of his soul, and now I was sure he loved me just as much, although it was a different kind of love. I could tell that guilt was starting to wash over him as he told himself he should have looked harder for my mother. If he had, maybe he would have found us and I wouldn't have had to miss out on having a dad. Jack took me in his arms and let me rest my head on his chest. He caressed me until all of my tears were gone. "I'm so sorry, Daphne. But you must remember that I love you, and I always will. If it makes you feel better, I know what it's like."

"How could you possibly know what it's like? Did you grow up thinking your father was dead?" I asked seriously, but with a bit of sarcasm.

"No, I didn't. But both of my parents died in a fire when I was fifteen. And trust me, after loving your parents for fifteen years, it's hard to lose them. Every day I asked myself why it had happened to me. Why was my love so wasted? What did I do to deserve this?" Jack paused for a moment, looking up at the stars and pulling his hair back with his hand. "However, if I could change the past, I wouldn't."

"What? Why wouldn't you change anything? You could have led a happy life with them," I said, really getting into his story. The way he told it, the way he talked, just seemed to pull me in. What I loved about him was that he always talked from the heart.

"If nothing had happened to them, I wouldn't have gone out into the world by myself. Think about it. If I hadn’t run away, then I wouldn't have gone to Europe, and I wouldn't have won that ticket to go on the Titanic. Everything in life is connected, Daphne. And if I hadn’t gone on the Titanic, then I wouldn't have met your mother."

"I guess that's true. So, you don't regret being on the Titanic?" I asked.

"Not one bit. Even though it ended in tragedy, it was what brought me to your mother. I fell head over heels for Rose the first time I laid eyes on her. And I'm telling ya, a love that strong, like between Rose and me, it hits you like a wave of passion, taking over your mind and heart. You feel sick. You can't think…at least not about anything but the one you love." Jack paused for a moment. "Which is why nothing could end our love."

"I'm starting to feel sick," I said as a joke. Boy, love was complicated! Jack simply laughed and held me closer.

"Maybe, but you'll understand someday. And it's because of that love that you're here today. Think about it. If I hadn’t sailed on the Titanic, Cal might be your father."

"Oh, dear. I never thought of that! Ew! That would be horrible!" I said.

Jack laughed. "I can see that you get your sense of humor from me." I smiled.

"Like father, like daughter," I said. Jack looked at me as he kissed my head. I snuggled closer to Jack.

"Are you cold?" Jack asked. I nodded.

He stood up and held his hand out towards me. "Let's go inside, and I'll take you and your mother back to my place." I nodded as I slipped my hand into his and he helped me up off of the bench. We walked inside of the restaurant.

*****

When we entered the restaurant, we saw that nobody was there apart from my mother, who was sitting at an empty table with her chin in her hands, looking as if she was bored. We walked over to her, and once we were at the table, my mom looked up and smiled as she sat up.

"Daphne, tomorrow I'm going to be heading back to New York," my mother informed me. "Would you like to stay here with your father, or go with me?" I looked at Jack for a moment and then back at my mother.

"I’d rather stay here with Dad," I said. I turned my head to my right and saw that Jack was grinning at me. "If it's all right with you."

Jack chuckled. "Of course it's okay with me, sweetheart." I turned my head back towards my mother, who had a big smile on her face.

"All right, then," my mother said.

"We should head back to my place," Jack said. "If Rose wants to get to the airport early, I suggest we get some sleep." My mother and I nodded in agreement.

Jack's POV

I was walking towards Daphne's room to tell her good night. I already knew that Rose was telling her good night, since she was nowhere to be seen, not to mention that she was Daphne's mother and every mother told her child good night.

I saw that the door to Daphne's room was open. Curious, I took a peek inside the room and saw Daphne in bed, covered up by a comforter. Rose was sitting on the edge of the bed, moving a few strands of hair out of Daphne's face.

"Mom?" Daphne asked.

"Yes, Daphne?" Rose asked.

Daphne sighed. "Will we ever be a family?"

"What do you mean by that?" Rose asked, a little confused.

"I'm talking about you, me, and Jack," Daphne answered. "Will we ever be a family?"

"But we are a family."

"A separated family is more like it."

"Daphne, you must know that it's been sixteen years since I've seen your father."

Daphne sighed. "I know, I know, I know."

"I promise you that we will soon be a family."

Daphne nodded. "I just need to think of something to have us be a family, right?"

I laughed quietly to myself. I heard Rose laugh. "Right. Good night, Daphne."

"Good night, Mom."

I saw Rose get up from the bed and walk out of the room, shutting the door behind her. She turned around towards me and looked surprised. She probably hadn't known I was there.

"How much did you hear?" Rose asked as I put my arm around her waist and led her to my bedroom. She told me she could have slept on the couch, but I refused to let the woman I loved sleep on an uncomfortable couch.

"All of it," I said.

Rose rested her head on my shoulder. "Even the part about being a family?"

I nodded. "Even the part about being a family."

Rose's POV

"Really, Jack, I can sleep on the couch," I said as I climbed into Jack's bed. Jack covered both of us with the comforter.

"Of course not," Jack said as he shook his head. "I'm not going to let the woman I love sleep on a lumpy old couch."

"All right, then," I said as I chuckled.

"But if you like, I can sleep on the couch and let you have the bed to yourself."

"Jack, I won't let the man I love sleep on a lumpy old couch," I said, teasing him.

"Well, all right."

Jack lay down on his back before he turned his head to look at me. The way he looked at me made feel as though I could hardly breathe. It was as if I was seventeen all over again. I was head over heels for Jack, and he knew it when I looked down and blushed.

"Rose, you look so beautiful. I just can't get over how you still don't look a day over seventeen," Jack said, brushing my hair out of my face.

"Well, you're making me feel like seventeen again. I feel like that was centuries ago," I said as Jack laughed.

"It was only sixteen years ago, Rose."

I laughed and then gave him a more serious look. "Jack, I'm sure you, of all people, must know how long sixteen years can feel without the person you're in love with, especially when you think they've passed away."

"Yes, I do," Jack whispered, looking into my eyes. I snuggled closer to him as I rested my head on his chest. Jack took my hand and started intertwining his fingers with my own.

"I've missed you so much, Jack. I can't help but think what would have happened if I hadn't gotten pregnant. I would have had nothing but heartbreaking memories to remember you by. And I don't even know how I would have made it, and--"

I was cut off by Jack placing his lips on my own and pulling me even closer. What seemed like a soft, gentle kiss soon became more intense as we both refused to pull back. Jack slipped his arms around my back to deepen the kiss. Once we finally broke the kiss, Jack lowered his hands to my back, hesitatingly undoing the bow at the back of my nightgown. He paused for a moment, not sure what to do, before he looked down at me. I answered his questioning look by untying the bow before he slowly slipped my nightgown off.

"Are you nervous?" Jack asked with a grin. But at the same time, he looked quite nervous himself.

"I trust you," I said with a light smile. I felt his hands trembling as we started another passionate kiss. I hadn't felt this much love since those moments on the Titanic. At that moment, nothing could come between us.

Chapter Five
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