AFTER TITANIC
Chapter Fourteen

The old Dawson house was dark and empty when Jack and Molly arrived. Hitting a switch, it was obvious that someone was staying there. Telling from the long, red strands of hair Jack found on the couch, it was Rose. He was glad and relieved that she felt comfortable enough to stay in his old house.

"What am I going to say to her when she gets back?" Jack turned to Molly. "I mean, I haven't seen her in five months. What if she doesn't want me back?"

"Believe me, Jack, she wants to be with you more than anything. You just have to reassure her that everything's okay. That's all. Tell her you love her and that you forgive her for taking off like that," Molly reassured him. "If you don't mind, I'm going to step out. I need to discuss some business with Marge Hathaway. I'll be back soon. You'll be okay here by yourself, won't you?"

"Of course. In fact, Rose has this place fixed up so nice that I don't even recognize it anymore. Memories of my parents should not be a problem." Jack smiled nervously. "Go on. I'll just look the house over, make sure everything else is ok."

After Molly was gone, Jack just walked around the house, examining all the changes that he had done before he left and the changes Rose had done when she had arrived. He had to admit that he liked the feminine atmosphere Rose had given the place. For a pampered upper-class girl, she knew how to decorate. Strolling upstairs, he took a step into his old room, to find it was the place Rose had chosen to sleep in. He even found a couple of his old nightshirts folded on the bed.

Picking up one, he smelled the scent of lilies, the perfume Rose wore. She must have slept in them or with them, drawing comfort for all the nights she had to sleep alone. He was about to head for the dresser to see what else had changed, when he heard the sound of female voices downstairs, both of them familiar. Rose was home, and she had brought Eliza with her.

Carefully, Jack sneaked to the top of the stairs to listen in on their conversation.

"Now, Rose, you must forgive Amanda. She doesn't know what she says. She's just a little taken aback that I'd let someone I know for such a short time be in the wedding," Eliza replied, her voice full of sympathy.
"It's not because of that, Eliza, and we both know it." Rose's voice was on the verge of tears. The only time he heard her voice quiver like that was when she was trying to wake him up after Titanic sank. "It's because I'm pregnant and the father isn't here. That's the whole reason for her objection to me being a bridesmaid. And she's not the only one. Your mother also feels the same way. I know what they think of me, Eliza. I'm not stupid. I have ears."

"Rose..."

"They think I'm a whore for being pregnant. They think I bedded some man out of wedlock and that's why I'm pregnant and alone. But they're wrong. This baby isn't out of wedlock, and they have no idea why I'm alone."

"You're right, Rose. They don't have any idea of why you're in this situation...and really, neither do I. I can't understand why you don't just get in contact with the baby's father and tell him. If this guy is as wonderful as you've described him to me, he'll understand and will stand by you and the baby."

"I want to tell him, I do. I even sat up there in that room writing letter upon letter explaining what happened and the situation I'm in now. But everything I write doesn't sound right. It doesn't sound like I mean it. And I do mean it, Eliza. With all my heart. I want him back, but..."

"But what, Rose? What's stopping you?"

Before Rose could answer, there was a fierce knock at the door.

"Who can that be?" Rose asked, a tinge of fear in her voice. Jack's muscles tightened, ready to come to his wife's rescue if need be.

"Eliza! I know you're in there! You might as well come on out!" Lee Conway's angry voice floated through the door. "I've told you time and again that I didn't want you hanging around the old Dawson place, but you refuse to listen. Now come out and take your medicine!"

"Oh, dear." Eliza's voice was full of fear. "It's Lee, and he's angry. I better go."

"Eliza, no." Rose stopped her friend from making another move. "I'm afraid for your safety if you go to him."

"Eliza, either you come out, or I'll come in!" Lee's voice was full of fury. "And if you're with another man, I have just the thing to take care of him! So you might as well come out!"

"He must have a gun. I better go." Eliza started for the door, then turned to Rose to cut off any further protest. "Rose, you're pregnant. I'm not going to put you and this baby in any danger needlessly. Don't worry. Lee won't hurt me. I'll just explain why I was here and that I'm not having an affair, or anything else."

"Eliza..." Rose began.

"See you tomorrow, Rose. I'll stop over first thing to fit you for that dress." With a small hug, Eliza was out the door, running towards her angry fiancé, who was waiting at the end of the dirt path.

"Please, God, protect her. Don't let him hit her," Rose prayed, not realizing that she wasn't alone in the house. Taking one last look at the door that her friend had gone through, Rose began to go upstairs to get ready for bed.

Jack quickly ducked back into the room, and into the walk-in closet that contained a ladder that led up to what used to be his studio. Leaving the door open a crack, he peeked out at Rose entering the room and sitting on the bed. She hadn't even noticed that things had been disturbed in the house. She just sat on the bed and put her face in her hands. Jack's heart broke as he heard her sobs, as she cried for what she thought she had lost. He couldn't stand it anymore. He had to go to her, and comfort her the best way he knew how.

Silently stepping out of the closet, Jack took a seat on the bed, and placed an arm around her shaking shoulders. Not yet realizing what she was doing, she leaned into him and let him hug her tightly and stroke her hair, whispering all the time that he loved her and forgave her, and that he was never going to let anything bad happen to her or the baby, ever again.

"Shh, Rose. It's okay. Don't cry." Jack hugged her closer to him.

Suddenly, Rose stiffened as she realized that this time, Jack was not a hallucination. He was really here, and he was comforting her, telling her that she was forgiven for deserting him the way she did.

"Jack?" she asked incredulously, afraid he'd disappear if she moved. He felt so real, so solid. Could it possibly be Jack? "Jack? Is this really you? Are you really here, or am I dreaming again?"

Jack stared into her tear-filled eyes, and lightly kissed her forehead. "It's really me, Rose. I'm really here. You don't have to worry anymore."

Rose pulled away from him and just looked into his eyes, searching for any clue that would tell her if what he said was true or not. All she found there was concern, forgiveness, and love. "Jack...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...I was scared. That's why I left. I was afraid..."

Jack just placed a finger over her lips to silence her. "I know why you left. Molly told me everything. I'm so sorry, Rose. I should have taken you back to the hotel when I saw how that woman frightened you. I shouldn't have let you know how Fabrizio and Tommy's deaths upset me. Maybe then you would have felt comfortable enough to come and tell me what that old lady was doing to you."

"Oh, Jack...it's not your fault. I was just too scared of her threat to tell Cal where we were. I knew you'd talk me out of leaving if I did tell you. That's why I was glad that you weren't home when I came back from Molly's. So I came here to Chippewa Falls, and found out that I was carrying our child."

"I know, Rose. Molly told me all of it. She even told me you were working as a maid. I couldn't believe it when she told me."

"I had to find a way to support myself and the baby. Believe me when I say I was shocked by the idea myself, but I knew I had no choice. There was no other alternative other than going back to Mother and Cal, and that would have defeated my purpose. Plus, I didn't want to give up the freedom I have now and go back to such a oppressive society, especially with a baby. Can you imagine what Cal and Mother's reaction would have been if I had returned?"

"Yeah. Cal would have probably found a way to terminate the pregnancy." Jack was once again thoughtful. All this time he thought Rose was with Cal, but she wasn't. She was here in Chippewa Falls all along, struggling for survival. But now that he was here with her, he was going to make everything better, somehow. "Rose...promise me that the next time something like this happens, you won't take off without me. Promise me that you'll come to me first and we can talk it over."

Rose eagerly nodded her agreement, tears of joy streaming from her eyes. "Oh, Jack, I promise. From now on, I'll tell you everything." Rose threw her arms around Jack and held him tightly.

They remained like this for a while, up until Molly Brown stepped into the doorway, a big smile spreading from ear to ear.

"So, I see you two kids have made up." Molly announced her arrival. Rose broke away from Jack to run over to Molly and give her a big hug.

"I can't thank you enough, Molly, for telling Jack everything. I really did try to write a letter to him, but nothing sounded right," Rose cried.

"You're welcome, Rosie. I told ya he'd understand, didn't I? I told you everything was going to be all right." Molly smiled. "And now your family is back together...the way it should be."

"Yes, Molly." Jack stood up from the bed and put an arm around his wife's shoulders. "Everything's the way it should be. And nothing like this is ever going to happen again. I'm going to make sure of it."

"Good. Well, if you don't mind, I'll be going. Even though it's far too late for me to go home, I'll be staying the night at the Hathaway's. So you both will know where to find me if you need anything."

"Thank you, Molly, but I doubt that Marge Hathaway would be pleased to see us on her doorstep at this time of night."

"I'm sure you're right. The woman is even more uptight than Rose's mother is. Give her a night on a sinking ship, I suggest. That's enough to change anybody." Molly turned to leave, when Rose suddenly stopped her.

"Molly...have you heard anything from my mother since the sinking? Is she well?" Rose nervously asked. She'd been so busy thinking about her own situation that she barely ever thought about Ruth, but now that she had Jack back and everything was looking better, she had to know what might have become of her mother.

"Well, Nathan Hockley refused to support her. Without the bride for his son, she was worthless to him. So now she's in Philadelphia, working as a seamstress. I tried to get her to stay with me and keep me company, but she refused. She said she deserved this after what she did to you."

Rose was in shock. Her mother had become what she feared most. She was a seamstress...and not only that...she was guilty for Rose's death.

"Rose, honey...why don't you write her? Tell her you're okay at least. Give the poor woman some peace," Molly urged, watching Rose as she stepped closer to her husband.

"I don't know, Molly. I'm still angry about her trying to force me to marry Cal. All the time, even when the boat was going down, she thought of nothing but herself. I mean, you heard her. She was afraid the lifeboat would be too crowded."

"Rose...she didn't mean it that way. She was trying to calm her own nerves down. She didn't mean any harm by that comment." Molly stepped up to Rose, who had angry tears in her eyes and refused to look at her. "Rose...she loves you...you and this baby you're carrying are all she has left in the entire world. Please, Rose...I'm begging ya. Give the old woman another chance. I'm sure she's not the same person."

"Molly...I don't know. I'll have to think about it. That's all I can give you, or her, right now. Besides, right now I'm going to concentrate more on my marriage. After that...I'll have to see." Rose softened some. She was still very angry with her mother, but some of that anger was beginning to fade at what Molly had just told her. Molly was right. No matter what Rose did...Ruth was this baby's grandmother, and nothing at all would change that.

"Jack...you're reasonable. Try to make your wife see that forgiveness isn't only good for Ruth, it's good for her as well. It's not good to have all that anger bottled up inside like that." Molly turned to Jack, who had remained quiet during this exchange. He just looks at Molly and nodded. He knew she was right. Forgiveness was the only way his Rose was ever going to be truly and completely happy.

"I'll think about it, Molly, and this time I really do promise," Rose repeated.

"Well, I guess that's all I can expect from you, then. I do hope you'll think about it, though. She needs ya, Rose. She really does. Well...I'll be going now. I'll stop by tomorrow before I leave, to say good-bye." Molly gave them both a big hug. "I'll see you tomorrow, you two."

"Night, Molly," both Jack and Rose said in unison, their gratitude to the woman clear in their eyes. If it wasn't for Molly, they'd still be apart and miserable.

"Well...it looks like it's just the two of us." Jack smiled, once Molly is gone. "Rose...about what she said..."

"Not tonight, Jack. Please...I don't want to talk about my mother on our first night back together. All I want to do is be held by you and know that we'll never be apart again." Rose looked up at him with pleading eyes, a single tear streaming down her cheek. "Please, Jack. Just hold me. I've missed you so much."

Jack gently wiped the tears away and kissed her forehead. If that's what she wanted to do, then that's what he was going to give her. "Okay, Rose. Let's go to bed." He gently led her to the bed, and they both lay in each other's arms, holding each other tight, for the rest of the night.

Chapter Fifteen
Stories