AFTER TITANIC
Chapter Twenty-Six

Ruth DeWitt Bukater and Molly Brown arrived the next evening. It was dinnertime, and Jack and Rose had just sat down to eat, when there was a loud banging on the door.

"Now, who can that be?" Jack asked, getting up to answer the door.

"Hi, Jack." Molly grinned, while Ruth just barged in, pushing Jack aside.

"Where's my daughter? Where's Rose? The telegram said she needed me," Ruth said, looking around the room.

"Hello, Molly and Ruth. Come on in." Jack motioned for Molly to join Ruth.

"Mother?" Rose appeared in the kitchen doorway. "What are you doing here?"

"I got a telegram this morning saying that you needed me. I came right away, of course." Ruth ran to her daughter and hugged her tightly.

"Is everything all right here?" Molly turned to Jack.

"Everything's fine now. Rose was just upset last night, and asked for her mother. So, I sent for her," Jack explained. "I didn't mean to cause a panic."

"Oh, Rose, my darling. Are you okay? What happened?" Ruth caressed her daughter's face.

"I just had a scare. That's all," Rose explained. "I'm sorry to have brought you both out here for nothing."

"That's perfectly all right, Rosie," Molly replied. "We had nothing better to do, anyway. I'm just glad you called us when you needed to."

"So, Jack's taking good care of you?"

"Of course he is, Mother," Rose replied. "He's taking very good care of me."

"Oh, how rude of us. We were just sitting down to dinner. Would you two like to join us?" Jack asked.

Both women eagerly nodded. Neither of them had had a decent meal all day.

After dinner, Rose and Molly went out on the porch, while Jack showed Ruth to the guestrooms.

"It's so beautiful out here, isn't it?" Rose sighed, staring up at the stars.

"It sure is. Haven't seen a night like this since April. Clear enough to see all the planets." Molly nodded, then turned to Rose. "Rosie...I didn't want to start anything in front of Ruth. But I know there's a reason for you sending for both of us, and I'd like to know what that reason is."

Rose looked at Molly, her eyes are sad and frightened. Molly wondered what was scaring Rose so much she needed her mother.

"The house is haunted, Molly. By Emma Dawson...Jack's mother. I saw her twice, and I felt and heard her twice, as well."

"Rose...are you sure? I mean, I'm not saying I don't believe you, because I do. I've believed in ghosts since my grandma died and I saw her at the foot of my bed, smiling at me. But are you sure it's Jack's mother?"

"Positive. She said she was his mother, plus, she looks just like him. Who else can she be except Emma Dawson?"

"A restless spirit," Molly whispered to herself. "She has unfinished business. Did she say anything to you, Rose? Did she say what she wanted?"

"That she wanted Jack to forgive himself for the fire. She didn't want to see him torturing himself over it anymore."

"Oh, I see. A mother's love for her son, and assurance of his happiness. That's a good enough reason to stick around, if I do say so myself. Did you tell Jack this?"

"I told him about the place being haunted, but he doesn't believe me. I didn't tell him about his mother. That's a sore subject for him, and I don't know how to approach it." Rose looked down at her hands. "Oh, Molly. What am I going to do?"

"You, my dear Rose, are not going to do anything. Let me handle it. He'll listen to me. I'll get him to forgive himself, make him see that the fire that took his folk’s lives was not his fault."

"How are you going to do that?" Rose asked, uncertainty in her eyes.

"I have my ways. Don't you worry, Rose. I'll get him to open up and forgive himself."

"Is everything all right in here?" Jack and Ruth came out of the house.

"Everything's fine. Rose, why don't you go show Ruth the rest of the town? I'm sure she'd love to see it," Molly suggested.

"Uh...sure, Molly." Rose nodded. "Come along, Mother. I'd like to show you the lake. It's so beautiful, especially at night."

Molly waited until Rose and Ruth had disappeared completely down the trail that led down to the lake before speaking. "So, Rose tells me you have a ghost." Jack looked at Molly in surprise. He was surprised Rose would tell anyone about her suspicions. "That's what she thinks."

"Jack...what if this house was haunted? Who would be haunting this house? Anyone you know?"

Jack looked at Molly and examined her face. He didn't get what she was trying to do. "Probably my parents. They died way too soon. If only I was there...it wouldn't have happened."

"What do you mean?" Molly asked, scooting closer to Jack, who was now staring at the ground. She could tell that this wasn't easy for him. "Take your time, Jack. There's no hurry."

"I wasn't home when it happened. I was off in the woods with a friend...someone my mother didn't exactly approve of." Jack sighed. "If I had listened to my mother and stayed at home...I could have done something, Molly. I know I could have."

"Oh, Jack..."

"They didn't have to die if I wasn't so selfish."

"Selfish? You? The man who put his own life on the line to save an upper-class girl he had only known for two days?"

Jack sighed again before getting up and walking over to the edge of the porch, his arms crossed at his chest. "Yes, Molly. I was selfish. My mother had asked me to stay home that day. But all I cared about was being with Eliza. So I disobeyed, sneaked out, and met her in the woods. By time I smelt the smoke and made it back here...it was too late. My parents were dead."

"Oh, Jack."

"I tried to stay here after it happened, living off the kindness of others. But I couldn't do it. Plus...I kind of blamed Eliza as well. Every time I was with her...I thought about the fire, and couldn't take it anymore. So, I told her good-bye and left, hoping that putting distance between this town and myself would make the pain and memories go away. But it didn't."

"Oh, Jack. How awful for you to have felt that way for all that time and not sharing it with anyone...not even Rose." Molly placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I can't tell her, Molly. I can't let her know that she married someone who is no different than her ex-fiancé."

"Now, Jack, you know better than that. You are nothing like Caledon Hockley. You are a kind and generous man, with enough love in his heart to fill the universe. Now, you listen to me. That fire was an accident. It wasn't your fault. If you were there that night, you might have perished along with your parents. Then, where would Rose be today, not having known you?"

Jack didn't answer. He just kept looking at the ground. Molly placed her hands on his face and made him look at her. "Listen to me, Jack. That fire was not your fault. You are innocent of any wrongdoing. You have to stop blaming yourself for it. For Rose's sake, as well as your own."

"Molly...I don't know."

"Well, then, sleep on what I've just said. At least promise me that."

Jack just nodded. "Okay. I'll sleep on it."

Molly smiled in reply. "That's my boy."

*****

That night, Jack lay beside Rose, his eyes wide open, thinking about the conversation he had had with Molly. He still couldn't believe that he had told her about the fire. It had felt so good just to talk about it. But no matter what Molly said, nothing could make up for the fact that it was his fault.

Feeling a slight chill in the room, Jack got up to close the window. When he turned around, he found the bed, with Rose still sleeping in it, engulfed in flames.

"Rose!" Jack yelled, trying to get to her, but blocked by the flames. "Rose!"

"She can't hear you, Jack." A soft, familiar voice spoke from behind him. Jack whirled around to face his mother.

"M-ma?" Jack asked, his face turning a deathly pale.

"Yes, Jack. It's me."

"How?"

"That doesn't matter. What matters is the safety of your family. Only you can save them," Emma Dawson said, looking over at the still burning bed.

"But how? The flames..." Jack stammered, his blue eyes shining with fear. "I can't get close to her."

"The only way you can save Rose is if you forgive yourself for the fire that took our lives. If you can't do that...then she dies...just like us."

"No!"

"Yes, Jack. Jack, listen to me. Your father and I love you very much, and we're very proud of you. Especially with how you've taken care of Rose. Our deaths were not your fault. You wouldn't have been able to save us if you tried. But you can save Rose. All you have to do is truly forgive yourself."

"Then Rose is safe again?" Jack asked.

His mother nodded, a serene smile on her face. "Don't let her join us, Jack. Save her. Forgive yourself."

Then it happened. All the guilt and shame Jack had carried around with him for more than five years suddenly lifted. It was like a weight being lifted off his shoulders. Jack forgave himself. He accepted the fact that he couldn't save his parents...but he could save Rose, and that's exactly what he was going to do.

"You're right." Jack looked her straight in the eye, his eyes showing the conviction of what he was saying. "You're absolutely right. It wasn't my fault. I didn't set the fire, and there's a good chance that I couldn't do anything to save you, anyway. I might have died myself if I was here."

"Exactly, Jack. That's why I was glad you were with Eliza then, because it meant that you were safe and out of harm’s way."

Jack simply nodded and smiled. "I love you, Ma...you and Dad. I never got to tell you that."

"Oh, Jack, we know. We've always known. And we love you twice as much, and we miss you as well." Emma floated over to him and touched his cheek. "Good-bye, my son. You won't see us again for a while. Tell Rose I'm sorry for giving her such a fright. It was the only way to get my message across to you."

"Poor Rose. She must be thinking she's losing it. I'll tell her." Jack nodded, giving his mother a hug.

"Good-bye, Jack. We love you." Then, Emma Dawson disappeared, leaving Jack and Rose alone in the house once again.

"Good-bye," Jack said, before turning back to the bed. The flames that had engulfed the bed were now gone. It was as if they were never there, and Rose was still asleep, undisturbed by the event. Did he imagine it all?

"Jack?" Rose asked, opening her eyes to find his place empty.

"It's okay, Rose. I'm right here." Jack sat back down on the bed. "Everything is fine now."

"You forgave yourself?"

Jack smiled and nodded before Rose gave him a tight hug, showing her love and support of him. Both knew that the haunting of the old Dawson place was over, and that life could quickly return to normal.

Chapter Twenty-Seven
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