Written by Captain Rogue River
Based on some situations originated by James Cameron.

Jack Dawson had done the impossible. He had survived the Titanic. It didn't seem impossible until the cold hard facts were put right in front of him--six out of fifteen hundred in the water had survived, and that was it. Now, he and his wife, Rose, another survivor of that night, and their four children lived in a small house in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

The kids screaming, phone ringing
Dog barking at the mailman bringing
That stack of bills--overdue
Good morning baby, how are you?
Got a half hour, quick shower
Take a drink of milk but the milk's gone sour
My funny face makes you laugh
Twist the top on and I put it back
There goes the washing machine
Baby, don't kick it.
I promise I'll fix it
Long with about a million other things.

Jack lay in bed on Friday morning with a pillow pulled over his head. He wasn't trying to suffocate himself, but he was holding the pillow over his head so tightly that one might think that that was what he was trying to do.

"Mama! Mama! Thomas just took my food!" Cora yelled at the top of her lungs from the kitchen downstairs.

"Nuh-uh! Wasn't me! Honest!" Thomas chimed in in self-defense. Anyone that knew him knew he was the spitting image of his father. That meant that Thomas probably did do it.

"Mama! Mr. Thatcher is here. He wants to know if you and Daddy are gonna pay your grocery tab this month," Jack heard Josephine tell her mother downstairs.

"Tell Mr. Thatcher to put it on the table and Daddy and I will look at it later. And is Red barking at him? If so, can you put her out? She'll wake your Dad and Fabri," Rose instructed calmly. She was more muffled than the kids, meaning that she was in the kitchen.

"Sure, Mommy!" Josephine yelled as the door creaked open. Then the same door slammed shut.

"Gah! Wah!" That would be Fabri's way of announcing to the world that he was up.

Jack could see Rose cringe in his mind's eye. She was probably muttering something under her breath about strangling the girl. Jack flipped over onto his back and tucked the pillow under his head in one fluid motion. Then he turned his head to look at the small clock on his nightstand.

Shit! 7:30! I gotta be at the wood shop at eight o‘clock! If I'm late again, Jeff is gonna kill me! Jack thought as he jumped out of bed, pulled on a pair of dirty blue pants, and ran down to the kitchen, taking the stairs two at a time and hopping down the last five steps.

This landed him in the parlor, so he walked into the kitchen. He walked in to see Rose, in a black skirt and blue top, standing by the counter rocking a very unhappy Fabri in her arms. Cora and Thomas were sitting at the counter eating some oatmeal. Josephine wasn't back yet from taking Red, the blue-tick hound, out.

"Good morning, honey," Rose said as she looked at Jack from Fabri.

"Good morning, baby. How are you?" Jack asked as he walked across the floor to kiss his wife on the cheek.

"Mmm…aside from the vomit on my robe? Just fine," Rose said as she set Fabri down in a bassinet and walked into the room where she washed the clothes. She dipped her robe in water and started to run it through the wringer to get out the excess water when the handle literally fell apart. "Absurd washboard! We need a new one, Jack!" Rose yelled as she kicked it so hard that Jack heard her boot clang against the metal.

"Baby, don't kick it! I'll fix it," Jack informed her as he mentally added it to the list, after the back door, the loose floorboards...and the list never stopped. He reached into the icebox right in front of him and pulled out a glass bottle of milk. He pressed the bottle to his lips and took a huge gulp. When he spit it out all over the kitchen because it was sour it was a huge crowd pleaser. Rose giggled and Cora and Thomas laughed uncontrollably. Afterwards, he wasn't sure what to do with it, so, he put the cap back on, stuck it back in the box, and raced upstairs to take a bath.

Well, it's okay. It's so nice
It's just another day in paradise
Well, there's no place that
I'd rather be
Well, it's two hearts
And one dream
I wouldn't trade it for anything
And I ask the Lord every night
For just another day in paradise.

He set off for work wearing his black pants and white shirt at 7:50, with just enough time to get to work. He worked at a wood shop, where he carved images out of wood. On his way there, he couldn't help but think about the family he had. He would not trade the life that he had for anything in the world. It might not have been ritzy or top-of-the-line, but this was his paradise and he wouldn't change for any amount of money. He would never want to be anywhere else unless the whole family was there. It was the dream he and Rose had worked at for seven years, and it was perfect. He often found himself praying for this paradise to continue for just one more day.

Friday, you're late
Guess we'll never make our dinner date
At the restaurant you start to cry
Baby, we'll just improvise
Well, Plan B looks like
Domino’s pizza in the candlelight
Then we'll tippy-toe to our room
Make a little love that's overdue
But somebody had a bad dream
Mama and Daddy
Can me and my teddy
Come in to sleep in between?

Jack got off at six and went home to change so he and Rose could go out to eat. This was a Friday night tradition at the Dawson household that had started a couple of months after Josephine and Cora were born. Of course, the biggest mistake a person could make with Jack and Rose was tell them that they didn't love their children, because they did, more than words could say. They did this so that the fire that Rose had could stay burning. Plus, they just needed the time to be with each other.

"Daddy!" Jack heard a voice that sounded like Josephine. He knew it was her when he was tackled extremely hard, to the point where he almost fell over.

"Hey, Josephine. Where's your mom?" Jack questioned as he pried the girl from his leg and lifted her up.

"She went to the grocery store," Josephine said as Jack walked over to the couch that was along the left wall and set her down.

"Then who's watching you?" Jack asked as he sat down next to her.

"Abby," she answered as she reached up and played with a shock of red hair that dangled in front of her face.

Just then, Abby walked in, carrying Fabri. She was about twenty-three years old and had long brown hair pulled back into a braid that went halfway down her back. She was about Rose's height, and wore a pink dress and old white shoes, the tops of which disappeared under her dress.

"Hiya, Jack," Abby greeted him as she walked over to him to hand Fabri over, seeing as how Jack had already opened his arms for the baby.

"Hey, Abby. You can go ahead and go," he responded after receiving Fabri from her.

"Are you sure about that one? I mean, no offense, Jack, but it'd be four against one," Abby said as her eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"I'll be fine. They're my kids, after all. Plus, I can take anything they throw at me. I'm a survivor," Jack said in a joking tone as he smiled at the baby, who stretched out his arm to pull on Jack's hair.

"If you say so. I've been here for an hour. That means you owe me ten cents. But after I take in my friend discount, it's...free!" Abby announced as she untied the apron she'd borrowed from Rose. She was always finding ways to get around the whole Jack-paying-her thing.

"Abby, are you sure? I mean, aren't you saving up for your wedding? Those things aren't cheap," Jack said as he slipped his hand into his back pocket to get his wallet.

"Don't worry. Already paid for by Will," Abby said as she disappeared out the door before Jack could protest further.

Jack looked at the clock that hung on the wall above the couch and got nervous. It read 6:30 and their reservations at a new restaurant were at 7:30. He knew that he should've just told Abby to stay. That way, she'd make more money than if she'd come back when they left. He was knocked out of his thoughts when Thomas ran up, holding a ball for Jack to roll at him. The hours passed by uneventfully and Jack tucked all the kids in at eight o‘clock, since that was their bedtime. Finally, as he was tucking Cora in, he heard the door creak open and close just as slowly.

"Hello, Jack," Rose greeted when he walked downstairs. It was obvious why she was late--aside from the ten bags of food she carried, she had two bolts of fabric tucked under each arm.

"Um…Rose, do you know what today is?" Jack asked as he leaned on the archway the connected the parlor and kitchen and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Thursday?" she questioned as she put some cans in the cupboard.

"Uh…no. Try Friday," he offered as he pushed himself off the wall to put away the food with Rose.

"Oh, God. I'm sorry, Jack. I got so busy, I forgot this was Friday. I saw that this fabric was fifty percent off and just lost track of time looking at the colors. We missed our reservation, didn't we?" Rose explained. She set the can on the counter and started to cry.

Jack set the last can in his hand down and walked over to cheer up Rose. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, tucked her head under his, and started making quiet shushing noises. "That's all right. We’ll improvise with a Plan B, I reckon," he said as he walked over to the stove, pulled open the door, reached in, and pulled out a pizza. After he set the pizza on the counter, he walked over to the icebox and pulled out two Cokes. Then, he balanced the pizza on the palm of his right hand while he carried the glass Coke bottles in his left as he led Rose through the kitchen. He put on a false air, similar to the one that night in the cargo bay. "Right this way, miss," he said as he took her upstairs, past the washroom, and to a small door, which he opened with his elbow. There, out on the balcony, was a small wood table, two unlit candles in the middle. He set the pizza down.

"This is so amazing," Rose said as Jack came back and hooked his arm through hers.

Jack just smiled as he helped Rose with her chair. He lit the candles and served the food.

By the time they were done eating, they were sharing a kiss that they both knew would lead to something more. They tiptoed back into the house, past Cora and Josephine’s room, and Jack slipped ahead to push open the door.

"It's been a while," Jack whispered as he shut the door, afraid that someone might hear and ruin the moment. He walked back to Rose and hugged her.

The moment was cut short with a knock on the door. "Mommy? Daddy?" was heard from the other side of the door.

Jack sighed just a little and hung his head in defeat. "Yeah, Cora?" he asked as he walked over and opened the door.

"I had a bad dream," Cora stated, a hint of fear in her voice.

"What happened?" Rose comforted her as she walked over to Cora and squatted down so she was even with her.

"There was a big purple dragon chasing me. It was screaming something like 'I want a carrot'," Cora informed her as she hugged the ragged teddy bear that Jack had given her when she was born.

"That's a compliment, Cora. He thought your hair was so red and pretty that you were a carrot," Jack complimented as he suppressed a laugh and walked over to pull a set of pajamas out of the dresser. He and Rose changed and came back.

"Can me and my teddy sleep in between?" Cora asked as Jack pulled back the covers and got in on the far side of the bed.

"Of course," Rose said as she pulled the blankets in and let Cora climb in before she got under the covers.

"G'night, Rose. Night, Cora," Jack said as he scooted over to the very edge of the bed to make room for Cora.

"Good night, Jack. Good night, Cora," Rose said as she, too, scooted over for Cora.

"‘Night, Mama and Daddy," Cora said as she spread out in the middle, clutching her teddy bear and falling back to sleep.

For just another day in paradise
Well, it's the kids screaming. The phone ringing
Just another day.

Jack woke up the next morning with a major cramp in his neck due to sleeping in an awkward position. He flipped over onto his back, noticing that Cora and Rose were no longer in bed. He heard the kids screaming incoherent things, but he also heard Rose saying something to someone at the door about paying the bill as soon as he got paid again. Then he heard Red barking at that person as they started to leave. He looked up at the ceiling and smiled.

"Thank you. Can you keep paradise coming for one more day?" he asked, then jumped out of bed to face the day ahead of him.

Well, it's Friday. You're late
Oh, yeah, it's just another day in paradise.

The End.

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