UNTIL I FOUND YOU
Chapter Twenty-Four

Two months had passed since Babette’s arrival, and everything was peaceful. Cillie and Babette had called a truce, and Rose and Babette had become friends, much to Jack’s delight. That day, Jack and Babette were in town. She was helping Jack shop for things for the birth of his baby. George was at work, and Rose was on the porch, breaking green beans for dinner while Cillie was upstairs taking a nap. She hadn't been feeling well for the past few days. Rose suspected that it was because of her pregnancy.

Rose had just gotten through breaking the beans when she got to her feet and looked up to see a figure walking down the dirt road leading to the house. She frowned. It was a man with curly blond hair, and he was a little taller then Jack. At first, she wondered if it was Tommy Ryan from the Titanic, that maybe he had survived after all. But she saw that this was not so as the man got closer.

"Who’s there?" Rose called, uneasiness rising up in her throat, wondering if she should go get Cillie.

"Hello, there," the man greeted, coming up onto the porch. "My name is Philippe Guilluime. I’m looking for someone. She said she'd be staying here with a friend. I assume you’re that friend."

Rose frowned. "What’s her name?"

"Babette. You are the friend, aren’t you?"

Rose’s eyes lit up in understanding. "She’s an old friend of Jack’s. She would have been talking about him."

"Jack? Who is Jack, and how close are they?" Philippe was, of course, suspicious. He had no idea this friend was a man. He had just assumed that Babette would be staying with a female friend. He wasn’t sure he’d have let his love come if he’d known this friend was a man.

"Jack’s my husband." Rose smiled knowingly as she saw the flash of jealousy in the man’s eyes. "They’re just friends."

"Oh." Philippe nodded, still not very relieved. People had affairs every day, and Babette’s profession, at times, called for sleeping with married men. This Jack might not be any different, and his lovely wife wouldn’t know a thing. He wasn’t going to feel better until he saw Babette himself and she reassured him that this Jack was just a friend and nothing more.

"Listen, they should be back soon. Why don’t you come in and wait? She’s going to be so happy to see you." Rose invited him inside.

"Sure." Philippe nodded, stepping into the cool house.

"I’m sorry for the mess." Rose picked up some of Jack’s art supplies. "Jack’s an artist, and sometimes he gets a bit messy with his supplies. I keep telling him to keep his things together, but he forgets."

"That’s normal." Philippe took a seat next to a sketch of Babette. He looked at the drawing in amazement. "He did this?" He held up the drawing.

Rose smiled with pride. She was always excited when people discovered just how talented Jack was. "I know. He has an extraordinary talent, one of the things I first noticed about him when we met."

Philippe just smiled as he saw the love shining in Rose’s eyes as she talked about her husband. It was obvious that she felt for Jack what he felt for Babette. It was nice to see someone else deeply in love like he was.

"Philippe!" Babette screamed in delight as she entered the house with Jack behind her, carrying two bags of baby supplies.

"Babette!" He got to his feet and caught her as she rushed into his arms. "Babette."

"What are you doing here? You weren’t supposed to come for another month!" Babette clung to him tightly.

"I missed you too much. I had to come." Philippe kissed her cheek, holding her tightly.

"Has there been any word from Jacques?" Babette frowned. She had a feeling that there was something else behind Philippe’s early arrival.

Philippe sighed. He had been hoping to avoid the subject of Babette’s former pimp for a little while longer, but it was better that she know now. That way, she’d be prepared if he showed up here. "I saw him, Babette. But he didn’t see me. He was at the general store, asking questions about us. I packed up what I could and left immediately."

"Oh, God." Babette looked at him in horror. "Oh, Philippe, if he had caught up with you…"

"Hey, he didn’t. I’m here now, and I’m not leaving your side."

"Oh, Philippe…I’m so scared!" Babette cried. Philippe pulled her closer, resting her head on his shoulder, wanting to comfort her as much as he could.

Rose looked on, a feeling of trepidation rising in her heart. Just how dangerous was this Jacques? Would he hurt the people she loved? Looking at Jack, she decided to ask him later, once they were alone. She didn’t want to upset Babette anymore than she already was.

*****

That night, Rose lay in bed, wrapped securely in Jack’s arms. She stared up at the ceiling, her thoughts in a whirl. All she could think about was Babette, Philippe, the danger they were in, and how that danger would affect her and Jack. Her hold tightened on her husband as she thought about him getting hurt. No! Not her Jack. No matter what, her Jack couldn’t be harmed. She loved him too much.

"What’s on your mind, Rose?" Jack asked, noticing how tense she had become.

"Jack…just how dangerous is this Jacques man? Is he capable of…murder?"

Jack sighed. He should have known that Rose would become worried. "Well…I guess you can say he is. I mean…he’s very possessive of his girls and his business. He would never let any of them go willingly, and there’s no telling what could happen to anyone who tried."

"So, Philippe and Babette are in real danger, aren’t they? Would he know to look here?"

"I don’t know, Rose. I don’t know if he’d trace them here or not. He’s not a dumb man, so I guess he would. But I don’t want you to worry about that right now, because no matter what, I’ll always take care of you. Okay? I won’t let anything happen to you or our child."

"How about you, Jack? Don’t let anything happen to you, either. I need you, Jack. I need you so much." Tears appeared in her eyes, breaking his heart. He pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed the top of her head.

"I need you, too, sweetie. I need you, too." That night, they made love in a way they hadn't before. It was full of passion and longing, like they couldn’t get enough of one another. Little did they know that danger was on its way at that very moment.

*****

Two days later, things were still calm and peaceful, trouble free. Babette spent all her time with Philippe now. Jack had told them that they could stay as long as they wanted to. There wasn’t a time limit. George and Cillie still continued with their daily routine of sewing and working, and Jack spent the time he was not at the factory with Rose, talking to her, drawing her, holding her, all in all being a wonderful husband to her. He was never too tired for Rose, even on his busiest day.

That day was his day off, and he decided to take Rose down to the lake for a romantic picnic. Give them a chance to get out of the house and be alone.

"Happy?" Jack asked, kissing the top of her head. She leaned back against him as he leaned against a nearby tree, watching the water.

"Yes. This has been the perfect day." Rose sighed. "Everything’s so peaceful here."

"So, what do you want to talk about?"

Rose giggled. "Anything. Like…what do you want to name the baby?"

"How about Lily?"

"Why do you like Lily?"

"My mother’s name. Plus, it’ll match. Lily, daughter of Rose." Jack grinned.

Rose’s heart melted. "Oh, Jack…how about if it’s a boy? I was thinking of naming him after my father, or yours."

"What was your father’s name?"

"Joseph. Joseph Bukater."

"Joseph Dawson. Hey, I like that." Jack grinned. "And we’ll take him to Santa Monica with us. I want our child to experience the ocean."

"And everything else. But I don’t think we can take it on the roller coaster or riding in the surf."

"We’ll just have to find a sitter, then, won’t we?" Jack smiled, hugging his wife closer. "Oh, Rose, I can’t wait. Me and you in Santa Monica, soaking up the sun."

"Getting sunburned instead of tanned." Rose giggled. "Of course, you probably won’t have a problem, but I tend to burn easily, one of my many faults."

Jack looked at her as if she had two heads. "You? Have faults? Not my perfect Rose. I love every perfect thing about you."

"And my faults? Do you love them, too?"

"Of course. You know, it seems like I fall deeper and deeper in love with you every day. My love for you…it consumes me. Every waking and sleeping moment."

Rose giggled. "Well, I guess I’m borderline obsessive for you. You own my every waking moment as well. I feel like if you’re not here, I’ll die."

"Well, that will never happen, because I’m always going to be here."

Rose swallowed, the troubles facing Babette and Philippe back on her mind. "Jack…I...I’m still worried about that man after Babette and Philippe. I mean…what if it affects us somehow?"

"Rose…why do you keep worrying about this? Has there been any indication that he’s found them?"

"No. But that’s what’s worrying me the most. Jack, do you remember the days before the Titanic sank…how calm it was? Perfect weather, perfect sea?"

"Yeah. Not a worry in the world."

"No clue that an iceberg was in our path to sink the ship right from under us. Well, that’s how I feel right now. Everything’s perfect. Between us and everyone else. The town and our lives are so calm. But the calm is false. We’re in the path of danger, Jack, and it could be the end of us all."

"Rose…listen. Don’t worry. Whatever this is…I’ll take care of it. I’m here, and I’m going to remain here, no matter what."

"You were there when the iceberg hit, too, Jack…but that didn’t stop the ship from sinking, did it?"

Jack just frowned, touching his wife’s face, wishing his love was enough to take away all her fears.

*****

Meanwhile, at the Eau Claire train station, a man with slicked back ebony hair and cold, dark eyes that had murderous intent deep in them stepped off a train. He had tracked the boy back to this town. He was going to find his property and bring her back, and he'd kill anyone that tried to stop him.

He left the train and walked to the general store just outside. He showed the picture of the girl to the clerk, who arched a brow.

"Have you seen…this?" the man growled.

"Sure. She’s staying with the Dawsons in Chippewa Falls. A stage comes later tonight, if you want to wait."

"Thank you," the man said grumpily, and found a bench to sit on while he waited.

*****

The night was quiet and peaceful. George was in the kitchen, finishing up the dinner dishes, Babette and Philippe were upstairs in each other’s arms, dreaming of the future, and Cillie, Jack, and Rose were in the parlor. Cillie was sitting in a chair, reading a book, while Jack and Rose took the couch. Rose’s head was on Jack’s lap. She stared up into his eyes, trying to forget the mounting fear inside her heart. Something was going to happen soon. She could just feel it. Jack, of course, tried to make her forget her worries by stroking her hair and singing Come Josephine to her. Cillie gave the couple a couple of amused glances, but always returned to her book.

"Hey, it’s going to be okay." Jack looked into her eyes, noticing that the fear was still there. "Don’t worry. Just think about when our baby is born and we’re off to Santa Monica."

She smiled, just as loud banging at the front door vibrated through the room. Rose sat up and grabbed Jack’s hand.

"Don’t open it, Jack. Please. Whoever it is will go away," Rose pleaded, the fear now at a level where she couldn't handle it anymore. Whoever was on the other side of the door was dangerous. She could feel it.

Sighing, Cillie got up and opened the door to a tall, thin man with black hair and smoldering black eyes. A gun was tightly clenched in his hands. He pushed Cillie to the side and turned to face Jack, who was standing in front of Rose, his first instinct being to protect her.

"Where is she, Dawson? I know she’s here! She’ll always run back to you, no matter what. Where is she?" the man growled.

"Who? Babette?" Jack decided to pretend he hadn’t seen Babette. "I don’t know where she is. I haven’t seen her in two years."

"Don’t lie to me, boy. I know she’s here! People in this town love to talk. They’ve seen her with you. Her and her thief of a boyfriend."

"Well, if he stole something from you…" Cillie began.

"Shut up! Now, are you going to hand Babette over, or am I going to have to take action?"

Jack didn’t answer. He just stood there defiantly while Rose cowered behind him. She felt shame, as she had the urge to blurt out Babette’s location, but she fought that urge. No matter what, Babette was her friend, and she didn’t want her to go back to that lifestyle, either.

"So, you won’t tell me? Very well." The man glared at Jack just as the loud report of the gun filled the house, and that was when the world shattered for Rose.

She looked down and saw Jack on the floor, a dark pool of blood spreading out from under him. "Jack!" she screamed, falling down next to his body, her hand plopping in the warm puddle of blood that was soaking into the rug, but she didn’t notice that. She only saw her husband hurt and on the floor. "Jack! Someone help! Please! Help!"

George raced in just in time to see Jacques aim the gun at Jack’s head, reading to deal the finishing shot. But before he could, George reached for the blunt statue that stood on a nearby table and brought it down hard on Jacque’s head, knocking him out.

"George!" Cillie ran into her husband’s arms, hot tears filling her eyes. She should have listened to Rose. She should never have opened that door. She clung to her husband for dear life.

"Cillie, listen to me." He pulled away and stared into her eyes intently. He needed her to calm down and listen. Jack’s life depended on it. "Listen to me, Cillie! I need you to calm down!"

"Jack…"

"I know. That’s why I need you to calm down and go for the doctor. I’ll send Philippe for the police. Now, go. Jack needs you. Go!" he ordered his wife.

"But…" She looked at Rose, who was now at Jack’s side, crying hysterically.

"I’ll take care of them. Now, go!"

Nodding once, and without further questions, Cillie darted out the door, determined to bring help for Jack and an eviction notice for the woman who had brought this tragedy on her family.

Chapter Twenty-Five
Stories