A/N: A huge thank you to RoseDawsonlovesJack for beta-reading this chapter!

For the Horizon

Mrs. Sullivan, Rose and Jack were standing on the porch, saying their goodbye's in the warmth of the late summer morning. "I wish you a very nice travel." The landlady's handshake was firm and warm, and her smile genuine. "Too bad my sons have left yesterday evening! They could have helped you carry your luggage to the station," she said apologetically, pointing to the two large brownish kit bags that leaned next to them against the rail. "but they had to get back to the logging camp."

"Yeah, too bad..." Jack echoed, a little disappointed. He had intended on saying a few last words to Ralph, Mrs. Sullivan's youngest boy who reminded him so much of himself. He hadn't exactly planned what to tell him, but leaving without saying goodbye and maybe uttering some words of encouragement didn't seem right.

"So... I guess, we have to go, now," Jack said, smiling sheepishly. He gave Rose a nod of his head and she grabbed her bag, which, although it was smaller and lighter than Jack's, still threw her a bit off balance as she swung it over her shoulders. Jack didn't seem to mind the weight of his bag that he was carrying down the few stairs of the porch with ease.

Rose waved her free hand one last time before she and Jack left Mrs. Sullivan's property for good. Her cheeks were flushed in anticipation of their adventures to come and Jack, too, had a blissful grin plastered on his face. He shifted the bag to his other shoulder, freeing his hand to grab Rose's.

As their fingers intertwined, Jack flashed her a mischievous smile. "Soon we'll be drinking beer, riding the roller-coaster until we throw up..." he whispered close to her ear, not daring to say it out loud as long as the old lady behind them was still in earshot.

"Ride horses right in the surf..." she added with a twinkle in her eye and they both couldn't help falling into a giggle fit.

She gazed at his boyish face longingly, almost forgetting the weight of the bag on her shoulders. This was the effect he still had on her. When she was with Jack, everything seemed light and easy. Thanks to him, all the boundaries that had kept her contained for so long had melted away, revealing the great open garden that Rose had always known was there and that she finally had the chance to discover.

As the sun climbed up in the milky blue sky, they continued their way to the train station in a jovial mood, talking about how excited they both were that at last, they were about to do what they had so far only dreamt of, about their favorite dishes and what they used to play when they were children. In short, they felt so giddy they were jumping from topic to topic, laughing and joking.

"Take Victor as an example," Jack said, sharing one of his theories of why he hadn't made it in "old Paree", "He was a good friend and I liked him, but he clearly didn't have both oars in the water! And he was a mild case compared to others. I've met artists that weren't bound by anything, not by their wives or children, not by simple laws of humanity and I can't help but think that this is where their genius stems from. Like that Picasso lad that you adore so much, do you know how he treats his mistresses?"

"So, you're saying that every successful cubist or modern artist is a bastard?" Rose gave a quick laugh at the absurdity of it. "And that you didn't make it in Paris because you were too nice?" She shook her head incredulously, her gaze challenging him.

"Well, yes, if you like to put it that way," he stated matter of factly and put on his typical lop-sided grin.

"What are your plans for the future then? To give up drawing or to stop being nice?" she asked, accompanying the statement with a provocative lift of her eyebrow.

"Neither, actually," he said, without missing a beat. As usual, her famous sharp-tonguedness that had never ceased to flabbergast her teachers at school seemed to bounce right off of him. "I'm not worried for the future at all. Wanna know why?"

She nodding eagerly, giggling in response to his impish grin.

"Because," he began, dropped his bag and then, as quick as a wink, grabbed her waist and lifted her off the ground. Surprised, she let go of her bag, too and it landed on the road with a dull thud. "Because you are my muse, my inspiration! With you everything's possible!" he stated boisterously and started dancing around with her like a madman, still holding her up high and almost tripping at one point, laughing so hard that he had problems to keep his balance.

Rose yelled in glee. She let Jack spin her around in circles, knowing full well that they were acting silly but not caring the least bit about it. So what if we do? I had been denied a happy childhood. Why not make up for it now? Jack's giddy laughter was like a symphony to her ears and she closed her eyes, cherishing the moment.

When he stopped and let her down again, his cheeks were red from the effort and from lack of oxygen. Still giggling slightly, he wiped some drops of sweat from his forehead. "Whew!" he panted and let himself drop on the dusty ground. "Now you have to carry me for a while!"

Rose rolled her eyes, but chuckled mildly at his antics. "Get on your feet, Jack Dawson, or we'll miss the train," she demanded, not the least bit indignant. Jack looked at her dreamily for a moment. He loved to hear her say his name.

"Now Jack, come on!" she ordered once more and as he didn't move a muscle, she crouched down next to him and pulled his arm around her shoulders, trying with all her strength to hoist him up. Jack, however, who was visibly unimpressed by her attempts to lift him to his feet, tightened his grip on her shoulder and bent his arm, pulling her body towards his. With a surprised shriek, she landed on his lap.

Now sitting on top of him, she shifted herself into a comfortable position. She locked her eyes with his and gave him a "What now?" look that he answered by straightening his body and slightly tilting up his head, enough to bridge the gap between their lips. Rose barely had the time to throw a quick glance to the left and to the right to check if nobody was watching before his mouth landed on hers.

It started as a soft and gentle kiss, but when Rose kissed him back more and more passionately, Jack became increasingly aware of the fact that they were in the middle of the road – certainly not the right place to allow oneself to be swept away by the rush of feelings and sensations that the touch of her lips was once again awakening in him. And besides, we still have a train to catch! he thought and pulled back slightly. Without opening her eyes, she stubbornly leaned in to follow his lips with hers, so he had to gently push her back. Accompanied by a soft pout, she reluctantly opened her eyes, making it even harder for Jack to be the one to break the kiss.

"Rose," he said hoarsely and cleared his throat before he went on, "We really have to go, now."

"Are we late?" she asked anxiously and seeing Jack nod, she jumped to her feet. They never carried a watch with them and they had never needed one because Jack simply knew what time it was. Rose had often wondered how he did it and had searched his clothes for hidden clocks in an attempt to uncover the secret of this odd talent while Jack had been watching her with barely hidden amusement. Needless to say, she never found any. Nevertheless, his sense of time was as accurate as ever – Rose had tested him many times and he was never more than five minutes off.

The kit bags bouncing on their shoulders, they hurried the last mile to the station until finally, it came into sight. The train station consisted of a small brick building and a platform alongside of the railway tracks. The platform was partially canopied by a small roof that rested on pillars to give shelter to those who waited, but there were no benches or other sitting commodities. Already from afar, Jack and Rose could see that it was still crowded with people. Thus, it was improbable that the train had already passed.

Rose let out a relieved "Phew," and took a deep exhausted breath, slowing down her pace instantly. "We made it!" she cheered.

"Yeah, but it was close. Let's go down and buy tickets," Jack said and grabbed her hand, heading towards the ticket office at the other end of the building. He went ahead, meandering his way through the waiting crowd, yelling, "I'm sorry," and, "Excuse me, would you let me pass?" Rose followed right behind but took her time to gaze at their fellow passengers and their families and friends. She saw young couples saying goodbye to their parents and parents-in-laws, single men leaning casually against the station building with bags like her and Jack's, older men in livery... and amidst the variegated crowd, the familiar face of a young man with brown, tousled hair, waving to them impatiently.

"Jack, stop!" she yelled and when he jerked to a halt and turned around, she pointed to Ralph, who was now elbowing his way to them.

"Well, it's about time!" the boy called out once he was in earshot.

"What's he doing here?" Rose quickly whispered to Jack, "Do you think he..."

"Shh, I don't know," he hushed her and a moment later, Ralph stood next to them, slightly out of breath. "Hello again," Jack greeted him and the three of them shook hands.

"Your mother told us you were at work," Rose said, skeptically eying the small bindle he carried around with him, which looked as if it had been tied and filled in a rush.

"Yes, I am. That is I was. I mean, I thought I..." Ralph stammered and let out a short giddy laughter before he blurted out, "I've got tickets for the train!" As proof, he whipped three railway tickets from his pants pocket. "I hope you haven't bought yours already. I'd like to join you on your trip. If you don't mind, I mean," he added as his gaze traveled from Jack to Rose, looking for a sign of approval.

Frowning, Jack snatched the tickets out of this grip, examining them closely. "These aren't valid," Ralph rattled on but quickly lowered his voice when he noticed that an old man next to him eyed him suspiciously, "They've already been used. Got them from a friend who works for the train company. Just put your thumb on the date when you show it to somebody. They'll only look at them once, so if we manage to pass by the first officer we're having a ride for free."

"How old are you, Ralph?"Rose asked out of the blue and he replied, "16," but then corrected himself when he saw Rose cocking an eyebrow in disbelief, "All right, I'm 15. But I'm turning 16 next month."

"What does your mother think about this?" she continued the interrogation, "Does she even know you are leaving?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "I've moved out of her house when I started working at the logging camp. I know how to take care of myself. She doesn't need to worry. But I'll send her a letter once we get off the train and I'll send her money as often as I can!"

Jack handed the tickets back to him. "We'll talk about it for a second, all right?" he informed Ralph and the boy nodded, watching as Jack and Rose took a few steps to the side where they could discuss matters in private.

"I don't know... what do you think?" Rose asked before they even came to a halt.

"Well... if you don't mind, I'd say yes. Because... I like him. I don't think he'll be any trouble. And if so, we could still send him away. He's old enough to be on his own."

Rose looked thoughtful for a moment, quietly pondering. She knew they had to reach a decision fast because the slight thundering noise of the approaching train could already be heard in the distance, slowly getting louder, closer.

"Besides, he's got three tickets," Jack added another point in Ralph's favor, trying to speed up her decision.

"Fake tickets!" Rose corrected him, speaking louder now, to be heard above the rumbling noise. "What if we get caught?"

"But we won't!" he replied quickly, making a face as if he was surprised how anyone could not be convinced that this was an absolutely safe way of travelling.

The people in the crowd now turned their heads, and everybody started gathering their bags, cases or purses as they watched the train leisurely roll into the station, trailing behind it a thick grey cloud of smoke. It was the moment of truth. Ralph was still watching Jack and Rose, impatiently awaiting their final verdict.

"Let's..." Rose began, but the screaming brakes of the train drowned her voice.

"What?" Jack yelled back.

"I said: Let's take him with us!" she hollered, covering her ears with her hands.

Ralph had tried to read from their lips but it had been to no avail. The only thing he could tell is that they must have reached some form of agreement because they didn't look like they were arguing any longer. Rose was talking, now and Jack responded with a smile and a nod while the porter opened the doors of the railway cars and people started streaming out of the train. Nervously, Ralph shifted his weight from one foot to the other, wondering what was taking the two of them so long. As Jack and Rose finally turned around and walked towards him with good-natured smiles on their faces, he held his breath in anticipation.

"You can come with us, Ralph!" Jack almost shouted in his ear, clapping him so hard on his back that he stumbled forward a few steps.

"Really?" Ralph yelled excitedly, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yes. And now hurry up, or there won't be any seats left for us!" Rose said, looking over her shoulder where people had started to line up at the doors to show their tickets to a railway officer before getting on the train.

"Rose, I think it's best if you go first. Ralph, give her our tickets," Jack commanded and Ralph was happy to obey.

Rose, however, seemed to be less pleased with his decision. "Wait a second! Why me?" she sputtered and crossed her arms, refusing to take the tickets Ralph handed over to her.

"Trust me, it's better that way," Jack replied vaguely, "You'll see."

Realizing that most of the other passengers had already gotten on the train, she sighed exasperatedly and snatched the tickets out of Ralphs hand. "Fine. I'll do it!" she grumbled.

Ralph reached for Rose's bag, offering to take it for her with new-found confidence, but she held it firmly in her hands. "I've carried it all the way to the train station so I'm perfectly capable of carrying it into the train," she declared with a stern voice and turned away briskly from the two men, lining up behind their fellow passengers.

Ralph, taken aback by her attitude, shot Jack an uncertain glance. "Did I say something wrong?" he asked, incredulously. Jack, who had been watching their exchange with a grin on his face, answered quizzically, "She's a bit particular about that. But don't worry, she's not mad at you."

The ticket collector was a tall man with a well-tended moustache. He was really taking his time with every passenger before he let them pass. Looks like the word that some people tried to travel with fake tickets had spread already, Rose thought in a mixture of anger and nervousness. As she watched him work, she felt a lump forming in her throat. The two young men waiting in front of her were subjects of a particularly zealous control. Nervously, Rose touched her curls to feel if they were still in place. A few strands have escaped her tightly pinned up hair and she fixed them hastily, knowing that she had to look absolutely above suspicion to pull this through. At last, the officer gave an affirmative nod to the two men, who then got on the train quickly.

There's no way we'll get through with this, she thought but before she could step out of the line, the officer's eyes were set firmly on her.

"Your ticket, Miss," he said in a loud crisp voice and she showed them to him, careful to cover the suspicious date with her thumb.

"These are for me and my, um, two brothers," she said and nervously watched him take them. However, his gaze remained glued to her face and body. Not even taking a cursory glance at the tickets, he murmured, "Of course, Miss, I wish you and your brothers a very nice travel, Miss." This was Jack's signal. In what seemed like one leap, he ran past her and the officer and got on the train, hastily followed by Ralph. Rose smiled at the ticket collector and even curtsied slightly but it took every ounce of her strength not to let her disdain show on her face. The man returned her smile and after he had wished her a nice travel for the billionth time, she turned away from him with a curt, "Thank you," and got on the train, catching up with her travel companions.

As the three of them made their way through the car, Rose nudged Jack's arm. "Why did you want me to show him the tickets?"

"Women are less suspicious, that's all," he answered, shrugging, "and it worked out fine, didn't it?"

"It worked, because the officer was too busy leering at my cleavage line to notice that our tickets weren't valid!" she hissed at him.

"Oh. That's not what I had intended, really. Sorry for that." He lifted his arms in an apologetic gesture. "But you played along well! We owe you a free ride!" he concluded jauntily and placed a quick kiss on her cheek.

His contagious enthusiasm and exuberance made it hard for anybody to be angry at him for long and as Rose was especially susceptible to his charm, she felt herself blushing at his praise. After all, wasn't her performance at the door the proof of her acting abilities?

In the meantime, Ralph had found a compartment that was empty – that is, apart from an old gray-haired men sitting on the end of the bench close to the door, fast asleep and snoring like a log. Jack suppressed a giggle as he walked past him and put their luggage on the storage racks.

With a small, but noticeable shudder, the train sluggishly began to roll out of the station.

xxxx

Ralph kneaded his hands nervously. He felt a bit out of place after Jack had left the compartment, leaving him alone with Rose. He knew he wasn't good with girls and this one was a pistol, so he didn't dare speak up first. She was sitting on the bench opposite of him with a book on her lap, a chuckle escaping her lips every once in a while. He tried not to stare at her too obviously but he didn't have anything to do. Maybe I should talk to her. But about what? His tongue felt too big for his mouth...

The old man in the corner of their compartment was still snoring the day away, his mouth hanging half open. Ralph decided to look out of the window instead, where fields and trees were flashing by. They were on the train for about an hour now and he was already further from home than he'd ever been.

Suddenly, Rose closed her book with a snap, drawing his attention back to her.

"So..." she said and then paused for a moment, apparently mulling over conversation topics, too. "You... don't like cutting down trees anymore?" she finished lamely.

"Not particularly, no," he laughed, "Logging is a very ungrateful business. If you know how to handle an axe and don't mind risking your life for a boss who pays you famine wages, then this job is for you. But I had enough of it!"

"Understandable." Rose nodded, trying (but failing) to suppress the smile that was creeping on her face.

"What is it?" Ralph asked.

Haltingly, she replied, "I'm sorry. It's just... You're even skinnier than Jack! It's hard to imagine you as a burly axe-swinging lumberjack. I'm sorry; I didn't want to offend you."

"That's ok," he answered, pretending that he didn't care, "I didn't actually use an axe that often and if I did, it was a rather small one. I was a climber," he explained. "I used to climb on trees, remove limbs and overhangs, look for hollow spots and the like."

She nodded, interested. "What do you want to do next?"

"I'm not sure, yet. I guess I have to find out what I'm really good at."

"Well... You have the head for heights, don't you? You could build skyscrapers," Rose said half-serious, a smile adorning her pretty face.

Ralph laughed, "That's true! Or I could be stationed in the crow's nest of a ship!" Not even the sinking of the Titanic could have lessened his desire to one day cross the great ocean.

"I don't think I'll board a ship anytime soon," Rose said. After that, an awkward silence was filling the room, interrupted only by the occasional grunt of the old sleeping man.

"You know," Ralph said dreamily when he spoke up again, "when I was up there in the highest trees around on a clear day and I had a great view of the land and of places I've never been before... I saw the vastness and the beauty of it all and I realized that the world was a huge place and I... Well, I guess I want to see as much of it as I can."

"And just head out for the horizon whenever you feel like it," Rose added with a smile and Ralph nodded eagerly in response. "Then you're lucky because that's just what Jack and I are up to!" she said with a twinkle in her eye.