For a moment it was as if nothing had changed. She and Edith were having dinner together like old times. It could even have been before Michael. Rose thought back to the day Edith introduced them. He looked so handsome with his hair a little too long and his new shirt. He was shy at first, hesitating when she offered her hand for him to shake. "Excuse him," Edith had said. "He doesn't usually talk to women."

"That's not fair," Michael said. "What she means is I don't usually talk to such pretty women."

Rose found herself smiling at the comment, much to her surprise. It was such an obvious compliment, and yet, she liked the way he said it. "Flattery will get you nowhere with me," she said pleasantly.

"You don't like being told nice things?" he said.

"I like honesty."

That surprised him; she could tell. He looked into her eyes, deciding what he thought of her. She lifted her chin. "Well?" she said.

He broke into a grin. "Well what?"

"Do I pass inspection?"

"Who said anything about that?" Michael asked.

"Your expression."

Edith stood back, watching them. She didn't intend to play matchmaker; it just happened that way.

"I'm glad you came," Edith said, standing up to greet her.

"Of course I did," Rose said. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know. I thought maybe you'd decide against it. Most of the family isn't speaking to me right now, you know."

"Because of Frank?" Rose said.

Edith nodded. "They can't believe I'm marrying him. They're absolutely appalled. Sick with shame."

"What's so wrong with him?"

"He isn't my kind," Edith explained. "Poor relations marry other poor relations, not second fiddle wealthy ones. I believe," she went on. "It's the second fiddle part that bothers them most. If he were in the position to inherit, well, that would be different."

"You mean they'd rather you married someone like Cal?"

Edith gave her a surprised look. "Yes. I didn't realize you remembered his name. You two didn't seem to get along."

Rose's heart quickened. Should she tell her now? "We didn't at first," she said, choosing her words carefully. "What do you think of him?"

"Cal? He's alright, I suppose. He's not my favorite person, but he's usually better than the other cousins—in the past few years anyway. Losing his fiancée really seemed to change him. He wasn't exactly pleasant afterwards, but as time went by he was…different, somehow. Not so distant. Anyway, he's been the most supportive one about the wedding," Edith added. "Michael's furious, but he won't admit it."

"He is?"

"Oh sure. Spends all his time at the office now. When he is home he just sulks," Edith said. "Part of it's you, but—" She stopped.

"It's fine," Rose said. "I can handle it. I'm sure I upset him. He has a right to be angry with me."

"What happened between you two?"

"Didn't he tell you?" Rose asked.

"All he would say is you refused to marry him. He didn't give a reason. I asked and asked, but he only sulked more."

"To put it simply, I realized I couldn't marry him," Rose said. "I told him as kindly as I knew how."

"What else? I know there's more."

"I told him things about myself, my past, things I thought he should know," rose said. "He took it badly. I was having doubts. I'd been having doubts, for a lot of reasons. When he got upset, that was it."

"About other men?" Edith said.

"How did you know?"

"I know my brother," Edith said. 'He may not seem like it, but he's the jealous type. I can't imagine what he said."

"Until then I didn't want to marry him, and after he didn't want to marry me." Rose took a breath. Did she dare. "Edith, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it, Rose?"

"I've started—there's someone else now," Rose said.

"Who?" Edith said, leaning forward. "Are you bringing him to the wedding?"

"You could say that. We'll both be there."

Edith's brow furrowed. "Have I met him?"

"Do you remember Cal's fiancée?"

"A little, not really," Edith said, confused. "I only met her once." She titled her head. "Now that I think about it, you look a bit like her. She was more delicate, though, like she'd break if you touched her. Not like you."

"Yes, like me," Rose said.

…..

Cal was already in bed, asleep, when she came in. She did her best not to disturb him as she undressed and got into bed. He rolled over and put an arm around her. "How did it go?" he asked in a voice still thick with sleep. His eyes remained closed.

"I was hoping you wouldn't wake up."

"I don't sleep well when you're not here," he said.

Rose snuggled against him. Jack watched from the top of the wardrobe. He'd seen it happen, but he was curious about how she would tell it.

"I told her about us," she said.

Cal's eyes opened a crack. "Did you really?"

"I told her everything."

He was fully awake now. "How did she react?"

"She took it rather well, actually. She was more receptive to the idea than I expected."

"When you say everything, do you mean—"

"Everything," she said. "Our whole sordid tale."

"I wouldn't call it sordid," he said. "Colorful, maybe."

"Unique."

"I'll accept that," he said, tightening his arm around her. "I missed you tonight, liebling."

"You didn't enjoy your posh dinner?"

"No, I did. It just wasn't as good without you there to mock everything," he said amiably.

"I'll mock things for you tomorrow," Rose promised. She settled in to sleep. It seemed to Jack she was smaller when Cal held her.

…..

The next few weeks passed by with little incident. The work on Rose's apartment was finished, and they moved back in. "It's definitely improved," Cal said, surveying the now-spacious rooms. "You don't have enough furniture, though."

"Don't you mean 'we'?"

He smiled. "Ja. Wir haben nicht genug Möbel."

"You're really willing to live here with me?" Rose said.

"I am. You sound doubtful."

"It's difficult to imagine you being content with a place like this, even after the improvements," she said.

"It has a certain charm, now that I've gotten used to it."

"You'll never be able to invite your friends here," she pointed out.

"Oh, I could," Cal said. "But I doubt they'd come. Maybe for a quick look, so they can say they saw the depths I've sunk to."

"Is that how you feel, Cal?"

"Meine liebling, you know it isn't," he said, touching her curls. "I don't want to marry you just to change everything about you. I love you the way you are. I'm not ashamed of it."

"I worry about it sometimes," she said.

"I know you do. I wish you didn't. Vertraust du mir?"

"I trust you," she said. "It's the future I worry about."

"It won't hurt us."

...

They hadn't discussed when exactly they would get married. Rose wa sure Cal wanted it to happen soon, though he wasn't pressuring her. She wnated that too, but her doubts were still getting in the way. Just agreeing to marry him was a huge step, one she never expectd to take. It couldn't happen before Frank and Edith's wedidng, unless they eloped. Rose tried to imagine Cal standing in line, waiting for a clerk to marry them. The imagine made her laugh. He would never agree to that.

Rose stood in her closet, looking over her clothes. One of her dresses had to be right for the wedding. It was in two days; buying something new was out of the question. Cal had offered her a new dress several times, but she refused it. Something she already owned would have to do.

Jack studied the dresses with her. He tugged on the sleeve of his favorite, a deep blue silk and lace, one of her "good" dresses. She rarely wore it, to his dismany. Rose saw the movement. "Maybe," she said, taking it from the rack.

Jack stood behind her, looking over her shoulder as she pondered her reflection. "Wear it," he said. He wondered if she knew he was there, in spite of his efforts to stay hidden. Cal seemed to have forgotten about him. Jack wasn't sure he ever really believed he was there. It was probably a fluke.

Rose turned and stepped through him. Jack wilted. Just once he wanted to be solid again, to feel her, to have her feel him. He could make her hear him; he could make her see him, but he couldn't make himself solid enough for her to touch. He'd tried. It left him exhausted and fading away. Maintaining a corporeal body, even for a few moments, took too much energy. If only, he though, there was another way. There was. Jack simply hadn't realized it yet.

...

Cal left after Rose the next morning. He paused in the doorway and said over his shoulder, "You may want to come with me on this errnad. I need a second opinion." Intrigued, Jack followed him. So, he did believe, after all. Jack's curiosity deepend when they arrived at a jewlery store. "She doesn't care about that," he said. Cal didn't hear, of course. He wondered if he should speak loud enough for Cal to hear.

He sat on the counter and watched the clerk show Cal tray after tray of rings. Ah, that's why they were there. One by one, Jack dismissed them all. "Too big," he said. "Too ostentatious. Way too big. Are you trying to break her hand?"

"Could you show me something a bit smaller?" Cal said.

"Of course, sir," the clerk replied.

"You do get it," Jack said. But this tray contained rings whose gems were only a fraction smaller thna the previous ones. "But he doesn't." Jack shook his head. "Rose isn't like this. You know that. Find the one that's her."

"These won't do either," Cal said. He looked around, hoping to find something different. Something Rose. "Well?" he said, seemingly to no-one.

The light hit his eyes in response. He turned and found it was coming from the stone in a silver ring. The stone was a dark blue-green. It reminded him of the ocean. It wasn't clear, but it reflectred light beautifully. Jack held the light in his hands, pouring it across the ring. "That's what I'd give her," he said. "That's my Rose."

"I see," Cal said, again, seemingly to no-one.

...

Cal didn't mind Jack's presence. In the past he would have been enraged by the very idea of it, but it wasn't such an issue now. Jack was dead. Any doubts he might have had about that were gone. So what did it matter if he lingered? There as little he could actually do. Rose was with him, not Jack. All Jack could do was watch her. To Cal that sounded worse than not being with her at all. Why didn't he just let go and move on? And more importantly, did Rose know he was there? He decided she didn't. She wouldn't bring him into her home if she knew Jack could see them. She still wasn't comfortable with the idea of Michael seeing them together at the wedding, and she certainly loved Jack more than Michael.

"How do I look?"

Cal turned at the sound of Rose's voice. Her hair was up, but a few curls were loose, which combined with the blue dress to give her a nymph-like air. She wore no jewelry. Her skin was perfect. Her hair crackled red. "Schön," Beautiful he said, reverting to German unconsciously. " Wie ein Blumenmädchen." Like a flower-girl

Rose laughed. "I'll assume that's a good thing."

"Ja," he said.

"Well, you look rather handsome," she said, smoothing his already perfect jacket. "I'll be with the most dashing man there. Won't the other women be jealous?"

"Don't make fun. I'm part that point in my life."

"Cal, be serious," she said. "You know what you look like. You know how women respond to you. I just didn't care before."

"Do you care now?" he asked.

"Do you mean am I jealous? No. I trust you. You're free to leave at any time," Rose said.

"But I won't. Freedom means a great deal to you, doesn't it?"

"Yes," she said.

Cal reached into his pocket. Jack moved closer. "I won't take it away," he said. Rose sucked in her breathe. She knew what was coming. "I want to give you more, Rose," he went on, opening the box.

Her eyes widened. "Cal, it's beautiful."

"Do you mean that? You like it?" he said.

"I love it," she said happily. "It's perfect."

"It's a labradorite," Cal explained. "I discarded a few dozen perfectly good rings before I found it. It's not the sort of stone one generally uses for—"

"It's perfect." Rose said again. "I love it."

Jack's pleasure in her happiness was bittersweet. Yes, it was perfect. He knew it would be.

...

The wedding was a small affair. People she recognized from Michael's office were there, along with Edith's friends, and what she assumed were Frank's freinds. She and Cal sat near the back. Rose smiled and applauded as the newly married couple passed. Cal gave them a smile and nod.

The guests spread across the reception hall. Rose's arm was in his. "Uncomfortable?" she said.

"Not a bit. Are you?"

"No."

Frank radiated happiness. "Cal, you came!" he said.

"Of course," Cal replied. "Didn't I say I would?"

"Rose, you look lovely," Edith said.

Cal smiled proudly. "Doesn't she?"

"No, you look wonderful, Edith," Rose said. "I can't imagine a more beautiful bride."

"Can you believe we're married?" Edith said. "I can't."

Frank put an arm around her waist. "I can." He turned back to Rose and Cal. "Did you two come here together?"

"Yes, actually," Rose said. "Your cousin was kind enough to escort me here tonight."

Frank looked from Rose to Cal. „"Is that so? I didn't know the two of you got along so well."

"Very well," Cal said with a smile at Rose.

Understanding flashed in Frank's eyes. "Did you know?" he asked Edith, who nodded. „"Why didn't you tell me?" he said.

Edith shrugged. "It wasn't up to me to tell."

"Well, this is a day for celebration—and surprises," Frank said. „"If you'll excuse us, we have to gereet the other guests." His eyes were hard to read. „"Dance, won't you?"

When they were gone, Rose said, „"Is it just me, or did he not seem happy about this?"

„"We surprised him, that's all. He's probably upset with us for usurping his wedding—if he's upset about anything," Cal replied. „"Don't worry about it, liebling. Frank's the least of our problems." Cal was wrong, but he didn't know that yet.

Jack watched them dance. His jealousy grew with every step. It wasn't fair. Cal was a good dancer, but he wasn't good enough for her. Rose laughed as he twirled her. Jack knew he should fight those feelings. He's been doing so much better lately. Cal's presence didn't annoy him at all; he was willing to tolerate him, for Rose's sake. It was the ring that started it back up again. Of course Cal was going to give her a ring, but did he have to ask him to go along? You didn't have to go, Jack reminded himself. That wasn't true, though. How could he resist? Cal knew that.

What happened next wasn't intentional. Jack didn't even realize it could happen until it did. One moment he was standing there, staring at Cal, wishing he could be in his place, and the next he was. Jack blinked, confused by the barrage of new sensations. Cal's heart beat; his blood flowed; air moved through his lungs. Rose's hand was warm and solid in his. He felt the curve of her waist under his other hand.

Cal was still there, pushed aside, but struggling to get back. Mentally, Jack built a wall between them, shutting Cal's consciousness out as if he were asleep. Rose looked up at him with concern. "Are you alright?" she asked.

He grinned. "I'm fine," he said, pulling her closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He leaned down so their foreheads touched. He breathed deeply; she smelled exactly the way he remembered.

"I love you," he whispered

Rose kissed him in reply. His memories were pale reflections of this. Jack fought the urge to kiss her more deeply. This wasn't right. In the back of his mind, he knew it wasn't right. It wasn't fair to Rose. She thought she was kissing Cal, not him. She wanted to kiss Cal. She didn't even know he was there. But holding her again felt so good. A few minutes couldn't hurt, he reasoned, if that's all he did.

„"Rose?" Michael's shocked voice broke their silence. Rose turned, stepping back. Cal/Jack's arm stayed around her. "Edith said you were coming, but I never thought you'd come with—with him," Michael said accusingly.

„"I have every right to be here with him," Rose said.

Cal's body was bigger than Jack's, and he felt its power. He never felt particularly weak when he was alive, but his strength was different. He fought differently.

"I supppose you do," Michael said. "I just never expected it." He cast a look at withering look at Cal. „"He's not the kind of man I thought you'd choose."

"He's your family," Rose pointed out.

"Even so," Michael said.

"I'm right here," Jack said, slightly indignant on Cal's behalf.

Michael ignored him. "I've called you a few times," he said.

"I didn't know."

"Well, clearly you've been busy," Michael said. "Taking up with new people." His tone made clear how disgusted he was with the idea.

"That's not your concern," Rose said calmly.

"Are you marrying him?" Michael asked.

"What?" Rose said, incredulous.

"You wouldn't marry me," Michael said. "So, I'm curious if you'll say yes to him. Or will you agree only to change your mind?"

"You know that isn't what happened," Rose said, trying to keep her tone even. "It didn't happen that way. I—"

"Leave her alone." Cal's voice was quietly threatening. He took a step forward, keeping a hand on Rose. "She's said enough to you already. She doesn't have to explain herself any more."

"I think she does," Michael said.

"She doesn't." Jack/Cal looked him in the eyes. Cal was still behind the wall, but Jack felt him getting stronger. He didn't know if it was the threat to Rose causing it, or if his hold was just weakening. "It's not the place for it, but I'll make you leave her alone if I have to."

Rose watched the exchange, mesmerized by Cal. "Come on," she said, tugging on his hand. "This isn't necessary."

"It is, Rose."

Michael stared at them for a long moment; finally, he shook his head and walked away.

"I could have handled him," Rose said.

"I know you could've. If I weren't here, you would have."

"But you were here," she said. "So, you had to show how tough you are."

"I had to show I'd protect you." Jack put his hand on her face. He slowly caressed her cheek with his thumb, sending a shiver down her spine. It was an odd gesture, coming from Cal; it was something he didn't do. It reminded her of Jack. "I'll always protect you, Rose." He exhaled and was gone, back to watching them, unseen.

Cal blinked a few times and looked around. He felt like he'd just woken up, but he was wide awake. The last few minutes he remembered only vaguely, the way one remembers a dream. Rose laced her fingers through his. "Why don't we go home?" she suggested.

Cal nodded. "I think we should."