"What?" Rose asked.

"Your tree climbing skills," Jack said. "How are they?"

"I-I don't have any," she said.

"I should have known that." He looked from her to the tree and then back to her again. "It's not hard. Come on." He took her hand and began walking toward the tree.

She tried to pull him back. "Jack no!" she hissed through clenched teeth.

Ten minutes later she found herself perched on a branch, gripping it so tightly her knuckles were white. "Why did I let you drag me up here?" she asked, smiling in spite of herself.

Jack shrugged. He leaned casually against the tree, feeling no need to hold onto anything. "Guess I just have a gift," he grinned.

"If I fall out of this tree-"

"You won't fall," he said soothingly. "You're fine. Just relax. We're not even that high up."

Rose took a deep breath and loosened her grip on the branch. A cool breeze blew her hair back. "Maybe this isn't so bad," she said.

"I can't believe how much you didn't do as a child," Jack said.

"Believe it."

"You know, maybe we've been going about this all wrong. Instead of exploring the world, maybe we should just stick to exploring all the childhood experiences you never had."

Rose laughed. "Oh yes, let's!"

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Okay. We'll do it."

"What's next then?"

"Well, have you ever swung into a lake on a rope?"

She gave him a look.

"Then we're doing that next, but first.." Jack leaned forward and jumped out of the tree. "There's something else I wanna do," he said, looking up at her.

"What? Trap me up here?"

"No! I'll get you down in a minute. Just hang on a sec," he called as he ran back into the house.

"I'm not really sure what else I can do," Rose said to herself after he was gone.

"Haven't seen either of them today," Thomas remarked to Ruth as they strolled through the garden "I wonder what they're up to?"

"It could be anything," Ruth said, not entirely unkindly. As they came closer to the tree they began to hear voices.

"That's probably them now," he said. Once they got a little closer they could see Jack standing beneath the tree, looking up at Rose.

"What does he have her doing now?" Ruth asked.

Thomas shushed her. "Just watch for a moment."

"Let me see it!" Rose cried.

Jack shook his head. "You have to come down first."

"It's of me!"

"Doesn't matter. Come down if you want to see it."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" she asked.

"Well, you could climb down," he suggested.

"I'm not sure I can," she said nervously.

"You could jump."

"It's an awfully long way to fall," she said.

"I'll catch you," he promised.

"Is there a third option?"

No answer. She looked down and saw he had disappeared. "Jack?" she called.

"Right here," he said, suddenly appearing at her elbow

. "How did-oh, never mind," she said.

"Still want that third option?" he asked.

"What is it?"

Thomas and Ruth watched Jack climb out of the tree with Rose on his back. "There really is something wrong with them," Ruth said, shaking her head.

"I wouldn't say that," Thomas said. "We were like that once-or we could have been at least."

She chose not to respond. They made their way over to Jack and Rose, who were laughing hysterically.

"Good morning," Thomas said cheerfully.

"How long have you been there?" Rose asked, embarrassed they hadn't noticed them before.

"Oh, not that long," he said.

"Long enough," Ruth said. Jack shot her a look. "You looked like you were enjoying yourselves," she added.

"We were," Jack smiled.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" Thomas asked.

"I forgot all about it," Rose said, "What with the early morning tree adventures."

"Actually, so did I," Jack added.

"Well, we haven't had anything either, so why don't you come with us?" Thomas suggested.

Rose watched her mother's face for signs of displeasure but, much to her surprise, saw none. Jack was watching as well and was pleased when her mouth didn't form its usual grimace. "Sure," he said.

…

Rose was at a loss to explain the sudden change in her mother. During breakfast she hadn't thrown any veiled insults at Jack and there were a few moments when it seemed like she was actually trying to be pleasant. Rose wasn't sure how she felt about the situation. Seeing her mother as a simple enemy was much easier than trying to see her as a whole person. She was still puzzling over it on a walk with Jack later that afternoon.

"Whatcha thinking about?" he asked, hoping to draw her out of the daze she'd been in most of the day.

"Nothing," she said dismissively.

"Doesn't look like nothing. Want to talk about it?"

"It's stupid really, but did you notice anything different about my mother this morning?"

"Like how?"

"Well, there's the fact that she wasn't finding some way to attack you every few seconds."

"Come to think of it, I did notice a lack of politely delivered insults."

"You don't think that's strange?"

"It's different, I'm not sayin it isn't."

"I just can't figure out why. What's the reason for the sudden change?"

"Maybe she's just trying to reduce some of the tension, you know?"

"Maybe." Rose didn't sound convinced.

"Well, since you brought her up, there is something I wanted to ask you about," Jack said.

"About my mother?" Rose asked, confused.

"No, about something she said. Remember last night when she was talking about how we don't have a home?"

"Yes."

"That was something I'd actually been meaning to bring up at some point anyway, and since she already did I might as well. We don't have a home, and right now that's alright, but we'll want one eventually," he said.

"Jack, what are you trying to say exactly?"

"Just that it might be nice to have a place we know we can go back to, you know? So when we get tired of wandering there'll be someplace that's just ours."

"How long have you been thinking about this?" she asked.

"Awhile now actually," he admitted. "I just wasn't sure how to bring it up before."

Rose considered his words. "Where would it be?" she asked.

"Where do you want it to be?"

Disbelief shone in her eyes. "I can decide?"

"If you want to. I don't care where I am as long as I'm with you, and I want you to be happy."

Rose shook her head and smiled. "We're in a bit of a bind then because I feel the same way."

"Oh whatever will we do," Jack said throwing his head back and looking up at the sky. Despite his dramatic gesture he wore a grin. "We don't have to decide anything right now," he added. "But it couldn't hurt to think about it."

"So when you said it was up to me, did you actually mean I could choose anywhere?"

Jack nodded. "Meant just that."

They lapsed into silence until Rose asked, "And when you told my mother she wouldn't believe how much money we have, how much were you talking about exactly?"

"Didn't we already talk about this?"

"If by 'talk about' you mean I asked and you used that pretty mouth of yours to distract me-" Jack couldn't stop himself from blushing slightly. "-then yes, we talked about it."

"Okay, I see your point. But why the sudden interest?"

"You brought it up," she said simply. "And then you wouldn't talk about it again."

He frowned. "To be honest I only brought it up to upset your mother. Talking about it makes me uncomfortable for some reason."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to-"

"No," he cut her off. "You have a right to know, and it shouldn't make me feel like that anyway. I earned it, didn't I?" Well, part of it, he thought. He'd put Cal's money into the same account as he was putting the money he was making, and he'd put the Heart of the Ocean into a safety deposit box. It seemed like the best thing. Too much time had passed for him to be able to explain to Rose why he hadn't told her about it in the first place, and fortunately she'd either forgotten or decided not to ask where the money for her ring and wedding dress had come from.

"I can't give you a number," he continued, "but I can say we don't have to worry about anything. And even if I never sell another painting there's a good chance we still won't have to worry about anything."

….

The next day and a half were uneventful save for Ruth's continued attempts to refrain from criticizing everything around her. At one point Jack caught her watching him and Rose together and he couldn't be sure but it looked like she just might have been on the verge of a very small smile.

Finally it was time for Jack's opening. All four of them were going, but Rose insisted, much to Jack's relief, that they travel separately. "Thought you could use a few minutes of peace," she said, starting the car.

"Thanks."

Jack sucked in his breath as they walked in. "That is a lot of people," he said.

Rose squeezed his hand. "This one will end better than the last one," she said. "Trust me."

Soon Jack was surrounded by people, all of whom couldn't stop talking about how amazing he was. Rose stood by his side and smiled. It always made her happy when someone else saw his gift, though she wondered sometimes if she was the only one who knew it was just one of many.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite couple!" a loud, cheerful voice said.

Jack broke into a grin. "Molly!"

"Yes, the one and only," she said, enveloping Jack and then Rose in a hug.

"What are you doing here?" Rose asked.

"Not being the recipient of an invitation of either of yours," Molly said.

"We never thought to-" Jack began.

Molly dismissed his explanation with a wave of her hand. "It doesn't matter. I've actually been reading about you for some time now. You're really making a name for yourself, Jack."

Jack ducked his head. "I guess you could say that."

"Well, keep it up, whatever you want to call it," Molly ordered.

An hour later Jack was not only convinced that he had spoken to every person on the Earth but that they had all gotten together and agreed to only ask him the same five questions over and over. He'd had enough. "Rose, come on," he said quietly. She gave him a questioning look but didn't resist when he began leading her toward the door. On the way out he grabbed a bottle of champagne and tucked it under his arm. For all the fuss about him no-one noticed them leave.

"Where are we going?" she asked once they were in the hall.

He looked around for the door marked "Roof." "To see the stars," he said.

…

"Do you see that one?" Rose pointed at the sky. They lay on their backs, the bottle between them.

"I see it," Jack answered. "Do you see this one?" He pointed to another cluster of stars.

I see it," she said. She took a swig from the bottle and passed it to him. "Jack, are you happy?"

"What? Of course I'm happy. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You didn't look happy tonight, and if you were, why are we up here when everything that's going on down there is about you?"

"I wouldn't call what I felt down there unhappiness. I just felt...overwhelmed...uncomfortable. I don't see why something I've always done is suddenly so exciting to all these people. I know you think I have a gift, and I guess maybe I do but sometimes..."

"Sometimes what?"

"Sometimes I get tired of talking about it, you know? It's like there's this one thing I'm really good at, and I never wanted to do anything else, but now it's like that's all anyone ever expects me to do. I can only do one thing, and that one thing is all anyone is interested in."

Rose moved closer to him. She laid her face against his. "I don't feel that way about you," she said. "I just want you to do what makes you happy. If this doesn't make you happy-"

"Part of it does, that's the problem. I love the feeling I get when I see someone look at one of my paintings or drawings and their eyes light up as though they were looking at one of Monet's or some other genius. The only other time I feel like that is..." He searched for the words. "The way you look at me sometimes makes me feel that way." He paused. "And it makes me happy that I can take care of us with something I love doing. I just wish I could avoid everything that goes along with it."

"You want the security, but you don't want to sacrifice the peace," Rose said.

"Yeah, something like that. I don't think I can get much more reclusive than I already am though," he said. He sighed. "It's stupid really. I should just be grateful for what I have."

"It isn't stupid," Rose said. "You deserve to be happy just as much as anyone else." She climbed to her feet and offered him her hand. "Come on." He gave her a puzzled look. "Come on," she repeated.

"And where are we going?"

"First to get some coffee because my head is starting to spin. After that, it's up to you"

He took her hand and smiled. "We're finding a lake."

…..

They left a note for Ruth and Thomas, gathered their things, and slipped off into the night. They didn't know where they were going, but it didn't matter. They were together, and it was a beautiful night.

"I can't believe they just ran off into the night," Ruth said after reading their note.

It said: Thank you both for opening your home to us. We know this is kind of sudden, but there's really no way to explain it. We just know it's time for us to go. We'll write-if you'll let us.

Thomas handed her a drink. "I don't know why you say their behavior baffles you so much."

"What do you mean?"

"I think you forget, my dear, I knew you before you were the pillar of respectability you are now."

Fall 1913

Georgia

"Can I open my eyes yet?" Rose asked impatiently.

"Not yet. Just a little further."

"Now?"

"Now."

Rose was awestruck. "Jack, it's...it's beautiful," she gasped.

"Do you really think so?" he asked anxiously.

"Yes! It's-I wish I could stay here forever." She turned in a circle, taking it all in. The house-a former plantation house built circa 1845-and the garden that surrounded it.

"Do you mean that?"

Two weeks later they moved in. It took all of three minutes for them to walk inside and set down their two bags. "Jack, I think there's something we didn't think about." Rose looked around their empty front room.

"I think you're right," he said. "What do we do about it?"

"Well, I guess we get things," Rose said. The words sounded strange even as she said them. For over year they had either lived without things—slept in the car or outside—or wherever they stayed had already had whatever they needed.

"Okay. The best way to do it seems to be to figure out what we need most," Jack said. "So, what would that be?"

"We could probably use a bed," Rose suggested. "And food. And something to cook it with and maybe something to eat off of."

"Yeah that didn't really narrow down the list like I'd hoped."

"We have to go shopping, don't we?" she said.

"Looks like it."

And so the intrepid—and unprepared—couple set out, determined to return with everything they would need for the first few days in their new house. Their first stop was a furniture store where they learned if they purchased a bed—or anything else—that day they could have it by the following Tuesday. Had they been in a town large enough to have two furniture stores they would have tried their luck at the next one, but as it was there was only the one. Reasoning that they might as well get all the furniture they needed at the same time they went ahead and bought everything at once.

After that they went in search of cookware, which Rose just stared at. She was torn between fear and ignorance. She needn't have worried. Jack didn't expect her to ever touch any of it. He had never said anything before, but he secretly liked cooking. "I can't believe you never told me," Rose said, astonished—and relieved—by his revelation. "I would have never guessed."

"It just never came up. We've never really done that much cooking for ourselves. When we were in Santa Monica last summer I let you do it all because you seemed to enjoy it."

"I did?"

"Yeah. I didn't want to take that away from you."

"Please, take it," she said.

They returned home just as the sun was setting. They dropped their purchases onto the kitchen counter and collapsed onto the floor. "I never realized how much went into just furnishing a house," Jack said. "Everyone always makes it look so easy."

"I know. No wonder we've avoided having a home for so long."

"It was kind of fun though, getting to decide what would go into our house." Jack smiled when he said the word "our".

"It was." Rose looked over at him. "I never thought I'd get to do anything like that—at least not before I married you." She brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes and let her hand rest lightly on his cheek. He kissed her hand.

They moved toward each other, as if pulled by a magnet. Rose laced his hair through her fingers as their lips met. It was the kind of kiss that starts out slow but gradually grows more intense. Jack slid his hands down her body until he found the bottom of her dress. Rose let out a quiet groan as his hands began to travel up her legs, stopping just before they reached what she wanted touched the most. He pulled his mouth away from hers. "Guess we didn't need a bed as much as we thought," he said.

She just stared at him in disbelief. "Did you really just stop to tell me that?" Before he could answer she had pushed him onto his back and was straddling him.

"I don't know what I was thinking," he said.

She laid his hands on her thighs. "Don't think," she whispered. "Just touch me."