I am SO SORRY it took me so long to update! I've had really bad writer's block for a really long time with this story, and three days ago I finally got an idea! But then, lo-and-behold, we got hit by a snowstorm. In October. Yeah. We have at least four power lines / telephone poles down, trees across roads, no electricity…. So, here I am, updating from a Starbucks, seeing as it's been five days and I still don't have power at my house. Ah, well. Here's a double update; I know it doesn't make up for almost two months without a new chapter, but it's the best I can do right now! Enjoy!

Chapter 14: Past, Present, and Future

"Oh, what are we going to do?" Mother cried the moment Mr. Whisten rounded the corner and was out of sight.

"Mother, please calm down," I urged, frightened by her hopelessness. "It's going to be alright, I promise."

"Ms. Dawson?" Danny asked tentatively. "If—if you need us to go, we can go."

Mother rubbed her temples and looked at Danny. "Don't be ridiculous. If there's any guarantee that you'll be staying, this is it. No. You're perfectly welcome here; you know that. I just don't know what to do about your father."

"That's just it, Ms. Dawson. You have to let him be; don't interfere this time. Not that your help hasn't been appreciated; it has, it really has," he added quickly.

"No. No, that's not what he would have wanted," she muttered, to herself more than anyone else in the room.

"Who?" piped up Josie. Mother looked alarmed, as if she had not meant to speak her last sentence aloud. From what I could deduce, she hadn't.

"My husband," Mother said softly. I could tell from Danny and Josie's mollified expressions that I was the only one who truly understood the meaning behind my mother's words. Snapping out of her dreamlike state, Mother said rather sharply, "Get on upstairs, all of you."

"Sorry, Mother, but…why?" It was nowhere near nighttime; what was Mother up to?

"Just go, please," she replied, and I could tell she was holding back tears. What on earth—? "I'll talk to you later, Elle."

"Alright. Come on Danny, Josie…let's go." The three of us marched upstairs, and it wasn't long before I found out why Mother had wanted us out of the restaurant area. As we made our way to the upper level, I heard her start to cry. I paused at the top of the stairs and made a split-second decision. "You go on," I whispered to Danny; he nodded and took Josie by the hand.

I went back down the stairs to where my mother sat in tears. "Mother?" She looked up. "Are you alright?"

"Come here, Elle." I strode over to her and sat quietly by her side. "Let me ask you a question, dear."

"Anything, Mother, anything," I replied as I gently touched her shaking shoulder.

"Am I right?"

"I'm sorry?"

Mother sighed and shook her head, trying to reword her sentence. "Is this right, taking in Danny and Josie?"

"Of course it is, Mother, you said so yourself just a moment ago that they must stay."

"You're right. I'm being silly." She wasn't making sense. Then, something clicked in my brain. The tears, the insecurity….

"Mother, does this have something to with J—my father?" I asked slowly.

"I wish he was here," Mother whispered. I was surprised; I knew that Mother must miss Jack terribly every day, but this was the first time she openly voiced her longing to have him back since she first told me about him. "He always knew what was best. What was right."

"I'm sorry Mother; I know how hard it must be for you," I said to her. "But, if I may ask, what exactly does this have to do with Danny and Josie?"

"Oh, Elle, darling, they remind me so much of myself. I—I'm trying to do what Jack would, if he were still with us." She paused. "You remember what I told you about…about the Titanic?"

"Every word," I said firmly.

"Well, Danny and Josie are trapped. Trapped, just as I was." I tried to understand her words, but couldn't seem to find their meaning.

"I don't think they're trapped, really," I mused.

"What?"

"They aren't trapped in the slightest, Mother." I said, my confidence building. "You see, we've given them a way out. We did for them what Jack—I mean, my father—did for you. We saved them, Mother. Now, I didn't know Jack, of course, but I'm sure this is exactly what he would have done." I was desperate to make her understand, desperate for her to stop crying. "Mother, we are their Jack."

She was silent for what seemed like hours before speaking again. But as she opened her mouth, tears began to flow freely in the place of words. Before I knew what was happening, my mother was clinging to me as if I was a life preserver bobbing in the sea. I patted her back awkwardly as her tears subsided, feeling as if we had switched roles in life: I was now the mother, comforting a distressed child.

Finally, she pulled away, drying her eyes on a handkerchief she had stowed in the pocket of her apron. "Elle," she said, taking one of my hands in her own, "you are so like your father."

"I know," I said, daring to smile, "You've told me." Mother gave a watery laugh in response and stood up, smoothing her dress and recomposing herself.

"Thank you, sweetheart," she said, sniffing once more.

"For what?"

"Everything." A moment or two passed where the two of us simply stood rooted to the spot, Mother's caring eyes looking me over, full of love. Then, "Run along and fetch Danny and Josie. Gem is out running errands today and I'm going to need an extra hand or two in the restaurant come lunchtime."

Chapter 15 is just a click away!