It was a good month before everyone was able to return to LA. First, Rose, Jack, Tommy, Fabrizio, Emilie, and Charles all had to give taped dispositions about what happened to Rose and testify about how Frank had confessed to the murder of Albert Dawson. They all were promised that they would be informed of the verdict when one was given.

Emilie and Charles talked about it and decided that it was best to take the boys to LA with them and began to make arrangements, like closing the house and withdrawing the boys from school. By the end of the month the boys were ready for travel and everyone hopped Jack's private plane and headed back to the sunshine state and away from the nightmare that had once been their lives.

Rose walked into the house, sighing in relief, glad to be back home in one piece. She had forgotten about what a bother the papparrazzi were. She knew that she was going to have to answer the questions that the press had thrown at her upon her return, but she just couldn't at that moment. She needed to just go home and relax and settle back into her life once again after the ordeal she had suffered.

"Home sweet home," She smiled as she stepped into the house. She had thought she'd never see this place again.

"It's good to have you home," Jack walked in behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "No more hospitals, no more court despositions..."

"Now full on wedding planning," Rose grinned, walking out of Jack's arms and heading to the small office, where she kept all of the planning details for the coming wedding. "I am so behind now...I hope everything can be ready on time..."

Emilie, Charles, and Elijah and Luke walked in, both looking rather jetlagged.

"Rose, aren't you a little bit tired?" Emilie rubbed her eyes, filling exhausted.

"There is no time to be tired. I have a wedding to put together and..."

"You still have plenty of time to do that," Jack took her hand, holding it up to his lips. "If push comes to shove, we'll just do the justice of the piece and have a nice party here. But for now, you need to rest. You've been through hell and back."

"I rested in the hospital," Rose pouted, knowing that Jack was probably right, but a part of her was still worried about the wedding and making sure everything was on track. "Maybe I should call my mother...have her make a few calls..."

"Oh no. Not that woman. If she had her way, she'd have us believing that you had left me and ran off with another man," Jack shook his head, still angry with Ruth for her lack of faith in Rose. How could a woman say that about her daughter. Normally, he would try to understand the woman and her attitude. If he did, he would have assumed that Ruth thought this way because that had been exactly what Rose had done by getting with him. But right now, any mother that wasn't fully supportive of their children got his anger.

"What?" Rose frowned, wondering where that had come from. They hadn't really discussed her mother since the rescue, so Rose was curious about what Ruth had thought about her disappearance.

"Oh it's nothing. Don't worry about it," Jack tried to dodge, realizing that it may not be a good idea for Rose to know what her mother had said about her while she had been gone.

"Jack, don't do that. Don't bring something up and drop it suddenly because you're afraid of how I might react. Just tell me."

Jack looked at Emilie, hoping that she had some idea on how to get out of this, but his sister just helplessly shrugged.

"I think I'll take the boys down to the beach. They've never seen the ocean before," Emilie gave a smile that clearly said good luck as she grabbed Charles and directed the boys back outside, leaving Jack and Rose alone.

"Now tell me what you have to tell me about my mother," Rose folded her arms, daring Jack to try to dodge again.

"Well...when you disappeared, she was over here and she seemed worried at first. But then she began saying that you took off on your own and that you probably found some other guy and was with him and you had a problem with committment. I didn't believe any of it though. In fact, she made me pretty angry, that's why I say she doesn't deserve to be a part of the wedding. Someone who has such little faith in their own daughter..."

Rose sighed and sat down on the couch, feeling extremely tired. Of course her mother would assume that. After all, she had done just that very thing when she had gotten with Jack. Why would her mother think this was any different? Rose didn't hold it against her, but thank goodness Jack didn't listen. Who knew what would have happened to her if he had.

"I can see why she would think that. I can't really blame her."

"But she's your mother. She should have more faith in you than that."

"But that is exactly what I had done before, Jack. I took off with only you knowing where I was and when I resurfaced, we were together and Cal was out of the picture. That was her experience. I can't fault her for thinking that I would do it agian. I'm just glad that you knew I wouldn't. Not when I have you, a man I love very much here for me."

"But look at the situation you were in. You had given Cal a chance. You didn't just take off on him, you gave him a chance to prove that he was worth the time, but he failed. He cheated on you. He even married his mistress! What kind of mother would want her daughter to marry that? If we had a daughter and someone did that to her, I would not hold her taking off for a while and returning with someone she knew she was in love with against her and I certainly wouldn't bring it up and use it as an excuse not to look for her if she disappeared."

"Well, you're not Ruth Dewitt Bukater. She's a very unforgiving person and I'm really not surprised. I would have been surprised if she hadn't brought it up to tell you the truth."

"She made me so mad, Rose," Jack frowned, allowing her to pull him down onto the couch beside her and wrap her arms around his waist.

"That's because you're my devoted knight in shining armor."

"You're gonna call her aren't you?"

"Only to tell her I'm back. I'm not going to ask for her help with the wedding. You're right. She doesn't deserve it. This wedding is about us and people that love and believe in us. Everyone else outside of that...they won't have a part."

Jack kissed the top of her head and nodded. "Good idea. She'll be lucky to get an invitation."

"Thank you for believing in me," Rose leaned her head against his shouder and closed her eyes, thankful to be back home, back in her life, which she loved. That was a big change from how she felt about her life before she had met Jack.

"I'll always believe in you."

"Just like I'll always believe in you."

...

A week later, Emilie, Charles, and the boys moved into their own house. It wasn't anything too bed. It was a three bedroom ranch style and it was only a little ways away from Jack, so the siblings weren't too far away from each other.

Rose wasn't only back to planning her wedding, she was also back in the studio working on her new album with Jack on as a songwriter. Having enough of being in the public eye for a while, Jack decided to take some time off and write songs for Rose instead of singing them. He also dived back into sketching as well.

Rose did talk to her mother again, but after another argument, Rose decided to keep her distance for the time being. She was just too tired of parental drama and just wanted to enjoy her life from here on out. She especially wanted peace for her wedding day, which was fast approaching now. When she thought about her life and marrying Jack, she had to smile. She had once dreaded the idea of marriage. It had been the last thing she had wanted to do, ever. She felt like it was a way to trap her and end her dreams. But now, with Jack, she realized that wasn't true at all. When you were marrying the man you loved, marriage was a way to bind your life to his, to share every thing you are, and to become even closer than ever before. It was a way to build dreams along side the one you love, not a means to ending them.

With Jack, she was building the career and life she had always wanted. The sad girl who had tried to jump off of a building no longer existed these days. She was replaced with a woman who was in love and looked forward to the future with the man who had filled her life with the music of love and happiness. She knew for a fact that nothing in the world will ever come between them.