The next day, Molly found herself in the park where she and Rose had met Jack that second day in Chippewa Falls. She knew that eventually, Jack would be passing by and she wanted to have a one on one talk with the young man, just the two of them. No Rose, or Ruth for that matter, insight. She had something to say about the current situation. She may be overstepping her boundaries, but she had to speak her mind. She had to get Jack to see that ignoring anything he felt for Rose and marrying this Hannah girl instead was a bad mistake that would just lead to pain and heartbreak for all three of them in the long run.

She didn't have to wait for long. Jack entered the park, fresh off from work, his portfolio once again tucked under his arm. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Molly sitting on the bench where he usually sat, waiting for him.

"Molly?" He asked, surprised to see her there, even though he probably shouldn't be. Rose had probably told her all about Hannah when she had returned and now Molly was wanting the details and wanting to know why he hadn't mentioned her right away.

"Hiya Jack! I knew that you'd appear sooner or later. Come, sit. In fact, you can draw me a picture while we chat," Molly patted the spot beside her. Jack looked at it with a feeling of trepidation. "Come on now, sonny! Don't be shy! I just want to talk."

Jack took a seat and opened his portfolio to a blank page, pushing through the butterflies that suddenly came to life in the pit of his stomach. He didn't know why he was so nervous. This was Molly. She was like his surrogate mother. She had been his lifeline in so many ways during Rose's disappearance. There was no reason to fear her.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"You. Rose. Hannah."

"What do you want to know?"

"I want to know why you never mentioned the girl all this time."

Jack frowned and looked at the older woman. He was pretty sure that he had mentioned Hannah in a letter. "I did mention her. I wrote to you about her."

"In a way where I assumed that she was just an old friend that helped pull you out of that funk you were in. You didn't say anything about romance. You definitely didn't mention her when I showed up here with Rose."

"Well, when I wrote to you, she was just a friend. But things changed. I began to have feelings for her and Cora loved her and I soon realized that I loved her too. Together, we made Cora a proper family and why not? At the time, I had no idea what had happened to Rose. As far as I knew, she was gone for good, leaving me alone with Cora to raise. I had no idea that she had lost her memory, that she would come back."

"If you had, would you have waited for her?" Molly asked with an arched brow. She looked closely at Jack and instantly felt sorry for him. She could see it as clear as day that he still loved his wife. He probably would have waited for her forever if he had known what had really happened.

"I probably would have," Jack sighed. "But I didn't know that and I couldn't keep living in limbo. I had to move on for Cora and for myself. Please, Molly, try to understand. This wasn't and it still isn't easy for me. I still love Rose, but I love Hannah too."

"I guess that you figure that Rose is the past and this Hannah is the future, huh?"

"It's not like that, Molly."

"Well then, what is it like because I'm sure not understanding. We sat and talked about what happened to Rose and you made no mention of the girl, but now suddenly she's your fiancee, while you're still married to Rose may I mention."

"It wasn't like I was hiding her from you, I wasn't. In fact, when you came for a visit, I was going to ask you about lawyers and divorce and all of that so I could move forward with Hannah. But then you told me about what happened to Rose and it just didn't seem right to bring that up and the plan was to wait to introduce Rose and Hannah because I didn't want to overwhelm Rose. I mean, finding out that you have a husband and a child is a lot. Meeting your child's soon to be stepmother…it just felt overwhelming and I didn't want to do that to Rose. She's already dealing with enough as it is."

"What changed? How did Rose manage to meet the girl last night?"

Jack sighed and shrugged. "Circumstances beyond my control. Lisa invited Hannah to dinner, not thinking that Rose would be there. So there was no choice but to introduce them. It's for the best anyway. Now Rose won't have any expectations about our marriage."

"I take it that this Hannah knows all about Rose and Titanic."

"She does and she understands. She wants to help Rose too. Hannah's not the bad guy here, Molly. She's a good woman. She's kind, sweet, compassionate. She loves me. She even said that if I wanted to go back to Rose, she'd understand."

"But you don't want to?"

"It's not about whether I want to or not. It's…," Jack stopped, trying to get his thoughts together. "It's that…I love Rose. I do, I'll always love her. She's the mother of my child. We went through something intense together and I'd do pretty much anything for her. But what we had….as special as it was...it's over. It's been over for a while now. I had to move on, for my own sanity. Now she's back and the feelings are still there, but they don't cancel out the way I feel about Hannah or the future we had planned together."

"And that's the future that you plan to go with? The one with Hannah?"

"It's only fair, don't you think? Besides, I have no idea that Rose won't relapse and take off again, this time for longer and...Molly...if that happened...I wouldn't be able to survive it again. I barely survived it this time. Plus Cora is older and she'd remember this time. It won't be like when she was just a baby."

"You know what it sounds like to me? It sounds like you're letting fear make the choice for you. You're afraid of what would happen if you go back to Rose and she left again. So you're playing it safe."

"Well, maybe for once I am. There's nothing wrong with that. It's not like I don't love Hannah, I do."

"But you're not in love with her, Jack. Not like you were with Rose."

"Maybe what I had with Rose wasn't healthy. I mean...we only had three days together when we decided to be together and our love wasn't strong enough to carry her through the bad memories...so maybe it's for the best."

"Do you really believe that? I mean, your love created Cora, who is the most beautiful, sweetest little girl. How could something as sweet as that baby come from something unhealthy?"

Jack sighed and squeezed his eyes shut, wishing that the day would just be over with. "I don't know what to believe, to be honest. I just know that I care about Rose. I want to help her be Rose again. I want her to be a part of Cora's life, but I'm not willing to risk my heart again. Not this time."

Feeling sad for all involved, Molly placed a gentle hand on Jack's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "You may think you're being fair to Hannah, darlin. But you're not. You're not being fair to any of you. I see how you look at Rose and it brings me back to that day on deck, when we first met, when you didn't even hear me because you were too busy watching her."

Jack blushed at the memory. "I was so ridiculous back then." "No, you weren't. You were just a young man who fancied a girl. Who grew to love that girl with his whole heart and soul and ended up terribly hurt later when it had fallen apart by no fault of either."

"Molly….why don't you meet Hannah and then make up your mind. You keep talking about how I look at Rose, well you haven't even seen how I look at Hannah. Give her a chance. Heck, even Rose seems to like her."

"Okay. Fine. I will come to dinner tomorrow night and you will introduce me to this Hannah. I hope to see the same spark in you that I see when you're with Rose."

"You will."

Watching the young artist continue his sketch, Molly hoped that he was right, that she did see what she saw when he was with Rose, because Jack deserved to be with the love of his life. It would be sad to see him settle for anything less.

…..

The next evening, Jack nervously rubbed his hands together as he watched Lisa sit the table. He couldn't help but be nervous. Finally, Hannah was going to meet Molly and Molly was going to see that he truly did love Hannah and that he was making the right decision for everyone involved.

"Will Ruth and Rose be joining Mrs. Brown?" Weaver asked, walking up to stand beside his nephew, curious if the elder Dewitt Bukater would be in attendance. He had indeed taken a liking to Ruth, despite her cold exterior.

"I don't know. Molly didn't say. In a way, I hope not. I need Molly to see me with Hannah and not be so focused on comparing me and Hannah to me and Rose."

The knock on the door interrupted Weaver's response. Pushing aside his nervousness, Jack went and opened the door to Hannah, who looked as if she was about to go before a firing squad.

"Am I late?" She asked, holding out a bottle of wine.

"You're early actually," Jack chuckled, stepping aside. "Come on in."

"I brought some wine."

"You didn't have to bring anything, but it's appreciated," Jack accepted the bottle.

"So she's not here yet? Is Rose and that other woman coming too?"

"I doubt it. I don't mind Rose, but I know what it's like to be grilled by Ruth. She's not the nicest person."

"I could tell," Hannah chuckled. "Not that I blame her. I mean, I am the woman that her daughter lost you too. I wouldn't be too nice either."

"I just hope that she didn't take it out on Rose. It's wasn't her fault. She doesn't deserve Ruth's tirades and manipulations," Jack frowned, voicing what had been niggling at him for the past day or so. He couldn't help his worry over Rose, especially where Ruth was concerned.

"You're really worried that she'd yell at Rose?"

"According to that woman, everything is Rose's responsibility, from keeping them out of poverty to marrying a rich man. It's all on Rose. She never cared about what Rose wanted or how she felt. It's one of the reasons why we met the way we did and why Rose allowed her to think that she had gone down with Titanic."

"Wow...why are you letting her near Cora if she's that bad?"

"Because she's Cora's only grandparent and I'm hoping that she's changed. Everyone deserves a second chance. I'm hoping that Ruth makes good with hers'."

Hannah nodded, her mind still working. If Jack believed in second chances, why wasn't he giving Rose one? Not that she would push him to, but she still wondered. "Does Rose deserve a second chance?"

Jack frowned. Why was she asking him that? Did she want him to go back to Rose? He didn't understand why she would ask something like that. "What do you mean? Are you saying that I should give Rose a second chance with our marriage?"

"I'm just asking why does Ruth deserves a second chance, but Rose doesn't. That's all. Listen, forget I asked. It was a silly question..."

"It's different with Rose. It won't hurt if Ruth reverts to form...I can care less about that woman...but Rose is different because I care about her. I want her to do well. I just don't want her to relapse and if she does...well it'll hurt."

A loud knock at the door interrupted Hannah's response. She watched as he opened the door to a woman that she had only seen in the papers. Molly Brown, the unsinkable Molly Brown according to the gazette.

"Hiya darlin!" Molly greeted, carrying a bottle of wine as well.

"Molly, welcome! Come in. You didn't have to bring anything," Jack stepped aside to allow the older woman entrance.

"I always say, never come to a dinner party empty-handed. This is no exception," Molly chuckled.

"You're alone, I see."

"Yes. I decided it was for the best. Rose and Ruth are not getting along very well at the moment. We thought it was best for me to come alone and them two eat out and try to keep it civil."

Jack frowned at this. "Please tell me that they're fighting because Rose remembers how horrible her mother was."

Molly chuckled and patted Jack's cheek. "Now that's not something you should worry about, sonny. Rose can handle Ruth, you know that. Tonight, I am here to finally meet your Hannah."

"Right," Jack nodded, taking the wine from Molly and turning to introduce Hannah. "Hannah, this is Molly Brown. Molly, this is Hannah, the woman I hope to marry once we get Rose settled."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Brown. I've heard a lot about you, from both Jack and the papers," Hannah held her hand out with a small smile, knowing that the woman was more suspicious than welcoming of her presence in Jack's life.

"All good things I hope," Molly accepted the offered hand.

"Of course."

"Dinner is ready," Lisa appeared in the doorway.

"Let's go sit," Jack led the way into the dining room.

The women followed Jack into the dining room. Weaver was at the head, with Jack sitting next to Hannah on one side and Molly sat next to Lisa on the other. After saying grace, they all ate in silence. It was during dessert when Molly decided to start asking questions.

"So Hannah, how long have you known Jack, here?" Molly questioned, taking a sip of her tea that Lisa had sat before her.

"Ever since we were children. We were friends. I was so sad when his parents died and he had left town. I was afraid that I would never see him again."

"Then he shows back up about seven years later, yeah?" Molly asked.

"Yes. With his beautiful daughter and cousins. I began stopping by often and helped with baby Cora. I fell in love with her right away and not long after, I found that I had fallen for Jack as well. Of course, it wasn't hard to do. Jack is a very easy person to love," Hannah smiled at Jack, taking his hand in hers.

Molly tried not to wince as the couple looked at one another, seemingly two people in love with only each other. Molly, of course, knew better. She knew that Jack loved Rose as well. "I take it that he told you about his wife and of Titanic of course."

"Yes, he had. He told me all of it. It was so sad and I felt for him, having to go through all of that and losing the woman he had fought so hard for. He also told me when Rose came back without her memory. I feel so bad for her. I couldn't imagine what I'd do if I lost my memory and found out that I had left a husband and daughter behind. Hopefully, she'll be able to rebuild her motherly bond with Cora. Such a beautiful baby needs her momma. I mean, I treat the child as if she was my own, but I think there's something special between a child and her birth mother, a bond that no one can replace."

"It is a hard situation for them both, I believe. Tell me, aren't you concerned? I mean, technically Jack and Rose are still married and there has been no closure between the two. Aren't you worried that he could go back to her?"

"Molly," Jack frowned.

"No, Jack. It's a fair question. I want to answer it."

"You shouldn't have to."

"I want to. It's okay," Hannah gave his hand a supportive squeeze before turning back to Molly. "I trust Jack. I am secure in his love for me. Of course, if he wanted to return to his marriage with Rose, I wouldn't fight him on it. I'd step aside. But as you can see, he has no intention of returning to the marriage. Of course, he still cares for Rose. She is the mother of his child and they had gone through a hollowing ordeal together which gives them an unbreakable bond. But the marriage part, for Jack, that has been over for quite some time now and he's shown that he's wanting to move on. With me."

"I see," Molly looked at the pair, observing them, looking for any cracks in the union. She saw plenty, but she wasn't going to point them out. If Jack didn't see them for himself, he soon will, especially if he kept in contact with Rose.

"Of course, this doesn't mean that he's going to abandon Rose. He hopes that a friendship can be maintained. We both do. We both care about her and want to help her in any way we can. I'm not the enemy here."

"I never said that you were, darlin. I am just hoping that you both know what you're doing here. This situation, it is a very unusual one. Two women and one guy."

"Well the guy has made his choice," Jack kissed Hannah's hand and smiled at Molly. "I am happy with Hannah, now. Rose understands that. You should too."

"I do. I understand a lot. I wish you both the best. I really do."

One hour later, Jack stood on the porch saying goodbye to Molly. He was pretty satisfied with how the night had gone. Molly saw him with Hannah and saw that he had truly moved on and was happy.

"So? What's the verdict?" Jack asked with a happy smile.

Molly took his hand and gave a warm smile of her own. She had seen a couple that could be good for each other, that may even be in love if things weren't what they were. But something was missing, something that she only saw in Jack when he was with Rose. It made her sad that if Jack didn't realize what he was doing, she'll never see it in him again.

"She's a good girl. I like her. I am glad that she was able to pull you out of that depression that Rose's disappearance had pushed you into. She's good for you and Cora."

"There's a but in there, isn't there?"

Molly shook her head. "I have nothing else to say. Just that I know that you'll do the right thing in the end. I'll stop by again tomorrow. Perhaps with Rose. I'm sure she can use a break from Ruth and some time with Cora."

"That would be good, Molly. Thank you for all that you're doing for her. I know that it may seem like I don't care..."

"Darlin, it's more than obvious that you do. No one can accuse you of not caring. You're going above and beyond for Rose, despite the and b fact that you've moved on with your life."

"I wish there was a way so everyone could have what they want and be
happy."

"So do I, darlin. But there is only one Jack Dawson, unfortunately. Only one girl can get the guy. I just worry. I want you to be truly happy as well. Can you honestly be truly happy with Hannah?"

"Yes. It may not be as intense as what I had with Rose, but it's real. Hannah healed me and made me see that was capable of loving anyone again. She healed what had been broken and...I love her, Molly."

"But are you in love with her?"

"I just told you..."

Molly sighed with a sad smile. "You told me that you love her, not that you were in love with her. There is a difference. But if you say that you're happy, I'll accept it. I better get back to the boarding house now, before Ruth makes Rose take off again. I'll be by tomorrow kiddo. Thanks for the meal."

"Good night, Molly," Jack waved, standing in the doorway and watching the older woman disappear into the night.