The next day found Jack sitting at the kitchen table, feeding his daughter breakfast as he thought about the impossible situation he found himself in. Never in his life had he thought that he'd be caught between two women like this. Rose and Hannah. They were both so different and at the same time, they had a lot in common. Each one had something special that just drew him in and refused to let go. But he could only be with one. The question was...was he brave enough to chance to be with Rose again, even when there was a chance she could lose her memory again? Could he ignore that fear and live a happy life with the woman he had been willing to die for, the woman that had given him his daughter? Or could he go for the one woman that had never broken his heart...the one that had healed it? The woman that had given him her heart, despite his past and the baggage of a small daughter?

He just didn't know what to do! He loved them both and didn't want to see either of them hurt, yet he knew that it was inevitable. One of them would have to be. He hated this, he really did. He would rather die than be the one to hurt either woman.

Sighing, he thought back two years ago on Titanic. That whole experience with Rose had been life-changing. He had fallen in love so fast...so deeply...so completely. He really had been willing to die for her. He still thought back to that night in the Renault, when they had made love for the first time. Jack had had plenty of girls before then...but never had it been like he had been with Rose. She had awakened something deep inside him. With her, he had discovered a deeper meaning to the act of making love. After that, he had wanted no one but her in such a way…

Then came Hannah. She had reawakened a part of him that he had thought died two years ago. She had shown him that he could love again...and that night in his room...the one and only time that they had made love...it really had been a healing experience. She had shown him that the act was still special. Maybe it wasn't as consuming and soul binding as it had been with Rose...but it was still special. She was still special.

They both were.

"Who would you want me to choose, Cora?" Jack gently stroked the girl's golden curls, wishing that the child could choose for him. "Who would be best for both of us?"

Cora didn't answer, but an insistent knock at the door answered for her.

Jack frowned. Who could that be at this time in the morning? He wasn't expecting anyone and to be honest, he was in no mood for company. He had too much on his mind to entertain anyone at such an early hour. Maybe if he didn't answer the door, they'd go away. Sometimes, simply ignoring them made people change their minds and leave.

"Are you going to get that?" Weaver entered the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door, not in the mood for company himself.

Kissing his daughter's nose, Jack got up and walked over to open the door to Molly, Ruth, and Rose. He blinked a few times as if he was having a hallucination.

"Ruth? Molly? Rose? You're here early, aren't you?" Jack rubbed the back of his neck, keeping his eyes off Rose, unable to look her in the eyes after what he had done the night before.

"We wanted to have breakfast with my granddaughter if that is okay," Ruth explained, seemingly unaware that Jack knew of the tension between herself and Rose.

"Well, she's in the kitchen...but I'd like to have a word with you, Ruth. Alone," Jack crossed his arms, deciding to confront Ruth about her behavior now. He was not going to allow the woman access to his daughter if she continued bullying Rose. Before Titanic, Rose never had anyone to stand up for her, not even Hockley. Well, things were different now, even if he and Rose were no longer a romantic couple! She was still his daughter's mother and would always mean something to him!

Stunned at the request, Ruth simply nodded and watched as Molly lead Rose into the kitchen and Jack motioned for her to join him in the foyer.

"May I ask what this is about?" Ruth faced Jack, feeling impatient to see her granddaughter.

"I ran across Rose in the park last night. She was in tears!"

Ruth sighed, taking off her gloves, seemingly uninterested in this confrontation. "Somehow, I am not surprised. Rose has always been melodramatic. She was always to make a big scene over nothing."

"Berating her because our marriage fell apart because of something out of her control and causing her distress is not nothing!"

Ruth blinked, taken aback. With the boy moving on with another woman, she had thought that he could have cared less about how she treated his soon to be former wife. "Pardon me?"

"You may think I could care less about how Rose feels or of her well being, you may think that it's none of my business, but let me assure you Mrs. Dewitt Bukater, you are wrong! I may not want to continue on with our marriage, but I still care about Rose! She is Cora's mother and I never want her to feel like she had on Titanic ever again! I never want her to feel like she has no other way out or that her life is over, just because her mother is being a horrible woman!"

"Why I never..."

"I know. You never had anyone stand up to you when it comes to Rose. It's understandable, really. But your days of terrorizing your daughter are long over. No matter the status of our relationship, I will always stand up for Rose, against you, Hockley, or anyone else! Look, I allowed you access to my daughter because I had thought you had changed. That you had mellowed out and was no longer that cruel, haughty woman on Titanic. I thought you were different. But if you're not...if you're the same woman that drove her daughter to jump back off the stern of a ship...well then I will have no choice but to forbid you from seeing Cora ever again. I will not have her exposed to such behavior. I will not have her in danger of being treated the same way Rose had! Do you understand me?!"

Speechless, Ruth simply nodded, not knowing what else she could say. She had never expected the boy to be this angry over her issues with Rose. It gave her pause.

"Look, I don't want to kick you out of Cora's life. I really don't. My own parents are gone and it'd be nice for Cora to have a grandmother. That's the reason why I allowed you to meet her when you showed up. Don't make me take that privilege away. Treat Rose with love and respect. You are her mother for goodness sake."

"Well said, Jack," Molly chimed in from the doorway leading into the kitchen. She had come out to see what was taking so long and had heard everything Jack had to say to the older woman. "Rose is in there wondering if you wanted Cora to have a banana. The child keeps asking for one."

"Okay. I'll go now. I think that I've made my point perfectly clear, haven't I Ruth?"

Ruth simply nodded. She watched Jack walk into the kitchen, leaving her alone with Molly, who just looked at her with grim satisfaction.

"Well, he told you," Molly snorted, folding her arms across her chest. Jack had just said all that Molly had wanted to say herself. It was a satisfying experience, but the satisfaction was short-lived as she saw the small smile suddenly appear on Ruth's lips.

"He certainly did," Ruth's smile grew bigger. "He was very angry and stern with me about Rose. He was very protective."

Molly signed warily. "Ruth...well of course he was. She is the mother of his daughter."

"And more than that. I don't think he would have been so angry if that was all she meant to him..."

Molly couldn't help to feel a little hopeful as well. After all, she had come upon Jack and Rose in a rather compromising position the night before...but she also knew that things were more complicated than that. Jack was more complicated. It wouldn't be wise for anyone to get their hopes up where Jack and Rose were concerned. "Don't read too much into it, Ruth. As I said, Rose is Cora's mother. Jack will always care about the girl, for that alone. It may not mean what you think it does..."

"Of course it does! He's still in love with my daughter, Molly! It is quite obvious! Hope is not lost after all!"

"Ruth, take my advice. Stay out of it. Let them work it out themselves..."

"Oh I plan to. I am just saying, Mr. Dawson is nowhere near over my daughter. That girl Hannah is just wasting her time. Mark my words, Molly."

Molly sighed, wishing that she could be as confident as Ruth. She wished that she could believe that Jack would end up making the right choice and put back together what was broken. That the kiss she had witnessed last night meant a reunion, but she knew better. Jack most likely was still mixed up about who he wanted. The future of Cora's family was still not set in stone.