Author's Notes: I'm sorry that my updating recently has become so fragmented. I'm an educator who is now suddenly finding themselves working from home and teaching high schoolers, re-working all the lesson plans, and the lot is very time consuming! (Also, Animal Crossing: New Horizons came out, haha.) Anyway, now that distance learning has begun this week, I'm hoping that leaves me more time to find a solid updating schedule. Thank you to everyone for being patient, thank you for leaving reviews, and thank you, in general, for reading. Now, go wash your hands!

Chapter Nine

June 15th, 1922
Miles City, Montana

That night, Rose had several of the letters from Charlotte, the one's she was most fond of, skewed across the top of their bed. Jack was in the bathroom washing his face. Rose was sitting on the bed, criss-cross, in her nightgown as she simply hovered over the letters. Jack began dabbing his face with a nearby hand towel and gazed out the bathroom door at Rose.

"You really think we should tell her?" Jack asked as he flipped the light off and went to his side of the bed, gingerly laying his cane against the wall. He eased himself onto the bed beside Rose, "She's only eleven... and... it's a hard story," Jack said slowly, shaking his head as he recounted the first couple of days with Valentina. He had been so desperate to take Charlotte with him. He wished he hadn't allowed her to say no. He would be lying if he said he didn't think about her every day. Every time he looked at Valentina, he could see Charlotte.

"I think it's important," Rose told him softly, lifting her eyes from the letter. She had been tracing Adanna's rigid handwriting with her iris', "Think about what she said to you, Jack. This is a very pivotal moment for Valentina. She should know about what her own mother went through."

"Is that such a good idea right now?" Jack adjusted his pillows behind him and held his arms open, gesturing for Rose to lay against him. Without hesitation, Rose cuddled up to her husband, who held her protectively in his arms, "I agree with you, Rose; it's a pivotal time for Valentina. She's becoming more aware. We should've expected this, right?" Jack shrugged, "She's smart as hell. You've raised a brilliant little girl. But we also have to remember... she's a sensitive little girl, a self-conscious little girl... This has to be handled gently and honestly, I don't know if I'm ready."

"Why wouldn't you be?" Rose propped herself up on Jack's chest and gazed towards his eyes, "You're so good at talking to the kids. I need your support with this, Jack."

"She's going to need to be told about Charlotte one day," Jack nodded, "I just look at her eyes, Rose, and I see Charlotte. She's the absolute spitting image of her mother. It's going to be really hard for me to sit down and talk to her about it... it will just remind me of the woman I couldn't save."

"But we saved a piece of her," Rose said, reaching her hand up to graze his stubbly jaw, "We should sleep on it. But... I really think we're at that point, Jack. She knows we're not her real parents. It's our job to make sure she knows who they really are."

Jack grinned weakly and took Rose's hand into his, gently kissing her knuckles, "And she will, I promise you, Rose. But let's think about it. Please?"

Rose glanced back towards the letter strewn over their quilt before she looked back at Jack, nodding her head, "Alright... we'll think about it."

"Thank you," Jack said as he drew her back against him. He ran his calloused fingers along her silky skin and they sighed as they sank into their bed after a long day, "We'll tell her everything we know," Jack mumbled into her curls as he rest his cheek against her head, "We'll tell her where she got those beautiful brown eyes from. I promise."

...

June 16th, 1922
Miles City, Montana

Jack was up to his elbows in paperwork waiting for approval. It was absolute crunch time for the July edition. The cover still had yet to be decided on and it was due tomorrow at the end of business hours for the printer to have time to create and distribute them on time to grocery stores and marketplaces across America. He did everything in his power to focus on the work directly in front of him, but he was constantly ringing his mind back in and away from his children. Being a dad to two babies was tiring, but rather easy for Jack. Especially before his war injury hindered his physical ability. Being a father to two children on the edge of adolescence, however, was much more difficult. Between Charlie's stumbling social relationships and Valentina's acutely sensitive look on the world, Jack had a plateful with trying to nurture and encourage healthy habits for them, especially when he himself was working hard all day and eating only one or two square meals per day. Jack ran his hands through his messy blond hair, letting out an exasperate sigh as he scribbled his signature at the bottom of a page. His thoughts were interrupted, however, by a mug of piping hot coffee being set on his desk.

Jack looked up, his bold brows arched. Eleanor was standing there with a grin, her own mug of coffee, and letters tucked under her arm. She was wearing a light and dark green plaid dress with white trimming and a properly buttoned collar. On one of the collars, she had a broach shaped like a bumblebee attached to it. Her curly blonde hair was allowed free and the whisps fell over her shoulders without care.

"Oh," Jack blinked rapidly, "Thanks, Eleanor. This will definitely get me through the rest of the afternoon."

"Good," Eleanor said estatically, "Hopefully it will get you through these approval papers, too!" Eleanor took the letters from under her arm and set them gingerly on Jack's desk, "I already highlighted all of the official mumbo-jumbo for the accountants. Some important information that you'd probably need, too. All you need to do is sign at the bottom and we're a step closer to the July edition!"

Jack took the files into his hand and grinned when he saw Eleanor's work. He looked back to her with his bright blue eyes, "Wow, if I didn't know better, I'd say you've been in the magazine business for as long as I have. Thank you, Eleanor."

Eleanor felt her heart leap from Jack's praise. She couldn't help but grin ear-to-ear and pray her cheeks didn't flush to a rosy pink. Jack returned to his work of scribbling his name without a second thought. Eleanor got straight to work with filing finished papers to be archived in the June 1922 file. As she worked at the cabinet, she couldn't stop herself from continually glancing over her shoulder at her boss. She admired his tanned skin. She adored his boyishly layered blond hair, that seemed to do whatever it wanted. No matter what, it always looked nice on him and even gave him the epitome of youth despite being five years older than her. Eleanor's eyes glanced towards his broad defined shoulders, up his neck muscles, and along his jaw. He needed to shave, but Eleanor liked the rugged look on the man. She watched him in his intense focus as he continued sifting through papers, completely unaware of her staring. Eleanor wondered if he knew what kind of affect he had on women. Eleanor slipped one paper into the folder before she looked to Jack again. His dark brown eyebrows were stunningly contrasted from his light colored hair and eyes, which made him all the more handsome. The most attractive thing about him was his work ethic and, even more importantly, his devotion to being a father. Eleanor thought of Jack as her knight in shining armor, who saved her from the disgrace of moving back into her elderly parent's living room.

"Everything alright?" Jack asked, suddenly snapping Eleanor from her trance. He was looking at her now and she felt her body temperature rise.

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry," Eleanor shook her head, "I was just... thinking."

Jack grinned at her, making her face flush, "Thinkin' about what?"

Eleanor paused and lowered the files in her hand. No man had ever given the courtesy of asking what was on her mind or how she was feeling. Not even Benjamin. She had loved that man with every ounce of her being, but she was just beginning to understand how much better she could have had it being with a man like Jack. After a moment, she finally mustered a weak grin.

"I'm really happy to be working here, Jack."

"Good," Jack nodded, "We're glad to have you, Eleanor."

Jack returned to the workload on his desk. Eleanor turned back to continue filing. As she lifted another sheet to organize, she noticed her hands were shaking and her heart was thundering rapidly in her chest. She hadn't felt like this since she was in school. But she liked the feeling and only wanted to feel more from Jack Dawson.

...

Rose had successfully persuaded Valentina to take a nap, promising her that if she rested, she would be healthy enough to return to the world the next day. Charlie had spent nearly all day in his room. Rose had come and gone throughout the afternoon to check on him and bring him snacks in hopes of coaxing him out, but it was to no avail. The boy was busy sitting amongst his mess of a train collection, simply pondering, and making no progress at all. Rose managed to get a chapter done on her novel and finish her musings for the newspaper, all in good time to get started on dinner. She decided to make pork chops with a garden salad and an ear of corn for each plate. As the kitchen began to grow aromatic, she heard the front door open and she smiled. After a moment of shuffling, Jack came through the archway of the kitchen with the mail in his hand.

"Hey, pretty lady," He greeted. They pecked each other on the lips, "Need any help?"

Rose laughed airly, "You can help me by sitting down and resting."

Jack grinned and did as he was told, scraping a stool up to the island, "How was your day?" He asked as he began sifting through the mail.

Rose took a moment to flip the pork chops on the burner before turning to Jack and pondering the question, "Actually, it was pretty boring. Valentina's been napping and Charlie's just been playing with his trains."

"He didn't go out and ride his bike today?" Jack looked up from the mail.

"Nope," Rose began pulling out all the needed ingredients for the garden salad, "He didn't leave at all today to my knowledge," Rose had an armload of food in her hand that she cluttered onto the island opposite from Jack. She brushed a red curl from her face, "I'm having lunch with some mom-friend's tomorrow. Maybe I can get a play date set up for Charlie."

"That would be good," Jack agreed as he ripped an envelope open, "I don't want him hanging around with Ivan or Ross anymore."

Rose poured some salad greens into a large bowl, "It's amazing what a little boy will do to be accepted by his peers."

"I was in Charlie's shoes, too, y'know," Jack told her, "That's why I'm worried, Rose. One bad apple spoils the bunch. When I was ten, I was drinking and smoking, staying out all night, and doing any ol' dumb thing if it meant approval. Charlie needs new friends, just like I did."

"Well, I'm working on it," Rose grinned, glancing up from tossing the salad.

"And you're my hero because of it," Jack returned the smile. The couple fell into a content silence as Rose carried on with dinner and Jack worked on separating the mail.

...

A knock on Charlie's door made him turn his head from staring at nothing in particular and thinking about nothing specific. The chirp of the ciacadas made it through his open window as his mother came in, wearing her robe and letting her curls loose on her shoulders.

"Time for bed!" Rose announced with a grin, as if it was her favorite time of the day, "Get in your jammies, mister."

Charlie sighed as he went through the motions of getting into his pajamas. His mother stood at his bathroom door and made sure he washed his face and brushed his teeth. Finally, when he was getting settled into bed, Rose plopped down beside him, pulling the quilt up on his shoulders.

"Do you have to tuck me in every night?" Charlie asked as Rose adjusted his pillows.

"Of course I do," Rose grinned and even laughed lightly. Gently, she combed through Charlie's unruly wavy blond hair, "One of my favorite things to do is tuck you and your sister in. You used to love it when you were little, you know. You would beg me to read to you... to sing to you. Don't you remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," Charlie nodded.

"In fact, I remember your favorite song," Rose's smile got bigger, "We used to look out the window and sing it every night, sometimes even twice. I can sing it for you now-"

"That's alright-"

"Twinkle, twinkle little star," Rose began, "How I wonder what you are..."

"Mo-om," Charlie groaned.

"You loved that song!"

"Mom, nine year old boys don't like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

"Well, excuse me," Rose said, her smile never wavering, "I just can't keep up with the times, can I? You're just growing up so fast," She reached her hand out and grazed his round soft cheek, "Soon enough, you'll be a grown man and I won't get to tuck you into bed every night."

"You don't even have to do it anymore," Charlie told her, falling back into his pillows, "I can tuck myself in."

"Too bad," Rose gently teased, "I'll do it for as long as you live with me!"

In the next moment, her hands dove out and she began tickling Charlie rambunctiously. Charlie did his best to conceal his laughter, but as her slender fingers ran under his arms, he couldn't help but erupt into giggles, fighting against her to make her stop. Rose relished in the laughter of her child. There was no better feeling. His cheeks grew rosy and she finally stopped, giving Charlie a moment to catch his breath.

"Good night, sweetheart," Rose whispered, tenderly kissing his forehead through his bangs, "I'll see you tomorrow, alright? Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite."

"Night, Mom," Charlie said, settling back against his pillows.

Rose went to his bedroom door and paused, looking back towards her son beneath his mountain of quilts and pillows. She smiled lovingly at him before she flipped the lights off and left. Charlie was wide-awake, however, and found himself staring at the ceiling for the next hour. Slowly, he listened to the old creaky house become silent. Nobody was stirring. Charlie flipped the lamp on his nightstand on and in his bare feet, steathily snuck across his room to his bedroom door. He eased it open just an inch, knowing any further would result in a creaking noise. The house was dark and silent. All the bedroom doors were shut. Quickly, Charlie got dressed in a maroon button up and khaki pants and did his best to jam through his door without making a sound. He held his boots in his hands as he padded down the stairs silently.

Tonight's the night I take my summer back! Charlie thought to himself as he jammed his feet into his boots without bothering to unlace them, I'm gonna have fun this summer! I just have to win these boys over. I can do it. I'm a showsman!

Charlie walked through the dark house slowly, trying to consider what to take as an offering to the older boys in the park. He found a hunting knife but decided that was too lame. He assumed the boys each had their own pocket knife. He had been begging his parents for one for the last three birthdays but it had yet to show up amongst the sea of presents he received. Charlie made two laps through the first floor of the dark house and sighed, coming back to the dining room beside the entry foyer. He put his hands on his hips, feeling rather desperate. He paused, however, when he spied his father's coat slung over the back of a dining room chair. Hesitantly, Charlie reached into one of the pockets, but it was empty besides lint. Glancing up the stairs, Charlie reached into the other pocket and his hands met something that was cool to the touch. He lifted the content from the jacket and held it up to the moonlight bleeding through the curtains. It was a pack of cigarettes.

Charlie grinned. He had found his ticket to a summer of fun.