Chapter Thirty Seven: Complicated by Avril Levigne

"Are you nervous?" Jack asked, propping himself up in the bed.

Rose was walking around, getting dressed for the day. "A little," she admitted. Today was the day of the court case. Ruth had refused to withdraw her request, so Rose was going to court to testify. "You're going to have to get up soon if we're going to be there on time."

"I know," said Jack. "It takes me like five minutes to get ready."

"It would really give me some peace of mind if you could do it now," said Rose. She was standing in front of the mirror putting on her makeup.

Jack nodded and stood up. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Thanks," said Rose with a smile.

Jack wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. "You look beautiful."

Rose turned her head and locked lips with him before he climbed out the window and up the fire escape. He returned a few minutes later, and Rose was dressed. She had her hair straightened and curled, makeup done, and dressed in a black dress and flats. She looked up at Jack, who was wearing a light blue button down and khakis, and smiled. "My god you're hot."

Jack laughed and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly. "You look beautiful."

"Am I wearing too much makeup? Because the last thing I want is to look like a hoe," said Rose. "And should I be wearing heels or wedges?"

"Rose, listen to me," said Jack. "You look beautiful."

She finally stopped and smiled at him. "Thanks."

"Are you ready to go?" Jack asked.

Rose nodded. "I'm scared."

"They have to listen to you. They do," said Jack. "And no matter what happens, six months from now, we'll be eighteen years old. We'll be able to do whatever we want."

Rose turned her head a little and looked like she was deep in thought. "What?" Jack asked.

She shook her head and snapped out of it. "Nothing," she said, taking his hand. "Let's go."

They went to the courthouse, and Jack hugged her. "I'll be here the whole time."

Rose nodded. Jack sat down in the back row of a nearly-empty courthouse, and Ruth and her attorney sat at the other table. Rose looked at her and then turned to her lawyer. "Why does she want custody of me?"

"From what I gather, she's trying to protect the family reputation," said the lawyer.

Rose shook her head. "That's not why."

"Then what is it?" The lawyer asked, his ears perking up.

"She wants Dad's money," said Rose quietly, looking at the woman she once knew. "She knows I have it, and she knows that I don't have access to most of it until I turn eighteen. That gives her six months to get it back from me."

"How do you know?"

"Because she was trained in education, but she never taught," said Rose. "She always told me teaching was for women with money problems. Why else would she show up now?"

"Listen, it doesn't matter. Because if you say what we discussed, they won't force you to live with her."

Rose nodded. "Let's just get this over with."

The judge entered the room, and both lawyers spoke for a moment before they let Rose speak.

"Any child's worst nightmare is when their parents aren't there anymore, and they are all alone. For most children, they can wake up and find their parents with them. However, that wasn't the case for me. My mother left me when I was eight years old, and my father passed away when I was fifteen. I had nothing and no one. Thanks to Molly Brown and Thomas Andrews and my new family, I am happier and healthier than I have ever been.

"To send me back into my mother's house would be an emotional death sentence. I don't trust her, I don't respect her, and if I had it my way, I would never see her again. Please don't send me back there."

She sat down, and she turned to see Molly and Jack sitting in the back row. She wanted this all to be over. She wanted to just feel Jack's arms wrapped around her and melt into him.

Finally, the judge got up to make a ruling. "We have decided that it is in Rose DeWitt Bukater's best interest to remain at Union Square Group Home until her eighteenth birthday, at which point she'll become an adult." He slammed his gavel, and Rose covered her face with her hands. She was so relieved that the judge listened.

The judge left, and so did Ruth and her lawyer. Everyone had cleared out, except for Jack. He walked up to Rose and touched her shoulder. "Rose, baby," Jack whispered.

Rose looked up and smiled. She wiped her tears and wrapped her arms tightly around him. "Everything's okay now," Rose whispered.

"Yes, it is," Jack whispered.

Rose kissed his cheek and walked over to the lawyer. "Thank you so much for everything."

"Of course," said the lawyer. "Good luck with everything, Rose."

Jack walked over to her. "Ready to go home?"

"Ready," said Rose. They left the courthouse and started walking home. "I'm going to call the building tomorrow and set up a time to look at the apartment."

"Where is it?" Jack asked.

"Just a few blocks from the home," said Rose. "I decorated it myself. And at the time, I had no sense of money or anything. I mean you should see this apartment."

Jack smiled. "I'm excited."

Rose looked at him and smiled. "I wonder if we could just stop by."

"We can try," said Jack. "Do you want to?"

Rose smiled and nodded. They walked to the building and Rose went to the doorman's desk. "Hi, I'm Rose DeWitt Bukater. I own apartment 4D and I was wondering if I could take a look."

"Do you have a key?" The doorman asked.

"No," said Rose. "The apartment was left to me by my father, and I'm seventeen, so I'm going to be moving in when I turn eighteen."

"Okay," said the doorman. He sighed. "The real estate agent for the building is here, and I can ask him to take you up."

"Thank you so much," said Rose.

"Have a seat while you wait," he said, motioning to the couch.

Rose walked back over to Jack and sat next to him on the couch. "Well?" He asked.

"They're going to take us up," said Rose. "What do you think of the building so far?"

"Beautiful lobby," said Jack. "It's nice but not over the top. I like it a lot."

"So do I," said Rose.

"Hi, I'm Jeffrey," said the real estate agent. "You must be Rose DeWitt Bukater."

"Yes," said Rose. "This is Jack Dawson."

"Nice to meet you both," said Jeffrey. "I can take you upstairs."

They went upstairs in the elevator and were shown into the apartment. "It's exactly the same," Rose said quietly, looking around.

"Feel free to look around," said Jeffrey.

"Thanks," said Jack.

Rose took Jack's hand and they walked around the apartment. "You mean to tell me you designed this at fourteen years old?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," said Rose. She watched as Jack looked around. The first thing they saw was a long dining room table that had a leather booth on one side, and chairs on the other. The kitchen was medium sized (they would both easily be able to be in there at the same time), and it had an island with two leather-topped barstools. The living room had a large L shaped couch with a large short coffee and a large flat screen TV. "Those doors open up to a small balcony?"

"Wow." They continued walking around. The next room was a room with a king size bed and a pink blanket. "This is where our child would sleep?" Jack said quietly in Rose's ear.

Rose smiled. "Yeah." She gave him a quick kiss.

"Was this your room?" Jack asked.

Rose shook her head. "This room wasn't used. My dad gave me the master, and he took the bedroom next-door."

They walked through a Jack-and-Jill bathroom to the next room. "This was my dad's room. He wanted it because it had the best TV."

Jack smiled, and they left the room and went next-door. "This would be ours," said Rose.

Jack let go of her hand and walked around. "I'd have the big closet," said Jack jokingly.

"Yes, with your two shirts and three pairs of jeans," said Rose.

He continued walking, looking at the large bathroom with two sinks, shower, and large bathtub. "That bathtub has those cool jacuzzi jets. It's incredible."

Jack looked at Rose with wide eyes. "Oh…" Rose looked down and smiled. "What's this?"

Rose walked over to the bathroom. "That heats up the floor. So in the morning you don't have to walk on the cold marble."

"Nice," said Jack. He gave the room another look. There was a large bed, with hanging lights over the bedside tables. "Which side do you want?"

Rose smiled. "Whichever."

"Oh, come on," said Jack. "I know you have opinions about these things."

"My god do you know me well," said Rose. "I'll take the right side facing the bed."

"Okay," said Jack. "What's this?" He asked, pointing to the footboard.

"Watch this," said Rose. She picked up a small iPad and clicked a few buttons, and then a TV started coming out of the footboard.

"Wow."

They continued looking around the apartment. "What do you think, babe?" Rose asked.

"I love it," said Jack. "I really do."

"Good," said Rose. They went back outside.

"Do you want to see the amenities?" Jeffrey asked.

Rose looked at Jack, and they both nodded. "Absolutely," said Rose.

They looked around. There was a gym and a lounge area, as well as a roof, which had large sitting areas and barbecues. "The nicest thing about the roof is there's a private area. So if you wanted to have a party, you could book it for free."

"That's amazing," said Jack.

They took a last look around before leaving. "So you really like it?"

Jack turned and looked at Rose. "Oh my god. It's a beautiful apartment."

"I'm glad," said Rose. "We have our home."

"That's not my home," said Jack. They stopped walking, and Jack looked at Rose. "Home doesn't have to be a place. It can be a person."

"Well, you're my home," said Rose.

"You're mine," said Jack. He leaned in and kissed her.

Rose wrapped her arms around his as they continued walking. "I love you," she whispered.

Jack looked down at her and kissed the top of her head. "I love you too."