The next morning, Isadora came over alone to visit Grace and Rose.

"Will Theo or Myles be joining us at some point?" Grace asked as she sat in one of the chairs in the living room after letting Isadora in.

Isadora shrugged. "I'm not sure. I haven't spoken to Theo for a few days, and Myles says his dad will need help with some of their crops, but also that he'd try to get away when he could," she told the girls.

"Ah, figures," Grace said, nodding.

"Also, Grace, Myles and I want to say we're extremely sorry for any harm we caused by bringing that man up yesterday. We didn't know what it was about, and we didn't want to upset you," Isadora said.

"I told her all of that. And the promise Myles made, about protecting Grace if he ever came back," Rose spoke up.

Isadora nodded, smiling at Rose. "We mean it, Grace. Both about the apology, and the protection," she said. "We will be your own royal guard." She giggled, making Grace and Rose giggle as well, because Isadora just seemed to have that effect on people.

After the giggles died down, Grace let a sad smile stay on her face. "I don't think he'll require as much as a royal guard," she said, her gaze falling downwards. "He's not…" she thought for a moment before continuing, "He's not dangerous. Anyways, can we talk about something else?"

Isadora gave a small nod, looking a little unsure. "Alright. Uh… oh, yesterday I met a boy my sister is interested in. He came to dinner with my family, and to ask my father about courting her," she said.

"Oh, what was he like?" Rose asked, and Grace knew she was only asking in an attempt to carry on the conversation.

"He seems nice enough. His name is Eric. He's from Sweden, I think it was. Father allowed it," Isadora explained briefly.

Grace's mouth fell open. "Eric? From- from Sweden?" she asked for clarification.

Isadora nodded. "Yeah. Do you know him?" she questioned curiously.

"I, uh, may have briefly run into him at some point…" Grace said, her mind wandering back to the previous afternoon when he had found her in the park and kissed her. She had to stop letting that happen. It had only led her to trouble.

"Oh, really? He's kind, isn't he?" Isadora said pleasantly, and Grace knew she had decided to ignore the obvious signs of discomfort Grace was showing.

"Uh, yeah. Very kind," Grace replied. She took a deep breath, restoring her face to normal. She could think about what to do surrounding the unfaithfulness Eric had shown later. She had already bugged Rose and Isadora with the other vague troubles she had gotten herself into; she didn't need to bug them with this too.

"Do the two of you have any plans today?" Isadora questioned, once again the saving grace that moved the conversation along.

Grace glanced quickly at Rose. "I haven't actually brought this up yet, but I thought it might be a good day to really show Rose around town. She's been around parts of it, but if we'll be staying here for a while, it's best she learns her way around sooner than later," Grace said. "Would you be up for that, Rose?"

"Yes, I think that would be a fine way to spend the afternoon," Rose said, smiling.

"We could go now, even. There's nothing keeping us here for longer," Grace suggested. Rose nodded, standing up. "Isadora, would you care to join us?" Grace asked her friend.

"Sure. It's a nice day out, I think it should be fun to go for a walk," Isadora agreed, also standing from the couch she had been seated on.

The three girls had barely made it out of the door when they ran into a familiar face.

"Theodore!" Grace exclaimed, grinning at the boy. "What are you doing here?"

Theodore shrugged, smiling back at Grace. "Just came to visit," he answered with a shrug. "Didn't end up having much to do today, so I came down here."

"Have you seen Myles?" Isadora questioned. Grace could hear the tiniest bit of worry had found its way into Isadora's voice, which Grace found strange. Why should Isadora be worried for Myles, if she knew what he was doing?

"Oh, yeah. Saw him before I came over here. Wanted to see if he knew where you were, or if he was with you. He's working with his dad, out in their field," Theodore explained.

Isadora smiled. "Thanks," she said.

"So, what are you three up to now?" Theodore asked.

"Going for a walk," Grace answered. "I wanted to show Rose around a bit better. We really haven't been anywhere, and I believe if she's going to be living in this town, she should know her way around."

"Sounds like a fine idea. Mind if I join you?" Theodore said.

"Of course not," Rose said, smiling at the boy.

The group of four set out on their walk, and Theodore, Isadora, and Grace pointed things out to Rose as they passed. Grace even learned of a few new things that had come up in the years since her departure, and of course was completely re-acquaintanced with the town she had roamed freely as a child.

"There's Isadora's house," Theodore said, pointing to a home to their left. "Oh look, her sister is home."

Isadora nodded, giving a small wave to her sister, who walked over to their group. "Faith, hi," she said, smiling.

Faith looked so similar to Isadora it was almost creepy. She had the same small nose, dark brown hair, and clear blue eyes that made up Isadora's face. Where she differed, however, was in her height, which was just a bit shorter than Isadora and Grace, and the overall structure of her face, which was more defined than Isadora, who had a rounder face.

"Hi, Isa," Faith said, grinning at her little sister. "Are you out for a walk?"

"Yeah," Isadora said. "Oh, Faith, that reminds me… this is Rose. Remember, I told you a bit about her?" she said, having pulled Rose to the front of their little group.

Faith smiled at Rose. "It's nice to meet you, Rose. I'm Faith, Isadora's older sister," she introduced.

Rose smiled pleasantly back. "It's nice to meet you as well," she said.

"Oh, and Grace, I'm happy you're back. I'm glad you finally came home," Faith told Grace, turning to her.

Grace smiled back, trying her best to hide the discomfort she felt. She had just kissed the boy courting this girl. Faith had no reason to be nice to Grace, and Grace should probably warn her of an unfaithful man. But Grace just couldn't bring herself to speak about it. So instead, she said, "It was bound to happen sometime." Grace didn't know if that was the truth.

"I will let you all get back to your walk. Isadora, I'll see you this evening," Faith said, heading for her house.

Isadora nodded, watching her walk away. "Come on," she then said, leading the group away from her home, "let's walk to Lake Wissota."

They began heading down a road to the park in which Lake Wissota was, and Grace hurried past the part where she had met Eric yesterday. She just wanted that boy out of her mind for good at that point.

Rose, Isadora, Theodore, and Grace made it up to the lake, hovering a few feet away from it.

"So, Rose, like it?" Grace asked casually. She could see in Rose's eyes what she was picturing, as if Grace was seeing Rose watch Jack fall through the ice into that lake, but with a darker twist at the end.

Rose looked down, shutting her eyes.

Grace bit her lip, brushing past Theodore to stand next to Rose. She then took the girl's hand, and Rose looked up and into Grace's eyes. Grace could see the tears blossoming in Rose's eyes, the absolute sorrow and melancholy that they held.

"Grace…" Rose said softly. "What he- what he said about this lake, and falling into it… the thousand knives… is that… is that what he felt? In those last moments… did he have to suffer?" Tears were now streaming down Rose's face, and Grace could feel them swell in her own eyes.

"I don't know, Rose," Grace said softly, trying her best to keep her voice smooth. "I don't know what he felt in those last moments. I hope it wasn't…. But I don't know." Grace took a deep breath, thinking of the words that had circled around her mind for the past month since the sinking. "I do know… I know that he would be so, so happy that we made it. And he wouldn't want us to mourn him forever. He would want us to… to move on, and have a life filled with happiness and love and friendship.

And that's so hard to do, Rose, I know. I've been trying to think of that for the past two weeks and I still am not succeeding. But I think we have to try, because that's what he would tell us to do if he could talk to us again," Grace finished. She didn't even realize she was crying until she went to move hair from her face and felt the wetness of her cheek.

And then Grace and Rose were hugging, letting themselves cry together while Isadora and Theodore stood somewhat awkwardly to the side.

"I'm sorry, I'm being so foolish," Rose said, pulling out of the hug and wiping her face off with her hand. "He was your brother, I knew him only a few days…"

"No, Rose," Grace said firmly but sadly. "Your emotions are valid. Don't feel bad for being sad. He was wonderful, and everyone should be sad about him. But just… let's promise ourselves this, okay? This is the last time we have a complete breakdown over Jack. We have to move on at some point, so why not try to start now?"

Rose let her hands fall to her sides. She nodded. "Alright," she agreed.

"Good," Grace said, taking a deep breath. "Come on, let's keep walking."

Grace and Rose walked ahead to where Isadora dn Theodore stood. Grace flashed a small and sad smile at Theodore to let him know they were okay now, and then the four continued on their walk.

Grace, Theodore, and Isadora pointed out all of the shops, saying what they were and who owned them.

"So, what do you think, Rose?" Grace asked as the four sat at a table outside of a restaurant, having decided to stop there for lunch. "I know it's not Philadelphia, but it's pretty nice nonetheless, right?"

Rose smiled happily. "It's quite a charming town," she said. "I never liked Philadelphia much anyways. The town itself was fine, but the people…" Rose shuddered, and Grace could easily guess she was thinking of Cal and Ruth. "The people here seem much more kind and welcoming."

"Most of them at least," Theodore muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Rose questioned, looking across the table at the boy.

"Nothing," Theodore replied, and then looked knowingly at Grace.

Grace thought of the girls who lived in the next town over, the ones who had been friends with Eleanor. All three were sisters, and Grace was sure Eleanor had mentioned that they were cousins of hers at some point. That was probably why they had spent so much time in Chippewa Falls as children.

After they had their lunch, Isadora, Rose, Theodore and Grace decided to just go back to the Dawson house and spend yet another afternoon there. Grace was having a conversation with Theodore while Rose and Isadora talked, neither duo looking where they were going, so it was little surprise that one of them bumped into someone.

"I'm so sorry, sir. I-" Grace said quickly, moving away from the man who had his back turned to the group. But then he turned around, and Grace thought she was dead. She had to be, or else her dead brother wouldn't be standing right in front of her.

"Grace?" Jack asked, his eyes wide.

"Jack?" Grace replied, a million emotions flooding through her at once. She wanted to scream, cry, and laugh out of a mixture of happiness, confusion, and surprise. "Oh my god, you're okay!" she cried, and then wrapped her arms around him in the tightest hug she had ever given anyone.

Jack hugged her right back, picking her up off her feet for a moment even. He hadn't felt this happy in months, not since before the Titanic had struck the iceberg.

Grace had tears in her eyes when their hug ended, and she tried her best to wipe them away. "We thought you had died, Rose and I. We… how did you get out of there? What happened to you?" she questioned, just now noticing that Jack looked even thinner than he had before the pair had boarded the Titanic.

"I could ask you the same thing, Gracie," Jack replied, looking at his little sister. "And.. Rose is here?"

Grace nodded happily, and moved aside so Rose could step forward and be in front of Jack.

"Jack…" Rose said slowly. She had tears already down her face.

"Hi, Rosie," Jack said softly, taking in Rose again. Her hair wasn't done up in the fancy hairstyles it had worn before, her dresses weren't fit for royalty anymore, but she still looked just as, if not more, beautiful as she had the last time Jack had seen her.

"Oh, I'm so happy you're alive!" Rose exclaimed, throwing her arms around Jack's neck and hugging him close to her.

"I told you I'm a survivor, didn't I?" Jack said, stroking Rose's hair.

Rose pulled away from the hug and nodded, then began using her wrist to wipe the tears out of her eyes.

Grace took a few deep breaths in an attempt to get her feelings back on track and think logically. Both she and Jack needed explanations from each other, and it probably shouldn't happen in the middle of town.

"I think we should go back to our house. We can talk about the past month there," Grace suggested to their group.

"Have you been staying at our old house?" Jack questioned, looking at Grace, who nodded.

"I think that's a good idea, Grace," Theodore spoke up. "Maybe we can get Myles on the way, if he's done helping his dad."

"His dad might let him go even if they're not done," Isadora pointed out. "I mean, Jack's back."

"Yeah," Theodore agreed. "So, we're going back to the Dawson's place?"

Grace nodded, a smile forming on her face. Maybe this was a dream, she thought, but at least it was a good one. She wasn't watching the Titanic sink beneath the sea in this one, and was instead meeting her dead brother.

They were able to pick up Myles along the way, and soon enough all six of them were inside the Dawon house, seated on various pieces of furniture.

"So, who wants to go first?" Theodore questioned, looking between Jack and Grace.

Grace bit her lip, taking in a deep breath through her nose. She hadn't wanted to do this for a while, but now seemed like the right time. She needed to tell the full story of her time on the Titanic.

She took one final deep breath before speaking. "I think we should start from the beginning," Grace said. "I can tell things from my point of view, and so can Jack and Rose, if they're comfortable with it. Are you?"

Jack met Grace's eyes, looking into them. And then he nodded. Rose watched him, and then agreed with a quiet "yes".

"Jack and I were in a pub. He was playing poker with some Swedish men, and they bet tickets for the Titanic," Grace began.

From there, Jack, Grace, and Rose went into all of the details they could remember about the doomed ship, from the smell of the bed sheets to the feeling of the cold suffocating their lungs. There were many tears spilt, and it took nearly four hours to get to where Grace and Rose met on the Carpathia.

"I'm so sorry any of you had to go through that," Myles said, looking at the three of his friends that had been on the Titanic.

"I wish I could have been there to help," Isadora said. The tears she had in her eyes from hearing the story made them look like sparkling blue kaleidoscopes.

"You didn't want to be there, trust me," Rose said.

"Rose is right. It was nice knowing I could have helped some people, but all I felt was fear that whole time. I never want to be in that kind of situation again," Grace said.

"Yeah," Jack said. "Especially being handcuffed while the water filled up the room… it's not a night I would like to relive."

Jack, Grace, and Rose had made it through the most action packed part of the Titanic, but, there was still the matter of what had happened to Jack, and where he had been for the past month.

"What happened to you in that icy water, Jack?" Grace asked her brother.

"I don't remember much," Jack replied truthfully. "I found a table floating around in the water, and was able to balance on that until a lifeboat found me. There was another man on there too, and he was rescued as well. After that, I spent the time on the Carpathia in the medical ward. I was passed out for most of it, and they never got to get my name. When I finally read a list and didn't see your names on it, I figured it would do no good to put mine on there. There was no Tommy or Fabrizio either, and no one else knew I was even on board. I also decided if I didn't put my name, your mother or Cal could never find me," Jack said, talking to Rose in the last sentence. "So, Gracie, why did you and Rose not have your names on that list?"

Grace looked at Rose, wondering if she wanted to go first. When Rose didn't speak, Grace decided she could talk first. "I put my name as Grace Ryan. I had just watched Tommy… and I wanted to just honor him a bit. I assumed you were dead, Jack, and I had seen Fabrizio die too, so the only person who was on the ship that I knew was Rose, and she was with me," she explained.

"My name is Rose Dawson," Rose said. "We must have had the same reasoning with my mother and Cal. Neither would ever suspect I take your last name."

Jack looked at Rose in an air of almost disbelief. "I saw that name when looking for Grace's. I almost got my hopes up, but I couldn't find you anywhere, so I decided it must be just a common name," he confessed.

Grace could see in Rose's eyes that she wished she had kept her name as Dewitt-Bukater, even if it meant Cal and Ruth finding her, because then Jack would have found her too.

"What happened after we docked in New York?" questioned Jack, looking at Rose when he spoke. "What happened to Lilly and Viola?"

"We stayed in a hotel for a few nights. Rose found… she found money in Cal's coat, and we used it to get the room, some clothes for the four of us, and train tickets here. Then we gave the girls to Carl and Jane Smith, because they had always wanted children. And Rose and I have been here alone since," Grace said. "What happened to you, Jack? Where have you been for the past month?"

"New York," Jack answered. "I had nothing when I got off of the Carpathia. No money, no portfolio, nothing. I slept on a bench outside, and was able to get a job at a factory. The pay was terrible, but I was able to earn enough to get a train ticket back here. I was hoping the house would still be up, or at least someone would be kind enough to take me in," he finished.

"Then you found us," Rose added, smiling at Jack.

"Jack, do you have a portfolio yet?" Grace asked suddenly.

"No," Jack answered, looking unsurely at Grace.

"Let's get you one. We still have some of Cal's money, and that portfolio meant everything to you," Grace suggested.

"You might have to wait until tomorrow," Theodore spoke up.

"Why?" Grace questioned.

"It's starting to get dark." Theodore pointed to the window, which confirmed his words. The sun was beginning to sink beneath the ground, and it would be fully dark by the time they reached any shops.

"Has it really been that long?" Rose questioned, looking curiously at the window.

"It is quite a long story to tell," Grace said, although she couldn't believe it was getting dark either.

"I should probably be getting home before anyone starts to worry about me," Isadora said, standing up.

"I'll walk you," Myles said, also jumping to his feet.

"Are you coming, Theo?" Isadora asked.

Theodore shook his head. "I'll stay here a bit longer, if that's okay with the three of you," he said, glancing at Rose, Grace, and Jack for approval.

"Of course," Grace said.

"We'll see you soon," Myles said as he walked Isadora out of the door.

The four people left in the house ended up splitting into two groups, Theodore and Grace in the kitchen to make dinner and Jack and Rose talking in the living room.

"That story about the Titanic was really scary. I'm so glad you made it out of there," Theodore told Grace.

"Yeah. Me too," Grace agreed.

There was a moment of relative silence with only the sound of food preparation and Jack and Rose's soft conversation in their ears.

"Grace," Theodore began slowly. Grace looked at him, her blue eyes meeting his brown ones. "Do you think…" he sighed, looking at the girl in front of him. "Grace, I've loved you since we were kids. Before I even knew what love felt like. I missed you so much every day you were gone. And now you're back, and… well, I was wondering if we could try to be a couple," Theodore said.

Grace could tell Theodore had been nervous to speak, and now she realized why. As much as Grace wanted to agree, she knew she couldn't. At least not yet. "Look, Theo," she began. "I can't- I just can't be with you right now. In a few months maybe, but right now I just have too much going on."

Thedore looked down, his expression sad.

"I'm really sorry. I want to say yes, I really do. I can't right now," Grace told him, lifting his face up again with her fingers. "And also…" she leaned in closer, lowering her voice to a whisper. "You remember Isadora mentioning a boy Faith is seeing? I met him at the park yesterday, and he kissed me."

Theodore's eyes widened as he looked at Grace in disbelief. "Do you… do you like him?" he asked.

"No, no of course not," Grace replied.

"You should tell Faith," Theodore advised.

"She'll be mad at me."

"Stop her before she can get hurt."

"What if she doesn't believe me?"

"At least you tried."

Grace bit her lip, thinking about it. "Maybe I'll tell her. I'm not promising anything, and I don't know when."

"Better than nothing," Theodore replied. He looked at the floor again.

Grace looked sadly at him, her heart hurting. "I want to give you the answer you want. I really do. I just don't think that's possible right now. Give me a few months, and then I can. Let everything slow down, and I can give you that answer," Grace promised.

Theodore met Grace's eyes again, and could see that she meant the words she said. "Alright," he agreed.

"Good," Grace said, smiling.

After dinner, Theodore headed home, leaving Rose, Jack, and Grace to talk in the living room. After a while of this, Rose became tired and headed off to the room she had been sleeping in, and then Grace was alone with her brother.

"Jack," Grace began once Rose was out of earshot.

"Yes, Gracie?" Jack replied. He could hear that Grace's tone was serious and not happy like it had been a few minutes ago.

"Do you remember John?" she asked.

Jack studied Grace for a moment. "Of course I do. I can't forget about him after all that he put us- that he put you- through," Jack answered.

Grace took a deep breath. "Isadora told me that he came here. A while back I presume, but he came. He was looking for me."

"Gracie, if he ever comes back, I swear I will not let him touch you, or even see you," Jack told his sister.

"I'm not scared of him," Grace said darkly.

"Why did you bring him up then?" Jack questions.

Grace hesitated for a moment, wondering how to answer. "I'm not scared of him," she repeated. "I'm scared of her."