By the end of the afternoon, Jack and Rose ended up with five fish, ready to be descaled and cleaned. After much discussion, Rose and Jack decided to head back to Rose's place so Jack could show her how to prepare fresh fish with no distractions...well no extra distractions. Both Jack and Rose were distractions to each other, but they both were determined to keep their wits about themselves, despite the building desire between them.
"Okay, so we have the fish, what now?" Rose questioned, leading the way into the house.
"Well, first of all, before we get to the fish, we should warm ourselves up. We've spent a lot of time outdoors," Jack chuckled, shedding his heavy coat and gloves.
"Good idea. I'll make some hot chocolate, or would you prefer tea? I have both! I warn you, the tea is Earl Grey. Mother drinks nothing else," Rose chuckled, taking Jack's coat and hanging it up along with her own.
"Hot chocolate would be great," Jack walked over to the fireplace and began to place some logs inside so he could start a fire to heat the house up some.
Rose disappeared into the kitchen and began preparing the hot drinks after putting the fish they had caught in the icebox to stay cold and fresh. She still had no clue on how to prepare and cook them, but she was sure that Jack had that covered.
Five minutes later, Rose walked in with two steaming mugs in her hands and a relieved smile to see a roaring fire in the fireplace. "Thank god, warmth!"
"There's nothing better after a day of ice fishing than to settle in front of a roaring fire with hot chocolate," Jack chuckled, taking one of the offered cups.
"So, how do we prepare the fish? What sides do we serve with it?"
"We clean the fish first by scraping off the scales and cleaning out the insides and fileting it, and then we fry it. My ma used a cast-iron skillet for that and she used to serve it with stewed tomatoes, fried potatoes, and peas with a nice pie for dessert..."
Rose stared at him, feeling rather overwhelmed. "Jack...I can't cook all of that...I can barely cook now!"
"No problem. I'll show you. I've been making this since my return to Chippewa Falls."
"Is it hard?"
"Not at all," Jack reached over and took her hand in his, noting callouses on hands that used to be as smooth as silk. Rose was the same girl he had met on Titanic, yet she was so different as well. "You've come so far, Rose. Remember when you told me that your hands were made for work?"
Rose couldn't help but laugh. "God, I was so naive back then. You must have found me so...impossible. "
"Actually, I found you rather amazing. Not many first-class girls want to become moving picture actresses or wild pagan spirits," Jack chuckled at the memory. He remembered the moment he had fallen in love with Rose. It was the moment she had declared her dreams of being a dancer and an actress. At that moment, watching her in the sunlight, he had seen the fire inside her and somehow knew that if given the chance, Rose Dewitt Bukater would make all of her dreams come true.
"I have no idea what had gotten into me, that day."
"I think you were just being yourself. It was the first chance you had to do so without your mother and Cal there to scold you."
"That feels like a million years ago now. Back then, maybe I did want to be both of those things, but these days, my biggest dream is being Cora's mother. It's like I'm a totally different person now."
"We both are different people now, I think. You can't go through a disaster like Titanic and be completely changed."
Rose looked at him curiously. "And how have you changed? I know you must have...but how do you think you've changed?"
"I'm not so eager to travel anymore. I like being in one place. I like knowing the people I'm surrounded by. I like the comfort of being settled in one place and knowing what I'm going to do the next day and how I'm going to care for Cora. The certainty of small-town life. Sure, I still believe in making it count, but I want to have a home. A place that is mine, where I can grow a family like my parents had. Something to leave my children when the time comes..."
"You didn't want that on Titanic…?"
"Not really. You heard me at that first-class dinner. I have to admit, I had exaggerated what life on the road was like. Yeah, there was freedom to it, but it had some big drawbacks and it's not a life I would want for Cora."
"You are different. But you're still the same. You're still an artist, you're still kind and compassionate, and you're still...you," Rose sighed. "You still know who you are. I seem to just be finding out who I am, after all these years."
"That's not your fault, Rose. You had gone through a trauma. Your mind had to heal from that, but you're okay now, and now is indeed the time to find out who Rose Dawson really is. If I can go by what I've seen so far, she's one hell of a woman. Even more amazing than that seventeen-year-old girl I had met on Titanic."
"Do you really think so?"
"Of course. I mean...you've come so far, Rose. You've dealt with not only the sinking but memory loss and you're coming out of all of that stronger than ever before. I don't think anyone else would have been able to deal with it all the way you have."
"I didn't deal with it at all, Jack. I had lost my memory, nearly losing everything!"
"But you came back. You came back and you pulled it all back together and you dealt with the trauma and you dealt with the past and now, you're discovering not only who you really are, but you've become even stronger despite of it...maybe even more if you hadn't lost your memory at all. You're a lot stronger than I ever was. That's for sure."
Rose stared at Jack, not able to believe he had just said she was stronger than him. That was the farthest thing from the truth! "That's not true. You were stronger than I ever was, Jack. You didn't lose your mind like I had. You kept yourself together for not only yourself but for me and for Cora. I couldn't even hold it together for a full year."
"You came back. You came back to rebuild your bond with Cora, despite any and all obstacles there could have been. You never gave up on being Cora's mother, Rose."
"But I gave up on being your wife," Rose sighed, lowering her gaze from his, remembering the sobering reason why she had walked away from Jack the way she had.
"Rose..."
"I had let the guilt over Helga's death rule that decision. It made me decide to let you push me away and keep that wall up that was between us. I could have fought harder for you...but I didn't think that I deserved another chance to be with you. That after Helga's death, I deserved to lose you."
"I shouldn't have let you do it. I should have fought you harder on that, especially when you made it clear why you were walking away. Because what happened to Helga was not your fault. You did not deserve to lose me and what we had. I should have made you see that and fought for you and for us. I'm sorry that I didn't, because I love you, Rose. I've never stopped. I'm sorry that I listened to my head instead of my heart."
"I love you, too," Rose felt all of her anger and hurt finally melt away as she and Jack sat there, staring into each other's eyes.
All words melted away, all of them have been said before. Their faces inched closer and closer until their lips met in the familiar, heated kiss that conveyed more than words ever could. Everything became clear as clothes were shed and they both ended up on the floor in front of the roaring fire. Jack explored her with his mouth, licking and tasting every inch of exposed flesh as Rose's slender hands explored Jack, feeling as if this was their first time together, yet knowing that it wasn't. It gave her a giddy headiness that made her feel like that seventeen-year-old on a ship in the back seat of a car all over again.
They came together then, gasping each other's names between kisses and moans. They clung to each other desperately as they rode passionate waves of ecstasy that sent them soaring into worlds of their own. They came back down from their trip to the stars with feelings of love, desire, and most importantly, a feeling of finally coming home.