Jack and Jacob return to the living room to find Rose sitting between the twins, both of her hands clasped in theirs as they waited their return. Rose looked at them, concerned. Did Jack help Jacob with his conflicted feelings? What had they talked about? She wanted to ask so badly, but didn't dare. It really was none of her business, but still...she couldn't help her curiosity.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, looking at them both.

"Everything is fine. I think Jacob and I have come to a understanding," Jack smiled, feeling satisfied with the agreement. He couldn't be Jacob's father. He got that. But he could be his friend, which was just as good at this point in his life.

"Yeah. We're going to be friends and get to know one another. I was afraid at first. I thought...that maybe I would have to forget father...but he assured me that I didn't have to. That I can have father and get to know him too," Jacob nodded, also feeling at peace with how things were.

"So you're not getting a new daddy?" Maxwell frowned, confused by all of this. He knew that he and Jacob didn't share a daddy, not really, but that had never mattered. But now, Jacob had a chance to have a chance to have daddy again, but Maxwell didn't and he didn't know how to feel about that.

"Technically, no. Daddy will always be Cal. But I do get a new friend. And I am sure that will extend towards you and Livvie as will, Max."

"Of course, if it's alright with you both and your mother," Jack agreed, his smile warm and genuine, showing that he was willing to get to know the twins as well. It didn't matter that they were Cal's. They were Rose's too and anyone of her bloodline was wonderful in his book.

"Is it mother?" Max and Livvie looked at her with wide eyes, not wanting to be left out of making a new friend. It had always been like this with the Hockley children. If Jacob did something, the twins automatically wanted to do it too. Rose still found it rather endearing that the twins looked up to their big brother so much. And Jacob, he was always ready to indulge them.

"I don't see why not," Rose chuckled, giving them each a peck on the cheek. "Well, I am certainly happy that is settled."

"So, are you guys hungry?" Jack asked, realizing that their trip must have been a long one. "I can make you something. Anything you want."

"Can we have caviar?" Olivia grinned.

"Yes! I love that on crackers!" Maxwell grinned.

Jack looked at Rose with arched eyebrows, trying to hold back his laughter. "I'm afraid that we're out of that one."

"I'm afraid that they both had inherited Cal's taste in food," Rose grimaced with a shake of her head, trying not to laugh herself.

"Yeah, I can't see how they can eat that crap," Jacob frowned, his distaste obvious.

"As I remember, your mom hates it as well," Jack winked.

Rose blushed and looked away, remembering that talk on the deck and the first class dinner, where all of her senses seemed to have been tuned in on the blue eyed artist that had saved her. They had been so young back then. Young and naive. She wondered how much Jack had changed over the years. She knew that she certainly had.

Jacob looked at Jack and Rose, sensing that there was something there. A memory. Perhaps a private memory. He was too afraid to ask. He didn't want to wander into private territory. Not yet anyway. "So how about some soup and sandwiches. I think we can all agree to that."

"Good idea. I have some ham and cheese and some tomato soup," Jack smiled, coming out of the memory. "I'll get started on it. You guys can make yourselves at home."

Rose's eyes widened at those words. At home. They weren't home! Not anymore! They had came here, expecting the house to be deserted and for Jacob to be the owner. But he wasn't the owner. Jack was, since he hadn't died. Which left them homeless. Of course, she could ask Jack if they could stay, but would he let them? Of course he would, but it would probably be wrong for her to ask...and inappropriate. They may share a son, but they weren't married. She couldn't ask if they could stay there...which left the question, where were they going to stay?

She watched Jack disappear into the kitchen, not noticing her son taking a seat next to his brother.

"Mother, one question. What do we do now? We don't have a place to stay anymore," Jacob spoke her worries.

Rose looked at her son, meeting his eyes head on. "I don't know..."

"Can't we just ask Mr. Jack if we can stay here?" Maxwell asked. He kind of liked Mr. Jack. He reminded him of Jacob, not because he looked like his big brother, but because there was a sense of kindness about him that Jacob had. Something that made him automatically trust him, because anyone like Jacob couldn't be mean and bad.

"He would let us, momma. He likes us," Olivia chimed in.

Jacob chuckled at that. He was sure that Jack did like all of them. But he was also sure that the main one he liked was their mother. He then paused and felt sad, because he just noticed something. Jack lived alone here. There was no wife and other kids and the way he looked at their mother...it seemed like he had never gotten over her. It made him feel sad and a little fearful, because if Jack could love someone so much that he never got over them, and he shared the same traits, was he in danger of doing the same thing? Falling so deep in love with a girl that she would be it for the rest of his life? He may have to talk to Jack about that. Find out why he had never moved on. Then again, for his mother, maybe Jack not moving on was a good thing. It's been years since his father's death and with him and the twins getting older...he didn't want her to be alone. He then pushed that thought of his head. He didn't know what their relationship would now be and perhaps the young love they had, was now faded to a pleasant friendship but nothing more. Who knew? He wasn't going to assume.

"I do think he'd let us stay if you asked," Jacob shrugged, sitting down in the living room chair.

"We'll see what happens after we eat something, okay?" Rose kissed both of the twins once more and smiled at Jacob. "So you really like him?"

Jacob nodded. "Yeah. He's nice and easy to talk to. I look forward to getting to know him better."

"Jack is a wonderful person. And I can't wait for him to see your work. You have a different style than his, but it's obvious that you have his talent for art. And he probably has so many stories to share with you. But I forbid spitting lessons. That's not exactly a habit that I want you to learn."

"Spitting lessons?"

Rose just laughed, another memory coming up. She just sat back, remembering the easy friendship that had came out of nowhere back then. Before they had been lovers, Jack had been her friend. It had been the first real friendship that she had ever had. She felt an ache in her heart when she thought of how short everything had been. Three days that had not lasted nowhere long enough.

"You had never gotten over him either, have you?" Jacob found himself asking.

"What?"

"Nothing," He quickly shook his head, deciding that he was reading too much. His mother was just reliving a nice memory. He shouldn't read so much into them the way he was doing. All he was probably sensing was nostalgia between his mother and Jack.

"Okay, it's all ready," Jack came out of the kitchen and carried a tray of food over to the round table that was just a few feet from the entrance to the kitchen. He sat the tray down and began putting everything in it's place.

"Everything smells delicious," Rose complimented, approaching the table, followed by Jacob and the twins. "You obviously know how to cook."

"Of course. You kind of have to know how when you live by yourself," Jack chuckled.

"So there's no Mrs. Dawson around here somewhere?" Olivia curiously asked.

Jack laughed. "No. It's just me. I never did find someone I liked enough to marry. There was only one girl, but...fate had other plans it seemed."

Olivia nearly swooned and nudged her mother, assuming that her mother had been that girl. "How romantic, is that?"

Maxwell rolled his eyes at his sister. It seemed that since they had reached their teens, his sister had developed this interest in all romantic things. She was such a girl in that aspect.

Rose simply just blushed, having a feeling that she was that girl as well, but she didn't want to confirm her daughter's daydreams. "Come along, it's time to sit down and eat. Not daydream, Livvie."

Jack arched a brow at Rose, not wanting to say it, but at that moment she reminded him of Ruth Dewitt Bukater. He chuckled and shook his head. "I remember a girl who also liked to daydream. I believe it was about living in a Garrett poor but free?"

"Jack!" Rose laughed, remembering and shaking her head. "You would remember that."

"Of course, I remember everything we've talked about. But I think my favorite daydream of yours was your declaration of being Isadora Duncan, a wild pagan spirit or a moving picture actress."

"My favorite had been the Santa Monica pier. I went there one time, but I was pregnant, so I didn't do all that we had talked about...but it was lovely," Rose sighed, taking a seat after the kids were settled.

"I am glad that you went, Rose. You at least saw it."

Rose couldn't help but think that it would have been even more lovely if he had been there with her. But he hadn't been and there was nothing that he could do to change that. She sighed, wondering what was with her. Soon, she'll be spiraling back into depression if she kept up thinking about what could have been instead of what is and what can be. Jack was here. Alive and talking to her. They could still go to the pier if it was that important, she was sure. They could do all kind of things together. They may not be the young adults that they once had been, full of dreams and possibilities. But they were still alive, and as far she could tell, they were still friends. It may be even better now that they were older and knew more about the world.

Watching her children dig in and enjoy the food, Rose watched Jack and found herself feeling more relaxed than she had felt in a good long time. She felt...safe. Just like she had felt on Titanic, when in his presence. How astonishing that hadn't changed after all this time.

...

The food was eaten and now Jacob and the twins were outside, tossing a ball to one another, deciding to give their mother some time alone with what was an old friend. All three of the kids sensed that there was alot that the two needed to talk about and hopefully their mother will broach the need for somewhere to stay.

"They're beautiful, Rose. All three them," Jack watched them play, a small yet sad smile curving his lips. Maxwell and Olivia, they're a perfect mixture of you and Cal."

"Just like Jacob is a perfect mixture of both of us. I can't wait until you see his artwork, Jack."

"It's amazing. I never thought of it as something that could be handed down to another person. But I'm glad it is. I feel like I had actually given something to the world now."

Rose smiled, thinking that his smile still lit up the world. "You still give a lot to the world, Jack. Just by smiling. That light is still there, you know."

"So is that fire. It never died out. It's still burning bright," Jack sighed, finding himself just gazing into her eyes, seeing that flames of her spirit that had drawn him to her that first time on Titanic.

Rose blushed again and let her gaze drift from his, before she too became lost in the blue depths that she still found quite captivating. "That fire kept me going for the first four years and kept me fighting to keep our son."

"Good. I'm glad. But I hope it doesn't stop you from accepting my offer."

Rose frowned. She didn't remember him making an offer. "What offer?"

Jack took her hand,not sure how she'll respond. Sure, what he was suggesting would be considered inappropriate since they weren't married. But they shared a son already and he had once seen her naked, so what other people thought would hardly matter anymore at this point. Plus he didn't want to see the children without a place to live and if he had died, this place would have been Jacob's anyway and he didn't see why it couldn't still be his home now. Besides, Rose had just walked back into his life, he wasn't ready for her or Jacob to walk back out. He hoped that her pride wouldn't cause her to say no. He didn't know what he would do if she did...if she stood up and walked back out of his life once again.

"Stay here. In this house with me."

Rose gasped. She hadn't been expecting him to offer. She thought all this time, he was being nice and having a nice visit with an old friend and getting to know a son he never knew he had. She hadn't been expecting him to want them to stay. "Jack...I...I don't know what to say."

"Say yes. Rose, this house would have been Jacob's if I had died that night on Titanic. It was going to be your home anyway. It still can be, that doesn't have to change. There's plenty of room. Plus it's getting close to winter and...why go to a boarding house when you can stay here?"

"But wouldn't it be seen as inappropriate?"

"How can it be inappropriate when we share a son? In my book, that makes us family if nothing else. Plus, I have to admit, it's lonely here all by myself. Yes, I know that's my fault. I never married or even entertained the thought of having a family of my own. But, it felt so good to have you guys here today. I honestly didn't know that I was lonly until I wasn't anymore and I love the kids. And, I love having you back in my life again. Stay. Please?"

Rose blinked back her tears. She was so touched by his words. He liked having them around. He wanted to keep having them around. He wanted her back in his life again and she had to admit, she wanted him in her life as well. They may not be lovers anymore, but that friendship was obviously still there. He was so easy to talk to, to be with. How could she possibly say no? Especially when there was nowhere else to go?

"Okay...but we should pay you. How much would you want?"

"No need to pay me. As I said, this house would have been Jacob's inheritance anyway. Your company and getting to know your beautiful children, that's payment enough."

"Jack...thank you. Thank you so much. Once again, you are saving me," Rose couldn't help herself. She wrapped her arms around him in a hug and found herself melting into his arms as he returned the embrace. God, he felt so familar. Strong and steady. He still smelled fantastic, of charcoal, soap, and just Jack. It had been a scent that had haunted her dreams constantly, but was now reality. She buried her face against his shoulder and inhaled deeply before pulling away, her face bright pink. "I better go let the kids know that we're staying here."

"That's probably a good idea," Jack gave a distracted smile, also lost in the memories that having her in his arms again had brought on.

She smiled at him one last time before going outside to tell Jacob and the twins that they would be staying at the Dawson farm after all.