Jacob looked into the mirror as he ran a comb through his hair one last time. It was the day of the picnic. He couldn't help being excited. He was finally going to get some alone time with Sarah and get to know her better and let her get to know him. He was going to tell her all about himself, from growing up in Philadelphia to coming here to find his biological father Jack, and of course, his mother and Jack's love story on the Titanic. Hopefully, by the time the day was done, Sarah would see that marrying for money and letting go of her dreams would be a major mistake.

Rose stood in the doorway of her son's room and watched as he got ready for his date. She felt a pang of sadness as she watched him comb his hair and smile in satisfaction at his reflection. Her baby had grown to be just like his father Jack. The two did look a lot alike. Sometimes, looking at Jacob transported her to the past, where she was just a girl herself and Jack had been a boy living a life of pure adventure. She had lost Jack back then and it had broken her heart, but he had given her a pure gift in Jacob. Her son had kept alive her will to live and make each day count. Now he was a grown man and no longer needed her, and while she was happy that he had grown into such a kind, compassionate, young man, it also broke her heart, because her baby was gone.

"What do you think, mother? Do you think Sarah would be pleased?" Jacob asked, sensing Rose's presence. He turned his head to smile at her mother, who gave him a wistful smile.

"Of course. You look just as handsome as both of your fathers. She should consider herself a very lucky girl," Rose walked the rest of the way into the room and placed a hand on his shoulder as she looked at both of their reflections. "My, you do look exactly like him."

"Was that what attracted you to him? His looks?" Jacob arched a brow, curious about why his mother had found it so easy to leave her whole world for a man she didn't even know.

"No. I mean, it didn't hurt that he was so handsome, but that wasn't the reason. Remember, I was engaged to Cal too and he was no slouch in the looks department. It was his spirit. His soul...he was...everything I had ever wanted to be but couldn't back then. He was the very embodiment of freedom."

Jacob grew quiet as he stared at his mother's reflection. Looking at her, he could see hints of that young girl that had yearned for freedom and temporarily found it in the eyes of a third-class boy. A girl that had found the courage to step away from the comfort of her world and reach for the freedom offered. It must have taken a great deal of strength to do such a thing. He hoped that Sarah had that same strength.

"I admire you, mother. You were so strong and brave and you took care of me and made sure we were always together...even if it meant going back to where you ran from. You always kept me with you."

"Of course. I loved you so much and you gave me the strength to keep going. My precious boy, you were worth everything and more. I am so thankful that I had you in my life. I still am. I just wish that Jack had been there...that he got to be with you as you grew up and experienced the joy of being your father."

"I do wonder what it would have been like. Would we have lived here? Or would you two have made your way to Santa Monica and raise me there?"

"Hmm, I guess that'll be something that we'll never know. At least we've all found each other now and have this second chance. You now have a chance to know Jack and for Jack to know you and have some kind of relationship, perhaps even a better one than you would have had if he had always been in your life. Besides, there wouldn't have been a Maxwell and Olivia. That would have been a shame."

"They'd still show up," Jacob chuckled. "They may have looked different, but they would still be here I believe that all three of us were meant to be in one form or another."

Rose laughed and kissed her son's cheek. "Perhaps you're right."

"I better go now. Sarah is waiting for me to pick her up. I don't want to be…," Jacob's words stopped at the crash of thunder and the sound of rain pounding against the roof. "Please don't tell me that's what it sounds like."

"I'm sorry, darling. Maybe you can reschedule?" Rose felt bad for her son. He had really been looking forward to spending time with this Sarah, who seemed to be in the situation she had been in on Titanic. She had hoped that Jacob would be able to help her just as his father had once done all those years ago. By the sound of the weather outside, it seemed unlikely now.

Jacob sighed, clearly disappointed. "Well, I guess that is that. She'll probably rethink her decision now and..."

"Wait. How about I fix a nice lunch and she can come here? Since it's Titanic you want to talk about, what better way to hear it than from Jack and I ourselves? Then afterward, Jack and I can go elsewhere while you two can have the setting room to yourselves?"

"Mother, you don't have to..."

"I want to. From what you've told me, this girl reminds me of myself at that age. I want to help her too."

"Thank you," Jacob turned and hugged his mother, grateful for her help. It seemed like whenever he was about to give up hope, his mother was there to give it back to him again. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"I am positive. Now go pick her up while I go put together a nice lunch and ask Jack if you can use the car. It's raining out there and I don't want you or the girl to get wet."

Jacob just rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Sure. We'll be back soon."

Rose smiled as her son darted out of the room and downstairs. Five minutes later, she stood at the window and watched as Jacob got into Jack's car and pulled out onto the road heading towards town. How the years had gone by. She could barely believe it. Humming to herself, she left the window and went downstairs and started on the lunch that was to be her son's date.

…..

Jack and Rose sat at the kitchen table across from each other, their hands clasped together as they listened to the low tones of Jacob and Sarah's conversation in the sitting room. The lunch had been a success. Sarah was indeed a charming girl and had reminded Rose so much of herself back when she had been a young girl. She had seen so much of herself in the girl's story. She also admired how Sarah had listened with rapt attention as Jack and Rose had told their story of Titanic and how they had been separated for so many years and discussed what it was like to be reunited now after so much time had passed.

"Are you alright? Things had gotten a little intense there," Jack asked, noticing how quiet Rose became. Titanic had never been an easy topic for him and he doubted that it was easy for her.

"I was just thinking. Sarah certainly does remind me of myself. I can't believe that after all of these years, life is still like this for women. It's so unfair."

"I agree. It's a good thing that she and Jacob had become friends. Hopefully, he can help her."

"He shouldn't need to! Her family should see that she deserves that inheritance and that she's not some piece of jewelry to sell off to the highest bidder! She's a person too! A human being that has her own mind and feelings! When will people realize that?"

"I don't know. Maybe they never will. Or maybe it'll be a few years. Hopefully, it'll be where our grandkids and great-grandkids won't have to worry about such things."

"I hope he helps her Jack," Rose sighed, feeling truly sad for the girl. She had once been Sarah and Jack had saved her. Hopefully, Jacob, Jack's son, can do for Sarah what his father had done for her.

"I'm sure he will," Jack smiled, raising her had to his lips.

…

Sarah's smile was sweet and shy as she and Jacob sat on the couch in Jack Dawson's living room. It had indeed been a wonderful lunch. She had gotten to really know Jack and Rose and fell in awe of their love story. It was so beautiful and yet so tragic and sad. Perhaps the best word would be bittersweet. Rose must have been so lonely after Titanic, pregnant and alone, away from the world had known, believing that the man she loved was dead. Jack, heartbroken and alone, too broken to even think of finding another love, thinking that he had lost the love of his life. Twenty years living apart and missing each other just to find each other again and gaining a second chance. By the looks of it, they were going to get a well deserved happy ending.

"So, was their story everything you hoped it would be?" Jacob smiled.

"So romantic and it explains a lot."

Jacob nodded. "My mother loved my stepfather, I guess that's what you can call Cal, but there was always a part of her heart that was always grieving for Jack. Now they're together again."

"Are you hoping that they'll resume their romance?"

"Would it be awful if I did? I mean, me and my brother and sister will be gone soon. She'll be alone, but if she and Jack reunited, she won't be alone. I won't have to worry. I know he'd take care of her."

"No, it would be great if they can finally be together. There's no sinking ship, no overbearing mother, and no jealous fiancee. It would just be them together at last. It'd be a very romantic end of a very romantic story. Your mother is so lucky. I could only dream of having the same outcome as she did."

Jacob cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. He had gone over in his head what he had wanted to offer her and now was as good of a time as any. "Well, maybe you can have the same outcome...or something similar."

"What do you mean?"

"Jack helped my mother break away from a toxic situation all those years ago. Yes, they were on a sinking ship, but before the iceberg, she was going to get off the ship with him."

Sarah stared at Jacob, her mind reeling at what he was suggesting. Was he serious? Did he really want her to run away with him? A man she barely knew? Okay, Rose had barely known Jack when they had met, but surely that was different. Rose and her mother didn't seem to get along, but the same couldn't be said for herself and her family. Despite her frustrations, she loved her parents and her brother! If she did what Jacob was suggesting, she'll probably end up disowned and she could say goodbye to running the store! But she was going to be forced to say goodbye to the store anyway and she was sure that if she married Thomas, she would have to leave her family as well. So what did she really have to be afraid of losing when she would have lost it anyway?

"Jacob, I don't know. That may be a bad idea."

"How could it be bad? You won't have to marry that guy and you can start your own store. I can help. I may not be Caledon Hockley's heir, but he had taught me all about starting and running a successful business. Sarah, think about it. You won't be a decorative wife. You'll be a successful businesswoman. Take control of your own life. Unless you want to be a trophy wife after all."

"I don't! I mean...it's not like it was with your mother. I love my family. I don't want to lose them. Not to mention the scandal it would cause. Chippewa Falls is a small town. They won't understand why my father's plans weren't good enough."

"So you want to live your life according to what people in this town expect of you?"

"What I want is the freedom and respect that my brother gets without even trying. He's never shown any interest in the store! None at all, yet it'll go to him, simply because he's a man! Not only that, but he'll also get to choose for himself who he wants to marry! It's all so...1912! I wish my parents and everyone else in this town would see that times have changed and we're going to have to change along with it," Sarah ranted, resisting the urge to get up and pace.

"Well, maybe it's time to make them see it. Be the first to be different. Don't marry Thomas and start up your own store! Make it even better than the one your brother will be getting! You have the passion for it, he doesn't. Who do you think will be more successful?"

"And how am I supposed to do that? We're not on a sinking ship. There's no way to fake my death and take someone else's name and start anew somewhere. I am truly stuck."

Jacob shook his head, a bit disappointed that she didn't see the solution herself. "Well, you can't get married if you already have a husband, now can you?"

Sarah stared at him in disbelief. Was Jacob seriously suggesting what it sounded like he was suggesting? "Pardon me? What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, why don't we get married? I mean...we like each other, right? I think you kind of like me more than that Thomas."

"I've only known you for a short time, Jacob! Not enough time to want to get married!"

"My parents only knew each other for three days when they had me," Jacob smirked, hoping that Sarah would ignore the fact that Jack and Rose had thought each other dead at the time of his birth. They were hardly a good example.

"I don't know...my father will kill me...he'd kill you!"

"I'm not scared of him or anyone. I can handle whatever he has to say."

Sarah felt flustered. She wasn't understanding any of this. "Jacob...why do you want to do this? Tell me the truth."

"I'm doing this because I...I care a lot about you, Sarah. Heck, I may even have inherited Jack's ability to fall head over heels at first sight. I just know that I think about you all the time and when I'm with you...everything is right in the world. It doesn't matter that the man I thought of as my father is dead and that I am now getting to know the man that had conceived me, a man I would have loved to have had in my life from the start. I mean, I have him now, but when I think of all the time we've missed and can't get back...it just doesn't matter when I'm with you.

"I know that it's too soon, but I can't help it. I think I'm in love with you Sarah. I want to help you reach your dreams and if I can do that by marrying you, well I want to. Because I love you."

Sarah was at a loss for words. What could she say to that? Did she love him back? Well, she did like him. He was a lot more pleasant than Thomas and she adored his story. He not only listened to her when she needed a friend, but he also encouraged her. He wanted to see her succeed! She did care a great deal about him, but was it enough to get married? Would it really be any different than marrying Thomas? Both could be considered a marriage of convenience. She just didn't know.

"I do care about you Jacob, but marriage...I don't know."

Jacob sighed, not really expecting a yes right away. Marriage was a serious business after all. It wasn't something to go into lightly. He knew how he felt, but he couldn't expect her to feel the same, not right away. "How about you take a few days and think about it?"

"That sounds like a good idea. I mean...I'll be giving up my family and...there's just so many unanswered questions. I can't just hop into marriage without taking some time to mull it over. You understand, right?"

"Of course. Go, think about it real hard. I'll be here when you've made a decision."

Sarah nodded and leaned and kissed his cheek. She squeezed his hand as she got to her feet. "I better head back home. People will wonder where I had gotten off to."

"Do you want me to walk you?"

"No. I'll be fine. I'll think about what we had talked about. It shouldn't take too long for me to make a decision. I really do thank you for everything. The lunch, the story, and listening to me rant."

"I'd listen to you rant all day long if you wanted me to," Jacob got up and walked her to the door and helped her into her coat.

"Somehow I don't doubt that. Well, I guess this is goodbye. I'll see you soon, with my answer."

Jacob just smiled and nodded as he watched her leave. He was a little disappointed that he hadn't gotten a yes right away, but not all was lost. She hadn't said no either.