"I know it's a sudden change of plans. Thank you for going along with it, and thank you for a wonderful time," Rose said, hugging Jack from behind. She pressed her face into his neck, breathing him in. He twisted around, pulling her into his arms. "You're welcome," he said warmly. She looked up at him, her eyes full of contentment. Her whole body was relaxed. Jack couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her this way. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen her quite this at peace. For a moment, his doubts about returning home loomed before him. What if this calm evaporated as soon as they stepped off the train? What if Cal had some new scheme in the works?

Jack pushed those thoughts away and gave her a smile. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," he said. "That's what I was hoping for."

"It's almost a shame to leave."

"We could stay," he offered. "I'll send another telegram and let Fabrizo know we're not coming."

Rose shook her head. "No, we can't do that. And it might sound crazy, but I want to be there when Cal finds out I'm divorcing him."

His eyes widened slightly. "You do?"

"I think it's important to be close by when that happens," she explained. "We don't know what he might do, and I want to be prepared."

"There's not much he can do," Jack pointed out.

"He can try."

He laid his hand on her cheek. "Let's not talk about him anymore," he said. His lips brushed hers. "He doesn't deserve it."

Rose let herself lean into him as he kissed her. His hands pressed lightly against her back, and she felt as though he were about to lead her in a dance. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and the kiss deepened. It was tender, but there was a hunger beneath that. The air around them thickened with desire.

"Jack," she sighed. He was holding her up now, kissing her neck. Her knees wobbled, and she held him tighter. "We have to go," she said, trying to sound convincing.

"We've got time," he murmured.

"No, we don't. The train leaves in an hour, and if we stay up here much longer the hotel will expect us to pay for another night."

"So?" Jack grinned. "We'll pay, and we'll take a later train."

"Oh, it's that simple, is it?" Rose said, a flirtatious note in her voice. "I didn't realize."

"It is if we want it to be."

Jack gazed at her, love shining in his blue eyes-the bluest eyes Rose had ever seen-and he didn't know if she wanted him to carry her off to bed or cry from happiness. She blinked away a tear and kissed him. "Well, if it's that simple," she said.

...

"Let's go home first and drop off our things," Lucy suggested.

"Our home?" Fabrizo said. "As in-"

"Yes, our home. You know where I mean." She bumped him playfully with her shoulder.

"Yeah, but I like hearing you say it." He grinned. "Our home."

Lucy's eyes sparkled. "I like saying it."

He put his arm around her. She scooted closer on the wagon seat. "Are you nervous about seeing your brothers?" he asked.

"A little. Not too much. They might yell for a minute, but they approve of us getting married, so it's only the method they'll object to." Lucy had said this at least a dozen times already, and yet, she still had a knot in her stomach. What if she was wrong? What if they didn't take her elopement well? There was her father's opinion to consider also, but he wouldn't be home for weeks. Months, possibly. They had time to figure out the best way to handle that. Of course, Lucy had no way of knowing they only had about half an hour to figure things out. Had she known, it's likely she wouldn't have been so eager to get home.

The house looked empty when they arrived, but that was to be expected. Fabrizo hopped down from the wagon. With a flourish and a bow, he offered his hand. Lucy laughed. "For me?"

"For you, Lucia," he said. "Mrs. DiRossi."

"Why, thank you."

He helped her down, and they stood facing one another, grinning happily. He was about to kiss her when Frank shouted. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

They whirled around to see him crossing the porch. He took large steps, reaching them quickly. Lucy stared in disbelief. "Pa?" she cried.

"That's your father?" Fabrizo said. "I thought he wouldn't be back for a while."

"So did I," she replied. "Pa, what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" Frank exclaimed. "What are you doing here? And who is this?" He cast a critical eye over Fabrizo. "He's not from around here. Your brothers didn't mention that."

"What did they tell you?" Lucy asked.

"Sir, please, if I may," Fabrizo began. Suddenly, his accent sounded impossibly thick in his ears. Was that what Lucy's father heard? He braced himself for the inevitable reaction. "My name is Fabrizo DiRossi. I moved her with Jack Dawson," he added, though why, he didn't know. There wasn't another Jack around that he could think of.

"I heard all about this," Frank said. "You've been staying with Jack and his wife. What I don't know is what's going on with you and my daughter."

"Fabrizo asked me to marry him," Lucy said. "Didn't they tell you?"

"That doesn't explain where you've been," Frank replied. "How could you just run off like that?"

Lucy spoke softly. "We left a note."

"A note? Lucy, people were worried about you. No-one knew where you were. No-one knows this man. Everything he's told you could be lies," Frank lectured. "For all we knew, you might never come back!"

"I assure you, I've never lied to her," Fabrizo said. He drew himself up to his full height. "I've never had any dishonorable intentions toward her. I love her."

Lucy squeezed his hand. "I love him. That's why we left. So we could get married."

"You had to run away to do that?" Frank said, unconvinced. "You couldn't get married at home, with your family?"

"We were going to," Lucy explained. "But we didn't want to wait anymore. With everything that's happened, we didn't want to waste any more time."

Frank tilted his head. "What do you mean? Is this about Jack?"

"What?" Lucy said. "No, I'm talking about-"

"I don't think your brothers told him," Fabrizo said gently.

"Told me what?" Frank demanded. "I know you talked her into running off and eloping."

Lucy shivered and leaned closer to Fabrizo. "Why don't we go inside?" Fabrizo suggested. "Discuss this where it's warm."

...

Rose held tightly to Jack's hand as they ran. He weaved through the crowd with ease. She laughed breathlessly as they came to a stop in front of their train. "Well," he said, gasping. "We didn't miss it after all."

"We gave it our best effort."

He laughed. "Didn't we?" He reached for her bag. "I'll carry this," he offered. "You go first."

Rose tossed her hair and lifted her chin. "Thank you."

The train was already moving when they found their seats. "Not too crowded," she said. "That's nice."

"Money really does help," Jack replied.

"Are you sorry to have it?"

"No." He shook his head. "I'm still glad it's there. It's weird, you know. I never had it, and I never cared, but now that I do..."

"You're afraid you'll forget how to live without it?"

"Something like that," he said. "And I see how different it makes things. I mean, I knew, but when you're just looking in, it's not the same." His face lifted. "I'm sorry, Rose. We don't hafta have this conversation again. I'm fine."

"We can have it as many times as you need to," she said. "I'm not the only one who gets to have feelings."

"Let's talk about something else anyway."

"Like what?" she asked.

Jack thought for a moment. "Like when you're going to try painting."

Rose stared at him. "Me? Paint?"

He nodded. "Yes, you."

"You want me to paint?" she said. "Jack, I'm not an artist."

"How do you know?" he said.

"I just know, the same way you know you are."

"You feel an urge not to draw?" he said. "To avoid pencils and paints?"

Rose gave him an amused look. "No, but I don't feel an insatiable need to draw either."

"I didn't always."

"You didn't?" she said, surprised. "I thought you couldn't live without it."

"Sure," he said. "Now. But when I was a kid, it wasn't like that. It took a while before I was really attached."

"What happened?"

"I don't know," he said. "One day I was drawing, and it wasn't just lines on a piece of paper anymore. I saw past the parts to the whole. I realized it could be something if I kept at it, and after that, I was hooked." He shrugged.

"And you think that will happen for me?" she said.

"It might, and so what if it doesn't? Can't hurt to try."

"What brought this on?" she asked.

"I've just been thinking, if you love, if looking at it and studying it makes you happy, why not make your own? You probably can't tell, but I get out a lotta stuff when I draw," Jack said. "Feelings, you know. It's soothing. I want you to have that."

"I had drawing lessons once. Jack, I assure you, I'm not undiscovered talent," Rose said.

"I wouldn'ta expected you to think there's only one way to be good."

That was quite the challenge. Rose wasn't sure how to respond. "I don't," she said. "I didn't meant...I don't have a gift like you do."

"You have many gifts, Rose. More than you know."

...

The kitchen warmed up quickly once Fabrizo got a fire going. They sat at the table, Frank on one side, Fabrizo and Lucy on the other. Her brothers stood off to the side, leaning against the wall and cupboards. Frank stared at them, his expression unreadable. His eyes were cloudy with emotion. Lucy held Fabrizo's hand under the table. She wondered if he was nervous. His grip was relaxed, so maybe not. She stole a glance at him. He wore a placid look, though his dark eyes were serious. Her heart swelled with love, and she couldn't help smiling.

"Why don't you explain what's going on?" Frank suggested.

"Well, I-" Lucy began.

"No," Frank interrupted patiently. He jerked his head toward Fabrizo. "Him. Fabrizo. What's going on?"

"Where would you like me to begin, sir?" Fabrizo asked.

"How about at the beginning. My songs have told me some things, but I can tell I haven't gotten the whole story. Not sure why. It can't be that bad, can it?"

That depended on how he defined bad, but of course, Fabrizo didn't say that. "Well..." He struggled for the right words. What was the beginning, exactly? The night he met Lucy? The first time he went to see her? The day he moved to town? Or was it even earlier? He knew the answer was likely the latter. There was no way of explaining things without including Jack and Rose's part in it. "Some things aren't for me to tell," he said slowly. "I can't speak for other people."

"Jack," Frank said.

"And his wife."

Frank nodded. "Loyalty and discretion are fine traits," he said. "But I want to know the truth."

"Well sir, not to be disrespectful, but how far back do you want me to go?" Fabrizo asked. "To when I met Jack? Or just when all this began with Rose?"

"Start with what happened with her," Frank replied. "Though I still want to hear more about you at some point."

Fabrizo nodded. "It started when we were on our way to America. We hadn't planned to come, but we won tickets on the Titanic. In a card game." He watched Frank's eyes widen, but the older man didn't comment. "We thought we were the luciest guys alive." Fabrizo chuckled. "I guess maybe we were." He glanced at Lucy, who smiled encouragingly.

"You're including meeting my daughter in that," Frank said.

"Yes, I am."

Frank's mouth turned up slightly. "Go on," he said.

"That's where we met Rose. Jack met her first. They claimed she was in an accident, and he just happened to be there to help, but really-" Fabrizo paused, unsure if he should put it bluntly.

"Really what?"

"She was trying to hurt herself," Fabrizo said. "To do more than that. Jack did just happen to be there, and he almost got arrested. It didn't look good for him when they were found. She was in First Class, and people thought, well, they assumed he had other intentions."

"I see."

"It was nothing like that," Fabrizo assured him.

"I knew Jack all his life. up until he left," Frank replied. "I know he wouldn't harm a woman."

"They spent more time together. He wanted to help her, but it was more than that. He liked her. He brought her down to a party the next night, and afterward, he told me he might love her," Fabrizo explained. "I thought he was crazy. She was rich and married, and she'd never look at him that way. But he didn't care. He was set on telling her. The next thing I knew, he was bringing her to eat with us and saying they were going to be together. Things..went a little crazy after that." He took a breath. "You should understand, Rose didn't just leave her husband on a-" He searched for the right word. "-a whim? Yes, that's it She was miserable. Her husband-" Fabrizo shook his head. "I didn't see what happened, but I saw what they looked like after. It wasn't just Jack," he said. "He hit Rose too. He'd been doing that for a while. I helped them hide until we got to New York."

"You're a good friend," Frank said.

"The best," Lucy added proudly.

Fabrizo blushed lightly under her gaze. "Anyone would've done it," he said.

"No, they wouldn't have," she argued. "Think of what people have been saying about me and her. They wouldn't have helped us."

"Lucy, don't be too harsh," Adam said. "People don't know what to think."

Her voice was steady. "They know exactly what they think, and I have every right to be harsh. It's me they're talking about. And my friends. And my husband."Fabrizo's eye caught hers, and they shared a grin. He wanted to kiss her but doubted that would go over well, married or not.

"So they came here," Frank said. "To get away from this man, and they brought you along."

"I came later," Fabrizo said. "They were afraid he would find them, Rose especially. After they left, some guy who worked for him kept coming by and asking questions about them."

"Sounds like he was easger to get his wife back."

"He doesn't care about her," Lucy said. "No-one who cared could do what he did..." She trailed off, hunching her shoulders, as if trying to sink into herself. Fabrizo put his arm around her. "That's over," he said.

Frank's eyes narrowed. "Lucy, you got involved? Were you hurt?" He whirled around to face his sons. "You didn't say she was hurt."

"It wasn't that bad," Luct insisted. "He surprised us. I went over for dinner, and I got there pretty early. It looked like rain, and I didn't want to get caught out in it. Jack and Fabrizo had gone into town, so it was just me and Rose. And then he came in. I didn't know anything about this yet." She closed her eyes, overwhelmed by the memory of Cal's grip on her. Fabrizo pulled her closer. "You don't have to talk about it, Lucia," he whispered.

"We got away," she said, drawing in a shaky breath. "He hurt Rose really badly, but we got away. It was storming by then. We spent the night in the cave. The boys found us the next morning, and he was arrested."

Frank stared at her, too stunned to speak. No-one felt any need to offer the rest of the details. They could tell him later, if he really wanted to know. No doubt he would question Jack. "Why don't we leave things for now," he said. He reached out and laid his hand over Lucy's. "I think I get it."

...

"Are you sorry we're going back?" Rose asked.

Jack shook his head. "No. I really don't mind. I just hope we hear something from Eugene soon."

"Wouldn't that be nice?" she said.

He tapped her ring with his fingertip. "You know, I could get you a new one now. Something nicer."

"Jack, I don't want another ring."

"You sure?" he said. "You could still keep that one, and it wouldn't hafta be anything crazy."

"I love this one."

"Well, if you change your mind," he said. "I just wanted you to know it was an option."

"It's a kind offer, but I don't think I'll ever take you up on it," Rose said. She held her hand up and studied the ring. "I wish I could have met your parents."

"Me too." Jack took her hand. "They woulda loved you."

She smiled wryly. "Especially after they met my husband."

"Hey, none of that," he said, kissing her knuckles. "They'd understand. You're not worried about that, are you? I thought we talked about this."

"We did. I wonder about it sometimes, though. Jack, would you tell me more about them?" He didn't answer. She moved so she was looking into his eyes. "I didn't mean to upset you," she said.

"You didn't. I...I try not to think about them a lot. I don't wanna forget, but it's still hard. You probably feel that way about your father, huh?"

She shook her head. "Not really. I know that sounds cold, but I barely knew him. It's difficult to mourn a stranger."

"I can understand that. And Rose, you not cold. Far from it," Jack said.

"Would you still think so if I told you at times I've blamed him for what's happened?"

"You mean cause he lost your money?"

"That and because he died," Rose said. "Killed himself, actually."

"You never told me that's what happened."

"Officially, that's not what happened," she said. "But everyone knows. I feel guilty for it, but when I was marrying Cal I kept thinking, if my father were alive it wouldn't have come to this. If he'd tried he could have found a way to keep us afloat. But he was too proud. As was Mother."

"Maybe it wasn't just pride," Jack said gently.

"I don't judge him," Rose said. "It's not the choice I would've made, or so I tell myself. After everything that's happened, I can see how a person could be brought to that kind of desperation."

He squeezed her hand. "Rose, you don't ever have to feel like there's no way out. Ever. But if you do, I'll be here. Promise you'll tell me?"

"I promise, Jack. You don't have to worry."