Angryfanfic: I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Green Meadow1870: I must admit, I wasn't thinking too much when I described the dining room. The only example I have of pretentious rich people in my life is from TV, and since I'd just watched an episode of Gilmore Girls before writing that I was pretty much thinking of Emily and Richard's dining room. And Rose is definitely amazing. It takes a lot to set her off (she prefers to calmly destroy people while subtly flaunting how much better she is than them) but that definitely did the trick!

So…hi everyone who is probably mad at me for taking so long to update. But I honestly had no idea where I was going with this story for a while, and needed time to gather my thoughts and come up with new ideas. Luckily, I have quite a few. I'm hoping I'll be able to rush and write a Christmas chapter soon, to celebrate the holidays.

Anyways, again, I'm really sorry for the wait. Hopefully this chapter helps - I tried to balance out the characters' home lives with the drama, but I'm not sure if I did a good job.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The next day, it was business as usual at the circus. Everyone arrived and began practicing, getting ready to run through their performance again.

Rose noticed Jackson was glancing at her a bit more than usual, but decided to brush it off. If he had something to tell her, she was sure he'd walk up and ask her. And she was right - he did in fact come up to her later.

Rose had just gotten off her hoop and walked up to the wall, brushing a few strands of loose hair behind her ears, when she heard footsteps and looked up. Sure enough, it was Jackson.

"Okay, I have a suggestion," he began quickly, as if she might interrupt him. She leaned back against the wall, raising an eyebrow to show she was curious. "What if we worked that falling thing into our acts?"

"What?" Rose said, eyes widening, checking to make sure she heard him right.

"I know it sounds strange, but hear me out," he said quickly. "The audience loved it, and since my act is right after yours it could be a good transition. I know it's risky, but-"

"Actually," Rose interrupted, thinking about it. It had been dangerous, but maybe that was just because it had been so unplanned. And he obviously had fast reflexes to catch her like that - he could probably do it even easier as more time passed. And there had been the adrenaline rush of falling. Once she got past the fact that she could have been injured, the very thought of it was…exhilarating. (And maybe she didn't mind the feeling of Jackson catching her, his arms wrapping around her as their eyes met…)

"It doesn't sound like an awful idea. We would have to work on timing a bit but it would really make things more interesting..." She snapped out of her daze and grinned at him. "Let's do it."

He looked surprised, but grinned back a bit nervously as she led him to her hoop.

"We'll start with me a bit off the ground," she said. "We'll raise me higher and higher as we learn more. And eventually we'll work it with you running into the room. Just warning you, this will probably take a while."

"That's fine, I wasn't expecting it to be easy. Besides, it was pretty fun at the performance," he said, giving her one of those smiles that made her feel warm inside for some reason.

She grinned back, turning quickly to her hoop and calling out to Caroline to lift it a bit. They rehearsed it, starting with her only eight feet above the ground and, once Jackson perfected that, moving a bit higher.

Eventually, around two hours later, they had gotten up to eleven feet, which was surprisingly good.

"That went well," Rose said, smiling as she gently touched down on the ground, light on her feet as usual.

"Definitely. We'll be doing thirty feet in no time," he joked, and she chuckled softly.

They headed out to get changed and meet Phillip and Anne, who were waiting for them by the door, Anne's arm around his waist. Once the teenagers reached them, Phillip held an arm out to Rose, who slipped under it, letting him put it around her shoulders as she slid her hand into Jackson's. She was certainly getting much better with touch, although it was still difficult sometimes. But she trusted these three.

And so, all linked together, the small family walked home.

They arrived home and ate a quick dinner, Jackson especially tired from having to catch Rose so many times. She was definitely very light from her lack of food for eleven years, but that didn't necessarily mean it was easy to spend two hours catching a falling girl.

He went off to bed first, Rose following soon after. Anne watched them leave, wondering idly if Jackson would wake up in his own bed tomorrow. Rose's nightmares had definitely retreated, but there was still the occasional morning where Jackson would be in her bed instead, having woken up to comfort her.

Turning away from the two teenagers, Anne looked at her husband. They were in the living room and both reading, as was tradition on Monday nights. Or at least, he was reading. She was too preoccupied with her thoughts. Finally, she asked what she'd wanted to know since yesterday.

"Phillip?"

"Mmm?" he hummed, looking up from his book and to his wife.

"I want to ask you something," she said, still a bit cautious.

He closed the book and set it down next to him, showing he was giving her his full attention.

"It's about your childhood." She took a deep breath, then spoke again. "Your parents are horrible people, but I'm wondering - how are you nothing like them? I know it's because of your personality, but you only just moved out of their house a couple years before joining the circus, and you lived with their racism for so long…how are you so…you?"

He thought for a moment, wondering how to perfectly phrase his answer.

"When I was ten years old…my parents got a slave. He was about my age, and we became friends quickly. My pa- Cora and James didn't approve of our friendship for obvious reasons," he said with a bitter laugh. "So we eventually started sneaking around. He was my best friend. Due to our friendship, I grew up knowing that black people were nothing like what they said."

"What happened to him?" Anne asked, a bit nervous.

"Measles," Phillip answered. "When I was sixteen. Cora and James didn't want me to get it so they locked him up. I don't know if it was the disease that killed him or the fact that they didn't want to give him much food."

Anne held her hand over his, and he smiled sadly at her, leaning into her side. The two of them sat in silence for a while, just being there together.

Rose looked through her closet, trying to find something to wear tonight. They were having a party tonight at the circus, and she needed something casual but pretty.

She fingered the necklace she was wearing absentmindedly as she looked for the perfect dress. It had become a habit by now, and she was used to wearing it, even though it had only been a few months. She glanced down at it, smiling as she traced all edges of the small gem in the middle for the millionth time. She remembered exactly how she'd got this necklace, and could see the picture unfolding in her mind already.

"Why didn't you tell me it's your birthday?" Jackson asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I figured someone else told you," Rose shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Not that big of a deal?" he sputtered as though she had personally offended him. The now-thirteen-year-old girl cracked a smile at how he was acting. She'd only known him for about a month, but it was nice to know he cared about her birthday.

"I should have gotten you a present," he continued.

She shrugged, not seeing why he was so upset. It wasn't like she was expecting anything - they'd hadn't known each other that long anyways. Why would he care?

"You know what, I'm going to go get you something," he said, his eyes lighting up. "I have the perfect thing!"

She watched him leave, amused. He may have been all mysterious when they met, but sometimes he would slip into that happy child-like voice that showed just how much of a childhood he had been deprived of. She had to admit, it was kind of sweet.

Pushing her curiosity out of her mind, she turned back to the others. They continued to party for a little while, and then she heard the familiar ring of the bell that signaled the door being opened. Her eyes immediately snapped up to it and she saw Jackson walk back in, his blond hair a bit messy from the running.

Excusing herself from the conversation, she walked up to him, her pale yellow dress swirling around her shins as she walked, the lace brushing her legs slightly.

Smiling smugly, he bowed to her, overly dramatic, and held out a hand.

"Your present m'lady," he announced.

Her eyes widened as she saw the necklace in his hands. It had a silver chain and a small hook tying a little blue gem onto it. It was shaped like an octagon, and glimmered in the light.

Tentatively, she reached out a hand to lift it up, holding it like it would break at a moment's notice.

"You like it?" Jackson asked, smiling a bit nervously.

"It's beautiful," she breathed. "Can I put it on?"

"Of course," he said, looking relieved she liked it. Rose reached up, snapping the small clasp shut once it was around her neck.

"I know it's not much, but-"

"It's wonderful," Rose interrupted, smiling gently at him. He looked surprised, having never seen this side of her before. "I love it."

And she turned away, not wanting him to see her smile so much. But as she walked, her hand reached up and she looked down, tracing the edges of the gem and smiling to herself. It was her first piece of jewelry. She'd always admired the necklaces the lady at the orphanage wore, the ones she said had been in her family for generations. But those were big and bulky and made of fake gold. This was...her's.

Rose looked up, picking out a red dress that came to the middle of her shins. It had black lace along the bottom and a black ribbon around the waist that came into a bow at the back. It had lace along the collar and sleeves, which came to slightly below her wrists.

She put it on, pulling the necklace out so it hung over the front of the dress. She smiled slightly at her reflection in the mirror and remembered Jackson's smile when she said she loved it.

She'd been telling the truth. It was wonderful.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and everything with Rose's feelings about Jackson, as well as some more about Phillip's childhood.

I'm wondering what people would like - would you prefer me having Rose and Jackson get together sooner or wait longer? By the next chapter, Rose will nearly be fourteen and Jackson will be, so what do you think? Wait or make them become a couple sooner? I'm pretty sure I know what I want to do, but I would like my readers' opinions.

Anyways, please review and let me know what you think of this chapter (and once again, sorry for the wait).

-Creator of Magic