Several Days later…

Jack looked over the house, making sure everything was in order. According to Molly's telegram she'll be in town soon and planned to visit. Jack wanted everything to be perfect for the visit of his friend.

He had just placed a stack of magazines on the living room table when his cousin Lisa came in. "So dad and I are finally going to meet the great unsinkable Molly Brown, huh?"

Lisa and her father Weaver, had lived in Michigan for quite some time. They had easily reconnected with Jack when he showed up on their doorstep with baby Cora in his arms. Lisa had fallen in love with the baby right away and Weaver was happy that his brother's son was there with them. It wasn't long until the three of them decided to move to Chippewa Falls and make the old homestead a home again. After all, Chippewa Falls had fresh country air and wide open spaces. A perfect place to raise Cora. Jack had had the perfect childhood there and he wanted to give the same to Cora. Lisa and Weaver agreed and joined Jack. They weren't a normal nuclear family that was normally found in Chippewa Falls, but that was okay. Cora was well loved and cared for and that was all that mattered.

"It's about time, huh?" Jack chuckled good-naturedly. Both Lisa and his Uncle had been curious about Molly. Of course, they've heard of her because of the Titanic disaster, but they both wondered if what all the papers said abut her was true. When asked, Jack would often tell them that they were just going to have to find out on their own.

"Well at least she's the kind of rich person that knows what it's like to be poor. The ones born into it are the worse," Lisa snorted.

"None of that please. I want Molly to be comfortable here."

"Not to worry, cousin. Even daddy is going to be on his best behavior. Neither of us want to embarrass you."

Jack chuckled. "I'm not worried about you embarrassing me...well not you anyway. Uncle Weaver is another story."

Lisa just shook her blond head and laughed. "He's just a little overprotective is all. You are the son of his younger brother and you disappearing the way you did...well he just wants to make sure that you stick around this time."

"He needn't worry. I'm going nowhere, especially while Cora is so young."

"Is she here yet?" Weaver Dawson, a tall man with a head full of blond hair and green eyes entered with the two year old Cora in his arms. Cora still had a head full of blond curls and blue eyes, but her features were that of her mother's, which made Jack's heart hurt with the memory of Rose every once in a while.

"She'll be here soon. Just be on your best behavior. Molly is laid back and all...but she worries about me and I want her to see that I'm fine. I've taken good care of Cora and we both are surrounded by family."

...

Meanwhile, across town, in the town's bed and breakfast where Molly had rented a room, Molly and Ruth were getting ready to leave for the Dawson farm. The plan was to tell Jack about Rose first and then set up a meeting. She wasn't just going to spring the girl on him out of the clear blue sky.

"Are you sure that you don't want me to go?" Rose frowned,, not sure about the plan at all. What if he didn't want to see her? What if he didn't want her near Cora after all that she had done.

"It's best that you stay here, darlin'. Let me and Ruth ease the news onto him," Molly waved away Rose's concern. "You stay here and get as much rest as you can. It's going to be an eventful couple of days for you."

"Tell him that I'm sorry. That...I wish that I knew the answer of why I did what I did..."

"I'll tell him. Now enough. Don't think about this anymore. Not until I get back anyway," Molly hugged the girl.

Waving goodbye to her mother and Molly, Rose wondered what her future held and was it what she really wanted from life? Did it matter? She was a mother now, after all, even though she didn't remember giving birth or conceiving the child. She didn't even remember the father.

Was she giving up her freedom or heading to a different kind of freedom that she had thought out of reach? Only time would tell.

…..

Molly gave a low whistle as they drove up the lane, leading to the Dawson home. It was a lot nicer than she had first imagined. It was bigger, spacious...a nice place for a child to grow up. A nice place for a young woman to heal and perhaps regain her family.

"So this is where the boy lives," Ruth took in her surroundings, unlike Molly, she wasn't at all impressed. To think, Rose could be living in a mansion right now, with servants to fulfill her every whim, that was if she had made the right decision, which she hadn't.

Molly shook her head at Ruth's tone. Years away from first class had not taken the snooty out of Ruth Dewitt Bukater, unfortunately. "Don't sound so downtrodden Ruth. Take it from someone that grew up poor, this house is a castle compared to some places. It's a great place for a child to grow up. Jack did good bringing Cora here."

"I know it could be worse. But when I think of all that Rose could have had if she had just listened and behaved..."

"She wasn't happy, Ruth. When are you going to realize that having money doesn't always make one happy? That being rich and living in the lap of luxury is not everyone's dream. It certainly wasn't Rose's. Take my advice. Let your animosity go. It'll just drive Rose away from you. Rose and Cora, they're all you have now."

Ruth didn't have anything to say to that. She just held her head up high as she followed Molly up to the door and watched as she knocked. The door opened to reveal Jack Dawson, who looked about the same as he did the last time she had seen him.

"Molly!" Jack greeted wrapping his arms around the older woman in a welcoming hug. "Welcome! I'm so happy you've come!"

"Well I wasn't about to be kept away forever, sonny! I wanted to check upon you and Cora in person," Molly chuckled returning the hug, also happy to see a bright happy smile on Jack's face. To be honest, she had been afraid that she'd never see that smile again. She pulled away to get a good look at him and was satisfied with what she saw. Gone was the pale and depressed young man, left alone to raise a daughter. In his place was a healthily tanned young man whose smile came easy once again. Hearing the baby sounds from inside the house, she instantly knew why. She wasn't surprised. Cora Dawson had inherited that bright spot of sunshine from her father. She doubted anyone could remain miserable in the child's presence.

"Well, Cora's right inside waiting for you. So is Lisa and Uncle Weaver, I can't wait for you to meet….them….," shock slammed into Jack as his eyes landed on the one woman had never expected to see again. Rose's mother. "Mrs. Dewitt Bukater...what a surprise..."

Molly cleared her throat, feeling guilty for not warning Jack about Ruth, but she was the least of the surprises that she had in store. "I'm sorry for not telling you about Ruth, Jack. I didn't want you to worry about making an impression or some other hogwash. I ran into Ruth in Philadelphia and thought that it was high time that she met her granddaughter," Molly lowered her voice and spoke into Jack's ear. "She's been knocked out of first class and really, Cora is her family too. Don't you think that sweet girl deserves a grandma?"

"Does she know about Rose...of course she does, if she knows about Cora...alright. You're right. Cora can use all the family she can get and with both of my parents gone...it's good that her maternal grandmother wants to meet her," Jack relented and gave a tense smile to Ruth. "You are welcomed here, Mrs. Dewitt Bukater. Follow me, your granddaughter will be happy to meet you."

Molly affectionately patted his cheek, having a maternal feeling swell inside her. She had grown to think of Jack as one of her own children. "That is a good young man. Come along Ruth," Molly beckoned for Ruth to follow them into the house, where Jack's cousin Lisa and Uncle Weaver were waiting in the living room with Cora in Lisa's arms.

Ruth's eyes fell on Jack's Uncle, taking him in. He was certainly handsome with a full head of blonde hair with a few streaks of silver and arms that were muscular thanks to manual labor. He was obviously third class of course, but he was very easy on the eyes. She felt her cheeks heat, realizing that this was the first time in ages that she even thought of a man as remotely attractive.

"Molly, Mrs. Dewitt Bukater, let me introduce you to my Uncle Weaver and his daughter and my cousin Lisa. They've been helping with Cora for the past two years," Jack introduced. "Guys, this is Molly Brown and this lady here is Cora's grandmother Ruth Dewitt Bukater. Molly had ran into her and told her that she had a granddaughter...I probably should have done that myself...but..."

"No one was expecting that of you, darlin. Not under the circumstances," Molly placed a warm hand on his shoulder. "You can make it right now, yes?"

Jack nodded and walked over and took Cora from his cousin Lisa and walked over to Ruth. "This is your granddaughter Cora. Cora, this is your grandmother Ruth."

Ruth's eyes drank in the child. She was indeed beautiful with the blond curls and blue eyes...but the mouth, nose...eye shape...they belonged to Rose when she had been of that age. She blinked back tears, her heart in her throat. "She's….she's beautiful..."

"I think Ruth here is going to cry. I never thought I'd see the day," Molly chuckled.

Jack wasn't so amused. In fact, he could relate. Sometimes he wanted to cry too when he looked at his daughter. His voice was gentle and understanding. "Would you like to hold her?"

"Will she let me? Rose never let people hold her at this age. In fact, she wasn't too fond of strangers at all," Ruth chewed on her bottom lip, missing Jack's small wince at the mention of Rose.

"Cora's pretty friendly with everyone, even strangers. I'm hoping she'll grow out of that someday. Don't want her making friends with the wrong people," He chuckled.

Silently, Jack slipped Cora into Ruth's arms and to Ruth's surprise, the baby smiled and laughed before wrapping her arms around Ruth's neck.

"Looks like she likes you," Weaver commented, curiously watching the meeting.

"Yeah, she does," Jack chuckled, unable to hide the surprise his voice. He never pictured Ruth as likable on sight, but obviously Cora had a different opinion.

"Don't sound so surprised, Jack," Molly laughed. "She is your daughter after all."

"Lisa, go get that tea," Weaver turned to his daughter, watching Jack and Molly watch Cora and Ruth. He frowned at the feeling that introducing the grandmother to Cora wasn't Molly Brown's only purpose.

…..

One hour later, Weaver and Lisa had gone on about their business doing chores and going on errands while Jack and Cora visited with Ruth and Molly. They were in the living room still. Ruth was preoccupied with Cora, playing patty cake and her and feeding her tea cakes. Jack and Molly sat on the couch, side by side, watching the grandmother get to know her grandchild. There was no better time than now to approach Jack about Rose.

It looks like Cora has made herself a new fan, huh?" Molly started the conversation, not at all sure how Jack was going to take the news of Rose's return.

"I'm not surprised. Everyone loves her, even people that don't know us," Jack chuckled, looking at his hands. "Which is why I can't understand how her mother could walk away from her so easily. Me...I can understand...but not Cora..."

Molly took a deep breath, glad that Jack was bringing up the topic of Rose and not her. It made this a whole lot easier. "Jack...about Rose...I have news."

Jack turned his attention to Molly, afraid of what she had to say. Not a day went by that he didn't think of her. He often wondered where she was, what she was doing, and most of all, why she had left. What had he done to make her stop loving him, to make her leave.

"You know where she is?"

"I sure do. I also know what had happened. I know it's been two years...and you've mostly healed...but do you still want answers?"

Jack paused, wondering if he did. Knowing why she had left wouldn't change anything. She had still left. Somehow, she had found life with him unfulfilling. "Does it matter?"

Molly frowned, hating the defeated tone in his voice, "Of course it matters. It matters a lot..."

"She still left. She's still not here with us. I'm without a wife and Cora's without a mother."

"I get what you're saying. I do….but Jack...you should know that there was a reason. You were right the first time...Rose didn't leave you because she wanted to. It wasn't by choice."

"What? Molly, I confronted Hockley. He didn't have anything to do with her disappearing."

"I know that...look. Let me explain what happened. It'll all make sense."

Jack sighed. He really was in no mood to talk about Rose. Ruth's appearance into their lives had been enough, but he was also curious. What could Molly possibly say to make Rose's disappearance make sense?

"Okay. Fine. Tell me about your news about Rose."

Molly smiled, placing her hand over Jack's. "We found her, darlin. We found Rose."

Jack blinked in surprise. Now he definitely hadn't been expecting that. "Where? How?"

"Well, it's quite the story..."

"I have time."

"I thought as much. Well, I had gone to Philadelphia on business, and I was also wanting to look Ruth up. I heard how Cal had completely abandoned her after Titanic and how she was living in more….modest living conditions, working as a seamstress of all things."

Jack had to chuckle lightly, shaking his head. "Rose once told me that was one of her biggest fears, becoming a seamstress."

"Karma works in mysterious ways, doesn't it. I say it's good for her. It's humbled her quite a lot. Anyway, I found Ruth in a cafe and I was about to sit down and tell her about Rose...now don't look so betrayed. I was angry with Rose for leaving you and Cora and I figured that Ruth had a right to know. The only reason that I had kept quiet was because I thought that she had wanted a quiet life with you. But she had left, so if Ruth found her and gave her trouble, so be it. Funny thing, I wasn't the one to find her, not really. Ironically, it was Ruth. She looked outside and saw Rose sitting on a bench. Of course she was beyond shocked. She thought the girl dead. I was shocked as well...but for different reasons. I hadn't expected her to just show up like that.

We approached her, both of us demanding answers...but when she looked at us...her face is blank and not a spark of recognition was in her eyes. She had no idea who she was or where she was from. There was no memory of you, Cal or of Titanic. She's like a blank slate. Of course, we took her to a doctor right away."

Jack was speechless. So that's what happened? Rose lost her memory? But how? Why? Does she know about Cora and him now and if so, why didn't she come with Ruth and Molly? Where is she now?

"I know you have a lot of questions. Just let me finish this, darlin'," Molly gave his hand a supportive squeeze.

"I'm trying to stay patient."

"I know. It's hard. You do still love her, don't ya Jack?"

"That doesn't matter right now."

"Jack..."

"Molly, finish telling me, please. I mean...what's wrong with her? Has she been in Philadelphia this whole time?"

"According to Rose, she simply woke up in the house in Santa Monica, not remembering anything. She couldn't remember where she was, who she was with, what she was doing there. The only thing she remembered was that she was from Philadelphia and her first name was Rose. That's it. Of course, Ruth and I got her to a doctor straight away, and he said that Rose was suffering a fuge state. It's reversible amnesia and for the most part rare. The person eventually get their memory back, but there's no time table for that."

Jack sat back, in complete and total shock. He ran shaking hands through his hair as his mind processed what he had just been told. "What...what caused this?"

"I think you know what it was, Jack. After what you two had gone through..."

"Fuck...I should have known that something was wrong. She was having such a hard time getting through the memories...she still had nightmares, even after a year...I...I should have done something to help her..."

"Jack, what could you have done? You did all you could do. Sometimes...the human mind...it takes it upon itself to deal with trauma...and in Rose's case, it was to forget everything and start with a clean slate."

"Where is she now? Does she know about me and Cora? Is her memory still gone?"

"Sadly, she still doesn't remember her life. But we have told her about you and Cora and that she has a family that she left behind. She feels horrible and doesn't understand why or even how she had forgotten that she had a baby and a husband. She's a bit afraid to face you after all that happened."

"I can't blame her for that….oh my god, this is...this is crazy. Where is she now? Why didn't she come with you?"

"Ruth and I thought it best if we gave you the news and let you process everything first. After all, these past two years have been hell for you. But don't you see, Jack? You were right the first time. She didn't leave you because she wanted to or because she didn't love you anymore. She left because she was sick and didn't know any better. Thankfully, we've found her and we can help her get her memory back."

"How are we supposed to do that? She hasn't remembered us in these past two years," Jack frowned.

Molly rolled her eyes and again chuckled. "Bringing her home to her family. You, Cora, and even Ruth there. I think between the three of you, Rose's memories will begin to resurface."

"Cora doesn't even look the same," Jack shook his head and stood up to begin to pace.

"But you do. You look the same, sound the same..."

"But I'm not the same. I'm not the same Jack that she walked out on. She hurt me, Molly. She hurt me more than anyone ever had….the last time I felt so much pain was when my parents had died. I was so devastated...it was a chore just to make it from one day to the next. I never wanted to feel that way again. But I did. I felt that way when Rose walked out of our lives."

"I know…."

"And now she is back again with no memory of me or of Cora, and you expect everything to be well?"

Molly reached over and grabbed Jack's hand and made him sit down. "Calm down, darlin. You'll work yourself up into a frenzy..."

"It's not like the boy is wrong, Molly," Ruth spoke up. She had watched from where she was and watched Jack's reaction. He was relieved, angry, hurt, hopeful, all at once and he had nowhere to go with it. Molly was going to have to let Jack process all of this in his own time before just placing Rose in a situation like this.

"Ruth, you're not helping."

"I am helping more than you. If you have forgotten, I know what it's like to have Rose walk away and just show up again. My life right now is turned upside down because of it and now the same is happening to Jack and this sweet girl."

Molly gave Ruth a dirty look before turning back to Jack, who was sitting next to her again, staring into space. "Jack...I know this is a lot. You are probably a jumble of feelings and thoughts right now and I can't blame you. You've been living with a broken heart for the past two years and now that it's on the mend, she's back. But you two are still married and she is still Cora's mother. If not your own feelings, think of Cora."

"I am thinking of nothing but Cora. She has been all I've been living for these past two years. Everything is for her and I'm not going to bring Rose back into her life, just for her to leave it again and this time it'd be worse, because Cora will remember. It's not just myself I'm protecting here."

"I know," Molly realized that reuniting Rose with her family may not be so easy after all. "You do still love her, don't ya?"

Jack looked at her, his eyes blazing with an emotion she couldn't read. "Yes, I still love her. I still love her and for the past two years, I've been hating myself for it."

"Oh Jack..."

He got up on his feet and began pacing again. "Let me think about it. I have to think about it and figure things out. I can't just welcome her back with open arms, not right away."

Molly wanted to argue. She wanted to point out how easily he had accepted Ruth back. But then again, Ruth was a grandmother. She hadn't broken Jack, not like Rose had. Giving in, she sighed in defeat,

"I'm sorry that it's not the answer that you want. I know you rather I welcome Rose back with open arms and everything would be normal again."

"I'd be lying if I said that I understood. But, you're right to wait until you have your mind sorted."

"It's getting close to Cora's nap, I better take her to her room," Jack walked over to Ruth and held his arms out for Cora. The baby happily reached for her daddy as he lifted her up into his arms. He looked at Ruth wonderingly and nodded. "You're welcomed here anytime you want to spend time with her."

"Thank you, Mr. Dawson," Ruth swallowed, her arms now feeling empty without Cora in them.

"Call me Jack," Jack smiled before turning to Molly again. "I'll send a telegram to the bed and breakfast to let you know my decision about Rose."

"We'll be waiting. In the meantime, we'll be getting back. Jack...I didn't mean any harm. I thought...I don't know. Maybe I was hoping for a happy ending. Goodness knows, if anyone deserves a happy ending, it's you."

Jack shrugged and smiled. "I think I've stopped believing happy endings, Molly. I am glad that you told me. It's good to know what actually had happened."

Bidding the ladies good day, Jack disappeared up the stairs.

"Well, at least you got to see your granddaughter, hey Ruth?" Molly sighed, turning to the older woman.

"Oh yes. She's absolutely lovely. I do hope that Rose gets to see her."

"Oh she will. I saw the look in Jack's eyes when I told him what really happened. He still loves her, he wants to take her back. He just feels like he can't right now. Men are such prideful creatures. I guess Jack is no different."

"Of course he's not. Men are all the same in some ways, Molly. Even the most...naive of them."