Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing.
So in this chapter, it's Thanksgiving and it's even more years later again and Sam still hasn't grown up. Go figure. Róża is ten, but she isn't as mature as she should be due to growing up with Sam. Oh and one more little note; Grace is from Poland and worked in bad conditions. She had an abusive family also, so a heads up, yelling makes her really scared.
Disclaimer: I don't own Titanic. I do own Cal's almost fiancée, Valerie Tyler Smith, and of course, the ever present Sullivans.
The most memorable time Cal ever visited the Sullivan Mansion; it was November 30, 1922. His father insisted that they go to the Sullivan's for dinner after an invitation from Jeffrey and Sarah Martin Sullivan. However, he didn't there could be anything scarier or closer to torture than sitting at a table with his father, his ex-fiancée that he still had feelings for, the woman he father was pushing to be Wife Number Three, his ex-fiancée's boss, her boss' parents, her boss' wife who was a close friend of his ex-fiancée, and his ex-fiancée's boss' wife's child and child's friend.
Nathan Hockley slapped Cal's knee. "Smile. You're going to be getting another fiancée. You look like you're on death row." Cal smoothed a fake smile onto his face, wishing for this to all be over. "I hope they don't have that vulgar actress with them," he heard his father mutter as they pulled up to the Sullivan Mansion, their driver stopping and getting out to opened the door for the two men. Valerie Tyler Smith, to be Wife Number Three, was meeting them there.
"Nathan, Caledon," Jeffrey greeted the two warmly as they entered the house. "I'm glad you could make it." Nathan nodded his head.
"Thank you for inviting us."
"Yes, thank you," Cal said, finding the words hard to say. He just wanted to see Rose. Two years of friendship was driving him crazy. He just wanted to take her into his arms and declare her to be his "dead" fiancée to the world and marry her. He didn't want to marry some textile mill heiress. He wanted Rose, only Rose.
"The ladies are in the sitting room, catching up with each other. Excuse my son though, he's working and worrying. We'll be lucky if Grace and Miss Dawson can knock some sense into him at some point."
"It's brilliant!" the three men hear someone yell, followed by a loud "OW! What'd you do that for?"
"Like I said, it will be a good day for us when the two of them knock some sense into him for good."
"I am not going a wearing that thing,if you can even call that clothing, in a movie!" Rose shrieked at him.
"Why not?" Samuel looked genuinely confused.
"Well, to start," Grace began calmly, "undergarments have more on them that those things do." Samuel frowned, looking at them for a moment before erasing some lines and adding others. "It's brilliant!" Rose glanced at the paper and saw that the sketch hardly contained more than it did moments ago and promptly slapped him clear across the face. "OW! What'd you do that for?"
"Um, Samuel, honey," Grace said softly, "That's still not clothing. Try something a little less… uh… um… risqué."
When Samuel still looked at the paper confused, Rose cried, "Oh, just give me that," snatching the pencil and paper and making changes to the outfit so that it covered her stomach, covered her knees and didn't look as if she was trying to show off a new underwear collection. "There."
"Huh," he said, "Why didn't I think of that?"
"Because you're you," she said, still fuming. Grace laughed.
"Now, now children. No fighting. It's Thanksgiving and we have company." Rose rolled her eyes. "Besides, they probably heard Rose's slap from down the road."
"Máma!" Róża called, standing up and running to her mother as the three entered the room, hugging her tightly, before moving to Rose, "Anna Rosie!" Rose laughed at Grace's daughter's child-like nickname for her still. "Tata!" she cried, hugging her father.
"Sorry we're late," Grace said, "Sam decided to try his hand at costume designing and it was… um…" she said, reminding Rose of the almost child-like Polish woman she had found so many years before.
"It was awful," Rose said bluntly. "I think he should let the costume designers do they're jobs for a change, instead of being so stubborn."
At this, the Sullivan's laughed. Róża snuggled into Rose's side, giving Cal a wide, toothy grin while Mr. Hockley scowled. Cal blinked and looked at her confused.
"Hi!" she waved, "I'm Róża. Máma said I'm named for Anna Rosie." She hopped up and walked over to him, sticking her right hand out in front of her to him.
Cal smiled awkwardly at the little girl who held out a hand to him. "It nice to meet you, Miss Róża. I'm Cal." Cautiously, he took it and gave it a small shake. She grinned largely and moved to Valerie. "Hi!"
"Ew!" Valerie shrieked, "Get away from me! Get away from me before I catch your child germs!" Róża cocked her head sideways at Valerie, as if staring at the strange lady sideways would make her make sense.
"I don't have any germs. I washed my hands, Miss." Valerie stared at the child like she was crazy and turned to Cal.
"We will not be having any children," she declared. Rose kept an impassive face, and Cal wished now more than ever he knew what she was thinking.
"This is delicious, Sarah. You have excellent taste," Nathan Hockley told Sarah Martin Sullivan, who looked down, blushing. As soon as she stopped looking at him, he glared at the actress. She was vulgar, impolite, and unsophisticated. He knew his son fancied her. It made him ill at the very thought.
Here he had, picking out a nice woman for his ungrateful son, despite the fact that she didn't wish for children, who came from money. How dare Caledon think that crude actress would be a good match! He was trying to ensure the Hockley's survival. She would get over her dislike of children or they could hire a nanny.
Nathan sent another glare at Rose Dawson, for the sixtieth time this evening.
"That's it!" Samuel Martin Sullivan yelled, standing up, slapping his napkin on the table, "Do you have a problem with them, Mr. Hockley?"
Rose's eyes flickered to Samuel as she watched him lose his temper. She had casually ignored Nathan Hockley's glares between her and Grace all night, but Samuel obviously hadn't.
"I beg your pardon?" he asked, playing innocent.
"You've been glaring at my wife and Rose all night. Do you have a problem with them, Mr. Hockley?" Samuel glared at that sentence. "Don't even bother lying. I know you do. I want to know what your problem is with them!" Sam demanded.
Rose covered her mouth with her napkin under the guise of wiping her mouth, when in reality, she was laughing silently behind her napkin. Grace's eyes were wide and she looked faint. Never had her husband ever yelled at anyone besides her or Rose, and generally, her and Rose would start it. Cal stared forward, straight-faced, knowing if he moved, he would start laughing.
"And you!" Sam continued, "I appreciate if you stop looking at my family like we're dirt under your shoe, MissTyler Smith. I'd also appreciate it if you'd stop sending flirting glances at me."
"Why I never-" Valerie began, but Samuel cut her off, holding up his hand to proudly display a golden band on his left ring finger.
"I am married, M-A-R-R-I-E-D. Do you know what that means? It means I have a wife and I don't plan on leaving someone as perfect as her for the likes of you! So stop it already!"
With that, Samuel turned and walked out. Rose knew he'd never hit a woman, but tonight, she knows he came pretty close. She thought Valerie has a nerve to look outraged that Sam caught her staring. She's grateful Róża was in bed, unable to see her stepfather who she still thought was her father lose it or watch tears began to leak down her mother's eyes.
Sending a glare at Valerie, Rose helped Grace up, leading her to Grace and Sam's bedroom. Grace clung to Rose as she sobbed and Rose let her, knowing that screaming and yelling pulled her into memories deep within her past from Poland to the time she met Rose. "Shh, sweetie, everything's okay. You're alright."
As soon as Jeffery and Sarah had left to check on Samuel and Grace respectively, Cal turned to his father. "Why did you do that?"
"Do what?" Nathan asked innocently.
"Don't play dense," Cal told him. His father's face turned stormy.
"You won't speak to me like that again! Do you understand?" Cal flinched at the eerily familiar words, words that had sealed losing Rose.
"You aren't my boss! You're my father-"
"And you will treat me as such! You won't hang around with that golddigging,flapper of an actress. You will stop acting like a child. I will not be made out a fool! Is this in any way unclear?"
"Yes!" Cal said standing up, "You force me to marry two of the most awful women on the planet! You try to tell me who I can and can't be friends with! I'm a grown man! I can make my own decisions! Yes, I will be friends with Rose Dawson. She isn't a gold-digger. She's a wonderful woman and she's very brave and I admire her for making her own way in the world rather than sit and float on other's fortunes. You shouldn't glare at people just because you don't like them. You can't beg for business then glare at the people you begged wives just because they're an immigrate with a child from their first marriage. You can see yourself out and take her home. I won't have you make more of a fool out of me."
Nathan Hockley looked absolutely appalled. "I am your father, Caledon! You do not tell me what to do!"
"No," a voice said, low and dangerous, and both Hockley men turned to see Rose standing in the doorway. Her face was set in anger. "However, Mr. Hockley," she said, directing her statement at Nathan, "you've done more than enough damage here tonight. It would be best you leave now."
Nathan glared at her and walked up to her. "I don't know who you think you are, Miss Dawson, but you should not be interrupting in family matters."
Cal didn't know how Rose did it, but somehow, despite being shorter that his father, she managed to look down her nose at him. He supposed it had something to do with living with Ruth for seventeen years. She had mastered the most 'I am above you' look ever and was giving that look to his father now.
"You don't get it, do you, Mr. Hockley? It doesn't matter who I am or who I'm not. It's who you are. You are a snob. You think you are better than everyone who has less money than you. You're rude and uncouth and controlling. You don't like me because you don't know what I'll say that might ruin your prefect reputation," Cal watched her tell his father and he watched the color drain from his father's face as he turned on heel and walked away. Rose raised her eyebrow at Valerie. "Shall I start on your flaws and everything you've done since you walked in this house, Miss Tyler Smith, starting with your treatment of my goddaughter?"
Valerie pouted, wrinkling her nose at Rose like she smelt something bad. "Please don't," Valerie said in her nasal voice, "I don't need to hear anything from a slut." Rose's head jerked up hard. Cal held his breath for a split second, remembering how he had called Rose that all those years ago. Rose didn't look at Valerie, rather right through her and Cal stepped between them, chuckling.
"Valerie," Cal said and she began batting her eyelashes at her, "You shouldn't be calling others sluts when you're one yourself. Go to your home," he spit out, "Don't bother coming back even if my father tells you to."
Valerie gave another outraged look at him, huffed, then marched out of the dining room. Rose and Cal heard the door slam seconds later.
"How's Grace?" he asked her softly. Rose nodded. "And Sam?" she shrugged. "How about you? Are you alright?"
Rose didn't answer for a moment. Then suddenly, she moved and she was in his arms, her face buried in his neck. Cal could feel the wetness falling from her eyes onto his collar. All Cal could do was hold her, hold her with the hands that he had slapped her, abused her with, a feat he was ashamed of. He had even gone as far as shoot at Jack Dawson and her. "Thank you," he heard her whisper.
Cal shook his head. "I'm sorry," he answered back in the same quite voice. "I'm so sorry."
Rose nodded her head, burying her face deeper into his collar. She knew he wasn't just apologizing for tonight, he was apologizing for everything.
"Stay with me," she whispered again and Cal looked at her in shock, "Please don't leave me alone." Cal smiled softly, laying a small kiss to her forehead.
"I won't leave you alone, Rose."
"Thank you for defending me." Cal sighed and nodded, knowing he didn't deserve her thanks.
"Let's get you up to bed." Rose swallowed and nodded. Almost an hour later, Rose was curled into Cal's chest, Cal's arms wrapped around her. Rose was fast asleep. This was definitely the most memorable time he had ever visited the Sullivan mansion.