2:00 pm
April 24th, 1912

Charles Dawson couldn't believe his eyes. Was this really his long-lost cousin, Jack Dawson? Charlie hadn't seen Jack since he moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa with his parents at 13. Charlie hadn't gone with his parents to the funeral for Jack's parents -he wasn't good with death, and he wasn't sure what he would say to Jack, who must have been devastated. Jack had been extremely close to both of his parents. Last Charlie had heard, Jack left town after the funeral, and nobody had heard from him since. Charlie had been worried for his cousin at first, but he knew Jack could hold his own and would come back when he was ready. And who was the beautiful girl with Jack? Charlie assumed it was his fiancé or wife, but he was shocked at the prospect of Jack settling down so young. Jack was always so free-spirited – a tumbleweed blowing in the wind, Charlie's parents always said.

Jack and Rose stood on the porch, smiling through their nerves as they waited for Charlie to say something. He looked as if his jaw was about to hit the floor from pure shock. Charlie was able to get himself together and choke out some words. "Jack Dawson, is that you?"

Jack smiled. "Yes, Charlie, it's me. I'm back home."

"Wow. I can't believe it's you.. and who's this beauty?"

"This is my beautiful wife, Rose," Jack responded.

Rose blushed at the compliment, but she wasn't surprised. Jack loved to compliment his wife, especially in front of other people. He wanted to whole world to know how in love he was with her. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Dawson."

"Please, call me Charlie. Now come on in, both of you," Charlie suggested as he led the way inside the house. "My wife, Lilly is making some tea in the kitchen. Why don't we go in there? I feel like we have a lot to catch up on."

Jack nodded. "That sounds like a good idea to me."

Charlie reached for the suitcases Jack was carrying. "I'm sorry, I forgot my manners. Let me take those suitcases and put them in the sitting room for now."

"Thank you," Jack said gratefully, not wanting to lug around his and Rose's belongings any longer.

-

"Charlie! Who's here?" Lillian Dawson yelled from the kitchen as she swooped up her long, blonde curls into a bun to get them out of her face. Someone had knocked on the door of the house a few minutes ago, surprising both Lilly and her husband, as they were not expecting anyone. Charlie had gone to answer the door, and a few moments later, Lilly heard Charlie invite someone in. Right after she yelled her question, Lilly was surprised to see her husband walk into the kitchen with a young couple in tow. The man looked surprising like Charlie, besides the fact that his hair was straight, instead of curly like Charlie's, and he was a bit shorter. The woman was astonishingly beautiful. She had long, red hair and porcelain skin. She looked nervous as she clenched the hand of the man beside her. Her walk and mannerisms screamed high society, and Lilly found herself wondering what a woman like her could be doing in Chippewa Falls.

"Lilly, I'd like to introduce you to my cousin, Jack Dawson, and his wife, Rose," Charlie said as he walked into the kitchen. "Do you remember when I told you about my aunt and uncle who used to live in this house and perished in the barn fire? This is their son."

"Oh my gosh, you've come back! Charlie has truly missed you – he talks about you quite frequently. It's so nice to get a chance to finally meet you," Lilly exclaimed.

Jack smiled. He couldn't believe he was back in his old house for the first time in five years. Everything he had seen so far looked exactly the way it did when he left, and he was grateful that Charlie and Lilly hadn't changed it too much. Jack thought about all of the good times that he had as a child in the house, and he was happy to be back. The house was the one thing he had left from his parents.

"Good to meet you as well. I see that old Charlie here has settled down," Jack said, making Charlie laugh. "But yes, I'm back. And I've brought my beautiful wife with me."

"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Lilly. It's a pleasure to meet you," Lilly said as she stuck out her hand to Rose.

"I'm Rose, Jack's wife. It's great to meet some of his family." Rose's nerves started to fade away. Lilly definitely seemed kind and welcoming, and Rose hoped that they could be friends.

"Sit down, you two. The tea is done if you would like some," Lilly said.

"Oh, yes, if you don't mind. I'm pretty thirsty from that long carriage ride," Rose said in response as she sat down. Lilly poured tea into four mugs and then sat down herself as her husband started to talk.

"Jack, don't get me wrong, it's great to see you again. But I must ask, what brings you back? And where have you been in the first place? Mom told me that you darted out of here after the funeral and nobody had heard from you since," Charlie said. He didn't want to be rude or noisy, but he couldn't help that he was curious about his long-lost cousin.

"Ah well, I've really been all over, so it's kind of a long story," Jack started out, not wanting to waste their time if they didn't want to hear.

"Oh, it's fine, Jack. I want to hear about what my long-lost cousin has been up to!" Charlie said. "Now go on."

"Well, after the funeral, I couldn't stand to be around here anymore. I knew I had to get away from the sympathy of everyone, so I took a train to Santa Monica. You know how my dad always told stories of his times there? I stayed there for about eight months, before heading across the country to New York. After staying there for a bit, I traveled to Europe, where I stayed for about four years – just working on my art, traveling from place to place. I won a ticket to go back to America, which is where I met Rose here. It was love at first sight." Jack took a deep breath as he finished talking. Neither of them were ready to tell people about the Titanic yet, so he thought it was okay to leave that part out. Jack would tell Charlie about that part when he and Rose were both ready.

Rose continued the story for Jack, knowing that just thinking about the Titanic was difficult for the both of them. "We got married as soon as we got off the ship, and we weren't sure exactly where to live. I wanted to see where Jack grew up, so I suggested we come here. He thought it was a great idea, since his house was still here and we would have somewhere to live. But now that we see you guys are living here, we'll just find our own place to live…."

Lilly smiled, liking Jack and Rose already. They both seemed very kind, and it was obvious that the couple was very much in love. She wondered, though, what had happened to Rose's family. Why did they not have anywhere to go after the ship docked? Lilly figured that there was more to the story, and that Jack and Rose would share more when they were ready.

"Nonsense!" Lilly exclaimed. "This is Jack's house, and he has every right to live here. Anyway, there are four bedrooms.. we have more than enough room. You guys will stay here with Charlie and me. I want to get to know you guys better, since you're my husband's family, and Charlie and Jack have a lot to catch up on."

"Oh, we would hate to intrude. We could always go to the boarding house until we find a place of our own.." Jack started to say. Of course, he wanted to live in his old house, but he didn't want to intrude on his cousin and his wife.

Charlie spoke up before Jack could finish speaking. "No, Lilly's right. You guys will stay here. I'm not going to let family out on the streets. Plus, this is your house, Jack."

Jack nodded, grateful for the offer.
"Thank you both so much. It's great to meet some of Jack's family and see that they are as kind-hearted as he is," Rose said, smiling.

-

After all four of them had finished their tea and made small talk for awhile, Jack decided to ask Charlie why he was back in Chippewa Falls, anyhow. He was happy that he and his cousin were able to catch up again, but he wondered why Charlie hadn't stayed in Cedar Rapids.

"So Charlie, what brought you back to Chippewa Falls? I was surprised when the carriage driver had said you were living here instead of in Cedar Rapids," Jack said questioningly.

Charlie took Lilly's hand, looking at her lovingly. "Well, I met Lilly here during our last year of school in Cedar Rapids. We fell in love right away, and I asked her to be my wife as soon as we both graduated. We got married a couple of months later, and we didn't know where we should live. Lilly didn't particularly like Cedar Rapids, and I have always wanted to come back home to Chippewa Falls. We sold our house when we moved, but I knew that your house was left vacant, and we thought you wouldn't mind if we lived here until you came back, if you decided to."

Rose smiled. Charlie and Lilly seemed to be just as in love as her and Jack were, which made Rose happy. Rose and Lilly were already becoming good friends, talking and getting to know each other while the men were catching up.

"Well, I'm very glad that you came back here and I got the opportunity to meet some of Jack's family," Rose said.

Jack nodded, agreeing. "It's great to see how happy you are, Charlie. I never thought you would settle down."

Charlie laughed. "Same here, Jack. I never thought someone as free-spirited as Jack Dawson would settle down with a wife at such a young age."

Jack looked at Rose and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Well, love makes you do crazy things."

"That it does," Charlie said. "Why don't you two go upstairs and make yourselves at home? Mine and Lilly's bedroom is one of the old guestrooms – we didn't want to invade on your room or your parents, Jack. So, go and pick yourselves a room and get settled. We'll holler when dinner is ready."

Jack nodded. "Thanks for letting us stay here, Charlie. I'm so glad to be back in my house."

Charlie smiled. "Anything for family, Jack. I'm glad you're back, too."

A/N: Yay, so everyone's happy! I'll put another chapter up soon. I've got a lot of exciting plans for this story. Thank you to everyone who has left me reviews – they truly make me smile. I read every single one and it makes me happy to know people are enjoying the story. I also welcome any criticism – this is my first fanfiction story, so I'd love to know what everyone thinks of my writing. Thank you all! Review please!