November 28th, 1912
Thanksgiving Day

The last few months had gone smoothly for the Dawson clan. Cal had not tried to contact Jack or Rose, which had greatly eased their minds. Rose's pregnancy was moving along without any complications, other than the morning sickness that she had in the beginning. Jack had been taking care of her, waiting on her hand and foot as her pregnancy progressed, much to Rose's amusement. As many times as she had assured him that pregnancy was perfectly natural and that she was fine, Jack still worried about her constantly and wanted to make sure everything was perfect.

Shortly after Rose's acting debut, the theater's director, Mrs. Barnes, offered Rose a position to teach acting classes twice a week. Mrs. Barnes had been suitably impressed with Rose's performance, and knowing that she might not want to act while she was pregnant, offered her the teaching position for as long as she would like. Rose was delighted at this, as it filled her time during the day while Jack was at work and she enjoyed teaching people how to act. Her students ranged from teenagers to those in their 30's and 40's, and they were all very pleasant people. Rose loved her students and looked forward to seeing them on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Jack was very happy that his wife was getting to do something that she loved, and both of them were grateful for the extra income that it brought their small family, as they would need the money for the baby.

Now it was Thanksgiving day, and Jack and Rose were both very excited to spend their first major holiday together with their small family.

Rose sighed as she wiped her hands on the kitchen towel, having finally finished preparing Thanksgiving dinner. At seven months pregnant, normal tasks seemed to exhaust her, and getting around the small kitchen was difficult with a big stomach. Lilly had offered to make the meal for the evening herself, knowing how exhausted Rose was, but Rose wanted to help. It was her and Jack's first major holiday together, and Rose wanted it to be special. Her and Lilly had prepared a delicious meal of turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, biscuits, vegetables, and two pies – apple and pumpkin. The men had even contributed to the cooking, since they both had the day off from the factory for the holiday.

"Rose, why don't you go lie down? I'll finish cleaning up and setting the table for dinner. You shouldn't be exhausting yourself in your condition," Lilly said softly, putting her hand on Rose's shoulder.

Rose opened her mouth to protest, but then decided against it. Lilly was right. She had been on her feet all day, cooking and getting ready for dinner. Her feet were swollen and she was exhausted. Maybe she could get a nap in before dinner. "Alright, fine. Thanks, Lil."

"No problem. I think Jack is in the living room if you want to go lie down in there."

Rose nodded and went off to the living room, where she found Jack working on a drawing. He looked up and smiled when he saw his wife. Even after cooking all morning, she still looked absolutely beautiful. Rose sat down on the sofa next to her husband, exhausted.

"Sweetheart, you look exhausted." Jack frowned. He knew that Rose had insisted on cooking for their first Thanksgiving together, but he didn't like the idea. She was seven and a half months pregnant, and he didn't want her to push herself.

"I'm fine. I just need to sit down for awhile. Lilly said she would finish setting the table and come get me when dinner was ready," Rose said.

"Well, alright. I just don't want you to push yourself."

Rose smiled. Jack was always so concerned about her, and it made her feel incredibly loved. "I know, Jack. I'll be alright."

Jack kissed the top of Rose's red curls and put his arm around her, hugging her close. They sat like that for awhile until Jack looked down, just to see that his wife was asleep against his shoulder. He chuckled to himself and gently slipped out of their embrace, slowly bringing her head down to the couch so that she could sleep lying down instead of sitting up. He put a pillow under her head and kissed her forehead, smiling to himself before walking into the kitchen to see how dinner was coming along.

"Lilly, this all looks delicious," Jack said as he walked into the kitchen, just to be greeted by the smell of the cooked food.

"Thanks, Jack. Rose helped quite a bit, too, though. She's become a really good cook."

Jack smiled, proud of his wife. "I know she has. Here, let me help you with that," Jack said as he walked over to where Lilly was taking four plates and bowls out of the cabinet to bring to the dining room table.

"Thanks, Jack. Once we set the table, we'll be all ready for dinner. Did Rose follow my advice and go lie down?"

"Yes, she did," Jack laughed at the memory of how quickly she had fallen asleep. "She fell asleep on my shoulder about five minutes after she sat down. I'll go wake her up when dinner is ready."

Jack and Lilly finished setting the table and brought the dishes of food out to the center of the table, where everyone could reach them during dinner instead of going back and forth from the kitchen to fill their plates. Once everything was ready for dinner, Lilly went off to find her husband, who was upstairs in his study reading the newspaper. Jack went back into the living room, hesitant to wake his sleeping wife. She looked so peaceful, and he knew she was exhausted. However, he knew she wanted to be awake to spend time with the family and eat the dinner she had worked so hard at.

Jack walked over to the couch and leaned down to give Rose a soft kiss on the lips. She stirred, opening her eyes and looking up at her husband. "Jack.. I love when you wake me up like that."

"And I love waking you up like that, my love. But it's dinner time, and I think you want to eat that delicious looking meal you prepared."

Rose laughed as she sat up, taking Jack's hand to pull herself up from the sofa. "You're right. Let's go to the dining room."

"Rose, Lilly, that dinner was absolutely delicious," Charlie complimented as they all finished their meal.

"Thank you, but wait until you see dessert. We baked an apple and a pumpkin pie," Rose responded.

"Now that sounds delicious," Jack said, making everyone laugh. Jack smiled at the scene before him. Him, his beautiful wife, his cousin, and his cousin-in-law all sat around the table, laughing and sharing stories. Jack had often wondered what it would be like to be part of a family again after his parents had passed, and this was definitely a great feeling. Once the baby was born, their family would have a wonderful new addition. Jack hadn't spent Thanksgiving with a family in five years, and he couldn't think of a better way to start up the holiday tradition again than with three, soon to be four, people he loved dearly.

Jack's thoughts were interrupted when Lilly stood up, clearing her throat to get everyone's attention. "Ahem, everyone. Charlie and I have an announcement to make before dessert." Charlie smiled up at his wife and lovingly took her hand, clearly knowing what was coming next. Jack and Rose listened on, curious to what the announcement could be.

"Charlie and I have decided that we're going to be moving soon. Jack, Rose, you guys have a baby on the way and need the room here. You're about to have your own family and don't need us intruding."

Rose immediately shook her head. "Lilly, you know that you guys are not intruding. This house is perfectly big enough for the four of us plus the baby. We'll miss you guys if you move!"

Lilly smiled, and Rose realized that the announcement was not over. Charlie stood up next to his wife, ready to give the second part of the announcement. "Well, I don't think you'll miss us too much, because we're moving right next door. The Peterman's just sold their house to us. And yes, the house is big enough for the four of us and the baby, but we're going to need more room soon because.. Lilly's pregnant."

Jack and Rose immediately grinned, happy for their cousins. Rose stood up and ran to Lilly, hugging her as tight as her pregnant belly would allow. "Lilly! This is so exciting.. our babies will be so close in age! How far along are you?"

Lilly smiled and hugged Rose back, happy that her friend was so excited for her. "The doctor said I'm almost three months along."

"Oh my gosh! Our babies will be so close in age and they'll get to grow up right next door to each other.. this is amazing news!" Rose exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Jack got up and walked over to his cousin, shaking his hand and then pulling him into a hug. "Congratulations, Charlie. I'm so happy for you guys, I know this is something you both have been wanting for awhile."

Charlie nodded. He and Lilly had been trying for a baby for a year, but it had taken awhile for her to get pregnant. Now that she finally was, they were overjoyed. "Thanks, Jack. I guess our kids will grow up to be as close as we were and still are."

Jack laughed. "Either that, or they'll be at each other's throats. Hopefully not the latter."

The four of them finished their congratulations and started dessert, looking forward to the upcoming events in their lives. Thanksgiving is a holiday to celebrate what one is thankful for in his or her life, and the Dawsons were doing just that. Each of them had so much to be thankful for, and there was no better way to celebrate than with each other.