A/N: Hey, I hope Nancy's accent in this chapter is acceptable. I usually don't write people speaking like this, but in this one I felt that it would was necessary. Please tell me, if it's not right.

And of course reviews are always appreciated :-)

The Boston prison was not the place that Ruth Dewitt Bukater was adamant to stay for much longer, but she didn't have a choice. Mr Hastings was constantly trying to achieve a hearing to get her out on bailment, but so far nothing had been settled. The case of attempted murder though obviously was something different than the stealing of an apple at the market. Ruth never had many problems with her health, but now the cold, rheumy air and walls put together with the fear for her daughter and yes Jack as well, was slowly starting to get her indisposed.

Ruth didn't have much contact with the other prisoners. Not that she didn't want to. When eating was served Ruth was helping out and had even spoken with one or two of the other women. Her ladylike manner installed in her from infancy didn't help much, when it came to befriending others. Most of them thought her to be big-headed and self-seeking.

Then Mr Hastings had come and told her that it would better not to talk too much to others, because it could start rumours. Ruth hated this lamenting the whole day. She could do nothing, but sit around and wait for the hours to pass. Also she had trouble adjusting to the fact that she couldn't just go out whenever she wanted. Already in her youth she had been encouraged by her grandmother that there were people more in need than herself and had forbidden her granddaughter sweet idleness. Surely her first meeting with Jack would've been different, if her very beloved grandmother hadn't been already dead prior to the time of Ruth turning ten. Her mother had been the total opposite – no one would've guessed that they were actually mother and daughter – and set up a firm behaviour of class and importance of oneself into Ruth. But her grandmother's tutoring had still paid off somehow.

Ruth had instantly jumped up, when the management of the prison had asked, if anyone would be able to knit scarfs and the like for the near children's orphanage home. She had always done that together with her grandmother and frankly had enjoyed it very much, but later on with her mother had never had much thought about it again. Her mother hadn't thought much about helping the poor, telling her always that they would just spent their money for beer.

Now, she and some other women were doing embroideries for a few hours the day in a room together. They weren't allowed to use needles and scissors without an officer at their side – in case they wanted to do something to themselves as they were told. Ruth had to laugh at this. She really didn't look like someone, who would commit suicide.

I'm too old for that. Besides there's Rose I've got to think about.

Ruth was concentrating on her work and not forfeiting any attention to the gossip around her, until she was directly addressed.

"Why are you here?"

"Are you talking to me?" Ruth asked the woman, who looked like she was two heads taller than her and when a statue that Ruth usually only recalled men having.

I surely don't want to meet her alone in the dark.

"Yes, you or do you see anyone else here?" the woman said chewing tobacco?

Ruth wondered where she had gotten that. For sure they didn't sell in here in the open.

"I'm…they say that I wanted to kill my son-in-law," Ruth answered in her ladylike voice, while the other woman choked out some tobacco spilling it on Ruth's dress, who realized that lecturing her wouldn't help.

"And didda do it?" her voice was really barely understandable at least to someone like Ruth Dewitt Bukater.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said did you do it," she repeated angrily. "God I didn't know that this prison had Ritz-inhabitants here. Last time I was here it was…"

"Last time?" Ruth raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, last time…they know me here ya see…anyway answer my question now."

"Oh, ahem, sure…," now even Ruth was getting nervous. "Of course not; I would never even think of murdering anyone. I'm totally innocent."

"Ah, but, of course, we'll are. Right girls?" she shouted in the round being answered with a loud "Sure, Nancy!"

"Quiet or you've to go back to your cells!" yelled one of the officers, being immediately booed at.

"What's ya name?"

"Ruth," she understood my now what she was being asked.

"Fits you well. I'm Nancy."

Ruth had returned to her needle work. It was her way of calming her down and her get her thought off of her problems. At least it was worth a try.

"Looks good," said Nancy. "Like you neva do enething else. Not like mine."

Ruth smiled sadly at her remembering her grandmother and Rose.

"Don't stress yourself too much, it gets better with time. I just have more experience than you," Ruth grinned at her glad now that this woman was distracting her. "I used to knit and sew with my grandmother," she saw Nancy looking at her with questioning eyes realizing that she wasn't thinking about the scarf anymore. "What's the matter?"

"Wanna know why I'm here?"

Ruth nodded slowly; she just didn't have the guts to ask.

"Murder."

"What? Really…but…?"

"Hey, yes, I murder my husband. He drunk, beat me and throws my money…," she spat out some more tobacco. "…so one day he come home and I wait for him, he hits me and I grab a knife and well…"

"But then it was self-defence," Ruth interrupted her.

"Self-what?"

"Don't you know what self-protection is?" when she saw the other one shaking her head, she continued "It means that you couldn't have acted any other way. That you needed to defend yourself – hence the name self-defence," Ruth enlightened her.

Nancy just looked at her totally astonished.

"Have you never read about this?"

"Na…I left school with twelve…helping parents…"

Ruth gulped at bit at this knowing that her life might've been different, if she had grown up in a decent family.

"And your lawyer? Didn't he tell you?"

"Lawyer?" Nancy gazed at her like having heard this word for the first time in her life.

"You mean you don't have…," Ruth began, when they were disturbed by an officer.

In fact it was the same one, who had questioned Ruth on her first day here. He didn't seem to like Nancy other.

"Someone is here to visit you, Mrs Dewitt Bukater," he started sneering at her clearly enjoying this game.

Ruth wondered if he had known what they had been talking about – been prying – and just interrupted them at the right time. At least it would ascertain her opinion about him.

"Do you know who it is?"

He said no, but Ruth believed that he was lying. He had that strange, mocking expression on his face.

"Excuse me, but we were just talking…," Nancy stood up.

"And you Mrs Evans stop pestering people here with the nonsense about your poor life. We all know the truth. Now come on," he added towards Ruth in a very unfriendly tone. "I don't have the whole day."

Ruth mentioned for her to sit down again and leave it for one. There was no need to start a quarrel now, one that they would lose anyway. She got up herself following him outside, but still managing to give Nancy an indication that she did believe her. Hoping against hope Ruth wished that it was Rose.

….

For sure it wasn't Rose. It was Roger Lindsay.

"I don't want to speak with him. I want to go back to my cell," she turned around at her heel looking at the particular officer, who grinned at her in a way she had never seen anyone watch her. In fact no one had ever dared to treat her like this.

"But, mother, I thought that we could talk together. Get to know each other better," Roger spoke up.

"I wouldn't know what about and by the way I not your mother," she told him sharply. "Please Sir, I want to go back now," she added towards the officer, whose malicious grin just grew brighter.

"I'm sorry, madam, but Mr Lindsay came here just to see you. Don't you think that it's kind of rude to send him away now?"

Ruth was angry, but finally mumbled a yes. Obviously she had to get this over with.

"So how's my daughter?" she asked him hoping that he would tell her the truth.

Ruth and Roger had taken their seats at the table, while the officer sat in the corner of the room watching them. Not that he thought Roger would be helping her to escape – it was clear to a blind that these two ostracized each other – but it was orders.

"Well, very well in fact," he began eyeing Ruth.

Ruth didn't like the look on his face, while Roger couldn't wait to tell her everything Ruth wondered how Jack was doing since no one wanted to tell her anything, but realized that asking him was a very bad notion indeed. Roger Lindsay would just make up some lie.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she finally spoke up, really unnerved already. "I would appreciate it, if Rose would come here soon."

"I'm sure she would visit you, however, it's not that easy for her in her current state," he said and then leaned towards her and added almost inaudible at least to the officer "…now with her pregnancy and everything."

Ruth barely managed to keep herself from falling backwards of the chair.

Rose was pregnant?

By this evil man?

Did Jack know about it?

"Now what do you say, mother?" he grinned again knowing he was angering her by addressing her as that. "We're family now. Don't you think that we should meet more often?" he added of course realizing how much Ruth detested him.

He couldn't care less. What did it really matter, if this woman liked him or not? He had her daughter, who was now totally committed to him and that was all he wanted. Rose and he would be living together as husband and wife and she would eventually forget everything about her good-for-nothing husband and her bothersome mother.

And Jack Dawson will soon be out of the picture too.

"Rose and I are looking forward to our own first child. Of course as her mother we both want you in our child's life too and…," he stopped, when he saw Ruth standing up. "Ruth, what's wrong? Don't you want to get to know the father of your grandchild better? Rose would surely be happy as well, if..."

She ignored him and walked over to the officer.

"Please bring me back to my cell now," she said as politely as possible.

Finally the officer nodded.

"Alright."

Roger had risen up as well coming closer to them; putting up a fake grin once more.

"It's a pity that we can't have a drink together here, Ruth. Don't you think so?"

"I never drink alcohol," she answered him very short-tempered.

Roger was still happy with his achievement and smiled after her, while she left the room.

…..

On the next day, when the women were doing needle-work again, Nancy sat herself besides Ruth wanting to talk to her.

Nancy had never met anyone like Ruth so well educated and everything, but stilll so very sad and withdrawn. She wanted to know what was really going on in her head.

"Ya look like you cad need company," she said in a laughing voice not awaiting an answer.

Ruth weakly smiled at her. She hadn't slept one bit last night.

Rose is pregnant…

I'm the father…

This couldn't be possible and indeed it wouldn't be, if Jack hadn't...Ruth still wondered what had really happened to him.

And why was Rose suddenly together with this scum Roger Lindsay? Haven't I raised her better than this?

She felt someone waving a hand before her eyes.

"Mmh…what?" she asked wearily.

"Ya didn't get much sleep," Nancy rightly guessed.

"Not really, I…I had a visitor yesterday."

Nancy only nodded.

"Your daughter?"

"No, someone else."

"Someone that you don't wanna see?"

You bet!

"Tell me," she demanded though in very friendly and caring way. "Maybe I can help ya."

Ruth doubted that, but she needed to talk to someone now and it seemed like Nancy was the only one available.

"My son-in-law he's in hospital and I'm judged with attempted murder…"

"Ya said that already…"

"Anyway there's this other man and he's after my daughter. You know like...," Nancy simply nodded " ..and yesterday he came here and informed me that she was pregnant with his child. Rose grew up in a very…now well you could say pampered environment and he's using that fact for his own benefit. My daughter is so young and inexperienced and I fear the worst for her life, if she really choses to stay with him," her hands were shaking by now something that didn't happen very often to Ruth.

The very thought of Rose being touched by someone like Roger Lindsay made her shiver. He was the devil in person and it was clear to Ruth that he had something to do with Jack's illness.

I just can't prove it.

"Can I ask ya something, Ruth?"

"Sure," she smiled at her. "Everything you want."

"Why would anyone think that you'd kill him?"

Ruth instantly knew that was talking about Jack.

"Well, because we…we didn't have the best start. My daughter…she was engaged to marry someone else, but then she met Mr Dawson and...you know the rest."

Nancy shook her head, finding all of this very strange. Ruth called her son-in-law Mister?

"Ya didn't want them to wed?"

Ruth whispered a no.

"Why not?"

That was a very good question indeed and answering it would've been no problem a month ago still, but now and to this woman it was a next to impossible task. Ruth was certain that Nancy wouldn't understand.

After all I don't understand my action myself now.

"It's kind of hard to explain, but…he came from a different…," she bit her lip trying to come up with the right words – words that wouldn't let her appear as a snobbish rich idiot "…I once thought that money was everything and I…my husband had died and left us with debts and I believed that the marriage of my daughter would relieve us of all our problems."

"So, ya didn't like him, because he didn't have money?" Nancy couldn't believe it.

"This sounds really stupid, right?" Ruth laughed unsure of herself. "…especially to someone like you."

"What you do mean?" Nancy glared at her, causing Ruth to back away slightly.

"Nothing, it's just that…I didn't get into much contact with people like…"

"Me?"

"Yes, I'm regret that now. Neither my mother nor my father thought much of the underpriviledged as they called them, only my grandmother sometimes took me to the market, where I would see them. But I guarantee you I've changed now. My son-in-law and you…you're good people in fact and not at all after my money…"

"Why would I be after your money? I've my own," Nancy said offended.

"I know, my mother always told me that. And you know in its youth a child is bound to believe what its parents say. Now I wish that I had supported Rose from the beginning. Maybe then nothing like this would've happened."

Nancy looked at her and waited patiently as Ruth slowly finished the story. Nancy could see how much this was taking a toll on her, but was unsure of reaching for her hand. Ruth was totally different from the people she normally met, especially in prison.

"He's a good man. I realize that now," Ruth choked out looking down for a second.

"What's his name?"

"Jack Da…"

"No, I mean the other one. You know I've some friend. He visit him, if ya like…," she grinned naughtily. "See how he's doing."

"What? No!" Ruth looked shocked. "I couldn't possible…," immediately declining the offer.

"But you hate him and he did something bad to your family. So where's the problem?" it sounded like she really didn't understand.

Seemingly in her world it was normal to just…to solve challenges this way.

"Because…because we're living in a country with…a free government under the law…," she stammered "…and self-administered justice…it's not right."

Nancy laughed up a bit.

"Ya know, Ruth, you're obviously new to this, but the saying goes like rich man make the law and poor have to live after it. But it's your choice. I don't empose…"

"Impose," Ruth corrected her.

"Sure, never been well in gramma…I tell my friend, if you want or not, if ya don't," with that she stood up leaving Ruth marvelling.