Chapter 53: Lost and Found

Emma comes home a bit shaken from her meeting with the private investigator. Holly had come over to watch over Sybil with Thomas, who's birthday was a few days away.

"Are you alright Emma?" Holly asks.

Emma doesn't respond at first. She's really pale and completely zoned out. Thomas and Sybil play on the floor of the living room as Emma sits down in her father's favourite spot, a place where he often did a lot of his legal thinking. She was concerned about how she was going to break the news to Rose that her fiance was still looking for her, but also how she was going to have to protect her family and friends. What Cal had done to them was unspeakable and downright murderous; abducting Sybil, holding Rose at knife point, holding all of them at gunpoint, shooting Peter, having Jack arrested and basically sentenced to death and shooting at the couple while the ship was filling with water… she definitely feared for her life and for those she loved. She still had nightmares about that showdown…what if Cal had followed through on his threats… What if Cal found them now, she could not imagine what he might do to them. Murder Jack and the three of them and then drag Rose against her will to marry him. It was fortunate that she was able to negotiate with the PI to protect those closest to her, but Emma still wondered if it would be enough. Emma does her best to hide the tears she's shedding that she doesn't notice Holly standing in front of her trying to get her attention.

"Emma?" Holly says again.

"Sorry Holly, I've had a long day."

"I can see that; you look like you've just seen a ghost."

"Not really a ghost, but something has come back to haunt us."

"What is it?"

Emma swallows hard. She doesn't want to drag Holly, Carl and little Thomas into this situation. They weren't on the Titanic, they didn't interfere with someone's engagement, they weren't almost shot at by a jealous fiancé. They didn't deserve to have their lives ruined by this man.

"I'm not sure I should tell you," Emma says, biting her lip. "It might risk your safety…"

Holly goes pale and turns to Thomas.

"Thomas, why don't you go with Sybil upstairs and play in her new room?"

"Why Mommy?" the boy asks.

Holly opens her mouth to speak and then closes it. She doesn't know what Emma's so afraid of, but she doesn't need her son overhearing everything and blurting things out as young children often do. If what Emma is afraid of does put them at risk, she doesn't need to scare her son.

"Because the adults need to talk," Emma says quickly.

"But why?"

"We just need to talk alone, it's nothing to worry about…" Emma says.

"Please, Thomas…"

"Yes Mommy," Thomas says. Holly scoops up Sybil and takes her upstairs to the nursery, with her son following behind.

Once the children are settled, Peter's sister sits down next to Emma.

"What happened Emma?"

"Do you remember Rose's fiancé?"

…

When Peter comes home later that night, his arms filled with papers, his hat, the mail and his briefcase. He hangs up his coat and hat and he finds Emma half asleep with Sybil in her lap in the living room. He drops his briefcase to the floor next to the couch and then leans over to kiss Emma quietly.

Immediately, Emma bolts up in shock, nearly throwing Sybil to the floor and screaming out in terror.

"Sorry sweetheart, I didn't mean to wake you…"

"It's fine," Emma pants. She runs her hand through her hair and takes several deep breaths to calm herself. She picks up Sybil, who luckily didn't wake up and carries her sister towards the nursery.

Peter immediately knows something is wrong. Emma hasn't been this spooked since her nightmares on the Titanic. He worries for her well-being, she's been through a lot over the past few months; they all have and they seemed to be doing okay. That is until now.

Emma comes back down, still, a bit shaken.

"Would you like something to eat?" Emma asks quickly.

"N-No thank you… Emma, what's wrong?"

Emma shuffles into the kitchen before Peter can get an answer. She begins milling about the kitchen to distract herself, turning on the faucet to fill the teapot.

"You sure you don't want something? Maybe a drink, some tea? Holly made it from…"

Peter reaches over and places his hand over hers to stop her. He uses his other hand to turn his fiancée's face towards him.

"What's wrong Emma?"

Emma looks into Peter's eyes, they are full of concern and worry. She knows that he is scared, he hates seeing her like this. She leans over and pulls Peter into a long hug.

"I'm scared," she whispers into his ear. She can feel tears coming to the surface of her eyes. The fear that had been building up inside her starts coming out. She cries quietly in his arms.

Peter puts his arms around Emma and holds her close. He can hear her laboured breathing and her body is shaking slightly too. He rubs his hand against her back gently, something her often did to soothe her.

"Shh, Shh…I'm here…it's okay."

The two of them rock back and forth for a little while in front of the kitchen sink. The sounds of the night coming through the open window over the sink. A few crickets chirp merrily in the garden, a dog barks from a nearby yard and the wind blows gently through the trees. The lace curtains over the window blow outwards a bit with the rhythm of the wind, which reminds Emma of a ghost; it's as if something is reaching in from the outside to grab her.

Eventually, they sit down at the table, Peter brings her a glass of water and Emma takes a few more deep breaths to calm herself. She wipes her eyes and then reaches over grabs her beloved Peter's hand.

"What happened?" Peter asks.

"C-Cal is looking for Rose," Emma answers.

"Really?" Peter says his eyes going wide, but he wasn't as surprised as he thought he might be. If Cal was so possessive enough to shoot him, frame Jack and attempt to kill the couple while the ship was sinking, he wouldn't be surprised that after Rose ran away, that Mr. Hockley would come looking for her.

"Yes, he hired a private investigator, with a cloud of smoke over his face, to find Rose and this investigator paid a visit to me today."

"What did he ask you?"

"If I'd seen Rose," Emma says. She takes a sip of water.

"Did you…"

"I used my lawyer strategy of answering a question with a question. I asked him why the information was important to him and that I was afraid for her safety, that I wouldn't put my friend or her child at risk."

Peter nods. They had all witnessed first hand how dangerous Cal could be and if he found out that Rose was back with Jack and that they were having a baby… He immediately shakes the thought from his mind.

"I told him about what happened on the ship and why I thought it wasn't a good idea that I reveal where she was."

"Then what happened?"

"He guilt tripped me. He said that Rose's mother was very stressed, losing sleep and starving herself with worry about where her daughter was. He made me think of how I felt when you and Sybil were missing. I then saw a loophole in his verbal agreement with Hockley, that he only had to find Rose, he never had to bring her home. I also told him I wanted to keep it anonymous and that I'd figure out a way to protect all of us in case Cal decided to do his own investigating."

Peter nods once more.

"Then he left and I spent the rest of the day drawing up restraining orders…"

Peter leans over and kisses Emma's cheek.

"I'm proud of you," he says gently. "That would've been the way your father would have handled the situation.

"Really?" Emma asks. "Because I still felt like I betrayed Rose, practically giving away that she was living in the general area."

"You did what you had to do," Peter says earnestly. "You couldn't lie to a man of the law, that would just get us in a lot of trouble, but you negotiated and found a way around the problem, whilst still protecting everyone you love."

Emma sighs and then looks at her knees.

"The question now is, how am I going to break this to Rose?"

Peter swallows hard and nods.

"I'm sure this will put a damper on their engagement, they might even move away to protect themselves…" Emma sighs.

She was most afraid that Rose would hate her for putting them all at risk, but that's what the restraining orders were for. She also didn't want Jack and Rose to leave. She loved them like family, the couple are her best friends and the thought of having them move far away scared her. The house felt so happy and comfortable ever since they moved in, but even then, Emma knew it was only temporary. Rose and Jack had lives of their own to live; they wanted to see the world, they wanted new adventures and they couldn't get it by remaining in New York. They couldn't live together forever, especially with a new addition on the way.

If Emma was completely honest with herself, she envied them, they didn't have a company to run or a sister to raise, they were free… to a point and Emma knew in the back of her mind that Rose envied her life; having security, a job, an education, the freedom to make her own choices; everything that made her unique. However, Rose didn't understand how much of a burden these things could be… Emma was still young and she had so many things she had wanted to do with Peter before they got married and before they settled down. But circumstances changed and so Emma had to put her dreams on hold, in order to honour her parents and protect her sister. She loved her family, of course, it just seemed that she had to grow up a little too quickly. Until now, she hadn't really taken the time to see what she had to give up after losing her parents.

Peter hugs Emma tightly as she tears up again. She wipes the tears away and leans over to kiss her loving Peter. She wanted to be married to him, she wanted to have a life with him, but there was so much they should've been able to do first before working all day, coming home exhausted to a messy house and a tiny child… living a married life.

"I'm sure she'll understand," Peter says reassuringly. "It's not like we couldn't see this coming. She couldn't expect to disappear and have people not notice, she'd have to face the music eventually."

"That's true," Emma says. "But until today, I thought that her mother was just as selfish, materialistic and vain as Cal was, typical first-class, but the investigator told me that she was dying of worry and she did, in fact, have a soul and feelings."

"Any mother, no matter how self-involved she may be, still loves her child and misses her when they're gone."

"And vice versa," Emma says, feeling the gap left in her heart after her mother died and how she felt when Sybil was abducted on the ship.

"The bottom line is, Ruth DeWitt Bukater is not a threat to us like Cal is and she does have feelings, but it will be Rose's decision about whether she wants her mother in her life."

Emma nods and drinks up the last of her water.

"It's funny, isn't it? If someone had told me six months ago that I'd lose my parents, end up on a sinking ship and help save two star-crossed lovers escape a jealous man, I'd have said they were mentally disturbed."

"If someone had told me that I'd fall in love a beautiful woman and we'd end up running a business together and raising a child, all before we were married, I would've had them shipped off to the asylum for madness."

Emma smiles and kisses Peter deeply.

"Speaking of Rose," Peter says. "I got a letter from her and Jack today."

"What does it say?" Emma says eagerly.

Peter opens the envelope and opens the page.

Dear Emma, Peter, and Sybbie,

Jack and I are having the most wonderful time in California. The weather is amazing and we go to the beach nearly every day. We rode the roller coaster (which did not make us throw up thankfully), the Ferris wheel and carousel, ate hot dogs and cotton candy and went through the fun house and dance hall on the pier. The Fourth of July fireworks were fantastic and have something special and joyous news to tell you when we get back. We still miss the sounds of New York and the comforts of home. We're eager to come back soon… just not too soon. Tell Thomas we are sorry we'll miss his birthday, but we'll bring back something special from the pier for him. We hope everything is okay at the office and that all is well. We've decided to stay another week or so to celebrate something special, but we'll be back before you know it.

Miss you all and see you soon,

Love,

Rose and Jack

Emma smiles after finishing the letter. The two look at each other knowing full well what the news was and they couldn't be happier for their friends. They knew that the two were meant to be together forever, that not even a sinking ship could keep them apart and they hoped that they could plan a double wedding…maybe, whatever the couple wanted. They couldn't believe how far the five of them had come since first meeting on the ship. They had all grown and survived together, caring for each other and feeling like a family. This was something that Emma had missed since her parents passing and even though nothing could bring them back or replace them, she had found a new family she could cherish and love with all her heart.

Peter and Emma kiss again as the cool July breeze comes through the window. Emma knows that she may have lost a lot in her life, but she had found so much more worth keeping around for a long, long time.