Three days later…

Ruth and Randall had checked into the Preston Hotel in Chippewa Falls and were shocked at who they saw at the front desk.

"Caledon Hockley?" Ruth hesitantly approached. Her parting with the Hockleys had not been a very amicable one. Really, he was the last person she had wanted to see on this trip. His presence may be a hindrance when it came to meeting Rose. Especially since it was him that had informed her of Rose's survival.

"Oh. I see that you have finally arrived, Ruth. With your husband in tow as well. How...charming I suppose. What took you so long may I ask?" Cal smirked.

"That is none of your concern. What on earth are you doing here? Was that telegraph you sent some kind of joke? Some cruel prank and now you are here to laugh in my face?" Ruth accused, her eyes flashing with angry indignation.

Cal gave a derisive snort. "Oh, how I wish that was the case! I thought that I was finally free of that shrewish daughter of yours, but no. I found her alive and well and wedded to that gutter rat Dawson! I just sent you word as a...old courtesy. That is all. It was my sister that brought me here, and it's my father's commands that are making me stay. Nothing to do with your daughter, thank goodness."

"Darling, we should check in," Randall placed a gentle hand on her back.

"Of course," Ruth nodded, thankful for her husband's presence. It gave Caledon Hockley proof that he was no longer needed in her or her family's lives.

"I take it that you're here to see her. Am I right Ruth?" Cal smirked, sounding very pleased with himself. He could only assume that this was going to be more trouble for Rose. The trouble that she well deserved.

"That is none of your concern, Mr. Hockley. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to check in and get settled."

"You don't even know where to look for her!"

But Ruth continued to ignore Cal as her husband lead her to the admission desk. Shaking his head, Cal stood not too far away, wanting to offer to take Ruth to the Dawson home himself, so he can see Rose's face when her mother arrived and instantly realize that she had him to thank for it. He watched as the couple checked in and were shown to their rooms. It was another half hour for them to come back out. Brimming with impatience, Cal approached them once again.

"Do you even know where she is, Ruth? I do. I know exactly where the slut lives. I can take you to her," Cal smirked.

"Goodness, such language," Ruth frowned, offended by Cal's brashness. Whatever happened to the polite first-class gentleman that had come to her doorstep offering his hand in marriage for her daughter? What happened to the gentleman that had taken them on a tour of Europe and had made sure that she had a seat on a lifeboat when that horrible ship began to sink? Was he always like this? Was this the version of Cal that her daughter had experienced? That had driven her to fake her own death?! No matter what Rose had wanted nothing more to do with her!

"Sir, we do not need your assistance. We can find her daughter on our own," Randall gently guided Ruth away from her former would-be son-in-law.

"Ruth, do not be a fool. It will take hours for you to find the place! I am being kind here! I've taken time out of my very busy day to help you!"

Ruth continued to ignore Cal as she and her husband talked to the clerk, who kindly gave them directions to the Dawson farm and even had a driver who would take them there.

"Ruth," Cal approached again, but all words dried up as Ruth gave him her coldest stare, a stare that shut up the most arrogant of businessmen.

"Mr. Hockley, I do appreciate your offer, but your assistance is no longer needed, nor is it wanted. You have done more than enough to my daughter, thank you very much. Now if you'll excuse us, my husband and I have to go."

Cal stared at them in stunned silence as Ruth and her husband exited the hotel and were on their way to see Rose. The confrontation that Cal had arranged was one that he had no choice but to miss.

…..

Rose had just returned home from her tutoring job. She was tired and her head felt like it was going to explode. Little Violet had been rather difficult today, not wanting to concentrate on her lesson and Rose's patience was at an end. Which was why she was so thankful for Tommy and Leah, who had taken over Lily's care while Rose was at work and for a few hours after Rose's return home, just to give Rose a chance to decompress after hours of teaching French.

Rose was heading to the kitchen when there was a knock at the door. She paused, waiting to see if anyone else would appear to answer the door. She sighed as the knock came again and no one came. Sighing, she walked over and opened the door herself. Her eyes widened to come face to face with the last person she had expected to see.

"So, it is true. You are alive," Ruth Dewitt Bukater Drake stood there with her husband standing behind her, staring at the daughter she had thought dead and frozen at the bottom of the North Atlantic. She had thought that perhaps this was one of Cal's cruel tricks. Something to put into play one last time before he took his vows. But it wasn't a trick. At least not one played by Cal.

"Mother? What….how?" Rose stammered, not knowing how to react to Ruth's sudden return to her life. She knew that she was going to contact her mother sometime in the far future, but it wasn't going to be anytime soon. It was going to be when she was ready, which was not now. But thanks to Cal, obviously, her plans were useless. She didn't even have Jack nearby for support.

"Well, don't just stand there, Rose. Let us in. It is rude to keep guests waiting for entry. You should know that," Ruth scolded.

Feeling like the obedient, yet miserable daughter she had once been, Rose simply stepped aside.

Holding her head up high, Ruth entered the house, she took in everything. The house was nothing like she was used to. There was none of the fancy furnishings that she had raised Rose to appreciate. No fancy paintings. No soft, lush carpets. None of the things that spoke of first-class life. This house was the exact thing that Ruth had feared for her daughter.

"How did you find me?" Rose asked, watching her mother look around at her surroundings.

"Caledon messaged me. Told me that my daughter was alive and well in Chippewa Falls and married to...that boy," Ruth sighed, tearing her eyes away from the room's furnishings and fastened them on her daughter, who had seemed to change from the regal first class lady that she had been groomed to be, and into a low-class school marm. Ruth couldn't help but lament over what had happened to her daughter.

"I am not surprised that Cal sent for you. He'd do anything to cause trouble for us."

Ruth faced her daughter, not knowing how to deal with any of this. She had spent over a year mourning this girl, regretting all of her actions, wishing that she had a do-over so she could do things differently, but all of it had been meaningless. Rose had not been dead, she had just been hiding from her. Honestly, Ruth didn't know which one was worse.

"Is that what you have to say to me, Rose? After all this time? After allowing me to believe that you had perished? A lament about Cal?" Ruth's voice was on the edge of disbelief.

Rose sighed, her wariness growing. "No, mother. That is not what I have to say to you. Actually...I have nothing to say. What can I say to explain my reasons when you are incapable of understanding them."

"You can at least offer us a seat. Maybe some tea. I've raised you better than this at least," Ruth found her old habits reforming. In a way, it was her natural defense. Keep the wall of coldness up so any hurtful barbs can bounce right off.

"You're right, mother. How rude of me. Do come in and take a seat. I will go make some tea. Maybe that will help us get our thoughts together for this conversation," Rose motioned for Ruth and Randall to a seat in the sitting room, which looked well lived in. Nothing like the sitting room that they once had in Philadelphia, in the old house.

"Come dear, let's take a seat while tea is prepared," Randall nodded, leading Ruth to the comfortable-looking couch.

Satisfied that her guests were seated, Rose disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Randall and Ruth to themselves.

"This is going awful already," Ruth twisted at her hands. "Did you see how she looked at me? Did you hear the coldness in her voice? She hates me…"

"She doesn't hate you, dear. She's just wary of you. After all, you are the mother that ruled her life with an iron fist at one point. She doesn't know how much you've changed. But being cold yourself...it's not going to help matters. It's not going to make her see that change," Randall advised, wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders.

"I am trying my best, Randall."

"Are you? From what I see, you have reconstructed that wall of ice I had spent a good six months knocking down," Randall chuckled. "Love, take it down. Be a little vulnerable. This is your daughter. She had her reasons for running away, but she won't share those reasons if she doesn't see your change."

Ruth just nodded, knowing that her husband was right. "You are right as always. Which is why I love you. If only you can do this for me."

"Sadly, I can't. Only you can fix this with your daughter. I can only be here for support."

Rose soon returned with a tray containing a kettle of tea and three cups and a plate of cookies known as Oreo's. Something new that came out last year. They were the house's favorite brand of cookies these days.

"I don't have Earl Grey, I do hope that chamomile is okay," Rose poured the tea into the tea cups.

"Chamomile is lovely," Randall smiled, accepting the cup of tea.

"Oh, where are my manners? Rose, this gentleman here is my new husband, Randall Drake. He owns a small factory. We met when I was applying for a seamstress job," Ruth introduced, her cheeks growing pink with embarrassment.

"Oh really?" Rose arched a brow in interest. She had never thought about her mother getting remarried. She had to admit that this news pleased and confused her at the same time. She was happy that her mother was not alone and was taken care of, but she also wondered why her mother hadn't thought of remarrying long before Titanic and saved them both the experience of Cal.

"Yes, I was walking through the facility, making sure that everything was running in tip-top shape when I came across the worse seamstress I had ever met in my life. She was utterly wrong for the job, yet so fascinating," Randall smiled at his wife. "Just by the look of her, I knew that she did not belong in such a profession."

"In just a few days, I was utterly smitten," Ruth smiled into her husband's eyes. "That was when I began to understand you, Rose. How quickly you fell in love with that boy…"

"Jack. His name is Jack, mother."

Ruth simply nodded, not used to saying that boy's name. "Jack. I began to understand how you fell in love with Jack so quickly."

"Well, I am happy to meet you, Mr. Drake. I have to say, even though I am surprised about my mother's remarriage, I am happy for you both. I am happy that she's not alone and that she's well taken care of."

Ruth was surprised. "You really do care that I'm taken care of?"

"Believe it or not mother, I do. I didn't run away because I didn't love you. In fact, the reason I had stayed with Cal for so long and that you were able to manipulate me so much was because I do love you and wanted the best for you...I didn't want to see you lose everything and become a seamstress...and I tried...I really tried to stick it out with Cal...but I couldn't. He was so awful during the Europe trip and even worse on Titanic. I was utterly miserable. So miserable that…," She stopped. She wasn't sure if it was wise to divulge just how miserable she had been...even though maybe she did need to. Ruth had to understand just how much her control had affected her daughter.

"Rose?"

Rose squeezed her eyes shut, remembering the swirl of negative emotions and the hopelessness she had felt that night. The future had been so dark and clouded for her, she couldn't see her way out, not until Jack had appeared and shined a light through the gloom. "The night I met Jack...I lied and I had Jack lie for me because I didn't want anyone to know, especially you."

"Know what? What happened?"

Rose sighed and looked her mother straight in the eye. "I was not trying to look at the propellers when Jack helped me back onto the boat. I...I was trying to jump off the back of the ship. I was trying to kill myself when Jack came upon me and talked me out of it. He was pulling me back over when my foot slipped and we both almost went overboard."

Ruth gasped, horrified by the revelation. She had no idea that things had been so bad for Rose! "Oh my god, Rose! Why didn't you come to me? Why didn't you let me know…?"

"I did! I let you know in all kinds of ways! I told you my misgivings, I even acted out! I had even tried to wear black on the day we boarded Titanic, but you and Cal made me go change! You just weren't willing to listen because all you saw was a way out of our precarious situation! And then I met Jack...and life wasn't so hopeless anymore...yet still you were insistent on Cal. So...when Titanic sank...and I found myself finally free of you both...well forgive me, mother, despite missing you...despite moments when I needed my mother's arms to hold me and tell me that everything will be alright...I decided to do without and let you continue to think that I went down with Titanic. That I was dead.

"I needed my mother back then...but I needed my freedom more."

Tears fell from Ruth's eyes as she realized the extent of the damage she had caused her daughter. Her heart broke at what she had driven her daughter to. What kind of mother was she? She had driven her daughter to suicide. She had driven her to faking her death. All that had happened was Ruth's own fault! She couldn't blame Rose for any of it!

"I am so sorry, Rose. I...I was so caught up in what your father had done, I became blind to your wants and needs...especially when they didn't coincide with my plans. I hijacked your entire life, I see that now. I didn't deserve to know of your survival. I most definitely don't deserve your forgiveness!" Ruth took out a handkerchief and began to dab the tears away from her eyes.

"Mother…"

"I wish that boy...Jack...was here...so I can thank him. He rescued you from my dastardly plans. He...he gave you a new life that you seem to be so happy with now. Happier than you had ever been before Titanic. I take it that he was with you all this time?"

Rose sighed, not knowing how to feel about her mother's tears and apology. She had been so angry with her mother for so long, it was strange to see her mother seemingly remorseful for her actions. "Jack and I had spent a year apart. I thought he was dead and like you, he thought I was dead as well. We discovered each other when I came here, wanting to know more about him. We've been together ever since. We even got married," Rose held out her hand so her mother could see the gold band. "And yes, I am very happy with my life now. I'm in love with my husband and I have a job that I enjoy."

"Oh Rose, that is wonderful."

"We even have a daughter. She's adopted of course. Her name is Lily. I found her on the Carpathia. Cal had used her to get on a lifeboat, then abandoned her when he had no more use for her. I couldn't leave her to go into a children's home, so I took her with me. She's been my companion ever since and she's grown to call me and Jack Mommy and Daddy. We're all a happy family now."

"That's wonderful, Rose. I really am happy for you. Truly," Ruth's smile was warm and genuine. Just by looking into her mother's eyes, Rose could see that Ruth was being truthful. She really was sorry and she was happy that Rose had found her happiness. "Rose, I know that I don't deserve it. I probably shouldn't even ask...but...will you ever forgive me for what I had done before and during Titanic? For bringing Cal into our lives? For burdening you with the solution to our troubles? For everything?"

Rose smiled, her own tears spilling from her eyes as she nodded and took her mother's hand. "I forgive you, mother. I already have, honestly."

Gripping each other's hands Rose and Ruth knew that this was a new era in their relationship. There were no more hurt feelings, at least for now anyway. Ruth had one more secret, but it was a secret that she was not ready to share...not now. Maybe not ever.