The Dawsons have been on the train for a good full day now, but surprisingly Lily's constitution was not handling it very well. The girl had a bad case of motion sickness. Right now she lay in her bunk, pale and sick with a worried Rose sitting at her bedside. Jack came in, clear worry was also in his eyes.

"Is she feeling any better?" Jack asked, feeling horrible that their little girl was sick and there seemed to be nothing he could do about it. "I brought some crackers. Aunt Enid said that they help calm an upset tummy."

"Do you really think that woman would know anything about motion sickness?" Rose gave her husband a skeptical look. Jack just winced and shrugged.

"I'm willing to try anything to help Lily."

"Papa," Lily sniffed, hearing Jack's voice.

"I'm here, Lily. Not to worry," Jack went to sit opposite Rose. His heart broke as the little girl crawled into his arms and hung on tight.

"I don't feel good," the child sniffed.

"I'm so sorry, baby," Jack got up with the child in his arms and walked her through the small compartment.

Rose watched, feeling a smidge jealous that it was Jack that Lily went to for comfort now instead of her...not that she blamed her. Jack's arms were her favorite place to go to whenever she was sick or sad. In fact, she could use a good day just being wrapped in his arms right now.

"We'll be in Boston soon, Lily and you'll feel better. I just know it," Rose encouraged.

Jack continued to pace the small compartment until he felt Lily relax in his arms, signaling that she was asleep. He sat back down and lowered her onto the bed and covered her with the thin blue blanket. He kissed her rosy cheek and smoothed down her red hair.

"I'm almost jealous," Rose smiled, watching how gentle he was with the child.

"Why?" Jack asked, his eyes never leaving Lily.

Rose shrugged. "You're so good with her. You make her feel better just by being in the same room with her. I just seem to make things worse."

"Rose, that's not true. She loves you so much. I think she was a daddy's girl with her real parents and that's kind of reflecting onto us now. What was it like when it was just the two of you after Titanic? Before you came to Chippewa Falls?"

Rose sighed, remembering those early days when it had just been her and Lily. When she had to work to keep herself from drowning in a fog of grief and despair so she could take care of the little girl that needed her. "It was scary. I wanted to just lay down and die. Join you in heaven somehow. But I couldn't...because Lily needed me. She kept me going. She helped me keep my promise to never let go and live for both of us. I think I was a mess of a mother and she's probably lucky to have survived until we arrived in Chippewa Falls."

Jack took her hands and pulled her over onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her as she rested her head against his shoulder. "I'm so sorry you went through that Rose. I wish I had been smart enough to look for Rose Dawson."

Rose closed her eyes and pressed her face against his shirt and just breathed him in, relishing just the scent of what made him Jack Dawson, the man she was endlessly in love with. They've been together for well over a year now and it still felt like those heady three days that they had just met. She wanted...no needed him just as much now as she had back then.

"How is poor Lily doing, oh am I interrupting?" Enid Dawson stuck her head into the room.

Rose wanted to groan in annoyance. This woman was just an eternal thorn in her side. The woman seemed to be on hand to interrupt any private moment that could happen between her, Jack, and Lily. One of these days there was going to be a confrontation and Rose wouldn't be able to stop herself from telling the woman off.

"Lily's fine. We just got her to sleep," Jack answered, rubbing Rose's back in a gentle circular motion to keep Rose calm.

"Oh good. They are serving drinks right now if you'd like to join me now that the child is asleep."

"With Lily sick, I think we should just stay here and keep an eye on her," Jack answered.

Rose sighed, knowing that Enid Dawson won't leave them in peace anytime soon, so she sighed and got to her feet. "Jack, you should go. I'll stay here and watch over Lily."

"Rose, come on. You've been looking over her for hours. It's time for you to take a break. Why don't you go? You and Aunt Enid can get to know each other better," Jack suggested, not really in the mood to talk to Enid right now, he was too worried about Lily and also thinking that if Enid just got to know Rose better, that would get rid of her dislike.

Rose stared at Jack, wondering if he was serious. "Jack?"

"You are my wife. You two are family. I've been taking up so much of Aunt Enid's time at a hotel, it's not fair that you haven't gotten much time to know one another. You should start now before we get to Boston, don't you think?"

"Without you?"

Jack simply smiled. "Please?"

"Alright, alright. I won't be gone long, though," Rose leaned down to kiss him.

"It'll be fine. I just want this tension between you to be cleared, that's all," He whispered to her.

"The tension between us is not because of me. It's her...but I'll try for your sake,"

"Thank you. I'll reward you when you get back to our compartment. I promise," Jack winked, wanting to make her attempts to befriend Enid worth her time.

"I'm keeping you to that, sir," Rose smiled, straightening up and turning to Enid with a tight smile. "I'm ready when you are."

Enid's smile did not reach her eyes as she gave a curt nod and turned to leave the room.

"This is for you, Jack. It's a good thing that I love you so much," Rose sighed, feeling rather unhappy with this turn of events as she turned to follow Enid out of the room.

…..

Rose and Enid sat across from each other in frigid silence. It was obvious that both women did not like each other and would prefer to be somewhere else than in each other's company.

Rose sighed. This was a disaster and she was nowhere near doing what Jack wanted to be done, but how could she be? Enid Dawson was awful and Rose wouldn't even be surprised if the whole sick father thing was a ruse to keep Jack from going to Santa Monica with her. How could she be expected to make nice with this woman? Well...the only thing she could do was do what she had done whenever her mother had wanted her to attend those stupid tea functions with her friends. Fake politeness was always her way out of tense situations. It's been years, but she could do it. Years of finishing school have done her well.

"This has been a rather pleasant trip we're having," Rose kept her voice neutral and her face emotionless as she sipped her cocktail.

"I suppose," was Enid's short answer. "Pleasant for us. Unpleasant for others."

"It is a shame that we were unable to see a doctor for motion sickness medicine for Lily. This trip was so last minute."

"It couldn't be helped."

Rose felt some of her inhibitions loosen as she took a few more sips of alcohol. She looked at the older woman with slightly harsher eyes, having enough already of this attempt to play nice with a woman who was no such thing.

"Tell me the truth. Is your father really sick or is this some ploy to keep Jack from going to Santa Monica with me? Because if that is the case, that was not very nice," Rose put it out there. Normally, she wouldn't but her annoyance mixed with the alcohol made playing pretend impossible.

"Pardon me?"

"Look, it is just us girls here. Jack is looking after our daughter right now. I believe this is the time that we can be honest with each other. Put all of our cards on the table. Because I know that you don't like me, even though I have done nothing to you. I am well aware of your ill feelings towards my presence in Jack's life. My eyes are fully open and I really can't pretend that they aren't. Maybe back before the Titanic disaster I could...but not now. Not that I have lived out in the world a little bit. So, Ms. Dawson. Enid. Tell me the truth."

Enid chuckled and rolled her eyes. "My dear girl, I have no idea what you are implying. My father is indeed sick. Maybe I did embellish a little, but I needed Jack to come to meet his family. Not go gallivanting around in California on the whims of a girl who has caused nothing but scandal."

"The truth comes out," Rose sat back.

"Yes, well that is what you asked for, isn't it? The truth. The truth is that you are a stain in my nephew's life and as soon as I can, I will scrub you out of it. One way or another."

Rose laughed. "How am I stain, pray tell? How is having a wife that loves him a stain? I am not understanding you."

"Your behavior onboard that ship was deplorable. Even before then, news of your antics had reached Boston...not to mention your family's debt-riddled condition...why you were an inappropriate match for a family of our standing from the start in my eyes. Then the ungrateful way you had treated the Hockleys, embarrassing them at every turn and your behavior on that ship and then allowing the Hockleys to mourn your death when you were alive and well...deplorable! I cannot approve of such a woman in my brother's son's life!"

"I had my reasons for all of it, not that it's any business of yours."

"My nephew is my business!"

"You don't even know your nephew! Or you would know that all of what you said is not a problem to him. In fact, he was a part of the most important part of it! As for scrubbing me from his life, good luck with that. Jack and I are not only in love, we are married, and we have a family together. There is nothing that you can do to destroy that. I was hoping that we could get along or find common ground for Jack's sake, but that is obviously an impossibility. I will not get in the way of Jack getting to know his family. I want him to, but I believe that it's best if you and I have as little to do with each other as much as possible. I trust that the estate in Boston is big enough to avoid one another."

"I suppose it is."

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I rather be spending this time with my husband. Good evening, Ms. Dawson," Rose downed the last of her drink before getting to her feet and walking away.

…..

Rose found Jack in their compartment, sketching in his portfolio. He looked up as she entered and closed the leather-bound folder. He frowned as he saw the unhappy downturn of her mouth.

"It was that bad?" He asked.

"Kind of. Don't be mad at me."

Jack took her hand and pulled her down onto the bed that they shared. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"Because it was my fault. At first...I tried to be like the old Rose. The one before Titanic. Back then, I could be fake nice with the best of them. I could put my dislike to the side and be neutral and wear a mask of politeness...but...I just couldn't do it, Jack. I just felt like I was having tea with a snake in fancy clothing."

"What did you do?" Jack asked with a sinking feeling.

"I told her that we should put all of our cards on the table and be honest with one another. So we were. I was right Jack. She doesn't like me. She never did. In fact, she wants me out of your life completely."

"What?"

"It's all because of my family's financial situation before Titanic and how I had behaved before and after Titanic, the scandal it had caused. She said I was an inappropriate choice for a bride, that I'm a stain on your life, and that she's going to scrub me from it if she can. She said she does not approve of me in her brother's son's life. So I told her that I want you to know your family and I take it that the Boston estate is big enough to avoid each other from now on."

Jack had to admit, he was disappointed. He had hoped that all of this tension and dislike could be cleared up just by talking to each other. He had foolishly thought that communication and getting to know one another was the key. Unfortunately, he had been wrong and now things were worse than they were before.

"I'm sorry…," Rose sighed, feeling guilty for her impulsive confrontation with the woman. She had probably put Jack in a tight spot now.

"No, don't be sorry. I'm the one that's sorry. I had put you in that situation, thinking that whatever misunderstanding there was between you could be cleared up, but obviously, I was wrong. I'm sorry, Rose…"

"No, don't. Don't be sorry. This is on her, not you.

I know that you wanted us to get along."

"I did, but I accept that it's not going to happen and that's ok. I won't make you two spend time together anymore, I promise," Jack sighed, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her head. "And you are far from being a stain on my life. You're the light of my life. So there's no way that she can scrub you out."

"Not that I was worried about that," Rose chuckled.

"You never have to worry. You're right here Rose. Forever and always. No matter what comes our way," Jack placed her hand over his heart.

She simply smiled and claimed his lips in a sweet lingering kiss.

"I love you, Jack."

"I love you too, Rose."