THIRTY SIX - REUNION
Teddy was walking through the crowds, crying whilst looking around for Jack and Rose, before someone grabbed him.
"Hey young man. Where are your mummy and daddy?" An older lady asked "I don't know… I went to mummy and I couldn't find her" Teddy said crying, trying to catch his breath "OK. Take a deep breath, we'll go and find them… now, what's your name?" She asked "T- Teddy" he sniffled "well hello Teddy, I'm Molly. So, what do your mummy and daddy look like? Can you tell me?" "Daddy is tall and he likes to draw" is all Teddy could say, not helping Molly much "what about mummy?" "She has orange hair" Molly sighed quietly, she didn't have much to go on. Just as she went to speak Jack spotted Teddy talking to someone, he couldn't see their face as they had their back to Jack "TEDDY!" Jack yelled and ran over with the pram, picking him up and holding him as close and tight as humanly possible "oh thank god… are you OK?" Jack looked at him then hugged him again "I was scared Daddy" "I'm so sorry darling, I thought you were beside me. Where did you go?" Jack asked, still very distressed- he hadn't even noticed who the woman beside him was, Molly hadn't realised who he was either just yet. "I went to find Mummy" "Oh Teddy, I told you, you need to stay with me or Mummy, you cant go wandering off buddy" "I'm sorry daddy" he said, still hugging Jack "as long as you're OK… that's all that matters" he sighed relived "I am… this lady looked after me" Jack turned his head to the woman "well thank-" "well I never!" Molly said surprised "Jack Dawson!" "Molly!" He replied, equally as shocked "I don't believe it! Jack Dawson! Alive and well! And a Dad!" Molly grinned, Jack looked to Teddy, hoping he hadn't noticed the comment about him being alive, which he hadn't. At that moment Rose came rushing over "Jack! Teddy! Teddy! Oh thank god" she sighed, her eyes filling with tears from relief "mummy!" Teddy held out his arms for Rose, who took him and held him just as close as Jack had.
"Rose?" Molly asked surprised "oh my goodness, Molly?" Rose looked at her, processing everything that was happening "hello darlin'" Molly grinned and hugged her "mummy, can I have my drink now?" Teddy interrupted "erm- I dropped it when I came to find you… let's erm- let's go and get one. Molly, would you like to join us? We can catch up?" "Of course" Molly grinned as she followed Rose who was carrying Teddy, watching as Jack pushed the pram.
They sat down at the table as Teddy drank his juice. "So, you two! Parents hey?" Molly smiled at Jack and Rose
"Yes…" Rose smiled "it's a little more complicated than that, but yes, we're parents" she nodded "complicated?" Molly asked confused, Rose just looked at Jack, hoping he would explain "the children's mother, Elizabeth, died in childbirth with Eliza, Rose and I thought the other was dead until around a month later, until we found each other… time went on and Teddy started calling Rose 'mum' and here we are…" "wow… OK" Molly replied "that's a lot to take in" she laughed a little, making Rose feel a little awkward "the children will know about Elizabeth though, they will always know who she is" Rose felt the need to explain "hey, you don't need to explain anything to me! As long as the children have people to love them, the circumstances shouldn't matter!" Molly replied. "So, how did you find out each other were alive" Jack glanced at Teddy who was colouring, but it was clear he was listening to the conversation "Molly, do you mind if we have this conversation another time, without the children please? Pictures have ears" he said, gesturing to Teddy "oh, sorry, of course not" Molly nodded
"So, do you live here in Santa Monica?" Rose asked Molly "no, I'm just here on vacation… what about yourselves?" "We're here on Vacation too, we live in Chippewa falls" Rose nodded "how lovely… isn't that where you grew up Jack?" Molly asked "yes" he nodded and smiled "it's nice and quiet there. A great place for the children to grow up" "mummy? I need the toilet" "back in a second" she smiled gently to Jack and Molly "let's go" she and Teddy walked off.
"He's got good manners" she nodded to Teddy as they watched Teddy and Rose walk away "yeah, we try" Jack nodded "sorry, for asking about the two of you in front of him, I didn't think" Molly said, a guilty look on her face "it's OK… I just don't want him to know, not for a very long time at least" "I understand" Molly replied "so, 2 young children, I imagine you and Rose don't get much time alone together?" "We're lucky that our neighbour loves Ted and Eliza and has them every so often, but she's getting old now so we don't like to take her up on it too often. So no, we don't get too much time alone, but we love them, so it's OK" Jack half laughed "well, I don't mind having them for an evening if you like? I'm seeing an old friend this evening so can't do tonight, but how about tomorrow?" "oh thank you Molly, but Teddy is very shy around new people. I'm not sure he'd like it" "come on Jack, this is yours and Rose's vacation too. You should do something just the two of you" she tried to persuade him to which he sighed. Molly was right, and Jack did want to spend sometime with Rose "I'll ask Rose what she thinks when she's back" Molly nodded in response.
Rose and Teddy got back to the table "hey, Molly has offered to have the children for a couple of hours tomorrow night, so we can go and do some exploring by ourselves… what do you think?" Jack asked "erm-…. Do you think they'd be OK?" "I promise to look after them" Molly smiled. Rose thought for a moment, she didn't want Teddy to worry about them not coming back, like he had done in the past "Teddy, would you like to go and spend sometime with Molly tomorrow night?" "Will Liza be there?" Teddy looked up, unsure "yes" Rose replied "OK…" Teddy nodded "that's settled then" Molly smiled "what time suits you?" She asked "well, it's Teddy's birthday tomorrow and we've promised him a day of whatever he wants! So is around 7 OK please?" Jack asked "your birthday, hey?! You must be excited!" She smiled at Teddy to which he nodded "yes, that's fine" she turned her attention back to Jack "you're more than welcome to join us if you'd like?" He said "no, you four have a fun day as a family! I'll see you in the evening!" She smiled. After taking the name of Molly's hotel they headed back to theirs.