Rose stepped into the kitchen to find Jack taking out the ingredients for dinner. She stood in the doorway, simply watching him. She knew that if her mother and a lot of other women knew that she was allowing her man to make dinner, they would be horrified. Well, her mother would be horrified just for the fact that she was going to marry a man of a lower class horrifying, so that didn't really matter. Not that what anyone may think mattered to her anyway. She only cared about Jack's opinion and by the looks of it, he liked cooking.

"So this is the kitchen," Rose stepped further into the room, looking around. She had only been in the kitchen in Philadelphia only once and it looked nothing like the small kitchen here in Jack's house. Her family's kitchen had been a big industrial affair with cooks and dishwashers and other kitchen staff. She had hoped that the family cook would have taught her how to make a few dishes and how to use the stove, but her mother had been right behind her and had forbidden her from taking another step into the kitchen. Now here she was, inside someone else's kitchen once again, but this time, there was no mother to chase her out.

"Yes. I assume you had one in your mansion?" Jack chuckled, setting a jug of milk on the counter.

"Yes. I even saw it once. But it was a lot bigger than this...and more confusing."

"I bet it was," Jack smiled, beckoning for Rose to come further in. "Do you want to take a seat? Keep me company?"

Rose smiled. She couldn't think of anything else she rather do than spend more time with Jack. Over the past year, he had been the one person she missed the most. There had not been a moment that she hadn't lamented over his absence in her life. Now here he was alive and well and solid and she couldn't get enough of his sunny smile or his lovely voice. She could sit there and just look at him all day for the rest of her life and be completely happy.

"I'd love that very much," Rose walked over to the kitchen table and took a seat in one of the wooden chairs. "So, what are you making again?"

"Mac and cheese and hot dogs. Kids seem to like that a lot, especially mac and cheese. I loved it back when my mother used to make it."

"Can you show me how to make it?"

"Sure, if you like," Jack chuckled, not surprised at all by Rose's request. He loved that Rose was willing to learn how to cook and try out new things. It was one of the things he had noticed about her from the start and the reason why he just couldn't walk away and let her stay in that trap that Cal Hockley and her mother had tried to keep her in.

"Okay, so what do I need for mac and cheese?"

"Milk," Jack held up the jug of milk. "Butter, cheese, macaroni, and water. Oh and salt and pepper for seasoning."

"Okay…"

"Want to step up here and help? They say that hands-on is the best way to learn."

"I won't be getting in the way?"

"Of course not. You don't have to if you're not ready. I don't mean to pressure you."

Rose sighed. She didn't know what she wanted to do. Yes, she wanted to cook, but today had been one full of discovery. Her mind has been reeling with the shock of finding Jack alive and her heart was bursting with the joy of not only reuniting with him and his friends but becoming engaged and making this little family she's found, official. Maybe she's had enough for the day…

"Maybe it'd be best just to watch for now. Today's been rather busy enough as it is," Rose gave an apologetic smile. "But I do want to learn. When things are more...calm."

"That's fine. I'll just tell you the instructions step by step then," Jack winked, getting out a mixing bowl and some measuring cups.

"What was the first thing you've ever cooked Jack? Did your mother teach you or did you learn out there on the road?"

"Cookies. I was five years old and I wanted to help my mother bake cookies for Santa," Jack's smile was sad. "I remember how I kept eating the chocolate chips and my mom kept tsking and saying that the chips should go into the cookies, not into me. But she was nice about it and even let me lick the spoon once it was all done."

"You know...we should do that for Lily. She'd love it. Last Christmas... was so sad for us both. I tried to make it special for her, but she missed her parents and was mad at Santa for not bringing them back to her. I did end up getting her a doll, but...it wasn't what she had wanted…"

Jack felt the guilt come down over him like a shroud once again. If only he had been smarter and found her on the Carpathia. She wouldn't have been alone and he could have helped make Lily's first Christmas without her parents special. But that couldn't be helped. Fate had other plans. But they were together now and Jack was determined to make life a whole lot better for both Rose and Lily.

"This year will be different Rose. I promise."

"I know. We have you. I'm thankful for that, Jack. I really am."

They smiled at each other, losing each other in their gaze. It was a slight knock on the door that broke the spell.

"I'll get that," Jack smiled, going to the back door, and opening it to Joesph. "Hey, what's up?"

"Mum wanted to send over this casserole. She keeps insisting that you guys aren't getting a decent home-cooked meal," Joesph's smile was apologetic. "You know how she is."

"Tell her that we appreciate it."

"So, you're his wife?" Joesph looked over at Rose, who simply smiled.

"Yes. Thank you for helping me. I'm beginning to think everyone from this town is kind and helpful."

Joesph blushed and shrugged. "Most of us try to be. Jack, you sure are lucky with girls. She's really pretty."

Jack smiled, his eyes never leaving Rose. "She's more than pretty."

Rose blushed and looked away.

"Well, I'm off. See you later," Joesph waved, heading back for his car.

"He's nice. Did you two grow up together?" Rose asked as Jack placed the casserole in the icebox.

"Yeah. We were the best of friends back in the day. I remember that one time when I got him and a bunch of other kids to whitewash the fence outside for me," Jack chuckled, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Alright, Tom Sawyer. But I can totally see you doing that."

"You like Tom Sawyer, Rose?" Jack began to measure out the ingredients for the mac and cheese.

"It was cute. But the secret garden was my absolute favorite. I remember going to my grandmother's when I was a girl and trying to find a secret garden on her property. Never did find one, though. Such a disappointment."

Jack laughed. "I can see that. We should read them to Lily. Get her to like books, just as much as we did."

"That would be a grand idea, Jack."

….

Dinner was delicious. Lily stuffed herself on Mac and cheese and kept asking for more. But after the third helping, Rose had put a stop to it. After dinner, Jack and Rose took the little girl up to her room and settled her in for bed. Rose brought out the book of fairy tales she had brought six months ago and sat on Lily's right side while Jack took the left.

"Tonight we do something new. It'll be the two of us to tell you a bedtime story. Would you like that?" Rose asked, smiling at Jack who simply smiled back. It felt surreal and at the same time...right. They actually felt like a family.

Lily just nodded. "Can we read Jack and the beanstalk?"

Rose laughed. "Yes. I do think that would be an appropriate story. Don't you, Jack?"

"The little lady says she wants the beanstalk story, we'll give her the beanstalk story," Jack laughed.

Rose opened the book and began to read, "Once upon a time there lived a poor widow and her son Jack. One day, Jack's mother told him to sell their only cow. Jack went to the market and on the way he met a man who wanted to buy his cow. Jack asked, 'What will you give me in return for my cow?' The man answered, 'I will give you five magic beans!' Jack took the magic beans and gave the man the cow. But when he reached home, Jack's mother was very angry. She said, 'You fool! He took away your cow and gave you some beans!' She threw the beans out of the window. Jack was very sad and went to sleep without dinner.

The next day, when Jack woke up in the morning and looked out of the window, he saw that a huge beanstalk had grown from his magic beans! He climbed up the beanstalk and reached a kingdom in the sky. There lived a giant and his wife. Jack went inside the house and found the giant's wife in the kitchen. Jack said, 'Could you please give me something to eat? I am so hungry!' The kind wife gave him bread and some milk.

While he was eating, the giant came home. The giant was very big and looked very fearsome. Jack was terrified and went and hid inside. The giant cried, 'Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he alive, or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread!' The wife said, 'There is no boy in here!' So, the giant ate his food and then went to his room. He took out his sacks of gold coins, counted them and kept them aside. Then he went to sleep. In the night, Jack crept out of his hiding place, took one sack of gold coins and climbed down the beanstalk. At home, he gave the coins to his mother. His mother was very happy and they lived well for some time."

"Do you want me to read some?" Jack asked, feeling like he shouldn't leave it all up to Rose. Storytime was usually a time for bonding between a parent and child. It would probably be wise if he joined in too.

"Certainly," Rose handed Jack the book.

Jack happily smiled as he cleared his throat and began to read. "Jack climbed the beanstalk and went to the giant's house again. Once again, Jack asked the giant's wife for food, but while he was eating the giant returned. Jack leapt up in fright and went and hid under the bed. The giant cried, 'Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. Be he alive, or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread!' The wife said, 'There is no boy in here!' The giant ate his food and went to his room. There, he took out a hen. He shouted, 'Lay!' and the hen laid a golden egg. When the giant fell asleep, Jack took the hen and climbed down the beanstalk. Jack's mother was very happy with him."

"That boy was a thief!" Lily declared. "Papa said that stealing is bad!"

Jack and Rose looked at each other, not knowing how to explain the morality of the story. The child had a point. Jack was stealing.

"Well…I am sure that Jack had a good reason. After all, he and his mother were poor. They needed the money," Rose tried to explain, wincing as she realized that really wasn't a good excuse. Why did Jack keep going back?

"Maybe this isn't a really good story to read after all," Jack chuckled.

Lily nodded. "Yes, I don't like this story. Jack is a bad boy!"

"I suppose he is," Jack shut the book. "How about I tell you another story. About a Jack who was a very good boy and this Jack saved a princess!"

Lily's eyes widened and she nodded, eager for a new story.

"Ok. Once upon a time, there was a lad named Jack. He was a happy fellow and was also very lucky. He always won things. This is a story about how he won tickets on a ship and on that ship, a beautiful princess was being held prisoner by an ogre and her not-so-nice mother."

"Jack," Rose laughed, getting what the story Jack was telling.

"What? He was an ogre."

"Was the ogre mean?" Lily asked.

"Yes. Mean and rude and horrible. And he had bad breath."

"Jack!" Rose couldn't keep from laughing if she wanted to.

"Well, he did. Anyway, Jack met the princess one night and they fell in love. Sadly, the ogre found out."

"Did the ogre beat Jack up?"

"No. The coward had his manservant do it...but Jack got the upper hand and knocked the manservant out. Jack then took the princess's hand and they ran off together. He took her to a castle in the sky where they lived happily ever after."

"What happened to the ogre?"

"Oh...he...um...he married the princess's not so nice mother and they lived...unhappily ever after."

"Hmm...I like that story better than the beanstalk story. Jack was nice and not greedy in that story."

"Yeah, I like the Jack in that story too," Rose smiled, pleased at how well things were going. "Okay, story time is over. You have to go to sleep little girl."

Jack and Rose each kissed the girl's cheeks, tucked her in, and turned out the light before leaving the room. Jack leaned against the door after closing it, feeling exhilarated. Was this what it felt like to be a parent? He had to say he liked it.

"That was awesome," He took Rose's hand and brought it to his lips. "I can get used to this. You and me, telling bedtime stories."

"You really don't mind?" Rose asked again, thinking that this was indeed an awfully big responsibility to be saddling a single young man with all of a sudden.

"Of course, I don't. I love it. I love her. We're going to be great parents Rose. We're going to give her a great childhood."

"So far I'm doing good...but look at who I had for a role model, Jack. What's to stop me from turning into my mother? She was so cold and indifferent toward me from the start. I mean...I guess she loved me in her own way, but her displays of affection always had strings attached to them. I had to do what she wanted or be what she wanted for her to show me any kind of motherly warmth. What if I start doing that to Lily?"

"You won't."

"How do you know?"

"Because for one, you would have done so already. You've been raising her on your own for about a year now. I've seen you with her, Rose. You're nothing like your mother. You allow Lily to be herself and you give her love anyway. You're full of love and warmth and she's comfortable with you. Comfortable enough to call you momma Rose. That means something, especially after what she had gone through. You're doing a great job, Rose."

"I just worry. I can't help it."

"Well, don't. You're a great mom. And I'm here now, so I can help, whenever you need me. Believe me, if I even see a hint of Ruth, I'll let you know."

Rose simply laughed. "I'm going to hold you to that."

Jack grinned and claimed her lips in a chaste kiss and then pulled away to look into her eyes. "Welcome home, Rosebud."

"It's good to be home...in our castle in the sky."