Chapter 94: Anticipation

Daylight could not come any faster. Emma tossed and turned most of the night, trying to get comfortable but can't no matter what she tried, even when she was cradled in Peter's arms, her mind would not shut off long enough to find any semblance of slumber.

Not that lack of sleep was anything new. It had been weeks since she'd slept soundly and without worry… and that was before the wedding. She just hoped that Jack and Rose were okay and safe… both of which are extremely questionable with Caledon Hockley behind everything. Why had that monster taken it to this point? Even on the ship. She and Peter were not technically involved in the ending of his engagement and yet he kidnapped Sybil, shot Peter, and shot her in retaliation for being friends with Jack and Rose and showing his former fiancée what her life could be like. Even now... after everything that he'd done. He could have easily gotten engaged to another woman and moved on. The money would no doubt attract someone (although at this point Emma prayed that no woman ever fell in love with Cal because of who he had turned out to be), and yet he pursued Rose after she'd left him for good. The private investigator, ruining their wedding, arresting Jack, the abduction and now, holding them both as hostages. How could someone be so obsessive, did he just hate to lose that bad? Normal humans would cut their losses and move on, but here they all were. How did life come to this point?

The anticipation of the interrogation tomorrow also kept her from escaping the waking nightmare. She knew that Nathan Hockley would hardly say anything and demand a lawyer… his own lawyer so they couldn't step in and get something out of this. There's not a doubt that he would be sympathetic to them or anyone. He simply would not care… like father, like son no doubt. Cal had to learn his snobbish ways from someone, and she doubted it was from the moving picture shows.

Emma quietly slips out of bed and goes down the hall to where Rose and Jack had been sleeping. Their bed was still made, with the expectation that it would be slept in the day after their wedding. Molly had paid for the couples to stay in suites at hotels to spend their wedding nights together (her gift to both of them) but of course, this never happened. The whole world and their lives had been put on pause before being turned upside down and inside out.

Why couldn't they catch a break?

Maybe the only way to escape this madness was to move away.

She walks down the hall, and checks on her sister before going into the living room. Sitting on the couch, she opened a drawer next to it and pulls out an album. The curtains are parted to let some moonlight spill in so she could look at the pictures. There was hope that no reporters were outside, that they'd all gone home to their families instead of camping outside their house day after day. Sure, the media was helpful in the search for Jack and Rose, but to cover every time anyone left the house was beyond excessive and without any kind of privacy.

Fortunately, no flashes of cameras. She opens her album and stares at the gloom through some of the photos. There are other things within the pages such as notes, dried leaves, and other little trinkets from their lives before. It was opening a time capsule. She gazed at the picture of their old home… the one in Canada down by the lake… the place she had grown up. Her family still owned property up there but they did not visit very often. After she and her parents had moved to New York, they never really went anywhere else. Now… maybe it would be the place to go.

Emma leans her head back and wonders if she should give Sybil the same kind of childhood. Learning how to swim and sail, finding places to explore, long walks in wooded areas, experiencing the frigid winters, and everything else it had to offer. It might be nice…

Back where I belong…

She shuts her eyes and lets her mind wander.

The next thing she remembers is Peter waking her up with a few shakes as she'd fallen asleep with the album in her lap.

…

"This way," Officer Joel directs the family.

The family of three got to the station as early as they could to avoid the media storm that would not doubt be gathering in front of the station. A well-known steel tycoon and wealthy member of society being brought in for questioning would no doubt be front-page news. Emma had requested that Holly, Carl, Molly, and Ruth be treated as they had, and be given proper privacy and Joel agreed to do his best. Peter was glad that his sister and brother-in-law were leaving Thomas with a sitter as a four-year-old could not handle any of this and to give the little tyke a sense of normalcy. Sybil was in Emma's arms, playing with a toy and occupying herself. They both knew that they should have left the toddler at home, but right now… they needed to be all together.

Soon, Holly and Carl arrive, and then Ruth and Molly.

"Golly lord is it becoming a hurricane out there, flashbulbs going off like crazy," Molly huffs, removing her gloves and adjusting her hat that was extremely large to conceal her face. She'd had the driver come up to the back of the station so she and Ruth could get inside and it seemed as though they were fairly successful. Fortunately, the police didn't want any more publicity too and had made sure all the doors were shut and no one else got in unless they had a badge or were in handcuffs.

"I don't know why there's such a fuss," Ruth scoffs. "I highly doubt they're going to get anything out of Nathan."

"How many times have you met him?" Carl asked.

"A few and he… if you will pardon my expression, quite the hard-ass."

The others look at each other with knowing smiles and side glances. The fact that Ruth DeWitt Bukater, the most uppity, traditional, judgemental, snobbish, and polite woman of first-class would swear like this. shows how far she'd come. They had all rubbed off on her a little bit, even if she would never admit it.

"He budges on absolutely nothing. All his business affairs are kept under lock and key, only ever shared in his offices at work or his locked private study and only with his son."

"Talk about paranoid," Peter snickers.

"Yes indeed," Ruth agreed. "I found him to be an extremely uptight man who based everything on image and business. Everything is a business deal to be made."

Again, they all looked at each other and smiled that Ruth called someone more uptight than her.

"Even when I was discussing arranging the marriage between Caledon and Rose, he continuously asked about how this would profit him. He's very savvy at what he does, I guarantee he will ask for his lawyers. He will take things to the grave if needed. He only cares if it benefits him and keeps his business out of the mud."

"Will he bring his wife to this?" Carl asked.

"Possibly, or she might try to avoid the publicity, even if it is her son at the centre of this. I've talked to Susan Hockley much more than Nathan. I can count on my hand how many times he said more than a few words to me before going to smoke cigars in his study. However, with Susan, it was very different. She and I had been arranging the wedding together. She is very uptight as well, but more willing to have decent conversations than the short and reserved answers given by her husband. She is a fairly polite woman, if not a little sad and I believe that is due to being ignored constantly by everyone in the house. The only people who pay attention are the staff and that is because she constantly yells at them. Wonderful party planner though. Her dinners have been some of the best I've ever been to..."

The mentioning of Nathan Hockley being unbreakable made everyone question whether this was going to work at all and everything else Ruth had said was pretty much useless to them. It was a shot in the dark as far they were concerned.

"I would prefer to stay out of sight when they do come because if they do see me, it might make everything so much worse. Words and accusations would most certainly fly. I also do not doubt that they will try to pin this on Rose and if that were to occur, you may be forced to hold me back so I do not do something drastic or violent."

"Well, you can all wait in one of our back rooms while we interrogate," Joel says, coming up to them.

Emma and Peter both wish that they could be there to help interrogate this man whose son had made their lives a living hell, but they knew that their skills were saved for the courtroom.

"Several officers are escorting them here and they're on their way, so I'll show them to your room," he continues.

Joel wanted to get something from this Nathan guy, anything to help find Jack. From what he'd heard from Peter and Emma and the scars they bore from their encounters with him, Caledon needed to be locked up and throw away the key. With him free, Jack's life was in danger and the officer was desperate to get his colleague and friend back. He cared about that sketch artist… who didn't like him, and he wanted him to be safe and his wife and their baby.

He leads the group to the room and opens it up. It is merely filled with a table and chairs, nothing more.

"Shouldn't we have some books to entertain ourselves?" Molly asked. "It could be a long wait."

Joel thinks and disappears. He comes back with a deck of cards.

Just then, a ruckus erupts in the station, indicating that the Hockley's had arrived.

"I have to go," Joel says, shutting the door to allow the group privacy and reprieve from the circus that is about to start.

Once in silence.

"Anyone knows how to play Gin Rummy?" Molly asks, beginning to shuffle the cards.

A/N: Next part coming tomorrow. It's good to be writing Titanic again. I apologize that it's been so long, but the timing of this chapter is deliberate because 110 years ago, the ship sank. Dedicated to all the heroes and lost souls of the Titanic disaster. Your memory will live on forever.

A/N 2: To the people who have reviewed like ColonelBeanbags and (I believe) the two Guests who have been commenting, thank you.

To Guest, it's not hating and it is what reviews are for. It is constructive criticism and that is perfectly fine. I do understand where you're coming from about Peter and Emma being there during what are bonding moments for Jack and Rose. However, I did need to find some opportunities to allow the four of them to bond, otherwise, the fact that Emma and Peter go out of their way to help them later might seem out of the blue. Jack and Rose still get the flying scene and everything else that happens that night to themselves. I do appreciate your interest in my story and I hope you can still find time to keep reading.