December 17th, 1920
It had been 7 months since Jack found out about Rose and Emilia, and Charlie and Alfie were now 4 and a half and 7 months. Jack had been spending more time with Emilia, a lot of that time just the two of them, seen as she was a lot more comfortable around him now, and Jack and Henry were getting along much better, even occasionally going out for a drink together.
6pm
Henry walked through the front door and in to the living room where Rose was sat playing with Charlie whilst Alfie sat in his rocker.
"Hey" he smiled at them as he took his blazer off. "Hi" Rose smiled "Hi Daddy" Charlie replied as Henry ruffled his hair. "Where's Emilia?" He asked Rose. "Jack's taken her out for tea since it's the last day of term" she smiled before they were interrupted by a knock at the door "that's probably her actually" Rose smiled and stood up, going to answer it.
"Hello!" Rose smiled at Emilia "Hi Mummy" Emilia smiled back as she stepped inside the house "have you had a nice time?" Rose asked as she stroked her cheek "yes" Emilia nodded "thank you Jack" she smiled. Despite it being 7 months since Emilia met Jack, she still didn't feel comfortable calling him 'Dad', though she now saw him as such. "You're welcome" he smiled back at her. "Charlie and Henry are in the living room, how about you go and see them?" Rose suggested as she took Emilia's coat and scarf from her. "OK… bye Jack" she replied. "Bye" he smiled with a small wave as he watched her skipped off.
"Was she good?" Rose asked about Emilia, getting a nod in response "as always" he smiled. "Good…" Rose smiled gently "glad to have finished for Christmas break?" She asked. "Defiantly" he chuckled, getting a small laugh in response. "I was just wondering if I could see her at all over Christmas? I've got her a few presents that I'd love to give her" Jack said hopefully. "You don't have to ask to see her, Jack. She's your daughter too" Rose said surprised. "Thank you… sorry, I didn't know your Christmas plans, that's all" he said awkwardly. Rose was about to offer for Jack to join the 5 of them on Christmas Day, but wasn't sure how Henry would feel about it. "I could bring her round Christmas Day evening?" She offered. "That would be great… thank you" Jack nodded. "Mummy!" Charlie called from the living room, getting a small chuckle from Jack. "I'll leave you to it. Can I still collect Emilia on Monday for the day as planned?" He asked "of course" Rose nodded "see you then" he smiled before walking away.
—
Once the kids were in bed, Henry and Rose were sat on the sofa cuddled up. "Emmy is going to go to Jack's on Christmas Day night for a few hours, he wanted to see her" Rose said, looking up at Henry. "OK… who is he spending the day with?" Henry frowned confused. "Erm… on his own I think. He doesn't have any family" Rose said with a small sad smile. "Why don't you invite him to spend the day with us?" Henry asked. "What? Are you sure?" Rose frowned. "Of course… he shouldn't be on his own at Christmas… no one should. Plus, he's Emilia's Dad, it would be nice for all of us to be together" he finished "will your parents not mind?" Rose frowned. "So what if they do? This is our house and we're the ones hosting Christmas. They can join us if they can be polite. They know about Jack" Henry shrugged as Rose smiled up at him and stroked his cheek "thank you…" she said quietly. "I'll speak to him tomorrow" "OK" Henry replied as he kissed her head.
—
December 18th, 1920
Rose knocked on Jack's front door, grateful when he answered quickly so she could get out of the cold.
"Hey? I wasn't expecting to see you today… is everything alright? Is Emilia OK?" He asked concerned. "Yes, she's fine, she's with Henry" Rose nodded with a smile. "We were just wondering if you wanted to spend Christmas Day with us?" Rose offered. "What?" Jack frowned "won't Henry mind?" He asked. "No… it was his suggestion actually. He thought it would be nice for Emilia to have us all together. I must warn you though, his parents will be there" Rose said. "That doesn't sound good?" Jack asked awkwardly "are they not nice people?" "Oh no, they're lovely. They're just very protective of their grandkids" Rose chuckled "probably where Henry gets it from actually. It takes a lot to impress them, especially his Mother. They know about you of course, I just think they may be a bit wary given our history. However, Henry has said he will make it very clear on how they are to treat you" Rose gave him a reassuring look. "I see" Jack said nervously. "Well if neither you or Henry mind, then I would love to join you, thank you" he smiled. "Sounds good. I'll let Henry and Emilia know… she'll be over the moon" Rose smiled "I best get back though, I promised them that we could go to the park this afternoon" "OK… well I'll see you Monday. Thank you Rose" Jack smiled as she left.