Chapter 69

A/N: From here on out, we focus once more on our star characters once more, as our other characters head back out west.

January 5, 1913

Rose wakes up before Jack, as she begins to stretch, then looks at Jack's beautiful face, his hair hanging in front of his forehead. Jack slowly turns around, as he was beginning to wake up. He sits up on the bed, then strokes Rose's hair as she tries to sit up with difficulty. Jack rubs Rose's stomach, and Rose's hand meets his there.

"Jack, it's almost time. I can feel it. The baby wants to come." Rose says, as she tries once more to carefully sit up on the bed. Jack's eyes were tearing up, then kisses Rose with as much passion since the day they were in the cargo hold. He looks at Rose, as he gently pats her stomach. Rose winces as she tries once again to sit up, and to swing her legs over the edge of the bed.

"Are you going to be okay, Rose?" Jack asks, with a little concern.

"It's going to be fine, it's my back." Rose says, then rubs her back. Jack massages her shoulders.

"Come Josephine, my flying machine, and it's up she goes, up she goes." Jack quietly sings, then carefully leans forward, brushing his cheeks against Rose's. Rose looks up, then kisses Jack lightly. Soon, the smells of breakfast waft over to their room.

"Auntie Mary-ann, uncle Dessy, are you awake yet? Mommy says get up." Jack yells excitedly from the next room, followed by the sounds of a small fist banging on the door. Soon, they hear the tiny footsteps pound around the upstairs hallway towards the stairs. Both Jack and Rose looked towards the door, before looking at each other.

"Just imagine. That will be Tommy soon," Jack smiles.

"Or Josephine." Rose kisses Jack once more, and Jack gently wraps his arms once more around Rose. He lays his chin on her shoulders, embracing her scent again. He runs his hands through her red curls, then slowly pulls her in close. The pain comes back again, and she winces. Jack slowly backs down.

"Sorry." he says.

"It's okay. Just hold me." Rose says. She clearly never wanted that moment to end. Her stomach began to growl then. With difficulty, Rose slowly sits back up again, with Jack helping her throughout. Both get themselves ready, then slowly makes their way down the stairs, before going into the kitchen.

...

After being awakened by their nephew, in the next room Jesse slowly gets out of bed, his hair was a huge mess as he rubbed his eyes, and yawned. Marion rolled over, then awoke, to a beautiful sight of her hot-mess of a husband, as he scratched his messy head, trying to see in the dimly lit room. Jesse stubbed his toe at the foot of the bed, and that really woke him up good. Marion quickly got out of bed, to help Jesse make his way to the bed, while holding tightly onto his waist. Jesse sat down on the bed, then looked up at his wife, one eye, while the other was completely obscured under his hair. Marion quickly gave her husband a tight hug again. She knew she was the luckiest girl to meet a man like Jesse, while her friends and brothers were in a shock that she married someone who was completely different. Now she knew why her brothers were very nervous around her husband, as she gently pushed Jesse back down onto the bed, then kissed him as she played with her husband's soft, thick and messy hair, then did her best to spread his messy hair again. Marion looked at her husband's face once more. His face is very pleasing on the eyes, giving a soft, feminine texture, despite the fact Jesse hardly ever took good care of his skin. Even though Jesse is a man, he's somewhat feminine-like, his slim but muscular physique, feminine face with delicate features similar to those on Asian men, Marion understood why her brothers were in a shock she married him. A door was heard gently closing in another room next to theirs, snapping Marion back to reality, and the smells of breakfast soon wafted to the newly-weds.

In the chaos of the kitchen Jessica was standing over a pot of oatmeal, while Anna made eggs and sausage. Mr. Williams is in his usual pose, reading the newspaper, then complains that there isn't any news that is worth reading, even for a large city as Pittsburgh. He sips his coffee, before returning back to the paper. Little Jack plays with his toy cars on the table, among the madness that surrounds it. Mr. Highland chuckles at an article in the paper Henry was reading, as he gives Frank an eyebrow raise. He folds over the paper to see what was the funny matter Mr. Highland was making. The ad showed provocative women showing in a Pittsburgh theatre, and Henry gives Frank a disapproving stare, and shakes his head, before going back to his usual news, while Mrs. Highland angrily nudges her husband in the shoulder. Jack saw what Frank was actually chuckling about. Next to the provocative picture, there was another ad for a circus and carnival that was rolling into town, and that gave him an idea.

Jesse and Marion were the last to enter the kitchen. Jesse yawned once more as he rubbed his eyes again, while Marion was trying to tame his wild hair. He bent down a bit to give her a kiss, while Marion's fingers were still entangled in her husband's hair.

"Where's Fabri?" Jack asked.

"He went back to the house early this morning." Jesse says, as he began to stretch. Both Fabrizio and Jon had left early to drop off Eric at his new employment with Thomas and his father's office in downtown Pittsburgh, and later on he took the train back to New York, while Fabrizio headed back to Albuquerque, as he needed to return to work later in the week. Jessica smiles as her brother and sister-in-law make their way to the breakfast table.

"So, how did you sleep last night?" Jessica hugs her brother.

"The best I've had in a week." Jesse says, gently brushing his older sister's hair away from her eyes, and smiled. He was finally glad to be back in a bed. The week he was held in captivity he had nothing but cold concrete floors or sitting in chairs, tied up while Cal was clearly enjoying what he was doing to him. That past is now behind him, as he now wanted to focus more on his and Marion's future. Rose gave Jesse a peck on his cheek, and Jack squeezes his shoulders. Jesse walks to the counter to make some coffee, even though everyone had their fill of orange juice or tea. He opens the coffee can, notices it being a little light in his hand, then looks inside.

"Hmm, no coffee." he says, looking into the metal coffee container, then he looks around. Everyone was content with the breakfast, as everyone sat back, and laughed as they patted their stomachs. He had assumed his father scooped out the remaining coffee grounds, as he smelled the aroma that hung in the kitchen.

...

Later in the day Mr. Williams got prepared to go back to New Mexico, while Jesse and Marion prepared to leave for Montpelier, to help with his father-in-law's farm, and it would be Jesse's first time to another state. Rose, Jack and Ruth decided to go back to New York and stay with Jessica and her son. Marion tearfully hugged her parents for the final time, then Jesse hugged them. Mr. Highland gave Jesse a tight squeeze, before letting go of his son-in-law. He then hugged his daughter for the last time, then whispered in her ear.

"Take good care of your 'wife' there." he joked about Jesse's appearance, while thumbing over to Jesse's direction, then looked at his daughter and son-in-law for the last time. Marion blushed, then wiped away a tear, before she met her husband near the door. Frank turned his attention to Henry, then told him he'll try to make a visit sometime in the future to visit the beautiful state of New Mexico, and to visit his business there as well, even though Henry told the man his son now owned the business.

Jon's father drove everyone to the train depot, where they all embraced for the last time before they parted their ways. Jack cried softly that he'll be leaving his friend/brother, even though he'll be staying with his older sister and her young son back in New York, while Rose tearfully hugged her friend for the last time, even though they'll be meeting later.

Meanwhile, Henry and Ruth were showing fondness toward each other, and had grown close with each other since Jesse's daring rescue from Caledon Hockley, while Rose and Jesse looked on, perplexed. Nonetheless, they hugged before boarding the trains, and Ruth telling Henry she'll see him soon. The trains begin to whistle, then let out steam, as they prepare to take their passengers to their intended destinations. Little Jack squeezed his uncle for the last time before departing, and Jessica hugged her brother, then told him to eat lots, to try to gain some weight as best he could. With Marion happily piggybacking on her husband's back, they made their way through the sparcely crowded depot to their trains, while Jack and Rose watched, holding hands.

Jesse and Marion sat on one side of the train, while on the other train, Jack and Rose could see their friends, and Henry, all alone in one train, takes his seat across from one of the young couple. Jesse points to Marion where Jack and Rose were sitting, and sees Ruth taking her seat across from the couple as well. Little Jack sat between the couple, and Jessica sat next to Ruth. Jesse opened the window, despite the people's discomfort of the cold, and waved at the couple, his sister and Ruth, and lastly, his father. They waved as the train began to slowly pull in opposite directions, until they were met with people on the platform, who were waving to their loved ones as they departed from Pittsburgh. Jesse and Marion saw their father's train that was a little more crowded, as they assumed the passengers were heading to California, Arizona or other western states for a better life. Meanwhile Henry takes a look back towards the city of Pittsburgh as it became smaller, then they began to pass villages and farms, heading west. Jesse closes the window, then the cabin was warm again, as he and Marion headed east, to Montpelier.

...

Later that evening Marion slept next to her husband, while Jesse looked out the window, at the snow-covered fields. The sun had turned a bright orange hue as it set in the horizon. The thin clouds reflected the sun, turning the surrounding landscape into a bright orange, before transiting into purple, as the sky slowly gave way to a starry night. He turns to his wife, as she slept cozily on his arm, then he runs his hands through her dark hair, before giving her a soft kiss over her head. Then he puts his head next to hers, as the train continued through two states of Pennsylvania to New York, and to a small city of Albany, where they stopped for the night.

...

Jack, Rose, Ruth, and Jessica and her son disembarked the train in New York, after completely bypassing Philadelphia, as their route went through farms and villages. Jon met everyone at the station, with Jack helping him load their belongings in the car. He helps Rose into the car with difficulty, as she began to feel the baby kicking inside her getting more and more intense, as if she might be expecting soon. They arrived at the house as the sky filled with stars. The couple once again took Jesse's room, and Ruth will be sleeping in Jack's room. Jon prepared a quick meal of hot dogs and tea, and everyone gathered at the kitchen table.

"So, how was everyone's day?" Jon asks, as he slowly sips his tea, while little Jack brought out his toys from his room and began to play with them in the living room.

Rose gently patted her stomach as the baby grew inside her. Jack kisses her, then he told of his day of mostly watching farm animals eat in the snowy meadows as the train passed. A lump soon formed in his throat, as he began to miss his friends. Fabrizio is back in New Mexico, with Mr. Williams, while Jesse and Marion were in Vermont, helping out with the farm there. Ruth also began to miss Henry, of his charming ways, something Jessica never noticed with her father before. Rose had never inquired about the sack of money Jack had brought back since rescuing Jesse from Cal, until tonight.

Everyone had gotten ready for bed, and Jack and Rose got ready for bed as well. Rose pointed to the sack of money next to the foot of the bed.

"Please don't take this the wrong way. That was a gift of Cal. His father had died sometime while he had Jesse in his clutches. He couldn't let me refuse, as he told me I had a rough life since my parents died in that house fire. He also told me it's for the good of the baby," Jack rubs Rose's stomach. "And for the both of us. To start anew, as he won't be bothering us anymore. This is a chance for the both of us, and our baby, to start fresh, and we don't have to look behind our backs anymore. That past is behind us. Jesse's married to that most beautiful girl, and I want us to have the same feeling they have." Jack slowly pulls Rose from the bed, as he practices what they will be doing for their wedding night, which was already coming up fast now. Jack did not know what he will be wearing. Ruth was still in a tizzy with Rose's lavender colors, and she might be expecting her baby soon. They knew they were expecting a busy life now, but they will work things out.

Jack slowly places Rose back on the bed, as he got ready himself. He turned out the light, then whispered in the darkness.

"Where to, miss?"

"To the stars." Then they both kissed passionately, before going to sleep.