"Stop it, Jack!" Rose laughed, laying in the garden with Jack. He was tickling her, which he knew she said she hated, but the laughter that came out of her when he did it made him reluctant to stop.

Finally, he gave in, ceasing to tickle her and instead wrapping his arms tightly around her, holding her close. The last few days had been a whirlwind, and finally, the drama had died down. Rose was feeling better, no longer stuck in bed recovering from her fever. Her coloring had returned, her energy along with it, and everyone was thrilled. Now, they were continuing to plan their wedding, excited to finally not have a reason to postpone it.

"I'm so glad to see you like this," Jack whispered, kissing her temple. "Laughing, smiling… I love seeing you happy." He played with a soft curl, holding it in his fingers. He touched her cheek, feeling the warmth beneath his fingers, the healthy temperature she was finally at now. "I missed seeing you like this when you were sick."

"I know," Rose whispered, wrapping her arm around him and pulling herself closer. "I know seeing me sick this week was hard on you. I'm sorry about that." She looked into his blue eyes. They were relaxed now, but she remembered how tense and sad they had been for days while she was sick. "I'm okay now, Jack. You don't have to worry."

Jack kissed her suddenly, catching her off guard. When he pulled away, Rose was dazed. "I'll always worry about you, Rose," he smiled. "You're the love of my life. You gave me a life that I love. A life I'm afraid to lose. And you never have to be sorry about being sick. I'll love you no matter what, and I'll stick by you no matter what."

Rose leaned down to kiss Jack, but someone clearing their throat interrupted them. Betty was standing a few feet away, walking toward them. "As adorable as it is to hear you both fighting over who loves who more, it's honestly nauseating." She faked a vomiting motion, then continued as Jack rolled his eyes. "And someone's here to see Rose."

"Who?" Rose asked, her heartbeat quickening. She was afraid it would be her mother, and that she was there to drag Rose away. Betty noticed her nerves, as did Jack, who tightened his arms around her. "Betty, who is it?"

Betty shrugged. "I'm not sure," she told them. "She said she was an old friend of yours." She watched as Jack and Rose quickly rose to their feet, and Jack took Rose's hand. "Whoever it is, it's fine. You're safe here."

Jack reached for Rose's hand, and they walked together to the house. "It's gonna be okay," he said quietly. "I don't know who it is, but whoever it is, you're safe. I'm not letting you go anywhere. Ever."

Rose swallowed and nodded, and they continued toward the front door, where Rose's visitor was waiting. "Well well well," said the voice, and Rose recognized it immediately. It was her mother's. "Isn't this quite the turn of events?"

"Mother," Rose said coldly, her hand still holding Jack's. "What are you doing here?"

Ruth crossed her arms over her chest and laughed dryly. "Did you really think I'd find out my daughter is alive and not come and see her?" She asked, though Rose was sure her motivations were less than honorable. In all likelihood, she had come to convince Rose to marry Cal, or pay off the debts. "And besides, I've heard that Mr. Dawson was hiding quite a few things from everyone aboard the ship."

"What Jack did or did not share is none of your business, Mother," Rose replied, her voice icy. "I'm not marrying Cal. And Jack's family will not be paying off our debts. You can sell our home, you can sell our things. I don't care. But I will not sacrifice my life or my happiness for yours."

"Oh, you foolish girl," Ruth rolled her eyes. "You really have no idea why you were engaged to Cal, do you?" She chuckled, sitting down on the couch in the living room. "Mr. Dawson, I'd like to speak to my daughter alone."

Jack looked over at Rose, trying to see if she wanted him to leave. She shook her head, so Jack's grip on her hand remained strong. "He's my fiance. There's nothing to hide from him," Rose answered, giving his hand a squeeze. "He's staying."

Ruth paused for a moment, trying to decide how to handle this. She supposed she had no choice, and that the only option was to tell them both. "All right," she said finally, and Jack and Rose sat. "Your marriage to Cal was not my idea," she explained.

"Like hell it wasn't!" Rose argued.

Jack wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close enough that he could whisper in her ear. "Just hear her out," he said quietly. "It can't do any harm. It won't change anything."

Rose looked back at Jack and gave him a slight nod. "As I was saying," Ruth continued. "Your father had a lot of… problems with the way he conducted himself. He didn't manage the business well, and he had trouble with gambling and drinking, as you know." Rose nodded again. "So, when the business was failing, he hoped to earn his money back by gambling. And when he had nothing left to bet…" Ruth looked down, unable to look her daughter in the eye as she shared this heartbreaking truth. "He put you up as a bet. If he lost, you'd have to marry Cal. And he lost."

"No," Rose whispered in disbelief. "How could you let him do this?"

"I didn't know anything about it," Ruth answered, her eyes filled with tears. "I only found out after he died. Cal showed me the papers that your father signed. He wouldn't accept anything else in place of the marriage."

Rose stared at her mother, then looked at Jack. "What do we do, Jack?" She asked. "I can't marry him. I can't go back to him."

Jack shook his head. "You won't," he said firmly, then looked at Ruth. "We'll figure out another way." He held Rose against him, kissing the top of her head. "What about money? How much would it take to get this torn up?"

"I tried that," Ruth answered, shrugging. "Money is no object for the Hockleys, you both know that. But marriage is," she explained. "Nathan has been trying to find a suitable wife for Cal for years now, with no luck."

His arms tightened around Rose, kissing the top of her head. "Is he coming to get her?" he asked, talking quietly as if what he was saying was a secret. In reality, it was just too terrible a truth for him to say aloud. "What's his plan?"

"He's still here, he's just keeping quiet for now," Ruth answered quietly, her expression sad. "He sent me a letter telling me exactly what happened, that you're both alive, and who Jack really is. And he said that I had two choices: I could come here and tell you the truth myself, or he could do it, as he's dragging you away."

Rose finally pulled away from Jack, wiping her eyes. "I need some air," she told him, standing up. Jack stood too, looking at her concernedly. "Alone." She saw the hurt in his eyes and tried to remedy it with a kiss on his cheek, walking away afterward.

xXx

"Are you okay?" Rose turned to see Betty standing behind her. After walking away from Jack, Rose took a walk around the garden, but got tired and ended up on a swing, sitting and looking out at the distance. "Jack told me what happened. I know you want some time alone, but do you maybe want to talk?"

Rose smiled, grateful that she had someone like Betty to talk to. She had a few people like that back in Philadelphia, but she hadn't seen them since before Titanic. "Do you want to take a walk?" Rose asked, standing up, and Betty smiled and nodded.

"You know, Jack will find a way out of this," Betty told her, as they walked down the streets of Boston. Rose's favorite place to walk was the Charles River, staring at the shimmering water, walking along it for miles. "You're not going to end up back there. None of us will let that happen."

Rose nodded. "I don't think there's a way out of it this time," she answered. "If I don't go back, he'll hurt us. And I can't let that happen either." She looked at Betty, who avoided her gaze. "Jack and I made this mess the two of us. I can't let you or your parents suffer the consequences."

"What mess did you make?" Betty asked. "Because the way I see it, all you did was fall in love. That's it. And people have been doing that for centuries. A good man wouldn't have acted the way Cal has. A good man would see that you're happy and let you go. A good man would tear up that contract and move on."

Rose crossed her arms over her chest. "I feel sick over this," she said quietly. "No amount of money would make him stop this. If we just say no, that I won't marry him, things we'll only be worse." Rose covered her mouth with her fingers, actually beginning to feel sick. "There's no way out."

Betty looked at Rose, noticing she began looking pale. "Rose, do you feel alright?" She asked, placing her hand on Rose's head. "You're really warm. Come on, we'll stop at the doctor on the way back."

Rose shook her head. "I'm fine, Betty," she answered, as she fought the chills that were coming over her. "I don't need to see the doctor. Let's just go back."

"Now, I know that wouldn't work on Jack, so it's not working on me either," Betty smirked. "We're going, whether you like it or not. Maybe focusing on feeling sick will help you not to think about Cal."

They arrived at the doctor, and Betty told the doctor exactly what happened, since Rose was still refusing to admit that she was unwell. The doctor did a full examination, while Betty waited with her, knowing that Rose needed someone with her. "Just don't tell Jack about this," Rose said quietly, while the doctor examined her. "I'll tell him eventually, but he doesn't need more to worry about, especially with everything else going on."

The doctor stood up, looking over his paperwork. "Strange," he said quietly, and Rose and Betty immediately looked up at him. He looked back at them, then explained himself. "Whenever I do exams on women of your age, who have the symptoms that you have, I always test to see if they are with child. It's easy for them to miss, especially if their symptoms point to it being a fever." He stared back at his paperwork, then took a seat in his chair, looking at Betty and Rose. "What's strange is when I examined you the last time you were sick, you were not pregnant. But testing you today, you are."

Rose stared at the doctor, unable to speak. "So, is she pregnant or not?" Betty demanded.

"She is," the doctor confirmed. "It's very possible she was then too, but it was too early to tell. But, Miss Rose, you are definitely pregnant. Congratulations."

The doctor left the room, and Rose immediately started to cry into her hands. "Rose, this is a good thing," Betty smiled, trying to comfort her. "You're going to have a baby! You and Jack are going to be parents!" She hugged Rose.

"You can't tell him," Rose told Betty, shaking her head. "I'll tell him when the time is right. I'll tell him, I promise. But right now, I can't. I need a little time to adjust to this. It's a lot. Especially with everything else from today."

"Cal won't take you away if you're pregnant with another man's child," Betty told her, and Rose looked up in shock. "You need to tell Jack, and then when Cal comes, you can tell him that you're pregnant, and he won't want you." She smiled at Rose. "This'll work. Let's go tell Jack."

xXx

The walk home was a silent one, as Rose digested the news of being pregnant. She had no idea how to be a mother, and she had hoped that she and Jack would have had more time together before becoming parents. Still, this was good news, wasn't it? Aside from the current trouble of dealing with Cal, this was good news.

Their wedding was scheduled to be in two weeks, which was perfect, and then they could prepare for their baby. They could still travel on a honeymoon, just as they wanted to, and they could still have the life they had hoped for. The only difference was, everything was happening sooner.

"Are you nervous?" Betty asked, getting Rose's attention.

Rose looked at her soon-to-be sister-in-law, though she already considered her a sister and a friend, and nodded. "A bit, yes," she said finally. "But I think this'll be good. Jack wants children, I know that, and I'm nervous to be a mother, but I assume that would be the case whenever this happened."

"Jack will be thrilled, don't worry about that," Betty assured her. "And as for you, I know I haven't known you very long, but I can tell, any child would be lucky to have you as their mother. You'll be great."

They walked up the front steps to the house. "Shh, don't talk about it again. I don't want anyone to hear you," Rose whispered. Betty nodded, and they walked through the front door, right inside.

Sitting in the living room with Jack and his parents was Cal. Rose's eyes grew wide, as tears gathered in her eyes. "Hello, sweet pea," he smirked. "Looks like we're seeing each other again."

Jack walked over to Rose, taking her hand. "Come sit," he said quietly. "It'll be okay. Nothing is going to happen." Rose looked at him and nodded, and they went to sit down on the couch together, Betty following close behind them.

"What do you want, Cal?" Rose asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Cal smirked at her, then looked over at Jack. He was enjoying this far too much. "As I'm sure your mother told you, I have a contract with your father, which agreed that I will be marrying you."

"I'm not marrying you, Cal," Rose told him. "Everyone in this room is my witness. I'm saying no." She felt Jack's arm wrap around her, holding her close.

It was Jack's father who spoke next. "I'm not sure what the terms of your agreement with Mr. Dewitt Bukater were, Mr. Hockley," William said politely, though everyone could see the hatred of Cal in his eyes. "We are willing to settle this with you, to tear up the contract. But Rose will not be going with you. She's to stay here, with the man she intends to marry."

"I thought you might say that," Cal answered, "Well, it might be helpful to know that if Rose does not come with me now, I'll take someone else in her place. Someone who agreed to court me, or marry me," Cal's eyes moved from Rose to Betty, who was sitting there listening. "If Rose doesn't come with me, I'll take your daughter."

Rose was at a loss for words. She couldn't think through if that was even possible, given that William would never let that happen. She forgot that she was pregnant, and that Jack didn't know. She just knew that Cal was dangerous, and that if she didn't do exactly what he said, he could hurt any of the people that she cared about. "It's alright," Rose waved a hand. "I'll go with you."

Jack's grip remained on her, holding her close. "No you're not," he said, staring at her. "You're not going with this lunatic who tried to kill both of us multiple times!"

"If I don't go, he'll take Betty," Rose reminded him. "We made this mess, Jack, and I don't regret any of it. But I won't let someone innocent be dragged into the middle of it."

"Good girl," Cal smirked. "Come along, sweet pea."

Rose removed Jack's arm from around her. "I love you, Jack," she whispered, and Jack stared at her with tears in his eyes. "I always, always will." She stood and walked over to Cal, who was standing there, ready to take her.

"Wait!" Betty shouted, standing. "Take me. Take me instead." Before anyone could say anything, Betty shouted the one thing that she knew would stop Cal. "You don't want to marry a woman who's pregnant with another man's child."

Everyone turned to Betty, then to Rose, in complete shock. "Is this true?" Cal asked. Rose stepped backward, away from him, until the back of her knees hit the couch where Jack was sitting. She gave a quick nod, not daring to look away from Cal, too scared to see what Jack's reaction was. "Well, there's a simple solution for that, then," he said, reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out a gun.

"No!" Jack yelled, jumping in front of Rose just as the bullet left the gun. Everyone squeezed their eyes shut, afraid to see what had happened. Finally, they opened their eyes, seeing Jack laying on Rose's legs, blood pooling around them.

Rose saw Jack laying on her, blood pouring from his chest, and put her hand on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. "Jack, stay with me," she said shakily. "Someone call an ambulance!" She looked down at Betty, who was staring at her brother, tears running down her cheeks. "Run. Hide. Somewhere here he won't find you. But somewhere I'll know to look. Go now." Betty nodded, running out of the room.

William grabbed the gun from Cal's hand, then slid it across the room so he couldn't reach it. "Get the hell out of here," he said quietly. "Or else I'll call the police. You shot my son!" Cal didn't need to be told twice. He ran from the living room to the front door, and out of sight.

Rose stared down at Jack. He coughed, then opened his eyes staring up at her. "Is it true?" He asked weakly. He reached a blood covered hand and touched Rose's stomach. "Is it true?"

Tears streamed down Rose's cheeks as she nodded. "Yes," she said shakily, forcing a smile. "We're having a baby." She watched as Jack smiled ever so slightly, and she reached out to take his hand. "So I need you to stay with me, Jack. Stay with us. Because I can't do this without you. I need you. Our child needs you."

"Our child," Jack whispered, before closing his eyes.