38
It started out as a normal day for Jack and Rose Dawson. Jack got up, kissed his wife, who was due any day now, goodbye, grabbed an orange, and was off to work. Ignoring her cramping abdomen, Rose slid out of bed and made her way downstairs to help Lily with cleaning the kitchen. Dean was on the porch, pretending to read the morning paper when what he really was doing was dreaming up names for the coming baby. He looked up from the paper as a car pulled into the driveway. Dean frowned as the car came to a stop in front of the house. It was the fancy kind of car he used to admire back when they had visited New York City. Now, what would the owner of such a car want with anyone in this house? Dean suddenly had an idea when a red haired woman was helped out of the car by a driver, a look of haughty distaste on her face. Her blue eyes was as cold as ice.
Slowly the woman approached, her face growing even more icy. In a voice that could freeze hell she spoke. "I’m here to see my daughter. Where is she?"
Dean looked the woman up and down, not believing that she was the mother of someone as sweet and warm as Rose. He somehow knew that the woman was a bully and Jack wouldn’t particularly want her alone with this woman, Maybe if he lied…
"Dean, who is this?" Lily stepped out of the house, wiping her hands on a dishtowel, eyeing the stranger curiously.
"Lily, where…," Rose came up behind her mother in law and stopped when she saw Ruth glaring coldly at Dean. What was she doing here? Rose wished she wasn’t. She couldn’t deal with her mother right now. She simply couldn’t. "Mother."
Ruth eyed her daughter coldly, thinking of what a waste all that schooling had been. Rose was meant to be a fine lady; now she was only some housewife. Ruth shook her head in disgust. "I wish that we had never boarded that damn ship," Ruth pushed her way into the house, ready to get off her feet.
"Mother, what do you want?" Rose closed her eyes against a pain that had gripped her on and off all morning. For the fifth time, she wondered if this was real labor or false.
"Thanks to your foolishness, I am now penniless. The last of what I had went to the train here and that poor excuse of a driver. The house and our belongings have all been sold in auction. Since this is your doing Rose, I’ve come here to live with you. I’m your mother. You’re required to take care of me," Ruth snorted, taking a seat on the couch. "It’s been a long journey. I want some tea. You know how I like it. Luke warm with a twist of lime."
White hot anger seared through Rose, making her forget about the contractions. "Get up mother and make your own tea! I am in no mood to deal with you! What happened wasn’t my fault and I’m sick of you always placing the responsibility for your life on my shoulders! First by trying to force me to marry Cal and now by trying to force your way into this house! Well I have news for you mother! It’s not happening! I want you out right OWWW!" Rose gasped as pain gripped her and water splashed onto the floor.
"Dear lord, her water broke," Lily looked at Dean. "Dean go get the doctor and then Jack. I’ll get her upstairs. Mrs. Dewitt Bukater, I’m sorry, but your tea will have to wait. Our grandchild won’t."
"Jack. I need Jack," Rose leaned against Lily as she was led up the stairs.
"He’ll be here soon sweetie," Lily reassured the frightened Rose.
~*~
Another scream ripped through the house as Jack arrived with the doctor and Dean in tow.
"Rose!" Jack sprinted upstairs, wanting to be by Rose’s side as soon as possible. "Rose! I’m here," Jack sped into the room and grabbed her hand. "I’m here."
"Jack…it hurts so much," Rose gasped through another contraction
"Let’s see, looks like our little Dawson is ready to make an appearance," Dr. Calvert entered the room, medical bag in hand. "Now if Mr. Dawson will please step outside, we can get started."
"Step outside? No, I want him to stay," Rose tightened her grip on Jack. "I need him to stay."
"Rose, I’m sorry, but it’s inappropriate for Jack to be here right now," Lily tried to calm Rose, who was getting more and more upset.
"Not appropriate? Here is his being here for the birth of his child not appropriate?"
"Rose calm down. I’ll take care of everything," Jack squeezed her hand. She should know by now that only wild horses could drag him away at this moment. "Dr. Calvert, mom, I understand traditions. I do, and I respect your desire to uphold this tradition. But you see, there is nothing traditional about Rose and I. We’ve met and fell in love in midst of very unusual circumstances. Rose needs me as much as I need her. So I’m going to be here by her side. No matter what either of you say."
The doctor looked at the young couple and sighed in defeat. It was obvious that it’d would really take wild horses to drag the young husband and soon to be father away. "Very well then. Since you insist and this is ok with you Rose."
"Of course it is," Rose grunted through another contraction.
"Ok, then. But don’t let anyone else know, or all men are going to want to be present at the birth of their child. Well, let’s get started."
~*~
Five hours later, it was over. The doctor handed the newborn child to Rose, who leaned back, comfortable and warm and relieved that it was over. Jack had an arm wrapped securely around her shoulders as he stared at his son.
"You name him Jack," Rose held the baby out to her husband, who tried to think of a name.
"Andrew. Andrew Fabrizio Dawson," Jack grinned as the baby opened eyes that were the same piercing blue as Jack’s. "Oh Rose, he’s perfect. Thank you so much."
"Oh he is beautiful," Lily
looked at her grandson. "You two did such a good job."
"It was Rose who did all the work," Jack blushed.
"Oh you helped," Rose smiled weakly, just wanting to curl up somewhere warm and sleep.
"Ahem," Dean stuck his head
through the door, seeming quite irritated. "Good. It’s
done. Can someone come and get this lady before I kill her?"
"What lady?" Jack frowned. He as in such a hurry to
reach Rose that he hadn’t noticed anyone else.
"Your wife’s mother. She’s driving me insane with her constant whining."
"Ruth’s here?" Jack frowned. This definitely wasn’t good news. Especially not now. They had a child to care for now. Ruth was too much.
"Mrs. Dewitt Bukater to you Jack Dawson," Lily wagged her finger, appalled at her son’s lack of respect for his elders. "I raised you better then that."
Jack bowed his head in shame at his mother’s reprimand. She was right. Ruth was his elder and deserved some form of respect. No matter what she had done to him in the past.
"What does she want?"
"To make me as miserable as possible. I don’t want her here Jack. Make her leave, please," Rose begged, her eyes shining with anger.
"She’s desitute Jack. She needs a place to live. We can’t just throw her out in the streets."
Jack sighed, not wanting to deal with Ruth at all, but knew that he had to. "Mom, you don’t understand. That woman had made Rose’s life hell. She belittles her every chance she gets. I don’t want her any where near Rose and Andrew."
"Jack, what are you going to do?
Throw her out in the middle of the streets? Forget that she even
exists?"
"That sounds like a plan," Rose nodded her approval
before gazing at the baby in her arms.
"You can’t do that…" Lily began.
"Well she can’t stay here either. Especially right now. Rose doesn’t have the strength to deal with her right now."
"Well I will not have you kick that woman out in the streets. I’ll make the guestroom up for her," Lily said.
"Lily!" Dean yelled. "I don’t want that woman here!"
"Well too bad Dean Mitchum. She’s staying until she’s back on her feet," Lily pushed pass her husband so she could make room for the older new arrival.
"The most wonderful day of my life, now ruined," Rose sighed, handing Andrew back to Jack.
"Can’t you talk to her?" Jack turned to his stepfather.
"Sorry kid. But your ma gets an idea in her head, it’s hard to get her to drop it."
Looking at Rose, who was drifting off to sleep, Jack made a decision. He was going to change his mother in law somehow. He was going to make her into a better person somehow. Not only for his and Rose’s sake, but for his son’s sake as well. Kissing his sleeping wife and laying his son down into a nearby cradle, Jack went out for a walk to think of how he was going to handle Ruth Dewitt Bukater. The queen of the icebergs.