Things have been incredibly peaceful since the delinquent came home roughly 2 1/2 months ago. She mostly stays up in her room with the baby, while Jack and I alternate who stays home. He stays home more days of the week than I do though. On the days that I do stay with her, I actually let her be for the most part. I take care of her pony, and Killian and Thomas, and even Ramin. After I've taken care of them, I sit down at my desk and begin to write.

Jack showed me the letters from my daughter. It seems she has found out where the staircase was. However, she couldn't actually step through into the future because the door was locked! I practically begged Jack for the key, but he refuses to give it to me. He claims that it would be bad for my health if I went back in time again. So instead, I've resorted to writing back to her. Her handwriting is nothing but scribbles, so my first letter was a note telling her to have someone write the letters for her.

It was not long after I pushed this under the door, that another letter came. This one was in Nellie's neat handwriting, and she promised me that she and Elba would write to me once a week for as long as possible. Thus, we settled on Tuesdays, and so every week I stay home on Tuesday. At exactly 2 every afternoon, I take my letter and slip it under the door, not even a second later another letter is slipped back in return.

Today is actually Friday though. Jack had some sort of meeting he needed to attend today, so I had to stay home in his stead. It's quite alright with me though, it lets me get a head start on my answer to Nellie and Elba! As I write I can hear the ruffian down the hallway singing in a low voice to her daughter. It helps me to relax and think of something to write. In her last letter, Nellie told me that Elba had gotten stung by a bee in the garden, but she'd remembered what I told her on treating bee stings and managed to heal our girl all by herself. She seemed so proud of herself, and I am proud of her too! I knew she'd get along alright without me!

I write and tell her about her favorite delinquent, about how life is in the future. I tell her about how the ruffian complains that being a mother is hard. I'm sure that will at least make Nellie laugh! When I get about halfway down the paper, I decide to take a break. Suddenly I hear a cry from down the hall and I decide to go and see what the matter is. The ruffian's bedroom door is partially open, but I knock just in case. I'm still a gentleman after all!

She calls for me to come in and I push the door open. She's walking back in forth, cooing to the baby as it cries "Elba you have nothing to fuss over! Please stop crying!" she tells the child. The little girl doesn't heed to her mother's voice, just continues wailing. The delinquent looks at me "Thomas! Why won't she shut up! I sang to her and put her down in her crib so I could try to sleep for 2 minutes and she just started wailing for no reason!" she says, looking annoyed. I can't help but smile "Well she is your daughter" I say, leaning against the door frame. She doesn't seem amused so I approach her "Here, I'll take her for a little while, you take a nap". She hands over the child and thanks me before walking over and flopping onto her bed, burying her head in the pillow.

Gently, I take little Elba downstairs and sit on the couch with her "Ah Elba, you don't want your mummy to go insane do you?" I ask her. She stops crying and blinks up at me. Well that was easy enough! Maybe the delinquent was annoying her daughter as much as she used to annoy me! I turn on the television, trying to find the Cupcake Wars. When I find the right channel I turn up the volume and position little Elba so she can see the screen "Alright, today we're going to learn a very important lesson. It's called, quality television" I tell her. She stares at the screen with wide eyes, a smile coming across her face. Yes, while this little girl may not replace my own, she comes close enough!

"Uncle Tommie, are you finished writing to Elby yet?" Elizabeth asks me. I smile at the little three year old as she tries to look up on my desk where I'm writing. I sign off the bottom of my letter to my own daughter, slipping it into an envelope "Yes I'm done. Do you have anything you wish to send her?" I ask. She nods and hands me a drawing "I drew a picture of Rocky, Macaroni, Titan, and Joey!" she says proudly. I slip the drawing into the envelope before sealing it and standing, she reaches up for it "Lemme do it!" she says. I hand her the envelope and she excitedly runs out into the hallway.

We go to the door and she gets down on the floor, trying to look underneath the door. After a moment she gives up and pushes the envelope through the crack under the door. She looks up at me "I did it!" she says proudly. I pick her up off the floor and hold her on my hip "Oh yes you did, you're getting to be a big girl aren't you?" I ask her. She nods "Uncle Tommie, when you gonna teach me how to ride the big pony?" she asks. I sigh, she's been asking this practically since the day she could talk "Soon" I tell her. She puts on a pouty face "Aw but Uncle Tommie, you always say that!" she tells me. I know this!

I pretend to think it over for a minute, but of course after she gives me the puppy dog eyes I already knew what I was going to answer "I'll tell you what, since you helped me send the letter to your cousin Elby, I'll take you to ride the pony right now" I tell her. She smiles brightly "Really?" she asks excitedly, I put her down "Really" I answer. She grabs my hand and begins pulling me down the stairs "Come on then Uncle Tommie!" she says "Let's go ride the pony!".

When we reach the newly expanded shed, which at this point is now a small barn, three heads poke out. The first one is a big black hunter that Jack named Titan, after of course, Titanic. Titan is my horse though, and he certainly is a fine thing to look at! The next horse is Macaroni, which is Jack's horse. He doesn't ride the palomino gelding much though, he's been afraid ever since he fell off his first time riding and broke his arm. The next horse is a small bay thoroughbred, which the delinquent bought after she decided Rocky was getting too old for her to ride him like she used to. She named him Joey after the horse in her favorite film, War Horse. And of course the last horse is Rocky, who is still as gentle and reliable as he ever was.

Elba goes to his stall door and reaches up, trying to touch his nose "Rocky!" she says happily. I go over and grab a brush, handing it to her before picking her up "We have to brush the pony first before we ride him" I tell her. Honestly, I'm just stalling her, I don't know if I want her to ride or not. I carry her into Rocky's stall and hold her up so she can reach the pony's back. After a good 20 minutes of brushing, his coat is shining and I can't possibly deny her anymore "Ride now?" she asks. I put her down and have her stand outside the stall "Yes of course, you'll ride now" I tell her.

I quickly tack the pony up, before going over to Titan's stall. His coat is already immaculate, so I just run the brush over his coat once before tacking him up as well. Now for the final touch! The delinquent actually did something correct, she bought her daughter a helmet! I suppose she knew this day was coming, I believe Elba has asked her to ride the pony as many times as she has asked me. Of course, I was the first one to cave! I strap the helmet onto her head "Alright, now we aren't going to do too much today!" I tell her. She nods and I lead Rocky and Titan out of the stables.

Picking her up, I hoist her up into Rocky's saddle and shorten the stirrups so that her short legs fit in the irons. This requires me to punch new holes into the leather straps, because even on the smallest hole the stirrups are nearly 2 times too long! When she's settled into the saddle, I hand her the reins and show her how to hold them. I suppose it doesn't matter either way how she holds them now, she won't have any control over the pony! I pat Rocky's neck before attaching a lead rope to his bridle and mounting Titan. "We're just going to go on a short ride for your first time, alright?" I ask? She nods and holds up her reins before I touch Titan's sides and we head off towards the countryside.

3 hours later we finally get back to the barn as it's growing dark. Elba looks sad "Aw Uncle Tommie, we done so soon?" she asks. I laugh "We were out all afternoon!" I tell her. She asks if we can go again tomorrow as I help her down off the pony and I pat her head "We'll see!" I tell her. I think she and I both know the answer is yes, but I'd like to perhaps make it seem like maybe I could say no, at least to myself.

It's a typical afternoon as I canter Titan across the fields near our home. There's an old chestnut pony galloping just to my left, trying to keep up with the hunter's long legs. Finally we reach our secret place, Belmont Park. While it isn't so secret to most people, it's secret to Elba and I. It just ended up being the place we liked to ride to the most. When we go there we sometimes have a picnic, or have a gallop across the wide wildflower meadows. She has become quite the expert rider under my instruction, and I couldn't be more proud!

As we stop the horses to rest, she looks up at me "Uncle Tommie, have you noticed Mummy and Daddy are acting funny?" she asks. I smile "Funny? How do you think they're acting funny?" I ask. She sits back in her saddle "Well Daddy kisses her a lot now, and Mummy looks fatter" she says innocently. I laugh "You think you're mummy's getting fat?" I ask her. She nods "Oh yes! Haven't you noticed Uncle Tommie? You can't miss it? She's got a big belly! Like she's been eating too many sweets!" she says". Oh how this child makes my life sometimes! I pretend to think "Well, I suppose maybe she looks a little bigger. I don't think she's been eating any sweets though" I say. I know the real reason she has been gaining weight, but she wanted to surprise her daughter with the news.

I just can't keep a secret from her though "Elba, I have a question for you now" I tell her. She looks excited "Oh? What kind of question Uncle Tommie?" she asks. I take a deep breath, as though this question means life of death "Where do you think babies come from Elba?" I ask her. She smiles and laughs as though I asked her some silly question "Oh Uncle Tommie! Everybody knows that Mummies and Daddies buy them off ebay and the stork delivers it from the baby store!" she answers. I can't help but laugh "Now who told you that?" I ask her, she replies simply "Jimmy did!".

Oh Jimmy, that boy is incredibly bad! If I were his father his rear end would be terribly sore! He is always teasing the other children in his class, and telling lies. Of course, I know this from what Elba tells me when we are together. I raise an eyebrow "And you believe him?" I ask, she suddenly looks less sure "Well, I mean, where else could they come from?" she asks. Suddenly her eyes light up "I bet you know! Because you had Elby!" she says "Tell me where they really come from Uncle Tommie! I promise I won't tell mummy!" she says.

No! She can't just do this to me! She knows I never lie to her! What on earth do I tell her though? I find myself blushing and Elba looks at me funny "What's the matter Uncle Tommie? Do they do something bad?" she asks. I shake my head "No! No, it's not that it's just. Um, it's a little complicated to explain" I tell her. She prods me "I'll understand! I'm smart!". This is it, I'll put my foot down and say no, I'm not going to tell her! "Um, well you see Elba, I um, I can't tell you" I tell her "Because it's a secret that your Daddy is going to tell you all about. But I'll tell you this, in order to get a baby, a man and a woman need to uh, play together" I say. Her eyes grow wide "But Uncle Tommie! I play with Jimmy all the time!" she says. Oh! This has just come to my advantage. I make a dramatic face "Oh! How improper! I hope you haven't gotten the baby seed in your tummy from playing with him!".

She suddenly looks frightened "Uncle Tommie what if I did get it? I don't want a baby!" she says. I dismount my horse and begin to pace on the ground "It might not be too late Elba!" I say, trying to remain serious "You might not have the baby seed in your belly! Here! Let me check!" I say. She eagerly gets off her horse and I take her a safe distance away from the horses "Ok how do you check?" she asks. It is incredibly hard to remain serious "Well that's very simple. All I have to do is do... THIS!" I immediately begin tickling her and she shrieks with laughter "Uncle Tommie stop that tickles!" she says. She begins tickling me back, which causes me to fall over as I'm incredibly ticklish.

We take a moment to lie in the grass and breath before she rolls over onto her stomach and lifts her head "So? Do I have the baby seed?" she asks. I shake my head, still trying to catch my breath "No! No you haven't got it!" I tell her. She sighs in relief "How do I stop myself from getting it?" she asks. I sit up in the grass "Don't play with Jimmy or any other boys of course! If you play with them, they'll give you the baby seed and we wouldn't want that would we?" I ask. She shakes her head "Uncle Tommie, if playing with boys can give me the baby seed, how come you haven't gave it to me?" she asks. Oh, that just made things a little akward "Only boys that are in school can give you the baby seed! That includes college!" I tell her. That ought to do it!

Standing, we both remount our horses "Now come on, your daddy probably has dinner almost ready" I say. She groans "Aw! Why isn't Mummy making dinner? Daddy only knows how to make burnt pancakes!" she says. I laugh, it was true. Both the delinquent and Jack were terrible cooks, but at least the ruffian knew how to make more things decently than Jack! She tried, and usually came out with a good result! Jack on the other hand, has not mastered how to make anything, not even macaroni and cheese out of the box!

Once we arrive home we take care of the horses before heading inside. She runs and jumps onto the couch next to her father, who has recently discovered the world of video games. He's playing some terrible game, called 'Skyrim'. I've never played it, but after watching Jack play it I know the game is terribly violent. Still, he hands his daughter the controller and she begins playing the game.

After a little while of playing she walks her character up to a random villager, who tells her she needs to leave. "NO!" she continues to yell, but the villagers keeps telling her to leave. She furrows her brow before simply stating "Sword him!". She goes through her weapons, selecting an ax, and then proceeds to kill the villager. She smiles brightly and laughs "We did it!" she says happily. Suddenly some guards come and begin brutally attacking her character. Her face quickly falls and her eyes grow wide as she watches the massacre "Oh..." she says. The guards kill her character and she looks like she might even cry, she looks at Jack "AW!" she says. A screen comes up saying that she died and she stares at it, before looking down sadly "People don't like to be sword".

Jack ruffles her hair "Ah, that game is a little too grown up for you. Here, I have the perfect game for you to play!" he says. He stands and walks over to the gaming system, switching out 'Skyrim' and putting in 'Halo' before resuming his place on the couch. Before the game can even load though I change the channel on the television to the Cupcake Wars. Jack and Elba both stand up at the same time with angry expressions "HEY!" they both say at the same time. I roll my eyes and sit down in the recliner "Jack, I'm not allowing you to turn her into a psychopath with your violent games" I tell him simply.

She goes over and sits on Jack's lap "Guess what Daddy? Uncle Tommie told me that you would tell me where babies came from!" she says happily. His face pales slightly and he glances at me before looking at Elba again "Oh? Did he?" he asks. She nods "Uh huh. So Daddy, where do they come from?" she asks. Jack leans back on the couch and stares at the ceiling for a moment, as if the answer might be written up there. Elba must have thought this also because she looks up at the ceiling "Daddy, I don't see anything up there!" she finally says after a little while.

He looks back up at her "I'm thinking!" he says. She frowns "Is it really that hard to explain?" she asks. He nods "Yep, it really is. But I promise you, I'll tell you eventually! Alright?" he asks. She smiles "Ok" she answer before he stands up and walks into the kitchen. "AW DAMN IT!" he curses angrily, I hear the shuffling of pans and Jack saying a few more select words before coming out of the kitchen and calmly asking "Who wants Burger King?".

And now there are 2 children running around the house! Well, I should say there is 1 running and one crawling. The poor ruffian, I know she tries as hard as she can but the two little ones are certainly a hand full! About a year ago she had another baby, whom we named Joseph Bruce Phillips, after our FAVORITE passenger, Mr. Ismay.

Poor Elba is incredibly jealous of Joseph, not even a week after he was born she came to me crying, saying 'Mummy and Daddy don't love me anymore!'. I am constantly reminding her that her parents do love her, it's just that little Joseph needs a little bit more attention. Today I've decided to take her mind off it though, by taking her to the carnival that has come to town.

"Uncle Tommie, how come you named my baby brother Joseph?" she asks me as we walk through a barn with chickens and rabbits in it. "He's named after the person who owned Titanic" I tell her. She looks up at him "But I thought you said you didn't like him!" she says, I laugh "Well, sometimes he could be a little bit braggy, and he got on my nerves over many things. But he wasn't a bad man. He was just, misunderstood" I say. She blinks "What's that mean?" she asks. We find a bench near the barn and I sit down, she hops up next to me "Well, it means that people don't really know how you feel about things, they take it the wrong way".

She tells me she's still confused and I sigh "It's hard to explain Elba" I finally say. She tips her head to the side "Like the baby thing?" she asks. I smile and chuckle "Yes, like the baby thing" I reply. We stand and she tugs on my arm "Uncle Tommie, can I ride on your shoulders?" she asks. I sigh "You're getting a little bit heavy for that you know!" I tell her. She doesn't seem to care so I crouch down in front of the bench "Alright, but if I throw out my back just remember we won't be able to go riding for a long time!" I tell her.

Though she's certainly bigger, she really isn't all that heavy and I carry her easily around on my shoulders. We walk all around and see different animals and exhibits, I make sure to keep the rides and games for last. And of course the food, because the last thing I want is for her to drip ice cream all over the top of my head! As I finally resort to walking through the midway, she points to a game "Uncle Tommie! Look at that big bear! It's so Fluffy!" she says. I stop in front of the game and the carny lures us over "Hey, come over and I'll show you how it works!".

I lower myself and have Elba slide off before we both approach the game "Hey Mister, it's really simple. All you have to do, is get this metal loop down this metal spiral without hitting it. If you make it to the bottom, you can have whatever prize you want!" he says. I hand him five euros and he gives me three tries. Elba roots for me as I guide the loop down the twisting spiral. A bell goes off somewhere and causes me to jump slightly, hitting the wire and causing the buzzer to go off. Elba whines "Come on Uncle Tommie! You almost had it!" she says encouragingly. I know I almost had it, I have a reputation for having a steady hand! It's a good thing to have when you're drawing ships and building them! I try it again, this time I reach the bottom and cause the bell to go off, signifying that I won!

The carny smiles "Well, looks like you won. Well sir, what would you like to have?" he asks. Elba points at the biggest, fuzziest bear the man has "That one Uncle Tommie! It's so fluffy and cute!" she says happily. I laugh at her "But Elba, that bear is as big as you are!" I say. She doesn't care, and so I tell the carny I'll have the giant white fluffy bear. Just when I think I've done enough, Elba spots another game "Oh Uncle Thomas look a unicorn! Please win it for me! Please!".

How many games I play, I don't know. I'm sure Elba would have kept going, but she had me play so many games, and win so many prizes, that I actually had to borrow someone's wheelbarrel in order to get them back to my car. I strap Elba into her carseat alongside all her new stuffed animals and I kiss her cheek "Whether you think your parents love you or not, at least remember that your Uncle loves you more than anything". She blinks "Do you love me more than Joseph?" she asks. I know it isn't fair, but I actually do love her a sliver more than Joesph. But only because I love her as if she were my own daughter!

On the drive back home Elba begins dozing off to sleep "Uncle Thomas, can I send Elby one of my prizes?" she asks. I glance into the mirror to look at her "If you think you can fit it under the door, I don't see why not" I tell her. She yawns "I want to, she'd like it. She always writes me nice letters so I want to send her something nice". I smile at this, it was true. As time went on here, time in the past went on as well. My own daughter is nearly 9 years old, and write her own letters to Elba and I. Helen still writes to me of course, even though she has married Henry Harland and is planning on starting her new family with him.

When we reach the house Elba is already asleep so I have to carry her into the house and up to her room. As I tuck her in I think about how my life has been going since I last saw Nellie. I think about how I feel about her marrying another man, and as I kiss my niece goodnight and head out to my car to retrieve all her stuffed animals it dawns upon me for the very first time. I'm happy here! I'm happy in the future, I'm happy with my new life and my new family! Nothing could ruin how happy I am, not even Nellie getting married again! It all turned out the complete opposite of what I expected! And for that, I am grateful.

Finally all of the stuffed animals are in a pile on the couch. Jack can deal with those tomorrow. I trudge up to my room and sit down at my desk to write some letters to Nellie, and to James Cameron and Madeleine, and of course to Elba. I might not get to see her grow up like I would have wanted to, but I'm confident that we'll see each other again someday. After all, I'm going to have to die again sooner or later! Yes, we'll all meet up on my big ship in the sky, everyone from the past and from the future too! I wouldn't want to have it any other way.

Alright guys, I actually thought this was going to drag out another chapter but I guess not. This is THE END! Well what did you think of it? How did you feel about this adventure? I asked this a few chapters back, but nobody answered. So I'll ask it again here. Which adventure did you like better and why?

Reviewers, I cannot thank you enough for your continued support! It has been an honor to receive such high praise, and a privilege to be critiqued so that my writing abilities would improve. It's been a fun couple months writing Titanic fanfiction, and I'm very sure that this has been my absolute favorite fandom to write in! And it was all because of the reviewers and the support I got on these fics! So, THANK YOU!

Now that I'm finished writing in the Titanic fandom, I've got an extra special treat for your VERY LAST REVIEW! Today in the review shop, I'm giving away the actual people! Yep, that's right. I'm sorry Thomas, Jack, Officers, you're all up for grabs now! But the people can only have you if they review!

Now wait a minute here! I thought we were friends!

Yea Gabby! NO FAIR! I married you!

Guys, I'm sure they'll hand you back over when they realize how needy you are! I mean, you need to be fed every day, and groomed, and you need therapy sessions twice a week! It's hard to keep you!

OK Reviewers, this is it, the big goodbye. My last words to you are, follow me over to War Horse! I'll be going there next, but I'm going to try and take a nice long break before I actually post anything! I've posted a one-shot there already to hold me over! So now I'm taking my official writing break to focus on school work. Of course, that won't stop me from reading other people's writing... but at least I won't be at risk for getting carpal tunnel in that month or so of not typing! ;)

GOODBYE MY FELLOW REVIEWERS! AND THANK YOU!