Here's the history of Buttercup, the horse invented and put to rest in one episode because plot.
I'm thinking this will be about three chapters. This is going to stay canon for the most part.
I'm still batting around ideas in my head, so let me know what you like, and I'll try to put more of it in the next chapters.
This story fits the timeline I established in The Announcements. For the sake of this story, they live in Elizabeth's childhood home, and that is their Virginia property. I think the flashback scenes about her taking the Iraq job had them in a different house, but I'm ignoring that for the sake of making things easier.
I'm also putting their wedding anniversary in January because that was when their anniversary episode aired. I don't think I ever said in Graduations when she was graduating. We can argue that Elizabeth finished a semester early and graduated in December.
I feel like I'm putting more effort into consistency than the writers do, but that's fine.
As always, my thanks to Broadwayfreak for the beta work.
2001
"Henry, he's perfect." Elizabeth smiled down at their new son.
After a few moments without a response from her husband, she looked up at him. He had his arm around her. They were sitting in a hospital bed. Elizabeth had just given birth, and she wanted nothing more than to relax with her family. When she looked at him, he had tears coming from his eyes.
"Babe?" Elizabeth was concerned.
"I'm fine. Don't worry." Henry kissed her cheek.
Why do people always say not to worry when there is every reason to worry? "What is it?"
"He's just so small. He's beautiful." Henry looked away. The emotions were getting to him.
"And here I thought women were the emotional ones," she said with a laugh. She took Henry's hand in hers, squeezing gently.
Henry reached out to stroke their new son's head. "I'm just… The world is so messed up right now. He's so little." More tears slipped out, but he didn't bother to wipe them away.
"I know. The world is so broken… We'll teach him to make up his own mind. He won't get sucked in."
Gathering himself together, Henry kissed his wife again. "Of course he won't."
"So, you thought of a name, Professor?" Eight months of pregnancy, and they hadn't quite settled on the right name.
Henry thought about the amount of pain in the world in the last week. He was convinced Elizabeth wouldn't have gone into early labor had it not been for the terrorist attacks. She had insisted on working through to the end of her pregnancy. He thought about the giant divides that were already beginning to form not only in the U.S., but also throughout the globe.
"What do you think about Jason?"
"In the mythology sense?" Elizabeth was surprised, and a little incredulous.
"No. In the biblical sense. Jason housed Paul and Silas when they were being persecuted. The name means 'healer.'" Henry felt a little self-conscious now.
Looking into her husband's eyes, Elizabeth was touched. She was so happy she had married this wonderful man.
"Yeah. I like it. Jason." She smiled down at their little boy.
"Now, if we want to be authentic to the Latin, we could…"
Elizabeth cut him off. She knew where this was going. "No. We are not spelling his name with an I. I'm drawing the line."
"Okay. I love you, babe." Henry leaned in to kiss her again.
"I love you, too. Now can we get some popcorn in here? I'm hungry."
"Henry." Tears were streaming down her face as she stood in the doorway to his study. Jason was crying, and Elizabeth could not soothe him. She was at her limit. The stress was getting to her.
Elizabeth had gone back to work only six weeks after Jason was born. She had to get back in the action. But the stress of taking on so much was getting to her. Ali was only two, and Jason still needed constant attention. Henry had tried to lighten his schedule, but with three kids, there just wasn't time for two jobs, the kids, and a supportive relationship with his wife. He may have gotten tenure before Jason was born, but his time was just as precious as it had been. Now that he had tenure, he was expected to take on a lot of administrative work. He turned from his computer, seeing her tears. Her face was puffy and red. She looked like she had been crying for just as long as Jason had. She always had trouble when her kids cried, particularly when she was tired or stressed. Knowing her own kids were crying without their parents being able to soothe them hit a little too close to home.
"Babe!" He got up immediately and took her in his arms. "Breathe, babe. It's okay. It's okay. He'll calm down. It's probably just gas. Everything is gonna be fine. Deep breaths."
"I'm just… so… stressed out. Nothing is working. I can't do this. Conrad wants me to go back to Iraq, and Jason won't stop crying, and Stevie won't wear socks because she says the seam hurts her toes, and Ali is cutting a molar, and I'm just so tired…" Elizabeth just needed the chance to collapse.
Henry led her over to a chair and had her sit. He knelt in front of her, taking both her hands in his. Jason's cries could still be heard in the background, but neither paid attention. Henry reached up to smooth his wife's hair back.
"It's gonna be okay. I promise, baby."
Elizabeth wouldn't meet his eyes.
Henry's voice was quiet and earnest. "Look at me, babe." He reached up to take her chin in his hand. "They won't be little forever. They're gonna grow out of this. We've seen this before with Stevie. We know what we're doing. Just gotta breathe. We'll let Stevie wear her socks inside out. There's some teething gel in the cabinet for Ali. And we'll give Jason some Tylenol. He'll be fine, babe. Why don't you let me handle this? Hmm? You go get ready for bed. Take a bath. Shave your legs, both of them, at the same time…"
That got a laugh from Elizabeth. She had needed Henry to give her some sanity back. It became so hard to think logically when she was so tired and stressed.
"Will you come join me when you're done?" She looked hopeful. She needed this.
Henry pulled her to her feet, giving her a gentle kiss. "Of course, babe. Now, go relax. Light some candles, put on some music, and pretend you're on a beach. I'll come give you a massage in a minute."
Elizabeth closed her eyes and gave a soft groan of pleasure. "Oh, you're good."
"I know what you need, babe. You just need to be treated like an adult. You spend too much time with toddlers." He smiled affectionately.
She wrapped her arms around Henry's waist. He was still in a suit, while she was in sweats. She loved her kids more than anything, but she was overwhelmed.
"Okay, we can cuddle later, babe. Go on up. I'll get the kids to bed."
After putting the kids down, Henry entered their bedroom. He found her in their bathroom, asleep in the tub. He wanted to giggle at her, but he knew she was having a bad evening.
Leaning down, he brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. "Hey there, gorgeous… Wake up."
She blinked up at him and smiled. "Hey, yourself."
"You ready to get out of there?" Henry grabbed a towel and helped her out of the tub. He got a nightgown out of her drawer for her and helped her slip it over her head.
She lay back against the pillows, thinking they had never been as comfortable as they were right then. Henry had known what she needed, and she was so thankful for him.
"Thanks for tonight. I needed that." Elizabeth's voice was tired. She was just about to succumb to sleep.
Henry got ready for bed quickly and curled behind his wife. "You just needed a few minutes to yourself to unwind. You're gonna be just fine."
Elizabeth mumbled her assent before falling asleep. She loved falling asleep in Henry's arms.
He watched her sleep for a few minutes, thinking of how he could help her. An idea began to form in his mind. She really did need more opportunities to get a break. She needed release from her stress. Working full time and taking care of three children at night was too much when your job entailed as much as hers did.
Henry went to sleep, plans taking shape in his mind. He had heard a professor in the English department talking in the faculty dining room that very day, and he was going to go meet with him the next day.
"Dr. Miller!" Henry saw the English professor leaving the dining room just as he entered.
The man turned to Henry, an easy expression on his face. He seemed like a very pleasant person just by the relaxed way he carried himself.
"I'm Henry McCord, I teach in the Theology department."
"Oh yes! You just had a book published, didn't you?"
"I did, thanks for remembering."
"What can I do for you?"
"I overheard you yesterday saying you're looking to sell a horse."
"I am. We had a foal born a while back, and I thought my youngest daughter would take to riding, but she doesn't seem interested. My oldest is ready to go to college, and I'm not sure my wife wants to take care of a young horse."
"Would you mind if I came by and took a look? I think my wife would really like a horse. We have a few right now, but they're getting pretty old. I want to surprise her. Our anniversary is coming up in January."
Dr. Miller smiled. "That'd be just fine. Let me give you my card, and I'll write the address on the back. I should be around all weekend if you want to stop by." He took out a card and bent over a table to write his address.
"Thank you. I appreciate it. I think Elizabeth will really like this."
"I think I've met your wife before. Tall, blonde Vogue cover model?"
"That's her." Henry smiled.
"How long has she been riding?"
"She grew up with horses. She showed some when she was a teenager. We've still got a couple horses that her parents bought when she was young. They're too old to do much, but I think she would love to start riding again. We've got three young children, and I think she needs something to do." Henry was leaving out several important details, but this man didn't need to know everything.
The man looked Henry up and down. "You come by this weekend and look at Buttercup, and I'll give you a good deal. Your wife needs a horse to ride."
"Thank you, sir. I'll do that. If you don't mind, how'd she get her name?"
"Please, call me Frank. Buttercup is male, actually. And the name came from my daughter. She was only about six when Buttercup was born." The man extended his hand, and Henry shook it with a smile.
"Our oldest is about that age. It's quite a time, isn't it?"
"That it is. Now, I'll see you this weekend. I need to go teach."
"Of course, I'll be in touch."
Henry took his seat for lunch with a hope that this horse would work out. It sounded perfect for Elizabeth.
"Alright, you have to keep your eyes closed now." Henry smiled at Elizabeth. She hated surprises.
They were standing at the stables. It was the night before their anniversary. The winter air was chilly, but Henry didn't notice at all.
"Why are we out here? Can't we go back inside? I'll make it worth your while." She smiled seductively.
"As tempting as that sounds, I have some introductions to make first." Henry started walking around to the furthest stall.
"Henry, we've been married twelve years… I'm pretty well acquainted with… Oh! He's beautiful!" Elizabeth saw Henry leading a brown horse out to her.
"This is Buttercup." Henry smiled at her joy. The expression on her face was radiant. He had made a good choice.
"Buttercup?" Elizabeth leaned around to look at the underside of the horse.
Laughing, Henry explained, "He was named by a six year-old."
"Ah! Well, he's perfect."
"He's all yours, babe. You always talk about how much you enjoyed riding when you were younger. I don't want you to lose that."
Emotion played across her face. "Thank you." She leaned up to give Henry a kiss.
"You're welcome. Now, what were you saying about going back inside and getting better acquainted?" He smiled down at her, nuzzling her nose with his.
She giggled. "Oh, I think that could be arranged. You got him all taken care of?"
"Yep. You've managed to teach this city boy a few things."
She leaned up to whisper in his ear. "Why don't you take me upstairs, and I'll teach you some more?" She finished her request with a soft kiss to his neck.
"Uh.. Ok… Yeah. Let's go." Henry started to take her hand and lead her back to the house.
"Henry, are you forgetting something?" Elizabeth could barely hide her laughter
"What?" He turned back, his cheeks flushed.
"You need to put the horse away."
"Oh. Yeah. You go on up. I'll be right there."
"Don't be long…" She trailed off, giving Henry a look that ensured he would be following her as quickly as he could.