Notes Back:
Ninigi: Lol. Who needs a tv to watch something? There's an app for everything! Lol. I mean nearly always choose a book first.
You can mentally smoosh in biting remarks in the scenes that aren't shown, lol I just said there hadn't been angry retorts.
leafs: someone a few stories ago left a review that made me look up all 19th century birth control, I believe condoms are the most Scarlett appropriate. If I ever continue "In the Broken Light of Day" you will actually see Rhett and Scarlett have a conversation about it. Uh she has to drink for it.
Lcorrea: Haha. We don't call that dull, we call it uneventful. The older you get the more that becomes your goal, things can be interesting and exciting without being exhausting.
Guest: Lol. He made some good points in his original dining room speech, he got to make them in a much better setting without the trio from hell barging into the office.
Guest: I think when we looked it up ages ago the average was like 6-8 kids. And yes, it was totally dangerous and unhealthy for a woman to be pregnant like ever in the past (and still for a lot in the present times). Lol. I mean the 7 year old knew it during Bonnie's birth.
AN (last fic): Awww guys, I'm glad you're enjoying some light and fluffy Butlers. Thank you for taking the time to review, they make me smile every time they pop up in my email.
AN (this fic): So after Scarlett had Bonnie, in between the Ashley at the mills scene and kicking Rhett out of her bed. Scarlett's thoughts involve her thinking about how she needed to do it in that moment, she needed to do it before she lost her nerve or she likely wouldn't have.
3. Rhett getting delayed in town and Scarlett calming down before she sees him and declares herself off limits
He had spent the better part of the morning hunting around the town for Scarlett's birthday gift. Everything he saw felt inadequate after Bonnie. A bonnet had once delighted her, but now she had carried his child, borne his child…There was nothing he could purchase to compare with Bonnie.
He found himself talking to Grandpa Merriwether, trying to recall what the man's actual name was, it had been so long since he'd heard it mentioned. Since his return to Atlanta, he was starting to accept the fact that they'd be a part of Atlanta, although with how Scarlett had been behaving, it was more likely that they'd be run out of Atlanta.
He was nearly free of the conversation when Maybelle approached them. He'd already decided he would say hello and then depart.
He would say hello, accept a quick congratulations and then depart.
He would say hello, accept a quick congratulations, ask after her children and then depart.
He would say hello, accept a quick congratulations, ask after her children, listen how she got her children to sleep through the night and then depart.
He would say hello, accept a quick congratulations, ask after her children, listen how she got her children to sleep through the night, sit down for tea and a pastry in the bakery and then depart.
Nearly an hour had passed and two other women had joined them as Melly walked into the bakery. He quickly realized that he had just lost a significant portion of the day discussing his children.
o-o-o
"Where have you been?" Scarlett accused as he walked into the room. She had been preparing her speech for hours and here her husband was walking into the room with two of the three reasons for her speech.
Bonnie nestled in one arm, Ella sitting on the crook of his other arm, playing with the cloth around his neck.
"What are you doing with the children?"
"Mammy was walking with them and I hadn't seen them since this morning."
"So you bring them into our room," she sighed. She didn't ask for a child, but Rhett was soon passing off Ella to her, of course he would give her Ella and not Bonnie.
"Mama," Ella said giving her kisses.
"Hello sweetheart," Scarlett barely looked at her daughter.
"Have you seen the children since this morning?" Rhett questioned with a frown. "And hello Scarlett, how was your morning?" He dropped a kiss to her cheek.
"It was fine. I went out to the mills," she told him. "Why won't you answer my question about where you were?"
"I was in town."
"What were you doing in town?" Growing annoyed at how obtuse he was being.
"Business Scarlett," he certainly would not admit to Scarlett the hour he'd spent talking about the children. "I saw Mrs. Wilkes."
"You saw Melly?" There was a sudden fear in her heart as if they both knew what she had been thinking this morning.
"Yes at Mrs. Merriwether's bakery, I walked her home."
"It's February, Melly should hardly be outside walking."
"Did you want me to put her up on my horse?" He questioned.
She shot him an annoyed look as she put Ella on the floor after the little girl pulled her hair one too many times.
"I asked if she would come stay with the children in two weeks for your birthday."
That caught Scarlett's attention and she looked at her husband expectantly.
"I was thinking we could go to New Orleans for the week, unless you think Bonnie is too young-"
"No," she stopped him from speaking, "Mammy and Melly can certainly handle anything with the children."
"I realized it's been awhile since you've had the fun I promised you."
"Uh," she steeled her back and forced the words quickly out of her mouth, "that reminds me, I don't want anymore children."
He laughed, "Yes. You did make that very clear with Bonnie. She isn't too bad, is she Scarlett?" He tilted their little girl towards her mother, just barely a month old.
"You know she's not, but no more Rhett."
He laughed, "I quite agree. Three is enough. We will be more careful in the future."
"Rhett, I mean it."
He laughed again, "I promise you. I already obtained all the necessities while you were pregnant with Bonnie. When you're ready to use them, let me know. Has Dr. Meade-"
"I just had a baby. Your baby," she reminded him coldly.
"Of which I am very grateful and patient," he nodded.
"You aren't taking me to New Orleans to sleep with me, are you?" She regarded him with a frown.
"I am taking you to New Orleans because it is your birthday and you are my wife and I cost you months of fun by getting you with child. Although, I have to admit that was quite fun," he smirked at her.
She laughed lightly at him.
"Shall we hand the children back off to Mammy and have dinner. Plan our trip?"
She was oddly let down after hours brimming for a fight. He'd agreed so easily and she was getting a trip… "Do I still get a gift?"
He once more tilted their daughter at her, "What do you think?"
She smiled and stood, holding out her hand to Ella, "Come with Mother, let's go find Mammy."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Late June 1870
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
They were in their cabin on the steamer that was taking them across the Atlantic to Paris. They were always off on some weekend or week away. The longest had been a trip to New York, which she had sulked the entire time before and then had the most wonderful two weeks.
She had been growing more wistful with their trips out of Atlanta.
Finding herself missing Rhett and Wade's boisterous laughter when they would come in from afternoon rides. Ella on her lap making their dolls talk. She missed all of Bonnie, the worst was she often missed Bonnie while she was in the room with her. She missed little baby Bonnie with her chubby little arms grabbing at everything in sight, when all she could say was Mama and Dada and of course Mam or as Bonnie had said it, "Maaaaaammmmm." Bonnie walked and talked now, she didn't do either particularly well, but she did them both. She was full of opinions and attitudes and generally preferred the company of her siblings to her parents.
It was their final night on the steamer and the entire ship had been joyous, champagne flowed for the wealthy travelers and Scarlett hadn't given much more than brief thoughts to her children staying in Charleston with their grandmother and aunt while their parents traveled to Europe.
They were both stripped bare in bed as she relished every move of his skin against hers. The coarseness of his over the smoothness of hers. She was getting impatient with her husband, Rhett far too often pushed her to the point of begging and pleading. Not that she didn't understand the appeal, she certainly enjoyed her power over him. Right now though, if she had the strength she would flip Rhett over and take control. She used her legs wrapped around him to try to force him to progress, "Now," she demanded.
He let out a brief, harsh laugh, "You'll have to let me go to get the sheath." His arms were long, but not quite long enough to reach into the drawer of the nightstand from where they were on the mattress.
"Now," she repeated her demand with her words and body.
His eyes closed and he took a fortifying breath.
"I want you in me, now," her voice was low.
"My dear," he tried to stay strong, "that's the champagne."
"Let's go home with a memento of this trip, every time we see them we'll remember what an amazing time we had," she pressed her lips along his neck.
"We'll talk about it in the morning."
"Now Rhett, I've thought plenty about it, would you like me to take over?" She questioned.
His eyes closed again. He'd likely last thirty seconds if she were in charge. "Are you sure?"
"Now Rhett," she ordered.
He complied.
October 25th 1873
"Do you think the children are alright?" Scarlett asked as she laid on her stomach sprawled across the hotel bed in New Orleans, her arms and head on his chest, she looked up at her husband.
He had an overwhelming urge to call for food instead of reminding her that she needed to begin to dress for supper and most certainly to forget the card game he had planned for the night.
"The children are fine, Mammy always has them well in hand." They were generally such an orderly and polite bunch, of course he could always undo all of Mammy's training in a matter of minutes and have them running through the house and yard, screaming at the top of their lungs. They were an energetic bunch once they were given permission to be.
His boy was nearly a man now, quickly approaching twelve, in a handful of years he'd be off at university. Rhett never had a doubt that Wade was watching over all of his many little siblings and cousin while they were away. Wade often had a better handle of them, than they did while they were in residence.
"What do you think they're doing right now?"
"I imagine the same as they've been doing nearly every night for the past two months, playing with their puppet theater." He smiled thinking of the present they had brought back from London.
Beau, Ella and Bonnie had all been obsessed with the puppets and putting on shows. Wade had been providing the stories since he was the most well read of the children.
Little Cecilia or Cece as they tended to call her was too small to be much help and often got yelled at by the older girls when she did. She was most often their audience. Oliver was much too young and had to be held or he would always crawl and try to grab the puppets from the stage. He had nearly crashed through the stage last week when he walked to it and then collapsed down on it.
He smiled thinking of the babies. Quite sure that was who Scarlett was thinking of as well. The two and a half and one and a half year olds. Oliver had been such a happy surprise, his unplanned conception nothing like Bonnie's. Of course, that could have been because Scarlett had sworn she could handle the precautions, but quite often they didn't plan beforehand and then she was lax leaving their bed after they made love in order use the necessary measures.
He thought of reminding her; they had certainly been lounging in bed too long after they finished. They had been using a mix of prevention methods since Oliver's birth, but they had begun on the sofa, so he'd had nothing nearby and they certainly hadn't planned enough for her to take any measures beforehand. He decided against it, he wouldn't mind if they had a reason to stay home for awhile and he was certainly more than fond of the children they already had. Even Beau, who had joined their family over a year ago when Melanie passed and Ashley had set out to-quite frankly run away from his responsibilities, no Rhett didn't mind the little boy, who looked entirely too much like his father, but thankfully had the influence of his mother.
"Did we go away again too soon?" she questioned.
"No, my pet," he said placing a hand on the side of her face. "But we did go away too long last time." Oliver had cried when first placed into his mother's arms upon their return, they had left a baby and returned to a walking toddler and Cece ran to Mammy and Prissy for comfort instead of them. Going to London had been a very poor idea, there had been pangs for the children, but they'd gotten swept up in the trip and enjoyed themselves until they returned home.
"I did so want to go back to Paris," she sighed.
"We'll go when the children are older, we'll take them."
October 25th 1874
Scarlett watched from her window as Ella and Bonnie sat sidesaddle on their ponies in their matching black broadcloth riding habits, such perfect little girls. Beau trotting around the yard aimlessly on his white pony, his fair hair gleaming in the sun as if he were a prince in a storybook.
"Mother," Wade called out, "look at me."
She turned her attention back to him, his first time atop his very own horse, of course it was a gentle mare unlike his father's strong stallion. She was a chestnut beauty, her coloring went wonderfully with Wade. "You look brilliant."
"Doesn't he?" Rhett said from the ground, looking up at his boy, likely never prouder than he was in that moment.
"Do take it easy," she reminded her husband as she always did.
"Always," he spoke with a glinting smiling.
She laughed, they would go too fast as always at some point. Racing down some previously quiet side street until the Butler Posse roared down it. A baby cried behind her.
"I believe you're being summoned," Rhett smiled at her. "We'll be home in an hour."
"Have fun," she smiled, "be careful."
"Bye Mother," the group called out in unison, even Beau.
"Annie," Scarlett said approaching the cradle and their fourth raven haired baby, "do you feel as left out as Cece and Ollie?" They did so enjoy the slow walks their father would individually take them on atop a pony and adored when he would carry them on his stallion and certainly their rocking horses in the playroom, but they were both aware that they were being left out of the true fun. She smiled as Melanie or as they called her, Annie, stopped her crying and smiled up at her mother. "Let's go find something to do," she said bending down to pick up the baby.
Thanks for reading!