Author's Note: Thank you for all your kind reviews it's really gratifying, makes me feel great (Keep'em coming).
And I would like to reassure sohhkb, I have no intention of making the baby into twins or calling anyone Gerald.
Since this isn't a one-shot anymore, I'm going to have to find another name for it … "Last Thoughts" is the name of chapter one …
I'm sorry this took so long, it took me forever to type it up and to get it right, and I still don't think its good enough, something about it seems off to me, if you can spot it, please tell me, so I can correct it, it's bugging me.
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That night Scarlett lay in her bed deep in thought, she couldn't sleep, she kept reliving the events of the day over and over again in her mind. She had been so happy when she had heard Bonnie and Rhett in the hall that morning; she had missed the little girl tremendously.
For a brief moment, she had been happy to see Rhett, she had missed him too, but now she felt like a fool for having felt that way.
"A cat is a better mother than you."
The words said before he had left with her daughter all those months ago still bruised her ego, brought a bitter taste to her mouth and made her heart beat faster with rage.
The more she thought about it, the more determined she was to prove Rhett Butler wrong and pleasure tingled down her spine and through her body at the mere thought of it. She couldn't wait to see the look on his smug arrogant face, that day couldn't come soon enough, she thought.
She had to elaborate a strategy. True, she still had plenty of time left, she wasn't even showing yet, but pregnancies don't last forever, and the sooner her plan was ready, the sooner she couldn't concentrate on other more important things, like her store, her mills and Ashley.
The only flaw in her plan was that she wasn't a good parent; she didn't know how to be one. Her own mother had said to her before Wade was born that motherhood was something that came naturally, you didn't need to learn how to be a mother because you became one the moment your infant took its first breath.
She had witnessed this with Melly, who had instantly become a role model for motherhood the minute Beau was born.
But she, Katie Scarlett O'Hara Kennedy Butler, who had been widowed twice, supported a whole family while working like a field hand, hadn't been licked by the Yankees, survived poverty and hunger, and who had set up a successful business with her mills, had never felt that warm rush of emotion that is suppose to take over your body and soul the minute you hear that first cry.
It's true that she had wanted none of her children, and despite the fact that this time round, she was actually looking forward to bringing her child into the world, she feared that this birth would be no different. She sighed deeply, not knowing what to do. She would think about it tomorrow, with that she rolled over and slipped into a deep sleep.
When she woke up the next day, all was clear: she had other children and plenty of free time on her hands, she could practice on them and be ready by the time the baby came.
Then she remembered that she had tried to spend time with Wade and Ella during Rhett and Bonnie's absence, and that she had quickly come to the conclusion that she couldn't put up with Ella's silliness and her inability to focus on something for more than a minute and that she couldn't stand the fear she saw in her only son's eyes whenever she spoke to him.
That left only Bonnie and despite the fact she was Scarlett's favourite child, she was well aware that her daughter preferred her father by far. But she had no choice; she would have to make it work with Bonnie.
"Who knows, perhaps Bonnie will end up liking me better than her father, which would give Rhett a taste of his own medicine," she thought as a grin appeared on her face.
Later that day, Scarlett was in the study adding up a long column of figures. She was lost in deep concentration when Bonnie burst into the room.
"Mother! Where's Daddy?" the child demanded.
"He's not here," Scarlett replied barely lifting her head from the papers she was studying.
"But I want to play!" the little girl said sternly.
"Surely you haven't grown tired of your new kitten yet," Scarlett commented still very concentrated on her work.
"I want to play! I want Daddy now!" she shouted.
Sensing a tantrum on the way, Scarlett cursed Rhett under her breath for having spoiled Bonnie so much that when the tiniest thing wasn't to her liking, she would have a fit until everything was the way she wanted it.
"Bonnie, be a good girl for mother and go and play with your dolls," Scarlett said dismissing the child.
As the words flew out her mouth, she realised that this was a golden opportunity, she could benefit from her husband's absence to enter her daughter's good graces. Just as Bonnie was about to grasp the door knob, Scarlett pilled her papers up in a corner of the desk and said "Bonnie, if you want, mother can play with you?"
The child turned around instantly and stared at Scarlett with a look of total disbelief.
"Do you want me to play with you?" Scarlett repeated.
"Really mother?" Bonnie asked.
"Yes, would you like that precious?"
"Yes, mother, I really would."
"So, what would you like to do?" She said in the softest tone she could manage.
"Indians," Bonnie replied.
Scarlett had secretly wished that Bonnie would choose a quiet and calm game such as playing with her dolls or her tea set like any little girl, but she was truly her mother's daughter and so it was only natural that she would want to play different things than any other little girl.
She knew better than to try and argue, because she was fully aware of what would happen if Bonnie didn't get her way, she would start crying and screaming, and the only person who would be able to calm her down would be her father, and that was the last thing Scarlett wanted.
When Rhett Butler walked through his front door later that afternoon, he wanted to go to his room and change his clothes before going to spend some time with Bonnie.
He had had trouble concentrating on his work all day, his thoughts kept drifting away to the new baby, and he couldn't believe Scarlett hadn't sent for him. Surely she would have been worried that he wouldn't come back soon enough and that the old guard would doubt he was really the father of the child. Then he had thought that maybe he wasn't, but he had immediately banished that to the back of his mind, Scarlett was shameless but not an adulteress and Ashley Wilkes, the only man that she would ever succumb to, was too much of a wimp to ever even dream of doing anything like that.
He swiftly made his way upstairs and headed for his bedroom, he was startled by the cry that came from the nursery and by the uncontrolled giggling that followed. He recognised his daughter's voice and wondered what his darling little Bonnie was up to. Unable to resist temptation he went to the nursery and nearly died of shock at the scene he witnessed through the door that had remained ajar.
Bonnie was dressed up in the dress she called her 'Indian dress' because it was torn and had been patched up, she had a blue feather in her hair and paint on her face, but it wasn't seeing his daughter this way that surprised him, it was the sight of her playmate that had nearly caused Rhett a heart attack.
Scarlett had her long thick hair braided into two plaits which ran long down her back, and a red feather had been carefully placed on her head, she had two black lines on each of her cheeks and her wrists and ankles had been bound together with ribbons, she was Bonnie's hostage, this was a costume and a situation he would have bet all his money on never seeing his wife in.
He carefully remained out of their sight, he didn't want Scarlett to find out he was there and end the game. Playing with Bonnie was so unlike her, he needed to find out exactly what she was up to. There was always an endgame, a hidden purpose to everything she did and he needed to know what exactly it was.
Scarlett must have done something wrong or at least not to Bonnie's liking, because the next thing he heard was the little girl saying in a harsh tone "Daddy's much better and more fun than you."
Rhett smiled, he loved being reminded that his daughter loved him and enjoyed his company more than her mother's, and then he caught a glimpse of the look in Scarlett's eyes, it tore his heart, he could clearly see the hurt in them, she looked so young and vulnerable, almost human, if only she really cared and it wasn't just jealousy, he thought.
Bonnie pulled the feather out of her hair and threw it at Scarlett, who immediately scolded her "Don't throw things Bonnie; otherwise I'll get Mammy to give you a good spanking."
"Why can't you girls just play nice?" Rhett chuckled as he stepped into the room.
Scarlett looked up at him, taken aback by his presence, shocked he had caught her dressed like this. "Have you been eavesdropping again Mr. Butler? You seem to enjoy listening in to conversations that don't concern you and are none of your business," she stated.
"Oh, but if I had always made my presence known I would have missed hearing the most interesting things a man has ever had the opportunity of hearing and I more than probably wouldn't have been swept off my feet by your charms, my pet," he said sarcastically.
"Wouldn't that have been a shame," she answered back with equal irony.
Sick of being left out Bonnie asked "Daddy, will you play with us?"
Not wanting to be trapped in such a situation with her husband, Scarlett blurted out "I have to go and check that everything is ready for dinner and straighten up, I look a right fright dressed like this."
"I think you look as beautiful as ever," Rhett said softly and for an instant as she looked into his eyes, she nearly believed he was being honest, until he added, "Mother needs more practice before all three of us can play together."
Scarlett stood up, patted her daughter on the head and made way for the door.
"Make sure she gets cleaned up before supper," she told Rhett coldly just as she exited the nursery.
That night as Scarlett drifted off into a deep slumber she thought about how much harder it was going to be to stay patient with Bonnie than she thought. The child really needed some discipline, even she, herself, hadn't been that dreadful as a child, she thought.
She needed advice from another woman, but none of the old guard would give her the time of day except Melly. That's what she would do, she would go to Melly and get advice off her, and she was after all the best mother she knew.
And with that thought she slipped off into the land of dreams.