Old Slippers

by Shellbug710

Two years have passed since Rhett stopped giving a damn. The pair is divorced, and Rhett is remarried with a child on the way. There's another child living across the pond- in Ireland- with a mother who is determined to keep a secret about a chance encounter. When tragedy strikes, a surprising turn of events just might bring them back together.

2. Back to America

Ch. 2- Scarlett

5 Months later

Cat was, without a doubt, the best-behaved baby Scarlett had ever been around. She was usually careful to not spend her time comparing Cat to Bonnie. The girls were so similar, it was hard not to, especially at first, but Scarlett had committed herself to simply enjoying her daughter and not wasting time as she had in the past.

Cat sat on the ground on a blanket, playing with a new toy the Earl of Fenton had brought her. Scarlett found the rattle a bit garish if she were honest, but the thought behind it was excellent, and Cat liked the shiny toy. Scarlett was looking over the books of Balyhara, attempting to get everything in order before she went back to America.

Suellen refused to tell her why she was needed, and while she repeatedly told Scarlett it wasn't an emergency, she also wrote that Scarlett should come sooner rather than later.

Cat giggled, drawing her mother's attention, and Scarlett beamed down at her and smiled. Her daughter had turned one several months ago, and every day, she did something that made Scarlett love her a little more. She felt close to her, so close that she was not going to leave her behind- even though she knew that was the safer choice.

Scarlett worried about Rhett getting wind of Cat, but when faced with the possibility that she would be months away from her, she couldn't bear the thought. Instead, she'd spent a significant time creating a ruse that should pass by even the most suspicious people. Cat would be traveling as her ward, along with a nursemaid. Scarlett knew Suellen had told people she had gone to Ireland to meet their father's family and had decided to stay, but even Suellen didn't know that Cat was Scarlett's.

Soon after Suelen's first letter asking for her presence, their fictitious cousin died, leaving Cat to Scarlett's care. It was a safe lie, as Suellen had no interest in communicating with her extended family and would never know the difference.

The only thing that concerned Scarlett was Cat's similarity to her and Bonnie, but she planned to pass it as off as the O'Hara genes. She also had fibbed a bit about Cat's age. Cat, born a month premature, was smaller than the average for her age, so Scarlett decided she would be just barely a year for this trip. This way, heaven forbid Rhett did catch wind of the child and grow suspicious, the math would not add up for Cat to be his. Strangely, she finally felt grateful for Anne's pregnancy. Indeed, Rhett would be so consumed with his new family that he wouldn't know about her trip until it was too late.

A week later, Scarlett, Cat, and Jenny, the nursemaid, boarded the ship for America. She'd sent word ahead, but Scarlett would be practically there when Suellen received it. The trip was uneventful. Unsurprisingly, Cat handled the entire thing easily, and all the passengers consistently remarked on her good temperament. After docking, they boarded the train in Charleston to head to Atlanta.

Scarlett moved quickly to their private car, worried someone might see her and report it to Rhett's mother. She had no idea where he and Anne lived but assumed his mother still had her residence in Charleston. She also hadn't told her Aunts that she was coming and hoped to avoid them and Grandfather Robillard.

Further, she was sure Cat was hungry, and Scarlett hadn't been able to feed her since the ship docked. While the baby was eating soft foods now, she still preferred to nurse to sleep occasionally in the afternoons. It was a routine Scarlett enjoyed and fully intended on keeping up so long as Cat wanted it and her body allowed. As soon as the door to the private car was shut, Scarlett set about to do just that while Jenny busied herself neatening the cabin for bedtime.

Despite not usually finding trains relaxing, Scarlett fell asleep quickly that night. Jenny would take care of Cat if she awoke during the night. What felt like only moments after she allowed her eyes to close, Scarlett was jolted awake by a loud squeal of the train's wheels on the track and the engine sounding a loud, long whistle, then a terrifying jolt as the entire car tipped sideways. The impact threw the items in the compartment to the side and then back as the car tilted back down and slammed onto the track, right side up.

In unison, Cat and Jenny both woke, screaming. Scarlett jumped out of bed and hurried to pick up Cat and ensure she was okay, offering quiet, shushing noises to her. "It's alright, my darling. You're fine. Jenny? Are you okay?"

Shaken, the young girl nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I think so. What happened?"

"I think the train's come off the track. I don't know. They'll come tell us, I'm sure. Here, hold her, I'll go see."

Jenny took Cat, and Scarlett grabbed a dressing coat from her bed and donned it. She looked back at Cat, who was calmer now but still sniffling, and blew a kiss. "Mama will be right back, darling."

Scarlett opened the compartment door, expecting to step onto a platform leading to the next car, except there was no next car in the place she expected. Instead, what had been a dining car between their car and the next set of private compartments now lay on its side in the dirt by the tracks. Looking up further, she saw a line of overturned and mangled train cars lying on their side. The sun was rising, casting a new light on the chaos before her. Screams rang out from every direction, and she was spurred forward, memories of working as a nurse during the war flashing within her mind.