Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews and feedback.

A little bit of spice toward the end.

Chapter One Hundred and Four

Agnes came to Scarlett's bedroom and asked her, "Can I help you in some way?"

"Yes, help me sort the clothing into sizes."

"Certainly."

"Small, medium, and large. The extra-large go to Jude."

"Mrs. Butler, you should make some extra-small ones."

With a sigh, Scarlett said, "You are right. They are going to be very tiny at first."

After a few minutes of silent sorting, Scarlett said, "Do you know anything about triplets?"

"No, ma'am, but I did care for a set of twins once."

"How did you tell them apart?"

"They had distinct personalities. I started caring for them when the boys were two. Moses was a lot more outgoing while Aaron was a lot more loving. Their parents had started them off with dressing them in different colored clothing. Moses was blue and Aaron was green. It is called color coding."

"Color coding?"

"You associate the color with the name."

"I don't know how we can do that at first."

"Easy. Pick three colors. Buy ribbon in that color and tie the ribbon around their ankle. You can dress them in their colors, but if you don't have that color then the ribbon will suffice."

"Thank you, Agnes. I'm so glad you are back."

"Me too, Ma'am."

The two women spent the rest of the morning happily talking. Scarlett, who in her youth never had time for anyone else's stories, spent the entire day letting Agnes talk about her life. At one point, Agnes said, "I never was very attractive, so I made my way in the world being a nurse maid. I have loved the children that I got to care for."

Scarlett started to ask about when the children no longer needed a nursemaid and knew instinctively that was the wrong thing to ask. It would just cause Agnes pain.

When Scarlett's dinner tray arrived, she asked Agnes to stay and talk with her while she ate. When she was finished with her meal, she told Agnes, "Take my tray to the kitchen and get yourself something to eat."

"Do you want me to come back?"

"Yes. Definitely. Mr. Butler likes to have a tidy room. He won't pick up after himself, but he does like to have a tidy room."

Agnes laughed and took the tray to the kitchen. Agnes knew she had been so lucky Mrs. Butler had found her. She was never going to take that luck for granted.

Scarlett had stopped joining the family for dinner because it took too much energy to descend and ascend the stairs. She had the children visit her before Jude's nap.

Rhett had gone to First Baptist Hospital where Steven was treating the wounded. Rhett found him changing the bandage on a man's calf. Even a layman like Rhett knew the man was probably going to lose his calf. Rhett said, "Steven, when you get a minute, can I talk to you?"

When Steven joined Rhett in the hallway, Rhett said, "Where did all these wounded come from?"

"We are in the middle of a battlefield. Earlier in the month the union took Morris Island. We stopped them on Battery Wagner, but it is just a reprieve. The Union will attack repeatedly until we surrender."

"First Harrison has started a business selling artificial limbs."

"Yes, Rosemary has told me. He needs to get some business cards made up, so we can pass them out."

"True. I will tell Harrison to do that tomorrow."

"You know, saw off a limb then hand them a card." Rhett despite himself laughed. Steven said, "I'm sorry. That was crass of me, but sometimes I find humor in the most bizarre circumstances. Careen says it is just my way of dealing with all of this suffering and pain."

"Don't worry about it. I think I read somewhere that we use dark humor to make the horrible not seem so horrible. We still know it is horrible, but for a few seconds we can forget."

"Thanks, Rhett. What did you want to see me about? Is Scarlett alright? I should have asked you that first."

"She is fine. If she is in labor, I would be calling her mammy or Rosemary. What I wanted to see you about is will the babies all be boys or all be girls?"

"I don't know. We don't even know how she has created three babies. There could be three boys, two boys one girl, one boy two girls, or three girls. We won't know until they come out."

"Alright. Thanks."

"Goodbye. See you Sunday."

"Yes, see you Sunday."

As Rhett was driving home, he happened to drive by the bank that he had once been a part owner. He really had been lucky that Mr. Hoover had bought him out. He doubted any business in Charleston or in the South was going to be profitable any time in the near future. Fortunately, his investments in the North were thriving.

As Rhett was getting out of the bed the next morning, Scarlett said, "What happened to the redecorating of your parents' room?"

"It has been put on hold until the babies are born, and we see what we have gotten."

"What did you find out?"

"We will not know until they get here. It could be three boys or three girls and everything in between."

"Will they look alike?"

"We will know when they get here."

"Are you going to move Grace?"

"Where am I moving her to? She is sleeping in her room right now."

"True. Meg will not be sleeping in the nursery. She will be sleeping with her son."

"Go on."

Rhett's bladder was screaming, but he would continue lying next to Scarlett. She was pressed up against him and her stomach was draped over him. For a moment it was like she wasn't with child anymore. He wanted her so badly. Yet, she was with child. No, she was with triplets. They couldn't.

Scarlett ran her hand down his stomach and caressed his scar. She then moved further down and said, "Let me take care of that for you."

"It is just because I need to urinate."

"Then do so in the bed pan."

"It is alright."

"Do it and come back to bed. I want to lie next to you for a few more minutes."

Rhett urinated in the bed pan then came back to bed. He helped Scarlett place the babies back on his abdomen. She reached her hand over and rubbed her finger up and down his scar. With a catch in her voice, she said, "You almost died."

"But I didn't because you took care of me. And I guess because the man used a knife and not a gun."

"Huh?"

Rhett told Scarlett about what happened to Hugh. She said, "He made me uncomfortable."

"I know, Baby. I did not like the way he looked at you. It made me mad. I know a lot of men look at you with lust, but I refuse to allow anyone who is my friend to look at you that way."

"Nobody is looking at me with lust right now."

Rhett rose to the occasion and said, "Except me. I will always look at you with lust."

Scarlett moved her hand down further and said, "Let me take care of that for you."

"No, just lie next to me. I know what I need to do to bring me the greatest pleasure…. Outside of being inside you."

"Let me suck on you. You really like that."

"No! I would explode."

"What?!"

"I will explain later. Hold me and kiss me."

Scarlett did her part. Rhett did his part. They laid there together for a while. They heard a knock on the door. Scarlett said, "It is my breakfast."

Rhett called out, "Just a minute."

Rhett got out of the bed, put his robe on, and got the tray. He put it in what was his spot. She certainly didn't have a lap to put it in. There was a lot of food on the tray. Nonetheless, he said, "Eat all of it."

Rhett helped Scarlett get in a seated position. She smiled at him and said, "I will try."

"Try hard. Our babies need all that food."

"I know, Rhett."

"Thank you. And thank you for your sweet offer this morning. I love you, too." Rhett got cleaned up and dressed while watching Scarlett eat her breakfast. After he was dressed, he said, "I'm going down to breakfast."

Scarlett smiled and said, "Come back soon."

"As soon as I can."

"Rhett, wait."

"Yes?"

"I need you to go to Mother's store and get a spool of blue ribbon, green ribbon, and brown ribbon."

"Alright. What for?"

"To color code our children."

"Huh?"

Scarlett explained about color coding and Rhett replied, "Good idea. I will get it today before I forget. I hope your mother has all three colors."

"I do too. Those are our colors."

With a smile Rhett said, "Our colors."

"Yours and Tom's eyes are brown, my eyes are green, and Grace and Jude's eyes are blue."

"What do you want me to do if your mother doesn't have one of the colors.

"You can substitute another color."

"Like red."

"No, like yellow."

"Why not red?"

"This is going to be the color we dress them in. What if he or she doesn't look good in red like me? No, we must stay away from red."

"Alright. Let me go. After watching you eat all that food, I am starving."

"Sure. Take the bed pan with you. It stinks."

Although Rhett couldn't smell anything, he took the bed pan and left it in the hallway. He would empty it later or better yet get one of the servants to empty it. They had plenty of servants now.

After eating his breakfast, Rhett found Molly and told her to get the bed pan that was in the hallway and empty it. Then take it back to Mrs. Butler in case she needed it. He would continue to empty Scarlett's waste because whenever he did, she looked at him like he was the Greek god, Apollo.

Rhett then went to the kitchen to find out what Benson had found out about Henry Potter. Benson said, "He likes playing poker at saloons on the waterfront. He doesn't like to lose so he cheats. If his opponent still beats him, he has some of his men beat the man up and get his money back. He also has been known to put laudanum in other men's drinks while making a deal. He has been known to short people on orders and claim that he hasn't. Even when he is caught red handed, he refuses to admit it. It is even rumored he insured his house for a lot of money then burned it down with his wife in it. She luckily escaped along with all the servants.

"That is one bad man."

"Mr. Rhett, if you are having second thoughts, Jezebel will understand."

"Of course, she will. She has been let down all her life. In fact, Jezebel is probably expecting something to fall through and she gets let down one more time. No, Jezebel helped me for no other reason than you asked her to. Now, I must do something for her for no other reason than she deserves it." Rhett paused and said, "I wonder how many lives she has saved."

"Hundreds. She is the best doctor around, white or colored."

"I believe she is, and you can add four more to that total."

"Who?"

"My wife and children. I know what I am going to do."

"What Mr. Rhett?"

"Beat him at his own game."

Benson said a quick prayer that Mr. Rhett was as clever as he thought he was. Benson sighed. He knew Mr. Rhett was clever, but could he be as immoral as Mr. Potter? Benson hoped the young man could be. Benson would pray that Rhett could be. Which Benson decided was a weird thing to pray for, but the only way Mr. Rhett was going to get Jezebel and her granddaughter away from old man Potter was by deceit and immoral means.