A/N: First of all, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed - I'm glad you didn't think my story was dull or bad. At least so far. Next chapter will be posted soon, if you're still enjoying reading this. :)

Chapter Two – But Isn't Love Strong Enough?

"Hello, Rhett." she finally spoke, keeping her smile. She was, indeed, happy to see him. More than she thought she would be, in fact. But he was also very different. He was thinner and had dark circles under his eyes. And it seemed that age had finally gotten a bit of him in those beautiful lines on his face. Dilcey didn't lie when she said he didn't look well. But Scarlett was very well aware she wasn't looking very good either.

"Scarlett." He said, walking over to her and kissing her hand very lightly. He then handed her a handkerchief. She hesitantly took it, blushing slightly before taking a seat. She remained silent, remember she was in this chair when Bonnie fell. No, she would not think about that now. She would think about it tomorrow. Now, she must concentrate on talking friendly to Rhett, and finally figure out why he wanted to see her. To her surprise, he was the one that spoke first.

"So I wasn't mistaken when I thought you would be arriving earlier. Perhaps to prevent a confrontation with me in the front door?" Rhett laughed, but there wasn't any humor in his voice.

"How did you know I was at Tara after all this time?" She quietly asked.

Rhett laughed.

"You don't change, Scarlett. Always straight to the point." He said, although Scarlett didn't understand what all that meant. "I coincidentally ran into your Aunt Pittypat in Charleston, only a few weeks after I left. And she wanted to know where you were, since you weren't in Atlanta and obviously weren't with me. I figured you'd come to Tara after all."

"Yes, I've been there. So, you were in Charleston?" Scarlett asked, trying to change the subject. She wished he didn't look so lost and didn't sound so nasty. But she was determined to let it all go by; she probably deserved this cold treatment, being treated as a mere acquaintance by her own husband.

"Yes, only for two weeks. Then I decided to spend some time in Europe. Maybe the sudden change of airs would do me good." He answered, sounding more lost than ever. Europe didn't do him good. He was worse than when Scarlett had last seen him.

"Well, I… I certainly hope you enjoyed yourself." Scarlett said, not knowing exactly what to say. She couldn't ruin this. This encounter, this so called meeting, this was her chance. And she wouldn't ruin this by being nasty and impatient. No, she must show him that she cares, that she has changed. "So, um… Where were you? Dilcey said you decided to have a walk earlier."

"Oh, I just decided to see how things were. Everything's just the same, as you probably know. Now, Scarlett, is this your way of asking me if I have seen Ashley Wilkes today?" he asked, sounding extremely impatient. Scarlett didn't expect such a question. In fact, she barely thought about Ashley these days, worrying more about Beau and missing Melly than the man himself.

"No, Rhett. I was simply asking where you'd gone. As you probably know as much as I do, the Old Guard is certainly expecting to see us, together or separately, anytime soon. I wondered if you'd seen any of them." She said, as emotionless as possible. She was saved from saying anything else when Wade returned and sat beside her. She could tell that Rhett was watching her closely. "Wade, have you seen if your sister is up?"

"No, Mother, I think she's still asleep." Wade said in an indifferent tone.

"If we let her sleep, she won't be able to sleep tonight. I'll go wake her up. If you'll excuse me, Rhett." She said, looking directly as her husband, before entering the house, hearing the beginning of a conversation between him and Wade. She could only hope that things would be better soon.

Just as her brother, Ella had been very excited to see Rhett around. Scarlett happily let the children lead the talking during supper, as it seemed to her that Rhett was more interested in what they had to say. Rhett, for his own credit, had remembered the children while away and brought them many gifts, which collaborated to their happiness. Scarlett, on the other hand, remained silent, talking only when one of the children asked her opinion or assurance about something. She smiled while they opened their gifts and she voided Rhett's gaze. When they were all almost finished, Wade asked her something.

"Mother, can we go see Beau tomorrow?"

Scarlett sensed Rhett's eyes on her once again, obviously trying to read into every move she made.

"I thought you had said Beau was visiting relatives in Macon." She said, truly confused about her son's wish.

"He said he would arrive yesterday, Mother. Can we go visit him?" Wade answered.

"Oh. Well, I can leave you at Beau's house tomorrow morning, while Ella and I go shopping. Would you like that, darling? You can visit Beau any other time, but I'm afraid I would like your opinion while we prove dresses." Ella's eyes lit up, and she nodded emphatically.

"Uncle Rhett, will you go with us?" Ella asked, her voice full of hope.

"I'm sure your mother wouldn't like me to go shopping with you ladies. And I'll use tomorrow to take care of the business I've neglected for months now." He said, and Ella was visibly disappointed.

"Now, now, Ella, Uncle Rhett would so bored with us! He certainly deserves to have a better time than spend it hearing us whining about clothes and dresses. Don't you think?" Scarlett asked, winking at her daughter. Ella nodded, seemingly happy again.

What am I going to do?, Scarlett asked herself that night. She had been trying to sleep for hours now, but sleep didn't come. She desperately wanted to get off of bed and walk around the house, maybe go over the library and grab a boring book so that she could sleep. But what if Rhett was around too? She knew she wasn't the only one who had been having sleeping problems, judging by the dark circles under his eyes. So the possibility of finding him awake somewhere in the house was pretty good.

Oh, whatever, Scarlett thought, getting up. I will just go check on the children before heading back to bed.

And so she did. It was her house, after all. But as she walked through the halls, she caught herself thinking that it didn't feel like her house. Perhaps she should change it. Redecorate it. Then maybe the house wouldn't seem so dark and sad. Oh, how it still reminded her of Bonnie!

She checked on Wade, who was fast asleep in his bed, and then made her way to Ella's room, only to find her asleep as well. She sighed. At least they were apparently happy.

Just as she closed Ella's door and turned around, she saw Rhett right behind her.

"Great balls of fire!" she whispered, closing her eyes for the moment before opening them again, only to see that she had scared Rhett as well. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming, and you scared me."

"I'm the one who should apologize. I didn't see you there." He said, sounding sincere.

"It's all right. I just thought I would check if Wade and Ella were fine before going to sleep." Scarlett said, conscious that he was eyeing her very closely and she was wearing only her nightclothes and a gown.

"Check if the children were fine? I must say I'm surprised to hear that, Scarlett. You never gave them much thought." He said, still watching her, and she took a moment to look at him too. She was relieved when she noted that he, too, was on his nightclothes. She had briefly wondered if he would go out at such a late hour, like he did when they… Well, when he still considered her his wife.

"Well, I… We should stop talking in here. We could wake them up, and a servant could hear us." She said sincerely. He nodded slowly at her. He was out of his room, so he naturally was going to do something. "I think I'll go back to bed. Perhaps now I'll be able to sleep. Sorry to disturb you."

"No need to worry. I was going downstairs to pour myself a drink, but now I think it would be useless. Good night, Scarlett." He turned around, planning on going back to his room.

"Rhett?" she called him, and he looked at her once more. She sighed. "I… Well, I just wanted to tell you that you would be welcome to join me and Ella tomorrow. If you want to, of course."

"And save you from your wonderful mother and daughter day?" He said, and Scarlett didn't miss the mockery tone. She was about to give him a nice reply when she remembered. I have to get him back. Being nasty won't help. Instead, she watched him go back to his room and close his bedroom door without looking at her once more.

"Good night, Rhett." Scarlett said, fully aware that no one heard her.

How was this all going to be? Rhett was so distant… I've always thought… Well, people always said that love could win everything. But perhaps… perhaps he didn't lie when he said he didn't love me anymore. No, I won't let him! And even if he doesn't love me… I'll find a way to make him love me again! I will, I will!

A/N: I know this chapter's a bit shorter than the first one, but... well, this is the final cut, haha. Chapter three is from Rhett's point of view, I hope you'll like it. And we'll know soon why he wants to see Scarlett. Maybe he wants a divorce, maybe he wants to go back but doesn't know how to say it... You'll see!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Ladybug419