Cross purposes

It was a ghostly pale Pierre who entered the Peachtree street mansion two weeks after Scarlett's accident, accompanied by an equally worried Rosemary. They were still honey-mooning in London when they received Rhett's awful telegram about Scarlett's accident. They left immediately but the two weeks' journey felt the longest of their lives.

Mammy wouldn't have recognized him if she didn't know him since he was a little boy. His features were distorted in agony and he seemed as if he hadn't had a decent night's sleep for days, or even weeks. Two weeks to be exact Mammy guessed.

"How is she?" he breathlessly asked.

"You shouldn't worry yourself, Master Pierre," Mammy tried to comfort him. "The doctor said she is going to be fine in a few days." she smiled reassuringly and she saw his face relaxing. He collapsed on the sofa and hid his head in his hands. Rosemary sat beside him and hugged him.

"Where is Rhett?" she asked as soon as Pierre seemed to compose himself.

"In his room," Mammy informed them and it was obvious by her pained expression that there were a lot more that she wanted to tell Pierre. "It was very hard for both of them these last days, I am so glad you came Master Pierre and you Miss Rosemary," she said and swept the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Go to your friend, now" Rosemary proposed "I am going to Scarlett." she said and let Mammy guide her to her sister's in law bedroom.

Once Pierre went to find Rhett he felt his worries growing again. His friend looked exhausted, his hair a mess, his clothes full of wrinkles. Around them there were many trashes with barely touched food and ashtrays full of butts.

"What did the doctor say?" he asked and he steeled himself for the worst.

But Rhett eased his fears at once. "She is out of danger," he said and Pierre grabbed him by the shoulders and hugged him laughing from the bottom of his heart. Rhett kept telling him that her convalescence was going to last for a while because of the broken ribs but Pierre was too happy to listen. "Cheer up, my friend!" he said with a wide grin on his face, "You will see, it takes much more than a couple of broken ribs to beat Scarlett O Hara! In a few days all these would be a bad dream. She will be up and about and we will be celebrating!"

"I don't think there is any reason to celebrate," Rhett tiredly answered.

"Isn't it? Fine then, I will give you a reason!" he said and as he noticed Rhett's stunned expression he supplemented with an even wider smile, "You are going to be an uncle!"

Rhett gave him a wary smile. "Congratulations, brother! I am so happy for you!" he said his emotions evident in his voice.

"Let's go to Scarlett," Pierre proposed, "Rosemary is already there,"

"You go and I will meet you later at the garden," he mumbled and Pierre instantly noticed that he was avoiding his gaze.

"Oh no!" he exclaimed. "That's why you are in such a state. It's not just the accident, right? You had a fight, didn't you?"

"You know us very well, too well for your own good!" Rhett chuckled but it was evident that he didn't find it amusing at all.

"I left you alone for, how long? Less than a year! And you messed everything up!" he said allegedly upset. "Don't worry, I am here now and I will fix it!" he teased.

"If only it was that simple," Rhett said and sighed.

"What happened this time?" Pierre asked with a mischievous smile.

"We will talk, I promise, but it's not the right time. Now it's time to propose a toast for your..." he stopped abruptly. "What's your preference by the way?" he asked and they companionably laughed.

A while later Pierre found Rosemary and Scarlett happily chit chattering over a cup of coffee. He took a moment to admire the sight in front of him. These two women were his life. He was so proud of them. They looked so young and carefree and he felt he was ready to kill with his bare hands anyone who would threaten their happiness.

He was sincerely relieved when he saw with his own eyes that his cousin was safe. She was a bit too thin and pale and he instantly noticed the bandage over her broken ribs, but judging solely by the looks Pierre was sure that no one could ever guess that this woman had just survived a life threatening accident. He heard his wife reciting about their travels, she had a gift for storytelling and Scarlett was listening totally enchanted. Once they were aware of his presence they both smiled to him widely. Pierre noticed that Rosemary's smile was warm and serene, Scarlett's was wary. He sensed that his cousin was desperate but he came to the conclusion that she, too, couldn't bring herself spoiling Rosemary's high spirits, therefore she concealed the recent sad events. He went near them, he caressed his wife's arm and gave Scarlett a kiss on the forehead.

"Oh my little girl! Thank God you are fine now! You scared me to death, you know," he teasingly said but his emotions were evident in his voice.

"You shouldn't worry so much! I am fine, as good as new!" she tried to lighten the atmosphere with a joke. "I am so glad you came, both of you! Sorry for ruining your honeymoon trip, though, dear Rosemary! " she pouted and hugged him once more.

"Oh, you know Pierre better than that, Scarlett darling!" Rosemary teased back. "Wild horses wouldn't keep him away from you since he received Rhett's wire! You really haven't ruined anything though. We had already planned to return home as soon as possible," she said and her face lit up. Then she turned to her husband. "Why didn't you bring Rhett with you too? I wanted all the family to be present to announce the news," she smiled again and held his hand tightly.

Scarlett noticed the full of adoration glimpses they exchanged and she was unable to surpass a sigh. She was sincerely happy for their bliss but in the same time she couldn't avoid feeling a little but persistent sting of jealousy. She had been that happy too once, but the fairy tale didn't last long. They had it all at last, they loved each other, they had a beautiful family and then HE had to ruin everything in a blink of an eye. She would never forgive HIM for destroying her dream, she vehemently bemused.

She gave them a fake smile. "You know your brother, Rosie. He is always totally preoccupied with some important business deal. I rarely see him these days," she care-freely laughed, and Pierre instantly knew she was avoiding her husband too. Here we go again! He bitterly thought and he wished he could put some common sense in those stubborn mules' heads.

"What's the fuss anyhow?" Scarlett asked her curiosity picked, despite her dark mood, "You know I can't resist to a juicy secret," she teased.

When Rosemary's hands rested on her abdomen Scarlett's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh Rosemary!" she exclaimed, "A new baby in the family, how nice!" Tears were streaming down her cheeks but she didn't care to hide them. "I hope everything goes well, at least for you two. We need some good news in this house at last!"

"What do you mean with that at least for us?" Rosemary suspiciously asked. She wasn't aware of her brother's troubled relationship with his wife but she wasn't a blind fool either. It was obvious to her that something was happening and it wasn't good.

Suddenly Pierre felt the need to protect her. He didn't want her to get sad, her condition was delicate and fragile and it was his duty, as the father of her child to protect her. With a bit of luck, the undoubtedly foolish misunderstanding would be solved and life would return to her normal routine without hurt feelings and anxiety, he bemused. So he tried to disorient his wife. "Don't you need to rest for a while before supper, darling? It was a quite long journey." he asked and put his hand protectively around her waist.

"Probably you are right," she admitted, "I feel a bit light-headed and probably I am imagining things," she smiled politely. She gave a kiss to Scarlett and left the room. Pierre promised he will meet her in their room in a bit and then he turned his attention to Scarlett. It was high time to learn the truth.

I should have known better than that...he silently chastened himself a few days later. Of course it wouldn't be so easy with those two. It had never been easy with them in the past, and it would have been far too optimistic to expect that things would go around smoothly this time.

After his conversation with Scarlett where she revealed practically nothing about what really happened between her and her husband, he realized that the situation was a lot worse than he had initially presumed. The only good news were that Scarlett's health was improved, and Pierre was clearly relieved when he heard from Dr. Meade's mouth who came every night for his daily check on his patient- after Rhett's insistence as the doctor explained with an understanding smile to the caring husband-that the fall didn't seem to have caused any permanent damage, apart from the broken ribs and some superficial bruises and that she was recovering amazingly quickly. But Pierre's hopes sank once more when he supplemented that he couldn't say the same for her spirit. Indeed, she wasn't sad, she wasn't angry she wasn't yelling or crying but she wasn't laughing either. He was seriously concerned when his cousin confessed that she felt nothing, that it was as if there was a huge hole at the place where her heart should have been and she simply didn't care, as if nothing mattered to her anymore. Despite the fact she was not on bed rest anymore, she chose to spend her days sitting at the Peachtree street mansion's porch, doing practically nothing other than woolgathering. Her cousin had never seen her in such a state before not even during the darkest periods of her life during the war or later when Rhett had left for Charleston with Bonnie.

Rhett on the other hand, wasn't much better either. Pierre noticed that he looked more tired than ever and initially he considered it natural given the circumstances. But things didn't seem to return gradually to normal.

Pierre was terrified when he realized that they rarely speak to each other, always typically only if some important matter about the children or the house aroused. Above all they both behaved as if nothing unusual happened, as if everything was completely normal and there was no reason to worry about.

If they kept this attitude for any bit longer Pierre was sure they were going to turn him mad. He used every trick he knew in order to make them open up but all his efforts were in vain. He even tried to "fish" information from poor Melanie Wilkes, who as it was anticipated hadn't left her sister's in law side not for an instant, but she didn't know much either. However, judging by the rumors circulated around Atlanta he reached the conclusion that the whole mess surely had something to do with Scarlett's new business adventures with the Wilkes and some ridiculous gossip about Rhett's whereabouts at some dark corners of Atlanta with some notorious blond can- can dancer named Annette.

So Rhett and Scarlett kept telling lies to themselves, to each other and to Pierre and Pierre kept telling lies to Rosemary who was aware of the weird tense among them but she could reach no conclusion as no one informed her about what was going on, despite her sincere concern and her agony about all of them.

A few days after Pierre and Rosemary's arrival things were relatively calm in the Peachtree street mansion. In fact they all co-existed under the same roof in polite friendliness with Rhett and Scarlett never in the same room for more than five minutes. On Sunday evening though, Rosemary insisted that they had to have a proper dinner, all of them, as a family, before she and her husband return to Charleston where they had decided to stay at least until the baby would be born because quite naturally she wanted to be near her mother. Both Rhett and Scarlett knew that there were no lies that could be possibly plausible this time and they steeled themselves for the dinner.

They were having a rather good time with the children's and Rosemary's giggles covering the weird tense when Rosemary proposed a toast. "Rhett you have always been my favorite brother and Scarlett, you know you are like a sister to me. I wish one day Pierre and I would have a family as beautiful as yours!" she said emotion evident in her voice.

Pierre noticed the bitter glimpses exchanged by the other couple and he silently prayed his wife would stop now. But she didn't.

"I hope you would be able to visit with us in Charleston as soon as you get your strength back Scarlett darling! I would be so happy if you were there when the baby comes," she supplemented and held her sister's in law hand tightly.

Scarlett was equally moved too. Rosemary was like a sister to her, much like Melly and she felt honored that she held such a place in her heart because she didn't have many friends who could understand her as well as she did. She wanted to accept her invitation but then she realized that she couldn't appear in Rhett's mother's house alone without raising suspicions about her marriage. She couldn't go with him either because his hostile demeanor would immediately turn the suspicions to certainty. Damn HIM, she silently cursed.

She cleared her throat. "I am afraid we wouldn't be able to make it, darling," she mumbled quite unconvincingly.

"You still remain the worst liar I have ever met!" Rhett hissed. "What she really wants to say dear sister is that our Scarlett is a very successful businesswoman. You have to understand. After so many weeks at home she can't leave. She needs to take care of her associates. One in particular, literally can't live without her." He wasn't yelling. In fact he was whispering, rather politely, with a smile on his lips. But his eyes gleamed dangerously.

Good God, Pierre silently prayed.

Scarlett stared at her husband, all her pain and bitterness evident in her face. "Ashley is not my associate anymore! You know perfectly well that I sold the mills!" she snapped. "How dare you say such a thing when it's you who is known to have prior engagements with your respectful business partners?" she meaningfully underlined the words. "It's a pity you have never the chance to meet Belle, Rosemary!" she said and Pierre wished someone would stop her. "A fine, hard- working lady! Ask Pierre if you don't believe me! And if you are lucky, you will get to know Annette, too. She recently came to Atlanta. Am I right darling?" she turned back to her husband.

Rhett turned mad. He sat up and with large strides he reached his wife at the other side of the table. He grabbed her arm and shook her. "Seriously Scarlett? In front of my daughters and my sister? Damn your black, cheating soul!"

With that he stormed out of the room and when they heard the door banging they knew he had left the house.

"That's what he does when he can't face me," she said with an eerie and obviously fake calmness. "He will be back in the morning, or so!" and with that she returned as fast as her trembling feet could take her to her room.

In the meantime Mammy rushed in the room to take the children for their bath, hoping from the bottom of her heart that they were too young to understand.

Pierre and Rosemary were left alone in the room. "You knew about all these didn't you?" she asked her husband. He nodded yes. "And why you pretended you knew nothing when I asked you what's wrong with them? I wasn't gossiping Pierre, I wanted to help!" she said and Pierre knew she was about to burst into tears.

His heart melted. "I didn't want to upset you darling." he tried to justified himself and he took her in her arms. He was about to give her a kiss on the forehead when she withdrew herself.

"Who is Belle?" she suspiciously asked.

"It's not important. She is an old friend, from our blockade running days."

"You knew her too!" she said, her eyes full of tears. "I am not a child Pierre. I don't need you to protect me. I deserved to know the truth. You humiliated me. You are worse than my brother!" she snapped and with that she also left, leaving her husband alone in the dining room.

Rosemary was reluctant but in the end she gathered her strength and she knocked Scarlett's door.

"I said, leave me alone!" was the only response she got and she eagerly excused herself.

"I am sorry Scarlett darling," she replied. "I just wanted to make sure you are fine!"

Scarlett immediately unlocked the door. "I am sorry Rosie! I thought it was Mammy again, or worst, your brother, although he wouldn't knock!" she mumbled as if she was thinking loudly.

"How did he dare to behave so abhorrently to you?" she exclaimed. "I thought he was the perfect gentleman, the best brother, the best husband and father! He was my hero when I was growing up. Now, I don't know what to think!" she said, her eyes full of tears.

"Oh, he is the perfect father, and he can be the most tender, loving husband," she sighed. "Maybe it's my fault! It took me too long to realize some things. I thought we were over it, I surely am, but as it seems he isn't. It's too late for us," she bitterly said.

"It can't be! You love him so much and so does he. When he came to Charleston with Bonnie two years ago, he was desperate. He missed you terribly although he tried to pretend otherwise. One reference to you, and Bonnie did it all the time, was enough to make him lose his nerve. And when I saw him in Atlanta again he was a different man. I had never seen him so happy before. Not even when we were children. What changed now?" she asked with a low voice as if she didn't want to upset her and caressed her hair.

Scarlett didn't know if it was those beautiful blue eyes, so much like Bonnie's and the sincere interest in their happiness that she saw in their depths, or the quiet soothing voice that urged her to open up. Rosemary reminded her of her mother so much. The same quiet but determined voice who took care for everything with no further arguments, the same genuine interest in every one's problems but her own. And the ability to sooth everyone's worries. Caressing their hair was the only act of endearment Ellen ever did to her children. She was always aloof and restrained but every time they were upset she used to come to her daughters' beds, tenderly caressed their hair asking them what was troubling them. And Scarlett felt that everything was going to get just fine. She wasn't a child anymore but she desperately needed to feel the same security once again, even if it was a lie.

And she started talking, for the first time to anyone other than Pierre. Because there were things that no man were ever capable of understanding. She talked about her childhood at Tara and her girlish infatuation with Ashley Wilkes, and how everything collapsed when the war broke out. That her love for Ashley was the only thing left intact in the ruins. She told her about her impulsive decision to marry her first husband, Charles just to spite Ashley and about her first encounter with Rhett. She didn't hesitate to confess that she married him for the wrong reasons, that she hadn't realized how much he loved her and how much she loved and needed him.

"How was I supposed to know he loved me when he never let me understand his mind? He kept telling me lies and when I finally cleared up the mess our life had turned out to be, I tried to make us happy, to take everything back and correct my mistakes. But he doesn't trust me and he doesn't believe I have changed. He simply doesn't care. It makes no difference to him if he spends the night with me or with any of his common...women!" she snapped and Rosemary felt her cheeks turn crimson.

"I can't blame you, Scarlett darling. How were you supposed to know how he felt if he kept lying to you? Pierre is just like him too. He is full of lies and he claims that he tries to protect me. I am not a child anymore." she said and Scarlett saw the same determined expression her daughter's face usually had.

"Pierre is nothing like Rhett, I assure you. He loves you and he shows it with any possible way. He is just overprotective, but you shouldn't blame him. We are the only family he ever had."

"Do you think Pierre sees those women too?" she asked and turned crimson again.

Scarlett, no matter how angry, she couldn't ruin her girlish dreams. "I am sure he is faithful to you." she reassured her and wished her cousin would have enough brain in his head not to hurt her. She was still an innocent child. "Don't torture him any longer, please. One broken marriage is enough in this house. Go find him and don't worry about me! I will survive!" and with a kiss she send her back to her room.

She found Pierre staring at the window, smoking ceaselessly. He was so deep in his thoughts, he wasn't aware of her entering the room.

"Good evening," she said from the threshold. "I thought you would have fallen asleep already,"

Pierre sprang as he heard her voice. "I am so sorry," he whispered. "I shouldn't have kept so many secrets from you. I have seen what misunderstandings and lack of communication can do to a marriage and I don't want this for us. I swear you, no more secrets!"

He opened his arms and Rosemary slipped in them full of trust. She rested her head on his chest. "It's fine, I understand, sorry for doubting and yelling to you" she said and smiled softly.

"Don't do this to me again," he said and smiled back. "I wouldn't be able to handle it a second time!" he teased and gave her a kiss. Tender at the beginning more passionate as time went by.

"Take me home, Pierre!" she whispered and he was eager to please her.

A/N: Hello dear faithful readers and reviewers.

I am really happy to see that this story has some faithful reviewers who stand by me in every chapter. Your encouragement means a lot to me and I can't thank you enough!

Sorry for the delay between the updates but I changed my mind about the contents of this chapter about a million times before concluding to what you just read.

There is some fluff but not what you hoped for, I am afraid, but the happy fluffy ending is near. Probably two more chapters to go and an epilogue! They are almost written so stay tuned for frequent updates.

Thank you all for your support! Review, please and make me happy! (This goes both to my beloved faithful reviewers whose opinion I am breathlessly waiting for and to all those who read but don't usually review! I would like to hear your opinion, good or bad!)

Kisses

Anna