Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW
Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews.
Both Rhett and Scarlett have problems with being completely open and honest. Especially Rhett.
Chapter Fourteen
Rhett didn't come get her until the next afternoon. Scarlett had made arrangements with Melly for her to watch Wade. She explained that they only had one night together before Rhett had to go out of town.
She saw Ashley lurking around and ignored him. He had done enough damage to them the first time. She was not going to let him hurt her relationship with Rhett. She would be always suspicious of his actions. When she had thought about the words he had said after Bonnie was born, she had wondered how many times he had damaged hers and Rhett's relationship. She was the one who had done the most damage to hers and Rhett's relationship with her stubborn devotion to him but she knew he had done damage to their relationship also. He had done damage by influencing her negatively against Rhett. They had gotten a second chance and she was not going to make the same mistakes again.
The first place Rhett took her was 1st Atlanta Bank. He said, "I need to get you on the signature card so you can withdraw money or write checks."
"Thank you."
"I will pull out a hundred dollars. I hope you don't spend it all. Take some of that money and buy some food for the people at Tara. Buy Wade some new clothes."
"Alright"
"Buy yourself some new dresses, please," Then he whispered. "And some undergarments too. Yours are so thread bare I can practically see through them."
She smiled and nodded her head.
After they conducted their business at the bank Rhett hurried her to the National hotel. "I have arranged for us to have supper in our room. When they bring us supper, they will bring us some sandwiches too. I don't want you to get hungry ….. for food." Scarlett giggled but didn't say anything. She just hurried up the stairs. They got to their room and for once Rhett had not gotten a suite. He unlocked the door to room 217 and hurried her inside. As if reading her mind Rhett said, "We only need one room. You aren't going to be out of my sight until I have to leave in the morning."
Scarlett and Rhett spent the rest of that day in bed. They ate supper then got back in the bed. Scarlett talked about her pain when she realized he wasn't coming back.
He talked about his disappointment when he went to Atlanta to get her and she was gone. He had been glad that she wasn't alone and that she had found some happiness. He talked about his need to be received by Charleston Old Guard and how he had never known how important that was to him.
She talked about going to her Aunt Pauline's funeral and how if she had seen him, she would have begged him to run away with her. She told him that she had talked to his mother and his mother had assured her he was happy and content. At that point that was all she had wanted for him was to have found that grace and charm he had been looking for after Bonnie's death.
He told her how his meeting with Emma had been arranged by his sister and how Rosemary had continued to throw them together.
Rhett said, "It is nice to know that my sister wanted me back in Charleston but I can't help but wonder if her interference prevented us from reconciling the first time."
Scarlett said, "Maybe. Or maybe we both needed to be so unhappy without each other that now we aren't going to let anyone or anything come between us."
Rhett stared at her and said "Such logic. It amazes me." To which Scarlett slapped his chest. He drew her down to him and started kissing her.
As they laid there sated and blissfully happy Scarlett held Rhett's hand and she said, "I wanted the baby so much. It was the first child I had ever wanted."
"I'm sorry for what I said that day. I was so afraid you were going to die and it would be all my fault."
"Why did you not come to my bedside?"
"Shame and fear of rejection."
"I didn't think you even cared about me at all because you never came to check on me."
"I sent Bonnie in there."
"That was awful. She was so scared of me because I looked so bad. Five minutes was all Mammy could get her to stay. Wade and Ella didn't do much better."
They were quiet for a minute then Scarlett said, "I loved her, too. Nothing has hurt worse than losing her. I'm sorry for calling you a murderer. I'm was hurting so badly and I needed to blame someone."
"I'm sorry for saying you never cared for any of your children. I'm sorry for always calling you a bad mother. You just have a different way of showing your love. You show your love by taking care of people not by saying pretty words. I guess I just never let you take care of me."
"You never needed me to take care of you."
"I did but I couldn't show it because then I would look weak or worse you wouldn't take care of me."
"I would like to say I would have and I would like to say I would have noticed but I don't know. You always seemed so strong until you fell apart. I didn't know how to stop you from falling apart and you didn't act like you wanted my help."
"I don't know how I would have responded if you had offered love and comfort. Not well, I'm afraid. You know they say there is a fine line between love and hate and I think I kept crossing over that line all the time."
They were quiet for a long time then Scarlett said, "When we get her back you can't monopolize her. She has to be our child."
"I'm sorry I did that but I wanted her to love only me. Partly to hurt you and partly because….
"Because?"
Rhett was quiet for a long while and Scarlett just waited.
Finally, he said, "Because I was afraid, I would lose her to you. That she would love you more than me. I would be out in the cold again."
"Oh Rhett. That was silly. She was always going to love you more than me because you were the fun parent. I was the one always saying no."
Rhett gave a self-deprecating laugh. He said, "I will say the word no this time. I promise."
Rhett got out of the bed and got a drink of water. He said, "Do you want a sandwich?"
"No. Just you."
"Are you saying I'm more important than food."
"At the moment. Come here."
After he got back in the bed, he started kissing Scarlett. There was no more talking for a while.
Awhile after they had caught their breaths Rhett said, "I hurt you to punish you for loving Ashley instead of me."
"You are forgiven. You were the one giving me everything I wanted but he was the one I had on the pedestal. I'm sorry I did that."
"I will still give you anything you want."
"All I want is you." There was some kissing and Scarlett added, "And my babies."
"I'm doing everything I can to make that happen." And he laughed then she laughed.
Rhett and Scarlett had finally talked about the most painful subjects in their marriage – Bonnie, the baby and the miscarriage. They had both loved Bonnie so much but they had still used her as a weapon against each other. They had finally talked about her death. They knew there was a lot more to talk about but none would be as hard as talking about Bonnie or the baby or her miscarriage.
They had talked about Belle and Ashley while at the Fire House. They at last were talking and Rhett was talking in plain easy to understand sentences. They would still have to work at talking without pride and arrogance because those were such strong traits in both of them. They both would work on it because they both knew their pride and arrogance had already done so much damage. They had a chance to have everything they had lost and they were not going to make the same mistakes.
Scarlett had said with some pride, "Nick had sworn he was never going to remarry after his wife died."
Rhett was playing with her hair and said, "That's two men you got to the altar who swore they would never marry."
"I was the belle of five counties."
"How did she die?"
"In childbirth. That was how Nick knew of preventatives. He had never wanted children and after his first wife's death he was going to make sure it didn't happen again. It was during the war and he was away fighting. She went into labor a month early and well neither one of them survived."
"That is so sad."
"Yeah Nick was a really great guy. We will have to fix him up with someone when he finally comes to Atlanta in seventy-four."
"As long as it isn't you, I am alright with the idea." Scarlett giggled and Rhett started touching other things.
They didn't sleep at all. Neither one wanted to waste a minute of their one night together sleeping. Scarlett and Rhett were still talking when the sun rose and Scarlett initiated relations which made Rhett very happy. When they were finished and they were getting cleaned up Rhett said, "Come with me."
"I have to take care of Wade and ensure my reputation is not tarnished by my marriage."
"You are going to travel with me this time."
She smiled and said, "I will. Do you know when you will be back?"
"Two to three weeks." When he saw her sad face he said, "Don't cry. I'll be back before you know it."
"I'm so afraid of something happening to you now that we are finally together."
"Nothing is going to happen to me. I promise. I have stopped drinking and smoking and you will too."
"I haven't started drinking yet in our timeline."
"Well don't start. Now come on. You can go to the train station with me."
"You only want me to go to the train station so I won't cry."
"Where was that understanding when we first married?" He had meant it as a joke but she took him seriously.
"I wish I knew."
"We are not going to second guess ourselves. We both made a lot of mistakes. We are going to be open and honest with each other and have a happy marriage. Alright."
"Alright," with a forced smile, "Let's go before I embarrass myself even more."
With that Rhett grabbed his carpet bag and they walked to the train station.
Scarlett stood at the train station until his train was completely gone then she walked back to the Hamilton House. In the three weeks until Rhett got back, she would look at houses. She would take Melly with her.
That day she ordered the food for Tara, bought clothes for Wade and bought herself some new underwear. It felt good to have new underwear to wear. She had not appreciated new clothes or new things since Bonnie had been born. No. She hadn't appreciated what Rhett had been giving her since they got back from New Orleans. She ordered a couple of new dresses but they were very simple in design. She was not going to flaunt Rhett's wealth right now.
Rhett was on the train heading to New York. He was still marveling that he and Scarlett had gotten this do over and he was not going to blow it. Over the last five years he had plenty of time to dissect his entire time with Scarlett. He should have told her that he loved her when he asked her to marry him. If she had treated him badly, he could have walked away without marrying her but at least she would have known he loved her. He knew now that she hadn't had a clue that he loved her until that awful night that Miss Melly died. He should have known she would never have figured it out without him showing her the way. She was five years wiser now. She had been broken that year and she had rebuilt herself into a much better person. He should have treated her like what she was the most important person in the world to him. Before he had been so busy trying to make sure she didn't find out he loved her that he had created the most painful situation in the world. He had spent the last five years bargaining with God for just five more minutes with her. It seems God had given him more than just five more minutes. He was not going to become a Scallawag and he was going to become part of polite society. They were going to behave themselves this time. At least while they were in the South. Rhett smiled really big. Maybe they could even get received in Charleston. No. It wasn't worth the effort. Not even for Bonnie. Actually, as long as Scarlett stayed in Atlanta's Dowagers good graces Bonnie and the others would be received.
He was a millionaire right now so he didn't need to make money off the Republican government. Of course, the confederate gold was part of the million. He would make money on it while he waited for the right time to donate it to the Democratic Party. He was going to help Wilkes adapt to the world he was living in. Scarlett had asked him to help Ashley. He laughed at how nervous she had been about asking him to help Mr. Wilkes. He would try but Wilkes really hated him. He just smiled and thought about his lovely bride. He was so engrossed in thinking about Scarlett that he didn't notice all the women trying to catch his attention. When he got to New York he was going to solidify his investments and look into some others that he was interested in.
After two weeks he missed Scarlett so much. He missed her more now than when they were married the first time. He missed her more now than when he was married to Emma. He missed her whispering how much she loved him when she climaxed so very much. From now on she was going to travel with him. Her and all the children. He smiled at what a sentimental man he had turned into. He was going back to Atlanta tomorrow. He had already sent the telegram. He had sent her a telegram every day and Scarlett had sent him a telegram back. All of hers had said the same thing: I MISS YOU STOP.
When Rhett arrived in Atlanta Scarlett was at the station to meet him. They went to the National Hotel. Scarlett had booked them a suite. When they got to the suite both Wade and Mammy were there. Scarlett said, "Wade couldn't wait to see you. I didn't want to leave him at the Hamilton House. There were too many people there; Frank, Suellen, Ashley, Melanie, and Aunt PittyPat."
Wade said, "Don't forget Beau."
Scarlett smiled at Wade and said, "And Beau."