As soon as they were in Scarlett's room she sighed and leaned against the
now-closed door.
"Of all the things she could have said to hurt me, that was the worst" Scarlett said quietly. "And she knew it. God, I hate her! Why did she have to bring that up now? Now when I've finally been able to stop myself from obsessing over it and from analyzing every conversation you and I had ever had. I can't believe her! That was the worst time I've ever had in my whole life. It was the only time I've ever wished my life could just…end. I know that I shouldn't let her get to me, Rhett, I do. But when she says that it's like- like it was yesterday that I got that damned letter. Like it was yesterday that I fainted in that carriage in Galway when I found out you had married Anne."
"You fainted?" Rhett asked. "But, you never faint."
"If I ever had a good excuse to faint, Rhett, I think it was finding out that my husband, who I happened to be carrying the child of, had married another woman." Scarlett said a bit more bitterly then she had intended to.
"Are you still mad at me, Scarlett?" Rhett asked. Scarlett wasn't expecting that question and she looked up at him with a strange expression on her face. "I thought you had forgiven me for that." He said quietly.
"It's not that easy, Rhett." Scarlett was quickly growing angry at making this into a confrontation between the two of them. "How can I forgive someone in a split second for doing something that made me feel completely unwanted and useless? You don't seem to get the magnitude of it, Rhett. You divorced me without me even knowing about it! You can say that you tried to find me all you want, but if you had really tried then you would have found me. You married another woman just a few days after the divorce went through! Do you know what that made me feel like? Tell me, Rhett, how can I forgive you so quickly and easily?"
"I forgave you for keeping my daughter from me." Rhett said calmly. Scarlett gaped at him for a moment before she narrowed her eyes into slits and shot daggers into his eyes.
"Damn you, Rhett!" she yelled. "I did what I thought was best for me and for my child. What would you have done? What would anybody have done? I was alone in a strange country, I was pregnant with the child of a man that had dropped me and married someone else. What I did may not have been the greatest choice, but I was just looking out for my daughter. So don't- throw that in my face, Rhett. There is a difference. You made a conscious decision to marry Anne; I was forced, by that decision, to keep Cat from you." Scarlett spun around and opened the door, thinking it best to get away from Rhett before their fight escalated. She walked swiftly out the door but Rhett followed her.
"Where do you think you're going?" He asked in a low voice, as to not disturb the other people in the house.
"Away from you!" Scarlett exclaimed hotly. She decided quickly that she would have to spend the night somewhere else, so that they could both cool down. With a determined step, masking how she really felt, she walked into the room that Ella and Cat were sharing and lightly closed the door. She was surprised to see Ella sitting up in her bed talking to Cat, who was in the second bed in the room, as she had thought they were both asleep. "Girls, you're supposed to be sleeping." She said, trying to be firm with them but finding it hard to.
"I'm sorry, Mother." Ella said, bowing her head.
"It's alright, though, Ella." Scarlett said quickly. She didn't want Ella to have any reason to fear her once again. She went over to Ella's bed and sat down on the edge. "Is it okay if I sleep in here tonight?" she asked.
"Did- did you and Uncle Rhett fight?"
"No, no nothing like that. I just wanted to be with my girls."
"Oh." Ella said, a smile playing on her lips. "I'm really happy you came home, Mother."
"So am I, honey." Scarlett smiled, though she really felt like crying over her fight with Rhett. She had known it was inevitable that they would fight; they wouldn't be them if they didn't. But she still felt horrible. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Scarlett placed a kiss on the top of Ella's head. "Go to sleep now, ok?" She said quietly, noticing that Cat had fallen asleep. Ella nodded and laid down on the bed. Scarlett moved over to Cat's bed and laid down next to her small daughter. She drifted off to sleep for the first time in over two months outside of Rhett's arms.
~~~
Scarlett squinted as the first rays of sunshine beamed into the room. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Cat and Ella were both still fast asleep. Scarlett got up off the bed, being careful not to wake her baby girl. She slipped out the door and, with a determined step, walked into her own room. Truthfully she didn't feel like facing Rhett now, but she knew that she had to. One of them had to give in first; it might as well be her. Rhett was lying on the bed and Scarlett noticed that he was still in the clothes he had been wearing the night before, as was she. She walked over to the side of the bed he was on and sat down on the edge.
Rhett quickly roused when he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. Looking up he saw his very disheveled wife sitting on the bed.
"Hi." She said softly. Rhett let out a low grunt and squinted.
"What time is it?" he said, his voice gravelly.
"I don't know, early." Scarlett shrugged. Rhett propped himself up on his arms and looked at her.
"What's going on, Scarlett?" he asked.
"Rhett, I've made a decision."
"Mmm?"
"Uh-huh, I've decided I'm too old to start fighting with you again."
"Old?" Rhett laughed. "If you're old, my pet, I must be at death's door."
"Is everything- I mean… is everything okay with us?" Scarlett asked apprehensively.
"Of course is it, darling. I'm not mad at you and I certainly hope you're not mad at me anymore."
"Oh, Rhett, I'm not mad at you at all. I wish we hadn't fought last night. But I want you to know that what I said was true. When I kept Cat from you I was just doing what I thought was best. I didn't want to hurt you, though I don't know why I didn't. You really hurt me when you married Anne, Rhett. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to go through in my entire life. And that's including being here, at Tara, after the war. And I- I still don't know if I can forgive you for that so easily. I'm not mad, though, Rhett I just…. I don't know" Scarlett trailed off, realizing she was babbling. Somehow she couldn't find the words to express to Rhett how she loved him but she was still upset at how he had acted in the past. But, for all her babbling, Rhett seemed to understand her as he always did. He sat up and pulled her to him so that he was looking down at her and they were only inches apart.
"I'm sorry, Scarlett." He said, pain evident in his voice. "Did I ever tell you that? Did I ever tell you how sorry I am for marrying Anne? It was the biggest mistake of my life; behind leaving you in the first place, that is. I'm so sorry, Scarlett. And if all I ever accomplish in my life is making that up to you, I'll die a happy man."
Scarlett smiled and threw her arms around Rhett's neck.
"So, truce?" she said with a grin.
"Truce" Rhett agreed.
"Rhett I have a favor to ask. And seeing as your life goal is to be nice to me I think I already know what your answer will be." Scarlett laughed.
"A favor, huh? And what would that be, my love?"
"Take me home to Atlanta today."
"Today? You don't want to stay at Tara longer?"
"No, I don't. I'm afraid if I'm here for a day longer I just may kill Suellen. Tara isn't my home any longer; it's Will and Suellen's. I don't belong here anymore. I belong in Atlanta. I know that people there are going to gossip about us a lot and it will be strange to go back, but we have to get it over with sometime. I miss it, oddly enough. I've had my share of bad memories there but I still miss it."
"If that's what you want, darling, I'll take you to Atlanta today. I'll go make arrangements now."
"Thank you, Rhett" Scarlett said, bestowing a sweet kiss on his lips. "I think I just might go back to sleep." She stifled a yawn as Rhett got up and went to change into fresh clothes.
"Didn't you sleep well last night?" Rhett asked.
"No I can never sleep when we're fighting." Scarlett curled up on the bed, her head resting on a pillow. Rhett finished dressing and, after giving her a kiss on the forehead, went to talk to Will about getting to Atlanta.
"Of all the things she could have said to hurt me, that was the worst" Scarlett said quietly. "And she knew it. God, I hate her! Why did she have to bring that up now? Now when I've finally been able to stop myself from obsessing over it and from analyzing every conversation you and I had ever had. I can't believe her! That was the worst time I've ever had in my whole life. It was the only time I've ever wished my life could just…end. I know that I shouldn't let her get to me, Rhett, I do. But when she says that it's like- like it was yesterday that I got that damned letter. Like it was yesterday that I fainted in that carriage in Galway when I found out you had married Anne."
"You fainted?" Rhett asked. "But, you never faint."
"If I ever had a good excuse to faint, Rhett, I think it was finding out that my husband, who I happened to be carrying the child of, had married another woman." Scarlett said a bit more bitterly then she had intended to.
"Are you still mad at me, Scarlett?" Rhett asked. Scarlett wasn't expecting that question and she looked up at him with a strange expression on her face. "I thought you had forgiven me for that." He said quietly.
"It's not that easy, Rhett." Scarlett was quickly growing angry at making this into a confrontation between the two of them. "How can I forgive someone in a split second for doing something that made me feel completely unwanted and useless? You don't seem to get the magnitude of it, Rhett. You divorced me without me even knowing about it! You can say that you tried to find me all you want, but if you had really tried then you would have found me. You married another woman just a few days after the divorce went through! Do you know what that made me feel like? Tell me, Rhett, how can I forgive you so quickly and easily?"
"I forgave you for keeping my daughter from me." Rhett said calmly. Scarlett gaped at him for a moment before she narrowed her eyes into slits and shot daggers into his eyes.
"Damn you, Rhett!" she yelled. "I did what I thought was best for me and for my child. What would you have done? What would anybody have done? I was alone in a strange country, I was pregnant with the child of a man that had dropped me and married someone else. What I did may not have been the greatest choice, but I was just looking out for my daughter. So don't- throw that in my face, Rhett. There is a difference. You made a conscious decision to marry Anne; I was forced, by that decision, to keep Cat from you." Scarlett spun around and opened the door, thinking it best to get away from Rhett before their fight escalated. She walked swiftly out the door but Rhett followed her.
"Where do you think you're going?" He asked in a low voice, as to not disturb the other people in the house.
"Away from you!" Scarlett exclaimed hotly. She decided quickly that she would have to spend the night somewhere else, so that they could both cool down. With a determined step, masking how she really felt, she walked into the room that Ella and Cat were sharing and lightly closed the door. She was surprised to see Ella sitting up in her bed talking to Cat, who was in the second bed in the room, as she had thought they were both asleep. "Girls, you're supposed to be sleeping." She said, trying to be firm with them but finding it hard to.
"I'm sorry, Mother." Ella said, bowing her head.
"It's alright, though, Ella." Scarlett said quickly. She didn't want Ella to have any reason to fear her once again. She went over to Ella's bed and sat down on the edge. "Is it okay if I sleep in here tonight?" she asked.
"Did- did you and Uncle Rhett fight?"
"No, no nothing like that. I just wanted to be with my girls."
"Oh." Ella said, a smile playing on her lips. "I'm really happy you came home, Mother."
"So am I, honey." Scarlett smiled, though she really felt like crying over her fight with Rhett. She had known it was inevitable that they would fight; they wouldn't be them if they didn't. But she still felt horrible. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Scarlett placed a kiss on the top of Ella's head. "Go to sleep now, ok?" She said quietly, noticing that Cat had fallen asleep. Ella nodded and laid down on the bed. Scarlett moved over to Cat's bed and laid down next to her small daughter. She drifted off to sleep for the first time in over two months outside of Rhett's arms.
~~~
Scarlett squinted as the first rays of sunshine beamed into the room. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Cat and Ella were both still fast asleep. Scarlett got up off the bed, being careful not to wake her baby girl. She slipped out the door and, with a determined step, walked into her own room. Truthfully she didn't feel like facing Rhett now, but she knew that she had to. One of them had to give in first; it might as well be her. Rhett was lying on the bed and Scarlett noticed that he was still in the clothes he had been wearing the night before, as was she. She walked over to the side of the bed he was on and sat down on the edge.
Rhett quickly roused when he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. Looking up he saw his very disheveled wife sitting on the bed.
"Hi." She said softly. Rhett let out a low grunt and squinted.
"What time is it?" he said, his voice gravelly.
"I don't know, early." Scarlett shrugged. Rhett propped himself up on his arms and looked at her.
"What's going on, Scarlett?" he asked.
"Rhett, I've made a decision."
"Mmm?"
"Uh-huh, I've decided I'm too old to start fighting with you again."
"Old?" Rhett laughed. "If you're old, my pet, I must be at death's door."
"Is everything- I mean… is everything okay with us?" Scarlett asked apprehensively.
"Of course is it, darling. I'm not mad at you and I certainly hope you're not mad at me anymore."
"Oh, Rhett, I'm not mad at you at all. I wish we hadn't fought last night. But I want you to know that what I said was true. When I kept Cat from you I was just doing what I thought was best. I didn't want to hurt you, though I don't know why I didn't. You really hurt me when you married Anne, Rhett. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to go through in my entire life. And that's including being here, at Tara, after the war. And I- I still don't know if I can forgive you for that so easily. I'm not mad, though, Rhett I just…. I don't know" Scarlett trailed off, realizing she was babbling. Somehow she couldn't find the words to express to Rhett how she loved him but she was still upset at how he had acted in the past. But, for all her babbling, Rhett seemed to understand her as he always did. He sat up and pulled her to him so that he was looking down at her and they were only inches apart.
"I'm sorry, Scarlett." He said, pain evident in his voice. "Did I ever tell you that? Did I ever tell you how sorry I am for marrying Anne? It was the biggest mistake of my life; behind leaving you in the first place, that is. I'm so sorry, Scarlett. And if all I ever accomplish in my life is making that up to you, I'll die a happy man."
Scarlett smiled and threw her arms around Rhett's neck.
"So, truce?" she said with a grin.
"Truce" Rhett agreed.
"Rhett I have a favor to ask. And seeing as your life goal is to be nice to me I think I already know what your answer will be." Scarlett laughed.
"A favor, huh? And what would that be, my love?"
"Take me home to Atlanta today."
"Today? You don't want to stay at Tara longer?"
"No, I don't. I'm afraid if I'm here for a day longer I just may kill Suellen. Tara isn't my home any longer; it's Will and Suellen's. I don't belong here anymore. I belong in Atlanta. I know that people there are going to gossip about us a lot and it will be strange to go back, but we have to get it over with sometime. I miss it, oddly enough. I've had my share of bad memories there but I still miss it."
"If that's what you want, darling, I'll take you to Atlanta today. I'll go make arrangements now."
"Thank you, Rhett" Scarlett said, bestowing a sweet kiss on his lips. "I think I just might go back to sleep." She stifled a yawn as Rhett got up and went to change into fresh clothes.
"Didn't you sleep well last night?" Rhett asked.
"No I can never sleep when we're fighting." Scarlett curled up on the bed, her head resting on a pillow. Rhett finished dressing and, after giving her a kiss on the forehead, went to talk to Will about getting to Atlanta.