Author's Note: I am going to be gone for the weekend, so I thought I'd put up another chapter so you all would have something to read when I was gone. I will have the next chapter up on Sunday, (If something comes up then it will definitely be up Monday) and I would love to read your comments when I get back!! Thanks so much for the feedback already. (And yes, Rhett and Scarlett are on the same week. Sorry about the confusion!) And I'm so sorry for the delay. Thanks again!

Chapter 3

Scarlett got off the train with a new attitude.

I'm going to have fun if it kills me!

She couldn't wait to get started. While walking down the streets of New Orleans, she couldn't help but remember the honeymoon. How sweet he was to her then!

No, no, I must not think about Rhett! I mustn't!

She suddenly picked up her pace, eager to get to her hotel. She passed the stores her and Rhett had entered together, buying the news trends and fashions. Oh how she missed those days…

Scarlett finally got to the hotel, and the hostess at the desk gave her a key.

"Traveling alone miss?" asked the gentleman.

"Oh yes, and I suppose it probably won't be the last time I travel alone…," replied Scarlett.

The man gave her an odd look, and then continued working at his desk.

Once she got up to her room, she realized this was the same hotel her and Rhett had stayed in.

"Great balls of fire! When will it end! He's everywhere! Oh why can't he just let me live in peace?!" Scarlett yelled as she jumped on her bed and sobbed for what ended up being hours.

"How foolish I've been! Why would I pick New Orleans if I wanted to stop thinking about Rhett! Oh, but where has he NOT taken me?"

She suddenly realized she did not know of any other places other than the places Rhett had taken her. Except for places like Paris or London of course, but she would never in her right mind travel there alone.

"I'm trapped! There's no where to go…I just can't stand this, I can't…How could he do this to me? Oh he's such a cad! Why did he have to leave?!"

Her sadness turned into anger, as she pondered the questions that came into her head. Why can't she get away? Why won't he just come back? Why doesn't he love her?

Little did she know…he was trying to find her right at that moment…

"Here goes nothing," Rhett whispered quietly to himself as he knocked on the door of the Peachtree house.

The person who answered the door was not Scarlett, but it was Wade.

"Um…Hello Uncle Rhett. I'm...uh…glad to see you…" Wade didn't know what to say! He saw all of his mother's hurt and sadness and he didn't know what to think of Rhett anymore.

"Hello Wade. I am sorry to come so suddenly without any notice. Is your mother home?" Rhett was worried about his relationship with Wade. He had noticed the apprehension in his voice.

"N-no. She went out on a trip. She said she needed some time alone."

"Time alone? Where did she go Wade? How long will she be gone?"

Wade didn't know what to do. Should he tell Rhett where she went? Or would she not want him to know?

Suddenly, before he could answer, Wade felt a pang of resentment towards Rhett.

"Look, Uncle Rhett, my mother has been very upset ever since you've been gone. Are you going to grant her with a divorce? Because if you are, then I am afraid I cannot say where she is, because she is already in enough pain as it is."

Rhett was blown away with Wade's forwardness. He forgot Wade was 12 going on 13. He really was a young man now.

"No Wade, no. I am not going to give your mother a divorce. I do, however, need to contact her. She and I need to talk and it is quite urgent."

"A-Alright. I will give you the address of the hotel she is staying in. But if you hurt her more, I swear I will never talk to you again," Wade said, trying to sound protective but his voice faltering slightly.

With that Wade opened the door wider and gestured to Rhett to come in. Wade walked to his bedroom with Rhett close behind.

"Here is the address. She said to use it if I needed to contact her for anything. Please Uncle Rhett, please don't hurt her again."

Rhett's eyes started to glisten, but he soon regained his composure.

"Wade I would never want to hurt your mother more than she already is hurting now."

A faint smile appeared on Wade's face as he said, "Thank you Uncle Rhett."

Wade walked Rhett to the door and said goodbye. Rhett held out his arms for a hug and patted Wade on the back.

"I'm sorry Wade, for all the trouble I've caused. I am really going to try to make it better, I promise."

Rhett walked out of the door without looking back. It was time to do what he had set out to do. He was going to make things better.

The train ride to New Orleans seemed to take years. Rhett just wanted to get there. All that seemed to matter now was to hold Scarlett in his arms and tell her what he really felt. He wanted her pain to go away.

When the train finally got to the station, Rhett's stomach tightened. The time had come. He pulled out the address to the hotel. He suddenly realized this was the hotel they had stayed at on their honeymoon.

Odd place to stay if she wanted me off her mind…

He walked briskly to the hotel. It seemed to take him hours to finally arrive at his destination. When he went inside, he took a deep breath.

"This is it," he whispered to himself.

He walked up to the man at the front desk and asked, "Hello, I am wondering if there is a Mrs. Butler staying here?"

"No, I am afraid there is not. I'm sorry."

Rhett's heart sank. He started to walk away when suddenly he turned around.

"How about a Miss O'Hara?"

"Oh yes, certainly…the woman traveling alone. You should really caution her about that…but anyways, the room number is 57."

"Thank you," said Rhett.

Why would she use O'Hara? Had she not wanted to be reminded of him if someone called her Mrs. Butler? Suddenly his heart seemed to feel even heavier…

Rhett slowly walked up the stairs. He looked at the room numbers.

"55…56…57. Ah there it is."

He could hear someone crying on the other side of the door.

"Oh God, what have I done…" he said under his breath.

Rhett gently knocked on the door.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't order any room service!" Scarlett said in between her sobs.

"No Scarlett…it's me," Rhett said behind the door.

Scarlett couldn't believe her ears! He was here…but why? If he wanted a divorce she didn't know if she could do it. Did he just come because he cared? How did he know she was there? Who had told him? So many questions came in her head.

She slowly got up from the bed. She had been in her room crying for the past two days. Being reminded of him so much really hit her hard. She slowly opened the door knob. Rhett could not bear seeing so many tear stains on her cheeks.

I've caused her so much pain…

"Rhett, what do you want? Why are you here? If you're here to make sure I know you don't love me, don't say anything. I know. You act like you're the only one that's dealt with pain, but Rhett, so have I. And I don't intend to let you add on to the load."

She was stronger now. She meant it when she realized she wouldn't let him hurt her more.

"Can I please come in? We need to talk…no more pain, Scarlett. I promise…"

Scarlett sighed with relief. She reluctantly opened the door, still wondering what he wanted.

Rhett walked in slowly, realized Scarlett's cautious attitude. They both stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Then Rhett finally spoke. Not knowing where to begin, Rhett tried to bring up the conversation.

"So…um…how have you been?"

"How have I been?! Rhett Butler, what a thing to ask! You know very well I can't be doing so wonderful…seeing as my HUSBAND left me, after I shared my love for him, thinking we could finally live our lives together in peace. How am I doing? Not so good Rhett! Not so good!"

Scarlett tried but couldn't hold her contained composure anymore. She walked to the bed, covering her face in her pillow, and sobbed for what seemed like ages.

Rhett knew she wasn't just trying to make him feel bad, everything she said was true. She didn't deserve that, no matter what she did. He walked up to her, sat on the edge of the bed, and started to rub her back. He wanted to tell her the whole story…how sorry he was, and how bad he felt for what he had done. Something stopped him, however.

Scarlett hadn't noticed Rhett had been right next to her until her sobbing had ceased. He came back…but why? She suddenly remembered that he was probably here to get a divorce. With this thought, the sobbing started all over again.

"Oh Rhett! Can we please just get it over with? Where are the papers? Where do I sign? I can't stand it if you drag this on long!"

"Scarlett…what are you talking about?"

"You did bring divorce papers, didn't you? I mean, why else would you be here?"

Rhett jumped up from the bed. She truly believed there was no chance he loved her at all! The thought of Scarlett not as his wife made him realize he HAD to tell her what was on his mind.

"Scarlett, for once I am going to be completely and utterly honest with you. I'm going to open up to you more than I have opened up to anyone, so get ready,"

For once, Rhett wasn't totally confident in himself. Would Scarlett take advantage of him once she knew the truth?

Scarlett laid waiting for Rhett to begin, but he didn't say anything. Finally, she couldn't take the suspense any longer.

"Damnit Rhett! What are you going to say?!"

"Alright, alright. First of all, no my love, I am not asking for a divorce. Actually I want quite the contrary. You see, when we had gotten married, I thought I could get Ashley out of your head. After years of marriage, however, I found out that couldn't be the case. I tried everything, yet nothing worked. I felt there was nothing else to do. If there was even a chance that you would love me, I would have waited forever. But, there WAS no chance…or so I thought. When you told me your feelings for me after the death of Melanie, I didn't know what to do. I was afraid your love that you feel for me was the kind of "love" you felt for Ashley. It is one thing to have never been loved, but to believe you were loved, and to find out it was all a lie…I don't know if I could do it. So I ran…I didn't think of your feelings, I only thought about mine. And that, my love, had to of been the biggest mistake of my life."

Sometime during Rhett's confession, Scarlett's sobbing had yet again stopped. She heard what Rhett was saying, but she couldn't believe it. He...Rhett Butler…was apologizing for something?

Scarlett wiped her eyes and sat up. She looked deep into his eyes, wondering if she could finally read his eyes to tell if he was telling the truth, the way he did it to her whenever he wanted to find out her true feelings. What she saw took her breath away. She saw Rhett's eyes start to glisten but suddenly blinked, almost as if he wanted to get rid of the unshed tears before she was aware of them. Scarlett put her hand on Rhett's cheek.

"Darling, I know that when I thought I loved Ashley, I hurt you so much more than I can ever imagine. But I am also aware that I had gotten hurt as well. Just the little things like your sarcasm or your laughter at me when I am being perfectly serious, or when you openly told me you went to Belle's? Rhett, how could I have realized I loved you, with things like that standing in the way? And then when I finally figured out who I really loved, you left. That added on even more pain…"

She has a point… Rhett thought as he took in Scarlett's words. He realized that it was not just her fault that the marriage thus far had not worked; he was just as much or maybe even more at fault. She still loved him, but had she changed her mind about wanting to be with him?