Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

Author's Notes: Thank you for the reviews and the feedback.

Chapter Three

The next morning when Rhett woke up Scarlett was still in his arms. She fit perfectly in his arms. How could she not see that? As he was staring at her, she opened her eyes. She stared into his eyes and said, "Good morning."

Rhett smiled and opened his mouth and tried to speak. No words came out. Scarlett could see he was struggling to speak and said, "You will have to go see Dr. Meade today about that. Although you not being able to speak might be a blessing to the rest of us."

Rhett had rolled her over and started tickling her. She had pulled him down a midst her giggling and kissed him. They had a lovely time and he did what he had to do. She had snuggled into him afterwards and said, "Thank you. I really don't want to get pregnant ever again."

He had wrapped her up in his arms and thought, 'I have to get some sheaths before I kill myself. I'm too old to keep doing that.'

After Scarlett went back to sleep, Rhett got up and got dressed then went to see his baby. He played with Bonnie for a while then he and Ella went down to breakfast. After he had finished breakfast, he went to see Dr. Meade and the good doctor didn't see anything wrong with Rhett's throat.

Dr. Meade said, "I don't see why you can't speak. I don't see anything wrong. I guess your voice will come back when you heal yourself. In the meantime, it is a blessing for the rest of us."

Rhett had scowled at him and paid the man. He went to Belle's. It was early but Belle's never closed. He started to write a note to the bartender and realized that the man could not read. Through some graphic depictions Rhett got the bartender to understand that he wanted to buy some sheaths. Belle came out of her office and she greeted Rhett. He indicated that he could not speak. She asked him, "How is the baby?"

Rhett smiled really big and did a thumbs up.

She asked him, "How is Scarlett?"

He smiled and did a thumbs up. By this time the bartender had come back with the box of sheaths and Rhett bought all they had. Rhett was glad the price had gone down in the last decade. He had always used a condom with whores. They were walking disease carriers. He waved at Belle and walked out the door.

Belle said to the bartender, "I hope he gets his voice back soon. He isn't going to be happy not being able to make mocking comments." The bartender laughed and agreed.

He might be able to talk Scarlett into having another child if he could talk. For now he was going to do everything in his power to make sure she didn't get pregnant until she wanted to have another child. He would like to have another one but if she didn't want to have any more than he was going to make sure they didn't have any more. He knew that if he got her pregnant without her permission again, he would be kicked out of her bed.

It was dinner time when Rhett got home. As they were eating Scarlett asked him, "What did Dr. Meade say?"

Rhett did a 'I don't know' gesture.

"Are you supposed to do anything to treat it?"

Rhett shook his head no.

After dinner Scarlett sent Wade and Ella upstairs to take a nap. She then got up and went to put on her hat. Rhett gestured the question 'Where are you going?'

"To the store and the mills," Scarlett laughed out loud at the expression on Rhett's face. "Let me help you out."

In a mocking tone she said, "How is the little gentleman?"

Then she in a normal voice answered. "Fine. He barely made a profit the entire time I was in my confinement."

In a mocking tone she said, "What else did you expect?"

"I had hoped he would have done better."

In a mocking tone she said, "Really, my pet? You should know by now what a lousy business man Mr. Wilkes is."

And with that she started laughing and said, "I guess you are not as unpredictable as I thought. Bye." And she walked out the door.

Rhett was smiling as she walked away. She didn't seem mad about his comments about Mr. Wilkes. She actually seemed to think it was funny. Wait a minute! They weren't his comments but what she thought he would say. She was on point though which made him smile.

The next several weeks were the happiest of their marriage although they still had some problems. Scarlett had actually been sweet to Rhett. She had welcomed Rhett when he had initiated relations with her but more than that she had enjoyed herself. Rhett had finally brought her to sexual satisfaction. She often thought, 'It is so much better now that I can't get pregnant.' The little voice in her head that she was beginning to hate said, 'Or the fact you aren't holding yourself back in loyalty to Ashley Wilkes.'

About a week after Rhett's return from Chicago as they were sitting in the library Scarlett asked Rhett, "Why did you get me pregnant when you knew I didn't want to have any more children?" She had asked the question in a very normal voice.

Rhett sat there and thought of all the mocking sarcastic comments he could make then he looked at her earnest face. Him having to write everything down really made him paused before he said anything. She really wanted to know. He couldn't tell her that he had imagined she was pregnant with his child while she was carrying Ella. He couldn't tell her that he had dreamed of them having children together since she had made her comment about …..a passel of brats. If he could talk, he would have made a comment about it being a new experience and so little in life was new to him like what he had said when she told him she was pregnant. Since he had made no secret of the fact that he loved his child he would simply tell her he had always wanted a child of his own. He wrote that down.

She had smiled at him and said, "I wish we had talked about it but you knew that the only way I was going to have another child was if you tricked me."

Rhett wrote down, - 'I didn't trick you.' -

"You withheld information. You should probably have twenty of them as baby crazy as you are but not with me."

Rhett had laughed and sighed a sigh of relief. She wasn't acting mad about him having forced her to have his child so he wasn't going to argue with her about the issue. The truth of the matter was he had tricked her by not telling her about preventatives and he had known she didn't want any more children. Her questioned had been idle curiosity nothing more.

Rhett had quit smoking thinking that the cigars were the reason why he could not speak. Although he had been very cross and irritated while he was giving up cigars, he had not been able to verbally lash out at anyone. Everyone knew he was aggravated but their feelings weren't hurt because he couldn't verbally assault them. Needless to say, most people gave him a wide berth. He could write nasty notes down but the only people who could read where Wade and Scarlett. Rhett wouldn't show them to Wade because he didn't want to hurt the boy's feelings. Scarlett wouldn't read them. When Rhett tried to force her to by sticking the notes in front of her face, she would take the notes and tear them up in tiny pieces. That would make Rhett extremely mad but Scarlett would just walk out of the room. Scarlett was so glad that Rhett couldn't speak while he was quitting smoking cigars. She could refuse to read the notes but she wouldn't have been able to ignore what he was saying. After two weeks of not smoking he still couldn't speak. He was feeling so much better and he had more stamina though.

He needed every bit of stamina he could get when he was making love to Scarlett. Now that she was getting satisfaction from their relations, she was insatiable which was very nice except she was in her twenties and he was in his forties. He didn't have nearly as much energy as she did but he would never tell her that. He would never say no to her. She had never actually asked. He knew she never would but when she wanted to, she would snuggle up to him and rub his chest and abdomen. She would never come close to his nether regions but he always hoped she would.

She had on more than one occasion taken Bonnie from the nursemaid and had played with her. Rhett wanted to object because Bonnie was his but Scarlett would laugh when he tried to stop her. She would say, "If you don't want me to take her just say no." Then she laughed as she had walked out of the room. Without physically wrestling Bonnie away from her there wasn't anything that he could do. He wouldn't do that because Bonnie might get hurt and he would appear undignified. He had written her a scathing note about her being a bad mother and he didn't want her taking Bonnie without his permission. She had read the note and said, "That is your opinion. I will take my child whenever and wherever I want to." Scarlett would not have been brave enough to say that to Rhett if she hadn't known he couldn't answer her back. Rhett had always been able to confuse her when he wanted to but without him confusing her, she could stick to her goal. She wasn't nearly as intimidated by him when he couldn't talk. Besides the little voice had told her she could learn to be a good mother if she tried.

She would take Bonnie and Ella to their back yard and play with them. The reality was that Ella played with Bonnie and Scarlett just watched but she was learning how to interact with her daughters. The little voice said, 'It is about time you showed your daughters some parental attention.' She was really beginning to hate that little voice. What she hated most was the little voice seemed to always be right.

She went to visit with Melly several times a week. She always brought the children with her because Melly loved children but she especially loved babies. Melly looked so happy playing with Bonnie. Scarlett still didn't like the emotion she was feeling when Melly was oohing and aahing over Bonnie. The little voice said, "You are jealous. You are jealous of your daughter." Scarlett had accepted that she was jealous of Bonnie.

She knew she was especially jealous of the attention Rhett was showing Bonnie. Rhett was her husband. His attention should be on her. She knew that she had taken for granted all the attention Rhett had always paid her. Rhett had been her friend, her confidant and her lover. He had always been focused on her when she was around. Now he was focusing on Bonnie and not her. The voice said, 'That's not exactly right. He is still giving you attention he is just not solely focused on you.' Scarlett knew it was true but she pouted anyway.

As she went home, she thought, 'I really am a bad mother. I am jealous that my best friend is paying attention to my daughter instead of me. I am really jealous that my husband is paying attention to his daughter instead of me. It's because he is lavishing her with love and attention. I want all his love and attention.' Then before that stupid voice could say it, she thought, 'I really am selfish and self-centered.' When that thought went through her head she wanted to say, 'That isn't true.' Even though she wanted to deny it, she knew it was correct.

She went to check on her businesses two or three times a week. The only business that brought her joy these days was the store. Mr. Elsing was a decent manager. He would do what she told him to do and never argue back. He kept the inventory at the correct levels, he kept the store clean, the Old Guard really liked him, he kept the books in order, and every month he made a nice profit.

Going to see Johnny's mill was getting to be upsetting. Sure, Johnny made a very good profit but at what cost. She knew he was stealing from her. She just couldn't figure out how. The way he treated the convicts was really beginning to bother her. She had always before been able to turn a blind eye to his activities in regard to the convicts but that voice in her head kept bringing it up. One day she thought, 'If I keep the mills, I will have to do something about Johnny's treatment of the convicts.' The little voice said, 'You should probably sell both mills. The building boom will be over soon.'

For some reason she had lowered her expectations in regard to Ashley's mill. She was now just hoping he made any kind of profit at all. While she was at his mills, she made sure to only talk about their business. If he paid her a compliment she just continued talking about the mill and their need to do better. When she would think about what he had said about her being coarse, hard and brutal it would make her mad. If she was that way it was the war and the aftermath of the war that had made her that way not her husband. Just like the war had made him a weak-willed, spineless, indecisive coward who wanted to live in the past. The little voice had said, 'He has always been that way.' Scarlett didn't argue. The little voice was always right.