Back into the cold winter night, without his overcoat, Rhett had planned to spend this evening in a warm bed, not in a saloon, but he had to get away from Scarlett. He laughed to himself when he was halfway down the street, and he berrated himself, "Fool, did you really think she was going to run in his arms with hugs and kisses, welcoming you back? You practically spit in her face and walked out on her rejecting her pleas of love."

Rhett felt a shiver, pulled his coat around him and hurried passed Five Points to the saloon, which was roaring with warm fires and people's voices and music. He entered waving a hand at the bartender, and took his small table in the corner and ordered his usual, "A bottle of whisky, your best."

The bottle and glass was placed in front of him, and he swung back two until Bella came and sat next to him.

"Rhett? Didn't take you long to come downtown, are the kids even in bed?"

"Hush, Belle."

"so, she threw you out-"

"I left to get some air."

Belle laughed, and snorted, "More and more gentlemen come in here for "air" as you like to put it. Even the famous Mr. Wilkes is now a regular."

Rhett looked over his glass and quickly leaned over the table, "Is that so? He's here tonight?"

Belle pointed to a thin, hunched over figure in a greenish brown overcoat nursing a glass of wine. Rhett roared laughing, "Wine? Come on, Belle."

Belle's eyes went soft, "He starts off with wine, then moves on to whiskey, after about four whiskey's he gets enough courage to ask for a "girl". Mostly touches and talks, its about all."

Rhett grinned, and then the tender face of Melanie looking at him came to mind and his grinned turned to a scowl, "He's a piece of work."

"He's sad, Rhett, his whole world was Miz WIlkes, and she's gone now."

Rhett turned away and finished his third glass in silence, remembering his dark days after Bonnie's death, when he only wished that he drank enough to forget or die. Belle saw the far off look in Rhett's eyes and took it as her cue to leave. It wasn't long before Ashley staggered up calling at the stairwell, "Girls? Girls? Where are you?" He stumbled up two stairs and fell backwards less than two feet from Rhett's table. Rhett swung around and help sit him in the chair. Ashley looked up into Rhett's eyes and grimaced, "What are you doing here?"

Rhett chuckled, "Drinking, what about you?"

Ashley attempted to tap his shoulder, but missed it, "Is that so- you are- Butler, aren't you?"

Rhett rolled his eyes, this pathetic man couldn't even get drunk properly.

Rhett called over the bartender and ordered a pitcher of water, and poured Ashley a tall glass. As he tasted the bland, fresh water, Ashley made a face, "This whiskey is terrible."

"Drink it, you need it." Rhett's voice was hard and direct.

Ashley drank half of the pitcher between belches and hiccoughs, and soon rested his head on his chest breathing evening and deep. Rhett stopped drinking and watched him, hoping he wouldn't start to vomit.

Rhett had nursed his fourth glass, when Ashley came around and eyed Rhett, before sitting up straight at the small table. Ashley cleared his throat twice, trying to begin a speech.

"Rhett, does Scar-she know you are here?"

"Yes, I had dinner with my family."

Ashley chuckled, "Family? Are they really your family? I'm relieved to see you came back, for Wade's sake, that boy is growing as stubborn as Scarlett."

Rhett agreed silently, and then he said, "Well, like I told you. I intend to come back."

"Why are you here?" Ashley asked lowering his head.

"I needed a drink," Rhett stated plainly, he was not about to discuss Scarlett's harshness with Ashley WIlkes, "And you see the family is in bed."

""Wade is very keen on protecting his mother from me, and I think he is doing it, so you can come back. You should discuss Wade's behavior with Scarlett."

Rhett clenched his fists, he wanted to grab with worm by his neck and throw him out, but he said cooly, "Wade is old enough to protect his mother, if she thinks she is in danger."

AShley started to laughed, "Danger? The only person putting her in danger is you!"

Rhett grabbed his shirt at this point and dragged him out in the alley behind the building, throwing Ashley WIlkes on the cold dirt. Ashley turned on his side holding his side laughing, "Scarlett is socially destroyed because of you, nobody invites her or the children anywhere, except AUnt Pitty."

Rhett's stomach felt sick, because he knew it was true. The town was gossipping about his absence, and they all blamed Scarlett for it, and the town waited with baited breath for a divorce to be announced, and the fabled lovers could ride off into the sunset. Ashley rolled on his back and sighed, "Why don't you just divorce her, it wouldn't be as bad as leaving her here alone. In a few years, people would forget, and she could go on-"

"With the likes of you? You wanted her physically, and couldn't have her, so you manipulated and tormented her mind, until she became obsessed with you."

"I'm not that powerful," AShley drawled out, as he turned on his side and started to vomit. Rhett turned a disgusted face back into the Saloon, and found Belle in the hallway, Rhett grabbed her hand, and tossed a few pieces of money, "Get him a rig to bring him home?"

"You beat him up, Rhett?"

"No, he did it to himself."

Rhett found himself racing through the empty dark streets, and soon he was approaching the hill where the Peachtree house stood. The lights were still glowing in the library, and the front hall, Scarlett may still be awake. Rhett opened the front door again, and he looked through the library door expecting to see Scarlett still sitting in the chair, seething, maybe finishing the cake, but it was Mammy who was cleaning up the dishes, and Rhett stopped short when he saw her face.

"Mister Rhett? Miz Scarlett don went up to bed, where you run off to?"

Rhett hung his head, they both knew where he had been.

Mammy stacked up the dishes and motioned for him to follow her in the kitchen, and Rhett sat at the long table, and Mammy gave him a cup of coffee turning up her nose, "Whiskey! How much you got to drink before you can come home?"

Rhett took a gulp of the hot strong coffee, and smiled, "Now, Mammy, you know she is no angel."

"No, she ain't never been an angel, but Miz Scarlett's hurtin' alot. And you ain't even been in Atlanta a day, and you done fuss with her, and run off to that woman's place."

"Mammy, I was at the Saloon."

"Same place to me, that dye haired woman was there?"

Rhett got quiet, and stared off into space. Mammy was right, he was a bastard, and a scoundrel.

Mammy placed her warm, rough hand on Rhett's sleeve, "Miz Scarlett, she hurtin' and you come back here think she is gonna jump for joy, and forget all that happened? No she ain't, and neither are you, but you need to patient, show her you mean to do right, and she need to trust you, again."

Rhett finished his coffee and patted Mammy's shoulder, "Thank you, Mammy, and good night."

Rhett hurried up the stairs to his room, and he was met by Scarlett, standing in her bedroom's doorway. He stopped and saw her red tear stained face, and she glared at him.

"Mrs. Butler, may I assists you with something?"

"Stay away from me, you called it an early night? I didn't expect you back until dawn."

Rhett chuckled, "Yes, indeed I did call an early night, I believe I left at the exact same time as the Honorable Mr. Ashley Wilkes, but I was still walking, not huddled in the alley vomiting."

Scarlett winced, and drew in a breath, "I don't care to know the details of that vile place."

"Were you heading downstairs for a nightcap?" Rhett grinned.

Scarlett's eyes grew large, "No, I heard voices-"

"Please, don't-" Rhett realized this conversation had happened in a similar circumstances, so she stopped, however he wasn't as drunk as he had been that night.

Scarlett had been holding back the tears, but they found the brim, and started rolling down her face, her jaw was set, and she hissed, "Why do you have to constantly bring "him" up? I told you, I realized it wasn't real."

Rhett grinned, then it faded as Mammy's words returned, Scarlett was hurting, but then he was too. He placed the grin back on his face as a recurring cynical thought stabbed his brain, and before he could stop it, it came out his mouth, "Well, if it wasn't "real", I bet it would have been "real" six months ago, if he would had offered, you would have pounced, my pet. Am I right to assume that?"

Scarlett's mouth dropped, he wasn't drunk, how could he spit out these foul words at her, the tears halted, and she turned half way, "I would like to see you cleared out in the morning, I refuse to have you sit in my house and insult me."

"Insult you?"

"Yes, Goddamnit!" her voice was husky with held back sobs, and brutal, "You insulted me, when I told you I loved you, you were nasty and hateful, well this love I felt, maybe it's fading the more I see what kind of bastard you are, so pack up and get out, Good Night!"

Scarlett slammed the door in his face before he could utter another hateful word, and Rhett stood in the hallway's darkness, it was just then he heard footsteps huffing up the stairs, and Mammy appeared, stopping to catch her breath, her dark eyes glared at him, as she shook her head, going into the nursery to check on Ella. Her voice was muffled but loud enough for Rhett to hear, "Hard headed man, making all this noise to wake Miss Ella." Suddenly her muffled voice was loud and clear, "Master Wade, git back to your room, they aint nothing to see!"

Rhett followed Mammy down the hall and looked at the room in the corner that had become Wade's room, with the light coming from under the door. Rhett knocked and didn't get an answer. Rhett slowly opened the door and Wade was covered in the bed, under his dark green covering, doing a great imitation of his mother pretending to sleep, complete with a book on his chest.

Rhett sat on the end of the bed and shook his foot, "Wade, open your eyes, I know you aren't sleeping."

He opened his eyes with the same irritated look Scarlett gave when she was caught, this boy had developed Scarlett's spirit even though it had been a slow simmer over the past twelve years.

"What?" Wade asked, fidgetting with his book.

"I know you heard the argument."

"I was trying to sleep and mother was yelling at you."

"Well, maybe I wasn't yelling, but I deserved it, I guess."

"Don't go just because she's so mean."

Rhett wanted to laugh, wasn't this the pot calling the kettle black, "She's not mean, she's angry at me, and sad because of Bonnie and your AUnt Melly, Wade."

"Why is she angry, what did you do?"

"It's adult business-"

Wade punched the mattress, "I'm almost an adult, everybody says that!"

"Well, it is adults' business, and we need to deal with it. Sometimes, even adults make-mistakes, and then they have to pay the consequences, like at school."

"Mother needs to sit in the corner."

Rhett tried not to laugh,"Maybe I need the dunce cap too."

"Are you leaving, Uncle Rhett, please stay."

"No, I'm not, but I need to make things right with your Mother."

Wade laid back in his bed and closed his eyes, "Good night."

Rhett closed the door and was met in the hallway by Mammy. Rhett slowly approached her, knowing he had dissappointed her.

"Mister Rhett, why can't you just be nice? Do you want to stay here?"

Rhett hung his head, "Mammy, I do want to stay here. I was away, and I wanted to come back. Scarlett was in such a state after Melly died, she needed time to collect her-"

"She needed you!" Mammy's lips were pursed together and she stared at him, "And you need her, in a way. I know she ain't a soft sweet woman, like her Miss ELlen, but she has love for her family. You two need to be a family, again."

Rhett looked at Mammy and nodded, "That would be wonderful, but so much has happened- and her obsession-"

"That man is nothing to her, she married you, she gave you a child. Miss Scarlett did more for you, then she ever did for him. That ought to tell you something, and I aint gonna be here forever, there ain't many people who can handle Miss Scarlett."

Rhett was quiet, Mammy didn't want to think of the carnal nature of Scarlett, and how determined she was. In Rhett's mind, Ashley was the obstacle holding her back from adultery, not Scarlett. Rhett nodded, "If she doesn't throw me out tomorrow, I will try to talk with her."

Mammy nodded and humpfed, "We'll see, Mister Rhett."

Behind her bedroom door, Scarlett laid on her bed, seething, cursing Rhett Butler, but there was a piece of her heart that yearn for him, and wanted nothing more than to be in his arms. She wondered, "Why can't anybody love me?"