I want to reply to a review I received on the last chapter. Normally I would have replied via PM but the reviewer left no way for me to respond except this venue. Janey said: I'm afraid you sound disturbingly nostalgic in this chapter for the good ole days of race-based slavery. Also, the views expressed by your characters are not only idyllic, they're completely unreal. How about lashings, family separations, rapes courtesy of the master, etc.? That was part of the "good ole order" as well, you know.

My response is that yes, I am well aware of the negative side of the history. But I also know there was the other side. Believe me, I am not nostalgic about slavery of any description. Some of my ancestors came as indentured slaves; not the same, I realize but close enough to have developed an appreciation of being on the wrong side of the issue. That said, I also know that many owners were not the evil, cruel Simon Lagrees that modern historians would have us believe. In the first place, slaves were valuable property. I don't know about anyone else, but I tend to take care with things of value. Secondly, many of the house slaves and more trusted field hands were considered almost a part of the owner's family. No, they weren't welcome at the dinner table, but they were treated with the same consideration that families treat long time faithful servants today. Thirdly, I drew some clues for how Scarlett might feel from the book. As I recall, Gerald had purchased Dilcey from the Wilkes so that she and Pork wouldn't be separated. That was as common practice as separating families. Why? Because if they kept the families together, the slaves tended to be happier and worked harder. And last…I drew from my own family's history. As a child, I heard the stories of how my ancestors wanted out of owning slaves but couldn't find a way to free them without "feeding them to the wolves." Slave traders would capture freed slaves, tear up their papers, and sell them back into slavery, often to brutal owners. There were stories of how the family struggled to help their former slaves during Reconstruction and all the way through the Great Depression. I experienced these fierce loyalties as a child when my parents hired a child of one of those former slaves, even though we could barely put food on our own table. They did it because she was one of "us."

Travel throughout the South and you find many similar stories, as well as the ugly ones. Lee freed his slaves because he didn't believe in it. Stonewall Jackson educated his in spite of the laws of the day. He believed every person needed food for their minds and saw the day when they would need education. N.B Forrest was a brutal owner, the epitome of every bad owner story you've ever heard. There are volumes written about the worst abuses of slavery but little remembered about the "average" owners.

One reviewer commented that this was sensitive subject matter for a fanfic. Probably. But if we can't think about these issues, discuss them reasonably, and try to understand all that happened in our history of race relations, how will we ever heal. Sweeping it under the rug, ignoring the entire history, all the sides of the story, and pretending things are all better now just won't work. I thought we as a nation made a huge stride in electing a black man as President. But then I heard stories about the death threats and even heard some of my less than intelligent neighbors talking about it. It sends chills through me as I wonder if we've really made any progress at all. While on the surface we seem to have overcome great obstacles, there is still anger and bitterness brewing beneath.

I apologize for the length of the A.N. but I felt a need to respond and also to clarify. What the characters in a fanfic set almost a century and half ago might think and believe is not necessarily what I think or believe. But if you read the book, I think you'll agree that my characters aren't too far out of line with M.M's portrayal of the subject matter.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

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Scarlett looked out of the window as their car sat on the tracks at the Atlanta station. The train that would take them to Jonesboro was late and consequently, they sat, waiting to be hooked up to the tardy train. Everything looked the same but that wasn't really surprising. She hadn't been gone that long, after all. Finally, the Jonesboro train arrived and after another short wait, they felt their car being connected. Another few minutes and they were rolling towards Tara.

Rhett was quiet most of the trip. Even when he wasn't resting, he wasn't inclined to talk. Scarlett was worried as she watched him, noticing his far away look. He glanced up and smiled at her weakly before returning to his thoughts. "Rhett, what are you thinking?"

"Nothing important, my pet," he said softly.

"You look so…distant."

He shrugged and peered out the window. "I suppose I'm feeling a little distant. Atlanta didn't seem much changed…"

"No, it didn't. But we haven't been gone all that long."

"It felt…alien to me….like a place I should know but don't."

"God's nightgown, Rhett, you know Atlanta as well as you know the back of your hand."

He shrugged. "Perhaps. But it seems so far away…as if I were there in another time…"

Scarlett narrowed her eyes as she tried to understand what he was attempting to say. "Oh, I suppose things have changed. Of course, the war brought so many changes…. And you were gone so much of the time more recently."

His eyes floated around the car, as if looking for something. Then unable to find anything to focus on, he looked back to Scarlett. "Perhaps it is because that man no longer exists…"

Scarlett tilted her head, confused. "Of course you do, Rhett."

"I'm …Everything seems so different…It's as if…" he studied the floor boards of the car as he tried to bring his thoughts into focus. "The old Rhett died in that fire, Scarlett. I feel so differently about things…"

"About what things, Rhett?" she asked, earnestly trying to understand.

"To begin with, me. I'm just not the same man. He was so self-assured, so confident. Now, I can't even go into public without hiding behind my wife's skirts…" His despondency frightened Scarlett.

"Oh Rhett, you'll regain your confidence. It's just all so…so new to you still. You're still healing. Being with people who love you will help…and Wade and Ella will certainly be happy to see you."

He sighed deeply. "Perhaps. My mother and my sister couldn't seem to …accept …this," he said as his hand swept his face.

Scarlett moved to him, her hand caressing the right side of his face, the scarred side. "I accept it." Her voice was tender, loving. "Others will too. You'll see."

He covered her hand with his, pulled it to his lips and gently kissed it. "Without you, my dear, I would be lost. If I am ever to face the world, it will be because of you. You've changed too, you know…"

"When you left…it was as if my heart was ripped from my chest," she told him softly. "I learned that I would do anything to have another chance…I was so miserable without you."

He moved her hand to his heart and held it there. Looking into her emerald eyes, he was at a loss for words. He felt so many things but couldn't find a way to express them. But as he gazed at her, he felt her acceptance and her love. She didn't fully understand what he was feeling, how could she? He didn't understand it himself. But none of that mattered to her; she loved him. And he realized that he needed that more than he'd ever needed anything in his life. "You'll see, Rhett. It will be fine." Her confidence raised his.

Their car rolled along, its occupants contently quiet. Rhett watched the scenery pass by the window, holding her hand. He remembered his first trip to this part of Georgia, so many years ago. He'd been so cocky, self-assured and outright arrogant. And now…now he didn't know who he was. But as his gaze turned back to his wife, some of those old feelings sparked to life within him. She was still the most intriguing woman he knew and she was with him, wanted him. A man would have to be dead to not feel some conceit.

Scarlett watched as his melancholic expression slowly changed and a shadow of his smirk grew. She searched his dark eyes for a hint of what he was thinking but was at a loss. She still had difficulty reading him because he was such an expert at disguising his feelings. But as he relaxed into his seat, extending those long legs of his, a wicked little smile began to grow on Scarlett's face. Everything about his posture and the subtle grin on his face told her exactly what he was thinking. She glanced to the back of the car to see Emma dozing in her seat. Then her gaze returned to Rhett, he eyes starting at his ankles and slowly travelling up his trouser legs, pausing strategically over his mid section. She heard the low rumble as he chuckled. "Pray, what are you thinking, Mrs. Butler?"

Her gaze jumped to his face. She tried to maintain a demur expression but a smile was creeping over her. "You know what I am thinking. You are thinking the same thing," she said coquettishly. His eyes flashed to Emma and then back to his wife. "I'm afraid that we both are forced to remain patient. We shan't be alone for some hours…"

Scarlett flashed him her flirtiest smile. "And when we are?" She asked under eyelids heavy with lust.

She was rewarded with his naughtiest look, that grin that she loved so much along with that knowing look in his eyes. "And when we are alone, I intend to act on these feelings you are stirring within me. You really shouldn't flirt so outrageously, Scarlett, there is a price to be paid…."

"Oh Rhett, you know how stingy I can be…I don't like to pay for anything."

"Yes, my pet. I am well aware that you want your cake and eat it too…and so you shall."

Scarlett's eyes widened at his comment, understanding completely his double meaning. Slowly she sank deeper into her seat to rest, her eyes not leaving his. For the time being, they both were content to simply watch one another, confident that more would come later.

Finally the train arrived in Jonesboro. They disembarked and made their way to the carriage. Rhett took the reins as Scarlett climbed in next to him. Emma rode in the back with the luggage. The little group had moved quickly and those who were around the depot were absorbed in their own plans, hardly noticing the little group headed for Tara. As they left the town, Rhett sighed, relieved to be away from the people but now beginning to worry even more about his reception at their destination.

Scarlett sensed his discomfort and hooked her arm through his, snuggling close to him. "It will be all right, my love. You'll see. And no matter what happens, we'll have later tonight…"

Rhett smiled down at her. "That's what I'm counting on, what's keeping me sane…or perhaps insane …" Scarlett remained close to him as the buggy made its way down the road towards Tara, silently willing that those who waited for their arrival would welcome Rhett without any comments on his appearance.

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Well, there it is. Care to guess what happens next, lol?