Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Twenty-Three

That night after Jade had gone to bed, Scarlett had Ella and Wade come sit on the porch where she knew they would not be disturbed. After everyone had sat down, Scarlett said, "Rhett has found us. He wants to try to reconcile. Because he is my husband, I cannot stop him from moving in with me. He has said he will not move in until I want him to move in."

The looks on Wade and Ella's faces were ones of pure horror. They looked at each other then back at their mother. They remembered quite clearly how unhappy their lives had been when they lived with Uncle Rhett. It was not something either of them ever wanted to do again.

Wade said, "Let's just run away."

"He has said that if I run away, he will stop sending Grandmother a support check. Rosemary and Grandmother need that check to live on therefore I will not run away."

Ella said, "Surely he wouldn't do that to his own mother."

"One thing you must know about Uncle Rhett, he can be quite ruthless in his pursuit of a goal."

Wade said, "That's right. What about Jade?"

Brightly Scarlett said, "I don't think he will do that again. There were circumstances that prompted him to do that, and those circumstances no longer exist. However, I cannot sacrifice my mother-in-law to save my daughter. Not the woman that has done so much for us in the last four years."

"Grandmother would want you to protect Jade."

With tears in her eyes, Scarlett said, "Yes, she would which is even more reason I cannot forsake her in this crisis."

Ella said, "Maybe he won't like us, and he will just go away on his own. Wasn't he always leaving when he lived with us in Atlanta?"

"Yes, Dear. Let's hope for that. We will be having supper at your grandmother's house tomorrow. He will be joining us."

"Are you going to tell him about Jade right away?"

"I don't know."

The trio talked about Rhett off and on for the rest of the evening. Nothing was resolved. Finally, everyone went to bed. There were a lot of unhappy people in Robert Butler's house that night.

As Robert and Daphne laid in their bed, she said, "Are you really still not going to receive your brother?"

"I will receive Rhett if he apologizes for his actions all those years ago and admits that he was completely wrong. And that Father was justified in disowning him."

"So, in other words no. We both know your brother would not apologize much less all the rest of that."

"You never know. He might do it for Jade's sake. He got himself received in Atlanta for Bonnie's sake."

"No, he got himself tolerated in Atlanta for Bonnie's sake. I still think there is more to that story than we will ever know."

"I agree."

As Scarlett laid in her bed, she sadly thought, 'Rhett will somehow get himself received into Charleston society once he knows about Jade. He will do anything for his child. I know he loves me but not as much as he will love Jade. I wish I had brought Bonnie's quilt with me. I didn't because I didn't want anything to happen to it. I will just talk to Bonnie instead.' It pleased Scarlett when she once again thought about Bonnie talking to her at night.

The next day, Scarlett, her children, and her staff moved back into her townhouse. Although their stay at Robert and Daphne's home had been pleasant, everyone was happy to be home, even the servants. Effie and Abby were happy the family was home. They started fussing over Scarlett the minute she walked through the door. Abby had said, "Have you lost weight?"

"I don't think so."

Effie said, "I think you have."

Abby said, "I will have to fix all your favorite foods in the next week to fatten you back up. You are so thin you could blow away in a strong wind."

Scarlett had just smiled at the women and said, "Thank you, Abby. You are the best."

Scarlett had gone back and forth on whether to bring Jade or not to Elizabeth's for supper. The little girl hadn't really understood why they had been living with Uncle Robert and his family and she really hadn't understood why she couldn't see Grandmother these last four weeks except when Grandmother had come to visit. Scarlett had given Jade a vague explanation that only a four-and-a-half-year-old would have accepted. Scarlett finally decided to bring the child. Not that she trusted Rhett to not run off with Jade but because she couldn't leave Jade out. The little girl would not understand why she couldn't go to her grandmother's home for supper especially after not getting to go to her grandmother's house for so long. Scarlett couldn't explain it to her without telling the child much more than a four-year-old would understand. It was going to be a big enough hurdle to explain why her father had not been in her life for the last four and a half years.

As Scarlett and her children entered the parlor of Elizabeth's townhouse, everyone was greeted warmly by Elizabeth and Rosemary. Wade and Ella spoke warmly to the women and ignored Rhett.

Rhett stood back. He knew that Wade and Ella would be mad at him not just for leaving their mother but for leaving them. He supposed they would also be mad because he had taken Bonnie away and he had caused her death. He wondered if anyone would ever forgive him for that. He wondered if he would forgive himself.

Rhett looked at Scarlett. He thought his heart was going to stop beating so great was his shock at seeing a little girl in Scarlett's arms. A little girl with black hair. He couldn't tell what she looked like because her face was turned away from him. His brain was screaming – My baby! My baby! My baby!

Scarlett hadn't gone to see Mamie. She hadn't gotten rid of his baby. She had moved to Tara where she could have his baby in peace. Rhett didn't know why she had moved to Charleston, but he knew without a doubt why she had never returned to Atlanta. She didn't want to bear the shame of people wondering who the baby's father was.

When the little girl turned and looked at him, he felt like he was looking into a mirror. No, he felt like he was looking at Rosemary when she was four. He, in fact, looked at Rosemary to make sure she had not somehow become a four-year-old little girl again. Rhett smiled back at the little girl when she smiled at him, and he saw that this little girl had the greenest eyes he had ever seen. Just like her mother. Just like her sister, Ella. Rhett knew why Scarlett had never returned to Atlanta. She had never returned to Atlanta, so he would never know about his daughter. This was his child.

Rhett angrily blurted out, "You should have told me. How could…"

Elizabeth interrupted to say, "Rhett Kennesaw Butler, shut up! You are about to make the biggest mistake of your life and you have already made some humongous mistakes."

Scarlett said, "Rhett, come with me, now. We will go out to the garden before you say something you will always regret but never apologize for." Scarlett shoved Jade into Elizabeth's arms which wasn't hard for Jade had already been reaching for her grandmother. Scarlett turned to the group and said, "Go ahead and sit down to supper. I don't know how long this is going to take."

Rhett had gotten a hold of himself, and he followed her to the garden. As soon as the door was shut, Scarlett screamed, "I did tell you about her and you called her a bastard! You called me a God damn slut! You filed for divorce. You told Mr. Powe that you didn't want to be in contact with me. Therefore, I didn't try to contact you. Furthermore, why would I ever tell you anything else about her? You didn't want me or my bastard. I never thought to see you again. I never wanted to see you again. Do you honestly think I would take a chance on you stealing another one of my children? She is why I offered you terms for divorce so I could be rid of you and have custody of her. She is why I have worked so hard on you never finding me because I was afraid of you stealing her too. Of you spoiling her too," In a very quiet voice Scarlett said, "Of you ruining her too," Scarlett drew herself up to her full height and in a normal voice, she continued, "If you hadn't threatened my mother-in-law's only means of support, your own mother, I would have run away once you knew I was in Charleston. If we weren't married, I would never speak to you again. You are a selfish, self-centered, ruthless, amoral man. You are someone that I would never let my daughters marry. I have often cursed the day I said I do."

Rhett sat down on the bench and once again felt the regret of his stupid, stupid assumption. He put his head in his hands and looked at the ground. He thought, 'Why had I ever thought that about Scarlett? Because I was insane with jealousy. So insanely jealous that I had stopped thinking sensibly for most of my marriage.' Rhett took a deep breath and looked up at Scarlett. He smiled at her. He said, "Yes, my dear, I am. I am so glad you love me despite all that," Scarlett gave him a begrudging smile. He seriously said, "I too would never let Ella and …."

"Jade."

"Jade marry a man like me. I am so sorry I ever said something like that to you. Please forgive me."

"I don't know. You said so many hateful things to me. You called me a mule."

"Yes, I did. If I get on my knees and beg your forgiveness, would you forgive me for all the ugly things I said about you."

"I don't know. You can try."

Rhett did get on his knees and took her hand. He said, "Please, forgive me."

"Get up! I just wanted to see if you would actually do it. I don't want you that humble. I will work on forgiving you. That is the best I can offer."

Rhett smoothly stood up. He said, "Thank you for giving me one more chance I don't deserve. Thank you for not going to Mamie Bart and getting rid of her."

"Rhett, don't you know? I never wanted to get rid of Bonnie. I wanted you to say you wanted to have a child with me. I wanted you to tell me you were excited about us having a child together. That you cared about me as more than a body. I didn't know it at the time, but I wanted you to say you cared for me. Not the body I was in. Not that I was an investment. You say you love me but when we lived together in Atlanta, you couldn't even tell me that you liked me."

Rhett winced when he heard her call herself an investment and once again felt regret for all his unkind, thoughtless words. Words he said just to hurt this woman in front of him that he loved so very much. He said, "No, because I was a scared little boy. I was so scared you would see me as weak and use my love against me. You know that man for all his arrogance was a very stupid man."

"I know that."

Rhett smiled and said, "I often accused you of being obtuse, but I was even more obtuse than you. I wanted you to tell me you love me while telling you that I didn't care a fig about you. I'm sorry, Baby."

"Rhett, we were both such fools."

"To that I whole heartedly agree."

Scarlett came and sat down next to Rhett on the bench. She took his hand and he grasp her hand back. Rhett said, "I have been drunk most of my adult life."

"You never acted like it."

Rhett smiled and said, "You never knew me sober so the way I was acting was how you thought I behaved when sober."

"Oh."

"I have been sober since my birthday in November of seventy-three. I started taking care of myself so you couldn't marry Mr. Wilkes."

"For once your jealousy of Ashley worked for us," Rhett laughed. Scarlett asked, "Have you stopped smoking?"

"Yes, so you don't have to worry about me destroying your home with my cigars now."

"You won't do it now. My home is a combination of styles. It is decorated in very much proper Charlestonian style in all the rooms that our guests can see but the family parlor and the bedrooms are decorated towards my taste. Although, Wade and Ella had a lot of say in the décor of their rooms.

"Don't tell me you have conformed with what the matrons want?"

"Yes, I have for Jade, Wade, and Ella. I am finally adult enough to realize they are worth it. I have also come to realize that a reputation and a person's good name are extremely important."

"I have come to realize that also. Come introduce me to my daughter. Somehow, someway I will get myself received into Charleston society. No price will be too great."

"Thank you. Come along."

"Wait. I want to make this clear. I am doing this for you. I want you to be proud of me. If our children, and I include Wade and Ella in that, benefit from me being received so much the better but my humbling myself and groveling this time will be for you. It will be so you will let me live with you again."

"Oh, Rhett, thank you."

As he walked back to the dining room, his conscience said, "Now was that so hard?"

"Yes, but worth it to see that smile."