Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Forty-Two

On day eight they came upon a town. It was Montgomery, Alabama. They had camped on the other side of the town. On day nine the group did not proceed down the road. Rhett and Gerald went into town to bargain for food. Rhett had left the remaining chickens and the piglets with the others. He had taken the chicken crate with him into town. They had also taken the calf into town to trade for chickens and vegetables.

As Rhett and Gerald had walked off Melanie had asked Ashley, "Does it bother you that they didn't ask you to go with them?"

Ashley had laughed and said, "No. Those two are exactly alike. Almost a gentleman." Melanie laughed and Ashley continued, "I know I did an ungentlemanly thing not going back to my troops but for the most part I am still a gentleman."

"Yes, you are, Dear."

"For all that matters anymore."

"It will always matter."

Ashley puffed up with pride. He did so need Melly to worship him. It was just about all he had left in this world. He knew they would have a brighter future in New Orleans or wherever they ended up.

So far, Rhett had not had to clean up any chicken shit or pig shit for that matter. Nor had Scarlett. Suellen and Careen had more or less assumed that responsibility. The two young girls had quickly figured out that they had to make themselves useful to the group, so they didn't get left somewhere because they were nothing more than a hindrance. They knew like Scarlett that tempers were going to get short the longer the trek went on so they needed to create as much good will toward them as they could now. They had even taken over most of the cooking with Albert's help. It seems he had learned a thing or two while he was loitering in the kitchen courting the scullery maid.

Montgomery was as hard strapped as any other city in the Confederacy therefore bargains were hard to find. Scarlett had given Gerald twenty dollars and Ashley had given Rhett twenty dollars from Melanie's stash.

The men came back with lots of vegetables and five chickens and all their money. They had even unbelievably had a ham with them. It was small but it was large enough to feed everyone. Scarlett said, "You, Husband, are indeed a very skilled negotiator."

"Thank you, my dear. Pa is no slouch as a negotiator either."

That night everyone had eaten their fill. There was a small portion left. Scarlett had picked it up and hid it in her pocket. Later as they were lying down to go to sleep, she had given it to Rhett. He said, "No, you eat it."

"Baby, you need it. You are far too thin."

"Thank you for being concerned but.."

"No, you eat it. You need a lot more food than I do."

"I will eat it if you will take a bite."

Scarlett did then Wade had wanted a bite. There wasn't very much left but Rhett was happy to have it. He said, "I didn't want it, but I couldn't let it go to waste."

Scarlett knew that Rhett had wanted the food very much. She had wanted the piece of ham very much but she knew Rhett needed it more. She said, "Baby, I wish we …."

"I do too but we can't."

"No, we can't."

"Let us lie down. Put Wade in between us. He is much safer between us."

"I agree. I am worried he will wake up and wander off."

"Me too."

As it had evolved Wade had ended up sleeping between Scarlett and Rhett. Neither adult liked it but they both thought it was safer for the boy. It also made their sexual need not as great because they weren't right up against each other.

Every night the men would take a swig of moonshine. Every night Rhett would secretly give Scarlett a sip of moonshine. After the first time she knew what was in the mug. Rhett had been right. It did make it easier to sleep after having a sip of moonshine. They were being so secretive because despite being in the middle of the wilderness not only would her parents not approve of her drinking alcohol neither would Melly. Rhett thought all the secrecy was silly, but he went along with it to keep the peace with everyone.

On day twelve two things happened. The group got to Greenville, and they had emptied the first jug. All the men were optimistic they would have enough moonshine to last the trip.

The piglets had gotten too big to keep in the cage, but they were still two young to eat. They had to ride in the wagon. Their presence in the wagon was causing a lot of damage. They were also getting too hot. They were becoming more trouble than they were worth. In Greenville, Gerald and Rhett had gotten one of the local farmers to trade two hams for the piglets and some hay. After that all they had was the cow and the chickens. Most of the people selling food were more interested in bartering for other livestock.

Every time the group came to a big city they took the day off from walking. It was the easiest way to do it. Gerald and Rhett would spend the morning negotiating bargains while everyone else rested. Rhett knew that everyone needed to rest except the people riding in the wagons and the buggy. Although he supposed those people needed to rest also.

Gerald O'Hara didn't need rest. He had more energy than a firecracker. Rhett would die before he would admit it but he really liked his father-in-law. Rhett would have been pleased to know that Gerald would rather die than admit he liked him also.

Day twenty Rhett said to Scarlett, "Do you think you might be with child?"

"No. None of the women are …. Well, nobody is doing that. I think it is because we are eating so little our bodies have stopped that function."

Sadly, Rhett said, "Probably."

"Let's get settled first, Baby."

Rhett didn't sound any happier when he said, "You are right. We need to get settled first."

When the group got to Mobile on day twenty-one. The men decided to get rid of the cow. She was losing weight and they had to keep feeding her. Gerald and Rhett were gone most of the day. They knew good trades were hard to come by, but they were not giving the cow away. Therefore, the men had taken the cow to several men and finally found someone who gave them goods worthy of the cow. They had gotten a lot of food and hay for her which was good because everyone was so hungry.

When the group left Mobile Ashley had started wearing the Yankee uniform. Everyone thought it gave them a little bit of protection. Ashley was uncomfortable wearing it but it had fit him much better than it had fit Rhett.

When Gerald and Rhett did buy food, they usually spent about twenty dollars. Twenty dollars in greenbacks. Nobody wanted confederate money which was just as well for nobody in the group had confederate money.

On their thirtieth day the group reached a large body of water. It was a wonderful sight to behold. It was also a horrible sight to behold. Everyone was staring at the water. They couldn't even see the other shore.

Scarlett said, "Is this the Mississippi River?"

Rhett said, "I think it is Lake Pontchartrain. I don't know if we have to go around it or if we can get a ferry. Let's start going around it."

"Which way?"

"To the West. To the East is the Gulf of Mexico and the bayous."

The group started moving to the West. When the sun started going down, everyone did what they had been doing for the last twenty-nine days.

As Scarlett and Rhett were lying on the ground that night trying to go to sleep, she said, "Do you think we will get to sleep in a bed tomorrow night?"

"Yes. When we get there, we will get three or four hotel rooms."

"Have you ever been to New Orleans?"

"No"

"How did you know the name of the lake?"

"Ashley and I went over to Twelve Oaks and got his Atlas so we could study the route and the city of New Orleans."

"That is good. That will help us get around the city."

"I know someone who lives there."

"How?"

"We were childhood friends in Charleston. We were always into mischief together. Both of us couldn't wait to leave Charleston.

"Have you stayed in touch?"

"Occasional letters but nothing since the Yankees took control of New Orleans."

"I hope he is still alive."

"I hope his house is still standing so we can stay with him until we can rent a house."

"Alright."

The next morning the group got up and continued moving west. Right before dinner time the group came upon the city of Mandeville. Rhett and Gerald went into the center of the town, and they found out there was a ferry to take them across Lake Pontchartrain. The owner of the ferry, Mr. Marigny, told Rhett where to meet him and he would take him across at one. The men found some food to buy. They didn't buy very much because they planned to be eating at a restaurant that evening.

Rhett and Gerald returned to the group. After they shared their news there was almost a party atmosphere. They ate and then got into the wagons. This time everyone rode. Before they knew it, they had been loaded on the ferry.

Rhett talked to Mr. Marigny about where the best place to stay in New Orleans was. When they docked Mr. Marigny said, "This street is Wisner Street. Just drive down it until you find a hotel."

On October thirty-first, the group had arrived in New Orleans. Their new life had begun.

The group found a hotel that looked more like a boarding house than a hotel, but they stopped anyway. For the first time since they had left Tara, Rhett found a bargain. The rooms were inexpensive, and they appeared clean. Rhett got four of them. One for the Wilkeses, one for the O'Haras, one for the Butlers, and the last one for Albert and Mammy. Neither Mammy nor Albert complained about sharing a room with someone of the opposite sex. It would not occur to them to complain because they both had been slaves all their lives. As a slave, they had no rights. On top of that they weren't paying for anything, so they had no room to complain.

Albert was hoping to find a better life in New Orleans and Mammy could no more abandon her Miss Ellen and Miss Ellen's daughters than she could stop breathing.

The proprietor also agreed to heat up some water for a bath. Everyone wanted to take a bath and put on clean clothes. Nobody had changed clothes the entire month. There was no point. They couldn't bathe therefore the clean clothes were soon going to be as stinky as the dirty clothes. They might as well keep all their clothes clean to wear when they got to New Orleans.

The owner only had two bathtubs, so people had to wait which was alright because the staff had to heat up more water any way. Rhett and Scarlett were the first ones to get to take a bath. They took a bath together but that was all because Wade was in the room.

When Wade saw his Mama and Dada in the bathtub, he climbed in too. Clothes and all. Scarlett and Rhett had just laughed and let him stay sans clothing though. After a short amount of time Rhett reluctantly got out of the bath. There was only so much he could take at looking at Scarlett's naked body especially considering they had not been intimate in almost a month.

Besides, Rhett knew there were other people waiting to take a bath and they needed the bathtub. If need be, he and Scarlett could take a bath together tomorrow. He put his clothes on. He then took Wade. He dried the boy off and dressed him. Finally, Scarlett got out of the bathtub.

Rhett picked up Wade and said, "Wade and I will go downstairs and tell the proprietor that his staff can come get this bathtub."

"Thank you, Dear."

When the bathtub was delivered to the Wilkeses, Melanie had left the room. She had returned in about fifteen minutes. By that time, Ashley was finished and dressed. He took his son from Melly and said, "I will be back in about twenty minutes. Take your time."

The staff brought the bathtub to the room the O'Haras were staying in. Gerald said, "Let me bathe first then you ladies can bathe. Go down to Scarlett's room. Give me fifteen minutes."

The O'Hara women did go down to Rhett and Scarlett's room. They talked and played with Wade. After fifteen minutes, Gerald knocked on the door. He came in and the ladies left. Rhett got the jug out and they each took a swig. Scarlett then took a swig. Gerald said, "Katie Scarlett…"

"I won't tell if you won't tell."

"Of course not."

Finally, one of the bathtubs was delivered to Mammy and Albert's room. Albert said, "I am going to walk around. I will give you twenty minutes."

"Fifteen will be more than enough."

"Thanks. I will knock first."

"Thank you.