Hello, dear readers!

Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! They mean a lot to me and help me write further.

So, our Rhett and Scarlett. It always amazed me how Scarlett trusted everything Rhett said, he said he didn't love her and that was it, she believed it. Said she's a terrible mother and she believes it too:(

This story is no exception, she also truly believes he didn't think he was the baby's father since he said those words about the miscarriage. She can't think that he said it out of resentment...

Enjoy reading!

I own nothing in regard to GWTW.

Chapter 3.

Rhett hesitated for a moment in front of the door, then grasped the handle and pulled it open.

When he opened the door, the first thing he smelled was the strong smell of medicine and hospital. His heart ached and he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, hoping it was just a dream. But when he opened his eyes he also saw that large room, with the large bed they had shared almost 3 months ago. He simultaneously hated and wanted to be in that room every night. He wanted to be with her.

He walked quietly to the bed, noticing that the window was slightly open to let in the night air from the garden.

On the bed lay his wife. Too small, too pale, she seemed to be sleeping, but, periodically, her breathing was hitched and she wiggled slightly.

"Scarlett..." he whispered softly and sat down in a chair by the headboard. He hesitated to touch her, but still, he reached up and gently touched her hair, ran his hand through it barely and whispered again, "I'm sorry, darling... I'm so sorry..."

She was breathing evenly, her eyes closed, and Rhett knew he had to say it all at least now, for his soul was torn by the words.

Looking at her pale face, he whispered softly, "I love you so much, Scarlett. If you only knew, darling...You're my dearest treasure... You and the children. Scarlett..."

She began to stir in her sleep, her breathing hitched, and Rhett looked at her with worry and fear.

Scarlett had been wandering through the dark labyrinths of her mind for a long time. First, she ran, trying to escape the physical pain, the sensation of cold, steel tools invading her body. Then, she spun in torrents of pain, it was hot and it hurt. Very painful. She didn't fully understand what was happening, was she sick, was something wrong with her or the baby... Then the torrents of pain subsided and the numbness set in.

She wandered and wandered in the recesses of her mind, stumbling over memories, scraps of phrases. She didn't realize which phrases were real and which were a figment of her scarred psyche.

She heard the quite words spoken by a soft male voice, "I love you," and she wiggled even harder.

"Whose voice is that? Whose? Who spoke those words to me?" She fell back into the memories...

Youth... Ashley. "No, Ashley didn't say those things to me. He... Oh. He was always afraid of me."

Then a whirlwind of thoughts swept over her. Father... "Pa said he loved me. But he's gone..."

Memories and images of her first two husbands flew past her... And then she saw the image of him. Swarthy skin, black eyes,neat moustache, playful smile... "Rhett. He could say those words to me... He..." And then another knife stabbed her heart with the memory of their last conversation. She saw them so vividly before her in the study, as if from the outside... The pain stabbed through her again... "No... Not him... He doesn't want or love me. He doesn't want the baby. He doesn't want us... It's not him..."

With excitement she began to toss and turn harder and suddenly some force allowed her to open her eyes weakly. Trying to focus her gaze, she looked at the bedpost, then at the ceiling, and then suddenly, shifting her gaze, she saw him.

It was him... His black eyes looked straight at her.

"No, no, no," she thought, and if she could, she would recoil... "Why is he here... I'm sick... The baby..."

Something seemed to be bothering her and Rhett asked quietly, "Scarlett, what is it? Are you in pain? What can I do for you?"

"Why is he here, why is he here," her brain was working feverishly trying to find an explanation. "He came to laugh at me... But, that's low and mean, and he's never been mean... Why is he here... It will be better if he leaves, for he doesn't't want this baby... I'm scared..." Scarlett was completely lost in her scrappy thoughts, she was actually finding it hard to breathe and wanted to cry.

Rhett could see that she was very nervous, but he didn't know how to help her because she wasn't answering his questions. He reached out and touched her cold hand with his warm hand.

Scarlett, feeling his touch, seemed to become more terrified. Closing her eyes, she carefully pulled her hand out from under his and called out pitifully, "Melly..."

She knew Melanie was here, she was definitely supposed to be here. He respected Melanie and wouldn't make fun of her in her presence. She needed Melanie.

"Why won't she want me to be there for her..." he thought and his inner voice answered bluntly and harshly, "You know why. She thought, you wished her to be here. You wished your baby dead."

Rhett was horrified as he realized all that had happened and Scarlett continued to whisper pitifully, "Melly... Melly..."

The door creaked open, a quiet rustle of skirts, the caressing touch of a cold palm on her forehead and a gentle voice, just like her mother's.

"I'm here, Darling... Me and Captain Butler, we're here Honey, with you..." spoke Melanie, taking a seat on a nearby chair next to Rhett and smiling encouragingly at him.

"Melly... The baby," they heard a quiet, questioning whisper.

Melanie reached for Scarlett's hand, took it affectionately and squeezed it tightly.

"Darling, I'm so sorry... The baby was beyond saving..." she spoke in a sad voice.

Rhett covered his eyes with his hand and Scarlett only sighed and closed her eyes.

"He must be glad," a thought flashed through her stream of consciousness, but she didn't cling to it.

"Sweetheart, you're going to get better, you're very strong and you're going to have more children, as many as you want," Melanie continued to say in a quiet voice, stroking her hand.

Scarlett's mind began to flash with phrases, "Cat's a better mother than you are...You don't love your children... You don't love anyone...Cheer up, maybe you'll still have a miscarriage...A miscarriage..."

Rhett watched as Scarlett's face contorted in pain or something else.

Scarlett didn't open her eyes, but clamped them shut even tighter, trying to hold back the tears.

"He mustn't see. I won't show him my weakness, no way...Scarlett, be patient, they'll go away now. Now..."

"I..." she began in a quiet voice, without opening her eyes, and then swallowed she said more firmly, "I really want to sleep."

And that's all she could say. If she didn't stop, she would start crying and he would laugh at her afterwards. "He'll scoff and say I was mourning Ashley's baby..." So she had to keep quiet.

Scarlett remained silent and kept her eyes closed.

Melanie looked over to Rhett and said, "Sure, Honey, sleep will help you get better sooner. Mammy's coming to sit with you."

Melanie leaned over and kissed Scarlett's cheek affectionately and walked towards the door, leaving Rhett at his wife's bedside.

It pained Rhett to see Scarlett, to realize that she was so distant and he didn't even have the right to kiss her like Melanie had done. But, he couldn't just leave.

Scarlett lay there and heard Melanie's skirts rustling as she walked away, but she could feel his presence, he was still there. She wanted to shrink away, to hide under the covers. Scarlett didn't understand her own reaction to Rhett, but it was a mixture of fear and resentment. Fear that he would touch her. Resentment that he thought she was a whore.

She prayed he would just leave now, but she felt the gentle touch of his warm lips on her hand and a quiet whisper, "Get well, Scarlett...". "Sweetheart," he wanted to add, but didn't.

A shiver ran through her body, she couldn't help it, and a traitorous tear rolled from under her closed eyelids. But Rhett had already turned away and was walking toward the door, he didn't know what to say else.

Stepping out into the hall, Rhett saw Mammy talking to Melanie again and quietly approached them. Their conversation interrupted and the old maid went straight to her young mistress's bedroom.

Rhett looked sadly at Melanie, who looked tired, it was nearly midnight, and said quietly, "Thank you, Miss Melly. Thank you for being there for her..."

Melanie smiled gently.

"She doesn't want me around," he concluded bitterly, looking into the eyes of this kind woman and continued more quietly, "and I can't blame her for that..."

Melanie looked at this tall, serious man, who, in spite of all his rough exterior, was still a child at heart. A boy who was afraid of not being loved. To Melanie, all adults were like children.

She took him to the window in the hall and, looking into his dark eyes, began to say, "Captain Butler, I don't know what happened between you and Scarlett, I don't know why you were away so long. I suppose you had business to attend to. But, there are things I do know and I can speak of them with certainty."

She took a breath, and Rhett listened to her seriously.

"I really hope, Captain Butler, that you didn't believe all the gossip the whole town is discussing right now. Ashley and I have talked about it, and I know it's just a misunderstanding. But I also know and I'm sure that I don't want to descend into these nasty rumours, discuss them, or worse, make excuses for them! After all, it's the guilty party who makes excuses, but are they guilty of anything?"

Melanie asked fervently.

Rhett knew that his wife was guilty of many things, she was no angel like this good-hearted lady. But, he also knew that in that situation they really had nothing to justify themselves for. So, he merely nodded.

Melanie continued, smiling slightly, "I also know how Scarlett behaved while you and Bonnie were away. How she counted the days and worried, how she flinched every time she heard a carriage pull up. So, don't talk about what you haven't seen and don't know. She appreciates you very much, loves you, she just can't show it."

Rhett looked at Melanie and took in every word. Even if it was a lie, his heart warmed at those words, just from the realization that she cared for him... That she'd been waiting for him...

Melanie touched his shoulder softly and said most importantly, "I wanted to ask you, Captain Butler, if you have the opportunity, for the next month, don't go anywhere, don't leave Scarlett alone. She needs you now more than ever. You need each other. This whole situation is very sad, bitter for you as parents. But you have to support each other. Yes, Scarlett has me, Mammy, we'll always be there for her, but the only one she'll really need right now is you! Can I count on you, Captain Butler?" she ended her speech with a quiet question.

Rhett looked at Melanie and replied softly, "Thank you, Miss Melly. We are very lucky to have you as our friend! Yes, I promise you that I won't go anywhere, that I will be by her side. Because I... Because I..." he didn't know how to finish the sentence without giving away his biggest secret.

Melanie understood his phrase without words, smiled and answered him, "Thank you! Scarlett is very lucky to have you, Captain Butler. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go home. Mammy will look after Scarlett until morning, and then I'll come again."

"Children," Rhett suddenly exclaimed questioningly.

"Don't worry, Captain Butler, they'll be fine, we'll take care of them tonight, they're already asleep. We'll decide tomorrow, okay?"

Rhett nodded and Melanie affectionately wished him goodnight and departed, leaving him staring wistfully out the window into the darkness of the night. He would have to stay in his room until morning, though all he wanted was to be with her now. To caress her hair, her hands, to give her support and strength. To be sad and mourn this little baby with her.

Rhett sighed once more, remembering the things he'd said to her and how much the loss really hurt him.

"I need to get some sleep, at least a little," he thought and went tiredly to his bedroom.

The morning came early in the mansion, with the rays of sunshine that shone through the thin white curtains and woke the inhabitants, with the birds singing in the garden, with the rustling of the leaves. Summer went on, and life went on in the house.

Scarlett sat leaning on the pillow that was leaning against the headboard. It was six o'clock in the morning, and she had barely slept since midnight. It was hard to sleep, her lower belly ached, and her thoughts went round and round, always ending with one thing: the baby was gone.

It was not easy to give birth to a baby, but how hard it was not to do it. The baby she wanted, the baby who had already taken a place in her heart, the baby... "The one his father didn't want," she repeated bitterly to herself, and she willed herself to stop the tears.

Scarlett didn't allow herself to cry as she felt vulnerable in the same house with Rhett. She knew that would cry later, when she was safe and could afford it.

In the meantime, she realized that there was no way she could be alone with him. She just didn't have the energy to fight again, to listen to his taunts or to defend herself. "I need to get better first," she decided quietly to herself.

Mammy had recently helped her change clothes and brush her hair, she couldn't get up herself, she was very dizzy and in pain, but she could sit up.

She asked the old maid for a mirror and she gave her a hand mirror with a long handle and a silver frame. One of her husband's many gifts.

"I'm going for your breakfast, Miss Scarlett. My lamb is as pale as death. When you eat, you will become like yourself," Mammy said grumpily as she left the room.

Scarlett was looking in the mirror for a long time and didn't recognize herself. All the colour seemed to have gone from her face, far from her eyes, her bright green eyes, were hardly green.

"God..." she thought to herself and set the mirror down tiredly on the bedside table.

Mammy appeared on the doorstep of her room suddenly, carrying a tray full of food - eggs, warm scones, toasts, butter and jam, some fruit, a pot of coffee with steam rising from it.

Scarlett looked at it all tiredly, she had no appetite at all. She wistfully remembered her morning sickness, which had disappeared as abruptly as it had appeared. She had grown accustomed to it over the weeks, used to starting her morning with dry toast that helped her body and whetted her appetite. Right now, looking at all this food, she wanted only one thing, to have it all taken away to the kitchen.

"Mammy, I'm not hungry yet," Scarlett began, "just some water please."

Mammy looked at her angrily and prepared to fight, but she heard a question that had been bothering Scarlett for some time.

"Mammy, where are the children? It's nearly eight o'clock, it's very quiet at home..."

"Miss Melly took them away yesterday to keep them out of the way, so they wouldn't be frightened. They were very upset, Miss Scarlett, to hear that their mother was ill. Especially little Miss Bonnie, she didn't want to go, but wanted to come to you."

"To me?" asked Scarlett in a quiet whisper and wiped away a tear.

"Of course she did! What child doesn't want her mother, Miss?" said Mammy in surprise and prepared to fight over breakfast.

Scarlett, on the other hand, once again remembered, "Cat's a better mother than you are..."

"I want them to come home, I'm not sick anymore," Scarlett said quietly but firmly.

"You must eat first Miss! And then Mr Rhett will come and you'll decide what's best! I saw him in the dining-room, he was drinking coffee and was just about to come to you..."

"No," a sudden exclamation broke out and Scarlett didn't immediately realize it was she who had said it.

Mammy looked at her questioningly and Scarlett clasped her hands together in front of her, frantically thinking how to avoid seeing him.

At the same moment there was a quiet knock on the door and a moment later Rhett himself entered the room.

Scarlett instinctively squeezed back into her pillow and folded her arms across her chest as if protecting herself.

"At least Mammy's here," she mentally thanked the old maid.

"Good morning, Scarlett," she heard his polite voice. He walked over to her bed, saw the tray of untouched food, looked questioningly at Mammy, and then made up his mind and reached for her cheek. It was a polite kiss, but Rhett was insanely happy just to touch her, and Scarlett shuddered.

"There, Mr Rhett, look at that, she hasn't eaten anything at all," Mammy began to lament.

Rhett looked at the tray again, then at his pale wife and heard her quiet but serious voice, "I'm not hungry."

"Scarlett," he began quietly, "you need something to eat, you're very pale, you need..."

"Okay," she interrupted him and without looking him in the eye, she just picked up some dry toast and started nibbling very small pieces of it and eating them, very slowly. There was another phrase in her ears, "You're so pale, Mrs Butler, I guess it because of you forgot to buy blush?"

And then, time after time, she relived their conversation, which had happened less than twenty-four hours ago.

Rhett saw that she wasn't looking at him, that she was distant, and sat there in silent despair. He wanted so much to be closer to her, so much to reach out, and she was distant and cold. And he didn't feel he had any right to get close to her.

There was another knock on the door and Dr Meade entered, accompanied by one of the maids. With a quick nod of greeting to everyone, he noticed his patient reluctantly eating and smiled slightly.

"Good morning, Scarlett! How are you feeling?" he said affably, placing his valise on one of the chairs.

Scarlett smiled weakly at him and replied, "I'm better, thank you."

The doctor looked at the untouched tray of food, but decided he would act in his patient's best interests. "I'll ask to take this tray of food away if my patient has already had breakfast. The body will tell itself when to eat."

Mammy looked angrily at the doctor, but she didn't argue and, taking the tray, left the bedroom.

Dr Meade asked Rhett to come out for a while so he could examine and talk to his patient.

Then in 15 minutes in her bedroom Dr Meade said something serious to both of them, mostly to Rhett, who listened attentively and nodded. Scarlett's gaze wandered around the room, but she was just trying to figure out why Rhett was here.

"There has to be a logic to all this," she pondered, looking up at the spotless ceiling without a single crack.

"He doesn't love me, he didn't want this baby, then what's he doing here, because Rhett never does anything for nothing... Plays the caring husband... Playing... Playing..." Scarlett latched onto that last thought and then she realized! Apparently the realization was so vivid that she didn't even notice as she tried to stand up, pulling back the light bedspread a little.

"Scarlett?" called two male voices to her at once.

She looked at them questioningly and realized that she had almost stand up.

"Are you all right? Are you in any pain?" asked Dr Meade, and Rhett looked at her with concern.

"No, it's fine," they heard her quiet voice.

Dr Meade nodded and continued talking, while Scarlett looked up at the dark drapes and remembered Rhett's words, "Bonnie, I only care about Bonnie! I'll take Bonnie and..."

She closed her eyes and summed it up, "It turns out it's that simple. He's just playing the caring husband because of our daughter's reputation. So no one will think his wife was a whore. So that no one in town will question his paternity of this baby ..." She swallowed back tears and thought further, "That's why he came here last night, that's why he looks agitated, so the doctor and the servants would notice. Well... Maybe it's a good thing, at least he's trying to keep his reputation intact. So there won't be any gossip..."

"Scarlett..." a doctor's voice called out to her again.

She looked at him questioningly and he said, turning to the two of them. "There is a long road of recovery ahead and I ask that you both pay attention to it. And not just the physical aspect, but the moral aspect as well. Deal, Miss?"

Scarlett only nodded, and avoiding her husband's gaze, looked out the window at the grey-blue July sky.