Dear readers!

Great thank you for all your reviews, they mean a world to me! (MizCindy, thank you! )

The new chapter is here:)

In this story, the main thing I want to give the characters is the ability to talk to each other, and to give each other the tenderness they are capable of.

Thank you for reading!

I own nothing in regard to GWTW.

Chapter 20.

That night at dinner, the whole family discussed only one piece of news - Ross's engagement. He shared it himself with his mother and brother as soon as they sat down to dinner, and also smiled happily at Scarlett, who was extremely quiet and only smiled weakly back at him.

"Rhett," spoke Ross cheerfully and gesticulated his hands with emotion, "how glad I am that you have brought your family, and especially your wife, to us in such good time! Scarlett has been a great support to me and it was she, who helped me with the ring for Kathleen," he finished, shifting his gaze from Scarlett to Rhett.

Rhett smiled back, but his heart felt heavy at his terrible and stupid behaviour.

Scarlett gave Ross an affectionate look, saying something about how happy she was that he'd found the one girl and how glad she was to be able to help him. After that she was silent again, barely answering the children's questions and only picking at her plate, pushing the food on it.

Mrs Butler, delighted with the news from her youngest son, was in a most genial mood as she and Ross discussed meeting with his fiancée and her father.

"Ross, Darling," Mrs Butler spoke as the plates were changed and they waited for dessert, "you always had a way of surprising me in a good way," then she looked expressively at Rhett and smiled at him, "you were a quiet, modest child from childhood. While Rhett was running around the house and driving me and all the servants crazy, you seemed to be minding your own business. Ah, Scarlett," here she smiled at her daughter-in-law and Scarlett looked up at her, "your husband was insufferable as a child."

"And not just as a child," Scarlett thought to herself and smiled bitterly.

"One time," Mrs Butler continued, "he and Ross and a neighbourhood boy found an old boat on the beach nearby that had blown a leak. They hid it in the bushes and for a whole month they, mostly Rhett, went out there and tried to patch the hole. They were six or seven years old, and Ross was younger, about five, I think, and he always followed his brother, though he was accompanied by a nanny. It was the nanny who told me to look out for Rhett, who had already packed for his 'boat trip'," she glanced at her eldest son and he grinned.

"He would have swam for sure, Scarlett, he was so stubborn. So, while I was talking sternly to him, this little Ross, took his brother's things and headed off on his own towards that beach. And it's a good thing a neighbour spotted him. You can be very imaginative when you want to be, can't you, Ross?" finished Miss Eleanor, laughing.

Everyone at the table smiled, and the children immediately began to ask the brothers about their failed adventure and swim.

Scarlett realized that she could no longer pretend and sit at the table next to her husband, she had to go to their room. The last straw was when, while they were talking about their childhood, Rhett gently placed his hand over her, which was resting near the napkin on the table. She tensed and gently released her hand, pretending she needed to get a glass of water.

She noticed with her side vision her husband frown, but then his face took on a calm expression again.

So when dessert began to be served, Scarlett suddenly put her napkin down in front of her and said quietly but firmly, addressing Mrs Butler.

"Miss Eleanor, please excuse me, but with your permission I will go up to my room," just as she said this, she saw that all the eyes at the table were looking at her, with concern, surprise, incomprehension. Each look was special.

Scarlett also noticed the way Rhett gripped the stem of his glass tightly. She tried to smile weakly and turned predominantly to Mrs Butler.

"I'm sorry, I don't feel well. I seem to be getting a migraine attack and I'd better go and lie down."

Miss Eleanor was also very observant and saw that Scarlett was moving away from her son, that she looked distressed and Rhett looked guilty.

So, she decided to help him, her eldest son, who was having such a difficult time with relationships.

"Of course Dear, have rest and don't worry about the children, we will look after them and help them get ready for bed," Miss Eleanor began to speak and Scarlett smiled weakly as she continued, "Rhett, son, walk your wife to your room."

"That's unnecessary, Mrs Butler," Scarlett immediately began to reply, rising from her chair, but Rhett rose too and Miss Eleanor said with a smile, "Certainly not unnecessary, Dear. In case you get dizzy on the stairs, or your eyes get dark, or you faint altogether."

"I don't faint..." started Scarlett again, but her mother-in-law just smiled and told her, "Daughter, let us take care of you." Scarlett had to nod, and Rhett smiled slightly and hugged his wife by the waist as they left the table.

She felt his strong, big, warm hand on her waist as they walked up the stairs. He didn't want to let her go for a moment, praying to himself that she would listen to him, that this unpleasant situation would soon be forgotten.

When he reached the room, he let go of her for a moment, opened the door, let her step through and reached for her with a quick movement, closing the door in the process.

"Scarlett, don't go," he said quietly, touching her back with the palm of his hand.

And she didn't leave. Scarlett stopped abruptly, turned to him, and he could see the hurt in her eyes.

"You know, Rhett," she began to say quickly, "I've been sitting at the table all this evening, and I couldn't think how you ever came up with that absurd idea. And then I imagined how many other things you've thought up this month while we've been talking with Ross!"

He looked at her with a frown, but remained silent.

"You held me at night, kissed me, made love to me," at those words she blushed but withstood his gaze, "but all that time in your soul you suspected something. Is that true? Can't you believe me for a moment? Do I make such an impression?" she concluded bitterly.

Rhett looked at her seriously and pointed to the bed, "Scarlett, let's talk for a few minutes. I promise I won't insist on anything, just give me a chance to explain, okay?"

She nodded suddenly and quickly sat down on the bed, she so didn't want to live in fights with him, not those fights where she got mad at his jokes about her arguing with the children over dessert or something like that. No, she didn't want those fights that made everything inside her ache. The soul pain seemed to turn into physical pain and she couldn't distract herself with anything. Never before had she felt this way, never before had she loved someone the way she loved him. It scared her and she was terrified that he would know how deep her feelings were, because she didn't know how deep his were.

"I'm listening to you, Rhett," she said seriously, sitting down on the bed.

He sat down beside her and looked into her eyes.

"Scarlett," he began to speak leisurely, "you see, I've loved you for a long time. You know it, I told you so myself. But, I've been a long, crazy long time for you, not that I've come first. You and I know who was there," he looked at her expressively and she frowned. "I wasn't even in second place," he continued, suddenly taking her hand.

"You see, to love a woman, to love her madly and not be loved in return, is a terrible thing. I've been in constant heartache and I've learnt to protect myself from you, from expressing my feelings. I learnt to laugh at you, to make jokes. Sometimes cruelly," she raised her eyebrows expressively and he grinned, "okay, most of the time cruelly, Darling."

"And now that I've finally won your love, your affections, often out of habit, I feel like I'm not that important to you. That I don't come first. Scarlett, I've never been in first place, do you understand?"

She nodded, trying to understand him and said, "But why, Ross, Rhett? I mean, he's your brother. Did we really hurt you with our behaviour? I mean, we were just talking..."

Rhett smiled, he could feel that they were having a dialogue and she wasn't shutting him out.

"Firstly, Darling, I want to explain once again that this was not a considered decision, just an emotion, a reaction. I found a note of an intimate nature on the doorstep of my, I mean our, bedroom. I recognized my brother's handwriting. A note to a woman. He didn't mention his fiancée, and the only woman who'd come into his life in the last month was you. I didn't try to analyze it and I got angry. I guess I missed you a lot, because with all the busy work, I could hardly talk to you. Only at night, but you know you and I haven't had much time to talk lately," he said with a sly smile.

She flushed, her cheeks turning pink at the memory of what had happened in this bedroom on this very bed... Or on that couch over there... Or against the wall by the dressing room when she'd asked for her corset to be unlaced, once... Or...

Rhett saw her blush and thought about it, holding her hand in his, stroking her slender fingers with his thumb.

"I'm sorry, Scarlett," he said quietly, looking into her eyes, "I guess it's time for me to believe what's going on between us. That this is real," he said, smiling affectionately at her.

She looked at him and nodded, and said, "Don't ever talk to me like that again, Rhett, like you did this afternoon. For a second I thought it all came back, the way we lived in Atlanta... I'm afraid to think about those times, we were both miserable and I'm afraid to imagine how things would have ended in our lives... What would have happened to us..."

He only squeezed her palm tighter, then reached up and kissed her hand.

He looked into her eyes and said quietly, "I love you."

She just stared at him, not taking her eyes off him, and didn't say anything.

Rhett stood up and said, "I wanted to talk to Ross, congratulate him in person, and then I'll check on the children and come to you. Aren't you in any pain, Scarlett? That was an excuse to leave the table, wasn't it?"

Scarlett nodded, but replied, "But, I'm very tired, probably from the emotions, I want to go to bed early, Rhett, okay?"

He just nodded and said, "Why don't I help you with your dress?"

"No, no, Rhett, go to Ross or it will be late, I'll get the maid."

Rhett nodded and walked out of the bedroom.

He went down to the parlour, but there was nobody. Mrs Butler was on the second floor with her grandchildren, and he only had to find Ross. Now that he'd talked to Scarlett, he could be happy for his younger brother.

Rhett found him on the veranda, looking out into the garden, with a soft smile on his lips.

He grinned and called out, "Ross..."

Ross turned his head, smiled, then asked him worriedly, "How's Scarlett? Is everything okay?"

Rhett stepped closer to his brother, leaned against the railing and replied with a smile, "Yes, she's fine, Ross. She's already gone to rest, and I just came down to see you."

Ross looked at his brother questioningly.

"I wanted to congratulate you Ross, I'm very happy you've met the girl you want to spend your life with. I wish you happiness," Rhett said and patted his brother on the shoulder.

"Thanks Rhett," he replied with an embarrassed smile, "I've watched you and Scarlett a lot this month, I've seen the way she looks at you and you look at her. I've seen how happy you two are. I don't know what you had in the past, but I can see that now you love each other and it's real. I hope it's the same for Kathleen and me."

Rhett grinned, remembering all they'd been through and said simply, "Ross, just love her and be honest with her. That's my advice, don't make the same mistakes as your older brother."

Ross looked at him in surprise but nodded and Rhett said goodnight and headed into the nursery to see his daughters first.

Miss Eleanor had already helped the girls to change their clothes and both his daughters were asleep in their cots.

Ella, curled up under the blanket and Bonnie, sprawled out on the bed and threw back the blanket.

Rhett stroked Ella's hair affectionately, then covered Bonnie with her blanket and left the room.

Wade had a couple of candles burning in his room, and he was asleep, half sitting up with a book in his hands. Rhett smiled at his son, then went over and picked up the book carefully, helped the boy to lie down comfortably, and put out the candles.

Then Rhett went to their bedroom, opened the door quietly, and saw that Scarlett was asleep, too, in the middle of their bed, closer to his side.

He looked affectionately at his wife and hurried to change in the dressing room. A sound caught his attention, he came out of the dressing-room and saw that Scarlett looked restless in her sleep, tossing and turning, and repeating in a confused whisper only, "No, no... Rhett. No..."

He quickly lay down next to her and hugged her tightly, trying to wake her up.

"Honey, wake up... " he repeated softly, stroking her hair, "Wake up, Scarlett... Wake up..."

Finally, Scarlett opened her sleepy eyes and spent a few moments trying to figure out where she was, for just now in her dream she and Rhett were standing in her study again, the day they had arrived with Bonnie.

"Sweetheart," Rhett said, "cradling her against him, "you're shaking... Scarlett, it's only a dream, I'm with you..."

Scarlett lay on his chest, hearing his soothing words, smelling his scent and trying to stop shivering.

The dream was frighteningly realistic and it took her a little while to remember that they were back together with Rhett, that he loved her, that he had wanted their baby. That they were together. Together.

"Rhett, hold me tighter, please..." he heard her quiet whisper and pulled her against him, stroking her hair affectionately.

He lay awake for a long time, first gently and affectionately soothing her, amazed once again at how defenceless she could be.

Even at the beginning of their marriage, when he had comforted her during her nightmares, he had always been amazed at how different she was: by day, a businesslike young woman who was strict with her children and could answer his cruel jokes, and by night, a defenceless young girl seeking warmth and protection. He loved her any one, but especially the one he could and wanted to protect.

"I love you," he whispered softly to her that night, falling asleep beside her.