Dear readers, thank you so much for your time and attention to my story. It's always nice to write knowing that someone is interested:)

Thank you so much for your reviews. To read them is a great pleasure:)

So, Scarlett has left, this is the intermediate chapter, in which we'll try to get a glimpse into the thoughts of our characters. And, then we have Savannah, new and old acquaintances:)

Enjoy reading:)

I own nothing in regard to GWTW.

Chapter 5

As the train was moving further away from Atlanta, Scarlett finally took her seat next to the children. Her eyes were red, and she clutched her white gloves in her hand. She waited until they were away from the station so Rhett wouldn't see her through the window. So he wouldn't see that she was crying. Yes, this was proving harder than she'd imagined herself. The bitterness of losing a baby, the bitterness of losing their family. "And did he and I ever have a family?" she asked herself sadly, running her hand through Ella's hair, who was looking out the window with interest.

"We always shared - he with Bonnie, me with Wade and Ella. But, before Bonnie, we were all together," she remembered and then closed her eyes in despair, "we started doing it when I made that performance of having separate bedrooms..."

She sighed heavily and then remembered Rhett's last words about 'regret' in her mind.

"Was he really regretting? Regretting for who or what? He made it clear to me that day in the study that he didn't want our baby...And even if he was regretting for something, he could have just said it."

Scarlett pushed away the thought that she herself had been avoiding her husband all month. She took a few deep breaths as far as her corset would allow and tried to calm down. She didn't know what lay ahead for their family, whether their marriage was over or not yet. But, she knew for a fact that it wouldn't be easy. It will be difficult for everyone - for her, for the children. Scarlett was afraid, very afraid to admit to herself that this man, this cold, sarcastic man had become so dear to her. That she knew his other sides - the warm comforting embrace after nightmares, the funny jokes just to make her smile, the tender kisses at dawn, his strong arms passionately pressing her closer to him. He'd introduced her to all that, and then had been taking it all away from her time after time, leaving only bitter memories.

Scarlett sighed once more, and turning her attention back to her son and daughter, she tried to think through their next steps. In a couple of hours they will arrive at the station, and Will will be waiting for them there. She had written him about everything, the purpose of the visit, the recent bitter events, and counted very much on his tact. In spite of his poor background, Will was very well brought up. He knew when it was necessary to be silent. "Yes, Suellen does not possess these qualities," thought Scarlett, and said to herself, "I have only two days to hold out. It's the day after tomorrow, our train to Savannah."

"Mother," Wade called out to her.

"Yes, son?"

"Is Uncle Will going to meet us off the train?" asked Wade and blushed a little. He didn't have a father, and the men closest to him were Rhett and Will.

"Yes, Wade, I wrote him ahead of time, and your Uncle Will can always be counted on!" said Scarlett, smiling, and Wade smiled back at her.

Will met them at the station, gave Wade a warm, fatherly hug, stroked Ella's red curls affectionately, and then looked at Scarlett carefully.

"Hello Scarlett, it's good to see you!" he pronounced, smiling.

"Hello Will, thank you, same here," and she held out her hand to give it to him, but instead, he reached out and lightly put his arm around her shoulders. Scarlett was surprised by the gesture, but it warmed her heart. Will had always been genuine, sincere. Her sister was very lucky to have him.

He helped the children and Prissy into the buggy, and then, helping Scarlett sit down only asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, Will, I'm fine," she replied quietly and he sat down next to her, smiling slightly.

Scarlett turned away to look around the station and took a deep breath, holding back tears.

They drove slowly, Will talking about the latest news from home, about the harvest, about the problems, about the neighbours. He was more talkative than usual.

Scarlett seemed to listen attentively, she always answered on time, but he could see that she was in her own thoughts. So halfway through the journey Will brought Wade into the dialogue, Scarlett finally lost the thread of the conversation and just drove and looked around.

Looking at the blue sky, where the clouds were floating, at the red earth that always gave her strength, at the green trees she remembered from her childhood, she wondered why she didn't feel peace of mind. How could she find her strength within herself again? Where to go and how to escape? How not to miss her children, not to lose them too, if she had almost lost her husband?

She had not allowed herself to cry in the house for fear that Rhett would notice and laugh, and now it was stuck, and it seemed to her that if she started crying she would never stop.

As she drove down the cedar alley to the white house, her childhood home, Scarlett was only relieved that it was in its proper place, that it was well maintained. She noticed that Will had recently painted it, that all the shutters were in place, that the flower bushes were still nicely spread along the first-floor windows, that the ivy was beautifully wrapped around the end columns. On the veranda she noticed not only the chairs and table, but also the children's toys and smiled slightly as she remembered her nieces. They were two sweet, well-mannered girls, Ella and Bonnie's age, with beautiful honey-coloured hair. "They're just like their father," she thought and grinned.

However, Suellen greeted them warmer than usual. Kissing her sister on the cheek, Scarlett tried to figure out what had caused it. Whether the pregnancy had changed her sister's emotional state, or whether it was Will's quiet but serious request. Scarlett didn't know, but she didn't want to think about it. They would be travelling on soon. She suddenly realized why she couldn't find peace here. This was no longer her father and mother's house, it was a house where her sister was the mistress.

Right off the road and before dinner, sending Ella to play with her cousins and Wade to help Will, Scarlett huddled in her mother's former study with reports and papers. She didn't want to put things off and in truth they took her mind off things at least a little. As she'd expected, seeing her sister, who already had a noticeable belly, was unbearable.

Checking another column of numbers and hearing the front door slam, Scarlett felt the whirlwind of memories come rushing back at her.

The steely glint in her husband's eyes, "You're too pale, Mrs Butler," her in her bedroom, trying to sit up in the chair, the sound of the front door slamming, the stuffy bedroom and the smell of medicine, the quiet male voice, "I love you," the dark eyes, his hand on hers... Scarlett closed her eyes in despair, then rubbed her temples with her hands. Her head began to ache. She wished she could forget.

After a tense dinner, avoiding Suellen's and Will's gaze, avoiding the thought of her sister's pregnancy and her own loss, Scarlett helped put the children to bed and walked downstairs in the dusk, out onto the porch, and sat in the rocking chair.

The air was thick with heat that was just beginning to subside, giving way to the chill of the night. Scarlett sat quietly, staring out in front of her into the darkness of the coming night.

"Can't sleep?" she heard her brother-in-law's voice behind and he walked over, sitting down next to her on a wooden chair.

"Yes... A little..." was her reply.

"Where are you going, Scarlett? Are you running away? From who?" she heard the questions and grinned bitterly.

She was running away. Yes, that was the exact word. Running away from a town full of gossip, from men, one of whom she thought was a close person, a friend, but he turned out to be just a fake, and the other called her 'husband' but was even worse. He was just a stranger.

"Just... I just wanted to get away, Will. Get healthy. You know all about that," was her tired reply.

"Rhett must be very sad about everything, right?" Will continued asking not looking at her, "He loves Bonnie so much, he probably wanted a son, like I did? You know, I really want a son," he told frankly with a soft smile and continued, not seeing her hands and lips trembling, "You'll be fine, Scarlett, you're strong and..."

Will's speech was cut short as he heard soft sobs and saw her cover her face with her hands and her shoulders shudder.

Will realized he'd said too much. A lot of unnecessary things. He just sat closer to her and began to awkwardly soothe her, patting her shoulder.

They sat like that for about 15 minutes, her sobs becoming more infrequent. She was calming down. Finally, Scarlett got up from the chair, wiped her face with her palms, and whispered softly, "Good night, Will," and walked quickly into the house.

Rhett saw his wife and children off and returned to the mansion in frustration. Bonnie was at Melanie's and he was going to pick her up before dinner. Mammy opened the door, greeted him and left quietly, shaking her head. She wasn't happy that he'd let "her lamb go alone to this no-good town."

Heading upstairs, Rhett was pondering.

Her words about him only playing his role as 'grief-stricken husband' hurt him deeply.

"Damn it, why can't she see anything further than her nose? I'm just as hurt as she is. I wanted this baby so badly..."

At the same instant, an unsolicited memory persistently began to creep in from a dark corner of his mind, causing shame. "If a blond baby is born, can I not give him my last name?"

With anger, he clenched his hands hard into fists, still not realizing how he could have said such a thing to her after that passionate night.

Rhett went up to the second floor and as he passed his wife's bedroom he saw the door ajar, stopped and quickly slipped inside.

In the large bedroom everything was as it had been left by her mistress, who was in a hurry to get ready this morning.

A dressing table with a clean handkerchief with his initials on it (he smiled softly, she had forgotten it again), a couple of pieces of jewellery near a beautiful wooden box, a large hair brush (oh, how he loved brushing her soft curls), a small bottle of her perfume (he quickly opened it and smelled the familiar scent of lavender). Putting the bottle into his trouser pocket, he decided to move the jewellery into the wooden box, opened it and came across the photo.

His heart sank. It was them. New Orleans, their honeymoon and they had just got married. He looked at himself in the photo and saw how his eyes were shining, how happy he looked.

"And how did she not notice that? Although," he recalled, "I often told her I was cheerful because I'd made a good deal by marrying her, and then I'd make jokes about it on purpose. How to guess here..."

Nevertheless, the photo showed a happy man in a dark suit hugging a young, beautiful girl in a silk dress who was also smiling. He then joked to her that she was smiling in the photo because she was happy to have his millions in her 'cat's paws', but she just laughed back and said that he was 'incorrigible'.

"Why is this photo here?" he asked himself, but, he did not hesitate, took the photo from the box and put it in his jacket pocket.

Later that afternoon, before dinner, Rhett was sitting in the parlour of the Wilkes' house with Melanie. Bonnie was finishing her 'letter to Mummy' and Beau was helping her.

Melanie, who had offered Rhett tea and received a negative response, sat down across from him and began the conversation.

"Captain Butler, I was very surprised to learn that Scarlett was leaving. She didn't tell me or Mammy about her plans, hiding everything from us until the last..." she said dejectedly.

Rhett sighed heavily and replied, "She only told me a week in advance too. She's been very distant from me. From everyone..." he admitted honestly.

Melanie nodded understandingly, remembering that her beloved sister-in-law was estranged from her as well. After she'd hinted to Scarlett several times about talking to Rhett, she'd shut herself off. Something had happened between them, something very serious. They were both hurting, Melanie could see it and didn't understand why the conversation never had happened.

"Captain Butler, let me ask you," she began and looked questioningly at Rhett, but he only nodded. "Why did you let Scarlett go now? Alone and so far away..."

Rhett spread his hands, he didn't know the answer to that question himself, but he said, "I suppose, she has the right to do it. To go away. After all, I can't forbid her, she's not my property, Miss Melly. The only thing I could do, and have done, is to see to their comfort."

Melanie listened intently, then shifted her gaze to Bonnie, who was concentrating on colouring her drawing, sticking out the tip of her tongue and occasionally smiling. Beau was sitting next to her with a book in his hands, advising her something quietly.

"What about Bonnie, Captain Butler? She's really pining for her mother..."

"I was the one who didn't let her go, I figured that would stop her, but she only asked very politely to bring Bonnie to her and I practically promised."

Here Melanie smiled and looked at him with kind eyes.

"And when are you going to go after her?"

Rhett hesitated. If it were up to him, he would have rushed to Tara by now and begged her to come back, but something kept him from taking that step. Scarlett was running away. Running like a doe, being chased by hunters. She wouldn't come back here.

"I'll give her that time, Miss Melly, though I don't want to wait. But, I'll give her a month, and then, if she doesn't come back, we'll leave with Bonnie to go to their place. And may I ask for your help? Sometimes Bonnie will want to come over and play with Beau. The house is very empty without the children and Prissy."

Melanie looked at him affectionately and nodded, saying, "Of course, I'm happy to have my niece here anytime."

Rhett smiled at her and spoke thoughtfully, "A month...30 days..."

Melanie looked at him and suddenly said, "Captain Butler, she's been waiting for you longer..." He flinched at those words and Melanie continued, pointing with her eyes at the children and smiling, "But, there's nothing stopping you from writing to her. And Bonnie will be happy to send her drawing."

Rhett looked at her carefully and nodded.

That same night at home, before going to bed, he stared out the dark window in his bedroom. "How is she now?" he asked himself.

He decided he would write her a letter tomorrow, but he didn't yet know what to write about. Apologies, regrets - all of it should be said in person, looking into her green eyes. But, then, what to write to her about... He sat down on the bed and thoughtfully took their photograph from the bedside table.

Running his thumb over the picture affectionately, he smiled to himself and seemed to think of everything, mentally thanking Bonnie for the drawing she had so diligently coloured and then carried home so carefully.