'Are you going to finish that, my dear?'

'Take it,' Scarlett said, her stomach rebelling at the thought of eating another bite.

Rhett picked up her plate and spooned the remainder of her dessert onto his own. She thrilled at the proprietary nature of the gesture, wanting to share everything with him now.

She watched him eat with an undisguised grin on her face, not caring if the people around her thought she was soppy. She was tired of hiding. It took up so much energy and seemed so pointless. Why should she be ashamed to be happy when it had taken her years to achieve?

Scarlett gazed around the room, heartened by the sight of full bellies and sated smiles. The scene could not have differed more from her memories of wartime starvation around Tara's table. How far they had travelled from those dark days. The dessert that had defeated her had been the last of a four course feast held to celebrate Rhett's return.

Not since Scarlett and the children's own arrival had they been treated to such a splendid fare. Everyone had gorged themselves. Certainly all the moaning emanating from Suellen's end of the table told Scarlett she wasn't the only one whose corset had grown uncomfortably tight.

'Delicious,' Rhett pronounced, polishing off his last mouthful and setting down his fork with a satisfied clank.

'I don't know how you could bear to eat it,' Scarlett mused, wrinkling up her nose in distaste.

'When the food is this exquisite, my pet, it would be a sin to waste it,' he declared, one eye fixed on Mammy who'd come in to take their plates away.

Scarlett rolled her eyes at his comment, wondering if she should tell Rhett that he needn't try so hard to win Mammy's approval. Then again, maybe she would wait a few more days. There was no sense in cutting the entertainment short.

'Besides,' he grumbled, lowering his voice so that it only reached his wife's ears, 'I was cruelly denied the chance to eat breakfast this morning and have been wasting away ever since.'

'Oh, you poor thing!' Scarlett cooed with mock-concern. 'Who could be so heartless to make you suffer so?'

Rhett gave her a pointed look, his lips rolling into his mouth to prevent himself from laughing.

It was one of numerous new habits he'd picked up sometime during their estrangement. He seemed different in so many ways, smiling where once he'd have frowned, his eyes constantly drifting towards her rather than away, and speaking in soft endearments instead of biting insults.

Yet, at heart, he was the same man she had lived alongside all those years, still sarcastic and scathing about the things he didn't agree with, still in possession of that scandalously wicked sense of humour and still emitting that same air of reckless, joyful abandon. Locked up in the same room with him all afternoon, Scarlett had barely been able to keep from rushing over and enveloping herself in the warm safety of his arms, sure she would go mad if she didn't get to experience the heady, breathless rush of his kisses.

It had taken all of her strength not to march over and pull him away from where he had been lounging on the carpet, his long legs stretched out gracefully as he propped himself up on one arm and had an imaginary tea party with Ella and April. He must have been bored out of his wits, but you'd never have known it to look at him. Nor did his interest waver when Wade had come in for lunch and spent an hour diligently detailing everything he and Will had been doing that morning and all the work they still had to do before the storm hit. She knew Rhett had never cared for plantation life, and yet he'd seemed fascinated by each and every word that fell from her son's lips.

It annoyed her that the parental skills she had struggled to learn these last six months should come so easily to him. But then perhaps Rhett's secret lay in the fact he didn't have to pretend to the same extent she did. Anyone who had seen him with Bonnie knew what a devoted father he naturally was.

Her envy aside, Scarlett had enjoyed watching him interact with her children, safe in the knowledge she could not have given them a better stepfather. Even Rhett's dalliance with Suellen wasn't enough to spoil her present happiness, although Mammy had been wrong to think he'd done it to make her laugh. No, he'd done it because flirting was simply a part of who Rhett was, as much as his Panama hat or lazy, insolent grin. He could no more help partaking in it than Scarlett could stop herself from throwing a tantrum or wanting to be richer. It wasn't his finest trait, but she would just have to learn to live with it.

She had tried to mould Rhett in the past, desperate for him to act more like a certain golden-haired gentleman. Now she didn't want to pick and choose which bits she liked. She wanted all of him, wouldn't be truly happy until she knew and owned every last, irascible piece.

'What are you smiling about, my pet?'

'Nothing,' she replied quickly, a blush rising in her cheeks.

Rhett grinned at her evasiveness, his self-satisfied smirk letting her know that he knew exactly who she'd been thinking of. Rolling her eyes, Scarlett busied herself with batting the crumbs off Ella's dress, grateful that her daughter was such a messy eater.

'Storm's starting,' Will said a few minutes later, breaking the peaceful silence that had settled over the room.

As if it had been waiting for his signal, a crack of thunder ripped apart the sky and raindrops began roaring down to meet the dry earth. The droplets skittered against the window panes. Scarlett shuffled over to lay her head on Rhett's shoulder, remembering how much she loved that sound. It made her feel safe and cosy to sit in a warm room while a storm raged on outside, close enough to touch but unable to hurt her.

Scarlett slipped her hand under the tablecloth and slid her fingers between Rhett's. She squeezed down, wanting to share this moment with him. He squeezed back, leaving her in no doubt that he felt the magic of Tara as keenly as she did.

They stayed like that until Ella's head bumped drowsily against Scarlett's arm.

'Come on, sleepy bones,' she coaxed, pulling her hand out of Rhett's so she could rouse her napping daughter. 'I think it's past your bed time, don't you?'

It was a testament to how tired Ella must have been that she didn't put up her usual fight. Instead she held out her arms, silently demanding that Scarlett pick her up. Settling her daughter on her hip, Scarlett saw Suellen rounding the table with an equally tired-looking April in her arms. As she waited for her sister, she spotted Wade trying to hide a yawn behind his hands.

'Nice try, young man,' she laughed. 'Up you come.'

'But Mother! It's not my bedtime!' he whined, shooting furtive glances over at Rhett and Will.

'No, but you've had a very busy day roaming all over Tara and you need your sleep.'

'But I'm not even tired!' he complained, lifting his hand to try and disguise another yawn.

'Wade, I'm not asking you again,' Scarlett snapped. 'Come upstairs now.'

'I don't want to! You can't make me!'

'You know, Wade, the mark of a real man is a willingness to admit his own weaknesses,' Rhett cut in smoothly. Scarlett shot him a grateful smile, appreciating the show of support. 'There's no shame in being tired after a hard day's work. I think you've more than earned the right to a few more hours of sleep. It would be childish not to take up your mother's kind offer.'

After pondering Rhett's words, Wade slid off of his chair and came to stand by Scarlett.

'Sorry, Mother,' he murmured, in a voice so gentle and old for his years that Scarlett did not have the heart to remain cross.

'That's quite alright.'

'Can we do the pig weighing in the morning instead?'

'The minute everyone's finished their breakfast,' she promised. 'Why don't you go up and get yourself ready? I'll come and tuck you in as soon as Ella's settled.'

Wade nodded before running off up the stairs. Scarlett and Suellen, weighed down by their prospective bundles, followed slowly in his wake.

Once she had tucked Ella in and given her a goodnight kiss, Scarlett made her way to Wade's room, pleased to see he was already lying down under the covers. Sitting down on the mattress, Scarlett pushed back Wade's hair from where it fell across his face.

'I'm sorry for shouting at you,' Wade said, his eyes cast downwards to where his hands were knotting themselves in the sheets.

Scarlett patted his cheek and tried her best to make him feel better. 'It was my fault for talking to you like a child. Sometimes I forget what a fine young gentleman you've grown into.'

Seeing that Wade still looked uncertain, Scarlett struggled to think of something that would bring him out of his slump. 'You know your father would be so proud of the way you've been helping out around Tara these last few months. We couldn't have gotten by without you.'

'Really?' Wade asked, his eyes lighting up as they always did on the rare occasions when Charles was mentioned.

'Really.'

Scarlett leant forward to kiss his forehead, wondering for how much longer she'd get to tuck him in. For so long she'd resented being tied down by the banal responsibilities of motherhood. It was cruel that just as she'd started to enjoy them, Wade was beginning to grow up and pull away.

'Now make sure you get a good night's rest. Rhett's right, you earned it. Oh, and Wade?'

'Yes, Mother?'

'Try not to be too sore when I beat you at the piglet weighing tomorrow.'

Wade's sweet laughter followed her out of the room like a warm evening breeze.

Closing the door behind her, Scarlett jumped in fright when she turned to find Suellen lurking in the gloom of the corridor.

'What are you doing?' she hissed, clutching her hand to her beating heart.

'Why, did I scare you?' Suellen asked, smirking.

'Hardly. I just thought you'd have gone back downstairs by now.'

'I was waiting for you.'

Catching Scarlett's look of suspicion, Suellen snorted. 'Don't fret, I'm not planning on pushing you down the stairs - not today, anyway. I just wanted to ask you what your plans are now that Rhett's returned.'

'My plans?' Scarlett repeated blankly.

'Yes, I was wondering whether you intended to stay on at Tara, or if you'll be heading straight back to Atlanta.'

'We haven't had time to discuss it yet,' Scarlett said, her steps faltering on the stairs at the thought of leaving her childhood home.

It was silly, as Rhett had never been overly fond of the countryside, but when she'd pictured their future, she'd imagined it here. She was hurt too that Suellen had rushed to raise the subject as soon as Rhett was back. Though Scarlett and her sister had never had the most harmonious of relationships, she had rather enjoyed getting to know her again and had been naïve enough to hope Suellen felt the same. Instead she was all but pushing Scarlett out of the door.

'I know it probably won't affect your plans, but I just wanted to let you know that it's alright with Will and I.'

'What is?'

'If you were to stay. Only if you wanted to, of course. I wouldn't suggest it, but it's been good for April to have Ella around and Wade obviously loves the place and I…'

'And you?' Scarlett prompted, stopping in the middle of the downstairs corridor to face her sister.

Suellen rolled her eyes at Scarlett, her face pinching up as if the next words caused her physical discomfort, 'Well, I suppose I don't completely hate having you here.'

'Why, Susie! I do believe that's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me!' Scarlett preened, laughing gleefully at her sister's pained expression.

'Yes, well, don't go getting used to it. And don't call me Susie. It's hardly a compliment, bad company is still better than no company around these parts.'

'I wouldn't dare,' grinned Scarlett. She felt a strange urge to embrace her sister and stepped forwards, her arms outstretched.

Suellen sprang back. 'Hug me and I'll slap you.'

Laughing, Scarlett held up her hands in defeat. 'Yes, Ma'am.'

'I still haven't forgiven you for Frank, you know.'

'I know,' Scarlett whispered, all humour draining from her face. 'He was a good man and I'm sorry I stole him. I swear I didn't do it to hurt you, despite what you might think.'

'Then why did you?'

Scarlett stared at her, shocked. Surely she had to know? It had all seemed so clear to Scarlett at the time.

'For Tara, Sue. I just had to save Tara. After Mother passed and Pa went funny, it was all I had left. I couldn't bear to see it go. I'd have died rather than hand it over.'

Suellen sighed, turning her head to take in their home. 'I wish I loved this place even half as much as you. It would make being stuck here so much easier. I've tried, Lord knows how I've tried, but I'll never really understand it. It's just a house, Scarlett.'

'But it's not!' Scarlett cried, insulted. 'It's Mother and Pa and Mammy and Pork and Big Sam and Ashley and Brent and Stu and all of Clayton County. It's dogwood trees and rust red soil and skies so wide you can't ever see the sides. And now it's ours, yours and mine. Careen has gone but we're still here. We're still standing after everything life and those damn Yankees have thrown at us. Just like Tara. Surely that has to count for something?'

Suellen shrugged. 'Perhaps. When you put it like that, I suppose I can see the appeal. I still think I'd have been happier living in Atlanta with Frank, though. I'm not a country girl at heart.'

'You think that, but I promise you that you're wrong. You'd have felt cooped up, having no land of your own. And everyone there sits in judgement of you all the time, so that it grows to be unbearable. It's just a case of thinking the grass must be greener over the next hill.'

'It is,' Suellen complained. 'The grass around here is that ugly brown stuff.'

Scarlett snorted. 'You might be the only person on Earth who's more literal-minded than I am. I'll have to get you to talk to Rhett, he'll never believe me otherwise!'

'The pair of you are a good match. I had my doubts, but you'd have to be blind not to see it.'

'Thank you,' Scarlett said. Touched by her sister's rare show of generosity, she decided to extend one of her own. 'So are you and Will. He's a good man, Sue. Steady. He's grounded you.'

'You think so?' she asked, fidgeting with her dress.

'Yes! Do you know how much I was dreading coming back here and living with you? But you've grown up since our last meeting. It's been nice, getting to know you afresh.'

'I've enjoyed it too.'

Scarlett smiled. 'Are you sure you don't want that hug?'

'Quite sure!' Suellen laughed. 'I think the ground would rise up and Georgia fall into the sea if we started getting along.'

As if agreeing, a clap of thunder reverberated through the air, making Suellen screech.

'I hate thunder,' her sister complained, turning towards the dining room.

She took a step then stopped dead, as if an invisible cord had yanked her back.

'Scarlett?'

'Yes?'

'Was he happy?'

To her shame, Scarlett did not immediately understand who she was referring to. 'Was who happy?'

'Frank,' Suellen whispered, her back still to Scarlett as if she could not bear to read the truth on her face.

Surprised by the question, Scarlett flailed for an answer. 'I...yes...sometimes.'

'Sometimes?'

Scarlett closed her eyes, something about the defeated slump of Suellen's shoulders becoming too painful to look at. All these years, and she'd never considered the possibility that her sister might have loved poor Frank Kennedy.

'I know I wasn't the wife I should have been. I know that. Yet I came to care for him over time, I swear I did. He was just so slow and sweet and I needed money so badly, Sue. It was all I could think about and he never made enough of it, never rushed people to pay back what they owed him.'

'So you were cruel to him.'

'No! I...' Scarlett broke off, frightened to find herself close to tears. She never let herself think about Frank. Now she knew why. 'Yes, I was cruel. I shouted at him and I bullied him and I embarrassed him. But I cared about him too.'

'Did you?'

'Yes! It's why I still feel so guilty. I should never have taken him from you. I'm sorry, Sue. I'll regret it for the rest of my life. But...'

'You needed to save Tara.'

Scarlett nodded helplessly, even though she knew her sister could not see her. 'I needed to save Tara.'

'Tell me about the sometimes,' Suellen said, her voice softer than Scarlett had ever heard it and laced with a long-held sadness.

'He'd work so hard in the shop. He was on his feet all day, always rushing back and forth to help his customers, so at night I'd make sure to warm his slippers by the fire, ready for when he came home.'

'He'd have liked that,' Suellen said. 'Being looked after.'

'He did. I'd do other things for him too, just little things, but lots of them. I know it wasn't enough, it couldn't ever have been enough but...'

'I'm glad,' she whispered. 'I'm glad he was happy sometimes. He deserved it.'

'He did,' Scarlett agreed, fighting against the lump that sat in her throat like a jagged-edged rock, slicing her to pieces.

Suellen finally turned to face her. 'Thank you. I've been needing to hear that. It makes me feel less guilty.'

'Guilty? You? But you did nothing wrong!'

'I feel like I betrayed him by being happy. Will might not be the man I'd have chosen for myself, but he's the one who comes home to me each evening. And I've grown to be glad for it.'

Scarlett smiled. She realised then that she wanted Suellen to be happy. That it mattered to her. Truly mattered as seldom else did these days. She marvelled at how quietly this sisterly bond had crept up on her, and how much of a stranglehold it now had on her heart.

Not granting Suellen a chance to resist, she strode forward and wrapped her sister up in an embrace, her heart aching as she felt the younger woman melt against her.

'We should have done this years ago,' she whispered.

'Hardly,' Suellen snorted into her neck. 'I hated you back then. I'd have likely scratched your eyes out had you tried.'

Scarlett laughed. 'Well, I wasn't mightily fond of you either. I'd have rather hugged a raccoon, at least it would have smelt better!'

Their laughter was drowned out by a savage crack of thunder, so loud it sounded as if the sky above their heads was splitting open.

Suellen sprang out of Scarlett's arms. 'I hate this. I'm going to find Will.'

Scarlett headed for the front door, wrung out by their conversation and overcome by the urge to stand out in the rain and have it wash away all remaining thoughts of Frank. The wind caught the door as she opened it, ripping it out of her hands and slamming it into the wall. Hair whipping round her head like Medusa's snakes, Scarlett struggled to recapture it. Pulling the handle with all her might, she managed to shut it behind her.

Her eyes lit up as she marvelled at the dark, turbulent sky overhead. Furious black clouds rolled across the horizon as rain rushed down to punish the already drenched land. The sight thrilled Scarlett. Ever since she was a little girl storms had excited her. Often she'd sneak out like this to watch them, usually with Pa by her side. Gerald had loved wild weather too, and had regaled her with tales of the mighty squalls he'd experienced as a lad growing up in Ireland.

It was at times like these that Scarlett felt the most connected to the land beneath her feet, admiring its ability to withstand the lashings it received from above. It was the same stubborn hardiness that beat within her own breast.

A flash of lightning lit up the onyx sky, illuminating the rolling red hills in an eerie pallor before they plunged back into darkness. It was then, surrounded by a suffocating blackness which pressed down at her from all sides, that Scarlett felt someone at her back. A sense of serenity washed over her and she didn't have to look round to know who was behind her. She leant back into Rhett's chest, his arms coming up to encircle her waist.

'Hello.'

Rhett's answering chuckle rumbled through his throat like thunder.

'Hello.'

They stood in silence, both admiring the storm.

'I used to do this whenever we encountered a squall out on the ocean,' he murmured in her ear, the deep timbre of his voice clear despite the howling of the wind. 'Most of the crew would hide down below or run round like headless chickens trying to tie everything down, but I'd always walk straight up to the bow of the ship and let it rage around me. Never have I felt so infinite, so invincible as I did in those moments.'

Scarlett was shaken at his choice of words, infinite, invincible. Why, that's exactly how she felt now! She felt so connected to her husband in that moment, as if they shared the same soul.

'I had a surprisingly enjoyable evening, my pet,' Rhett confessed. 'I was braced for a frosty reception, but I felt welcomed into the bosom of the O'Hara family almost immediately.'

'You are a part of this family,' Scarlett attested hotly, 'if you want to be, that is.'

'I do,' Rhett assured her. 'Tara's a beautiful place. It's easy to feel at home here.'

Scarlet stiffened at his choice of phrasing, remembering Suellen's earlier words on the subject. 'It could be, you know...your home, I mean. If you wanted it to be.'

'The plantation life is not one I sought for myself,' Rhett said softly, his words piercing Scarlett even as she fought to quash her reaction. 'I grew up in a place none too dissimilar from this and despised every moment of it. I spent the majority of my time thinking up ways to escape. The moment I was old enough, I left and made a point of never looking back.'

'It wouldn't be like that now,' Scarlett pressed, unwilling to let go of her hopes without a fight. 'Tara is very different from your old home in Charleston.'

'It is,' Rhett conceded, brushing his lips against her forehead, 'but then everything is different now.'

Scarlett shivered. 'So do you think you might consider living here?'

'Would you like me to?'

'Yes,' Scarlett admitted honestly. 'Perhaps not permanently - I do enjoy life in the city and there are so many places I want to visit with you - but I would like to live here for at least part of the year. The children love it so and it's always been my home.'

'How does living here for six months every year sound?' Rhett asked.

'Six months?' Scarlett repeated, surprised, before she realised the significance of that particular amount of time and smiled.

'Yes, I doubt I could bear the country pace of life all year round, but for six or so months each year I think a stay in the finest plantation that North Georgia has to offer would be perfectly acceptable, don't you?'

'Oh, Rhett!' Scarlett cried, spinning round in his arms to lay excited, open-mouthed kisses across his face. 'Thank you, thank you, thank you!'

Chuckling, he pulled back and grinned at her. 'Should I deduce from your appallingly vulgar display that you are pleased with this turn of events, my pet?'

'You should,' Scarlett replied, her emerald eyes sparkling in the twilight.

She couldn't wait to tell everyone the good news, could already imagine how excited the children would be. Suellen would be pleased too - how strange a thought that was, and stranger still that Scarlett should be glad for it. And then there was Mammy. She'd be overcome with joy at the thought of having her favourite charge safely under her wing once more. Oh, it was just too good to be true!

Another fork of lightning blazed across the sky, charging the air with static and making the hairs on Scarlett's arms stand up. Rhett's hands came up to shield her, pulling her tightly against his chest as he stroked her back.

Brushing aside her usual reserve, Scarlett reached up and pulled his head down for a kiss. Some of the storm's primal energy seeped into it, driving them against one another like raindrops against the ground. Their hands grabbed and grappled, their mouths surged and their hips rolled.

Trembling under the onslaught, Scarlett felt her legs give way. Stumbling backwards, she pulled Rhett further out onto the porch, her back slamming up against a supporting beam. Exposed to the elements, Scarlett luxuriated in the warm water as it assaulted her skin, soaking through the material of her dress and drenching her hair. The force of the rain was invigorating, every last one of her nerve endings snapping to life like a lever had been pulled. It felt vital, electric, as if her whole body was keenly alive, sensitive to every touch and sensation.

Ripping her lips from Rhett's, she panted heavily into the side of his neck, straining to catch her depleted breath. His fingers stroked the bare, damp skin of her arms and it ignited something within her.

Scarlett raised her eyes to his and whispered fervently, 'I want you.'

'You have me,' came his reply. 'You've always had me, you just weren't aware of it.'

'No,' she protested, allowing the depth of her need to seep into her eyes. 'I want you.'

Rhett's entire body snapped to attention, his eyes growing dangerously dark. When he next spoke, his voice was little more than a husky growl, 'Go to your room. I'll explain to Mr and Mrs Benteen that you're feeling unwell and have been forced to retire for the night. I'll follow you up as soon as I'm able to.'

'Don't be long,' Scarlett demanded.

A predatory smirk snaked across Rhett's face and he pulled her forward for another hasty, rough kiss.

'Don't worry, my pet,' he murmured as he released her lips and cupped her neck, his gentle handling making her insides clench, 'it will be more than worth the delay.'

Nodding in reluctant agreement, Scarlett turned to head inside when Rhett's hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her back against him.

'Oh, and Scarlett?'

'Yes, Rhett?'

'Promise me. Promise you'll wait for me to come to you.'

His words, almost a perfect echo of the ones he had left her with six months ago, made her swoon against him, her head growing light.

Rhett laughed. 'Careful there.'

Determined to outsmart him, Scarlett looked up at him, her lips parting. Rhett's eyes turned blacker than coal when she reached up and ran her tongue slowly along the closed seam of his mouth.

As Scarlett stepped back, Rhett stumbled forwards, drawn to her by a magnetic pull.

'Careful there,' she cautioned, her eyes glinting like a cat's in the dark.

Not giving him the chance to retaliate, she ran inside, flushed with the success of her joke. His rueful, admiring laugh chased her up the stairs and into her bedroom.

Leaning back against the door, Scarlett ran shaking hands through her dripping hair and blushed at the thought of her brazen display. A pang of anticipation chimed through her at the thought of what lay ahead.

It was a dangerous game she had started up, but tonight she knew there would be no losing. Stripping off her wet clothes, she waited for him to join her.