Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Seventeen

Scarlett looked at the newspaper that had been left on the tea table. She started to pick it up but stopped. Dr. Harrison had told her not to read anything. She smiled. Wade could read it to her. Melly would be happy to see the boy and with a sour expression on her face, Scarlett thought, 'And he will be happy to see his favorite person in the world. Shake it off. Small steps. Get him to like you first.'

Scarlett stood up and rang the bell to bring a servant. Once Molly appeared, Scarlett told her, "Go get my son, and tell him to come to the parlor. I need him to read for me."

About five minutes later when Wade entered the room, he was smiling, and he looked proud. He said, "Molly said you needed me to read to you?"

"Yes, I do. Just until your Aunt Melly gets here."

"I will be happy too."

Wade picked up the paper and sat down next to Scarlett on the divan. For the next thirty minutes the young man read to his mother. He didn't know all the words in the paper, but when he didn't, she would quickly tell him what the word was.

Later both people would reflect on how nice their time together had been.

Far too soon for both people, Melly arrived to call on Scarlett. Because Melly knew that Wade was home from school since it was summertime, she brought Beau along with her to play with the children.

Scarlett sent the boys to the playroom to play with Ella and Bonnie. After the boys had left Scarlett walked to the bell pull and summoned a servant. Once Molly arrived, she had the young lady bring tea for both of them. As Molly was leaving, Scarlett said, "And bring us some of that cake we had for dessert last night."

Molly curtsied and said, "Of course, Mrs. Butler."

Melly said, "You are looking so good, Dear."

"Thank you, Melly. You are being too kind. I know I have a long way to go before I am completely recovered."

"It must be so nice to have, Captain Butler here to help you with your recovery."

With a pleased smile, Scarlett said, "He is driving me crazy with all his pampering." She whispered, "He is worse than a mother hen."

Melanie laughed. With Scarlett's words she dismissed Rhett's confession. No one who was so concerned about Scarlett could have wished a miscarriage on her. The rest of the confession she knew had been the truth because she had always known he had lived a very sordid life. A man didn't get as rich as Captain Butler by playing by the rules. He did seem to love Scarlett and Bonnie though. He also seemed to be fond of Wade and Ella.

Melly smiled. Captain Butler was the perfect match for Scarlett. He wasn't a gentleman, and she often did not behave like a lady. Melly would never criticize Scarlett. It was that behavior that had kept a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs.

In fact, Melly would protect Scarlett at all cost, because the woman was carrying Ashley. Ashley was like a fish out of water. She didn't know if he would ever begin to live in the world that they found themselves in.

Melly said, "Is he happy about the baby?"

"Oh, Melly. He is overjoyed. I think the man would like to have twenty of them if I would agree."

"Captain Butler does need another child to give all that love to."

"Yes, he does." Peevishly Scarlett thought, 'He could give some of it to me.' She smiled and said, "Tell me what is going on with you. I feel like I have been trapped in my room for ages."

Melly told Scarlett all about her life for the last few days. At the end of Melly speaking, Scarlett said, "It seems like months and months since Mrs. Meade was so rude as to announce my condition in front of everyone."

"The woman really has no tact. Didn't she think you would like to tell people in your own way?"

"She didn't care. She just wanted to make sure everyone knew that I was with child, so all those people could speculate some more about Ashley and me. Luckily, Rhett is back now. He finally got all his business taken care of. I told him that he couldn't leave town again until the baby gets here."

"I'm sure he won't now that he knows how much you need him."

Scarlett laughed even though it hurt and said, "Not if he wants to keep on breathing."

Melly laughed also.

The ladies talked pleasantly although they really didn't have anything new to share. They had been in each other's company practically nonstop since the middle of April.

After an hour Melly stood up and said, "I must take my leave."

"Of course. Let me get someone to go get Beau. Let me ring the bell. It is good for me to keep moving."

"Of course."

Once Molly was dispatched to go get Beau, Scarlett said, "Do you think I need to continue calling on people? Everyone has received me."

"Yes, Dear. They are almost ready to cave. All except that witch India."

"Ashley should send her back to Macon instead of supporting her."

"I have been trying to convince him to do just that. If India was sent back to Macon, the rest of the lot would cave."

"Yes, they would."

Wade and Beau hurried into the room just then. Scarlett said, "Give your aunt a hug and tell your cousin goodbye. We will visit them in a couple of days."

Wade said, "No, Mama. You are not well enough to leave the house yet. We will have to wait until Dad says it is alright."

Scarlett felt all her temper well up and she started to snap at her son. She stopped herself. She took a deep breath. He was trying to tell her what to do because he cared about her and didn't want her to hurt herself worse. She was just ready to get on with her life, but she couldn't. What had Mammy said about her overdoing. Yes, Mammy had been right. That would be the hard part. To slow herself down. Her heart may be willing, but her brain and body were not. Not to mention the baby.

Scarlett smiled her most pleased smile and said, "You are right, Wade. I feel so good that I'm ready to get back to my life."

Melly said, "But if you want to continue feeling good, you have to take it slow and rest."

"Speaking of rest. I think I will take a nap. Let me walk you to the door."

"Of course, Dear. Beau, let's go. I will come to visit in a couple of days. I don't want to tire you out unnecessarily."

"Of course."

Wade and Scarlett walked Melly and Beau to the door. When the group got to the door, Wade said, "Don't hug Mama hard. Her ribs are cracked."

Melly smiled adoringly at Wade. Wade glowed. Scarlett thought, 'That looked easy. I can do that. After all, that is how I looked at all my beaus. They believed I adored them and so will Wade. It will be easier to look at Wade that way because I do adore him.'

After all the hugs were given and the Wilkeses had left the house, Scarlett said to Wade, "I am exhausted. I am going to take a nap."

"Let me help you up the stairs."

Scarlett was in a quandary. She didn't think that Wade could stop her from falling if she slipped on the stairs, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings. She had made a lot of progress with him in the last three days, and she didn't want to lose that achievement. But she didn't want to damage herself more by having another fall.

Scarlett straightened her back and took a deep breath although it hurt her. She said, "We have to go very slowly."

"Of course, Mama."

Scarlett saw Wade puff up with pride because he knew she was trusting him. As they move to the main stairs, Wade said, "Mama, this is too steep. Let's take the back stairway even though you will have to walk further."

"Good idea. I forget you are so smart. Just like your father."

As mother and son made their way to the back stairs, Scarlett thought she had never given her son a compliment before. She knew for sure that she had never said anything nice about her first husband. If she wanted to repair her relationship with Wade, she was going to have to do it a lot more often. With a sigh, she knew she needed to praise Rhett for the things he did well. With a giggle, she thought, 'If he ever does anything nice or caring, I will praise him for that also.'

Slowly, Scarlett made it up the stairs with Wade's help. At her door, she said, "All this has exhausted me. Will you go tell Mrs. Burke to have Fran to fix me a tray with my meal? I don't think I can make it through dinner. I can hardly remain standing much less sit that long."

"Of course, Mama."

Scarlett was exhausted, but she wanted to record what had happened in the last several days before she forgot it. That made her giggle. She had already forgotten enough. She got her journal out and sat at her vanity table. She read her last entry. She said, "So I knew that Rhett and Bonnie had returned. I remember Rhett saying we were alone on the stairs. Where had Bonnie gone? I will ask Rhett. No. It doesn't matter now."

Scarlett wrote the date then paused. She gathered her thoughts and began writing.

July 14th

Bonnie and Rhett have returned. I don't know what happened on the stairs, but like I told Dr. Harrison – it must be bad because Rhett lied about it. Rhett doesn't sugar coat the truth even if it is nasty. Especially if the truth is nasty. I can't remember anything that happened after dinner on Sunday. I can remember what we had to eat, and all the inane questions Ella asked. I can remember Wade's timid looks at me. That is all until I woke up in my bedroom hurting all over. Mammy and Melanie were there, but no Rhett. They told me everything that had happened. I wondered if I was near death why wasn't Rhett by my side? Mammy volunteered that Rhett was out checking on my businesses. That is still strange to me despite what Rhett said about checking on them so I wouldn't worry about them. It is strange, nonetheless. Rhett not only doesn't care about my businesses, but he also really doesn't care about me.

I am still carrying the baby. I don't know how he escaped being killed after my fall on the stairs, but according to Dr. Meade, he is still with us. Praise God. I want him, which is strange because I have never wanted a child before. It makes my head hurt to think about why so I will think about it tomorrow.

Since I have woken up in this situation, Rhett has acted like he cares about me. That I am especially important to him. I don't know.

I will record more later my head is hurting. I want some laudanum or some brandy. I will have neither. I don't want another simple child. I don't think Rhett would deal well with his son being stupid. One stupid child is enough.

It is going to take some time to win Wade's affections, but I am up to the challenge. After all, I was the belle of five counties. There was no man that could resist me. I will turn all that charm on Wade.

What about Rhett? Should I try to charm him? No, I remember during the war when I would flirt with Rhett. He would always mock me and make fun of me when I did it. I couldn't handle that now with my life being in such shambles. I will just stay on the safe side of the road.

I am going to take a nap. I will think about this tomorrow.

Scarlett looked at the words she had written on the paper. Why did she think this baby was a boy? She didn't know. She couldn't sit there daydreaming. Rhett could walk in the room any minute.

Scarlett took the journal and put it back underneath the mattress with Aunt Pauline's letter. Just seeing the letter made her smile. She laid down and closed her eyes. She started thinking about what she was going to write to her aunts. The thoughts made her smile. She went to sleep and dreamed pleasant dreams. One of her dreams was about her and Rhett. It was so nice. He had been treating her like he adored her. She had been acting like she adored him also. She had a stray thought she would not remember – It would be so nice to be married to the man she loved who loved her and not have to deal with unrequited love. She was so tired of loving a man who wasn't strong enough to tell the world that he loved her. A man that had married another woman because it was the safe thing to do. Her dreams turned to Rhett and that made her happy. She didn't dream about anyone but him for the rest of her nap.