Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Eleven

Rhett rode his horse home. The doctor had made Rhett nervous with his insistence that he see Scarlett immediately. Rhett wondered if Scarlett was truly out of the woods or not.

When Rhett got home, he told Pork that a doctor was coming to visit Mrs. Butler and for the man to show him to their bedroom. After that he went straight to their bedroom. He opened the door while tapping on the door at the same time. When he got the door completely open, he saw that Scarlett was sitting up in the bed. Mammy was brushing her hair. She had a clean nightgown on. He said, "Dr. Harrison is on his way over to examine you."

"Why? Dr. Meade said all I had to do was heal now."

"Dr. Harrison may have another opinion. I trust him more than that Old Coot who hasn't opened a medical book in thirty years."

Scarlett smiled when Rhett had said 'Old Coot.' She sighed and said, "Let me get my wrapper back on."

"You can put it on backwards because the doctor is not going to see your backside."

"Good idea, Rhett. That probably won't hurt as bad."

"I don't think so, either. Do you need to use the WC?"

"Yes."

"Let me walk with you." Rhett turned to Mammy and said, "You stay here and wait for the doctor."

"Yes, Mr. Rhett."

As Rhett and Scarlett were walking down the hallway, she said, "Slow down. I can't walk that fast. It makes me dizzy."

Rhett swept her up in his arms and carried her into the water closet. He set her down by the toilet and she said, "I guess you were in a hurry."

"Indeed I am. Sit down and get your business taken care of."

With those words, Rhett walked out of the room.

In a few minutes, Scarlett left the water closet. She said, "I'm walking back to our room."

"Alright."

It had made Rhett so happy that Scarlett was calling the room their bedroom. About halfway back she said, "Why are you in a hurry?"

"So, you will be there when Dr. Harrison gets there."

As the couple walked along, Scarlett stared at Rhett, he had never inconvenienced himself for anyone, not even Bonnie. She said, "What is wrong with me?"

"Nothing that I know of."

"Am I going to become stupid?"

"No, no."

"Am I dying?"

Rhett smiled but Scarlett noticed that the smile didn't reach his eyes, and he said, "No, you aren't dying."

By this time, the couple was at their bedroom and Rhett said, "Thank you for waiting Mammy. You may go back to the children now."

"Yes, Mr. Rhett."

As Mammy started to reluctantly leave the room, Scarlett said, "Let her stay. If I am going to become a blithering idiot, she might as well find out as soon as possible. She will be taking care of me."

"You are not going to become a blithering idiot."

From the door, a male voice said, "That is why I am here. To prevent you from becoming a blithering idiot. Although your husband should have come to see me a lot sooner than he did."

Defensively Rhett said, "Dr. Meade said she was alright."

Everyone turned to look at Rhett. He knew he had sounded oversensitive, so he didn't say any more.

Greg smiled at Rhett. He thought, 'The man really does love his wife. Not very many people display that much love for their spouse.' He said while looking at Scarlett, "Mrs. Butler?"

Greg could not help but notice how much younger than Mr. Butler his wife was. A man being considerably older than his wife was not that unusual. Most men didn't marry until they were established in their careers. Greg looked around the room. He looked at Mr. Butler's clothes and noted how expensive they looked. He could not have helped but notice how big the house was, therefore he decided that Mr. Butler had not planned to marry until Mrs. Butler stole his heart away. Greg could understand why she did. She was a very striking woman with very black hair and striking green eyes. She smiled at him, and he saw a lovely smile and a dimple. The woman was attractive. Yes, very attractive, indeed.

"Yes."

Scarlett stared at the man. He was attractive enough, but not as handsome as Rhett. The doctor had brown hair and brown eyes. He had a mustache and looked like he was in his early thirties.

Greg turned to Mammy and said, "Go ahead and help her put her dressing gown on."

Rhett said, "It is difficult for her to put her dressing gown on because it hurts to extend her arms backward. She can just put it on backwards."

"Give us just a minute."

"Sure, go ahead."

Once Scarlett's dressing gown was covering everything up, Greg said, "Mrs. Butler, your husband came to see me because he is concerned that you are not healing as quickly as he thinks you should."

Scarlett stared at Rhett and said, "What? What is wrong with me in your opinion?"

Greg didn't give Rhett a chance to answer. He just went on. He said, "Mr. Butler said you were still in a lot of pain and that you have gaps in your memories."

"I am in a lot of pain, but I have no problems with my memory."

Greg ignored Scarlett's statement. It was not unusual for a patient to deny something that they didn't want to be true. "Where?"

"My head, my arms, and my ribs."

"May I feel your midsection?"

"Yes."

Scarlett held up her arms to the side. She held them at shoulder height which Greg thought was a good sign. He felt Scarlett's ribs. He removed his hands and said, "Is that as high as you can raise your arms without pain?"

"No, I can raise them higher."

"Show me."

Scarlett raised her arms all the way up. Greg said, "Mr. Butler, you said she couldn't move her arms."

Scarlett said, "He meant I couldn't move my arm backwards to put on my wrapper. Up and down is fine. It is back and forth that makes it hurt. I can move my arm only this far forward before it starts to hurt."

Scarlett raised her arm straight out in front of her, but she only raised it five or six inches. Greg said, "I know why that is. The ribs you cracked are close to the tendons that extend into your arms. For the time being raise your arm upward and backward several times a day, four or five times at each time."

"Alright."

"Mrs. Butler, your husband seems especially concerned about your memory. Do you remember what happened to you?"

"No, all I know is what Rhett told me." Scarlett leaned forward and whispered, "He lied to me, so what really happened must be awfully bad. There is no point in talking to him about it. He would lie and say he told me the truth. I do know that we were alone on the stairs, and I slipped. I fell all the way down. Did you see the stairs when you came in?"

"Nobody showed me any stairs." Greg glanced at Rhett who had an amused smile on his face. He continued, "I'm sure Mr. Butler can show me on the way out, but I don't really need to see them."

Scarlett smiled and said, "Silly. They were the stairs you had to walk up to get here."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Butler, I didn't really notice."

Scarlett looked at Rhett and said, "Talk about insulting. He didn't notice my magnificent staircase."

Rhett just smiled back at his wife. He was glad her personality was the same, even if she never remembered anything.

Greg coughed nervously. He said, "What is the first thing you remember after your fall?"

"I remember Rhett coming into the bedroom yesterday and he looked so worried. He told me he had been out to check on my businesses which was strange because he doesn't care about my businesses, but he said that he knew I cared, and he didn't want me getting upset by not knowing what was going on with them."

Greg turned to Rhett and said, "How long was that after her fall?"

"There was twenty-four hours when she was in and out of consciousness. It was yesterday which was the next afternoon so forty-eight hours."

Greg turned back to Scarlett and said, "Does your head still hurt?"

"Yes."

"Any place in particular?"

"No, all over."

"May I touch your head?"

"Yes."

Greg ran his hands all over Scarlett's head. He finally said, "You have three nice size bumps on your head. I will need to come back in a couple of days to look at them and make sure they aren't getting bigger."

"Alright."

"Can you walk?"

"With Rhett or Mammy's help."

"Mammy?"

Scarlett pointed at Mammy and said, "My mammy."

Greg looked at the woman then back at Scarlett, he said, "Try to get out of the bed and walk as much as you can."

"Alright."

"Get up, get dressed, and try to start living your life again. Nothing is to be gained by you lying in the bed waiting to get better. You just have to make yourself get better."

"Yes, Sir."

"Let me ask you some more questions. Have you been nauseated?"

"No."

"Problems talking?"

Scarlett looked at Rhett and then at Mammy. They both said, "No."

"Dizziness?"

"Yes, a little bit."

"That should get less and less. Tell me when I return on Thursday if it hasn't gotten better."

"Yes, Sir

"Blurred vision?"

"At first, but not now."

"How about ringing in your ears, a bad taste in your mouth, or any change in your sense of smell?"

"When I first wake up, I have a bad taste in my mouth, but it quickly goes away. No ringing in my ears. And I haven't noticed any change in my sense of smell."

"What about a sensitivity to light?"

"No."

"Sound?"

"No."

"Are you having problems thinking straight?"

"Yes." Scarlett smiled at Rhett, and he smiled back. She continued, "Rhett is helping me keep everything straight."

"Are you having problems concentrating?"

"I don't think so."

"Do you think you remember everything that has happened since yesterday afternoon?"

"I think so. Rhett?'

"I think so also."

"Mood swings."

Rhett answered, "That is no different than before the accident."

Scarlett scowled. Greg went on. He said, "Are you sad or nervous?"

"I'm not sad. I'm a little worried about when things will return to the way they were."

"That would be normal. Are you having trouble sleeping?"

"No, not at all."

"Are you sleeping more than you used to?"

With a quick look at Rhett, Scarlett said, "Maybe a little bit more."

"I will ask you about that Thursday also. I came straight over because I was afraid your brain was swelling in your head, but I don't see anything seriously wrong with you. That doesn't mean you are out of the woods. I will have to watch you closely for the next several months. It will take us that long to know how seriously your brain was damaged. Don't worry, Mrs. Butler, you will not be simple. The only problem you might have in the future is that you forget things. At this point it is a wait and see deal."

Rhett said, "What should we do?"

"The main thing is to make sure she doesn't reinjury her head or ribs. No reading until I see you again."

Rhett said, "That shouldn't be a problem. She didn't read before the accident."

Scarlett ignored Rhett and said, "What about adding numbers up?"

"Yes, that would be fine as long as your head doesn't start hurting. Rest but get out of the bed and start moving around. Try to get back to normal. As much as possible that is."

"Alright."

Rhett said, "Let me show you out, Dr. Harrison."

"Certainly."

Mammy had followed Rhett and the doctor out of the room. She was worried about her little lamb. Those first twenty-four hours had been awful, but the next couple had been bad also. Every time Miss Scarlett asked her a question she had already asked, a shiver a fear went up Mammy spine. Thankfully, Miss Scarlett wasn't doing that anymore. Well, not as much. Mammy decided she wouldn't worry because the doctor wasn't worried, although she could tell Mr. Rhett was still seriously worried.

Author's Note: Dr. Harrison's knowledge about mild traumatic brain injuries is actually from the Mayo Clinic.