Sorry this update too so long, life has been very busy and somehow, I never had enough time to truly get into writing this. I'm not particularly pleased with this chapter but I didn't want to make you wait any longer. So, I hope you enjoy it anyways and please let me know what you think!

Thank you to all my lovely readers and reviewers, especially : Francis-rose, Aethelfraed, gabyhyatt, Truckee Gal, pmk kelly, EmmaElizaRose, Phantom710, MissTricey and all the lovely guests! You truly make my day, when you R&R!

Legal Matters Chapter 6

It turned out Scarlett had only sustained bruises and a nasty cut on her throat. While the blood had looked scary, it had not been deep and the amount she had lost had not been dangerously high. There was a slight possibility, that two of her ribs were fractured, due to the blow she had suffered to the chest, but Dr. Mead didn't think it likely.

Rhett realized his initial anxiety about his wife's condition must have shown on his face, because Dr. Mead, who had never particularly cared for Rhett in the past, now patted his shoulder reassuringly and with a much softer look than he normally wore, told him Scarlett would be alright.

Still Rhett sat dumbly for longer than necessary, until he finally realized that he had once again gotten lucky. This was the second time his wife had suffered injury due to his neglect of her welfare and once again he had eluded punishment.

While he was grateful, it didn't seem fair. A wave of self-hatred hit him. He almost jumped out of his chair when he felt another hand on his shoulder, this one much softer and smaller than Mead's. It was Mammy.

"How is she?" He asked hoarsely.

"Sleep-in. The Doctor gave her somethin'."

" She was so scared." Rhett murmured almost tonelessly but she must have heard him because she replied.

""s a good thing you came when you did Mista Rhett. God knows what would have happened if you wasn't there. You's is always there to save my lamb, when she needs you."

"This wouldn't have happened in the first place if it wasn't for me." Rhett muttered but Mammy only smiled at him softly.

"You's shouldn't think that Mista Rhett. Miss Scarlett will be better soon and you can forget this happened."

Prissy had called than and Mammy hurried away leaving him in the hallway by himself.

The need to see her, - to make sure, she was indeed alright was overwhelming. So, he slowly crept along the hallway towards Scarlett's bedroom.

The door was slightly open allowing the early morning light from her room to stream into the slightly gloomy hallway. He realized how long he must have been sitting in the hallway. It had been nighttime when the sheriff had left and Rhett had taken his seat in the hallway.

When he entered the room, he was momentarily blinded by the cool grey morning light. A young woman he remembered had come with Dr. Mead was packing up gauze and other medical supplies and hurried to leave, once she spotted him. She said something but Rhett didn't hear her, his sole attention focused on Scarlett.

Her dark hair flowing around her, a stark contrast to her pale skin and the modest nightgown she had been dressed in, she reminded him of snow white. More than her beauty though he was struck by how serene she looked. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen Scarlett like this, her cheeks and mouth had relaxed and her usual frown was gone making her look incredible innocent young and vulnerable.

Never had Rhett seen her like this or maybe it had been so long he had forgotten. He hadn't even realized she had those qualities. Had she hidden from him the way he had hid from her? Rhett had move to his own room after that, where he had collapsed and slept until the early afternoon.

Over the next few days he felt trapped in this house, that he already hated. They had learned on the third day after the incident, that Deville had escaped custardy. The sheriff had chased him over two state boarders until they lost him. While Rhett didn't think the man would be stupid enough to return and he hired three men to guard the house, he was still felt uneasy about leaving the house.

Leaving now, He was certain, would give the wrong message to Scarlett. He still felt responsible. Finally, he had apologized to her once she woke up, the day after her attack. His wife had been quiet, playing with the edge of her blanked, while she sat propped up against the pillows.

She only looked at him, once and quietly thanked him for his apology. It didn't help his conscience one bit! If anything, he felt worse. Was Scarlett scared of him now? Had he made her afraid of him, his own wife? He wished she had screamed at him, hit him -anything really. But this? This was torture.

He tried to take his mind of things by spending time with the children and having work sent over from the bank but his mind kept straying to Scarlett. He was torn between wanting to go to her and running away again.

He checked on her every day,- sometimes multiple times a day. Only when he was certain she was asleep though. The first few days the doctor had Scarlett take medicine to help her sleep, calm her nerves and get over the shock, so she slept through the night and most of the day.

Rhett could sit by her bed and watch her sleep without her knowing, somehow, he didn't feel it would be a good idea for Scarlett to see him watch her sleep as often as he did. Mead wasn't comfortable giving the medicine to her for a prolonged period of time since it was known to cause addiction.

Rhett stopped visiting her when he realized how much time his wife was awake during the day now. He told himself she was fine now, there was no point in constantly looking in on her. She had no need for him, that she had made abundantly clear the day she had banned him out of her bedroom. Somehow, he slept worse now, even though he didn't need to worry about her anymore.

Whenever something bothered him, he would dream of Bonny. His little girl would haunt his dreams and sometimes even his waking hours. They were never happy memories, even though he had had spent many beautiful moments with her. Mostly when he dreamed of her she would stare at him sadly and accusatorily. "Why didn't you protect me?" Her eyes appeared to implore him.

He had been tossing and turning for a while before exhaustion had finally claimed him and he fell asleep only to jerk awake moments later. He wasn't sure what had woken him up. The house was utterly silent except for the pitter patter of rain on the windows. Occasionally he could see lightning outside, so maybe thunder had woken him up.

Eyes still blurry from sleep, he suddenly saw a white flash dart across his room. Rhett jumped in surprise, trying and failing to get his eyes to focus. Convinced he had imagined the apparition he turned on the gas lamp on his bedside table and moved it slowly across the otherwise darkened room.

There was nothing. He groaned, he felt nauseous because he was so tired. Turning toward the bedside table, he was about to shut off the lamp again, when he heard a faint shuffling on the other side of the bed. Probably a rat. He cursed again. If there was one thing, he hated it was rats, it reminded him of being in jail, when he would hear them shuffling around at night, keeping him awake.

He probably wouldn't be able to catch the little bastard but he rolled over to the other side of the bed, - careful not to get the lamp to close to the mattress, peering over the edge of the bed. There was no rat. Just when he was about to turn over again, he noticed a small piece of white fabric sticking out from under the bed. He reached down to pull it, but it wouldn't budge.

Putting down the lamp on the bedside table, he heaved his torso over the edge of the mattress and reached under the bed. His hand finally touched something solid -and then it moved away from him.

Wildly grabbing for anything he could reach, not quite in full possession of his wits, Rhett finally got a hold of something slender and solid. He pulled and as the thing finally emerged from under his bed he realized, it was a person. It was his wife.

"Scarlett? What on earth are you doing here?" He asked dumbly.

She shuffled awkwardly, pulling at her nightdress to cover up her exposed legs but didn't look at or answer him.

"Scarlett?" he prompted again and it came out harsher than he meant it to.

"I couldn't sleep." She blurted out.

"But you have been sleeping fine the last few days." Rhett murmured.

"Yes, with the medicine but Dr. Mead won't give me any more and now I have nightmares."

"Oh. About?"

Scarlett didn't answer him.

She clearly didn't want to tell him and Rhett was too tired to investigate, he was about to demand she'd leave when he saw her shivering, she turned her head slightly and he saw the bruises on her jaw, they stood out almost black against her ivory skin.

"Come up here." He said.

"I'm fine." She mumbled.

"No, you're not! You're shivering and it's cold on the floor and your ribs hurt when you sleep on hard surfaces. I can sleep on the chaise or the floor."

" No I won't kick you out of your bed I can sleep here just fine I have for the last few days." Her eyes widened as she realized what she had given away

"What? Why?"

She shivered again and he swooped down to pull her onto the bed. She emitted a surprised noise but didn't struggle. When Scarlett was on the bed with him, Rhett pulled the blankets around her and scooted over to make room for her, leaving an arm's length of space between them.

He had kept his distance, both because of what had happened with Deville and because he still felt the sting of her rejection – not wanting to risk his heart again. Another part of him, he wasn't keen to acknowledge was ashamed of how he treated her, when she came to his office and he wouldn't be surprised if his touch now disgusted her.

"You have been sleeping in here?" Rhett asked, stunned by this.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Scarlett shivered more violently now and he remembered how coming in from the cold he sometimes would feel even more chilled once he reached a warmer place. He waited for a few moments for her body to adjust to the warmth of the blanket. Scarlett didn't seem to get any warmer, instead tucking her head into her shoulder, like a wounded bird and curling in on herself.

Silently he extended his arm for her, aware that if she was to recoil from him it would shatter his heart, even if he deserved it this time. But she didn't reject him, she shuffled over to him and burrowed into his body like a small animal. He almost flinched due to how cold she was.

Draping his arm loosely around her, he released a breath, he hadn't been aware he was holding. "What was your dream about?" He tried again.

"I keep dreaming about him. Every time I close my eyes, I see him or I think I feel the mattress move."

"Scarlett he can't get in here, I hired people to watch this place around the clock, the police are on the lookout and the last time he was seen, he was two states away."

"Yeah" She murmured but she didn't sound convinced, her eyes trained on his shirt covered chest.

"Scarlett look at me." She did so reluctantly.

"I promise I won't let anything happen to you!"

"I now you won't." She said and Rhett's heart broke a little looking into her watery, trusting green eyes. He had already let bad things happen to her, some of which he was directly responsible for.

"That's why I have been coming here." Her voice broke through his thoughts.

"What?"

"Why I sleep here, I always slept the best when I'm near you. I feel save here."

There was a lump in his throat.

"You never felt like that before."

She looked at him.

"When you threw me out."

"No, I always felt like that I-. It wasn't that. Do you want me to leave?"

Rhett really didn't want her to leave. The fact that she had come to his bed, voluntarily caused a rush of warmth to pool in his stomach but he also new that this was only due to the fact that she felt so vulnerable right now.

"No. Stay as long as you want."

"Until you feel better." He amended, only to leave himself a way out, to save his dignity should she decide she no longer needed him.

"Thank you." Scarlett murmured and the way her body relaxed into his and her breathing slowed down, moments later told him she was already asleep.

Rhett felt his body relax as well. He knew there would be consequences, for letting Scarlett get this close again but right now he didn't care. He only cared that she was safe and how good it felt to have her in his arms again, - if only for tonight. Tonight, he could pretend everything was alright between them. He pulled Scarlett even closer and then he was out like a light.