A/N: Hi, I'd just like to thank everyone who has reviewed recently, including Firth'sDarcy, Nanuk888, Dixie, LilyM.85 and Melody-Rose-20. You're all lovely, and so are the guest reviewers. Why so shy? Anyway, I'm sorry the last chapter was short. There are some new developments in this one which I hope you'll find interesting. And as usual, let me know what you think in a review!

CHAPTER ELEVEN:

"Mother," It was Wade who broke in on Scarlett's thoughts as she stood at the edge of the swamp at the bottom of the land Tara stood upon. It was hard to say how she felt; on one hand, she was angry with Aunt Eulalie, but on the other, she was more confused by Rhett's actions towards her. When they had arrived, he had been almost too friendly to her, too kind. And now he wasn't speaking to her at all, apart from in front of everyone else, where they had to pretend their marriage was perfect. It perturbed her mainly because, while it was nice not having him goading her all the time, they were sharing a bed. They were spending more time alone than they had done in years, and yet he would not speak a word to her. They'd been back at Tara a fortnight now, and Scarlett wished more than ever that she could return to Atlanta now, back to the hustle and bustle of a city where she could always get away from Rhett.

Remembering that her son had approached her, she turned to frown at him. He seemed to have had a sudden growth spurt, and was almost to her shoulder now.

"Mother, when are we going home?" He asked.

"I was just thinking about that." Scarlett admitted absently.

"Well, it isn't that I don't love Tara. But I miss home. I miss my friends."

"Wade, you are growing up so fast. We will go home soon, I promise." She assured him.

"How soon?" Scarlett felt annoyance that he questioned her again, but she held it back. She was still trying to be more patient with her children.

"I can't say, Wade. But do not worry; we won't be here for much longer. I miss home too." Scarlett smiled a sad smile. Wade seemed satisfied at last and retreated back to the house. Scarlett watched his slender figure crossing the red, almost-bare lawn and sighed. It was approaching Christmas, and she did not intend to spend it here, with a sister who got more difficult to live with every minute, a baby who screamed all night, and having to share a bed with Rhett.

"I thought you were enjoying yourself at home, Scarlett." Rhett was giving one of his fake smiles. Scarlett knew it was fake because she knew him better than anyone else did, and she almost screamed at him for it. When would he stop pretending? It didn't seem worth it anymore. They had stayed another week at Tara, and things had not improved between them. He still would not speak to her when they were alone, not even to say nasty things to her. And the hours that they spent in the company of the children, Will or Suellen were almost worse, because the constant charade was always in danger of slipping. Rhett had this way of making tiny little comments that would seem like nothing to everybody else, but Scarlett felt their barbs acutely- plus, she had always lacked subtlety, so could never reply without it being obvious that all was not rosy. Rhett's suggestion that she was enjoying herself, coupled with the false smile, was an example of this.

"Why, we've been getting to spend so much quality time with one another." Rhett continued, when she didn't answer his first remark. "It's been heavenly." Scarlett's emerald eyes flashed angrily in his direction, but still she kept her jaw clenched and her tongue bitten. Suellen seemed to be eyeing the two suspiciously, and Scarlett knew that Rhett was toeing the line now. "You know the ever-moving Atlanta will just keep us two away from each other more again, and it will be like torture, seeing as we've just become acquainted with spending not a minute apart. I am not entirely sure how I will cope without my lovely wife by my side."

"I am sure you will be able to cope, Rhett. You are quite capable." Scarlett tried not to sound too vicious. Suellen's eyes were travelling between one and the other like it was a tennis match. Will was loading up the carriage and appeared not to be listening, but Scarlett knew for a fact that he was all too aware of the underlying tension; he may be the only person in the whole world who saw the Butler marriage for what it was: a total sham, in other words.

"Oh, but I'm not sure I am, Scarlett. You are overestimating my capabilities, my pet. A second from you is like a year to me, whatever shall I do? Seek out the company of others?"

Rhett felt some deep satisfaction in his chest when he said that. He had finally done it. He knew he had done it- he had made her snap. Although she wasn't looking at him, was bending over a carpetbag containing some of her belongings, her shoulders stiffened and her fists clenched and unclenched. The bag fell to the ground in the process, and she slowly wheeled around.

"It wouldn't be the first time, would it?" Her voice was dangerously quiet.

"Whatever do you mean? I am a loyal husband." He was smiling smugly. She was trembling from head to foot in the grips that famous O'Hara temper multiplied by a thousand.

"Every second I have had to spend in your company has been hell, Rhett Butler. You know that! How dare you force me through this ridiculous farce for three weeks, obliging me to keep myself quiet and ladylike in front of my family while you continuously insult me and humiliate me? I keep a sweet smile on my face the entire time, knowing that you are nothing but a- a traitorous, abandoning varmint, who deserves nothing worse than- than-" She was breathing so hard she could barely get the words out. Suellen had taken several steps away from the couple, holding the baby tighter to her body. Will looked around from the carriage, but it was too late. Rhett was laughing, and then he was yelping in pain as something thin, green and furious collided with him.

Scarlett slapped him hard several times round the face, screaming profanities all the while, and kicking his shins. Rhett was trying to restrain her, to push her away and to get a hold of her hands so he could stop this assault, but she was entirely out of control. Suellen went inside to make sure Wade and Ella wouldn't come out to see their mother like this, but Scarlett couldn't even feel grateful. She was blind with rage, could not believe he had strung her along the whole time they'd been here, only to destroy their pretty illusion at the last second.

It was Will Benteen stepping in that ended the scene. He managed to get his arms around Scarlett and pull her away from her stunned husband. Though he seemed unscathed, he still looked shocked. He could never have guessed the strength of the reaction he had gotten from her; clearly, her temper only got worse when she bottled it up.

None of them said anything. Will let go of Scarlett once he deemed it safe. She was out of breath, tears streaming down her face, staring at her husband. Rhett stared back.

"Darling," He breathed, "I am truly sorry." He was actually being sincere. Though he had felt immensely gratified while he was wreaking his revenge on her, now he just felt guilty- did she really deserve him hurting her that deeply, especially in front of her family? He knew what it felt like to have your family look down on you. Scarlett turned away with a sniff, and wiped her tears away with her hair. There wasn't an opportunity to say anything else before Suellen came out, the children in tow.

Thankfully, they didn't know what had happened. Rhett thanked his lucky stars for Suellen O'Hara Benteen's quick thinking then. Scarlett made out that her tears were because she would miss Tara, and neither Wade nor Ella questioned this explanation. The journey to Jonesboro and the train station was quiet. By mid-afternoon, when they pulled into Atlanta, Wade and Ella had both fallen asleep. Rhett prodded Wade awake, then carried Ella outside to the carriage where Pork was waiting for them. As soon as they got inside, Scarlett made a beeline upstairs to her bedroom, but Rhett followed her.

"Please," She said tiredly, turning to face him in the doorway of her bedroom, "Leave me alone."

"Scarlett, I want you to know that I realise I overstepped the line. I wanted to hurt you, but not like that. I should have realised." Rhett apologised again.

"I know." Scarlett answered simply.

"You do?"

"Yes. Rhett, I don't know how long we can keep this up."

"We could get a divorce." Rhett told her flatly. "If we'd done that months ago…"

"Yes. But we can't."

"Why?" Fresh tears had begun to run down Scarlett's cheeks, wetting them all over again. She looked up into his dark eyes and wished that she could seek comfort in them like the old days.

"I'm pregnant."

She had missed her courses, and though she hadn't seen a doctor, Scarlett knew. She'd been pregnant four times. She didn't need to be told.

Her feelings about this pregnancy were mixed. Her last had been disastrous, and she remembered seeing that particular memory reflected in the dark eyes of Rhett: his telling her that perhaps she would be lucky enough to have an accident, and moments later, her having just such an accident. It had been the only baby she wanted, and God had taken it away from her. Now, she thought she had deserved that punishment for being so neglectful of her living children. Then, of course, Bonnie had been taken from her too. That had seemed altogether unfair; was she really that bad a person? But, now she had another chance. One final chance, perhaps, to do it right. But it was among a wreckage of a marriage. Rhett had agreed from the moment she told him the news that a divorce was an impossibility now. He had even secretly vowed to himself that he would fix their relationship, do whatever it would take to make sure that baby came into a happy, loving world. They had passed the point of pretending now, and had resolved to at least try and get along.

Three months into the pregnancy, and they lived in a subdued home. Scarlett's stomach was beginning to round, a small bump peeking from between her hips. They had not had a fight since that fateful day at Tara, but then again, neither had picked one. Perhaps all these years they had caused the fights themselves, had not really had anything to fight over.

"Have you thought of any names?" Rhett asked her dully one evening. The children were having a sleepover with Beau at Ashley's.

"No," Scarlett admitted. "Have you?"

"No."

"We have to talk, Rhett. I mean, not about anything in particular, but we have to communicate. This is almost as bad as the fighting." Scarlett sighed. She had been thinking about this for a few days.

"I know." He said. "But what can I say? Scarlett, I have made a mess of this marriage. I have to carry this with me to the grave, baby or no baby."

"What are you talking about? I ruined this, not you." She laughed in disbelief.

"Please, do not rewrite history. Scarlett, I killed two of our babies. I blamed you for everything. I ran around behind your back and I treated you terribly, even though I loved you." Rhett said dryly.

"You know you are not solely to blame for Bonnie, Rhett. And as for my last pregnancy," She winced at the memory, "It was a nasty coincidence, nothing more. I didn't treat you any better than you treated me, and I didn't even have a way of answering for myself; I kicked you out of my bed, and out of my life. I was jealous of my own daughter and… I was completely obsessed with the idea of another man. Could I have expected anything but what I got?"

This was the first time they had really talked about any of this; talked, and not fought or argued. They were two adults, two heart-broken, tired people who were having a baby together, in spite of the awful circumstances they found themselves in. The only thing left to do was to talk about it all. The days for mind-games and pointing the finger were past now, and they had a harsh reality to face.

"I have lied so many times to your face, Scarlett. And I never ever did that, not once, until the day I left. I ran away because I was scared of what I felt for you. I was so angry, and depressed. But I turned it out on you, and that wasn't fair. You were suffering too, but I told myself that they were crocodile tears." He gave a bitter laugh and shook his head. "I guess it doesn't matter anymore. Those days are gone now."

"Rhett, is there any point to this? We've both done terrible things. I killed a man once." She added. Scarlett wasn't sure if she'd ever told him that: and apparently she hadn't, judging by his expression. "Oh, it was in the war. He was a Yankee, came to steal. And Melly was still so ill from having Beau. So, I took Charlie's gun, and I shot him."

"You never fail to surprise me, Scarlett O'Hara." Rhett smiled the first real smile he'd given her in many years.

"Well, I did what I had to do. Isn't that all both of us do?"

Rhett reached across to where she sat and squeezed the hand lying on the arm of her chair. He remembered seeing that same hand calloused and rough from having to plough at Tara when all their slaves had left. Now it was back to being smooth and ladylike, though still bore a couple of scars from blisters she'd gotten from the manual work.

"Perhaps that is all anybody does."