They were in her room. For the first time he was in her room. It felt strange. She almost showed him to his usual guest room when she saw his brow rise with undisguised humor. She shrugged and her face grew red when she mumbled something undetectable
and took his hand aiming toward her room.

"Rhett, is it valid?"

"As valid as certificates go." He saw her forehead frown with hesitation, and he took her to his lap – "We'll have a ceremony here too, if you wish, before a crowd of people, but I thought it best if we dated the wedding long before the pregnancy. Legally,
I filed the forms that couples who marry in the far territories do. They simply send it by post and it's done by their word, so there is no questioning."

She eased in his lap. The picture of her first wedding came through her head, herself dressed in her mother's wedding gown, and the blur in the following days. No, she did not care to dress in white again. It had meant so little. The virginity of white
and what it symbolized would be a sham. Did he want her to marry him in the traditional way, her hero, her love?

She closed her eyes and kissed his forehead "Rhett, would you like me to wear white for you and have a ceremony? I've already done it, but it meant so little to me back then…"

Her eyes were closed so she did not see the surprised look in his eyes "I've never thought of it, no, I guess it's not one of my desires. A dress in white and green like the first one I saw you in would be much more fitting, don't you think?"

She laughed a carefree laughter, so rare to her own ears "I will even throwa vase at the spinsters instead of a bouquet if it pleases you."

He roared with laughter hugging her tightly, "Don't you want a big white wedding?"

"With this?" she signaled at her abdomen smiling apologetically "It would be silly, wouldn't it?"

He looked at her solemnly "No. It won't. It would be you vowing to be my wife. But we don't have to if you feel awkward. It won't make you less my wife if we do nothing at all. This is definitely something." He was caressing her still flat belly.

She observed his eyes, her heart bursting with happiness, she cupped his cheek "Oh, I want to celebrate us. I just…" she lost her words. She did not want to share her thoughts of her first wedding, a wedding that came out of her spite and jealousy. A
thought of Ashley came to her mind and she looked away with a sad look on her face. She hadn't thought of him in the passing year more than occasionally. What a waste of time it had been to marry out of spite. She felt Rhett's warm arms circling her
form his presence was intoxicating, she drifted to his comforting existence "You won't leave until the baby is born?" she suddenly worried.

"I still have some things in England to sort. But I wanted to take you with me. I think that a pregnancy in England would be more sensible then here. "

"What's the difference? Pregnancy is horrid no matter where you are." She blushed

"That's why I want you to be in England with you and Wade when the baby arrives. Women in England are not hidden even in the last weeks of their pregnancies and it's treated as something beautiful and happy. I for one am proud to have you carrying our
child, and I can't wait to see you in your full bloom of the process."

She blushed to the roots of her hair "Bloom, fiddle dee dee, Rhett! You've got to be joking."

He gave her one of those special looks that made her feel unclothed, "Wait and see if I'm joking or not." His eyes were bright and mischievous.

They decided to form a small ceremony in which Gerald will give her to him, in two days and a day before they leave. To her surprise it felt more than fitting to wake in the morning of her wedding enwrapped in her lover's arms. For the first morning in
ages, she thought, the nausea did not show up. To her amazement she felt more alive than ever before, as if her eyes opened to the light again after a long slumber. She gazed at the tanned man at her side still sleeping, and with resolution she woke
him up with a long kiss that ignored the tastes of the night.

He had held close her in the last couple of nights, and she fell asleep long before he even felt a touch of sleepiness being with first term fatigue, but that morning it was gone as if it never existed before.

With a lazy smile he opened his eyes "Patience Madam, you are not married just yet."

"Precisely, I believe we have a really small window of opportunities for illicit relations. Make me feel wicked" she whispered surprising herself and him with the fervor in herself.

As he undressed her of her nightgown he noticed her heavy breasts and a small bump that wasn't there when she fell asleep the night before – "Lord, you are beautiful" he whispered with awe "Are you sure you're up to…"

She grabbed him impatiently "If you don't I'll die."

A few hours later she walked holding her father's arm wearing a light green dress and holding white lilies towards him 'so this is how it's meant to be? Who would have thought this rascal would actually marry me?'

When she said her vows she straitened her eyes and prayed silently that he'll realize she meant every word this time with one last pang of sorrow she thought of her mother's eyes as she saw Careens wet eyes gleam at her 'Please mother bless us all, I
love him more than life' she thought silently.

"All the happiness in her eyes was lost when she was so ill in Atlanta, and today she is as bright as the stars of heaven." Melanie smiled at him as she kissed his cheek happily after the ceremony.

Scarlett heard it half eared as she accepted a dry kiss from Ashley and turned to embrace her husband's arm – "He saved me, and the trouble is he's known it all along."

In years to come when she'd yell at him or ignore him for some reason he'd use that sentence to disarm her of her anger, it never failed. He was her hero, the love of her life and she cherished him, feeling that her sins and pains had in fact blessed
her to no end.

The end

Thank you all for all the encouragement. I intend to write something new pretty soon (still GWTW), and then return to my neglected Milady. I had so much fun! I love you all, GWTW lovers.