Disclaimer : I don't own GWTW nor Scarlett. All the credits go to Margaret Mitchell and Alexandra Ripley.

Author's Note : This is my first attempt on GWTW fiction. I wrote this for Rhett Vulnerability Challenge and posted it here after some minor changes and revisions on the grammar and spelling with the help of my beta, hochrot-engel. Hope you like it!

Summary : The story takes place after Rhett's meeting with Scarlett at the Drogedha Fair, Ireland.

Fate Brings You to Me

"Rhett!"

Rhett Butler put down his glass of brandy with a sigh, remembering Scarlett's outburst at the Drogedha Fair. How surprised he was to find Scarlett there, buying a horse, and in Ireland of all places. Yes, he was shocked. To see her there, clothed in that colorful attire, her chest heaved with small gasps of breath, smiling wide, eyes glinting like a pair of emerald orbs.

'God, she's beautiful,' Rhett thought with a hint of nostalgia. How he missed her all of this time. Months ago, in his hasty leave, he pushed her out of his life with only a note of good bye and a vase of roses as a consolation prize. He was angry back then. Angry at her for chasing him to Charleston, cornering him with her love. Angry at her for making him vulnerable. Angry at her for toying with his feeling over and over again. But most of all, he was angry at himself for wanting her despite all the things that had happened, though God knew how hard he really tried not to.

So he did the only thing that seemed reasonable at the time. He ran. Rhett Butler, the mighty Rhett Butler who prided himself not to be a coward, ran because of a woman, his green-eyed angel of a wife. 'Though angel might not be the right phrase, for an angel was gentle and innocent,' Rhett thought with a smile. No, his Scarlett was obstinate, spirited, and shrewd. She was a match for him, a partner.

He brought his glass to his lips, taking a long gulp of its content. He felt the familiar warm of brandy in his system and let his mind wandered in the past. Even in times when he was away from Charleston, the thought of Scarlett wouldn't leave his mind. He found himself longing for her even more, especially at nights when he couldn't sleep, tossing and turning, aching for her presence. He found himself willing to give everything just to see her once again. Couldn't endure this kind of torture any longer, Rhett decided to return to his mother's house.

But it was too late. Scarlett had gone. Without a note; without good byes. He had almost lost his mind. He frantically searched for her through all Charleston, but it proved to be fruitless. Then he came back to Atlanta, only to find another punch on his gut. Their house on Peachtree Street was sold. Another tie to Scarlett was broken. Despite all its horrible design, it was the only place he had ever called home. It was his gift to Scarlett, a testament of his devotion to her. And it unsettled him to find out that she could let it go so easily.

He got very drunk that night that even Belle couldn't console him anymore. But then, he still had a hope in finding her. Maybe she was in Tara. Maybe he could see her face one more time. The next morning, he boarded on the first train to Jonesboro. With every minutes of his trip, he grew more and more anxious. What if she didn't want to meet him? Oh, he would beg and groveled at her feet. He would do anything to get her back. But his hope was shattered when he set his foot on Tara and finding her not there.

She was gone from his life. For good. Because he was too proud to admit that he was still in love with her. And now she was punishing him for his action. In his anguish, Rhett had made himself believe that he felt nothing but anger towards Scarlett. Anger after all, he could handle. In his anger, his filed for divorce on the ground of desertion. In his anger, he married Anne.

But, as the anger began to dissipate, he started to feel the familiar pang of longing. How he started to regret his rushed decision to marry Anne. It wasn't fair for both Scarlett and Anne. He would sometimes look at his side, expecting to see Scarlett's dark hair, only to find Anne's brown one. At night he would close his eyes, imagining that it was Scarlett in his arms, not Anne. And how he would bite his tongue during making love with Anne to stop himself from cried out Scarlett's name in his peak of pleasure.

Yes, he was foolish. He let his chance of happiness slipped from his very hand. And he paid the price handsomely. His life had no purpose any longer. It was only a shell of him, waking up every morning. His life was nothing more than a duty.

Until that day, the day at Charleston's dock. He saw her. She's on the deck of Golden Fleece with her hair billowing in the wind. Her eyes filled with sadness and love and longing. A mixture of expressions he was sure mirrored his own. For a second or two, Rhett almost threw whatever remained of his common sense and ran to her. But then he noticed her mourning dress. The reality crashed upon him. He couldn't have her. He had divorced her and married Anne. He had no right to claim her. As far as she was concerned, he was dead. Banned from her life. Forever. The truth almost knocked the breath out of him. Now, he had to be satisfied by only watching her face until she was no longer in his sight, imprinting her forever in his mind.

But a glimpse of her couldn't satisfy him; wouldn't satisfy him. He tracked the passenger list of the ship. She didn't disembark in Boston. She had to be in England. Now that he knew where she was, the urge to be with her, to touch her, to talk to her became unbearable. Before he knew it, he had already booked a ticket to England.

The voyage itself was a torture. More than once he questioned his decision to follow her. What would he do once he found her? Plead for her forgiveness? Asked her to stay with him? Told her that he was still in love with her? Nothing seemed plausible. He had obligations to another woman and to Charleston. If only he hadn't married Anne, he often thought at that time. Of course, he could always blame Scarlett for his loveless marriage. But despite his futile attempt, he couldn't be angry at her anymore. His yearning for Scarlett had become too much to be covered by anger.

He spent the entire month in England trying to locate her. He used every connection he had to obtain even the gist of gossips about her. But once again she seemed to disappear. No one seemed to hear about her, let alone saw her. It was one of the few times Rhett reevaluated his religious standing and thought that maybe, after all, there was a God; and He was punishing him for his past misdeeds by taking the only person he really love. In his desperation, he began to drink heavily. Sleeping wasn't easy for him with the thought of Scarlett swirling in his head constantly and liquor was the only cure he knew.

And then by chance, he met John Morland; a friend he corresponded with. John tried to persuade him to join his trip to Ireland. Rhett was hesitant at first. He still had every intentions of looking for Scarlett. But then he felt something he hadn't felt in years. Resignation. He had tried everything he knew to find her and the result was nowhere near satisfying. No, there's nothing more he could do. He had to move on. So the next morning he came to Ireland.

It seemed that fate had played a cruel joke with his life. There he was, trying to forget Scarlett and without preamble, she suddenly appeared before his very eyes. As spirited as before. As beautiful as before, if not even more so. He almost thought that after all the sleepless nights, his mind started to play tricks on his eyes. She seemed happy, contented with her life. And for that he was glad. She didn't deserve half the suffering he put her into.

Yet, a small part of him felt a twinge of regret. How he had wanted her to be happy with him. How he had wanted to shelter her from this wicked world. How he had wanted to fight her fights. But in reality, all he did was put her in misery.

At least, now she was happy. Even though it wasn't because of him.

Then she uttered those words Rhett didn't even dare to hope to hear again in his life. She loved him. He didn't know how she managed to do that after all the hell he put her through, but she loved him. All the things he had wanted to say to her were forgotten in his momentary shock and instead he said things he hadn't meant to say. He almost strangled himself when he saw the hurt flickered in her eyes. Of all the time, his tongue decided to betray him in a very inopportune moment.

And he realized how much he really missed her spirit when he saw her closing the deal on the horse John had set his eyes on. He knew she did that only to annoy him, but by God it made him loved her even more. His life was dull without Scarlett. And he couldn't bear the thought of losing her again. Maybe he couldn't do anything to win her back, but at least he knew where to find her. The thought was comforting enough for him.

Suddenly, he felt someone tapped his shoulder, pulling him back from his reverie.

"Ready to go?" John Morland asked him, welcoming himself in the chair beside him.

"Yes. After this glass," answered Rhett, tipping his glass to drain the content.

"You know, I was just thinking," John started, "Remember that Scarlett woman we met at the fair?"

Rhett nodded his head.

"She was…intriguing, I guess," John Morland continued, "I perceive you've known her for quite some time."

Soft smile grazed Rhett's lips as he spoke. "Yes. She's a very dear friend of mine."

"Well," John said as he started to stand, "I can't wait to meet her at the hunt this Saturday."

"Me too, John," Rhett replied before following his friend out of the bar, "Me too."

For the first time in a very long time, he was eager for the days to come.

Author's Note : That's it. What do you think? Please be a dear and click the button on the bottom of this page to leave a review. See you next time!