Author's Note: I couldn't leave it there, I had to give you all a little hope, I mean this is a Christmas story after all. Please remember that there is a reason that it is called three days.
She starred down at them, her blue eyes filled with tears. The two people that she had loved most in her life were now completely and utterly miserable. And now mother was dying, and father would surely not be far behind. He loved mother too much to live in a word without her. Her small heart, which in all truth no longer beat, clenched at the thought of the pain that they were inflicting on each other. She wished desperately that she could do something, anything to make things better. It was her death that had been the final blow. They had lashed out at each other. Mother had blamed Daddy for the fall, but it was no one's fault but Bonnie's own. And o how she had wished to float down among them and beg them to stop. She had wanted to wipe the tears from her father's eyes and that lonely vacant stare from her mother's eyes. It wasn't mother's time yet, no she had many years left to live. She had hoped that Aunt Mellie would comfort them, stop them from their destructive path, but now Aunt Mellie too was with her. And there was no one left to comfort them, or make anything any better.
She rose on her small feet and smoothed imaginary wrinkles from her blue trimmed white robe. There was a determined sparkle to her eyes as she strode as purposefully as a forever four year old could stride toward the center of the city. Her black curls bounced about her shoulders as she trod the golden path that led to the throne.
When she finally reached her destination, she climbed upon the knee of the one who always had time for her. Her cheeks flushed pink as she leaned and whispered into his ear, "Can you help my Mother and Daddy?"
With a visible kindness in his eyes, he nodded. "Three days, three days that can be re done. That is all that I can give."
Bonnie smiled confidently. "Thank you, Jesus." She giggled as she kissed his cheek and wrapped her little arms around him. "They can do it. I know that they can."
With that she slipped from his knee and rushed to where Aunt Mellie sat with Bonnie's baby brother and baby Sarah would be watching below at Beau and Ashley, as always. And she tumbled into Aunt Mellie's arms with an exuberance that was unique to her alone. And then Bonnie turned her eyes down to where she could see both Mother and Daddy. This was their last chance, surely they would not err.
He woke slowly. The bed around him was cold and empty. His eyes were crusted and weary. He remembered the night before. He remembered the agony that he felt as he watched Scarlett's final moments, and that numbing shock that stole over him as she died. Who had taken her body from him?
But as he looked around, he saw that he was not in Scarlett's room, no, nor was he even in the Peachtree Street house. He was in his room above Belle's where he frequently hid. How had he gotten here?
He was on the verge of panic when he noticed a faint blue light that shimmered near the door. And even as he watched, the form of his late beloved daughter seemed to solidify and fill out. He stepped forward, reaching a hand tentatively towards the child. "Bonnie."
The words caught in his throat. He must be going mad. Bonnie could not be here, here of all places. But she was. She was as real, as solid as anything else that existed in the room.
"Daddy, it's all right. It's me. Daddy, it's your Bonnie."
Rhett stared at her intently, as if she would disappear if he were to blink or glance away for the smallest fraction of a moment. But she did not waver, although she did not seem the irresponsible carefree child that she had once been. Although she still looked like the child that he had loved, now she spoke with the wisdom and authority that belied the years that she had lived.
"Daddy, you have to change. If you don't then Mother is going to die. Daddy, it isn't time for her yet. She isn't ready. Daddy, I asked for help, and so you have three days to get it right. You only have three days. Daddy, I love you. Daddy, take care of Mother. You both love each other. If you continue this game then you will both die."
He felt a rush of wind as she rushed to him and pressed her warm lips to his cheek, before she faded away into a shimmering cloud of blue light. And then she was gone like whisper of wind.
"Bonnie!" He cried, rubbing his temples, as if this vision had been nothing more than an overabundance of alcohol and grief.
"Rhett, darlin' are you all right in there?" Came a soft voice through the door.
"I'm fine, Belle." He said with more confidence and certainty than he felt. "What day is it?"
"Rhett, darlin' you know it's Christmas Eve." Belle responded.
"Thanks!" Rhett hurriedly dressed and rushed out of his room and down the stairs and out of the brothel. He had one thing on his mind. Somehow he had to change today, and save Scarlett.
He rushed into the house, the door slamming behind him, to find her just as he expected, finishing a heaping plate of food before quietly sipping a steaming cup of coffee that she had dosed heavily with cream and sugar. "Good Morning, Rhett." She said with a hint of coolness in her voice. But her hand was shaking as she spoke, as if his presence unnerved her a great deal more than she was willing to admit.
"Morning, Scarlett."Good Morning, Scarlett. You might want to be careful with that. You wouldn't want to spill coffee on your dress." He filled his plate from the side board which was loaded with food before sitting at the opposite end of the massive table that had been custom built for the room. "What are Wade and Ella doing today?"
"Good grief, Rhett. I have no idea. It's the day before Christmas. They are getting ready for Christmas." She looked at him annoyed that he would bother even asking.
"I'm sorry if they question offended you. They are your children. I thought you might know of their plans." He paused to take a sip of his still steaming coffee that had been set before him. "Then what are your plans for the rest of the day?"
"Well, I'm going to go by the store and make sure that everything is going well. And I might do some more shopping." She told him.
"Please do. I want you to enjoy yourself. And I'll see you at supper. Don't stay late at the store. We are supposed to spend the evening together with the children. I'll see you at supper." He said.
She started to take a sip of her coffee, but her hand was still shaking. The coffee sloshed inside of the cup and spilled down the front of her dress, an ever widening tan stain that she dabbed at to no avail.
"I warned you, Scarlett. Now you'll have to go change dresses." He said with a smile.
At that moment Ella burst into the room, and in the presence of her step-father she began chattering nonsensically, preventing further discussion between the strained spouses. And so Scarlett rose to change from her ruined frock into something that wasn't dripping with spilled coffee.
Scarlett sat at the desk near the counter reviewing the books. The store was in good order, and there wasn't much left for her to do. She knew Rhett would call her Ebeneezer Scrooge if she didn't close early to let her clerks go home to spend the evening with their families. During their marriage, at least in the early days, he had been greatly amused by referring to her in such a manner. After the miscarriage, after that night when he had taken her after Ashley's party, he had become detached, impersonal. They had not bickered any longer. That feeling was what she was avoiding now. But at the moment, she couldn't stand the thought of going home to the strained atmosphere. Rhett might even stay at the house tonight, since it was Christmas Eve after all.
She store was quickly emptying of patrons, and she knew that the time was getting away from her. Finally the manager came up to her and asked if she would be fine if he left. She quickly dismissed him and wished him a Happy Christmas. He hurriedly gathered his coat and left.
The jingling of the bell alerted Scarlett to another's presence. "We're closed." She called from her desk.
"I'm not here to buy anything. It's getting late, and a pretty little lady such as yourself, shouldn't be here alone, on Christmas eve of all nights." A nasally voice replied.
"Who's there?" She demanded, with more courage than she felt at the moment.
"I'm an old friend. I'm hurt that you don't remember me, Scarlett." The voice said from the darkness.
"A friend wouldn't sound so nasty. A friend would stand in the light." She exclaimed unable to keep her annoyance masked. She stood and grabbed her wraps impatiently. "I told you that we are closed. And I am leaving. You need to leave."
"You always were a little trollop. Why aren't you with your husband? I heard that he is back in town, but he would rather be with a whore than his wife."
Scarlett hurried towards the front door, but a hand reached out and grabbed her. "I've told you to leave, that we are closed, but you refuse to listen to me."
The man stepped into the light, revealing a man that Scarlett had not seen since that ill-fated day that she decided to go to Atlanta to get money from Rhett. "I don't care what you want. I told you that you would pay for the way you and your family treated me."
Scarlett jerked free of the hand that held her arm and resumed her retreat out of the store , with Wilkerson close on her heels. "I couldn't have Tara on simple terms, so I'm going to take it however I can." He threatened menacingly.
"My husband was running late, and I was supposed to meet him here. He'll be along any minute." She trembled with the lie, standing on the front sidewalk in front of her store.
"You're lying. You wouldn't know how to speak the truth!" he bellowed. "I'm taking you tonight! You like it rough don't you. Talk is that your husband threw you down the stairs at your big fancy house. Maybe you like accident like that" He grabbed her roughly.
Scarlett fought against him twisting and clawing, anything to free herself from his clutches. When she was about to give up, she felt his arms loosen suddenly. Rhett was here. Rhett was here to rescue her. But as Scarlett stepped back to allow Rhett to take care of Wilkerson, she lost her footing and stumbled backwards. She couldn't stop the momentum, and landed on her back in the street. And it wasn't until the carriage was upon her, did she finally see the end as it came. The driver didn't see her in the darkness. She felt the sharp stabbing pains as the horses hoofs trampled her,before the blackness swallowed her.
She awoke to a weary dullness, to find herself undressed and lying on her bed. And she was tired, so exceptionally tired that it was a struggle to open her eyes. A faint moan escaped from her lips, and she felt something brush the hair from her eyes.
She heard him then, and she forced her eyes open. A faint whisper escaped from her lips. "Rhett."
His eyes found hers, and he brushed her lips with his, tear drops falling from his face to hers. His eyes held such guilt, as if he could have somehow changed things, as if he could have known what was going to happen. "Scarlett. Scarlett. I can't lose you. Please don't go. I was wrong. I do love you. Scarlett, please, please. Scarlett, I can't lose you too."
"I love you, Rhett. Know that. I love you. Tell Wade....and Ella.... I love them." She sighed tiredly. The effort to speak those words seem to sap what little strength that she had. "Thank you."
"For what? This is my fault!"
"For saving me." She finished weakly.
"Scarlett, damn you! Scarlett! Fight! Scarlett, stay with me! Damn you! You can't die! " There was real fear in his voice and she could see it in his eyes. It was as if he was reliving Bonnie's death and something else that she could not understand.
"I'm Sorry." She knew, from her time spent nursing that the end was almost here. She could hear the death rattle in her own chest. Her eyes held no glitter. They were dull and flat. "I'm dying, Rhett. We can't stop it." Her eyes seemed to hold a wisdom that they had never held before. "Pray for me Rhett. Pray for Purgatory."
"Scarlett, don't talk like that. Please, Scarlett, you can make it." His eyes glittered with unshed tears.
"I love you, Rhett." Her breathing grew more and more erratic. "Kiss me."
He bent forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Their tears mixing as his tears fell onto her face. She responded weakly to him, and he felt as if he could feel the life slipping from her.
"I love you, Scarlett. I always have. We need time. We need more time. I want to prove to you how much I love you! Please Scarlett." Scarlett sighed one last shuddering breath, and Rhett kissed her pale lips, trying to hold on to these last lingering moments. But she was gone. Scarlett was dead. He had had the chance to change things and she still had died. God help him, he loved her. What was he supposed to do? And now she was leaving, taking the very last embers of love with her last breath. He crawled into the bed beside her now silent body and held her against to him. How was he to go on without her?
He held her limp body in his arms. He had missed out on these last months because of the dull emptiness that had taken over his very existence. And he had lost this last day, assuming that his absence would protect her. And now he had lost her too. There was nothing left. And he held her until sleep and grief and exhaustion won out.