I don't own GWTW or Harry Potter.
Rhett awoke the next morning only vaguely remembering his "dream" of a beautiful and exotic, but unusual woman. He did not recollect the conversation they had, but he did have a strong feeling of wanting to go home. He wasted no time in packing up Bonnie and catching the next train back to Atlanta.
Scarlett, however, remembered exactly what had transpired the night before. She wasn't sure if the spirit of Mammy Jincy had appeared to her, or if she had actually conjured her up in the dream, but she didn't dwell on it for long. More important to her were the ideas that had been implanted in her head – thoughts that she had never previously considered.
She sat up in bed and wondered…could it be that she really did love Rhett? No, it wasn't possible! She loved Ashley…of course she did! She always had and always would! But…that afternoon at the mill…well, Ashley was holding her in his arms and all she felt was…history…and friendship. That was it. It felt like she was just hugging a friend. But that was just one time. Surely if he held her again, she'd feel differently. Wouldn't she?
Not accustomed to deep introspection, her head began to ache. To clear her mind, she rose and walked over to her dresser, sat down, and gazed at her reflection in the mirror. The image of her pretty face usually perked her spirits. But her face was pale, and her thoughts instantly went to the child she was carrying. Oh, her baby! She smiled at herself in the glass, and her cheeks seemed to color a bit. She had visited Dr. Meade a week ago, and she'd told no one about her pregnancy. She was so happy this time! She wanted to share the news! She wanted to scream it out to the world that she was going to have a baby. She would be so good to this one! And, she was encouraged to be a better mother to the three she already had. But she hadn't told anyone. She was waiting. Waiting for…what?
Rhett. Rhett! She wanted to share the news with him, wanted to run to him and throw her arms around him and let him hold her tight as she told him. He would be happy, wouldn't he? He loved children, especially his own. Oh, if only he were here! If only she could share this wonderful news with him, share this happy news with her husband that she loved so much. Loved so much?
Yes, she did love Rhett! She loved him passionately, with every fiber of her being! Oh, a woman never loved a man as much as she loved Rhett! God, why was she such a fool as to believe she could love a man as weak as Ashley? Ashley…he was nothing to her! Just an image left over from her girlhood. Ha! To hell with him! Melanie could have him. Melanie was too good for him! Oh, she regretted the years she'd wasted on Ashley Wilkes. Why, she could have been happy with Rhett all of these years!
She excitedly washed up and dressed. As she was pinching her cheeks, a thought slowly occurred to her. Did Rhett really love her? Or, did he just want her as he had always told her? She shook her head. No, she would not accept that. Rhett had to love her, because she loved him. She would not accept him not loving her. If he didn't, she had ways to make him fall in love with her. But…Rhett was different than all of the other men she'd known. He didn't succumb to the feminine tricks that worked with other men. Her smile quickly faded to a look of panic. Then a coolness took over her. There had never been a man she couldn't get, once she'd set her mind upon him.
Her thoughts were interrupted with the sound of hooves and wheels hitting the pathway outside. She quickly made her out of her bedroom and down the stairs. Coming to greet her were little feet running up toward her.
"Mother!" Bonnie shouted out to her. "I missed you dreadfully!"
"Oh, darling, I missed you too! Oh, Bonnie, my baby!" She hugged her daughter tightly and rocked her in her arms.
"Mother, Daddy said he's going to get me a pony! But I'm not going to jump with him until I'm these many," Bonnie said, holding up six fingers. "And, Gran'ma gave me a kitten!"
Scarlett laughed and kissed the child's cheek before she ran upstairs to Mammy.
Down at the bottom of the staircase was Rhett. He looked up, saw her and swept off his hat in a wide gesture, bowing as he did. When she met his dark eyes, her heart leaped. But then he looked at her with a quizzical, uncertain look.
"I look pale, don't I?" was all Scarlett could manage to shake out.
"Actually, Mrs. Butler, you don't," Rhett said, with his eyebrows coming together. "You're glowing, in fact."
Surprised, Scarlett said, "Really? I mean, you can tell there's something – different – about me?"
Rhett's jaw dropped in a rare, unguarded moment, as he ran up the steps two at a time to meet her. He sucked in his breath suddenly and his eyes went rapidly over her. He took a quick step toward her and put a hand on her arm. "Scarlett…do you mean you're –"
"I am Rhett…I'm going to have a baby."
"You – you're actually happy about it, aren't you?" Rhett asked hoarsely.
Suddenly, it came all pouring out of her. She couldn't hold it in any longer. "Oh Rhett, I'm so happy, I could just dance and dance and never stop! And I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't find you! I thought you may still be at your mother's, but I wasn't sure, and I was just hoping and hoping that you'd come home soon. And darling, I just realized that I love you so! I believe I've loved you for years and only just realized it this morning! And I don't give a rap about Ashley…he's so weak! But I don't want to even talk about him, I just want to know if you think you could ever love me? Because I love you, Rhett, and if you don't love me, well, I don't know what I'll do, but please, darling, please try to…"
She rambled on and on, not noticing Rhett's startled expression, until he put a hand gently to her lips. "Darling," he said, lifting her chin so her eyes could meet his. "I've been gone for three months. Aren't you going to give your husband a kiss hello?" he smiled.
Seeing love in his eyes, Scarlett joyously threw her arms around his neck. Rhett crushed her body to his and buried his face in her hair, whispering his love to her. Then his lips quickly found hers as he kissed her deeply. But the kiss only lasted a few seconds before he started a new kiss, then another, then another. "My God!" he said finally, his eyes twinkling. "If I keep kissing you like this, your lips will soon tire of mine."
"Oh no!" Scarlett answered back. "Remember, you once told me that I needed kissing, needed it badly? Well, I'm sure I still do!" she smiled, and initiated another kiss.
Laughing, Rhett swooped her up in his arms. "Let's get you upstairs and to bed, Mrs. Butler. I need to take care of you in your delicate condition."
"Oh, Rhett, I'm hardly an invalid! I don't need to go to back to sleep already!"
"Who said sleep? I just said I'm going to take care of you…VERY good care of you," he grinned, in hungry anticipation of their reconciliation.
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Back in the comfort of her space ship, Jincy smiled approvingly at what she saw in her crystal ball, having just witnessed the scene with Scarlett and Rhett on the stairs. She looked away from the crystal, because she was starting to feel intrusive, and felt pretty confident that her visit back in time had helped the Butlers. Jincy was, however, only human, and curiosity got the better of her. After a minute, she took a quick peek back, and saw Scarlett and Rhett in their huge bed, ripping off each other's clothes. "Yipee!" Jincy shouted, immediately pressing the crystal's stop button.
She fast forwarded up to the point where it had always fogged up, where Rhett gave his "I don't give a damn" line to Scarlett. But, that scene was replaced with another scene of Scarlett sitting on the front porch, rocking her baby, as Rhett cooed to his son from behind her with his hand on her shoulder. How happy they looked! Then Jincy, a little nervously, went ahead ten years. This scene took place inside in the parlor. Everyone was dressed up, as if going to a ball. Scarlett and Rhett were there, and Rhett was standing behind Scarlett whispering in her ear, probably vulgarities, judging from Scarlett's shocked expression, but then she would inevitably turn to giggles. Ella was looking very refined and elegant, and Wade was shy but handsome, in his expensive tuxedo. The youngest son, a mirror image of Rhett, was too young to attend the ball, but he moved in and out of the shadows, playing mischievous pranks where he could.
Jincy breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Bonnie coming down the stairs. Beautiful and vivacious, it was clear that she would be the belle of the ball, and was the apple of her parents' eyes.
Realizing that her mission had been a complete success, Jincy snapped the ball off. Finally, she could feel at peace with herself, feeling very proud that she'd been able to direct the Butler's to a happy life. Now, perhaps, when this life came to an end, she could move on to the promised land, and join her parents, both sets of them (from her first and third lives – the couple from her second life she did not consider real parents).
Jincy gathered Beasley and held him close. "We did it, Beasley!" she said. But oddly, she didn't feel as happy as she thought she would. Yes, sure, she helped Scarlett and Rhett and probably was responsible for saving Bonnie's life, and that was not a thing to be taken lightly, but…somehow, it didn't seem like enough. Judging from her previous lives, she'd live to be a hundred again, so she was only half way though this life. Now that she'd achieved the one goal she'd had so long, what was left? Why did her life now seem so empty?
As if reading her mind, Beasley gestured toward the computer. When Jincy had been traveling, she'd received a call from someone. Squinting at the screen, she saw that it was Brian Boston, her old friend from Hogwart's, and the vet that had saved Beasley's life. His only message had been, "I've been thinking of you," but Jincy thought she'd detected something in his eyes that was more than friendship.
As Jincy gazed at his image on the screen, she knew something had awakened within her when she saw Rhett's body barely hidden under the sheets. It was like she'd been asleep, and now she knew that she needed more in her life than just the friendship of Beasley. She needed…well, she needed a man.
Had she, like Scarlett, been harboring an unknown love for a man? In Scarlett's case it had been Rhett Butler, but in Jincy's case…Brian Boston? Brian? Yes, Brian! And maybe, just maybe, he loved her too?
Without stopping to think any longer, Jincy punched in Brian's number on the computer, as Beasley smiled and wagged his tail. Brian picked up immediately and saw Jincy's face on his screen. "Jincy!" he said smiling broadly. "I've been thinking about you a lot lately. How are you?"
Seeing that look in his eyes, she knew…the way she ALWAYS knew, that he loved her too. "Brian...darling…what are you doing for the next fifty years?"
THE END
