A/N: Italics represent the past. Character death.
When Scarlett thought about her life, which is something she rarely did, she thought about the decisions she had made to get to this point.
Marrying Ashley Wilkes had been a gamble. Sure, she had loved him, despite his inability to reject an ardent suitor for fear of upsetting the other party, even if said party hadn't any capacity for mutual kindness. She loved him more than she loved anything in the world. They had only been married a fortnight before he had gone away to War. Along with the rest of the County. Leaving the women mourning their men or nursing pregnancies.
Charles Hamilton had married Honey Wilkes. Despite initially proposing to Scarlett, she had quickly pointed him in the right direction. India Wilkes had married Stuart Tarleton and Brent offered Cathleen Calvert, breaking the heart of Careen O'Hara. Scarlett had feared the Wilkes girls' marriages would never come to pass. Not only because of Charles' reluctance, but because of her sister and twin, Solange O'Hara.
Solange was not beautiful, but that did not matter. The men flocked to her siren call, leaving their belles resentful. Adept in the art of charm and flirtation, no man was safe and the girls hated her for it. They soon figured out that she only cosied up to the girls to take their men away, be it brother or beaux and for a while, they assumed Scarlett would follow suit.
They quickly learned that they were completely mistaken in their judgement.
Scarlett and Solange may have been twins with a near identical appearance, but there the similarities ended. Scarlett had endured a childhood being blamed for Solange's mistakes. Her spirit was wild, not spiteful and she enjoyed climbing trees, swimming in the river and playing with the Negro children, rather than her County playmates. She was a true O'Hara with a Robillard visage and when at the Fayetteville Academy, toed the academic line rather than the school for Belles. She did not have to manipulate the other girl's friendships; they sought her company above her own sister and would be more than likely to invite her for a visit.
The men of her age questioned her indifference in comparison to Solange's overt and oftentimes borderline brash charms and found themselves vying for her company. But by then it was too late as her heart was set on Ashley Wilkes and nothing could change it.
In that first year of marriage, she bore a son named George, for his father. Most had forgotten that little detail and called him by his second name. In fact, it was only Gerald that addressed his daughter by her full name of Katie Scarlett. At the time, this small fact had been one of the few similarities between the couple. Perhaps it was the excitement brought by the War that brought the two together, for it sure wasn't a shared love of literature. Neither was it music or art. Nevertheless, Scarlett had committed herself to Ashley and she would do whatever it took to maintain her place in the family.
It was perhaps a blessing that India moved to her husband's home, leaving Scarlett as mistress of Twelve Oaks. She knew from watching her mother that the days were long and the work was endless. Some feared she would flounder but as the weeks continued, she was able to assume control as she embraced her new role. Honey had relocated to Atlanta to live with Charles' Aunt Pitty, but all three maintained a correspondence and when their pregnancies were announced, it brought great joy to the family.
Scarlett was too busy to notice the changes to her body. Time was slipping fast and soon she found herself in labour. Her mother had told her what to expect but the pain was the worst thing she could ever imagine and when Mammy scolded her for her 'quick' childbirth, she could have honestly sent the woman to Halifax. Quick indeed! Mammy had insisted on accompanying Ellen O'Hara for the momentous occasion of the birth of the first O'Hara-Wilkes grand-child and there were many celebrations when it was announced the child was male.
It was a bittersweet moment for Ellen as she had buried three O'Hara boys, all named Gerald. But as so often in her life, she had learned to adapt and survive. Gerald was proud of his daughter and delighted in the little boy. No-one really noticed Scarlett's lack of attachment. She recovered quickly and attended to the child, but there was no real joy in her actions.
Meanwhile Honey and India had also carried sons, however, whilst India survived the traumatic experience, Honey didn't. Beatrice Tarleton suggested that the habit of inbreeding was the cause. The Wilkes typically married their cousins, only this time, Ashley and India broke with tradition and it was symbolic that they triumphed in the face of death.
When Scarlett heard the news, she gathered her son close and in the days that followed, began to see him as something to be cherished. He was blessed with his father's looks, though Gerald said he had the O'Hara chin. India's son was blessed with his father's features and her grey eyes. She called him John James in honour of her father and father-in-law.
When she was able, Scarlett accompanied her father-in-law to Atlanta, to meet her nephew. He was the spitting image of Charles and before she had lost her life, Honey had chosen the name Wade Hampton, after his father's Army superior. Aunt Pitty's grief knew no bounds and whilst Uncle Peter had helped her raise Charles when his parents died, he was not fully able to raise the boy. Charles' Uncle Henry was a bachelor and while he wanted the baby to remain in Atlanta, he knew he couldn't provide what his great-nephew really needed.
It was decided that Scarlett should relocate to Atlanta, to care for both boys. India would move back to Twelve Oaks and resume her place as the mistress. The idea was well received by all parties and so it was that Scarlett found herself mother to two small boys. She took over running the house, leaving Aunt Pitty to nurse her grief and soon found she was no less busy than when she was mistress of Twelve Oaks. For now, there were nursing duties, committee meetings and sewing circles to factor in to daily life. Atlanta was a hive of activity and the matrons embraced her as Ellen O'Hara's daughter.