Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews and feedback.

There are a lot of details to work out in regard to Ella not the least being that Frank and Suellen love her and want her to stay with them. I will say this Ella has a great future.

Chapter Fifty-Two

In two days, Rhett, Scarlett, Melly, the children and the servants except for Mammy returned to Atlanta. As they were getting in the wagon Scarlett felt she was never going to see Tara again. She was afraid she would never see her Pa or Mammy again either. She hugged her Pa tight but quickly let him go. She knew Pa didn't like a lot of display of emotion. When she hugged Mammy, she didn't want to let her go. Mammy didn't want to let her little lamb go either. Mammy too felt she would never see Miss Scarlett again.

Rhett had to gently make her release Mammy. In a very improper way Rhett held Scarlett close the entire ride into Jonesboro. They had to take the wagon to carry everyone. By the time they boarded the train to Atlanta Scarlett had control of her emotions.

As they were sitting on the train riding back to Atlanta Scarlett said to Rhett, "This is just about the same time I lost Mammy last time."

Rhett replied, "Maybe this is one of those things that doesn't change no matter what. It is just the way it has to be."

Scarlett nodded and put her hand in Rhett's hand.

Melanie was not sitting close enough to them to hear their statements. She would have been confused by what they had said but it wouldn't have been the first time.

After they got home, Scarlett and Rhett walked around the house talking about what they wanted to take with them. They ended up in the library. Scarlett said, "We have a lot of packing to do."

Rhett had replied, "Yes, we do. We can hire a couple of girls for two or three weeks to help with the packing.

"We will have to sell all the horses, the carriage and the buggy."

"I am going to go ahead and sell my holdings here in Atlanta and in New Orleans."

"What are you going to do about your ward? Doesn't he live in New Orleans?"

Rhett smiled an overly pleased smile and said, "I made him up."

Scarlett burst out laughing and said, "What?"

"I wanted to impress you with what a good guy I was. How I was a responsible person. That I would be a good stepfather although I had yet to consciously make that leap."

"How did you expect to get away with that huge lie?"

"I did get away with that huge lie because at the time you were so self-centered that you never thought about my ward after I had told you about him."

Scarlett turned a little pink and said, "I didn't did I?"

Rhett pulled her down in a chair with him and said, "No you didn't. But that is one of the reasons I love you. You are as selfish and self-centered as I am."

"Not anymore."

"Neither one of us is as much as we were then but we both are still more self-centered and selfish than most people. My wife would have to be as selfish and self-centered as me so she would fight for her rights and not let me run over her. You do and you don't.

They half laid half sat in the chair giggling and laughing about Rhett's big lie and how he had gotten away with it. They talked some too. In a few minutes, Scarlett got up and locked the door to the library. It had been too long since she had been intimate with her husband without having to go out to the woods. She couldn't wait until tonight. She thought, 'Maybe tonight also.' She gave herself over to the feelings and the emotions.

Scarlett got involved in the packing and talking about their new home. She tried not to think about everything she was giving up to go to Hartford. She really did trust Rhett when he said this was the best place for Bonnie to learn but she really wished he was wrong.

Rhett noticed that Scarlett always involved Melly in the conversations about their new home. It was another indication of how much better a person Scarlett was these days. He knew that he and Scarlett would make all the decisions in regard to their new home but Scarlett let Melanie have some input into the matter.

Rhett, Scarlett and Melanie sat the children down in the family parlor to explain more thoroughly about their move to Hartford. There was Wade, Beau, Alex, and Bonnie. Rhett stated that they were moving to Hartford and why. Wade said, "I don't want to move to Yankee land."

Beau said, "I don't either. Let's just stay here, Mama. We can live with Aunt PittyPat. Wade can live with us."

Before either of the women could speak Rhett said, "No. That is not going to happen. We will all move to Hartford. We are a family and a family doesn't separate."

Both Wade and Beau gave him mutinous looks but Rhett ignored them. Scarlett smiled and thought, 'Yes, he has a spine where Wade and Beau are concerned just not his children."

Almost as if to prove Scarlett thoughts, Bonnie got up and sat in her Papa's lap. Rhett just accommodated her. Scarlett got up and took Alex and Bonnie to their playroom. Rhett could handle the discussion with Wade and Beau. Rhett would tell her about it later.

Scarlett had played with her children then coaxed them to take a bath. She enjoyed doing these mundane things with her children. She was very glad she had gotten a second chance for so many reasons but interacting with her children was one of the top two. Getting to spend a lifetime with Rhett was the other one.

When Scarlett joined Rhett and Melanie in the parlor, Rhett said, "Wade gets more like you every day."

Scarlett smiled a big smile of pride and said, "If you mean smart, determined, confident and attractive I couldn't agree with you more."

Melanie said, "They did give Rhett a very hard time about the move but Rhett never yelled at them or told them to be quiet. He tried very hard to answer their questions which surprised me. Most men would have told them this is what he had decided and that was the end of the discussion."

"Rhett has always been a progressive thinker."

"Thank you, ladies. I like to give everyone a chance to speak their minds. Not that it was going to make any difference." And with that Rhett swallowed down the rest of his whiskey. Scarlett looked at the whiskey glass and wanted to ask him how many he had consumed but she wouldn't. He always got rude and mocking if she asked about his alcohol consumption. Then Scarlett saw Melly tapping three fingers to her cheek. The cheek that Rhett couldn't see. Scarlett sighed. She wished he would quit drinking for his health but he really didn't want to quit drinking. She was proud of him although that he would often go several weeks without imbibing.

In the days to follow there was a lot of discussion about what to sell, what to take with them or what to give to charity. Careen and Will came up to look over the stuff they were giving away. Careen had also brought Scarlett the picture of their grandmother, Solange Robillard, that had hung in the parlor at Tara. Careen had whispered, "Don't tell Sue."

Scarlett had replied, "I won't. What are you going to tell her when she notices it is missing?"

"She would have to come to Tara to notice it is missing. If that ever happens, I will say you took it without permission."

The sisters laughed. Scarlett thought, 'Pa is right Suellen cares nothing about the land.'

Later that day Careen and Scarlett were packing a box of items being sent to Tara and Careen said, "Pa said it was your idea that he leave Tara to me and Will. Thank you."

Scarlett smiled at her sweet sister and although it still broke her heart to give Tara up, she said, "You love Tara as much as I do and I think Will loves it more than both of us combined. Y'all are the rightful heirs to Tara. Rhett would never live there and I won't live anywhere without Rhett so it was only logical."

"You really have become a kind person."

"Ssh. Someone might hear you and that would ruin my reputation."

Both sisters laughed and continued packing. Soon Careen was telling her more about the doings of the county.

Scarlett was at peace about Will and Careen inheriting Tara. She was going to be a thousand miles away. She knew that Will and Careen would take care of Tara as well as she would have if not better.

Will and Rhett made arrangements for the items that were chosen to have them shipped to Tara.

As they were packing up the house Suellen and Aunt PittyPat came to visit. Suellen was eying all their possessions like a scavenger. Any time Suellen would ask if they were going to take something with them Scarlett always said yes. Rhett decided the women would just never like each other. They were both mean and spiteful to the other one just on general principal. Even the ratty old sofa that they had on the back porch was allegedly going with them. There was a moment when Rhett thought Scarlett had a charitable feeling toward Suellen when she said, "You can have that sofa. I don't like it."

Before Suellen could say anything Melly had said, "That's one of my favorite places to sit." Rhett had to walk out of the room before he burst out laughing. He knew for a fact that Melly hated sitting on that sofa because she thought it was uncomfortable.

Scarlett had smiled and said, "I guess not. Sorry." In a tone that indicated that she was not sorry.

Shortly after that Suellen and Aunt PittyPat left. After they left, he heard Scarlett and Melly laughing mischievously. The ladies were already fast friends before Melanie started disliking Suellen but their shared dislike of Suellen Kennedy made them even better friends. Rhett hoped they never teamed up against him. He knew them together would get the better of him every time. Melly had the brains to think up something devious and Scarlett the courage to carry it out.

Everyone in the household packed up stuff. They had hire three young ladies to help pack. Scarlett would laugh when she would hear Prissy muttering about shiftless people. They had chosen not to take any of the furniture. They were bringing their clothes, their personal items, their paintings, their pictures, their books, their toys and their jewelry. There were all the household items like, linens, table clothes, silverware, flatware, glasses, etc. There was probably a box car worth of stuff going with them to Hartford.

Everyone was packing but Bonnie and Alex that is. Scarlett even wanted Evie to pack things up in the nursery but who would take care of Bonnie and Alex while she was busy. The solution was Ella Kennedy. Rhett would go and get Ella every day to play with the younger children. He would smile as more times than not Ella would go home with a new dress, or new shoes, or a new hat or a new toy. Rhett would see Scarlett looking at Ella wistfully then she would shake it off and go back to packing. He knew she was hoping they could take Ella with them somehow even though Frank and Suellen had already said no. Rhett at times could not believe Scarlett's attachment to Ella but he now knew that she had a deeper attachment to her children than he had ever known. They would have to continue trying to find a way to get Ella back. When that opportunity presented itself, they would have to be ready to take advantage of it.

When he thought about Scarlett's attachment to her children the clues were all there. She had always kept her children with her wherever she went. She had always made sure they were provided with food and a home. She had made sure there was someone to take care of them. She just hadn't been a woman who enjoyed being with her children. He had been so blind to the woman that was Scarlett Butler. He had thought of her then as a one-dimensional woman but she had always been a multifaceted person. Rhett was glad he had the rest of his life to figure his wife out for he believed it was going to take him that long.

Melly was amazed at how much clothing, books and stuff she had accumulated in the time she had been living with the Butlers. More stuff than she had ever had. She remembered asking Rhett, "Are we going to take our books with us?"

Rhett had looked offended and had said, "Of course, we will have a library in the new house too. We are not heathens even if we are living in the north."

They had both laughed. Melly liked Rhett he was like a big brother to her. He wasn't like Charlie at all but like Charlie he made her feel safe. Rhett made her feel that her opinion and thoughts were important like Ashley always had. She was glad she had not had to marry him. She still thought he emitted too much masculinity.

Rhett would tease and harass Scarlett but he was always kind and respectful to her. She guessed it was because he didn't think of her that way. Who would want her when compared to Scarlett? Nonetheless she felt she and Rhett had a special bond. He would discuss intellectual topics with her that he would never dream of talking with Scarlett about.

Melly laughed when she thought about the time Rhett had tried to talk to Scarlett about the Suez Canal and what a feat of engineering it was. Scarlett had pouted and said, "Rhett you know I don't know what you are talking about. I am retiring. Talk to Melly about it. She understands what you are talking about."

Rhett had smiled at Scarlett and said, "I will talk to Melly about the Suez Canal." He had then watched Scarlett leave the room and Melly had blushed with the sensuous look on his face as he watched Scarlett leave the room. Without ever looking at her Rhett said, "Yes, we will talk tomorrow night. I am going to retire also." He had hurriedly left the room.