Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

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

Chapter Ninety-Two

Alex did give Clara the ring and he did tell her what his mother had said to tell her. He had told her it had been his mother's ring.

Clara thought it was the most beautiful ring in the world. It was the biggest diamond she had ever seen. All her spiteful friends told her it was gaudy and maybe it was a little bit but she really didn't care. She thought it was beautiful.

Clara had thanked Scarlett for allowing Alex to give her the ring. Scarlett said, "I thought it would be perfect for you. It has always meant a lot to me."

Clara said, "I cannot believe you were willing to give that big of a diamond up."

"Silly girl. If I regret giving it away Rhett will just buy me another one."

Clara's family was well to do and she had never done without anything. She had known the Butlers were rich but she had not known until that moment just how rich they were. Clara knew she was so lucky that Alex loved her and that she loved Alex.

Clara told Mrs. Butler all the tacky things her friends had said. Scarlett had laughed and said, "So they were pea green with envy."

Clara had laughed also. Every time one of her friends said something ugly about her ring, Clara would imagine their faces turning green.

She had been considered foolish for being willing to wait for Alex another four years when she had other offers. Offers from prominent, well-established men that she could have a good life with. A couple of her friends had told her she was going to end up an old maid. Her parents had shut up when she showed them the ring Alex had given her. They had gone from naysayers to Alex's biggest advocates. Clara loved Alex and she was willing to wait for him to be able to marry her. He had to finish his education first then train with his Papa for a couple of years. She would continue to have faith that she and Alex would wed but the big diamond sure did shore up her faith and shut everyone else up.

Rhett had been very surprised that Scarlett had given up the ring. She probably wouldn't have done it for anyone but Alex. Scarlett loved all her children but Alex would always be special to her. He had been the only one of her children she had wanted in their first timeline. If Rhett was honest, they were all special to her in different ways.

In November, they went to dinner to celebrate Rhett's birthday at Scarlett's favorite restaurant. It made Rhett laugh at how self-centered his wife still was. It was his birthday but they were eating at her favorite restaurant.

Andre greeted them and acted like Scarlett was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He said, "Mrs. Butler, how beautiful you look tonight. That dress is in the latest fashion straight from Paris. Trey bien."

Scarlett laughed like a sixteen-year-old belle and said, "Andre, how you do go on."

"Where would Madame like to sit?"

Scarlett surveyed the dining room and said, "There."

She linked her arm with Rhett's and they walked to a table that was in the center of the dining hall but off to the right.

"Very nice choice, Madame."

Despite his age Andre still managed to get to the table before them to pull out Scarlett's chair. She bestowed a smile on him and when Rhett offered him a tip Andre had waved it off.

They ate, they drank, they talked, they laughed, they had a good time.

Rhett said, "In January we will have been married twenty-five years. Do you still want to have a big celebration and renew our vows?"

Scarlett said, "No. I couldn't have a big celebration so close to the anniversary of Melly's death." She then went back to eating her dessert. After she had finished her dessert, Scarlett said, "They're all gone."

"Who, my love?" Although Rhett knew who she was referring to.

Scarlett didn't answer him but instead said, "I can't live in that house now that Melanie is dead, Uncle Henry is dead and the children have all moved out. Let's sell it and buy a smaller one."

"I am fine with that. How much smaller?"

"We certainly don't need all those bedrooms. Nobody comes to visit us."

Rhett knew that wasn't true. Their daughters were always at the house with their children. Their son came home as often as he could to see Clara. They had just been to Boston to see Wade and Beau and their families.

This was a Scarlett that Rhett was not used to dealing with. She was sad and morose. When he teased her and mocked her, she would brighten up but most of the time she was solemn. When he made a suggestion of an activity, she agreed but there was no excitement. She wasn't acting like his Scarlett.

"With the girls living in town there is no reason for them to spend the night although we would need a bedroom or two for the grandchildren to spend the night in. Wade and Beau come to visit occasionally. It is just easier for us to visit them than for them and their children to visit us. With their work schedules it is hard for them to get away for extended periods of time."

"I know you like to visit Boston so you can go to the opera. It is no hardship on you."

Rhett ignored what she said and said, "You know they love you dearly. They just have lives of their own. You know Beau sees you as his mother now."

"I know."

"What is it, baby? This is not about the house or who spends the night with us."

"I miss your mother and Henry. I miss Mammy and Pa. I miss Melanie so much. I thought that after we had twenty-five years together, I wouldn't miss her as much as I did during the first timeline. I thought that knowing that I loved her all that time I wouldn't miss her so much.

"I miss her too. She was more sister to me than Rosemary ever thought about being."

Scarlett was quiet and Rhett suspected he knew what the problem was. He finally said, "You might die before me."

When she answered, "Not very likely." Rhett now knew that he had been right. His selfish self-centered wife was worrying about what she was going to do with herself once she had lost him also. The person she loved most in the entire world except herself, of course.

"I imagine after I die you will redecorate our home in the most gaudy, vulgar design you can find. A design that will make the mansion look tasteful in comparison. Then you will order several flamboyant, bright dresses that will make people's eyes hurt when they look at you. You will wear so much jewelry all the time that there won't be a piece left in your jewelry box. You will take long baths and use all the hot water without a care to anyone else's desire for a hot bath."

Scarlett giggled and said, "I do that now."

"I know. That is why I always have to join you. It is the only way I can get a hot bath too."

Scarlett said coyly, "Is that the only reason you join me in the bathtub? I am so hurt."

"You know it isn't you devil woman. Scarlett, you will overcome all your sorrow over Melly's death and my death and throw yourself back into life. You know no other way. You will spend months in Boston making Beau, Effie, Alice and Wade's lives miserable. You will give your daughters and Clara advise they don't want and with Alex you will continue to coddle and pamper him. Once you have wreaked havoc in everyone's lives, you will forget all about them and take you and Prissy on a trip to Europe or South America or Australia."

"I like Australia but I wouldn't want to live there. I would like to see Europe again without having to do all those boring things you insist on doing."

Rhett laughed and said, "You might even go back to Atlanta so you can dance on the old Peahens' graves," Scarlett laughed at Rhett's last statement. He continued, "I am the one that would be so sorrowful and in so much pain that I would curl myself up in a little ball and never eat or drink again. They might as well throw me in the grave with you for I would be dead within the week."

Scarlett laughed as Rhett had wanted her to. When she sobered, he said, "Don't forget baby we will always be together. Nothing will separate us, not even death. Now let's talk about our new house."

As they were riding home Rhett was kissing his wife. He was as selfish and self-centered as his wife for he was hoping she would do that thing he really liked. After all it was his birthday. She did. After all it was his birthday and she hadn't bought him anything as a present.

They did build a new house that was much smaller. The master bedroom was on the ground floor and there were four bedrooms upstairs. Rhett wanted the house in an Italianate style. Scarlett still wanted a Queen Anne design after much arguing Rhett agreed to the Queen Anne design. Scarlett wanted their bedroom to be in the turret room. Rhett absolutely refused. Rhett still wanted the house to be brown. Scarlett still wanted the house to be a bright color like blue or green. They settled on a bright yellow with black trim although once Rhett saw the finished results, he had the trim repainted brown. Their bedroom was still done in gold with blue and green accent colors. They still got an oversize bed although they probably could have slept in a twin. They got the covering for when Scarlett got in or out of her carriage. Alex chose which room he wanted and decorated it himself. It looked just like something Rhett would have chosen. Rhett decorated his office, the library and the family parlor. Scarlett decorated the foyer, the front parlor and the music room. The guest bedrooms look like hotel rooms so generic were they. The house looked much the same as their old home just much smaller. Rhett argued with Scarlett over the decorating mostly to keep her from falling into melancholy.

Beau and Wade and their families came to Hartford for Christmas and stayed until Rhett and Scarlett's anniversary. They didn't have a big celebration for their anniversary. They just had their children and their grandchildren. And Clara, of course. The couple talked about their lives before they were married. They skimmed over most of the details. Their children couldn't believe that they had gotten married while Papa was falsely being imprisoned. The children couldn't believe that after five years of knowing each other they had finally declared their love for one another just before Papa was going to be hung on false charges. They were all grateful that Papa's lawyer had been able to get the charges dropped. The couple didn't talk about Papa not being received at the time. The children would not have understood. They really didn't know about snubbing people for they hadn't been raised in the South. Scarlett did brag on Rhett having been a famous blockade runner. When the couple's eyes met, they knew they were both thinking…. Infamous was more like it. They talked about their first meeting but didn't give any details about exactly when and where they met except that it was at a barbeque at the Wilkes plantation the day the war started. Scarlett talked about her love for her first husband and her sorrow at his death. Neither one talked about Scarlett dancing with Rhett after barely being out of full mourning. She talked about how Papa had urged her to live again after Charlie's death. They talked about Beau's birth and Papa getting them out of Atlanta. Neither said a word about his abandonment at Rough and Ready. Scarlett skipped over the year and a half after that. She didn't want to think about that nor did Wade so he didn't say anything either.

Clara said, "It is no wonder you have been happily married for twenty-five years. You guys are almost the perfect couple."

Rhett and Scarlett smiled at each other. They knew they were both again thinking the same thing. 'Now they were the perfect couple.'

By the anniversary of Melanie's death Scarlett had her equilibrium back and was her feisty, life loving self again. They moved into their new home and their life was good again.