Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

There is only one scene in the entire movie that the four main characters were all in. It is the scene where Rhett brings Ashley back to his home after the failed raid.

Olivia de Havilland was one of the few Hollywood starlets who did not want to play Scarlett O'Hara but had always wanted to play Melanie Wilkes. She was under contract to Warner Bros and the studio head, Jack Warner refused to let her play the part because he thought the movie was going to be a bomb. De Havilland had tea with Anne Warner, Jack's wife, and convinced her to help de Havilland change Warner's mind. Mrs. Warner is said to have said, 'You would be a perfect Melanie.' Long story short de Havilland was allowed to play the part of Melanie Wilkes. I have to agree with Mrs. Warner de Havilland was perfect for the part.

Chapter Three

1893 - Twenty years After Leaving Atlanta

Rhett and Scarlett were in their home in Sydney. They like living in Australia but they were thinking of moving back to the United States, but not the South. Since Melanie died, they had not been back to Atlanta or any part of the South.

Scarlett didn't want to go back even to see Tara because it would never be the Tara of her memories. She never wanted to see what it had become. She had not even wanted to return after Suellen had informed her that Mammy had died. She had loved Mammy, but the old woman was part of the past. She was part of the life Scarlett would never have. She knew now that Ashley had been part of the dream, which was why it had taken her so long to give him up. The dream of the life she should have had.

Rhett didn't want to return because there was nobody nor anything for him to return to. Rhett's mother had been dead for almost five years, and Rosemary wanted nothing to do with him. In truth Rhett and Rosemary were strangers. Rosemary had been ten years old when he had been disowned. They hadn't had a relationship then and they didn't now. For his mother's sake he continued to have his Charleston lawyer send his sister a support check.

Rhett's mother had died shortly after he and Scarlett had started their around the world trip. It had been several weeks before he had received the news. He had received the news when he had telegraphed his attorneys for updates on his investments. It was just as well. He knew his mother would not have wanted him to attend her funeral. Elizabeth Butler had always been embarrassed by her eldest son. She had loved him – yes but nonetheless embarrassed by him. She had never understood why he had not just married the girl.

Rhett knew in his mother's narrow scope of the world she never would have understood his refusal to marry the girl.

For several weeks, Rhett thought about that event and how it had altered his life through no fault of his own. Who would have thought a broken buggy wheel would change a person's life so completely? In truth, it had changed so many people's lives. He questioned himself once again if he had made the right decision. When he did, he would look at Scarlett and know that he had. She was the only woman he would ever have been happy with.

Everyone else was dead except Beau and Suellen. Scarlett had said about Suellen, "God doesn't want her, and the devil isn't ready for her yet."

Rhett had laughed. He agreed with his beautiful wife.

After Beau had graduated from the University of Georgia Law School, Scarlett had dissolved the trust and had Uncle Henry give Beau the money to use as he pleased. Beau had written Scarlett keeping her informed regarding his life. Scarlett had known that either Aunt PittyPat or Uncle Henry had made the boy do it. After all, it was the proper thing to do.

Scarlett knew that Beau married his cousin, and they were living in the Hamilton House. Scarlett had sold her half to Beau for a dollar. The young man had been kind enough to inform her of the passing of his Aunt PittyPat, Uncle Henry and even his Aunt India. Scarlett had not been surprised when she had felt nothing at this news. She had been surprised at India's death.

Scarlett had said to Rhett, "How can India be dead? She was only five years older than me."

"Her bitterness over how bad her life was, killed her. Besides, she had nothing to live for now that Beau has married. She had no one."

"Thank you for taking me with you. I would have no one if I didn't have you."

"I would have no one if I didn't have you either."

After Will died in a freak wagon accident, the O'Hara sisters had sold Tara. They had gotten a fair price for it.

Careen had paid off her dowry to the Catholic Church.

Suellen had taken her share and moved into Atlanta. Suellen had bought Kennedy's so she would have a way to support herself and all her children. Suellen bought Kennedy's because she still believed that she and Frank would have been happy if Scarlett hadn't stolen him away from her. Scarlett had said on many of occasions that she didn't force Frank to marry her and that if he had truly loved Suellen, he would never have married Scarlett. It didn't matter how many times Scarlett said it, Suellen refused to believe anything but her fantasy.

Rhett had made her laugh when he had said, "They would have been miserable together just like everyone else in Southern society."

Scarlett had taken her share and put it in their overseas account.

After that there had been little to no contact between the sisters. The last time Suellen and Scarlett had corresponded was when Suellen wrote Scarlett to let her know that Careen had died in a cholera outbreak in Charleston. Careen's Mother Superior had contacted Suellen about disposal of the body. Suellen had told the church to bury their sister with the other nuns.

About that same time Rhett's Charleston attorney wrote Scarlett to inform her that her aunts had died from cholera. Scarlett assumed it was the same outbreak that had killed Careen. She wrote the attorney back and asked him to settle her aunts' estates. She authorized him to pay off any debts her aunts may have had. If there was not enough money in the trust to let her know and she would send him some more money. If by chance, there was any money left over for him to put it in their overseas account.

Scarlett had written back to Suellen to say that she agreed with her sister's decision. Scarlett informed her sister of the deaths of their aunts. Suellen wrote back wanting to know if Scarlett thought they would receive any inheritance from their aunts. Scarlett wrote back saying that not only would they not receive any money from their aunts more than likely Scarlett was going to have to pay off their aunts' debts. Scarlett was not stunned that she didn't hear any more from Suellen.

Scarlett had been amazed that she felt no sorrow over Careen's death. She had finally decided that her baby sister had been gone ever since she became Sister Mary Joseph. She had not been surprised that she felt no sorrow over the deaths of her aunts.

Two months later, Rosemary had written Rhett to inform him that his brother had died from cholera. Their sister-in-law and her family were living with her now. Rhett had written her back thanking her for informing him of the death of his brother. Since she had so many more mouths to feed, he would increase his support check by fifty dollars a month. Rosemary had written back to tell him thank you and she appreciated it.

After reading the letter Rhett had said, "This letter was a very polite letter. It was a letter written by a stranger to a stranger."

"I grew up with Careen and Suellen. Nonetheless, I have always thought they were strangers to me."

"That is because they were not important to you."

"True. Nor was your sister to you."

"No, she wasn't."

Occasionally Scarlett would talk about her marriage to Frank and how badly she had treated him. Her regret of the fact that marrying Frank had ostracized her from Tara. Scarlett would talk about everything she had to do to support all those people. Rhett knew that she still felt shame for all the unladylike things she had to do during that time. He knew she still felt shame at having failed to live up to her image of her mother. He let her talk about it as much as she wanted to talk about it. Like when they had been talking about their grief, it always helped Scarlett to verbalize her feelings of shame although Rhett knew better than to ever use the word shame.

Scarlett often said to Rhett, "If I had only known, how things were going to turn out I would have done so many things differently. I certainly wouldn't have saved Tara.

Rhett would always pensively reply, "I would too, Sweetheart. I certainly wouldn't have gone on that buggy ride."

Rhett had made her feel better when he had explained that it wasn't her marrying Frank that had banished her from Tara but her need to have a steady source of income. Her need to rely upon herself and no one else. He also made her feel better by explaining that Frank had been stupid to think she loved him when she had never given him the time of day before and furthermore Frank had been a pansy for letting her brow beat him.

All these statements always made Scarlett laugh and feel better. What made Scarlett laugh the most was when Rhett would add, 'Mr. Wilkes was a pansy too.' It made Scarlett laugh because despite Ashley being dead, Rhett was still jealous of the man.

One night as Rhett and Scarlett were lying in their bed, he said, 'After getting disowned my hurt and anger got me through the next several years. After I met you, I often felt regret for not just marrying the girl. After Bonnie was born, I cursed the day that I had ruined that poor girl for doing nothing wrong but going on a buggy ride in the afternoon. I don't know what I would have done if something like that had happened to Bonnie. That is why I made us humble ourselves and grovel to the matrons to get us received again for Bonnie."

"What happened to the girl?"

"Last I heard she is still living in Charleston. She was slowly received back into society although she never got any marriage proposals."

"Remember what you said to me when you came to see me to propose, and I was regretting the way I had treated Frank when I was married to him. Given the same set of circumstances we will do the same thing," Rhett smiled at her. Scarlett continued, "Besides, if you had married her, you would be in Charleston with her not with me in this lovely bed."

Rhett laughed and said, "I might not be with her, but I most certainly would not be with you. Thank you for giving me one more chance."

"But Rhett it was you who gave us one more chance."

"No, Sweetheart, I had nothing and no one. Your protestants of love where all I had in the entire world at that moment. The dream that someone loved me."

"I did love you. I do love you. I had nothing but you either. You want to know what changed my mind about leaving you?"

"What?"

"When you said that I couldn't have stopped loving you or my love would have been as false as your love for Wilkes. There was no way I was going to accept that my eternal love for you was a false love."

"It was your pride that saved us?"

"Yes, my pride saved us in a roundabout way."

"That is good because it was our pride that came close to destroying us."

"I love you too, you devil woman."

Scarlett laughed. Rhett called her that all the time. When he first had started calling her that it had always annoyed her. Finally, he had explained that only someone with supernatural powers could have kept him bewitched by her for all these years. Now that she knew he meant it as a compliment, she was alright by him calling her that. She now thought of it as a compliment too. Afterall, she had kept him bewitched by her for over thirty years.

Scarlett climbed over Rhett and reached for his watch. She checked the time when in fact she didn't care what time it was. It was her way of getting Rhett aroused. It had never failed her.

Scarlett smiled as always when she saw the picture in his watch. It was of them in New Orleans on their honeymoon. They had been so happy then. Maybe because while they were in New Orleans she had been focused on Rhett. When they got back to Atlanta, Rhett had become nothing more than a checkbook. She pushed those thoughts away. Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda. Yes, maybe but they had to live in the world they had created.

Scarlett had once asked him, "Why do you not keep a picture of Bonnie in your watch?"

"I've carried that picture in my watch since we got back from New Orleans. I'm not normally a superstitious man but I feel we will stay together as long as I keep that picture in my watch."

Scarlett had not laughed. She had solemnly replied, "Don't ever take it out. I couldn't stand to lose you now."

Rhett brought Scarlett back to the present by pulling her close and saying, "I have something I want to give you."

"Really? What is it"

"Can't you feel it?"

"Of course, I can feel it. How could I not feel something that large, but I want you to tell me."

Scarlett had learned a lot about sex since she had left Georgia all those years ago. Some was taught by Rhett, some was learned from the more risqué women of France and Denmark, some of it was learned by reading remarkably interesting books, and some of it was learned by observation. She had learned that a man wanted to think he was bigger than any other man. She had observed that it increased Rhett's sexual arousal by him talking about naughty things, so she made him say the words.

They were happy. They were content. They loved each other. They had each other. Regrets? Of course, lots and lots of regrets. Could they have had a better life if they had made different choices? Yes. Of course. Yet they were both so grateful for the happiness they had now. Maybe they weren't living the best life they could have lived but they were living the best life they could have now.