I hope everyone was happy with chapter 1. Thanks for the reviews, I live

off of them! It was really hard trying to step away from the real GWTW

sequel, but I will do better. PLEASE REVIEW! I feel lost if no one does.

OMG, Rhett is a hard character to write, I never know what he would say!

And Wade and Ella are really a bother to write about, I considered getting

rid of them but I want to stay true to the book. Don't criticize the ages, I

made rough guesses. And I hope no one is confused by when everything

is happening, Scarlett is still remembering what has happened, until

Mammy comes in. This one is kinda emotional mostly. Anywho, here's,

Chapter 2

Trudging up the stairs of her Peachtree house, Scarlett felt

tired, more tired than she had ever felt in her life, even more than the times

after the war, when she had to hitch herself to the plow, had to walk miles

down red, parched roads. At least then, she had something to work for,

then she could hold onto something. Now, she had nothing. She was lost

without Rhett. He had held her together, had always been there for her.

And now, she had just banished him from her life.
Everything in the house was a memory. The wide, carpeted

stairs which had led to a night of passion, which had led to the loss of an

unborn life, jeered at her, reminding her of precious memories. The

nursery where Bonnie, her Bonnie baby had giggled and laughed. The

bedroom . . .
Oh, there were too many memories, too many things that were

gone forever. She had to escape, she had to go somewhere else, crush the

past from her memory, forget everything. Turning quickly, she stumbled

down the stairs, barely holding on to the banister. Her mind was racing

like a wild woman's. Looking to the side, she saw the dining room and her

salvation. The fully-stocked bar.
Hurriedly, she grabbed a shot glass and the bottle of whiskey.

No, she would skip the fancy mint and ice. She just wanted to be drunk.

She wanted to be warm and happy in a fake dream state. As she poured

the whiskey into her glass, her hands shook, spilling across the expensive

rug. But Scarlett didn't care. She didn't even care if the servants saw.
Slamming the drinks down one after the other, she soon lost

count. Suddenly, she felt dizzy, oh so very dizzy. She sank to the ground,

spilling the entire bottle across her mourning dress. She did not care

because nothing mattered, nothing was real anymore, everything was

useless. There was nothing.
She laid back, resting her aching head. Slowly, a restless sleep

came. She dreamed of her life before Rhett left, before her world fell to

pieces. She did not stir when a passing servant picked her up and carried

her to her room. She slept and slept and slept.............

The next morning, Scarlett awoke with a steady resolve in her

mind. She could not pine away after Rhett forever. She had to take control

of her life. She was going to Tara.

She slept the whole ride to Jonesboro, although she was

amazed that she could be tired after her long rest after the drinking. She

pushed that out of her mind. She was going to Tara and that was all that

mattered. Yes, this was what she needed. A long ride through the

country, where she could breath in the fresh air, watch the rolling red hills

taper into lush fields of cotton. This was what she needed to heal her

heart.
Will had picked her up at the station. At the sight of him, with

his wooden leg and slow drawl, revealing his birth status, she was

comforted. He was sensible and smart. Though in earlier times, she would

have glanced at him with distaste, for he was just a simple Cracker planter

Now he was a dear part of her family, part of Tara. She had immediately

walked over to him and let him kiss her cheek.
"Will, I have honestly missed you. How are things at Tara?",

she asked him, passing over her usual flirtatious voice she usually used

when speaking to men. He would have never fallen for that.
"Well, Suellen's just fine, a bit ruffled from all the kids. She'll

be havin' another in a few more months." Will's indelicate way of saying

things did not embarrass Scarlett like she knew it should have, but made

her like him more. A small twinge of guilt came to Scarlett for she had

sent Wade and Ella to Tara shortly after Bonnie's death. Adding her two

children to the already large number of Suellen's made the total number

seven rambunctious, loud kids. Well, that's Suellen's problem, not mine,

she thought and tucked the guilt to the back of her mind.
Will, obviously thinking she must want to know about her

children, began describing their settling in."Wade and Ella are just fine,

gettin' along well. Wade is a born farmer, with plenty of his grandfather in

him, I'm sure. And Ella is turnin' into a kind young lady. I'm surprised

they're both only eleven and six, they act much older."
Eleven and six! Scarlett was shocked. Certainly they couldn't

be that old! Why, that means she must be old! Soon, Wade would be

courting girls and Ella would be going to dances in pretty dresses. How

could she have let all these years just slip away? She knew she had been

working too hard to keep food in everyone's mouths when Wade was

young to have really played with him. And, well, she had just started her

lumber business and was spending too much time in the store to watch

Ella grow. Now, those years were gone, along with everything else.
Will was still going on about the children and she continued to

feel worse and worse. Finally she shook her head and brightly said, "Now

Will, I know you don't want to talk about Wade and Ella only! Tell me

about Tara!" Immediately, Will began to ramble on happily about all the

new things he had done, how well the cotton was doing. Why, he loves

Tara almost, maybe even more than I do!, she thought. He's made it his

home.
Scarlett realized she could just nod or say an occasional 'really'

and Will would keep up a steady conversation. So, Scarlett relaxed and let

the sights and smells of the county soak into her. She was really home.
On both sides of her, an occasional plantation appeared and

her heart sang. She could remember the day, so long ago when she had

come back to Tara and all she had seen of these once magnificent homes

was charred remains, gaunt black chimneys helplessly reaching toward the

gray sky.
Now, the owners were rebuilding and rebuilding well. Certainly,

the days of long ago would not return immediately but, this was a start.

These north Georgians were a hardy people, they could spit in the devil's

eye and not flinch when they had to. Of course, some homes would never

be rebuilt, with the men gone or simply not willing to return.
Twelves Oaks would not return and this hurt Scarlett

immensely. Once upon a time, she could remember how she had wished

to be the mistress of Twelve Oaks, had wanted to make it her home.

Now, those dreams were gone but her memories could fill her enough.

Faintly, she remembered a day when a sixteen-year-old girl had sat on the

lawn, surrounded by adoring men, flirting gaily. Could that have possibly

been her? Could she ever return to a time like that? She knew she never

could again. Though she did not feel a true sadness, she felt remorse as

she tucked away her girlhood forever.
Finally, the road turned into a slight hill and she knew they were

almost at Tara. And suddenly, there it was. Scarlett sighed deeply with joy

and her heart swelled. The white house called to her, welcoming her. This

was everything she had worked for, had strived to bring back. It was

beautifully breathtaking to her.
Not until they came closer did she realize that Tara was not as

stately as she wished. The entire house was in need of painting, new

shutters were needed, the curtains blowing out of the windows were in

tatters and the flowers which had so gracefully trimmed the house in days

gone past were now weeds. Scarlett wanted to fix it, she wanted to jump

out of the wagon now and pull out the weeds, build shutters herself if she

had to. Tara was supposed to be a mansion, a haven to rest at, not a

trashy shack. Tears came to Scarlett's eyes.
"Great balls of fire! I cry all the time now! What is that noise?"

Scarlett heard what sounded like a crowd of people. The front door

opened and Suellen was standing in the doorway, looking very pregnant

and holding a baby to her hip. Children flooded out behind her, waving an

smiling.
As Scarlett got down from the carriage, she was swamped with

children hugging her. She knew why they were so happy to see her. She

always visited with expensive toys for each child. She fought the children

away, telling them they would get they're presents soon and went to her

own children.
Wade and Ella had stayed at the back of the crowd, not

begging for presents. Being the eldest children, they felt they must make

an example. They also knew their mother would not stand them begging

for presents.
"Why Wade Hampton, you are a grown man now! Give your

mother a hug. You too, little Ella darling. You're getting mighty pretty

sweetie. Have you both been good? I hope so."
Wade and Ella were both a bit shocked by this shower of

affection, but gladly ran to their mother's arms. They couldn't let this

good mood go to waste.
Scarlett had realized that these two were all she had left and she

had to fight her way back into their hearts. She had decided she was going

to force all of her strength into loving her children. Maybe then, she could

find something to fill the void in her heart.
"Hello Suellen! I must thank you for taking me in on such short

notice. The little ones are doing very well I think and getting kinder each

day! I think it's just lovely what you've done with the place!" Scarlett was

being sugar sweet on purpose. This was the way she and Suellen baited

each other, for behind each admiring remark was a venomous double

meaning. Suellen knew Tara was looking trashy and hated it herself, she

was always trying to talk Will into moving and buying a fancy house. It

burned Suellen knowing Scarlett was doing well and had plenty of money.
"I'm very glad to see you also, Scarlett. Where is Mr. Butler? I

hope he is doing well. We would have been glad to have him visit also.",

was the reply that angered Scarlett. How had she known?! Oh, one of the

fussy old hens must have written her! By the end of the day, all of

Georgia will know! It was common knowledge in Atlanta that Scarlett and

Rhett had separate beds and were not doing too well together. Well,

Scarlett would not let that bother her.
"Oh, he had some business to take care of in Charleston. He

will be joining me when his business is done if I decide to stay that long.

Now, if you don't mind, I really must rest before dinner. Where will I be

staying?"

And now, Scarlett sat here remembering, basking in the

sunshine. What had happened to the resolve she had awakened with?

Everything felt pointless again. No one could ever know the truth and that

proved things were pointless. Scarlett crawled back to her bed and curled

under the covers, ready to just give up.
Suddenly, a knock came to the door. "Come in," Scarlett

mumbled out. The door opened and a lumbering presence entered.
"Miss Scarlett, here yo' breahfast." At the sound of Mammy's

voice, Scarlett half ran, half jumped from the bed and hugged the old

black woman. Immediately, she began to cry.
"Honey chile, don' you cry. Ain' nuthin can' be fixed. Tell Ole

Mammy eve'ythang." Patting Scarlett softly, she tried to comfort her.
"Oh Mammy! He's gone, Rhett's gone! He said he doesn't love

me. And-and then, I told him I never wanted to see him again. He won't

ever come back. I don't know what to do." Sobbing, Scarlett was

desperate for kindness, for love of any kind.
"Chile', don' you worry bout nuthin. He cum back, I knows it.

Don' you cry no mo'. Effen I knows sumtin, I knows that. He cum back."

But Mammy didn't know, didn't realize that this wasn't like

Scarlett's regular childish crying fits. This was no torn dress or broken

toy. This was finally a real sadness, a sadness that came from deep in

Scarlett's heart. It was something all new to Scarlett. Though she could

handle change in the outer world, she always depended on herself on

being strong and never changing. Suddenly, Scarlett had a woman's

heart, with a woman's feelings and it scared her half to death. Because if

she could change so much, maybe she wouldn't be able to pull herself

through this time, maybe she was really at her end.
I know it seems a little pointless, but just be patient! I have to build suspense!