Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

Author's Notes: Thank you for all the reviews and feedback. Thank you to everyone who took this journey with me.

Epilogue

Within days Mr. Taylor had made all the arrangements. Scarlett had a small funeral service for Rhett and Bonnie at Tara. The attendees had been few. Will and Suellen even though they had never met either Rhett or Bonnie. Daniel Armstrong who hadn't ever met either person either. Raul, Ella, Wade, Pork, Dilcey, Prissy, and Scarlett. Scarlett gave the eulogy and she had remained dry eyed through the entire oration. She talked about his love for his daughter, his blockading days, his service to the Confederacy, his love for his mother and sister, and his getting himself received back into polite society. She didn't talk about his demons. If anyone didn't know better to hear Scarlett's eulogy, they would have thought Rhett Butler the finest man that had ever lived. Scarlett could not have spoken about his sins. She was still too well-bred to be able to speak ill of the dead. Anyway, he was dead therefore none of it mattered anymore. On her way back to Atlanta she had thought, 'I finally got Rhett to come to Tara.'

Scarlett had telegraphed Rosemary with the news of her brother's death and told her when the funeral was going to be. Rosemary had replied that although sorry that her brother was dead, she would not be able to attend the funeral. Scarlett had telegraphed back that Rhett's lawyer, Jim Taylor, would write her regarding the financial arrangements Rhett had made on her behalf. Rosemary had telegraph back that she would look forward to Mr. Taylor's letter.

Scarlett went to see the lawyer to discuss her portfolio and three hours later Scarlett said, "Mr. Taylor, my head is spinning. I can't take in any more information. I will have to come back next week."

"I understand, Mrs. Butler. We can meet once a week for a while until you feel comfortable handling it yourself."

"That sounds like a good idea."

"Mrs. Butler, there is one other matter we must discuss today."

"Yes."

"What do you want put on your husband's tombstone?"

Scarlett didn't object to Rhett being called her husband. It didn't matter now. She was doing everything a widow would do. She said, "His name and his birth and death dates, of course"

"Yes ma'am. Would you like to add anything else? Like a loving father."

Scarlett sat there and stared out the window. Finally with a mischievous grin she said, "Put on it 'Not A Gentleman."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, it was something that Rhett always said about himself. If I don't like it, I can get another one made."

"That is true, Mrs. Butler."

Scarlett did not go into mourning for Rhett. She had mourned him enough over the years. She would always think it was so sad he had died alone but then she would think, 'It is only fitting. That is how he lived his life.'

In June of the next year Ella did marry Raul Picard. It was a beautiful wedding. Ella had been a beautiful bride. Wade had given Ella away. It was attended by almost everyone in polite society for many reasons but mainly because Scarlett always threw such wonderful parties. She never scrimped on the food. Scarlett had been so proud of both of her children. At the wedding she had a passing thought about Bonnie, but she didn't let it dwell in her brain. Over the years, she had learned to not ever really think about Bonnie. It just hurt too much.

Raul had taken over Scarlett's role in the Caveat Emporium enterprises. He was good with numbers and kept the entire group on a budget, but he was not as tight-fisted as his mother-in-law. He didn't have any better people skills than his mother-in-law which was the reason he loved Ella so much. She did have excellent people skills. She was always smoothing the waters for him. They had ten children and Ella was over the moon with happiness. She had always wanted to be a wife and mother.

Two years after Rhett's death Scarlett had married Daniel. She told Daniel it was because she had gone through the change of life therefore, she couldn't get with child anymore. Daniel knew that was part of the reason she had finally agreed to marry him. It was the reason she could admit to. He knew her finally agreeing to marry him had more to do with Rhett Butler being dead than her going through the change of life. Daniel knew that Scarlett had always hoped Rhett would come back to her. He believed that she had loved Rhett Butler more than even she had known. Daniel also presumed Rhett Butler had loved Scarlett more than he would have ever admitted to. Scarlett had never spoken of her relationship with Rhett except once to say that she and Rhett were too much alike. Daniel suspected that was probably right and if it was correct, he knew why their marriage had crashed and burned. Daniel did love Scarlett, but he knew she was too prideful, too vain, too self-centered, and too selfish to be a good wife to anyone unless that person was willing to give her a lot of grace and forgiveness.

It didn't matter to Daniel the reason she had finally married him. He was just glad she had. He loved her and he knew she loved him. He had enough self-confidence in himself that he would give Scarlett all the grace and forgiveness she needed. He didn't need all of Scarlett's love. He could not give Scarlett all his love. Part of him still loved his first wife, Clara. Nonetheless he and Scarlett had a good life.

Wade Hamilton had gone to Harvard Law School and had returned to Atlanta and had taken over his Great Uncle's law practice. So, he was successful enough to take a wife. Her name was Pricilla Crawford, and she wasn't related to him. Wade was not continuing that tradition. He ended up with three boys and two daughters.

Beau Wilkes had also gone to Harvard Law School. Ashley had allowed Scarlett to pay for it once she told him how much money Rhett had left her. Ashley enjoyed the thought of Butler's money paying for his son's education. After graduation Beau had joined Wade's practice two years later. He married a young lady named Anna Burns. He was not marrying his cousin either. He and Anna had four boys.

Scarlett spent the rest of her days managing Rhett's money. It really was a full-time job.

Scarlett was happy in her marriage to Daniel. It was the first of her four marriages she had been happy in. Daniel reminded her of Rhett during the war years when he had been happy, confident, and so sure he would win her love.

Daniel was a joy to be around. He was funny and very amusing. He teased Scarlett but not in a mean or hurtful way. They made each other happy.

Scarlett enjoyed herself during their intimate moments. Daniel had made her feel loved and cherished. She enjoyed lying in the bed with Daniel with him telling her stories while smoking his cigars. She had missed that so much once Rhett had moved out of the master bedroom. Theirs was a good marriage. She had known for a long time that she had loved Daniel and she had known that he loved her because he had been willing to wait for her to be ready to marry for almost ten years.

Daniel had been a widower. He had a boy and a girl. Caroline had been thirteen and Clarence had been twelve when Daniel and Scarlett had married. Scarlett wasn't any better of a stepmother than she was a mother, but her stepchildren did think that she loved them in her own way. She didn't show her own children much more affection than she had shown her stepchildren. The way her stepchildren knew that she genuinely cared for them was because she was always trying to run their life also.

Soon there were grandchildren. Scarlett wasn't any better of a grandmother than she had been a mother, but she was more tolerant of her grandchildren than she had been of her children although there were never sleepovers at Grandma's house.

August 2, 1909

Wade Hamilton was thinking about his mother today which wasn't surprising. He had buried her today. He had buried her next to the man she had continued to love despite him having been out of her life for over thirty-five years. She would always deny that she had ever loved Rhett Butler, but everyone knew the truth. Him, Ella and even her fourth husband Daniel.

Daniel had been gone for almost five years. His mother had buried him next to his first wife. At the funeral Wade had said, "I would have thought you would have buried him at Tara where you want to be buried."

"No, this is where Daniel wanted to spend eternity. If there is life after death, then he and Clara are together now. We were not each other's true love. We were each other's right now love."

"Mother, what do you mean."

"Do not distress, Son. I hope you never understand what I mean. Daniel and I were happy. As I have gotten older that really is all that matters."

"If you say so."

His mother had patted his hand and said, "Caroline, Clarence, please, come to the house tomorrow and choose what items of your father's you want to keep. Ella, Wade, you can come the day after tomorrow and choose what you want."

Nobody was offended by Scarlett wanting to clean out Daniel's items so quickly. It was just the way she was – practical. They all knew that she had loved Daniel Armstrong. She had nursed him until he had succumbed to lung cancer.

Daniel had left all his money to his children which Scarlett had thought was only right. She had all her money in a trust so nobody could touch it. Wade and Ella had both known that when their mother passed away, they would become beneficiaries of the trust. After their deaths then it would be distributed to their children.

Last year she had started tying up all the loose ends in her life. She had made him start helping manage the money in their trust. He had said, "This is a full-time job."

She had replied, "Yes, it is. When you become the trustee, you will have to let Beau take over you all's practice."

"I guess I will."

She started giving away treasured mementos. The only things she held on to were items that had belonged to his sister Bonnie or Rhett Butler. She had put all those mementos in a small trunk and told Wade she wanted to be buried with it. She had sold her home and moved in with him which had certainly surprised him for she had always been so independent. She had signed all of Tara over to Suellen with the understanding that Suellen would allow her body to be buried in the family plot. She had given away all her clothing except about ten dresses. They were her newest dresses. They were the height of Paris fashion. His mother had always been fashionable.

His mother had died on the exact same day as Rhett Butler only twenty-five years later. Two nights ago, she had asked Ella to come over at seven. After Ella had gotten there, she had said, "I have lung cancer. There is no cure. I watched Daniel suffer terribly in the last months of his life. I will not go through that. I will not make you go through that. I have already swallowed down a couple of bottles of Laudanum. It is said one would be enough to kill me. I would like for you to stay with me until I die but if you wish to go, I will understand."

"Mother! No!"

"Mother! "

His mother had gotten up and had said, "There is no need for all of these hysterics. You both knew I was going to die someday. Get a hold of yourselves right now. This is my choice. This is the way I want to go out. Wade, help me to my room."

"Yes ma'am."

"I want my tombstone to say Scarlett O'Hara Butler. Don't worry Daniel is beyond caring. My birth and death dates. And I want it to say, 'Always A Lady."

"Of course, Mother."

Even though he and Ella had been extremely upset by their mother's words, they knew there was nothing they could do to stop her. They had not tried to save her life. Even if they managed to save her life that night, she would just do it again the next night or next week. Both Wade and Ella had cried for a while, but they had still sat with her until the end.

Their mother told them that she loved them. She had talked about her wonderful childhood. Her life before the war. Then she talked about their time after they had returned from Europe. They both knew why she had skipped those twelve years. They had not been good years for her. She had rarely ever talked about them. When she began to slur her words, they knew her time was near. She had continued to tightly hold their hands. As she was lying there, they heard her say in a breathless excited way, "Rhett!" A minute later they heard her say, "I love you, too. I always have."

In the next moment Wade knew his mother was dead. He had felt her hand loosen.

Ella said, "Do you think Uncle Rhett really came to help mother to the other side."

Wade smiled. A more rational person would have said that his mother thinking she was seeing Rhett was from the effects of the Laudanum, but Wade said, "Of course, he did. And nobody will ever be able to convince me otherwise. I want to believe that Mother and Uncle Rhett were finally happy together in eternity."

"I do too, Big Brother. I do too."