Hi! This is somehow a "what if" story. What if Scarlett had an attentive mother? What of Suellen and Careen?

Ellen is kinda OOC here.

Btw, this isn't a Rhett/Scarlett story.

I don't own anything and all is MM's.

Hope you'll enjoy it.

Ellen O'Hara saw how her daughter's eyes became like her, the moment the Tarleton twins said of Ashley's marriage to his cousin. She couldn't stand to watch her daughter's fate become like her, she would do anything so she could have the love of her life. The only daughter of her that was so much like her, well, when she was a belle, before Gerald, before Philippe's death.

Scarlett wouldn't become another shell like her; she would have her Ashley, if she as her mother had any say to it.

With this determination she went to Scarlett's room after dinner, this time, she didn't go to Slatterys, she had her daughter to think. As if slowly the fear of the ruination of her daughter brought a small ray of life to her heart, the heart that she thought died the day she found out Philippe's death.

She knocked and when Scarlett didn't answer, called her and after waiting and didn't hear a response, she walked in without getting any permission.

There was her baby daughter — it was as if yesterday when she gave birth to her — on the bed, pretending she was asleep.

Seating herself on the bed, she started stroking Scarlett's hair.

"I remember the day, you were born, I was praying that I die so I'd be free of this painful life, —"

Scarlett bolted upright when her mother started talking of something that she never would talk about.

Oh! How she always wished her mother would talk of the past for her, but she never would.

Ellen didn't react that she was surprised as she knew her daughter was awake all along, continued to speak, "— If it wasn't a great sin I would be dead before you came. Your birth was so painful, I wish this pain would be enough so I would die, but then all of a sudden you were in my arms, beautiful and full of life.

"Your warmth gave me strength to continue, and though I wasn't happy, but I didn't wish to die anymore, because I wanted to be older and see you all grown up, catching beau after beau just like when I was before I married Gerald."

Scarlett that was silent all the time, as if scared to make a noise and broke the spell, the rare moment — her mother's confession of her youth, as if scared to say the wrong word and the gate to her mother's heart would be closed forever, blurted out at last, "you had so many beaux like me?"

Then her hand came to her mouth and her eyes widened.

Ellen smiled faintly and said gently, "I wasn't always this way, between you three, you are the most like me, Careen had my look, but it's you that remind me of myself.

"I was so carefree, the youngest of the three girls, I was the joy of my father, he liked me and always said how I am like my mother, Solange, a woman who would do anything wanted and didn't care what society would say, a woman would have anything she wanted.

"Then all of a sudden he denied me of the thing that my heart desired most and I couldn't understand why he did that to me." She breathed a deep breath. "That's why I never like to see him again."

"What did he deny?" asked Scarlett in a whisper, both mesmerized with her mother's tale and feared Ellen wouldn't say to.

"My love, my cousin Philippe was the only man that I fell in love with," when seeing Scarlett look, a mixture of surprise, anger and sadness, explained, "don't think me wrong, I love Gerald and I'm fond of him, but I don't feel that passion that I felt about Philippe. He was everything I wanted, he was more.

"Today, I'm seeing that the past is going to repeat, but in a most cruel way as I'm sure it would be so hard for you to see the love of you with another woman —

Scarlett looked apologetic, opened her mouth, "moth—"

"You don't need to apologize for your heart. It's not a choice, it's love. I'm here to say, I'm with you and going to help you to rescue your man no matter what. He will be miserable with that cousin of his. He needs you to shine."

"Oh! Mother truly?" Scarlett couldn't believe what she was hearing, but felt hope; because if her mother was going to help, she would win this battle better.

What a joy to know her mother thought the same that Ashley couldn't be happy with that mealy- mouthed.

"Yes, truly. Now , first we should decide what you will wear for tomorrow." She sat up, and opened the wardrobe. Life was slowly sipping to her heart. As if she was going to win Philippe back, when Philippe's family decided that that silly girl, the cousin of Philippe from his mother's side, was better than her. She got her Philippe back then, well, before totally losing him and she would win now.

Gerald would be sad if Scarlett married Ashley, he didn't like them and made sure Ashley never propose; he always felt Wilkes acted uppity towards him and when he noticed Ashley and Scarlett were spending time after Ashley's grand tour, every time he saw them, he spoke like he never would give his daughter to a man like them. At one time he confessed to her.

In the past, she didn't mind it as she didn't know that Scarlett loved Ashley this much, but now, she knew how it would kill her. No! Her daughter would win.

"What about this mother?" she was showing the green plaid taffeta.

"No, you need something that looks like 'you don't care about anything.' First, thing, first, don't let other girls or matrons know of your love. You would have the best, one of the most Scandalous of your clothes," she picked the white dress with green embroidery flowers.

"But mother, it's an evening dress!" Scarlett was shocked, her mother, the greatest lady in the county chose something like that.

Ellen smiled, a smile that her daughter had never seen, showing the hidden dimples that nobody knew they existed, after her marriage to Gerald.

"That's the point, wearing the most desirable thing that your man wishes to see you in, but still be a lady. I saw Ashley looking at you, the last time you wore it."

"Oh! I didn't notice."

"Because you, just like him, didn't see how the other were looking at the other."

Sitting again on Scarlett's bed and beckoned her to sit. "Now the important part, Ashley wouldn't come to be with you, just because you are the life itself for him. He wouldn't make his father and family sad, not to mention if he stands up to them, he would be disowned."

Scarlett lips turned down. "Oh!"

"You thought if you did that he would run with you?" Ellen said with a knowing look.

Scarlett looked mortified and shame coloured her face, her mother knew of her unladylikeness, she would be disgusted by her now.

"Scarlett, life isn't as simple as that. It isn't unladylike if you want to run with your man away from every jealous person." Then she looked far away, as if she was looking at the past, "I wish I could run away with my Philippe, but my father locked me in my bedroom.

"A great lady would go after her desires not waiting for men to bring it for her, if they bring it at all!" She looked at her again. "You will confess your love to Ashley, I know you like to think he would abandon his cousin and come to you after your declaration of love, but you're so in love that you are almost blind to other things in the world, well it's not your fault, it's ours. Gerald and I or at least, I should teach you that nor being a meek girl would get you anywhere and neither speaking your mind about everything.

"You'll declare your love and let him say his word, most likely how he is meant to marry his cousin or how you aren't alike." She smiled as if she knew something that others couldn't see,

"He wants to live freer in his heart, but there are so many bounds around him. You don't disrespect his cousin, you should care about this, you don't disrespect his cousin or himself. You act as a gracious woman after that.

I'm warning you Scarlett, if you don't do that, he will lose his respect for you. And the only thing you will say to him is kiss you for the last time."

Scarlett's eyes widened with every word that her gentle mother was uttering.

"And rest other things to me. If our prayers get answered you'll be married tomorrow night, but you should know this, Scarlett, his family may never like you, but you shouldn't care, at worst you would have your man and at best you will be the mistress of that house beside having Ashley."

Scarlett never thought beyond the simple things, never would guess that they may never love her, she loved her mother more than ever, now that she knew she had the best ally.

"It's late, you should sleep or else you'd have dark circles under your eyes."

Scarlett agreed, after kissing her mother soon she fell asleep with a hope that she never felt before.