Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

Chapter Twenty-Three

At five-forty-five, the family was in the parlor waiting on Robert and Daphne's arrival. Everyone heard the door open, and a man shout out, "Rhett, where are you?"

Rhett walked out into the hallway and shouted back, "Right here."

As Rhett held out his hand to Robert, Robert knocked Rhett's hand away. Robert said, "Brothers don't shake hands after not being allowed to see each other for almost fifteen years. Brothers hug."

Robert wrapped his arms around Rhett and the men hugged for a long time. Finally, the men broke apart and nobody could mistake the tears on both men's faces. Rhett said, "I guess we are just a couple of little sissies like Father said we were."

"We damn sure are. If being a little sissy means that one has feelings and emotions."

"And loves one's relatives."

"And stands by one's relatives during the hard times."

Both men took their handkerchiefs out of their pockets and wiped their faces. Neither man appeared to be the least bit embarrassed that he was wiping tears off his face.

Scarlett was close to tears herself. As she looked around the room, she saw she was the only person not actually crying.

Elizabeth moved forward and put her arms around her sons. Soon Rosemary, Daphne, and Scarlett were hugging the men also.

It took the family a while to stop hugging each other. At last, Scarlett said, "Let me have your handkerchief."

As Scarlett reached for the cloth, Rhett said, "No, that is my handkerchief which I carry in my back pocket. Your handkerchief I carry in my inside pocket which is next to my heart."

Those words made Scarlett cry even harder. She quickly took the cloth Rhett was handing her. Although highly improper he wrapped his arms around her and held his wife extremely close. Nobody was standing in judgement of the couple. Daphne and Robert were hugging also. As were Elizabeth and Rosemary.

When everyone finally got control of themselves, Robert said, "I am now head of the entire Butler clan of Charleston," He walked over to the bookshelf and took the family bible off the shelf. He said, "My first and only act as head of the family is to write your name back in the family bible. Then you will be the head of the family, but I will still give the eulogy tomorrow."

"What about the other Butlers? They may not accept me."

"Then I guess we will have two sets of Butlers in Charleston."

Elizabeth said, "Or we will become the Butlers of Atlanta."

Rhett smiled and said, "It is just as well you give the eulogy. I wouldn't be able to say anything nice about Langston."

"Let us get this taken care of. Mother, do you have an ink well."

"In the library."

"Let's go."

The entire group marched into the library and witnessed Robert writing Rhett's name back in the family bible along with his date of birth. Scarlett was quick to take note of what the date was. Afterwards, Robert handed the quill to Rhett and said, "As head of the family it is your duty to record all the births and deaths therefore you need to add Langston's death day."

Rhett stepped forward and recorded Langston Charles Butler's date of death. A great weight fell off Rhett's shoulders. For the first time in fourteen years, he truly felt like he belonged and that he was loved. Not just by his mother and Scarlett but by everyone. He looked at Scarlett and said, "Let me record our wedding date also."

"Of course, my love. We do want our eldest son to take his rightful place."

"If all I have is daughters then it will pass to Robert's eldest son. Whose name is Jeremy, right?"

Daphne said, "Yes, Jeremy Rhett Butler. Your father flipped his lid over that, but Robert would not back down on the naming of his son."

Robert said, "Rhett, this is my wonderful wife, Daphne."

"And this is my wonderful wife, Scarlett."

Elizabeth said, "Let's go to supper before the meal is ruin. Fran would be beside herself if I let the meal be ruin. She has been working so hard on it all day for you Rhett."

Scarlett took Rhett's hand. He needed that comfort. He was so pleased she knew he needed her comfort.

The family went into supper. Fran had outdone herself. There was so much food on the table. Ham, cornbread, greens, pinto beans, fried okra, and turnips. There were the butter cookies for dessert but also pumpkin pie which Scarlett learned was Rhett's favorite. There was some wine with the meal. Everyone was talking over each other telling of their lives for the last fourteen years.

Scarlett looked at the people at the table. They were all so incredibly happy.

Robert had black hair and cobalt blue eyes. He was the same height as Rhett. Robert's wife, Daphne, was a pretty brown haired, brown eyed woman in her late thirties who appeared to be on the quiet side. Of course, that may have been because she wouldn't have been able to get a word in edgewise even if she had tried to speak. Scarlett hadn't said very much during supper, and she certainly wasn't the quiet type. Robert looked sort of like his mother but probably favored his father more but luckily wasn't an exact copy of Langston Butler. Rosemary was an attractive woman who looked like a younger version of her mother except instead of having brown eyes she too had the cobalt blue eyes. Robert and Rosemary's eyes reminded Scarlett of Pa's eyes.

After supper was over, Rhett and Robert had a cigar and a glass of whiskey. The men talked about their lives. They talked about their time in the Confederate army. Both agreed. It was hell. They both were happy they hadn't lost any body parts.

Rhett said, "For me it was probably because I got move to the artillery once they found out I had attended West Point even though I had not graduated.

Robert laughed and said, "Me too."

Both men laughed. Rhett sobered and said, "Did you want to serve in the army?"

"Hell, no but like you at the time you went to West Point, Father threatened to disown me if I didn't go. Like you I didn't want to be disowned so I went. I hadn't yet figured out how I was going to get out of serving in the army. I knew I could do what you did and bring alcohol into the barracks, but I wanted to do something original. Before I did anything, you had gotten disowned. After I was the heir apparent and only son, Father didn't make me go back."

"By the time the buggy incident happened I realized that Langston was going to use my inheritance to try to control every aspect of my life. I just wouldn't, couldn't marry Sarah. I thought she was a ninny."

"She was. Father certainly did want you to marry Sarah Douglass. The family was quite prominent at the time. Prominent and so blasted poor. They are all dead now. They all died in a fever epidemic one year later."

"Yes, Mother told me."

"By the time the dust had settled from your disownment, Father and I were at a stalemate. He needed me as his only son and as long as I didn't do anything improper, he let me do what I wanted to do including marrying Daphne," Robert smiled a cocky smiled and said, "Including naming my first-born son Jeremy Rhett Butler. I wanted to name him Rhett Jeremy Butler, but I decided that would have been pushing Father too much. Besides Daphne wanted to name our son Jeremy, so it wasn't worth making Father mad if I made my wife mad also. You would not believe it, but that woman has a temper."

"I would believe it. My bride has quite the temper also."

"Although Daphne's family was quite respectable, they certainly weren't as prominent as the Douglasses, or the Mulberrys, or the Hamptons.

Rhett smiled and said, "Through a lot of hard work and humbling, I got the daughter of a Robillard to marry me."

"She appears to be quite happy with you."

"I am going to make sure she stays happy with me."

In an amused voice, Robert said, "Do you remember when we stole cigars out of Father's desk?"

"We were sick for days."

"Why did we try it again?"

"God only knows. Let's join the ladies."

The men knocked back the rest of their whiskeys and put out their cigars. They stood up. The brothers entered the family parlor together.

As Rhett and Robert were talking so were the ladies in the family parlor.

Daphne said, "Mother has told us of some of the things Rhett did during the war. I'm sure we are all going to be glad that he made money on the war instead of going off to fight in it."

Scarlett said, "Yes, Rhett did make money during the war, but he was risking his life each and every time he ran the blockade but when the Confederacy needed him, he gave up running the blockade to serve the Confederate government. He managed to get much needed supplies to the troops."

Elizabeth said, "He did serve in the end."

"Yes, he got me out of Atlanta the day before the city fell to Sherman. We couldn't leave any sooner because my sister-in-law's doctor said she would die if I tried to take her to Tara. Tara is my family plantation."

Rosemary said, "I don't understand. Why couldn't she travel?"

"She was with child. She went into labor on August 31. I went to talk with Dr. Meade to get him to come deliver Melly's baby. But I knew as soon as I found him that he would not be able to deliver the baby. There were just too many wounded that he needed to treat. My maid, Prissy, and I somehow managed to deliver the baby."

"That must have been a frightening experience."

"Yes, indeed it was. As soon as I told Rhett that Melly was in labor, he went out and found us a horse and wagon. As soon as Beau was born, we were on the road. I often wonder if Prissy and I did Melly any damage in our ignorance or if moving Melly that quickly did her harm."

Elizabeth said, "You didn't have any other choice but do what you did."

"True but I still wonder."

"Just put it out of your mind and accept you did the best you could."

Scarlett smiled at her mother-in-law. She said, "That is what Rhett tells me all the time also."

Daphne said, "If Rhett got you to your family plantation, why didn't he stay with you."

Scarlett told the lie she had told Ashley, she said, "Once he knew that I was in capable hands with Pa, he felt he had to go join the Confederate army. He said, 'I know one man isn't going to make any difference in the war, but I wouldn't feel right not going and doing my part.' So off he went. He returned to Tara as soon as the war was over. He was a big help with getting the plantation back on its feet. He was always there to help Pa when Pa needed him. Either actually picking cotton or buying supplies for the plantation."

Rosemary said, "I would like to have seen Rhett picking cotton. I don't remember him ever wanting to do physical labor."

Elizabeth smiled and said, "He's not the same man he was before he was disowned. Picking cotton was one of the least arduous tasks he performed while he was disowned."

Scarlett could tell that Daphne and Rosemary wanted to ask more about what Rhett had done to survive all those years but shied away from actually uttering the question. The ladies like Scarlett just didn't want to know.

The moment was gone as Rhett and Robert walked into the parlor. In a way all the ladies were relieved, especially Scarlett. She didn't want to know how awful her husband's life had been before she met him. She was simply glad he had survived.