Disclaimer: I own nothing regarding GWTW

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

This story was a little different than other stories because we didn't have all the villains we usually do. We didn't have Mrs. Merriwether, India, Uncle Henry, and Aunt PittyPat.

As always thank you for taking this journey with me. Yes, I have another story in the works. It will once again be about two weeks before I publish again.

Sneak preview of my next story. It will be where Scarlett and Rhett return in time together, but they don't know the other one has returned in time with them…. At least for a while.

I genuinely enjoy all the comments.

Epilogue

Ashley was standing in the middle of his parlor. Melly had thrown a surprise birthday party for him to celebrate his fiftieth birthday. It had certainly gone a lot better than the first surprise party she had thrown for him. There had been no drama. Just as before all his male friends had told him about the party including Rhett. Although Rhett didn't have a war story to share, he just felt it was a perfect time for something to go wrong.

Ashley and Melanie had two more daughters. They called them Winifred Mary and Sarah Melanie.

At age forty Melanie had gone through the change of life. Melly, who was usually sweet, kind, and good-natured was harsh, disagreeable, and unkind to most everyone. That had been a rough time for them. The only people to escape her wrath were Rhett and Beau. Beau because he had been away at college and Rhett because, let's be honest, only Scarlett messed with Rhett.

After Melly had gone through the change of life Ashley had told her about the preventative he had been using. She was madder than a wet hen. When Ashley had said, "I did it because I was afraid of you dying during childbirth."

Melly, who had never really had a problem during delivery because of Ina May's knowledge, thought Ashley's fears ungrounded. She said, "You let me believe that I was barren. I think I would have rather died than thought that about myself."

"I would not. I am not ashamed of what I did. It kept you safe and I would do it again given the same circumstances."

It had been an entire month before she spoke to him again and that was just to tell him what she thought of him. Melly, who had never argued with him before, was arguing with him a lot. A day didn't go by that she didn't start a fight with him. Eventually she got over it but like Scarlett, Melly would never forgive him for deceiving her. Melly might have enacted a cease fire, but she still brought it up occasionally along with a lot of ugly glances often after interacting with her children. Ashley always cheered himself up by thinking, 'At least, she is still alive to give me ugly glances.'

Scarlett and Rhett had two more children also. They had another boy, Kennesaw Rhett, and another girl, Katie Scarlett.

Rhett had said to Ashley one night over whiskeys, "It is to honor my wife, but it also honors her father. I wish I had met him before the war started."

"He was one hell of a man. He started with nothing, won Tara in a poker game, managed to make a success of it, returned to Savannah at the right moment to take advantage of a scandal to get a Robillard to marry a no-account Irish man, and managed to raise three amazing daughters."

"Scarlett was so proud of him."

"He was my father's best friend."

Rhett noted the sad aura around his friend. It appeared any time Ashley mentioned his father.

Rhett didn't tell Scarlett that Ashley had written A Practical Approach to Having a Child because Scarlett loved that book. Every time she found out that someone was with child, she bought them the book whether it was their first child or their tenth child. If she found out that Ashley had written the book, she would immediately hate the book and start talking badly about it. Rhett thought it was a good book not just for the mother but for the father also.

Ashley looked around the room at his friends and business contacts, his publishers, and his fellow reporters. He still missed his friend Henry. The man died far too soon.

Ashley looked at Wade and Beau. They were cousins and good friends but not best friends. Ashley thought they had become best friends because they hadn't had anyone else in their lives. Now Beau had four siblings and Wade had five. He was proud of the men. Wade had become an architect and Beau a doctor. George was going to follow in his father's footsteps and become a reporter. Ashley would get him a job, but he wouldn't carry him. Sometimes a person can be helped too much. They never learn to stand on their own two feet. That is what Melly and Scarlett did to him in his first timeline. They had helped too much. In their defense, he had let them.

For a moment Ashley wondered about Ella. She had been such a sweet child although not extremely attractive. She unfortunately had looked too much like her father. He would have been happy to know that Ella Moore who lived in Savannah was the Ella from the first timeline. She too looked just like her father except for her red hair which she had inherited from her mother. She was a striking woman like her aunt. Also like her aunt she had a je ne sais quoi that made her attractive to every man.

Suellen did a much better job of keeping her daughter grounded than Gerald and Ellen had done with Scarlett. Suellen would always be telling her daughter, "Yes, you have a bevy of men calling on you but the ones you know you will never be interested in, send them on their way. You are not being kind to them to keep them hoping. When I was selling paint for your father, if the customer wasn't going to buy the paint, I much preferred a no than a maybe. I could then spend my time on someone who would buy our paint."

Because Ella was a much kinder person than Scarlett had ever thought about being she heeded her mother's advice. Another difference in Ella's life was that Benjamin didn't have a favorite child unlike Gerald O'Hara.

Ashley looked at Scarlett. She was still so striking. Still so much in love with her husband and him with her. He supposed she had gone through the change of life also judging by the number of times she had snapped at him but these days he just let her insults roll off his shoulders. He knew that she would never completely forgive him for what he had said in the library that day at Twelve Oaks. Ashley smiled. He would bet his last dollar that she could tell him word for word what he had said to her that day.

Actually, Scarlett was in the process of going through the change of life. It had taken her a while to figure it out. In truth, Mammy had to tell her what was going on. Scarlett had thought it was just restlessness because she and Coco had sold the dress shop two years ago.

Scarlett's youngest child was eight years old, and they really didn't have a need for a nursemaid anymore but like her mother Mammy was the enforcer of proper behavior and her children's conscience. It was nice to have a nursemaid around when the grandchildren came to visit. Although Wade and Genie brought their own nursemaids, Mammy kept everybody organized.

Marie Chanel had died four years ago, and Coco had been trying to run the dress shop and run the household. Admittedly, Coco had a housekeeper but there was still a lot she had to do herself then when her housekeeper quit two years ago, she decided to sell her half of the dress shop. She at first offer to sell her half to Scarlett and the younger woman had surprised her by saying, "No, I am tired of running a dress shop. I will sell my half also. I will let Rhett take me and the children to Europe. He has been bugging me about traveling to Europe ever since Katie turned one."

As soon as the ink was dry on the contract, Rhett booked their passage to London. They went to London, Paris, Florence, Milan, Rome, Venice, Bern and even Berlin. They had a really good time.

Coco and Scarlett announced to the staff that they would be selling the dress shop, but they would try to be sure the new owners kept everyone on. Later that afternoon, Gabrielle and Antoinette entered the office and asked the older women what the asking price of the shop was.

Scarlett said, "How much money have you got?"

Gabrielle looked at Antoinette then back at the older women. She said, "Together we have three hundred and seventy-five dollars."

Scarlett was making up the price as she went along and she said, "We wanted four hundred but since it is you all, we will take the three hundred and seventy-five dollars. But you must make both me and your mother one free dress."

Coco said, "And not in a style you designed Gabrielle."

The younger women smiled. Gabrielle was a designer and as such she would push the boundaries but over the years, she had designed several dresses in a more conservative manner. It turned out that Antoinette's personal choice was more conservative than her sister's. When she was younger, she had trusted her older sister's opinion more than her own. Not anymore.

Two years later it was working out. The first six months had been rough, but they had muddled through and were stronger now for their struggle. One of the reasons Rhett had whisked Scarlett off to Europe was to make a complete break with the dress shop. He knew that she would be going down there just to help the sisters out. But Rhett knew his wife and knew she would have taken over. No, her being gone for three months was the best thing for everyone.

Gabrielle had taken over Coco's role in the business and Antoinette had taken over Scarlett's. Gabrielle still designed outlandish dresses and she wore them to work. She often got a customer wanting a dress in the more outlandish style but not very many.

Antoinette had married a man named Barney, who was a tree cutter. Coco's daughters still lived at home with their husbands. Because they still lived with their parents the woman could afford nursemaids to take care of their children while they were at work.

Claude had moved out as soon as he could afford to. He married a lovely woman named Agatha. He still came by often to visit with Rhett and if Wade and Gerry were home them also.

Coco and Pierre didn't care if their daughters and their husbands lived with them forever. They were just so happy to be parentless. Marie had been a very depressing woman.

Coco still designed dresses. She would go to the shop and make the dress. She would then leave the drawing and the pattern for her daughters to use for their customers. Scarlett came to the dress shop once a month to buy a new dress for herself and her three daughters although Genie could afford to buy her own dresses.

Ashley looked at Genie with her husband, Amos. He had wondered many times over the last decade why Genie and Melly had not died when every other person he had known that had died in the first timeline had also died in the second timeline. His best theory was that the other people had died because of circumstances that had happened in their lives while Melly and Genie had died because of a poor decision by their loved one. Without the poor decision, the natural consequences did not occur. Although one could argue that Gerald had died because of a poor decision on Suellen's part. That was true enough, but Suellen's decision would not have gotten him killed if it hadn't been for Gerald's dementia. The same could be said about Gerald's death in this timeline. Because he couldn't remember that they didn't have a privy because of his dementia, he was out in the freezing rain.

Gerry was not there. He had gone two years to Cornell. Ashley knew the boy had done that to make his mother happy. At the end of his sophomore year, Gerry had told his father, "I am going to travel the world. I am going to make my own way."

Rhett had not argued with the young man. After all Gerry was his son. He had to do things his own way. Ashley knew that for the most part Gerry had financed his travels himself, but Rhett had told Ashley, "Every three to four months Gerry will ask for a handout."

"Do you give it to him?"

"Of course, I wished I had someone give me a helping hand after I had been disowned. I won't tell you what, but I had to do some soul crushing things to keep myself fed."

Rhett laughed afterwards. He had been amused by a private joke. A private joke between Rhett and himself. Ashley would never ask because he knew Rhett would never tell him. Ashley had changed the subject.

What Rhett had been laughing about was what Scarlett had said after he told her he was going to let Gerry travel the world. She had said, "I hope he meets a Mrs. Taylor also."

"Are you saying it is alright for your son to be a male mistress?"

"Why not? My husband was one and I certainly appreciate all his talents in that arena. I'm sure my daughter-in-law will also."

Rhett burst out laughing. He said, "Let's put those talents to good use while I still can."

"Of course."

Ashley was joined by his wife. For the most part Melly had gotten over his deception. She had accepted, although she didn't agree with it, he had done it to keep her safe. She had to admit that a lot of women did die while giving birth to a child.

Melly looked at her nephew. Her nephew that went by the name Wade Butler, despite everything Melly said about him being the last Hamilton and him needing to carry on the family name. Wade had smiled kindly at his aunt and said, "None of that matters anymore, Aunt Melly."

Melly had given in because the boy was right, none of that mattered anymore. It hadn't mattered since they got on the train to New York in the spring of sixty-one. She still missed her brother, but she knew Charlie would be proud of the fine man Wade had turned out to be. Probably in no small part thanks to Rhett Butler. She smiled to herself while she thought, 'Rhett had taken him into his home and Wade never had a moment of doubt of whether he was loved by the man he called Dad. I guess because of that I can let the traditions of the past go.'

As Scarlett and Rhett rode home from the party, three of their six children were in the carriage with them. He said, "I got a letter from Rosemary."

"Really? Is it a blue moon."

"No, she wanted me to know that my brother, Robert, has passed away."

"What did he die from?"

"A heart attack. Just like my father, he was dead before he hit the ground. Rosemary said his widow was financially alright and the children had already left the house. My sister-in-law, Lottie, is going to move in with Rosemary to share the expenses."

"I hope that works out."

"If it doesn't it won't be my problem. Either way I am not giving Rosemary any more money. Rosemary will probably live another twenty years, but you don't need to worry about her. I have a trust set-up with enough money for her to live on for another forty years. If there is any money left over, it will be returned to our bank account."

"Unless they have another epidemic."

"Yes."

"It is an ill wind that doesn't blow someone some good."

Rhett chuckled. He knew what Scarlett was referring to. The epidemic had killed both of her aunts. Their house was sold to cover their debts but neither Scarlett nor Rhett settled the rest of their debts for them. It wasn't their fault that those two old women couldn't live on a budget.

Kenny said, "Mama, Dilcey said she would make a pecan loaf next time we went to the farm."

"Yes."

"When are we going to the farm again?"

"Ask your father."

"Dad?"

"We will go next week. I will send Pork and Dilcey a telegram telling them we are on our way."

Scarlett said, "Making them the caretakers of our farmhouse was a good idea you had."

Rhett burst out laughing. Finally, he said, "My love, only you could honestly call a six-bedroom mansion a farmhouse."

"It is. It is a house on a farm ergo a farmhouse."

"Ergo?!"

"Hush Rhett. Let the children talk."

Alexi said, "I can't wait to ride my pony."

"You ride your pony everyday here."

"It is different when I ride Sunshine at the farm than when I ride Blaze at the park where there are far too many people."

Scarlett said, "You be careful, young lady, while you are riding that horse that you don't go too fast and get yourself hurt."

"I won't, Mama."

Rhett said, "I will ride with you to make sure you don't get hurt."

Katie said, "Me too, Daddy?"

"You and Kenny too."

Elizabeth had died in her sleep about five years ago. In Rosemary's opinion her mother had just given up the will to live. Rosemary could understand it. The life Elizabeth was living was such a step down from the life she had lived before the war. Despite the fact that the buggy incident was over thirty-five years ago there were still people who talked about it in hushed tones. Rhett's actions during the war would always make him a traitor to the Confederacy. The fact that he lived in New York just confirmed their opinion of her renegade son. When people found out he was married to Charles Hamilton's widow the trashing of her son just got worse

Before the buggy incident, Elizabeth had been a well-respected pillar of the community. She had been a Kennesaw. Her family had been well-respected and admired. Her family had been dead broke. Her marriage to Langston had worked out. They had been compatible. The Butlers had been on the verge of greatness.

Unfortunately, Langston had seen an opportunity to make the Butlers a first tiered family in Charleston. He had never sat back and looked at everything before he made his move. He had jumped at the chance to move them up in society. Despite his good sense Langston had wanted the prize so much he had tried to force it to happen. Instead of being a first tiered family, he by his actions had cemented their place into the second tier. She knew that where they were on the social ladder was her husband's fault, but she would never admit that to anyone, least of all Rhett. When Rhett would send her a picture of his family she would always think, 'He has come out of that incident completely unscathed.' Which always made her angry at her son. In truth, she knew that was not true, but he did have a much better life than she did. The worst part was her life wasn't going to get any better ever.

Careen was still alive and well. Every year Scarlett sent her sister a Christmas card and every year Careen told Scarlett about her life. One time, Scarlett said, "Does she just copy the letter from last year? Nothing ever changes."

Rhett had laughed but had not responded.

Surprisingly, Scarlett's relationship with Suellen was much better. They corresponded regularly. Well, regularly for Suellen. She never had been a good correspondent. Moore Paint Company was a big success. It kept Benjamin busy but happy. He had a large family to provide for although his mother had passed away a couple of years ago. His sister still lived with him, and she and Suellen still got along fairly well.

Ella was happily married to the salesman for Moore Paint Company. Solange had gotten married in the spring to a house painter. Their youngest, Caroline, had just come out and was finally getting to receive gentleman callers. Suellen couldn't call her baby Careen. It made her miss her little sister too much. Careen had been her best friend growing up. It had always been her and Careen against Scarlett. Thinking of Careen made Suellen think of the life she had once led. She never told her daughters about her previous life. They would never understand how grand and glorious it had been. Furthermore, she didn't want them to think anything could be more wonderful than the life their father was providing them.

Suellen knew that she had been lucky that she had left Tara. She knew she had been lucky she married Benjamin. She knew she had been lucky that Benjamin was a hard worker. She knew she had been lucky that her mother and sister-in-law had been such nice people. She knew she had been lucky Benjamin knew how to prevent her from getting with child every year. She knew she had been lucky that Benjamin knew how to treat a woman in bed. Most of all she knew she had been lucky that she had given up her station in life and stopped being a lady.

Occasionally, Suellen would wonder if Rhett too was happy. He had given up his station in life and had stopped being a gentleman. If she had ever asked him, he would have said hell, yes.