Author's Note: So I started this years ago based on the idea that so many times I think Wade and Ella are left behind in Marietta and just suddenly appear back in Atlanta or at Tara and they just miraculously arrived. So it was supposed to be funny, and then it wasn't. I'm a little confused by it, if I'm being honest. I got to the end and was surprised where it had gone. So I'm just going to share what I have with you. Enjoy!

BTW, I have updated several older stories, but I didn't realize that you have to turn notifications on every six months or sort by date updated to find updated stories. I changed my settings, but I updated Father Came Home and A Desperate Moment.

Left Behind

Wade glowered at Prissy who fussed and whined as she flitted about the room. "Would you stop!" He finally exclaimed, causing Prissy to jump and squeal. "We have been cooped up in this resort with you for weeks. Don't you think that they should have remembered to send for us by now?"

Prissy looked at him blankly, "I doan know."

"I'm tired of being here, Wade. We've never been away from mother for so long. And she didn't even tell us why she was leaving." Ella complained, as she twisted a loose tendril of her gingery hair. "It has been ever so long."

There was a look in his eyes, for he had managed to sneak a peek at the telegram that had sent their mother in such a frenzy. "It doesn't matter what it was," he stated, avoiding the truth. "Mother should have come for us by now. Maybe I should go and buy a train ticket for us to go back home. I know that mother left us in Prissy's charge, but she is no more adept at this than we are. And I am already twelve years old, I'm practically a man now."

Prissy scowled, but made no move to do anything other than crossing her arms stubbornly. "Miss Scarlett, left me in charge. She told me to stay here with you children. And I don't want to make her mad."

"She's been gone for three weeks. I have to confess, I think that she has forgotten us. I think we must find our own way home." Added Wade. "Something had to have happened for her or Uncle Rhett to forget to send for us. It is ridiculous for us to just stay and wait here."

"I don't want Mother to be upset," Ella interjected, her lips trembling. "She can get awfully upset if we don't obey. But Aunt Melly won't forget about us." she offered reassuringly.

"Yes, well. At this rate I will grow a beard before Mother remembers to send for us." Wade dark eyes glinted with anger as he turned away from his sister. "After all, we aren't Bonnie. Uncle Rhett won't remember us either."

"But Uncle Rhett loves us." Ella pouted. "He says that I'm his best girl, well he used to anyway."

"Well obviously not enough, or we would be home already." Wade's brow furrowed in deep thought, and he grabbed Ella's hand and tugged her to the window. "Ella, look at the candy cart rolling past." Wade pointed, luring PRissy to follow them. Once he had both Ella and Prissy distracted he grabbed his satchel and bolted for the door. He was tired of waiting for his parents to remember him, and he darkly realized that it was likely that Aunt Melly wasn't in any shape to send for them. So Wade would tackle this as a man.

Once he had departed the hotel on foot, he asked for directions and headed for the train depot. He was able to buy tickets for the next train to Atlanta, and he arranged for their bags to be delivered from the hotel to the station. Thankfully, he had taken to taking small amounts of the money that Mother had hidden around the house to fund this adventure. He wouldn't be able to pay for the hotel, but somehow he would arrange for Uncle Rhett to handle that. He forged a note from his mother, asking for Prissy to bring them home. It wasn't the greatest forgery, but Prissy couldn't read much, and he doubted that she would notice the difference, and Ella was flighty enough that she should be none the wiser either.

He grinned when he returned to the room, proudly announcing that Mother had sent for them, and that they were booked on the next train. They all worked together to cram their belongings into their trunks, and then the porter came down and loaded everything on to the carriage that would take them to the depot so they would finally make it home.

The trip back to Atlanta was shockingly smooth, and Wade was confident that neither Ella or Prissy seemed to question that Wade had forged the note or made all of the arrangements himself. The train was shockingly on time, and they arrived at the Atlanta depot. Union Station still seemed new, at merely a couple of years old, but Wade was disappointed as there was no one there to pick them up. He finally saw someone that he knew, and they took the offered ride to their home on PeachTree Street.

Wade led them up the front steps at home, and he was surprised when the door swung easily inward without turning the handle. The house seemed empty as he stepped into the large foyer. The tall ceiling seemed to reach upward over his head endlessly in the darkness. He looked around in confusion and finally headed to his mother's study. He suggested to Prissy to take Ella upstairs to get her settled. And Wade continued to the back of the house. The door was shut, but thankfully light leaked out from under the door, giving him hope that Mother was here after all. The knob turned easily at his touch, and it swung silently inward on well oiled hinges. "Mother?" he asked softly.

She was sitting at her desk, swirling some liquid in a glass, staring at it blearily. She startled at the sound of his voice and then was horrified when she recognized him. "Wade," she stuttered. "Oh my God, Wade…" She dropped her face to her hands, "I forgot you. I forgot that there are still people alive. I forgot that I left you in Marietta. I'm so sorry."

And he looked at her in stunned silence. For in this moment, she wasn't his fearless and sometimes fear inducing mother, but she looked like a scared little girl, and he felt compassion for her. Finally he spoke, "Mother, it will be all right. I bought tickets for the train and brought Ella and Prissy home." He looked around where it was clear mother had been spending her time, "Where is Uncle Rhett?" He gulped nervously, "Did Auntie not get better?" He watched his mother's face and grimaced at the subtle shake of her head. And he wove around the desk and threw himself in her arms, hugging her tightly. "Mother, what will we do without Auntie?"

She pulled away and looked him over, and in a rough voice she replied, "I don't know, Wade. But we must be strong. You must be a man. We will bear it."

"Yes, mother, we will bear it."