Disclaimer: I own nothing in regard to GWTW

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

Chapter Five

After Rhett's arrival back in Atlanta after his trip to Zurich, he made a decision. He would renew his friendship with Scarlett. She had offered that to him when he had asked her to marry him, but he had rejected it because he had wanted the whole shebang. Now the whole shebang was her friendship.

Rhett went to her original store. She had three now. He had asked for her and the clerk had said, "Just a minute. I don't know if she will have time. She was getting ready to leave."

Rhett thought, 'I am lucky she was at this store and still here.'

Scarlett had all the clerks tell anyone who asked for her that she was getting ready to leave so she would have an excuse to end the conversation.

When Scarlett walked out of the back and saw Rhett standing there, she stared for several minutes. He did nothing but smile at her. She finally smiled back. She hadn't looked through him but had greeted him warmly. He had been the one to give in. She wanted him back. She had missed him more than she thought possible. Nobody understood her like he did. He was the only person in the world she could be her true self with. She said, "Rhett, long time no see."

"True. I have seen you around, but you always looked like you were hurrying off somewhere."

"I probably was. I am a busy woman."

"Can I stop by this evening, and we get reacquainted."

"Yes, I would like that. Come to supper."

Rhett did have supper with Scarlett, her children, and PittyPat that night. He had been the perfect supper guest. He treated her with respect. Just the way he had always treated Melly. He teased her but there was no mockery in his statements. She decided she liked this Rhett very much.

The couple renewed their friendship. Soon Rhett was calling on Scarlett every night and she was happy to see him. They had both matured in the three years they were apart, but they were still the same people they had always been. He was still not a gentleman, and she was still barely a lady. It was enough.

Scarlett would talk about her stores and Rhett would volunteer advice. She usually followed his advice. After all, he was really smart where business matters were concerned.

After a month of Rhett calling on Scarlett, he kissed her good night. She certainly enjoyed it. Soon one kiss had turned into three or four. Before long they were exchanging some fairly passionate kisses. Unfortunately, for him their kissing had no effect on his nether regions. His pecker was still as limp as a wet dish towel.

After a year of Rhett calling on Scarlett, he asked, "Will you marry me?"

"No, I still don't want to suffer a man's foolishness or have any more children."

"I cannot achieve an erection, therefore there is no foolishness to suffer through which also means I can't get you with child."

"Then yes, because you are my best friend."

"And you mine."

Rhett not marrying Scarlett to have access to her body was the most wonderful news she had ever received.

Rhett and Scarlett got married the next day with only Wade and Ella in attendance. He moved into Hamilton House, despite PittyPat and Uncle Peter's disapproval. There was nothing they could do about it. Scarlett was supporting the household, so PittyPat was not going to kick Scarlett and her husband out of her house. In truth, the house wasn't even hers. It was Wade and Melly's. Fortunately for PittyPat her status with the gentry did not change. Everyone knew she had no money of her own.

Scarlett's status with the gentry of Atlanta did not change, either. She was still only invited to a few social events, but her children continued to receive invitations to birthday parties. The only change that occurred was she and Rhett were invited to fund raisers. They went because there was usually dancing at these events. The couple had always loved to dance. They were older and wiser therefore they never did anything to ruin Wade and Ella's chances of continuing to be received. With age Rhett had lost a lot of the need to aggravate people. Although every now and then he would make a mocking comment at the fund raisers. Nonetheless, the gentry needed money too much to not invite the Butlers to the next fund raiser.

After Rhett and Scarlett had been married over a year, Rhett woke Scarlett up and said, "I have an erection."

"Then let's put it to good use."

Scarlett wanted Rhett's body. She had gotten a little frustrated by them not being able to do anything more than kissing. Rhett was a very good kisser which always made her wonder how good he was at the rest of it. She soon found out he did have a way with women, at least their bodies.

Scarlett was alright with Rhett wanting her body. What she hadn't been alright with was him marrying her just to have access to her body.

In the midst of their passion Rhett said, "I love you."

Scarlett replied, "I love you, too."

Afterwards Scarlett knew Rhett did love her and he always had. With good reason he had been afraid to tell her. After he was out of her life, she realized she loved him too. She would never have told him first though. He would have used it against her if he hadn't loved her.

Rhett had hoped he had gotten Scarlett with child, but he hadn't. While she was having her monthly, he said, "How do you feel about children?"

"If we make one, we make one. We aren't going to forgo being intimate just because of the possibility of creating a child."

When Scarlett took Wade and Ella to Tara to spend the summer, Rhett went with her. On the way back, Rhett said, "I am going to add on to the house."

"Why?"

"Wade is too old to be sleeping with all those girls."

"Oh."

"Another couple of bedrooms, another parlor, and a library."

"Why?"

"So, there is room for us when we spend the night. The library is so I have a book to read while we are down there. You love it so I will make the sacrifice of spending a couple of nights there every now and then."

"Thank you, Rhett. I love you."

"I love you, too."

In the next fifteen years another child was not created. The occasions that Rhett could achieve an erection were so rare that it was not surprising they hadn't created a child. Soon Scarlett was going through the change of life. Once that had happened Rhett had no hope. He decided it was just as well. He was not a healthy man. He had drunk too much alcohol and smoked too many cigars. He knew he was dying as did Scarlett, but they never talked about it. The closest time they had talked about it was after she had sold her store. She had said, "With Wade being in Boston almost all year and Ella having moved out of the house with her marriage, it is time we started traveling. I want to see more of the world than Atlanta and Tara. Our first stop is Paris. I remember all your stories about Paris during the war."

Rhett replied, "Sounds wonderful. We can leave my attorney in charge of the house."

"No, Ella can watch over it and Wade in the summertime. Although, your attorney will have to send my aunts and Aunt PittyPat a check each month."

"I will arrange everything."

"You take such good care of me. You always have."

Rhett smiled and said, "No, some of the time I was a real jerk."

Scarlett smiled sadly at Rhett, but she didn't argue. There had been far too many times in their relationship that he had been a real jerk.

Within a month, Rhett and Scarlett were on the train to New York. They would get a ship from there to Paris. They were going to see the sights of New York first though."

Several years later, while at Niagara Falls, Rhett said to her, "Have you ever wondered what would have happened if we had met after you stopped believing you loved Mr. Wilkes?"

"No. Although I don't know how we would have met."

"I don't know either."

"Have you made all the arrangements for me after your death?"

"Yes, there is a copy of my will in my trunk. I left everything to you except for some bequeaths. One to my mother and one to Belle."

"Belle?"

"My friend and partner."

Scarlett wasn't jealous, but she pretended to be. She sharply said, "Was that all she was a friend and a partner?"

Rhett smiled. He knew Scarlett wasn't jealous, but he appreciated her pretending to be. He said, "That was all she was to me. A friend and a partner."

"I don't think she felt the same way."

Scarlett told Rhett about the handkerchief incident. After she was finished, he said, "Why did you keep seeing me?"

"I don't remember. It was so long ago."

Rhett suspected she didn't honestly know why she had kept seeing him. She had been so obtuse. He had decided she hadn't realized she loved him until he was no longer in her life. Or she had known she loved him, but like him had been afraid of him using her love against her.

Scarlett said, "What did you really think of Melanie?"

"Miss Melly was a great lady. She was everything proper and genteel. I couldn't help myself from treating her with respect. Yet, if she had come to me naked and offered herself to me, I would have helped her put her clothes back on." Scarlett giggled. Rhett continued, "I could completely understand how Mr. Wilkes could forgo sexual relations with her."

"I now believe that Ashley and Melanie loved each other true enough, but their love was that of best friends. I also think that Ashley had known he was going to marry Melanie all his life and therefore could not imagine anything else."

"She was the last of the ante-bellum life that he wanted to return to."

"Not after Frank's death."

"I think he wanted to return even after Frank's death, but finally accepted that it was never going to happen and started living his life in the world that he found himself in."

Rhett and Scarlett had talked about everything in their lives. He had glossed over the early days of his disownment, but nonetheless she had a good idea of what his life had been like then. It was understandable why he was so cynical.

Rhett went on, "Even in my younger days when my cock would stand up for anything, if she had been my bride, I would have had to think of someone else to get the job done. Someone like you. You are such an incredibly sexy woman; you could bring my cock back from the dead. In fact, you have several times."

Scarlett giggled and said, "Don't talk that way."

Rhett went on, "The worst thing to me is that she would never have done anything improper and the lot of you would have starved."

"I disagree. I think she was a lot tougher than either one of us ever gave her credit for. She would have done what she had to do to survive. Well, maybe."

Scarlett told him about inviting Cathy Calvert to live with them. She then told him her telling the quick lie after she shot the deserter and about her suggestion to go through his pockets.

Rhett said, "I am happy the Wilkeses are doing so well in New York."

"Me too. Beau is going to West Point."

"Better him than me."

Scarlett laughed.

Rhett joined her in her laughter. He was grateful he had given her one more chance. He hoped she was grateful she had given him one more chance. When she stopped laughing and smiled at him, he knew she was.

Wade had returned to Atlanta and had taken over Henry's law practice. Ella was happily married and living in Atlanta. They both were completely received by the Atlanta gentry despite who their parents were.

Later that night Scarlett said, "Ella wrote to me and said she was with child again. After the baby is born, we will have to visit."

"Of course."

Rhett and Scarlett never spoke of the future. They would continue traveling until he could no longer travel. After he passed away, she would return to Tara and live out the rest of her days where she had always wanted to live. Until then they would enjoy every day to its fullest. They had no regrets. They had always done what was best for them. They had just been lucky that finally what was best for each one of them was to get married and live out their lives together.