Author's Note: Hi everybody! My name's Erika (romance-lover 19) and this story is a joint collaboration between me and Kim (krazyk25). Kim contacted me with a wonderful idea for a story and asked whether I would be willing to write the story with her. I loved the idea and I knew I had to try and write the story with her. So, without further ado, here is the story that we came up with. The idea and the title belong to Kim, the words are mine, and the much beloved characters belong to Ms. L.M. Montgomery. Below is a note of introduction from Kim, the creator of this story. Hope you all enjoy!

To my fellow "Anne" fans:

My name is Kim (a.k.a. krazyk25) and I have loved the "Anne of Green Gables" books ever since my mom bought me the first book when I was 9 years old. The "Anne of Green Gables" page on .net is one of my favorite pages to browse and I very much enjoy reading the stories there. It was while I was reading these stories that I got an idea for a story of my own; however, I found out the hard way that having an idea and actually turning it into a story are two very different things. I just don't seem to have the ability to do it. A friend of mine who writes fanfiction for the television show "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" suggested that I contact an author on the "Anne" page, pitch my idea to them and see if they would be willing to turn it into a story. I took her advice and was able to connect with romance-lover 19, who turned out to be a very nice college student from Canada named Erika. She thought my idea was neat and agreed to come up with a story and allowed me to offer my input while she was writing it. And so, a partnership was born.

If you read "Anne of Ingleside" you will remember that the Blythe family receives a visit from the relative from hell, Aunt Mary Maria Blythe. She was supposed to have stayed for two weeks but ended up staying for several months and made everybody's life miserable in the process. She finally left because Anne tried to do something nice for her by throwing a birthday party in her honor, but ended up offending her instead by revealing her age to the partygoers. I never liked the way that particular part of the story was resolved. In my "Anne" universe, Gilbert is the one who finally gets fed up and kicks her out. At first I was mad at him for not doing it in the book but when I thought about it, I realized he wasn't as totally clueless as I first thought. His sense of family loyalty (or "clannishness" as the book called it) made him uncomfortable with the idea of confronting Aunt Mary Maria. I decided he needed a nudge in the right direction and who better to deliver it than our friend Miss Cornelia. The story picks up right after Miss Cornelia visits Anne and Anne confides in her about some of the things Aunt Mary Maria has said and done to make her and the children miserable and will continue from there.

The idea is mine, the story is Erika's and hopefully between the two of us we came up with something everyone will like. Please read, enjoy, and review. This is the first time I've tried anything like this and I would really love to know what you think.

A huge thank you to JamiW who encouraged me to pitch my idea to an author, and to Erika for taking on the challenge of writing this story.

Chapter 1-Miss Cornelia Decides

Miss Cornelia was fuming. She had just gotten back from visiting Ingleside and a very depressed Anne Blythe. The source of Anne's depression and Miss Cornelia's frustration came down to an aggravating case of clannishness. That stubborn and controlling Mary Maria Blythe had more than overstayed her welcome at the Blythe household. She was upsetting the children, who couldn't be children when she was about, and Anne, to whom the loss of freedom and happiness was devastating. As Anne herself had said, she made them feel as if they didn't belong in their own home.

What was worse, Anne and the children couldn't complain, even in the precious times when Aunt Mary Maria was sleeping or, rarely, away from the house. That was down to Dr. Blythe. He felt it was his duty to be kind and understanding when dealing with his aunt because she was family.

"Just like a man," Miss Cornelia thought. "Of course he thinks that family is important, however distant the relation may be. But what of his true family...his wife and children? Anne has to scold her children for expressing feelings that she herself feels, all to please Gilbert. I don't know how she's put up with it for so long."

Miss Cornelia wondered if Gilbert even knew how upset Anne was. She was so good at hiding her feeling around him. It was only in private moments with her close friends that she let her true feelings show. Miss Cornelia's heart ached for her. She was what Anne would have once called a kindred spirit...she was one of "those who know Joseph". She was a dear friend and Miss Cornelia made it a point to help friends in need.

She vowed then and there that she would speak to Gilbert and tell him how his family was hurting because of his clannishness. It would have to be done tactfully, of course. She couldn't come across as too accusing and bossy, but she had to show him what he was doing to his family.

And so, Miss Cornelia found herself walking to Ingleside the next day. Anne was out visiting a friend in town, so it would be the perfect time to confront Dr. Blythe. She walked up the front steps and knocked on the door. She heard footsteps approach the door and steeled herself for what was likely to be an unpleasant experience.