Sorry for the wait, here's an extra long chapter ;)

CHAPTER TEN

Gilbert didn't realize how cold it was outside until Anne left. It would seem her smile warmed more than just his heart, it was actually giving him physical warmth, Gilbert knew, as a doctor-in-training, that technically that wasn't possible, but he liked to think that there were some things that science couldnt explain.

Just then, Anne appeared, wearing the scarf, mittens, and a smile that warmed his heart yet again.. He noticed the Blue-greenish coat she was wearing was clashing with the new accessories he gave her, And he immediately thought that he would have to buy her a new coat whenever he got the chance. Maybe a new hat to go with it. Maybe in red? Gilbert quickly pushed that thought out of his mind. As much as he loved seeing her in his favorite color, he knew If he kept buying her red clothing, she'll look like a bloody…. Well, blood! But he'd definitely get her something to match. He'll figure it out later. Right now he just wanted to gaze at her a little longer. He'd been watching her from a distance since they were kids, and now, he was finally allowed to see her up close!

Anne skipped down happily to meet him, which made Gilbert laugh.

"So…." She said, adjusting her hat, "Where are we off to?"

"Uh…" he said, snapping out of his gaze, "Well, I thought we'd start by going horseback riding."

"Start?" She asked, excitedly, "What else are we doing?"

Gilbert smiled at her and leaned in close to her ear, "Patience, Carrots." He whispered, "You'll see."

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Gilbert was somewhat disappointed that Anne chose to ride on her own horse rather than riding in the back of his horse with him. He seemed to always want to be close to her any chance he got, since they would be leaving back to their schools soon. He felt like a little boy, deprived of his most favorite thing in the world. It made him want to whine and pout. But then Gilbert started thinking, he can't keep getting disappointed at Anne's choice to distance himself from him. Just because he seemed to always carry a shuddering yearning ache of contact, doesn't mean Anne is forced to oblige. He'd never want to force her to do anything. Besides, he was certain that they'd have the rest of their lives to be close to her. Gilbert knew that Anne brought out the boy in him, But this was starting to get ridiculous. He didn't want Anne to feel like she was babysitting him.

Anne and Gilbert rode silently through the woods. Gilbert stared at Anne as she took in the scenery around her, admiring every single branch and pinecone. Gilbert longed to know what was going on in that busy mind of hers.

"Isn't it just enchanting?" She said, finally.

"So enchanting." Gilbert agreed, still staring at Anne.

Anne turned to him and smiled. "I'll race you." she challenged.

"You don't even know where we're headed!" Gilbert laughed.

"And even so, I am confident Belle and I could take you and your mare any day," She teased, "Unless, of course, you're not up for the challenge."

Gilbert chuckled. He loved seeing the old Anne. Her competitive nature must be a sign that this was working. He wasn't about to mess it up now.

"Her name is Tiana." He replied, "And you are so on."

Anne quickly kicked the sides of her horse, making her go at full speed. Gilbert stayed back in surprise. "Hold it, Anne!" He called, doing the same with his horse, "No one said go!"

Anne kept going faster and faster, ignoring Gilbert's complaints behind her. Gilbert tried his best to catch up to Anne. He should've known better than to challenge Anne. She was like the wind, no one could catch her. Gilbert sped up, then he ran into a branch of a tree, hitting him in the face, and fell backwards off his horse.

Anne gasped in fright and quickly dismounted her horse. She ran to where Gilbert was laying on the ground, and collapsed by his side.

"Gil?!?! Are you alright?!?!" She yelled in worry, "Gilbert, answer me!"

Gilbert opened his eyes wide, but they stared into space, as if not being able to see anything. "Carrots?" He asked, reaching his hand up to her face, "Is that you?"

Anne wore a horrified look on her face. Something was wrong. "I'm right here." She said, grabbing his hand. "Don't worry, everything will be alright." She said, not knowing if that was true. What was she supposed to even do? She wasn't the doctor in this situation. She didn't even know how this could've happened!

Suddenly Gilbert's face broke into a smirk, Then started laughing uncontrollably.

Anne gasped, realizing that Gilbert was teasing her. "You LOWLIFE!" She said, shoving snow on his face. She stood up angrily and stormed away.

"Aww c'mon, Anne." Gilbert begged, feeling really guilty. He probably took it way too far that time. She seemed very worried. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to vex you. I just couldn't let you win. Please? I'm sorry, Anne."

Anne stopped suddenly, still facing away from him. "Anne?" He asked, "Please don't be angry, I-"

Just then Gilbert took another cold ball of snow to the face, causing him to stumble backwards. Anne started giggling uncontrollably , already forming another snowball in her hand. "I totally won that race by the way." Anne said, smiling.

Gilbert laughed, grateful Anne wasn't angry with him, "Fine, you had that one." He admitted, "But there is no way I'm letting you get away with winning twice in a row!"

Gilbert knelt down, focusing very hard on creating the biggest snowball he could manage as quickly as he could. When he finished he stood up and stretched his arm out behind him as far as he could, preparing to launch it at her. He stopped when he realized Anne was nowhere to be found.

Gilbert wasn't about to let Anne fool him. He knew Anne was hiding somewhere, waiting for him to pass by so that she could throw another snowball at him. Gilbert refused to take another snowball to the face. It was already getting numb with cold! He crept quietly, staying completely aware of his surroundings and checking behind trees as he walked past them.

After being sure he had checked behind every tree, Gilbert let his guard down and leaned against a tree in confusion. Where did she go?

Suddenly, He felt a big pile of cold snow fall on top of him, and looked up to see Anne Giggling up in the tree, shaking the branches with much force. Gilbert chuckled softly. "You win yet again, Anne." He relented, throwing his arms up in surrender, "Will you come down from there now? It seems awfully dangerous to be up so high."

"The view from up here is gloriously illustrious!" Anne exclaimed, "I haven't climbed a tree in so long, I've forgotten just how enrapturing it is!"

"Anne, be careful!" Gilbert warned, "Those branches don't look at all stable!"

Anne climbed higher up the tree, until she reached the highest she could climb. She took in the view, inhaling the cold winter air through her lungs. Her braids had gone undone, so she let it loose and let the wind blow it back. It's been an age since she last felt like this.

She was interrupted by Gilbert's worried remarks: "Anne?" He called, "If you don't come down I'll come up after you!"

Anne sighed. As much as she wanted to share this feeling with Gilbert, She could already feel the branches under her starting to give. She didn't want to have to end their day together because of an injury.

"I'm coming!" She yelled back, climbing carefully back down the tree. Gilbert offered his hand to her as she came down, in which she tried to refuse as politely as possible. Gilbert didn't seem to mind, as he shoved his hands back down his pockets.

"It's getting pretty cold." He noticed. "Do the scarf and mittens work well?"

Anne felt quite cozy under her new scarf, but she couldn't say the same about her hands. They were ice cold under her mittens.

"It seems the snow soaked through the mittens," she said, holding up her hands to show him,

Gilbert took her hands, and pulled her mittens off, exposing her bare hands. Anne felt instant relief to free her hands out of the wet material, But she still felt the bitter cold bite her fingers without being under the protection of the gloves. Gilbert raised her hands up to his mouth and proceeded to breath hot air into her hands, giving warmth to her hands and her heart. She didn't feel the usual shock she felt when Gilbert was affectionate towards her. It had started to feel more familiar to her. It felt right.

Gilbert held both hands in his and gazed at her in a way that made her breathless. "C'mon" he said, leading her back to the horses, "There's one more place I want to take you."

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Anne kept her hand in his the whole time, which made it very difficult for her to tie up her horse. Gilbert saw this and used his unoccupied hand to help her tie the knot. They both laughed at their struggle, and finally Anne let go of his hand and finished the knot herself.When Anne turned she immediately realized they were at the lake of shining waters, except now it was frozen solid.

"What are we doing here?" She asked him, But he had already left her side and was skating on the ice, summoning her to come.

"No way." She told him, "Forget it."

"C'mon, Carrots," He said, as he skated around the ice in circles, attempting to show her that it was completely safe. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"I'm glad you asked," Anne began, "Let me paint you a word picture." Gilbert stopped skating and stood there, with eyebrows raised and a smile on his face, awaiting for Anne to grace him with her perfectly detailed story.

"First, I put on my ice skates and tie them up as tight as possible, so that I don't trip and fall on them. I get on the ice and , of course, I am a natural."

"Of course," Gilbert chuckled softly.

"I glide gracefully on the ice like it was what I was meant to do my whole life," She continued, "Like an Ice princess, with long, beautiful jet black hair and rosy cheeks standing out on my pale, white skin, blending in with the snow around her. But what I don't realize is the skates were cutting my circulation, on account of that my skates were put on too tight! I suddenly collapse on the floor, unconscious, with such momentum, it cracks the ice below me and I fall right through!"

Anne slows down her voice for a dramatic effect, "I sink into the cold, dark water, not being able to even fight for my life as I stay unconscious. I die, cold and alone." She concludes, "And that is the end of Anne with an E. Forever. "

"But you're not alone, Anne." He tells her, smirking, "I'm here. And I'll tie your shoes up for you. I promise I won't tie them up too tight."

Anne looked at him, still unsure. "As a matter of fact, Anne, I challenge you." He teased. "I bet you can't stay up on the ice without my help for longer than ten seconds!"

Anne glared at him. He knew there was no way Anne would back out of this challenge. Especially since he told her he doubted her abilities. Of course, Gilbert would never doubt her. He knew, with enough practice, Anne could accomplish anything, and do it all while looking absolutely beautiful. But he knew what he had to do to get her on the ice.

"Fine." Anne relented, "But on one condition. I put on my own skates."

"If you insist." He shrugged, "Tiana's carrying the bag with the ice skates."

Anne found the skates and laced them up, making sure that she didn't tie them up too tight, as she had scared herself a little with her word picture. She stood up, immediately losing her balance. She held her arms out to regain posture, and stepped slowly and carefully onto the ice. Gilbert stayed close by, watching her with a smirk on his face. He was hoping Anne was too busy to notice how much Gilbert was enjoying this.

Anne stood on the ice without moving a muscle and counted under her breath, " 1...2...3...4..."

Anne was already feeling herself start to fall. Her heart was beating hard and her breathing was faster, but she refused to give up so easily. There was no way she was going to lose her winning streak. started counting louder and faster. Anne's increased volume told Gilbert she was losing her balance, so he skated towards her just in time to catch her as Anne fell, taking Gilbert down with her.

Anne layed on top of Gilbert, with her head staying on his chest, still breathing hard and fast. Anne began to laugh hard, "Sorry," She said, still laughing as she sat up. Gilbert smiled, straightening up, using the palms of his hands to sit up on the ice. Anne attempted to stand up on the ice,but slipped back into Gilbert's arms before she could get both feet on the ground. Both of them continued to laugh, until Anne felt Gilbert's hand brushing softly through her hair. She looked up at his eyes, and Gilbert gazed back at her in a way that made her heart beat fast.

Gilbert lightly caressed her cheek, expecting her to pull away from him. When she didn't, He couldn't find the will to keep away from her any longer. He laid a heavy kiss on her lips, pulling her face into his. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him even closer to her, while his arms pulled at her waist, shifting her body to his lap. His mind whirled with the rush of it all. Every nerve ending on fire, The way her hands always found his hair in a familiar way, twirling it around each of her fingers. The way every time it seemed like it was going to end, she went in with a much more passionate kiss than the last, making it as if it was never going to end, not that he ever wanted it to.

He felt Anne shift her weight slightly forward, even as He began to lean back on his elbows, letting Anne's body lay almost completely on top of him. His hands moved to the small of her back, gently pushing her body closer to his. His lips moved as well, from kissing both of hers, then top, then bottom. He felt a small groan crawl up from the back of his throat against her lips. Anne responded with a small moan, as she pressed her lips harder and more passionate against his.

Just when Gilbert thought it couldn't get any more intense, Anne pulled away slowly. It took everything in Gilbert's power not to pull her back in for another kiss. But he realized something was off. Anne avoided eye contact with him, and sat down next to him, hugging her knees and staring at the ground.

"Anne?" he asked, worriedly, "What's wrong?"

Anne kept staring at the ground, not being able to answer. Everything had been perfect. Simply magical. In fact Anne would have never imagined that she would get to know what real love actually feels like, especially with someone as idealistic as Gilbert. So why did this feel so wrong?

Gilbert ran his fingers through her hair, attempting to console her, but she pulled away from him, still avoiding eye contact.

Gilbert sighed and layed back to look at the sky. "Anne I know you're hurting." He tells her, "And you have every right to. But i think you are trying to punish yourself for being happy."

Anne looked at him, realizing that he was right. That is why it felt so wrong for her to be feeling this way.

Gilbert noticed his eyes on her and grabbed her hand, "Matthew loved you, Anne." He began, "He still does. He wouldn't want you to do this to yourself. He wants you to be happy, and I think it is hurting him to watch you put yourself through that."

Anne laid down next to him and stared up at the heavens. "You think he's watching me?" Anne asked him.

Gilbert gripped her hand harder. "I know he is." he told her. He sat up to lay a light kiss on her forehead. Anne closed her eyes, letting herself feel the love she has for Gilbert. She could still see the image of Matthew smiling at her so clear in her head.

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It was late at night when Gilbert took her back to Green Gables. Before entering the house, She pulled Gilbert in for another passionate kiss.

"Thank you for today" She said, inches away from his face, "It was the stuff of dreams."

Gilbert laughed and leaned his forehead against hers. "Thank you for accompanying me. Wouldn't be much fun without you." He said.

Anne laughed and pressed another kiss on his lips.

"Goodnight, Gil."

"Good night, Anne-girl."

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