A/N: Quick note before the beginning of this chapter! This is a story that takes place after season two, but Gilbert and Anne haven't gotten together yet. Enjoy!

Gilbert's step off of the train was relief after hours of sitting still, his only movements being the gentle swaying brought on by the train's movements. He had been looking forward to returning to Avonlea for months now, since he hadn't been back since going to college. Since his medical education took longer than the average college education, Anne, Diana and most of the other people who had graduated with Gilbert had all returned to Avonlea. He'd received some letters from Anne and Diana about what had been going on at Avonlea, but starting about three months ago the letters abruptly stopped coming without explanation. Hoping it could be explained away by the start of the new school year preoccupying Anne as a schoolteacher, he was eager to see her again.

The air was somewhat quiet, and had he known the events of the last three months, it might have even seemed eerie. After being away from home living in the city for a few years, he assumed he'd just gotten accustomed to the bustle of the city, and would have to readjust to the calmness of Avonlea's wilderness.

He had arranged prior to his trip for a horse to be waiting at the station for him, so the man sitting behind the counter directed him to the tall brown horse waiting outside for him. He smiled, stroking the horse's neck for a moment, before mounting and preparing to arrive back home to Bash, his mother, Delphine, and Elijah, who according to recent letters was a big help around the farm. Bash too had sent less letters beginning approximately at the same time as Anne, but he could also write that off as simply not having time due to the responsibilities of raising Delphine.

As he passed the occasional pedestrian, he waved and smiled at them, knowing the friendly nature of the Avonlea residents. The people waved back, but seemed reluctant to reciprocate his smile, which, however unusual, also did not raise particular red flags with Gilbert.

The journey was relatively short, as once he was past the area in which most people walked, he began to gallop back home. He was excited to see each of the people he missed so dearly while he was away, including Matthew, who had been such an incredible help not only to him but to Bash as well, helping with the farm and providing him with support when he needed it. He also knew that Anne adored him, and she was always ecstatic to be around him.

He arrived finally at his home, slowing his horse to a walk and guiding it through the gates happily. He noticed Elijah picking apples from the orchard, so smiled and waved at him. Elijah seemed confused, but waved back, and resumed his task. Gilbert assumed he'd come inside the house later on, so brought the horse to the stables and walked inside, eager to see Bash.

What he certainly didn't expect was Bash, sitting at the table, speaking to his mother in a concerned tone. He didn't catch more than, "Rachael is quite concerned about her-" before the two whipped their heads around to see a surprised Gilbert standing in the doorway. Bash's frown melted away and was instantly replaced with a wide smile. "Gilbert!" He exclaimed, standing up and hugging the younger man. "How have you been?"

Gilbert smiled, nodding to Bash's mother, who had not gotten up since she had Delphine sitting on her lap. "Quite well! How have you been? I imagine Delphine has been quite the handful considering she's growing." Bash chuckled.

"Yes, she has. We're figuring it out though, aren't we Ma?" His mother gave a grunt in response, and Gilbert was distracted by this so he didn't notice Bash dodge his question. "Would you like to come hold her?"

"Of course I would! Hello Delphine!" Delphine smiled, almost too big to be held now. "Hi Gilly!"

The nickname made him smile. After a few minutes of chatter, he set her down, and asked, "How is Anne?"

The room grew quiet. Bash was quick to save the interaction, saying "I believe she and Rachael are at Green Gables now, but we should probably let them be for now as I heard they're quite busy with some work around the farm." Gilbert frowned a bit, somewhat concerned by the response, but nodded. "Alright, well I'll bring over some biscuits tomorrow." An uncomfortable silence ensued for a few moments, and then Elijah came inside.

"Gilbert! Back from college are we?" Gilbert chuckled. "Yep, I'm back for good. Pretty soon I'll have to set up shop as a doctor." Bash saw this as an opportunity and quickly steered the conversation further towards that. He began asking questions about college, then excused himself eventually to run an errand.

Rachael answered the knock at the door, at first exasperated at the added responsibility to host a guest, then pleasantly surprised at the news that it was in fact Bash who had arrived. "Why Sebastion, whatever are you doing here?"

He stepped inside when Rachael motioned for him to do so, making eye contact with Anne in the kitchen. "I'm afraid I must speak with you." Anne raised an eyebrow, hoping Bash would elaborate.

"Gilbert is back in Avonlea, and he's preparing to stop here tomorrow."

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry about the short chapter, but this is a pilot to a new story I'm working on which will be a little less focused on the sherbert ship and more so on dealing with trauma and Anne and Cole's friendship. I know both of my only two stories are focused on Anne with an E but it's a story I love so lots more stories about it to come. If you have any ideas/requests for certain elements to be added into the story please let me know in the reviews or via private message and I'll try to add it! Updating schedule should be around every other day, but I'm not sure because I'm planning to also go back and update my previous story. Anyways, goodnight/goodmorning/goodafternoon all! (Disclaimer: I do not own Anne with an E nor any characters that are mentioned/created by the show or book "Anne of Green Gables" that it is based upon. The only rights I claim are to my own work.)