Hi Everyone,
Thanks for your help last week so I've came to a half decision about this. I'm going to write in the plot of the Anne of Avonlea under the Anne of Green Gables title for now (so keep this one open and add more chapters to this one) and then when we're done with the plot from AOA and we're ready to move into Anne of the Island I'll try and decide again then.
Thanks for all your reviews this week.
caprubia I can't believe you didn't see I'd published again! But never mind you found me the similarities you could probably tell are very deliberately there and will continue to be too, but I'm also about to (In AOA stuff) really write about how they are friends and how that obviously plays out. I'm glad you found this again and are enjoying it, they'll be a lot more non canon stuff coming up!
Astrakelly I am not killing off John Blythe don't worry.
So many of you such wonderful reviews I can't name all of them! But thank you all soooo much!
So this is the last chapter in the Anne of Green Gables next chapter will start Anne of Avonlea.
"Gil?" she called to him the day of the debate, he was in his football gear ready to go to the game.
"Oh hey, Anne." He said looking at her as he stopped to talk to her by her locker. "Good luck today at the debate, I wish I could be there to see you win." He said.
"That's funny, I was going to say the same thing." Anne said with a smile. She had really tried to say something meaningful to him over the past week but in every attempt she's fallen flat on her face. He'd been extremely cool with her since the lakeside, not that she could blame him. She decided it was useless, they were never meant to be good friends. "You know, I mean about your football game… I mean…" she blushed. "I hope you get the scholarship." She said finally. "If nothing else so you don't have to go head to head with me for the Avery." She said with a wry smile.
He chuckled for a moment before he said, "Well that's a comfort." He told her, "Though I'm sure I could beat you to it." Their conversation came to a halt when Anne's phone began to ring.
"Hello?" she answered. "Yes this is she." The look on Anne's face changed and Gilbert instantly knew something was wrong. "What!?" Anne exclaimed as Gilbert stepped to her side holding her elbow in worry. "No!" she protested. "I…I…" she trailed.
"Anne, what is it?" He asked her.
"It's Matthew." She cried, "he's been taken to hospital, they think it's a heart attack!" She said the tears forming in her eyes. "Gil, what do I do?" She asked him.
Gilbert took Anne's phone from her "Hello?" he asked. "Yes, I'm…" he trailed, he wasn't sure if there was a word for what he and Anne were "…a friend, yes, she's coming. Which hospital?" he paused. "Right… and which ward? Yes, she's on her way." He hung up the phone and looked to Anne. "Come on." He said to her "I'll give you a ride" he told her walking her down the corridor.
"But Gil the game?!" She exclaimed.
"Never mind the game." Gilbert told her. "Charlie…" he called over to him. "The game, you need attack form three, seven…"
"And nine." Charlie said with roll of the eye as they walked down the corridor. "I know Gilbert."
"Be the captain." Gilbert called then turned to Anne. "All sorted."
"No, but, your scholarship…" she said still not thinking straight.
"They'll be other chances for the football scholarships next year, not to mention other scholarships I'll work and get one of those."
"But Gil…" She trailed.
"Come on, let me help you. I'll take you to the hospital I'll still have time to come back here and take your place on the debate team, we both know the strategy, it'll be fine." He told her.
They sat in silence on the way to the hospital as Gilbert drove her. Neither one of them having any idea what to say. It wasn't until they were nearly there that Gilbert managed to speak.
"Would you like me to drive your car here once I'm finished at the debate?" he asked her.
"Oh," She said. "Um, yes please." She said handing him the key with a pink fluffy chain in tow.
He looked at them for a moment and smirked. "Oh, Sorry…" She trailed. "Diana…" she trailed looking at the keys.
"That's alright." he said popping them in his Leatherman's jacket pocket. "true mark of a man isn't it?" he asked her. "Though if you ask me defining a man by colours is outdated." He paused for a second. "Actually, did you know that dressing boys in blue when they are babies is far more of the modern phenomena then people think? Even as late as the early twentieth century little boys wore pink as a sign, a watered-down version of the red uniforms they would later wear in life."
Anne looked at him in amazement, as if for the first time she noticed Gilbert was full of these useless facts. "Really?" she asked him.
Gilbert smiled at momentarily giving her something else to think of. "Yeah." He confirmed. "And blue was used like a mark of the Virgin Mary, as an innocence for…"
"Girls!" Anne said in amazement.
"Yeah." He confirmed. "Can you imagine…" he continued, "as a baby, Mr Darcy in little pink overalls?"
Anne smiled vaguely. "With little white pull up socks. Was there lace? Oh tell me there was lace?" she said said with a small smile tugging at her lips..
"The lace on Mrs Hurst's gown..." Gilbert said in a mocked high voice.
"No lace, Mrs Bennet, I beg you!" Anne quoted back. She looked at him the smile on her lips a little wider "I didn't know you were into pride and prejudice." she said.
"Well, I've been known to surprise people sometimes." He said with a shrug.
The heavy silence again entered the car as she failed to laugh but felt the empty pit in her stomach. "Gil?" she said.
"Yeah?" he replied.
"I'm scared." She told him.
"I know." He replied as big tears filled her eyes again.
"Tell me something that will make it better?" She asked him.
He looked to her a little shocked not sure of what to say. This tenuous… relationship, friendship, comradeship, acquaintance, whatever it was, was still brand new, how was he supposed to comfort her? "a myocardial infarction, happens because of decreased blood supply to your heart's muscle. Heart attack are actually rarely fatal, but the real danger is if he has a sudden cardiac arrest after." He told her.
"Is that true?" she asked him. "How do you know that?" she asked him.
"Um." He said in affirmation. "I looked it up in a medical journal earlier this year." He admitted.
"Why?" she asked him.
"Well, I, um…" he stuttered. He had never told anyone his life plans, what he really wanted to be. "Actually, I would like to be a doctor one day."
Anne looked at him in amazement. "A doctor? Really?" she asked him. "That's…" she looked away and blankly at the dash board, "…really ambitious." She admitted.
"Yeah, I know." He said.
"A lot of hard work." She continued.
"I know." He confirmed. "Don't you think I can do it?" he asked her.
"oh yes I do!" she confirmed rather more quickly then she would have liked to.
"Really?!" He said his chest puffing up proudly.
"Yes, of course," she confirmed. "You and I, well, what I mean to say is that, you're really smart, if anyone could…" she trailed as he smiled.
"Oh thanks." He said with a slight blush.
"Why?" she asked him, looking at him again. "I mean to say why would you like to be a doctor?"
" I think, its in our nature, to want to fight for something you know?" he started to explain. "didn't somebody once define man as a fighting animal?" he explained. "I mean the very laws of evolution prove we are and even if you do believe in a divine creation of man, well doesn't it say something about us, that a God would put us in charge?" he paused for a second to give her the opportunity to speak if she wanted to "I want to fight disease and pain and ignorance . . . which are all members one of another. I want to do my share of honest, real work in the world, Anne . . . and add a little to the sum of human knowledge if I can. The people who lived before me have done so much for me, that I want to show my gratitude by doing something for the people who will live after me. It seems to me that is the only way a fellow can get square with his obligations to the race." He paused again and looked at her waiting for a response again. "Well, that's what I think." He said suddenly going back into himself, blushing as he went.
"That's beautiful." She said quietly. "I…" she trailed and looked away.
"What?" he asked her.
"I didn't think you were capable of such deep thoughts." She admitted.
"Gee Thanks." He said sarcastically.
"Oh, Gil, no, I didn't mean it like that." she said going beetroot red.
He smirked "I'm only teasing." He said. "what about you?" he asked her.
"I'd like to add some beauty to life," said Anne dreamily. "I don't exactly want to make people KNOW more . . . though I know that IS the noblest ambition . . . but I'd love to make them have a pleasanter time because of me . . . to have some little joy or happy thought that would never have existed if I hadn't been born."
He looked at her for a moment and swallowed sadly. It was a beautiful but sobering thought, a lone Anne, thinking she couldn't bring joy when all she did was…"I think you're fulfilling that ambition every day," said Gilbert admiringly.
She blushed at his words and the car fell silent again.
"Hey Anne?" he started.
"Yeah?" she replied.
"Can you do me a favour?" he asked and without waiting for a reply said "can you keep the doctor thing, just between us, no one else knows and I'm not sure I'm ready to tell anyone else." He admitted.
"If you want me to." She confirmed.
He sighed in relief. "Thanks."
"but why?" she asked him.
"Just… I would hate…" he trailed and focused on driving for a moment before he admitted quietly "I would hate to disappoint anyone."
Anne looked at him surprised but said nothing and then returned to the previous fact, "so what's his chances after a cardiac arrest?" she enquired.
"Oh, not good." He admitted, "only five per cent chance of living." Anne looked to him shocked. "There's nothing to say he will though." Gilbert said trying to reassure her.
"No." she said faintly, "nothing." She agreed with a swallow. They arrived at the hospital, Gilbert stopped as close as he could to the door.
"I'll bring your car, and park it as close as I can, I'll bring the keys to the reception as you go in these doors." He told her.
"Thanks Gil." She said.
"And don't worry about the parking charges, I'll pay." He said to her.
"No, Gil, I can't ask that of you!" She opposed.
"You're not asking, I'm offering." He said sternly. "Yes?" he asked, to which she nodded. "Anything you want need or desire, WhatsApp me, I will get it, come to you, anything Anne, anything. Anytime" He emphasised.
"Thank you Gil." She whispered.
"I mean it." He whispered. He took some a note pad and pen out of the glove compartment "This is my number." He told her. "I mean it."
"I know you do." She said. She opened the car door then looked at him. "Gil…" she trailed apologetically to him.
"I know." He told her back. "Just go."
Three hours later
+19022914113: sudden cardiac arrest, he didn't make it. Gil, Diana isn't home and she's not answering her cell. Please help.
+19022919116: I'll be right there.
He practically ran down the corridor of the hospital to find her.
"Can I help you?" The nurse asked at the nurses station as he ran past.
"Um, yeah, I'm looking for Cuthbert, um… Matthew Cuthbert?"
"Gil." He heard from down the corridor it was Anne.
"Thanks." He said to the nurse before he walked to Anne. "Anne." He said as her arms flung around his shoulders and she started to cry into his neck. "I'm so sorry." He whispered to her. They stood right there in the corridor for a good ten minutes, Gilbert holding Anne letting her cry into him before she pulled back for a second.
"Urgh!" She exclaimed, "Look at me, I've treated you like vermin all year and now I'm sobbing into you like we're best friends." She said going all red with a half-hearted attempt at pulling away.
But Gilbert liked the feeling too much kept his arms securely around her. "That's funny…" he told her straight "I thought that's what we were?" he said quietly. Bringing out some paper tissues from his pocket for her to use.
"Best friends?" She asked him.
"Yeah." He nodded. "You and I." he swallowed.
She actually burst into a fit of giggles her hands grasping his t-shirt her head dug into his chest before she came up and looked at him. "That's awfully kind of you to say Mr Blythe, considering our history." She sighed, "Whatever can I do to make it up to you?" She asked him.
Well we could study together." He said with a smile "our brains together we could conquer the world!" he smiled as she looked at amazement at him. "I was hoping you'd take my offer of being my vice president. If we run together, I think we could make a real difference in school."
She smiled faintly then nodded. "Vice president huh?" She said quietly. "I suppose, if you admit in your speech that you never could have won without me." She said with a cheeky glint in her eyes.
"I could totally do that!" He exclaimed with a bite to his bottom lip.
"Your scholarship?" She half asked half said sadly, knowing what he had sacrificed for her.
"I told you I can work for another one." He said to her softly.
"The debate?" She asked him.
"We won of course." He said. "Thanks to my witty and charming skills." He said with a cocky like grin to her, one which only months ago, she had detested believing it was made to torture her.
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm sure." She said as she pulled away slightly his arm seem to naturally find its way to the bottom of her back. "Can you come in?" She said pointing to the room. "I don't think I can go back in there alone?" She said, her huge grey eyes were green from the crying.
Gilbert looked down at her to see a tiny kiss curl fall onto her forehead as she looked up to him. He pulled it back off her head for her and answered her gently "Of course Anne, whatever you want."
It was a week later when Anne came back to school.
Gilbert at first watched her from afar. He'd stayed with her that night their hands stayed in the others as they searched for comfort. Diana had called at about 10pm. It turned out her family had all gone out together and she had forgotten her cell phone. That had been four hours since it had happened. Anne and Gilbert hadn't spoken anymore that evening. Diana had driven Anne home. He had paid for Anne's parking at the hospital, he had paid upfront for two days and asked the attendant to contact him if any more was needed. But actual contact hadn't been made between Anne and Gilbert since. He wasn't actually sure if she had meant the words of forgiveness, or if she had just been too sad to care it was him comforting her.
It didn't take long for Anne to hear the whispers of Josie to her possy of cheerleaders.
"You know he practically gave up that scholarship for her. Coach had told Gilbert all he had to do was show up for the game and the scholarship was his. Well so says Charlie."
Anne burned as she heard it. She had known there was a high chance it was his, but Gilbert had known it was certain. But he chose to help her instead. She looked over to Gilbert with big grey eyes. He smiled then gave a small wave to her before she took a deep breath and walked over to him. She felt the scornful eyes of the cheerleaders behind her.
She suddenly didn't care.
She only knew she had to make it up to Gilbert.
"Hi Gil." She said softly in front of the other jocks. Who suddenly dispersed and shuffled to the cheerleaders to watch the events unfold.
"Hey." He said with a hopeful sparkle in his eyes.
"I just wanted to thank you again Gilbert, for the night when Matthew died. You really..." she trailed feeling her own voice start to quiver. "...you really are very kind."
Gilbert couldn't speak for a moment, it was as if his mind was really trying to assess the situation right, "It wasn't particularly good of me at all, Anne. I was pleased to be able to do you some small service. Are we going to be friends after this? Have you really forgiven me my old fault?"
Anne laughed sweetly "I forgave you that day by the pond landing truth be told, maybe even before, even maybe at the Christmas dance, or when we were studying together, I don't know for certain, I've just been stubborn, I've been determined not to like you. I've been—I may as well make a complete confession—I have been so very sorry."
A grin spread across Gilbert's face before he took Anne's books from her, "We are going to be the best of friends. You've thwarted destiny enough. You are going to keep your promise and be my vice president aren't you?" He asked her to which she nodded. "Good I'm glad." He then whispered to her "I've been dreading having Charlie as my vice, he has no diplomacy. Come on." He said gently guiding the bottom of her back. "So, did I tell you the president and the vice get to go to Ottawa, Ontario for a month in the summer vacation?" he asked her. "it wouldn't be too much would it Anne? Being with just me all that time?" he asked.
"No it should be fun." Anne said looking at him for any sign of resentment from him which she simply couldn't find.
Gilbert smiled widely and some cute little dimples appeared in his cheeks which Anne had never noticed before. He looked down at her books "can I carry those for you Anne?" he asked her before she nodded and he gently took them from her "I'm glad you think it'll be fun in Ottawa even of you do only have me as company, though it is dependent on us winning, come on lets go and get our names submitted, then we can sit together in chemistry and plan what we are going to do, maybe we could move our seats so we are closer together for our classes, that way we could do our work in half the time and spend the other half planning this, do you want to sit together at lunch?"
Anne laughed and looked at him a twinkle showing in her eye "Gilbert Blythe don't you ever shut up!"
"Sorry." He said with a blush being quiet as they entered the principles offices.
"Yes." Anne said.
"Yes what?" he asked.
"Yes, we should sit closer together in our lessons and yes I would like to have lunch with you." She said with a smile to him. He smiled so widely little dimples appeared in his cheeks which were actually kind of endearing on him.
It was while he was signing their names to be elected that Anne reflected that sometimes the best of friends, the most kindred of spirits could be found in the most unexpected people and it was funny she could tell now, he really had always had been.