"How's your packing Queen Anne?" Phil asked coming in her little blue bedroom she almost jumped at her progress. "Good heavens Anne! She exclaimed, "Do you want to be away from Kingsport?"

"It's not that exactly." Anne smiled. "I've been packing for a few days, only leaving out the essentials, today has been pretty easy going." She laughed "its it funny how much we accumulate over the year." She sighed. "Never mind Phil, how is your packing going?"

"Terribly!" She claimed lying lazily on Anne's bed "and look its quarter past four, at this rate I'll be done this time… next century!"

A good hike on his own, he looked up at the rocks in front of him.

He's forgotten his ropes but he was determined and he was not backing out. His adrenalin was already up from the hike and he promised himself, when he got to the top of this rock climb he would be over her. That's right over the top would mean over her. He'd done the climb a thousand times and never had any problems with it.

He glanced at his watch 16:15 before he clicked it for the stop watch to time himself.

His heart thumping, he reached for the first rock.

One step at a time he elevated above the ground, he used his fingers and pushed up on his arms using them to help him over the trickier section. He looked down when he passed it and smiled at the climb.

'I'm going to make it!' he thought to himself climbing. "Three more and I'm at the ledge…" he thought to himself. "Two more and I can be over Anne." He told himself. "One more and she can be happy with Royal Gardner…" he thought with one last heave reached up….

"Anne!" Phil called. "We're ordering in a Pizza!" she called.

"Are you trying to make me put on weight!" Anne laughed coming down the stairs.

"You look like you need to after all the work you've put in!" Phil laughed.

Anne nodded in acknowledgement though said nothing, she felt as though the last time she had properly ate had been with Gilbert. She'd waited on him replying to her though the reply never came. She wanted to tell him she was finally free! That she didn't have to tell Roy, that she knew why she didn't have to tell Roy.

But he'd never got back to her.

She sighed as she reached the bottom of the stairs, it had been too long since she hung out with Gilbert and that night where she told him everything had been a wonderful remedy for a while but she really did just want to hang out with him.

"So I thought one of those Skinny Pizzas. No Gluten, no diary no salt…" Phil started to suggest.

Anne laughed "You've just taken all the good bits out of the pizza." Anne mocked.

"well I have to still fit in my wedding dress in three weeks." Phil objected.

"I don't." Anne objected. "You get your skinny pizza which isn't a pizza, get me a regular real pizza." She looked over to see Phil's face drop at her laptop screen. "what are they just as much in fat content?" Anne asked her at her face. When her face didn't change Anne looked more seriously "Are they sold out?" she asked.

"I…um… just… are you following Gilbert on Facebook?" Phil asked her.

"No," Anne said honestly "why?" she asked.

Phil turned her laptop and saw on Phil's newsfeed a message with Gilbert's name tagged in from Gil's dad.

'Gilbert is in intensive care after being airlifted to Kingsport Hospital a couple of hours ago. He's not awake so If you can't contact him that's why, we'll keep you informed. I'm in Kingsport now on route to the hospital now.'

The colour drained from Anne's face and a dread started to fill her from her gut outwards. She tried to speak but the words wouldn't come. She tried to think and the processes wouldn't start. She tried to look away from the screen but she couldn't look away. When her thought processes did restart she read it again because the words wouldn't register. She shook her head "intensive care?" Anne stuttered as she looked at Phil. "Not awake?!" she said. "What happened?!" she exclaimed.

"I know as much as you do." Phil stated as she watched Anne leave the room. "Anne?" she questioned getting to her own feet and followed her fumbling up the stairs to her room. "What are you doing?" she asked her as she arrived at Anne's door. Anne had already grabbed Gilbert's jacket and put it on.

"I need my keys and my phone." Anne said trying to concentrate. "Okay phone." She said picking it up and putting it in her pocket. "Keys keys…" Anne said.

"What are you doing Anne?" Phil said trying to get her to focus.

"I have to go!" Anne sobbed freezing where she was on her room. "I… I have to be with him!" she told Phil.

"Anne you can't just go down there, they don't let just anyone into intensive care." Phil told her logically.

"You don't understand!" Anne yelled in her sobbing and she gasped for air.

Phil looked at her friend who she really believed she was on the edge of a breakdown and at her face understood her frantic nature at this moment. She went to Anne and wrapped her arms around her friend for a few moments before pulling away. Anne looked to her with a nod then saw her keys grabbed them and went out the door.

"Um, I'm here to see Gilbert Blythe." Anne said to the nurse at the station. "He's in intensive care." She said quietly.

"Are you family?" The nurse asked her.

"Um…" Anne started the words escaped her "I…"

"If you aren't family I can't let you in."

"I just need to know if he's okay?" she only half asked.

"Miss…"

"but he's in intensive care so that's bad right?" Anne asked. "You don't call it intensive for nothing." She continued blindly, the nurse looked to her "I mean is it, bad short term or long term, is he going to die? Please I just…"

"I can't…"

"You don't get it!" Anne continued "please, please?" she asked her feeling as though her gut was being slowly peeled from her. "I need to know if he'll be okay?"

"Miss I can't give you that information if you're not family." The nurse continued.

"But I'm his Anne!" She protested "I belong…." She stuttered. "…we're… please…" she tried.

"Anne?" The familiar voice of Mr Blythe came from behind her.

Anne's face came to some relief upon seeing his father, she wiped the tears from her eyes before she acknowledged. "Mr Blythe" Anne looked to him wide eyed the tears still glistening on her cheeks. "I just, is he alright?" Anne asked meekly.

"Why don't you come in with me Anne?" he asked her.

"Oh no I can't do that, Its only family and…"

"Gilbert would want you there." Mr Blythe objected then he managed a kind smile at the girl who was distraught in front of her, whatever history the two had whatever had passed between them he wouldn't be the one standing in the way. "…and anyway you are family." He said.

"But Mrs Blythe…" Anne started.

"Is in the states with her cousin." Mr Blythe confirmed. "She tried to get the earliest flights but won't be here until morning." He told her putting his arm around her. She looked up in amazement at the man who gently led her through the corridor of the hospital. "The people who called him in weren't far from him when he fell, he went off hiking alone…"

"he didn't!" Anne said in shock. "You should never hike alone he knows that!"

"Not only that he decided to do some extreme rock climbing." John continued.

"I don't understand how do you extreme rock cl…" Anne started.

"Without the ropes." John said quietly and Anne's eyes went wide. "Very stupid of him. They saw him climbing assumed he had gear but when they saw him fall they knew he didn't, they called it in. Kindly strangers," John nodded. "Found 'dad' on his 'emergency contacts' on his phone." John told Anne.

"Thank providence." Anne whispered. "I put those on for him."

Mr Blythe smiled "That doesn't surprise me." He said gently. "So you and Gilbert have been talking lately?" Mr Blythe asked her.

"Um… well sort of…" she admitted.

They came to the window of the private room they had Gilbert in and Anne gasped at the sight. "He broke his right arm and fractured two of his ribs in the fall, as well as all the bruising." John swallowed. "He hasn't woken they say its because of the head injuries, they're not sure how long it'll take for him to wake."

Anne remained silent looking in the window and where she was hearing everything John was saying it wasn't where her focus was.

"They say talking to him will help him, but I can't think of anything to say. I reckon it'll do him some good to hear your voice Anne." John admitted. "Won't you go in and visit with him?" he asked.

Anne nodded and entered the room, she didn't notice that John left her at the door closing it behind her he decided they needed a few minutes. He wasn't sure what it was which made him do it, but there was something in Anne's eyes, which told him, it was needed.

Anne walked towards him slowly and stopped at his bedside. She looked at the injuries which had abraded his face. As she reached for the rebellious strands of hair, if she had been paying attention to herself, she would have seen her hands shaking as she reached. As she stroked it back she let out a whimper then a soft cry her other hand clasping to her face covering her quivering mouth as tears slipped down her face. The hand which fingers which had smoothed back the hand now ran gently down the bruise on his face. "I'm sorry." She cried talking to him. "I'm not sure why your dad thought this was a good idea." She admitted her fingers now reaching his strong jawline. "Yet, here I am." She told him. "He said people talking to you helps somehow and how ironic is it that the things I want to say I can't!" she exclaimed. The sobs clear now as she continued to try and control the growing feeling inside of her. "I feel, so helpless Gil." She told him. "There's this feeling right here." She told him holding her stomach for a moment before she continued "and it's a feeling which for the life of me I couldn't figure out, for a long time." She sobbed "Which is ironic because when I first felt it…" she took his hand and her sobs turned into silent cries "…was when I lost you almost two and a half years ago. When you told me…"

At this her legs gave way to the chair sitting behind her. Her head came down her hand still in his but her head on top of their hands. "You're the only one who could stop me…" she cried. Her head came up both her hands clasped in his one hand she brought the back of his hand up and kissed it her lips could taste the slight saltiness of his skin, she could taste a little what she had on his lips that day. She took a sigh and looked up the bed at him her hands rubbing his. "…you're the only one who could stop me from plunging into the depths of my darkest feelings." She continued. "And this…" she whispered. "This is the darkest one." She sighed. "everyone used to tell me when I walked into a room I would light it up, you did too a few times." She told him. "But see over the years, I suppose, I became dependent on…" she paused for a moment before she whispered "…you." She said to him. "I might light up the room but you kept that light burning." She faulted for a moment. "When I spent the night, you recharged me, when you danced with me at convocation, it did the same thing." She said nodding her head still crying. "Because you want to know the truth?" she asked him. "My world would be engulfed in a pity of darkness and misery and endless woe…" she told him. "Without you in it." She squealed breaking again.

She sobbed there for a few minutes trying to regain her breath, her thoughts anything she could cling onto, then she took a few steady breaths holding onto a single thought in her mind before stood again leaned over him on of her hands letting go of his hand to play with his curls again she brought her face to his and she kissed his cheek fervently. "I love you Gil." She whispered to him. When she received no response she almost laughed "did you not hear me?" she asked him. "I love you." She told him again. "I'm not sure how I've been so wrong for so long!" she sobbed and kissed him again. "Please…" she told him. "Just live." She whispered. "I don't expect anything from you." She told him. "I know I don't deserve it after all I've done." She continued. "But…" she said holding back a sob, "If I had my way…" she said. "Can you imagine with me for a minute Gil?" she said playing with his curls. "We'll have a house, a home really where you come home, I've been writing, of course…" she said with a laugh "and this is what… lets see you have medical school still so that's four years and five six years… how long is medical school again? You'd know, I bet you've been planning it as long as you've known you wanted to be a doctor, oh no we won't wait that long for kids…" she said with a chuckle. "We're going to be living paycheck to paycheck for a while but that's okay, I can take care of them…" she bit her bottom lip "but you know…" she continued, "just having you would be enough, so even if you've done yourself some damage which can't be fixed. I'll take care of you. If you can't walk or talk or take care of yourself." The tears starting falling from her eyes again. "I'll do it. I won't leave you this time, I won't abandon you. Because its what you deserve, it's the kind of love you deserve. I want to give you the love you deserve…" she took a deep breath "I don't even know if that's possible!" she cried "But I want to spend my life trying to." She told him. "Even if you don't remember, We can fall in love all over again. I won't leave you ever again. " She whispered. "Or even if you don't want me anymore, that's okay too." She told him. "but if you die…" she cried. "I die." She told him. "So you can't bail on me okay Blythe?" she told him. "Because I love you."

It was then the door opened and in slid Jonas Blake.

"Jo?" she said surprised. "How did you…?" she started.

"Minster of religion." He said with a smile. "He may not be one of my flock but I think I can safely say you are Anne, and he's of the same religious background isn't he?"

"Yes." Anne said quietly.

"May I?" he asked pointing towards the chair. To which Anne nodded. "I hope you don't think I'm intruding, but Phil was concerned about you, she knew you would find your way in, asked if I could come and be with you." He smiled.

"That's really sweet." Anne said with a grin.

Jonas looked to Gilbert then to Anne and perceived her broken heart. "So I've heard an awful lot about Gilbert of course off Phil, I can't say I heard much from you." Jonas started.

"No, well you only came on the scene after Gilbert went to study at NYU and then by the time he came back I was already with Roy and from what I understand its bad form to talk about another man when you're with someone."

Jonas smiled at that "Quite right good form." He smiled. "What is he like?"

"Gilbert?" Anne asked. "I barely know myself any…" she shook her head "no that's not true, there are some things that will never change about him." She said looking at him softly.

"Oh?" Jonas said thoughtfully. "Like?"

"He's…" she paused for a moment and smiled "kind, unbelievably kind, like to mammoth proportions kind, and patient and…" she paused "actually there's a passage of scripture I found one day when I was pressing a flower he gave me, I read it long ago, it was about charity and how it suffered long and was kind, it didn't envy and wasn't proud…"

Jonas smiled "Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."

Anne smiled "That's it, I thought it then, I still think it, it describes him." She smiled.

Jonas nodded his head. "Did you ever look up the verses again?" he asked her.

Anne shook her head and shrugged "I can't say I did."

"The word charity is a slight inaccuracy of the root word, well its root word, our one word used to be described as four separate words. See the Greeks had four different words describing four different aspects of our one. Philia, a friend bond, that feeling you have when your friendship is strong and durable. The second storge the empathic bond you share with family a sort of dependency, eros, well I can leave it to your imagination what that means, and the fourth agape, unconditional-"

"love." Anne said looking to him her mouth ajar slightly. "They are all different aspects of love."

"One of the aspects of love many people struggle with is the very one you described. The unconditional sort of love, parents more often than not have it for their children, but showing it towards other people…"

"No, Gilbert was…" Anne started and stopped suddenly blushing "Gilbert's never have any trouble in showing it towards people, as I said I thought the passage was him." She said softly looking back towards Gilbert, "he's the epitome of love." She said even softer.

"Of just the last one Anne?" he asked her. She looked up surprised "You'd been with Roy what a couple of years? I've never heard you talk of him like you just did of Gilbert."

Anne took a sigh, "I suppose there was always aspects of all of them, I mean it makes sense in a way, we were always the very best of friends always had a bond closer then most people could explain and I…" she blushed a little.

"It's okay Anne, the number of times you catch me and Phil in embrace you ought to be used to it." He said with a smile. "What stopped you?" he asked her.

She took a deep sigh "there were things at the time he didn't know about me and I was afraid to tell him, after we had got so close, I was afraid of losing what we had, and the sad thing was he was right, we were basically in the best relationship ever just without the label of 'love' attached to it." She looked up at Jonas and continued "I didn't have the best examples of what love did so I didn't recognise it as love and when he told me he loved me I thought it was something it wasn't. He said he needed time, that we would be friends again when he came back but then life got in the way, I was with Roy, he was with Christine…." She took a deep breath. "where is she?!" Anne asked him exasperated.

"Who?" Jonas asked.

"Christine, where is she?!" Anne said more annoyed "I mean she's meant to be his girlfriend! So where is she?!"

Jonas smiled "Anne focus. Christine couldn't come in here if she tried without Mr Blythe's consent, do you know if The Blythe's are close to Christine?" he said with a smile.

"I don't but, I'm sure the Blythe's love her."

Jonas looked seriously at her "come now Anne what evidence do you have of that?" he asked her "What matters, is that you are here, and I've barely spent ten minutes with you and I know you love him." He told her.

"Yeah, I do!" she said nodding her head.

Mr Blythe came into the room. Anne jumped up out of her seat.

"No Anne," John objected. "You stay there sweetheart." He told her straight. He looked to her for a moment before he spoke. "I understand you two had a bit of a falling out a couple of years back?" he said to her.

Anne looked at him a flinched. "I…. Um…." She blushed.

"He never said." John continued. "But he really missed you."

"He didn't say that." Anne almost whispered.

"No, he didn't." John admitted. "But I knew it." He said sitting down. "We've missed you."

"Thanks." Anne whispered. "I've missed you, him. I've missed…" she shook her head. "I'm sorry for intruding Mr Blythe." She said.

He shook his head "You aren't. To be honest they told me to talk to him, I had no idea what to say." He said with a chuckle "I thought sending you in here would help."

"Thanks." Anne said.

"Whatever went wrong you can fix it you know." John told her kindly. "Its never too late."

"You don't know, what I did to him." She said.

John sighed and looked at her "Maybe, but I know the effect it had on him. He missed you."

"I miss him." She responded.

"Then stay." John told her. "As long as you like." He said.

"I best be off." Jonas said to Anne and John. "I can tell Phil you're….?"

"I am well in body although considerably rumpled up in spirit." Anne said with a smile to Jonas, to which he nodded, bid himself a service to Mr Blythe should be need it and left.

Anne wasn't sure but some she'd fallen asleep in that chair, her hand still on his she woke with a start to see Mr Blythe sitting over from her.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked him.

"Couple of hours. I think." He said honestly.

Anne sighed and looked at Gilbert then looked down again. "I'm sorry Mr Blythe." She said to him. "this was a really bad idea. I better go." She said starting to get up which was when Gilbert started stirring.

The oxygen mask still on him he muttered something as John pressed the button for the nurses attention.

Gilbert's eyes opened and his eyes came into focus on one thing. His eyes wide and alert he looked into Anne's eyes. Anne could swear he was smiling at her. He felt her hand in his and knew instinctively it was her left hand his eyes widen as he felt her fingers much to Anne's confusion he took a deep breath as he felt her fingers then squeezed her hand. The nurse came in and took off the mask.

"You'll notice a pain when you breathe on your own okay?" she asked him. He nodded and felt the pain quickly his hand holding tighter to Anne's. "can you tell me your name?" The nurse asked him.

"Gilbert Blythe." He confirmed.

"And how old are you Gilbert?" she asked him.

"Twenty Two." He gasped. "ouch!" he exclaimed. "Is this how it must be between us?" he joked to the nurse. She looked to Mr Blythe who was chuckling then to Anne who was smiling.

"That's him." John confirmed.

"I'm going to give you some of this, " she told him holding up some morphine.

"Wow!" he said with a grin "the good stuff eh?" he joked.

The nurse smiled "You're a joker Mr Blythe."

"He's meant to be going off to medical school in September, he wants to be a doctor."

"Really?" The nurse said with a smile, "well lets see if we can make that happen." She told him "it'll take away the pain but you'll be sleepy. "

"okay just don't make me dopey okay…" he joked then said to Anne "dopey, like dope like drugs." He chuckled to which Anne laughed.

The drugs were taking effect immediately as he chuckled and said "I missed your laugh. "he admitted. "… yours is perfect." He said his eyelids were heavy but he didn't want to be away from this reality, this world which Anne was beside him again "like you." Clearly not thinking he carried on "but then that would be fitting," he said softly "Snow White had skin as white as snow." He sighed "like you, beautiful white snowy…" he murmured.

"then you would be prince charming." She said to him.

"No…" he sighed "it's my place to take care of you until a better man comes along." He shook his head "not dopey though, maybe doc."

"There are no better men, you are the best." She whispered. "but then have you have your own princess…" Anne said she didn't notice John look up in shock "…to love."

Gilbert shook his head the drugs clearly kicking in he drifted "there will never be anyone for me but you."

Before he could say more or her respond he slipped into a slumber.

Anne took a deep breath and looked at the nurse "does this mean he'll be okay?" she asked her. "I mean he's responding, he remembers me and he's him his age and…"

"I don't know." the nurse admitted. "he's not out of the woods yet, but this is a very good sign." She said with a smile to Anne "a reason to hope."

To which Anne nodded. She looked to their hands then slipped her hand away from his "I better go."

"Anne your really don't need to." He told her.

Anne smiled at Mr Blythe "there's hope." She said. "that's all I ever needed. Thank you Mr Blythe for letting me stay as long as you have." She said politely, she exited so fast she left the old Leatherman's Jacket on the seat she'd been sitting on.

"Gilbert! Oh Gilbert Blythe don't you ever do that to me again!" Mrs Blythe burst in less then four hours later.

He was more alert this time, he was sitting up and was eating the toast he was given for breakfast his orange juice almost went flying from his tray with the impact of his mother.

"what do you think you were doing!?" she exclaimed. "rock climbing without the ropes!" she exclaimed.

"it was never the rock climbing without ropes which was the problem." He observed "more the impromptu abseiling. "

To which his father burst into laughter. "John! " she reprimanded her husband "this is no time for your jokes Gilbert Blythe." She told her son.

"Au contraire ma mére." Gilbert defended. "this is the exact time for my sense of humor." He said with a smile to her "they say laughter is the best medicine and I think nothing funnier then being brought down by my own folly." He told her.

"In my day they called that a tragedy." Mrs Blythe said trying to stay stern.

"I'll admit to it being my character flaw." He said softly thinking of Anne, she was his weakness. "I am thankful it wasn't quite a Shakespearian tragedy though," he said with a grin to his mother who simply rolled her eyes and hugged in to him. Gilbert hugged into her for a moment, but then his father watching saw him stare at the seat next to him ponderously. It was as if Gilbert half recognized the missing occupant and half wondered at its reality.

His mother pulled back and made some fuss. But in the quiet moments Gilbert would look back at that seat.

Maybe it had been a dream, it was all too good to be true, Anne being there, beside him, he was sure before he woke he could hear her telling him she loved him but that was even more distant then the memory slipping from him, he'd made a really bad joke about one of the seven dwarfs? Doc? Dopey? Calling her Snow White? He wished she had been right there holding his hand when he first woke but then again, one of the side effects to morphine could be hallucinations, but then, was that his high school letterman's jacket hanging from the back of her chair?