"When's the wedding?" Diana asks lowly, wiggling her eyebrows at Anne as Gilbert sets down before her a plate of toast, a bowl of oatmeal and an apple.

"What are you talking about?" Anne replies tightly, pushing the dishes to where Gilbert is pulling up a chair. She tries to look nonchalant as Diana looks between them pointedly.

"You guys both skip game night, presumably together, and then he's been making you breakfast like, every day for the past week. Something is up and you have to tell me!" She pleads, grasping Anne's hand before looking at the others and then back to her. "I won't say a thing, Anne, I promise."

"There's nothing - it's nothing. He just thinks I don't eat and - "

"Because you don't," Gilbert interjects, sliding the dishes back to her and setting his own cup of coffee on the table next to a Powerbar.

"How come you get the Powerbar?" Anne complains, swatting at his shoulder.

"Because I've already eaten. This is second breakfast." She looks at him like he's grown a second head and Diana sighs, resting her chin in her palm as she watches them.

"You guys are adorable," she laments much to Anne's annoyance. "Reminds me of my Fred back home. Every time I go away on one of these things he thinks I'm leaving him forever. Calls me every morning no matter the timezone. He'll do that for you too Anne, I'm sure of it."

"There's nothing even - "

"Oh, I would. But love, I need you to stop arguing and eat your breakfast," Gilbert says so earnestly, so believably that Anne stares at him for an unbroken second. With no shame and no surprise, he keeps his gaze locked on hers for a tense second before breaking into a wide smile, laughter bursting from his chest as he watches her try to find the words.

"I can't even believe you," Anne scowls, shaking her head and grabbing his Powerbar. He claws it back and nods to her dishes with a smile.

"But seriously, eat. I'm prescribing it for you." She reluctantly gives in, tasting first the oatmeal and rolling her eyes at how he'd somehow turned something this boring into something so delicious.

Though Diana is perceptive enough to notice, Anne is thankful that the rest of the group hasn't yet caught on to the connection between her and Gilbert. She couldn't bear the thought that they would laud this over her, word eventually getting back to headquarters and potentially discrediting her work over misogynistic rumours. She didn't want to be branded as that girl, it would kill her.

The thought makes her pause later that morning as she sits in the clinic area, hands busy taking notes as she outlines her chapters. She remembers then the clause in her conduct agreement, her eyes drifting over to the tent where Gilbert worked.

Those completing work while abroad may not fraternize while on mission. In cases where direct reporting lines are in place, disclosure of inappropriate conduct is required.

"Fuck," she growls, packing up her notes and heading back to the kitchen to put some distance between her and the others. She tries to focus throughout the day, re-reading her scribbles from the week and summarizing them into something a bit more comprehensible. The outline of her the book was due before she boarded her flight and she was going to get her damn job done and do it well before she got on that plane. This was just a blip on the radar and she was having a bit of fun with it, wasn't she allowed that?

"You're scowling pretty severely at that paperwork, Annie," Ruby greets as she opens the fridge and starts digging around, her patronizing nickname grating on Anne's nerves.

"That's because it's not finishing itself," she grumbles in return and Ruby laughs, coming over to lean against the table with her hip.

"I'm sure someone around here could help you out with it, if you asked nice enough." Anne grips her pen tighter in her fist, avoiding looking up at the girl and confirming whatever she was digging for. Her tone was knowing, cheerful and conspiratorial. Ruby knew.

"Mmm, who knows how to read this gibberish though?" Anne sighs, schooling her face into a neutral smile, one she hopes gives away nothing. Out of the corner of her eye she sees Gilbert approaching with Diana, the lunch break causing more people to start filling the small kitchen. "I should clean this up and get it typed up. Excuse me."

Hastily, Anne clears her scattering of notes from the table and stuffs her papers into her folder, grasping it to her chest as she hurries out of the kitchen tent. She's nearly past the approaching group when an arm snakes out to grab her wrist, nearly pulling her off her feet.

"Hey!" She barks, yanking her arm free forcefully and glaring up at the culprit. Gilbert freezes and lifts his hands in surrender, his expression apologetic.

"Where are you going?" He asks carefully, his brow furrowing as she grips her folder against her chest and tries to slow her panicked breathing. She had to pretend like everything was normal, like everyone didn't know about them. She couldn't be that girl.

"I've got a bit more work to do in the admin tent," she replies.

"But it's lunch - are you not going to eat?" He presses and folds his arms over his chest, his stance angering her more with every second. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the group watching their exchange, observing her and judging her, and she felt like a scolded child.

"You're not my keeper, Gilbert," she hisses and turns on her heel, determined to put some much needed space between them. Never one for defeat, he easily catches up with her and matches her pace. "Go away," Anne urges, continuing her steps and trying to get ahead of him.

"Why are you being so crazy right now? What's going on?"

"Crazy?" She stops, closing her eyes and shaking her head. When she looks up at him then he can see the fury in her eyes sparking, the flush climbing up her neck like a thermometer. "I'm being crazy? Of course it's me, the redhead, always the crazy one with the fiery temper!"

"That's not what I - "

"I can't be seen with you Gil. Please let me just salvage whatever reputation I have left." Her words are damning and she can't bare to look at him anymore so she focuses on her boots in the gravel, her body shaking with the stress of it. How had it taken her so long to realize it? How could she have let this happen?

"Obviously something is bothering you and while I know you don't want to talk about it now, and I respect that you don't want to talk about it now, I'm going to need an explanation at some point," he states evenly, watching her for a drawn out moment before he turns on his heel and stalks back towards the kitchen.

When he's gone she exhales the shaky breath she'd been holding, closing her eyes at the wave of frustration and disappointment that cuts through her. She hadn't wanted to push him away - in fact she wanted the exact opposite - but Ruby's comment had put her on edge and she didn't want to risk her future on something so foolish as a few good hours on her back.

"Jesus Anne, you've gone and gotten yourself into quite the mess," she mumbles to herself, Marilla's voice echoing in her head, before turning and heading pointedly towards the admin tent and as far away from Gilbert as she could get within the camp fences.


Gilbert gives her space after that, no longer preparing her meals or sitting beside her, his distance almost cold except for the looks he continued to shoot her way over the next day. She hates to admit it but they're almost painful in their obviousness, his disappointment and confusion clear as he looks down at his feet every time she meets her eyes with his.

She tries to carry on with her work despite the gnawing feeling she has in her gut that it was the wrong move to push him away. She tries to finish her outline, to get some of the stories down onto pages, but even the words could tell she wasn't completely focused on her writing. Or at least she thought they could tell.

This is why that clause existed, she realizes pathetically as she drops her head in her hands. It was almost midnight and she was still sitting at a computer in the admin tent, her eyes unfocused and her stomach growling. She'd skipped dinner. She couldn't remember lunch. The old ommage from her school counsellor came back to her then:

"You're eating your stress, Anne."

And she was. Her body was running on pure adrenaline and the little body fat she had, the water and Powerbars doing nothing to combat the calories she was burning through every day with the heat and the endless walking. She was playing with fire and if she didn't get her act together soon she'd burn herself out and end up back home before she realized.

Tomorrow. She'd focus on it then. She had to, she thought as she got to her feet and closed down the computer. With an uneasy gait she stumbles back towards her tent, her mind foggy as she tries to create a list in her head of the tasks she needed to accomplish in the morning.

All of the thoughts and lists she mentally prepared are wiped from her consciousness as she comes around the edge of the tent and sees Gilbert sitting in her lawnchair, his hands in his lap and his scrubs still on.

"What are you doing here?" She asks lowly, her eyes wide in the dull light.

"I was waiting for you," he replies and shrugs, his gaze focused on the ground as she leans down to open the zipper. Surprise sputters in her chest as his fingers find hers and tangle together, drawing her to look at him.

"It's late, Gil," she breathes, uncertainty filling her as his thumb rubs circles across the back of her hand. Around them the quiet of the camp is almost deafening, the sounds of the street shuttered by the trees as night creeps in. She couldn't have this conversation now, not when anything louder than her whispers would carry to every tent in the place.

"I know. I've been waiting for a bit."

"Did anyone see you?" Her heart is in her throat, hammering out a staccato beat.

"No. They've all been asleep for a couple hours. Can we talk?" He asks softly, tugging gently on her hand and urging her closer to him. She gives in and nods to her tent, opening the flap for him and entering the small space to find him towering over her.

Neither of them say a word for a minute, Anne busy digging through her kit for her pajamas and a towel, her intent to shower before collapsing into bed hopeful. When she finally finds the items and turns to face him he's almost too close, her eyes boring into his chest and not daring to glance up at him. He picks up on her reluctance and lifts her chin with his fingers, his eyes searching hers.

"Can we sit down?" He asks and she nods, dropping onto her cot as though commanded to. He debates for a moment settling beside her but chooses instead to sit on the floor so he can face her head on, a little bit of distance needed to steady himself. "I'm not really sure I know what's going on," he starts, crossing his legs as he picks at his fingers.

"What do you mean?" She lies, avoiding the obvious elephant in the room.

"We were… I don't know. Friends isn't right. It was something else we were working on. More important, I felt. But something in you just switched off yesterday and you've frozen me out. You're avoiding me and I don't get why and you won't really tell me why so now I've got all these crazy theories in my head about something I did to upset you when really I think you've just got an entire scenario happening in your own head that you're freaking out about and you won't tell me because who the fuck knows but whatever it is it's - "

"Gil - slow down," she interrupts his word stew, offering him a sad smile as he looks up at her.

"What the fuck is even happening here, Anne?" He asks plainly, sugar coating none of it. He doesn't even smile as he says it, the frustration evident in his expression as she feels a pang of sadness riddle through her.

"We don't even know each other, not really. Why does it matter?" She counters, unwilling to lay herself out before him. Not now. Not when she was so tired.

"It matters because I want to know you, Anne. I'm seeing you day in day out, talking to you, listening to how fucking smart you are… I don't - this was just supposed to be a fling, I get that, but there's something about you that I can't shake. If you don't accept that - if it's truly just on my side - tell me now and I'll walk out of here and not look back."

She shifts on the cot, uncomfortable under his scrutiny. She couldn't ask him to leave. She couldn't ask him for anything. She was tapped out, exhausted, and she didn't know what she wanted. Did she?

"I'm taking your silence as proof that you feel something here too or else I know you would have kicked me out quite thoroughly by now," he pauses, getting up and coming to sit beside her but still tucking his hands in his lap. "What happened to make you withdraw? What's going on in that head of yours?"

"I don't want people to know that we're… That we're breaking the conduct clauses. I can't lose this opportunity to write, Gil. I don't have a cushy medical practice to fall back on. I've only got this and if it gets out that I'm sleeping my way into interviews then I'm toast," she finishes roughly, her hands twisting against the cotton of her towel.

"You're worried about that? All of this cold shoulder and not eating because you think you're going to be punished for talking to me?"

"The eating thing - that's just something I do. I know I should be better about it but when I get stressed out I forget to eat. I don't mean to, it just happens," she shrugs and looks away. "And it's not the punishment. It's the reputation. It's hard enough here for people to open up to me when I'm not a medical professional. If I was branded as a slut nobody would talk to me at all. I'd get blackballed."

He let's that hang between them for a moment, his heavy sigh the only sound filling the small space as he rubs a hand over his face. "I didn't realize - I didn't think about what it meant for you. I'm sorry."

"I appreciate your apology Gil." The silence drags on between them, the tension in the small space evolving as they sit together, unsure, hesitant.

"What do you need from me then?" He asks eventually, looking towards her and watching the nerves cross her face.

"I'm not sure. I know I don't want the team to know - can you help me with that?" She shifts and leans back slightly, setting down her shower supplies. Gilbert nods and rests a hand on her knee, squeezing it lightly.

"I can definitely try to be less obvious about it. What else?"

"What do you mean what else?" Her voice rises slightly with the question and he smiles, lifting a brow.

"Well, if it's just keeping whatever this is from the others… That's easy. But the rest of it - I mean, is there still a rest of it?" He asks hopefully and she pauses, meeting her gaze with his.

"You're leaving soon. Is there even a point to the rest of it?" She rasps, her chest feeling tight with the realization. It would be over before she knew it. She'd never see him again. She wasn't sure what gave her more anxiety - the threat of exposure or the shortness of time they still had together.

"Yes, there is. Like I said, this feels bigger to me. I'm not going to miss out on a single day," he urges as his hands find hers, bringing them to his lips. She appreciated then that he made no promises for what happened after, understanding that the idea of it was better not to discuss tonight.

"Are you sure you want to stick by this crazy person?" Anne asks lowly, glancing up at him and then looking back to her hands still held tightly in his.

"Oh yeah. I don't see that as a flaw - it just means you're thinking two steps ahead of everyone else. That's what I admire about you." She chuckles at that and leans her head on his shoulder, exhaling the breath she'd been holding.

"Do you know what my next move is then, Doctor Blythe?"

"I'm betting it has something to do with that towel, am I right?" She nods and reluctantly pulls away, getting to her feet and watching as he follows her slowly. They move to leave the tent and Gilbert grabs at her hand, pulling her back towards him and capturing her lips with his.

The squeak of surprise slips out of her as she drops her things and grasps at his shoulders, steadying herself as his hands grab fistfuls of her shirt to keep her held to him.

"Would you mind terribly if I joined you?" He whispers, his body pressed to hers and the heat of him swirling around them. Her eyes meet his in the low light and she shakes her head, pulling him back down for a kiss that she feels echo all the way down to her toes.

They part with reluctance as Gilbert heads back to his tent to gather his things and Anne makes her way towards the showers. She strips and turns the water on, letting the stream of it course over her as it washes away the stress of the last two days. There was something healing about a shower, she thought, as the hot water eased her muscles and made her hair hang heavy on her shoulders.

With her head under the faucet she barely hears Gilbert come in behind her, his tall frame almost too big for the little shelter as she looks at him over her shoulder. His hands slip along her hips, rotating her out of the stream of water for a second as he rinses the day from his shoulders.

They don't speak as Anne settles in against him, her head resting on his chest as his fingers run shampoo through her hair. She can hear the beat of his heart, the movement of his breathing, and it connects her back to earth so forcefully that she nearly stumbles under the weight of it.

Lathering and rinsing, their hands light over each other's skin as they move slowly together. Their lips meeting in brief kisses that they drag along lines to palms and hearts, a silent expression of words neither of them will say aloud. When eventually their skin has wrinkled and the water turns cold they towel off and dress before heading back towards Anne's tent with linked fingers.

"Do you want me to stay?" Gilbert asks hesitantly as they linger together in the entrance to her tent. She looks up at him then, a soft smile on her lips as she lifts her hand to his jaw.

"I don't have as much room as you have so you don't have to, if you want to go sleep in your own bed," she offers reluctantly. They both had to get sleep and she wasn't sure how well they would do that with only her small cot and her tiny slip of space.

"I don't care about all of that. I'd rather spend the night with you, if that's okay?" He matches her touch, his fingers brushing a strip of wet hair away from her brow.

Without another word Anne turns and zips the flap closed, turning back to find Gilbert already working on re-adjusting her things. In a minute he has the cot shoved to the side of the tent, the sheets and pillow spread out on the floor and her things stacked cleanly in the corner next to her storage unit. From his place on his knees he draws her down beside him, his hands ghosting over her curves as he settles his lips against hers.

"I just wanted that one," he breathes when he pulls away, staring down at her as she falters under his touch. She didn't just want that one kiss - she wanted them all - but she knew they were both exhausted. She could see it in his eyes, in the dark shadows that grew starker in the night.

Toeing off her shoes she takes his hand in hers and pulls him down to lay before her, the single pillow split between them. Gilbert's arms drag her closer until their chests are pressed together, her face tucked into his neck and their legs tangled together.

His pajamas smell like home, she remembers thinking as her last thought before she drifts off to sleep.


The buzzing of Gilbert's watch brings them around in the early hours of the morning, Anne's body shivering in the cool morning temperatures. Her movements are stilled by his hands pulling her closer, his fingers returning to her skin as he silences the noise and mumbles something into her shoulder.

"Mmm, I don't want to get up," she whispers into his chest, cuddling infinitely closer. He tightens his arms and presses a kiss to her cheek, his fingers brushing through the tangle of hair at her temple.

"I set my watch early to give me time to get back before people start to wake up," he replies much to her disappointment. She lifts her head and glares at him, only relenting when he lifts his lips to hers and steals a soft kiss. "Maybe I set it a bit earlier than necessary so I could get to hold onto you a bit more."

Her cheeks flush as she curls back into him, her hands sliding over his sides and her leg shifting to wrap around his hip. "I've trapped you, Doctor Blythe. You can't get away from me now." Her words are tired but breathy, her heart thumping in her chest with the feel of him held to her.

"Oh, Anne-girl," he sighs, his arms tightening around her for a moment before he forces himself to roll away onto his back. He stares at the ceiling as her hand brushes over his chest, a sound of protest spilling from her. "If I don't get up now the jig is up," he admits and turns to look at her, honest and plain. She could feel his reluctance in his stare, could feel the ache of the distance between them.

"See you at breakfast then?" She questions softly, an extended olive branch to help bridge the distance between where they wanted to be and where they had to be to protect her position.

"Definitely. I'll leave you something in the back of the fridge, okay?" He adds as he gets to his feet, slipping on his shoes and collecting his shower bag.

"You don't have to make me breakfast again, Gil," she replies on a huff, sitting up to watch him unzip the tent flap.

"I like making you breakfast. I like this taking care of you part. It's in my nature, clearly," he chuckles and then kneels down to capture her lips with his, the soft kiss drawn out until his watch buzzes again. "I do need to go - Muriel is on a strict morning routine and she'll notice if I'm not out for my run soon."

"You run? Here?" He shoots her a wide smile as he disappears through the flaps, zipping them closed with as much stealth as he can muster. Inside Anne's heart stutters as she lays her head back on the pillow, pulling the blanket around her to replace the warmth of his body.

She didn't understand how it had happened but she'd somehow found herself in deep, almost over her head, with feelings for this man. In any place but here she would surely ask herself how such a short time had somehow felt like an entire lifetime, her heart clenching at thought of it. Gilbert had wormed his way in and bewitched her and now she had no idea which way was up and which was down.

With a huff and a few deep breaths she eases her mind back to sleep, the scent of him keeping her company as she drifts off once more.