Chapter 17: Revelations And Another Chance

Anne was so glad to be back in Avonlea. She longed for the country air and the comforts of home, and with Katherine agreeing to come with her, she would show her what Avonlea had to offer. Diana invited Anne, Katherine, Marilla, and Rachel to tea and to chat and to show Anne her newborn son, little Fred.

"I originally wanted a girl so I could name her 'Anne', but I wouldn't trade Baby Fred for the world."

"You would have said the same thing if little Anne had come along," Rachel said.

"He's precious, Diana," Anne said while holding her new godson.

"Every baby is precious and the best," Marilla stated with a smile.

"Diana, may I hold little Fred?" Katherine asked nervously.

"Of course you can!" Diana replied. She gently lifted her son from Anne's arms and put him into Katherine's. He starting cooing once Katherine started rocking him.

"He loves you, Katherine!" Anne exclaimed. She saw a rare smile escape from Katherine's mouth.

"I'm so glad to be home. I missed seeing you all. What's happened since I've been gone?"

"I grew, so Anthony Pye can't pick on me anymore," declared Minnie May Barry.

"Can't you think of anything else?" asked Diana.

"Anne, did you know Gilbert Blythe's dying?"

The cheerful look on Anne's face was now replaced with the look of a ghoul. She turned pale and was on the verge of tears.

"Minnie May, watch your mouth!" warned Diana.

"What does that mean?" asked Anne anxiously.

"We didn't mean to startle you, Anne, but Gilbert's been in an accident," she began.

"What kind of accident?"

"A car accident. He was on his way home from school when another vehicle T-boned him on the side. Gilbert was minding his own business and was obeying the speed limit while the other driver did not. The other driver was speeding considerably as if he wanted to race Gil, but Gil wouldn't budge. As both men approached a curve, the other driver lost control and ran into him. Both vehicles were ruined. Gilbert was knocked unconscious from the impact of the collision and is still in a coma. The driver of the other vehicle, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky. His red Corvette was transformed into an accordion, and he was pronounced dead on the scene."

A red Corvette? Anne had a premonition that she hoped could be proven wrong. "Diana, do you, by any chance, know the name of that other driver?"

"Jack Garrison, if I'm not mistaken."

"Oh my God!" The tears that she had been trying to hold in fell out.

"What's the matter, Anne?" Marilla asked.

"I...I knew him," she stated.

"Anne, is that the guy you told me about who you thought had been following you?" Diana asked anxiously.

Anne nodded her head. "Yes."

"Oh, Anne!" She put her arm around her friend and tried to comfort her.

All the comfort in the world couldn't help Anne at the moment. Her mind drifted away. The man that had stalked her for so long had nearly killed the person who she cared the most about. She never allowed herself to think of Gilbert in such a way, but now that she was losing him, she finally realized it: I love him.

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Later that night, Marilla found Anne sobbing in her room. She sat on her bed and held her.

"There there, Anne," she said.

"Marilla, there's a Book of Revelations in everyone's life," Anne began, "and I just found mine."

Marilla was a bit shocked yet relieved at what she heard.

Anne continued. "I've been so blind...so cruel. How could I have treated him like that? All he ever did was love me, and I pushed him away. I went away to Kingsport and got stuck in a dream land when all I ever wanted was right here. Gil can't die. He just can't! He'll never know how I actually feel. I...I love him."

Marilla continued to comfort Anne while she spilled out her confession.

"Gilbert means the world to me. He's everything. I can't live without him!"

"You can't change what happened in the past, Anne, but it's not too late. You can't control what's in God's hands, but Gilbert does have the Blythe constitution in him. Go see him yourself in the hospital tomorrow, and tell him how you feel. While he may not respond, I know he can hear you."

Anne nodded. She had something to get her through the night. Stay strong, Gil, she thought. I'll see you in the morning.

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Anne woke up early the next morning because she couldn't sleep. She needed to see Gilbert and would stop at nothing to see him. Marilla had a feeling Anne would wake up early, so she got up to make her breakfast. Anne quickly ate and got dressed and got out the door. Marilla watched her as she made a mad dash to her car.

"I have a feeling we'll be hearing some good news about Gilbert pretty soon," she said to herself.

Anne arrived at the Avonlea hospital and immediately spotted Gilbert's parents. They were sitting outside the intensive care unit and looked dreadfully pale. She went up to them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Blythe?"

The Blythes looked up and saw their son's object of affection. "Anne!"

"How is he?"

"He's still in a coma. The doctors say that he has a 50/50 chance of making it," Mr. Blythe replied. "Anne, it's awfully good of you to come see him."

"Well, I finally realized what all of Avonlea realized all along," she said, leaving it at that.

Mrs. Blythe smiled weakly. "Would you like to see him now, Anne?" She nodded. "Follow me." Mrs. Blythe led Anne to Gilbert's room and then rejoined her husband in the waiting area. The girl finally came to her senses, she thought.

Anne walked into Gilbert's room and was a bit scared to see her love attached to numerous tubes and looking so fragile, but she didn't let that get in her way. She walked up next to his bed and held his hand. She gave it a squeeze, and she could have sworn that she felt him squeeze back. She leaned up next to his head and began to speak.

"Gil, I don't know if you can hear me, but I hope you can. I'm back now, and I'm here to stay. I won't leave ever again. I'm sorry for whatever pain I've caused you. I feel as if this is my fault; if I didn't go to Kingsport, then none of this would have happened. I'm so sorry. I don't know if you can ever forgive me. Stay strong, Gil. I know you're a fighter, and you can't stop fighting now." She paused in order to regain her composure to say the words she knew he always wanted to hear. "I love you."

Anne looked at him, knowing it could be the last time she would see him alive, so she did what her heart told her to do. She leaned in and kissed him. When she pulled back, she saw him moving. Gilbert's eyes were slowly starting to open. He could barely see the redhead in front of him when he first opened his eyes. It couldn't be her, could it? He blinked a few times to get a better picture, and to his relief and delight, it was her. "Anne."

She put her hand over her mouth. He was alive and awake! "Gil!" she cried.

"You came back," he said weakly.

"And I'm here to stay."

"I know. I heard."

"You did?"

"I did. There's nothing to forgive, Anne. I love you."

She was speechless yet joyful, but there was still one unresolved issue. "But what about Christine?"

"She was engaged to someone else the entire time. I knew her brother, and he told me to look after her. So I did. There was never anything between us, Anne. There would never be anyone for me but you."

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and kissed Gilbert again. "I'm going to tell your parents and the nurses that you're awake."

"Okay."

Anne happily ran out of Gilbert's room and spread the news to his parents. "He's awake!"

Words couldn't express the Blythes' happiness. They stood up and engulfed Anne in an enormous hug.

"Thank you, Anne," Mrs. Blythe managed to say. "Thank you for giving my son life again and giving him the will to live."

"I don't know what to say," Anne said.

"You've done more than you'll ever know," Mr. Blythe told her.

The nurses overheard the conversation and were touched. One of their patients awoke from a coma after having the woman he loved come back to him. It was a joyful moment for everyone. One nurse walked over to the group. "I've sent one of my colleagues to check on him, and we've paged the doctors to let them know that he's awake. After the doctors have examined, we'll move him out of the ICU and into his own room, and we'll keep him here until he's strong enough to go back home."

The Blythes were grateful. Their son was alive, and the woman he loved for so long finally realized her love for him. They couldn't be more thankful.

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Gilbert remained in the hospital for the rest of the week with regular visits from Anne. His rapid recovery surprised his doctors; they declared it a miracle. Once he was discharged, he desperately wanted to rush over to Green Gables, but with his car ruined from the crash, he wasn't sure if he had enough strength to make it over there on his own. He got in the back seat of his parents' car and waited to get home, but he noticed that his father didn't take the usual route.

"Dad? Where are you going?" he asked.

"You'll see," replied his father.

Gilbert looked out the window until he saw his desired destination. "Green Gables! I love you, Dad."

"You too, son. Take care of yourself while you're over there, and don't push it."

"I won't."

Gilbert got out of the car and looked for Anne as his parents drove away. She was walking through the orchard when he found her.

"Gil!" she greeted. She threw her arms around him.

"Hello to you too, Anne," he laughed.

"I'm so glad you're here!"

"I know."

"When did you get discharged?"

"Just this morning. Care to take a walk down the lane? I haven't been up and about in awhile."

"Gil, I wish I could, but I can't. I'm taking Katherine to Alice Penhallow's bonfire tonight, and it's her first party. She's really nervous, and I promised her that I'd help her get ready and coach her on what to say and what not. Why don't we walk across the pond instead?"

He agreed. A little bit of Anne was better than having none at all even though he was a little disappointed that he couldn't have her all to himself for the rest of the day. Gilbert was lucky to be alive after the horrific crash, and he thanked God every day that he had the strength to go on. He looked sideways at Anne and thought to himself how blessed he was to have her back in his life. He realized that he couldn't go on without her and just had to bring up the courage to ask her a question that had broken his heart before.

When they arrived at the bridge, Gilbert took Anne's hands into his and looked straight into her eyes. He saw nothing but love for him there, and his heart began to race.

"Anne, I asked you something in the past that has often left me wondering. If I ask it again now, would you give me a different answer?"

She blushed. She knew where this was going but wanted to hear him ask anyway. "What is it that you want to ask me, Gil?"

He took a deep breath. "You know I've loved you ever since that first day of school when you broke that white board over my head. You were different - something special - and I knew you were the one for me. I haven't stopped loving you since and couldn't stop even when I tried. I can't bare being with anyone else but you, and I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you." Gilbert slowly got down on one knee. "Anne Shirley, will you marry me?"

Without hesitating, Anne yelled the answer he wanted to hear. "Yes!"

Gilbert smiled and immediately got up to take his fiancée in his arms. He felt like flying. At last his quest was complete, and there would be no more doubts. He kissed her and twirled her around. "You've made me the happiest man in the world. I'll love you forever."

Anne put her hand on Gilbert's cheek and kissed him again. Never in her life was she this happy. As happy as Gilbert was, he grew serious all of a sudden.

"Anne?"

"Yes, Gil?"

"I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to wait a long time before we can get married," he said sadly. "You see, I won't finish med school until three years from now, and even then there won't be any diamond sunbursts or marble halls."

"I don't want sunbursts or marble halls. I just want you."

He kissed her this time. The somewhat impossible dream had finally come true: Anne promised to be his wife, and she would willingly wait for him to finish med school before they would get married. As much as she wanted to stay with him, Anne knew she couldn't back down on her promise to Katherine.

"Gil, I have to go. Katherine's waiting for me."

"Not before you get your ring. I'm not letting my fiancée go to that party without a ring to show the eligible bachelors there that this pretty little lady has already been taken."

Anne laughed. "Do we even have time to get a ring now?"

"Of course. Lawson's isn't that far from here. Let's go!"

Together they walked to Lawson's, hand in hand. Alice Lawson was the first to notice the pair when they walked into her store. "Anne! Gil! I'm so glad to see you!" She hugged both of them. "What brings you here, Gilbert Blythe? You sure gave us one heck of a scare there."

"I'm here for an engagement ring, Alice," he said. "For my fiancée."

"Fiancée? Anne, did you finally say 'yes' to the poor guy?"

"I did," Anne stated happily.

"I'm so happy for you! What kind of ring are you thinking about?"

"You have anything with pearls?"

"But Anne," Gilbert began, "pearls are for tears."

"Some of the happiest moments in my life came with tears...like when Marilla told me I could stay at Green Gables, when Matthew gave me my first fancy dress, and when I heard you were going to be all right after the accident. So give me pearls, Gil, and I will gladly accept anything that comes our way." She kissed him. When she pulled back, he was blushing.

"You heard her, Alice. Do you have any pearl engagement rings?"

"You're in luck today. We just received a new shipment of rings. Right this way."

Alice led them to the rings. Anne chose a few and tried them on. She finally selected a gold ring that had a pearl center stone with a smaller pearl on either side of it.

"Do you like it, Carrots?" Gilbert asked.

"I love it," she said, putting her left hand on his shoulder and rubbing her thumb on his cheek.

Alice was so touched at the scene that she insisted on Gilbert not paying for it. "I tell you what, Gil. As a wedding present from me to you both, the ring's on me."

"But Alice -"

"No but's about it! Now get outta my store before I chase you with my broom!" she teased.

"Thank you so much," Gilbert said as he hugged her. Anne hugged her, too.

"Now take care, you crazy kids. Come see me again!"

"We will. We promise!"

Gilbert put his arm around Anne as they walked out of Lawson's. They couldn't have been any happier. In the meantime, a man had been watching the scene from the corner of his eye the entire time they were there. He had his back turned to the couple, so they couldn't see him. He looked on as the redhead he once knew and loved chose her engagement ring with her fiancé by her side. He couldn't deny the fact that they looked happy with one another, and maybe Anne had made the right choice after all.

Roy let out a sigh. "That Gilbert Blythe is one lucky man."