a little then a week later they were in a midst of a heatwave. Everyone had clambered to the shores of PEI for some sea air except it seemed Anne who was sitting one morning on the edge of the lake of shining water alone splashing her feet in the cooler water below. She had came out in her bathing suit (not to worry ladies and gents back then it was a skirt a few inches higher which constituted as a "bathing suit") under the shade of the trees covering the bridge for she had already been sunburnt previously and the redness had not gone from her skin, instead she looked all pink and freckled. Even the hidden freckles which disappeared in the winter were easily visable . She all of a sudden in the distance heard a splashing but not the wild variety of children playing but the methodical sound of someone swimming. She didn't see who it was until he was almost equal with her. He stopped mid stroke and looked at her. His cheeks went a little blushed as he realised his swimming trucks and vest were not as modest as Anne's attire.

"Hello." he said quietly. As he found the courage to speak.

If she wasn't so sunburnt Gilbert would have been able to see the blush which came upon her face, even though the most part of him was hidden under the water, he was still there, in the water... swimming in barely anything. His curly hair was waterlogged making it appear straight and almost black compared to the chocolate brown she was accustom to. She smiled shyly.

"Awww Anne you haven't gone all shy on me have you?" He asked teasingly. When she didn't respond he laughed. "I don't think I've ever met shy Anne. She's adorable. What are you doing perched on the edge of the water like that?"

"I'm not a member of your gender Mr Blythe." She eventually said. "Its not proper for a young lady to be in the water." She said.

he laughed. "You should have told a Miss Shirley who I once saved from I believe THAT pillar that." he said looking down a few pillars

"It wasn't her intention! Her boat sprung a leak!" she laughed.

"well I won't be there every time to rescue you, you know one day you might have to swim to shore." he said back

"You'll always be there to save me, I know you will." She said confidently.

"If I can help it, but what if something stops me?" he said. "You have a towel don't you?" he asked her.

"Yes of course." she told him.

"Then come in, I'll teach you how to swim." he said.

"Gilbert Blythe!" she said in shock. "That's indecent! What if someone saw!"

"No one will see Anne there's only you and I around for miles, everyone else is on the sea front and you can't see this part of the pond from there." He told her logically.

"Gil, hiding the situation under a logical truth isn't going to make it less shocking if someone was to find us."

"And if they were to find us as we are do you think it would make a difference." he brought his arm out the water offering it to her. He tried his best to make sure the situation didn't excite him too much because in his current attire that would most definitely be embarrassing. But he couldn't help but tease her into his way of thinking.

She laughed and placed her nose in the air. "You won't tempt me Mr Blythe."

"Alright." He said "Can't blame a boy for trying..." he trailed. "Such a shame I have such a yellow beau.." he continued her jaw dropped as she looked at him "...I guess I'll just have to settle at being best at swimming for certain..." She looked at him, his eyes were twinkling she knew he was flirting with her competitiveness.

What was worse is she knew it... Yet the words still came out of her mouth. "You've had it Mr Blythe!" as she slid herself off the bridge, he grabbed her round the waist and eased her into the water below. He held her in the water for a second as she organised the skirt of the swim suit down into the water. He looked closer at her skin.

"You're sunburnt Anne." he said concerned. "Does it hurt?" he asked her.

"Not anymore, Marilla put some buttermilk everywhere I was burnt it took the sting away from my skin she's repeated it every night since, I promised to stay out the sun." she told him.

"its really red I'm surprised it doesn't hurt."

"have you never been sunburnt?" she asked.

"no... I tan straight away."

"ah curse of the redhead I'm afraid. I can not tan."

"no such thing as a curse Anne. I personally think your hair is beautiful and you know it." They paused for a moment as he gazed at her lovingly. He smiled as he broke the spell looking at her face he took her wet hand and kissed it "I love your freckles too Anne." He whispered softly. She at this point looked and smiled at him. No one had ever said they had liked her freckles! what was he doing to her picking out every insecurity and making sure she knew he loved her for them? "Now rule one of swimming Miss Shirley, you must trust the water. It can't drown you if you float." he said becoming very business like.

"Well that's comforting." She retorted.

"Trust me, I won't let go." He said. "Let you feet ride to the top of the water and lie back." She hesitated a couple of times trying to get it right but finally on her third go her feet let slide back and she lay back in the water. His arms supported her at the bottom of her back and the base of her neck. "You need to put your head in the water Anne, you'll never float if your head doesn't relax." She lay her head back. As she relaxed he gradually and gently let go of her, he was confident she would float but knew it would frighten her if he let go too soon. She didn't realise he had let go until she saw he had shifted his position a little away from her.

"Oh Gil!" She exclaimed realising she was floating. "I'm floating!" she exclaimed.

"Yes I know." he said with a blush.

The swimming lesson continued, uninterrupted and innocently. They soon forget the casual attire they were in and relaxed as they always did around each other, each new level of Anne's swimming ability made her ecstatic and Gilbert loved to watched her learn. He strongly held her hands high so she could learn to kick her legs hard in the water and lovingly held her about her waist as she gradually became more accustom to the water. About an hour later he lifted her back onto the bridge a very wet and very proud Anne sat on the bridge end again, this time she knew she could swim. She was going to wrap the towel around herself but soon realised it was so hot the sun would do that in a few minutes for her anyway.

"You won't get cold?" he asked her.

"No, its far too hot for that to happen." she replied.

He nodded. "I better go and dry off myself."

"Where are you? I mean where are your clothes? I... I..."she stuttered, wow that sounded... indecent.

He laughed at this, no awkwardness for an entire hour they were in the water together then back to square one once she was out. "Round by our tree." he said. The same tree they had sat under when they had their first conversation, (the same tree Miss Stacy had heard their conversation)

"Oh." She said. "not far then."

"no not at all."

"Maybe once we have... suitable attire on we might like to go for a walk?" she asked him. She pointed towards her own belonging he noticed had a change of clothes there were enough trees around she could easily slip behind them and change without anyone seeing her. And "their" tree was surrounded by bushes he could easily change his clothes in (this had been in fact his original plan in the first place)

"Yes I would like that." He said smiling. "about half an hour from now then?" he asked her.

"You know where to find me." She said.

"Very well." He said very formally as if they had just past each other on the street. he started to swim away. "Good day to you Miss Shirley."

An half hour later Gilbert came round the corner. The only he wore a light t-shirt with three buttons and a small collar and trousers with suspenders. His hair was the only trace he could have been swimming but even that now had the curls coming back into them. She had changed into the

dress she had which Marilla had insisted on her taking with her. Her clothes were plain white but that was okay by him he always thought she looked like an angel in white, the collar had been left a little loose but he knew it was probably for the sunburn.

"hey." He said as he approached her. He placed his hand round her waist had a quick look round saw no one so gave her a soft kiss. It was a bit more obvious at least Anne's hair had been in the water, but she left it completely down and free behind her back. He played with her hair for a second. "beautiful." He added. She blushed a little under his gaze. He certainly made her feel beautiful. She smiled as he gently put his arm around her picking up her clothes bag and carrying it with his own as they walked.

"been for a swim?" he teased her. " I didn't think many young ladies took the time to swim." He flirted.

"well I had an excellent teacher." She told him.

"if it had been me I may have been sorely tempted by you."

"oh." She continued. "well my teacher wasn't too bad himself."

"him? Lucky fella..." He mock acted surprised as they turned the corner onto the open stretch of path going around the pond.

"emmm" she said with a smile. "very close fitting attire... it's a good job nobody saw I was blushing so."

"you were?" he stopped quite seriously. "did you find him attractive?"

Anne stopped in her tracts. "Gilbert Blythe, you must know I find you physically attractive?"

"well you never actually said." He said shyly not looking at her.

"but everyone says you are... everyone every girl runs after you."

"but YOU are not every girl. Its your opinion that matters to me not theirs."

"but all this time what have you thought..."

"I thought you might like me for my personality... looks can fade I may not be handsome forever but I would still be me, I hoped it was for our friendship for all those times we came close..."

"you ARE attractive for all those reasons Gil... and you are handsome." She said hugging into him. "and this." She whispered. "there's nothing like being in your arms, you always smell so good."

He wrapped his arms around her. " Well thank you." He said glad she was hugged in so tight. It avoided her seeing him blush.

She looked up at him and gazed for a minute he looked back with equal gaze and slowly kissed her. Heads together they looked at each other for a moment. He slide her into his chest Anne happily hugged in.

"I don't want to let go!" she said to him quietly.

"Tell you what." He said quietly. "Lets go up to Pixie's Orchard. You'll be out the sun and we can hold each other as long as we like there."

"let's go up to green gables first, I'll be able to get us some cold drinks, and if we tell Marilla we are together it will look far less suspicious. If anyone sees us together."

They entered Pixie's Orchard with a load of cold drinks and a picnic Anne had put together while at Green Gables. Marilla had made Gilbert promise not to allow her to read any thing! She had got a stern warning off the doctor Anne had looked pale at the end of the last school year and she didn't want her getting sick. Gilbert dutifully agreed, no studying was allowed and they would stay in the shade in the great outdoors.

"why was Marilla so concerned? what the doctor said, is there any truth in it?" Gilbert asked her. He said spreading the picnic blanket out.

"Oh I suppose there must be but I sometimes think people look at my pale skin and just think I'm sick." she sighed "I'm sure I am more then well now but Marilla won't have it."

"Well it at least means you get a proper rest." he sitting down with his back to the fallen tree trunk on the picnic blanket she settled happily with him.

"I just wish I could have something to spark my imagination, she said.

"Oh like?" he asked her.

"I dunno, Tennyson. Romance..."

he grinned as he pulled out his Tennyson book from his back pocket.

"Oh Gil!" she exclaimed grabbing the book. "Why on earth do you have Tennyson with you?" she said starting to flick through it. Before he could say anything a slip of paper fell out the page Anne turned. "Oh ops." she said looking at it, this wasn't a bookmark and the paper looked lined like school paper, he sat silently and watched her open the paper recognising the handwriting was hers.

Gil,

Have I done something wrong? Please just look at me, let me know everything is okay. I swear I won't try dying my hair again I promise.

Love Anne

"You kept it?" she said her eyes wide with astonishment. "All the time we were apart, you kept it."

He nodded. "I thought at least if we were never going to speak again, I would have something to remind me that Anne Shirley once signed something Love Anne, to me. I couldn't get it go." He opened the pages it was marking and read the two underlined lines of the poem out to her

"He said, She has a lovely face;
God in his mercy lend her grace.

I don't very often have your imagination on these things Anne, but every time, without fail I hear those two lines, I see only you." He looked at her and kissed her cheek. she turned and looked at him "Oh Gil!" she exclaimed. "This is..." her eyes filled with tears. His arms flew around her to comfort her.

"Come on Anne, don't be sad. I can get rid if it if you like, I have you now, I have had you for over a year."

"No, I'm not upset, its so romantic!" she exclaimed. "its so sweet... Gilbert... what have I done to deserve you?"

"deserve me?" he asked her still in his arms. "You're a fine one to talk. You mean the world to me Anne." he stroked her back as she snuggled into him, much as they did that first day they had become each other's beau.

They remained in Pixie's Orchard the rest of the afternoon, they lay back read Tennyson and watched the skies pass above them. Both Gilbert and Anne lay flat on their backs beside each other Gilbert's hand behind his back and the other hand holding Anne' just watching the world go by, she turned onto her side placing Gilbert's arm around her and she kissed him gently. Gilbert looked at his watch. "Its seven o'clock Anne. " he said quietly. he said bring her to his chest and kissing into her hair. "We've had a lovely romantic day, just the two of us, but I'm afraid we must bid farewell if I keep you out much longer everyone will be suspicious." he said to her. With that he kissed into her hair once more and pulled them both off the picnic blanket they both started to tidy everything away. Once completed Gilbert gave her a final kiss. "This has been perfect." He whispered, she nodded into him hugging him once more before they came out of Pixie's Orchard and headed towards Green Gables once more.

Alrighty then folks I need your help! I have planned HOW they come out as a couple. But since this is happening in the summer and my next storyline doesn't start until the following April I don't have many ideas of what to do in that time, please bear in mind I the storyline I have includes a little uncertainly on Gilbert's side by the time the April comes around... The Anne books don't half smooth over huge periods of time... I can't decide if I want Diana to find out before everyone else... she must be suspicious by now? please love and review! Also I need your opinion, to include or not to include Roy?