"Anne! Hurry up, we'll be late!" Marilla shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

Anne was in her room, standing in front of the mirror, frantically braiding her hair. She had finally decided on doing it in one braid behind her back. Two tendrils gently fell out from either side, framing her face.

She was wearing a plain blue dress with black shoes, which she decided looked nice, but not so nice that anyone would suspect she was dressing up to impress someone.

Which, she wasn't.

Of course.

She tied the end of her braid with a dark blue velvet ribbon (a birthday present from Diana), and dashed downstairs.

"Finally." Marilla sighed as they walked outside to the wagon, where Matthew was waiting. He didn't usually enjoy social situations, but he has been persuaded to go to Gilbert, Bash and Mary's house for dinner. He knew they were nice people, and they didn't pressure him to talk the whole time. Anne would probably do enough talking for all of them.

***

When they arrived, Bash and Mary were sitting on the porch.

"Hello, Marilla and Matthew!" Bash said cheerfully "And hello, Miss Anne-with an-e."

"Hello, Bash!" Anne smiled. "Good evening, Mary."

"Good evening, Anne," Mary said affectionately. "It's good to see you."

Anne wondered where Gilbert was but decided not to ask, in fear of merciless teasing from Bash. She knew him well enough now not to talk too much about Gilbert without him jumping to conclusions and embarassing them. She had noticed Gilbert was often glaring at Bash when they were all together.

Then she saw the beautiful flowers planted in pots on either side of the door.

"Where did those wonderful tiger lilies come from?" She exclaimed. "They're absolutely exquisite!"

"Gilbert brought them home one day after I said the place could use a little brightening up," Mary said "he said he liked their fiery red colour."

"Hmm, that reminds me of something..." Bash grinned at Anne, who's face turned red.

Matthew and Marilla chuckled quietly.

"Well, supper's almost ready." Said Bash. "Let's all go into the dining room."

As they walked into the house, Mary said "Anne, Gilbert's just in the living room, trying to put the baby to sleep. Would you mind telling him dinner's ready?"

"Of course." Anne nodded.

A few months ago, Bash and Mary's baby had been born. He was a healthy boy named Joseph. He was sweet, but he had trouble sleeping.

Anne walked into the living room quietly. Gilbert was facing away from her, sitting next to the baby's crib. He was trying to sing him to sleep.

"Oh, when I was a little boy, my mother often told me" he sang, off key.

"Way, haul away, haul away Joe" Anne finished the lyric for him softly.

He jumped up from his chair suddenly and span around, startling Joseph, who began to cry.

"Nice going, Blythe, now he'll never get to sleep." She rolled her eyes.

There was once a time when a baby's shrieks would have brought those awful memories of staying with the Hammonds back to her, but over time they became less intense, and she was able to block it from her mind.

"Didn't you tell me I shouldn't sneak up on people a few days ago?" He joked, regaining his composure.

"Whatever," Anne laughed. "Mary asked me to tell you it's suppertime."

"Oh good!" He said. "I do love Bash's cooking."

Luckily, Joseph had quieted down, but now he was wide awake. He stared at them both with his big brown eyes.

"Should we leave him here or..." Anne trailed off. She and Gilbert were now staring into each others' eyes. From a distance his eyes were soft and brown, but when she looked closer she could see layers of gold and hazel and and brown in a dark green ring. His eyes were like a lake she wished to swim in.

Gilbert looked into her deep blue eyes and was reminded of the ocean. The ocean that he had looked at when he thought of her everyday on that steamship, wondering what she was doing, and if she was thinking of him too.

Gilbert slowly tore his eyes away from her and looked down at the crib.

"I-I think he'll cry if we leave him here by himself, so I'll just take him in with us." He picked Joseph up in his arms gently.

"Allow me," said Anne "I've found I quite enjoy holding babies when I'm not being forced to do it."

Gilbert was a little curious about her past, but he knew it was a sensitive subject, so he decided not to say anything else about it. He just knew that she'd been the subject of cruelty at the orphanage, and that she'd been forced to work a lot for the families she'd lived with. He could see how happy she was in Avonlea now, and he was so glad she'd found a wonderful family with the Cuthberts, similar to how he'd found a family with Bash and Mary.

Somewhat awkwardly, he handed Joseph to Anne. Then she walked into the dining room, Gilbert behind her.

"Oh Joseph!" Mary sighed. "Will you never go to sleep? Here, I'll take him so you can eat your food."

"I can hold him and eat at the same time, if you want me too" Anne said.

"That would be wonderful," Mary admitted. "He's been very exhausting lately."

Anne sat down in the only empty chair, which just so happened to be next to Gilbert and sat Joseph in her lap.

"Who would like to say grace?" Mary asked.

"I will," Said Gilbert.

They all closed their eyes, waiting.

"Gracious heavenly father," he began. Anne's eyes opened in surprise for a moment, but she quickly closed them. She wondered if he knew that was how she liked to say grace, or if that was how he always prayed before a meal.

"We thank you for this delicious food Bash so kindly prepared for us, and for the ki- the friends that we can share it with. And please bless all of Avonlea. Amen." He had thought of saying kindred spirits, but he chickened out at the last minute.

Anne knew exactly what he had planning on saying, and wondered why he changed his mind. She also wondered why she kept on wondering what Gilbert Blythe was thinking.

They all said amen and tucked into their meal.

"So Anne," Bash had a sly smile creeping up his face. "I heard you got into some trouble at the pond the other day."

'Gilbert had mentioned that? Did he talk about her often? What did he say about her? How would he describe her? How-'

"Mmmn." Anne appeared to be very focused on the food on her plate.

"Good thing Gilbert was there to save you, eh?" Bash continued.

"I don't NEED anyone to save me." Anne said firmly, looking up.

"Of course not!" Bash exclaimed "But its nice that he did anyway, huh?"

"Boy, this food sure is delicious!" Gilbert said a little too loudly. He had changed the subject, seeing that it made Anne uncomfortable. He was pretty sure Bash was about to embarrass him, too.

Anne looked down with a small smile and then began eating her food again, relieved that that conversation was over.

They all had a pleasant evening, talking and laughing together, until they saw the sun had set a while ago and it was time to go. Just as they were driving away, Anne remembered she'd left her scarf inside. Marilla allowed her to run back and get it, while she and Matthew waited in the wagon.

When she got there, she saw Gilbert was running out of the door with some grey fabric in his hands. They met in the middle by the fence, breathless from running.

"You forgot your scarf." He held it out to her.

"Thanks." She took it from him and wrapped it around her neck, shivering a little.

Then she looked up at the endless night sky in delight, with love and admiration.

"Don't all the stars look exceptionally portentous tonight?" She sighed happily.

He looked up for a moment, in fond awe and wonder, and then back down at her. For some reason, he didn't change his expression when he looked at her.

"They certainly do Anne-Girl. And I see you've been studying those vocabulary words recently. Afraid I'll beat you in the next spelling bee?" He teased.

She leaned against the fence and looked back up at him.

"No, I'm sure I'll beat you easily. Anne-Girl? That's not exactly a clever nickname." She raised her eyebrows.

He hadn't even realised he'd let that slip out. He scratched the back of his neck, a red blush creeping up his face.

"Uh, w-well you know, your name's Anne, and you're a girl, sooo I guess..." He stuttered.

"Alright, Gilbert-Boy," This time it was Anne's turn to tease.

They both laughed quietly together for a moment.

Oh, how he loved the sound of her laugh.

And how she loved to see him laugh.

She tried and failed to bite back a smile, as she stood up straight and put her hands in her coat pockets. "Well, I'll see you at school."

"See you," He waved.

And with that, she walked away into the cool night air, pretending that her heart didn't flutter when he called her Anne-Girl.

He walked back to the house, but when he got close to the porch, he stopped and looked back at her. Then he saw that she had stopped too.

And she looked at him the same way that she looked at the stars.