Here is the finale! Sorry, but I got a little long because apparently this story just did not want to end! I trust I will be forgiven for taking up a bit more of your time. Many, many thank to all my 71 followers and everyone who has reviewed my story. I hope you all have enjoyed reading as much as I have enjoyed writing. Thank you for giving me an audience. I appreciate it immensely!

Much love and appreciation to all,

~Lizzy

The dawn brought a beautiful spring morning and Gilbert lay in bed listening to birds chirping through his open window. He smiled happily. Today was to be a great day. He had done it! Years of hard work and determination had finally paid off and today would be the day he stood before his classmates at Convocation and was recognized as the winner of the Cooper Prize for Sciences. He was the first in five years! It was credit to his brains and determination that he had accomplished it. But Gilbert, being ever modest, gave much credit, probably too much, to Anne. She had been there every step of the way, pushing him encouraging him, sacrificing with him so that he could take that stage today. When he thought of the long stretches of time he went without seeing her because he needed to study or when he remembered being caught in their moments together lost in thought because he just couldn't work a problem, he no longer had to feel guilt about any of it. Today was the day he could be free from all of it. Free to spend a perfect summer with the love of his life in blissful happiness knowing that nothing more stood in their way. Nothing now but time.

He thought back to all the times in the past year he was forced to think about what might happen had he not won the Cooper. If there were no Anne, it would have been a minor setback on the way to his dreams. But with Anne there, wearing his ring, waiting patiently for him, counting on him in every way, it became a more than a mere prize and scholarship, it became the achievement upon which his whole future rested.

He and Anne had spoken once or twice about what it would mean if he didn't win it. There were two options, go back to Avonlea and be a farmer or get a job and work his way through medical school. It would have taken even more time for the latter. Time Gilbert wasn't sure he could survive. Time where she still would not be his wife. How much easier would it have all been had Anne not been waiting for him? He shuddered at the realization that it would have infinitely harder.

But luckily he had to think of none of that now, none of it mattered. Because Anne had been willing to take on any of it. Whatever he had asked of her she would have done. Not because it was the choice she wanted, but because it would have been the choice that led to their future. In the last year, Anne had shown Gilbert the true strength of character and depth of devotion he had always known was in her. That he was recipient of that devotion he could still not quite believe sometimes. It hadn't been an easy year, but it had been the best of his life all the same.

And Anne had never doubted him. Not for a single moment.

Still lying in bed, he recalled her reaction when he told her the news that he had won. It was a little less than a week ago and the news had come several days earlier than expected. He had gone to Patty's Place as soon as he finished speaking with Professor Davenport and the Redmond board members...

Anne answered the door and gave a bright smile when she saw Gilbert. But before she could so much as utter a word, Gilbert pushed her gently back into the house. He then took her hand and guided her through the house, right by her housemates, through the kitchen and out the back door into the orchard. It was almost comical that the occupants of Patty's Place found nothing strange about that behavior. It was a common enough occurrence that Anne and Gilbert seemed off in their own little world.

As soon as he closed the door behind him he spun Anne around in his arms. "Carrots, I just wanted to tell you something."

Anne was a bit breathless after her unexpected excursion, "I should say so Mr. Blythe. Whatever has gotten in to you today?" Anne's tone was light and cheerful but she was perplexed. She had not seen him this animated in weeks. It had been a fight to the finish for the Cooper and when she had seen him at all, there was a tired man looking back at her.

"I want to say thank you," he said.

"Thank me? For what?" she asked even more perplexed.

"For loving me. For bearing with me this past year. I know it hasn't been easy."

"Oh, Gil," Anne said, placing her hand on his face as he turned his head and kissed the inside of her palm. "You don't need to thank me. We are in this together, you know that. No matter what happens, it will always be us."

He smiled at her. My God how he adored her. "Can you do it for another three years?" he asked her earnestly, hoping she might understand him.

But his meaning was lost on her and she immediately thought he was having moments of doubt about them, that the pressure of waiting was becoming too much. She would stop at nothing to reassure him. "I could do it forever if you need me to."

He laughed, "You won't have to, Anne," he began as he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed in to her. "We did it!"

Anne looked at him with a strange mien and took the offered paper, scanning in briefly before he saw her eyes fill with tears. She looked from the paper, to him, back to the paper. For perhaps the first time in her life, Anne Shirley was speechless. "Gil- I-Is this-" she stammered, finally meeting his eyes as tears over flowed in her own. His triumphs were hers and they belonged to each other.

Wiping her streaming tears, Gilbert pulled her in close to him and rested his forehead on her, "We did it, Anne!" he said quietly.

But suddenly, Anne found her voice, "No, Gil! You did this! Oh, my darling, I am so proud of you! All of that hard work, I knew you could do it!"

"But, Anne don't you see, this was both of us. We did this. Together. Yes it was my brains, but I never would have been able to do this without your help. You pushed me, you supported me, you taught me, long ago, what hard work meant. What it meant to truly work for something."

Anne was still crying as he spoke and her heart was so full of love for him as he tried to give her credit where none was due, but she let him have his moment. "Gil, it's awfully sweet of you to say that. And I will only accept partial credit now because I know that in six days time you will stand on the stage at Convocation and receive all the credit that is due to you. This is your achievement, my love, and I am only too happy to share it with you. I- I don't think I have been this happy since the night of our engagement, Gil."

Finally he kissed her, a long awaited kiss that held all the promises they had spoken of for the past year. This kiss wasn't filled with dreams or what-ifs, it was filled with the sweet release of year of hard work and uncertainty. Gilbert felt a weight he knew he carried lifted off of him as he claimed Anne's lips. The knowledge he had won had done much to lift the strain, but only his beloved's kiss could truly release him completely.

Anne had felt no such release because in truth she knew this would be the outcome. She only felt tremendous pride and love.

When they finally separated, Gilbert said breathlessly, "You know you owe me dinner now, Carrots."

Anne laughed, remember her promise from when he first told her about the possibility of the award. "Yes, I do! But right now I can do you one better. We are going to celebrate. Not just the Cooper, but the knowledge that in three years time, we will be married and you will be a doctor and we can begin our lives together…"

And celebrate they had that night, with friends from all quarters in the small parlor at Patty's Place with anyone who could attend at the last minute. The secret they thought they could keep about Gilbert being in the running only managed to stay a secret for several months into Senior year. It somehow spread around campus that Gilbert was a finalist, in fact, the only finalist. Neither Anne nor Gilbert took time to care about how it became public knowledge, but Gilbert assumed with so many people on the board and his professors already knowing it was a miracle it stayed under wraps for as long as it had. But it ended up being all for the better. He had support when he needed it and not just from Anne, but from all quarters. He had told his parent's of the possibility, feeling disingenuous keeping it from them when so many others knew. They stood behind him as expected, his father most especially hoping his son was as smart as his dreams were ambitious. They would not know of his good fortune until he went home next week and he was thrilled to tell them.

And now, in the privacy of his room, a room that he would come back to when medical school started in the fall, he finally allowed himself to be a bit self-congratulatory. Not only had he won a prestigious award that had not been taken in some time, but he had been engaged to Anne for over a year. And while the prestige of winning the Cooper was currently all the talk on the Redmond campus, he still listed winning Anne's heart as his greatest achievement.

Several hours later, Anne, Gilbert, Priscilla, Stella, Phil, Charlie and countless other proud graduates walked across the stage at Convocation. Anne held a lovely bouquet of lilies of the valley in her arms and was glowing with a mixture of pride and accomplishment. Seeing Gilbert accept his award was one of the happiest moments of her life, paling only slightly to her betrothal and the night Marilla told her she would stay ay Green Gables.

She had watched with happy tears in her eyes and Gilbert flowers and handkerchief in her hands as her modest, hardworking, intelligent fiancé finally smiled in a way she hadn't seen him in months as the Redmond Dean extolled on his many virtues. It was not like Gilbert to be overly proud, but she could see he was enjoying his moment and she loved him all the more for it. He deserved the praise heaped upon him and more. She twirled the handkerchief in her hand and thought back to the day Gilbert had given it to her. What a fool she had been not to know back then what he meant to her. She remembered her words quite vividly from that day… "I will be the one clapping the loudest and cheering wildly for you, telling everyone I know that my best friend won the most prestigious honor at Redmond!" And clap wildly she had as Gilbert stood on stage accepting his honor, his eyes never leaving hers as he looked down on her from the stage.

Anne, of course, was not without her own accomplishment and smiled just as brightly as they called her name on the podium to receive her diploma while also announcing she had taken high honors in English. How had a no name orphan from Bolingbroke made it this far, she thought. It was truly a breathless moment of fulfillment.

After speeches had been made, diplomas handed out, and caps thrown high, the ceremony ended and Anne lost sight of Gilbert among the bustle of the crowd. She searched a little frantically for him and when she managed to find him, she saw he was speaking with the Dean and the Board President. They were shaking his hands and smiling. Gilbert managed to see her out of the corner of his eye and could barely contain the urge to he had to walk away form the conversation directly and go to her. Reason held him there by a thread and when it was polite, he excused himself most graciously and made his way to where Anne stood, herself now surrounded by friends and well-wishers. She smiled gaily and Gilbert thought she had never looked quite so happy before. She was absolutely breathtaking and he could barely stand it. Without another thought, he strode over to her with the confident steps of a man who knew what he wanted, quite rudely interrupted Anne's conversation by spinning her around to face him and there, in front of anyone who cared to see, he kissed her quite passionately. Anne was fairly surprised by his gesture, and more than a little embarrassed, but she surrendered to his kiss all the same and for more than a few seconds they were both lost to all else. Gilbert finally released her only to pick her up and spin her around wildly before placing her safely back to earth.

Anne laughed and looked at the sheer joy on his face and tried to think how it was possible that she ever thought this man was not her romantic ideal. They heard whispers and giggles around them, but neither cared. The whole of the Redmond senior class and beyond knew of Anne and Gilbert and none who saw it could say they were surprised at such a public display, no matter how improper. Even Dean Walters looked on with mirth in his eyes. He had been young and in love once too.

Once Anne had recovered well enough she ventured to speak, "Do you mean to make a spectacle of us again, Mr. Blythe?" She peered up at him with a raised eyebrow and an impertinent smile.

"Watch yourself, Carrots. If I have to, I will kiss you again and this time I won't release you nearly as quickly."

"Is that supposed to be a threat? Because it sounds rather wonderful," Anne's tone was a jest, but her words were perfectly serious.

Gilbert only smiled, "Can you believe it's over, Anne? We are BA's! Did you ever think back when we packed into the tiny Avonlea school room that we would one day be standing here at all, let alone standing here together?"

Anne nodded, "I do think our reality somehow outwitted our dreams, Gil." She ran her hand over his cheek. "I am so proud of you, my love."

"I am proud of you, Anne! High honors in English! That's quite a feat"

"I suppose not when one loves the written word like I do."

Gilbert laughed, "I can't argue that! You love words so much you probably read just as many books for my classes as you did your own."

"Well, how was I to quiz you if I didn't know the material myself?" she asked simply. He marveled at her. Gilbert thought deep down that if he had had to, he might have been able to win the Cooper on his own. He had drive enough. And the thought of not having Anne or watching her on the arm of Roy Gardner might have been enough to for him to pour absolutely everything into the only thing he would have had left. But the fact that he truly felt like it was something they accomplished together made him appreciate it all the more. Anne would never feel the way he did about it because Anne sometimes failed to see just exactly what purpose she brought to his life.

"I suppose you're right, Anne. I can't imagine how I will get along in medical school without you here." Anne made a face that conveyed her slight irritation at Gilbert finishing one challenge and then instantly moving on to the next without so much as a breath.

"Gil, we are not talking about that today! Today is ours to celebrate!" They had only spoken a little of her going to Summerside. It was by far the best option. She had had an offer to teach at a school near Kingsport. It was tempting. But the pay in Summerside as a Principal was almost double. And Anne found that as much as she wanted to be near Gilbert, the thought of being so far away from Marilla for another three years was too much for her. She felt as though she needed this time closer to home, if in fact in three years time she had to leave it for good. He has respected her decision, even hoped it was the choice she'd make. It was as great opportunity and the extra money Anne could save would help them along when they first got married.

"You're right, I am sorry. No talk of September in May." He brought her left hand to up to his lips, taking a minute to admire her circle of pearls, and kissed it. "We did it, Anne!"

"Yes, we did, Gil…" that was as much as she could say before they were swarmed with more friends. Phil came up behind them with Jonas on her heels and the foursome made a mini celebration.

"Can you even believe it! Me a B.A.," Phil gushed! "Tell me Gilbert, I know you're shocked for me aren't you."

"Oh, Phil, not even for a second. You hide your brains behind nonsense sometimes, but I never had doubt, I promise." Gilbert smiled, defending himself against her teasing. Her teasing was well deserved since the day at Patty's Place Phil had overheard Gilbert call her flighty. There had never been a hint of malice to it and Gilbert had only been joking when Anne relayed a story about Phil forgetting where she had left her books that morning. But ever since then she could not help teasing Gilbert for it.

"Well said, Mr. Blythe. Your wedding invite hung in the balance for a moment there." She laughed.

"I think it's too late to exclude me, Phil. What would your mother say to these last minute changes in seating?" They all laughed heartily, remembering the wailing an gnashing of teeth from Mrs. Gordon when she last came to Redmond a few months ago. It was endless talk of wedding nonsense that had Phil and Jonas seriously considering an elopement. The only thing that stopped them was Mr. Gordon. Phil could have brooked her mother's disappointment well enough, but not her father's.

"No, no," Jonas interjected, "no wedding talk today! We all agreed, did we not?" In fact they had. Jonas held out his hand to Gilbert, "Congratulations, Gilbert. Phil and I are both overjoyed for you. It's an immense achievement." Gilbert took the proffered hand and shook in vigorously. Over the last year, he had formed a kindred friendship with Jonas Blake and still remained a little amazed at his relationship with Phil. As different as they were, they went together stunningly well. "Thanks, Jo. I appreciate it."

Phil hugged both of them and they talked merrily for several more minutes. Phil and Jonas were eventually pulled away by Phil's parents who had made the trip to see their daughter graduate. The Gordon's invited Anne and Gilbert for their lunch plans, which they had accepted with pleasure

For the next almost hour, Anne and Gilbert went along a spoke to friends and acquaintances, offering congratulations and in some cases, goodbyes. It was a bittersweet exercise and Anne realized how dearly she would miss Kingsport come September. She had grown to love it here.

Just when they were about to depart, Anne spotted Roy Gardner coming towards them. In the past year, Anne had seen more of Roy that she had ever expected she would and she was surprised when he and Gilbert seemed to form an odd understanding that she couldn't quite call friendship. Gilbert always shrugged when she asked him about it. Anne had not been in his room that day in January. An odd bond had formed that neither gentleman understood or out rightly acknowledged, but it was there all the same.

"Anne, Gilbert, how nice to see you!" Roy said rather uncharacteristically enthusiastic. "Gilbert, again congratulations on the Cooper. You've quite impressed the board of directors."

"Thank you, Roy." Gilbert offered him a sincere smile.

"Anne, Congratulations to you as well, high honors in English is quite something."

"Thank you, Roy." Anne wondered at his temperament. "Is Emily with you?"

At this Anne thought she saw a slight blush paint Roy's cheeks. "Yes, she is, thank you for asking. I believe she's talking to a friend over there."

"I will have to go say hi to her," said Anne.

"Yes, please do, she would appreciate it. She's always been quite fond of you."

"And I her," replied Anne sincerely. Anne had met Emily Bates more than a year ago, near the end of junior year. She was a freshman at the time and took an advanced English course only to find it rather more difficult than she anticipated. Anne had volunteered to tutor her a bit to help her with her finals. They formed a fast friendship. At the beginning of current school year, Anne and Emily had quite literally bumped into Roy outside of the English building. Books flew every which way and Roy found himself quite properly horrified at almost mowing down two co-eds in his rush around campus. Anne and Emily had laughed heartily and Roy found himself rather inclined to laugh as he saw the sparkle in the deep blue eyes of the fetching blonde standing next to Anne.

It was only several weeks later when they began courting and they had been ever since.

"Can we ask your plans after graduation, Roy?" Gilbert asked.

"Oh, well yes, thank you. The plan has always been to get my degree and then begin running my father's business. However, certain things need to be settled first before I take that step." His eyes inadvertently looked towards Emily. Gilbert knew that look.

"Ah, yes, settled you say." Gilbert said knowingly. Roy looked to see Gilbert follow his gaze to Emily and smile. He held out his hand to Roy, "I offer my sincere best wishes that everything gets settled to your satisfaction, Roy." A similar smile graced Anne's face as she shook her head in agreement with Gilbert.

A rather stunned looked crossed Roy's face as he realized they knew his meaning. His shock gave way to a genuine smile of his own as he shook Gilbert's hand. "Thank you, both of you. That means very much to me. I can only hope my fortune is as providential as yours."

"I dare say it will be, Roy." Anne offered, reaching for his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. After a few moments, the lady herself joined their conversation and only a fool would not see the mutual affection Roy and Emily held for each other. Anne had always known Roy to be rather reserved and somewhat uneasy in company. But when she saw him with Emily, it was like he was a different man. And Emily, for her part, looked at Roy as though he had hung the moon. After some time passed in pleasant conversation, the Anne and Gilbert sought to take their leave.

"Anne, please do me the honor and save a dance for me this evening?" Roy asked somewhat quietly with a brief glance towards Gilbert for his reaction. There wasn't one.

"It would be my pleasure, Roy." She smiled back at him.

Gilbert requested the requisite dance with Emily and they foursome parted in good cheer.

Anne and Gilbert took a leisurely walk back to Patty's Place, hands entwined, neither really saying much, but both enjoying just being together where no stress or uncertainty could cloud the moment. No words were needed for them to understand the meaning this day held for both of them and their future. At the convocation dance, they were indeed the gayest of all revelers. It was quite the perfect end to a rather perfect day. It was only when Gilbert said his goodbye to Anne at the familiar door of Patty's Place that the evening began to feel more like a beginning rather than an ending.

It was two weeks later when they were back in Avonlea. But what a two weeks it had been! Packing up four years of life had proved rather daunting for Anne and she was loathe to throw anything away, which had made Gilbert's task of helping all the more difficult when Anne kept rummaging through her garbage to save discarded items. They ended up in a bit of an argument where a rather vexed Gilbert sought to silence Anne's mouth with the only effective means at his disposal. Effective though it was, Anne still traveled home with more things stuffed in trunks than was strictly necessary.

Anne did keep her promise to take Gilbert to dinner before they left Kingsport and made a reservation at one of Kingsport nicer restaurants. It would have been a stretch to say Anne could afford a place like this, but having truly saved for more than a year for it, so confident she was in Gilbert's ultimate success, Anne thought nothing of the cost. But it was not to be. After they had their fill to eat and drink, the waiter had told them that the check had been taken care of. Completely surprised, they had inquired about the identity of their benefactor but were told only that the person wished to remain anonymous, although the waiter was asked to convey well wishes. They both looked around the restaurant to see if anyone they knew had been there, but they recognized no one. Completely stumped, but truly grateful, they endeavored to enjoy the gesture in the spirit in which it was intended.

Had they looked harder, they might have seen, in the far back corner of the restaurant, hidden almost completely from sight at a private table sat their mysterious benefactor. He had seen Anne and Gilbert walk in and was struck with the idea of doing something special for them. Roy Gardner had felt rather charitable and distinctly grateful to the lady who had introduced him to the woman, who only moments before, had agreed to be his wife.

From Kingsport, they traveled to Bolingbroke for Phil and Jo's wedding. It was an extravagant, elegant, exhausting, and strangely thrilling affair. But the good company with dear friends for several days was a most welcome end to their college experience. But saying goodbye to her dear friends was rather harder than she had imagined it would be and there had been no shortage of tears on the way back to Avonlea.

It was an exhausted couple that returned to Avonlea. Gilbert had sworn while in Bolingbroke he was coming down with something. So it was no surprise to either of them when in the first week back Gilbert did in fact come down with an aggressive and rather unexpected cold. He was abed for nearly a week. Caroline Blythe rightly blamed the stress and rigors of his studies, to which Gilbert had to grudgingly agree that while stress couldn't cause a cold, perhaps his body had been a bit too rundown to fight it properly. Caroline, with a little help from Anne (mostly distant help of course for proprieties sake), nursed Gilbert to health in no time.

Caroline had never stopped worrying about Gilbert since they had found out about the Cooper. She knew her son was studying too hard and working too long into the night. That he had come home unwell did not surprise her and she thanked the Lord above it was nothing worse. She had to give credit to Anne for that. She knew that in her own absence, Anne had taken care of Gilbert in the best possible way.

It was a week into June when Gilbert, fit as a fiddle, rambled up the dusty lane to Green Gables. He was met by two ladies sitting on the porch, one with a smile and the other with a frown.

"Good afternoon. Gilbert. Glad to see you are doing well again," declared Marilla as he came closer.

"Thank you, Miss Cuthbert. Yes, I am feeling much better." He replied.

Marilla's mouth formed a thin line, "Glad to hear it. And please, you are to be my son-in-law, can you not now call me Marilla?"

Gilbert smiled. She had asked the same thing when she heard of their engagement, but Gilbert's natural deference to elders prevented him from being comfortable addressing her so. But it was clear she wished it and he would not disappoint.

"Forgive me, Marilla. Addressing you so informally will require a bit of practice on my part, I assure you."

"Stuff and nonsense," was the playful reply.

"Well if you ask me," piped in Rachel Lynde, which of course no one had, "You shouldn't even be out of bed yet! What does your mother mean letting you leave the house so soon after your illness?"

"It was hardly an illness, Mrs. Lynde, really just a trifling cold," Gilbert protested.

"People do not stay abed for a week for trifling colds," came the retort. "You ought to be resting!"

"Rachel, leave the boy alone. He looks just fine from where I am sitting," Marilla rolled her eyes and shot Gilbert an exasperated glance as though this was not the first time she had heard this rant.

"I don't know why you young people have to go out and almost kill yourselves just for an education. You and Anne are both thin as rails. Did that college even feed you?" Rachel's rant continued for a few more moments, until Anne appeared like a savior at the doorway.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked lightly, seeing the look of restrained amusement on Gilbert's handsome face.

"I was just telling Gilbert that he ought to still be in bed. I can't see what Caroline Blythe was thinking let him walk all around creation."

Anne laughed, "Oh Mrs. Lynde you might be correct about that, but you see Caroline Blythe knows firsthand just what a terrible patient Gilbert is. It's no wonder she hadn't kicked him out days ago."

Gilbert screwed his face up into one of mock indignation as he replied, "Anne, I am right here. I can hear you, you know."

"Oh, so you are, I hadn't noticed," she teased. "Are you suggesting I am wrong?"

"Not at all, I am a terrible patient," he admitted with a chuckle. "But a man doesn't like to hear himself disparaged by his fiancé in company."

"Oh how thoughtless of me," and laughed. She then turned to Rachel and Marilla. "I assure you ladies, Gilbert is a model patient. He was never cranky or ungrateful and he always said please and thank you whenever anyone did something kind to take care of him." She turned back to Gilbert, "There, is that better?"

"Much, thank you!"

Marilla looked on at their teasing and could not help but smile. It had been a long time since the first hopes had crept into her heart that these two might make a match. And now that they had, there were times when she could hardly contain her delight about it. It was clear they were very much in love. Perhaps some good has come out of my long ago mistake after all, she thought as she looked at Gilbert and marveled at just how much he resembled John Blythe. Yes, indeed it has, an ultimate and grand good!

"What brings you here, this afternoon Mr. Blythe?" asked Anne.

"Well, I thought I might ask you to go for one of our old-time rambles through the June woods and o'er the hill where the spices grow. Suppose we visit Hester Grey's garden."
Anne was delighted at the suggestion. "Sounds quite perfect. Then how about to see Diana after?"

"Of course! Then shall we?" Gilbert asked offering her his arm.

Anne took it and off they walked leaving, Marilla and Rachel to their previous activities. Marilla smiled when watching them walk down the lane she saw their arms fall down at their sides. Gilbert then reached for Anne's hand, which she supplied readily, and their fingers entwined in a simple and sweet gesture.

Marilla might have been less inclined to approve when ten minutes later, quite out of sight, Gilbert pressed Anne against a large oak tree and kissed her fairly soundly.
When at last he ceased, Anne gathered her breath. "And just how long do you think you are going to keep me pressed up against this tree, Mr. Blythe?" She was unable to hide the look in her eyes that suggested however he answered, the time would not be quite long enough for her.

Gilbert looked into her eyes and the saw the longing in them. Longing he knew would make the next three years a long time indeed. "Well that depends, Miss Shirley. Are you prepared to apologize for calling me a terrible patient?"

"Not at all! For I only spoke the truth."

He laughed in response. "Yes, I suppose you did." He stepped back from her and she felt the loss rather keenly. Suddenly he got a very thoughtful look.

"And just what are you thinking now?"

"I am just thinking how hard the next three years will be, Anne. I won't be able to do this with whenever I want."

Anne stifled a giggle.

"And what's so funny?" he asked.

"Oh nothing really, I am just thinking that with the two of us, periods of separation until we are married may not be the worst thing." And by the look she gave him Gilbert knew very well where her thoughts tended.

There was no doubt they were both of a passionate nature, so it should have come as no surprise that a time or two in the past year their desire for one another went beyond the bounds of propriety. But for Gilbert's good sense and Anne's desire for a proper time and place, they could have made a dangerous and foolish mistake. But they hadn't. In truth, that hadn't even come anywhere close. But they both understood just how easy it would have been to fall into that trap. Luckily, they had no qualms about discussing these matters and they both quite agreed they needed to be strong for one another. Couched in terms of not letting Anne down, Gilbert found it much easier to resist the temptation. And when Anne thought of the possibility of ruining Gilbert's chances at becoming a doctor, her love for him overrode any other consideration.

"Yes, well, you might be right about that. But pressing you up against trees and kissing you silly aren't quite all I am going to miss, Anne."

"Oh? And just what else will you miss?"

"Everything about you, Carrots," was his simple honest answer. But then he elaborated, "I will miss your voice the most I think. It's the most wonderful and soothing sound in the world to me."

She rewarded him with a wonderful smile. "I believe that might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me," Anne replied, a tear in her eye.

He smiled back at her, a little speechless at how beautiful she looked when she was truly happy. As the tear rolled down her cheek, Gilbert marveled at the honesty and trust of the woman before him. Anyone else would have wiped the tear away before it had the chance to escape. But not Anne. Not in front of him. She let him see all of her all the time. He reached up and wiped her tear away gently with his thumb and then took both of her hands in his as he looked intently in her eyes.

"Three years?" He asked expectantly.

"Three years, my love." She replied, laying her head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Three years," he said again. "Promise me?"

Anne looked up at him, "Haven't I already done so?"

"No you've promised to marry me someday. I want you too promise me now that on this date or very near it three years into the future, you will be my wife."

Anne raised her head a looked up at him and smiled. "My dear future husband, I promise you."

"And I promise you too," he said kissing her forehead.

"But I am afraid it might be quite an exercise in mere formality by that point."

Pulling back from her he looked at her with a frown, "Anne, how could you think our wedding a mere formality?" He was somewhat astonished she could treat it so irreverently.

But in the next moment she astonished him, "Gilbert you know well that am not one to do things by half measure. When I fell in love with you I gave you my whole heart completely and irrevocably. I am as devoted to you as any wife is to her husband. Our wedding will be a blessing because it will start our life together. And we will be able to be together in every way. But it won't be that day I think of you as my husband, for you must know, as improper as it may be, that I already do."

In that moment, Gilbert felt as if he could not breathe as he looked down at Anne, his chest constricting tightly. What had he ever done in his life to deserve her? How was it even possible she now loved him as he did her?

"Anne," he whispered, "I can't," he choked up, a tear welling in his own eye for a moment. "I can't easily make speeches like you. Mostly because often just looking at you leaves me quite tongue tied. And I guess because I am not as brave as you are. You are so honest. You always help give me voice to those things inside me that I feel but cannot name. Without realizing it until this moment, I have long thought of you as my wife. And marrying you will do little to change that. But on the day we are finally married, I promise you it won't be a formality. It will be, quite easily, the happiest day of our lives."

Anne smiled a bright smile and leaned up to kiss him. "Three years until forever, Gil."

He pulled her in tighter and kissed into her hair. "Three years until forever, Carrots."

They turned and walked hand in hand to Hester Grey's garden, both quite certain that three years seemed like no time at all when forever waited at the end of it.

The End