Chapter Text
Gilbert Blythe was not a fan of working night shifts in the ER.
It’s not because he minded the hours, going through medical school had given Gilbert the ability to function on little to no sleep, so that was a non-issue. His problem was that unless it was a Friday night or some partying holiday like New Year’s, nothing ever happened.
If he was going to work a 12 hour shift at the hospital, he at least wanted to be doing something. He didn’t want to be sitting behind the nurses’ station staring at the ER entrance just hoping someone would come in needing a doctor.
Which is what Gilbert was currently doing.
It had been a quiet night as it always was at the Avonlea General Hospital at 1:34 am on a Tuesday in the middle of May. Aside from Gilbert, his good friend Charlie Sloane, and the 3 other nurses working the night shift, the ER was completely void of people.
Gilbert was shaken from his reverie by something small hitting him square between the eyes. He lifted his chin up from where it had been resting in the palm of his hand to throw a look at Charlie, who was sitting in a rolling chair a few feet away.
“Seriously?” he asked, picking the paperclip up from where it had fallen onto the counter in front of him by his elbow. “A paperclip? Why?”
Charlie shrugged his shoulders and did slow spin in his chair, staring up at the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. “I thought you fell asleep,” he said simply.
“My eyes were open Charlie,” Gilbert said, giving him an incredulous look. “I was staring outside of the doors how could I have been asleep?”
Charlie let out a long, drawn out groan, lifting his head up straight again to look at him. “Fine, I’m bored and want someone to talk too. So stop daydreaming about some massive car pileup with lots of injuries and talk to me Blythe before I actually fall asleep.”
Gilbert scoffed and leaned back in his chair while crossing his arms. “I wasn’t daydreaming about a massive car pileup. That’s just morbid.”
“But you were hoping that someone would come in here needing a doctor?” he retorted, quirking an eyebrow with a smile that oozed self-righteousness.
“Oh like you weren’t wishing for the same thing,” Gilbert said, rolling his eyes.
Charlie opened his mouth the respond but closed it as he glanced towards the doora. “Dibs,” he yelped, shooting up out of his chair.
Gilbert spun his around chair quickly as Charlie rushed past him out from behind the nurses’ station. It was then that the automatic doors slid open and a man around his age entered the ER.
He held a bloody cloth napkin over his nose and his white button down shirt was no doubt ruined from what had already leaked through onto it. The faint whiff of alcohol he brought along with him disturbed the antiseptic smell given off by the recently cleaned floors and sterilized equipment.
“What? Charlie you can’t call di-“
“I’ll help you right over here sir,” Charlie said, his Doctor voice coming through instinctually. He waved the man over to one of the many free beds that lined the pristine white drywall. As the man sat down with a low groan, Charlie continued on with his usual spiel, picking up a tablet they used for electronic charting. “What brings you in here today?”
“I think my nose is bro-“ he paused, sitting up straight and looking over at the ER doors as they slid open once more. “HEY!” he yelled angrily at the 3 young women who walked in. “You’re gonna be paying for this!” He moved the bloody napkin away from his nose and gestured to it with his free hand.
“Like hell I will Billy!” one of the girls yelled back with a fire that matched that of the color her hair. “Try something like that again and I’ll make sure to aim further south!”
The redhead’s two friends started to laugh but yelped and stepped backwards as Billy moved to get off the hospital bed.
The girl, who was clutching her right hand and an ice pack to her chest, didn’t flinch. Her challenging glare never wavered in its intensity. Gilbert was slightly impressed by how she managed to stand her ground.
“Woah hey hey easy now okay.” Charlie rushed around to the other side of the bed. He gently pushed Billy’s chest in an attempt to get him to lie back down, which he did with a begrudging expression.
Gilbert walked out from behind the nurses’ station and gestured for the girls to follow him. “Here, I’ll help you in an exam room.”
They all gave him a quick thank you and filed in behind him as Gilbert reached a hand in to flick the lights on. The thin paper that lined the exam chair crinkled as the redhead sat down with a sigh, Gilbert closing the door shut behind him.
Her two friends stood against the wall to the right of the examination chair, the blonde one flipping her hair dramatically over a shoulder. The dark haired one, who seemed the most reserved of the three, began to chew her bottom lip anxiously as the redhead readjusted the bag of ice on her hand.
“Alright- well I’m Doctor Blythe and I’ll be taking of care of you this evening,” he said, breaking the silence with a smile. “Can I get your name?” Gilbert asked, his brown eyes meeting the blue ones of his patient.
“Anne Shirley,” she said, lifting her chin up slightly in a dignified manner. “And that’s Anne with an e.”
He raised an eyebrow amused, but scribbled it down as directed none-the-less on the notepad he kept in his white lab coat. “Alright Anne-with-an-e, what brings you into the ER today?” Gilbert asked, trying to hide the curiosity that had been bubbling inside since the skirmish he’d witnessed only minutes earlier.
“Her fiery temper,” the blonde friend muttered in response under her breath, but not quietly enough that no one could hear her.
The brunette friend smacked her on the shoulder with a gasp. “Ruby,” she hissed lowly, looking back at Anne with concerned eyes.
“What?” she said defensively a smile tugging at her lips. Ruby crossed her arms over the pink velvet dress she was wearing and looked Gilbert in the eye. “It’s true.”
He turned his gaze back to Anne who gave him a sheepish smile, taking the icepack off her hand with a wince. “I uh- think I broke my thumb.”
Gilbert nodded and sat down on the stool kept next to the examination chair. Anne held her injured hand out for him to take wordlessly, sucking a breath in between her teeth as he gripped it gently.
The skin of her thumb and surrounding knuckles were red and very cold from the ice pack that had been on them previously. The joint where the finger met the palm of her hand was already swollen.
With a feather light touch, Gilbert ran a finger over an area that was exhibiting a dark red/ pinkish hue, the beginnings of a bruise. Goosebumps erupted over Anne’s soft skin at the contact, her arm hairs standing up as she let out a shiver.
He glanced up at her, not bothering to hold back a smile at the blood rushing to Anne’s freckled cheeks. For the first time since they met, Gilbert was able to get a good look at her.
Anne had high defined cheek bones and a very cute nose that curled up at the tip in a way that seemed almost regal She looked to be close to his age, but the double French braids she adorned paired with the rosiness of her cheeks gave Anne an air of innocence and possibility.
Stray strands of auburn and fiery red hair fell around to frame her face and eyes, making them seem even brighter a blue by contrast alone. Every feature about her was striking, and they all came together to make one, very beautiful face.
The sound of someone clearing their throat drew Gilbert’s attention away from Anne with a start. “So, what do you think?” she brunette friend asked, looking between the two of them with a smug smile as if she caught them doing something scandalous.
Gilbert realized suddenly that he was still holding Anne’s hand like a man who was about to put a ring on his new fiancé’s finger. They made eye contact for a split second before he gently let go of her palm, hoping the action didn’t look as awkward as he felt.
“Well I think there’s definite a possibility Anne’s thumb is broken, but we’re going to have to get an x-ray to be sure,” he said to them, standing up off the stool. “Good news is since it’s 2 in the morning, the line for the x-ray machine is nonexistent so we won’t have to wait long to get one.”
“2am,” the brunette mumbled to herself, rubbing her temple with a groan. “I have class in 5 and half hours.”
Anne reached her non injured hand out to grasp her friends’ wrist. “You can go Diana. I’m all grown up now I don’t need you here with me. Plus Ruby’s here.”
Diana scoffed and shook her head. “Oh shush Anne Shirley I’m staying, it’s my fault you’re here anyway. I’ll just call in sick tomorrow.”
In the time they’d been conversing, Gilbert was able to finish putting in a request to Radiology for the x-rays he needed via the tablet all rooms had for patient charts.
Opening the door to the exam room, he turned back to face Anne. “If you’ll just follow me Ms. Shirley,” he said, putting his notepad back in front pocket of his lab coat. “We’ll go ahead and get that x-ray done.”
“Yay,” she cheered weakly, sliding off the exam chair. “Wish me luck guys.”
“Good luck!” Diana and Ruby chorused, as Anne stepped out into the hallway.
Gilbert closed the door behind them and began walking, Anne keeping up pace next to him. “Radiology’s on the 3rd floor so I hope you’re not afraid of elevators,” he said, glancing over at her.
Anne was a good head shorter than he was, even with the lace up boots she wore that probably gave her an inch or two. She held herself with poise and confidence, walking as if she were on air. So much so that her boots made no noise against the tile flooring.
“Don’t worry I’m not,” she said, pausing for a second before continuing with, “Can I ask you a question Dr. Blythe?”
He nodded his head as they turned down a hallway, the elevator coming into view at the end of it. “Sure… if I get to ask one in return.”
“Fair enough,” Anne agreed, giving him a once over while pursuing her lips. Gilbert was suddenly very conscious of the fact that he was wearing dark blue scrubs, old tennis shoes and a lab coat. “It’s just- well you seem kind of young to be a Doctor.”
He let out a bark of laugher, running a hand through his untamable dark curls before putting it in his pocket. “Yea I get that a lot,” he said, looking at the ground in front of him. “I’m a fifth year resident so I’m not a doctor doctor yet. I also skipped 2nd grade, graduated high school in 3 years, and finished my undergrad degree in 3 as well.”
“Woah,” Anne said surprised. Gilbert felt a surge of pride run through him knowing that he’d managed to impress her. “You’re either really smart or have a death wish.”
“It’s a little bit of both.” Gilbert pressed the up button on the elevator as they came to a stop in front of it. A mechanical ding sounded overhead as the doors slid open, the two of them strolled inside.
“Your turn,” Anne said as the doors closed.
Gilbert leaned his back against the wall and pressed the button for the third floor. “Alright,” he said, turning his head to look at her. “I’ve gathered from deductive reasoning that you messed up your hand from punching that Billy guy in the face with your thumb tucked into your fist.”
“Wow a Doctor and a Detective. Your parents must be proud.”
“They are thank you,” he retorted with a sweet smile. Anne grinned and shook her head with laughter. “Anyway,” Gilbert continued, “I just want to know why you punched him in the first place.”
Anne began toying the end of her left braid absentmindedly, scrunching her nose in disgust as if just thinking of the story itself made her angry.
“My friend Diana announced her engagement tonight to this French guy she’s been dating Jerry. I for one never thought that’s kind of guy she’d go for but if she’s happy with him I guess it doesn’t really matter. Poor Fred’s gonna be crushed though, I’ve always had an inkling that he never really got over her even though they’ve been broken up for years now.”
Gilbert’s confusion no doubt showed on his face because Anne took one look at him and smiled sheepishly. The elevator doors opened at that moment so they stepped out and continued the walk to Radiology.
“Sorry,” she apologized with a light laugh. “I tend to get carried away when telling stories. Anyway, we went to a bar to get wine and maybe some raspberry cordial to celebrate, it’s an old inside joke that we have. It was all going fine until I went back up to the bar to get a 2nd round.”
“That’s when Billy showed up?”
“Exactly. Billy Andrews showed up. We went to school together as kids, but we were never friends because he’s just plain awful. There are some things that should change with time as people grow older, but in the 5 years it’s been since I last saw Billy he hasn’t changed a bit. He’s still the same idiotic, self-absorbed, arrogant boy he’s always been.”
“So you punched Billy for being… well… Billy?”
“No I punched him because,” Anne paused, trailing off. Gilbert looked over at her and noticed that her cheeks had gone red again. “Well he kept trying to flirt with me, saying how beautiful I was now that I’d grown up, and I just couldn’t believe that he had the nerve to considering how mean he was to me when we were younger.”
Gilbert laughed and glanced over at her in disbelief. What an interesting patient Anne had turned out to be. “So you punched Billy because he said you were beautiful?”
“No! I punched him because of what he did after that. I kept ignoring him, just waiting for the bartender to show up with my drinks so I could go back to Ruby and Diana. But I guess Billy had enough of it because he grabbed one of my braids and pulled on it calling me ‘carrots’ to get my attention.”
“Oh no,” Gilbert said with a wince, already knowing what happened next.
“Yep. Oh no is right Dr. Blythe. Everyone one who knows me well enough can tell you that I can take teasing of any kind as long as it hasn’t to do with the color of my hair. And as Ruby said before I do have quite the temper. Once its set of there’s no chance of a rational decision being made, which is why I decked him in the nose. It was the first thing I could think to do.”
Gilbert was slightly disappointed when they finally arrived at Radiology. He didn’t want to end their conversation, he rather liked the sound and cadence of Anne’s voice.
It was smooth like silk, the words escaping her lips coming out in a dignified manner. The changes of tone and use of differentiating inflections created a mosaic, each word its own piece of colored glass.
Gilbert could’ve listened to her talk for hours, never growing bored.
He didn’t really get the chance to talk to Anne again until it was time to give her the results of the x-ray. He’d stayed with the Radiologist on call to wait for the results while a nurse took Anne back to the exam room.
X-ray’s in tow, he gave the exam room door two short knocks out of courtesy before entering. Anne opened her eyes and sat up straighter in the exam chair, covering her mouth to hide a yawn.
Gilbert hung the x-rays up on the light box, taking a look around the room with a raised eyebrow. Besides the two of them, it was completely empty.
“Where’d your friends go?” he asked, leaning his lower back against the counter.
“I convinced them to go home in an Uber. They left me the car and keys,” Anne replied, her eyes drawn to the scans that hung on the wall. “What’s the diagnosis? Am I gonna live?”
Gilbert smiled with amusement, even though he’d heard that joke so many times it had lost it’s comedic effect long ago.
“Unfortunately, your thumb is fractured,” he said, then pointed to the spot where the bone had broken on the x-ray, “right here between the two joints.”
Anne leaned back into the exam chair with a sigh. “Well this is just great. Isn’t it?”
“If it makes you feel any better, you get to choose the color of your cast,” Gilbert said, tilting his head sideways slightly. “We even have strips that glow in the dark now.”
“Haha, very funny. Not only are you a Doctor and a Detective, you’re also a Comedian,” she retorted, a smile playing at her lips. “Save a job for the rest of us common folk.”
“Someone will be down here shortly to fit you for your cast,” Gilbert said, making sure Anne’s distracting nature didn’t stop him from doing his job. “After that, assuming all’s well with the paperwork, you’re free to go once you schedule a follow up appointment 4 weeks from now.”
Anne rubbed the bridge of her nose wearily. “Four weeks? I have to wear a cast for four weeks?”
“At the least yes.”
She exhaled through her mouth, stray strands of red hair flying about. “I’m going to get so far behind on my revisions. I can’t type nearly as fast with one hand.”
“You’re a writer?” he asked. That explains her extensive vocabulary, Gilbert thought, and obvious passion for telling stories.
Anne nodded her head. “Only part time though. I teach at a private school during the day, which thank the good lord in heaven is already out for the year,” she turned he head to look at him. “Did I really break Billy’s nose?”
Gilbert laughed at that, nodding his head with a grin. “Not terribly though. His septum wasn’t deviated or anything.”
She seemed pleased with that answer, a triumphant glint adorning her blue eyes. “Good riddance.”
He couldn’t help but agree, but Gilbert did so silently in an attempt to be somewhat professional.
When the Doctor from Orthopedics came down to fit Anne with her thumb spica cast, he left the exam room so they could work. If he’d stayed in there, Gilbert was sure he’d end up in another conversation with Anne, one that wasn’t totally professional for him to be having with a patient.
It was too soon for him to say whether or not he had any sort of crush on the girl, but he definitely liked talking with Anne. There was no denying that or the fact that Gilbert got an odd flutter in his stomach anytime she laughed at one of his jokes, or anytime their eyes met. Or anytime she tucked a stray strand of red hair behind her ear.
Okay, so maybe he had a little crush on her… but it didn’t matter.
If they’d met on the street or at some coffee shop in town, he might’ve asked her on a date, or at least gotten her number so they could talk more.
But, they met at the hospital, where Gilbert was a Doctor and Anne his patient. Once again, he was an unlucky victim to matters of circumstance.
Charlie and Gilbert both looked up from the game of solitaire they’d been playing as the exam room door opened. The Ortho Doctor held it open for Anne who gave him a smile as they parted ways. She walked up to the nurses’ station and held up her casted right hand for Gilbert to see.
“So? What do you think?” Anne asked, showcasing her orange cast. “I know it’s not a very practical color, but I figured if I ever get frustrated I could just use the color as reminder of what I did to get it. And just how worth it was despite the pain and itchiness.”
Gilbert stood up out of his chair. “I think it’s perfect,” he said with a chuckle, handing her a Doctor’s note with an amused smile. “I’m sure you got all the information about how to take care of the cast from the other guy but it’s all listed in here too. You can take over the counter medicine as directed for pain and your follow up appointment with Ortho Doctor is on-“
“June 13th,” Anne finished for him. “10 o’clock. One of the nurses already scheduled it with me.”
He nodded his head with a hum of agreement. “And until then I suggest that you don’t punch with your thumb inside of your fist… should you ever need to break another man’s nose again,” Gilbert said then added with a playful smirk, “Doctor’s orders.”
Anne’s cheeks flushed with color as she shook her head with a smile. “Noted,” she said, her blue eyes meeting his one last time. “Thank you Dr. Blythe.”
“It’s my pleasure Anne-with-an-e Shirley.”