Work Text:
Gilbert was sitting at his kitchen table, staring at his dinner. The soup was still so hot that the steam was in his eyes, and the stale bread was sitting next to it. He didn’t want to eat it, he didn’t really have an appetite since last week. Nor did he want to sleep, which is probably why he doesn’t feel well.
He decides that it’s not worth it, he got the soup from someone else (Maybe Ruby?) so it wouldn’t be wasting his own crops, even if that is selfish. He knows that people are just trying to help, but sometimes he can’t stand the pitying eyes and sad smiles that he gets every time he goes out.
Poor Gilbert Blythe, all alone
He knows he’s alone now, he doesn’t need a reminder.
Still he tries to remain civil, thanking them for their kindness and sympathy (even if it is fake). That’s what his father would want him to do.
The thought of his dad makes his heart heavier, so he decides to avoid that, instead he gets up and grabs his books to study for the test tomorrow. Leaving his food on the table.
***
Anne skipped cheerfully to school with Diana, they were both very excited about the test since they spent the whole afternoon yesterday studying for it.
“Do you think I'll pass?” Diana asks, squeezing their conjoined hands
“Of course!” Anne exclaims “You’re very intelligent”
Diana grins widely
“Well so are you” she says
The redhead smiles back as they approach the school building.
When they walk inside Anne sees Mr. Phillips writing something on the board, it clearly reads
No talking
She snickers to the girl next to her
“Does he think we’re some kind of imbeciles”
Diana laughs as well
“Probably”
They take their usual seats and see the test lying on their desk
“Good luck” Anne tells her best friend
“You as well” The dark haired girl replies
Anne dips her pen in the black ink and begins. The first few questions are very easy, but as she goes on they get harder and harder.
She hears footsteps outside and turns her head to see none other than Gilbert Blythe walk through the door 10 minutes late. She wants to roll her eyes until she actually looks at him.
He was noticeably pale, almost as white as the snow coating his jacket and cap. Plus he was shaking, his hands fumbling to take off his scarf.
“You are late Mr. Blythe” Mr. Phillips announces loudly
He walks to his desk and sits down
“I-I know, I’m sorry” He stumbles out
“I suppose you can have a pass this time”
The reason why goes unsaid but everyone knows.
Gilbert nods his appreciation and starts on his test. He seems fine other than the first things Anne noticed, and those could’ve been a trick of the light and her own imagination.
She focuses back on her exam, and before she knows it, she’s done.
Anne raises her hand and Mr. Phillips comes over to take the paper out of her hand. He studies it for a second before nodding to her and going back to his desk. She’s going to take that as a good sign.
She glances around to see who else has finished and, unsurprisingly, Gilbert was resting his head in his hand staring at the chalk board. He seemed lost in thought, often how Anne is herself.
He looks tired, like really tired. His eyelids are slowly shutting yet he keeps snapping them open, like he needs to stay awake.
Diana pokes her arm
“Are you looking at Gilbert?” She whispers
“What? No!” She defends “I was day dreaming and my eyes just happened to be pointed in that area”
Her friend nods disbelievingly
“Okay”
Anne keeps her focus on the board and let’s her head fall on her desk, resting her eyes.
She gets lost in a dream of royalty and wealth and beauty until Ruby shakes her awake
“It’s time for lunch” she says
Anne nods and stretches as she gets up.
She turns around and sees Gilbert laying on his desk, fast asleep.
“Isn’t he so handsome” Ruby whispers
Anne shakes her head on reflex.
Mr. Phillips seemed to have disappeared with the rest of the class so it was just the three of them in there.
“Why didn’t anyone wake him?” Anne inquires
“No one wanted to disturb him I guess” Ruby answers with a shrug
“I can do it” Anne offers “You should go eat”
Ruby nods
“Be fast”
The girl tiptoes out the door.
Anne quietly approaches the sleeping boy
“Gilbert?” She whispers softly
He doesn’t stir
“Gilbert it’s lunch time” she tells him, grabbing his arm
He was quite hot, even though it was the middle of winter
He startles awake, breathing harshly
“Are you alright?” Anne asks
He looks around blearily
“Yeah, I’m fine” he says “Why is no one here?”
“Because it’s lunch time silly”
He scrunches his eyebrows together
“Oh” he says
She frowns deeply at him
“Are you sure you’re okay? You are abnormally warm”
He nods
“I’m okay”
He gets up and slowly stumbles to the door before taking a deep breath and walking out.
***
Matthew sometimes didn’t like going out to town, especially when it’s to the market. But Marilla told him that they needed these supplies for dinner, plus they both agreed to get a treat for Anne because she did very well on her test last week.
He wanders around the small shop looking for the flour, it doesn’t take too long for him to find it. He grabs it and puts it in his basket before starting to search for the sugar.
He turns around and sees the young Blythe boy reaching for the bread on the top shelf.
“Do you need some help?” He asks
Gilbert swivels around
“Oh, good afternoon Mr. Cuthbert” he says “I would appreciate the help”
Matthew grabs the bread and hands it to the child.
“Thank you”
He nods
“Of course”
Matthew looks at Gilbert with a deep level of concern, he doesn’t look very well.
“Are you feeling okay?” He asks
Gilbert nods quickly
Matthew nods back, unconvinced
“I should be going” The kid says
“Oh, ya, have a good night”
The boy walks to the check out center, leaving Matthew to wonder what’s going on inside his little head.
***
Marilla walked slowly to John Blythe’s grave, her eyes tearing up. She wasn’t even there yet and it was already too hard. It brought back so many painful memories.
“Miss Cuthbert?”
She turns around at the young boys familiar voice
“Oh, hello Gilbert” she says, wiping her eyes
She looks at the poor child, he looked like he was also just crying, but that’s normal considering his tragic circumstances.
“How are you doing?” She asks, noticing the terribly dark circles under his eyes
He huffs through his nose
“I’m fine” he answers
Marilla doesn’t really believe him, but he’s been through enough recently and he probably just wants to see his father.
“Well I’ll leave you to it” she tells him
“No please, take your time, I can come back later” he offers kindly
As tempting as that is, it would be awfully selfish of her to keep this boy from his father.
“Nonsense, come along dear” she tells him, grabbing his shoulders softly to steer him towards the grave
He grabs her hand that’s on his shoulder
“Thank you Miss Cuthbert”
“Please do call me Marilla” she insists, squeezing his hand lightly
“Thank you Marilla” he corrects
“No problem” she turns him to look at her “And please come to us if you need anything”
He nods
“I will, thank you”
She smiles one last time and leaves, thinking of how she could help that child.
***
Gilbert lay on his bed, his thoughts going a mile a minute. He’s not sure what to do after school these days, since he had spent so long caring for his father. Most of the time he does his chores and keeps up with the cleaning of the house and the duties of the farm. But he learned to do that quickly, so then he would study and read and find anything to pass the time so he didn’t have to think. So he didn’t have to feel.
It’s been almost 3 weeks since his dad passed away, but somehow it still feels like yesterday. Perhaps it feels that way because he never let himself grieve, he still hasn’t. The only time he cried was 4 days ago after he made dinner and he prepared 2 plates of food out of habit. By the time he realized, he was in his fathers old room. He laid down and cried.
He decided to see the grave but when he got there Miss Cuthbert was already there and he had to mumble some half hearted answers and be polite until she left.
He feels sick, like his stomach is turning itself inside out. He reaches for the bucket at his side and retches violently into it. He’s kept it there since last night when he was woken by a nightmare and had to puke. For now, he’ll keep it there in case, because he’s had to use it a few times since then, in fact he didn’t even go to school today because he felt so ill.
By the time he’s done, he’s sweating profusely. He sits up slowly, careful not to jostle his aching stomach, and swings his legs to the side of the bed he was laying on (his fathers). He stands up on weak legs and grabs the bucket.
He walks outside and dumps the bucket out, the cold air feels refreshing since he’s been basically laying in a puddle of sweat. The snow was nice, it helped bring down what he was sure to be a fever. He knelt down and laid his palm to the white ice, relishing in it.
Deciding it was time to go back inside his miserable house, he grabs the now clean bucket and walks inside, collapsing on the bed with a groan.
***
Anne, Marilla, Matthew, and Diana were going over to Gilbert’s house, they all discussed seeing him over the last couple weeks and came to the conclusion that he wasn’t doing well.
Although Anne would never admit it, she was worried about him, and so was everyone else doing this. That’s why they all came together and made him dinner as an excuse to check on him.
They arrive at his door and Anne knocks
“Gilbert” She calls
He doesn’t answer and she can’t hear anyone coming.
“We brought dinner” Diana tries
Still it doesn’t elicit a response
“Should we try again later?” Matthew asks
“No” Anne says “Let’s see if it’s unlocked”
“Anne wait-“ Marilla starts, but it’s too late, Anne already opened the unlocked door
She walks inside and immediately notices that all the lights are off, it was practically pitch black in there.
Matthew switches on the lights
“Where do you think he is?” He asks the group
Anne thinks about it for a moment
“Maybe his fathers room” She offers
Diana nods, pointing to the door directly to their left
“I think it’s this one”
Marilla steps in front of them and tentatively puts her hand on the knob, she seemed as if she was scared, like a wild beast was going to jump at them the moment she opened the door.
No matter how she was feeling, she opened the door and they all file inside the room. Anne was in the back so by the time she made it in there, she had already heard their horrified gasps. Perhaps there was a wild beast.
But it was much worse than that, Gilbert was lying on the bed, white as the sheets underneath him. He was covered in what Anne assumed was sweat, and there was a bucket that was next to him filled with vomit. He didn’t even stir when they entered. It was truly a pitiful sight.
“What’s the matter with him?” A scared Diana asks
Marilla jumps into action
“Matthew, go clean the bucket. Diana, see if you can find some cloths, and I will go fill a bucket of cold water” she orders
“What should I do?” Anne asks
“Try and wake him”
Anne nods, walking over to him while the others go to do their tasks.
She places a gentle hand on his arm
“Gilbert?”
He slowly blinks awake, his eyes moving to her, but it’s like he’s looking right through her because he doesn’t seem to comprehend that’s she’s actually here.
“What happened?” He slurs
“I believe you’re sick” Anne tells him
He shakes his head
“No, I’m fine”
She nearly laughs, but instead she reaches down to feel his forehead
“Well your fever says otherwise” she contradicts teasingly
Her humor doesn’t help, she feels like her words are going unheard by his sick ears.
He leans up on his elbow, trying to get up
“Gilbert! Hold on, you need to rest” she urges him, trying to push him back down on the bed
“I need to see my dad” he begs, eyes filling with painful tears
Her chest aches for the utter sadness he feels. It must be scary to be this delirious, to not know where you are or what’s going on around you.
He keeps trying to get up, but luckily everyone comes back in, saving her just in time
“Anne, I told you to keep an eye on him!” Marilla says
She sets the bucket of water by the bed and puts her hand on his forehead
“We need to help cool him off” she says worriedly, pushing his curly hair back in an attempt to calm him down
He struggles against her
“I want my dad” he says desperately
They all share worried glances with one another
Marilla strokes his cheek gently
“I’m sorry dear” she says
Anne knows she wishes she could say more, but they were all at a loss for words.
Diana hands them all a couple rags
“Anne, put one on his forehead. Matthew try to get one behind his neck. And Diana put one on each of his ankles” Marilla instructs
Anne nods, she loves how calm Marilla can stay in these situations.
Diana dips two rags in the water and gently puts them on his ankles, after she’s done Matthew dips his rag in. He carefully lifts the boys head and puts the cool rag on the back oh his neck.
Anne walks up last, noticing that his eyes have slipped closed again. She dunks the rag in and wrings it out, then she dabs softly at his forehead before smoothing his hair back and laying the rag down completely.
“How did he get sick?” Diana asks
“Your guess is as good as mine, it could have been anything” Marilla answers
Anne wishes she could fix all of this, so that he wouldn’t have to be miserable. She too wonders what brought this on, but her best guess is that he was so caught in grief that it overwhelmed his immune system.
It has happened to Anne herself on a few horrid occasions.
Gilbert whimpers, pulling Anne from her troubled thoughts. He’s tossing and turning.
He sits up rather abruptly, leaning over in just enough time to throw up in the newly cleaned bucket.
Matthew sits next to him and rubs his back awkwardly, looking at him how he looks at Anne, full of concern and care
“Easy does it, son” he tells the sick boy
Even though Anne knows he wants to help, he seems a little uncomfortable. Marilla magically has the same thought process and beats Anne to it, switching places with her brother to comfort Gilbert.
He seems to have exhausted himself with that horrible retching, and slumps against Marilla, his head laying in her lap
She runs her hand through his hair
“Help me get him back to bed”
Anne immediately springs over to them, eager to help. Her and Diana each take an arm and help Marilla ease him back against his pillows, while Matthew puts the rags back in there place.
Now that his stomach was empty, Gilbert seemed to be more peaceful in his sleep.
Anne hopes that will last.
***
Gilbert awoke slower that he would have liked. His eyelids felt weighed down, it was difficult to get them to lift. He looks around to see that it was light out again, and he also notices that the bucket next to him is more empty than it was last night. There was also another bucket on his left that was just full of water.
He feels something comfortingly cool on his forehead and reaches up to feel what it is. It was wet cloth. Did he do that last night when he felt overheated? It’s possible. He takes it off.
The next step was to get up, it’s taxing and strenuous, but eventually he get to his, admittedly shaky legs. He stumbles a bit then catches his balance and walks out the bedroom door.
He nearly jumps out of his skin, placing his hand on the wall so his muddled head doesn’t betray him. There in his living room, were the Cuthberts and Diana, they were chatting casually, apparently unaware of him being there. He clears his throat.
All their heads turn to him
“Gilbert, you’re awake!” Anne exclaims
He tries to nod but it sends a wave of dizziness crashing over him, causing him to sway. He closes his eyes and the next thing he knows there are hands steadying him
“You should lie back down” Marilla says
He opens his eyes to look at her. Her eyes are full of love, all of theirs are.
“What are you guys doing here?” He asks
“Taking care of you of course” Matthew says
His head is still spinning
“Why?”
“Well we were worried about you and when we came to bring you dinner you were passed out on the bed, clearly unwell” Diana explains
Some things click into place
“You were here all night” he states
They nod.
Gilbert feels guilty, he shouldn’t be the reason that they stayed up all night. They were clearly the ones who cleaned the bucket and put the rags on his head, and they shouldn’t have had to do that for him. He can do that himself.
“I appreciate the help, but you can go now, I’m sure you all have better things to do”
Marilla gasps, hitting him lightly with a cloth she had in her hand
“Gilbert Blythe you take that back” she scolds softly “We care about you so let us help, you should not have to go through this alone”
Blame it on the sickness, but his eyes fill with tears.
“Let’s get you back to bed now dear” Marilla tells him
He obliges, letting her lead him to the bed. He lays down and feels Matthews hand on his head
“You aren’t as warm so that’s good” he informs
Anne sits down next to him
“When you wake up, I’ll test you on your spelling, just to be sure you haven’t fried your brain” she says
He can’t help but chuckle
“Deal”
“I will hold the spelling bee” Diana chimes in, giggling
“Alright, let him rest children” Marilla pushes them out the door, smiling fondly
When everyone was gone and it was just him and Marilla, she grabs his hand. She seemed like she wanted to tell him something, but was looking around awkwardly, not meeting his eyes. He puts his hand on top of hers
“Thank you” he says
She smiles
“Just know that you don’t have to do this alone, there’s plenty of people that want to help”
He sighs
“I know”
“Good, now get some rest”
She makes her way out of the room while he lets his eyes fall shut again. But this time, he was smiling.