Great read...I love the juxtaposition (hope I am using the correct term) of Gil's illness making him more resolved to not going back to Anne & stuffing his feelings (somewhat!) and Anne's showing how much she really does care for him.

LOL I don't think that's his knee. So this story is killing me! Anne is writhing all over Gilbert and he's like nope we'll never be anything more than friends! But he's right, he was a blind fool over Anne before and all that got him was heartbreak, and she hasn't even told him why she's at his place and she let him find out from a letter that she had broken up with Roy. This story is making me want to laugh and cry at the same time.

Ha! That last line. You always know to balance the UST with levity.

I loved so many things. You write delirium with such detail, it's fun to read on its own. It's fun to dissect. It's also interesting that we get these admissions and half truths, solely due to their altered mental states. It's the perfect storm for angst.

Gotta love the angst. I'm glad Gilbert has a bit of pride in this version and is not diving headlong into another proposal. I love the canon version, but it's fun to explore this AU route. They're so close, but pride and misunderstanding and fevers getting in their way! Gah, love it!

I love the idea of Gilbert nursing her a bit (although a doctor, we only get snippets of that in the books, and I've always felt robbed of that story, so this is perfect!).

I love the analogies you make for what make Anne and Gilbert tick. I've loved this pairing all my life, so it's always cool to find new ways to love them all over again.

Off to reread, until there is more to consume. :)

Wow that was amazing and so hot. How many parts are there going to be? I hope Anne is okay

Oh no Anne doesn't have typhoid too does she?! That whole scene of Anne bathing Gil (how many times has she seen his boner now lol) and then holding him to her breast was so loving and sensual. Actually Anne's love and care for all the Blythes is really touching. So Gil finally knows about Phil's letter! I love that he stood up when he found out that Anne was no longer with Roy! So Christine and Gilbert have a relationship of convenience but not much else. Of course it was easy for Christine to turn to her hot companion for comfort. of course it was easy for Gilbert to be with someone who didn't break his heart and didn't drive him crazy (Gil lying awake at night thinking of ways to argue with Anne is hot!)

I adored the conversation between Marilla and Anne. Anne sees fairies while Marilla sees pies. Marilla reminiscing about juice going every where! Anne talking about exploring Gilbert's body! ! Best of all course was when Anne realised Christine was there and Marilla knew. Anne has tried so hard to keep her love for Gilbert under wraps, but Marilla knew just by seeing her reaction to Christine. Wtf happened between them in Gilbert's room?! My first thought was that Christine slapped him?! Gilbert locking eyes with Anne in an intense stare was hot.

Sorry, Kwak, I forgot to include one thing;
I don’t want to imply that because Anne is ingrained to step up in a time of need, her services should be taken for granted.
Honestly, I get that sort of attitude applied to myself by some and I understand it to a degree. This is what I was trained to do and I am financially compensated for it.
(However, I never had training in pandemic nursing and there are still so many unknowns about the Covid disease.)

What I wanted to say is that I think it is very courageous of those folks who step out of their comfort zones for little or no compensation in service to others because some inner voice compels them to do so and it is a beautiful thing to witness.

Ahh, this chapter brings more clarity with the Christine situation.
Poor Chris, perhaps she was raised in a society where women defer to the men and having an intelligent mind is considered unfeminine.

People have so many layers and it’s great how you are fleshing Chris out.

The cliff-hanger ending was a shock and I can only muse on how it will turn out.
Anne becoming ill wasn’t a shock at all; but now the Blythe household will be overwhelmed and I don’t know how they will manage.
Hopefully, Mercy will return soon but how will the accommodations be determined?

One silver lining to the current pandemic is the way people have courageously stepped up in service to strangers, often at great risk to themselves. I’m not talking solely about healthcare workers but so many, many frontline workers who provide essential services that I and so many others depend on. I know the risks they are taking, and I am awed by their sense of duty.
None of us knows the things we’re capable of or how resilient we truly are until we are confronted with the unimaginable.
Even the people speaking up and participating in the protests, who want to include their voices, people that you don’t think would ever do such things, are an inspiration.
It is the unexpected people who step up in times of crisis that make their acts especially inspiring to witness.
Ordinary people called to do extraordinary things.
We expect Anne to step up to the plate, but it would be a lovely thing if Christine discovered her own voice and came forward to help the Blythes, not to gain favor but because it was the right thing to do.
Who knows, maybe she would discover her true calling is nursing.
One of the best nurses I know is a former roofer who realized, while caring for his terminally ill mother, that he had the calling.
He’s massively built and even the surgeons who have a rep for throwing hissy fits keep their tantrums in check when he’s around. It’s one of the many reasons I enjoy working with him.

I have so many other thoughts on this chapter but I’ll leave it at that for now.

Oh no! Poor Anne is sick! I've suspected it for chapters (the references of her having trouble swallowing and headaches) but I was hoping that she was just overworked. Don't tell me that Part Two will be of her being sick and bed ridden!

Honestly I'd hardly categorize his sponge bath and her observations of his 'volcano' to be M rated. I must say, it's so disappointing for Anne and Gil that they were not able to really... participate in the impropriety of their situation. But I can see how it could progress in later chapters!

My heart loves how he called her 'my Anne'. I don't even think that she was able to process what was happening before she fainted. I'm convinced that her 'I can't hide it from you anymore' was not about her fever but her feelings...

While I don't care for Christine as any sort of potential/past love interest for Gilbert, I do like how you've explained her flighty behavior. She genuinely believes that she might be in love with Gilbert. I almost feel bad for her because she has no chance when compared to Anne. Even when Anne is clearly ill, she's far more interesting and passionate than Christine.

Okay, so are we to assume that Christine read aloud a letter where it said that Anne and Roy were not engaged? Was it Phil's where she told Gil to go after Anne? Is that why Gil toppled out of bed because he was freaking out over this information that Anne has not been engaged to Roy the whole time?

Yay for the 'diamond sunbursts or marble halls' reference.

I'm curious to how long it's been so far. I can't seem to track the time and how long Anne has been staying at the Blythe's.

Your alternate version somehow has even more more heartache and angst than the original story... but I don't mind. I quite like their heightened emotions and passionate feelings! The payoff when they finally are a couple will be even that much more intense.

I love the way anne describes Gilbert's nether regions as a southern mountain but more akin to a volcano. How typical anne! This chapter was sooooooo sensual my mouth was agape the whole tone. Gilbert must have thought he was having some kind of wet dream! I just hope anne is ok

This chapter was chock full of kwak genius moments. And not just the M kind. You have explained Miss Stuart so wonderfully here. The flighty, selfish, indulged, rich girl who has never had to fight for anything contrasted with our beautiful Anne, arguing and devising brilliant stratagems to make her way in the world. No wonder Gilbert loved playing devil's advocate just to have a hot debate with our girl. Grrrrrr! I loved Christine weeping to Marilla late into the night and Mrs Lynde's comment was just priceless.

But that bed bath, kwaks, that just about did me in! It was hotness as only you can write it, and I loved it. Anne forcing herself to imagine Gilbert's body as terrain was so perfectly Anne, and as for that volcanic mountain peak in the south, oh my freakin gawd, I bet it wasn't just GB's pant that were damp! I LOVED IT! That image of Anne, holding him to her breast, kimono askew, knowing it was her own comfort as much as his that she sought was the best. I reckon Gilbert was deffo feeling more, ah ...comforted after that. So, so good, kwaky!

But it wasn't just Gilbert, there was a lot of washing going on here, and you know I enjoyed all of them. Of course, I took a loooooooong moment to picture John all dripping wet from his wash-down at the pump, wondering if his shirt was on or off when he placed his big meaty hands on Anne's shoulders to admire her spirit. And the thought of his reaction to the rose scented long johns was just the thing to put a smile on my face. :)

You know there was heaps more that I adored, but I would just have to write a review as long as your chapter, so suffice to say that I can't WAIT for more. You can't just leave us hanging with Anne in a dead faint, Gilbert sitting up in bed (still with that raging boner?) smelling her and asking her to reach for him! Please, please update soon!

This is so good love the humour in it and how Marilais always as I imagined her
Christine is a bit clueless and Anne is proving her love for Gilbert
Can’t wait for part two

My very favorite thing is seeing a story update in my email! Write faster, please! I can barely stand the wait between chapters and finding out WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!

Oh I like this depiction of Christine. We get so little of her in the books and the Christine who visits in AOI is do different to the Christine in AOtI that shes har ti make out... but you've cracked her! Shes pleasant but spoilt and flighty. And your depiction of why Gilbert spent time with her is perfect. I can see how she would drive Rachel and Marilla to distraction . Over at the Blythe house, what a to do. Mrs Bluthe lame, Anne lying under Gilbert in her under things. Good thing it was John and not Miss Price who witnessed that!. So let me see...Gil know Anne dumped Roy as Christine read him he letter... and his fever may have broken? Anne's skin is hot...has she caught typhoid or is she merely exhausted. Ans please what is a rose scented onion suit. I love the descriptor but dont know what it is. I look forward to part two

Oh no, is Anne ill now too. Does that mean a whole other part to go? I don't know if my heart can cope with all these many twists and turns! I love to see the friendship between Anne and Emma. And my I never had envisioned a universe when Christine and Marilla are thrown together in this way. I loved the chapter as ever.