Baker - G. BLYTHE

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-ˋˏ *.·:·. [A COLD AUTUMN MORNING] .·:·.* ˎˊ-

CHARLOTTE STOOD IN THE KITCHEN, FEELING ODDLY UNBALANCED AS SHE FLICKED THROUGH A RECIPE BOOK  - trying to figure out what to make for dinner that evening. It was sort of a special occasion and she wanted everything to be perfect. The only problem was, everything had her turning up her nose. It all seemed disgusting. Suddenly, her train of thought was taken away from a buttery croissant when Gilbert came in the front door. He headed directly to the sink and basin, pumping some water onto a cloth. Charlotte furrowed her brown in confusion. "Gilbert?" she asked quietly, wondering around the table to get to the sink. She managed to catch a point when he had the cloth away from his face, a nasty gash bloodied his brow. She gasped and immediately quickened her footsteps, "What did you do?"

He sighed and continued dabbing at the cut. Charlotte quickly swatted his hand away, taking the cloth to do it herself. Doctors were useless when it came to their own pain. "Nothing, an incident with a potato," he replied with a slight wince as she pressed a little too hard. Gilbert watched as the concern flooded from her eyes, instead showing a look that he absolutely loved to see.

Charlotte desperately fought the urge to laugh as she paused the cleaning of the blood. She cleared her throat, attempting to hide all signs of amusement from her voice as she echoed, "A potato?" She heard her own laughter in her voice and continued cleaning, trying to ignore it.

"Don't laugh at my pain!" he exclaimed with a deep chuckle that she knew meant he was joking. The two laughed to themselves for a moment, both finding the situation funnier than it probably should have been.

Once she had stopped laughing, Charlotte asked, "So, how did this potato injure you?"

Gilbert hesitated and looked down to the sink, averting his gaze from hers as she dabbed at the final splotches of blood. "I stepped on it and fell into the fence," he grumbled and she almost couldn't hear it. A light pink dusted his cheeks. She automatically stopped what she was doing and looked at him, a brow quirked.

"I am awfully sorry that happened to you," she replied, laughter terribly hidden amongst the words. He met her gaze and the two of them couldn't help but laugh, it echoed around the kitchen. The sound had quickly become one of her favourite things in life and it warmed her stomach with pure happiness.

"You could at least sound a little sincere," he laughed. She checked over the wound, making sure nothing was hidden underneath the spilt skin. He winced and she immediately pulled away, it was all checked now anyway. A small smile formed on her face as he moved to the glass hung in the living room, checking the wound himself. She followed, leaning against the doorframe to support herself. He needed a distraction and luckily, she had the perfect one.

"You do need to be more careful Gil," she said as she watched the frown on his face get deeper.

"I know," he sighed, a slight laugh coming after it. Nerves fluttered in her stomach making her thumping heartbeat increase, it echoed in her ears. She began to roll the skin on her finger once more, her nervous habit that always left the skin bruised.

She cleared her throat and spoke softly, "Especially now you have a pregnant wife."

"I know," he replied automatically, not really focusing on their conversation as he used some sort of antibacterial solution on the cut. Slowly, after a few minutes of her pure confusion, he turned his head. His brow was raised, eyes wide and full of confusion. Yet he looked ecstatic. "Could you repeat that?"

"I said especially now you have a pregnant wife," she laughed, just watching his face filter through thousands of different emotions. He dropped the gauze in his hand and just looked at her, in such adoration. Gilbert Blythe, for one of the first times in his life, was stunned to the point of speechlessness.

"Pregnant?" he echoed, no other word able to form in his mind.

She just laughed, feeling the nerves slowly dissipate. "Have you not gotten to that part of the medical books yet or is this just you stunned?" Gilbert just stood there, not saying a word as his heart did backflips of joy.

"How did I not see it?" he laughed, quickly walking towards her. Gilbert wrapped his arms around her and immediately pulled her into a hug, kissing her hair over and over. She smiled to the point of lovesick laughter, feeling her stomach flip. He pulled out of the hug, resting his hands on her shoulders as he stared into her eyes. Those beautiful eyes that he had fallen in love with all those years ago, the ones he hoped would be carried onto their children. "And you're sure?"

"I checked with the Charlottetown doctor when I went to visit Cole," she whispered, a grin overtaking her lips. The trip with Cole had been a pivotal moment in her life and it only had occurred because Cole sensed something different. She had just assumed she was late for some other reason, stress seemed to usually be the cause. But when she sat on that bench, holding onto Cole's hand for dear life, her heartbeat in her throat as she heard the results, her life shifted. Another one of those moments that change the course of life as she knew it to be. Cole had been sworn to secrecy of course but even he couldn't help hovering outside the baby clothes shop on the way to his and Nathanial's home. Charlotte had wished it could be Gilbert and keeping the secret was ever so difficult but the look on his face right now made it all completely worth it.

"You have no idea how happy I am right now," he laughed. He kissed her quickly on the lips, it lingered for a little longer than the usual kisses before it broke. He hugged her again, a little looser this time as he spun the two of them around. Her skirts swished along with her laughter, the sound music to his ears They rested their heads together, just looking at the other person as they tried to catch their breaths. Chests both rising and falling in quickened unison. "A baby," he whispered, still feeling stunned. A pause followed as she pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

"Leanbh álainn," she whispered. 

He smiled so hard that his cheeks hurt, the wound on his head long forgotten and healed in an instant. Suddenly concern flashed his eyes and he snapped out of the lovesick happiness trance the two of them had fallen into. "How are you? Do you need anything? Oh, you should sit down," he spoke at a normal volume now as he guided her towards one of the comfier chairs in the living room. Charlotte sat down with a laugh, already feeling a little more stable balance-wise.

"Gil I'm not now made of glass because I'm pregnant," she laughed, the words still feeling odd on her tongue. She had said it over and over in front of the mirror and it still didn't ring true in her head. Pregnant. With a baby. With their baby.

"Did you want me to go and get you anything from the town? Or the bakery?" he asked, her earlier comment seemed redundant in his mind. He only saw concern for her now, her and the baby. Their baby.

"Gilbert," she laughed, shaking her head slightly. She thought his reaction, though too overprotective, was awfully sweet and she could feel happy tears forming in her eyes. Charlotte thought about his offer for a second and her stomach gnawed at the thought of one of Mother's tartlets. . "Actually, I could eat a tartlet," she smiled, already imagining the taste. He laughed. "Come on, we can tell Mother too," she continued, getting ready to stand back up again.

"No sit! I'll go get your shoes and coat," he exclaimed and before she could say anything in protest, he had practically leapt up the staircase. The creaks echoed around the house. She just laughed to herself and patiently waited, feeling so loved and she wanted to swim in it for a little while. Who could blame her? Gilbert slowly came down the stairs, her favourite coat and a pair of shoes that matched her dress in his hands. It was one of the only coloured shoes that she had, sage green to match her favourite dress. They had been a birthday present from him. Gilbert refused to let her put on her shoes herself, instead of doing it for her. He helped with her coat but that wasn't unusual for the two of them. He extended his arm for her to take and she did, feeling similarities from their childhood running through her mind.

"You're lucky I love you, Gilbert Blythe," she whispered as they walked out of the house. He had just helped her down every single step, even though she was very capable of doing it herself. At the moment anyway.

"I don't doubt that for a second," he smiled, kissing her gently on the nose.