Idiosyncratic {Gilbert Blythe}

Chapter 19

AN: This chapter will cover about 3 episodes(ish) and it will be LOOONG, and you may hate me afterward...... but NVM ABOUT THAT, it's gonna be great!! (And I know around this time In the show the lakes would be thawed, but I'll just say it was unusually cold that spring cause it is important for the plot this time)

Caspienne and the other girls of the class all crowded around the window of Diana's dining room, waiting for Diana and Anne to show. They were all planning a surprise party for Anne's birthday, and it was Diana who went out to get her to come over. Suddenly, Anne's bright orange hair peeked over the hill and everyone got into place, and when they came through the front door, everyone jumped out and screamed "Surprise!!!" and Anne's eyes brimmed with tears. 
Everyone sat around at the table having a birthday high tea with scones, a tea set, and loads of treats. All the girls giggled and talked about boys, which, for once, Caspienne joined in on, since it was lighthearted and not so much as gossip as it was just girl talk. 
Cas was the first to go home, she was very much an introvert, and while she enjoyed time with her friends, it was time for her to recharge her social battery. 

Caspienne had heard that Mary, Bash's wife, had fallen ill. In an effort to help, she had decided to make some dinner for them, Lord knows what Gilbert's cooking abilities may be like. She decided to cook them Shepherd's pie, one of her favorite dishes to make. After getting it into a pot and making it look pretty, she set it in a basket with some pastries. It was near supper time when she made it out the front door and on her way to Gilbert's home, there were still patches of snow and the lakes and ponds were still frozen over. Spring on Prince Edward Island wasn't all warm and fuzzy this year, the breeze from the ocean cooled the island and made the temperature drop. Cas made her way up the steps of Gilbert's home and knocked on the door, waiting for someone to open,
"Cas, what are you doing here? are you okay?" Gilbert asked as he opened the door,
"I'm just fine, for once I'm showing up at your door for a good reason" she giggled and revealed the basket, "I made some dinner for you guys and Mary, I am guessing she needed something other than broth and porridge," Cas said.
"Goodness please, It's all I know how to make" Gilbert sighed and let her in. She set the table, putting the shepherd's pie in the middle, and the pastries stacked on a plate next to it. 
"Gilbert, I've been wanted to go ice skating on the lake before it thaws, would you like to join me tonight?" she asked casually. Secretly, she was just trying to spend some time with him outside of school and having a panic attack,
"you know, why not? It would be fun to be able to skate one more time" he answered, and secretly, he was thinking the same. He wanted to finally be able to spend time with her while she was awake and not sobbing. Though he had no problem comforting her, it's not the best way to get to know the girl you like. 
Cas brought a portion of the pie and a pastry to Mary's bed and decided to sit with her as she ate, "I know you must be tired of whatever Gilbert is cooking, so I made something special for you" Cas set the tray on her lap
"God bless you, I was just about to get up and cook it myself, and nothing was going to stop me" she joked. They laughed and ate together, and late in the evening, Cas decided to head home and get her ice skates, "meet me at the lake in about an hour, okay?" 
"you got it" Gilbert smiled and closed the door as she retreated back to her house to get ready. 

Caspienne decided to freshen up a little before grabbing her skates, putting on the necklace Gilbert got her, and brushing her hair. She didn't need to be too fancy, but she wanted to look at least decent for it. For the first time in a long time, she actually had butterflies in her stomach, she was nervous and excited at the same time. Nervous for if she said something awkward or stupid, but excited to get to connect with Gilbert. After pulling her ice skates out of the closet, she went out the front door and down the path that led to the lake, but she was a little bit early. Since she had the time, she sat down on the dock and slipped on the skates, lacing them up into a bow. Just as she finished she heard rustling behind her, and she turned around to see Gilbert with a smile on his face,
"Looks like you beat me here," he said
"I live a bit closer, so the walk isn't too far. I did have to do some digging for my skates though, I am a little rusty" she said as she hopped on the ice. Her legs wobbled as she had a hard time getting going in the direction she wanted to, but while Gilbert put on his skates, she started getting used to it. 
"I haven't done this in so long, I miss it, I used to love skating all around the lake, but eventually I just stopped. I don't know nor do I remember why" she said wistfully, then promptly slipped and landed on her butt with an "oof"
"are you okay?" Gilbert rushed over, worried
"I'm fine" she laughed, and Gilbert breathed a sigh of relief and held his hand out to help her up. Once she was on her feet, though, he didn't let go of her hand, and their eyes met, then she had a mischievous thought, she skated back then turned around and shouted "bet you can't outskate me!" 
"oh, you're on!" he yelled back, and Cas realized her mistake. Gilbert plays hockey, he can probably skate ten times faster than her. She shrieked in laughter as he quickly caught up with her, but she made a sharp turn and zoomed right past him. On the other end of the lake, she slipped again, and this time it was followed by a sickening crack and she gasped, 
"Stop!" she shouted at Gilbert, and hesitantly, he did. The crack didn't come from her she realized, as she looked down, and saw cracks in the ice branching out around the spot she fell
"Cas, you need to move, slowly," Gilbert said with a calm exterior, but on the inside, he was panicking. As she tried to get her knees underneath her the ice creaked, and she slowly inched her feet under her, one by one. With each movement, the ice made a crack, and then another, as she rose to her feet "I don't know what to do," she said shakily,
"Just slowly come toward me, slide, don't step" he said, and he reached his arms out. They were a good 10 feet apart, she had to slide at least five more feet to be able to reach him. Each inch was agonizing, and soon enough, she leaned on one foot too much, and a large, horrifying crack sounded out and she looked up, just before the ice broke. The water felt like a punch to the chest and she instinctually gasped, only for her to breathe in water. it burned her lungs, and after a few moments of shock she tried to get her bearings, but the skates and heavy winter clothes weighed her down, as well as the cold that drained her energy. She could hear a muffled yell, but as she was under for ten seconds, then thirty, then a minute, it got colder and colder. Before slipping into unconsciousness, she felt a tug at her arm, then blacked out. 

"CAS!" he shouted, Gilbert frantically took off his outer layers of clothing, his jacket, hat, gloves, etc., and plunged his arms into the water, but it was no use, she had already fallen in too deep. 
"shit!" he cursed under his breath, then dived in. In the deep blue water, he saw her and grabbed her by the arm, then pushing up to the surface and pulling the two of them up onto the grass. His heart dropped when he realized he didn't hear a gasp, or a cough, nothing. Leaning over her, he realized she wasn't breathing, and panic swarmed his mind. He thought about everything he had studied, everything he had learned up until that point then remembered. Shakily, he put both his palms on her chest and pumped, once, twice, three times, then, apologizing in his head, pressed his mouth to hers. After doing this for what felt like half an hour, he crumpled to the ground with her in his arms, "please, I can't do this. I can't lose you too," he sobbed, "Caspienne, please." Then he heard it, she coughed up the water in her lungs and wheezed. Quickly, he took her coat off of her and put on his dry one, then scooped her up and ran, shouting for help, hoping someone heard him. He burst through the front door, Sebastian jumped, then saw the state he was in, and immediately got the fire starting. Grabbing nearly every blanket he could find, he threw them all on top of her next to the fire, and wrapped her in a scarf, and put a hat on top of her head. She no doubt had hypothermia by now, and the next few hours would be the most important. 
"Gilbert," she was so quiet and distant, "It's so cold" she coughed, 
"I know, it-it's okay, you'll be okay" he stuttered, then desperately tried to find something else to keep her warm. He put a pot of water over the stove and brought it to a boil, then soaked towels in the hot water and set it on her forehead. He brought up a chair and realized how cold he was too, he'd be of no help if he ended up with hypothermia as well, so he wrapped a blanket around himself. He grabbed her hand, which wasn't as freezing cold anymore, and slowly fell asleep there, by her side.