As Penny and Gilbert arrived at the Gillis residence, the siblings gasped synchronously.

Everyone was rushing towards the scene, making the atmosphere even more hectic.

Dismounting her horse, Penny's first thought was to find the Gillises.

"I'm going to go help put the fire out," Gilbert informed urgently.

Penny nodded. "I'll find Ruby and her family."

As the two parted, Penny found Mrs. Gillis guiding her children out of the house, all of them covered in soot.

The brunette rushed over to them.

"Are you all okay?" she asked softly, trying to calm the family.

Mrs. Gillis nodded shakily. "None of us were burned."

Penny guided them over to a safe space where they could rest. She handed each of them a blanket before a commotion caught her attention.

Looking over, she saw Marilla, Diana, Mrs. Barry, and Rachel Lynde screaming as they looked fearfully upon the house.

Needing to see what was ailing them, she turned back to the Gillises.

"I will be right back," she told them. "I promise. You're safe here."

She ran over to the women. "What is it??"

"Anne just ran inside!" Diana cried. Rachel was having to hold Marilla back from running after her.

"What on earth would she do that for?" Penny exclaimed, turning her gaze to the door that Anne must have ran through.

"I don't know," Diana stammered. "Sh-She said something about th-the doors and w-windows being open."

Suddenly, Penny understood what Anne was trying to do. Fire needs oxygen. Closing the doors and windows cuts off that oxygen.

"Oh, Anne," she whispered. "You're going to kill yourself."

She glanced over to Gilbert, who was right up by the window, tossing buckets of water. He seemed to be specifically looking at something inside. Or someone.

Everything seemed to happen in a blur around Penny. Marilla was still trying to break free of Rachel's grasp. The water pump broke and Jerry Baynard called for Matthew's help. Gilbert called incessantly to keep the water coming. The fire was beginning to slow down. All the while, screams and shouts swirled everywhere.

However, her attention snapped back in to focus as she saw the door open and a soot-covered Anne stumble out.

The five women seemed to notice at once and they all rushed forward, calling her name in relief. They kneeled down as she fell to the ground. Jerry soon rushed over as well.

"She's alright!" Marilla called, tears in her eyes. Penny let out a pent up breath as well.

"What were you thinking?" Marilla in disbelief.

"Did it help?" Anne asked urgently instead.

"Why ever did you run inside?" Diana chimed in.

"Did it slow it down?"

"What were you thinking?" Marilla demanded gently.

"Fire needs oxygen," Penny informed when Anne remained silent. "Closing everything deprives that. But how on earth did you know that, Anne?"

"The fire manual in the orphanage," Anne replied. "There wasn't much else to read."

Doubling down in a coughing fit, the women huddled around her in a hug.

Soon, Gilbert came down and Penny would separate from the group to hug him, as well.

What a night, she couldn't stop thinking.

•••

By morning, the fire was out. Everyone in apart of the effort had been given the chance to rest and the Gillises had been able to gather their thoughts.

The morning was a crisp one and Penny and Gilbert had to share a blanket given the limited number. Everyone gathered around as the minister prayed.

"And we thank Thee, O Lord, for your mercy," he recited. "And of some have compassion, making a difference. Others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now into Him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, we thank thee for watching over us and keeping all in our community safe from harm. Praise be to God Almighty."

As the group dispersed, Penny sighed and turned to her brother.

"What are you planning to do?" he asked tiredly.

Penny shrugged. "I'm going to keep in regular contact with Mrs. Gillis to make sure she, Mr. Gillis, and her daughters are doing alright. I'm guessing I'll also be donating food and time to the rebuilding effort. How about you?"

"I'll be helping rebuild, as well. Maybe this time we'll be able to convince the patriarchs to give you a hammer this time."

Penny chuckled. "Perhaps. For now, my plan is to head home and sleep until the new century."

After giving the Gillises, Cuthberts, and Barrys their best wishes, the two headed home, immediately collapsing onto their respective beds.

•••

The next day was spent in dust-covered sweat. The rebuilding efforts were coming along smoothly and Penny was glad that, even though she wasn't given a hammer, she was able to oversee the men and bark the occasional order. The minister would shoot her an exasperated glance whenever she decided to do so, but she couldn't deny that it only made her giggle that a man felt threatened by a woman having any authority.

As she watched Gilbert and Billy work, a greeting aimed at her caught her attention.

She turned to see Anne and Ruby smiling at her.

"Hello, girls!" she greeted cheerfully. "What brings you here?"

"We brought scones," Anne informed. "I'm learning to bake."

"Oh, wonderful. The boys will be delighted. I hope you both managed to get some sleep after last night's commotion."

Penny couldn't help but notice that Ruby was staring at Gilbert in her own little world. Even though Penny knew that Gilbert didn't share Ruby's feelings, she couldn't help smiling at the sight.

"Hey, look," she overheard Billy say to Gilbert. "It's the freak and her new twin sister."

Penny's blood immediately boiled. Why her brother chose to associate with the likes of Billy Andrews, she would never know. Thankfully, she didn't think Anne and Ruby heard.

Gilbert decided to lighten the mood. "As long as they bring food, I don't care if it's Quasimodo."

As the two girls walked towards the house, Ruby tripped and fell to the ground, much to Billy's apparent amusement.

As Anne, Penny, and Gilbert gathered around to help her, Billy continued to laugh.

"Girls are so useless!" he taunted, making Penny clench her fist. "Guess you should have stayed home in the kitchen, eh?"

Anne turned to him. "What is wrong with you?!" she fired back.

"Go home and bake cookies!"

"Headline: they already did," Gilbert retorted sarcastically.

"This is Ruby's property, or did you forget?" Anne continued.

"Why don't you shove off," Billy replied. "And leave the men to their work."

Anne straightened her posture. "Why don't you give me that hammer and I'll finish the job myself, if you're too busy being a bully to get it done!!"

The surrounding men began to laugh as Gilbert and Penny helped Ruby up. Picking up her hat, Gilbert brushed it off and handed it to her.

"Thank you, Gilbert," Ruby exclaimed with an awestruck look on her face.

"Yeah, of course," he replied, sneaking nervous glances at Anne. "Thanks for coming by to help feed the beasts."

Anne promptly walked over, dragging Ruby behind her.

As Gilbert looked over at Penny, she shot him an amused glance.

"What?" he asked defensively.

Penny laughed. "Oh, nothing."

Finally, the two got back to work.

•••

The first day back to school was a bit odd. Even though it had only been a week, everyone seemed different. More experienced almost.

Mr. Phillips, however, had remained his delightfully awful self.

"Open your readers to chapter 12," he ordered dully.

As the class obeyed his command, Penny turned as Gilbert nudged her.

A smile immediately lit up her face as she saw Anne nervously standing in the entryway.

"It's Anne," Diana announced from across the group, making the rest of the class turn. "She's here!"

As the girls got up and surrounded her, Penny and Gilbert shared a pleased smile.

Everything was finally back to normal.

Or, at least, Anne's version of normal.