Georg couldn't stop the warm smile that formed upon his lips when he entered the grand hall one afternoon and he set eyes on his beautiful bride as she spoke with Gretl, the headband of leaves that Maria'd worn as she walked down the aisle earlier that day still fixed atop her head as she embraced their youngest daughter. Everything about his wife was absolutely perfect from her gown to the white shoes which hid beneath it, and he knew that as long as he drew breath there would never be another woman more right for him. Throughout their engagement she had supported every decision he made and had helped him stand up to Herr Zeller at their engagement party when he had tried to intimidate him about the Anschluss. She looked over at him a few moments later and he beckoned her over to him, smiling gently.

He watched Maria excuse herself from her conversation with Gretl before the little girl hurried over to join Brigitta in the corner of the room, a breathtaking smile upon his wife's rosy lips as she made her way over to him and he held her waist gently in his hands when she was close enough to him. 'You look beautiful.' He sighed as he nuzzled the tip of his nose against hers and she allowed her hands to rest on his chest through his shirt, their foreheads pressing gently together before he kissed the bridge of her nose lightly and she allowed her eyes to flutter open. 'Do you realize how hard it was for me not to go down those steps and kiss you senseless in the middle of the aisle? It was purely agonizing.' She giggled lovingly up at him as he cupped the sharpness of her jaw and brushed his thumb slowly over the warm skin of her cheek, her eyes dropping from his, down to his lips and then back up again as she stepped slightly closer to him so that their chests touched. 'I don't have to hesitate anymore, though, do I, my love?'

She shook her head slowly as her gaze was fixed upon his and he brought her lips closer to his in order to catch her in a long and deep kiss, her hands resting upon the smooth skin at the sides of his neck as their lips caressed languidly and he allowed his hands to drop to her waist in order to draw her close. 'I can't believe we managed for ten days without this.' She murmured into his mouth when the tips of her fingers began to stroke against the hair at the side of his head, her free hand cupping the side of his neck as his loving chuckle vibrated against her lips and he nipped her lower lip softly before continuing his sweet kisses to her perfect mouth. They parted a few moments later with a gentle smack of their lips as she allowed her kiss to linger slightly upon his bottom lip, chewing her own lightly as she looked down.

'Come here.' He couldn't resist wrapping his arms around her slight waist and bringing her slowly into his embrace before she allowed her head to rest upon his chest, her lips curving up into a smile whilst he combed his fingers slowly through her golden hair and dropped tender kisses to her crown as she cuddled close. 'I love you, my beautiful Baroness.' He hummed as he left a delicate kiss to her warm hairline.

'I love you too, my Captain.' She gripped the back of his jacket gently in her hand before nuzzling further into the safety of his chest, breathing in his natural scent as her eyes fell closed in sheer satisfaction.

It was later that evening when Maria sighed gently in contentment as she had her head laying upon her husband's shoulder and her nose nuzzled slowly against the side of his neck, his arm wrapped securely around her slight waist as he held her flush against him and the fingers on their free hands were laced upon his chest while they swayed in one another's arms. The sun had set quite a while ago, considering it was the end of October, the candles that had been lit around the room adding to the romance in the grand hall. 'It's strange,' Maria sighed as she readjusted herself against her husband's shoulder, his soft hum acting as her cue to continue when he pressed his lips lingeringly to the side of her head. 'If the Reverend Mother hadn't been firm with me and sent me back to you after I had run away; if she had just accepted my plea for help to prepare for my vows to become a sister, I would have been wearing this gown for a completely different reason. I wouldn't be here, held in your arms if I hadn't had come back.'

He smiled lovingly as he brought her away from him and allowed her to drape her arms around his neck while he wrapped his around her middle, continuing to sway slowly with her as the guests watched the two of them gaze into one another's eyes. 'It would appear that the Reverend Mother knows more about true love than we originally thought, my darling, wouldn't you say so?' A beautiful soft giggle escaped her lips as she teased the hair at the nape of his neck with her fingertips, humming in contentment when he pressed his lips to the centre of her forehead and she slid her hands down to his shoulders. 'So we have her to thank for all of this, really.' Maria nodded quietly as a small smile tugged upon the corners of her lips. 'I know it was hard for you to leave them all.' He sighed. 'But you know just as much as I do that you made the right decision, sweetheart.' She met his gaze as there was slight solemness in her eyes. 'There's a reason why it hurts you so much to say goodbye to them, isn't there, Maria?' She sighed.

'For so many years I felt as though I was a nuisance to all of them.' She admitted as she dropped her gaze to his chest. 'You know how clumsy and carefree I was when I came here, and that following simple instructions was rather difficult for me.' He chuckled at the slight teasing in her voice as he remembered her first night at the Villa. 'I was the exact same way when I lived at the abbey, if not worse. I used to be made to kiss the floor if Sister Berthe and I had a disagreement, which was an every day occurrence, leading to me kissing the floor when I saw her coming just to save her the trouble of scolding me. The point is...' She met his gaze after a few moments and felt him brush his thumbs against her hipbones. 'They're the first family I'd ever had that had actually cared about me. Even though I wasn't overly fond of Sister Berthe, I remember how she had sat with me on my first night as a postulant and she had put her arm around me out in the courtyard. She will deny it if you asked her, but she acted like a mother.'

Georg allowed Maria to cuddle back against him a few moments later and he wrapped his arms a little tighter around his wife before kissing her shoulder, feeling her sigh against his neck as they swayed. 'I promise you that you never have to feel as though you don't belong, Maria. The children and I love you more than anything else in the world, and you are the one that made me wake up and notice that I'd not been a very good father towards them, darling. You are the one that gave me back my life. If I had to, I would go to the other end of the planet just to see you smile.' She nuzzled her face into the side of his neck and closed her eyes with a loving smile upon her lips, his hands running slowly along her spine through her dress. 'You are the most important thing in the whole world to me, and I love you.'

'I love you too.' She kissed the warm skin of his neck slowly. 'So, so much.'

'Do you have to go?' Marta asked tearfully as she looked up at her new mother at the end of the reception when she and Georg were stood by the front door, her eyes sparkling with tears before Maria got down to her level and embraced her with a slow kiss to the side of her head. 'You are going to come back again, Mother, aren't you?' Maria felt a stab of hurt at her daughter's words, releasing a small sigh.

'Of course I am.' She caressed her small cheek with the backs of her fingers before taking her and Gretl's hands. 'I know how wrong it was of me to leave you all behind at the house party, and I know that it damaged the trust that you all felt towards me, but I had a lot of time to think about my actions when I was in seclusion and I can't believe I left without thinking about how much it would hurt you all. If I could go back to that night, I swear I would make a more rational decision, but I can't go back and I can't change anything. I love all seven of you so very much though, and I want you all to trust me like you did over the summer.' Gretl wrapped her arms carefully around her mother's neck then and Maria smiled lovingly into her shoulder, leaving a soft kiss to her cheek before standing back up once again.

'We do trust you, Mother.' Liesl smiled from where she stood next to her brother, Friedrich and Louisa nodding in agreement before Georg laced his fingers with his wife's and kissed her temple delicately.

'We should get going if we're going to make the train on time, darling.' He admitted to her before Maria looked up at him with a loving smile upon her lips, accepting his soft kiss which made Kurt groan.

'Hmm, maybe we have something that we can use to our own advantage when we want him to clean his room from now on.' She giggled when she and Georg parted, the children giggling along with her.

'We're going to miss you all.' Georg smiled lovingly at his children as they looked back at him. 'But we'll buy you some souvenirs if you behave for Uncle Max.'

The seven of them then burst into cheers before he wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders. 'Come on you.'

He then led her slowly out of the door after they had bid their children farewell, Maria smiling up at him after he had closed it behind them. 'Six weeks alone with you in Paris?' He drew her closer to him. 'I think that'll do me quite nicely.' She slid her hands slowly up his chest before he leaned down to catch her in a long and meaningful kiss. 'Your carriage awaits, my beautiful wife.' She giggled infectiously.

The two of them then stepped into the car that would be taking them to the station, Georg wrapping his arm slowly around his bride before she settled against his chest and they left the Villa grounds.

It had been a very, very magical day.

A/N: I realize that this one-shot may not be very good and that you all may not like it as much as my other ones, but I got the inspiration for a wedding reception fic and I wanted to do it for you all. It'd make me so happy if you would leave me a review, even if you didn't like it, and tell me what you thought. Thank you for reading! xxx