A/N: This story assumes the Anschluss has happened but Georg has not yet received his commission from the German Navy.

Apple Blossom Time Friday

A cool breeze rippled though the sheer curtains, prompting Maria to snuggle closer to her sea captain. Georg responded by tightening his arm protectively around her back, a faint grin passing over his sleepy features. Though nearly Easter, the night wind bore the icy traces of winter, causing him to pull the rumpled blankets up over his sleeping Baroness. Kissing the base of his neck in response, Maria smiled gently as they drifted off to sleep once more.

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Three hours later, Georg shifted momentarily, the fresh light from the window penetrating his sleep. Blinking awake, he smiled instinctively at the lovely view before him: Maria asleep, her breathing peaceful as a child's, her hair mussed on the cream pillow. He leaned over gently to caress her cheek, marvelling yet again at their marriage. God had truly blest him, Georg reflected, by giving him Maria. She who had brought him back his wonderful children, shone light into the once gloomy corridors of his heart…she who was now awake and gazing up at him with a cheerful smile.

'Good morning, darling,' he greeted her with a kiss that quickly grew deeper. Turning over fully, Georg carefully rested his body on hers, smoothing out her hair on the pillow.

'Good morning,' replied Maria demurely, extracting her lips unwillingly. 'Did you, uh, sleep well…?' she added teasingly, stroking his back as he nuzzled closer.

'Very well, actually, Baroness,' he replied casually, planting little kisses on her neck. 'Despite the attempts of a certain woman to keep me awake…'

'Oh, really?' asked Maria with mock concern, 'such sleep deprivation must have been a most unpleasant experience…,' she giggled as he captured her mouth once more.

'Very unpleasant,' muttered Georg, tilting her towards him as his desire increased. 'So unpleasant that I might be forced to endure it again…,' he murmured, as the sun rose higher in the sky, bathing the room with shimmering light from the lake.

Later - much later - Maria reached up to tenderly brush away a stray lock of hair from her husand's forehead.

'I love you,' he told her devotedly, the atmosphere having deepened as they lay peacefully in each other's arms.

'I love you, too,' she murmured, stroking his chest thoughtfully. They gazed into each other's eyes, words suddenly seeming inadequate in conveying their emotion.

Regretfully breaking the silence, Maria said quietly, 'I suppose it's time for us to get up.'

'Unfortunately,' replied Georg with a groan, propping himself on his elbow. 'I'll go first,' he whispered, planting a quick kiss on her forehead before rolling out of bed to shrug on a dressing gown. Watching his tall frame disappear into the bathroom, Maria smiled contentedly, looking forward to her first Easter in the von Trapp household.

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'Mother,' piped up Gretl as she tried to open the top of her egg, 'is it a very long drive to Italy?'

'No, Gretl, it's not that far at all,' replied Maria with a smile, 'we'll set off early tomorrow morning and should be in Venice by lunch.'

'That's a long time in the car with Louisa's insects,' muttered Friedrich, hoping to provoke his sister.

'But Louisa will not be bringing any insects, will she,' interjected Georg swiftly, turning meaningfully towards his scowling daughter.

'No, father,' she replied sedately as Kurt snorted in disbelief, almost choking on his scrambled eggs.

Quickly exchanging an amused grin with Georg as she helped Gretl with her egg, Maria glanced towards Liesl, who was unusally quiet.

'Is everything alright?' she asked kindly.

'Just fair,' replied the girl quietly, sipping her Apfelsaft. In truth, she was feeling quite despondent – there had been no telegrams at all lately and she was worried that Rolf had found some other girl who lived closer to him in Salzburg.

Making a mental note to find out what was troubling Liesl later, Maria felt Marta tugging at her sleeve.

'Mother, what's Venice like?' the little girl asked excitedly, having been eagerly looking forward to the holiday since her Father had announced it last week.

'Well, I don't know, dear,' replied Maria, 'I've never been to Italy. Your father has though…' she turned towards Georg, having heard of his exploits along the Istrian coastline during the War.

'It's very beautiful, Marta,' he said, smiling. 'The whole city is built on a network of canals,' he explained, 'and if people want to travel from one place to another they have to go by boat, just as we'd take the car.'

'Gondolas,' inserted Brigitta knowledgably, having been buried in Baedecker's travel guide as soon as she heard of the holiday. She felt almost as thrilled as her little sisters to be going away, and once more gave silent thanks that Fräulein Maria was her mother as Father would never have contemplated such a trip a year ago.

Setting down his napkin, Georg sighed contentedly as he finished the dregs of his coffee. It was a wonderful idea to take the children away during their Easter break, he reflected: they would enjoy a holiday to celebrate Maria's entry into the family, having been excluded from the honeymoon for obvious reasons. Wiping away a smug grin at the thought of those Paris days, Georg snapped out of his reverie.

' – need to be packed by this evening so that Franz can put our things in the car,' Maria was telling the children, as she rose from the table, holding Gretl and Marta's hands.

Following his chattering family out into the hall, Georg turned to Maria whom he observed looked radiant in a simple light blue skirt and white blouse.

'Uh…talking of unpacking…I think I'll need some help with that this afternoon,' he murmured huskily, causing a deep flush to spring to her cheeks. And, patting a bemused Marta on the head, he strode towards his study to deal with the morning's correspondence, a low chuckle emanating from his chest.

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