The moonlight shone through the trees, bathing the entire grounds of the von Trapp villa in an ethereal silver white glow. Maria walked slowly through the garden, the light breeze catching on the blue chiffon of her dress.
She arrived at the bench outside the glass gazebo and sat down, resting her arms on her thighs. She twiddled her thumbs and was soon lost in thought.
"Hello," said a voice, snapping her back to reality. She'd know that voice anywhere. It was his voice.
Maria looked up at him, standing there in the shadows. 'I wonder how he found me,' she thought to herself.
"I thought I just might find you here," he continued. She stood up slowly and turned to face him. "Was there something you wanted?" she asked.
"No, no, no," he replied, before walking over and closed the gap between them. "But there was someone..." he added taking her hands in his.
Maria giggled as Georg kissed the crown of her head.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"Nothing," she sighed, moving closer to him. "I guess I'm still finding it hard to believe I'm here, with you and the children and that you love me and we're getting married and...and..."
Georg cut off Maria's words with a quick kiss. "I hope you're not having second thoughts, darling," he teased.
"No, I'm not," Maria said confidently. "And I never will. I can't wait for the" she paused, lowering her voice so Georg could barely hear it. "Wedding."
"Neither can I, darling," he said, placing another kiss on her lips. After that he paused, stood up and looked at her; a serious expression on his face. "Maria, about the wedding. There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."
"Now who's having second thoughts, Captain?" Maria asked playfully, smacking his chest lightly.
"I assure you, my dear, I am certainly not changing my mind on this matter."
"Good," Maria continued. "Because if I can't be here with you and the children, the only place left for me to go is the Abbey. And it's very apparent I won't fit in there."
Georg chuckled. "No, you probably wouldn't. Now, I know there wasn't anyone I could go to to ask for your hand, besides the children and the Sisters at the Abbey, but I was wondering," he paused, unsure exactly how to phrase his next thought. "Is there anyone you would like to invite to the wedding?"
Maria's eyes widened as she looked up at her Captain in amazement. She'd been practically alone for as long as she could remember, but he was still asking her if there was anyone she wanted to attend the wedding.
She buried herself in his soft embrace and began to cry. She didn't have anyone, she never had. Not really. Her parents had both died before she was seven years of age and for the next ten years she had lived with her uncle, who had been more interested in a bottle of whisky than his niece. After that she had left for teacher's college and then entered the convent.
Then, just as suddenly as she had started, Maria stopped crying. She had remembered someone. Someone who had made the decade at her uncle's bearable. She looked up at her fiancé's face.
"Natascha," she whispered.
"What's that, my love?" he asked.
"She was my best – my only friend when I was young," she told him, her voice gaining volume. "Her parents ran the town bakery. But I haven't seen her since I left my uncle's when I was seventeen. I don't even know if she's still in town."
"Would you like her to come to the wedding?" Georg asked simply.
Maria closed her eyes and nodded.
"Well then. Tomorrow, would you like to accompany me into town to see if we can find this friend of yours?"
She answered him with a kiss.
"What did you say her name was again?" Georg asked his fiancée. They were in his study. Maria was relaxing on the couch, while Georg stood beside the desk, flipping through a phone book.
"Natascha," Maria answered. "Natascha Steiner."
"And you said her parents ran the bakery?"
Maria nodded. "Yes. Her mother was the most amazing cook. I went to their house on my fourteenth birthday, and she made me a beautiful, delicious cake as soon as Natascha told her why I was there." She sighed. "It was the best birthday I ever had."
"Well," said Georg, putting the phone book down on the desk and walked over to her. "I will do everything in my power to make sure every birthday you have will be just as memorable. Or more memorable."
Maria giggled. "I'll hold you to that, Captain."
"What are we going to do today?" Marta asked the next morning at breakfast.
"Maria and I will be going into town today," Georg answered. He'd stopped referring to his fiancée as 'Fraulein' long ago, even when the children were around. They still found in a little unusual, but they all understood why their father was doing it.
"What for, Fraulein Maria?" Gretl inquired, looking up at her governess's face.
"We're going to try and find one of my friends, sweetheart," she told the girl.
"I didn't think nuns were allowed to have friends," Kurt said.
Georg shot his youngest son a look, which caused Kurt to lower his head and stare blankly at the toast on his plate. But when Georg looked back and saw Maria's face, he calmed. Her expression clearly said: 'It's okay.'
"No, Kurt," she said. "Just because nuns live in an Abbey it doesn't mean they can't have friends. Although there wasn't anyone at the Abbey I was really close to. But I met Natascha when I was Marta's age."
"Really?" Friedrich asked. "And you haven't told us about her?"
"I'm sorry," she said, only realising what her words would sound like to the children as they left her mouth. "But I haven't seen her for five years. In fact I had almost forgotten about her completely until your father asked me if there was somebody I wanted to invite to the wedding."
"She's coming to the wedding?" Brigitta asked.
"Hopefully," Georg said. "Now let's finish breakfast. You still need to do your studies, and Maria and I need to leave soon."
At the news that their governess's friend could possibly be attending the wedding, all seven of the children brightened and turned their attention back to their meal.
After bidding each of the children farewell, accompanied with a couple of rounds of hugs and kisses, Maria and Georg were finally heading out the door.
Georg opened the passenger door for his fiancée. Maria gave him a quick kiss before getting inside, while Georg crossed around and entered the driver's side.
"Well, my love," he said, starting the engine and placing his hands on the steering wheel. "Shall we?"
Maria leant over and kissed him again, this time on the cheek. "Yes," she nodded.
Another missing scene from Love Isn't Love 'Til You Give It Away. Again, it probably makes sense even if you haven't read that fic. It also ties in to my fic about Maria's birthday, One Of Her Favourite Days, so if you read that you've already met Natascha. There is at least one more chapter to come.