She was silent when Georg entered the bedroom after he had seen the doctor out, her hands still clasped in her lap as her head was slightly bowed and the steaming cup of tea that he had made for her sat untouched on the bedside table. It wasn't like it was the first time this had happened - it was actually the third - but despite how many times Maria had experienced the telltale stomach cramps, the heartbreak that they felt every time the doctor confirmed their fears never got any less painful. A deep sigh escaped Georg as he made his way slowly over to where his incredible wife was sitting with her back propped up by pillows, his heart shattering all the more as he could see her visibly trembling. He knew that he had to wait for her to be the first one to speak - she would snap at him for pushing her if he spoke first - but he also knew that taking her hand and lacing their fingers comforted her greatly. He took her trembling hand tentatively in his, so not to startle her, before threading his fingers through her own and kissing her knuckles warmly. She began to slowly lift her head a few moments later, her usually bright blue eyes filled with tears as she permitted herself to squeeze his hand. 'I'm so sorry.' She whimpered.

'Shh...' He hushed gently as he brought his free hand up to cup the roundness of her cheek in his palm, her eyes fluttering closed as he allowed his thumb to dance slowly along her cheekbone and she nuzzled further into his palm with a tearful sigh. 'You never have to apologise to me about something like this, my darling, because you are not at fault.' He whispered as her eyes opened slowly a few moments later and he could clearly see the heartbreak and the discomfort in them, his hand travelling down to settle gently upon the side of her neck before he traced the sharpness of her jawline with his thumb. 'You are the strongest, bravest, most incredible woman I know and I am so, so proud of you.'

'But I can't give you what you want.' She admitted as the tears became caught in her throat. 'I know that you want a baby of our own, Georg, and I want to be able to give you that more than anything, but I clearly can't. There's something wrong with me; I can't do it!' She allowed the first tear to dance down her cheek as she tore her gaze away from his and focused it on the pattern of their carpet, several more tears following suit until she was sobbing uncontrollably and the next thing she knew she was wrapped up warmly in her husband's embrace. Her sobs were loud and definitely not the kind of ones that you would expect to hear from a Baroness as she buried her face into Georg's shirt, but in that moment, she didn't care about propriety and she didn't care about her title. It felt incredible to be able to let out all of the pain and sorrow that had been burning inside her ever since she'd felt the first all-to-familiar cramp, and she knew in her heart that Georg wasn't going to judge her for being so fragile. Not when she could tell he felt the same.

Georg sighed deeply into his wife's hair as he held her close to his chest and he continued to draw his fingers soothingly through her strawberry-blonde tresses, tears starting to burn in his own eyes as he knew just how broken the loss of another baby had left her. 'Listen to me,' He murmured against her soft forehead. 'You cry all you want, darling, be as loud as you need to be and just let everything out.' He instructed as he ran the palm of his hand soothingly along the curve of her side through the thin fabric of her soft pink nightdress. 'I am going to stay right here and I am not going to let go of you until you ask me to, Maria, I promise you that.' She nodded through her sobs of anguish whilst she held tightly to his shirt and hid her face in the side of his neck, her pained tears dropping onto his flesh. 'You're married now and that means you never have to cry alone again.' Georg then settled down with his beautiful wife safely held in his embrace as she sobbed into him, her body tense as it trembled through her tears and she cuddled against him.

They hadn't even been married a year and yet the two of them had still suffered through three miscarriages. The first time that Maria had fallen pregnant had been when the two of them were still blissfully honeymooning in Paris, but she had sadly miscarried just six weeks later. The sudden miscarriage had left them heartbroken, but Georg had told her that they could continue trying - if she desired to - once they returned home to Austria. However, their urgent flee from their homeland on the evening of their return from Paris had meant that they'd had to wait before trying again, but by the time they had settled down in Switzerland Maria had fallen pregnant for a second time. Her second pregnancy, again, lasted only six weeks before she miscarried and her hopes of becoming a mother to a child of her own were dashed once again. Now they had lost their third baby, and Georg was worried that his wife had lost all hope of ever being able to feel their child kick from within her; to cradle her own flesh and blood protectively in her arms.

He prayed she hadn't.

'How are you feeling now, sweetheart?' He asked a short time later, Maria's head now resting upon his chest as her sobs had stopped and her arm was draped around his waist.

'Empty.' She admitted as she continued to trail the tips of her fingers lovingly along the curve of his side since she had removed his shirt a short while ago. 'Like I've failed you.'

'You could never fail me.' He reassured her as he turned his head towards her and she allowed herself to meet his gaze, her eyelashes still dark from her tears. 'I'm not going to deny that I'm deeply saddened at the fact that we've lost another one of our babies, but you are not a failure and I am always going to see you as a beautiful, amazing woman.'

'May I have a kiss?' She whispered as she placed her hand upon the side of his neck, the corners of her lips curling up into a slight smile. 'I just need to feel your lips on mine.'

'Of course you may have a kiss, my darling.' He stroked a strand of soft blonde hair out of her eyes, revelling in the perfect sigh she released. 'It's one of my favourite things.' A surge of warmth coursed through his veins when he heard the soft giggle that she released, a gentle hum of satisfaction escaping him when he captured her lower lip in a warm and tender kiss. They kissed slowly for several long moments as he held her close to him by the hip, one of her hands upon his chest as the other rested on the side of his neck. 'We are going to get through this, Maria.' He reassured her once they'd parted with a soft smack, their foreheads pressed together as she nuzzled her nose affectionately to his.

'I know we are.' She sighed with a loving smile. 'We've managed so far, haven't we?'

'We have, sweetheart.' He stroked her face tenderly. 'You are going to be a mother, one day, I am going to make sure of that.' She dropped her gaze for a moment. 'I mean it.'

'But how?' She raised a perfectly sculpted brow at him. 'If I'm-' She swallowed nervously. 'Infertile...Then how on earth am I going to be able to have my own baby?'

'First of all,' He brought her further into his warmth. 'We don't know that your infertile and I'd rather not think about that outcome until it is confirmed, Maria. Second of all, I'm going to take you to the doctors when we next have the time and you are going to let him examine you. He'll then be able to tell us for certain if you are infertile, or if you have a condition that is preventing you from carrying our babies. Times are changing now, darling, and there is so much more that can be done for women who have conditions which stop them from having children. Let's just see what Dr. Braun says at your appointment and go from there, hmm?' She nodded with a deep sigh before he brought her close. 'I love you so much, Maria, and I hope you know that I would sacrifice everything if I had to just to see you smile.' She kissed the center of his chest lingeringly before smiling.

'I love you too, Georg.' She reassured him. 'And I've known that since the night you asked me to become your wife.'

The two of them knew that they still had a long way to go until they would have a screaming infant in their arms - if they were ever going to have one at all - but they also knew that with the support and deep love that they held for one another, they would get through whatever life threw at them. They would come out stronger.

Author's Note: Please review and tell me if I should write more chapters or if I should just leave this as a one-shot! Thank you so much for reading and I look forward to seeing what you thought!

Fact: The real Maria von Trapp really did suffer through three miscarriages after she and Georg were wed, the third of which tragically took place just a short time after her husband's demise in 1947.

PS: Please be gentle as this is my first story, but also please be as truthful as you can, thank you!