**Warning: High angst-alert! You have been warned!
This morning had not started out unlike any other summer morning. It had been warm outside with the promise to get even hotter as the day continued on. By the afternoon, however, the atmosphere had changed. The temperature had reached well past ninety degrees, and there was no sign of any breeze. The humidity in the air only made it that much more unbearable. The weather had made everyone absolutely miserable.
The children's growing animosity towards one another was a direct result of the intense heat. Maria had been settling meaningless fights every few minutes since the heat had kicked in, and she herself felt a little on edge. Even the Captain and the Baroness seemed to be disgruntled. They hardly looked at each other, let alone carried on a conversation.
Finally, the children had convinced their governess that it was far too hot to concentrate any longer on their studies and what they needed was to go outside and play. Maria trailed along behind the children, feeling the slight difference in the temperature. How was it possible that it was hotter inside than it was outside? For a while, the children were content to run around and play games that they had made up with rules that were never the same while Maria sat under the shade of a tree nearby. Her mind wandered from her charges to their father.
Since the night when he had sung Edelweiss a week ago, she had noticed a change in their relationship. He had begun to appear almost everywhere she went, whether outside or in the schoolroom. At first, she rationalized that he was only trying to reestablish his connection with the children. When they ventured outside, he would often join them, and at times he even sat beside her and they would carry on rather pleasant conversations. But then, the Captain began to find her even when the children were not around and engage her in conversation. Of course she enjoyed their little talks, she even looked forward to them, but she did wonder how he managed to find her all the time.
They kept up with their nightly routine of "accidentally" running into each other at the gazebo. At first, it really had been purely accidental. The night after their infamous argument by the lake, they had been surprised to meet at the glass structure. She had needed to get some fresh air before bed and he had confided that he had needed to think, and that the gazebo often was his place of solace. He never told her what he had needed to think about though.
Ever since then, they had met by the gate at exactly the same time every night, and strolled together towards the gazebo. They had taken dozens of detours in the many times they had done this, many times because the Captain had wanted to show her something that she hadn't seen before. There was always something new to say or to see. It was never boring being with her Captain.
Since when had he become her Captain? He wasn't her anything. Maria sighed and looked towards the lake. Her conversations with her employer had undergone a shift as well. What once was polite and normal was now playful banter that bordered on risky. Almost everything that came from his mouth made her blush. Whether he was paying her a compliment or playfully teasing her, it didn't matter. Within seconds, she was as red as a strawberry. She could never seem to find the right thing to say anymore either. It irritated her that she couldn't seem to form sentences without stuttering or stumbling over her own words when she was in his presence.
It was Louisa who had started it. It was all her idea. Maria was suddenly pulled from her thoughts as she heard the children arguing for what felt like the hundredth time that day. As she quickly made her way towards them, she caught what they were saying.
"Yes I could!"
"You could not!" Friedrich scoffed at Louisa.
"I could so and you know it." She smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You want to bet on it?" He responded, now standing in front of her.
"As a matter of fact, I do." She turned her head when she noticed Maria coming, but made no move to greet her. "I bet that Brigitta and I could win a three-legged race against you and Liesl any day."
"First ones to make it to the big beech tree wins?" Friedrich asked. He was just as excited to see who would win as Louisa seemed to be.
"Deal." She grinned. They shook on it, all of the other children now becoming just as excited.
"What about me? Can I be in the race?" Marta asked.
"Oh, me too!" Gretl said enthusiastically.
"Of course you can, you and Marta can pair up." Maria smiled. The race would be fun, even for the little ones who weren't really competing to be the fastest. She was glad that they had managed to solve this argument on their own. She just hoped there wouldn't be another, bigger one by the time it was over.
"But Fraulein, Kurt doesn't have a partner!" Marta acknowledged with wide eyes.
"That's alright." Kurt shrugged.
Maria glanced over at the youngest Von Trapp boy and noted the slightly disappointed look on his face. She knew that he was trying to tough it out. He didn't want to be a killjoy to the rest of his siblings. Maria hated to see him look so upset.
"I'll be your partner, Kurt." She smiled, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. His face lit up.
"You mean it, Fraulein?" He asked looking up at her. He was positively giddy. Maria laughed and ruffled his hair.
"Of course! Now all of you run along and find some rope. I believe there is some in the boathouse." She stated, giving a slight nudge to the boy's backs.
She smiled as she watched them all run off once again. They really were such wonderful children. Maria stopped dead in her tracks as she heard a chuckle from behind her. There was no mistaking who the owner of that deep, rich chuckle was. Without him even saying a word, she was already turning red, she could feel it.
"What game have they roped you into this time, Fraulein?" He teased. As Maria turned to face him, she noticed that along with his teasing words came a teasing smile that rendered her quiet for a brief moment. Finally she shook her head, annoyed with herself.
"Louisa bet Friedrich that she could beat him in a three-legged race. Kurt didn't have a partner, so I told him I would be his partner." She stated, watching as he took a few more steps towards her.
It was at this point that Maria took in the Captain's appearance. His usual suit and tie were absolutely nowhere to be seen, which was odd considering he had been wearing them at both breakfast and lunch. She knew because she had been paying unusually close attention to the Captain recently. She flushed as she acknowledged that annoying little fact. Now, he wore only a white collared shirt, which had the topmost buttons undone. His sleeves were rolled up past his elbows, and his hair was a bit messier than it usually was. Maria couldn't help but think he look devilishly handsome that way. She felt the urge to reach out and brush the singular lock that had fallen onto his forehead back, but she resisted by instead folding her hands together.
"Ah, I see. That was very kind of you, Fraulein." He smiled. Maria shook her head.
"It's nothing, Captain, I just want Kurt to be able to join the others." She shrugged.
Maria looked towards the terrace and saw that the Baroness and Herr Detweiler were coming out to sit at the little table. The Baroness spared the Captain a skeptical glance before she sat in the chair facing away from them. Maria had simply chalked up the Baroness's behavior towards the Captain this morning as irritability due to the weather, but now it seemed as if something else entirely was the source of her attitude. She glanced at the Captain. His expression quickly confirmed that something was indeed amiss in their relationship. He shot daggers into her backside for a moment before Maria cleared her throat in discomfort. At the noise, he turned his head to look at her, his gaze softening immensely. She blushed once again and looked away from his intense gaze.
Before anything else could be said, the children were rushing back, rope in hand. Maria was thankful for their interruption. She had no idea what to say to the Captain at this particular moment. The children instantly bustled around the two adults.
"We found the rope. It was near the fishing lines." Liesl explained.
"I found it!" Gretl exclaimed quite proudly.
"The only problem is that it's just one long piece." Brigitta pointed out.
"I can fix that." The Captain said, reaching out to grab the rope from Friedrich. He produced a pocket knife from his pants pocket and diligently cut the rope into four equal sections.
"Father, since you're out here, can you be the referee?" His oldest son asked.
"That's a good idea!" The rest of the children readily agreed.
"Well it appears to be all arranged. Now, get into your pairs and let me tie the rope around your ankles, come on." He nodded, sparing a glance over at Maria as they all lined up. She seemed to be shifting a lot, as if she were uncomfortable.
Maria had not expected an audience for this three-legged race, and in truth, she did not like the idea of the Captain, the Baroness, or Herr Detweiler witnessing her participate in it, let alone all three of them. She briefly thought about feigning a headache or some other ailment, but quickly decided against it. She did not want to disappoint Kurt. That was the reason she had even agreed to do it in the first place.
She watched as the Captain took each piece of rope and tied it around each pair's ankles. He took great care in making sure the knot was tight enough so that it wouldn't come undone, but not tight enough to hurt either. His hands worked diligently at their task. His strong, large, experienced hands… Once again, Maria blushed rather brightly and looked away. She had no business wondering and fantasizing about his hands of all things. But, soon her attention was back on the Captain, watching that stubborn lock of hair continually fall onto his forehead just for him to push it back again. His eyes seemed focused on the task before him. They were the same color as the seas he loved so much after a storm…
The Captain looked up at her at the same moment she realized where her thoughts had drifted off to. Almost as if he could tell what she was thinking about, he flashed a wicked smile her way and sent her a devilish wink. If it were at all possible to turn redder than the color itself, Maria would be just that color now. For a brief moment, she closed her eyes and refused to pick her head up from the ground. It wasn't until she realized that another pair of shoes were in front of her own did she look up. For a moment nothing was said, they simply stared.
While Georg had noticed earlier what his governess was wearing, he had not had the advantage of standing quite so close to her as he did now. Her golden hair shone brighter than usual in the hot afternoon sun, and he couldn't help but think how he had never seen quite that shade before. Her hair was like a halo that always caught his attention in the light. It suited her perfectly, as if it were a reminder that she was indeed a godsend to his family. She had many freckles, as faded as they were, that dotted her nose and cheeks. They were completely endearing to his way of thinking. And her eyes. Her very lovely, bright blue eyes. They were like the skies over the mountains she called home on a clear day.
It was Kurt who broke the sudden silence that fell over them.
"Father, aren't you going to tie our ankles together?" He questioned. Both adults blinked out of the sudden reviere that had set over them. Maria glanced towards the terrace and was relieved to find that neither the Baroness nor Herr Detweiler had noticed. She didn't know why, but the thought of them witnessing any more of the awkward moments she continued to have with the Captain was nerve wracking.
Georg cleared his throat and smiled at his youngest son. "Yes, of course." He ruffled some of his hair and finally kneeled down before them.
Maria nearly jumped out of her own skin at the slightest contact between them. The moment the Captain's fingertips had brushed against her ankle, she felt as if she had been electrocuted. Sparks seem to scatter everywhere his hands touched. They were just as nice to feel as they were to watch… Tiny shock waves seemed to envelop her as he tied the knot at their ankles.
When the Captain finished, he glanced up at her, and Maria let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. With an awkward shrug, he stood and looked over towards the terrace. She followed his gaze. To Maria's horror, she found that both Herr Detweiler and the Baroness were staring right at them. While Max had only looked over for a brief moment before turning back to the maid, the Baroness was watching them with a keen interest. She seemed to narrow her eyes for a moment before turning back to her companion, who had begun to speak once again. She didn't know what he was talking about, but Maria was glad it took the Baroness's penetrating gaze off of her.
"We're going to leave you in the dust, Friedrich!" Louisa taunted. Apparently the rest of the children were not aware of anything going on with the adults. All except Brigitta, who seemed to be very curious as to what just happened.
"You're the one who's going to lose! Liesl and I are faster than you and Brigitta." Hearing her name, the girl focused back on the conversation her older siblings were having. As the two groups teased one another, Kurt looked up at his governess and laughed.
"We'll show them, won't we, Fraulein Maria?" He beamed. Maria couldn't hold in the slight laugh that had risen and nodded her head.
Maria looked up and couldn't help her eyes from searching out the Captain. He was kneeling down once again, this time in front of his youngest daughters. They couldn't seem to stop vibrating with joy, and the Captain smiled at whatever Marta had said. Maria in turn also smiled. He had without a doubt already rekindled the relationship between all of his children. He needn't worry about that any longer.
"Is everyone ready?" He asked, standing and taking a handkerchief from his back pocket. All of the children nodded excitedly. Georg cast his eyes back on Maria, whose pulse quickened at he raised his brow at her. "Ready, Fraulein?" He smirked. She nodded her head, unable to speak around the sudden lump in her throat. With that, the Captain started. "On your mark, get set… Go!" He waved the handkerchief and they were all off.
Unlike she had originally anticipated, her and Kurt actually made a fairly decent pair. While at first Friedrich and Liesl had the lead, Louisa and Brigitta quickly began to outrun them. Maria found that her and Kurt were actually gaining on them at several points, but their height difference was the one thing that kept them always a few steps behind. It wasn't until they focused more on stepping at the same time and watching their footing did they actually pass the others, without even realizing it. They were doing a rather impressive job. That was until they tripped.
Maria had done a good job at keeping up with Kurt's pace and not going too fast until a chuckle from the Captain had reached her ears. It had invaded her senses without warning and her concentration was instantly broken. Before she could even fully acknowledge what had happened, her and Kurt had fallen forward, she taking the brunt of the fall.
With the rope around their ankles, it was next to impossible trying to get stand up. When she looked over, Maria noticed that the Captain had stayed alongside Gretl and Marta, picking them up and catching them every time they tripped. Once he noticed that Maria and Kurt were on the ground, he immediately rushed over to help them. He untied the rope and helped them stand, obviously a bit alarmed.
"Are you alright, Kurt? Are you hurt?" Maria asked before Georg had the chance to.
"I'm alright, Fraulein Maria. We almost had them beat, didn't we?" He asked hopefully. Maria and the Captain couldn't help but share a laugh.
"We certainly did."
"Oh well, we'll have better luck next time!' He shouted as he took off after his other siblings. Maria watched them as they all talked for a little bit before the Captain spoke up.
"You're hurt." He sounded a bit panicked, and Maria quickly turned towards him. She looked at him with surprise, then looked herself over for any injuries.
She had already brushed off the dirt from her skirt and blouse, but apparently, she had skipped over the rather obvious injuries that she was rather surprised didn't really bother her. She thought that the slight stinging sensation had been due to the fall, but it seemed as if both her left knee and her right palm had been cut. There were a few other scrapes, but they were not bleeding.
"Oh, it's nothing. I can fix this in a minute." She tried to brush it off, however her hand looked as if she had cut it deeply on a rock.
"Do you need me to take a look at it?" He asked. His tone was soft and unlike anything she had ever heard before. Just the thought of his hands on her injured knee sent a course of something she was still not quite familiar with through her. It unnerved her.
"No, that's alright. I'll take care of it." Maria dismissed his offer quickly and made her way towards the villa, past the Baroness and Herr Detweiler along the way. She didn't dare to look at their expressions. She felt foolish enough as it was.
Maria shut herself inside the bathroom and turned on the warm water. She inspected her hand closely. It didn't feel as bad as it looked. It seemed deeper than just a simple fall could cause. She put her palm under the running water and winced a bit in pain It certainly stung, but she had been hurt worse before.
"Let me have a look." A voice from behind her spoke, unusually soft. Maria jumped and turned around. She hadn't even heard him open the door.
"Captain, you startled me." He barely took a step closer to her before she spoke again. "Really, I can manage."
"The blood is going down your leg." He replied. She looked down at her knee and sighed. He was right. She'd forgotten about that cut. Before she could protest any further, he had taken the handkerchief from his pocket and put it under the water. Once it was thoroughly wet, he wrung it out and handed it to her. "Dab that on your palm." He instructed her.
Georg took a rag from the cabinet and did the same thing with it. Once it was wrung out, he was kneeling before her once again. One hand gently cupped the back of her knee as the other carefully began wiping the blood trails that ran down her leg. The contact this time around, while still gentle, was firm and even more intoxicating than before. His hand seemed to almost be caressing the back of her knee. It knocked the breath right out of Maria. She closed her eyes, afraid that if he were to look up at her in this moment, he would surely be able to see the way she was feeling.
He was tender and thorough as he took care of the cut at her knee. After he had managed to wash all of the blood off, he dabbed at the cut until it was finally clean and stopped bleeding. Georg took great care in drying it off and bandaging it up with some bandages he had found in the cabinet along with the rag.
After that was done, he stood up, having been aware of her eyes on him for a good majority of the time he had taken care of her knee. He dropped the bloodied rag into the sink and for a moment they stood, eyes locked without a word passing between them. He was the one who broke the silence, though not the eye contact.
"Let me see your palm." He uttered, his voice even softer than before. Maria wanted to melt into him right there and then.
"I-I think it's stopped bleeding now." She stuttered out, casting her eyes on his handkerchief on her cut.
Slowly, the Captain took the hand that was holding the handkerchief and moved it to the side. He then took her injured hand in his own. He gently ran his thumb across the deep cut, his brow furrowing slightly at the sight of it. With great care, he bandaged her palm as well. Maria gripped the bloodied handkerchief in her left hand against her chest and watched with baited breath as he took care of her right.
Very slowly, as if in a trance, he raised her hand to his lips. Maria felt as if she should pull her hand away, but he didn't, couldn't. The second his warm lips made contact with her palm, she gasped. His lips slowly trailed from her palm to the tips of her fingers. Maria watched him as he did so, still unable to pull away. His hands on her before had felt like pure electricity. His lips on her skin was like lightening striking a thousand times over.
Finally, she realized that he had kissed his way up her forearm. His kisses were still slow and gentle, and there was no urgency behind them. When he had reached her inner elbow, Maria finally snapped to her senses and quickly turned away from the Captain, her left hand holding her right wrist as she put it to her chest. She could still feel him very near behind her. She tried to think of something to say, but nothing came out and nothing appropriate came to mind.
"I'm sorry. That was unforgivable." He whispered hoarsely. He was about to continue apologizing, but she quickly cut him off.
"Who decides what is forgivable and what is not?" She asked breathlessly. She felt like crying, but she was unsure why. Out of the corner of her eye, in the reflection of the mirror she saw him slightly shake his head.
"I think you know that better than I do." He responded quietly. Maria swallowed and turned partly towards him, refusing to meet his gaze. She was too afraid of what she would find there, too afraid of what she wanted to find there. She wasn't sure what she knew anymore. Everything had changed in the course of a few weeks, a few minutes.
"At this moment,' she began shakily. 'I only know that I am not turning my back on you because of you." She noted the slightly confused look on the Captain's face before she continued. "I'm turning my back on you because of me." Her voice was barely above a whisper as she said this.
With a slight nod, he answered. "And if I didn't accept that, I wouldn't deserve to live." The tone in his voice had shifted and was now clearly pained, but he said nothing more. Maria wished she could take the pain away from him, but she didn't know how. She didn't know if she should even try.
With that, he swiftly left the bathroom. Maria turned towards the now open doorway. She made her way towards it, about to go after him, but stopped short. She had no idea what to say to him or how she would ever face the Captain again without wanting him to touch her as he had just done.
Instead, she closed the bathroom door and leaned back against it. She slid down until she was sitting on the floor. Her breath caught in her throat once more as she thought about it, about him and what had just happened. He had been so gentle towards her, so affectionate and attentive. It was a side she had known existed all along, but had never really seen unless it was with the children. She had certainly never been the target before.
Maria noticed that she still held his handkerchief in her hand. She studied it for a few moments before holding it against her chest. What frightened her most was that she had wanted him to do it, to continue to kiss up her arm. Maria had allowed him to up until that point. She hadn't wanted him to stop there either. She had been lost in thought, wondering if she allowed him to continue to kiss up her arm if he would eventually press his lips against her own. She wasn't supposed to want him to kiss her, was she? Certainly not. At this, Maria sighed shakily. She hardly knew what she should think or feel anymore.
She didn't see him for the rest of the day. Georg remained locked in his study, away from everyone and did not allow anyone to disturb him. It surprised her that he showed up for dinner, though she didn't know why she expected him not to. Maria couldn't bear to look in his direction, afraid of what she might see if she dared to. Everyone else at the table seemed to pick up the somber mood and dinner past in an eery silence. Even Max didn't dare to say much.
Getting ready for bed that night had been a challenge. Not because of the children, they had been put to sleep rather easily. Their tiredness allowed her more time to think things over, more time than she wanted to be alone with her thoughts. She had taken her time getting ready, well aware that she was about to get little sleep. She never found that sleep came easy unless she had her nightly walk to the gazebo. But, that would leave the possibility that she would run into the Captain, and that was not a risk she was willing to take tonight. She couldn't even begin to wonder what was going on in his own head.
As Maria had predicted, she had quite a bit of trouble trying to fall asleep. She had not gotten all of her energy out from the day and she found it rather hard to try to sleep when all of the thoughts in her head were creating such a ruckus. She shouldn't want the Captain to kiss her. And that little fact kept her awake for many hours, far past the time the clock in the hall struck midnight. Finally, Maria got up and paced around her room, trying to decide what she should do.
Suddenly, Maria remembered something. She found her discarded skirt from the day and quickly rummaged through the pockets. Finally, she found what she was looking for and pulled it out; the Captain's handkerchief. She didn't know why she wanted it now, but the sudden urge to be close to him may have had something to do with it. She once again studied the fabric, running the piece of cloth between her hand before finally holding it to her nose. Despite having been tainted with her blood, it still smelled just like him. She couldn't exactly describe what it smelled like, only that it was fresh and definitely masculine. Definitely him.
With a sigh, Maria got back into bed, this time with the handkerchief tucked securely in her hand and up by her face. Slowly, but surely, she drifted off to sleep. Her dream started out normal, but as they had been doing for the past week, they shifted to the Captain. This time, however, her dream was far more improper than anything she had ever dreamed before.
*Thank you all so much for reading my rather long one-shot, it really means a great deal to me. If I get some positive feedback, and if you all want more, I will turn this one-shot into a longer story. I certainly have some more ideas for this and I left it open ended at the end just in case. Please feel free to leave a review, all are welcome.
*Confession time: I definitely stole the idea from a growing favorite BBC tv series of mine named "Call the Midwife" which takes place in the late 50's and early 60's. Shelagh, or Sister Bernadette, and Dr. Patrick Turner remind me very much of Georg and Maria (he's a widowed father who struggled during the war, though he's a doctor instead of a captain, and Shelagh has no family and is a sister, not a postulant, who now isn't quite so sure a cloistered life is meant for her after working so closely with the older doctor). I couldn't help but use a very similar scene from season two because I found it worked perfectly for Georg and Maria. I took a bit of the dialogue from the scene as well and re-purposed some more.
*Bonus: I also re-purposed a line from 'The Princess Bride'. Can you guess which one?
*I do not own the Sound of Music or any of its characters... How I wish I did.