AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hello, everybody! So, first of all, I would like to say a HUGE thank you for all the support and lovely reviews you gave me in response to the first chapter! It was honestly quite overwhelming, you guys all seemed to love it and I never expected to get that kin of response (and in such a short time) so thank you so much!

So, pretty much everyone who reviewed asked me to write another chapter, so, here it is! In truth, I'm not 100% pleased with it, mostly because it seems to be a victim of the fact that the sequel is never as good as the original (with the exception of "Star Wars: The Empire strikes back"), but, I do still think it's enjoyable and I really hope I've done it justice.

Anyway, enjoy!

Intoxication

Chapter Two

Maria awoke with a shiver, and within seconds, her mind had abandoned the final heavy strands of sleep and caught up with her body; alert and very much awake. She soon realised that the caused of her lowered body temperature was the fact that her body was uncovered form within the bed, and with a suspicious turn of her head, she discovered that Georg (who was still very much asleep) had stolen the covers during the night. She couldn't help but laugh at him, there she was, clad only in a silk nightgown, and yet he was completely cocooned in warm sheets. Had she not known what state he'd been in last night, she probably would have roused him with the sole purpose of stealing them back; but, she let him sleep. Still, at least it gave her an excuse to get up. She swung her legs out of bed and pulled on her robe before walking around to look at her husband – who had turned away from her during the night. There he was, the great Captain Von Trapp, drowning beneath the duvet, sprawled out (somewhere between lying on his stomach and his side) with his mouth agape and releasing the most gentle of snores. Oh, if only there'd be a camera nearby.

As she looked at him, that wicked part of her mind arose again, and she had to fight of the temptation to wake him with a cheerful (and loud) 'good morning' just to see how he'd react; but, she concluded that he'd caused no real harm last night so there was no need to be unnecessarily cruel. Furthermore, whilst Maria's knowledge of drinking wasn't nearly as vast as her husband's, she did know that after only a couple of hours sleep, there was a good chance that he could still be a tad drunk if he were to awake. No, she'd let him be. Maria had never really had a proper hangover herself, but what she had experienced was enough to give her great empathy for her husband. She gave a quick and somewhat apprehensive look into the bin she'd placed by his bedside, but heaved a sigh when she found it empty, at least he'd managed to sleep peacefully.

And as if to dichotomise her internal monologue, it was then that Maria heard soft whimpers from the nursery next door; it seemed as though their youngest son was right on time. It made Maria chuckle, did they really need a clock when their son was always so punctual with his crying?

"Mother, where's father?" asked Gretl as the family began to tuck into breakfast. Well, some of the family; if there weren't too many household chores to be done, Maria would usually let the children have a bit of a lie-in – if they chose to take it. Normally, the older ones would, but the youngest four (including Sebastian) and Brigitta remained early risers; but Maria didn't mind too much, for over the last few years, she had become an early riser herself. However, Liesl and Max had also made a surprise appearance at the breakfast table that morning.

"Well, your father is staying in bed this morning, he was out late last night with William"

"Was he drunk?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes, he was" Maria permitted herself to say.

"And what about William?" came Brigitta's question.

"He wasn't much better" Max chuckled before taking a sip of coffee.

"Why does that mean they have to stay in bed?" asked Barbara innocently.

"Because, Sweetheart, sometimes people get ill when they've had too many grown-up drinks"

"And did father and William have too many?"

"Oh, did they ever!" Max commented.

"Why?"

"Because boys are silly" declared Marta – which earnt a laugh from all the adults.

"Has William woken up yet, Liesl?" asked Maria.

"Yes, he stirred briefly, but I couldn't coax much of a response out of him, he just mumbled about his head hurting before going back to sleep" she giggled.

"Bless him"

"What about father?"

"He hasn't arisen yet, or at least not since I went to get Sebastian…" Maria stroked her son's cheek fondly at the mention of his name, "…still, I have no doubt that he'll pay for his actions when he finally wakes up"

"Georg has never been the best with hangovers" Max informed.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, becomes terribly grumpy; it wouldn't surprise me if he doesn't leave that bed at all today"

"Well, after the state he was in last night, it wouldn't surprise me either!"

"He didn't give you too much trouble last night, did he?"

"Trouble?" questioned Liesl.

Oh, how Maria had to fight off the blush that threatened to consume her cheeks.

"Nothing, Liesl, don't worry. And for the record, Max, he was fine in the end, I had to fight with him a bit, but he soon complied"

"Huh, that's rather unheard of, I think he's sweet on you, Maria"

"What on earth gave you that idea?" she chuckled as she picked up her son to embrace him.

The other children were simply left in a state of confusion.

"I do hope your father didn't wake any of you up last night" Maria continued as Sebastian began to play with strands of her hair.

"Well, I did wake up briefly because I heard a lot of banging" Brigitta said delicately.

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear"

"No, it's okay…but what exactly was going on?"

"Well, it was probably your father bounding up the stairs like a herd of elephants" she chuckled.

"Or when he came rolling through the door and fell straight onto the floor" Max added.

The children erupted into laughter.

"Did father really fall over?" Gretl giggled.

"Yes, he did. Flat on his face like an absolute buffoon!"

"Wish I could've seen that!" Marta admitted between bursts of laughter.

"Me too!" Maria sniggered.

As soon as Georg opened his eyes, he regretted it. The light from the now opened curtains shot straight through him like a knife, but as he moved his head to look away, an intense throbbing began to bang against his skull without mercy – causing him to wince and groan. He felt like hell. He licked his lips and was sickened by how torturously dry his mouth was, like the hot ground of a desert, coarse and lifeless. He tried to move again but was only greeted by a more intense stabbing through his temples coupled with an intense swelling from within and the sensations crackled across his forehead, like someone was trying to kick his head in – which resulted in nothing but a painful mounting of pressure that seemed to rise and fall wickedly.

There was a churning in his stomach too, and that was when Georg knew he had to stay completely still, for he knew that if he moved, then he'd soon be making use of the small bin that he discovered on the floor beside the bed. He could feel his body desperately trying to fight off the toxins, to flush out the poison he'd consumed, and boy, was he paying the price for his actions. The nausea and headache seemed to work in tandem, and combined they became something akin to a nightmare, far too real and yet he was foolish to try and escape it.

He let his eyelids slide shut, hoping to block out the light that was only adding to his torment. He felt bruised too – his neck and back unbearably stiff – and even if he could move, he knew that it would only cause him searing pain. No, he had well and truly messed up this time. He swallowed hard, his throat like sandpaper, and hoped that he could avoid any misery today…he just needed to recover…

With Sebastian securely in her arms, Maria finally made her way back into the bedroom almost two hours after breakfast, and upon entering, was rather surprised to find her husband awake; well, awake may have been a bit of a stretch. He had turned onto his back – lying stiff as a board – and with one hand was gently rubbing his forehead, no doubt trying to sooth a throbbing headache. Maria was about to speak, but upon seeing his father, Sebastian let out and excited squeal and Maria could only watch as Georg winced severely at the sound. It became a lot harder to stifle her giggles.

"I take it you're not feeling too good?" she humoured as she moved to sit beside him on her side of the bed.

"Mmm, what gave me away?" he sarked, but not foully.

"Nothing in particular…sorry about him, but you know how much Sebastian loves his Vati"

"And I love him too, but right now I feel as if one of the horses has kicked me square in the face" groaned Georg as he continued to rub his sore head. He hadn't opened his eyes at all since the conversation began.

"That bad, huh?"

"Terrible"

"My poor, brave sea captain," she giggled, "it's a shame you didn't join us for breakfast, there was quite a feast, you know? Enough of scrambled eggs to feed the whole of Vermont"

Upon hearing the mention of food, Georg's eyes shot open and he promptly gagged in a rather comical way, and although she felt wicked for doing so, Maria couldn't help but laugh. Whilst she didn't enjoy his suffering, she did enjoy teasing him…besides, wasn't it his own fault that he was in such a state?

"Darling, please don't wind me up, otherwise I may just ruin these new bedsheets"

"The bin is by your bedside for a reason, Georg…besides, you know I can't resist teasing you"

"Could you perhaps hold off for a while?" he groaned, "Say a day of two?"

"Is that how long it's going to take you to recover?" she sniggered.

Purely by coincidence, Sebastian giggled straight after his mother's comment, and she looked down at him fondly, even with a streak of pride, perhaps he'd turn out to be a mother's boy?

"I'm not as young as I used to be, you know?"

"And yet you don't like it when I call you an old man"

"Well, I'm not old either" he defended – his voice still hoarse and weak.

"This hangover seems to suggest otherwise"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, William is already up and about. He's still suffering a little but is well enough to be enjoying the fresh air. And yet here you are, barely able to move and on the verge of vomiting at the mere mention of food" she teased lightly.

"Well, William is in his twenties" he protested, "and I'm—"

"—not as young as you used to be? Look, if you say you're not old, then you're not. But I know that no strapping young man would be suffering this much after a few drinks" she joked.

"Oh, you just love to revel in your husband's pain, don't you?"

"Not at all, I just don't get the chance to tease you very often – at least not in regards to poor decision making" there was a compliment in there somewhere.

"I don't make poor decisions"

"Of course not, you planned this hangover, didn't you?"

"I'll get you back for this, you know?" he assured with the most minute twist of humour.

"I'll believe it when you can sit up for longer than ten seconds" she laughed.

He simply groaned in response. Her teasing was done now; whilst she did find his state rather hilarious, she couldn't deny the deep and warm flood of sympathy that was coursing through her. He was terribly pale, and when he had managed to hold her gaze, she couldn't help but notice how red and blood-shot his eyes were, not to mention the exhausted and hoarse tone to his voice that had yet to disappear. Her heart really did swell for him. With a tender hand, she reached out to twirl her fingers through his hair in a motion that she knew he loved. It seemed to work, for he gave a slight hum of approval and seemed to relax under her touch; in-spite of his poor decisions, she was still his wife, and she would do whatever she could to ease his pain.

"Is there anything you want me to get for you, or anything you want me to do?"

"No thank you"

"Not even a glass of water?"

He pondered for a few seconds.

"Oh, actually, that would be nice…" he admitted gruffly, "…my mouth is so dry"

"Back in a moment" she chirped.

She returned a few moments later – with only a glass of water in her hand – and with a Herculean effort, Georg managed to sit up a little and open his eyes fully – but not without wincing once again from the combination of searing sunlight and the throb of his head.

"Where's Sebastian?" he asked as he was handed the glass and took a dainty sip.

"Liesl offered to take him, I think she knew that I'd be up here looking after you" she giggled.

"I'm sorry, this really is pathetic of me"

"Oh, nonsense, Georg, we all have our moments"

"Well, I should know how to control myself, for god sakes, I'm not twenty-one anymore"

"No one can chastise you for enjoying yourself, and now that the war is over, I think it's quite justified"

"Still, I acted foolishly"

"And so did your drinking partner, you needn't feel so embarrassed, you were both as bad as each other" she teased lightly.

"I'm afraid that doesn't really make me feel better"

"Sorry, darling. But I mean it, don't beat yourself up over this, the only people who saw your drunken antics were myself and Max, and you've done far worse in front of both of us"

"I suppose you're right…wait, what do you mean 'antics'?"

Maria cocked her head for a moment before a somewhat hilarious realisation dawned on her.

"How much do you remember from last night?"

"Not much, if I'm honest. I mostly just remember drinking with William…"

"Do you remember how much you drank?"

"No, but I'm guessing it was a lot?"

"That's what Max implied"

"Oh yeah, I remember Max showing up and I remember him shoving us into the back of his car…and that's it really"

"So, you don't remember anything that happened once you got back to the house?"

She watched him as he struggled with his memory (and perhaps his headache too).

"No…nothing"

"I see" Maria smirked as her cheeks turned ever so slightly pink. Secretly, she was loving this.

"Why? What happened?"

"Oh, nothing much" she excused, but she made no effort to hide the fact that she was lying.

"I know that smirk, Maria…come on, my dignity has already taken a beating, so you might as well tell me" he reasoned.

"You definitely want to know? Because I'm not going to hold back"

"Yes, please tell me, I need to know what sort of guard to put up next time I see Max, no doubt he enjoyed the whole thing way too much?"

"When I took over as your main 'carer', yes"

"Oh god, was I really that bad?" he groaned.

"In all honesty, you were quite easy to take care of…one just needed a lot of patience, that was all"

"Patience for what?"

"Umm, how can I put this? Physically, you were rather docile – for the most part – but, verbally, you caused quite a commotion"

He closed his eyes momentarily and groaned, he was rather appalled at his own actions, and also somewhat paranoid by the fact that he couldn't remember them. He hoped with every fibre of his being that he hadn't done anything too embarrassing.

"Go on…" he prompted with a heavy shade of reluctance. He also wasn't too pleased by the fact that Maria seemed to be enjoying herself!

"Oh, actually, Max did tell me that you fell through the door and straight onto the floor when you first arrived home"

"Ah, well, that explains why I feel so bruised"

"Do you want me to take a look?" she asked with genuine concern.

"Maybe later, I feel like if I move I may have to make use of this bin" he whined.

"Say no more" she chuckled.

"Anyway, you were going to tell me about my verbal antics?"

"Ah, yes, of course…hmmm, it's quite hard to know where to begin"

"The very beginning, perhaps? Or with whatever will damage my pride the least"

"I think it's all going to damage your pride to some extent, I'm afraid"

"Fantastic" he moaned.

"Well, let's just say that your singing voice isn't quite as soothing after a few whiskeys"

"I sang?!" he exclaimed before instantly regretting it as several sharp pains stabbed away at his temples. He winced in response and rubbed them gently with his fingers.

"Yes, and just to inform you, it's 'whiskers on kittens' and 'warm woollen mittens' okay? Not the other way around"

"That's what I sang?"

"Rather loudly, I might add" she smirked.

"Did I wake anybody up?"

"I don't think so…you woke Brigitta with your little stunt routine, but I think everyone else was okay"

"Every cloud, I suppose"

"Oh, but I'm not finished yet"

"I feared as much…go on then, what else did I do?"

"Tell me, Georg, how long have we been married?"

Without hesitation, he answered…

"Six years"

"Correct"

"Why?"

"Well, you seemed to get your timelines a little mixed up last night. In your eyes, we were little more than the captain and the governess"

"I do apologise" he said – somewhat jokingly.

"I thought it was rather endearing…although, you did get quite affectionate"

Georg seemed to turn even paler – if that were possible.

"What – uhh – what do you mean 'affectionate'?"

"At first it was nothing short of sweet, but…" Maria began to rub the back of her head with slight anxiety, "…as the night progressed, you got a little more…hands on"

Georg squeezed his eyes shut and dramatically placed his palm over his fore head. He hoped that this would all go away by shutting it out visually.

"Oh god…" he groaned.

"Max found it quite entertaining"

"Max saw?"

"Well, he had to help me get you up the stairs" she explained – now biting back her giggles again.

"Okay, what exactly did I do?"

"Well, since you still believed that we had only just met, you were rather shocked by the fact that you and I had biological children together, so – naturally – you proposed to me"

"At least I retained some sense of decorum"

"Oh, don't speak too soon, darling. You see, I eventually revealed to you that we were in fact already married, and you used your impressive logic to deduct that last night was actually our wedding night…"

"Oh dear…"

"…so, you did the only natural thing and tried to seduce me"

"With Max still there?"

"I'm afraid so"

He let out another long, deep groan, and he could almost feel his pride being beaten to death.

"I didn't uh…"

"Don't worry too much, you only kissed my neck, and Max managed to distract you long enough for me to convince you to go into the bed room and put your pyjamas on"

"Please tell me I did just that?"

"And what would be the fun in that?" she teased.

"There's more?"

"Not much"

"Keep going" he permitted as he sunk down lower beneath the sheets – hoping to shield his last remaining shreds of dignity.

"Well, you seemed quite intent on getting me into bed and, expressed quite a keen interest in – uh – expanding the family"

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

She nodded and smirked.

"Yes, you practically begged me to have another child with you"

Not wanting to hear another word, Georg swiftly covered his faced with both his hands and groaned yet again – the baritone sound echoing against his palms. All Maria could do was laugh at his despair.

"Don't be so embarrassed, I found it rather endearing"

"Endearing? That fact that I acted like a foolish rake was endearing to you?"

"Why are you always so hard on yourself? Whilst you may have been a bit too eager to have a roll beneath the sheets and sire another child, it at least showed that all the whiskey in the world could not quell your loyalty to me, and that's what I found endearing"

"Really?"

"Of course. I'll admit that you were an absolute nightmare, but, drunk minds often let loose with truthful thoughts, and it really warmed my heart to know that you really do care about me and our family – not that I ever doubted it of course…as you said earlier: every cloud"

"You always see the good in people, don't you?"

"Well, just look at who I married" she teased – and to her delight, managed to coax a smile from him. Unfortunately, it quickly faded; despite their conversation, she could tell that he was still in a lot of pain, "Come here" she coaxed.

She settled next to him and allowed Georg to rest his head on her chest. She wrapped her arms lovingly around him and held him against her in a tender embrace before moving one hand up to run through his hair and caress him. He burned his face into her neck for comfort and murmured a soft 'thank you' to her as his eyes slid shut and he tried to find sleep.

"Oh, just one more thing…"

"What?"

"You promised me we'd get to work on our tenth child today" she giggled.

His only response was yet another groan of despair.

"Well, well, well, look who's finally sitting up!" Maria chirped as she entered their bedroom that night.

Georg gave her a light smile and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry I didn't join you for dinner, even though I'm feeling a bit better, I don't think I'm quite ready to stomach a meal…or Max's incessant teasing!"

"It's okay, darling, everyone understood. At least now you'll have all night to ponder just how you're going to put up with the bombardment of questions that I'm sure the children will ask you tomorrow"

"I quite agree…especially Barbara"

"She's far too precocious for her age," Maria chuckled, "I think she gets that from you"

"Oh really? Well, what has she inherited from you then?"

"My good looks of course!"

"You say that about all our children – even the ones you didn't carry!"

"Well, I love them all too much" she reasoned.

"Ah, yes, the wicked step-mother who just loved too much" he chuckled.

"Well, at least you've got some of your spirit back – you were practically a corpse this morning"

"I'm not out of the woods yet, I still feel like my head is being pounded by an axe"

"What lovely imagery"

"Sorry, love, I just meant—"

But he was interrupted by the soft cries of their youngest son coming from the next room. They smiled humorously at each other for just a moment.

"Excuse me" Maria chuckled before leaving the room.

During her absence, Sebastian's cries had awoken something within Georg, and his mind focused heavily on the things Maria had assured him he'd done and said the previous night, had he really been so desperate for another child? He gave himself a slight chuckle at the thought. He certainly wasn't against the idea of having more children with Maria, but he didn't think his subconscious would cause him to try and 'bed' his wife like his entire existence depended on it; after all, Sebastian wasn't even a year old yet, surely they should at least wait a little while?

Still, he wasn't given much time to ponder it, for Maria soon re-entered the room with said child in her arms – he was sucking lazily on his thumb whilst the other hand gripped at her robe. Georg's heart fluttered at the sight of them, he really did love them more than he'd ever be able to express. Oh, he definitely wanted more children.

"You don't mind if I bring him in here for a bit? He doesn't seem to want to settle"

"Not at all," he said tenderly as Maria sat beside him on the bed, "Perhaps a cuddle with vati will help?"

"It might just" she smiled as she handed Georg his son.

He held him lovingly against his chest and was overwhelmed by a sudden – yet delightful – fluttering in the pit of his stomach, he slowly began to stroke his soft chestnut locks and couldn't believe that he was almost a year old; it only seemed like yesterday that he was born! Upon realising that his father was holding him, Sebastian looked up at Georg and gave him a huge grin which his father returned lovingly – along with a slight laugh.

"Hello, my boy" he greeted softly.

Sebastian began to mumble something in response, it sounded suspiciously like German, but was far from being a coherent sentence.

"I quite agree!" Georg chuckled in response to the noises and half-words his son produced.

Maria watched them both fondly, and she too was overwhelmed by a strong sense of love and adoration; even after so many years with Georg and watching him raise and interact with all of their children, the sight of him so in love with their child never failed to bring a tear to her eye. It was so moving. He really was an amazing father, so caring and so devoted to his entire family…she still had no idea what she'd done to get so lucky, but she made sure to be thankful for it every single day. All of those feelings were heightened when Georg bent somewhat awkwardly to feather a kiss on the top of Sebastian's head – who gargled sweetly in response.

"Georg" she said without thinking.

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

"How do you actually feel about having more children?" she asked – almost afraid of the answer.

But she needn't have been scared, for as soon as Georg processed her words, a huge – practically silly – grin spread across his face. He placed another kiss on Sebastian's head.

"Honestly? I love the idea"

"You do?"

"I do. I know Sebastian isn't even a year old yet, but I can't deny that I have a certain yearning…I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I love you, Maria, and I want to spread that love as much as possible, and I feel there's no way to do so that's more magical than having a child" he explained lovingly – his heart on his sleeve.

"I couldn't agree more" she admitted with a slight smirk, "But before we talk about number ten, number nine needs to go back to the nursery"

Georg looked down and found his son fast asleep in his arms. Maria returned from putting Sebastian down a short while later, and the two settled into a tender embrace beneath the sheets.

"So, child number ten?" Maria giggled.

Forgetting himself and any pain, Georg flipped them over so that he was on top of her, Maria squealed in response, but soon went silent as she became captivated by her husband's intense and very seductive gaze.

"What do you say we get started right away?" he purred.

"Sounds good to me, Captain"

He wasted no time in leaning down to capture her lips in a kiss that was instantly fiery – igniting all of the passion they held for each other – Maria wrapped her arms around him and managed to pull him closer so that the kiss deepened. She couldn't help but moan in response. Whilst one hand ran idly up and down his back, she let the other start to fiddle with the buttons of his pyjama shirt…but, suddenly he pulled away and looked at her in alarm.

"What's wrong?" he breathed as she watched his face turn pale.

"Uh, is the bin still by my bedside?" he asked urgently.

"No, I put it back"

"Ah, then do excuse me"

So, as Georg all but threw himself off the bed and bolted towards the en-suite, Maria allowed herself to get comfortable beneath the sheets. It seemed as if their tenth child would have to wait…

AUTHOR'S NOTES: So, there you go! I hope you enjoyed that! The hangover was a lot harder to write about and make funny, I feel like hangovers are harder to make comedic when writing and that they usually work better with visual comedy, but I did my best and I really, really hope you enjoyed it!

Please let me know what you thought and I'll see you soon! xxx