COMING BACK
Chapter 1
"Georg, you must come back. You know I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't so needful".
The voice in Georg's mind kept reading that same single line over and over again. Asking him so insistently to return earlier form their honeymoon certainly must have had a valid reason yet deep into his heart, he hoped things weren't as dreadful as Max had written in his letters.
It was a cold April morning when the black polishing of the Von Trapps car shone under the midday sun and, making their way through Residenz Square, reality proved the newlyweds wrong.
When Maria had first walked there, the square was bursting with life: ladies and gentlemen strolling around, children of all ages freely making their way to the school bus, cheerful chatting and the bell's ringing marked the thrilling time that preceded summer holidays. And now what was left of it was nothing but sheer fear.
The place was silent, empty, the few people passing by totally indifferent to the havoc of swastikas draped down every window in the surroundings. Whether it was under their own choice or under duress, it was breaking Georg's heart to be unable to recognize the Austria he used to know and to love.
He kept his focus unblinkingly on his driving, the expression on his face impassive as ever. But the shock and the anger brimming through his eyes didn't go unnoticed to Maria. She opened her mouth, wishing to be not as irresolute and heartbroken as she was feeling.
But just when she thought she had found a way to pull him off his thoughts, yet another thing surprised them and kept her from speaking. They both turned their heads in the direction of a rhythmic noise that got closer and closer as the rows of soldiers marched through the arches and crossed the square, causing their car to stop right in front of that terrible sight.
A part of him threatened to make him turn his head, to look down, avoiding the scene but on the other hand he wouldn't have given them that satisfaction, so he kept his gaze still, following each of the soldiers' figures passing by. Maria watched the scene with her heart practically pounding in her chest: her eyes flicking relentlessly back and forth from Georg to those soldiers, the fear of a sudden, gut reaction out of him threatening and growing with every turn of her head.
She knew he wouldn't have done anything to put their lives at risk, but she also knew that this was being too much to handle. Even for him.
One day he was enjoying his honeymoon in Paris, the only focus of his days being to spoil and love his new bride. And the next one he was back in Salzburg, back in the delusional madness that surrounded his own family as well.
Whether it was frustration or anger, it was hard to give up on the plans they'd made, to see their children not only out of pleasure but mostly out of need, to come back to a home that he would never call like that again.
With the sound of the motor turning on, almost covering Georg's heavy sigh, Maria breathed out too, relief cursing through her veins for the gratefulness that at least that moment was over.
The focus of her eyes didn't leave his own as she extended her arm and placed her hand on his knee, giving him a gentle squeeze that was both reassuring and understanding. He didn't react as he used to but she didn't mind, she didn't even expect he would. She could read through his mind as an open book and those thoughts were enough for any other person to go numb with shock.
So she simply kept her hand there, brushing the side of his knee with her thumb from time to time. Letting him know that she was there.
"Darling?" Maria asked after some minutes of silent driving through a street she hadn't seen before
"Hum, hum?" Georg answered
"Where are we going?" she asked again, still unable to recognize the place
"It's a surprise" was all he replied.
The tone of his voice was still statuary as were his movements when not long afterwards he stopped the car in the middle of nothing.
Maria saw him leaving his seat, walking around the other side of the car and extend his hand to help her out. When she stepped out of the car, after the long and excruciating hours of travelling they were finally in front of each other, and it was then that Georg looked into her eyes with a delicious grin crossing his lips.
He squeezed her hand into his own again and walked her a few steps away before a familiar lake came into focus. Still smiling, he led her through a beautiful tree-lined avenue until they finally reached the back of the Villa. Georg's smile widened at the sight, at least, that was a home he could actually recognize.
The lake gently flowing by, the tree leaves almost totally still from the wind's absence and the magic quiet of it all. What surprised him was a most unusual silence rare to hear even when the children were home, inside.
He didn't think much of it at first, and, after turning back his attention to her, he noticed the questioning expression through the sweet frown between her brows.
"It may not be the most comfortable of passages but the view is pretty" he smiled at her
She nodded in agreement, unclasping the hands crossed behind her back when Georg's arm took hold of her waist and she responded by doing the same.
"I discovered it a while ago, while you were away at the Abbey. You do a lot of thinking when your special person is gone ... and that comes along with a lot of walking ... and, discovering in this case" the tone of his voice lowered for a while as they strolled closer to the entrance.
It was then that Maria erupted into an amused laughter. Georg looked down at the sweetness of her bright smile but while he would have never minded about seeing it all day through, he couldn't stop a raise of one of his brows to reveal his light confusion.
"That was the passage I walked through when I came back from the Abbey" she explained, her shoulders bobbing one last time before she could stop and pay attention to what he would have said
"What? I've lived here half of my life without knowing about it while you did?"
"Well, I didn't know how to get here anyway" she replied tightening her grip of him.
They walked a bit more, going up the little stairs that lead to the back entrance but before going in, Maria prevented it by walking him ahead and standing right in front of him, looking him into the eye.
"You didn't tell me why you had us coming from here" she justified her action
"With all this madness going on I might have been quite confused, but there's one thing I could never, ever forget" he smiled, allowing his lips to smile teasingly
"And what's that?" she merely managed to answer, lost in the look into his eyes
"Our honeymoon … is not over yet …" he shook his head a couple of times, not enough for her to answer.
She did try but even her breath got choked when his lips pinned her against the door in a sweet kiss. At first, his lips roamed over hers chastely but soon he asked for her permission to deepen the kiss and as she parted her own lips, he didn't lose any time to explore her mouth while pushing the door open.
Without their lips detaching, not even for a while, they entered the hall and with a quick flick of his gaze, Georg led them to the closest chair until she laid on it comfortably so that he could kneel at her feet. The need for air brought them to break the kiss for a couple of seconds he took advantage of to stare at the sweet daze in her eyes. He pecked at her lips once more and delighted in the pleasure of nibbling at her earlobe before attaching his lips to her skin again, leaving wet, open-mouth kisses over the length of her neck.
Her hands made quick job of taking off the travel hat that kept her from tangling her fingers through his dark hair, holding him close, while his hands worked on the front of her coat, unbuttoning it before sliding it down her shoulders.
She let out a soft moan when his hot breath caused her skin to shiver, it was then that he backed with his head to meet her gaze, as her hands held onto the nape of his neck.
"Shall we move this to the bedroom?" his voice was low, languid while he played with the first button of her dress
"Not until the present aren't placed on the terrace" she shook her head, looking more like she was trying to wake up from a dream, "the children should be home soon, it's almost dinner time" she pointed out.
Looking behind his shoulders where the clock was placed, he was forced to face reality. Leaning on the arms of the chair, he got up with a slight groan and extended his hand to help her getting up as she did slowly, taking her time. Otherwise, she was pretty sure her legs would have buckled.
Letting go of each other's hand, Maria shrugged off the coat her husband had tried to remove and draped it over the back of her seat while he walked a few steps away, recollecting his hat and her purse to place them over the furniture.
"That was mean" he spoke up after a brief silence.
His gaze unblinking on her, serious, frustrated, provocative.
"That was discipline, you taught me, Captain. It sets me free to fly" she replied looking back at him while her hands smoothed her skirt.
Silence climbed into the room once more before he stepped forward rubbing his lower lip with the side of his thumb.
"I can't wait for dinner to be over" he finally smiled.
Laughing softly at the perpetuated naughtiness of his words and actions, Maria didn't resist when he took hold of her waist and pulled her in to kiss her cheek. She smiled in contentment but when she felt his grip tightening to lead her ahead, she stopped on her steps and remained backwards, causing his head to turn.
"Mind if I look for Frau Shmidt first? I'll come to you as soon as possible" she smiled at him, reassuring him that she wouldn't have left him alone, not even in the most superficial of things.
He nodded in response, smiling back at her before dropping it to speak.
"I love you" a soft whisper came from his mouth before he could smile again, waiting for her reaction
"I love you too, Sir" she echoed his words playfully.
This only made his smile grow wider, much as if each of her words, each of her gestures, awoke in him the realization of how lucky he was to have her once more.
Still smiling, she turned on her heels and walked away but didn't make it to the first door along the corridor before a hoarse cough could catch her by surprise and cause her head to turn again.
A tall, slim figure was standing behind her, his expression statuary and unimpressed.
"Franz, you scared me to death!" Maria breathed out heavily, bringing a hand to her stomach.
But the old butler remained silent, an inquiring look into his eyes and his lips pursed as if he had nothing to say at all.
"Have you seen Frau Schmidt?"
"She must be cleaning the nursery by now" he replied absently, his voice casual and uninterested in that topic. "Enjoyed your honeymoon?" he then hurried to ask, this time definitely more involved
"Oh yes, Paris was simply stunning" she closed her eyes for a while focusing on the flash of the Eiffel Tower that came to her mind while her answer flowed out
"Maria!" a tired, sweet voice stopped her before she could even finish to speak.
And, indeed, looking over her shoulder, Frau Shmidt emerged from the nursery.
"I am so happy to see you again" the woman enthusiastically commented, making her way through the corridor to reach her and pull her into a welcoming hug
"I am too" Maria replied sincerely, holding the old body of the woman back, "thank you for taking such impeccable care of the house during our absence" she continued, looking around her and noticing the perfume of clean permeate each wall.
It seemed Frau Shmidt blushed for a little while, she had been serving the Von Trapp family for a lifetime but since Agathe's death she had hardly ever heard a compliment for her hard work.
"Tell me, have you found new materials there?" she quickly changed the subject
"And so much more! So many things happened …" Maria innocently hinted.
Being turned she couldn't have possibly noticed Franz's presence, but the housekeeper did and thought of it as a very unusual behaviour. Yes, she had interrupted their conversation but there was no reason for him to still stand there.
She draped an arm around Maria's bust and walked her halfway through the corridor where they began entertaining a long talk about some of the main events of their honeymoon once the butler had descended down the stairs.
But suddenly, a rumbling car and cheery voices were heard from afar and both Maria and the older woman became aware of how time had flown by.
"Oh dear" Maria exclaimed as a hand was brought to her brow in confusion
"And I must probably go back to work" Frau Shmidt apologized for having kept her busy for so long.
As usual, she was late but that didn't stop her from offering the woman a thankful caress to her arm, accompanied with an even more thankful smile.
But, as soon as she saw her disappearing behind the door, her brows frowned worriedly as the sound of the children's voices became louder and she rushed downstairs at a quick pace.
She was so impatient to see them again.
Once she stood under the arch of the main door, the heavenly view of her family came into focus: those seven, beloved children jumping off the car and reaching for their father happy as ever.
No other sight in the world could have made her this overwhelmingly happy.
She discovered herself speechless for a while, words simply didn't seem to be able to come out of her mouth.
"Hello!" she somehow found the voice to say in order to free her husband from the tight surrounding of the children.
That smile on his face could have fooled many people, including the children, but not her. There was happiness, of course, but that was not just happiness, it was clear as a bell that he was trying to hide great discomfort with it. And she was pretty sure that what was hidden behind his back had something to do with it, whatever it was.
She couldn't let these thoughts take over her mind for too long for in a matter of seconds, all of the children had enthusiastically run to her.
She caressed their cheeks, tapped their heads, held their hands, offering them all a wide smile, big as her love for them while trying to catch the endless amount of questions they were all making.
She was glad when her husband joined them, tickling their hips, and gathering little Martha between his arms.
"We missed kissing you goodnight" she said
"We missed all the noise you make in the morning telling each other to be quiet!" Georg made everyone roar with laughter bringing up a topic he and Maria had discussed one day during the honeymoon
"Mostly, we missed hearing you sing"
"Oh, you came back just in time!" Brigitta dropped her hand to recollect a paper from Max's hands, "Look, Fraulein Maria, I mean Mother …"
She heard the children giggling at the pleasant sound of the word and, almost on their own accord, her eyes lift to meet Georg's. She had never asked for that, nor would have before his and their approval, but the children had done it on their own and she couldn't think of a more overwhelming gratefulness. When her husband winked at her approvingly, her heart completely melted, so much that she had to make an enormous effort to withdraw from her thoughts and focus on her daughter's voice.
"We are going to sing at the festival!" Brigitta finished, bringing her back to reality
"What?!" she exclaimed surprisedly, a new wave of enthusiasm taking over her.
The children muttered happy, incomprehensible words all at once, filling her with delight but a dead silence fell between them all when Georg solemnly took the festival programme out of his daughter's hand.
Her eyes returned to him after gazing quickly down at her children. A little grin crisped his lips, she noticed.
"Alright, surprises for you on the terrace" he claimed.
The tone of his voice seemed happy, and she felt the expression of her face slowly begin to relax as the children ran away.
He didn't seem to be as bothered as the last time about the festival and, despite her absence, he had still managed to lift and carry all the heavy bags and presents up on the terrace.
Her arm encircled Liesl's shoulder as her daughter held her back while they walked inside.
For the first time since Max's last letter, she had always been on guard, worried and fearing the worse. There was a lot to worry about, nothing could change that, but being reunited with the children was indeed helping to ease the pressure.
With everyone's cooperation and a bit of luck, things could probably begin to improve soon, she hoped.
"We'll talk about this inside".
She was too far to hear her husband speak the words to Max.
Her hopes were too far.
Not even her imagination could have seen what was coming their way.
She was too far from knowing that that was the beginning of it all.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello everyone, it's been a while. This fic takes on from Maria and Georg's return from the honeymoon and the first few chapters will keep up with the movie, mostly exploring the characters' point of view through each event. I hope you will enjoy it!
