Title: Growing Pains
By: FicWriter82
Rating: T
Category: Family/Hurt Comfort
Summary: The Captain comforts his children
Author's Note: Wow, it has been over a decade since I wrote for this fandom and more since I started writing. I lost my muse for a good long time; however, it might be coming back. Fingers crossed…So I begin with this little idea and hope I have the inspiration to finish abandoned stories as well as rewrite earlier stories, mainly the two I have previously written for SOM. This story assumes the Baroness left when the Captain did not take their relationship further, and that Maria remained as the governess. She and the Captain are good friends, and we will see what might be revealed later. Review will be appreciated as always.
I am hoping to do one story for each of the von Trapp children at various stages, some might be in Austria and others in America…I'm not sure yet, but without further eloquence…here is Liesl's chapter. I hope there will be more.
Growing Pains
Papa's Gonna Make It All Right
Liesl
SLAM! The crash of the study door echoed through the quiet house making Maria startle as she made her way from the kitchen to the grand staircase leading to her room.
Maria turned her head just in time to see Liesl dashing up the stairs as fast as she possibly could. She sighed; she knew this was going to happen the moment the Captain caught Rolfe tossing stones at the young girl's window.
The Captain of course, sent him off with a low toned nearly menacing warning but not before Liesel heard the young man's call. Liesl was mortified at her father's hasty reaction and off-putting words and told him so. The more time Maria spent with the family, the more she saw the Captain's traits, good and bad, in the children.
Dinner had been a tense affair with neither father nor daughter saying "pass the gravy" let alone addressing the elephant in the room. Maria made small talk with Friedrich and Louisa about their nature study and encouraged Gretl to eat her beet salad, but nothing could break the tension.
Finally, at the end of the meal, the Captain commanded his oldest to report to his study at 8pm. Liesl knew obedience was her only choice and that had gotten them to where they were now. Liesl running up the stairs and the Captain no doubt fuming behind the study door.
Maria wasn't sure where to go first, Liesl or the Captain. She knew her young charge would be in tears, but there would be nothing she could do without dealing with the source of the problem, the Captain's deep seeded dislike for Rolfe and his pursuit of Liesl.
Maria set her teacup on the bottom step and took a deep breath before knocking on the study door.
Evening discussions with the Captain had become the norm since he reopened his closed heart to his dear children and dismissed the idea of remarriage for the sake of providing them with a mother. Maria's agreement to stay on put an end to that need.
Maria would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy their conversations. The Captain was a witty, intelligent man with a diverse wealth of knowledge that made their talks interesting to say the least. Their friendship had grown deeper over the last few months. She hoped their discussion now could have a satisfactory resolution.
"In!" came the sharp command from behind the door. Maria wasn't surprised to hear the brisk tone or to see the Captain pacing the length of the room like a caged tiger.
"Good evening, Captain," Maria greeted softly sitting down on the settee.
"Fraulein," he greeted flatly moving back and forth trying to expel the nervous energy flooding through his system. "No doubt you heard that lovely display of teenage temper just now."
"Come now, Captain. That display was more from being a von Trapp than from being sixteen. She isn't the only one that has an explosive temper in this house," Maria replied. "And once more you know it. What happened?"
The Captain's steel blue gaze rested firmly on Maria. "What happened! Liesl is seeing that boy! That Rolfe character even after I expressly forbid it! She's been seeing him nights by the lake, sneaking around…!"
"She's in love," Maria sighed. "Or at least she thinks she is. It's difficult and confusing for her, I'm sure she doesn't understand why you feel the way you do about young Rolfe."
"Liesl is NOT in love!" the Captain snapped. "She is far too young to know what love is. She's definitely too young to know what respect is and that boy has no respect for himself let along my daughter!"
"I know," Maria replied, startling the Captain. She usually took up an opposite point of view and helped him see the scenario from all sides even if she agreed with him. For her to just out and out support his opinion was out of character and made his heart jump.
"You know? If you know, why haven't you put a stop to it? It's your job to teach and guide my children is it not?" The Captain was now making Maria the target of his frustration.
"Because as difficult as it is, Liesl needs to find her own way," Maria replied. "She was dishonest with both of us and believe me I'm just as upset as you are, but I can't become her enemy Captain."
"And why not? If Marta was climbing that old, gnarly tree or Kurt was sneak snacksing in the night you would be all over them! Liesl was sneaking out of this house doing God knows what, God knows where and you do nothing?" The Captain finally stopped pacing and sat down with a sigh, "Please Fraulein, enlighten me."
"She's growing up. In some parts of the world Liesl's old enough to marry," Maria reminded him. "In some parts of Austria even. She's in a rough stage of her life. She's not a child anymore but she's hardly a woman. She needs a person she can be honest with; I apologize for not realizing it before, but at least one of us needs to be supportive of her seeing Rolfe."
"Well, in this case, Fraulein, it's going to have to be you," the Captain grumbled. "I have no stomach for it. However, I'm not sure I agree with your assessment. He's not good for her, he's going to hurt her. My…"
"Your little girl?" Maria finished.
The Captain nodded and ran a hand over his face. "Why did Liesl have to grow up? Why did any of them? It's just that I know it, I feel it in my bones that this is wrong. It's like when Liesl was little and would toddle off away from Agathe and me. We could see her start to fall, and I would run to catch her so she wouldn't get hurt. All those same instincts are still there."
Maria looked into the Captain's blue eyes, shining with emotion and laid a tentative hand on his shoulder. "Except Liesl 's not a little girl anymore, Captain. You can't protect her from everything for the rest of her life, as much as you might want to. Liesl has to learn to protect herself, to love herself, and yes, respect herself. She has to learn how strong she is, that when hard things happen, she'll be okay, but for her to do that you're going to have to let her fall and show her even if she makes a bad choice life goes on…"
The Captain was silent for a few minutes then heaved a sigh as he stood up from the settee. Deep down he knew Maria was right, the harder he fought this the farther away Liesl would go. "There will have to be rules, Fraulein. Strict rules to be followed to the letter, and if that boy joins the Party or make that sickening salute one more time…"
"I'm sure Liesel will find that a reasonable request, and I'm equally sure if you're correct about Rolfe's character this teenage romance won't last very long at all," Marie replied. "Half the fun of a romance at her age is your parent arguing with you about it. I think you're making the right decision, Captain."
The Captain gave a single nod and asked wryly, "Why is it that whenever one make a decision for the child's own good one feels so ill?"
Maria couldn't answer that question, but she understood. Instead of offering an inadequate reply she excused herself, "I'll go see about Liesl now, you can set out the rules with her in the morning."
Liesl was as Maria expected her to be when she reached the bedroom, angry and defiant, stating emphatically to her governess she intended to accept Rolfe's courtship no matter what her father's opinion. Maria did her best to soothe Liesl and prepare her for the Captain's discussion come morning.
"You mean he's going to let me see Rolfe? In the open?" Liesl was surprised.
"Your father has reconsidered his position, yes," Maria replied. "But he will require your obedience of whatever limits he sets. Do you understand?"
Liesl threw her arms around Maria's neck, "Thank you, Fraulein Maria! What did you say to him?"
"Your father is a wise man, he came to his own conclusion once he settled down," Maria replied modestly. "Get some sleep now. Tomorrow is another day."
The Captain spoke with Liesl immediately after breakfast laying out his requirements for Rolfe's suit. They were not permitted to be alone after dark or in a secluded place, Rolfe was only allowed in common areas of the house, Liesl was not to go to his small rooms in town, and of course, there was the Hitler stipulation. Liesl found the boundaries excessive, but it was better than nothing at all.
To the Captain's chagrin, Liesl and Rolfe obeyed the rules. It would have been much easier for one of them to disobey so he could bring the hammer down and keep his little girl locked away for the rest of her life, but he was not that lucky. Try as he might though, the Captain could not trust Rolfe. On the surface, he appeared to be the perfect gentleman, perhaps that's what worried him. He'd been 17 going on 18 before he knew exactly what was on Rolfe's mind, the fact that it wasn't made his skin crawl.
Everything came to a head about a month after the initial conversation about Liesl seeing Rolfe in a most unexpected way. It was a Saturday, and the children were excitedly discussing their weekend plans. The Captain was smiling and nodding when Liesl said, "I'm thinking of going to the art exhibit with Rolfe."
He held his tongue and forced a "That's a nice idea," from his constricted throat. "It'll be in town today myself, a business associate of mine is coming through Salzburg today only. I must meet him."
The mundane conversation continued, but the Captain wasn't participating any more He was looking at Maria.
Maria's face was ghostly pale save for her cheeks which were flushed a deep red. The Captain looked at her plate, it was nearly full. "Something wrong with your eggs, Fraulein?" he asked knowing her eggs were cooked just as she liked.
"Oh," Maria startled. "Uh, no. My eggs are fine. I'm just not hungry this morning."
"I can see that," the Captain replied taking initiative and rising from his chair. He crossed the dining room to Maria's seat directly opposite his and felt her forehead with a cool, gentle hand. "You're burning up. No wonder you haven't go any appetite. Louisa, get Frau Schmidt immediately! You are going straight up to bed while I phone the doctor."
"I don't need the doctor, Captain," Maria protested. 'I'm not ill, I'm just…"
"Arguing with me," the Captain finished. "A good sign however, futile. Your stomach is turning, I've seen that look before on many a nauseated sailor. Let's get you up to bed."
Maria sighed, "All right, I'll go, but please hold off on the doctor. I'm sure it'll pass in a little while."
As the Captain helped Maria to her feet, Louisa returned with Frau Schmidt. "She's burning up," the Captain told the dedicated housekeeper. "I want her put into bed to rest straight away."
"Please don't fuss," Maria begged embarrassment turning her face even redder. "I'll lie down for an hour then I'll help Marta and Gretl with their sentences like I promised."
"You will do no such thing. Liesl can help them until I return," the Captain replied effectively putting an end to Liesl's Saturday.
"But Father, I'm supposed to meet Rolfe at the university. He might already have left home to stand in line," Liesl protested.
"I'm sorry, Liesl, but Fraulein Maria appears to be quite ill and my business cannot wait. I'll take a message to Rolfe if you cannot reach him by telephone. If I return early enough you may go to the exhibit, if not, you may meet him after Mass tomorrow."
Liesl knew not to protest, the Captain had been very fair in his handling of her seeing Rolfe. He had not broken any of the promises he'd made, she wouldn't either. Maria did look terrible, after all she had done for the family Liesl couldn't do anything but agree.
"Thank you, Father," she replied. "Go wash your hands, then we'll get started on your writing," she told her younger siblings.
The Captain smiled, "I don't want you getting up," he told Maria. "If you need anything you ask Frau Schmidt or Franz until I return. If you still look like death warmed over when I do, I'm sending for the doctor."
Maria tried again to protest but a wave of dizziness hit her so hard and fast she stumbled even as she spoke.
Frau Schmidt caught her arm but before they could move again the Captain was there scooping Maria into his arms, propriety be damned. Maria surrendered, there was no hiding her misery now. She let out a sigh and shut her eyes.
Frau Schmidt was put in charge of Maria who was losing what seemed to be everything she ate in the last year and Liesl and Friedrich were charged with keeping all the children occupied and away from Maria.
Liesl had been able to reach Rolfe on the phone, they agreed to meet the following day after Mass to view the paintings. He was such a reasonable man, she loved him more each day. Liesl busied herself with minding the younger ones and helping Frau Schmidt when she needed it. The Captain had ordered the house to be quiet for Maria's rest and recovery.
By the time the Captain concluded his business in town it was passing 3pm. The city was full of activity as he made his way to his car. It was only by chance the Captain looked toward the bell tower of the Abbey as he got into his vehicle. He had no reason to look there, he just did. That's when he saw it, Rolfe, the telegram delivery boy, with his hands and his mouth on a girl that was not his daughter. The boy was smiling, laughing, and kissing someone that was NOT his daughter!
The Captain's vision faded out with white hot rage. Every instinct he had was screaming for him to go over to that social climbing loser and pummel him within an inch of his life; it was only maturity that forced his restraint. He couldn't attack the boy in broad daylight, but he could and would make sure Liesl was never near him again.
The Captain delayed his return to the villa until close to suppertime. He didn't want to have this argument with Liesl, but he would rather her be angry at him than hurt by Rolfe. Her anger would be difficult to deal with, but the pain she would go through would feel, to both of them, so much worse than any level of anger she might reach. He could handle slamming doors and "I hate you, Father" a lot better than he could handle his little girl's broken heart.
"You're very late, Father," Brigitta observed as they sat down at the table.
"I'm sorry, my dear," he replied. "I got to talking with an old acquaintance in town. How's Fraulein Maria faring?"
"She's asleep right now," Liesl replied. "I think she's feeling better. Frau Schmidt took her some tea and toast. I hope she's up to going to Church tomorrow, she loves going to Mass."
The Captain nodded, "I'll look in on her when she wakes up. So, tell me all about your day…"
The Captain saw to bedtime on his own that night, reassuring the littlest one that Fraulein Maria would be herself again soon. Frau Schmidt had informed him that her fever had broken, it appeared to be a tough but short-lived stomach bug. The Captain hoped that it wouldn't make its way around the entire house.
Liesl, being oldest, had the latest bedtime. The Captain wanted to wait for Maria to discuss this new issue and seek her counsel, but she was not up to it, she was still tired and dehydrated from a full day's worth of illness. He would have to go it alone on this and insist on Maria's cooperation later. Still, he didn't wish to upset Liesl so late at night. He would endure the sleepless night himself and upset her in the morning.
"I was very proud of how you handled yourself today," the Captain said as he stood in the doorway of Liesl's bedroom. "Thank you for helping with your brothers and sisters."
"It really was okay, Father," Liesl replied. "Fraulein Maria did feel awful, and I know how your business pulls you away sometimes. Rolfe was wonderful about the whole thing, he always cares so much about what I need or say or anything."
The Captain smiled at her, she had such a far off, doe eyed look in her eyes. The memory of that boy…he tried not to visibly bristle. "You get some sleep, my Darling. I'll see you in the morning."
The morning was a long way off for the Captain. He indulged in several shots of whiskey, the strongest he had in the house, before attempting to go to bed. Sleep didn't find him that night, he knew it wouldn't. He heard stirring in the hallway and sighed, he didn't want one of the little ones going in and disturbing Maria. Slowly, the opened his bedroom door to intercept whomever was roaming about the halls in the wee hours only to find it was the object of his concern.
"Fraulein?" he asked in loud whisper. She was in her nightgown once again, a virginal white that fell over her body so as to hide any shape or figure at all. Even from a few feet away the Captain could see Maria looked better. "Are you all right? Do you need something?"
"Yes, Captain," Maria replied. "I'm feeling much better. In fact, I'm a little bit hungry. I was going to the kitchen to get a few more crackers. Go back to sleep."
"I wasn't asleep." The Captain was aching to speak to Maria mere hours ago, but now…he had already made as much peace with his course of action as he could. Besides, even though Maria was feeling and looking better, she was not yet in top shape. "Go back and lie down. I'll get the crackers for you and knock when they are outside the door."
"Don't be silly, Captain," Maria laughed. "I can get them myself. I have been lying around all day. I'll see you tomorrow. Get some rest, the children will wake us up before we know it."
Maria didn't leave the Captain time to reply. She made her way slowly down the steps to retrieve her small, bland meal, leaving the Captain watching after her in the night.
Dawn came much quicker than the Captain would have liked. It was his turn to pick at his breakfast, dark circles marring his handsome features. Maria watched him, "Are you feeling all right, Captain?" she asked as the family readied themselves for Church.
"Maria…" He'd slipped and called her by her given name. A testament to how conflicted he felt inside. "Let's just say there are somethings that never get easier."
The use of her name gave Maria pause. The Captain seemed a million miles away, inside his own head. In spite of the change in his demeanor and the softening of his heart, he went there often and when he did, it took time for him to come back again. Maria knew it was best to let him alone, the sooner her worked through whatever he had to work through the better.
The Captain barely heard the homily that morning and failed to sing along with the hymn. As they family moved to leave the church, he saw Maria fixing Liesl's hair and smoothing her dress. It was now or never. "Liesl," he began. "I have…reconsidered your spending time with Rolfe this afternoon. I would like for you to come home with us."
"But Father, that isn't fair," Liesl replied. "We both waited until today so that I could help at home, but Fraulein Maria is feeling better now, and the little ones' work is completed."
"It's not open for discussion," the Captain replied with a snarky edge to his voice. "In fact, I've done some hard thinking on the matter and…this really isn't the place to discuss this. Get into the car please."
Liesl obeyed him. If only she wasn't such a good girl, he would be able to ground her for the rest of her life and be done with it, but she was everything he wanted her to be and more. She was the best of her mother and at times the worst of him. He felt he had no choice, this deception, for lack of a better word would be kinder than the truth.
Maria watched both Liesl and the Captain on the ride home. Liesl's shoulders were slumped, she was certainly let down, but the Captain's face was really what intrigued her. He had a firm lock to his jaw when he'd made up his mind about something and that was in place. Whatever had gotten into his head, or his heart was there for the duration. When he got this particular looked, Maria had learned, there was no moving him.
Once they reached the villa, Liesl began to argue her position. She kept her tone respectful and smooth but she argued nonetheless. Finally, the Captain sighed, "You have been seeing too much of him. I want you to take a break. I do not wish for this relationship to continue."
Maria's eyes near bulged out of her skull when Liesl reported that comment through angry tears. "It's not fair of him to do that! I did everything he wanted me to! I followed every rule he laid out! I don't understand!"
Maria was at a loss for how to comfort Liesl, she didn't know what had gotten into the Captain's mind herself. The one thing she did know was there would be no arguing or reasoning with him. He'd already gone into the study and shut the door.
"I'll try to speak to him, sweet girl," Maria comforted. "Why don't you relax, take a couple deep breaths, and I'll see him about it. Though, if he has changed his mind, I'm not sure what good it will do."
"I at least deserve a reason," Liesl sniffled. "He owes me that much. I need to at least tell Rolfe what Father has said myself. He'll be waiting for me."
"I'm sure your father will arrange for Rolfe to be notified. Let's just wait until after lunch and see if I can speak with him."
No one was surprised when Liesl didn't appear for lunch. Louisa reported that her sister had been upset and refused to come downstairs. The Captain nodded, he'd let her alone for a time. This would blow over in a couple of days or weeks and Liesl would be herself again. He noticed Maria eyeing him intently all throughout their meal. When lunch ended, and Maria tried to engage the Captain, he cut her off firmly, "It's not up for debate, commentary, or opinion, Fraulein. I'm her father, that's that."
Maria knew better than to pursue it. She meant to go check on Liesl right away, but the younger girls had missed playing with her the day before and got her engrossed in their games before she could get upstairs.
Meanwhile, Liesl had used the family's distraction at lunch to scurry down the trellis outside Maria's room and set out for Salzburg. She had to see Rolfe, she had to get him to come to the house and speak to her father more formally. That was probably what her father wanted him to do by now, that was probably why he had so suddenly changed his mind.
It was against the rules for Liesl to go into Rolfe's apartment, but several calls from the phone booth outside only resulted in her being told by the operator that one of the apartment's other residents was using the shared telephone. Liesl had no choice but to go inside.
Liesl made her way up the dark, steep staircase to Room H, Rolfe's rented room. The door was slightly ajar with one of his work ties hanging on the door knob. Liesl pushed the door open calling out, "Rolfe! Are you home?"
Rolfe was home all right, and he wasn't alone. The same girl the Captain had seen him with the day before was underneath the blankets and underneath Rolfe on top of his bed. Liesl looked on in horror, she couldn't recall ever feeling such a shock in all her life.
"Rolfe, oh dear God!" she exclaimed, then turned on her heel and ran down the same steps she had just ascended wanting to get as far away from Rolfe and that image as humanly possible. Liesl tripped twice on her way down the steps, her eyes were so full of tears she missed a couple of steps. She could heard Rolfe calling to her from a few steps behind, but she didn't pause, she ran as fast and as far as she could.
The other children had passed the Sunday afternoon playing games, reading, and listening to the radio. Maria played along, determining it was best to leave Liesl to her thoughts until later. The Captain was also choosing to keep to himself. Dinner would once again be a path to indigestion.
Liesl didn't appear for dinner, however. Maria looked at her empty chair, "I'll go see about it, Captain. She has to come down to eat at least."
"Let it be, Fraulein," the Captain replied. "When the meal is over you may take something up to her, but for now let's just eat."
"Fraulein Maria, help me?" Marta asked. She was having a difficult time cutting the jaeger schnitzel on her plate. Maria agreed to the Captain's request with a silent look and set about helping Marta and Gretl.
Midway through the meal, Franz appeared in the dining room. "Excuse me, Sir," he broke in. "There's an urgent phone call for you from Herr Schultz in Salzburg."
Conrad Schultz was a business associate and family friend. Friedrich and his son Stanley were friendly at school. Still, it was unlikely that he would call for any reason let alone on a Sunday night. "Thank you, Franz. Excuse me…"
The family continued to eat without the Captain, Maria was drilling the middle two on their French as they went around the table naming the various food dishes and utensils. The entire family startled at the Captain's voice. It could be heard clear across the hall from inside his study. "WHAT?!"
"Fraulein Maria?" Brigitta looked to her governess for reassurance. She had never heard that inflection in her father's voice come to any good. Before Maria could respond the Captain was barking orders at Franz, "Get the car and bring it around, now! Fraulein!"
Maria got up and hurried to meet the Captain in the hall. "Liesl is not in her room, in fact, I'm not sure how long she's been gone, but Herr Schultz had just informed me he saw her leaving that…that tenement dump Rolfe lives in. What was she thinking? What was in her head…"
"Captain, calm down, I'm sure she…"
"Calm down? I will most certainly not calm down, Fraulein! She's disobeyed me again, she's misled me again, I will not calm down! I'm going to find her and drag her back into the house if only until I can enroll her in a Swiss Catholic boarding school! I knew I never should have…"
Maria saw the fear and anger in the Captain's eyes, but there was another emotion there as well. "Perhaps if you had spoken to her about your change of heart," she suggested gently. "She was very confused by it all and at least she was seen leaving the building. We know she isn't still inside."
"No, she's only roaming about the streets of Salzburg and it's near dark," the Captain interjected. "I knew that boy was no good, I said it more than once, I said it more than twice and yesterday I find him…I can't even say it."
"Find him what?" Maria pressed.
"I found him at the bell tower near the abbey with his hands and his lips all over some little blonde…I could barely keep from choking him to death in the street," the Captain confessed. "I…I felt if I just told her to stop seeing him, she'd be angry and then she would get over it. Fraulein, what have I done?"
Maria's eyes flashed with the same anger the Captain was feeling. She too wanted to wring Rolfe's neck with his own bicycle chain, but in this mismatched pair, she was the calm one when the Captain would start to lose it. "You did your best," she soothed. "That's all you can do. Why don't you take the car out and drive along the road. Perhaps you'll see her on the way?"
He nodded, "Thank you, Fraulein for…Thank you."
Maria reached out and gently rubbed the Captain's arm. "It'll be all right, Captain. She's probably very close to home even now."
He smiled sadly, "I hope so, but I…we still have to deal with her running off. I cannot believe she would do such a thing."
"When she gets back, we'll listen to her, we'll tell her our side of it, then you can ground her until she's 30."
The Captain couldn't help but chuckle, Maria could always make him feel better.
Maria returned to the dining room and the Captain headed to the driveway. He was just about to get into the car when a small figure could be seen coming up the road. He couldn't quite make out her features, but he knew it was Liesl. More than that, he could tell from her defeated posture and rapid swipes at her cheeks that she was crying.
With that one realization, any and all of the anger he'd felt for her leaving the villa disappeared. His heart hurt for the pain he saw on her face as she came into the light produced by the car's headlights. Liesl saw her father standing in the drive. She'd been discovered, now he would be angry with her on top of everything else. She slowed down, as if going slower would delay her father's inevitable wrath. As she got closer, she focused on the ground, waiting to hear his sharp words.
But she heard nothing. When Liesl dared to raise her eyes from the ground again she saw the Captain standing in her path with his arms outstretched, not a bit of anger on his face. His expression was one part relief and three parts tenderness.
Liesl catapulted into her father's loving arms, sobbing into his suit jacket, all the pain she'd held in on the way home finally coming to the surface. The Captain raised his hand and stroked her hair, cradling her head over his heart. "I'm so sorry, baby," he whispered, gently rocking back and forth. "I'm so so sorry. It's going to be all right, Liesl. Papa's gonna make it all right."
"I don't understand," Liesl cried as the Captain pulled back to wipe her cheeks with his handkerchief. "I thought that he loved me. I thought it was something special."
"I know. I know." The Captain kissed Liesl's forehead gently.
One day he would tell her what he'd witnessed, but now was not the time or place. Still, Liesl asked him, "How did you know? How did you know something like this would happen?"
"I…That is something you won't understand until you're grown up, until you're a parent too, then…then my Darling, you'll know." There really was no other way to explain it. His instincts had been right, and he hated it, but more than that, he hated seeing Liesl's face all red and wet with tears.
"I loved him, Papa," she whispered, crawling back into her father's embrace. The Captain's heart seized at the name. In his own head he was still Liesl's "Papa". She used the name until she was about 10, the deemed herself too old. He had failed to be that for her the last three years, so now it meant all the more to him to have her use the old endearment.
"I know you did. I know you did, Liesl, but listen to me…Look at me." He raised her head so that her swollen eyes met his own. "Rolfe is not the last man you are ever going to love. I promise you he's not."
Liesl heard her father's words, but at the moment they felt like an empty promise. Still, even over the last years since Agathe died, he'd yet to break a promise to any of them. Liesl buried her face in the Captain's now tear stained jacket, not ready to leave the comfort of her father's embrace, nor the quiet of the driveway.
From the door of the villa Maria looked out on father and daughter. They were so alike, both stubborn, both kind, both quick to take offense, yet quick to forgive. They both had huge hearts, and they both had their hearts broken. She remembered something the Reverend Mother told her when she had extended her stay at the von Trapp Villa with the reasoning that the Captain still mourned his poor wife. "Remember my child," she'd said. "The human heart is the only thing whose worth increases the more it is broken."
That night, Maria mused, both of their hearts must have been worth their weight in gold.
A/N 2: I hope you enjoyed my reentry into fanfiction with this piece. I do wish to have these father/child stories with each of the 7 children in the movie and perhaps the others we did not meet in the film. If anyone has an idea of a situation, they would like to see the Captain deal with, leave it in the comments.
