Note: Please review!
Ch. 4: Healing
Maria woke up to the doctor trying to wake her and tell her about her ankle. Maria was not in the best of moods since she did not want to hear about her ankle that was shoot by the Nazis. She realized the night before that she had failed to thank the Lord for having it be her ankle that the bullet hurt. She and her family were very lucky. Thoughts flew through her mind of how it could have been her husband who was shot and killed by Rolfe instead of merely and ankle wound. She took a moment to thank God for her families' safety. She wondered how Agathe had put up with Georg being off at war so often. Wasn't she scared out of her mind?
The nurse walked in and began to talk to Maria about her ankle and how if she stayed off it for a month it might heal. Maria caught that thought and then began to slip away with her own thoughts. She almost fell asleep while the nurse continued talking.
"…So when the results came back today we found that you not only have an ankle wound but you are pregnant as well…" She continued to talk as the words sunk in to Maria. Her eyes grew wide and she sat strait up.
"Pregnant?" She screamed. She had no idea. Of course she knew it was possible but wouldn't she have felt something in the last month? She had not felt in the least bit different. The nurse looked at her strangely and began to ask questions about things. Maria instantly calmed down and asked the nurse nicely if she could discard all the evidence of her being pregnant and not to mention it to anyone, especially the Nazis.
Maria did not know what to do. Her original plan was to stay in the hospital for as long as possible with the excuse that her foot had to heal before she showed them to the hiding place. Then there would be more time for planning on how to escape the Nazis before they found out about her real motives. The problem now was what if she began to show or start feeling lightheaded and dizzy from time to time? She could not go around being pregnant in the presence of the Nazis. They would most certainly decide she was no use to them and throw her into a…well, death camp as they had been called.
Later that afternoon the Lieutenant came marching into the hospital with flowers in his hands. Maria almost gagged as he handed them to her and told her he hoped she would get well soon. The smell of the flowers did not sit well with her.
"So when are you going to be better so we can go and hunt that awful Captain down, hmm?" He asked her. As much as Maria hated it she knew she must play along. She knew she was the lone person stalling the Nazis from searching everywhere for him.
"The nurse said if I stay off my foot for a month it will get better. I was hoping maybe I could just tell you the place and you could go to it. I can't go unless we wait for a month." Maria stated with a fake apologetic look on her face.
"Well we could just take you in a car, but I will see what I can do. We could have groups go out and search. If we haven't found him in a month then we can bring you out to show us." He told her.
"That sounds great." She told him enthusiastically. She thanked God for the drama classes she had once taken because her aunt had said it would improve her singing voice. He gave her a kiss on the cheek, which frustrated Maria, but she did not show it. When he finally left Maria pulled over a trashcan and threw up. The pollen smell was aggravating Maria's stomach. She did not know how she would be in a month. She just hoped that somehow the baby she was carrying was not as mischievous and ornery as the people that made it.
As weeks went by Maria's ankle began to heal quickly. She was grateful when the nurse told her to start taking small walks. The strange thing was that walking seemed to be major trouble for her. Not only was her ankle sore and weak, she also had a few more pounds on her stomach. The first few days were pure torture as Maria took her first steps in nearly one and a half months. The thought of learning to walk again irritated her. She wanted to just leave the hospital bed and run to Switzerland. That would be quite impossible considering she was in a Nazi hospital.
Or that's what she assumed. She was taken care of, but wondered what would happen if someone found out about her. No one had asked any questions about why the baby was to be kept confidential. Still Maria could not seem to stop worrying. Luckily her daily prayers to God calmed her nerves. She had no plan of what was to happen, but she knew that He had as plan.
Maria had reached almost full strength. Her only complaint about the hospital was about the visiting hours. The Lieutenant seemed to be there everyday talking to her and it made Maria sick. Didn't he have more important business to attend to? The only reason for Maria not asking him to leave was because the thought that perhaps she was saving peoples lives by having one of the main Nazis not working. Maria was horrified of him. She knew he was falling in love with her. He would not care that she already had a husband. He also thought she wouldn't care because Maria seemed to be turning against her husband anyways. The thought mad her very upset and she wondered why after she was married she seemed to be courted more. No one had ever looked twice at her before she married Georg. Well except Georg of course, but now it seemed like everyone was.
Maria knew she would have to eventually blurt the truth out. It was inevitable. It would have to come to it eventually because she refused to be unfaithful to the person she loved the most.
"Maria you look so much better today. You can walk now and everything so tomorrow we will leave for Vienna, alright?" The Lieutenant told Maria one afternoon. Maria smiled and nodded hiding her shock. He bent down and to Maria's shock kissed her. When he left the doorway she spit onto the floor. 'Could this be more disgusting?' Maria thought in her head as she stood up to brush her teeth. She did not know what she was going to do.