A/N: Okay my last chapter. I hope you all liked this story. I am going to take a small break from writing and then I promise to write more. (I can't stay away from SOM too long! By the time this is posted I will probably be working on some other story already!) Please review! (Then I know people at least read the stories and reviews make me want to write more!)
Ch. 12: Home
"Liesl?" Marta asked from her sleeping bag. Liesl rolled over to face Marta.
"Yes Marta?" She asked.
"I'm hungry. Can we make breakfast?" Marta asked. Liesl nodded and rolled out of her sleeping bag. The other children soon smelled the scent of breakfast cooking on the fireplace.
"I don't know why Father, Maria and the Baroness are still sleeping." Louisa told them.
"They are usually such early risers." Kurt chimed in.
"Let's go and wake Father up and tell him breakfast is ready." Brigitta told them. They agreed and they all took breakfast off the fire and left to wake up their Father.
"Father?" Brigitta said suddenly when she glanced down she saw her Father and Maria close together in their sleeping bags. Brigitta's mouth dropped open.
"Why are they laying that close together?" Marta asked. Kurt began to giggle as they walked quietly over to the fire.
"Let's just eat and give them some time alone." Louisa told them. The others nodded.
"Isn't Maria supposed to go back to the Abbey today?" Gretl asked. The children looked at her visibly upset.
"Yes. I guess she is." Liesl told them.
"Wait a minute why would she go back?" Brigitta asked them. "She is in love with Father! Oh wouldn't it be awesome if she was going to become our new Mother!" Gretl and Marta smiled excitedly.
"Brigitta don't get their hopes up!" Louisa told her. "They couldn't be in love…" As she said those words she looked over and saw their Father kiss Maria on the check and take her hand as they got up and walked over to where the children were sitting. This time Liesl's mouth dropped open.
"Father are you…" She trailed off unable to speak.
"Liesl, Children there is something very important I have to talk to you about. Maria and I are going to get married." He told them. Seven huge smiles spread across the children's faces. They ran up and hugged her while asking them thousands of questions.
"So you are not going back to the Abbey Maria?" Gretl asked.
"Well only to get my stuff darling." Maria replied.
"Oh can we come too?" Marta asked.
"And can we go today after we hike so you never have to leave us ever again?" Brigitta asked.
"Well that would be fine if it is okay with your Father." She told them. They looked at their Father pleadingly.
"Yes that would be fine. There is no way I am letting you go in there alone. They might not let you out and make you a nun before I can save you." Maria giggled.
"Will the Reverend Mother be okay with this Maria?" Liesl asked suddenly. Maria had not thought of what the nuns would think. She hoped they would be fine with it. She was nervous and was glad Georg insisted on going in with her. Maria asked where Elsa was and discovered she was still inside her tent. Maria brought her a plate of food and asked to come in. Elsa opened the door and Maria slid in.
"Elsa I brought you some breakfast." Maria told her.
"Thank you my dear." Elsa told her. They were both silent for a moment not knowing what to say to one another.
"Elsa I am sorry…I didn't mean for…"
"Maria don't say another word. It just wasn't meant to be for him and I. He doesn't love me he loves you. It was the will of God for you two to find each other. Hopefully one day I will find what the two of you have. Maria looked at her with tears in her eyes.
"I hope you do too." She told her honestly.
***
After breakfast the ten of them decided to pack up and leave. As they packed Maria went down to the water's edge. She saw something shinny and picked it up. It was Elsa's harmonica. Now it was clean, but a little tattered resembling Maria's harmonica. Maria picked it up and fingered it. She was surprised when she heard a voice coming from behind her.
"I am very glad Elsa brought her harmonica. If she hadn't we might not have been in the same place we are now, would we?" He asked. Maria shook her head. "We might not have had the chance to talk all those nights."
"I didn't know a random thing like a harmonica could lead me to my life." Maria told him putting her arms around him.
"I didn't either." He told her laughing. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. "Are you ready to go home Maria?" She smiled happily and nodded as they walked back towards the camp.
The hike down was not as eventful as the way up. The children were nice to Elsa for a change and helped her down as Georg followed with Maria walking by his side. Elsa laughed a little she had actually begun to enjoy the children's company for once now that there was no pressure. She realized they were really wonderful children if she didn't have to be their Mother.
Georg and Elsa had not spoken since the evening before. They continued that trend until they arrived at the train station.
"Goodbye Georg and thanks for the time. I can't wait to get cleaned up." She told him.
"Here I will help you with your things…"
"No Georg, darling I will do it." He nodded thankful his fiancé was sparing him an awkward moment.
"Okay my love I will see you in a few moments." He replied. Elsa looked hurt, but then smiled while watching Maria try to lift up Elsa's heavy bags. Maria walked with Elsa down to the train stop.
"Thank you Maria." She told her.
"You're welcome Elsa. Oh and here I forgot to give you this." She said as she pulled something out of her coat.
Elsa took the tiny bag and opened it. Inside was her sparkling harmonica.
"I tried to clean it up the best I could. The inside is clean now at least." Maria told her. "It will sound better now even if it does not look better. Sorry it was hard to clean the outside up after I found it on the lake."
"Thank you Maria." Elsa said with a lump forming in her throat. She had just been taught a very important lesson that day and could not believe she had been so rude to the person that had taught her. "It is what is on the inside that really counts anyways right?" Maria smiled and nodded.
"Goodbye Elsa. Good luck with everything." She told her as she begin to walk away.
"Goodbye Maria, thank you again." Maria nodded and walked back to the car. She was happy that even if Elsa did not come right out and say it Maria had taught her something. She had finally taught her the importance of inner beauty. Even if Elsa never changed her ways at least she knew the importance of it. Maria smiled as she saw Georg eagerly awaiting her arrival.
"Finally Maria, I thought you ran away." He told her jokingly.
"Honestly Georg I was only gone for five minutes. Where would I run away? The Abbey?" He laughed a little and began to drive to the Abbey. When they started getting out of the car Maria became worried. They walked to the gates ready to ring the bell.
"Georg wait." Maria told him. "What if they don't approve?"
"Approve of what?" Georg asked.
"Us!" Maria answered him quickly. "I mean I wasn't exactly supposed to go and fall in love with my employer."
"Maria calm down they will understand. Even if they don't approve they can't make you be a nun against your will. They can't argue with the will of God." He told her.
"Why don't we just run away? I never have to talk to them again." Maria told him.
"Then you will make them awfully worried Maria. You can't run from your past. Come on I will be right here with you." Maria nodded as Liesl rang the bell. Georg pulled Maria in a comforting hug that resulted in a deep lasting kiss, much to the shock of Sister Bertha who saw the whole thing from the gate.
"Good Afternoon Maria. It is so nice to see you again." She told her. Maria quickly escaped from Georg's arms and wiped her lips on the postulant hat she was holding in her hands. Her cheeks were quite red as the Sister showed her in.
"Maria you have returned!" Cried Sister Margaretta. Maria still was looking at sister Bertha who was gazing at her postulant's hat that Maria had wiped the saliva from her lips on. "Shall I show you to your room?" She asked.
"Sister Margaretta I believe Maria may have to go through confession before she goes back to any of her duties." Sister Bertha told her. Maria's mouth dropped,
"But wait I have not sinned. I have nothing to confess."
"Well I will take you to Reverend Mother so you can talk to her about what you have been up to for the last few months. And if that horrid display outside was any indication of what you were up to with that gentleman…"
"Oh I am sorry forgive me Sister Bertha. This is Georg von Trapp and his seven children." Maria told them.
"Well it is very nice to meet all of you. How would you like to have a tour of the abbey?" Sister Margaretta asked. Seven faces smiled and went with the sister. Sister Bertha motioned for the two of them to follow her.
"That is the nun I always used to have to kiss the floor for anytime we had a disagreement." Maria whispered to Georg. Georg smiled more amused then anything at the shock of the nuns of finding Maria kissing someone on their doorstep.
"The Reverend Mother will see you now Maria." She told her. Maria stepped in and motioned Georg to follow her.
"Maria you are back!" Reverend Mother said excitedly. "I have been praying for you my dear."
"Yes. Reverend Mother I brought someone to see you today." She told her as she motioned for Georg to come to her side. "This is Captain von Trapp." She stated.
"So what brings you in here on this fine day Captain?" The Reverend Mother asked. "Well besides bringing Maria back to us? Did you have problems with her? Was she trouble?"
"Oh no. No, no, no. She was quite the opposite as a matter of fact." Georg replied.
Maria took over. Reverend Mother looked interestingly between the two of them. She could tell something was between them by the way they looked at each other.
"Well Reverend Mother he did not bring me back here for me to stay. We came back because I don't feel I can be a nun. I don't feel it is the will of God." Maria finished.
"Oh and why not?" The Reverend Mother asked.
"Because I am in love with Him." She told her joining hands with Georg. "And we want to be married as soon as possible."
"We were hoping for your blessing." Georg told her. The Reverend Mother looked into his eyes and could tell that he loved Maria very much.
"Yes you two have my blessing Maria." She told them. "I will tell Sister Margaretta to get your things at once. Now where would you like to be married?"
"Well we were hoping maybe here." The Reverend Mother smiled as they set a date for the two of them to get married. After a half of an hour the children and Maria and Georg walked out of the Abbey with Maria's small bag of stuff.
Maria took one last look at Nonnburg Abbey. She knew the next time she would see it would be on her wedding day. She relished in the thought that she and Georg would be getting married in a little under a month. She slid into the car seat as the family drove to their villa in Salzburg. When they got there the children eagerly ran inside to get cleaned up for dinner. Georg walked around the car and opened the door for his fiancé. He remembered distinctly the night Maria had told him she really had never had a home. He looked at her lovingly, relishing that her home was finally his home as well.
"Maria, my love." He said grinning. "You are home, finally." Maria glanced over at him grinning as well. Hearing him say that sent instant shivers up her spine. Realization hit her that she would actually become Georg's wife and his home would be hers. She would have what she had longed for, for so long, a loving home.
"You mean we are home darling." She told him. He smiled back at her radiant smile and glittering blue eyes and he gathered her in his arms and kissed her fully. For the first time in Maria's life she really truly knew she was home.
Fin