Setting: This story takes place about 3 years after the movie. The family lives in the US. Maria and the Captain have a 2-year old daugther and Maria is expecting again.
Gratitude: a big THANK to my wonderful beta, Jessica who preread this story and came back with helpful suggestions on how to improve it.
Please read and review.
Entering the almost dark master bedroom Georg quietly closed the door behind him. Exhausted after a long day he turned around to see his wife holding their 2-year-old little girl in her arms trying to rock her into sleep. The sight of his wife and their youngest child brought a proud smile to his face. Carefully, to not wake up the already sleeping baby, he approached the chair Maria was sitting in. She looked up at him with a smile and softly whispered to her husband while gently stroking little Annie's face.
"She has finally fallen asleep." Maria let out a sigh.
"Let me help you." Georg whispered and gently lifted the girl from her mother's arms. Arranging the blanket around her he carried his baby girl towards the nursery and carefully put her down in the cot. Maria followed her husband and stood by him when the baby was safely laid down in her little bed. The couple was standing next to their daughter for a long moment, watching their sleeping baby with pride in their eyes. With a soft nod they both left the nursery and reentered their bedroom. In the dim light of the room Georg took a moment to study his wife and a wave of worry crossed his mind when he saw the exhaustion on her face. Taking her hands in his he led her towards the bed and helped her lie down. Stroking her face gently he broke the silence.
"Are you all right, Maria? You look so exhausted and so pale." He stated while his hand gently caressed the little rounding of her stomach.
"I don't know. I'm very tired most of the time and the morning sickness won't go away either." Maria replied.
"What did the doctor say?" Georg asked with concern.
"That each pregnancy is different. He ran various tests and didn't find any reason to be worried. The strange thing is that with Annie the morning sicknesses were over after the second month and I was hyper most of the time. With this child I seem to be out of energy all the time and I'm almost four month along." Maria's voice sounded faint and tired.
"Get some sleep darling." He said and arranged the blankets around his wife before giving her a light kiss on the lips. Georg watched as his wife's eyelids closed and she drifted off to sleep. He was worried about his young wife. He knew that she had too many things on her plate at the same time and his mind kept on wondering how he could make things easier for her. Maybe he should ask another doctor to take a look at her. With fear he recalled the other evening when Maria complained about having stomach cramps. He had put her to bed immediately and called for the doctor who after examining Maria had stated that there was no reason for being worried; the pregnancy only had affected her body more than usual. He felt his own eyelids close but before drifting off to sleep he made sure to say a prayer and to ask God to keep Maria and the baby safe.
A few hours later Maria woke up to the same stomach cramps she had the other evening. Carefully she slid out of bed not to wake up her sleeping husband. Just when she reached the bathroom door a sudden dizziness took her over and the cramps were getting stronger. Automatically her hands touched her stomach in fear. Her face was covered with sweat and black circles started appearing in front of her eyes. Quickly, with a wet cloth she wiped her face and neck. "Please my dear God, don't let anything happen to my baby." She prayed while tears ran down her cheeks. A strange and wet feeling urged her to look downwards and the sight of blood on her white nightgown just below her stomach made her scream out "Georg!" before she collapsed on the floor.
Georg jumped out of the bed in the minute Maria screamed his name and rushed into the bathroom. His face turned pale upon seeing his wife lying motionless on the floor blood staining her nightgown.
"Maria!" He ran to her but realized that there was no time to waste. His wife's life was in danger at the moment and the situation required quick actions. He picked her up and carried her motionless body to the bed and gently laid her down. Maria slowly opened her eyes but closed them again when the new wave of cramps came.
"The baby, the baby…. " She cried in fear while trying to fight the cramps.
"Don't move, don't move. I'll be right back." Georg gently instructed and ran downstairs to call the doctor as well as to wake up Liesl.
"Liesl, wake up. I need you help. Quickly." He instructed and felt sorry for the stern tone in his voice.
"What happened?" Liesl asked while stifling a yawn.
"Your mother collapsed. I have called the doctor. I need you to take care of your brothers and sisters." Georg said and quickly returned to his wife.
Taking her hand in his he felt how strong Maria was clinging to him. Her face was covered with sweat and grimaced with pain.
"The doctor will be here shortly. Keep fighting my love, keep fighting." He said while gently wiping off the sweat on Maria's face.
"There must be something wrong. Bleeding is not normal and all the cramps. Ouch!" She cried. Georg held her hand tightly in support while his other hand rested on Maria's forehead. "I'm afraid. What is going to happen?" Maria cried in pain her chin trembling.
A soft knock on the door and Liesl's voice announced the arrival of the doctor. When the doctor and the nurse entered the room Georg approached Liesl in the doorway and holding her shoulder he instructed her.
"Take Annie out of the room." Georg gently touched Liesl's face in comfort when he saw how scared Liesl was. Georg ran to get his baby daughter from the nursery and gave her to Liesl while Maria's cry filled the air. Liesl obliged and left her parents' bedroom together with her baby sister.
After making sure that Maria was taken care about by the doctor Georg silently left the bedroom. He sank on a nearby chair and put his hands together for a prayer. Silent tears were running down his cheeks.
"Father?" Liesl softly tapped him on the shoulder. Georg looked up at his daughter wiping away the tears. "What happened?" Liesl asked.
"She collapsed in the bathroom. I was sleeping and when I heard her scream I ran into the bathroom and found her on the floor." Georg said while wiping his forehead.
"She is in good hands father." Liesl said while holding his father's shoulders. Before they could say anything the door opened and the doctor wanted to have a word with Georg. Liesl silently left the duo.
"Captain, your wife has to be delivered to hospital immediately. She has lost lots of blood and professional care will be necessary." The doctor paused for a long moment.
"If we get her to hospital in time, yes she is." The doctor replied and ran back to the room to gather Maria and her belongings.
Georg was sitting by her side during the 15-minute drive to the hospital. The loud blast of the emergency car echoed in the air and Georg felt like he was in a nightmare, holding the hand of his wife, whose life was on high risk. Maria's face was all white, her body and expression calm due to the shot she had received. Her eyes were fighting to stay open and all she could feel was her husband's strong hand holding her own. She saw Georg mouth her "I love you," and she tried to keep eye contact with him. Her whole body was in shock; her mind was blank and hardly aware of the surroundings and the events happening to her.
Georg sat in front of the operating room Maria had been taken in an hour ago. "She is my life, our guarding angel. She is only 25. Please God don't take her away from me as if her life had no meaning." Georg tried to regain some of his optimism, just the way he had learned from Maria, but in this situation he realized he was really afraid for the first time after many years. The events of the night were playing in front of his eyes, how he had found her on the floor, the blood all around, Maria's motionless body, her cries and the pain he saw on her pale face, the endless waiting in front of their bedroom, the ride to the hospital and how Maria passed out just before they arrived at the hospital. His fears even increased upon seeing panic on the doctor's face and the way they took Maria to the operating room right away, as there was no time to waste. Waiting again, that seemed to be forever. Unable to maintain his sitting position, he stood up and impatiently, nervously he walked from one end to the other end of the room. These moments had seemed to be the longest in his life ever since the day of Agathe's death. The same fear consumed his mind. "What if…?" He thought to himself, but again he tried to keep faith. "No, not this time again. Please let Her be alright, if there is a choice to be made." Losing their child would be hard on them, he knew that, but he couldn't bear the thought of losing Maria.
To be continued…..
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