Disclaimer: I own nothing, though I wish I did.
Chapter Fifteen
The summer moon was high and full, giving the mountain an almost ghostly look. A cool breeze filled the air as the von Trapp family and Maria climbed up the mountain. The Captain paused a moment to give everyone a second to breathe as they had just overcome a steep path way. Looking at his watch he could barely make out the time of 2:30 in the morning. He looked around at everyone else, they were all tired, it was apparent on their faces. They had been walking for at least 2 hours, maybe even three, Georg didn't know what time they had reached the mountain.
"Fraulein Maria?"
"Yes Brigitta." Maria said before yawning.
"I'm tired."
"Me too." Gretl said.
"Can we rest now?" Marta asked.
"Yes, my we?" Kurt said.
"That would be nice." Louisa said.
Frederick mumbled out an agreement between two yawns and Leisl nodded her head in agreement.
Maria looked at all of the children who were falling asleep on their feet. Maria, herself, wanted to stop but wasn't sure if they could, if they had the time. She looked over at the Captain for some help.
"Just a little farther children, and then we will rest." he said. Maria gave him a loving smile, unaware that he could see it. The Captain turned and continued walking with a smile on his face for the first time that night.
"Fraulein Maria, I can't walk anymore." Gretl said, doing the best job she could at containing her tears.
"Oh, Gretl come here." Maria picked her up, "Is that better?"
"Yes." the little girl said, resting her head on her Fraulein's shoulder and immediately falling asleep as Maria began to hum a quiet song.
Gretl was a lot heavier than Maria thought. After about five minutes of walking Gretl's weight was beginning to become a burden. Doing the best she could to not wake the sleeping child Maria tried shifting the little girl, but had no luck. A quiet chuckle sounded from her left side.
"Might I help, Fraulein?" The Captain said, noticing the blush of Maria's cheeks even in the moonlight.
"Yes Captain, thank you." she said, momentarily pausing to carefully put Gretl in his awaiting arms before continuing their hike.
The two were walking side by side, with their shoulders almost touching. The closeness seemed to calm both of them.
"How have you been holding up Fraulein?"
"I'm alright Captain, a little tired, but none the less, I'm fine. And yourself?"
"I'm-" the Captain paused, he wasn't really sure of what he was feeling. He looked down at the sleeping Gretl in his arms, then turned around to look at the rest of his children following closely behind. Leisl was helping Marta while they, along with Frederick, Louisa, Kurt and Brigitta hummed My Favorite Things. Finally his gaze ended on Maria, and their eyes met. "I'm doing well." They gave each other a smile.
Leisl didn't like the idea of interrupting her father and Fraulein Maria, but she had to talk to someone.
"Fraulein Maria?"
"Yes Leisl." Maria said, holding the Captain's gaze as long as she could before giving Leisl all of her attention.
"Could I er-um talk to you."
"Of course, what's the matter?"
"Well, could we talk, away from everyone else?" Maria gave the sixteen-year-old a worried look before turning to the Captain who nodded his head. Giving him a smile, she held Leisl's elbow to get her to stop walking and they waited for the rest of the family to pass them.
"What is it darling?" Maria said, looking worriedly in Leisl's direction. Thanks to the moon, Maria was able to see tears forming in the young woman's eyes.
"Fraulein, excuse me for being rude, but um-well, have you ever…well, what I mean…is have you ever, uh, been in love." Maria nearly fell off the side of the mountain. What was she supposed to say to that, "Why yes Leisl I love your Father"? Not knowing where Leisl was going with this, she answered to the best of her abilities.
"Yes, I suppose I have." Well, it wasn't entirely a lie, right?
"Oh, I'm sorry Fraulein I shouldn't have asked you-" Leisl said quickly, sensing her governess' uneasiness. "I just-" she couldn't finish as a single tear rolled down her cheek.
Maria now had an idea what Leisl was getting at. "Leisl, it's alright, you can ask me anything."
Giving her governess a reassuring smile she continued on, "Well, how do you know…when you love someone…or when you stop loving them. When he stops loving you." Once again a single tear found its way down her cheek.
"I'm not quite sure, darling. I suppose it depends on the person."
"Oh, well…what do you do?"
That, Maria knew the exact answer too. "Well, you cry a little and then you wait for the sun to come out. It always does."
"Really?"
"Of course."
"There are so many things I think I should know, but I don't I just don't."
Maria gave a little laugh, "How can you. But I promise Leisl, it will all be alright."
"Thank you Fraulein." Leisl said, giving Maria a hug.
Georg looked at his watch 4:00 a.m. They had walked another hour and a half from when he had last checked. They needed to rest. They all did. Looking around, he saw a nice clearing in the distance, perhaps a five minute walk away. Suddenly a short scream filled the air, followed by his name being called. The Captain whipped around just in time to see Maria fall to the ground.
Running over to where Maria and Leisl where the Captain set Gretl, who was now awake on the ground before kneeling next to Maria; "What happened?"
"We were walking and she stepped on a loose stone a fell." Came Leisl's scared voice.
"Will she be alright, Father?" Marta asked, whimpering.
"Of course, it's Fraulein Maria." the Captain said, giving the children a semi-smirk before examining Maria for the first time.
She had a small cut on her head from the fall, but nothing serious. For that the Captain gave a quick prayer. Feeling very uncomfortable he checked the rest of her over. It felt very improper doing this, but it had to be done. Finally his gaze fell on her left ankle. It was already swollen and most likely growing.
He ripped part of his coat and handed it to Leisl, "Leisl, tie this around her left ankle and make sure it's tight, it's the best make shift brace we have at the moment."
"Yes Father, Leisl said, taking the clothe and beginning her task.
Once again Georg ripped his coat, but this time the piece was smaller. He took the small flask he had with water in it and wet the piece of clothing. Swiftly he began to clean he small scrape.
"Fraulein, Fraulein?" Maria heard her name being called and felt something wet on her forehead. Opening her eyes she could see the Captain sitting above her, apparently cleaning something on her forehead.
"Captain?" she said as she tried to sit up, but the pain in her ankle stopped her from getting anywhere.
"Easy, Fraulein."
"What happened"
"Well, you had a fairly bad fall, but nothing to worry about. You have a small cut on you head, but nothing serious. But I don't know about that ankle of yours. It looks pretty bad."
"So I feel." she said sarcastically. The Captain gave a small laugh.
"Leisl, Frederick, help your bother and sisters over to that clearing on the other side of that small hill, I'll help Fraulein Maria. Once we reach the clearing we'll rest." Nodding, the two oldest von Trapp children began to lead the way as Georg helped Maria to her feet.
Putting her arm around his shoulder and his arm around her waist. As they took the first step he felt Maria almost fall again. "Whoa, easy there Fraulein. Are you alright?"
"It hurts to much to walk." She said, wincing at the immense pain. The Captain considered his other option of transporting Maria, an option that wasn't exactly proper. But he didn't care, she was in pain. He hated seeing her in pain. Swiftly he lifted Maria off her feet and began to walk as her arms instinctively went around his next, despite how hard she tried not to let them.
"Oh, Captain, really. I don't think-"
"Nonsense Fraulein, you can't walk on your foot. And you need to be well rested, we still have a long way ahead of us."
"But Sir-"
"Remember Fraulein, sea captains never take no for an answer." he said with a smirk, as they shared a small laugh.
"Well, all…right."
Truth be told, Maria didn't mind the Captain carrying her. She felt safe in his arms, and given their current situation, the feeling of safety was a pleasant one. Before she could stop herself, Maria found her head resting on his shoulder as she fell into a surprisingly peaceful sleep.
He liked the way she felt in his arms. He felt complete and at peace. There was nothing in the world that could bother him. It felt so right. Smiling he looked down her sleeping form. She looked so calm and peaceful, if it was all possible his love for her grew in that instant. She had given up everything to travel to escape with a family that wasn't even hers. His smile grew even wider.
The children gathered under a tree and all were fast asleep faster than the Captain could ever think possible. He knelt a laid Maria down and moved over to give he some space. After a while of staring at the stars the Captain felt something hit his arm. Looking over he saw Maria's sleeping head using his shoulder as a pillow once again. To hell with it the Captain thought, and moved a little bit closer until he finally allowed sleep to take hold of him
Georg had woken five minutes ago and was now at the edge of a small cliff, looking into the distance. Just at the horizon he could see Salzburg. He could make out a few lights that where on in buildings, they seemed to dance under the soft moon and stars. Everything looked so peaceful from here, but in realty it wasn't. A cool breeze went from one of the mountain to another.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" the soft voice of Maria said.
"Breathtaking." he replied looking her in the eyes, suddenly unaware if he was talking about her or the scenery.
A moment of silence followed before Maria found her courage to speak. "I really must thank you Captain."
"Oh?"
"Yes, for allowing me to come with you."
"It was no problem at all Fraulein."
"It's just-" before she could another breeze filled the air and Maria gave a shiver.
With out thinking the Captain took off his coat and put it around her shoulders as she began to protest. "Ah, ah, Fraulein how many times must I tell you-"
"Sea captains never take no for an answer." They both laughed before Maria continued with what she had been saying. "As I was saying Captain. You allowing me to come along means a lot. I don't really have any family left and you all have filled that gap in my life."
Georg smiled and rubbed her shoulder in comfort as a few tears escaped her eyes. "You have become part of this family Fraulein, I cannot imagine us leaving with out." she gave him a small smile. Once again a comfortable silence filled the air.
After a while Maria's quiet crying broke the air. "Fraulein, are you alright?"
"I was just thinking, Captain. Had I not returned from the abbey, I would not be here with all of you. And I can't imagine that. I can't believe that I was almost-"
"Shh, it's alright Fraulein." he said, pulling her into a tight hug. "You're here now."
Still keeping their hug the Captain asked: "Fraulein, I know I should most likely wait for another time, but, why did you leave?" She looked up at him briefly, with a tear streaked face. "Forgive me Fraulein, perhaps you would like to talk another time."
"It's alright Captain," she said, her voice muffled in his coat. "I suppose we never did finish our talk from the other night." Maria had no idea what she was doing, but knew she couldn't escape the situation.
"Then-"
Taking a deep breathe Maria 'jumped into the deep end'. "I was scared."
"Scared?" the Captain pulled out of their hug to look her in they eyes, but she refused to meet his gaze.
"Yes."
"Of what?"
"Of-of" she paused for a moment. She couldn't go any farther.
"Fraulein, what were you scared of?" Georg said, taking her chin in his hand and bringing her gaze to meet his. Looking into her eyes he saw the raw emotion that was there. He saw a feeling that he had hoped to see for so long, a feeling that he hoped he was really seeing now.
"Of-"
"Yes?"
"Of feelings," she took a deep breather, "my feelings for you." she said, barely audible. She tried to move her head away, but his fingers kept her from doing so. So she decided to move her eyes away.
Georg lifted her chin even higher and met his lips with hers. Maria could not believe what had just happened. Here she thought she was going to get rejected but here he was kissing her. WAIT, KISSING ME! It didn't matter, she had waited to this moment for so long, and it felt so right. The kiss was short and sweet, yet passionate at the same time. Pulling away the Captain looked deep into her eyes, "I love you." he said, before giving her another sweet kiss.
Maria stared into his eyes, she couldn't believe it. Had he just said what she longed to hear? "I-I love you, too." she said, her eyes giving way to new tears. "The Reverend Mother always says: "when the Lord closes a door, somewhere he opens a window."
"What else does the Reverend Mother say?"
"That you have to look for you life."
"And have you found it, Maria?"
"I think I have… I know I have."
The Captain pulled her into a tight hug. He couldn't believe this was really happening. For the time being all worries in him were gone. Pulling away he said; "Do you know the first time I started loving you? That night at the dinner table when you sat on that ridiculous pine cone." he said, his laughter soon joined by hers.
"I knew the first time you blew that silly whistle."
"All my love." he said, stoking her cheek. She kissed his hand.
Once again the couple shared a kiss. Both where in heaven, they had professed their love to the other, and had gotten the answer each didn't think possible.
"Maria?"
"Yes?"
"Would you do me the honor of being my wife?"
Maria looked him in the eyes as another wave of tears hit her. "Nothing would make me happier….Georg." she said with a smile. Again, they shared a kiss, though this one was more passionate. "I guess the only thing left to do," Maria started. "Is to ask-"
"the children." she and Georg finished together before laughing. Their laughter subsided as they held each other in their arms and the sun began to rise.
Fin
Author's Note: Well this is it. Tah Dah, they got together. I hoped you all liked it! I would like to thank each and everyone of you for your wonderful reviews and a thanks to everyone who stuck with this story from the beginning. You all are wonderful and I thank you! sob I know say goodbye, until my next story!
The Lonely Goatherd
