Finally updated. Thanks for reading! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Sound of Music, Maria, Georg, the Baroness, the real von Trapp's or any of the other brilliant Rogers and Hammerstein characters.
Maria:
"So, Elsa has been trying to get out of Paris for the last month and Charley is gone helping the war effort and they haven't spoken," Liesl explained. Maria listened with a heavy heart. She and Georg had returned to Switzerland only a week ago and she was saddened that neither Elsa nor Charles was not around to welcome them back.
"I'm afraid Elsa has had a hard time getting the little girl out of Paris, the officials are not being cooperative with the necessary papers," Liesl continued.
"I leave for a few months and everything manages to fall apart," Maria replied. She bounced her granddaughter up and down on her knees and the little girl smiled.
"Elsa is supposed to be coming home tomorrow," Liesl continued, "At least, that is what she said in the last letter I received from her, but that was over two weeks ago."
Georg entered the living room and sat down beside Maria on the couch. The rest of the children were busy unloading packages in their rooms or exploring the Switzerland home to make sure everything was as they left it.
"Paris is a dangerous place right now," Georg began, watching Maria play with Katrina, "The sooner Elsa can get out the better."
"Do you think you'll ever go back to Austria father?" Liesl asked.
"It's not the same Austria I knew anymore. We retrieved what we could from the house and sold it, but we wrote you about that."
A knock at the door stopped Liesl from asking any more questions. Maria handed the baby to Georg and went into the foyer were the butler was already opening the door. Standing behind it was a round red faced little man that Maria had never seen before.
"Good afternoon, my name is Dr. Phillips. I wonder if Liesl Hienburg is here," the man asked. The butler turned to look at Maria who step forward and dismissed him with a wave of her hand.
"I'm Baroness von Trapp, Liesl's mother, can I help you with something?" Maria asked gesturing for the doctor to enter. He did so with his top hat between his two round hands.
"Baroness von Trapp," he said his voice jolly, "You are great friends with Elsa Jackson, is it not true?"
"Yes," Maria said with a nod of her head.
"I'm her doctor," the man said and extended a hand. Maria shook it with confusion.
"What brings you here doctor?" Maria asked as she led the doctor to the living room. Liesl stood up and placed a hand on the doctor's pudgy arm.
"Dr. Phillips, it's so good to see you," she said with a bright smile. Maria guessed by her daughter's behavior Dr. Phillips was a friends as well as Elsa's physician.
"This is my father, Georg," Liesl said as Georg nodded in acknowledgment. He would have stood but Katrina had fallen asleep in his arms.
"I wonder if I might enquire as to when Baroness Jackson will return?" the stout man asked.
"The last letter I received said she hoped to be back tomorrow," Liesl replied. The doctor's smile faded a little.
"I wonder because I discovered some unfortunate news last week. Dr. Jose, her Paris doctor, was killed in the line of duty, and she hasn't been in contact with me since she left. I told Charley to make sure she behaves herself when it came time and he hasn't been holding up the deal," Dr. Phillips explained. Maria gave him a blank stare, and she saw Liesl and Georg doing the same.
"Came time?" Maria questioned. The doctor put a hand to his mustache and his eyes grew as round as his frame.
"Great horny toads! Didn't she tell you?" he questioned. Maria and Liesl both slowly shook their heads from side to side.
"Tell us what?" Liesl encouraged. The doctor took a step back and eyed everyone in the room as if they were the enemy.
"I'm sorry, doctor patient confidentially forbids me from—"
"Elsa is pregnant," Maria interrupted.
"Of course, no one said you couldn't guess," the jolly doctor said as he laughed.
"What?" Liesl and Georg shouted at the same time. The doctor jumped at the sound of their voices.
"But, that can't be," Liesl began, "Elsa surely would have told us."
Maria looked at her daughter with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. Elsa might consider Maria and Liesl her best friends, but Maria knew she was still an intensely private person.
"Do you think Charley knows?" Maria asked the doctor.
Dr. Phillips pondered the question and his face seemed to turn even redder.
"I couldn't say for sure. I haven't heard from Charley, where is he exactly," he finally responded.
Maria inhaled slowly and clenched her teeth together. She shook her head from side to side out of frustration. Charles and Elsa must have fought about something and Maria was almost positive Charles didn't know about the baby.
"He enlisted," Liesl said, regaining some of her senses. The doctor's normally jolly round face turned downward into a grave frown.
"Georg," Maria began as her mind raced with thoughts of what to do, "See if you can track Charley down." Maria went to the closet to retrieve her hat and coat.
"Liesl and I are going into town to send a telegram to Elsa and see when she is arriving," Maria explained. Liesl opened her mouth as if to object but then closed it without saying anything.
"We will let you know doctor," Maria told the round man.
"Very good," the doctor replied as he followed Liesl and Maria to the door.
On their way out Liesl took her mother's arm and with a voice quite serious spoke softly.
"I'm glad you're home mother."
Maria smiled faintly as she led the way. She did not like to meddle in other people's business but Elsa had always been a special case. If nothing else, Maria wanted to ask Elsa face to face what was going on. Maria almost always found that showing a little kindness and interest in people could solve most problems in life.