"Congratulations!" They raised their glasses in the air in excitement, Maria's filled with ginger ale, as they celebrated her engagement. Ann, her boyfriend, and Jonas all raised glasses of champagne in a toast as Maria laughed at how silly they were being. It was only the four of them, having gone to dinner to celebrate and coming back to her apartment as a farewell to it, as Georg had to go out of town on business and wasn't expecting to be back home until a bit later that evening. The four friends had spent quite a bit of time together in the past few months, so she was glad to spend one last night with them in her apartment. She was expected to move into the villa by the weekend, just in time for the entire family to pack up and go on holiday to the beach. It was all happening so quickly, yet she couldn't have been more excited if she tried.

They had shared the news of their engagement with the children a couple nights prior at a family dinner, Liesl and her husband joining as well. The children could not have been more exited at the news, nearly leaping from their chairs with joy as they wrapped her in their excited embraces. She had been nervous about moving in prior to being married, but not one person even thought to question it, simply excited to have her back in their home. It didn't do much to make her feel less sinful, but she supposed she wasn't sure when she had ever done things the proper way anyway.

"I can't believe you're going. You still plan to keep working, right?" Maria nodded, sitting next to Jonas upon the couch. They made it a habit to keep Ann and her boyfriend in separate chairs to avoid having to watch them become physical in any way. It started out as a joke, but they had continued doing so quite seriously.

"That's the plan. I expect I would be quite bored if I didn't work." Georg had been urging her to quit her job, but she wasn't quite ready to be a kept woman. She had worked so hard to get to a place of independence in her life, and it was quite difficult to justify stopping all of that, simply because her fiancé thought she should.

Suddenly, there was a frantic knock upon the door, and they all jumped at the surprise, sharing a look of confusion. They hadn't expected anyone else to join them, after all. Maria rushed to the door, Jonas following quickly behind in case she needed protecting for whatever reason. The urgency behind the knocking was quite alarming. She pulled open the door to find Louisa, crying and holding up the front of her dress, which was ripped enough to reveal her slip.

"I need you."

"Louisa!" She pulled her into a hug as the girl pushed her into the apartment, shaking with fear and desperate to get inside.

"He's following me." Just as Maria looked behind her, a large young man barreled up the stairs to her apartment. She pushed Louisa behind her quickly, finding that the man was not prepared to stop.

"Excuse me ma'am, she's coming with me."

"Like hell she is." The man moved toward her to enter the apartment, and she jumped back as Jonas pushed in front of her to protect them. She had never been more thankful for her friend as he shared a few harsh words with the intruder before giving him a shove and slamming the door, locking it behind them. "Thank you."

"I'm glad I was here." He patted her on the back and she held Louisa to her chest, as she cried with relief rather than fear at the moment. Maria had so many questions, so many concerns about what had happened, or what would have happened had she not been able to get to the apartment in time.

She excused herself from her friends and took Louisa to her bedroom, closing the door behind them as she began shuffling through her bureau for something she could wear in place of her ripped dress. A lot of her things were scattered about the room in boxes, but she was sure she had something that would work. Louisa held the cat, cuddling her as she sat upon the bed.

"Are you going to make me ask?" Louisa met her eyes, appearing exhausted after the many emotions that flooded her that evening.

"I was on a date."

"With that man?" Maria was shocked, and Louisa looked incredibly ashamed. The man was obviously much too old for her to be seeing, and it was even more obvious that Louisa did not have permission to be out on a date in the first place. "He didn't…harm you?"

"Not in the way you're asking, no." Maria felt a blush sweep across her face, but felt more than relief as she sat next to Louisa, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "We saw a film and went for a drive. It seemed like it would be innocent enough, I swear. He stopped at a park a little way from here, and he…I couldn't get him off of me. A kiss was one thing, but he just started grabbing at me."

"You're safe now." She pulled her close as Louisa began to cry again, her heart breaking for the girl. "Here, put this dress on. You can join me and my friends until your father gets here."

"He'll be so upset. Please don't tell him…"

"How can I not?" She shrugged, holding her face in her hands as she took a moment to herself. Maria sighed at the sight of the defeated girl in front of her. "The lesson has been learned, I should think."

Louisa nodded and gave her a final hug before she left her to dress and pull herself together a bit. She couldn't believe what had happened, and she was feeling quite shaken by it all herself, unable to imagine the fear that Louisa had felt. She was unable to get ahold of Georg, but she left a message with Franz that Louisa was with her and the Captain didn't need to worry. She didn't give many details, as she knew it would make Franz uncomfortable, and he promised to deliver the message the moment he saw the Captain next.

Maria joined her friends once more, taking her seat upon the sofa and gently explaining the situation. They were all outraged, and Ann's boyfriend even suggested going after the man in question, which made her smile. She was amazed at how they had all become such fast friends, so unexpectedly, but she couldn't have been more pleased. It felt so lovely to know that they would be ready to fight on behalf of her future daughter, only having met the girl ten minutes prior, all due to their loyalty for her. She had never had friends like that, and she vaguely wondered why she had spent so many years avoiding them.

Louisa tentatively joined them, accepting the glass of ginger ale Maria offered with a small smile. She cuddled close to her upon the couch, accepting the comfort that she offered as they both sipped from their glasses, and Maria wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Louisa, is it?" The girl nodded as Ann began to speak. "You're very lucky we're here celebrating tonight. How did you know we would be here?"

"Fraulein Maria doesn't like to be out past dark. I had a feeling she would be here." Ann laughed, taking another drink of her champagne.

"Oh, Maria, even your future child knows you're old."

"I'm not…"

"You poor thing, you know I'm right." Maria rolled her eyes and Louisa giggled a bit, looking into her eyes with a smile.

"You agree with this nonsense?" Louisa shook her head, smiling.

"No, I don't think so. It's clear they've never seen you run up a mountain." They all laughed, as she gave Louisa another hug. She was glad her spirit was coming back, never dimmed for too long, and Maria knew she was going to be just fine eventually.

She wondered what the girl was even thinking, going out with a grown man. He obviously had unsavory intentions with her, yet she decided to sneak out and go with him anyway. She supposed Georg was quite a few years her senior, but it never felt wrong in any way to her. She supposed it was due to the fact that they were far past teenagers when they met. She did wonder how he would react toward his daughter, though. He would be upset about the date, as well as the inconvenience of having to pick her up, but she hoped he could be sensitive enough for the rest.

She didn't have to wait long to learn, as Georg knocked on her door about a hour or so later. She accepted a quick kiss as he entered the apartment, but he was clearly frustrated, not to mention a bit exhausted by his trip. He seemed surprised that she had company, even though she knew she had told him they were celebrating that evening.

"Louisa, get in the car." She had been laughing with Ann about something silly when Georg entered the living room, and the room fell silent. He sounded angry, and Maria knew she needed to provide the entire story before allowing them to leave. Louisa would simply sit in silence and take whatever punishment he saw fit, and she wasn't about to see her punished any more for what she had been through.

"Georg, may I speak to you in the kitchen first?"

"I've had a very long trip, darling. I would like to get on with disciplining my daughter." She swore she saw Louisa huddle into herself as she stood from the sofa, and she shook her head in response.

"If she's to be my own daughter soon, I should like to say a few things." He paused, finally looking into her expectant eyes. Nodding, he followed her into the kitchen. She turned to face him when they were out of earshot, hoping their voices wouldn't carry too badly when they began to argue…she assumed it was inevitable.

"I'm sorry she interrupted your evening."

"I'm not worried about that at all. I'm glad she came here. Her date…"

"Date…yes, that is something I would very much like to discuss with her. I don't recall ever permitting that." She nodded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I do think she's learned her lesson. He tried to…force himself upon her."

"Is that the story then?" Eyes wide in disbelief, she scoffed at his reaction.

"I can't believe you. Her dress was nearly ripped off her body when she got here, and he was chasing her. I assure you it's more than just a story."

"Maria, you have to be careful with her. She has been quite a handful the past few years." She shook her head, unbelieving of his words. Louisa had always been a bit difficult, but certainly she hadn't been so bad over the years that he couldn't believe her in such a serious circumstance.

"Even so, she isn't lying about this. I saw the look in her eyes, and I saw him."

"Then I will keep that in mind when we have our discussion." She sighed, biting her lip in frustration. She didn't want to overstep, but she also wanted him to know that she took her place in the lives of the children very seriously. She was not intending to be a silent partner when it came to raising the children.

"I feel very strongly that further punishment is not necessary in this situation."

"She needs to know there are consequences for lying to me."

"I can't imagine she hasn't been given quite the example tonight."

"Maria…"

"Georg." She raised her eyebrows, cutting him off with the most governess-sounding voice she had taken on in years.

"Now you're taking a tone with me?"

"Only because you're being insensitive. Her night could have ended horrifically, and she is well aware of it." He nodded, turning his annoyance to her, it seemed. She didn't care, she needed to make him see how wrong he was.

"I'll keep that in mind…"

"When you're speaking rationally to her about it?" She finished his sentence, and he scoffed.

"Remind me to never put you in charge of discipline."

"I was in charge of many things years ago, and we had zero issues."

"Yes, and then you left, and it all blew up. Louisa has been the worst trouble of them all."

"How can you say that? She did not ask for this." She sighed, feeling a bit helpless. "And you say I left, and all the trouble started? Let's not forget why I left."

"You cannot keep throwing that in my face if were to be married."

"Perhaps it would do you well to keep it in mind then." He scoffed, hands upon his hips in frustration as they attempted to calm their voices. "Your daughter could have been assaulted tonight…"

"And she wouldn't have even come close had she not lied to me and put herself in that situation."

"You can't blame her for the actions of a disgusting, perverted man. Yes, it was wrong of her to lie, but you cannot make her feel worse for the part of her evening she had no control over." She shrugged, unsure what else she could say to get through to him. "She's your little girl, Georg."

He shook his head, knowing his reaction was too harsh, but unwilling to admit it at the moment. He was upset with Louisa for lying, sneaking out, doing anything and everything she could to disobey him. Of course he didn't want to see her hurt in any way. Perhaps he knew she was smarter than going out alone with a man, putting herself in possible danger, even when she knew it was wrong. Perhaps that was the real reason he was angry with her; he couldn't imagine anything happening to her, and anger seemed easier.

He met Maria's pleading eyes, knowing she must have felt he was a terrible father and an insensitive man for his reaction. The truth was, he had no idea how to react. The thought of anything happening to one of his children was too much to bear, and he felt every possible emotion he could feel. He felt panic at his emotions, perhaps fueled mostly by his exhaustion from his business trip, but he definitely was not a stranger to the feeling.

"Perhaps she should stay with you tonight. You're much better for her…"

"She needs her father to remind her of what a man is supposed to be." She could tell he felt unarmed, nervous about what he should say or do, but she believed with all her heart that his support and conversation with his daughter would be more important than anything to her at the moment. The children looked up to him with such respect.

"You're more compassionate." She smiled a bit, stepping forward and placing a hand upon his arm.

"You are too, you're just quite gruff about it." He rolled his eyes, but gave her a small smile in return. "Explain to her that you're only angry because you couldn't bear the thought of something happening to her. Tell her you love her."

"It's quite annoying that you…"

"What, that I'm right? Darling, you will simply have to get used to that." She placed a kiss upon his lips before leaving him alone in the kitchen to sort out his thoughts.

She returned to a more animated conversation, as her friends attempted to keep up Louisa's spirits. Smiling, she sat next to the girl upon the couch and wrapped her arm around her in a quick hug. She seemed nervous, knowing her father would soon return, and Maria smiled gently to try easing her nerves.

"Louisa?" She jumped, looking at her father as he exited the kitchen. The room fell silent, tension permeating the air as they waited. Georg merely shrugged, feeling a bit shy for the first time in his life, as he opened his arms. Louisa smiled and rushed to her father as he wrapped her in a warm embrace. "Let's get you home."