ISMKPG: twelve

written by: jxnnyl

"The invitation was extended to you and the children, Maria.. Surely you'll accept this one." Margaretta asked as she showed Maria the invitations, "And Hannah insisted that you'll accept. I'm sure Elisabeth and Frederick will be glad to join, especially that it'll be a great opportunity for them to see their old friends. And dear Martha will be on her first party. Isn't it great?"

"I can't really say 'no' can't I?" Maria sighed as she took the invitations, "And what about Geor- er- Mr. Von Trapp? We can't just leave him alone."

"He mentioned playing chaperone to his friends this twenty-six isn't he? Well look at the date." Margaretta said.

Maria looked at the invitation as she sighed, "So it's settled?"

Margaretta nodded as she stood, "Oh- and I was thinking of bringing the children with me to the mall today.. Since it's Christmas Eve, if we're to attend a party, I'm sure we should bring gifts."

Standing up as well, Maria placed the invitations to the drawer as said, "I'll go with you. Distract them and I'll buy gifts."

"What about Georg?" Margaretta suddenly asked.

Maria looked at her blankly for a while before she mumbled, "We'll invite him. He can't refuse."

"Sure thing… I'll tell the kids-"

"No- you tell Geo- Mr. Von Trapp. I'll tell the children." Maria said as she didn't wait for Margaretta to answer as she left and went straight to the nursery, not seeing the children. She followed the giggles as she went to the living room, seeing them children laughing, singing and dancing along with the movie.

"Deck the halls with boughs of holly

Fa la la la la, la la la la

'Tis the season to be jolly

Fa la la la la, la la la la

Don we now our gay apparel

Fa la la la- mommy!"

Martha jumped from the couch, and run straight to her, "Mommy! Can I have a turtle for Christmas? Please mommy- can I?"

Maria looked at the twins, who's fixing the pillows on the couch, then turned to the movie as she recognized it right away.

"Well it depends if you can take proper care of it.." Maria said as she entered the room.

"Just like Eloise did? She covered his ears when she said the old lady threatened to make him a turtle soup… I don't know turtles can be turned into soup…. have you tasted one, mommy?" Martha asked.

Chuckling as Maria remembered the movie, she shook her head, "Uh- I might have tasted one somewhere. Now children, what do you think of going to the mall for some shopping?"

Elisabeth and Frederick exchanged looks as they straightened themselves up.

"What are we shopping for mommy?" Martha asked as she and Maria sat down to the couch.

Maria let out a breath as she smiled, "Well for starters, people give presents to each other during Christmas. So sometimes we have to buy presents."

"Just like what Eloise and Nanny did?" Martha asked.

Nodding, Maria smiled, "Yes.. and also, we're going to attend a party at twenty-six."

Maria took a glance at the twins as she saw excited smiles and everything etched on their face. She looked at Martha who's seemed to be equally, if not more, happy.

"Can I come, mommy?" Martha asked.

Maria nodded as she said, "As long as you behave."

Martha nodded as she looked at the movie then back to her mother, "Can we please finish the movie before we go shopping?"

Maria smiled as she caressed her daughter's head and kissed her forehead, "Sure. Can I join in?"

The children nodded as Maria sat between Elisabeth and Martha, watching the movie as it shows a scene of a girl blowing a trumpet.

"I remember Ms. Helga having the same face as nanny when Martha blew one on her bedroom." Frederick chuckled as Maria and Martha exchanged glances as they laughed.

Margaretta appeared on the doorway as she watched Maria and her children sing along with the movie.

"On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me

Twelve drummers drumming

Eleven pipers piping

Ten lords a leaping

Nine ladies dancing

Eight maids a milking

Seven swans a swimming

Six geese a laying

Fiiiiiive gol-den rings *ting* *ting*

Four calling birds

Three French hens

Two turtle doves

And ~ a partridge in a pear ~ tree"

She chuckled as Maria and the children ended up dancing around while singing, which typically reminds her of Maria's childhood in the orphanage.

Successfully leaving without anyone noticing, Margaretta smiled as she heard laughter coming from the room.


"Aren't we supposed to stop them, Aunt Margaretta?" Elisabeth asked as she, her siblings and their aunt watch their mother and Professor Georg debate on who's going to hold the wheels.

Margaretta chuckled as she stroked Martha's head, "Let the two have their fun.. they're incredibly silent these days."

Elisabeth and Frederick exchanged looks as they watched their mother and their professor argue.

"I am driving, Mr. Von Trapp. Period." Maria said as she made her way to the door.

Georg blocked her way as he shook his head, "I am, Ms. Rainier… Let me drive since I'm not doing anything."

"Well you'll find something else to do. This is my car and I'll drive so out of my way." Maria firmly said as Georg continued to block her way.

"I won't find anything else other than driving, Ms. Rainier-" he insisted.

Maria groaned, "I'm sure you will."

"I'm sure I won't." Georg equally groaned.

Margaretta looked at her wrist watch as she looked at the children, "You three, get in the van. You two big children, stop eating each other's head... I will drive."

Maria and Georg looked at her as she opened the driver's door. Margaretta looked at the two as she asked, "What?"

"Margaretta are you-"

"Tell me, Maria… who's behind the wheel when you're on labor sixteen years ago?" Margaretta asked.

"You."

"Who's behind the wheel five years ago?"

"You."

"Who's behind the wheel six days ago?"

"You."

"And who will be behind the wheel this time?"

"Me."

Margaretta rolled her eyes as entered the car, "Wrong answer. Now hop in."

Maria and Georg exchanged glances as they got in the van.

Margaretta stretched her arms as she fixed the front mirror, "Seatbelts please. Now Maria, cut the glare. Georg, close the door. Martha, stop wiggling. Elisabeth, close the window please.. Now everybody fine there? Okay, let's go!"


Getting out of the car, Martha and Elisabeth let out a loud 'ah' as they started to jump around the parking.

"That was fun! Can we do it again, Aunt Margaretta?" Elisabeth exclaimed as Frederick got out, looking so sick.

"Where's fun in that? We're twice as fast as the speed limit.." he said as he let out a loud breath.

Margaretta got out of the car as she said, "Don't be overdramatic, Frederick. My driving will never exceed sixty kilometers per hour."

"And the speed limit is only forty-eight kilometers per hour." Maria breathed as she closed the car door, "I can't believe I let you drive like that when I was pregnant."

"I'm just enjoying my time behind the wheel." Margaretta smiled.

Georg got out of the van, completely unaffected to Margaretta's speed as he stretched his arms.

"You seemed not affected with her driving at all, Georg." Maria said, blinking at herself.

Why on earth will you call him with his first name Maria? she asked herself.

Georg looked at her as he tried to hide his blush, "I'm completely used to going over the speed limit…. Maria."

What the hell is going on with me? We're just talking with our first names.. completely normal.. right? he mused.

They looked at each other as Maria raised her eyebrows, "Quite a rebel, aren't we? Please tell me you're not driving that fast with the children when I was not around."

"I can remember not answering many of your calls because I'm behind the wheel….. Maria." Georg said, gazing through her blue eyes.

Maria opened her mouth but no words escaped her as she just looked to his black orbs.

Suddenly feeling so compressed, the two didn't noticed that they're moving towards each other as Maria felt shivers down her spine when she felt his hands touched hers.

No one dared to break the spell, well… no one between the two.

Elisabeth looked at her mother and her professor as she suddenly silenced herself when she saw them staring at each other.

She looked at Frederick who's whispering her name as she tried to shush him but he knocked on the van.

"Yo hoo! Mom? Professor Georg?" Frederick called as Maria and Georg jumped away from each other, turning their heads to the twins as Elisabeth playfully smacked his arm.

"What? Martha's dragging Aunt Margaretta everywhere." Frederick said, looking at his twin then to the adults.

Maria straightened herself as she looked at Georg who's doing the same, she turned her head again to the twins as she smiled, "Well let's go before Martha ripped your aunt into pieces."

Chuckling at their mother, Elisabeth and Frederick lead the way to the entrance as they occasionally looked back to see their mother and their professor. Making sure that they're following.


"Okay… what about pink tutu? Do you think mommy will buy me pink tutu?" Martha asked, "Wait… what's a tutu?"

Margaretta and Elisabeth chuckled as Frederick also asked, "I always heard that. I don't know either. Is it a skirt or something?"

Margaretta led the children to a section where tutu's were hung, not missing the fact that Georg managed to rip himself out of their small group.

So far, Maria managed to jump from another store, claiming she'll buy something that'll might just bore the children. Of course the twins didn't buy that but Georg managed to get them enter the other stores.

Now Margaretta felt slightly helpless with an overly curious child and two curious, mischievous and adventurous young adults- teens.

Pointing to the tutu section, Martha smiled as she looked at the ruffly skirts with something a small girl would have.

Frederick's face crumpled as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "It looks like a ballerina outfit."

"It is a ballerina outfit, Fred.. I've got some skirts like that when I took ballet classes." Elisabeth said, "At first they felt so satisfying but sometimes they itch."

"What a valid reason to leave ballet. Those skirts looked so itchy and uncomfortable." Frederick mumbled.

He looked around as he sighed, "Where did Professor Georg go?"

"Bathroom." Margaretta plainly said as she went to stop Martha from pulling one of the skirts, "Now why don't you three kids go with me. I'm gonna buy something for your mom and I need your opinion."

She carried Martha as she lead the way out of the store and looked for the store she's looking for.

"Well what will you be buying for mom, Aunt Margaretta?" Elisabeth asked.

Margaretta smiled as she found the perfect store, "Since your mother can and already have whatever she wants… I figured out that this can be a time for me to be sentimental."

"But Professor Georg-"

"Professor Georg is an adult. He can walk around the mall and play the seeker if he wants." Margaretta interrupted Martha as she set her down and lead the way to a music store.


Checking her list again and again, Maria looked at the already wrapped gifts on her paper bag as she counted the gifts.

For five days, she not only rebond her relationship with the children, she also got to know them one by one.

Elisabeth loves books, especially if the genre is either mystery or romance. She loves playing with anything but board games are her favorites and she loves listening to music, Maria once scrolled to her playlist and it looks like her eldest daughter has a mixture of k-pop, classic, pop, r&b and almost any music from musicals. So far the most peculiar and unorganized Spotify playlist Maria have ever seen. She have passion for watching historical dramas on television and once caught watching a kissing scene from Downton Abbey, one that Maria should mind but she felt not being bothered that much since she was also once a teenage girl with a great curiosity to romance and everything.

Frederick, one the other hand, still collects those toys from McDonalds and got himself preoccupied sometimes with lego or reading something that randomly interests him, preferably adventures or anything. Like his twin, he loves listening to music but he accidentally flushed his earphones in the middle of the night, one thing Maria wants to talk to him about, so he's spent most times watching random stuffs on Netflix or playing with Martha or his electronics. Maria once scrolled on his playlist and found nothing but classical, musicals, jazz, r&b and slight pop.

Martha, naturally, loves playing with everything. Her main hobby when bored is to either read some books she found interesting or watch someone cook small foods in small utensils on Youtube. Her daily hobby is to try to forge whatever handwriting she found and watch any movies she found interesting. She sometimes hum whatever soundtrack she heard on her latest movie and she would sometimes dance around the villa, trying to imitate some dance steps or anything.

If there's one thing Maria found interesting in her youngest daughter is that she can manage to judge the clothes of the character. She once heard her giving comments like 'she looked like a Christmas tree' or 'those shorts looked like underwears'. It makes Maria felt so closely attached to her because those words are exactly what's in her mind once she saw the outfits.

After buying her gift for Margaretta, she left the store and one person suddenly enters her mind.

Georg…

Letting out a loud sigh, she felt so clueless on what to give to him.

At least something that'll show him my gratitude and appreciation for what he did to my family… to me… she thought as she looked around and found a lot of couples around.

Taking a loud sigh, Maria thought of some useful information that may lead her to what she can give to the man.

Martha once mentioned that he loves staring at the sun or the stars, particularly the starts as she sometimes saw him tracing constellations.

Annalise sometimes reports finding him enjoying black coffee or sometimes tea early in the morning.

She once heard the twins talking about his passion in photography but his first camera fell on the ocean and he didn't manage to get a new one.

Sometimes she'll see him walking to the grounds with his phone that looks more like a shattered mirror than a phone.

Letting out an another sigh, Maria made her way to a bookstore. Still unsure of what to give to Georg but hoping that she'll find an answer soon.


Georg left the last store as he looked at the neatly wrapped items inside the paper bag. Counting and recounting the gifts, he walked around, preoccupied with his thoughts.

He got everyone some presents… well everyone but one.

Maria…

Georg have no idea if staring into her eyes until someone interrupts will be a normal thing to them but he can't stop himself from getting lost in her eyes.

For some reason.. Georg felt something he never thought he'll feel again after Agathe died.

Slowing his steps, Georg can't belive he just thought about that… But thinking about it again, Georg felt himself giving it a second thought rather than denying it.

Is he in love?

But what if he's ust attracted? That's not the same thing right? Or is it? After all, he just met her more than two weeks ago.

Shaking his head, Georg tried to get rid of the idea for a moment and stick to whatever he should stick to.

Right… my Christmas Gift for her.. he thought. Doing quick maths, he estimated the price he should budget for his gift for her… and he have no idea if it'll help him find a suitable one.

Digging some key points that may help him, Georg stopped and stood by the corner as he listed those things.

Margaretta hinted to him that Maria will accept any gift as long as it's useful or with any sense. If she doesn't like the gift, she'll find a way to appreciate it.

He once heard Annalise cursing silently as she cleaned up a massive destruction of fine china tea cups.

The twins once mentioned that their mother used to keep a journal with her but stopped since their father's death.

Martha said she and her mother both love roses and her mother always have a chocolate bar and a pack of m&ms on her bag.

Actually, he did noticed that Frederick and Martha's sweet tooth came from her since he often see her enjoying dessert more than any other meal.

If there's also some things Georg noticed on her, it's the pure joy she always possess when she's singing. Somehow he can't imagine a night without hearing her remarkable voice.

Letting out a heavy breath, Georg entered a very random store and looked for anything that can somehow be or at least lead him to whatever he can give to the woman he kept on reminding himself to be his employer.


"Everybody here? Elisabeth, Frederick, Martha, Maria, Georg.. alright… Now no more forgotten things? Frederick, Elisabeth, close your windows please- it's freezing. Martha, stop playing with your seatbelt. Georg… well nevermind. Let's go!" Margaretta said as she started the van and drove away the mall.

Slowing down a bit as she figured out it's already traffic, she groaned, "We should have left earlier."

"So where have you been lurking around while I'm not around?" Maria asked the children.

Martha was about to say 'We went to buy a-' but Frederick gave her an 'it's a secret' looks as she closed her mouth then opened it again, "It's a secret mommy.. I can't tell you or Freddy will put cockroaches on my bed."

Looking at his son, Maria chuckled as she turned her gaze among the children, "So I can't really get an answer?"

"We went to the arcade…" Martha said in her smallest tone, "I played Pac-Man."

Maria smiled as she asked, "Really? What else did you do there?"

"Freddy and Lissy played ping pong then Aunt Margaretta did a- what was it again? Basket shoot?"

"Basketball." Margaretta chuckled, "And it feels like old times."

"Which means you didn't get any score at all?" Maria asked.

"Don't be silly, Maria.. I always got at least eight balls in the hoop and the rest goes to the gutter. I never managed to score when that hoop moves." Margaretta scoffed, moving so slowly with the traffic.

Smiling, Maria's eyes caught Georg's through the mirror as she noticed him staring at the window.

"How about you, Professor Georg?" Maria asked, making him slightly jump to his seat as he looked at her, "Where have you been?"

Looking to the children, Margaretta and Maria, he opened his mouth and said, "It's a secret."

The children, who mostly hung to his answer, groaned as Maria gave him a playful smile.

"Everyone's secretive today aren't they, Margaretta?" she said.

"Don't ask me, Maria. This ass- - -essment lacking driver just bloked the other line and he looks so stup- - -endously dense." Margaretta said, trying to refrain herself from cursing as she started mumbling curses from five different languages.

Maria rolled her eyes as she leaned in to play the radio, "Maybe some music will cool off that stupendously boiling head of yours."

From the backseat, the adults can hear Martha asking the meaning of stupendously as Elisabeth whispered something to her, preferably the meaning.

"So whoever's driving over there is extremely impressive at being dense? What does that mean?" Martha asked.

Frederick and Elisabeth shared a look as Maria and Georg also did.

Luckily the tune from the radio distracted the youngest as she started singing along with the song.

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Had a very shiny nose

And if you ever saw it

You would even say it glows"

Elisabeth and Frederick smiled as they joined along.

"All of the other reindeer

Used to laugh and call him names

They never let poor Rudolph

Join in any reindeer games"

Georg smiled as he heard them effortlessly blending, humming along.. he partially joined.

"Then one foggy Christmas Eve

Santa came to say

"Rudolph, with your nose so bright

Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?""

Maria smiled as she joined in, making Georg stop humming and look at her through the mirror.

"Then how the reindeer loved him

As they shouted out with glee

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

You'll go down in history""

That voice will go down in history if ever heard somewhere outside this car… he thought as he felt himself relaxing as Maria and the children sing along with the next few songs until they reached home.


A/N: the promised another update! Whoop that was long one *or at least I thought so…* Merry Christmas to all of you! (Since it's already 11:58pm here and I'm incredibly excited!) I hoped you enjoy and yes I've put a lot of references here *and I can't help it (⊙-⊙)* and also yes- I am still trying my luck on romance writing… Thank you for the reviews! They are highly appreciated and very motivating. Merry Christmas and enjoy your day/night/afternoon or whatever.. Have a blessed holidays and thank you! (⊙-⊙)