Disclaimer: Still not mine. :(

A/N: Thank you so much for the unbelievably kind reviews! I love this couple so dearly and I want to do them loving justice. I hope you enjoy this next installment! There will be one more after this. This chapter is a STRONG T for language and content, but I don't think it crosses into M territory. Let me know if I should change the rating. :)

Chapter 2: The Night Before the Wedding

Maria Rainer lay on top of the decadent comforter of her governess' bed, listening to the peaceful sounds of the crickets outside her open window. Her charges had gone to bed hours ago, and even her fiancé was likely deeply asleep by now. She tried to resist the urge to glance at the clock again, but she was a curious creature and she couldn't help it.

4:10am.

She'd been staring at the ceiling now for nearly five hours: five anxious, excited, exhilarating, terrifying hours. Tomorrow, she would leave her previous life forever. She wouldn't be Maria Rainer anymore; she would be Maria von Trapp, Baroness Maria von Trapp, at that. Boy, was that enough to chase sleep far from her mind all over again.

It was quite miraculous, in a way, she thought. How was it possible that in less than 24 hours, she'd be a completely different person? Less than a day until she left behind a life of poverty, of chastity, and of never feeling like she belonged anywhere. It felt like a clean slate. Tomorrow, she could start over with a new life and a family that loved her. Tomorrow, she would be a von Trapp. Tomorrow….

Tomorrow, she could forget that her last name was Rainer.

'No,' she thought to herself, 'I can't forget.' What was it Georg had told her during one of their late-night talks? That he didn't mind that she came from nothing because it made her the woman he fell in love with? Maybe she didn't have to forget in order to move on?

"But I want to." She whispered to the darkness of her room.

She knew she should try to grab at least a few hours of sleep before the chaos of her elaborate wedding day, but instead she found her feet walking her across the room and out the door.

"This is ridiculous," she thought, "I'm going to see him in a few hours and then we're going to be alone for six weeks, this can wait." Apparently it couldn't, wait, though, as Maria quickly found herself standing hesitantly outside her future bedroom.

"He is asleep. Like you should be. Go back to your room, you don't belong here yet." And…now she was knocking softly at Georg's door. She'd say she was delirious from lack of sleep and thought the children needed her? Yes. That was a perfectly fine excuse. Minus the part about how she ended up at his door instead of theirs, but that was a minor detail, yes?

"Maria?" Georg questioned as he opened the door. "What are you doing up? Is everything okay?"

Maria simply stared at her almost husband. He would be her husband tomorrow. Oh, this was a terrible idea.

"Did you want to come in?" Georg asked with a smirk. Maria didn't appear in any immediate distress, so she must just be unable to sleep. The feeling was certainly mutual.

"Um, uh." Maria stuttered. "Yes, um, okay."

Georg chuckled and held the door open for her. As she floated into the room, Maria realized she'd never seen the master bedroom before. It was nothing like she expected. Sometime in her early fantasies about her Captain after their engagement, she'd started imagining his bedroom would look much like his study; navy trinkets everywhere, dark walls, everything in oddly-organized chaos. She wasn't sure what to make of the room before her now with its plain, beige walls absolute order. Were it not for sheer size of the room and the obvious luxury of the linens, it could've easily passed as a room at the abbey, it had so little personality. How did he live like this? Her passionate, opinionated fiancé certainly didn't live here, did he?

"I was going to have it redecorated while we were away." Georg commented as if he could read her thoughts.

"Has it always looked like this?" Maria asked in disbelief. A small shadow flickered across Georg's eyes.

"No, um. I guess I couldn't bear sleeping in here after Agathe…I had everything taken up to the attic, replaced all the furniture, and had the walls repainted. Even then, I almost I couldn't stomach it."

Maria turned to embrace him.

"I'm so sorry, love." She whispered.

"It's alright," he replied smiling, "after tomorrow, it will be filled with new memories." He pulled away slightly from Maria's arms to gaze around the room. "Tomorrow, this room will start anew. Just like us." He added as he turned his gaze back to the beautiful woman in front of him.

The beautiful woman who was now avoiding his eyes.

"Love, are you sure everything's alright? You're not having second thoughts, are you?" He asked, his question laced with a somewhat serious fear.

"What?" She gasped. "No, of course not. Georg, I love you."

He pulled her close and they stood in close silence in each other's embrace. He knew he shouldn't doubt her, but he couldn't help the insecurities that came up every now and again: their age difference, her former occupation, and his worry she might ever feel like a replacement.

"I love you too." He whispered sincerely. "I'm sorry, I should know better than to question you."

Maria held him tighter and laughed into his chest before looking him straight in the eye.

"Since when have you ever NOT questioned me?" She quipped.

He smiled. There was his fiancé.

"Actually, I came because I couldn't sleep." She admitted.

"Bad dreams?" He asked with great concern.

"No, no, nothing like that." She quickly reassured. "Well, I mean, I wasn't exactly dreaming them." He gave her a confused look at that. "I suppose it just hit me that we're getting married tomorrow and I know we'll have six weeks alone to ask each other everything, but I just felt like I had to tell you, you know, about, well, what happens in the nightmares."

"Oh." Georg immediately hated himself for his weak response, "I mean, of course. You can tell me anything."

"Can we sit down?" She asked quietly.

Georg gave her sweet kiss and started to lead her over to his bed, but then thought better of it and steered them towards his couch instead. She was here for a serious talk, there was no need to tempt himself more than the circumstances already were. Not that he would ever tell her that.

It was a few moments before he realized he was still stuck in his thoughts and she hadn't started talking.

"Darling?"

"Okay, maybe this wasn't a good idea." Maria blurted out.

"You know I'm not going to force you tell me anything, right? I'm more than happy if you just want to sit here with me." He took her hands and gently glided his thumb back and forth against her surreally soft skin.

Maria let herself be lost for a moment in the feel of his course fingers against her hand and briefly wondered where the might feel other places. When she looked up from their joined hands, she couldn't help but notice the glaze of lust that covered Georg's eyes. It would be so easy to just not tell him, to fall head first into the depths of his stare and never come out again. Her lips were on his before she realized she was moving. Georg moaned into her mouth and for the first time nearly cursed how terrible of a chaperone Max turned out to be. They'd made it over a month, was she really about to let this happen mere hours before their wedding? He felt her tongue begging to deepen the kiss and suddenly it didn't matter anymore. He lost control of his hands as they escaped his clutches and eagerly slid down her arms and around her waist to pull her flush against him on the couch. He made love to her mouth, drowning in her responsiveness, and reveling in the freedom of touching her in his own room. He reached down and his fingers gently dug into her backside prompting a soft sound to escape his lover's lips.

The sound of her pleasure sent him even more over the edge, but apparently it had the opposite affect on her and she was promptly unhooking herself from him and darting to the other side of the couch.

"No, no, no, I have to do this!" She seemed to yell more at herself than at him.

"Um," Georg tried to be as supportive as he could as fought to come back from his sensual haze.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"No, it's okay," he promised, "I should've stopped it earlier."

"I do want, uh, to." she sputtered. "Just so you know."

He smiled. Oh, he knew. He'd known for weeks, but that definitely proved it. That didn't matter now, though. He needed to focus. They were both exhausted and vulnerable and hardly making sense, but Maria was never going to even get a nap, it seemed, unless she talked to him.

"I know, love." He smirked. "But I think I can wait until tomorrow night."

"I don't know why this is so hard…"

"Just start at the beginning." He urged.

Maria took a deep breath and hoped against hope that she was doing the right thing.

Tyrol: ten years ago…

When the school bell rang, most of the students ran for the door, but one 14-year-old girl staggered behind, moving slowly to collect her belongings. By now, her teacher didn't question her daily routine. She was always the last to leave the classroom. The more time she spent slowly placing her things inside her battered rucksack, the less time she'd have to spend at 'home'. Home…she hated that word.

Sighing, as she couldn't find any more reasons to dawdle, Maria made her way to the door and started her reluctant walk out of the school.

"Maria!"

She didn't really have any friends, so the sound of her name usually meant trouble. What did she do this time? When she turned around, she was more than surprised to see her classmate, Werner, running to catch up with her. What on earth did he want? They never really talked. They'd been partnered for the last class project, but that was the only time they'd ever spoken as far as she could remember. Not that she'd been paying much attention to her social life.

"Werner? What is it?" She asked cautiously.

If he noticed her hostile demeanor, he didn't say anything.

"Well, um, I was wondering if, well, uh, could I walk you home?"

It took all of her will power not to stand there staring with her mouth open. Werner Heilig wanted to walk her home. Sure, he wasn't the most popular boy in school, but he wasn't a social outcast like her, either. Was this a joke? Were his friends watching to see when he humiliated her? He couldn't possibly be asking because he actually liked her, could he?

"I'll take that as a no, then." He sighed and started to walk away.

"Werner, wait!" She cried, surprising herself. He turned around hopefully. "I was just surprised, that's all. Um, you, yes, I would like that."

Graceful, Maria. Truly graceful.

Nevertheless, Werner beamed at the invitation and offered to take her bag as they headed out of town together.

In all her life, Maria couldn't remember a lovelier afternoon. Over the three miles it took to reach her small house, she found herself talking more than she had ever since her parents died. Werner was so genuinely kind to her and listened to everything she had to say, even if it was just some silly enthusiasm about a dress in shop window as they walked by. He even complimented her! He thought she was funny and smart. No one had ever thought she was anything except a nuisance. She was nearly ready to declare it a wonderful day when she saw her uncle's house approaching.

In spending time with her new friend (did she really have a friend?), she'd nearly forgotten that he was walking her back to the place she never wanted to go back to. Oh God, her uncle. He might be home! She couldn't let Werner meet him; he might never speak to her again.

"Um, that's my house, just there." She poorly tried to think of an excuse to send Werner away. "I'll be fine from here."

"Oh," Werner replied, sensing her sudden mood change, "well, did you want to, um, keep talking? We could do tomorrow's assignment?"

Maria tried to think of any nice way to tell him to run the hell away before they were spotted, but before she could, she noticed her uncle had come out of the house and was staring daggers at the two of them.

"I can do the assignment, myself, thanks!" She yelled a little to harshly for her liking before she turned and ran up to the house trying not to cry. There was no way Werner would talk to her again after she'd been so rude. What else was she to do, though?

She slowed her pace as she neared her uncle, reluctant to get within grabbing distance.

"Get inside." He grumbled. She quickly tried to run by him, but she wasn't fast enough and she felt the smack on her backside sting as she passed into the house.

As per her usual routine, she tossed her rucksack into the corner and ran into the kitchen to prepare dinner as fast as she could. Normally, her uncle left her alone while she was cooking unless it was to bark at her to hurry it up, but today she cringed as she felt his eyes following her around the house.

"So," he sneered, "you made a little friend today."

She didn't dare answer. She simply prayed he'd take her silence as obedience and leave.

"Is that why you were late, you lazy little brat?"

"I'm sorry, uncle." She whimpered.

"What was that?" he shouted.

"I'm sorry!" His yelling startled her and she cut herself on the knife she was using to rapidly chop potatoes.

"Now look what you've done!" He hollered. "Clumsy girl can't even cook me a decent meal."

She moved to grab a bandage, but her uncle grabbed her roughly by the arm as she tried to leave the kitchen.

"Where the hell do you think you're going, bitch?"

Held close to him, Maria could smell the liquor on his breath and she winced. It was always worse when he was drunk.

"Please, no." She whispered. "I just want to grab a bandage so I don't ruin dinner. I'll have it ready so soon."

"Shut up!" He yelled. The smack across the face hit her harder than usual and sent her flying back into the cabinets. "'I'll have it ready so soon.'" He mocked. "You can't do anything right!" He punctuated his accusation with a rough shove and her head hit the cabinet behind her. She grabbed at her head in pain and bent over and her uncle took the opportunity to slam his knee up into her stomach. She fell to the floor.

"Please, stop it! No!" She screamed, but she knew it wouldn't do anything. There was no one for miles. No one cared. She cried out as her uncle's boot came down on her back, pinning her to the floor.

"Maybe you're getting bored here, huh?" He snarled. "Need some more excitement? That's why you brought that boy here, isn't it? You little whore!"

"Let me go!" She pulled and clawed at the floor, but he jumped down on her so his entire body pushed hers into the ground.

"Did you tell him?" he asked without a hint of remorse. "DID YOU TELL HIM?"

"No! I swear!" Tears were flowing down her face by now, but she couldn't hold them back anymore. "No one knows, I hide the bruises every morning!"

"I don't believe you." He snapped. Maria screamed as he sat up and violently turned her over so he was straddling her. "I should've done this when my god damned sister left you to me. You should've died with her!" He shouted as he grabbed the knife off the floor that Maria had dropped earlier.

"PLEASE DON'T! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" She screamed for anyone that might hear her. She screamed for god, for her parents, anyone who might save her. Time seemed to slow as he raised the knife above his head and she didn't think. She lunged up towards the knife and wrapped her hands around his wrist. He was so shocked that she'd dared to fight back that his grip loosened and she wrenched the knife to the floor. He knocked her back and his hands seized her around her throat.

This was it. She was going to die here and no one would ever know. No one would ever care.

No. Someone knew where she lived now. Werner knew where she lived. Even if he hated her, he knew she existed. She couldn't just disappear.

Maria mustered all her strength and felt around for the knife. As her vision went blurry, she felt her fingers grasp the handle. She threw her arm as hard as she could towards her uncle. His scream was the last thing she heard before it all went black.

Aigen: Present Day…

The sun was peeking over the horizon and the air was warm and peaceful, but it didn't reflect the mood of the inhabitants of the master bedroom at all.

Georg von Trapp sat shocked on his couch while his almost-wife sobbed violently in his lap.

He didn't know what was worse: what happened to Maria or that she would never know what happened after she passed out. The nightmares always ended with her stabbing her uncle, but she'd woken up in the hospital days later and out of fear, she told the nurses she didn't remember anything. She assumed they didn't say anything about her uncle because they didn't want to upset her if she didn't remember and years later when she finally returned to the house in desperate need of closure, she couldn't find any answers. The house had been cleaned out, but there was no grave marker. If he was dead, he would've been buried and if he were alive, he would still own the house, so what happened? She would never know. That probably fueled her nightmares more than anything. Not knowing.

He so desperately wanted to say something to comfort the woman in his arms, but what could he say? Sorry? It's going to be okay? He knew from experience that none of those things were true. It would never be okay. It wasn't going to go away. But she could learn to live with it.

"Maria." He spoke as gently as he could while still trying to be heard over her sobs. "My love, it's our wedding day."

Maria didn't sit up, but her cries softened and her body seemed to relax at the realization that he was still holding her.

"The sun's coming up." He continued. "It looks beautiful this morning."

"You're here." She whispered.

Georg pulled her up so she could sit across his lap and rest her head on his shoulder. He held her as close as he could.

"So are you." He caressed her back.

Maria finally wiped her eyes and brought her face to his. With their noses barely touching, she gazed deeply into her Captain's eyes. Whatever she was looking for, the fear, the judgment, the hate, she didn't find it. All she saw beaming back at her was love and a deep understanding of sorrow.

"I love you." She followed her declaration with a soft, lingering kiss. He met her just as passionately and he didn't realize it was possible to be this in love with another human being.

"Thank you." He said gratefully as the kiss broke. "I promise you, I will never let anything happen to you, my love. You will always be safe with me."

And despite her fears, she knew he was telling the truth. For the first time in her life, she didn't need a thousand reassurances, she just knew.

"This is what it feels like to be loved." She thought smiling to herself.

She felt herself being lifted off the ground and realized Georg was carrying her to his, their, bed. The feel of the plush mattress under her was a greater relief than she'd expected and as her fiancé set an alarm to wake them up by seven, she snuggled up against his chest.

It was going to be a wonderful day.

So I wrote this while listening to a sad instrumental playlist and now I'm like OOF. I hope you enjoyed! Thank you again for your kind reviews!