A Time to Break

"Do you mean to tell me that my children have been roaming about Salzburg dressed up in nothing but some old drapes?"

He had come closer to her as he spoke, his fury rising, and then bursting as he shouted the last word and threw Louisa's wet head scarf to the ground. Now he was standing less than a foot from her, and the twenty-one-year-old could practically feel his anger radiating from him along with his body heat.

But Maria Rainer was not afraid; she was anything but afraid. And there were several reasons for that:

One – Maria was no stranger to being in trouble. Every day of her life that she could remember (with the exception of the past six weeks with the children), she had been in some kind of trouble.

Two – The fact that she was drenched in lake water only made her more aware of her serious situation. When the Captain had stopped her from following the children inside, she obeyed, not surprised. Of course he would want to confront her in a humiliated state, covered in proof that she had disobeyed every rule he had given her. But she would not let herself be humiliated; she would stay strong. So in every second, when she felt herself get more cold and every drip of water drop off her, it only strengthened her resolve.

Three – Her actions were justified. In her heart, she had known from the very first day that the way he was running his household and the way his children had to behave was wrong. Yes, she understood that he had lost his wife, but that had been over three years ago, and how could he expect his children, even Marta and Gretl, to be perfect adults now? He was asking too much of them and pushing them away at the same time. She had given them what they had needed most and lacked for too long – music, laughter, fun, and love most of all. In Maria's good heart, that would never be wrong.

So, in response to his threatening gesture and furious question, she did anything but flinch. Her smile simply widened a bit and nodded as she said cheerfully, "Mm-hm, and having a marvelous time."

"They have uniforms!" he snapped, as if it were an obvious point that she had missed, before he began to walk away from her.

It slipped out and she didn't try to stop it for once: "Straight-jackets, if you'll forgive me."

He stopped and turned back around, still looking furious. "I will not forgive you for that."

She turned to face him again, her temper and determination rising. "Children cannot do all of the things that they're supposed to do if they have to worry about spoiling their precious clothes!"

"I haven't heard them complain yet," he bit back, turning away from her again and walking to the lake.

"Well, they wouldn't dare! They love you too much!" she said indignantly. Not liking that he would not look at her, she said something she knew would make him turn around again. "They fear you too much."

She succeeded: he turned around, looking as furious as ever, but speaking like a strict military man. "I don't wish you to discuss my children in this matter."

"Well, you've got to hear from someone, you're never home long enough to know them."

"I said I don't want to hear anything further from you about my children!"

"I know you don't but you've got to!"

This surprised them both – Maria had never spoken so fiercely and with such authority to anybody. She saw a flash of surprise in the Captain's eyes, though he kept his face like stone. But he stopped talking. Maria had no idea what was coming over her, and she knew that a miracle from heaven was the only thing that could keep her from being sent back to the abbey now, after speaking to her employer like this. But, at this point, she had nothing to lose. Fired, she would just go back to the abbey and pursue the life she had always wanted to live. But she would go out fighting for those seven children she had grown to love so much and whom he should be loving like the father he was. They deserved so much, and she would not leave without saying all that needed to be said for them.


The fact was confirmed in his mind: she was his own personal demon sent from hell to torment him.

No, it was not enough that she was pointing out just how horrible of a father he had been for the past three years, but she had to be standing there all wet, her dress clinging tight to her body outlining every curve that had haunted his dreams.

Georg's frustration and anger were very high, and the damn Fraulein didn't seem to have any idea of what half of the reasons were for that. Though outside he kept his face hard and tried to shut her up, inside his impulses were fighting an epic battle: one was to keep as sane as possible, one was to make her disappear somehow, and the other was to grab her and take her to his bed.

His ears remained open. It was very painful to hear all she had to say about his children, things he either did not know or things he had not let himself acknowledge. In these moments, she was Hell Incarnate: a reminder of all of his deepest regrets, and the symbol of his deepest desires he did not welcome.

And he still could not remember her first name!

"Oh, please, Captain, love them, love them all!" she pleaded coming closer to him. No, he had to get away from her now or he would lose control. He began to walk towards the house.

"I don't care to hear anything further from you about my children," he practically shouted, not looking at her.

"Captain, please!" Her voice was so pleading, almost desperate. It would have made him pause if something else hadn't already: as she had spoken, he felt something close around his forearm, something soft but insistent. And wet.

That made him freeze. Slowly, he turned his head to look at where her hand was holding him, then at her face, which looked as shocked as he felt. She began to take her hand off his forearm.

And then, it is safe to say, that Captain Von Trapp's façade finally broke.


Maria didn't know what had made her do it. She just couldn't have him walk away from her when she had not finished. He just had to hear what she was telling him! His children needed a father, they loved him so much. So, momentarily forgetting herself, her hand closed around his forearm to stop him as she made a final plea.

It seemed to work, for the Captain froze in his steps. But when he slowly turned his head to look at where her hand rested, Maria realized that now she had really crossed a line. She, too, looked down at her hand resting on his forearm. Vaguely she thought how warm and strong it felt beneath her hand and the fabric of his clothes.

When Maria felt his eyes on her face, she began to withdraw her hand from his arm, ready to apologize for touching him.

What happened next she could not comprehend. All of a sudden he was much, much closer to her, his body against hers. His hands had grabbed her upper arms tightly, so tight it hurt. But most confusing of all, she felt something hot and hard on her lips. Her vision was out of focus and her mind was racing, not catching up with what was happening. She was so surprised and caught off guard that she could not move, could not protest, to what was happening to her. She was frozen and could do nothing.

It was not until cold air hit her lips did her vision clear to reveal the Captain's face inches from hers. Everything in his expression read one thing: "Torture."
The cold air on her lips felt good, because she felt like her lips had just been attacked and hurt. Still in shock and not quite believing what was happening, one thought vaguely flittered in her mind:

I think . . . he just kissed me.


A/N: This story was initially inspired by Crazy4urlove's story "Scared Away By Love," and have her blessing – thank you! My story will not go in the direction hers goes, however. Wait and see what's going to happen, and please leave a review!

Also, I would like to mention that my prologue was inspired by the Josh Groban song "So She Dances," I allude to the lyrics quite a bit. I highly suggest listening to it and reading the prologue again!