A/N: Thanks again, as ever, for the positive reviews. Keep them coming if you can – they inspire me to write more!
Hope you like this chapter as well.
As Georg walked into the barn he heard Maria before he saw her. She was getting the children ready for bed, or at least ready for sleep considering that they had no bed, no pajamas, nothing to clean their teeth. But she was getting them as comfortable in the hay as they could be. There was room for at least a few of them to sleep in the house, but Georg didn't want to split any of them up. As much as he trusted Herr Kramer, he wanted his entire family together, and so they were cuddled together in the hayloft. It was no bed, but it was still much more comfortable than the ground they had been sleeping on for the last few days. It was so much more comfortable that they didn't even seem to mind the more animal smell of the barn and the two goats below.
Maria was singing softly to those children that were still awake. A gentle lullaby. He didn't recognize the song, but he knew that Maria knew many more songs than the rest of them. She had been singing all of her life. Even here, homeless, relying on the kindness of a subsistence farmer, with an uncertain future and a beloved homeland under the control of a foreign party, her voice was so beautiful that he knew everything would be okay with the world … eventually. There was too much beauty for evil to prevail.
He stood there listening to her until she stopped singing and realized that he was standing below. He beckoned to her to join him and she climbed down the ladder to stand in front of him.
"What is it?" she asked. "Please tell me you are going to join us and finally get some sleep."
"Soon," he promised her, "but first I need to talk to you." And he gestured for them to walk outside of the barn.
Whenever Georg told her that he needed to talk to her, there was usually something big coming. She felt a little apprehension wondering what could be next, but then she remembered that this was Georg – her Georg – and so far he had done a masterful job of taking care of them. Her apprehension faded as she was flooded with trust again.
They sat on the ground outside the barn and leaned against the wall for support as Georg once again drew his wife closer to him. He was silent for a moment. He was worried that she wouldn't like what he was going to suggest, but he truly felt it was the best course of action. Well, he reminded himself, she had followed him this far. Once she saw it would be in the best interest of the family, he was sure she'd be supportive.
"I've been talking with Herr Kramer," Georg began. "It doesn't sound like there's a boarding house that will accommodate all of us down in the town below." "Which, by the way, is Dorfli," he added. He kissed Maria's head and looked up at the sky. "I think it would be very hard for everyone to get to Dorfli and have no place to stay. Under no circumstances will I have my family sleeping in the street."
Georg was quiet for a few minutes as he let the possible scenario sink in. "What do you think we should do?" Maria asked quietly.
"We are comfortable here, and Herr Kramer seems to be a good man," Georg continued. "I want you and the children to stay here with him for a few days while I go down to Dorfli. That will give me the chance to find out how much money we still have, get my hands on it, and find a place where we can all stay together. From the sound of it, we'll probably need to buy or rent our own house. But before then I can find lodging for one much more easily than I can for nine."
Maria kept her head on her husband's shoulder but looked away so he wouldn't see her blink back tears. After all they had come through, this is what made her want to cry? His plan made sense, and once again, he was taking the best possible care of her and the children. But since their wedding, they hadn't been separated for more than a few hours at a time. Now he was talking of days. And she had come to rely on his strength more than ever during this frightening journey.
"You're right, of course," she said, "but I don't know what we'll do without you."
"I'll miss you more than I can say," he said in a low voice, "but we'll be that much closer to having something resembling a home again." "There is one more thing," he added, and drew Rolf's gun from out of his coat.
Maria drew in her breath and sat up. "How did you …" she began to ask, but trailed off in surprise. She had seen the gun held to him as they were escaping the abbey, but she had never seen a gun so close before and couldn't help but recoil slightly.
"It was Rolf's" Georg explained. "I got it from him before he blew the whistle." He paused for a moment while they both relived that terrifying experience. "I've been thinking about Friedrich." Georg eventually continued. "He truly is becoming a man. Tomorrow, before I leave for Dorfli, I am going to teach him how to use it. That way you won't be without protection."
The tears that had been threatening finally came and dripped down onto Maria's lap as she thought about the implications of being separated from her husband, the innocence they had all lost in the last few days, and the innocence they would continue to lose during these difficult times. She trusted God, she trusted Georg. She believed with all her heart that they would get through this. But at what cost?
Georg turned her face to his and wiped away her tears until they stopped. Then he just kissed her and held her close, loving the feel of her. He knew she had changed and grown from the outspoken, impetuous young woman who had first come to live with them. She was still that strong, spirited woman he loved, but she had become a wife and a mother. Though she was young, she could no longer be thought of as a "young" woman, but as a woman. He knew her strength had gotten them through the mountains, and he knew her strength would get her through the rest of this ordeal, but he hated what the Nazis were doing to them, to her, to all of them.
For a few moments he was so flooded with hatred towards the Nazis that it was all he could feel. Then he remembered that he loved Maria and his children more than he hated the Nazis. At this time he needed to be driven by love rather than hate, or he might make some big mistakes.
Once before – and for far too long – he had let negative emotions eclipse his love. That had taken a terrible toll on him and his family. Maria had taught him how to love again, and had reawakened the deep love he had for his children. Georg was determined never to let negativity overshadow that love again and realized he needed to say this. "Most of all, Maria, I love you. I love our family. Nothing can change that, nothing can stop that, and nothing can keep us from being together. Not a war, not a mad man, and especially not the mountains. You brought love and music back into our lives, and nothing will ever take that away again. Nothing will ever be stronger than that, either. I love you, and I promise you that is guiding my actions and decisions. With that love, we can't go wrong."
Maria felt her spirits lift again. She remembered her conversation with Brigitta earlier in the day. Or was it yesterday? It was hard to remember. But she remembered telling Brigitta that while hate and evil might seem to be strong right now, goodness and love – and God – were stronger still. She trusted that love more than anything. More than a gun, more than cars, more than the skills her husband had built up through the earlier war.
Georg felt her relax into him and knew that she was going to be okay. Suddenly, he realized how tired he was. "I think I am ready to join our children and go to sleep," he said softly. "You?" "Oh, yes" Maria yawned. "I'm so glad you will finally sleep."
Maria and Georg went back into the barn and climbed up the ladder into the loft. He had originally planned to put one of them at either end of the children, with his body nearest the door. But he found he just couldn't take his hands off his wife. So they lay down next to each other, his body nearest the door and her body curled tightly up next to him. Holding Maria, Georg slept for the first time in days.