A/N: sorry for the slightly longer wait on this chapter, I wanted to do it justice! Please do review, as always I love to hear your thoughts.
Georg was tired and grimy, his forearms smothered with oil and his overalls patched with sweat belonging not only to him but the members of his team who'd adorned the very same overalls before him. There wasn't much room for being precious about hygiene in this place and his disheveled appearance was only the latest evidence of his manual contribution to preparing Sea Devil for battle.
He'd never been an engineer during his naval career but he knew his way around a u-boat and he'd never considered himself to be above manual labour, even when he'd been made Captain. In the Navy there was no such thing as social class, no top hats and tails to separate the rich from the poor, no superiority based on birth - your family name meant nothing. The only thing that mattered was teamwork, comradeship and a fiercely patriotic heart - and when their lives had been in danger, when their u-boat had been torn apart by torpedoes, he'd been right there with his men, fighting for survival and bearing the scars of their success.
He'd befriended men from all walks of life during his naval days, many of whom had passed away before his very eyes, engulfed in flames or lost to the murky depths of the sea they so loved, and he'd mourned every single one of their losses just as intensely. It was this blurring of social lines, this feeling of brotherhood in the face of danger, that made him feel freer than he'd ever felt before when he'd set sail on his first ever journey out of port. And he felt it just as fiercely now, down on his knees in the dirt with a wrench in his hand, his M+G carving never too far from his sight, reminding him everyday why he was doing this.
She was shaping up nicely, HMS Sea Devil - it wouldn't be long before she'd be ready for christening. As he made his way back to the quarters he and Robert were sharing, shrugging off the filthy overalls and running a hand through his disheveled hair, Georg found his mind wandering back to the day he'd met Agathe, when she'd christened her father's u-boat by smashing a champagne bottle against it. How beautiful she'd been, in that dress he'd recently gifted Leisl for Christmas - he'd been entirely blown away by her the moment he'd laid eyes on her.
He remembered, with a bashful half smile to himself, that he'd made plans that very night to meet up with a widow he'd met at a bar some two week prior, who he'd been bedding ever since. He'd found the naval ceremonies rather boring as a restless, arrogant young man and he'd been looking forward to finally breaking away from the celebrations and enjoying a night of debauchery instead. Sex had been hard to come by when he'd been a young sailor cooped up for weeks on end in a metal cocoon, and the widow had understood the drill well enough - it was meaningless, easy and mutual.
But any thoughts of the experienced widow had instantly left his mind the very moment he'd met Agathe Whitehead and he'd ungraciously stood the older woman up that night in favour of staying at the post-ceremony ball and getting to know the mysterious English rose. In fact, thoughts of all other woman seemed to leave his head entirely that day. Suddenly, there'd been only one woman he wanted and he'd done all he could to get her from that moment forward. And just like that, his life had changed for the better. He had changed for the better.
His half smile turned into a full grin that broke across his features then, the memories filling him with a fond happiness that, not long ago, he thought he'd never feel again when thinking of Agathe. And the fact that he could look back so fondly without the familiar pain in his heart - it was all down to another young woman who'd changed his life for the better some twenty years later.
How different Maria was to Agathe - she was a whirlwind, entirely unpredictable, unflappable, headstrong - whereas Agathe had been delicate, shy, deeply pensive - and yet he loved his second wife just as fiercely as he'd ever loved his first - a love he would've thought impossible to feel twice in one lifetime.
The greatest comfort of all however, was the knowledge that his love for the first woman had in no way impacted upon his love for the second, and vice versa. It was as though the two loves of his life adopted entirely separate dimensions of his heart, two entirely different chapters of his life that felt a world apart from one another. Two decades stood between his meeting Agathe and his meeting Maria - two decades, seven children, a lost Navy and two world wars. He was no longer the same man he'd been when he met Agathe and her memory lived on in the deepest recesses of the heart belonging to the youthful man he'd once been.
Maria - well, Maria had been his saviour in every sense of the word. He'd once attributed the title to Elsa Shraeder but it wasn't until an uncontrollable postulant from Nonnberg Abbey had torn into his regimented, soulless life that he'd finally realised what being rescued truly meant. And he'd been entirely bawled over to discover that it was a mere slip of a girl in her mid twenties, dressed in hideous attire with a bizarre haircut, who'd had the power to turn his life around for the second time.
He missed her terribly, though he'd only been gone a few days - but he found that he always missed her when he went away, as though he'd been absent for weeks or months rather than a couple of nights. He missed her infectious smile and her sharp-witted tongue, her mischievous eyes that danced when they shared a secret, her golden hair, her silken skin under his fingertips..
He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath as he sunk onto the edge of his bunk, gritting his teeth slightly against the unexpected arousal that his thoughts suddenly evoked. It was just that her skin was just so soft.. how he'd longed to reach out and touch her during that first summer in Aigen, driven to desperate dreams and forbidden thoughts about his wayward governess- dreams that had left him gasping and ragged and twisted in the sheets with his hand dangerously close to his length. And the fantasy had paled in comparison to reality, when he'd finally discovered what her satin thighs felt like wrapped around his waist, what her breasts tasted like as her nipples pebbled under his tongue, how her blue eyes blackened as he finally sunk into her body..
Georg gave a growl of frustration as he realised he'd allowed his thoughts to wander so far into dangerous territory that his body had responded accordingly. It was tempting of course, to take matters into his own hands and relieve the frustration, to let his mind wander further and lose himself for a few blissful minutes in racy memories of moans and tongues and sweat and heat. The truth was, he found his mind wandering in such directions often when he was cooped up at the base, tired and fed up, missing his wife - and given her heavy pregnancy of late, they hadn't had the chance to be intimate quite as often as they would've liked.
Yes, Georg thought as he made his way to the nearby sink to cool himself down, he missed his wife terribly.
Willing his body's excitement to subside, he glanced at the grimy clock that hung on the wall. It was ten after five - too late to start another manual task and too early to wind down for the evening lest his thoughts got the better of him again. Instead, he made the decision to go and find Robert, who would no doubt be in the office down the corridor looking over the latest blue prints. And if his memory served him correctly, Robert had a rather cheap but passable bottle of sherry stashed away that he'd confiscated from some of the naval cadets. It might be just the distraction he needed.
"I've been staring at these for the better part of an hour," Robert huffed indignantly, gesturing to the papers littering the office desk as Georg took a seat, "and I may as well be staring at hieroglyphics. I'm just too tired.." the baron sighed, "or too old!"
Georg chuckled, "it's been a long day," he soothed, "why not call it a night and we'll make a start on that hideous sherry you've got stowed somewhere... oh don't look at me like that, I know full well you didn't throw it away!"
Robert gave a wry smile before hesitating, his eyes falling on the papers again, "I really should take a longer look at-"
"Those papers will still be here tomorrow," Georg reassured, his uncharacteristic flippancy reminding him disturbingly of Max, "if it makes you feel better, we'll leave them out, take a small break over a drink and take another look with fresh eyes."
It didn't take much more persuading before Robert finally acquiesced, tugging a bottle of hideously dark liquid from the bottom drawer of the desk and uncorking it with a flinch of disapproval. Not twenty minutes had passed however, before half the bottle had been consumed between them and talk of Sea Devil had turned to talk of devils at sea.
"And that's when I found Max.." Georg paused for breath, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes, "passed out on top of a barrel of fish, wearing a dress and a bright pink feather hat!"
The baron joined his son in law in a roar of laughter then, sloshing his sherry everywhere in the process. But their jovial exchange was short lived, for the sound of thundering footsteps barrelling down the corridor suddenly rendered both men speechless, frozen to their seats alert and ready. The sound seemed to go on forever before a young cadet finally hurled himself through the office door in a whirlwind of breathlessness and urgency.
Robert and Georg launched to their feet simultaneously, the former making quick work of hiding the sherry as though they were the young cadets who'd just been caught out by the admiral.
"This better be important boy!" Robert bellowed, brandishing his sherry glass aggressively before he realised his error and hurriedly hid it behind his back, "I wouldn't like to assume you have the audacity to burst in here unannounced if it wasn't a matter of urgency!"
The young boy's chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath and get his words out, "A... Detweiler... here..Captain.. wife.."
Georg launched closer and grabbed the boy by his shoulders to steady him, "what about my wife?! Out with it!"
"Your wife.." the boy rasped, and he pointed down the corridor as if no further explanation was required. Entirely perplexed, Georg followed the boy's finger until his eyes fell on the most chaotic scene he'd ever laid eyes on in his life. Blinking several times, he wondered what the hell had been in that sherry.
There, stumbling down the corridor in a dramatic display of limbs as though they were in some kind of ridiculous pantomime, was a sweaty, pale-faced Max with five other cadets - and there amongst the tangle of their arms, was a gigantic Maria, roaring in agony as her six supporters heaved her towards him like some kind of hippo they'd captured for experimentation.
"Good god!" Robert muttered from somewhere behind Georg's shoulder, although he may as well have been speaking Russian for all Georg heard. He was entirely rooted to the spot, frozen into place from the shock of the mayhem before him.
"Georg!" Max bellowed, having spotted him from afar, "a little help!"
It was another roar of pain from Maria that finally kickstarted Georg into action. Shoving past the speechless cadet who stood dumbstruck in the doorway, he ran to meet the cacophony of noise and turmoil that was erupting before his very eyes.
"What the hell is going on Max!" He cried, shoving a relieved cadet aside and taking his place in supporting his wife's weight, panic contorting his face, "Maria, my darling!"
A low groan of pain.
"She's..," Max heaved another breath under the strain of their load, "in.. labour!...baby.. coming!"
"What?!" Georg roared, halting dead in his tracks and almost dropping Maria as the blood drained from his face. Max could only groan in response under the added weight but Georg barely heard him. Surely this couldn't be happening - not here, not now! They were on a naval base for God's sake! A naval base that was bombed not too long ago! He suddenly felt sick with dread, the world spinning on its axis around him leaving him dizzy. This was surely all his fault for coming to Hampshire in the first place.. what the hell had he been thinking leaving a heavily pregnant wife at home! But then again, he would never have anticipated that his idiotic best friend would drag her half way down the country so that she could give birth to their child at a naval base surrounded by imminent danger..
"Why in God's name did you bring her here!"
Before Max had a chance to answer, Maria acknowledged her husband's presence for the first time since her arrival by suddenly grabbing a fistful of his collar and wrenching him down to face her with surprising strength.
"This is all your fault!" She hissed through clenched teeth, her eyes burning with that same righteous anger he'd seen by the lakeside during their very first confrontation, "get this thing out of me!"
Georg gulped. He could've sworn he heard a snicker from one of the cadets but it hardly mattered, for Maria's death stare abruptly silenced whoever the culprit had been.
"I don't think we have much time Georg.." Max rasped as Robert dismissed another of the boys and took a place by the impresario's side with a muttered curse of sheer disbelief.
"To the hospital wing!" The baron bellowed, the authority in his voice leaving no question as to their destination, "Becker.." he addressed the gawping cadet in the office doorway who looked as though he'd been sentenced to death, "run ahead and warn the nurses of the.. unusual circumstances. Have them prepare for our arrival. Go!"
The cadet hurried in the direction of the hospital wing, though whether it was Robert's command or Maria's sudden roar of agony that caused him to break into a run, Georg wasn't sure.
The hospital wing was quiet, save for one or two men who'd obtained mild injuries during training, or those who were still recovering from more serious wounds inflicted during the blast all those months ago. Even the flustered young cadet who'd just hurried through the doors was talking to the nurses only in low, careful whispers, as though not wanting to disturb the peaceful scene around him.
But the boy needn't have bothered keeping the noise down, for mere minutes later the hospital wing was thrown into complete and utter bedlam as six men and a howling pregnant woman burst through the double doors in a cacophony of shouts and activity, much to the horror of the three nurses on duty.
"On the bed!" The oldest of the men shouted, pointing to one of the many free places in the wing as the boys hurried the girl's large frame toward the safety of the mattress.
"Captain Von Trapp!" The eldest of the nurses cried, her eyes blown wide as she ran a shaky hand through her greying hair, "Becker just informed me.."
As though snapping suddenly to attention, she clapped her hands together authoritatively and began barking orders to the other nurses about wet paper towels and various utensils, but Georg barely heard a word as he sank to his knees at Maria's bedside and grabbed hold of her hand.
Looking up, he was startled to find the young cadets still in the room, their mouths hanging open as they watched the scene before them. They'd hardly seen a woman in the last few months, let alone a heavily pregnant screaming one, and the intrigue was all too obvious on their faces.
"Get out!" Georg cried incredulously, as they all tripped over each other to scurry from the room, no doubt to spread the delicious news that Captain Von Trapp was entirely losing his head over the fact that his wife was about to give birth in the hospital wing.
"Maria sweetheart," he turned back to her, stroking the damp hair from her brow and pressing a kiss to her burning cheek. The panic was rising rapidly in his chest - after all, he remembered with shame, not once had he witnessed the birth of any of his children. He had absolutely no words of comfort to offer, he had absolutely no idea what he was doing.
"Will she be okay, sister Gertrude?!" He croaked, addressing the elderly nurse who was fussing efficiently with the tools she needed. The utensils looked awfully intimidating and again he felt the sting of shame for having left both of his wives to deal with such turmoil alone. Had Agathe been in this much agony when she'd done this without him, he wondered?
"She seems stable," the nurse explained, "there's nothing I can see to be alarmed about. Though -" she checked Maria a second time to be sure, "the baby will be along any minute now."
"Christ..." Max muttered from the corner of the room, alerting Georg to the fact that they were still far from being alone. He looked up to find the impresario, Robert and three bedridden officers gawping in their general direction and before he could banish them from the room, sister Gertrude rapidly pulled a curtain around Maria's bed with a scandalised growl, offering some much needed privacy.
"The baby will be here imminently, Captain," the nurse warned, as she adorned rubber gloves while her assistants fussed around Maria like pestering flies, "I suggest you make an exit now before you see something you'll never be able to un-see."
Georg's eyes blew wide at the implication but he gulped past the sudden lump in throat, "I'm not going anywhere!"
"Suit yourself," sister Gertrude shrugged, "though you might want to stay up near your wife's head.. my brother once likened the scene to watching his favourite car being blown to smithereens.."
And then she began fussing around Maria's legs as though her shockingly vivid declaration was of absolutely no consequence, while Georg entirely failed to mask the horror written across his face.
Nevertheless he stood his ground, turning back to Maria and gripping her hand just in time to hear her wail of pain and feel his fingers cripple under her sudden bone-crushing grip.
Max had always loved drama. Ever since he was a boy he'd been drawn to gossip and scandal, always being the first to obtain the latest secrets whispered around the schoolyard. As he'd grown older, his penchant for gossip had only escalated and he was delighted to discover that it was rife amongst the Austrian aristocracy that he'd become so acquainted with.
Maria's labour in the front seat of Robert's car had to be the juiciest drama he'd experienced in years - though he'd highly resented being in the centre of it all. He much preferred being a bystander while others struggled through such deliciously impossible situations. He was still thanking God that they'd made it to the base in time, but as the hands of the clock on the wall ticked by outside the hospital wing where he and Robert were sat waiting, he found himself growing restless once again. Had there been any complications? Was Maria going to be alright? Was the baby safe? He needed a cigar and a strong drink.
He glanced at Robert, whose eyes were weary and tired. It was midnight and the baron had managed to place a call to an absolutely panic-stricken Margaret who'd had absolutely no idea where Max and Maria had fled to. Max had felt uncharacteristically guilty then - the poor children must've been worried sick, but the panic of the car journey had distracted him from anything else. He'd been far too hellbent on getting Maria to safety and ridding himself of the responsibility of delivering Georg's child. In the end, after much calming down, Margaret had left Robert with strict instructions to let her know the minute the baby had arrived.
Another twenty minutes passed in silence, the only sound the sinister tick tick tick of the clock as it taunted them into restlessness. Just as both men were beginning to drift off on each other's shoulders, they were suddenly startled awake by the unmistakable sound of a baby's cry. Grabbing each other in excitement and scrambling to their feet, they were greeted mere moments later by an entirely dishevelled Georg throwing open the doors and slumping against the doorframe in defeat, a bashful grin breaking across his exhausted features.
"I... I have son," he muttered in disbelief as he ran a shaky hand through his hair, "another boy.. our baby boy.."
A/N: hats off to the men in this chapter for somehow managing to restore some form of order! please do let me know if you're still enjoying the story, more updates soon.