A/N: Just one HUGE sorry for not updating this for the past 4 months… RL have been a bitch, have been sick, though I still had way too much time on my hands, I just didn't get around to work fully on this… guess I had a small writers block at one point also… BUT it is now finished… not sure if this can be called an epilogue or if it is just a finishing chapter… you decide… ;) happy reading…
(BIG thank you to MaryAnne741 for Beta reading again… it's a huge help for me, when English is not my native language… ;) )
Epilogue/final chapterThe Austrian landscape was clad in its finest autumn colours, of red, orange and yellow. The scenery flew by the train widows in a blur, making it somewhat difficult for the passengers to see every detail. But this didn't matter for Maria whose focus wasn't on the view but more her own thoughts on what had happened the past month.
A month that had been filled with so many various new experiences for her, that it sometimes was quite difficult to fully understand that she was actually married to the wonderful man sitting at the other side of the table. At the moment he was occupied with reading the newspaper, his brow was furrowed into a sharp line, the news he read was not pleasant. The news of Austria's defeat by the "third Reich" had reached them in their honeymoon paradise. Maria had seen the small change within Georg when he heard the news, and her heart broke for her husband, and she had stood by his side and they had shared their worries over the whole affaire. She knew that the future would not be all rosy red like the weeks of their honeymoon had been. She was not that naïve anymore.
Maria took a large drink of her orange juice, trying to occupy her mind with more pleasant topics. Her eyes looked back over at her husband. While he was still busy with his paper she had a moment to just enjoy the view, so to speak. She smiled to herself while she thought about all the wonderful things they had done together, both out in the city, but also when they had been alone in their hotel suite. These last thoughts made her face feel slightly warmer, and when her eyes looked down at his hands, still holding the newspaper, the heat only intensified. She had lost count on just how many times those hands had made her feel cherished and loved beyond everything she had ever imagined.
Then she looked up at his face and her eyes fell on his lips, those lips had whispered sweet words of endearments every night going to sleep and morning they had woken up. The same lips had given her pleasure that had sent her mind and body whirling with heated emotions, which had sent shivers up and down her spine. Her mind was filled with wonderful memories of their time in Paris and their four days out at the wine château the previous week had been a wonderful addition to their time together. Those four days had been filled with some incredible new experiences for them. They had found the lake near the château and gone swimming; the weather had still been fairly warm. The lake lay secluded in a small forest, as so they had been all alone. Maria felt her cheeks go even warmer by thinking about what they had almost done out in/by the lake, up until then, that had only been something they had done when being alone in their hotel suite.
Maria felt her face heat up even more when she remembered all of their passionate kisses and adventures they had shared while being alone. Now her blush was not caused by only bashfulness alone, she had come to cherish these private times together. In the past five weeks Maria had grown into a loving and passionate wife, who was now more and more at ease when she was alone with her husband. She surprised even herself now, when she was letting herself daydream of something as intimate as their lovemaking, in public no less. In the back of her mind she surely hoped that the other passengers didn't knew how to read minds, they would be in for a shock if they saw the images going through her mind.
When Georg finished reading the newspaper he found his wife deep in thought, her cheekbones decorated in a soft pink glow which told him that her mind was focused on some more private or intimate things. Her face was turned slightly away from him, her eyes looked unseeing out the windows, he was sure that she didn't notice the multiple array of autumn colours flashing by at high speed. Grinning for himself he reached out with his hands and gently touched her hand. He was very curious as to what his wife was thinking about.
The sudden warmth of his hand snapped Maria out of her reveries and when she turned her head towards Georg she was met with a pair of curious sparkling blue eyes. She felt her cheeks going even redder, she saw the unspoken question in his eyes, and she knew that he knew where her thoughts had been seconds before. Maria was amazed by the fact that she, after five weeks alone with her husband, had learned to read her husband like this. She felt a slight tingle run down her spine just thinking about how close they had become, in both body and soul.
-"So, Darling, whatever has captivated your mind so much that you seem to have forgotten the world around you?" Georg asked with amusement in his voice.
Maria shook her head in disbelief over his bluntness, but then she pulled her hand away from his and rearranged her napkin next to her plate then looked as innocent as she could up at him again, and said in a sweet voice: "I have no idea whatsoever it is you're talking about, my darling. I was merely enjoying the wonderful view of… of…" she cast a quick glance out of the window, she had absolutely no idea where they were, all she saw was trees in autumn colours, "… of the wonderful autumn coloured trees." She waved her hand out towards the scenery to underline her explanation.
-"Hmpf… the scenery?" Georg huffed in feigned indignation; he found it rather difficult not laugh out loud when he added: "Are there buttons on those trees?" He was amazed how much Maria had grown into her role as a wife and lover, but he still saw some tiny signs of her previous shyness.
When his devious question reached her ears she found it quit difficult to hold her seemingly cool façade. During their honeymoon she had learned that he would never forget those buttons, and zippers for that matter, as said items always seemed to be part of their playful and loving banter.
-"Ah well… no… no buttons, none at all." Maria said in a firm voice, while she kept looking straight into her husbands eyes. She noticed the gleam in his eyes, a sure sign of him not believing her at all. Suddenly she felt the need to find a way to pay him back for his cheekiness, and she added in a low voice: "And I'll let you in on a little secret, darling, I didn't see any zippers either, out there on the trees." She waved her hand out towards the scenery.
Georg had reached for his coffee, but when he heard these words he paused and suddenly he found himself quite shell shocked over her blunt words. Then after a few seconds he couldn't stop himself from laughing out loud, completely forgetting that they were seated in a public place. Maria smiled triumphantly and soon she joined her husband in his laughter.
The only thing that stopped them was a low cough from one of the waiters who just passed their table. Georg looked up and saw the small disapproving look the waiter tried to send them, letting them know that such loudness was not accepted. Georg nodded his head in return, and then hid his mouth behind his hands, his laughter was still present. He quietly shook his head while he looked over at his wife, who also tried to stifle her laughter.
-"Oh Maria, my wonderful, amazing wife, whatever am I going to do with you, you sometimes bring out the worst in me." He smiled, and then added: "not that I don't mind, but I think we need to find another topic to talk about, before they kick us out of here." He winked playfully at her and reached for his coffee.
Maria nodded her head, and smiled back, she was pleased that she was able to bring him out of his sometimes uptight demeanour. Her mind wandered to what was going to happen within the next couple of hours, they would return home, home to their seven wonderful children. They had talked about how much they both missed the children. But Maria had also secretly thought about something else, the fact that she was now their new mother.
-"Georg?" Maria asked in a low and slightly nervous voice. Her uneasiness confused Georg; he was not sure why she all of a sudden seemed so uneasy about something. He reached over and wrapped his fingers around her hand.
-"What's the matter darling?" Georg asked with worry.
Maria shook her head and laughed nervously, then she said: "Oh I'm just being silly… really it is nothing…" She picked at her napkin, trying to get her worry out of her system.
But Georg need to hear what was on her mind so he pressed on: "Please Maria, you do remember that you can tell me anything. Please, what is on your mind?"
Maria was thinking for a few moments before she finally said: "The thing is, I've been thinking a lot about the fact that I'm actually a mother now, to seven children no less… It's not that I don't think they love me, I know they do…and I love them… it's just that… that…" Suddenly she found it rather difficult to find the right words to express what was on her mind, thinking about it now it just seemed like such a small and insignificant detail to worry about.
Georg could see various emotions run over Maria's face; he gently rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, trying to make her feel at ease.
Maria looked into her husbands warm eyes and saw his genuine concern and interest in her thoughts. Then she finally plucked up the courage to say what was on her mind.
-"Well the thing is, I've been thinking… well you know I might be their new mother now, on paper, but do you suppose they would call me mother?" Maria saw Georg smile even more and she tried to explain: "Well it's not as if I wouldn't understand if they don't want to call me mother, the oldest still remember their real mother. It might be unnatural for them to… to… you know."
-"Well, seeing my…our, children together with you I do believe they all see you as their mother, they might even have seen it way before I even realized my love for you. As for them actually calling you mother, I guess we just have to wait and see. If they do, how do you feel about it?" Georg asked gently, he sensed that this was a genuine concern for Maria, and knew she needed some confirmation from him.
Maria didn't try to hide the huge smile on her lips when she answered: "Oh I wouldn't mind it one bit if they did call me mother. But as I said before, I truly understand if some of them would still call me Maria. I would never make them forget their real mother."
-"I know you wouldn't, and they do too." Georg was amazed how Maria seemed so in tune with his children and him for that matter. She truly had a natural gift in understanding people, especially people that was close to her.
Maria smiled grateful at him, and placed her other hand on top of his, wrapping his hand in her own. She was happy that they had had this talk, and now she was looking very much forward to go home to their children. Those children had captivated her heart from the moment she had met them.
Their talk moved to other light topics, while they finished their breakfast. Then they walked back to their compartment, and finished packing their things together. Within the next hour the train arrived in Salzburg, marking the end of their honeymoon, but the start of their new life together.
They were picked up by Franz and the drive home was uneventful. Maria felt giddy and excitedto see the children again; they would have so much to talk about.
Maria dozed off in the car, her head rested on Georg's shoulder, but just as the car drove into the driveway she felt Georg tense up in his body. Confused she rose her head up and looked up at his face, his eyes where narrow and his whole face was a mask made of stone. It made her feel uneasy and confused; she turned her head in the direction of his eyes.
Their beautiful home was now desecrated with a blood red flag with a black swastika in the centre. Maria felt her own blood run cold with dread, they had heard that the Nazis had overtaken their beloved Austria, but never had they thought it would hit them this close to home.
Maria could only imagine how angry and violated Georg felt at that moment, trying to hold back her own tears she turned to her husband and gently took his hand. At first he didn't seem to register her touch, but when she gently caressed his knuckles he looked down at her. The hard lines still lingered on his face, but he managed to pull forward a smile, though it never really reached his eyes. Neither one of them spoke a word; no words were needed at that moment. They both knew how bad the situation was for their family.
Franz drove the car up to the house, opened the door for Georg who then walked around to open the door for Maria. In the meantime Franz took care of their luggage, carrying it into the house.
Georg pulled Maria in for a hug, before walking up the steps, his eyes burned daggers to the offending flag defiling their home. When they came to the top of the stairs, Georg made a small jump and pulled the Swastika flag down. Maria saw the burning hatred in her husband's eyes, it scared her slightly, but she knew how much he hated what that flag represented. She too was shocked and offended by the Nazi's impudence in doing something like this. But from what she had read about the Nazi's in the newspapers she gathered that this was just one more of their obscene ideas to "promote" their beliefs.
They walked into their home, Georg still held the Swastika flag in his hand, his grip was tight with anger, all that ran through his mind was how he could get rid of this offending piece of fabric. He never wanted his children to ever see this symbol in their home.
When they came into the hallway they were met with Frau Schmidt, she greeted them happy, and welcomed them home. Then she saw the red fabric in Georg's hand: "I'm sorry about that Sir." She nodded her head towards his hand holding the flag, and continued: "they came yesterday, and we didn't know how to stop them. I'm terrible sorry about that Sir." Her voice was filled with sadness, she was much aware of how her employer hated the Third Reich, and what that flag symbolised.
Georg waved her off with a hand, and shook his head; he knew how the Nazi soldiers worked. Then he asked Frau Schmidt where the children were. She smiled and said: "They are in town with Hr. Detweiler, they should be home right before lunch, which would be any time now." She looked at her wristwatch.
-"Thank you Frau Schmidt." Georg said and took Marias hand, and then they walked to the library. He wanted to get rid of the Swastika flag still burning in his hand, and he knew just how to do this.
When they entered the room he moved straight for the fireplace that, luckily, had a roaring fire burning. Maria knew what he wanted to do, and she squeezed his hand letting him know that she was right there next to him.
When the red spider flag landed in the fireplace, it caught on fire instantly, blazing wildly for a few seconds while the fabric melted in the heat. Georg rested his hand on the mantelpiece, and when he saw the flag cease to exist he sighed in relief and rested his head on his hand. He was filled with ragged emotions running wild in his mind. It filled him with dread thinking about what the future would bring them, in this ever changing world they now lived in.
Maria had stayed a few feet behind him, while he had thrown the flag into the fire, she now watched him slump against the fireplace. Her heart ached for him, and she took a few steps forward and placed a gentle hand on his back. She felt the tension in his muscles, and she gently slides her hand up and down his back, trying to soothe his ragging emotions.
Georg felt the warmth of her hand through his jacket, and he felt himself relax more and more. This was not the homecoming he had dreamed of when returning from his honeymoon. He turned around and moved closer to Maria, took her into his arms, hugging her close.
-"I'm terrible sorry about this, it was not how I pictured us coming home, but it seems as if nothing will stop the Nazi's to invade our privacy. Sorry." Georg gently kissed her temple, letting his lips linger on her warm skin; he needed the closeness they shared.
Maria nodded her head, and she too felt the need to just be close to the man who in every way possible had changed her life forever, and in her heart she only knew one thing: "I love you, and you love me, everything else really doesn't matter."
Georg smiled into her hair, and lifted his hands to her face, cupping her face in his hands, looking into her blue orbs. He was amazed how Maria was so in tune with his emotions considering they had known each other for a little over half a year, and only three of those months when had they been in a relationship, including one month of marriage. This thought filled his heart with joy and he knew that whatever the world would bring them, they would get through it, together.
Maria moved her hands up to his shoulders, lifting herself up slightly and kissed him. Georg moved his arms closer around her body, pulling her close to him. The kiss had a calming effect on Georg and for the time being he forgot what was happening in the world around them. His only focus was how amazing it felt to kiss his wife's soft red lips, he let his own travel over her cheekbone in short kisses. When his mouth was near her ear, he let his hands travel down her body, letting his hand rest on the lowest part of her back, pulling her body close to his.
-"How long was it until our rambunctious children returns home?" His voice tickled Maria's sensitive skin by her ear, she felt her head spin slightly, and the location of his hands didn't help her state of mind either. She was rather puzzled by his question, and she pulled back slightly trying to se in his eyes what he was up to. She asked him why he needed to know this now; they had just talked with Frau Schmidt only moments before.
-"Ah well I was hoping that we would have time for some, sweet loving, upstairs," when Maria still looked slightly confused he added with a glint in his eyes: "in our bed, you naked, and I would be kissing you, making love to you." His voice was raw with passion and to underline his words he let one hand rest behind her head and pulled her in for a burning kiss.
Maria was too shocked to really respond first, but when his lips continued their onslaught on her own she really didn't care what he had asked, she wanted more. More of him, more of the heated kisses and caresses she knew he could give her. One month in Paris had taught her a thing or two about her own passion, and by all means also the immense amount of passion that Georg had to share. She let her own body mould into his larger frame and marvelled at how well they fit together. Her hands roamed restlessly through his hair, pulling him closer to her hungry mouth.
Georg growled in the back of his throat when he felt her surrender, and he inwardly smiled at his wife's newfound passion. He was sure that this would never die, and he was looking forward to their future together, he was sure it would never grow dull, in any way.
They both lost sense of time and completely forgot that they were expecting their children home at any time. Suddenly their bubble of passion burst with a short knock on the door.
Maria gasped for air and rested her spinning head on his chest, and found herself unconsciously cursing whoever had disturbed them. She had her eyes closed while she vaguely heard the voice of Frau Schmidt telling them that the children had arrived home. Georg thanked her and then looked down to his wife. He saw the red tinge on her cheekbones and he knew that she felt shy and a little alarmed by her of sudden outburst of passion in a somewhat public place.
-"Well darling, I guess we have to wait for our private welcome home rendezvous until tonight." Georg whispered into her ear, and he smiled for himself when he saw the redness on her face increase slightly.
Maria took a deep breath of air and raised her head looking up at her mischievous husband who had a grin spread over his lips. Biting her lip nervously she rested her hand on his face and whispered back: "hmm I guess so, a shame though; I was starting to look forward to you helping me out of this outfit…" She pointed down to the mustard coloured two piece suit she wore, and then added with a devious smile: "and it has both buttons and zippers, and we don't like those, do we darling?"
She raised herself up slightly and pecked him demurely on his cheek and walked to the door. If someone besides Georg had looked at the woman walking towards the door they would never had noticed the subtle sway of her hips, beckoning Georg to follow her. Georg did see how she gracefully moved towards the door, and the tiny sway of her hip told him how much she had matured in the past month.
Georg chuckled to himself and shook his head while he started to follow his wife; it sure wasn't going to be boring living with this woman.
When they came into the hallway they were greeted with seven children running into their arms. The next minutes were spent greeting and talking all at once. The uproar was immense and Frau Schmidt could see how much the children had missed their parents. The elderly lady was happy that the Captain had found love again. She walked down to the kitchen, leaving the family alone.
At one point one of the children had asked Maria and Georg: "What did you miss the most?" Georg had started to make a list of various things they had missed and ended it with: "… and we missed hearing you sing."
-"Oh you're just in time to..." Brigitta exclaimed and searched her pockets for something; Georg looked curiously closer to what his daughter would find. He failed to notice his old friend Max take two steps forward, as if he tried to prevent the girl to find what she looked for. Then Max sighed hopelessly and stepped back when the girl did find the piece of paper.
-"… look, Fraulein Maria… I mean mother." The girl waved a piece of paper in front of Maria's face. But the paper was not her focus in that second, but rather the word that had come from the girl's mouth: "mother", her heart fluttered with joy and exhilaration by hearing that word. She looked around and caught the eyes of her husband, when he saw the joy in her eyes he winked at her, as if to say: "I told you so; they really do see you as their mother." This tiny gesture filled her heart with even more love for this man and these children around her.
Brigitta pulled on her arm making Maria focus on the piece of paper. It was something about a music festival, Maria thought that sounded wonderful. But when the children started telling all about them singing in said festival, she saw Georg step forward grabbing the flyer, and then he turned to Max raising a questioning eyebrow.
Max held up his hands in defence while Georg gave him yet another lecture about how his children would never perform in public. Maria saw the tension build between the two men, and moved through the crowd of children. When she reached her husband she placed a gentle hand on his arm. She didn't say anything, she knew how he felt about the situation, and she didn't want to make him change his mind, just calm him down.
Georg looked down into his wife's pleading eyes, he knew he was building up himself to a heated discussion, a discussion not meant for the children to see or hear. He took a breath of air and turned to his old friend and said: "This we will talk about later, you know how I feel about this." Max nodded his head and fiddled nervously with his moustache, he might have gone a bit over the line with this one. Looking down at the gentle hand still resting on Georg's arm, Max hoped that the woman standing next to his friend would help him on this one.
Trying to lighten the mood Georg turned to his children and exclaimed: "Alright presents are ready on the terrace." Every child but Liesl jumped up and down by hearing this and ran full speed towards the terrace. Georg chuckled slightly at this scene, then his heart warmed by what he saw next. Liesl stood back, and looked a bit nervous and unsure towards Maria, not knowing how she could express that she wanted to talk to Maria.
Georg smiled warmly to her, and bent down and whispered into Maria's ear: "I think our daughter wants to talk to her mother." Georg nodded his head towards the young woman, their oldest daughter who wasn't a child anymore. Maria looked up into his eyes and then her eyes fell on the teenager standing off to one side, as if she waited for something, or someone.
Maria was still getting used to this new role or title she now had, but she felt her heart burst with joy just thinking about it, and she wanted to be there for every one of the children. And right now it seemed as if their oldest needed some motherly advice. Maria was just hoping that she would be able to help the girl with whatever problem she might have.
With memories and feelings from the past month still swirling around in her mind, she walked over to Liesl. Liesl drew in a breath of relief over the fact that her new mother seemed to know that she was the one Liesl needed to talk to now. Maria hugged the girl, and took her hand and walked into the sitting room, hoping that she would be living up to her new title as a mother.
Georg felt his heart burst with joy and pride by what he saw, his wife taking on her new role as a mother, the mother his children had needed. He knew that the children had all seen her as their mother from the very start, and he was beyond thankful by the fact that she had helped him see his children again. Making it possible for them to be a family, a family that would go through what ever the world might throw their way, because they had all found love again.
A/N: I give the credit for the line "Are there buttons on those trees?" to Utility-Singer, thank you for this brilliant idea… gave me some more input on those buttons and zippers, so they could play a "role" in this chapter as well… ;)
About the homecoming scene:
It was AU for the most part… sorry about that but it just kinda wrote itself ;) And the burning of the swastika flag was an excuse to bring them inside, which lead to the kiss.
The kiss is dedicated to the wonderful ladies at our proboard (and facebook) we have been talking about wanting to have more kisses in the movie, and where they could be… this scene was mentioned and I grabbed the idea for this epilogue… THANK you all, you know who you are… *hug*
The reason for finishing the story here is simply because I LOVE that little subtle wink that Georg gives Maria when Brigitha calls her mother for the first time. It literally melts my heart every time I see that… (I have several of these "favourite" moments in the movie) so I had to bring it to my story somehow… hope you like this ending… and it will be the end. I'm afraid there will be some time now before I write anything TSOM related, have another fandom that I have an unfinished story in, a story that needs to be finished… ;)
Please review and let me know what you like (and don't like)… that way I can improve my writing… thanks :D
PS: if you want a place to share fic ideas and/or just talk about TSOM related thing I/we invite you to join us, pm me for more details… We have SOOOOO much fun, (you don't have to be a writer yourself, if you have a passion/love/interest in TSOM, come join us for some fun)