This chapter is full of Maria/Georg moments. It takes place mostly in flashbacks, and is a bit of a pick me up in comparison to the last chapter. I wanted to write something a little more light-hearted.
"You like that don't you?" Maria laughed as she massaged Georg's shoulders, her fingers tracing his back and neck gracefully.
He sighed from pleasure and leaned into her.
He was dangling his legs off of the bed, and she was kneeling behind him. She glanced out the window at the waves splashing against rocks. They were staying in a picturesque ocean villa. She ran her fingers through his hair before slowly slipping her arms around him and playing with the buttons on his shirt.
"You're feisty this morning." She could hear the smile on his lips.
The sound of his voice gave her a strong desire to kiss him. She pulled him back and planted her lips on his forehead.
"Maria." His tone changed abruptly.
"Yes?"
"I want to tell you something important." He stood up and walked over to the window.
She joined him, and the two of the gazed out over the dark blue water. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to him, encasing her in his warmth.
"What's that?"
"I've just purchased a home in Switzerland."
She lifted her head off of his shoulder, smiling out of confusion. "Why would you do that?"
"I want to have a place to go in case-"
"Oh, please don't say it." She pleaded. "This is such an absolutely perfect honey moon and we needn't spoil it."
He laughed and gave her a squeeze. "I'm surprised you want to avoid the subject."
"Why?"
"Because you were the one who reminded me how important honesty and truth is in the first place."
The eight of them continued walking, their spirits much lower then at the beginning of their journey. Maria now carried Marta and Gretl's bags in addition to her own and her feet felt like they were glued to the ground, making every step difficult. She wanted to comfort them, wanted to assure them that everything would be okay. She couldn't.
Every inch of Maria's body was hurting. She was unsure of whether her pain was the result of a physical soreness or an emotional injury. A thick fog had settled on their path, making vision difficult.
Up ahead of her, Kurt tripped and fell. He winced and grabbed his knee, which was scraped and bleeding.
As she carefully bandaged his wound and helped him to his feet, she briefly forgot what had happened. Kurt leaned on her, limping. She noticed his gloomy expression, his feet dragging in the dirt.
Nobody said anything. There was nothing to say. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Maria had done her best to explain the situation to them without squashing their innocence, but it was impossible.
"My stomachs rumbling." Kurt informed her. "Do we have anything to eat?"
She gasped, realizing she hadn't even thought to feed them after all this time. It had been more than a day, but she had lost her appetite so completely that she hadn't thought about food.
"Let's sit down for a minute and eat something." Maria said to everyone. They gathered in a circle and she pulled sandwiches out of her bag and passed them around. All the children had their own water bottles.
"You better pack more than just a light snack, Maria." Georg told her. They were standing together at the kitchen counter, packing food and water in the children's bags.
"Why?" Maria asked, turning towards him and attempting to feed him a carrot.
"It might be a long trip." He said, his jaw tight and uninviting to the game she was trying to play.
"Very well." She agreed.
They resumed their cooking, making twenty seven sandwiches.
"We can put half of them in my bag and half in yours." Maria stood at the sink, filling up bottles with water.
"No, we had better put them all in yours." Georg came to stand beside her. "In case something happens to me."
"You know what I think?" She handed him a bottle of water.
"What?"
"I think you just want me to carry all of the stuff so that you don't have to." She accused him playfully, flicking some water onto him.
His eyes widened. "Oh really?" He splashed her back.
Maria jumped back in surprise, then laughed and turned to washing her hands. "Yes." She said simply.
He wasn't quite finished yet. He opened one of the water bottles and very sneakily dumped it on her head.
She whipped around, her hair and shoulders drenched. She glared at him angrily. "What on earth was that for?"
Georg back away. "Oh goodness. I'm so sorry Maria, I just thought that-"
Before he could finish she threw her arms around him, soaking his clothes as well. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her hard. She kissed him back, pushing him up against the counter. Her arms still around him, she felt around for another water bottle. Very skillfully and slyly she opened it and poured it down the back of his suit.
He yelped, and jumped away from her.
"Now we're even." She stated proudly.
He just stared at her, shaking his head and grinning.
"What?"
"I love you." He said, kissing her again.
The drama will return in the next chapter. Da da daaaaaa. (That was supposed to represent dramatic music)
What ever you do, don't review this chapter. Psych, I really like reviews and they help me keep the story going so, REVIEW, RESPOND, RECYCLE.
I'ms sorry that made so sense if was supposed to be a reference to the song Reduce Reuse Recycle.
I should just stop.
Spoiler Below.
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In answer to the question about whether or not I will continue the story after the family is reunited: I am not entirely sure. My concern is that it will get to long. I may write a sequel or something of that nature. But that is a little ways down the road so I will cross that bridge when I get to it.