Georg couldn't hide the smile upon his face as he waited for Maria at the bottom of the aisle next to Max who was serving as his best man, and his gaze was fixed upon Maria as she slowly made her way through the gates of Nonnberg Abbey which led into the cathedral, for the final time. He felt his heart swell with love for her as she turned back to the Reverend Mother and the other sisters, silently saying goodbye to them all as the organ began to play the wedding march. He watched Liesl slowly approach her and hand her a small bouquet of Edelweiss which she gently buried her nose in before starting to walk slowly down the aisle behind Gretl, Marta, and Liesl. His heart beat furiously within his chest as he caught her eye and saw the familiar blush rising in her cheeks as she smiled nervously at him, her long veil flowing behind her. Once she had made it up the stairs to him, she slipped her soft hand into his and he led her towards the Priest before the two of them knelt with Liesl and Max. Once they had all stood up again, Maria slowly passed the bouquet of Edelweiss over to Liesl and felt her heart race when she took Georg's hand once more as they knelt upon the steps just before the Priest as he began the service. 'Maria and Georg, have you come here to enter into marriage without coercion, freely and wholeheartedly?'
'I have,' The two of them replied with gentle nods.
'Are you prepared, as you follow the path of marriage, to love and honour each other for as long as you both shall live?' He raised an eyebrow.
'I am,' They replied as Georg gently stroked his thumb over Maria's knuckles, the two of them looking at one another out of the corner of their eyes.
'You may stand,' He gestured for them to raise, Georg releasing Maria's hand momentarily, and they stood up to face one another in front of the congregation. 'Since it is your intention to enter the covenant of Holy matrimony, join your right hands, and declare your consent before the congregation,' Georg slowly took her hand in his and brought it slowly closer toward his chest as he had done on the night he proposed to her in the gazebo a few months back.
'I, Georg Von Trapp, take you, Maria Rainer, to be my wife. I promise to be faithful to you, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, to love you and honour you all the days of my life,' Maria felt the tears burning in her eyes and rising up her throat as she tightened her hold upon his hand, a sweet smile forming upon her lips.
'I, Maria Rainer, take you, Georg Von Trapp, to be my husband. I promise to be faithful to you, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, to love you, honour you, and obey your every command, all the days of my life,' He winked at her discreetly and she bowed her head slightly as the blush returned, his smile of love and pride burning into her. Kurt then came in front of them with the rings on the soft red pillow, a soft smile upon his face as his parents turned to look at him.
Georg took the diamond ring slowly from the pillow and placed it carefully upon the tip of Maria's finger. 'Maria, I've loved you since I first set eyes on you when you entered my house earlier this summer to serve as the Governess to my children. Not only did you touch their hearts with your love and affection, you touched mine also. You fixed our family when it was slowly beginning to break apart, and you brought the children and I,' He turned his head slightly to smile at the seven beautiful children smiling over at he and Maria. 'Closer than we'd been even before I changed. There is no possible way to fully pay you back for how much you have done for this family since you arrived, but I hope that pledging my love for you in front of the congregation, and promising to remain faithful to you for the rest of my life, will start to do that,' He then slowly slipped the ring onto her finger and settled it against the base of it, feeling her hand tremble before he brought it to his lips and kissed the back of it.
Maria then carefully removed the other ring from the pillow and placed it gently upon the tip of Georg's finger. 'Georg, I loved you before you even said a single word to me on my first day working for you, because I knew that even though you seemed harsh and secluded, there was a completely different person beneath all of that. You were hurting over your wife's death and for the sixteen years following that, you were alone and had nobody to help you to cope with the grief. That's what my job is now along with being a mother to our seven beautiful children, and trying my hardest to live up to my title as Baroness, I'm here to help you through the harder times. I know that things were icy and tense between us when we first met, but now I couldn't imagine my life without you next to me. I promise you that I'll never disobey a command that you give me, and the second that you give me an order it will do it wholeheartedly without a single objection. I love you more than life itself, and will continue to do so for the rest of my life,'
'Now, by the power invested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride,' Georg immediately brought Maria close to his chest as he cradled the back of her head through her veil and his lips crashed onto hers, her soft whimper as she smiled against his mouth making him fall all the more in love with the beautiful woman in his arms.
Once the car had pulled up outside the Villa later that afternoon, Georg got out and held the door open for Maria as he held her fingertips whilst she stepped out, leaving a delicate kiss upon her lips as he held her waist gently. 'You're finally mine,' He breathed as he pressed his forehead to hers, their gazes locking. 'Do you realise how long I've been waiting to say those words?' She giggled as she cupped the sides of his neck gently.
'Of course I do,' Her voice was coated with soft tears as she sniffled. 'I've been longing for you to say it ever since I fell in love with you,' He pressed his lips back to hers in a deep kiss, their tongues brushing and tangling gently as she moaned softly against his lips. He smiled against her mouth as he held the back of her neck, and she teased the hair at the nape of his gently with her fingertips. 'Oh, my Captain,' She panted. 'Do you know what you do to me when you kiss me like that?' She pressed up against him as her arms wrapped around his neck.
'Where's this come from?' He raised an eyebrow as his gaze darkened and he licked his lips slowly. 'I've never seen this side of you before, my darling,' She hummed as she licked his neck slowly and nipped the warm skin just below his jaw.
'Get used to it,' She breathed into his ear, his heart speeding within his chest at how racy she had become in a matter of ten days.
'You naughty girl,' He growled, his breath warm against her face as he dipped his head to kiss her lingeringly. 'Just wait until we're alone,'
She giggled softly as she gripped his shirt and nuzzled against his chest, feeling his strong arms around her. 'I have something to show you,' He whispered into her veil, stroking the soft hair beneath it as she cuddled against him. He led her slowly over to the front door of the Villa and took her fingertips in his hand, bringing the back of her palm to his lips to kiss the back of it. 'Just don't scream,' He chuckled as he reached for the doorknob, turning it slowly in his hand and letting the door open. She stepped inside with her hand clasped lightly over her mouth as she took in the interior of the grand hall, noticing how the tables were aligned around the outside of the room, the silk drapes flowing across the ceiling as the cake rested on the table near the staircase.
'Oh my, Georg- I-I don't-' He wrapped his arm around her lower back as she stammered, chuckling softly as he kissed the side of her head. 'I don't know what to say, my darling. No one's ever done something like this for me, not ever,' She wrapped her arms around his middle and buried her head into his chest. 'Thank you, so much,' He ran his hands gently up and down her back as he smiled down at her, feeling her grip the back of his jacket.
'It wasn't just me,' He admitted. 'The children helped out with it too, my love. Liesl helped to bake the cake for you, and created small fondant Edelweiss to cover it, Friedrich and Louisa helped to decorate the grand hall, and Brigitta, Marta, and Gretl helped to blow up the balloons,'
'I'm guessing Kurt sampled the food?' She raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.
'You know our children so well already,' He smirked, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
Later that same evening, Maria was sitting beside a close female friend of Georg's that she had met at their engagement ball as they were both deep in conversation, her veil removed since it was becoming slightly irritating. She looked up for a moment and noticed Liesl making her way over to her. 'I'm sorry to interrupt, Frau- Mother,' She corrected herself. 'But Father would like you to go and stand with him for a moment,' Maria turned her gaze to where Georg was standing in the centre of the room, and she blushed as she excused herself from the conversation, making her way over to her husband.
'Friends, may I have your attention please?' A silence fell as Georg held up a hand before wrapping his arm gently around Maria's slim waist. 'I would like to raise a toast to my beautiful wife, Maria, who has made me the happiest man living ever since she entered my life. She was right when she said that I was struggling with my late wife's death, but she's helped take some of that pain away which is one of the reasons that I love and admire her so much. She's acted as more of a parent to my children than I have over the past few weeks, and I'm so grateful to have such a beautiful woman by my side to support me through everything. My darling,' He looked down at Maria as her eyes held soft tears. 'I know that you are going to make such an amazing mother, wife, and Baroness, and I know that everyone else here feels the same way. Now, friends, I ask you to raise your champagne flutes to my beautiful wife, the Baroness,' The guests raised their flutes and in chorus toasted to Maria as she blushed and felt Georg's thumb stroking against her lower back as he held up his own champagne flute. 'I love you,' He dipped his head and left a light kiss to her lips, an applause filling the room as she giggled softly against his mouth. 'And now, I would like to see if my wife remembers any more of the special dance we shared together at one of my past house parties. Liesl, darling?' Liesl carefully placed the pin of the gramophone onto the record and the starting tune of the Landler filled the room as Georg set down his drink, Maria giggling softly. He then made his way back over to her and bowed slowly as she curtsied, both of them beginning to dance along to the music. When their dance was over and their hands were held above their heads, their chests nearly pressed as they were the first time they had danced, a large applause filled the Grand Hall as Georg looked deeply into his wife's eyes. 'You remembered the rest of the dance, I see,' He then pressed his lips to hers and caught her in a slow kiss.
'It would appear that I did,' She breathed, smiling sweetly when they parted once again.
The evening had arrived far too quickly for Maria and Georg's liking, but before they were to leave on their honeymoon they had to say goodbye to the children. 'Please don't leave, mother,' Gretl whimpered as she tugged lightly upon Maria's going away dress. 'What if you don't come back this time?' Maria winced at her youngest daughter's words, and Georg slowly ran his hand across her upper back to comfort her. She released his hand gently and slowly got down to her level.
'My darling, I promise I'm going to come back after the six weeks are over, and I know that your father isn't going to let me out of his sight,' She smirked up at him, Georg chuckling as he knew the real meaning behind her words. 'I was selfish and wrong to leave you all on the night of the house party, and it broke my heart to know that it made some of you lose faith in me. Now that I've regained your trust again I promise you all that I'm never going to take it for granted. We're a family now,' She took Georg's hand and he helped her to stand up once again. 'And family stays together,' Gretl and Marta clung onto the skirt of her dress and she ran her hands across the top of their heads gently.
'We love you, mother,' Marta spoke into the soft fabric.
'All of us do,' Gretl added.
'I love you all too, and I'm going to miss you so terribly when your father and I are away, but we're going to telephone you all as much as we can, I swear,' Georg pressed a soft kiss to the side of her head.
'Friedrich, you're the man of the house when I'm away, and Liesl you're in charge of the younger ones. I want you both to set an example, do you understand?' The two eldest children nodded before Georg laced his fingers with Maria's. 'We'd better get going, sweetheart, if we're going to reach the ship in time,' She nodded with a bittersweet smile.
They left soft kisses to each child's head before Georg led her out of the door and closed it behind them. 'Well, Baroness Von Trapp,' He took her hips and brought her flush against him. 'You're now mine and mine alone for the next six weeks,' His eyes darkened once again and she gripped the soft fabric of his shirt. 'Oh, the things I'm going to do to you,' She shivered against him as he breathed his words into her ear, and he led her over to the car before helping her into it and sliding in next to her. They than left the driveway to begin their honeymoon together, and start their new life as a married couple.
A/N: I know it's long, but please review all the same! x