She bit her lip, tapping her foot impatiently as she sat in the uncomfortable plastic chair in the waiting room of the hospital. It felt far too quiet to her for being an emergency room. She looked down to her torn dress, bloodstained and dirty from the accident. She felt sick to her stomach, reminded that the blood on her dress wasn't her own. Her head throbbed, and she touched the bandage upon her forehead, wincing from the pain. Her entire body hurt, but she knew it would only get worse before it got better. The day after something like that was always worse.
The doctor said she was lucky that she only had a mild concussion and a few scrapes and bruises. They had advised her to spend the night in a hospital bed, but she declined their advice, and they released her without much argument. She wasn't concerned for herself in that moment at all. She knew she was lucky, but she was also well aware that the only reason she hadn't been more severely injured was Georg. He had somehow grabbed her against him upon impact, shielding and protecting her from everything he could as they were ejected from the car. It all happened so fast…she could barely wrap her mind around the fact that it wasn't all just a dream.
She had regained consciousness first after the crash, rolling over and seeing Georg lying upon the ground through her blurry vision. She tried to call out to him, but her voice wouldn't work. He wasn't moving at all, and she couldn't see the rise and fall of his chest when she looked for it. In a panic, she crawled over to him, checking his pulse with her fingers, before she began giving him mouth-to-mouth. It was the single most terrifying moment in her entire life, and all she currently wanted was for the doctor to come out and give her an update. Anything at all would have been better than playing the waiting game. She desperately needed to know that he was going to be alright.
The last words they spoke to one another were in argument, and it crushed her to think those could have been the last words they shared together at all. He had been afraid of losing her and allowed his fear to take flight in a way that initiated so many words that she knew he didn't mean to say to her. She did the same, both of them saying such hateful things. She had been hurt by his fears, and instead of pushing him to talk through them, she yelled and overreacted in return. She needed him to be alright, she needed him by her side. There was no way she would have ever meant the things she said.
"Maria?" She looked up to see Max and Liesl entering the waiting room, and her heart fluttered. She hurled herself out of the chair and rushed to them, pulling Liesl into her arms as Max wrapped his own around them both. She began to cry, having been able to keep her composure up until that point, but the sight of her family brought tears faster than anything could have. Max led them all to take a seat, placing the bag of clothing they brought upon a chair next to him. "Have we heard anything?"
"No, he's still in surgery. All I know is that he has a broken arm and two broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and they…um, they say he may have some internal bleeding." She ran a hand over her eyes, which felt hot and heavy to touch, and her brain felt like it was throbbing harder by the minute. "He wasn't breathing…I don't know for how long, but he wasn't…"
"Come here." Max pulled her against him as she could no longer hold back her tears. "He's going to be alright, Maria."
"We were arguing right before it happened. I gave him back my ring…I didn't mean any of it." She cried harder into his chest, and he ran his hand over her back in comfort. She had been praying endlessly from the moment she had awakened upon the ground outside the car, and suddenly being able to speak her guilt aloud made it feel so much heavier.
"Fraulein, we brought you a change of clothes. May I help you out of that dress?" She pulled away from Max, and he quickly handed her a handkerchief to wipe her eyes. Liesl's eyes were quite red as well, but she was proud of the girl for remaining direct and held together in that moment. She really did take after her father.
"I'm afraid to step away. What if they come out here when I'm gone?"
"Uncle Max will be here and can find us. Besides, you don't want Father to see you with your dress like that, do you?" She looked down to her once beautiful party gown, ripped and filthy. She had felt wonderful when she first put it on, and Georg hadn't been able to keep his hands off her before the party, and suddenly she felt disgusting in it, wishing for nothing more than to rip it off of her skin.
"Yes, alright." Liesl stood and took the bag next to Max as Maria stood, stumbling a bit as she closed her eyes and allowed the room a moment to stop spinning.
"Are you alright?" She opened her eyes to find both Max and Liesl appearing quite concerned.
"Yes, I'm fine. I…have a concussion."
"Christ, Maria, why aren't you in a hospital room yourself? What else have you injured?" Max took on a tone she had never heard from him, and it occurred to her that in Georg's absence he was expected to take care of his family. The thought sent chills down her spine.
"I'm alright, honestly. Though I'm a bit concerned that two concussions in one year will have a lasting effect."
"Clearly it already has if you're not lying in a hospital bed right now." She understood his concern, but she had been properly released, and she didn't feel she needed to take up space if someone else came in and needed help. She gave him a pointed look before she and Liesl made their way to the ladies room for her to change.
They didn't speak much, clearly both worried enough to render them silent, as Liesl helped her with the buttons on the back of her dress. It felt much better to be dressed in her everyday clothes, which were clean and comfortable in comparison to her body being packed into a party gown for hours. She wanted nothing more than for it all to have been a dream. She wished she would suddenly wake up and find herself curled against Georg's side with his arms around her, but the aching in her body let her know that it was all real.
"Are you alright, dear?" Liesl looked up from studying the pattern in the tiles of the floor to find Maria dressed and ready to return to the waiting room.
"I think so. I'm worried." Maria moved to pull her into a hug, which she more than gladly accepted.
"As difficult as it is, we must trust that God is taking care of him. We'll know more soon." Her words were brief, as she had no more energy for talking, but Liesl seemed to understand as she returned her embrace.
Max was flipping through a magazine when they returned, and they all sat together in silence for what felt like hours. Someone ran into the hospital screaming at one point and was quickly taken by a couple of nurses, and Maria looked to Liesl to be sure she wasn't shaken by it. She seemed well enough, simply concerned for her father like they all were, so she didn't say anything. She reached for the girl's hand in comfort, and they sat holding hands for a long while.
Max found a crossword puzzle in a magazine and leaned to Maria a couple of times when he couldn't solve the word. She wasn't sure if he was trying to distract her or if he was testing her brain function, but either way she was glad she could help him and prove herself to be alright. If she were honest, she wished she were the one in the hospital bed and Georg was the one carrying a mild concussion instead. She would have taken on the pain and injuries for him in a heartbeat if she could, shielding him from anything and everything. Instead, he had shielded and protected her from being hurt; he had done so in so many ways since they met, if she were honest.
"Baroness Von Trapp?" They jumped from their chairs, and Max placed a hand upon her back to be sure she could stand properly. She hoped Liesl wouldn't be offended in any way, but in order to be able to receive information about Georg, she told the hospital that she was his wife. They wouldn't have allowed her to know half the things she needed them to tell her otherwise.
"Is he alright?" She stepped toward the doctor, hands clasped together tightly.
"Is everyone family?" He motioned to Max and Liesl, and she nodded quickly.
"Yes, his daughter and his brother." Max smiled to himself, pleased that she was willing to lie a bit in order to take care of his best friend. She really did love him, all of them. "Is he alright?"
"He's out of surgery. His arm is broken, along with two ribs, which will all heal just fine, I should think. He'll need to stay for a while until we can remove the tube from his lung, which could be anywhere from days to a week or so. Thankfully there was no internal bleeding as we originally suspected, but he will be in a lot of pain for a while."
"Can we see him?"
"He's quite out of sorts from the anesthesia, but you can see him once we move him to his room." He reached into the pocket of his coat, opening his hand in front of her to reveal her engagement ring. She was stunned, meeting his eyes in question. "He was holding it in his hand when he was brought in. It's yours?"
"I…yes, it is." She could hardly speak, having convinced herself that she had lost it forever the moment she removed it from her finger. She quickly took it from his hand, hurrying to return it to its rightful place upon her finger. She would not be removing it ever again, she vowed. The doctor suddenly took her hand, and she met his eyes in question.
"You gave him the breath of life…you saved his life. How did you know to do that?" She was surprised by his words, feeling nervous. She hadn't thought much about it since Georg had thankfully began breathing on his own.
"I…I read it in a book once. It was all I could think to do." He smiled, patting her upon the shoulder.
"You did well, Baroness. A nurse will be here to take you to his room once he's settled." She smiled, thanking him, before she turned to take her seat once more. She could not have been more relieved, her legs feeling a bit weak as she took a deep breath and ran her hands over her face.
"I've asked before, but is there anything you can't do?" She chuckled, looking up to Max's face to give him a small smile.
"There are so many things." Max nodded, allowing her a moment to wrap her head around everything that had transpired. He wrapped his arm around Liesl's shoulders, and she rested her head against him as relief flooded her veins.
It was a little while longer before the nurse called them from the waiting room, and they rushed behind her as she led them to Georg's room. Maria was the first to enter, desperately needing to see his face. The last time she saw him was when they were loaded into the ambulances and rushed away from the scene of the accident. She needed to see him alive and well, and nothing could have prepared her for just how relieved she would feel when their eyes met across the room.
"Maria, why are you crying? We're in mixed company." She shook her head, laughing a bit out of sheer joy from hearing his voice again, as she stepped around the side of the bed. She moved to the opposite side of his broken arm, not wishing to hurt him in any way. She couldn't stop herself from leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to his lips.
"He's still quite out of sorts, but should come around completely soon enough." The nurse instructed as she placed another blanket across his feet. He scoffed, rolling his eyes dramatically.
"I'm perfectly well, yet she insists that I stay lying down like this." He whispered to Maria as if they were in on some kind of joke together. She smiled, shaking her head.
"Yes, darling, you've just been through surgery."
"You're on their side, then?" She shook her head, smiling brightly as she looked to the door where Max and Liesl stood. Liesl seemed timid, unsure of how to approach him in his current state. Just as Maria was beginning to ask Liesl to join her, she gasped as Georg's hand cupped her backside, squeezing with intention.
"Georg, honestly!" She grabbed his wrist, pulling his hand away as she met his eyes. Her cheeks burned red with embarrassment. "Max and Liesl are here to see you too."
"Liesl, it's well past your bedtime." She smiled through her tears as she approached her father, taking his hand as Maria moved to give her some room.
"Yes, it seemed more important that I'm with you. You scared us all a lot."
"Scared you? I'm quite invincible, you know." She laughed, so pleased to find him in such good spirits, even though she knew it was only from the anesthesia. She knew as well as the rest of them that he would not be in such a pleasant mood soon enough.
Maria watched as he assured his daughter he was fine, but she could see the pain behind his eyes as he began to come to his senses a bit more by the minute. She never imagined the events from the previous evening would have occurred, not in her wildest dreams, and she could not stop thanking God for protecting them. She supposed He showed them exactly what they meant to one another, and just how easily it could have all been taken away.