Little Bell

Summary: Based off the real Maria's book. When Maria is bedridden on doctor's orders, Georg is willing to do anything to make her feel better.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my obsession.

A/N: I'm super behind on my original work right now, but I am just so happy playing around with these guys! Hope you enjoy.

She had been in bed for two weeks. In that time, Maria had learned that their bedspread had 236 golden embroidered swirls, their bookshelves held 174 books and 52 naval-inspired trinkets, and if she recounted the 1,380 divots that bordered their four-poster for the 10th time, she was going to scream. Maria von Trapp was bored. More bored than she had ever been in her life, and that was including the time that Sister Berthe made her scrub the courtyard for two days. At least that was a task. It was a boring task, to be sure, but she had a goal – something she could actively complete. Now though, due to an accidental fall and the ensuing pregnancy complications, she was stuck in bed (on "strict orders") until her first child was born.

It was only February. Their baby wasn't due until April. She was not going to make it.

She sighed in frustration for the 41st time that morning.

"Must. Stop. Counting." She muttered furiously to herself. There was nothing else for her to do, though. The doctor had given her a laundry list of things she wasn't allowed to do for the next four months and apparently that list included everything she would usually define as 'mentally stimulating in anyway'.

Not only that, her body was betraying her and keeping her from the few activities that made the cut. She'd started out sewing the first week, but quickly had to abandon her army of adorable onesies because she couldn't sit up for longer than an hour before her back was screaming at her to lie flat. She'd tried sewing lying down, but her husband banned that after she nearly dropped a needle in her eye. She'd tried knitting and crocheting, but she was absolutely useless at both. Reading kept her attention for a little while, but eventually she became restless and her restlessness became spitefulness and before she knew it, Georg's copy of Anna Karenina was across the room and laughing at her.

She just needed a break from the quiet. It was so, SO quiet. With the children and school and Georg running around making his 'secret' preparations in case they needed to leave Austria after the baby was born, she'd been left torturously to her own thoughts.

"Secret…" Maria rolled her eyes. "Like he thinks I don't know what he's up to." Her frustration gave way to compassion at the thought. It wasn't fair for her to be angry with him. He was terrified, and her condition certainly didn't alleviate those fears. Plus, with the exception of his frequent trips into town, he'd been wonderfully attentive. He made sure cook prepared all of her favorite foods, he massaged her back before they went to sleep, and he'd created a splendid little schedule so that the children could spend time with her in small doses without exhausting her and get all their work done.

That said, though, he simply couldn't keep her company all the time and that was what she wanted more than anything: a companion.

An idea popped into her head and she smile for the first time that day.

As if on cue, Georg strode through the door, covered in snow from his trip into town and she beamed. Everything always felt so at peace with him here.

He took off his coat and gently lay down next to her with a soft kiss to her lips.

"Hello, love." He whispered.

"You're back early." She replied happily.

"My meeting went faster than I expected." He explained. Maria noticed he seemed rather optimistic and she was thrilled that whatever plans he was making, it seemed like they were finally going well.

She was going to ask him about them at last, but a powerful fluttering against her stomach interrupted her thoughts.

"Seems I'm not the only one excited to see you, Captain." She smiled and took her husband's hand, delicately placing it on her stomach.

"He knows my voice?" He asked in wonder.

"I think she does." Maria rebutted with a smirk. "She misses you."

"I'm sorry I've had to spend so much time away, I know you must being going out of your mind, darling." He apologized as he nuzzled his way into her neck.

Despite her earlier frustrations, Maria couldn't help but sigh blissfully as Georg peppered kisses down her neck and along her shoulders. It was almost annoying how easily he could placate her.

"I do wish I could spend time downstairs with all of you." She admitted softly. "I miss you all so terribly and I'm living in the same house, it doesn't even make sense."

"It makes perfect sense, dear." He assured her. "You of all people were never meant to be cooped up in bed."

"And yet if you hadn't insisted on keeping me there, we wouldn't be in this situation to begin with, now would we?" She teased.

"If I recall correctly, Fraulein, it took far more effort to get you out of bed in Paris than to get you into it…"

Maria gently swatted at his arm as he playfully nipped at her lip.

"I just hate feeling so useless." She sighed. "I can't stand not being with you and the children. I feel so weak."

"You're not weak, Maria. You're the strongest woman I know and you're not doing nothing, darling. Your body is creating a child." Georg tried.

"Agathe created seven children, you're not actually trying to convince me she spent 63 months of her life in bed." Maria snipped.

Georg raised his eyebrow, about to comment that Agathe had actually always had health issues and indeed had spent a lot of time in bed both during her pregnancies and while she was ill, but he had a feeling that wouldn't help matters.

"I know you hate this, and there's probably nothing I can do, but can I help? Anything you want?" Georg asked lovingly.

"Anything?" Maria asked deviously.

"Well, within reason." Georg corrected himself. "I'm not trekking back to Paris again to pick up that blasted cheese you love."

Maria burst out laughing.

"I didn't ask you to do that, you know?" She giggled. "You offered and I was so delirious from pain that I thought you were serious."

"Well I was." He defended with mirth, but his expression soon turned sad. "Honestly, darling, I was so scared when you fell, I would've brought the entire city back with me if it made you better."

Maria gently kissed him and gripped his twitching hand.

"I'm okay, love." She promised. "The doctor said everything would be fine once the baby's born. It'll be alright."

"I can't stand thinking about you suffering up here, it feels just like…" He trailed off, but Maria knew what he meant. God, she'd been so stupid, of course this would remind him of Agathe.

Her hand gave his a gentle squeeze and trailed lazily up his arm to cup his face.

"Georg, I'm not ill." She assured. "I'm bored, and I'm frustrated, and I'm a little lonely, but I'm going to be fine."

He didn't respond. Maybe it would make him feel better to do something for her? She remembered her idea from earlier!

"Actually," she mused, "there is something you can do for me."

Immediately, his face lit up and her heart nearly burst with love.

"Name it! Anything to make this better." He urged gleefully.

She smiled, a little unsure of herself, but very excited. "Could you think of some kind of animal I could have here in bed with me?"

She'd expected a great deal of hesitation on his part. After all, she couldn't imagine her buttoned up Captain agreeing to have an animal of any kind roaming around his bedroom. To her delight, however, Georg seemed just as excited as her and immediately gave her a long kiss and promised to be back in a couple of hours with her new friend.

Sure enough, three hours later, he bounded back into the room looking very pleased with himself and hiding a box behind his back.

"Close your eyes, darling." He instructed. Maria giggled at the giddiness in his voice. His excitement alone was enough entertainment to keep her going for a few days.

She dutifully closed her eyes and listened to him rustling around the room. Truth be told, she was really listening for some kind of animal sound, but there was nothing to be heard except for some small scratching from the box. Huh.

Finally, she heard him open the box and as he sat next to her on the bed, she felt a small weight take up residence on her chest. She beamed.

"Oh, can I open my eyes?" She asked impatiently.

"Okay, go ahead." He acquiesced.

Maria slowly opened her eyes and found her face inches away from…a turtle. A turtle?

Georg must have sensed her hesitancy, for his face fell slightly.

"You don't like him." He sighed. "I'll take him back."

He reached for the tiny turtle, but Maria quickly stopped him.

"No! Don't take him!" She cried. "I love him."

"You do?" Georg asked, building up hope again.

"Of course I do. I just wasn't expecting a turtle, that's all." She promised.

"Well, neither was I, to be honest, but I had some help choosing." He smiled.

"Oh?"

"You see, when I went back into town I realized it was almost time to pick the children up from school, so I decided to wait a little and take them with me." He explained.

"Oh dear, were they terribly upset? Gretl and Marta won't stop asking me to convince you about a kitten…" Maria worried.

"No, no, no. They were surprisingly helpful, actually." He reflected. "I'd thought about maybe a kitten or a puppy for you, but they all voted for the turtle. They were worried you might try to run after something faster and everyone vetoed Louisa's snake suggestion, so we ended up with this little guy."

Maria affectionately bopped the turtle softly on the nose. It shook its head and looked at her in confusion, but then walked towards her and settled happily, content to observe its new mother.

"Does he have a name?" She wondered.

"I think the store gave him one, but I figured you would want to name him. It'll give you practice." He joked.

Maria glared lovingly at him. He was right. She'd been putting off thinking about names for a while now. It just made the whole idea of bringing a little person into the world so concrete and it scared her a little.

"Naming a turtle and naming a baby are very different, love." She said it with such an air of authority on the subject that he chuckled a bit.

"Does that mean you have a name for your pet already?" He asked.

Maria studied her turtle. He was quite small; probably still a baby. He had dark, black eyes and a seemingly natural sense of curiosity with the way he walked around her body. He'd turned away from her while they were talking and was now making his way towards her swollen belly. Apparently, he still had a ways to go in coordination. He walked face first into her stomach and then nearly slid off her nightgown. Husband and wife both laughed heartily.

"Could it be this natural?" Maria wondered. A baby would certainly be harder, but the absolute peace she felt looking after this creature with Georg at her side was unrivaled.

"Glockerl" She stated. "His name is Glockerl."

"That's a beautiful name, darling." Georg smiled down at his wife and her little turtle. She radiated a happiness he hadn't seen since her fall and it filled him with more joy than he thought possible.

"Father!" A loud cry for him from downstairs broke their moment and they both sighed as he stood.

"Duty calls, I'm afraid." He mock saluted her as he headed for the door. "I'll send the children up in a bit to see you and Glockerl. I know they're anxious to know if you like him."

Maria murmured her response, but didn't look up from the baby turtle.

"Maria." Georg tried. "Maria!"

"Huh?" She looked up and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry darling, what were you saying?"

Georg shook his head in disbelief. Not ten minutes and he'd been effectively replaced.

"Nothing, dear." He assured. "Get some rest. Oh, and Maria?" She looked at him expectantly. "He's not sleeping in our bed."

"If you say so." She replied with a smile.

When Georg came out of the bathroom that night, Maria was sound asleep with the turtle on top of her. He bent down to try to move him to the make-shift bed on Maria's dresser, but Glockerl glared daggers at his efforts to separate him from Maria.

"Fine." Georg huffed. "One night, you hear me? There's only room for one man in this bed."

Glockerl stayed until April.

And Georg kind of missed him when he left.

True story time!

Glockerl means "Little Bell" in German.

The real Georg actually did buy Maria a turtle while she was in the hospital with kidney stones. She really did name him Glockerl and he really did sleep with her every night. She also told the extremely gullible nurse that turtles fed on the toes of newborn babies (she was being kept near the maternity ward) because the real Maria had a bit of an evil streak that I absolutely adore.

Hope you enjoyed!