Author's Note: A little bit of a shorter chapter compared to my others but I wanted to get something up for you all :) Happy reading x

'If spending time with your friends and having a few beers down at the public house are higher up on your list of priorities than helping me to look after our little girl, then go ahead!' Liesl hissed.

'Perhaps if you didn't nag so much, I wouldn't want to go out for a few hours!' Nicolas snapped.

Liesl scoffed. 'I'm not nagging, I'm just asking for your help! You're my husband and the father to our daughter and you're supposed to want to help me take care of her when she's unwell. For the last week I've been the one having sleepless nights because she hasn't stopped screaming in pain!' The tearfulness was clear in her voice as she tried not to shout at him. 'I'm exhausted, Nicolas!'

'You're not the only one.' He grumbled.

'Just go.' She sighed. 'You'd only sit there with a miserable expression if you stayed here, anyway.'

'Fine.' He said before taking his hat and overcoat off of their respective hooks and storming out of the villa, Liesl storming up to their room once he had slammed the door before she did the same.

From the family room where they had been listening in to the young couples' argument, Maria and Georg sighed as they looked at one another. 'It's been five days now and they still haven't made up.' She said as her head was resting on his shoulder and he had an arm wrapped around her. 'The two of them can barely say a word to each other without arguing.' Georg stroked her side softly.

'Now who does that remind me of?' He teased.

Even though she rolled her eyes in response, she couldn't keep herself from smirking as she draped her arm over his stomach. 'I'm serious, Georg.' She admitted after pressing a kiss to his chest. 'I think it's time for us to have a word with the two of them and see if we can help them to realize how the other one feels.' She looked up at him, her eyes falling closed when he kissed her brow.

'Well, it's my night to put the children to bed and you know how Rosie gets when we tell her that she has to stop playing with her toys…' The two of them chuckled together, 'so why don't you go and have a word with Liesl and then I'll speak to Nicolas when he gets home later?' He asked her, Maria nodding her agreement before they both shared a smile and rose from the settee together.

They left the family room hand-in-hand before he led her through the foyer and up the stairs, the two of them releasing the other's hand when she glanced at the door to Liesl's bedroom. 'I don't think I'll be too long, but I don't know what kind of state she's in.' She sighed. 'If I haven't come out by the time you've got Rosie off, go back downstairs and I'll come down when we've talked.'

'Alright.' He smiled.

She rose up onto her tiptoes to kiss him before he made his way down the corridor that led to the nursery and she approached Liesl's bedroom door. After knocking gently she reached for the door handle before turning it and pushing the door open, a sigh leaving her when she stepped inside the room and saw Liesl sitting on the edge of the bed whilst she rocked Agathe's Moses basket from side-to-side. She approached her daughter in silence before sitting down beside her on the bed and resting her hand on her back. 'You look so tired, darling.' She whispered as she stroked her back.

'I am,' Liesl replied without taking her eyes off of her six-month-old, 'but I'm glad she's sleeping.'

'Has the tooth shown any more sign of coming through yet?' Maria asked.

Liesl shook her head in response before sniffing and sweeping away the tear that danced down her cheek. 'I know what you meant now when you said that being a mother isn't just about feeding, changing and keeping your child occupied.' She admitted. 'When she wakes up screaming in pain in the night, I feel genuine pain in my heart because all I can do is sit there and let her suck on a cold face cloth. I don't know what else I can do to take the pain away for her.' She sighed quietly.

'Have you tried comfort nursing to try and take her mind off of it?' Maria raised her brow.

'She won't latch on.' Liesl told her. 'I've tried everything I can think of to get her to latch on, but she just won't! I had to change my slip and dress three times today because my milk won't stop leaking and staining them.' She turned her head towards her with tears brimming in her eyes. 'I've never been in so much pain before.' Her eyes drifted closed when her mother pecked her hairline.

After wrapping an arm around her waist, Maria drew her eldest daughter closer and let her rest her head on her shoulder. 'Why not ask Nicolas to help you express your milk so that you can have it put into bottles? Then you won't be in this degree of pain anymore and Agathe will start feeding.'

'I don't want him anywhere near me at the moment.' Liesl replied icily. 'He doesn't care enough.'

'I doubt that's true.' Maria sighed whilst massaging her waist.

'Mother, he chose to go out drinking instead of staying to help me look after Agathe.' Liesl said. 'What father - what husband - refuses to stay home when his daughter and his wife need him?'

Maria eased her back from her. 'I'm not making excuses for Nicolas, darling. I agree that he should have thought about what was more important and that he should have stayed here to help you to care for Agathe, but...but you need to consider how he's feeling and see this from his perspective.'

'How do you mean?' Liesl's brow creased.

'Liesl, he's nineteen.' Maria reminded her. 'I know that he's two years older than you, but he's not really an adult yet. He's still a boy, really, and he - like you - has had to make so many changes to his life since he found out that you were pregnant. My love, the fact that he made you his wife and the fact that he's been looking for work for the last couple of weeks proves that he cares. A lot of boys his age nowadays would have left their suitor if he found out that he had gotten her pregnant out of wedlock. They wouldn't want to have their reputation tarnished and so they would have left her to deal with it herself, but Nicolas didn't. He loves you, Liesl, and he loves Agathe.'

'I know that he loves us, mother, but the fact that he left to go out drinking hurt me.' Liesl said.

Maria took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. 'I know it -'

The sound of Agathe stirring in her cot caused her to fall silent for a few moments, she and Liesl glancing at her Moses basket whilst holding their breath as they hoped she wouldn't wake. Their hopes were dashed when her eyes opened and she began to wail, however, but when Liesl released a fatigued whimper and began to rise from the bed, Maria shook her head and gave her a smile.

She then got up from the bed herself before walking around to the side of her granddaughter's cot and leaning down to lift her out of it. 'Come here, precious.' She crooned, her voice gentle as she balanced Agathe on her hip and allowed her to lie her head on her shoulder. Once she had cuddled up to her and fallen quiet she moved to sit back down on her daughter's bed, Liesl's lips curving up into a smile as she reached out to stroke her little girl's curls. 'She loves you so much, mother.'

'And I love her just as much.' Maria reassured her before nuzzling a kiss into Agathe's curls. 'Now, as I was saying, I know that Nicolas going out tonight hurt you. It would have hurt me if - when Rosmarie was teething - your father had decided to go down to the pub rather than stay here and help me look after her, but you have to understand that since Nicolas is still young he still wants to spend time with his friends. I know that you miss having that freedom as well, Liesl, it's clear.'

Liesl gave a silent nod. 'I suppose it would be nice to go and see a movie whenever I wanted to.'

Maria rested her hand on Liesl's knee. 'You and Nicolas need to talk this through.' She told her.

'He isn't going to want to speak to me now.' Liesl shook her head. 'I spoke to him so harshly.'

'He didn't exactly speak to you in the most respectful way, either.' Maria pointed out.

After sitting in silence for a few seconds, Liesl looked at her mother. 'Will he forgive me?'

'Of course he will.' Maria ran her hand over her hair. 'All married couples fight now and again.'

She and Liesl shared a smile before Agathe lifted her head off of her shoulder and turned to her mother, Liesl giggling when her little girl reached for her. After taking her out of her mother's arms, Liesl brought her to sit in her lap before she dropped a kiss to the top of her head. 'I love her more than I've ever loved anyone.' Liesl admitted. 'She means the world to me and more.'

'Well, a mother's love is the strongest love there is.' Maria pointed out.

'I love you so much, mother.' Liesl said after looking at her again. 'I hope you know that.'

'Of course I know that.' Maria shifted closer to her on the bed before pressing her lips against her cheek. 'I love you too, my darling.' She ran a hand up and down her back through her nightgown. 'Now, I'm going to go and look for your father so that you and Agathe can have some time alone.'

Liesl watched her stand from the bed before she shuffled backwards and leaned against her pillow, her fingers running through her daughter's hair in a soothing fashion whilst Agathe snuggled into her. 'Mother?' She called to her just before she opened the bedroom door. 'Thank you for the talk.'

'You're so welcome.' Maria smiled after opening the door. 'Goodnight, sweetheart.'

'Goodnight.' Liesl replied.

Maria then stepped through the bedroom door before closing it behind her and walking towards the staircase, a look of surprise appearing on her face when she and Nicolas met at the top of them. 'You didn't stay out for too long.' She pointed out with a smile as she leaned against the banister.

'I never even made it to the pub.' He replied with a smile of his own. 'I started walking back after getting about halfway there.' Maria nodded before she lifted her gaze to him and let out a sigh.

'What made you change your mind? If you don't mind me asking.' She asked.

He pulled his hands out of his pockets. 'I realised that Liesl and Agathe really do need me here as much as she said they did and...and that maybe she wasn't nagging after all.' He revealed to her. 'She's angry with me still, isn't she?' He raised his brow at her with a slightly nervous expression.

'Well, she wasn't exactly singing your praises…' She said, 'but I think I've calmed her down a bit.'

'Do you think I should go in and speak to her?' He asked.

'I think that would be the best way to start.' She smiled. 'Just be patient with her, alright?'

He nodded whilst returning her smile before leaning down to kiss her cheek. 'Thank you for always being so good to me, Maria. I know I've said it a lot, but I really am so appreciative.' He told her.

'You're welcome.' She gave his arm a squeeze. 'Now, I'll say goodnight.'

'Goodnight.' He said before stepping past her and making his way into his bedroom.

As Maria made her way downstairs to meet her husband in the drawing room, her heart started to swell as she knew that by the morning everything would be alright between Liesl and Nicolas.

Everything would be as it should be.

It was a little while later when Nicolas and Liesl were laying in a comfortable silence together, her head cushioned on his chest as he had one arm wrapped around her waist beneath the quilt and he was combing his fingers through her hair. It had taken them quite some time to say everything that had needed to be said after she had gotten Agathe off to sleep again, but they had finally managed to put things to rights and now Liesl was finding it hard to keep the smile from her lips.

When she felt him press a kiss to the top of her head she hooked her leg over his hip beneath the covers and shifted in his hold until her head came to rest on his shoulder, her arm draping itself over his stomach as the two of them shared a smile. 'I love you, Nicolas.' Her voice was no higher than a whisper whilst she ran her fingertips along the curve of his side. 'I know I haven't said it enough over the last couple of days, but I do.' She hummed when he started to caress her cheek.

'I love you too, sweetheart.' He reassured her. 'I am so sorry for not giving you as much help as I should have done over the last few days, it was wrong of me. I know how tired you are and so I promise you that I'm going to get up and take care of Agathe whenever she wakes up. You deserve to have one night at least where you don't have to get out of bed. You need to rest, my sweet.'

'Let's just leave this past week behind us now and start again, hmm?' She snuggled closer to him.

He rested his hand on the back of her head through her hair before kissing her brow a number of times. 'I'd like that.' He murmured against her. 'Once you've gotten some of your energy back, I am taking you out for dinner. We haven't been out to dine since our honeymoon and if there's one thing you deserve, it's to be spoiled.' He revelled in the giggle that she gave against his neck.

'In that case, you can take me dancing afterwards.' She smirked before kissing his neck tenderly.

'Of course.' He stroked her back.

'And then you can take me on a carriage ride.' She added, kissing his neck again.

'Nothing would make me happier.' He chuckled.

'And then we can come back here and make love.' She reached up to stroke his hair.

He cupped her cheek beneath the curtain of her hair before stroking the baby hairs at the side of her head and brushing her nose with his own. 'I don't know how I lived without you, you know.'

'Me either.' She whispered with a shake of her head before she pressed her lips against his.

When they parted after several long seconds he looked into her eyes and saw the exhaustion that was living in them. 'You're so tired…' He drew the covers further over her. 'What do you say we turn out the light and get some sleep? It's not going to be long before little miss is awake, is it?'

She shook her head. 'No, I don't believe it is.'

She then left his arms for a moment in order to shuffle over to the edge of the bed and turn off the lamp that was sat on her bedside table, a sigh of contentment leaving her lungs when she laid down beside him again and allowed him to hold her close. 'Close your eyes and get some rest now, darling.' Nicolas whispered into the darkness once she had placed her head on his shoulder.

'I am.' She yawned. 'Goodnight, Nicolas.'

'Goodnight, Liesl.' He gave her a gentle squeeze. 'Sleep well.'

Author's Note: Thank you for reading and please review!

P.S: I promise that the next chapter will be longer and will have more Maria and Georg/The other children content! x