Author's Note: Hello everyone and thank you for deciding to come and check out my story! I've seen this kind of fic done for Anna/Bates in Downton Abbey and I thought that it sounded interesting, so I decided to do the same kind of thing for Maria/Georg and I hope that you all like it. I want to continue writing "Save Me" and "Not a Child Anymore" but I honestly have no inspiration whatsoever at the moment, so if anyone can help I would be so appreciative! Any-who, I hope that you all enjoy reading this!

In the gentle glow of the lamp-light, Georg watched in silence as his bride slumbered on her stomach next to him. She looked the epitome of peace with both arms tucked under her pillow, her soft lips barely parted and her eyelashes resting flat against her cheeks. The blush that had risen in her cheeks when he had been making love to her just a little while earlier was still there and he thought that all it did was add to her natural beauty.

When a fair curl slid from behind her ear and fell into her face he brought his hand out from beneath the quilt and eased it back, his fingers grazing her cheek before he drew his hand back. Ever since the two of them had met just a week ago she had been rather timid and quiet around him and he didn't blame her one bit. He was her husband in every possible way now, yes, but that didn't mean that he was no longer a stranger in her eyes.

She knew little about him and his past just as he knew little about her and her past. All the two of them knew about one another was their name, their age and that they'd both been forced into this unwanted marriage. Over the last week he had been as kind and as gentle with her as possible and that had brought them a little closer, but she still went stiff in his arms if he walked up behind her and wound them around her and he hated it.

That night, when the two of them had come to bed for their wedding night, he had seen pure terror in her eyes. She had attempted to brush it off when he had taken her waist in his hands and drawn her close, but her voice had trembled and he had known that she had been terrified. She had been terrified at the thought of their first night together, the thought of spending the rest of her life with him and the thought of being his wife.

Seeing that fear in her eyes had caused him to feel physical pain in his chest. He didn't love her, not yet anyway, but that didn't mean that he didn't care about her. There was rather a large age-gap between the two of them – she had just turned eighteen and he was due to turn twenty-five in just under a fortnight – and he was positive that knowing that made everything harder for her. She was just so overwhelmed and he felt terrible.

When he felt the quilt that was covering them move he was brought out of his thoughts and when he looked at Maria he caught her looking back at him through those clear blue eyes of hers. He offered her a smile after the two of them had gazed into each other's eyes for a time and, to his surprise, she gave him a tender smile of her own in response. 'Are you all right?' He whispered as he gave her face a stroke with the back of his hand.

'Yes, thank you.' She replied.

'Good,' He pulled back his hand. 'I'm glad.'

After she had looked at him for a second she reached for his hand which was resting in the space between them on the bed, her heart racing in her chest as she took it in hers and slid her fingers through the gaps in his. 'I…I know that we didn't want this and that we don't know much about each other, but I do want to be a good wife for you and make you happy.' Her hand trembled in his as she swept her thumb gently across his knuckles.

When he felt the trembling of her hand he lifted it to his lips and kissed the back of it, the two of them sharing a smile when he tightened his hold of it and sighed. 'I think you will and I swear that I'll try my best to do the same for you. You remember what I said, don't you? About how I'm not going to be here in two weeks because I'll be going back to the sea?' He watched her nod. 'I'll write, I promise, but I'm unsure of when I'll be back.'

'What shall I do when you're gone?' She asked.

'You can do whatever you please. You can go and see your parents, you can go and see my mother, you can go shopping or you can stay here.' He replied. 'If you want to go out and do something whilst I'm gone, Maria, you can go and do it. You don't need my permission.'

She smiled. 'Is it all right if I ask you a question?'

'Of course.' He said.

She took a deep breath as her heart started to race. 'Do you want to have children?'

He laid beside her in silence for a moment before responding. 'Do you?'

'I think I'd like to.' She nodded. 'I've always loved the idea of being a mother and, if I've got a baby to look after, I wouldn't feel so alone when you're away for months at a time.'

Georg gave her hand a gentle squeeze. 'Let's not make any solid plans for now. You've got enough to come to terms with right now without throwing a baby into the mix. Let's just continue as we are and not do anything different and then, if our lovemaking does result in you falling pregnant, we'll sit down together and have a talk about what we're going to do.' He watched her think about his words for a time before she shuffled closer to him.

'I think that's a good idea.' She admitted.

Her head was now inches from his own and she was lying so close to him that he couldn't resist wrapping his arms around her. When she looked up into his eyes once he'd done so he thought for a moment that he'd pushed his luck, but when she cuddled against him he realised that his embrace was welcome. 'This feels rather nice.' She stroked the coarse patch of dark hairs on his chest with her fingertips whilst her head laid on his shoulder.

'It does, doesn't it?' He grazed her nose with his after turning his head towards her.

When he pulled back a little to look into her eyes she draped her arm over his stomach. 'We're going to be all right together…aren't we?' She asked him whilst holding him close.

'I think so,' He ran his hand along the curve of her waist. 'You look tired.'

She let out a little giggle. 'I am a little.'

'Go back to sleep, Maria,' He instructed before stretching to turn out the lamp that was sat on his nightstand. 'We've both had a long day and you'll be exhausted in the morning.'

'Will you…?' She whispered into the darkness.

He laid in silence for a second. 'Will I…?'

'Will you kiss me first? Just once?' She asked.

Even though the room was pitch black he was able to tell that she was blushing terribly.

He let his eyes adjust to the darkness before turning his head toward her again, a little smile curving his lips as he lifted his hand to cup her cheek and brush his thumb against the skin there. 'You are so beautiful…' He said to her before capturing her lower lip in a kiss that was chaste yet delicious and made her whimper when he peeled back from her. He chuckled at the sound before pecking her forehead and settling with her in his hold.

'Goodnight, Georg.' She pressed her face into the side of his neck.

'Goodnight, Maria,' He replied with a stroke of her back. 'Sleep well.'

Author's Note: If you got this far thank you all so much for taking the time to read this first chapter! I really hope that you enjoyed it and please review if you did. Also, if you want more, please let me know in your review! :) x