Goodbye Maria. I'm sure you'll make a very fine nun.

Maria tried not to cry as she stuffed the clothes into her worn carpetbag. Not that she had much. She wasn't bringing her dresses from this summer to the Abbey. As selfish as it was, Maria knew it would hurt too much to see them being given away. It would hurt to just pack them up. They would be better off here.

She still remembered the day she got that carpetbag; from her best friend, the day she ran away from her uncle's house.

It was never home. She hadn't belonged there.

She didn't belong here either.

It had always been a temporary arrangement. She knew that. But for a moment she had felt like she belonged here, at the von Trapp villa.

But not anymore. The Baroness had made that clear.

She closed the bag and dressed in the coarse, ugly dress she'd worn when she first arrived here two months ago; hat and all, and walked to the door. But she stopped there for a moment.

She didn't want to leave just yet, so she surveyed the room one last time.

The clothes were packed. The room was cleared out.

She had to go. Before she lost any more of her dignity, so she quickly hurried out into the hall, guitar case in one hand, bag in the other.

'Chalk it all up to experience,' she thought. 'They said I'd fail, but I disagreed.'

Well, she'd agreed at the very beginning. She loved children, but following instructions was her fatal flaw. She could barely keep herself in check most of the time; how on Earth was she supposed to keep seven children in order? No, she had definitely thought she would fail in the beginning.

Either way, it didn't matter now.

She looked across the mezzanine to the family wing; to the door through which the children had left the party not an hour before.

She might never see those beautiful children again, she realised.

She might never see him again.

The whole summer had been an exercise in futility. Her path would lead her right back to where she'd started.

'Back to what I was before,' she realised with a sigh. 'Back where I'm known, back in my own very small pond.'

The Abbey. To pledge her life to God's service. Officially. To become a nun.

'That's fine with me,' she thought. This is what she had always wanted. Wasn't it?

"Yes, it is," she said, determined; though no one was around to hear her.

She hurried down the rest of the stairs and out into the foyer. She'd written a note to the Captain. All she had to do was leave it somewhere, so they would know she would be alright, and then she could leave.

It was fine.

It had to be.

Georg left the dining room and towards the foyer. The entrée course had nearly finished and Maria still hadn't arrived.

Tardiness was not unexpected with his young governess, but something had to have happened for her to be running this late. It was probably something simple; maybe one of the little girls had had a nightmare, but he wanted to check anyway.

He was missing the little Fraulein just as much as Max was.

Fraulein? Who was he fooling? He stopped thinking of her as 'Fraulein' long ago. He couldn't pinpoint exactly when, but it was long before tonight when they'd danced in the courtyard.

He hadn't felt that way in a long, long time. He hated parties, he always had, and he disliked dancing because he disliked parties. But dancing with Agathe had always been wonderful, even if most of the time, parties had been a pre-requisite.

Tonight he had felt that way once again. Dancing for no other reason than that he wanted to. Dancing with somebody he wanted to, rather than the society ladies who asked for a dance with Captain von Trapp just to say they had done it.

Dancing with the woman he loved.

He supposed in some very small way, he had to thank Elsa. Had she not walked outside, he would have surely kissed Maria. In front of the children, and in plain view of everyone inside.

That was not the proper thing to do with a woman who wasn't the one you were courting, much less your governess, who was herself, a nun-in-training.

But had they not been interrupted, he would've kissed Maria, and not regretted it for a moment. Even if everyone had noticed, that wouldn't have been his biggest worry.

His biggest fear would've been that she might not kiss him back.

If he didn't know better, he would've said she had wanted him to kiss her, though he couldn't fathom why.

Even if you put aside her plans to join the convent, Maria was young, beautiful, and vibrant. She lit up any room she walked into, without even realising. He, on the other hand, was a miserly middle-aged man with the baggage of seven children, who had lived a hollow existence until she arrived.

What could she possibly see in him?

He didn't have to look far. She was standing in the foyer, almost stock-still. But her bags were sitting at her feet, and she was wearing the dress she'd arrived in, the most hideous frock known to mankind.

Something was wrong.

"Fraulein?" he asked.

She turned around, startled. Her eyes were wide, and she didn't say anything.

She was scared.

"What's going on?" Georg continued. "Why do you have your bags with you?"

She walked over to him, but didn't meet his eyes as she quickly pressed an envelope into his hands.

"Thanks for your help, and for all you've done," she said. He could tell she was forcing herself to speak: through her tears; through the lump in her throat.

"Thank you for treating me decently."

"What's wrong" he asked again. "Are you leaving?"

She nodded. "Maybe someday you can visit me," she said, as if that could placate him. "Pay me a call, say 'hello'."

"Wait, why are you going?"

Every word she spoke left Georg more confused. He'd never seen Maria cry. He'd seen her angry, nervous, determined, and he could tell now she was frightened, but it was more than that, because he'd never seen her upset like this.

She had been planning on leaving them. In the middle of the night. Without a proper goodbye. He guessed that the note she'd given him said something to that effect, but it wasn't really a goodbye. It was an excuse to run away from the pain.

And they both knew it.

"Sorry I'm letting down everyone," she continued.

"What brought on this?"

"You did your best with a hopeless case," she continued blubbering, like she wasn't even fully listening to him.

That was ludicrous. He was the hopeless case. After Agathe died he'd retreated inwards; he'd become a shell of a human; going through the motions, but not feeling anything – forcing himself not to feel anything – because it hurt too much.

It wasn't until she showed up in his foyer like a whirlwind that he'd started to feel again; become the man he used to be once more.

She had thanked him not a moment before, when he should've been the one giving the thanks. He should have thanked her more than he had; told her more often how grateful he was for everything.

"Maria, just wait for a moment," he said softly. He didn't want to hurt her anymore. The thought of his beautiful Maria hurting at all upset him. "Tell me what's wrong. Please."

"The Baroness spoke to me," she interrupted quickly.

He hadn't expected that. Normally Elsa did everything in her power to distance herself from the children, which included Maria.

"Elsa?" he asked. "What happened?"

"She told me I loved you, that you would get over me soon enough. She made it very clear I don't belong here."

Georg's heart felt both lighter and heavier now. Elsa speaking to Maria, no matter what it was about, would've been a reason for Maria to feel scared. And if she said what Maria told him she had…

"She's wrong," he said firmly. "We'll fix it."

He had to fix it. For everyone. She was determined to leave them. And unless he stopped her – and soon – he would lose her forever.

"Captain, please don't," she didn't even sound defensive. Just sad. But despite everything she had said, her tone of voice and the tears in her eyes told him she didn't really want to go.

"There's no reason for me to stay."

She picked up her belongings, turned, and walked out the door.

Maria was almost in tears for the second time in an hour.

The Captain had caught her. And it had almost changed her mind. The more she looked at him, listened to him, the closer her resolve came to breaking, and the more she wanted to curl up into his arms and have him kiss her.

But that could never be. She was a postulant. She wasn't glamorous like the Baroness or wealthy or sophisticated or anything that could make her worthy of the Captain's station.

She was a poor mountain girl and she always would be. She couldn't let her dreams stray beyond a simple life.

And what was more simple than a convent? She could quietly and easily dedicate her days to doing the most important thing; serving the Lord.

But for a moment she wished He had a different plan for her. She had told herself over and over again that she still wanted to be a nun.

But she paused when she reached the gates. Just as she had paused before leaving her bedroom. Because, for all the terror the Baroness instilled in her, all the reasons she herself had said she didn't belong here, it felt like home.

She was still visible when Georg went outside. He had dashed up to his bedroom, removed his Maria-Theresian medal and suit jacket, and grabbed an overcoat, praying all the while that he would still be able to catch her.

She was standing by the gates, looking out at the road. He hadn't been gone long, but long enough for her to have left properly.

But she hadn't. Further proof that she didn't want to go.

"What about love?" he said, the words out of his mouth before he realised he probably shouldn't have said anything. He'd never mentioned love.

"What?" she turned and looked at him, confused.

"A reason for you to stay?" he answered.

"Love?"

He nodded. "The timing's bad, I know..." God, could there be a worse time to say all this? Probably not. But if he didn't say it – whether or not she left – he would regret it for the rest of his life. Perhaps if he'd made it more clear…

"You belong right here."

'You don't have to go,' he thought. 'Let me help you. Let me be there for you. Let me… love you.'

"I don't," she sighed. "I was never supposed to anyway."

"I should've told you before," he said. "How much I love you."

Maria's eyes widened, her mouth opening slightly; but she composed herself quickly enough, and when she spoke, it was clear to Georg that she still believed what Elsa told her about his feelings for her.

"It's not your fault sir," she said. "It's me. I was foolish to ever think I could be more than what I am. That I deserved more."

So she did want more. He was all but certain she was in love with him. Maybe he wouldn't have noticed had he not finally admitted his feelings to himself less than an hour before, but he could see those feelings in her too.

She deserved the world. And he wanted to be the one to give it to her.

"We both know you're worth so much more," he said.

"Thank you, Captain," she said softly. "But no."

"Well then…" he sighed. "Can I just say how much I want you to stay?"

"It's not up to me," she replied, resigned. "Just let me be."

He wanted her to be happy. Even if that wasn't with him and the children. But he couldn't let her go without knowing he'd done everything he could to make her stay.

"I need you to stay," he was begging.

"It's not up to me," she turned away from him, facing the road. Ready to walk out of his life. "Just let me be."

And with that, she was gone.

This is my 55th story! I can hardly believe that. And so, thank you to everyone who's ever read one of my stories. It means so much to me, and I love you all.

This chapter draws very heavily on the song Legally Blonde from Legally Blonde the Musical. It was the initial inspiration for the story, and I think that it is pretty much how a scene where Georg caught Maria running away, but didn't completely stop her would go.

Hope you all have a great day.

(If you want to watch Legally Blonde, the full musical is on YouTube.)