Just a bit of an update that's been sitting on the brain for a while... one of the harder lessons to learn in life. Enjoy! :)

Maria looked up at her husband from her spot on the bed, where she was sitting cross-legged in a silk dressing gown, rubbing her feet. "Georg, will you stay with me?"

Closing the book he'd had his nose in, Georg went to sit with his wife, and took her hands in his, rubbing them. "As long as I can, yes," he affirmed.

But Maria wouldn't have it. "No, the whole ordeal."

"Maria, I don't think the doctor will—"

"You were there when we made this baby, you'll be there when it's born," she snapped irritably.

When she put it that way, Georg knew it made sense, but he couldn't see any way around it. He stroked her face reassuringly, ready to voice this thought, but she seemed to have anticipated it and shook her head fiercely.

"I want you with me."

He hesitated.

She looked at him imploringly. "Please. I know your upbringing has a rule for every event of life, but this is a private affair, behind closed doors."

"Have you spoken with the doctor about this?"

"No."

"Will you?"

"No. It's not his choice to make," she said defiantly.

Guilt had flooded him when Maria pointed out that her life was largely dictated by his world's rules, but the guilt quickly turned to anger as Georg realized that she would be uncompromising about the situation.

"Did you stop to think that I might not want to be present?"

Maria's nostrils flared. "How exceedingly selfish, Captain."

"Maria, the doctor will want space to work, and you will be quite preoccupied! How can I possibly be of help?"

"It's too much for you to simply sit by my side, is it?"

"Ye—no! It's not—"

But it was too late. Maria gave him a look of deep disgust, disentangled herself from the bed as quickly as her clumsy, pregnant figure would allow, and ambled into the bathroom, slamming it shut behind her. Rage was simmering very close to the surface, and she just could not understand. It was a simple request, and what should her husband care for rules? He very well bucked them whenever it suited his fancy—starting with marrying her!

"Argh!" Maria cried in frustration, bringing a closed fist down on the vanity.

"She is utterly impossible!" Georg fumed to Max, who had only just arrived in time for tea. He had relayed the gist of the argument to his friend; Maria, meanwhile, had not been seen all day aside from lunch, where she had given him a determinedly cold shoulder.

Pouring himself a generous serving of scotch and replacing the decanter, Max considered Georg over steepled fingers. "You knew that when you married her, so tell me something I don't know, Georg."

"She hasn't said a word about this for months, no time to adjust, no time to consider, and now, with a baby due within a fortnight, she drops it on me like a grenade! She was looking for a fight."

"Mm, perhaps so," Max agreed. "But Georg—and I don't pretend to know women and their moods particularly well—don't you think she might simply be afraid?"

Georg was nursing his own glass of scotch moodily, something which would further incense his wife, he was sure. "She's been nothing but cheerful for nine months," he commented. "She's had a baby already!"

"Do you really expect logic this close to the end?" Max asked pointedly. "And if I recall, she had no choice last time since Werner was born in hospital a month early and under stressful circumstances."

"Only because she was hardheaded and insisted on carrying through with the trip!" Georg snapped.

"Do not forget," Max said sharply, "you relented. And her doctor agreed it would do her good, so long as she didn't overexert herself. It was only to Salzburg, not Vienna or Paris or Rome."

Georg grunted.

"Why don't you want to be present during the delivery? I would have thought you'd invite the chance to be involved as possible."

"It isn't done!" exclaimed Georg.

Max raised an eyebrow and clicked his tongue. "That's never stopped you in the past, Georg. And it isn't like this is an event the world will observe."

"That's what Maria said."

"Well, as usual, Maria is right." Sighing, Max placed his empty scotch glass on the table next to him and stood. "I'm going to the kitchen to see what happened with the biscuit tin." Patting Georg's shoulder as he passed, Max commented quietly, "She isn't asking you to move mountains. Go talk with her."

Georg found his wife sitting alone in the gazebo, absorbed in a sketch that was propped conveniently on her belly as she worked out the finer details. He quirked a half-smile at this, then cleared his throat.

She looked around at the noise, and when she saw it was her husband, Maria said simply, "Oh. Hello."

Georg took a seat beside Maria and looked down at her sketchbook, admiring her work. She had been adding details to a sketch of a particularly boisterous bluebird that enjoyed its residence in the garden birdbath. "This is exquisite," he praised.

She shrugged. "I'm rubbish at birds."

He took the sketchbook and pencil stub from her, setting it beside him.

"Georg!" she exclaimed, "Give me—"

"No, Maria, please listen to me." Georg knelt down in front of his wife and took her hands in his, looking up at her earnestly. "I'm sorry that I hurt you this morning. I should have known that you would have a reason for asking it of me, even if you don't want to say what it is."

Maria gazed at her husband for a long time, then said quietly, "I should think that my simply wanting you with me is enough."

"Maria…"

She shook her head. "I don't understand your preoccupation with rules and propriety sometimes. I know better than anyone that you break those standards whenever it suits you. Why won't you grant me this? Is it so repulsive?"

Aghast, Georg shook his head. "No! Maria, no, never."

"Then what in heaven's name is it?" she demanded, her exasperation quite apparent and voice tinged with a hint of desperation.

Georg was silent, long enough that Maria pulled her hands from his and crossed her arms over her chest, looking down at him sadly. "If it bothers you so much, I won't press the issue—"

"I can't stand to see you in pain," he finally admitted, swallowing hard.

Maria breathed out slowly, processing this admission. She was all at once severely irritated and also quite touched. "Thank you for your honesty, Georg," she murmured, lifting his chin so that his eyes met hers. "And I love you for telling me this. But may I also remind you that I am the one that has to birth a child, and as glad as I am to welcome another member to our family, I did not enjoy enduring labor and delivery in the company of strangers."

"You never said—"

"Frankly, I prefer not to dwell on it, my love," said Maria seriously, pulling him up to sit with her again. "I don't remember very much beyond excruciating pain and plans to slice me open at their mercy, and thank God Werner made his appearance too quickly for them to do that. I do remember begging them to the point of crying to bring you in. They said no men were allowed in the delivery ward, so I asked for Liesl, and they said no to that as well."

The truth of the matter hit Georg blindingly between the eyes. She wasn't trying to force him to do something out-of-turn, or drown him in guilt; she simply wanted finish something together which had started together, and she wanted him with her in one of the single, most vulnerable moments of her life.

"Yes," Maria said quietly, "it hurts quite a lot. It can be terrifying, and I would be a fool to deny that I sometimes find myself quite scared of the prospect. But, Georg," Maria whispered, placing his hand over her rhythmically-beating heart. "You calm me. You are my strength. And that moment when the baby slips out, is put to my chest, and starts to wail… darling, you've only ever seen a freshly washed and swaddled pink baby. You've never experienced the magic that is that first moment of brand new life."

"It would be considered highly improper for me to see a baby any other way, you realize," Georg teased gently, but Maria shook her head.

"Don't you see? I want to share that moment with you. I want you to have that, always. Is it messy and loud and inconvenient in every way, and it is beautiful above all else. You are my husband, the man I love, the man I want with me through everything, even if society doesn't deem it proper."

Georg nodded, pulling her to her feet. "I see. And that is a precious thing, Maria. Thank you."

Drawing into his arms, Maria nuzzled his shoulder and said, "I'm sorry for my behaviour. I know it is hard for you to witness human suffering, especially when it's happening to those you love. It's just that where this matter is concerned, it's not really about pain at all."

"No, it's about our baby," Georg agreed, taking her chin in hand to kiss his wife. "I love you."

"And I you."