Hi readers. I don't really know where this story idea came from but I decided to have a go at writing it over the Christmas holidays and this is the resulting first chapter. This story is AU so it will deviate from the original story quite dramatically. I apologise if many of the details here are inaccurate historically (I'm sure they probably are) but although I did research in particular the Hitler Youth program on Austria, I am no History expert- just a fan of The Sound of Music and its characters.

Thank you for reading and I hope you like it. If you did like it please review and if not that's ok, please review anyway.

Happy New Year! Elle. X

…

Georg Von Trapp inhaled sharply, aware that the blood was rising to his face and his fists clenching with every new revelation governess number 12 spilled forth. He should have known this would happen. The moment he saw her there, an invader in his ballroom, mere moments after being shown into his home, he should have known that she had no discipline, no regard for decorum and no chance of appropriately disciplining his children.

Slowly, without breaking eye contact for even a second, he moved towards her, clenching from the exertion of keeping his growing anger in check. When he was close enough that he could smell the faint trace of honey (did she use honey scented soap? Was that really appropriate for a nun?) he spoke, his voice dangerously low: "Do you mean to tell me that my children have been roaming about Salzburg, dressed up in nothing but some old drapes?" He rung them before him in exasperation, droplets of water flying onto her already sobbing dress, as well as onto his own clothes, yet the infuriating woman in front of him remained unfazed and unflinching. He could only hope that the people of Salzburg did not recognise his children or somehow had not noticed 7 children running around town in curtains no less!

Barely a beat passed before she answered. "Ummhumm" she nodded enthusiastically-smiling- surely mocking him- laughing at his embarrassment and outrage. "And having a marvellous time!" Her eyes seemed to sparkle as she taunted him, infuriating him further.

How could she remain so controlled when 11 others had crumbled at the smallest challenge from his children, let alone from him? Now his anger was tinged with exasperation. Had she not heard a word he had said to her that night, the night he had found her dancing around her bedroom with his 7 children in tow, two hours after their bed time?

"They have uniforms!"

"Straightjackets, if you'll forgive me!"

He flinched. How dare she!

"I will not forgive you for that! He exclaimed, turning from her. She was going too far. If she knew what was good for her she would stop now but it appeared for the third time since their fated meeting that she had no understanding of how dangerously close she was walking along the edge of his tolerance.

A cloud of red fog descended over his vision as they fired off retort after retort, as she tried to comment on each of his children, as if she knew them better than he, he who had made them and raised them.

"I don't wish to hear anymore from you!"

"I know you don't, but you've got to!" He gaped at her in shock. Where did she get the gall to…?

"Now take Liesl. She's not a child."

"-Not one more word- "

"Soon she'll be a woman and you won't even know her." His daughter? A woman? She was still barely a young lady what was the silly girl talking about? He shock his head trying to rid himself of her words but failing as he just kept talking and talking, ripping him to shreds over and over.

"Friedrich wants to be a man but you're not here to show him how- "

"Don't you dare tell me-"

"Brigitta could tell you about him. She notices everything."

"Kurt acts tough to hide the pain he feels when you ignore him. . .the way you do all of them. Louisa, I don't know about yet but someone's got to find out about her."

She was possibly the most infuriating individual he had even encountered, seeming to know perfectly how to cause him pain- small, unrelenting stabs, like repeated pricking of needles to his very soul. Just when he thought he was winning, that she had realised that he was her employer and superior to her position, she would again strike him with another pinprick and she fired back.

"…and the little ones just want to be loved. Please, Captain love them, love them all." That one hurt. Who was she to imply that he didn't love his children as much as he should or as much as he expected of her?" He really couldn't care for her opinion and shouldn't be affected by her words at all but for some reason the earnest look in her unnaturally blue eyes made that one feel like a stab to the heart, forcing him to walk away from her, to detach himself from her distain. He would hear no more.

He must have voiced as much out load as she proclaimed, "I am NOT finished yet, Captain!"

"Oh, yes, you are, Captain!" He only realised his mistake as his eyes locked with hers, which widened slightly and softened as her mouth slightly twitched.

"Fraulein" he corrected, quickly, annoyed with himself for providing her with another reason to openly mock him.

"Now you will pack your things this minute and return to the Abbey." It was the only thing he could think of to claw back his control and for the first time she faltered, her whole body deflating slightly and he knew he had won. Had she not known that he had the winning hand all along, ready to be played if she pushed him too far? Besides, who did she think she was? How dare she, a girl of 25 (did he actually know how old she was? Did he even ask? Well, she was definitely no older than 26) and a nun no less, dictate to him how he should treat his children. She had no right to say those things, to imply that he was failing in some way as a father. And her a postulant of all things, with no self-control and clearly no with no appreciation for discipline or understanding of the world, talking as though she knew better than him- their father! He had warned her to stop, commanded her to stop and yet still she had continued to twist the knife further with her accusations. She had gone too far and the way her face had dropped at his final blow proved that she knew it.

Muffled by the barrier of the house and the distance, a melody carried on the wind and the red mist which had descended obscuring his senses began to fade away. For less than a moment, time halted as his mind tried to make sense of what he was hearing emanating from the open windows of his sitting room.

"What is that?"

"It's singing."

Did she think he was stupid? He sighed once more in despair and snapped back, "I know it's singing but who is singing?"

"The children." Her tone this time was pitying.

"The children…" he repeated.

He found himself staring at her baffled. Whose children? It couldn't be his children. He turned towards the sound as if it would magically reveal answers to his confusion, barely, hearing the girl explain, "I taught them something to sing for the Baroness…"

Without a second thought for the girl he turned on his heel and stormed back towards the house.

He recognised the song. It was her song haunting him. He heard Agathe sing it many times and the closer he came to seeing the source of the music the more apprehensive he became. Some irrational part of him half expected to see her there, her making that sound and yet something about it wasn't quite right. Now he was closer, he could tell that it was children's voices and the thought hurt more than anything the last ten minutes had inflicted. He had not heard music in his house in years from anyone; he had made it that way on purpose. It hurt too much.

He crossed his hallway quickly, pausing in the door frame of the sitting room, unable to enter and confront the image he found there- his children standing together in front of Max and Baroness Shraeder, the woman he had intended them to meet, whom he was probably going to marry and whom, until this moment, he had forgotten even existed. Liesl was softly strumming a guitar and they were all singing together- even the little ones, their wet hair leaving little patches of water trailing across their uniforms. He hadn't thought it possible to suffer a broken heart twice, but there was not denying it- his heart ached in a way he had not allowed it to in years but this time he did not run. Instead he basked in it for a moment. It was not the piercing pain, the devastation he had been unable to bear, but rather a melancholic ache-the sort that in his first moment of true clarity in two years he knew would never leave and he would always crave to remind himself that she was gone forever and that was cruel and unfair, but she had existed and had made life wonderful.

For a second he simply stood and watched, unable to believe his eyes as his children-his and Agathe's children-stood tall, singing that song- the very song their mother had sung to each of them as she cradled them at night, dressed them in the morning and ran across the grass with them outside in summer time. All of them apart from Gretl who had hardly known her mother- who had never had the chance. Instead she had been raised by a collection of governesses- they all had- all of them who left. Suddenly, Georg realised that he was no better. He had left them too, running from his anger and his grief and- no he realised- running from them too.

As if drawn to them like the tide to the moon, George found himself humming that same tune, unable to resist the pull of the melody, and entering the room to be with his family.

Bewilderment crossed the faces of his seven children as he sung with them for the first time, hoping that they could see his participation for what it was- a plea for acceptance and forgiveness that he would never have the courage to ask for in person. For a horrible moment they stood silently staring as if truly seeing him for the first time, wondering who he was. Then Kurt and Liesl began to join in, harmonising with him, followed by the others.

In the last 20 seconds of the song the pain lifted completely, and Georg was sure that if he closed his eyes he would see Agathe there with them and joining in. It certainly felt as though she was and he hoped the children could feel it too. Somehow, he knew they would forgive him for his absence and allow him to make it right even before it had happened. Then the song was over and the silence crept uneasily across the floor. No-one moved. Seven mouths gaped at him slightly and Gretl appeared to be holding her breath as if waiting for him to berate them. He needed to make the first move.

His eyes darted from one child to the other. How was it that he didn't know these children? Not really. He had, but in the last two years they had grown so much and now it was as if looking at seven strangers. As he gazed at Liesl he found himself staring at an adult and the thought unnerved him further. He didn't know how to act around them anymore and he felt like an outsider in his own family.

Nervous and unsure, he started to walk towards them, foolishly half extending his arms towards them and then dropping them to his side then doing so again, desperate for one of them to help him out. For a moment, nothing happened.

His heart skipped a beat when all seven coming forward to hug him on one united embrace and he suddenly didn't know why he had wanted to leave them at all and escape to Vienna. One by one he hugged (or in Kurt's place pinched them, prompting a hearty laugh- God, how he had missed that sound).

In his peripheral vision, he could see Gretl break away from the group and approach Elsa with something small and white clutched in her hand. Of course- Elsa was here- and Uncle Max too; that loveable parasite had jumped at the chance of free food and the potential of first hand gossip on his relationship with Elsa. Both were looking at him with kind but amused expressions and he realised how odd the situation must appear to them, who had no idea of the separation he had devised from his children other than his continued absence due to his spending time with the two of them.

"Edelweiss!" Elsa exclaimed, hugging his youngest child. "Why did you not tell me your children were so enchanting, Georg?"

Edelweiss. How had Gretl known the perfect gift for his guest? Feeling happy for the first time in two years, Georg chuckled and looked proudly at his children once more before his eyes focussed in on someone standing at the door way, nearly tucked out of sight but peering around as if conscious of intruding. As his gaze met hers, like a deer in headlights, she darted out of sight behind the door frame and then half ran across the hallway towards the staircase.

He had forgotten the governess but now their heated argument and his dismissal of her as a result came flooding back into his memory making him inwardly cringe. She'd taught them the song, she had prepared Gretl with the flowers for Elsa and she had been the one person who hadn't given up on his children. She was the one person who hadn't left his children- she'd stayed and yet he'd asked her to leave.

"Don't go away…" he told his children before running after her and calling "Fraulein" causing her to stop abruptly on the stairs.

Hot shame at having picked an argument with someone who was still soaked to the bone from her time in his like and for having used the one comeback he knew she could never counter, prickled through his veins as he saw her turn toward him with downturned eyes.

He took a deep breath before "I...behaved badly. I apologize."

She looked at him then, eyes still sad but she took his apology for the olive branch it was. "I'm far too outspoken. It's one of my worst faults." He felt as though he should contradict her but couldn't quite bring himself to go that far yet and instead focussed on admitting his own faults.

"You were right. I don't know my children." He wanted to add "but you do" but he restrained himself and handed her the win against him that she deserved.

The girl's whole body seemed to soften as she reassured him: "There's still time, captain. They want so much to be close to you."

"And you brought music back into the house. I'd forgotten…" Didn't they say that music could heal wounds? It certainly felt that way to him and she had done that. She had started to mend his broken children and in doing so had inadvertently, from that one gift alone, had started to mend him too. He really had forgotten and he had missed it. He would not let them forget- he would not let himself forget again for as long as he lived.

"Fraulein. I want you to stay." The revelation shocked him a little but suddenly the thought of trying to continue to mend his bond with his children seemed impossible without the person who had not left them when he had.

"I ask you to stay." He had nearly said, "I beg you to stay" which would have more accurately represented his feelings but his pride and stubborn nature prevented him and he hoped his request would be enough.

"If you think I could be of any help…" The renewed hope shining in her crystal blue eyes made his stomach drop, and he was suddenly unsure where to look. He had behaved like a child and now, like a child, he had to bear the guilt of his mistake.

"You already have. More than you know…" He trailed off awkwardly, wanting to convey the extent of his gratitude, unable to look away from her eyes for one lingering moment, hoping she could understand his sincerity. The earlier sadness and disappointment, when he had commanded her to leave his house, was but a ghost behind a hopeful sparkle. Such open willingness to obey his wishes for once was enough to make him suddenly very self-conscious and he hastily broke away from her gaze, directing his attention to the floor as he began to retreat.

He had barely turned away from her and back towards the sitting room when he heard her unmistakably heavy footfall on the stairs as she ran up them. At the sound, he paused for a moment, the urge to chastise her for her lapse in self-discipline once again threatening to overwhelm him. He sighed in resignation, choosing to let her childlike manner slide on this occasion, not wanting to cause friction between them so soon after their last clash of opinions.

George was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of different hurried footsteps across his stone floor. Why was it that everyone in his household seemed unable to function at a measured pace these days?

"I'm sorry Sir, I did ask Herr Zeller to wait, but he was in such a hurry to see you…" Franz, apology died on his lips as Her Zeller strode confidently across his hallway, passing the butler without a second glance in his direction.

"Good morning, Captain Von Trapp!" Zeller's calm voice reverberated across the room, intermingled with the purposeful tap of his shoes on the stone floor.

"It's alright Franz." Georg raised his hand to signal the butler was dismissed. "Herr Zeller, to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?" Georg's voice was dripping with sarcasm, he knew. His limbs suddenly felt heavy- all the heavier in contrast to the weightlessness he had been feeling mere seconds ago as he, filled with shame, had asked the governess to stay despite his harsh treatment of her. If Zeller was here, he must have an agenda, which Georg already knew he was not going to like at all. Well, he would not ruin the moment he had just had with his children, the happiness he had seen beaming from their faces, which had been absent for so long. Zeller's face, in contrast, was an iron curtain, dangerous and impenetrable.

"I am here on behalf of my party, Captain. We have some- concerns- we wish to discuss with you…"

Ahh. Yes, he already knew he would definitely not like this conversation.

"I am afraid I am somewhat busy at the moment- house guests" He gestured in the general direction of Elsa and Max in the sitting room: "how unfortunate- I am sure you won't mind if I leave you to find your own way out…" He turned and started to make his way up the staircase his children's governess had ascended not 3 mins ago in an attempt to appear busy but something in the tone of Zeller's quick reply, made him stop still.

"On the contrary, Captain. I would mind that very much. I will say what I need to stay to you, in this very hallway if you do not wish to speak in private but this cannot wait." The sneer Georg had come to recognise as a near permanent feature on Zeller's face these days had returned and he was reminded of a vulture circling its prey in the final moment, waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce.

"What's the matter here, Georg?" Elsa's concerned face came into view as she exited the sitting room, followed by his children, the older ones peering round the side of the Baroness to try and get a better view of the disturbance. "Why Her Zeller! How lovely to see you again. I had no idea we would be reunited so soon…"

"Elsa, what a surprise! How interesting to see you here in Aigen with Captain Von Trapp". He looked curiously back and forth between George and his stunning guest as if trying to assess the details of the situation.

Of course, she would know Zeller. As the leader of the local Nazi Party, he was bound to have come across Elsa at the many glittering parties of Vienna among the other elite. Still, Georg did not like it and he certainly did not want Elsa and the children hearing whatever Zeller was about to say.

"Georg?" Max joined them, clearly keen not to miss out on the any drama which may be about to occur. Great- now everyone was here and there was no way he could avoid talking to that infuriating little man. He would simply have to listen and then get rid of him as soon as possible.

It was time to take control of the situation. "Nothing is the matter, Elsa. Children, perhaps you could go and prepare yourselves for dinner and then check on Fraulein Maria, whilst I deal with our visitor?" Thank goodness he had changed his mind and asked the little Fraulein to stay! It would have been a little awkward to command her to leave and then have to ask her to stay and control his children for a little longer after all just so he could have a conversation with the local leader of the Nazi party!

Thankfully his children did not need asking twice and eagerly ran in search of their governess. Only Liesl hesitated, her eyes connected with his in concern as she passed him.

"Max, try to be amusing and don't bore poor Elsa to death, whilst I am gone." He raised his eyebrows at his friend in warning.

"Yes, Captain!" Max saluted him, winking and linking his arm through Elsa's slender one, guiding her towards the back terrace.

"Come with me Herr Zeller." Without much choice, Georg led Zeller up the stairs to his office and without holding the door open for him, Georg crossed the room to sit behind his desk. Zeller's eyes swept the room, judgement seeping from him in waves. Georg felt his hackles rise as he observed Zeller snigger at the slightly warn leather of the couch. He surveyed Zeller as he settled himself on the couch facing the desk in a manner he hoped was equally scathing, aware that his distain would have no effect on Zeller's countenance at all but in an attempt to make himself feel better.

"Well, you said you wanted to talk, so let's talk," he said unwilling to play Zeller's games today.

Zeller ran his greasy hands across the smooth leather as he began talking in his oily voice: "Yes. Well, then I shan't mince my words Captain. It is becoming abundantly clear to myself and other prominent party members, that you either do not have the ability or more likely judging from the fact that you have Baroness Schraeder currently staying in your house, the inclination to remarry and provide a suitable mother for your children."

"Zeller!" Georg warned, rising from his chair to stand facing away from Zeller towards the window and the hints of the glorious weather outside. How dare he come into his home and insult him in this manner! By pure coincidence, he had every intention of marrying Elsa eventually and giving his children a new mother. In fact, that was his prime reason for bringing her to meet his children, but there was no way he was going to admit this to a bully, who had no right interfering in the running of others' households.

"As I am sure you well know, we value the family to be at the crux of the Aryan race and thus seven motherless children in a household where their father is also never home is somewhat problematic to us…" Zeller continued unperturbed.

Georg could feel his blood rising with each word, acutely aware that he was clenching his fists so tightly that his short nails had begun to pierce the skin of his palms.

"Oh, well certainly it is lucky that I neither require nor seek for your approval on how I manage my family then isn't it, Herr Zeller?" He replied, slowly turning to face the man who had so rudely interrupted the first moment in a long time where his children had looked at him in that open manner, their eyes trusting and filled with joy as they circled him and he folded them into a hug. His disdain for the Nazi party was well known by many including the man before him now but he had tried thus far to remain cordial with those he disagreed with. He could see that this was not going to be possible for much longer.

"Unfortunately for you Captain, you may not have the ability to 'run your household' as you may like for too much longer. As I am sure you are well aware, the Hitler Youth Programme has been brought to Austria and you would be wise to enrol your eldest son into the programme as soon as possible. They will be able to educate the young man in the way you are currently unable to do and although your other son is a little young at the moment, it would be wise for him to also be involved with the programme…"

"No." He was not hearing this! He knew the party was growing in power across Austria but they were not yet powerful enough to come bursting into people's houses and tell them how to raise their children.

"And as for your two elder daughters, well they should be thinking about their prospects of marrying one of the young men involved in the Hitler Youth- a future officer. There are numerous young men I could introduce them to..."

Georg had heard more than enough. He turned around slowly, trying to keep himself in control despite his pulse thundering in his ears and the veins in his neck starting to protrude violently.

"Herr Zeller, I do not appreciate your attempts to tell me how I should be educating my children! I will not have a son or daughter of mine involved in Hitler Youth or any other associated program and I do not want to see you in my house uninvited again or anywhere near my children. Is that clear?"

He looked at Zeller then, really looked at him. His eyes were cold and mean and there was something unsettling about them. They were shallow, there was no hidden depths and that made him even more dangerous from Georg's point of view. He was cold and calculating but there was no hidden kindness behind the darkness.

"If you refuse to comply with my request that your children are educated properly in the manner I have suggested, then perhaps you will listen to this. Children without a mother or a father around to look after them properly will not be left to flounder at the hands of numerous governesses in the new Austria. You know the Anschluss is coming, Captain. You cannot ignore it. The time will come when you have to listen to our wishes and it may be much closer than you are willing to admit. Remember what I have said. Hitler wants strong Austrian families Captain, and his idea of a strong family involves a mother who will be able to look after children if their father is required to serve his country…"

Georg's blood ran cold. If the Anschluss was to happen as he knew was likely, despite how much he couldn't bear to admit it, he was likely to be called up to act as part of the German/Austrian navy and he would have to leave the children alone or run. They would not give him a choice. He knew there was truth in Zeller's words yet he did not want to hear them.

"Is that a threat?" he spat, no longer even attempting to hide his disdain refusing to break eye contact in an attempt to prove to Zeller that he would not be intimidated by him.

Zeller stood and paused for a moment, refusing to break to break their eye contact first, yet raised one eyebrow slowly as if pondering his next words carefully.

Finally, he looked away, and spoke once more, his voice dangerously quiet. "Think of this as a warning, Captain. A newly married man, who is helping to further the Aryan race is far less likely to be asked to serve his country in war than one who is blatantly disregarding what is best for his country. Besides a man with no wife who is called to serve will have no choice but to send all his children to the Hitler Youth Programme for their own safety apart from anything. But perhaps I have underestimated you? Perhaps you intend to make an honest woman out of Elsa Schraeder?" He paused waiting for confirmation no doubt. Georg remained silent, refusing to be drawn into a discussion about his intentions. "Act quickly, Captain. Times are changing whether you are prepared to change with them or not. I'll see myself out shall I?" Without waiting for an answer that would not have come he turned and swiftly left the room.

Still fuming, Georg crossed the room in his wake and from the bannister outside his office watched Zeller make his way down the stairs. He heard rather than saw the front doors closing behind him.