The morning after dawned sunny and bright, as it seemed to have become a custom that summer.

With a light heart, Maria jumped out of bed, ready to do her best for the day to be one that Captain von Trapp and his children would remember for a very long time.

The children were a bundle of nerves, and it took Maria a while to calm them down enough to present themselves in front of their father.

They came down the stairs, with Maria holding the little ones' hands in her own, and when they were about to enter the dining room, the piercing sound of a whistle stopped them in their tracks. Maria winced and hunched her shoulders protectively against the sound.

Acting on sheer instinct, the children stood at attention. Maria opened her eyes and had to do a double take when she saw her employer standing in the doorway, whistle in hand, staring at them sternly.

"Straight line!" he called.

Without thinking, the children obeyed, with Liesl at the head of the line.

"Good," Georg praised, inspecting their clothes much in the same way he had done in the past.

Maria was too stunned to react. She simply stared at him, open-mouthed, trying to understand what it was all about. For once, she couldn't see anything in his eyes that gave away what he was up to.

When he seemed satisfied with his examination, Georg walked up to his oldest child.

"Liesl."

"Yes, Father?" Liesl asked, a hint of uneasiness tinging her voice.

"Allow me."

The young woman's eyebrows arched interrogatively.

Georg reached back without looking.

It was then that Maria became aware of Gertrude's presence just inside the dining room, as she handed something to Georg. She hardly had time to make out the bouquet of flowers Georg presented his daughter, a sweet smile softening his features into the gentlest expression of naked, unadulterated love.

Liesl stared down at the lovely flowers in her hands, and then looked up at her father uncomprehendingly.

Georg reached out with the most loving smile, and held the back of her head in his hand. Bending down, he bestowed a soft kiss on her forehead.

Liesl's eyes dropped closed at the touch of her father's lips, and Maria could see her biting her lips for an instant, to hold back the surge of sudden emotion.

When Georg let go, father and daughter looked deep into each other's eyes, and Maria just had to look away. When she risked a glance again, Liesl was entering the dining room and stopping to look back at her siblings.

It was Friedrich's turn. Georg took a medium-sized, wooden briefcase from Gertrude's hands, and gave it to the boy.

Friedrich looked down at it, and immediately recognizing the carving kit he had been secretly dying for, he beamed up at his father. Georg smiled back and squeezed his son's shoulder, nodding to him proudly.

Louisa received another lovely bouquet of flowers and a soft kiss on her forehead. The girl reached up and held her father's wrist, eyes closed, fighting back tears before opening them again.

Kurt was given a briefcase similar to Friedrich's, only his was a watercolour kit. The boy thanked his father enthusiastically. Georg laughed and mussed his son's hair fondly.

Brigitta received a bouquet of small white and pink carnations, her favourite flower. The girl smiled happily and embraced her father's waist, burying her face in his chest. Georg returned her hug tenfold and kissed the top of her head, nuzzling it for a moment.

Then, dropping to one knee, he gave Marta the cutest little bouquet, made of a myriad different types of flowers, all pink. The little girl was rendered speechless. She couldn't look away from that incredibly thoughtful gift. Finally, she looked up into her father's eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck impulsively, squealing with joy. Georg cupped her head in his hand and kissed her temple, closing his eyes with a sigh.

Gretl was bouncing up and down when her turn came, desperate to get her present. With a low chuckle and a flourish, Georg gave her a little bouquet, consisting on only daisies, but of every possible colour. White, yellow, pink, even light blue. Gretl blinked in sheer astonishment and then embraced her father, raining a shower of kisses on his cheek.

Georg laughed softly and buried his fingers in the long blonde hair, caressing it reverently.

Maria was mesmerized by the image before her. She bit her lower lip and shook her head, moved beyond words. Just when she thought she had caught a glimpse of the most hidden depths of that man's soul, he did something that showed that she was only scratching the surface of everything Captain von Trapp was, thought and felt. She tilted her head, getting lost in the beauty of the moment, imprinting it into her memory forever.

"Father," Friedrich's voice intruded softly, full of wonder.

Georg moved back, holding Gretl at arm's length, and looked up at his son.

"Why... all this?" the boy asked, making a sweeping movement with his arm.

Georg shrugged, somewhat self-deprecatingly.

"I'm just showing my appreciation for your performance this evening."

Friedrich frowned in confusion.

"But we haven't performed yet," he argued.

Georg smiled widely.

"Precisely," he said, rising to his feet.

The children looked at each other, and Maria could feel the tension in them easing off. She shook her head again and looked down. She didn't think possible to admire anyone more, but he kept proving her wrong time after time.

"Fräulein, I have something for you too."

Amazed beyond belief that he had thought of her too, Maria looked up at him.

"Oh," she said, unable to think of anything more articulate.

Georg reached into his pocket and held out his whistle to her.

"Get rid of this for me, will you?" he asked, meeting her eyes with an intensity that left her breathless.

It was all Maria could do to reach out and took the whistle from his fingers. A sweet tingle spread up her arm when her fingertips brushed his.

"It'll be my pleasure, sir," she replied.

He smiled.

"Father, can we go up to our rooms and put our gifts away?" Kurt asked, holding his briefcase to him like the most precious treasure.

"Of course. Go ahead," Georg nodded.

The children hurried upstairs letting out happy little cries and exclamations of joy, that died down as they disappeared from sight.

Maria looked down from the second floor and met her employer's eyes, unable, and unwilling, to hide her admiration and respect.

"You did it, Captain. You made their fears go away," she grinned at him.

"It was thanks to you that I did it," Georg took one step closer to her. "You have the gift of reaching into the innermost depths of a person's soul, Fräulein. And what amazes me the most is how you can point out someone's shortcomings without making them feel inadequate, or flawed. Even if they are."

"You're not flawed, sir," Maria choked out through the lump in her throat, searching his gaze earnestly.

"Oh, I am. I have many shortcomings, there's no shame in admitting it. But with your help, I'm learning." Georg bent a little bit closer. "Thank you," he uttered, in the warmest voice.

Maria tried to say something, but she couldn't. When they were standing so close to each other, she simply stopped thinking. She could only feel. Somehow, she managed to nod, acknowledging the honour she had been paid. Then, she tore her gaze away from him and returned Gertrude's good morning greeting as she walked past them. Her eyes were drawn to the whistle in her hand, and she clasped it tighter, turning her eyes to him again.

"You know?" she said, giving him a bright, shining smile. "Without a doubt, I received the best present of all," she showed him the whistle that was now hers proudly.

The soft smile disappeared from Georg's lips and he contemplated her with a seriousness that felt like a living, breathing thing. He leaned infinitesimally closer.

Maria felt as if he was taking all her personal space, her entire world, but far from being overwhelmed by it, she felt unthinkably at peace.

At the same time, a shy tremor began to rise up from some previously unknown, untouched part of her. A part that responded to him like a flower to the sunlight. A part of her that was his. Only his.

"Good morning, darling."

Thrown out of the blissful communion they had reached, Maria and Georg shuddered inwardly and turned their heads in unison, taking a calming breath as they did.

"Good morning," they answered back, together.

"Did you sleep well, Elsa?" Georg asked, as his guest joined him.

Grinding her teeth for a moment but forcing herself to maintain a nonchalant expression on her face, Elsa took the proffered arm, nodding diplomatically at Maria in passing.

"Wonderfully, Georg," she replied. "Must be the air coming down from the mountains. It's so relaxing!"

"It is," Georg nodded, escorting her inside the dining room.

"Good morning, Herr Detweiler," Maria greeted the ever-smiling impresario, who followed them a few metres behind.

"Good morning, Fräulein," Max greeted her back merrily, and walking into the dining room with her. "Isn't that Georg's whistle?" he suddenly asked, perplexed to find it in Maria's hand.

"Yes, it is," Maria nodded, putting it safely away in her skirt's pocket. When she reached her seat, she looked up at her employer, who stood directly in front of her at the other end of the table, holding Elsa's chair. "Captain, even after all this time, I'm curious. I never got to hear my whole signal."

Georg looked at her, startled. When he met her teasing, warm eyes, he spluttered and burst out laughing. Incredibly, a soft blush coloured his cheeks.

Maria smiled at him, somewhat dreamily, wondering why she felt as if she had a million butterflies fluttering in her stomach, just looking at him.

After breakfast, Maria took the children outside, and wanting to boost their confidence, she made them practise scales and yodel, in order to warm up their voices. Happy, carefree singing followed and before they knew, it was lunchtime.

In the early evening, Franz got the stepladder from the basement and brought it to the ballroom, placing it by the left side of the puppet show, so all the puppeteers could climb up to their positions on the catwalk in the upper part of it.

It had been agreed that only Maria and the oldest children would work the puppets. It would be too dangerous for the little ones to be up there with their siblings, and besides, there was no room for everybody. They were going to be too crammed up as it was.

That by no means meant that Marta and Gretl would only contribute their voices to the performance. They would also be busy raising and lowering the curtains, and getting some of the puppets on and off the stage when necessary. Their governess had made certain that everybody would share the responsibility, that no one would feel left out.

Maria took a last look at herself in the mirror. For some reason, she felt a bit uncertain. Her new dress was indeed lovely, but it didn't seem good enough now.

Suddenly, she smiled to herself, shaking her head. Just like the children, she only wanted to please the Captain. It was extraordinary how important this simple performance had come to be for everybody. It had come to embody the journey all of them had made, together.

Somehow, that family brought out the best in her. They had given her peace, and focus. She didn't feel like a black sheep or a disruptive troublemaker anymore. With her responsibilities at the household and their influence, she had tamed those annoying aspects of her personality; or rather, she had found a way to use them in a constructive manner.

She might have helped them to find each other again, but in no way that help had been one-sided. Quite the contrary. She felt she had received just as much from them, if not more.

That was why she also needed for this performance to be successful. She also had something to prove. To herself most of all.

"Dear Father. Please, help me," she muttered to herself, taking a deep breath and walking out of her room.

The children were waiting for her outside. They were clearly nervous, but the edge to their nervousness that had been present before was completely gone now.

Quickly forgetting about herself and focusing only on the children, she took the little ones' hands in her own.

"Fräulein Maria," Friedrich said when they were halfway downstairs.

"Yes?"

"You look beautiful."

Maria stopped and looked back at the boy and at his younger brother, realizing that they hadn't seen her in that dress before. Kurt was nodding emphatically at Friedrich's compliment, a cute smile on his face.

"Thank you. That's very kind of you," she smiled back at them, a part of her relaxing unconsciously. "And you all look wonderful in your favourite clothes. They really become you."

The children's faces lit up at her honest praise, and gathered ever closer round their governess.

They made it all the way downstairs, chatting away excitedly as they headed for the dining room.

Georg, Elsa and Max were already inside, but on hearing them coming, Georg rose from his chair and went to meet them just outside.

When his eyes settled on Maria, Georg's expression froze. But then, a few moments later, a smile of sheer delight made his features glow.

Maria walked up to him, hardly daring to meet his eyes.

"Did I do it justice, Captain?" she asked hopefully.

For an instant, there was no reply. Maria braved his gaze, holding her breath.

Georg's smile had never conveyed more fervour as he looked down at her.

"No, Fräulein," he said in the lowest tone, "it did justice to you."

Time stood still for Maria at the sound of his voice. She got lost somewhere she never wanted to leave. A warm, cozy place, surrounded by his powerful presence that encompassed her whole. And she was safe there. So safe!

"My, what a sweet little dress! You look lovely, my dear."

Maria's heart started pounding painfully at the interruption. It felt as if she had been torn away from her mother's womb. The only place where no harm could possibly come to her. She took a deep breath to pull herself together, and put a calm smile on her face.

"Thank you, Baroness," she said quietly.

"You keep surprising me, darling," Elsa said then conversationally, holding on to Georg's arm. "You know how to choose the material that will make a woman look ravishing."

"I always thought it was the other way round," Georg replied, turning his head to Maria, who was helping Gretl to sit on her chair, mindful that the skirt of her favourite dress didn't get any wrinkles.

Maria looked up and met his eyes, smiling at him soulfully.

Dinner passed in an atmosphere of barely concealed excitement. Finally, when the dessert plates were empty, Georg took pity on his children and gave them permission to leave and get everything ready for the performance.

With a collective shriek of joy, the children jumped from their chairs and left the dining room. Maria followed them at a more sedate pace, willing herself to maintain a cool façade.

Franz was getting the puppets out of their boxes, and handing them to Friedrich and Louisa, who were already up the catwalk. Maria chided them for being so reckless, and climbed up the stepladder hurriedly, followed by Liesl, Kurt and Brigitta. Marta and Gretl assumed their positions behind the puppet show, and began to practise with the curtains and move the puppets they were in charge of back and forth.

It felt really crammed up there, more so than during rehearsals, or so it felt to Maria. Forcing herself to shrug it off, she started pulling the strings of the young goatherd, warming up the suddenly stiff articulations of her wrists and fingers. Liesl, Friedrich, Kurt and Brigitta started working their own puppets too, elbowing each other eagerly. Louisa stepped down the ladder and took hold of her own puppet, one of the climbers.

"Franz's bringing the chairs now," she informed those on the catwalk who couldn't see, while making her puppet go cross-eyed.

Maria felt her stomach churn. She made a gurgling noise from deep in her throat, that earned a funny look from Liesl. She gave the girl a tremulous smile and continued moving her puppet around, until the knots in her arms loosened... a little.

"They're here!" Gretl announced, whooshing back to her post behind the puppet show.

Maria closed her eyes, uttering a short prayer for help.

"Are you ready?" she asked everybody.

The children nodded at her, their eyes sparkling in the dim light.

Drawing strength from their energy, Maria closed her eyes again, letting out all the air in her lungs in a slow and steady breath.

All of a sudden, she felt eyes on her. Knowing instinctively to whom those eyes belonged, she plucked up her courage for a second before opening her own.

The Captain was sneaking a peek inside, sporting an impish, playful smile. When their eyes met, his smile became one of trust and support that still held a twinkle of humour.

That childish prank was all Maria needed for his message to sink in. She didn't have anything to prove. She never had. She only had to let go and enjoy herself.

Shaking her head, she looked down at her puppet and then at him again. Her eyes softened, full of gratitude, and her lips mouthed two small, heartfelt words.

"Thank you."

He shook his head back at her. Then, he brusquely popped out of sight... only to pop in again an instant later.

Unable to help herself, Maria laughed out loud, alerting the children to their father's foul play.

"Father! What are you doing?" Brigitta asked, in shock.

"You shouldn't peek!" Louisa reprimanded. "This is supposed to be a surprise!"

Wincing exaggeratedly, Georg covered his eyes with his hand and tiptoed out of sight, silencing the other two members of the audience with a finger to his lips.

Maria couldn't understand the effect that man had on her. She had stopped wondering about it, and she simply revelled in the way that one look from his beautiful eyes calmed her every fear, and made her feel so good about herself, about who she was and what she had to give.

She felt light as a feather, giddy, euphoric. Even more so when she heard the applause that signalled their audience's readiness.

Softly clearing her throat and making sure that she was holding her puppet correctly, she met the children's eyes one by one, receiving equally euphoric looks. She nodded heartily and looked down.

"Marta!"

The little girl looked up at her governess, already holding the cords that opened and closed the main curtain in her hands.

One last deep intake of breath and...

"Curtain!"

THE END.