Maria had not been expecting a surprise visit from her employer less than an hour after breakfast. But she couldn't deny she was pleased to put aside the mathematics she was currently attempting to teach her youngest charge.

"Did you come to see how we were doing with our lessons, Father?" the five year old asked, running up to the Captain. "It only took me two tries to get the first problem."

"Well done schatzi," he replied, planting a kiss on his youngest daughter's forehead before looking up at her. "But I actually came to see your Fraulein."

"Yes, sir?" she asked, rising from her seat and walking over to stand beside him at the door.

"Herr Meissner is here."

The Captain had informed her the other day that he had made contact with a lawyer, who could help the situation with Bastian's father.

Maria nodded, and looked over at her cousin, who immediately put down his book, stood up and followed the two adults out of the classroom.

The Captain raised his eyebrow.

"Bastian should be involved," she said simply. "It is his life that we are dealing with."

After last night the boy had decided that he wanted to at least pursue this course of action, as long as he was part of the experience. Maria couldn't fault that and had agreed, knowing that her cousin deserved that and that she needed to repent for leaving him out of it for as long as she had.

The Captain lowered his eyebrow, but remained silent. Maria wasn't sure how he felt about this, but after her actions towards her cousin thus far, wasn't going to let his reaction – whatever it was – stop her.

When they arrived at the Captain's office, he opened the door and ushered Maria and Bastian inside. A man was seated in one of the chairs in front of the Captain's desk. Herr Meissner. Maria noted that he wasn't sitting in the same chair she usually sat in when she and the Captain had their meetings; a fact that right now relaxed her more than it probably should've, and definitely would've otherwise.

"Samuel," the Captain made the introductions. "This is Maria Rainer and Sebastian Dreschner. Bastian, Fraulein, this is Samuel Meissner. He'll be the lawyer in charge of our case; if you still want to go through with this."

Maria's heart skipped. The Captain had called her Maria. No Fraulein, no 'the governess' but just Maria. She had no idea why it made her heart skip; it was perfectly clear he'd said it only to introduce her to Herr Meissner. He'd called her 'Fraulein' when he'd spoken directly to her. That had to be proof there was nothing going on.

And yet, he'd said 'our case'. Not hers, not Bastian's, but 'ours'. As in theirs. While that was just another moment that showed he cared about her cousin greatly, which made her happy, the exact words had made her pause. It had almost sounded like he thought they were a couple.

But that was preposterous. He had Elsa Schrader; a beautiful, rich, cultured if not particularly maternal, baroness as his future bride. And when the summer was over, she would take her vows, become a nun and never see him again.

Right?

Maria tried to convince herself that that was exactly what would happen. The truth was, since the night of the puppet show, she hadn't been feeling like herself. And the reason was standing in the room.

Not only had the Captain been invading her waking thoughts more frequently, he had started to appear in her dreams. That wouldn't have been so bad; if the scenes in her mind had any resemblance to the real interactions they'd had many times before; that had happened on occasion.

But they weren't.

In her dreams she was doing things that she'd never done with anyone, least of all Captain von Trapp. She couldn't explain how the dreams made her feel, even to herself, but she was almost certain that a future nun should not be feeling such things.

Last night had been a particularly alarming one, and she had hardly slept at all. But it was more than that; the dreams had consumed in a way nothing else had before, not even music or her mountain. That alone was scaring her somewhat.

No wonder she had snapped at Bastian.

"Fraulein," a voice broke her from her thoughts. His voice, asking her a question.

"I'm sorry sir," she sighed. "I'm a little tired. What did you say?"

"I asked if you still want to do this?" the Captain repeated.

"Yes," Maria confirmed. "I do."

"Bastian?"

The boy nodded. He didn't seem as certain as she was, but that was fair enough. And, considering where his thoughts had been the previous night, and the fact the situation was dealing with his father, he was on board enough for them to continue. And the Captain asking for his answer proved that he at the very least, did not object to Bastian involvement in the proceedings.

"So, were you thinking of trying to force your uncle to relinquish custody of the boy?" Herr Meissner asked.

Maria nodded.

"On what grounds?"

"The fact that he is unfit to be a parent or care for a child," she replied, sounding far more confident than she felt. "He beat me for the ten years I lived with him."

Herr Meissner looked bored. "Fraulein Rainer, with all due respect, that is not really of interest. Discipline is not a bad thing; every child has had a whipping at some point or another and-"

"This isn't discipline!" Bastian interrupted. The three adults turned to face him.

"I've had whippings," he continued, impassioned. "They don't leave you with broken bones or unable to walk."

Both men looked shocked. Automatically Maria lowered her eyes to the floor.

"Is this true, Fraulein?" the lawyer asked.

Maria nodded mutely.

"Yes," she murmured after a moment. "He broke many of my bones on multiple occasions, when I had done nothing to warrant such a punishment. I have no reason to believe he won't do the same to Bastian."

Herr Meissner sighed. "As horrible as that is, there's a chance that this won't be enough in the court. Not that it's completely useless, but I think it would be best if you had some more evidence."

Maria's heart sunk. Just like that, it was over. Bastian would be living with his father. A father who would physically and mentally abuse him; while leaving him to pave his own way in the world.

The same thing he had – or rather, hadn't – done for her. Because her uncle was too lazy and selfish to give anyone a decent life. Including himself.

And, just like that, it was back.

"What about the fact that my uncle doesn't have the necessary means to provide a life for Bastian?" she blurted, still buzzing from her realisation and oblivious to the three other people in the room.

"Such as?" Herr Meissner asked calmly.

Maria explained that, if Bastian's life were to follow the path that hers had, he would be sleeping in the loft – which had been full of cockroaches – with only one blanket, leaving him too hot during the summertime but freezing during the winter months.

She didn't mention the fact that she'd had to cut up said blanket over the years to lengthen her dirndls – that had always been her little secret – but she wasn't shy about the fact that her uncle had neglected to provide her with clothes to the point where she had had to take matters into her own hands and make them herself. That it was the same when it came to shoes. Of course she couldn't make them herself, and so, on several occasions her feet had literally burst out of her shoes and she'd had to wear her snow boots whenever she left the house.

She'd had to cook all her meals herself; from the time she was seven, without any instruction. Same with the laundry, which was hard enough already in a wooden house high in the mountains. Given Herr Meissner's comment she didn't bother mentioning she'd also done those tasks for her uncle as well. Everyone present already knew that was the case anyway.

"I don't think he could change anything even if he wanted to," Maria concluded. "At least when it comes to living arrangements. He doesn't have the money."

'Not that he would want to,' her conscience added. But what she had said was true, so remained silent.

Herr Meissner was silent for a long moment, considering all Maria had said.

"With those two pieces of evidence put together…" he mused. "It might just work. But we'll still have to fight very hard. And we'll need to make sure Sebastian has a good, solid home to go to, or none of it will matter."

"Alright then," Maria nodded slowly. She knew she didn't have all the answers, but she would deal with the specifics later. "Anything else?"

"No," Herr Meissner shook his head. "I have everything I need."

"I hope we can do something," he added, looking down at Bastian. "Those sorts of things are just wrong."

"Thank you," the Captain replied, both solemn and grateful. Knowing this was her cue to leave, and that she had a lot to think about, Maria headed out the door, Bastian following behind.

Georg watched them go; as if in a new light. He had felt literally sick at Maria's words. Years in the Imperial Navy had provided him with his iron-clad sense of discipline, as well as a strong stomach. Yet it had taken everything he had not to grab the nearest glass and empty the contents of his stomach into it, right in front of his guests.

In a way, it was even worse than war. For that, terrible and deadly as it was, didn't always have a choice. Much of the time it was hundreds of men trying to prove a long-forgotten and overblown point. This, in contrast, was one person knowingly hurting another for no reason at all. This was nothing but a choice.

The thought of anyone doing such things to another person made his blood boil. But to Maria; sweet, innocent Maria, who was paragon of selflessness and generosity, was unthinkable. No one deserved to be treated that way less than her.

And if she had endured that for as long as she had, and was still as kind and caring as she was now, she was far stronger than anyone thought she was. She was undoubtedly the strongest person he'd ever met.

He finally saw, in crystal-clear detail, what she was trying to do for her cousin. And now more than ever, he was determined to help this boy.

He didn't have to give his decision more than a second of thought.

"Bastian," he called.

The boy looked back at him, and realising what he was asking, headed back towards him, while Maria continued upstairs.

"Yes sir?"

"I want you to know," Georg murmured. "Whatever happens with Maria, you will always have a home here."

Bastian's eyes widened, and Georg was relieved that the boy had understood that he was completely sincere about this.

"Thank you sir," he breathed.

Georg, unsure if he could properly convey his thoughts, nodded in response and watched as the boy ran back up the stairs, before returning to his office with a smile on his face.

Elsa told herself to stop worrying. Normally, she had nary a care in the world. But now she found herself, with increasing frequency, getting incredibly annoyed.

She had retired to her room ten minutes ago, feeling a migraine starting as a result of the nine people who were still caterwauling downstairs.

She could only imagine they'd gone into the ballroom to spare the other people in the household. This, while a lovely thought, did not work in practice. The children's singing could still be heard clearly from the parlour, even with the doors of the ballroom closed.

But what irritated Elsa most was that she was the only person bothered by instances like this. Max, provided he had a libation in his hands, didn't have much of a preference, but Georg seemed to enjoy them.

She was just short of downright furious at the ultimatum he had given her the other day: Maria's cousin participating in the performance at the party, or no party at all. But of course she agreed. She was too much of a lady to make a scene about it, and in the end it wouldn't really matter.

This party was happening for one reason and one reason only. She wasn't sure if Georg would propose that night, but it wouldn't matter if he didn't. Their engagement was unspoken, whether or not she had a glittering ring on her finger, and everyone in Austria knew it.

She honestly wouldn't have been surprised if Georg never gave her an engagement ring. That really didn't bother her; as long as in the end, there was a wedding ring.

As far as she knew, that was all still happening. Not as soon as she wanted, but there was nothing to suggest Georg had changed his mind. So why was she letting his relationship with the governess get to her?

She didn't like the way he was acting where Maria was concerned; not one bit. It hadn't changed much since the night of the puppet show, but Elsa maintained they were still too close. But it was also clear that she was the problem. And she wouldn't be here forever. When September came she would pack her little bags and be on her merry way off to the convent, taking the boy with her.

And then it would be over for good. Elsa could put up with another six weeks of this madness knowing that when it was over, she would have the undivided attention of Georg von Trapp for the rest of her life.

Like the previous chapter, this part benefitted greatly from comments made by Sara K M. I didn't get too deep into the research, but from what I could find, child abuse was at least acknowledged in certain places around the world in the 1930s. I don't know if Austria was one of those places (the info was scant enough as it was), which is why I added the second argument. Any other inaccuracies I'm going to put down to creative license. This is a world where Salzburg borders Switzerland after all.

Regardless I hope you enjoyed, and I'm glad I could get this up on Bastian's birthday. Thank you for all your reviews.