: Okay once again thank you to my beta pussycatwithattitude for editing once again, also picking the title name and for adding some of her own bits and ideas. she is a star.

: Thank you to you all for your reviews, and messaging me you are all great.

: Thanks to those who have also added this story to their alert list too.

: Please do Review and tell me what you think. :):)

After arriving back to the hotel room, Maria took charge and instructed the children into getting a quick wash, as the Captain had suggested having some more sandwiches brought up to the room as soon as possible. As suspected, the children were very hungry and thirsty - they dug into the food as soon as it had arrived; even what had been sent up for Georg and Maria.

While the children were engrossed in getting their fill, Georg asked Maria if they should stay there for the night or travel back straight away. However, he did point out that they would arrive back at the villa very late. Maria soon agreed to staying here for the night, and letting the children get some proper rest, in a proper bed, before their trip back.

So, deciding that they would be staying the night, Maria decided that she wanted to get all the children a bath and properly cleaned up. Georg decided to make some phone calls, and enquire about another room. Before leaving, Georg also mentioned to Maria that he would go and see if he could get the children some new clothes - the ones they had on at the moment were not exactly suitable for the hotel restaurant, and it was clear that they had been travelling in them for quite some time.

While the children were finishing of the food, Maria lit the fire and then first guided Oscar into the bathroom. After listening all about his adventure with his sisters, Maria pulled the plug to empty the bath and started to run the taps for whoever was next. Maria wrapped a towel round him, and carried him out of the bathroom and over to the fire place to keep warm.

"Who's next?" Maria piped up snuggling close to Oscar on the floor. Katharina didn't hesitate and shot up first, causing the three in the room to giggle. This left Alexandra at the table finishing Oscar's crusts, he never had liked them.

Katharina was done twenty minutes later, and after having her bath she was much happier, feeling clean and smelling like roses. Wrapping the towel around her tight and grabbing her hair brush from the backpack she went and joined her little brother on the floor.

"Alright Alex, you're next!" Maria shouted from the bathroom. As she was refilling the bath, Alexandra went straight in, but had no intention of staying in as long as her sister.

Georg went straight downstairs to the reception desk, making arrangements for their dinner tonight and breakfast in the morning. He explained that there would be five, not two, and also tried to get another room for himself. But, to his disappointment he was told there were no more rooms available. Knowing there were no more hotels around, he knew he was going to be in for an uncomfortable night.

He then made two phone calls: the first to Detective Wichsberg, telling him the children were safe and that they'd be back in Salzburg tomorrow afternoon. The Detective sounded a bit worried and asked if the children had spoken of the accident. Georg cut him short with a no not yet, and when they were ready he will let him know.

The second phone call was to the villa, but he only could speak to Frau Schmidt, as Max had taken the children out for the day. He explained to her they had found the children and that they would be back tomorrow. He also asked how the funeral arrangements were coming along. Frau Schmidt explained that she had booked the church for that weekend, but had also explained to the vicar that it could possibly be cancelled if the children were still missing. He understood, and said he would suspend the funeral as long as he possibly could.

She had left out the personal details for Maria to decide. Frau Schmidt had give the florists notice, and explained that their order may be on short notice because of the children's disappearance. The vicar said he would talk to Maria once she arrives back, to see what she would like to be said, or if she would like to give a few words herself.

After thanking Frau Schmidt and saying he would let Maria know, he put the receiver down. Georg then asked the receptionist behind the desk if there were any clothes shops nearby for children.

She explained there was only one clothes store which sold for all people. He thanked her, and headed in the direction she had given him.

On returning back to the room, what he saw amused him at first. He walked over to the small group on the floor and couldn't help but watch for a moment.

After Alexandra had taken her bath, she too came over to cuddle up with her aunt and siblings. Maria had retrieved the duvet off her bed and covered all four of them, and together they had ended up falling asleep.

Maria felt someone else present, and fluttered her eyes open. When she saw the Captain standing over them, they shared a quick smile. And then he raised the bags in his hand to show he was successful with getting some clothes.

"Thank you" she said, whispering low not to disturb the children that were flat out in her arms, except for Alexandra who was resting her head on Maria's legs.

He placed the bags down at the side of the sofa that Maria and the children were leaning against. He whispered he too was going get cleaned up, ready for tonight. And with a quick nod of their heads Georg headed for the bathroom, and Maria carried on cuddling the children close to her, thanking God over and over again they were safe.

Maria sat for a moment, worried about what was going to happen to them all. But there was something else that concerned her, not one of the children had mentioned their mother. And she felt as if they were holding something back. There was something that needed to be said, and she felt she had to find out what.

"Me a dress… you gotta be kidding!" that was all Georg heard coming from behind the closed bedroom door. He couldn't help but chuckle, remembering what Maria had said about Alexandra never wearing a dress.

When at the dress shop he did try and find some shorts to carry on her top boy-ish look, but there were none in her size, so he got what he could find. Luckily they did have different style dresses, so he got one of the more plainer dresses. It was just cream, whereas Katharina's was light pink, with ribbons on the side of the shoulders. For Oscar, he had chosen a pair of trousers, because once again they had no shorts.

He could still hear Maria trying to convince Alexandra to put the dress on. Deciding to stay out of it, he took a seat next to Oscar, who'd been sent out of the room so the girls could dress.

"So are your clothes alright for you, young man?" Georg asked, wanting to make the boy more at ease in his presence. Oscar wasn't the shy type, he would always speak when spoken to. But being the age he was, he didn't know how to start a conversation, until he got to know something about the person that is.

"Yes thank you, sir," Oscar was sitting on the edge of the sofa.

They sat in silence for a moment, then Oscar thought of something to ask.

He turned towards Georg a little, "Sir?"

"Yes, Oscar?" spoke Georg, finding it a little amusing to be called Sir, as if this was a business deal. Georg did like it though, because it also showed the boy had been brought up with manners.

"May I ask you a question?"

"Yes of course"

"Are you my aunt's boyfriend?" At least up until now.

This had taken Georg a little by surprise, he knew there would be questions to answer, but this one was not what he was expecting.

He coughed a little, getting ready to explain.

"Er… no Oscar I'm not," he answered, although part of him secretly wished he one day might be.

"Oh…" Oscar was a little reluctant to say anything else. But he figured, he'd come this far and the man sitting beside him didn't seem to mind this question. He had not noticed Georg stiffen at his previous question, "What are you then?"

"What do you mean?" asked Georg, not understanding the question.

"Who are you?"

"Oh who am I, well… my name is Captain Georg Von Trapp…. And your aunt is my governess, well … I mean my children's governess."

"You have children?"

"Yes I do," Georg answered, with a proud smile across his face.

"How many?"

"Seven."

"SEVEN… wow!" which caused Georg to laughed at the boy's reaction. "Do you have boys?"

"Yes, two," Georg answered.

"You mean there's only two boys against er… five girls?" said Oscar in disbelief "That's got to be bad," Oscar's statement left Georg no option but to laugh. "Where are they?"

"Well they're at home, back in Salzburg."

"Will I get to meet them?"

"Of course you will," Pausing for a moment, and hoping what he played out for the future would come true. "If we ever get your sister to put that dress on that is," Georg said, looking towards the bedroom door, amused.

"Alex doesn't like wearing dresses," Oscar pointed out.

"Yes I heard… and now I can see that too."

Both gave out a sigh, "If she doesn't do what she told, can we still go down to dinner?"

"Yes of course," Georg answered, watching Oscar who was now rubbing his belly "Are you hungry?"

"Yes."

"Umm… tell you what, why don't we head down to the restaurant, and see if we can get some little things off the buffet table before dinner?"

"Well er…" Georg saw Oscar's hesitation.

"We'll ask your aunt first of course."

Oscar gave a little smile. "Okay!"

Georg strolled over to the bedroom door and knocked. "Maria"

"We'll just be a few minutes Captain" Maria shouted through the door. "Put this on now!"

"NO!"

Georg heard and couldn't help laugh, Maria had met her match in her niece.

Georg knocked again to get Maria's attention. "Maria, Oscar and I are just going to head down to the restaurant if it's all right with you."

The door flew open, enough for Maria to stand in-between the door and the door frame.

"There's really no need," Maria said, sounding frustrated and looking a little worn out in dealing with Alexandra.

"Yes there is, Oscar hungry and to tell you the truth so am I," he explained. Maria looked back into the room to give Alexandra a scolding look.

"I …well… you see…" Maria was trying to think of a way to explain things, why they were taking so long. But by the look on Georg's face, she could tell he already knew. He must have heard everything.

"Maria I'll leave you to get the girls ready, and take Oscar down alright? I promise I won't let him out of my sight, if that's what you're worried about," He finished with a reassuring look.

"Alright, thank you," she said and quickly closed the door, to start the discussion all over again.

Alexandra had her arms crossed as if to say no, and carried on being stubborn for quite a while. But luckily after a compromise, she did put the dress on. One because she was hungry, and two she was able to wear something she felt comfortable in. Ten minutes later all three were leaving the room.

In the restaurant Oscar eyes were wide, spoilt for choice when deciding what to have. After picking the first starter, soup and a roll, Georg and Oscar started to get to know one another a lot better.

"What sort of captain are you, sir?" Asked Oscar, curious after Georg had told him he was a Captain.

"Well… I'm a sea captain."

"Have you been on many ships?" Oscar asked, taken a sip of his chicken soup.

"Yes quite a lot, and a few submarines too."

"Wow. Have you ever shot anyone?" Oscar asked, excited to hear more.

"Yes, unfortunately," Georg answered, a little disappointed having to admit it. The one thing he did hate with the profession was the death, but he could not hide it.

"I like playing with guns too," this took Georg a little by surprise and was just about to speak when Oscar explained. "I play cops and robbers most of the time, and pretend my sisters are the baddies. It's fun when they play along, but when they're fed up they spoil it for me. They tell me to stop messing around and my guns not real, but I ignore them anyway and go play on my own."

The two carried on with the conversation, Oscar asking more questions about the navy and Georg explaining as much as he could for a four year old. He found the boy very intelligent for his age, and liked how keen he was to learn. This reminded Georg of himself a little at that age, how he used to play act with gun toys and, being an only child, understood how it was to play alone sometimes.

Maria and the girls entered the restaurant, and after locating the Captain and Oscar, made their way over to the table. Just before they sat, Georg saw what Alexandra was wearing and couldn't help but laugh.

Maria noticed and said "It was the only way to get her to put the dress on."

He couldn't help laugh more, but should of expected it considering he didn't buy any shoes for the children. Alexandra was wearing her brown ankle boots, still feeling her tomboyish self.

Dinner passed by, and the conversations never ran dry. And Oscar really did get his fill, especially after one and half chocolate puddings with ice cream, his favourite.

After dinner they all headed back to the room, deciding the children should have an early night. The girls were in bed at once. Just then, Maria and Georg (who was asked to come in and tuck them in by Oscar) came into the room.

Maria got a quick scare, "Where's Oscar?"

Maria and Georg turned quickly to a "Freeze!" The boy was laughing and trying out his cops and robbers on the two adults, who were amused and caused the girls to giggle.

Georg quickly picked Oscar up playfully, which caused the boy to giggle as he was placed on the bed. What came next shocked the whole room. "Can I call you my uncle?" Oscar asked as he was placed between his sisters.

Not knowing what to say, and not wanted to disappoint the boy he felt like he got to know very well in the last few hours, Georg answered with, "Well em… yes if you like," quickly looking to Maria "And if it's alright with your aunt"

For confirmation, they all looked towards her. With a quick nod she agreed and then kissed the three good night.

Closing the door to the bedroom, Georg walked over to the sofa and fell into it, trying to get relaxed. This left Maria deep in thought after what had just happened. Oscar had just asked the Captain if he could call him uncle. Did the captain want to be called uncle, by children that were not related to him? Deciding to find out, she sat down on the chair next to the sofa.

"That was a lovely thing you did back there," Georg looked at her a little confused "I mean… well allowing Oscar to call you uncle."

"Well he's a very charming boy, and I think as well as the girls he's gone through a lot in his life. So whatever makes him happy," He gave her a reassuring smile.

"You don't mind, do you?"

"I wouldn't have said yes if I did," he answered with a little grin.

There was silence and a little discomfort for a moment. Until Georg jumped from his seat, suggesting they ordered room service. After a long day, all he wanted to do now was unwind with a nice bottle of wine. He asked Maria if she would join him, but she declined but said she'd be happy with a pot of tea.

Maria and Georg sat talking for a while, he thought it was a bad idea to bring up her sister's funeral. But, knowing it had to be done he told her he'd already asked Frau Schmidt to make a start. Maria was extremely grateful, and the Captain reassured her not to worry about the money, and that they would talk about that later.

A moment later, Maria found the courage to speak about the baroness. She just didn't know how to start, with the Captain not mentioning her once the whole time they'd been away.

"I hope the Baroness won't be too upset for how long you been away, Captain."

This took Georg by surprise. He took a deep breath as he tried to give her a reply.

"Well I er… don't think so. You see we ended our relationship before we left."

"Oh," Maria said feeling nosey but not sure how she should continue. Georg noticed this and decided to explain what he could, leaving out some of the things Elsa had accused him of.

"Yes well… you see, I er guess I upset her, when I said I was going to accompany you."

Maria looked a little confused at this statement, "Well… why would that upset her?" she asked, but also knowing it had something to do with the Baroness saying she had no intention in playing the third party in a relationship.

"She didn't think it was appropriate for me to come along," he spoke, still in disbelief to what Elsa had accused him of.

Maria lowered her eyes once again in shame, remembering what the Baroness had said to her.

Georg saw Maria's reaction, and decided to explain a little more, hoping it would put her at ease. "You see, I don't think she liked the thought of me going off on a trip with another woman."

"Well…" taking a deep breath "I can understand that, but why end it?"

He took a deep breath ready to explain. "She gave me a choice, her or you." This confession knocked the wind out of Maria, not believing what she was hearing. He chosen her, over the Baroness... but why?

Georg continued, "You see Elsa can be one for jealousy… and I don't think she liked how our friendship had become. It has built these last couple of months, which I do hope you agree, we do seem to have a very good friendship and understanding, with my children"

Maria was reluctant to answer, "Well yes of course, even more these last three days," she added not daring to hold his stare.

"Yes" he said, under his breath

All Georg wanted to do now was pick her up, hold her in his arms and tell her how he felt, but he still believed it was too early for that.

Maria sat for a moment thinking if she should tell the Captain about seeing and talking with the Baroness back in Vienna. She didn't really want to keep secrets from him.

"I am sorry, for yours and the Baroness' separation."

Georg waved it off "No don't be, it would never have never worked out, we are two very different people." he looked towards Maria to get eye contact "at least I am now" he finished.

Maria drew her eyes away seconds later, and gave a quick yawn and decided it was time for bed. Then she realised there was only one bed left.

"Tired?" she heard the Captain ask.

"Er… yes" Mari answered, a little reluctant to answer.

"Well why don't you get yourself off to bed?" He rose from the sofa and looked down at it. "And er… I can get mine made up."

Maria caught on quickly and realising Georg was going to sleep on the sofa, she tried to offer him the bedroom, saying she would share with the children. But Georg was having none of it and said she needed to get a good night sleep. He knew she hadn't had one since they had left the villa.

After finally giving in, too tired to argue, Maria took the bed. Georg began to then organise his own.

The clock struck three in the morning, yet again another hour Georg had been woken up by the clock's chimes. He was just about to get off the sofa and throw it through the window, or out in the hall, when he heard a muffling sound coming from Maria's room.

Georg hesitated for a moment, waiting for the sounds to subside. They did not. He decided to go and check on her. He tapped at the door, but recieving no reply and hearing another series of muffled sounds, he entered cautiously.

What he saw was Maria dreaming and crying out in her sleep. At one point he thought he heard her say her sister's name, but he didn't know whether to leave her and hope she came out of it herself, or wake her. The latter could startle her, and he didn't want that either. But the sight of seeing her like this - tossing, turning, crying - was too much to bare, so he walked over and gently tried to bring her around.

Just as she was about to calm, he made a move to head back to the lounge.

"Captain," he turned and saw Maria, her eyes still closed. "Will you stay, just till I go back to sleep?"

"Of course," And he moved back to the bed. Georg was surprised when Maria scooted into his arms, and in response he held her. Slowly, he tightened his grip and he heard Maria sigh in relief.

Maria felt safe once again in his arms, and many more things she couldn't explain. But the one thing she did know was that the Captain was a true gentlemen. She fell back asleep not long after coming to this conclusion, and no one could ever change her mind.

: I really do hope you enjoyed this one. please do tell me what you think.

:):)