"No!!!!"

Maria awoke with a start to the sound of muffled screaming.  For a few seconds she lay in a semi-conscious state thinking that she was dreaming.  Yet, after giving herself a moment to fully awaken, she knew that she was not. 

"Gretl!" she gasped at the realization of what the sound was.  Without hesitation, she leaped out of bed and ran down the hallway to the right wing of the house, where the children and the Captain slept. 

As she flew through the dark corridor, the cries continued.  Maria ran as quickly as she could and when she reached the bedroom door, she turned on the light and rushed to Gretl's bedside.

The chubby-cheeked little girl was tossing and turning vehemently and her face was contorted into a terrified expression.

Maria lightly stroked Gretl's forehead and called her name in a low voice. "Gretl.  It's all right, sweetheart.  I'm here now." She kissed her on the forehead and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear, stroking her cheek with the back of her hand.

Gretl's face gradually relaxed at the sound of her governess' voice.  She opened her eyes and then closed them again, realizing that she was safe in her own bedroom, and smiled faintly. "Fräulein Maria." she mumbled in her half awakened state.

Maria tucked her deeper into her bed and placed another kiss on her forehead. "You had a bad nightmare, sweetheart, but it's all right now."

Gretl nodded sleepily, but opened her frightened eyes.  Tears welled in them and her bottom lip began to quiver.  "Don't leave."

"Shh…I'll stay here with you until you fall asleep again," Maria whispered.  She reached underneath the bed, searching for Gretl's hand and took it in hers.  Sitting down on the edge, Maria leaned toward Gretl and began to sing a lullaby.

She continued until she felt Gretl's grasp on her hand go limp and heard the little girl's breathing steady.  With one last kiss on the cheek Maria turned around to return to her own bedroom.

As she moved away from the bed, she gasped at the sight of the Captain standing in the doorway.  He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded in front of him and his hair was tousled. 

Hearing Maria's surprise, his eyes opened wide and he smiled softly at her.

"Hello," Maria said in a low voice, absently looking upwards at his untidy hair.  She folded her arms in front of her chest, all of a sudden aware of the fact that she did not have her robe on.

In response, the Captain reached upwards and tried to smooth his hair.  He smiled warmly at her and pointed to the disheveled mess.  "This is something that not too many people get to see."

Maria smiled.  "Now that's what I picture a Sea Captain to look like," she quipped.

"Ah," the Captain said with a small, half-smile in her direction, recalling her initial remarks about his appearance.  "I'm sorry I startled you.  I heard the screaming and well…."

Maria shook her head and crossed her arms more tightly around her chest.  "She had a bit of a scare I'm afraid.  Breaks my heart to see her so upset, but I think she'll sleep now."

The Captain motioned for Maria to follow him out into the hall so that they would not wake Gretl up again.  She followed his lead and watched for a moment as he carefully shut the door behind them.

Turning around to face Maria, the Captain met her gaze and held it for a moment before Maria looked downward and began to knead her fingers.

"She hasn't been sleeping well at all.  Claims the monsters in her closet are trying to eat her."  The Captain smiled for a moment at the absurdity of the thought.

"I'll never know where they get some of their ideas from.  A child's imagination is in a class of its own," Maria answered with a sigh. 

"So the children must have put together a show stopping puppet show themselves?" he asked with a slight smile and raise of his brow.

Maria's initial look of shock faded into a genuine smile and she gave him a sidelong glance.  "Point taken," she chuckled.  She leaned against the wall and smiled up at the Captain without realizing it.

"I wish I knew how you did it all," he said in a serious voice, gazing intensely at Maria and taking a step closer to her.

Her laughter died down and she continued to look up into his eyes, unable to look away.  She could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest and almost had to remind herself to breath as they locked eyes.  Any thoughts of impropriety seemed to vanish as they looked at each other.  All Maria could think of was how right the flutter in her stomach and ache in her heart felt at that moment.

"I love doing anything with them," she barely whispered. 

The Captain took another step towards her, never removing his gaze.  "And they love you." 

He stared into her eyes, his own words hitting him full force.  His children loved her.  Not as a friend or a governess.  Not as someone who would play a few games with them and then leave.  No, they loved her as their mother and needed her.  And so did he.

He took another step forward toward Maria and now stood directly in front of her.  Giving her a small half-smile, he noticed that her cheeks were a deep crimson color against her cream nightgown.  "You're the best thing that's happened to them since their mother passed away," he mused.

Maria nodded modestly, casting her gaze downward to her lap.  "Thank you, Sir.  It means so much to me knowing they're happy."

All of a sudden, the sound of a closing door caused both of them to look upwards.  Instinctively, Maria stepped to the side and wrapped both of her arms around her waist.  She moved to the other side of the hallway, hoping the movement would cool her burning cheeks and calm her racing heart.

The Captain cleared his throat and glanced down the corridor at his now approaching daughter.  Glancing backwards toward Maria, he saw that she had her back turned to him and had placed her hand over her mouth.  He closed his eyes at the image, but quickly turned back to face Brigitta.

"Hello, Brigitta," he greeted her with feigned calmness.

"Is Gretl dreaming again?" she asked with a yawn, looking sleepily from her father to her governess, who was now turning in their direction.

The Captain nodded and placed his arm around his daughter.  "Fräulein Maria put her back to sleep.  Good thing she was here."  Again, he glanced at Maria and for a moment locked eyes with her.

Brigitta looked upwards to Maria and smiled.  "She's always talking about the green monster in her closet.  I personally think its Kurt.  He's always looking for ways to scare her," she said with a smug smile.

Maria gave her a sidelong glance and could feel the Captain turn his face in her direction as she spoke.  "Brigitta, what did I tell you about pointing fingers?" she asked with a chiding look.

"To not blame others where I wouldn't want them to blame me," Brigitta recited in a monotonous tone with a shake of her head.

Maria absently glanced upwards at the Captain and he met her gaze and smiled. 

Turning to Brigitta again, who had quickly recovered from her reprimand, the Captain raised his eyebrow at her.  "Now, young lady.  It's time for all of us to go back to sleep.  Say goodnight to Fräulein Maria."

Brigitta stepped toward Maria and hugged her and then hugged her father. 

"Good night, darling," Maria said with a genuine smile. 

Brigitta smiled at them both and turned to walk down the hallway to her bedroom.

Maria and the Captain watched her go before turning towards each other.  As they did, they locked eyes again and the question of what had almost happened was apparent on both of their faces.

"Well, good night," Maria said lowly, making a conscious effort to step backward in the direction of her room. 

"Good night.  I'll see you at breakfast," the Captain replied with reluctance.

Maria stood still for a moment, before nodding to the Captain and turning to walk back to her room.  As she stepped a few paces further away from him, she heard her name.

"Uh Fraulein?"

"Yes?" she asked with a tinge of nervousness in her voice, turning her body to face him.

"Thank you for everything.," he began hesitantly.  "Please know I appreciate it."

"You're welcome."

Maria paused for a few awkward seconds, unsure as to what she should say next.  Finally, she merely met his gaze and nodded.  "Sleep well."

She turned to continue walking down the hall when the Captain stopped her a second time.

"Fräulein, just out of curiosity, what was it that you said to Gretl at dinner tonight to get her to eat her vegetables.  I can never get her to even go near them."

Maria turned around to look at the Captain, and her wide eyes showed her surprise.   "Well, it really wasn't much, but it served its purpose," she told him.  Inwardly, she smiled to herself as she recalled the conversation.

The Captain leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.  "You have me wondering now," he grinned.

"Well," she said with a shrug, "I told her that she could be in charge on tomorrow's outing if she ate half of her beans and that she'd get a turn once a week from now on if she ate her whole pile."

"I see," the Captain said with a grin.  "Isn't that the way it works now?"

"Well yes, but she doesn't know that.  She still asks every day if it's her turn to decide.  She'll soon realize there are seven days in a week and seven children in this family," Maria chuckled. 

The Captain shook his head slightly and grinned.  His smile faded and he again met Maria's gaze.  He sighed deeply as their eyes locked again.

For a long moment, they stared at each other in silence, until suddenly Maria stepped backwards and broke the connection.  "Goodnight, Sir" she said with a final nod in his direction.

The Captain smiled at her and they each turned in opposite directions and walked down the corridor to try to get a few more hours of sleep in before morning.