Captain von Trapp's heart was pounding when Admiral von Schriver called him into his office. The Admiral and he had gone over the strategies for the deployment and with it happening so quickly he knew he was not getting leave, so why would the Admiral want to see him so urgently?

"You wanted to see me, Sir?" the Captain asked saluting in the required way that turned his stomach.

"Yes, Captain. Have a seat," the Admiral invited, "I invited General von Zimmer and Colonel Heinz to join us."

"Gentlemen," the Captain acknowledged, sitting down, "what's the trouble, Admiral?"

"What makes you think there is trouble, Captain?" the older officer asked.

"Sir, there is an awful lot of brass in this room and not all of it Navy. That usually signals a problem, Sir," the Captain answered.

"Captain, we'll come directly to the point then," Admiral von Schriver said, "It's come to our attention through institutions set up within the Reich for this purpose, that your loyalty is not directly and supremely on the Reich. Is that true?"

Captain von Trapp though he would choke at the question. How did they find out? Who? Not Friederich, he couldn't stomach it if it was his own son who fingered him as disloyal to the Nazis, even if it were the truth. The Captain knew he had to answer the Admiral's question as accurately as possible yet it must be what he wanted to hear as well.

"Gentlemen," the Captain began, "my first priority is to my family and to ensuring their health and safety as I'm sure it is for all of us in this room that are family men. I'm also loyal to my country, to Austria and whatever Austria is loyal to, I'll be loyal to as well. Austria is a part of me, Austria is a part of the Reich, and as such, I am part of the Reich and loyal to it." The Captain was forced to swallow bile that rose up in his throat as he swore allegiance to the very people that helped rape his beloved homeland, to the Third Reich, but he knew he must to save his family and himself.

The Captain's answer seemed to satisfy the members on the brass in the office. Admiral von Schriver even smiled. "Your family, Captain, should be your first priority. You're lovely bride is expecting a child, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is," the Captain answered.

"And your oldest girl, Liesl, is it? She's sweet on an S.S. man in the Salzburg telegraph office?" the General asked.

Before the Captain could answer, the Col. had his say, "You're oldest son, Frederich. He's a very loyal member of the youth, understands the principles perfectly, a very bright young man, like your middle girl, Brigitta, right?" the Colonel needled.

"And your little ones, Capt.," Admiral von Schriver continued, "they are adorable little girls, the apples of you eye, no doubt."

"And the other girl, what's her name? Louisa? She's quite the trouble maker, isn't she? I'd hate to see her get in trouble," the General said.

"And your youngest son, Kurt. He's truly his father's son...what an excellent cartographer; he takes after his father..." Colonel Heinz finished.

The Capt.'s eyes kept darting back and forth between the men as they recited intimate facts about his family, facts veiled in subtle threats. He knew how to rattle a man's cage, that's for sure. Capt. von Trapp took a long deep breath; his reaction would determine their actions.

"You certainly do your homework," the Captain replied, "My children are my pride and joy. They are all very special."

"Yes," Admiral von Schriver agreed, "and that's why we want to see them remain safe and happy. To that end, your villa will become a hospital for wounded Reich soldiers. The medical corp. staff will ensure the safety of your family."

Now the Captain was truly terrified but he could not show it to these monsters. He had to show relief, not the nerve numbing fear, "Well, that's a relief, let me tell you. With Maria expecting a child and the influenza in Salzburg, it will be a great comfort to me while I'm at sea to know that our excellent physicians are close by. Will it be Dr. Kreiger?" the Captain asked.

"No. Dr. Skinner, he's a younger doctor, but quite capable," the General replied.

"As I said, Sir, a relief," the Captain replied.

Three heads nodded and Admiral von Schriver rose, "Captain, our apologies for our doubt, but with the Reich so knew...and you were a known opponent..."

"I understand. I'd have done the same thing with one of my men," the Captain acknowledged, then, with a rapid salute, he left the room, but remained in the outer office trying to hear their conference.

"Well," General von Zimmer asked, "should we worry about him?"

"He's not loyal to the Reich on its own merit," Colonel Heinz pointed out, "but he does excellent work."

"He does," von Schriver concurred, "and he's fiercely protective of his family. We can use them to control him. He'll continue to work for us now that we hold this card."

Captain von Trapp had heard enough, and it made him that they'd use his family...his wife and children, but what made him want to cry was the innate parental knowledge that his son, his own flesh and blood was at the root of this evil.

A week later, visitors arrived at the villa von Trapp before the sun rose over the mountains. Franz did not sleep inside the house with the Captain gone, and Frau Schmidt had gone into Salzburg to tend to a friend who was ill with the influenza. That left Maria alone with the children and thus, the door answering responsibility fell to her.

Hastily, Maria pulled on her robe and went to answer the incessantly ringing doorbell. She nearly fainted at what she saw when she opened the door. Nazis, a full regiment of honest to goodness Nazis.

"Baroness von Trapp," the tall young man with a balding scalp and wire rim glasses asked in way of greeting, "I'm Dr. Wladyslaw Skinner, we've been requested to take over this villa as a hospital."

"Take over," Maria repeated stunned, "Where will my children...we have seven..."

Dr. Skinner raised one finger to his lips to quiet Maria's panicked protests, "Yes, I know, Baroness. Your children and you are to remain at the villa. We are going to use the outbuildings and the east wing of the house. May we come in?"

Maria knew she had no real choice in the matter, so she opened the door fully and stepped back to allow the men an easier entry, not doubting they would force their way in if she did not make it easy on them.

The raucous they caused when entering woke the children and scared them, but Liesl in her wisdom kept them all in the nursery out of the way and quiet.

"Those men might hurt Mother and the baby," Kurt whispered, "I'm going to go the Father's study and get his shot gun."

"Kurt, be silent," Louisa commanded, "they won't hurt Mother, Father's on their side."

"No," Friederich stated, "they shouldn't hurt her. Unless of course, they found out that our Father is a traitor and our Mother is his wh..."

A sharp slap across his cheek silenced Friederich's malicious tongue, "That is it!" Liesl all but shouted, "For months we've listened to you sing the praises of the Hitler Youth, and we've listened to you insult and ridicule Mother beyond comprehension and we've listened to you call our Father a traitor and a coward and we've said nothing, which makes us just a guilty, but no more. It stops here!" "You are Georg von Trapp's oldest son. You are first a von Trapp, second an Austrian, and everything else must follow behind that. If our birth Mother, may God rest her, could see you now, if she were here to see what you her first born son, her pride and joy, if she could see what you've become do you think she'd be proud?" Liesl asked tears running down her cheeks, "Well, she wouldn't be and Father wouldn't be and I'm not, none of us are. You're a disgrace to us, Friederich, you're not worthy of our family name, and we, your brother and sisters, will not allow you to continue behaving like this. So what's it going to be?"

The rest of the children closed ranks around Liesl, who was so overwrought with emotion her whole body was shaking, yet she refuse to cry until she heard Friederich's answer.

"If you buy into this nonsense about Father only doing what's right for us...you know he's a spy...you're all traitors," Friederich fought back against his siblings.

Louisa, Kurt, and Brigitta could not control their anger any longer and all three dove at their older brother. Gretl and Marta ran and hid against the wall. Liesl, still being the oldest, worked to separate the other four.

The scuffle in the nursery called Maria's attention and Dr. Skinner followed the pregnant Baroness upstairs. Maria threw open the nursery door and at the sight that greeted her, reached into her pocket and pulled out the Captain's old sea whistle. With a full breath, she blew a long high tone on the instrument. The familiar sound restored immediate order and the children unconsciously fell into the old familiar line.

Maria surveyed her children's disshelved appearances, Liesl and Louisa's tear stained cheeks and misarranged hair, Friederich's bloody nose, a long scratch on Kurt's arm, and a quickly forming bruise around Brigitta's eye.

"What is going on here? Is this anyway for respectable children from a loving family to behave? Is it?" Maria asked sternly.

"No, Mother," they chorused softly.

"What was that? I didn't quite hear you?" Maria pressed.

"No, Mother," they repeated louder.

"No," Maria repeated, "Well, if the answer is no, why were you all fighting? What is going on?"

Seven faces looked at her, but no one said a word. Only then did Maria notice Dr. Skinner had followed her upstairs. Sighing, she mad the polite introductions, "Dr. Skinner, these are my children, Liesl, Friederich, Louisa, Kurt, Brigitta, Marta, and Gretl. Children, this is Dr. Skinner."

Boys bowed and girls curtsied in acknowledgement of their guest, "How do you do?" the man asked, then to Maria, he added, "Baroness, I'm here to help in any way I can. My men and I appreciate your hospitality. Now, if you have this, uh, matter under control, I'll see the arrangements."

Maria nodded, "I have, Sir. Thank you."

When alone in the nursery with her children, Maria sat down on Marta's bed and asked, "So who's going to be the one to tell me what happened here? Liesl? Louisa?"

"We're sorry, Mother, things got out of hand," Liesl replied as a way of deterrence.

Maria shook her head, "It's not like my children to get 'out of hand'. Who or what started all this?"

Finally, Friederich spoke up, "Liesl did," he told her, "I was talking about our new guests and she didn't like what I said so she slapped me."

"That's not true," Brigitta declared, "Liesl did slap him, but it was because of what he said about you and Father."

"What did he say, Liesl that made you angry enough to strike him. We have a family rule against hitting," Maria reminded her.

"Yes, but...Mother, if you heard it..."

"Well, I want to hear it, Liesl. Now," Maria instructed in her sternest tone.

"Mother, please, don't make me repeat those things," Liesl pleaded.

"You don't have to," Friederich snapped, "I'll tell her what I said. I said Father is a traitor and you are nothing but..." Somehow Friederich could not bring himself to call his Mother that awful thing to her face, so he stuck to the story that they'd all heard floating about town, "He only married you because he got you into trouble."

The hurt in Maria's face gave even Friederich cause to stop once again. He'd only seen her look like that two other times since he'd met her, the first was when she'd returned from the abbey to learn of their Father's engagement to Baroness Schraeder and when their Father had announced that he was going to fight for the Nazis.

Maria, for her part, could not let that comment go, as she had so many other jibes of Friderich's. Instinctively, she put her hands around her middle as if to protect her unborn child from the venom of its brother's words. Taking a deep breath she began her reproach, "Friederich, from the moment I met you children, I've loved you and treated you as my own. I loved you, I defended you, I even battled your father for you, not getting anything in return, never asking for anything in return. Well, now, I'm asking for something in a way of compensation, a term you understand very well I know, and that is whatever your Father and I have done to make you hate us, please don't let it come between you and your brother and your sisters, because one day they are going to be the only people you have left.

"There's an old saying that goes, the loves of your life will leave you, your children will grow up and your parents pass away, they ones who are there from the cradle to the grave are your brothers and sisters. That is a very special connection, and this is meant for all of you now, please don't do anything to jeopardize that," Maria bit her lip hard as she tried to continue, "Now, I want you children to apologize to each other, clean yourselves up, and report for breakfast. Immediately!"

The children sprang into action at their Mother's new tone of voice. Usually, it was their Father giving orders like that, even after he married Maria he'd do it if he was angry with one of them. When Maria saw the family begin to move, she rose carefully and adjourned to her room to change her clothes. On her way there she was intercepted once again by Doctor Skinner.

"Is everything all right, Baroness?" he asked.

"Yes, everything is under control, Sir. But I would like to make one thing clear to you right now," Maria told him. "I'm responsible for my children and you are responsible for your men. I won't attempt to interfere with matters the concern your troops so don't attempt to interfere with matters that concern my children."

Dr. Skinner looked sheepish. He could tell that his new hostess did not trust him or like him or his men, and he could not fault her, he did of course, take over half of her house, "I only wanted to help," he said in way of apology, "A lady in your condition..."

"If...and that is a very big if, I ever need help with anything, you'd be the last one a very long list of people I'd go to about it. But if the event arises, and I do require your help, I'll let you know," Maria said in way of complete dismissal, before turning down the hall and going to her room, leaving a shocked Dr. Skinner staring at her retreating back.