Hello everybody! Here's chapter 23! Hope you'll like it!

Many thanx for your so nice reviews, they are really warming and touching...

Usual disclaimers here.

Another big thanks for my prereaders, their help and constructive comments (even if I can be quite stubborn, can't I Franziska?)

Salzburg, von Trapp villa, September 25th 1937, morning

Frau Schmidt smiled as she walked out of the dining room where everybody had gathered to have the ritual breakfast together. The children were talking animatedly, laughing, joking, expressing in every way their happiness on the start of a new day. There was nothing in common between this joyful and peaceful breakfast and the tense, silent ones that used to happen in the past years. The Captain's cheerful laughter resounded suddenly in the room, soon followed by Fräulein Maria and the children's ones. Nothing in common, indeed. She should be used to that drastic and positive evolution. However, at times, she could not help but wonder at the events of that blessed summer. When she witnessed such a sweet family reunion, when she saw guests welcomed again in that household, she could not believe that, only a few months before, this villa really looked like a ghost ship ruled by a dead man standing. A ghostly and lost ship that had been steered back to its harbour at last by an extraordinary young woman. The old woman was walking to the kitchen in order to get some more coffee and tea when she noticed the last guest going down the main stairs, calmly adjusting his tie.

"Good morning, Herr Detweiler," she greeted him with a smile. She had known him for twenty years and she had never seen him on time for anything, which always had unnerved the Captain to no end, especially during the past years.

"Not a word, Frau Schmidt, not a word!" Max warned her, pointing his index finger at her with a mock warning expression then went on: "By the way, good morning to you. I guess they almost have finished, haven't they?"

"I would not dare, Sir. And, well, the Captain and Fräulein Maria have, as well as your wife and your daughter. As for your son, I'm afraid he's too busy answering the children's endless questions to have a proper breakfast for the moment. Moreover, I think that little Kurt is eating his fourth slice of buttered bread right now," she explained, her eyes sparkling.

"Oh, is that so? I'm not that late, in the end," the self proclaimed "lazy sponge" commented mischievously and resumed his walk to the dining room.

In the meantime, a lonely figure strolled lazily in the old streets of Salzburg, letting his feet guide him, unconsciously following the familiar paths of his childhood. The stern walls of the old Jesuit school. The fountain where his older brother had thrown him one day when he had bothered him too much. The bridge across the river where he liked to stay on sunny days, reading a book, making a drawing out of his surroundings or simply wishing he could find the courage to ask his brother to let him come with him in the mountains. Viktor sighed as he sat on the old familiar bench. Courage. From his childhood, that always had been his problem. People said he was the perfect, respecting and obeying son whereas Georg was the infamous, rebellious one. They liked  and congratulated him for that whereas they feared his brother's unpredictable outbursts. Little did they know that he always had admired, envied Georg's freedom, his freedom to think and to act as he wished. He had been and still was just a sheep among many other sheep. On the contrary, the Captain was a tiger, free to have Hungarian or Jewish friends when people tried to deny such infamous acquaintances, free to decide who his enemies were even if everybody kept on telling him that the Anschluss was the best thing that could happen to Austria, free to marry some Czech girl just because he loved her.

Georg was everything he was not. So, because he never had his brother's courage to stand up against their father or their teachers, because he never had his hiking or skiing abilities, because he always had been left alone wishing he could do the same things as he, Viktor had chosen to despise him, to criticize his improper behaviour, to be the perfect aristocratic son forever. As a result, they had hated each other for years, drowning themselves in that sea of misunderstanding and not wanting to swim up to the surface.

Elsa's words echoed once again in his mind. "Georg asked me to tell you that you can visit whenever you want..." He hated to admit it, but that sentence had waken up long forgotten feelings and aspirations in him. Of course, the past was the past and there was no way he could change it. However, if only he could help Georg just a little in such dark times, if only he could find the courage to do something that would make his brother proud of him, that would be largely enough. Viktor stood up, watched the river from his bench one last time and began to walk to the villa which had been his "home" years ago.

Max tried to hide his smile behind his cup of coffee as he noticed seven pairs of eyes watching at him, anxiously waiting for him to finish his breakfast at last. Of course, most of the strict rules that his friend had imposed over the last years had disappeared. However, some had remained, and especially those concerning family meals. For instance, the children were supposed to wait for everybody to finish their meal before getting up and going out to play. As a result, a few minutes earlier, Louisa and Brigitta, who certainly had thought they would be able to get up at last, had gazed at him angrily when he had asked Frau Schmidt some more bread to finish his breakfast. The man smiled once again. Deciding it was high time to put an end to their torture, Max put his cup down and cautiously folded his napkin.

"It was perfect, as usual, Georg," he declared, grinning internally when he noticed the seven relieved and beaming faces who stared at him. "Let me add I sincerely wish you a very long honeymoon so that I can enjoy tremendous meals like this one for a month at least, Captain!" he added not paying attention at Emilija warning gaze.

"You'll never change," the said Captain sighed, shaking his head. "Honestly, at times I wonder how you can put up with such a man, Emilija," he added while taking Maria's hand in his own.

The patient woman was about to answer when a little voice tried to interrupt the adults' discussion.

"Father?" Marta asked timidly.

"Yes darling?"

"Do we have the permission to go now, since Uncle Max has finished his breakfast?" Brigitta spoke to help her sister, not without shooting another disapproving glance at the older man.

"Of course, children. You can go and play now," their father authorized much to their relief.

As the children rushed out the dining room happily in front of the adults' amused stares, Emilija commented ironically:

"Captain? Don't you think it would be wise to amend your rules just a little bit?"

"What do you mean?" he enquired, feigning ignorance.

"Well, my love, I think she means that we could authorize the children  to get up when everybody except Max has finished eating. Am I right, Emilija?" Maria went on with the joke, smiling mischievously.

"Something like that, indeed," the older woman confirmed while her children almost burst out of laughter.

"You're right, ladies," Georg replied, his eyes sparkling. "I'll think of it seriously. I mean, it's quite unfair to ask the children to stay here for hours because the expression "being on time" had never been part of their uncle's dictionary, isn't it, Max?" he added, an amused smile forming on his lips.

"Pfff, I don't pay any attention to your mean comments, you know. By the way, it's all your fault my dear friend," Max replied back with mock indignation.

"Is it?" the others asked in chorus, curious to hear what the man would invent this time.

 "Indeed Georg, if your beds weren't so comfortable, I never would be late for breakfast," he concluded, vainly trying to look hurt.

Viktor was about to knock on the door when he heard a huge burst of laughter coming out from the dining room. In the background, the children's happy voices were resounding. This joyful atmosphere was so different from the cold one his brother and he had known during their childhood. A broad smile began to form on his usual severe face. Even if people in Vienna and in Salzburg kept on saying that Captain von Trapp was making an enormous error, he, as for him, could not help to be curious to meet the young woman who had realized such a miracle in making out of this once dark household a joyful and bright one. As a result, for that and many other things, he had to find the courage to knock on his door at last.

Frau Schmidt walked to the main door hurriedly, wondering why Franz had not answered it yet. The old woman sighed. She could feel that something was wrong with the old buttler but she did not want to worry the Captain uselessly. She reached the door at last, opened it and almost shouted out of surprise:

"Baron von Trapp?"

"Good morning, Frau Schmidt, always true to your post, I see," he greeted her humbly, holding his hat politely. "Is my brother here, please?"

The woman gasped. She just could not believe that the younger von Trapp was standing just in front of her. He was older, of course. He wore glasses now and his hair was turning grey. However, she had recognized him the very moment she had seen him. He looked so much like his brother, and, above all, like their father. He was still the same, yet, she never had seen him act so humbly, so timidly.

"Of course, Baron," she replied after a while, having recovered from her previous surprise. "Please come in, I'm going to tell him you are here," the old woman concluded and let him walk inside, still wondering what was the reason of such a sudden visit. As she walked hurriedly to the dining room, she silently prayed that this visit had nothing to do with Fräulein Maria and the Captain's upcoming wedding. The horrible gossips she had heard in town were largely hard enough to cope with, they did not need to listen to the man's  certainly ironic and mean comments. Neither the happy couple nor the children needed that. Not now that happiness had just came back in this household.

The very moment Viktor stepped into the house, memories from the last time he had been here came back to him, hitting him like a hammer, hurting him in the flesh. Bad memories to say the least. Seventeen years ago, Georg and he had had a huge fight, the worst one they ever had. What was it all about, by the way? Certainly the whole thing had been once again about politics and war, as usual. The man desperately fought the desire of running away as he lived the terrible scene again. They had had an argument about war and politics, about the rising fascist movement in Italy he remembered more exactly. Soon, mean and bitter words had become angry shouts which suddenly had been silenced by a furious blow that nearly had broken his jaw. His older brother always had been stronger than he. Finally, Georg litteraly almost had thrown him outside and told him he did not want to see him in this house anymore, which he did until this day. Trying to make the bad memories go away, Viktor curiously watched his surroundings. The same main hall. The same grandiloquent staircase. Nothing had changed. He remembered how much Georg and his childhood friend Stefan used to enjoy sliding down the banisters. He had tried to do the same, once. Nonetheless, their father had caught him, severely sermoned him and sent him back to his books, as usual. Viktor sighed sadly. Their father. The Baron never had cared about his sons' wishes or about his wife's suffering. The one and only thing that ever mattered to him had been his reputation, the honour attached to his name, to his title. Still patiently waiting in the hall, the man was thinking about how well he had followed his father's path when it hit him. Ever since he had walked in the house, the feeling that nothing had changed even if the atmosphere was somehow drastically different had submerged him. Peaceful happiness seemed to float in the air. Gone was the constant tension he had known during his childhood as well as the stuffy paternal presence. Nothing had changed, but, at the same time, everything was different. It must have been one of the numerous Agathe's deeds. It surely was his future sister-in-law's deed. Once a prison, the villa had become a harbour, a shelter that seemed to protect his inhabitants from the present darknesses. Viktor knew then what was the real reason of his sudden visit.

Maria and Georg were slowly walking hand in hand to the terrace where the children were playing when Frau Schmidt called them. The couple stared at her worried. The old woman was pale, looking as if she had just seen a ghost.

"What's the matter, Frau Schmidt? Nothing serious, I hope," Maria was the first to speak, anxious to know what was the reason of the woman's obvious surprise.

"Nothing to worry about, Fräulein,"  the woman answered as calmly as she could. Then, closely studying the Captain's reactions, she went on. "I was looking for you, Sir, to tell you that your brother is waiting for you in the hall."

 Georg gasped, holding his fiancée's reassuring hand tighter. Viktor? Here? What on earth did he want? The well known feeling of contempt began to fill him inconsciously. Then he remembered his last talk with Elsa about his brother's surprising wish to help him. Fear replaced contempt. Not now... It was too early... Even if he had started to organize a few things with Isaac's help, he was not ready yet!

"Mani? What's happening?" he heard an obviously worried Maria ask without really understanding what she was saying.

"If you agree, Sir, I can tell him you're too busy to talk with him," Frau Schmidt proposed, knowing the two brothers' unfamous enmity too well.

Waking up from his transe at last, he gently squeezed the young woman's cheek before talking to the older one.

"That's alright, Frau Schmidt. Maria and I are going and welcome him," he uttered with difficulty, surprised by the warm and unknown feeling that now was menacing to submerge him.

Viktor was still watching  the grandiloquent staircase dreamingly when the sound of a door opening startled him. Once again, the wish of running away almost took the best of him. What on earth was he doing here? What was he looking for exactly? Hell! He had many other more important things to do than trying to talk some sense into some stubborn and proud man, than proposing his help to a seasoned soldier who did not need his advice, than desperately seeking his brother's  gratitude and approval. However, Georg's surprised greeting did not let him the time to ponder about the real goal of his visit anymore.

"Good morning, Viktor," his brother welcomed him simply in a soft tone.

"Good morning, Georg," was his mere timid answer, his voice just above a whisper.

The two brothers looked at each other for a few seconds, unable to find the right words. How would they been able to start a normal discussion after years of enmity and ignorance? The younger one was fighting hard to find something to say which would express his current feelings without hurting his pride too much when he noticed the silent but radiating presence next to his older brother. A beautiful young woman in her mid twenties was standing next to Georg, holding his hand reassuringly, looking at him curiously yet gently. Maria. Viktor tried hard not to let a smile appear on his usually severe face. So he was able to meet the "manipulative, ambitious little whore" as they called her in Vienna at last. As he had felt it since he first had heard of that story, she did not look like that at all. Instead, a stunning young woman stood in front of him, silently but expectantly witnessing the tense reunion. He almost got lost in her kind blue eyes which strangely seemed to give him more strength, just like her gentle hand certainly was comforting his brother. How could such a young woman, almost a girl, be so reassuring? That was beyond him. Still, at that very moment, he clearly understood what kind of "devil" had possessed his brother and pushed him in doing such a foolish thing as they kept on repeating. Good Lord! She was not a devil, not at all. She was a little bright angel. A blessing for Georg and his children.

Both strenghened up by her silent encouragements, the brothers suddenly started to speak again at the same time.

"Glad to see you here. You seem to be tired," Georg mumbled timidly.

"I'm honoured to meet you at last, Fräulein. How do you do?" Viktor politely saluted Maria, much to the couple's surprise, and gently kissed her hand.

"How do you do, Baron von Trapp?" Maria stuttered, a bit confused at the visitor's action.

Georg looked at the scene in front of him unbelievingly. He never would have wished or hoped that his rather snobbish brother would approve his upcoming wedding in anyway. Still...

"Excuse me," he mumbled again. "Maria, this is Viktor, my brother. Viktor, this is Maria, my fiancée," he tried to introduce them to each other more properly, even if he had the slight feeling that the whole thing was getting quite ridiculous.

The two others must have felt the same way since Maria let out a small giggle, soon followed by his own timid chuckle. Finally, Viktor, the usual and always severe Viktor, joined them, smiling broadly.

"We're ridiculous," the younger von Trapp whispered before letting out a bitter laughter.

"Yes, we are," his brother responded. "Now, can you tell me what kind of devil pushed you to leave your dear Vienna for our old city lost in the mountains?" he went on, more sarcastically than he had wanted to. Georg cringed inwardly. "Way to go!" he thought, angry at his own clumsiness. The gap that years, mutual contempt and ignorance had dug between them was large and deep and there was nothing that could fill it again. They were able to stand in front of each other again, but, as hard as they tried, irony, sarcasms always would tarnish their discussion and relationship. Viktor did not answer immediately. Maybe he was pondering about the same things as he.

"Well... Fresh air... A young and beautiful young woman I was very anxious to meet," he replied at last, after a few seconds of reflexion, bowing at Maria. Then he added, more darkly: "And a few other things."

Both Maria and Georg stared up at him, surprised by his sudden dark tone. The three people in the hall looked at one another for a while, as if they tried to reach the other's inner thoughts. Georg immediately understood what his brother meant and his discussion with Elsa began to haunt him again. Maria was not blind. In spite of her current blissful happiness, she knew that darkness was menacing the world they knew. The Nazis in Germany. The growing rumors about the Anschluss, the creation of a Grossdeutschen Reiches. The fascists' intervention in Spain. Too many signs that announced an upcoming disaster, she could feel it. A disaster that would not spare their peaceful harbour. As for him, Viktor thought again about what he heard in Vienna the week before, about the growing worries the Chancellor and his government were not able to hide anymore.

"Let's go to my study," Georg simply said and motionned his companions to follow him.

"You're sure that..." Viktor protested weakly, showing the young woman.

"Maria deserves to know," was his brother's short answer. With that, a quite worried Georg led his fiancée and his brother to his study.

Quietly sitting on the terrace, Emilija and Max smiled broadly as they saw the von Trapp children insisting that Nadia and Goran joined them in their ballgame. Max, especially, was relieved to witness how naturally and gently they had accepted his long hidden family. Even if he knew that Georg and Maria were delighted to see him able to live with his family at last, he inconsciously had feared the children's reaction. They were so young, they had been raised so traditionnaly, how could they have understood such an unusual situation?

"Much ado about nothing," he thought, amused by his stupid previous worries. Since their arrival at the villa, the children had welcomed them as if they always had been part of the family, happy to have new friends who they could play with. They had been alone for such a long time!

"Max? Can I ask you something? Who are the friends you're waiting for tomorrow?" Emilija's anxious question woke him up from his reverie. She already  had met Georg during the war, so seeing him again had not been a problem at all. However, even if she hid it, she was a bit afraid to meet their other friends, afraid that they would not approve their rather unusual situation. Patting her hand reassuringly, he answered with a gentle smile.

"Oh, just some friends from the Navy and their families. Very sweet people, you'll see. And you can be sure they'll accept you and the kids in the same way as the von Trapps already have," he explained, studying how relief replaced worry on Emilija's face. "Absolutely nothing to worry about, my love," he concluded, bending a little to give her a light kiss on the lips.

Then, as if talking about Maria and Georg made him notice that somebody, or, more exactly, two persons were missing on the terrace, Max shot a curious glance around him and saw a rather pale Frau Schmidt walking to the terrace, holding a tray.

"Frau Schmidt?" he called her as soon as the old woman had put the tray down on the table.

"Yes, Herr Detweiler?" she answered, unable to control her shaky voice.

"Do you know where Fräulein Maria and the Captain are? They were walking behind us but they seem to have disappeared," he asked a bit worried. If he had not seen the old woman so pale and visibly shaken, he coud have thought that they would have hidden somewhere, enjoying a short moment of privacy and he never would have dared to ask such a rude question. However, Frau Schmidt's obvious discomfort told him that something was wrong.

"Well," she stuttered, as if she tried to put some order in her ideas. "The Captain's brother is here," she finally stated after a few seconds of silence.

Max almost let the glass he was holding fall. Viktor? Here? What the hell? Then, he stood up hurryingly, and without uttering a word, began to walk into the house, leaving Frau Schmidt explaining the situation to a rather confused Emilija.

Author's notes:

Sorry guys if I'm letting you with a small cliffhanger... In fact, the chapter is really long so I decided to split it in two so that it is easier to read... Next part will be posted as soon as I get five reviews... I know you can do it!