A/N: Sorry the last chapter took so long and if it didn't really make sense I was half asleep at the time lol. Anyway here's the next chapter and it was written in a bit less of a hurry. Sorry it's taken me so long to update but I've been away for three weeks, I'll try and update more regularly, promise.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Sound of Music or any of its characters (just in case you were wondering lol)

5. Edelweiss

Georg had never felt so relieved in his life. After eight weary days of trekking over the mountains they had finally found a small settlement, the first sign of human activity they had met on their journey. Now he stood on a hilltop, his seven children huddled around him, gazing down at the small village clustered below them. It was around teatime, and the smells of the inhabitant's dinners wafted towards them on the breeze.

"My stomach's rumbling" Kurt grumbled.

Georg laughed, "I think we all share your feelings this time. Come on lets go and see if there's anything to eat"

The children needed no further encouragement, their aching feet forgotten; they raced down the hill into the village. Georg smiled to himself before tiredly climbing down after them.

There was a small square in the centre of the village, with a few different shops. The Bakers were closed but the grocers shop was still open. Georg bought some bread and cheese, he didn't want anything too rich, because he knew none of them were accustomed to eating much, and he couldn't cope with anyone being sick right then.

They sat on a bench in the square, eating ravenously.

"Where are we going to stay tonight father?" Brigitta asked innocently. Georg groaned inwardly, he hadn't even thought about that yet. He looked briefly around them, in search of an inn or hotel. There was none. Just then Gretl came rushing over,

"Father, Father, come and see what we've found!" She dragged a weary Georg to the other side of the square. Tucked in the far corner was a small dressmakers shop. The blinds were drawn on the inside and a few notices were scattered on the window, announcing special offers in the shop and certain events going on in the village. The notice Gretl was pointing at was positioned in a prominent position in the centre:

APARTMENT FOR RENT

Spacious upper floor apartment, four bedrooms, kitchen, two bathrooms, three reception rooms.

Apply Within

"What do you think Father?" Asked Gretl, looking at him expectantly.

"Well…It seems alright" agreed Georg hesitantly. The only thing he was worried about was the cost. Money was something he had never had to worry about before, but now that they had lost a great deal of their wealth, he was going to have to be careful.

"We can always go and see though can't we?" He suggested looking at her disappointed face.

The shop appeared to be closed, but it looked as though there was a house attached to it, so he rang the bell at the door. They waited hopefully for a few moments but no one came. They were just turning away when they heard the door open.

An old woman stood there, her tall frame bent over a walking cane. She peered at them closely.

"Can I help you?" Her tone was quite formidable, causing Gretl to shrink back against her father.

"Erm...yes we…well we were um enquiring about the apartment?" There were not many times in his life when Georg had felt intimidated, but this was one of them. To his surprise, the woman beamed at them, as she peered at the children.

"In that case come right in" She moved back and held open the door. Liesl stepped cautiously inside, followed by the other children, while Georg brought up the rear.

"I'm Frau Schact," The lady explained.

" Oh, Captain Von Trapp", Georg took her extended hand

"Captain, eh?" She raised an eyebrow. "Well here's the key it's just up that staircase, you'll have to show yourselves round, I can't make the stairs anymore."

They all made their way towards the steps.

"Rent is paid every month, the first Monday, by 12 noon sharp" she called after them.

The apartment was much larger than Georg had anticipated. The rooms were all well sized, and it was freshly decorated and clean.

"This is our room" Gretl screeched, bouncing on one of the beds.

" Gretl, calm down" her father commanded. "Frau Schact won't have us if you make that racket"

"Are we really going to live here?" Brigitta asked. Georg smiled,

"It looks like it, at least for now" He sighed inwardly, he could worry about money at some other time, but how much was a place like this going to cost? he couldn't help thinking.

Georg woke at mid morning the following day. He lay for a few moments staring at the white ceiling of his room, trying to remember where he was. Slowly everything started coming back to him. He sighed contentedly, he felt so much better after a comfortable nights sleep. He strained his ears for sounds of the children, but instead heard someone singing. At first he thought it was the children, but then realised that it was a single voice, a female voice, slightly too mature to be Liesl's.

"Edelweiss, edelweiss, every morning you greet me" sang the voice. Georg froze.

Oh! How dearly he loved that song, the song of his homeland, the song of Austria. He remembered that memorable day in the sitting room at the villa, the day she had persuaded him to sing again, the way they had looked into each other's eyes. Could it possibly be? No! Don't be so stupid he told himself. But all the same, he couldn't resist opening the curtains to see who it was. He felt a surge of disappointment at the figure he saw. She was small and plump, her dark hair worn long. She had her back to the house as she hung out washing on the lines strung across the garden. He slumped himself down on the bed. Get a grip! A voice in his head told him. Move on, stop living in the past. Slowly he washed and dressed, before going down the steps that led to the garden. The woman was still singing and didn't hear him approaching. Georg cleared his throat loudly. She spun round. "Oh!" Her face turned slightly crimson.

"I didn't know you were…I mean…" Georg smiled,

" Oh no I haven't been here long, I just came to introduce myself". "Oh right" She smiled back at him,

"You must be the mistresses new tenant" She extended her hand for him to shake, first drying it in her apron

"I'm Helga, Frau Schacts general housekeeper". Georg took her hand,

"Georg, pleased to meet you. There's also several sleeping children upstairs." He saw her eyes brighten.

"Oh really? I adore children; I'll have to meet them all sometime. Where is it you come from?" They talked for quite a while, mostly about Austria and the political situation there. Georg asked if she herself was Austrian, but Helga laughed,

" No, I was born and bread in this very town, I've not been further than ten miles from here in all my thirty- two years." This information puzzled Georg,

"But the song you where singing, Edelweiss is an Austrian song". She smiled at his confusion,

" Oh no, my flat mate is Austrian, she's always singing, she taught me it." She squinted up at the sun,

"Goodness me, I've been out here far too long, the mistress will wonder what has happened to me."

"I'm really sorry for keeping you" Georg apologised, "I hope you don't get into any trouble". Helga smiled mischievously,

"Oh no! The mistress isn't the ogre she makes out to be, she's been very kind to me." With that she picked up the empty washing basket and made her way into the down stairs of the house.

The next morning Georg had to take the children down to the local school to enrol them, so he didn't see Helga, but every morning after that he would go down and speak to her, sometimes taking two mugs of coffee with him for them to drink in the sun.

And so the Von Trapp family began to settle into life in Switzerland. The children really enjoyed their new school,

"It is so small, Father" Gretl had commented when she came home on her first day. And indeed it must have seemed minute after their school in Salzburg and their boarding schools. There were only twenty-five pupils in all, and two teachers, so each child got a lot of supervision. However Georg was still concerned about Marta. She only picked at her food, and as a result was getting thinner and thinner. She had always been a quiet child, but now she rarely spoke, and was often found huddled in a corner rather than playing with her other siblings. He spoke to Liesl, but she seemed unable to solve the mystery either,

"Perhaps she's just taking a little longer to settle in than the rest of us" She suggested,

"Give her a bit more time and see how she goes". But he still wasn't satisfied, he felt that there was more to it than that, but when he tried to speak to Marta himself, to get her to join in with the others, she simply shrugged him off. Maybe Liesl was right, he should let her be for a while, and review the situation at a later date. Even so, he felt disturbed at the thought of one of his children hurting without him being able to help. Maybe they do need a mother he thought. I should have brought Elsa, just for their sakes. But what sort of a mother would she have made? If only…But it was no use dwelling on the past now, this was the present and he had their whole future to think about.

Then suddenly everything changed. That morning was a dull one. The skies were overcast and threatened rain. Georg woke suddenly, but he wasn't sure what had woken him. He could hear Helga singing as she hung out the washing. Hang on! What time was it? She would usually do the washing at 9'o clock, the children had to be gone for school by eight! He glanced at his watch it was five to eight. Damn! He hurriedly got up and went to wake the children. However as he opened the door Gretl ran passed, followed by Kurt and then Brigitta, Louisa and Freidric followed in a less hurried fashion.

"You're up!" Georg exclaimed, surprised

"Yes, not everyone has the privilege of lying in" Liesl teased, coming out of the girls bedroom. Then her face creased with worry. "Marta's not up yet, she says she doesn't feel well" She explained, "But I think it's just an excuse, will you go and see her."

"Of course" Georg smiled reassuringly at her, "You all get off, you don't want to be late, and I'll take care of Marta."

After seeing the other children off, he went into the girls' bedroom, Marta appeared to be asleep, so he left her, there would be plenty of time to speak to her later. He went into the kitchen to get some toast. Helga was still singing in the garden. He stopped in his tracks. Was that Helga? The voice sounded different, sweeter somehow, but yet familiar…and she was up much earlier than usual. He shrugged it off and began to make their mugs of coffee.

As he made his way down the stairs, a mug in each hand, he remembered about Marta. What if she woke up and found that there was no one there? I won't stay long he promised himself, as he placed one of the mugs on a table in the hall, so that the other hand was free to open the door. He opened it, and nearly dropped the other mug in surprise. The woman stood before him was not Helga, in fact she was the complete opposite, tall, slim, short blonde hair. She turned round at the sound of the door, and the mug fell from his hand, shattering into a million pieces.

Helga hadn't been feeling well for the past few days, and the previous night she had been sick, so Maria told her she would get up early and go and help Frau Schact for her. She had always been quite an early riser, at least when she wanted to be. She actually didn't mind doing the washing, she found something soothing about letting the warm water wash over her hands, and of course she was able to sing while she worked. She made her way outside. She really was beginning to enjoy her life here. She adored her job, they made such a variety of things in the shop as there was not much demand for clothes in such a small village, they also made curtains, drapes, furnishings, practically anything that could be made out of cloth. And as she had predicted, Helga and herself had become the best of friends, and Frau Schact's bark proved to be far worst than her bite.

She looked up at the gathering rain clouds as she hung out the washing, I hope it doesn't rain she thought to herself, then I'll have to bring everything in again. She heard a door slam in the upstairs apartment. She remembered how happy Frau Schact had been when she managed to rent the flat,

"You'll have to go and introduce yourself," she had told Maria, "They're Austrian too". She still hadn't got round to it. I really must find the time, she thought as she pegged out a bedspread. Helga often talked to the man; she said he was very friendly, and ever so handsome. Not another handsome man Maria had thought to herself, I think one of those is enough for a lifetime. Just then she heard the door open behind her. Well maybe I won't have to wait for an introduction she thought, as she turned round.

And standing there was …

"Captain!" Maria breathed. Was she dreaming, or hallucinating? She saw the mug slip between his fingers, heard it shatter as it hit the ground, but she felt detached, as if she wasn't really there, but simply spectating on the event taking place.

"Maria!" he met her eyes with his.

"What are you doing here?" They both asked at the same time, and then laughed, breaking the tension.

"Ladies first" their eyes were still locked.

"I work here," Maria explained. "What about you?"

"I live here" he grinned that lopsided grin, the one that sent shivers down her spine.

"We escaped from Austria a couple of weeks ago. They asked me to join their navy" His face was grim, and she knew that by 'they' he meant the Nazis.

"I can't believe you're here" She shuddered as she thought about the fate he and the children had faced.

"I can't believe it either" he grinned sheepishly, at last breaking the eye connection, looking down at the ground.

"I really must go and get a brush or something to clear this mess up."

"No its okay, I'll go and get one from the shop, it's nearer" she offered, but neither of them moved. It was as though they were rooted to the spot, unable to move, scared in case they were only dreaming; only imagining the other was there. Then a small cry came from the upstairs apartment.

"Oh that'll be Marta" Georg explained, "She's not feeling well today so she stayed of school."

"Oh dear, you'd better go and see to her" Maria said although inside she was screaming don't leave me, not again.

"But the mess…"

"It's fine I'll clear it up for you"

"If you're sure? Look, we haven't really had much time to talk, how about you come round for tea later, you can meet the children and we can all catch up" he didn't know where that had come from.

"Oh...oh yes that would be lovely, it's been a long time." She looked at him, and he felt that amazing feeling, as though he would fall right into the deep pool of blue that was her eyes, and never come out again.

"Well that's settled then, just come round when you finish work." He gave her one last smile, before backing into the house to a wailing Marta.

Maria stood for several seconds, just staring at the spot where he had been. She tried pinching herself, was she dreaming? Surely she couldn't have been talking to him not here, not now. She had left him behind in Austria, with the Baroness. She groaned, the Baroness! How could she have forgotten? Why on earth had she agreed to go to tea, when Elsa would be there, passing snide remarks and giving her funny looks? How could she have been so stupid as to forget? She returned to the shop slowly, thinking hard, what sort of excuse could she make to get out of it?

So that's it, hope you liked it, don't forget to R&R

L xx