A/N: The Queen of Cliffhangers is feeling merciful to her subjects today - do not always expect her to be so quick. :)


A Time to Witness

Max was right behind Georg, sprinting for the terrace, Philemona right behind them. None of them gave a damn about the women in the ballroom who had heard that muffled scream and were watching with frightened worry in their eyes.

The sight that awaited the three of them both terrified and surprised them. Herr Zeller was behind Maria, his left arm containing her around her waist, his right hand trying to cover her mouth. But Maria was struggling like a wild bird, continuing to scream behind his hand.

Max followed Georg running towards Maria, getting to them just as Herr Zeller gave a pained exclamation, his grip loosening around her. "You BITCH!" he yelled, holding his wrist in one hand. Noticing a red mark on his palm, Max realized triumphantly, So the mouse bit the snake!

This made it easier for Georg to pull him off of his wife with Max's help. Philemona immediately rushed to Maria and pulled her away from the men, holding her protectively.

What hit Max immediately upon getting close to Herr Zeller was the strong smell of whiskey; he was clearly intoxicated. But he didn't have long to smell it, as Georg had vice-gripped Zeller by the lapels and was practically dragging him away down the steps to the grassy lawn. The look on his face could only mean murder. Max immediately followed, worried about what Georg was going to do; he'd never seen a more scary expression on his face.

Of course Max followed them, prepared to pull Georg away from Zeller if he got too violent. But what happened next surprised him. Georg did not, in fact, turn violent the way Max feared he might. Instead, Georg just gripped Zeller's jacket tighter, almost lifting him off the ground, as he brought his face up to be square on with his.

"You touch, speak to, come near, or so much as look the wrong way at my wife again, I won't be nearly as generous with you as I am now, you pathetic drunk Nazi bastard."

With that, he roughly dropped Zeller to the ground as if he were dropping a full garbage bag of dirty diapers. Zeller, after collapsing on the ground, merely groaned, mumbled something incoherently slurred, got on his hands and knees, and promptly emptied his bowels onto the grass. Scowling in disgust, Georg prompted passed a very shocked Max on the stairs and headed back to Maria.

She and Philemona had witnessed what had happened and Max guessed that they had heard everything. Philemona still had an arm around Maria for support, and Maria only had wide eyes for Georg. Said man rushed to her and Max saw his hands reflexively rise and fall, as if he wanted to cup her face. "Are you all right?" he asked almost breathlessly, in a voice that touched Max's heart.

Maria's breath was coming out a bit forced, and as she nodded haltingly she said in her own breathless voice of shock, "Please take me home."

"Yes, let's all go," said Georg, holding his arm out to Maria's which she immediately took. Max, still in shock by the whole situation and catching his breath somewhat, linked arms with his sister, who was in much the same condition and looked more distressed than Maria. "This is all my fault," she whispered tearfully to her brother. "I never should have let her go out there alone."

"How could you, Georg or I have predicted something like this would happen?" responded Max fairly and consolingly, giving his sister's temple a kiss.

The twins followed the newlyweds into the ballroom, the four of them pointedly not meeting the gazes of the women and a few men who had witnessed the terrifying scene. So none of them saw the looks of sympathy and the beginnings of compassion, which became the start of the death of the rumors about Maria and Georg.

Georg immediately led Maria to Baron and Baroness Eberfield, who looked horrified that this had happened on their watch. "Baron, Baroness, you will forgive us leaving now, I am sure. There is a piece of filth who is, unfortunately, making a mess of himself, literally on your lawn by his own doing."

"He will never come within one hundred yards of my property again, Georg," said Baron Eberfield firmly with disgust. "You can be sure of that."

Baroness Eberfield reached out and cupped Maria's cheek. "I'm so sorry, my dear," she said, her voice thick.

Philemona noticed how Maria's breathing was becoming more shallow, and the little beads of sweat that were forming on her profile. "It wasn't your fault, Baroness," she replied breathlessly. "I can't thank you enough for the kindness you've shown me."

Baroness Eberfield smiled sincerely, dropping her hand to grasp Maria's. "I hope, even after this, we may see you again."

"You will."

Hearing this, Max felt a huge weight lift from his heart. Though Maria sounded shocked and weak from what had just happened, conviction was in her tone. She was a strong young woman, and fair also. She would be all right.

With that, the Barons and Baronesses bid affectionate farewells to each other. Max and Philemona embraced the two elders before they followed the newlyweds out of the ballroom.

The three of them who had run out onto the terrace could all sense something was wrong with Maria. Her steps were measured and slow, her breathing was coming shallower, and her face was nearly glistening.

Getting into the cool night air seemed to switch off something inside her. She stopped, tried to step forward, swayed a little, and with a soft, "Captain," she fainted dead away.

Fortunately, Georg being so close, he caught her and scooped her up in his arms right away. He didn't look surprised but devastated as he walked to the car with her in his arms. Max and Philemona had gasped, but they couldn't say they felt too surprised either, especially Philemona.

Riding home, sitting beside her brother in shotgun, Philemona felt terribly guilty. It had been her who had laced Maria's dress nearly as tightly as a corset, thinking it would help her. Because of that, Maria had felt the need to get some fresh air, putting herself in a vulnerable position of prey. Thank goodness she had gotten Georg and Max before something truly awful could happen. She had examined Maria as Georg had dealt with Zeller, and found that she received no wounds or tears from Zeller's man-handling, thank goodness.

Philemona glanced behind her, and her breath caught in her throat at the sight that met her eyes. Georg was still holding an unconscious Maria, cradling her in his arms lovingly, resting his cheek against hers, her head laid on his chest. He was murmuring things to her that Maria couldn't hear but Philemona sometimes could: "I'm so sorry…I never should have left you…I've chased you away for good, haven't I?...You changed your life for my mistake…I've ruined you…"

Philemona wanted to cry, especially when she saw a tear running down Georg's cheek. She realized that he felt as if this would be the one and only time he could ever hold her. Philemona could see what Max could now, that Maria couldn't, and that Georg was beginning to see in himself: a true, deep love.

The drive being short, Max pulled into the Von Trapp estate and parked the car near the garage for Franz to take care of in the morning. The twins led the way to, into and through the house, Georg still carrying Maria in his arms, hardly ever taking his eyes off of her. Eventually, they ended up outside of Maria's bedroom. When Max opened the door for Georg to carry Maria in, he suddenly stopped. After looking down at Maria longingly but decidedly, he said, in a broken sort of voice, "Take her, please, I…I promised I would never come in here without her permission…I don't have that."

Now Philemona really wanted to cry. After Max gently took Maria from Georg, Philemona hugged Georg tightly. "I'm so sorry I let her alone, and her dress was bound too tight making her faint, I should have seen…"

"It's all right," said Georg, hugging her back. "You would never do anything to hurt her, unlike some. If you saw any of what happened coming, you would not have done the same thing."

Max, who had by now placed Maria gently on her bed, had come back to them and embraced his sister too. Breaking apart from her brother, she told them, "I'll loosen her dress and stay with her until she wakes up."

"Thank you," said Georg. "Thank you both." Then he walked into his own room, and a more defeated, heartbroken man the twins had never seen.

"Oh, Max, what's going to happen? What can we do?"

It both relieved and spiked her curiosity to see her brother a little more calm and hopeful. "I felt this feeling on their wedding day but I feel it even more strongly now: everything will be all right. Trust me, sister. Have I ever been wrong?"

Philemona finally managed a small smile. "I decline to answer that, but I hope with all of my heart you are right."

After exchanging another tight hug, Max headed to his room, already undoing his bowtie, and Philemona closed Maria's bedroom door, leaving her in the room with the young woman. Immediately, Philemona sat her up and completely loosened the laces on her back. Laying her back down, Philemona was relieved to see her breathing become easier, deeper, and color came back to the poor girl's face. About a minute later, her eyes slowly opened, blinking and then focusing. She sat up, breathing heavily, surprised to find herself in her room and surprised to see Philemona sitting in a chair by her bed.

"Oh, Maria!" said Philemona, moving to sit on the edge of the bed so she could hug Maria. "I'm so, so glad you're all right. I'm just glad we got there just in time!"

Maria returned the hug, almost slumping against Philemona's slightly buxom figure. "What happened? I think I…did I pass out?"

"Mm-hm," said Philemona, pulling away to look at her. "And feel free to blame me, because it was the combination of your tight laces and the shock of what happened that contributed to that."

"Oh, don't blame yourself," said Maria. Her voice was distant, tired, but not sad or devastated. "Looking back, it was a lot of things. I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner."

"Are you all right, truly?" asked Philemona, looking closely at her, not seeing any real danger signs. "When I think of what Herr Zeller could have done to you…"

"Hmph!" said Maria, surprising Philemona. "I could smell alcohol before he even got onto the terrace. I knew he couldn't do all he wanted even if he tried. Drunk men are so pathetic."

It surprised but relieved Philemona to no end to hear this bite in Maria, just like the bite she had given Herr Zeller's hand. She hugged Maria again with a happy laugh.

Maria said, when they pulled back, "Go get some sleep, Philemona. We're all tired, and I'm fine now, really I am." Her voice sounded tired again; her eyes had a strange expression.

But Philemona felt no real worry for her, so she got up and nodded. Right before she closed the door, Maria said, "Philemona?"

"Yes?" The older woman looked at the younger woman sitting on the bed. She looked to be in a state of numb wonder.

"Could you give me your own definition of what a monster is?"

The question surprised Philemona, but she soon got over that and thought about it before answering. "I would say…a monster is a creature of pure, selfish instinct. It will do anything and hurt anyone for it's own gain without a second thought."

She watched Maria absorb this by nodding slowly. When she looked at Philemona, there was a look of dawning realization and sadness in her eyes. Softly, she said four words, her tone perfectly mirroring her eyes.

"That's not my husband."

Philemona felt her heart fill, remembering what she had seen in the back of the car, and knew she would never doubt her brother again. She rushed forward and the two women shared a third hug. "No, that's not," said Philemona, nearly crying.

The two women kissed each other's cheeks and bid each other good-night.

Philemona went to bed that night exhausted but with hope in her heart.