Chapter Sixteen
Two months later

They family settled in; Max was a permanent fixture at the villa. He had been at the birth of every von Trapp, and he didn't plan to treat this baby any differently.

The rumors were flying around town about how the illustrious Captain von Trapp had gotten his postulant turned governess pregnant. Maria did her best to ignore the gossip, she was happier than she had been in her life after she'd unburdened her soul to Georg.

Every night in his study and then in their suite, they would sit and talk, discuss the family, discuss its future, then hold one another close in their sleep. When Maria was sick, Georg was there with a cup of warm hot chocolate and a soothing hand.

Finally, as Maria entered her second trimester, the awful sickness stopped and she settled into the idea of becoming a mother, though it was hard for her accept the origin of the child.

During the day, she could fake it and pretend the baby inside of her was put there in love, but at night, in the comfort of Georg's arms, the fear that she couldn't accept this child when it was born crept up from inside of her.

Georg listened to her fear, he didn't trivialize it or try to assuage it, he knew it was real, he felt it himself, but he was in a different position than she was, he could love the baby as part of Maria; however Maria was still struggling to love herself.

One cold winter's night, as Georg and Maria lay sleeping spooned up against one another for solace and warmth, the bedroom door slowly slid opened.

Maria heard it first, a small yet hard cough and the pitter patter of little feet approaching the big bed. Georg woke when Maria moved to sit up, "Are you all right?" he asked quickly observing Maria for signs of distress.

"Yes," Maria replied. "Marta's in here. What's the matter, Darling? Did you have a bad dream?"

Marta shook her head and climbed up on the bed with her parents. "No," she squeaked out, she had almost no voice. "I don't feel well. My throat hurts." She covered her mouth to cough again and snuggled next to Maria. "Can I sleep in here?"

Maria could feel the warmth off Marta's body through her night gown. "Georg, this child is burning up! Call the doctor quickly."

Georg was already putting on his pants when Maria gave him that instruction. He reached out for Marta, "Come with me, sweetheart. We're going to lie you down on the sofa, we'll fix you right up. Don't you worry, come to Papa."

Marta didn't want to let go of Maria, but Georg pulled her gently and she went to his arms. He carried her to the settee and laid a light blanket over her. She looked pale as a ghost in the dim lamp light.

Georg phoned the doctor who promised to be out posthaste, then watched as Maria prepared a basin of cool water. "I think I should take care of her, Maria," Georg whispered. "We don't know what she has. It could be a simple upper respiratory illness, or it could be influenza or measles, you must be careful."

"Georg," Maria protested. "I'm healthy and strong…"

He cut her off, "But the baby isn't. Please, do as I ask. Keep your distance for now."

"I've already been exposed when she climbed into our bed," Maria reminded him.

"Yes, but for mere moments. Let's wait for the doctor, if it's something that could harm the baby, let's not compound the problem. Please."

The look in his blue eyes forced Maria to acquiesce. "All right, but if she's crying for me…"

Georg nodded and took the bowl and cloth over to Marta along with a cool glass of water. "Sit up for me a little bit," he encouraged. "That's a good girl. Take a few sips, I know it hurts but water will make you feel better, I promise."

Marta was normally an obedient child, and this was no different. She did exactly as Georg asked. She didn't fight or fuss when he started to cool her off with the rag though, of course, she asked for Maria.

"Mother has to wait for the doctor to come before she can be over here," Georg explained. "Remember she has a baby in her belly and if Mother gets sick, the baby might get sick too."

"I don't want the baby to get sick," Marta replied. "It feels too yucky."

Georg sat on the settee and pulled Marta into his lap to hold her close, "I know it feels yucky, but I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. Mother is waiting for the doctor, and he'll give you some medicine to make you all better, okay? Papa's here, I'm right here."

Marta fell asleep as Georg rocked her. Meanwhile, Maria paced the length of the villa's grand entrance as she waited for the arrival of the family physician.

"You were right to keep the Baroness away from Marta, Georg," the doctor told the concerned father and husband. "It's influenza. There's not much I can do except to treat the symptoms, manage the temperature and the soreness with medication, give her plenty of fluids, and let her rest. I'm sure it'll make its way through the nursey before the week is out."

"She was holding onto Maria before we noticed she had the fever," Georg replied. "What's the risk of her catching it? They were in contact all the time the last few days."

"Maria is stronger now than she was during the worst of the morning sickness, but if she does contract this, it will be more taxing," the doctor replied. "I'll prescribe a tonic for her to help boost her system, but it could already be too late."

Georg nodded, "Leave me the remedies and I will see that Marta and Maria take their medicine."

The doctor left aspirin to treat Marta's fever, aches and pains, and prescribed menthol treatments for her congestion. He left a variety of instructions for Maria, Georg, and the children that were still healthy, including the newer Vitamin C supplement. It had a hefty price tag, but if it did help fight off illness like they claimed, Georg would pay any price.

Maria fought Georg's wish for her to stay isolated with all she had. "Georg, the children need me! If they do all come down with it, how will you nurse them all on your own, even with Frau Schmidt? The little ones will want me, they'll want their Mother."

Georg shut his eyes, "Yes, they will, and they'll want and need you a lot longer than the duration of this! You are pregnant and whether you want to be or not you have to think about that. Your body isn't…"

"I'm fine," Maria insisted. "Georg, you are going to need help. This is silly."

"Max will help me, and Frau Schmidt," Georg replied. "And it's not silly! I've been down this road before with the children falling ill and I don't want to go down it again! Now, please, Maria. Take care of yourself!"

"Georg," Maria reminded him gently. "It's not scarlet fever this time. It's a flu, and I have never had a flu not once in my life."

"This is a very strong strain of flu," Georg countered. "And not quite twenty years ago, the "flu" wiped out a good number of strong healthy people! There's no medication for it, there's only giving you these vitamins and keeping you safe. That's all I can do for any of you."

It wasn't his words that made Maria acquiesce. It was his eyes, the look in his eyes. They were begging her, pleading with her to listen to his requests and stay isolated. Georg's shoulders had slumped, she had never seen that before, and when he looked at her with those blue eyes shining with unshed tears of fear Maria couldn't continue to argue with him.

"All right," Maria whispered. "All right, I'll stay in the guest wing with any of the children that stay healthy. Please don't be upset."

Georg cupped Maria's cheek, "I just can't stand the thought of anything else happening to you, not when we finally found our way."

"I'll be fine," Maria whispered stepping a bit closer to him. "Take care of yourself too, get your rest. Promise me."

"I promise you I'll try," Georg replied. "If you feel even the slightest bit ill, please…'

"Stop worrying about me, I'll be all right," Maria comforted touching her forehead to Georg's.

"Never," he murmured slowly lowering his head to take her lips in a gentle goodbye kiss.

As the doctor predicted, Gretel fell ill the next day, then Brigitta and Louisa two days later. Frau Schmidt was the next victim, leaving Georg and Max as the soul caregivers of five sick girls once the flu hit Liesl. The boys managed to stay healthy and were moved to the guest wing with Maria while their siblings fought off the virus.

What concerned Georg the most was the high fevers. At times, the temperatures were managed with cool cloths, tepid baths, and the aspirin, but other times it seemed nothing he could do would help at all. It pained him to see his girls pale, weak, sometimes shivering, the little ones crying for Maria when their body aches or their fevers took them to strange places in their dreams.

"I want Mother," Gretel cried to him on the third day she was ill. "Why did Mother go?"

Maria was the only mother Gretel knew, but the question still stabbed Georg in the heart. If Maria got sick she could be at risk, the doctor assured him she was stronger, but he couldn't take the chance. He couldn't risk losing her, she was his very heart.

"She didn't go, my darling," Georg soothed. "She's with the boys so that she doesn't get sick. If Mother gets sick the baby might get sick too since it's in her tummy. Papa is here, I'm right here." Georg ended up sleeping in Gretel's bed that night.

As the illness started to abate, both Georg and Max were wishing that the girls were still sleeping off fevers. They were ringing call bells hour after hour having the two men dashing up and down the villa steps sometimes passing one another with requested snacks, books, and drinks.

Around midnight on the 7th day, Georg and Max collapsed in his study. "I'm too tired to even think about having a drink," Georg grumbled. "That would mean moving and I don't want to move."

"I have a new respect for Frau Schmidt and Maria, keeping up with those girls, not even the boys added. Thank God Johanna helped take care of the few maids that were ill." Max was never too tired for a brandy.

"I think that's because they tell them no," Georg replied glumly. "I do sometimes miss the days when I was able to do that without hesitation. Then, I think how frightened I was when they all got sick and I guess it's worth a few sleepless night and an aching back."

Max read between the lines of his friend's statement. "Here," he passed him the glass he had poured for himself. "Down the hatch, it'll do you good. I'm sure this will be over in a couple days, only Louisa and Liesl had higher temperatures today."

Georg nodded, it couldn't end soon enough for him.

The family recovered from the illness almost in the order they got it, though Louisa remained weak a touch longer than the rest of the family. She had already been through a rough bout of scarlet fever and bad case of measles leaving her body a little less able to fight off infections.

It was ten days after Marta got sick that the flu seemed to have cleared out of the house. Georg had the staff clean the home top to bottom before he let Maria and the boys come back to the family wing.

As soon as Maria laid eyes on her husband she went to him. She had missed his arms, she'd missed his kisses, she had missed him and all he brought with him. The children ran to her before she could reach her husband. "Mother!" the little ones nearly bowled her over.

Maria caught them in her arms, looking at Georg over Brigitta's head as she held the children close. Georg looked at Maria, in the last ten days she had changed. Her bust line was fuller, and her stomach was beginning to round with the evidence of her pregnancy.

When Georg finally got to embrace Maria, he inhaled deeply then sighed. He'd ached with missing her, she felt so perfect cradled next to him. "Are you all right?" he asked. "You slept?"

Maria nodded, "I did, it was okay. I missed you so much though. You look exhausted."

"Five children and the main housekeeper down with the flu with only Max as a partner," Georg laughed. "Gretel and Marta had a hard time understanding why you couldn't be with them. They needed more attention at night. I am tired, but tonight I'll rest."

Maria shook her head, "You'll rest now. Your eyes are black, Georg."

Georg could tell he would not win this battle, so he nodded his agreement. "I'll go take a short rest. It will feel good to stretch out when I sleep again."

Georg gave Maria a soft kiss then with a gentle smile and caress of her cheek he went to lie down in their room while Maria reunited with the children and Max.

"He did a wonderful job," Max told her, glad to brag on his friend a bit. "He was tireless, I have never seen him that way with the children before even when Agathe was alive. You have opened him up, Maria. Truly."

Max reached out to touch Maria's arm, not realizing he did until he felt her soft skin under his hand. If he frightened her Georg would have him for breakfast, but instead of recoiling, Maria only smiled. "That man was always inside, Max. Georg was just too afraid to let him out. It took…it took a lot of things; it took what happened to me to get him to even let me know how he felt."

"His feelings are real, Maria," Max replied. "And they were there a long time before you were…hurt, but if I hadn't been certain before, I was certain the night the doctor told us you were pregnant. He was so angry, I had to stop him from doing something stupid and I nearly didn't succeed. It was knowing how much you needed him that got him to listen."

"Then I'm grateful to you," Maria replied. "Georg has a terrible temper, doesn't he?"

Max nodded, "One that cannot be equaled when someone hurts someone he loves, and he loves you Maria. I know he's told you that, but I've known him a long time and it is true."

Maria smiled at Max, "He must to take this on," Maria replied touching the slight bump in her belly. "A child of unknown parentage…"

"He knows all he needs to know," Max assured her. "How about some tea? I'd be happy to escort you."

Maria took Max's offered arm. He was the first man she permitted to touch her besides Georg, a big step for her. She and Max walked together to the drawing room for tea and strudel and to watch the children play, glad they were all happy and well again.

A/N: I wrote this a couple weeks ago, but it seems that the CO-VID has taken out half my staff at work. That means double hours for me, so I do apologize for the late hour if you are on the US east coast. I will still update daily but it might be before or after the 24 window depending on the level of insanity that is occurring at the job.

Thanks for the great response to the last chapter. As I said, I felt it was one of my best pieces, so much so I'm not afraid to be proud of it.

Keep reading! About 8 chapters are left!