This is my first SOM fanfic. I hope you'll enjoy it, so please let me know what you all think!! Thanks!

Setting:

It's two days after the party. Maria never left, and the scene with the Baroness in Maria's bedroom never took place.

Haunted by the Past – by PassionChild

"Chocolate cake!" the children cried out as Frau Schmidt entered the dining room with dessert. Friedrich watched closely, a broad grin on his face, as Frau Schmidt put the cake down in the middle of the table.

"Captain, you do the honours. After all, you're the head of this household," she said, handing him a cake knife before she left the room.

The Captain looked round the table. The Baroness, Max, the children and Maria looked up at him expectantly. He grinned and began to slice the cake. He offered the first slice to Elsa, but she shook her head, looking at him in shock.

"Oh no, darling, I couldn't! I have a figure to mind, you know," she said, and smiled up at the Captain coyly. She was wearing a bright red, deeply cut gown that showed off every inch of said figure to fullest advantage. The shining silky material was decorated with millions of tiny sequins and clung to her body, while it left her shoulders and back bare. It was clear she meant to show off all her qualities that evening.

The Captain, aware that some sort of compliment was expected of him, smiled back at her.

"My dear, I'm sure a small slice wouldn't ruin your wonderful figure at all," he said.

Elsa, however, shook her head again.

"No, I really couldn't. But I'm sure Fraulein Maria would love some chocolate cake," she suggested, her look shifting to Maria.

Maria looked up in surprise. The Baroness's pointed look crossed hers, suggesting that nothing would be lost if Maria's figure was ruined by the chocolate cake. Not knowing what to say, Maria accepted the slice of cake offered to her by the Captain, and began to look away, avoiding Elsa's stare. Her eyes crossed the Captain's, and for a moment, her breath stopped as she looked into his eyes. Their eyes locked for a long moment until she broke away, blushing slightly. Since the dance they had shared the night of the party, Maria had not felt completely at ease around the Captain. She didn't know what was happening to her whenever she looked at him.

The Captain seemed annoyed by Elsa's comment, and shot her an angry glare, to which she returned an smile that was meant to look innocent. Then Georg looked back at Maria, while thinking of something to say to compliment and comfort her.

"I'm sure a slice of cake will not hurt your figure, Fraulein," he managed. Maria's eyes snapped back to him, completely taken off guard by this compliment. As Georg saw her surprise and heard Elsa's haughty 'hah', he quickly collected himself, cleared his throat and continued handing out the cake.

'Oh come on, Georg, not so stingy,' commented Max as he received his helping. Friedrich and Kurt looked on sharply, measuring each slice with their eyes to make sure they wouldn't receive a crumb less than their siblings. When the Captain reached Louisa, the blond girl shook her head. Georg cocked his head in surprise at his daughter, who could usually eat like a horse.

"Are you sure you don't want any?" he asked.

She nodded. 'I'm just full, Father," she said, and with a last glance of slight surprise, the Captain moved on to Marta.

Maria had looked upon the little exchange with interest. Louisa could indeed eat and eat usually, and she loved chocolate cake, so it was rather strange for her to refuse. Maria remembered that she had thought Louisa to be very quiet that day, too. She looked at the girl more intently and noticed that she looked a little pale.

The Baroness had noticed that Louisa had refused the cake, too.

"Louisa dear, you don't have to worry about your figure yet, do you?" she called mockingly, not noticing the girl's pale face. "You should eat, you are still growing, and there will be no boys to look at your figure just yet. Or is there a special boy in you life?"

Louisa glared at the Baroness, her eyes showing how annoyed she was. "I don't feel so well, Baroness,' she retorted angrily.

'Oh dear,' chattered Elsa, "Well, at a certain age, that happens to girls … Getting your period is all part of becoming a woman, my dear! Don't worry, you'll feel better in a few days," she said, and winked at Louisa conspiratorially. Louisa turned red with embarrassment and glared at the Baroness again.

"I just feel sick," she protested angrily, and tried to avoid the looks of her Father and brothers.

Friedrich and Kurt snorted with laughter behind their plates of cake .

"Oh will you shut up, " Louisa snarled at them, but they continued laughing anyway.

Luckily, everybody soon turned their attention back to the chocolate cake, and for a while everybody ate in silence.

After dinner, the family poured into the salon. The children were chattering loudly, but Maria looked over her shoulder and noticed that Louisa had not got up from her chair at the dinner table. She walked back into the dining room and put her hand on the girl's shoulder.

'Are you all right, Louisa," she asked, worry showing in her eyes.

Louisa shook her head, and a tear ran down her face.

"Oh Maria, I've been feeling terrible all day, and it's only getting worse! I'm dizzy and I feel hot," she complained.

She looked so miserable that sympathy welled up in Maria, and she fell down on one knee next to her and put a hand on the girl's forehead. It was so hot that Maria withdrew her hand in shock.

'You're burning up, I'm sure you have a fever. Come on, let's get you to bed,' she suggested, all worry for her young charge. Louisa nodded meekly, and allowed her governess to lead her up the stairs and to her bedroom.

Maria helped her to get ready, and when Louisa was in bed, sat down on the edge of her bed next to the girl.

"I will come by later tonight to see how you are, all right?" she told Louisa, whose face was now even paler. The girl nodded.

"Maria, will you say good night to Father for me?" she asked her governess, holding Maria's hand. Maria nodded and stroked her face gently.

"Of course, darling. Now sleep, you'll feel much better in the morning. Remember that you will not be alone. God will watch over you."

Louisa nodded in reply and let go of Maria's hand.

Maria walked out of the room and softly closed the door behind her. She stood still for a second, thinking of the pale face of Louisa, almost as white as the pillow she was resting on. She felt an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach, not liking the situation at all. A shiver ran down her spine. Still in thought, she walked back down to the salon, worrying about Louisa and wondering how to inform the Captain of her illness.

In the mean time, Max had assembled the children and convinced them to sing a song for the Baroness. Elsa was sitting on the couch. She tried to look honoured by their efforts, and kept glancing at Georg to see if he noticed how much she was bonding with his children. As their song progressed, she heaved a sigh to express how moved she was, while dramatically clasping her hands together in front of her, drawing as much attention to her dropping neckline as he could.

But despite Elsa's obvious glances and gestures in his direction, the Captain wasn't looking at her – he was staring at Maria, who had appeared in the doorway and stood there silently. Her face was drawn with worry and he noticed the change right away. He had been more aware of Maria in the last days than he was willing to admit, and he'd noticed immediately that she had not followed the rest of the family into the salon. The room lacked a certain brightness to him if she was not in it, and he had been uneasy and eager to find out where she had gone to.

Leaving the children to sing to Elsa, he walked up to Maria.

"Fräulein, is something wrong?" he asked, his face displaying his worry as he stepped close to her.

Maria's heart started beating faster at his closeness. She told herself it was just nerves, as she was a bit worried to tell him about Louisa. She knew it was more though - the way a tingle ran down her spine as he came closer to her told her that.

She took a deep breath.

"Well, Captain, Louisa is not feeling too well, so I took her to bed," she said. She looked up at him and blushed as she felt his tight gaze on her.

"What is it? What is wrong with her?" he asked, his brow immediately knitting in worry over his daughter.

Maria shook her head, not knowing what to say to him.

"I don't want to worry you, Captain, but I think she looked rather ill. She has quite a high fever and she hasn't been eating much all day."

The Captain did not remove his stare from Maria's face. "It sounds like she needs a doctor. I will call him right away!" And without hesitation, he walked off to his study.

The Baroness looked up as she heard Georg storm out of the room. The children's singing faded away.

"Fräulein, what is going on?" the Baroness demanded, craning her neck to see where Georg had gone.

Maria thought about what she should say. Was it wise to worry the children? She could not convince herself to lie to them, though, as that went completely against her nature.

"The Captain has gone to call the doctor. I'm afraid Louisa is not feeling very well," she said.

The children looked at each other in surprise. Louisa, sick? But the Baroness waved a hand lightly.

"Oh really, Louisa's just become a woman! Suffering is all women do, and we all know we feel unpleasant when our time of the month comes, right dear?"

She looked at Maria, a smug smile coming to her face when she saw the young woman's uneasiness.

"Well, Baroness, I can assure you that that is not the problem," she mumbled, looking away in embarrassment.

The Baroness made a gesture with her hand that suggested a mountain was being made out of a molehill.

"Well, in that case I'm sure it's just a touch of the flu. That has been going round. I'm sure it can't be serious at all."

Then she looked around at the children and Maria. She squinted her eyes.

"You've all been with Louisa all day, haven't you? Maybe I should retire to my room. You probably will catch the flu off Louisa, and I don't want any of you to give it to me, too."

She got up quickly and shot Max a glance. "You might want to retire as well, Max. You don't want to become sick like Louisa." She looked back at the children.

"I am sorry darlings, but I'm sure you understand… Goodnight." And with a last feigned smile, she disappeared out of the salon.

Maria watched her go in surprise. She was rather sure that Louisa did not have the flu, and anyway, none of the other children appeared to be feeling unwell. Just as Max was getting up as well, the Captain returned to the salon.

"The doctor will be here soon," he announced, rubbing his hands together. His brow was still wrinkled in worry. Looking at Maria nervously, he placed his hand on her arm. 'I am glad you warned me, Fraulein," he said, gratitude showing in his every movement.

Maria looked away.

'I'm just doing my job, Captain," she mumbled, shy to his praise. The Captain let his

hand linger on her bare arm just a little longer than necessary, leaving a tingling feeling on her skin, before he turned to face his children. He scanned their faces carefully, looking for any trace of sickness on them.

Max sensed the tensing of the atmosphere and excused himself, muttering something about getting an early night.

As The Captain, Maria and the children were left by themselves, Maria stepped forward.

"Children, maybe it would be better if you went to bed while your father and I wait for the doctor."

Liesl nodded in understanding.

"Certainly, Maria," she answered. "And I will help to get the little ones ready for bed, so you can stay down here with Father."

Gretl and Marta ran up to Maria and hugged her tightly. "Goodnight, Maria," they said, kissing her cheek. Then they moved to their father, who knelt and hugged them back tightly.

"Goodnight darlings," he said, and watched their backs as they ran out of the room.

Together, Maria and Georg sat in the salon and waited for the doctor. They did not speak, but both stared ahead, lost in their own worries.

Within 15 minutes, the bell rang and Maria got up to open the door.

"Where is doctor Busch?" she asked when she saw the young man on the doorstep.

"He is ill and asked me to replace him." he answered, while stepping inside past Maria.

"My name is Dr. Schwindler. Now, take me to your daughter's room, Captain von Trapp, " he said in a grave voice.

The Captain squinted his eyes and stared at the man. His hat was half covering his face so his eyes were hidden, and a thin moustache decorated his upper lip.

'Are you sure you are a doctor," he asked, not moving. "You look rather young to me."

"I was a quick student, Captain," Dr. Schwindler answered curtly.

"You do look familiar. I suppose I have seen you in Dr. Busch's office before, " said the Captain, stepping aside to let the man pass. Dr. Schwindler looked up in surprise at these words. It seemed he was going to say something, but then he reconsidered and started to walk up the stairs.

Maria and the Captain waited outside Louisa's door as Dr. Schwindler conducted his examination of her. They could hear Louisa's muffled sobs and the low voice of the doctor telling her what to do. As Louisa's cries got louder, the Captain's face contorted in agony.

Maria walked up to him.

"I'm sure she'll be fine, Captain, really," she said in a soft voice, while patting his arm.

He looked down at her hand on his and covered it with his own.

'I do hope so, Fräulein," he said.

"We can pray together, if you want to," Maria suggested.

The Captain looked gratefully at her. Maria folded her hands around his and told him to close his eyes.

"Dear Father," she began, "Please watch over Louisa, and help Dr. Schwindler make her healthy again. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the holy Ghost, Amen."

The Captain looked at her gratefully, but before he could speak, the door of Louisa's bedroom opened and the doctor stepped out.

"Can I speak to you in private, Captain?" he asked, glancing at Maria.

"There's no need for that, Doctor," said the Captain. "Whatever you have to say about Louisa, there is nothing that I need to keep from Fräulein Maria."

Maria and the Captain exchanged a short glance, before the doctor began to speak again.

"Well, Captain, it is just what I expected from your phone call. Louisa is suffering from Scarlet Fever."

The Captain drew in a sharp breath and Maria looked from him to the doctor, wanting to know what was going on. Then it dawned on her - Scarlet Fever. That was what Agathe had died of…