This is currently a one-shot. I have some vague plans to add more chapters featuring other children, but no promises. Leave me a comment if you'd like to see a particular child or situation next.

Chapter 1: Gretl

Georg sat at the breakfast table, reading the newspaper. As usual, he was alone. He expected his family to arrive shortly, but Elsa and Max had both maintained the fashionable habit of taking breakfast in their room and descending mid-morning. He was deep in concentration, puzzling out this latest move of Herr Hitler's and furthering his frustration that he no longer had a U-Boat to command. He heard the voices of his children approaching, squabbling about something and glanced up as they entered the room.

"Good morning, Father," they chorused.

"Good morning", he replied, before realising that the tribe was incomplete. That was odd. They usually gathered in the nursery and came down together. "Where's Gretl?"

Brigitta answered him first. "Gretl was vomiting in the night. Fraulein Maria is staying upstairs with her."

His brows knit together in concern and Liesl anticipated his next question. "She has a bit of a fever and she didn't get much sleep. Fraulein Maria didn't seem too worried."

Georg smiled at his eldest, his mind easing. With seven children in the house, little illnesses were common. Still, he would check on Gretl after breakfast. He turned to Franz, who was just entering the room with a jug of milk. "Have you sent a breakfast tray up to Fraulein Maria?"

Franz looked at him curiously. "Of course, sir."

Georg wondered briefly at the look his butler gave him, not realising that his governess' need for breakfast had never concerned him in the past. He glanced round at the other six children as they settled in their seats, then deliberately folded the newspaper and placed it to one side.

"Well then, what are you all planning to do today?"

The older children glanced quickly at each other with surprise on their faces. He sighed inwardly. Had he really fallen so far as a father that his children balked at such a simple enquiry? Pushing the thought aside, he smiled and waited.

The children needed no further encouragement and several of them started speaking at once.

Half an hour later, Georg sighed and leaned back his chair as he watched the children leave the room. It was lovely getting to know them again, but exhausting. It had been with some relief that he had been able to excuse them from the table and grant them a couple of hours of free time.

He spent a few more minutes with the newspaper, then headed up the stairs towards the family wing. Friedrich and Kurt were heading down the other staircase and out the back door, each with a football tucked under one arm. George made an effort to smile at them and strode towards the younger girls' room. He paused in the corridor, preparing to enter quietly. But as he pushed the door open, he was surprised to find the room empty and the beds made as usual. Where were Gretl and Fraulein Maria? Closing the door softly behind him, he made his way to the children's bathroom. He smiled softly to himself as he heard the other girls' voices coming from the playroom at the end of the hall.

Finding the bathroom also empty, he paused in his pursuit. Where else would they be? He was about to head to the playroom when a maid bustled down the hallway, nodding her head deferentially to him as she carried her load of linen.

"Abigail, do you know where Gretl and Fraulein Maria might be?"

"Yes, sir. They're in Fraulein Maria's room."

Ah, that made sense. He thanked Abigail and headed towards the governess' room. Suddenly, his mind brought up a long-forgotten memory. Agatha always used to bring the children into their bed when they were sick in the night. He could suddenly see her in his mind's eye, quietly settling a young Friedrich in beside her as he struggled with the croup. Of course, it made much more sense than running up and down those long hallways all night long, and his side of the bed had been so often empty anyway. He didn't remember a govemess ever doing it before, but perhaps he had just never realised.

Fraulein Maria's door was almost closed, and he paused and knocked softly before opening it a little wider. The room was darker than the passageway outside, the curtains half-closed. Georg crept inside and looked around, giving his eyes time to adjust to the gloom. There was a breakfast tray on the table, the plate still covered. Grelt was under the covers, her eyes closed tightly. And Fraulein Maria, fully clothed, was lying beside her on the bed, fast asleep.

Georg paused for a moment, not sure what to do next. His gaze swept over Maria, lying on her side with one hand stretched out towards Gretl. He realised that he had never seen her so still. She was such a bundle of energy: always moving, talking, laughing, singing. The day before, he had been sitting on the terrace, watching Liesl and Fraulein Maria as they talked in the garden. Even when Liesl was the one doing the talking, he had noticed that Maria's face had been a continuous play of expressions. Now, she was completely relaxed. The only movement visible was the gentle rise and fall of her chest.

With a start, Georg realised that he was staring and deliberately moved his gaze to his youngest daughter. Ever conscious of propriety, he pushed the bedroom door wide open and walked around the bed towards Gretl's side. As he did so, he heard a shout from the playroom and winced at the noise, but neither of the sleeping figures reacted.

Slowly and gently, Georg pulled a chair towards the bed, thankful for the thick carpet on the floor. He sat down and studied Gretl with a practiced eye. Her brows were slightly creased but she didn't appear to be in pain. She was flushed, but not too flushed. He reached a hand to her forehead, and found it slightly warm. Looking around, he spotted a cloth in a bowl of water on the table beside the bed, wrung it out and held it to Gretl's forehead.

The sudden coolness made the little girl whimper a little in her sleep, and Fraulein Maria's hand shot out to pat her on the arm. The governess murmured something soothing, her eyes still closed, and Gretl quieted. Georg paused, feeling like an intruder, which, in his rational mind, he knew he was. This was his governess' bedroom and she was asleep. Clothed or not, he had never seen any of the governesses asleep before.

He braced himself against the arms of the chair, preparing to leave the room and check on Gretl again later. She was clearly in safe hands. But whether she sensed the gentle movement or merely his presence, Fraulein Maria's tired eyes snapped open. Seeing her employer, she startled and pulled herself upright, glancing around to get her bearings.

"It's alright, Fraulein," Georg was quick to reassure her. "Stay where you are. I was just checking on the patient."

Maria relaxed, but didn't lie back down. She sat awkwardly, still on the bed, and placed her hand on Gretl's forehead, where Georg's had wiped the cloth a few moments before. Georg looked at the way her short hair was tousled from sleep and noted the dark shadows under her eyes.

"It looks like you had a long night," he said gently.

Maria gave him a rueful smile. "She woke up around midnight and she's was very unsettled until morning. She was only sick twice though. So far." Suddenly, Maria realised that the sleeping arrangements may have been unorthodox, and she dropped her eyes from his gaze. "I'm sorry, Captain. I didn't want to wake Marta and Brigitta, so I brought her in here…"

Georg smiled away her concern. "No need to be sorry, Fraulein. It seems like a very sensible arrangement." They sat in silence for a few moments, casting around for something else to say. His roving eyes spotted the breakfast tray. "Your breakfast is waiting for you."

"Oh, thank you, Captain. I hope the other children were alright at breakfast without me. I thought I should stay near Gretl, and I must have dozed off."

"They were fine. I've given them the morning to play, so you can get some rest." As if on cue, a burst of girlish chatter drifted down the hallway, then subsided.

Maria protested. "Oh no, Captain, I can see to them. As long as I stay where I can hear Gretl if she wakes."

"I know you could manage, Fraulein, but I strongly suggest you get some more sleep while you can. Those infernal puppets are due to arrive this afternoon, and I suspect you will need all your energy for that."

A wave of emotion passed across Maria's face as she prepared to rehash her previous spiel about the educational value of the puppets, and the fact that it had been Herr Detweiler, not her, who had insisted on ordering them. Then she noticed the tiny smile playing at his lips. Was he teasing her? She paused, watching him carefully.

Georg was almost sorry when she didn't assault him with a repeat of their previous 'disagreement', although he had to admit to himself that it was hardly a good idea for them to conduct that sort of a conversation over his sick 5 year old's head. They did tend to get a little noisy in combat.

Maria huffed in frustration, although whether she was frustrated about his suggestion to rest or about the thwarted battle, he wasn't sure. Still, their eyes were locked, as if they were both unable to break the gaze first. Maria could feel her insides starting to churn with an emotion she didn't recognise.

Suddenly, Gretl's eyes opened and her body started to convulse. She groaned. Maria reached beside her and picked up an empty bowl, then tried to get the little girl to sit up. But Gretl had turned to the other side in her sleep, meaning that Maria was trying to lean over her in an awkward position.

Trying not to notice Maria's proximity, Georg took the bowl from her hand, their fingers brushing against each other. He held it firmly under his daughter's mouth as she brought up what little she could.

Maria sat back and rubbed the girl's back soothingly as she murmured comforting things. She found herself unexpectedly flustered at her employer's nearness. She had said in the beginning that he didn't look at all like a sea captain. He looked even less like one holding a sick bowl, although she idly thought that perhaps a sailor would be more accustomed to vomit than most people.

Once Gretl's stomach had settled, the girl leaned back against the pillows wearily. "Father, why do I feel so awful?" She clung to her Georg's spare hand, which she had grabbed onto in the midst of the episode.

He sighed and reluctantly handed the bowl to Maria. Somehow, it seemed ungentlemanly to pass the unpleasantness to her to deal with, but Gretl's grip gave him little choice. Maria smiled in a way that made him wonder if she could read his thoughts, and carried it to the bathroom.

"Well, Darling, sometimes this happens. Maybe you ate something yesterday that your stomach didn't like."

Gretl looked up at him earnestly. "I think it was the sauerkraut."

He chuckled. "You're just trying to avoid eating sauerkraut." He wiped her face and smoothed the hair off her sweaty forehead. "Rest now, little one. You'll feel better soon."

Gretl closed her eyes and snuggled back down under the covers, still gripping her father's hand. But as Maria came back into the room, the eyes opened again. "Fraulein Maria?"

"Yes?"

"Will you tell me a story? About the little mountain girl?"

Maria sat down on the side of the bed, somewhat embarrassed by the request. The younger children had enjoyed plenty of her little made-up tales, but she was unaccustomed to having adult listeners. She tried not to show Gretl her reluctance. "Yes, I will."

Georg sensed her discomfort and began to stand, but his hand was pulled tighter. His daughter wanted him to stay. Until the last couple of weeks, he would have said something placating and wrenched his hand from her grasp to leave her in the governess' care. But things were changing now. With a slight sigh, he settled back into his seat, wrapping his other hand around Gretl's own and focusing his eyes on her face.

Without meaning to, Maria had watched this interaction carefully. She appreciated the Captain's willingness to give her privacy, and also his reasons to stay. She also felt immensely weary after a very long night with an unsettled child, and if this was her chance to get that child settled again, she would grab it with both hands.

She began as she always did. "Once upon a time, there was a little mountain girl who loved to roam the Untersberg…"

And so began a little tale of nothingness, as Maria described the girl's walk around the mountain and the various flowers and animals she saw. Her voice gradually became softer and slower. She was gazing out the window when she felt a little jerk beside her. She smiled and looked down at Gretl, who was just on the edge of falling asleep. Maria slowly finished the sentence, and as she came to her final, soothing word, she glanced at the Captain.

As Maria had started the story, he had been determined to avert his gaze. But the sound of her voice and her vivid description of the mountains had drawn him in, and he realised that he had been openly staring at her for some minutes. Their eyes locked in the silence, and he suddenly felt he was drowning. Then, as if by some unseen signal, they both looked away.

Georg gently untangled his fingers from Gretl's grasp and rose to his feet, glancing awkwardly around the room. Her breakfast tray was still untouched, and the food would be stone cold by now.

"I'll have some fresh breakfast sent up for you, Fraulein." He saw her start to argue and continued. "It's no trouble. Then you should try to get some sleep."

She relented. "Thank you, Captain. That would be nice."

He started towards the doorway and paused, turning back to her. "Agathe would always give the children stewed apple after an upset stomach. I'll have some sent up."

As if he was watching the scene from afar, Georg heard the words that had just tumbled effortlessly from his mouth. Agathe? When was the last time he had said her name aloud? It had always seemed far too painful. But now, there was a softness to his memory of her that hadn't been there before.

Maria had no knowledge of the extraordinary event that had just occurred. She gave him a tired smile. "Thank you, Captain. I'll tell Gretl that when she wakes up."

George returned her smile and slipped out of the door, closing it behind him. For a moment, he leaned against the wall, lost in his confusing thoughts. He was so deep in thought that he didn't hear Elsa coming down an adjoining passageway and didn't see her until she was right in front of him.

"Good morning, Georg."

When he startled, she furrowed her sculpted brows. "Are you alright?"

He forced a smile. "Ah, yes. Good morning, Elsa. I'm sorry, I was distracted. Gretl is unwell this morning."

"Nothing serious, I hope?"

"No, I'm sure she'll be fine." He shook his head slightly to clear it. "I was just about to check on the other children. Would you like to join me?"

He held out his arm to her and she took it, still eyeing him carefully. He patted her hand in an absent way and they headed down the hall.