Author's note: So, I went on a few month Hiatus after I had major writer's block, but now I am back, with a new story, and new ideas!

Mary Poppins had not always been a nanny. In fact there was once a time when she was a regular child like you or me. We all have to grow up though, at one time or another. Life just forces it to happen, doesn't it? Growing up doesn't necessarily mean that we reach the age of 18, or that we move out of our family's house and into our own. The kind of growing up that I am talking about is more of a mental state. Not only do we act as adults, but we are able to make mature adult decisions. That is the type of growing up that I am talking about.

Being practically perfect was what Mary Poppins saw as growing up. Until you never let sentiment muddle your thinking, you were still in the mind-set of a child. When you were able to set back your human urges, and only act on the feelings that you felt were right in your head, you were still a child.

In her eyes we should all disregard the need to fill the rush of living. When living alone your whole life, you never have to accommodate for anyone other than yourself, practical. Never living in one place allows you to travel abroad, to become more cultured and overall smarter, practical. Falling in love? No, it was just out of the question. She completely laughed at the thought. Why would you ever let yourself get emotionally invested in someone like that? Watching where she walked so she would not accidentally trip and fall into the word was indeed, practical.

So, as you can see Mary Poppins was about the most practical person you could meet. Except now there was one thing. It was something that was making her practical life, completely impractical. Something that she must have missed or overlooked, yet it had always been there staring her in her face. She had never experienced the full extent of it yet though, how strong the feeling was, but this one sight that was now in front of her made her see the light. It made her realize how absolutely hypocritical she was.

Mary had returned to London. She was able to get away from her job as a nanny for a day, and, of course, whenever she was able to get a day off, she always went and visited Bert. Bert was a chimney sweep. He had been Mary's closest friend since they were both very little. He was usually covered in soot. He had a messy batch of brown hair on the top of his head, and these deep brown eyes that could make any girl swoon if he glanced their way. His face was long, very angular, and even though he was poor, he was able to maintain clean, straight, and white teeth. He was tall, and lanky. His only flaw in Mary's eyes was his cockney accent. He had never been able to pronounce words correctly because of it. Even though it was considered a flaw, Mary loved it about him. It was what made Bert, Bert.

So, on this very fine london morning, Mary was going to the park where Bert loved to draw with his chalk to create wonderful works of art that took Mary and him on many adventures. Sometimes if Mary had another nannying job in london, she would bring her children along with her. It was never the same though, she had always liked it better when she and Bert were alone. They always had something to talk about with each other, and they were never bored, and Mary was beginning to realize why this was.

The park was filled with the sound of spring birds, and flowers were budding everywhere. On the ground, in the trees, and some even in bushes. They were all different shades, ranging from red, to blue, to purple, and white and pink. It flooded Mary with memories of strolling along the street with Bert as he told her made up stories and tales. She had one memory that was particularly clear.

"Beeaautiful day ain't it Mary?", Bert had asked her while they walked arm in arm down the road in the middle of the park. Bert was wearing his regular clothes, a black jacket over a similar colored shirt and long pants with his cap. He looked completely out of place next to Mary who was wearing a white summer dress that looked lacy and layered with a white hat that stayed on her head by use of a scarf that she had tied down under her chin.

"Hmm?", Mary asked, not hearing him speaking. She was too busy looking around at the beauty of the town that he lived in.

"Nevermind.", he said with a smile that said that he knew she wasn't totally there with him. A silence filled the air between them after he said this. It wasn't awkward though, nothing was awkward between them ever, even their silences. It was almost the silences that said more than the words that they spoke to each other.

"Bert, have you ever thought about traveling yourself? Leaving london, going somewhere strange and new?", Mary asked him. It was an out of the blue question that left Bert needing some time to think. She turned her pretty blue eyes over to look at him, he looked like he was, indeed, thinking.

"Well Mary, I can't say I 'ave.", he said to her with a shrug.

"Why?", Mary inquired.

Bert blushed, leaving her ever so curious about what he was going to say. What could possibly keep him here that would make him embarrassed?

"It's you Mary.", he said to her. Mary returned his answer with a quizzical look, as if egging him on to elaborate.

"I wouldn't want you to not be able to find me.", he said to her, his face going an even deeper red.

"You could write to me, then I would know where you were.", she said to him as if he had given her a dumb answer and he needed to come up with a real one.

"Mary, some days I can barely make enough money to feed myself see?", he explained to her, "How would I be able to afford the materials to write to you if I am spending my money on a trip?", he asked her, sad that she hadn't understood the real meaning of his answer before. He had needed to re-word it, change his meaning of it in order to make her understand. Would she ever really understand?

"Ahh.", she said thinking she understood now, though she really didn't, "I see.", she said to him with a sweet smile. Bert swore that her smile could start a war between any nation. She was just so beautiful. They continued along like this for a while, making idle chit chat until the memory was over.

Mary came back to her reality, back to the realization that she wasn't as perfectly practical as she thought that she was. For at that moment she was in fact staring at the man named Herbert Alfred. Yet, he wasn't with her, no. There was another woman standing next to him, looking over his chalk drawings while she had her arm linked through his. She was a strawberry blonde, but from here Mary could not see her face, but her face wasn't the issue. There was a whole new issue currently bubbling up inside of her, she had felt the feeling before, but never towards another human being like this. It was a new type of the feeling. The new woman leaned over to Bert and planted a small kiss on his lips, and what really tore at Mary was the fact that Bert had smiled.

This feeling was a deep and boiling jealousy. It was a jealousy towards this blonde woman that could easily start a war much quicker than her smile could. She literally wanted to go over there and slap that woman so hard that she never woke up. Why was this happening? It couldn't be because of Bert! They had been nothing more than platonic friends. Nothing had ever come when she was with him, she would never let it. Yet now, she was standing here staring at the two that she now guessed were a couple and she was wishing that she was involved.

But! I believe I am getting too far into this story. For this story starts long before this moment. It starts the day that Bert and Mary met each other. It was long before Mary had ever taken pride in being practically perfect, but had just begun to shape herself into the woman that she was able to be today. Since birth she had been chosen to be Mary Poppins, to be a nanny, but everyone starts out as a child. And so that is where we will be starting. With Mary and Bert as children, meeting for the first time in london.

End of chapter 1

Author's note: Now, I wouldn't really like to continue if people don't like the story. So before I type the next chapter, I would like to know what all of you think out there, criticisms, nice thoughts, everything! Basically I just want to know if anyone out there would like me to continue this story, or if it is a lost cause! :p