A/N: Hi everyone, I'm back! To all those who reviewed, followed and favorited this story, a big THANK-YOU to you all! To those who read it for the first time and got this far, what do you think of it? Hope you left a review for me! (No flames please, I'm open to honesty and constructive criticism though, really, I am!) First of all, I'm really sorry for not being able to update for a LONG time, probably it's been 1 month and a half, and I apologize for that. Anyways, I've got great news for you all...(Drumroll Please!)...Mary and Bert are FINALLY showing up in this chapter! It's about time they turned up (er-I mean, 'showed up,' Bert's a lot more carefree than Mary), after my 2 chapters without them. Did you miss them while they were away? Hope you did, 'cause all of you will be in for a Mary Poppins-Banks Family reunion! Yay! I just LOVE these reunions when Mary, Bert and the Banks family reunite! Somehow I feel as if those two were like extended family to the Banks'. SOOOOO, back to the story, I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you enjoy reading it too. So far one of my favorite chapters in the entire story (well, the beginning parts, at least.). Well, without further ado, here is Chapter 3!

Enjoy!

P.S. One more piece of good news for you all (I think you already know this)...Mary and Bert are a married couple in this fic! Happy about that? Sure hope you are, because I'm a total Mary/Bert shipper, even ever since I was a child before I even knew what shipping was.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or places here, they all belong to Disney and P.L. Travers, the rightful owners and creative minds behind Mary Poppins. I only own the original characters, you'll be sure to know which ones never showed up in the books, movie, or Broadway Play.


Chapter 3: Welcome Home

Meanwhile, when the Banks couple and their maids realized there was a storm, their next-door neighbor, an aging but highly active Admiral Boom and his first-mate, Mr. Binnacle, were on the lookout.

"Another storm's a' brewing, Mr. Binnacle!" yelled Admiral Boom with his raised voice, holding his telescope,"Take all the sails down and stay inside! Now's not a time for anyone to be out!"

"Aye-aye Sir!" saluted his faithful first-mate with the remark he has been using for many years now.

Before Admiral Boom and Mr. Binnacle entered their ship-shaped house, something immediately caught Mr. Binacle's eye. He saw a young family with three children and a rather familiar looking couple.

"Sir!" exclaimed a surprised Mr. Binnacle.

"What is it, Mr. Binnacle? Hurry up! The heavy winds are blowing this way!"

"If I didn't know any better, I think it's...it's..." He looked closer and examined his view until he realized that he saw a slender young woman holding a parrot-handled umbrella, wearing a flower-cherry decorated hat alongside her husband and three young children, keeping them warm. At last, he immediately knew who it was.

"It's..."

"Dash it all, Mr. Binnacle, tell me who it is!" said Admiral Boom impatiently.

"It's...it's...it's MARY POPPINS!" he finally called out loudly.

Mr. Binnacle expected his boss's mood to improve and brighten up a little bit, but the storm just kept Admiral Boom focused more on the weather than Mary's return.

"Mary Poppins?!" yelled the Captain, "She ought to be back in her house! Dangers are wandering about around here!"

Just as the winds grew stronger, harshly blowing the rain towards their direction, Admiral Boom and his first-mate scurried into their "ship" before they could be blown away.

Meanwhile, the couple, along with their children, were just about to step back inside their "new" house, which actually turned out to be their old home. This family in particular started off in this house, 20 Cherry Tree Lane many years back until they moved away from London for two years because of the problems caused in Cherry Tree Lane. They had to make sure they stayed away from all the trouble. Now, since word reached them that Cherry Tree Lane was a safer place to live in, they returned to the one place they always called home.

Their home was 20 Cherry Tree Lane. All the green grass and colorful blooming flowers on their lawn to their house's whitewashed walls and blue-bricked rooftop brought their family so much memories, especially the couple. In fact, the family just came from a walk in the park, just about to enter the house, until one of them noticed the strong winds blowing and the rain falling hard towards their direction.

"Mummy?" asked the little girl, Cathy Janelle, tugging on her mother's skirt.

"Yes darling?" answered her mother, looking lovingly into her daughter's eyes.

"It's raining! Mummy, it's raining!" exclaimed little Cathy, worriedly rushing to her mother's side.

"Oh, is it?" she said calmly, "Nothing Mommy can't fix!"

She reached into her carpet bag, grabbed her parrot-handled umbrella and raised it above her family.

"See?" said her husband, "Your Mommy's a smart one, ain't she?"

"Yes! Mommy's really smart!" said Cathy, proudly.

"Yes she is!" added her eldest foster daughter Mary Anne.

"Mommy is weally-willy smawt!" smiled her youngest son Edward in his baby-like manner, holding his mother's hand.

"Now, what do you children say to 'Mommy?' " their father said, smiling at his wife.

"Thank you Mommy!" they all said altogether, giving their mother a cuddle.

"Oh, you children are the greatest gifts a mother could ever have!" she said, returning the cuddle to her kids.

"And I'm sure they're very 'appy to 'ave a mother like you, Mary!" added her husband.

"And I am most certain they're very, very happy to have a father like you, Bert!" smiled Mary Poppins, her arms linked with Bert's.

" 'Ere we are, 'ome sweet 'ome!" said Bert, opening the door for his family. His children scrambled to get into their house, except their eldest daughter.

"Daddy, look!" yelled Mary Anne, pointing to the dark clouds as the winds blew stronger and the rain fell hard, being blown away from their direction. She screamed and ran to her father, frightened by the weather.

"Now, now sweet'eart, get inside the 'ouse and you'll be okay," reassured her father, "There's nothin' to be afraid of. After all, the storm isn't that bad and it'll be gone before you know it!"

But it was. After Bert let Mary Anne in the door, because of the force of the wind, it slam shut and lifted Bert off the ground, leaving him hanging onto the doorknob as tightly as he could to avoid being blown away. But the wind was nearly pulling him away that it seemed that he couldn't hold on much longer.

"Mary!" he cried as he clung both his hands to the doorknob, "The wind's takin' ahold of me! Please 'elp me!"

"My goodness Bert!" exclaimed his wife, "Try opening the doorknob, if you will!"

"I can't Mary!" Bert forced the doorknob, "It's just gonna make it all worse!"

Mary Poppins held onto Bert's legs while thinking of something, subconsciously holding her umbrella on the other hand.

"Mary Poppins," remarked her umbrella, "I have this funny feeling I haven't had for years!"

"And what is that?" asked Mary Poppins in a curious sort of way, still hanging onto her husband's legs.

"I don't know myself if it's true, but I think...the wind is calling on us again!" squawked the surprised parrot.

Mary Poppins and Bert were shocked by his statement. There may have been storms like these before without a single calling.

"The wind?! Calling on us?! Why, that's impossible!" exclaimed Mary.

"Unbelievable!" added Bert.

"Umbrella, you know that I can't leave my family here with the wind blowing me far away from London! Can't you see, we've just arrived!" Mary Poppins explained.

"And can't you see, the wind has changed!" argued the parrot, willing to go with the wind, "Aren't you aware of that, Mrs. Alfred?"

That question immediately struck Mary Poppins. Of course she was aware! After all, she is Mary Poppins. How dare her umbrella parrot answer back to her!

"Of course I am aware the wind has changed! But leaving my family behind is never an option. Besides, leaving Bert and my children will never do. I can't just leave them now, can I?" she won over her umbrella's argument.

All of a sudden, just like that, she had an idea by just looking at Bert's hands.

"Bert, why don't you try knocking on the door?"

Before anything could happen, the wind grew stronger and literally pulled the umbrella, Mary and Bert off of the door, making them lose their grip.

"I told you so Mary Poppins!" said the umbrella, proving Mary wrong as the wind carried all three of them across the air.

"Ahh! Mary? 'Oney? What's goin' on! The winds lifted me feet off the ground!" screamed a panicked Bert, his cap falling to the ground, his wife hanging on to his legs and the wind blowing swiftly against them, pulling them away from and above their home.

"Bert, we're flying sweetheart!" replied Mary, calmly keeping up with the wind's force, trying to stay as calm as possible until the wind swiftly pushed them, altering their direction, "The air is being rather harsh, I'm afraid. It's terribly difficult to get down!"

"I know! It's too dangerous up 'ere Mary! What about our children? What about our lives? We need to call somebody! Anybody! 'Elp! 'Elp!" panicked poor Bert, covering his eyes with both hands.

"Bert, I'll thank my own husband to stop screaming about! Worrying isn't going to help anyone! Not even you!" scolded Mary, until the wind gave one strong hard push on the umbrella, she finally screamed herself.

The wind finally pushed them away from Cherry Tree Lane and above the clouds where the storm was already out of sight.

"Bert? Darling?" called Mary Poppins, gently shaking her husband's legs.

"Yeah, Mary?" said a rather traumatized Bert, "We in Heaven yet?"

"No," she smiled, slowly holding Bert against a cloud, gently pulling him upright and close to her, "You may open your eyes now."

Mary continued the flight and Bert began to open his eyes slowly.

"Wh-wh...Where are we Mary?" asked a jawdropped, astonished, spellbound Bert.

"Can't you recognize this? We're in the sky, Bert. Above the clouds," said Mary.

"N-no, we're not. Are we?" said Bert, trying to get back into his senses.

"Bert, has your wife ever stirred you wrong?" reminded Mary to her disbelieving husband, though his disbelief was short-lived.

"No Mary," smiled the now-believing Bert, "You 'aven't one bit."

They flew together across the sky, sharing smiles, feeling like they were walking down the memory lane of how they used to be on their jolly holidays.

"Hmm..." sighed Mary, "I haven't done this for many years..."

"I miss you doing it Mary Poppins!" squawked her parrot.

"Maybe the reason why the wind's been blowin' so 'ard is to take you flyin' like you used to one more time, ain't it?" said Bert surely.

"Well, I would have to say the same thing Bert," she agreed, "But we really must be going back home. The children do need us!"

The wind took Mary and Bert back under the clouds. But to no avail, the storm had been right under them all along! The strong winds were swifter than ever and blew them right off the clouds and inverted the parrot-handled umbrella, causing them all to succumb to the force of gravity and fall straight down, right to the place they never expected to land on...17 Cherry Tree Lane.

"Mary, we gotta get in right now!" said Bert in desperation.

"Are you very sure the Banks' still live here?" asked Mary, worriedly.

Before Bert could say anything, the wind blew very hard towards them. So hard, it blew them right into the Banks' house, crashing through their door, with a banging noise they left.

"George!" exclaimed Mrs. Banks, rushing close to her husband, panicked.

"What is it, Winifred? What's the matter?" said Mr. Banks in an alert manner, looking around the house until he caught a crumpled umbrella and a couple, curled up on the ground.

Ellen and Mrs. Brill rushed out of the kitchen to see all the commotion and caught sight of Mary and Bert, lying down, curled up, covered under the umbrella.

"AHHH!" screamed Ellen, "Y-you suppose they're alright, Sir?"

"What on Earth is this, Ellen? I'm going to have to see for myself," said Mr. Banks, walking towards the couple.

"George," said Mrs. Banks, examining and studying the lying figures before them, "If I didn't know any better, I think they look rather familiar."

Mr. Banks looked down, crouched and picked up the umbrella. Much to his surprise, they were familiar. Very familiar. It was Mary Poppins and Herbert Alfred! Soon, a smile came across his face as he saw the couple smiling up at him too.

"Well, well..." he said in a cheerful tone, immediately realizing who fell in to his doorstep, "If it isn't who I think it is...Winifred! The Alfreds are back! Mary and Bert are back!"

"Oh George, are they really?" asked Mrs. Banks gleefully as she and the maids began to show smiles on their faces.

"See for yourself, Winifred," said Mr. Banks.

Mrs. Banks took a closer look and saw Mary and Bert, calmly sitting, huddled together with a smile of relief from the storm that blew them there at 17 Cherry Tree Lane.

"Oh George! So they are! So they are!" she rushed to help the couple up and greeted them happily.

" 'Ello Mrs. Banks!" smiled Bert, "I'm really 'appy to see ya right now!"

Bert gave a friendly kiss on her hand and Mrs. Banks embraced him, for she missed him as a good friend should.

"Oh, Mr. Bert Alfred, I'm delighted to see you too!" said Mrs. Banks joyfully before turning to Mary Poppins and greeting her with another embrace, "Mary Poppins!"

"Mrs. Banks," replied Mary, "It's lovely to see you again."

"I am very happy you came back!" smiled Mrs. Banks, "We didn't know you returned to Cherry Tree Lane! But why didn't you write or telephone us, Mary?"

"Well, we intended to give you a call, Mrs. Banks, but we have only arrived last week, I'm afraid," she admitted, "Bert and I apologized for not giving you a call, really we do."

"Oh, nonsense Mary Poppins, I'm just happy to have you back!" assured Mrs. Banks. Of course, Mrs. Banks wasn't the only one Mary and Bert had to greet. Mr. Banks was ready to greet the couple with open arms.

" 'Ello there guv'nor!" Bert smiled once again, getting ready for a second hug from Mr. Banks.

"Bert!" greeted Mr. Banks, "How is my good man, Mr. Alfred? It's so good to see you again, old chap!"

"Hello Mr. Banks," smiled Mary Poppins.

"Herbert Alfred! Is this really your good and lovely wife, Mary Poppins?" asked Mr. Banks in shock.

"She sure is, guv'nor!" replied Bert.

"My, my! She's never changed now, hasn't she?" smiled Mr. Banks, turning his face to Mary, giving her a friendly kiss on her hand followed by a hug, "My dear Miss Poppins, I'm very happy to see you and your husband again!"

"And I as well Mr. Banks," replied Mary, "It's been a very long time now, hasn't it?"

"Yes! A very, very long time! We've missed you while you were away!" said Mr. Banks, clearly happy to see Mary and Bert again.

"Me wife an' I missed you too Mr. Banks, we've moved back in town since days are gettin' better 'ere in Cherry Tree Lane! Ain't it right Mary?" said Bert, feeling optimistic, smiling at his wife.

"Bert, you clearly know that we can't keep our hopes too high now, can we?" briefly explained Mary in her no-nonsense sort of way, "You know, no one and nothing is perfect, is it not?"

"Well, you are!" joked Bert, causing his wife to laugh.

"Oh Bert! You can be rather light-headed!" laughed Mary, then slowly returning to her seriousness, clearing her throat, "Well, it's good to be here again, thank you very much for your hospitality and kindness, but I don't understand why I am here instead of home!"

Mr. and Mrs. Banks exchanged looks at each other until they finally got the idea. Mr. Banks looked outside and saw the wind blowing. That's when he knew.

"Mary Poppins, have you noticed the weather outside lately?" asked Mr. Banks, curiously, already knowing the answer.

"Mr. Banks, you do realize that Bert and I have been blown here in a windy weather, do you not?" answered Mary.

"Yes, of course Mary Poppins! And I believe I know why you're here!"

"Now, why would you think that?" she asked as her eyes widened.

"The wind has changed, Mary Poppins! That's why you're here! Perhaps the wind blew you here because you, my dear, have a purpose!" smiled Mr. Banks with a joyful tone in his voice.

"I do?" wondered a disbelieving, confused Mary Poppins.

" 'E's right ya know!" agreed Bert, "That's the very reason why the wind took us 'ere!"

For once, Mary Poppins was proved wrong by the Banks' couple, her husband Bert and even her very own parrot-handled umbrella.

"Aha! I told you so, Mary Poppins!" squawked the little creature, "I told you so!"

"That will be quite enough of that, thank you!" Mary Poppins has heard enough.

Now this situation was puzzling and befuddling, even for a practically perfect woman like Mary Poppins (Alfred, in this case). The Banks family seemed to be a strong-tied family and yet the wind blew her back to 17 Cherry Tree Lane. Jane and Michael most certainly did not need her for a nanny anymore. After all, they're both all grown up. Now the only question was; Why on earth would Mary Poppins be blown all this way to watch over two teenagers with absolutely 'no problem?'

"I don't understand, Mr. and Mrs. Banks, why was I sent back here?" asked Mary Poppins, who was still quite confused.

"That, we don't know, I'm afraid," replied Mrs. Banks, "Perhaps the only thing you came to do was to stop by and say 'hello,'"

"Well, that does make sense," said Mary, neutrally.

That's what the whole household thought Mary and Bert would do: 'stop by and say hello.' But that wasn't it. There was still another reason Mary returned that no one knew and understood. Before the reason was revealed, Bert realized that there were still two people missing from their simple reunion. They just couldn't start completely without the children.

"Um guv'nor? 'Ow are the children?" asked Bert.

Before Mr. Banks could answer, Mary Poppins interrupted the response.

"Now Bert, we've already taken a lot of their time," Mary explained, "We can't waste any more, you know."

"Oh no, not at all Mary Poppins!" started Mr. Banks, "You're our guests!"

Mary Poppins knew the real reason why she felt she didn't have the time to talk to the children. It was most certainly not her doubt of them forgetting about her, but a slight misunderstanding between one of them that she has never forgotten all these years that she was away. Because of that constant memory when thinking about the children, this argument of the past had deeply affected her relationship with one of them. But that was in the past. Maybe it was time to set their odds right and start fresh all over again, which was a very simple thing for Mary to do.

"So, where are your children?" asked Mary Poppins, "I can tell you they're definitely not in the nursery, of course!"

"Yes they are, Mary Poppins!" smiled Mr. Banks in an outwitting manner.

"I beg your pardon?" said a confused Mary with a cocked eyebrow, knowing that Jane and Michael should definitely have their own rooms by now.

"But, 'ow on Earth can they..." overreacted Bert.

"-Now Bert, let them finish!" mildly scolded Mary.

"They always go there to share their moments together," said Mrs. Banks.

As a matter of fact, they were. Jane still couldn't accept the fact that poor Mark Hall, her dearest friend, was confined in the hospital, in pain in the head and unconscious. At least her younger brother, Michael, was there for her.

"Come on Jane, don't let it ruin your day! After all, maybe he was going against the rules. Accidentally!" said Michael in a realistic yet comforting way, "Face it, accidents happen! Okay? People can break rules accidentally too!"

"So you call art a part of breaking the rules?! He's an artist! Artists are most certainly not rule-breakers! Did you think you ever saw Bert charged and reported to the constable after he drew those chalk pictures?!" yelled Jane, staring Michael down.

"No! You don't understand! That's not what I meant!" exclaimed Michael, "What I've been trying to say was that's just the problem with all the hate. Those city rats were obviously hateful of poor Mr. Hall, so they called it a so-called 'crime!'"

"Tell me about it, Michael," replied Jane.

"But it ain't a crime, right? It's art, right? So who are they to tell him off and even have the nerve to throw him off? No one!" said Michael powerfully, "If I ever get my hands on those city rats myself, I ought to..."

"-Now Michael, don't start!" interrupted Jane. But she wasn't the only one talking.

"Jane, Michael!" called out Mr. Banks, "There's someone here to see you!"

When they heard their call, they began to feel anxious and excited at the same time. They knew someone was there, but who could it be?

"Someone?" exclaimed Jane, "Could it be Mark?"

"I really wouldn't want to get your hopes so high. Besides, he was just checked into the hospital, remember?" warned Michael, "It could be anyone down there, you know. Even Mary P..."

"-Oh, I hope it's him!" Jane interrupted excitedly once again, clearly not heeding her younger brother's words, "If it's him, I'd run up to his arms and..."

"-Jane, Michael! Your guests are waiting!" called Mr. Banks again.

"I think he's brought someone!" giggled Jane softly.

"Well, I don't know, Jane!/; shrugged Michael as he prepared to exit the nursery.

"Coming Father!" yelled Jane, excitedly pulling her brother, running down the stairs.

Much to their surprise, it wasn't young Mark Hall. It was a couple they knew and loved and haven't seen for a couple of years. It was none other than Bert and Mary Poppins.

Jane and Michael stood there, shocked to see them again while Bert and Mary stood there, ready to welcome them with open arms.

"Hello children," Mary smiled warmly at them.

"Mary Poppins!" jumped Michael, running to his former nanny for a hug, "Oh, am I glad to see you!"

Jane ran over to Bert to give him a hug as well, while Michael embraced Mary. It was so good to see them again, especially after a number of years.

"Michael," said Mary as she returned the hug, "I'm so glad you're now the fine young gentleman I envisioned you to be."

"Oh really?"

"Michael Banks, you are aware that you and Jane have grown up to be a wonderful young lady and gentleman, are you not?" she questioned gently but firmly.

"As long as it comes from you, Mary Poppins," smiled Michael, still as sweet as he's ever been.

"Thank you Michael," said Mary, giving him an embrace once more.

"Michael! 'Ow's me favorite little nephew?" grinned Bert opening his arms to Michael. Since the Banks family welcomed Mary and Bert to their extended family, he indeed felt like an uncle figure to both Jane and Michael.

"Bert! I'm a 'not so' little nephew now, you know," said Michael, giving Bert a hug, "Well, I'm glad to see you too Bert!"

"The same for us, Michael!" said Bert with a rub on Michael's head.

Jane just stood still and smiled, seeing Michael happy to see Mary and Bert again. But there was just one last person she forgot to greet...Mary Poppins.

"Jane?" calmly called Mary Poppins with a rather patient, hopeful look in her eyes. Jane turned slowly towards Mary until their eyes met and she stared at her the way she never has before. There has been this pain inside of Jane that she's been holding on to for almost four years now. The barrier between her and Mary that kept them distant because of their huge misunderstanding they had back in the past. As Jane kept looking into Mary's eyes, fighting her tears back from flowing, her thoughts flew back to the day things took a turn for the worse for the both of them...

A/N: And there you have it everyone! Chapter 3. The first cliffhanger I ended with in this story so far! So, before you leave this page, I have questions for you readers...Did you miss Mary and Bert? How did you find their children? Wondering what will happen next between Mary Poppins and Jane? Are you also wondering what happened between them? Will they ever forgive each other for their huge misunderstanding that they've been through? All of this is yet to come in the next chapter! Stay tuned and I'll be updating quite soon! Any suggestions? Any pieces of advice? Don't forget to leave me a REVIEW! I'd really appreciate it very much! Thank you all!

~ASianSuccessor2012