30th May 1943

Elizabeth walked through a densely overgrown mixed forest. Basil trotted behind her and had offered to carry the backpack and bag.
Both were completely filthy from top to toe. They definitely had to wash themselves whenever they finally have the opportunity to!

The young woman got lost in her thought as she looked at the dance of light and shadow on the ground.

She had left Matthew and Michael Banks about two and a half weeks ago. On the one hand because she just didn't belong there and on the other hand because her feeling told her it was time to go.
She didn't know where the journey would lead, but slowly she was tired of it - where should she go!?

There was no sign of an end to her journey anytime soon. On this day she would probably do nothing but stroll through the undergrowth and wait.
But one thing was different: It was her 20th birthday.

Twenty... an odd number for her.

Twenty-year-olds had always been adults to Elizabeth, but she was far from feeling like one.
No, she was still a teenager inside; a teenager who never really was one.

She looked back on her life that day:

She has been in an orphanage in London for years - As long as she could remember, to be precise. She never knew who her parents were. Did they had an accident? Were they poor and couldn't afford a child? Was she the unpleasant accident of an affair?
When she was younger, she also liked to imagine that one parent was part of the royal family and that her veins had blue blood flowing through them.
But as she got older, those fantasies faded.

Nobody knew who her parents were because no one ever asked the orphanage about her. While the other children had lost their parents and wished their families back, Elizabeth only wished to know what it would be like to have a family - even if it was only for a day.

However, all of this changed in the autumn of 1930 when she met the Jack of all trades Bert Alfred at the age of seven. She was fascinated by his chalk drawings, his music and especially his medical knowledge.
When he and Mary Poppins took care of her when she was seriously ill and was facing death, Liz realised that the two of them were more to her than just a few nice people - they were like family to her! She saw them as her parents and even took Bert's last name. Only unofficially and without his knowledge, of course.

In all the years that the three Londoners have known each other, they looked after each other and they really became a small family - even if not biologically.

Not so long ago, though, Mary and Liz learned that they were related. How close, however, they had to find out for themselves.
Even if Elizabeth and Mary were biologically related, it was Bert who saw himself in Liz. She was like a second version of him in almost every way; be it in terms of character or appearance.
For Bert and Lizzy, the visual similarity in particular was probably the funniest coincidence there could be.

She was torn from her thoughts when she suddenly heard the crack of branches not too far away - she and Basil were not alone!
"'ide behind the 'ill!" She whispered to the stallion. Basil agreed with a snort and took cover.

When he was gone she hid behind the low-hanging branches of a young pine tree that was in front of the hill and looked around. She subconsciously grabbed the parrot umbrella and got ready to defend herself.
Elizabeth listened carefully: two people seemed to be approaching slowly and carefully. At least that's what she suspects based on the noises that were being made.

Her heart beat faster and faster and her whole body began to shake. Depending on who was about to show up, that would mean her certain death! After all, she was wearing a British uniform. Fortunately, her uniform was so covered that one might not see it at first look. On the other hand, her bandage with the red cross was not really recognisable either, which could lead to disadvantages.

The steps got closer and closer and Liz hoped that by a lucky coincidence she and Basil would go undetected.
She held her breath and tried to suppress her racing heartbeat and her trembling muscles.

In vain, because a bayonet pushed the branches, that covered her, aside.

Two soldiers stood in front of her: one, the taller one, aimed his rifle precisely at her. The other was the one who pushed the branches aside.
Elizabeth could not see exactly what uniforms they were wearing because of the strong backlight. But her heart was beating at an unhealthy pace and an even greater panic broke out in her as she looked into the two barrels of the rifles.
When the two eyed her, however, they lowered their weapons.

"Who are you?" The smaller, dark-haired soldier asked skeptically.

"Thank God!" Elizabeth breathed in relief when she heard the unmistakable London dialect in his voice. Relief arose in her and her palpitations and tremors died away instantly. She straightened up and spoke in her cockney accent: "Me name's Elizabeth..."

Elizabeth held out her hand to the smaller one, who was about her size. After a brief hesitation, he shook it and began to smile. "Peter," he turned around and pointed to the other, who was now looking more relaxed, "and that fella over there is John."

"But everyone calls me Johnny," he held out his hand and she greeted him too.

Elizabeth remembered her pen pal Peter. He and Bert told her they had a Johnny in their division. Would it be possible that the two of them - No! She immediately discarded the idea so as not to raise unnecessary hopes. After all, the names Peter and John were very common.

"You look like you could need something to eat and drink..." Peter said worried and looked at her. She nodded. "Then come with us."

Peter and Johnny took a few steps, but Elizabeth stood there for a moment. Should she trust them? She didn't knew them. But then again she was pretty thirsty, almost starving and oh so tired. But then she realised one thing: what if her feeling had brought her to them? Because... the tugging she always felt was barely noticeable. And that meant she was close to her goal!

"Are you coming?" Asked Johnny.

"Yea'!", She turned to Basil, who had meanwhile come out of his hiding place, "are you comin' with me?"

'Of course' he said and walked past her. She watched everyone else for a moment before she fastened her steps to catch up.

The three Britons walked in silence for a while, followed by the proud stallion, and only when voices of soldiers reached her ears Elizabeth said the question that had been buzzing around in her head for minutes out loud: "Is it really okay if I come with ya? "

Peter looked at her worried and thought for a moment before answering: "We are at war and should support one another. If we don't do that, the misery will never find its end..."

Elizabeth could hear the melancholy in his voice. He was as sick of the war as she was. She looked at Johnny, who apparently had to hold back tears.

"Wise words…", she muttered.

"Also," Peter continued with a smile, "our sergeant is quite a nice guy. He will certainly not mind if we give you a something to eat and to drink and maybe give you shelter for a day or two."

"Bert is a great guy!" Johnny interjected happily.

Elizabeth stopped dead in place. She wasn't moving a muscle and she even seemed to be holding her breath. What did he just say?

Peter and Johnny ask each other before they both say "Are you okay?" asked.

"Sergeant... Bert?"

The soldiers gave a questioning look. It was Johnny who asked "Yes?" said.

"Sergeant Herbert A-"

"Wait...", Peter cut his friend off and came closer, "You said your name was Elizabeth..."

"Yea'…"

Peter's eyes lit up slightly and he had a guess who was standing in front of him. A slight smile crept onto his lips - he had an idea.
He asked quite loosely: "Should we introduce you as Lizzy Alfred or do you prefer Lizzy Poppins?"

Elizabeth's jaw dropped. "'ow-", she paused and took a moment, "Peter!? Where's Bert!? "
She was completely overwhelmed! On the one hand, she would like to talk to Peter, since she saw him for the first time in real life. But then again, she just wanted to see Bert. She wanted to be with her family again.

A sad smile crept onto Peter's lips. On the one hand, she looked familiar to him, but due to the dirty face and the now longer hair, he wasn't really sure. In addition, she looked different in photos than in real life.

"Follow me," he said gently and went first.

The three were walking over a hill and Elizabeth saw a cluster of tents beyond. They were walking between the tents when suddenly an idea occurred to her and she began to whistle.

But she didn't whistle anything - no, she whistled "Chim Chim Cheree".

My dearest Bert,

the Thomas children have coped a lot and I suspect that the wind will soon turn and that I will leave York.

I also spoke to Barbara Banks on the phone again and asked her about Martha. She is fine! It was the right decision to take her to the Banks and I will visit her at the next opportunity.

But I'd rather visit you, my dear. I miss you more every moment and I am excitedly looking forward to the day when we will see each other again.

The work distracts me, but I lie up late at night and hope that you are well.

I've taken your advice to heart and want to focus more on the relationship between Elizabeth and me. Maybe I'll find out something that will tell us more about our family.
Perhaps there are still several Poppins out there that could unite and thus lead to a quick end to the war.

I keep my fingers crossed that you will soon be granted a leave and come to London.

I love and miss you

Mary

Bert sat at the edge of his camp bed and put the letter aside to devote himself to cleaning his rifle. As he wiped the concealed metal with the rag, he lost himself in thought. For once, though, his thoughts weren't about Mary Poppins or the war. It was the 30th May and thus Lizzie's 20th birthday.

He still couldn't believe that he hadn't seen her since the day he left London... If he hadn't had the photo, he might have forgotten her face by now. He hated to admit it, but her voice was barely present in his memories...

Liz hadn't seen Mary for a while either, and even the nanny had to admit that the appearance and sounds of Liz began to fade from her memories. The last time Mary had seen Lizzy briefly, when she had brought little Martha to the Nanny and the Banks.

Bert had been thinking for days what he could give Lizzy for her birthday. He had some ideas, like a new camera, a new wristwatch or painting utensils, but he couldn't get any of them over there. But one thing was certain: he would write her a letter in the evening in peace!

He was about to clean the other side of the rifle when a distant noise reached his ears. It was a melody. A melody which he had almost forgotten. A melody as beautiful as a bird's song. It was the unmistakable melody of Elizabeth's whistle!

Immediately he jumped up and was about to leave when the melody stopped. He turned around again- disappointed. "Probably just me imagination," he muttered and picked up the rag again. But... there was the melody again; this time a little closer.

He went out of the tent, full of hope, and whistled an answer.

Silence.

He whistled again.

Silence.

Bert's hope waned again and he wanted to go back to his tent when he whistled again. But this time a lot closer!
He spun around and walked quickly in the direction from which the whistle was coming - on the way he whistled his part over and over again.

His steps became faster and faster until he was almost running. He ran around a corner and saw an all too familiar person stormed out from behind a tent.
He stopped.
She also stopped.
The two were now about fifty yards apart.

For a moment they looked at each other in disbelief, almost as if they couldn't believe their eyes. But then the two sprinted at the same time.

"Bert!"

"Lizzy!"

Seconds later they found each other in each other's arms, holding each other as if their lives were depending on it. Both Liz and Bert had to fight back tears - in vain!

They hugged for what seemed like an eternity, until Bert broke away and looked at her: She was taller now than when he left, only about an inch or two shorter than himself. Her hair was dark, but in the sunlight it shimmered slightly copper as ever.
What worried him was that she was quite thin and her face seemed a little sunken. In addition, it was quite dirty and the bags under the eyes were very prominent and dark.

Questions over questions were buzzing around in his head, but he decided on the most important: "'ow are you?"

"Better since I've been 'ere... What about ya?"

"I think the feeling is mutual!"

The two looked at each other again for a moment before Bert's gaze slid to Peter and Johnny. He was grateful, oh so incredibly grateful, that they brought Liz to him.
Bert waved and the two soldiers approached to them.

"Lizzy... These are Johnny Andrews and Peter Pegg... you've known the latter for a while now I guess," he said with a wink.

"I don't think I can thank ya enough for bringin' me 'ere and not shootin' me."

Bert ignored the comment and still couldn't believe Lizzy was with him.

"Can you bring Lizzy something to eat and drink? We are waiting for you in my tent. "

The two soldiers agreed, smiling warmly, and set off to get food.

"Come on, let's go t' me tent... There we can talk."

The short walk to Bert's tent was quiet. Elizabeth looked around and questioning looks rested on her and Basil. On the one hand, it was the same when she got to Matthew and Michael, but then the looks were skeptical - now they were interested. Here and there the soldiers mumbled something to each other and she was sure that she had heard her name too. It almost seemed to her as if the people here knew her, as if she were a famous person who would visit them.

Bert noticed her discomfort: "Just don't pay attention them any attention… They are just not used to see strangers who they don't want to kill them directly," his gaze slid to the horse, "is that Basil?"

"Yea'", she grinned and stroked his filthy blaze, "the fastest stallion in the world."

Basil snorted proudly and straightened up so that one could see all its splendour.

"And 'e's a little show-off."

"Well, I think 'e is a beautiful stallion and has the right to be a show-off."

'I like him ... More than I like you,' commented Basil mean but with an amused undertone. Of course, he didn't like Bert any more than Elizabeth. He had taken the lady in his horse's heart and would do anything for her.

Bert stopped in front of a tent and held a tarpaulin to one side: "Step inside."

'I'll wait here,' snorted the stallion and waited outside.

Elizabeth did as she was told and looked around: It was relatively dark in the tent and there were only two camp beds, backpacks, a mirror and a table with four chairs on which various maps lay. While Liz looked around, Bert took the rifle from his bed and put the bayonet back on.
Liz turned around and panicked when she saw the gun - a fact that, of course, she could hide from the Sergeant. Instantly his heart broke into a thousand pieces.

"'ey!", He put the gun on the floor and shoved it under the cot with his feet, "Don't panic! I would never ever shoot ya..."

Elizabeth took a short breath before she sat down on one of the chairs and stared at her feet: "I know... But since I was shot, I 'aven't been that… relaxed."

"You were shot!?"

Bert couldn't believe what he had just heard. She was hit by a bullet!? And why hadn't she said anything to him? The young woman nodded and undid the gaiter that was around her calves and took off her boots.

"Here", she showed him the scarred wound, "nothin' special, but since then I've been a little more scared."

Bert came closer and examined the scar: it was about one or two inches long and slightly red. But in spite of everything, everything seemed to have healed very well.

"When did that 'appen?"

"About two months ago," she put her shoe and gaiter back on, "when did the accident on yer face 'appen?"

"Huh?"

"The moustache." Elizabeths had an amused undertone and her foster father was sure that she was fighting with all her strength not to have a laughing fit.

"I've 'ad it for over a year now," he said dryly before sitting on the chair across from her.

"I'm curious what Mary will say when she sees… that."

"She likes it. She even told me that in person. "

As soon as he had uttered the sentence, Elizabeth's expression changed again; but he couldn't quite read it. "You've met Mary?"

It was then that he realised: he had never told Elizabeth that he and Mary had met about a year ago: "Yes, we met in Paris last March." But he left it at that for the time being. He definitely wasn't going to tell the twenty-year-old that he and Mary were having an intimate night.

Silence.

Both were looking at the entrance of the tent at the same time when Peter knocked on it: "Here is something to eat and drink."

"I think we 'ave a lot t' tell each other," said Elizabeth when Bert went to Peter to pick up the food. The latter, however, went straight back to give the two their peace.

"Yes", he put the plate and the bottle in front of her, "but first you eat and drink something."

Of course, it wasn't just about eating and drinking - afterwards Bert showed her where to wash herself and Basil.

When Elizabeth came back freshly washed and in cleaner clothes, just drying her hair with a towel, Bert eyed her.

"Is that my uniform?"

"Yes", she tugged at her sleeve, "but I only wear it when I 'ave nothing else."

Bert just nodded. He knew her well enough by now to realise that something was bothering her. But he also knew that she would talk about it herself when she felt ready.

"It all seems so unreal t' me... like in a dream..."

He raised an eyebrow - he didn't think she would say her thoughts out loud that quickly. "But I can assure you that it's not a dream."

"I don't know if that makes it any better," Liz sank down next to him on the camp bed and lit a cigarette.

"How so?" Wasn't she happy to see him?

"Me feeling brought me 'ere and that can't mean anything good", tears gathered in her eyes, "whenever my feeling 'as brought me somewhere, something bad has 'appened…"

She looked at him directly with her blue eyes: "I'm worried about ya, Bert."

Bert immediately hugged his foster daughter and no sooner had he put his arms around her than she began to cry into his shoulder. He tried to fight his own tears - in vain.

"Nothing will 'appen t' me... And neither will anything 'appen t' you... I will make sure of that..."

The two paused for a moment before discussing what had happened to them in the past two years.
Bert told her how it came about that he had met Mary, wherever he was and told her about his friendship with Peter and Johnny.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, told him about her travels, the successes and disappointments she experienced when she tried to help people.

It wasn't until shortly before midnight, when they could barely keep their eyes open, that Bert brought her to the tent where she could spend the night: the tent of Johnny and Peter. He was sure that the two of them would not harm her. In contrast to his tent mate Andrew... Luckily he was on the way but he would come back sometime during the night. Bert wanted to delay the meeting of the two as long as possible.

They stopped in front of the tent and looked at each other for a moment. Fortunately, the moon was full, so they could see a lot of each other.

"Good night, Bert."

"Good night," he smiled crookedly when he remembered something, "and a 'appy 20th birthday."

Elizabeth looked at him briefly before a big grin appeared on her lips: "Thank you... seeing you again is the best birthday present I could get."

I've been looking forward to the chapter for so long and finally I could write it! :D
Perfect as a special for the 60th chapter and 99,000+ words!

60 chapters...

99k, almost 100k, words...

Those two milestones feel unreal haha

I really hope you enjoyed the chapter :)
This time I would be particularly happy about reviews :3

Stay healthy!