There was something, or someone, in a dark corner motionless, and it was not until Mary came closer that she recognized the silhouette. "Bert!" she cried.

Quickly she went over and examined him. He had a black eye and some bruises here and there. As she gently shook his shoulder to bring him back to consciousness, he groaned lightly.

"Bert!" She said again, trying to suppress her tears. Who in the world would treat him like that? Mary jumped as the nearby bushes rustled, and it was not long before a figure, a little smaller than her, staggered into the street.

"Elizabeth?" She did not answer and went directly to the injured girl. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you later," was her terse reply, before she knelt down next to Bert. "First we 'ave to take 'im to 'is apartment."

As soon as the adolescent spoke, Bert began to move. "Mary ... Lizzy?" He wanted to straighten up, but grimaced from the pain.

"What 'urts you?" Elizabeth said so calmly that it impressed Mary.

"Me right side..."

"What exactly?"

"Shoulders and ribs... And ah! .. The elbow and the knee a bit."

"Alright." Liz took off her jacket leaned towards him. As she did so, her face fell into a shaft of pale light, and Mary could see that her nose was bleeding and swollen, decidedly broken. It was amazing that she ignored her pain and cared for the other injured person.

"Can you stand up?"

"I 'ave to", he pulled himself up with a pained face and Liz was at his side all the time supporting him.

"Mary?" Liz did not need to say anything more, because the nanny knew what she wanted from her. She took Bert's left side and supported him as well. By mutual agreement, they took him to his apartment.

Arriving at the small apartment, they settled Bert onto his bed, where he sat in pain. Mary turned on the lights in the apartment, and when the adults saw the teenager's face, their breath caught for a moment.

"Lizzy ... your face!"

"Not as bad as it looks. You seem to 'ave gotten more than me ... Mary, can I talk to you?" Both adults looked at her questioningly, but the nanny followed her into the kitchen. Bert could not understand what they talked about, so he lay down and closed his eyes as his head throbbed.

He did not know how long he lay there, but when he heard the front door, he opened his eyes and looked around. The apartment was barely lit and the moon shone through the window. He had apparently slept for several hours.

"How are you?" Mary asked, sitting in a chair at the foot of the bed, knitting. Bert glanced up at her. Pale yellow light surrounded her- to him- perfect profile. Her hair was down and she wore new clothes. It was not the outfit she wore earlier in the evening, nor the sleepwear, but something in between. He had to smile for a while, looking at her in his apartment. Several years ago he had told her to make herself comfortable there, and at first she was still skeptical, but as time went by, this subsided.

"Could be better", he moaned and continued to straighten up or tried, because he fell back onto the pillow. His head hurt too much. Only his head .. His ribs, however, didn't hurt, which surprised him, as they had hurt the most before. "Where's Lizzy?"

"She went back to the orphanage and lay down."

"Oh good… Did you give me something or... you know."

"Apply magic? No, neither. Why do you ask? "

"My ribs were killing me several 'ours ago and now... it's okay." He straightened up with a pained grimace. "My 'ead 'urts more than my ribs ..."

"I see..." She got up and sat on the bed to be closer to him and inspected his wounds on his face. "I do not want to offend you but ... what happened tonight? Elizabeth was not exactly eager to tell me. "

It took Bert a moment to sort out his thoughts before he could answer, "Lizzy was in trouble... again."

"She's your problem child, right?"

"Yes... she seems to be 'aunted by trouble!" Seeing her expression, he continued his explanation. "She was stealing again and this time was caught by the shopkeeper... He and few others wanted pay back… and then I intervened." Bert did not want to tell her for the time being that two of the men were the ones who had cornered her.

"And then they attacked you?"

He laughed dryly. "Well... One o' them grabbed me by the collar, which Lizzy didn't like at all. So she attacked 'im and one came to the other... But at four against two you can imagine 'ow it ended. Especially if the two are a teenager and a thin chimney sweep."

"Oh." She did not know what to say.

"I don't know at what point I got what injuries. Except for the ribs. Lizzy landed in the hedge after a while and then it was my turn. And then one bloke punched me in the stomach until I was on the floor and then kicked me in the ribs, three or four times. And then 'e hit me. After that I don't remember anything... until you came."

"I simply can not believe it ... Not only did they attack a child, but that they attacked you, when you just wanted to settle the dispute. It is just unbelievable... And that they then kick a man already on the ground! How honorless can a person be!?" Her voice trembled. Bert was not sure, but he could have sworn that he saw tears in her eyes.

„'Ow's Lizzy?"

"Her face hurts, but that's understandable. Hers looks even worse than yours ... You saw it, too. I suspect her nose is broken. However, she did not want to go to the doctor. "

"Typical... But otherwise she's okay?"

"It seems so, yes."

"Good, at least one good thing."

"We'll take you to the doctor tomorrow, by the way... Just to be sure. Elizabeth insists. She just gave me a list, so I should pay attention to everything when she's gone."

"She's a good girl," he said with a tired smile.

Mary just looked at Bert and lost herself in his eyes, reflecting the light of the moon. He was a kind-hearted person and always thought of others first. He did not have to do what he did today; many would not have done it either. The sight of him hurt her and it reminded her of a moment that was just over 20 years ago, a moment when she first saw him face it so hurt.

The nanny could no longer hold back her tears, so they ran down her cheeks softly.

When Bert saw this he straightened up and stroked her tears away. „'ey... Don't cry... Everything's alright."

"No, Bert ... you do not deserve this! What you did today was incredible! First you helped me when I was cornered and then you came to Elizabeth's defense... you're too good for this world. "

"Oh no..." He wiped her tears away again and looked at her lovingly, before he gently put his left arm around her and pulled her close.

"I do not know what I would do without you. And it hurts to see you like this... When you came back like that, back then, it was already too much... I was so scared to lose you... " By the end her voice was little more than a whisper.

As Bert stroked her side reassuringly and listened attentively, Mary was drowning in a lake of emotion. Anger, towards those who did this to him. Mourning, to see him like this. Relief, that he is feeling better. But the feeling that pushed everyone else more and more into the corner was the feeling of love. The fact that he wanted to reassure her and take care of her even though he was the injured one. The way he looked at her... Simply everything he did made her heart beat faster.

Mary turned her head to see him again, looking up into his beautiful eyes and again he gave her his cutest smile. They paused for a moment before Mary threw all inhibitions, worries, and thoughts overboard and leaned towards him. And then her lips briefly touched his, before she broke away.

"I'm sorry-" but she did not get any further before he kissed her again.

"You don't 'ave to apologize," he said between kisses, letting his hand wander from her arm to her waist as Mary slid her fingers through his hair and, with a light pressure on the back of his head, deepened the kiss. But this was a small mistake, because Bert pulled away with a frown and inhaled sharply.

Mary opened her mouth to apologize again when he let go of her waist, took her chin in her hand and kissed her again lovingly. "Don't even think of apologizing, Mary."

"But-"

"No, 'but '... I just want to enjoy this moment." She kissed him again, but this time much more gentle and more loving than before.

Could it be that he feels the same way as she does? Or did he just enjoy the moment? She was sure of just one thing: she enjoyed sharing this moment and this feeling with the man she loved above everything else.

Bert's hands moved to her waist again, pulling her toward him so that she was above him. Mary leaned on her arms and tried to shift her weight onto them; the fear of hurting him again was too great. Like two lovers, they were lying on his bed. Smiling into the kiss, he slowly slid his hands over her sides, letting them rest on her hips for a moment before gently pushing her towards the left so that they could lie side by side. Slowly he pulled away and his eyes met hers.

As his fingertips touched her skin to brush a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she got a pleasant goose bumps.

They simply gazed at each other for a moment before Bert came closer again and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

Aren't they cute?

As always I hope you like this chapter :)