7th September 1940

Mary walked along the streets of London's East End along with her current charges. Lilly and Diana were two adorable girls at the age of seven and eight- And as with the Banks, it were the parents who needed help rather than the children. As the girls ran around happily a few meters in front of her, Mary was filled with a strange feeling that told her there would be a change soon, a big change.

Since last year, war was raging and Mary felt more and more uncomfortable every day. She was still traveling around the country as a nanny and even if she would never admit it, she was scared- scared that something is going to happen to the man who knelt on the ground a hundred yards away and polished the shoes of an older gentleman. Yes, she and Bert had been on separate paths for a year, but that did not change the fact that she still had feelings for him. And the fact that he even had to clean shoes to make money meet hurt her. About two months ago, they met again in London and had a brief and distant talk about what had happened in the past year. Besides, Bert had meekly suggested that they should write letters regularly, since there was a war going on and he wanted to make sure she was fine too. A sad smile crept to her lips as she approached him. When Lilly asked if she and her little sister were allowed to play in their garden, which was only a few meters away, and the customer was examining his cleaned shoes, the Nanny took the opportunity and went to Bert.

The man, who was probably in a higher class, gave Bert the money for his services and headed off in the direction from which she had just come. Bert, staring after him but stiffened when he saw the nanny: "Mary?" His voice sounded incredulous and his eyes widened.

While Bert was cleaning the shoes of a wealthy man, he had many thoughts. Respectively, a strange feeling in the stomach made him ponder, for he knew neither what it wanted to say, nor what it caused. Coincidentally, Elizabeth, whom he had met fifteen minutes earlier, had expressed a bad feeling too. The fact that his intuition, and moreover that of Lizzy, could be relatively reliable, gave him an unpleasant goose bump.

Since the shoes were not really dirty, he was quickly finished. With a friendly smile, he said goodbye to the gentlemen, but he stiffened when he saw a familiar face: "Mary?"

"Hello Bert."

He looked at her incredulously. "'ow are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking. And you?"

"Fine too."

Silence.

His gaze wandered to the giggling girls in the immediate vicinity. "Are these your newest charges?"

"Yes... they're playing in their garden right now" She looked at them for a moment before turning back to Bert, who was now wearing a sad smile on his face.

"They seem t' be okay."

"They are indeed. They wouldn't really need my help, rather the parents."

"Like the Banks."

"Yes, like the Banks ..." Mary looked deep into his eyes and did not notice that the girls had come to her in the meantime.

Silence.

Strange silence.

It was as if all London was holding its breath.

Bert was just about to answer when a loud signal sounded and everyone looked up. At a distance, he saw dark spots in the sky that were getting closer and bigger and more threatening-the unmistakable sound of the aircraft engines produced a dull reverberation in his ears. Quickly he looked around and saw in the garden in which the girls had just played, a cellar door. His thoughts literally screamed at him that this was the right shelter, not the nearby subway station.

"Take the children an' yourself an' 'ide out in the cellar! Quick!" He did not want Mary in danger. She should hide, go to safety.

"But-"

"No! Get the girls an' run! "

"What about you?" Her voice sounded odd, but he could not classify it.

"Go!" He yelled at Mary and his voice trembled. Not out of annoyance, but because he was afraid. A fear he had never felt before. If something happened to her now, he would never forgive himself!

Mary grabbed Lilly and Diana and ran with them to the nearby cellar. However, she insisted on turning at the door again and looking for Bert. But he ran just in this moment in the opposite direction! "Bert!" She sounded panicked, almost desperate. Her pulse nearly doubled the frequency. Only when Diana pulled on her jacket, Mary followed the children in the basement, where the parents had sought refuge.

Bert ran as fast as he could around the nearest street corner, looking for a very specific person. It was not long before he saw her and ran faster.

Elizabeth stood rooted in the middle of the street, staring up at the sky with her mouth slightly open. The sirens and engines roared in her ears, but the sight petrified her. She had never seen such a thing in her life and it scared her. But still she could not move! Only when something, or rather someone, tore at her arm, she was catapulted back into reality: "Lizzy!"

"Huh?"

"Come on!" She allowed herself to be carried away by him without much thought, but kept looking up at the sky, which was getting darker and darker.

Together, they ran hand in hand in the direction from which Bert had come. He did not pay attention to the sounds anymore, but concentrated on not tripping over his own feet.

"What's this?"

"An air raid" he answered curtly and looked up.

Every time an airplane flew overhead, it was dark and cold for a moment, as if to mock them. As a detonation shook the ground, the two closed their ears and tried even faster to get to the shelter.

"We're goin' down t' the cellar from the house over there! The one with the garden! "Bert pointed to the building, which stood at a small intersection.

Just before the chosen sanctuary, Bert ran even faster and when he opened the door, he and Liz fell headlong down the stairs in their haste.

Mary Poppins opened her eyes in horror as the creaky cellar door suddenly opened and two people, moaning from exhaustion, landed at her feet.

"Bert!" Mary only had eyes for him, as he, breathing heavily and almost gasping, pulled himself up and helped his companion to his feet.

"Mary" He could not help but pull her into an embrace, and she seemed to need it because she was literally clinging to him!The whole past year and the conversation last September were suddenly forgotten- they were just glad to know that the other was safe and well. Tears streamed out from under their closed eyelids, and Bert hugged her so that one ear was pressed against his chest and he held the other with his hand to shield her from the outside noise.

When he opened his eyes to look around, his gaze fell on Elizabeth, who crouched in the corner and looked like a frightened, young owl to the door. Her arms were wrapped around her bent legs and her chin was on her knees. "Lizzy," he waved, "come 'ere."

Of course she did not say that twice and joined the hug. There they stood, in their own little bubble, trying to save themselves from the war.

So they stayed for a while, until it got quieter outside, how long exactly, no one knew and they did not care. Nobody wanted to break away from the protective embrace, neither the small family nor the other three figures. It was strangely quiet outside, almost too quiet. It was Elizabeth who first left the hug and turned. Slowly she went to the door and stood on the stairs.

"What are ya doin'?", Bert asked horrified and focused his attention back on her, while Mary looked at her properly for the first had not seen the girl in a year, and oh, how she had changed!Her hair was a lot shorter, not even chin-length anymore. The facial features were much more prominent and she was not quite so pale. But what surprised Mary most was that she had now reached almost Bert's size! She was less than two inches smaller - and she's only 17!

"I go outside."

"Are ya crazy!? It's way too dangerous out there! If you 'aven't noticed yet: war is raging!" As he walked towards her, she overcame the rest of the stairs without comment and opened the door. "Lizzy, stop ... Lizzy!"

He had not even finished the sentence when the door closed again.

Bert put his left foot on the bottom step when his arm was grabbed by Mary: "Stay here!"

He knew she was right, so he sank down on a nearby potato sack and stared at the metal door. Mary joined him and together they began to wait.

They did not know how long they had remained there and stared at the door, but when a new and above all explosion in the immediate vicinity shook the ground, they panicked. Because Elizabeth was still out there...

Here is the first chapter of Part III

As you may already noticed, it will be a bit darker, which is why I have raised the age of T to M. Furthermore, there will be less leaps in time from chapter to chapter. I'm currently more researching for the story than actually writing it...

And I'm going too see Mary Poppins Musical in Hamburg (again) and London! I can't wait :D

I do not know what else to say... Just leave a review xD