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26. Flower

It's a girl. Tears swelled up in Mary Poppins eyes as she held the little baby. She was so fragile and soft. She must have recognised her mother as the wailing soon came to a halt as she embraced her. This is it. One of the first of many magical moments with her. Her own little girl.

As the nurse carried the baby away to get cleaned, cried could be heard all around. Annabel stood in awe, watching the precious little child.

"She's beautiful, Mary Poppins! She truly is!"

After what seemed like forever, the baby was returned to her mother swaddled up nice and warm. The first thing they noticed was that she made a cute pout as she slept. She already had hair on her head and it was a light shade of brown. Even though she was still quite young, there were hints of both Mary Poppins and Jack in her.

Calling in her brothers, Annabel slowly guided them to the bed to meet the baby for the first time. Nervous, they peered at her gently. Cooing and whispering their hellos.

"Wash your hands if you want to touch her!" Annabel warned

"Alright!" Georgie cheered quietly as he dashed off to wash his hands

He soon returned and patted the baby's little fingers. They were so smooth and tiny, one would think they'd break with any sudden movements.

"She's so cute!" He cried out in almost a whimper "can I be her big brother?"

"Of course" Mary Poppins smiled "but that means you'll have to help take care of her"

"Yes!"

The doctor soon came in and smiled "you'll have to stay here for the rest of the day but you will be allowed to be discharged in the next day or two."

"Thank you."

After check ups for the baby and the mother, everyone was soon off asleep. The three siblings had invaded the sofa, the baby was in her cot and Mary Poppins lay asleep in bed.

Opening up one eye, Mary Poppins smiled at the children gathered in her room. They all lay, sleeping peacefully and not a sound was heard except from their gentle breathing.

Typical for her, she was already feeling better. The pain from birth had completely disappeared and she felt comfortable in walking around. Glancing at the clock, it was 5am and there was no point in going back to sleep. A new day had just begun.

With one snap of her finger, the blankets began to float around the room, covering each child carefully. The toys and books were piled back into their bags and bottles began to clean themselves. Nappies piled themselves neatly on top of each other and the clothes folded into one corner. With a stern look and a quick glance around the room, she smiled with satisfaction before nodding and sitting back in bed.

The baby's cry awoke them all, the light now beaming brightly into the room. Mary Poppins was quickly up on her feet to tend to her needs. Changing her nappies and feeding her quickly, she was back in napping mode.

The children had left the hospital without a word, leaving Mary Poppins alone with the child. Unknowing of their whereabouts, she decided to shrug it off because she knew they were fine. Placing her daughter back in the cot, the sound of many footsteps caught her attention. It was now 9am.

Just then, the doors slid open and there before her was the only person she had wanted to see.

"Jack!" She nearly yelled before getting swept off her feet

"Mary Poppins! Are you supposed to be walking around already?!" Jack exclaimed nearly just as loud

"What on earth?! How did you get here so quickly?"

"I got here on the evening train! I really wanted to get here as fast as I could!" He paused before whispering "where is-"

"She's over there"

"She?" Jack squealed before shuffling over to the cot where the baby lay "precious petal you are"

"Isn't she" Mary Poppins smiled

The three Banks' returned with Michael and Jane beside them. The two families were reunited with an extra member in one.

"Congratulations!" Jane called out giving Mary a hug

"Thank you, dear"

"I remember seeing Annabel for the first time... I cried" Michael laughed

"Of course you did, father" Annabel teased

All greeted the baby for the first time, passing her around as if she was a pass-the-parcel. Jack held her for the longest time. Never wanting to ever let go. She was now his everything and he was going to make sure that he would raise her right. However, she was still nameless.

"What are you gonna name her?" John asked

"We haven't thought much of it honestly" Jack replied as he stared at Mary Poppins "But we do have an idea and I think it's what we both agreed on."

"Are you gonna tell us?" Annabel asked eagerly

"Of course" Jack laughed "but after we discuss it first"

Agreeing, the Banks family headed out to give them space. The discussion wasn't long, after all, they already had a vague idea on what they wanted her to be named. Nothing posh or fancy but simple like Mary or Jack.

An hour passed and they had all reunited back into the hospital room. It seemed as if it was getting smaller and smaller. All eager to know what the name was, the room lingered in silence as they waited for them to speak.

"Well, we've decided" Jack nodded "not long to think of but there was only one requirement. The name had to either remind us of someone or be named after someone."

"But..." Mary Poppins smiled "we decided to do both"

"Both?" They all echoed

"Yes. Her first name is something we both liked. I remember hearing it shortly after I got pregnant and falling in love with it."

"Yup!" Jack nodded

"I remember, it was night time and I was worried. Needed some comfort but a little girl creeping around in the dark, found a way to comfort me. We looked at the stars and she instantly pointed something that looked familiar to her." Mary Poppins smiled at Annabel who gasped

"What..."

"She then proceeded to say. That looks like a lily, my favourite flower. She always gave it to me when I needed comfort."

Annabel giggled with happiness "is her name something like Lily?!"

"Yes" Mary Poppins nodded "but with a twist, now she is my little comfort. The one I see in the stars and my favourite little flower."

"But wait for it" Jack grinned "Can you guess what her middle name is gonna be?"

"What?" Georgie asked, all excited

"You should know. It's also got four letters!" Jack laughed "and a hint. She was the first person to know"

Jane, who had leaned against the wall sat up in surprise causing Jack and Mary Poppins, both, to laugh.

"No! What?! No way! Are you serious?" Jane gasped, nearly in tears "really?"

"Yes, Jane" Mary Poppins laughed "Jack was quite persistent in his decision on that one."

"Yep! There's no other stronger woman we would want to name her after! Out of everybody here, both you and Michael knew Mary Poppins the longest. There's no surprise there."

Cheering and awing at the name selection, the group went around greeting her once again but with her name.

Jack insisted on using Mary's family name, considering he didn't have one. So finally, written on paper was their precious little flower's name.

Lilia Jane Poppins.