I do not own Sherlock BBC.
He was an ordinary man. If you saw him across the street, he would not stand out in your memory. His heart was what made him extraordinary. He saw potential where others saw "freak." He saw her as an unbelievably hot genius. She knew that was how he thought. She wanted an admiring audience. But professors even if they appreciated her genius told her she would have few opportunities and thus focused on male counterparts who had half the brain capacity that she did! He gave her the admiring audience. Even if it was only an audience of one. He couldn't understand her work in mathematics to the extent that she could but he would listen to her talk about it for hours. He would tell his friends that he was a moron in comparison to her. She appreciated the fact that he could see the difference and admired her rather than being rude simply because she was female.
She knew that she was living in a world full of goldfish, as her son would later say. She truly was what her sons pretended to be, a high functioning sociopath. She was simply better than they ever were at the show that one must put on in society.
Everyone does it. You know, the list of things that one does not discuss in public, in polite company. She simply had to have an even better mask. Not that she really cared but in the world we live she needed contacts and connections. So she created her mask that she presented for the world. A smart woman of course but still one with manners that would be expected. Marriage provided her respectability, comfort, and someone who worshiped the ground she walked on. It's hard to resist spending time with someone who truly recognizes your genius. It allowed her more leeway but also new expectations to be added to her part. Motherhood was an expectation that she needed to fulfill and the role as mother was a difficult one to perfect but necessary. The doting, adoring mother was needed for her husband and the public eye. Her husband needed to see that his affection and the children were melting her analytic front. It wasn't of course but she had to hide it better to continue her work and keep her audience.
She watched her sons grow up. Her three little experiments. She tried to help them become like her. From her view of the world caring did little good and caused quite a bit of harm. She knew her husband would be quite a bit less of a moron if he simply wasn't in love with her. However, she enjoyed someone seeing the genius in a time where women were struggling to be heard to let that go and thus worked even harder to create a mask that would not crack for if it cracked her lifetime of work would be over.
Sherlock had her energy. He had his father's heart and her fondness for an audience. His addictions to the opiates, she knew he blamed her for. This was ridiculous, of course. How in the world could she of caused that to happen. His detective work made him happy and showed the genius of her family. He claimed that he had no use for sentiment and she was the first to know that simply wasn't true. She had failed Sherlock in that regard. That failure had allowed her an opportunity however. It had allowed her to see Sherlock's blogger, John and his wife Mary. Mary reminded Mrs. Holmes of herself. She could not wait to see what Mary would accomplish in the years ahead. Sherlock, though simply would not remove his heart and clung to sentiment instead of cool hard logic.
Mycroft had her processing and mental capacity. He was the British government. His protectiveness over Sherlock was something that publicly she was proud of. In her own mind, she could not see why Mycroft would clog up his brain with sentiment. She would read in reports from Anthea that Mycroft would talking about "Caring is not an advantage." She was proud to see Mycroft could still quote the lessons she had taught them. He had almost completely successfully removed his heart. If only his caring for Sherlock was removed. Then he would be a better swimmer in that world of goldfish that he had to live in.
Mycroft and Sherlock both could quote her lessons. Her disappointment in them resided in the fact that they refused to live it out. Life and processing would be so much simpler for them as soon as they did so. Mummy knows best if only they would listen.
Sherringford, her oldest, was the brightest of the three. He had made a career in the church. She knew that Mycroft and Sherlock saw him as an oddity. They assumed that he was exactly like their father, whom they were fond of for some reason. Father was proud of whatever they did and did not see their genius like he had with her. The boys even liked his habit of humming! Father's humming still aggravated her after 30+ years. But Sherringford had done what even she could not. She could be "bright" and a little eccentric. He had fulfilled the phrase "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." Sherringford had convinced the world he was "normal" and he "had a heart." While Mummy Holmes knew quite well that he was a genius and he was the only Holmes brother that had successfully removed his heart.
A/N: So Drag0nst0rm and I were talking about how despite the fact in The Last Vow, Mr. and Mrs. Holmes appear to be perfectly loving parents. Mrs. Hudson, Sherlock and Mycroft have all made comments about the unsuitability of Mrs. Holmes as a mother. "Your mother has a lot to answer for." "I have a list. Mycroft has a file." "I'll be Mummy. And that is the story of our childhood." Here is one possibility of what is going on in Mrs. Holmes's head.
