"Dad!" Louise called after her dad as he bounded down the stairs.
"Not now Louise! The game is on!" Sherlock called back to her as he headed out the door of the flat. Louise was beginning to run down the stairs when her father called her out of her daydream.
"Louise Grace Watson-Holmes, what are you thinking about?" John asked her when she came back to reality.
"I was going on a case with dad." Louise told him dreamily. He sighed and stirred his tea.
"Your daydreams are becoming more frequent Louise. I don't want you to miss out on life." John told her with a worried look.
"You let dad daydream all he wanted." She muttered under her breath. John looked solemnly into his lap as Louise realized what she had said. "I'm sorry daddy." Louise had mentioned her father's death in front of her dad again. Sherlock had died a year and a half ago. John stood without looking up at her and left the room without a word. Louise felt awful. She put her head in her hands and sighed. She knew how much her dad was suffering; she knew how much they were all suffering. People tried to help John but she was the one who calmed him down when he had nightmares and the one who made him eat when he refused to.
"Yoohoo! You alright Louise?" Mrs. Hudson appeared at the door and gave Louise a warm smile.
"Yes Mrs. Hudson. I just mentioned my father again." Louise said guiltily. Mrs. Hudson frowned and walked over to the young girl.
"It'll be okay darling. You two have the strongest bond I've ever seen and it's just grown stronger since your father passed away. It'll be okay dear."
"Thanks Mrs. H." Mrs. Hudson smiled, pat Louise's knee, and walked out of the flat. Louise stood from her seat and decided to go to her dad's room. She silently opened the door and peeked in. What she saw made her feel even more guilty than before. John was holding Sherlock's coat in his arms and softly crying into it. Louise sat next to her dad and hugged his arm. "It'll be okay daddy. We'll carry on."