The Most Precious Treasure
Disclaimer: I do not own Sherlock
Prompt: Precious Treasure
Mrs. Hudson stared forlornly out the window and winced in pain as her hip throbbed. Waiting on her pain medicine to kick in was becoming torture. It didn't help that it was bitterly cold outside and she couldn't move from her chair to turn up the heat. She was glad she kept the afghan her sister made for her on the back of her chair, or else she would more than likely freeze to death.
Just as Mrs. Hudson thought things couldn't get worse, she heard a knock on her door. She cleared her throat and called out, "Come in! The door is unlocked!" She wasn't expecting company, and she was hoping it wasn't Mrs. Turner wanting to be entertained. On a normal day, she would graciously accept her friend over for a cuppa and gossip, but not today.
She smiled when Mycroft Holmes stepped into her flat. "Oh hello dearie. What can I do for you?"
Mycroft smiled briefly in greeting before leaning on his umbrella. "Do you know where Sherlock is? Somehow he has evaded me for more than two hours, and we desperately need to discuss our mother's Christmas gift."
Mrs. Hudson nodded her head. "Well, I know he had breakfast with Molly at her flat this morning, and he's supposed to go to lunch with John and Mary this afternoon. He asked me to go, but I can't with my hip…"
"It's bothering you again? Worse this year than last year, I see. I know a doctor, Mrs. Hudson. Let me contact her and see what we can do for you. A hip replacement might be the best thing at this point."
"I can't afford a—"
"Nonsense!" Mycroft said, crossing the room and fiddling with her thermostat. "I'm sure between Sherlock and I, we can figure out something." He turned to face her once he was satisfied with the heat settings. "If you see Sherlock, please let him know I've been looking for him."
Mrs. Hudson smiled at Mycroft. "Thank you so much, Mycroft."
"Family is all we have in the end after all," Mycroft said, leaning down and briefly pressing his lips to Mrs. Hudson's cheek. He pulled away swiftly as if the kiss hadn't occurred and made his way to the door. Mrs. Hudson couldn't help but smile brightly at his retreating back, knowing his last statement was a direct quote from her. She couldn't believe he listened and remembered.
Her flat was warming up slowly but surely as she shifted her weight and leaned deeper into her chair. Time moved slowly, and Mrs. Hudson was counting down the minutes until she could move freely about her flat, knowing her breakfast dishes needed a washing and the dough in her fridge needed baking.
Just as she was thinking about disregarding the pain in her hip and resuming her day as best as she could, there was another knock at her door. "The door is open!" she called.
"Hope I'm not bothering!"
"Oh Molly!"
She smiled at the pathologist as she shuffled into the flat. Molly Hooper was always a welcome visitor to her flat. Her smile started to slip as she realized she didn't have anything to offer Molly; she knew it was in her best interest to stay seated or else she would have offered a cuppa.
"Just popping in really quick. I have to do a little bit of paperwork at St. Bart's this afternoon." Molly paused to survey Mrs. Hudson and her sitting room. "I noticed the weather has gotten awfully cold in the last few days, and with the snow this morning, I couldn't help but think of you!" That was when Mrs. Hudson noticed that Molly was carrying a plastic bag with her. "I can only imagine how your hip feels, and I know you just threw away your heating pad a few days ago, so I've got you a new one. It's electric, and I think it has a longer life span than those ones you heat up on the stove."
Molly knelt beside Mrs. Hudson's chair and opened the box with the heating pad. "It's really easy to use, and you have an outlet by your chair! What a coincidence."
Molly showed Mrs. Hudson how to work the heating pad. Then she plugged it in and helped her get settled in her chair. Before dashing off again, she grabbed a heavier blanket from her bedroom and a pillow.
"Molly, you're so sweet," Mrs. Hudson said, patting her hand. Molly just smiled and kissed her cheek.
"It's what friends do Mrs. Hudson. Worry and fuss over one another, right?"
"Family, more like it."
The blush that spread across Molly's cheeks was bright red, but offset by her grin. "I'll see you later, alright?"
Mrs. Hudson nodded her head, grabbing Molly's hands and giving them a squeeze. "Have a good day at work!"
With that, Molly flounced from her room. Mrs. Hudson listened and watched as she opened the door, only to be confronted by a deep, "Molly!"
"Such a handsome couple," Mrs. Hudson murmured to herself when she turned to give the shy pathologist and the world's only consulting detective some privacy. She knew they had only been dating for just a few weeks, but it warmed her heart to see Sherlock with someone like Molly Hooper.
Now both her boys were happy, with John married to Mary and Sherlock dating Molly. She sighed happily and turned towards the door when Sherlock stepped into her flat.
"I've brought you lunch. I deduced you wouldn't feel up to walking around your flat. And Molly brought you a heating pad." Mrs. Hudson watched as he went to her kitchen and retrieved a small tray. He put her lunch on it and filled a glass with water before carrying it to her and placing it on her lap.
"Mycroft was looking for you," Mrs. Hudson said, looking at her lunch. Water, a sandwich, and chicken noodle soup. And it was from Speedy's, one of her favorite places to get soup.
"Yes. I successfully avoided him this morning. I hope you find your lunch—"
"It's perfect, Sherlock."
Sherlock smiled at her and leaned down, kissing her cheek. "You should stay off your feet today and give your hip some time to rest. I'll be down in two hours to wash your dishes and start baking those biscuits in your fridge. I have an experiment that needs attention first."
And with that, Sherlock swept out of her flat.
Mrs. Hudson dug into her lunch with gusto, the pain finally starting to fade as a combination of additional heat and pain medicine started to do its work. Even though the day had started out bleak, the pain radiating from her hip nearing intolerable, visits from three people she considered her closest family made her feel better again.
After lunch, Mrs. Hudson moved her tray to the side of her chair. Then she contemplated whether or not it would be worth it to get up and get a book from her bedroom. She knew she probably wouldn't be able to settle herself as comfortably after she got up. Sighing in resignation and submitting herself to boredom, she sat back in her seat and closed her eyes.
She was only dozing for maybe a half hour before there was another knock at her door. She jumped and called out, "The door is unlocked!"
"Mrs. Hudson, hope we're not bothering you!"
She could have laughed in delight. "John, you could never bother me! And I hope Mary has tagged along!"
"Of course I have! I would never miss a chance to visit you!"
Mary and John walked towards Mrs. Hudson. Each bent down to kiss and hug her tightly before stepping away. John took her lunch tray to her sink while Mary sat down at her feet. She waved away Mrs. Hudson's concerns about sitting on the floor, saying, "Those seats are too far away, and I've come to see you, so I'll do as I please!" She patted her knee affectionately.
"Tea?" John called from the kitchen.
"No thank you, dearie!" Mrs. Hudson replied, turning to look at her former tenant. "So what brings you two lovelies over?"
"We can't just come and visit the best landlady-not-housekeeper I've ever had?" John asked, taking a seat beside Mary and looking up at Mrs. Hudson. It didn't go unnoticed by the former landlady when John gripped his wife's hand tightly.
"Well of course you can visit! I've had all sorts of visitors today. Sherlock brought me lunch and Molly got me a new heating pad, bless her heart. And even Mycroft turned up my heat so I wouldn't freeze to death. This hip has been absolutely dreadful this winter."
"Are you tired then? We could leave you be to get some rest."
"No! Absolutely not! I know I sound like Sherlock, but I'm so bored!" she said, with a bit of a giggle. Mary and John laughed heartedly with her. They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a few moments, and then Mrs. Hudson pointed a finger accusingly at them. "Now I've learned a thing or two from that boy upstairs, and I know something is going on that you're not telling me, so out with it!"
John and Mary exchanged glances, and then Mary said, "How observant of you, Mrs. H." She smiled and exhaled a small laugh. "We do have some great news to share with you."
"Oh!" Mrs. Hudson gasped, the wheels in her mind turning. She clasped her hands together as she felt her heart thundering in her chest. She had a feeling that she already knew what they were trying to tell her.
After a few seconds of tortuous silence, John shifted, getting on his knees and grabbing the older woman's hands. "You're going to be a Gran!"
Tears spilled out of her eyes, and Mrs. Hudson wasn't sure if it was because announcing pregnancies typically brought that kind of emotion out of her or if John telling her that she was going to be a Gran was more than she could handle. Having no children of her own, Mrs. Hudson had long given up on the idea of having grandchildren; she had been satisfied with her nieces and nephews and her great nieces and great nephews.
"G-get off the f-floor Mary W-Watson!" she gasped, staring wide eyed at the woman who still knelt at her feet. Then she looked at John. "Get you w-wife to the couch. Prop her f-feet up!" But then she was laughing and crying, and hugging John tightly to her chest as she patted his head. "A grandmum! I never thought I'd see the day!"
After a few moments, she managed to let go of John, only to clutch Mary to her fiercely. "Anything I can do for you dearie, just let me know."
When things were settled and Mrs. Hudson was mopping her eyes with a whole box of tissues and Mary and John were sitting safely on the couch, Sherlock burst into the flat.
"Are you done? I'd like to bake those biscuits now. Molly will be here shortly with Chinese."
A day that Mrs. Hudson thought was going to be filled with boredom and pain ended up being one of the best days she's had in a long time. With John and Sherlock sort of bickering in her kitchen as they fussed over the biscuits and Mary sitting in a chair that was pulled closer to her own, talking about her pregnancy, Mrs. Hudson couldn't but think about her family.
They were her most precious treasure.
Fin.
BB/N: Sorry for not posting yesterday! It was a loooooong day, and now I'm playing catch up! Thank you for reading, reviewing, and adding to your favorites! It's very much appreciated and does a wonder for my ego! :)