Sherlock
"I thought we agreed to keep our distance" I told the woman standing across the hall, who had her back turned to me.
Taking the risk of meeting me at all indicated that she was in real troubles, but the fact that she chose the hospital as the meeting place screamed emergency.
"We've got a problem" she finally turned to me, then simply said "I'm pregnant".
I had to lower my gaze, as when she turned it immediately fell on her delicate face which my keen eyes did notice were plumer than usual. Looking down to her stomach area I saw a big round belly, obvious even under the loose blue dress she was wearing.
"How far along?" was all I could ask, praying the timeline won't add up.
"Pretty far… They want to induce me in the next hour".
"I see." The timeline added up perfectly, though perhaps 'perfect' wasn't the most suitable word to describe the situation.
I kept a calm expression but felt like I've been kicked in the stomach. She must've seen through this as she said "Don't worry, she'll be with me".
"Obviously" I said, regaining my composure "So why am I here then?"
"No reason really, just thought you could help me out here and there, massaging my feet, putting some pillows behind by back, holding my hand as I push, you know, husband's stuff" she stressed the word 'husband' knowing it would irritate me to no end.
I was about to reply when the doors to our right opened and a nurse said "Eve, we're ready. Shall we start the induction?"
"Yes, I'll be there in a minute." She said with a smile as the nurse disappeared once again, the double doors swinging behind her.
"Eve?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Mother of all, seemed fitting…" Irene Adler smirked.
~*O*~
Four hours into her second bag of Pitocin, and three hours into active labor Irene, I mean, Eve was breathing heavily through the contractions that were growing closer by the minute.
"There, there" I said "just a little bit more and you would get to push a creature the size of a watermelon out of your teeny-tiny body" I added with an evil grin.
"Oh you're enjoying every minute of it, aren't you" she gritted her teeth, fighting the urge to scream or to bite my head off.
"Can't say you don't deserve it… With what you do for living I thought birth-control was a given." I too was busy pushing - her to the limit.
"I was on birth-control! Two!" She practically yelled.
"Hush now wifey, we wouldn't want to draw everyone's attention." I said, giving her a taste of her own medicine.
"Argh!" she sighed with annoyance as another contraction took over.
~*O*~
All was over.
Irene stood next to her hospital bed, already out of the hospital robe. She signed an early discharge form and was intending to leave with the baby as soon as possible.
So that's why she refused to have Epidural I thought, knowing she would still be numb waist down right now, had she had it.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to be up and about so soon?" I asked, hoping I don't come across like I care.
"Well, it's not a good idea for me to be in one place for too long." She said, gathering her things.
"Quite the lifestyle for a newborn." I mumbled.
"Well, do you want to take her then?" she asked in what I kind of thought was a hopeful tone.
I looked at her as I calmly explained: "I shoot my gun at the wall when I'm bored, I have swords standing next to the fire place and generally I find non-sharp objects to be boring. She's better off with you".
"Right" she shook her head "Be a dear and fetch our daughter from the nursery for me."
I wasn't a master when it came to understanding people's emotion but this was obviously her way of asking for some time alone so without another word I turned and left the room, heading for the nursery.
~*O*~
The baby was laying in her crib, eyes wide open, completely silent while all around her other babies were screaming bloody murder.
I picked her up and studied her face. I found it utterly ridiculous when parents tried to find similarities between them and the babies' squashed faces, yet her short, black strands of hair and piercing blue eyes were, without a doubt, a Holmes' trademark.
"Well, what do you know? I'm a father! and Mycroft said nothing would ever come of me…" I whispered in her ear, put her back to the crib, and started rolling it towards her mother's room.
~*O*~
When I got there, Irene was gone, and so were her belongings.
On the pillow stood a note with Irene's neat handwriting:
It read "A little something to remember me by…"
Oh no…
~*O*~
A/N: First chapter…
My daughter just turned 10 weeks old and while taking care of her the inspiration for this story came to life.
I thought at first to write it as a series of drabbles describing Sherlock's journey as a father and his relationship with his daughter but seeing as I'm on my maternity leave I have a lot of free time on my hands and came up with a full story in which I would try to inject the original drabbles I first came up with.
P.S. please excuse the short summary and simple title. I usually love coming up with some witty word-play for my story but I thought it would be best to give the reader a specific idea of what he's getting himself into.
Reviews are much appreciated.