Lily

by 221B-sherlocked

Sherlock and John receive an unexpected visitor, a baby girl. As they proceed to care for her, they learn something about her that shocks them both, but especially Sherlock. This "shock" eventually turns Sherlock's negative attitude around.

Lily

CHAPTER 1

Staring out into the bleak darkness of Baker Street from his window, Sherlock plucked a few strings from his violin, thinking about when his next case will come around.

"For God's sake Sherlock, it's 1am. Nothing happens at 1am", muttered John. "Why don't you just go to bed and phone Lestrade in the morning".

"Lestrade has not called nor texted me in well over a week. I'm sure he's keeping something from me". Sherlock paced the room, eventually taking a seat in his chair where he then started to typing on his laptop.

Within that moment, a knock on the door was heard downstairs.

"Ah, he heard you I suppose", said John.

Sherlock continued to type away on his laptop, completely ignoring John's comment. John let out a long sigh. "I suppose you want me to answer that then?"

"Seeing as though you have a closer proximity to the door, I would assume so, yes", replied Sherlock.

With another sigh, John went down the stairs and opened the door. "Sherlock! I think you'd better come and see this".

"I think you'd best bring up what it is I have to see", the detective said in a smug manner.

John came trudging up the stairs carrying a large basket and set it on the kitchen table. As Sherlock continued typing on his laptop, he could not help but hear a small cooing sound coming from the basket.

"What on earth is that?" he asked.

"What do you think it is?" replied John.

Sherlock stopped typing and turned to face John and then the basket. Finally, he stood up and approached the basket slowly. Inside, a small baby with dark brown hair lay wrapped in pink blankets staring at both men with her big blue eyes. John examined the basket in search of a note or some indication of who this infant might be, or might belong to.

"No note, which is odd. Generally in these situations, there's always a note", said John.

"Well in this particular situation, there is no note now is there?", muttered Sherlock.

"Right. Well then, I guess we'll have to make do with her for tonight until we figure this whole thing out tomorrow". The baby started flailing her arms about as John went to pick her up. He was surprised as to how small she was and examined her carefully. She could not have been more than four months old. She appeared to be in good health, although her dry mouth in which John placed one of his fingers indicated that she was probably hungry and had not eaten for quite some time.

"We're going to have to buy some baby stuff for her as we have nothing in the flat", said John. "Could you go down to the shop and get a few things for me?"

"I most certainly will not", Sherlock replied.

"Sherlock.."

"Nothing is open at this hour!"

"There's a 24-hour Tesco shop about two blocks away. Here, I will go and you can stay here with her until I get back". John approached Sherlock to hand him the tiny infant.

Sherlock took a step back. "What are you doing?"

"Giving her to you. I'll be quicker if I go on my own".

"For God sakes John! I never agreed to help babysit this... this...thing", snapped Sherlock pushing the baby away with his hand.

"First of all, this thing is a baby, a girl, a living breathing human. Secondly, of all the things I've done for you, Sherlock, you could at least do this one small favour for me. I'll be gone no more than 15 minutes". John was practically begging.

"Bloody hell", Sherlock mumbled, as he walked over to retrieve the tiny girl from John and held her out at arm's length. "You have fifteen minutes. GO!"

"Thank you. And for the love of God Sherlock, hold her properly! She's not -"

"You now have fourteen minutes and fifty seconds, John!" interrupted Sherlock.

With that John ran down the stairs and out the door. Sherlock was now alone with this tiny stranger. The baby squirmed and wiggled in Sherlock's hands and was making unintelligent baby noises, which made him cringe even more. Without further hesitation, Sherlock placed the baby back in the basket she arrived in and walked back to his laptop.

CHAPTER 2

Pretending she wasn't there, he continued on his laptop and every now and then heard cooing sounds coming from the basket. Sherlock would glance quickly at the basket and then back to his laptop screen. The noises eventually started getting louder turning from cooing to fussing, which started to bother Sherlock.

"Oh do be QUIET!" yelled Sherlock, and with that came the wailing from the baby girl.

Sherlock tried to ignore it, thinking the baby would eventually stop, but after two minutes he could no longer take it anymore. He got up and approached the basket where the baby was crying.

"Please stop. I demand you to stop crying right this instant!" The baby did just the opposite and cried even louder. For the first time ever, Sherlock stood frozen, not knowing what to do. Of course the baby was not going to understand him, so Sherlock had to think of another idea. He wasn't about to pick her up as the sheer thought of it appalled him. In the corner of his eye lay his violin perched against the fireplace. He picked up the basket with the baby and brought it over to the sofa where he placed it gently. He went to retrieve his violin and started to play some Mozart. The baby continued crying. He then started to play Beethoven. Again, the crying continued.

"Hmm...No interest in classical music. Pity". Sherlock decided to try a lullaby that his mother used to play for him, "Au Clair De La Lune". Sherlock had not played this in years. As he played for what seemed like a long time, he had forgotten about the small infant, who had stopped crying and was now staring at the tall dark-haired man with her blue eyes, and even smiled. Sherlock stopped playing and looked down at the smiling baby. He rolled his eyes at her then looked back up toward the stairs, where a smiling John was standing, both hands full of Tesco bags.

"Oh please, don't stop on my account", he said with a chuckle.

"Oh shut up. It was the only way to get her to stop crying. And where the hell did you go, the midnight cafe for a bloody tea biscuit?! You were gone for far longer than 15 minutes!".

"I realized that I had to buy more than what I thought I did. I don't know how long we're going to have her for".

Sherlock put down his violin and walked toward the kitchen. "You, John. Not we. YOU. You don't know how long YOU'RE going to have her", said Sherlock.

"Come on Sherlock. You live here too, and your help would be greatly appreciated".

"I simply do not know a thing about babies", replied Sherlock.

"You were doing a pretty good job a couple of minutes ago, quieting her. That's a start". John gave Sherlock a half smile and continued into the kitchen with the Tesco bags.

Sherlock said nothing and scoffed off to his room. At that moment the little baby started to fuss again, in which John realized that it was time to feed her. He searched the bags for the bottles and formula and started on her bottle. As the bottle was heating up, John went over to the basket to retrieve the baby.

"Right. Well if you're to be staying with us then, we best find you a name." John paced around the room with the baby clutched to his shoulder, murmuring names to himself. "Hmm...Hazel? Nooo. Catherine? Nah. How about Hannah? I always fancied that name". With that he looked down at the little girl who was now sucking on her tiny fist. John smiled. "Hannah it is then. I'm John. And that mean man who left is Sherlock. Don't worry, he's not all that bad", John smiled.

CHAPTER 3

John finished feeing Hannah the entire bottle of formula that she drank in record time and was now trying to burp her. Sherlock came out of his room wearing his pajamas and dressing gown and gazed at the Army doctor with the young infant.

"Since when did you become an expert with babies?"

"I am a doctor you know".

"Yes, but a military one".

"I do know a thing or two about babies, unlike someone apparently", said John sarcastically, leaning toward Sherlock.

Sherlock ignored that last remark and went over to retrieve his laptop when he stopped in his tracks. He sniffed the air. "What is that god forsaken stench?"

Both men looked at each other and then at the baby.

John brought the baby's bottom up to his nose and took a small sniff and moved his face away quickly. "My God, Hannah, that's foul. We'll have to fix that.

"Who's Hannah? asked a puzzled Sherlock.

"The baby, Sherlock. I gave her a name".

"Why on earth would you name her?"

"We can't just call her it, thing, or baby".

"That sounds suitable enough for me", said Sherlock seriously.

"Ok, enough with the badgering. I've got to change her".

John brought Hannah over to the kitchen table and laid out a changing mat that he had purchased. He laid her down on the mat and started undoing her onesie. As he got down to just the nappy, Hannah started moving her arms and legs uncontrollably.

"Alright darling, you need to keep still so I can clean you up". Hannah continued to move about and eventually started giggling. To her this was a game, and John was much too tired to play along. After all, it was nearly 3am.

"Sherlock, could you please help me? She won't lay still and I can't hold her and change her at the same time". John looked over at Sherlock, who was typing away at his laptop. "Sherlock! Did you not hear what I said?"

"Oh I heard what you said. I just chose not to respond". Sherlock was in no mood to deal with John or the baby.

John had had enough. He marched over to Sherlock and slammed the laptop shut. "God Dammit Sherlock, so help me if you don't get up right now, . .IT".

Sherlock had never seen John this uptight and pissed off, and was in no mood to see the result of John's warning. He quickly got up and followed John over to the table where little Hannah was still moving about.

"Ok Sherlock, hold onto her arms and make sure she doesn't roll around". John proceeded to unfasten the nappy and the overpowering smell made the two men wince in disgust. Sherlock let go of Hannah and backed away.

"I can't deal with this, John!", said Sherlock as he pressed his arm up to his nose.

"Sherlock! She won't lie still, and if you want that foul stench to go away, you're going to have to help me while I finished changing her", yelled John.

Rolling his eyes, Sherlock walked back towards the table and pinned Hannah's arms down. She did not like this, for she fought hard to release herself from Sherlock's grip and started fussing. Sherlock was surprised at how strong she was for such a small infant.

"I have underestimated her strength. Such force from such a small infant", said Sherlock.

Hannah began to cry, for she was not a fan of being stark naked in this foreign place.

"Shhh. Almost done, sweetheart". John had never completed a task so quickly in his life, wiping all that he could from the infant's bottom and applying some cream and a new nappy in a matter of minutes. As soon as the nappy was fastened, Hannah stopped crying and began to wiggle even more, kicking her legs and letting out a small giggle. Sherlock let go of her as John started putting the onesie back on her.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?"said John, looking down at the baby and trying to fasten the snaps.

"Most certainly not!", replied Sherlock.

"I wasn't talking to you", said John as he smiled at the baby.

"There we are. All done. That wasn't so bad was it? No it wasn't, oh no it wasn't", squealed John as he tickled the baby's tummy and planted a kiss on her head. He could feel the look that Sherlock was giving him at that moment.

John ignored Sherlock and picked up Hannah. She rubbed her eye with her tiny fist and leaned her head to John's shoulder. "Someone needs to go to bed. Where should we put you for the night?" asked John as he rocked the baby back and forth slowly.

"Scotland Yard sounds good to me", Sherlock replied.

"Oh come off it, Sherlock", said John annoyingly as he went to get the baby basket. He started up the stairs to his room with Hannah and turned to Sherlock. "I will take her tonight, but tomorrow, if she is still here, she's YOUR responsibility!"

"I highly doubt that", said Sherlock as he quickly walked toward his own room.

CHAPTER 4

As Sherlock awoke the next morning and headed to the kitchen to make tea, Mrs. Hudson came upstairs with the mail.

"Morning, Sherlock. My, what a mess you've made here. Why are there baby things all over the place? Are you doing some foolish experiment that I should know about?" Sherlock was getting annoyed with her questions, but faked a smiled. "Actually Mrs. Hudson, we've got a visitor, and she's up in John's room right now".

Mrs. Hudson looked at Sherlock with confusion. "Oh..alright dear". Just then, John came walking down the stairs, half awake carrying Hannah who was nestled perfectly against his chest.

"Oh my, what have we got here? Hello, little darling. Oh John, I thought you had some dippy woman in your room. You know, the kind who dress up as babies and pretend to, well, you know".

"You think I...Why on earth would I have someone like that in my room?" said John in a repulsing manner.

Sherlock couldn't help but laugh. John knew he was the one behind this but chose to ignore arguing about it.

"Oh let me see her. Come here my dear", said Mrs. Hudson as John gave her the baby. Hannah cuddled up in her arms and began sucking on her fist. Mrs. Hudson smiled and slowly rocked her back and forth. She had not been around babies in quite some time, since her son was little. She was soaking up as much of this as she could.

"Well now, who does this child belong to?"

"We're not sure. She was left on the doorstep late last night and there wasn't any note", replied John.

"Oh dear. Who on earth would leave this precious angel on a doorstep so late at night? Poor thing must have been so scared", said Mrs. Hudson as she kiss the top of Ella's head. Hannah then started fussing.

"I should probably make her a bottle. Mrs. Hudson could just hold her for a few more minutes?" asked John as he went to get the formula.

"Of course, dear. I could hold her all day", smiled Mrs. Hudson. "Oh and here is your mail".

Sherlock grabbed the envelopes and started looking through them. Bills, bills, junk, bills, note, junk, junk... Sherlock stopped and went back to the envelope that had nothing but Sherlock's name written on it. Without hesitation he sat down, tore open the envelope and read it to himself.

SHERLOCK,

I ASSUME YOU HAVE NOW AQUAINTED YOURSELF WITH LILY. I KNOW YOU ARE NOT ONE FOR BABIES, OR CHILDREN OF ANY SORT, BUT BEFORE YOU GO RUSHING HER OUT OF YOUR FLAT, KNOW THAT SHE IS THE RESULT OF A NIGHT WE SPENT TOGETHER THIRTEEN MONTHS AGO...THAT YOU MAY NOT REMEMBER AS WELL AS I. YOU WEREN'T EXACTLY...YOURSELF IF I CAN RECALL. I AM NO LONGER ABLE TO CARE FOR HER, FOR I AM NOW AND WILL FOREVER BE A FUGITIVE ON THE RUN. BE GOOD TO HER SHERLOCK, LIKE YOU WERE GOOD TO ME. SHE NEEDS HER FATHER.

- I.A.

PS. HOPEFULLY SHE WILL INHERIT YOUR SHARP CHEEKBONES. YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I ADORE YOURS.

Sherlock's heart began to beat faster. He didn't know what to think. He was speechless, both in his head and verbally. He slowly put the note in the pocket of his dressing gown and put his head in his hands.

"Oh I meant to ask you, John. What is her name?", said Mrs. Hudson.

"She doesn't exactly have one, so I named her Hannah", replied John as he finished preparing the bottle.

"Hannah, what a beautiful na-"

"Lily" came an intermittent voice from across the table.

Both John and Mrs. Hudson turned to look at Sherlock.

"What was that Sherlock?" asked John.

"Lily. That's her name. Not Hannah, LILY. LILY IS HER BLOODY NAME!" shouted Sherlock as he got up quickly and stormed to his room, slamming the door behind him. Startled, the baby began to cry and Mrs. Hudson was quick to calm her. John was bewildered but silent. He handed the bottle to Mrs. Hudson who said nothing but nodded her head and started to feed the baby.

John approached Sherlock's room and knocked quietly. With no reply, John slowly opened the door to find Sherlock sitting on his bed with his head in his hands.

John was getting worried. "Sherlock, what's going on? Why did you say the baby's name was Lily, and my God...are you...crying?"

Sherlock said nothing but slowly handed the note from his pocket to John. John read the note at least three times and then slowly looked back toward Sherlock. "So um, this child...is...yours then".

Sherlock sniffed and muttered, "What the bloody hell do you think?!"

"It may not be true. You can take a paternity test. This is Irene Adler we're talking about. The most deceiving, lying little-"

"It is true, John. I remember the exact night. When I finally agreed to have dinner with her, we went back to her place to discuss a case I needed her assistance with. She poured me a glass of wine, and after a few sips I realized that she had put Rohypnol in it. Afterwards, all was a blur. I know we had sexual intercourse because I experimented on myself the following-"

"Ok enough Sherlock. I get it. But why on earth would she allow herself to become pregnant and no offence, give the baby to you and abandon it?"

"Because she wanted to prove a point, which is that she would always have a hold on me. And the result of that hold is now a part of me, nestled in Mrs. Hudson's arms in the other room".

"Oh boys! Could you come here for a moment?" yelled Mrs. Hudson.

Sherlock got up from the bed, wiped his face and both men started out of the room into the kitchen.

"I hate to be a bother, but I think this little one has made a little bit of a mess in her nappy. As much as I would love to stay and assist, I've got a train I need to be catching. I'm heading out to the country to visit my sister for the week".

Sherlock and John stared at one another and said nothing. John motioned Sherlock to go and get Lily, but he did not move an inch.

"Boys please. I've really got to get going".

John sighed and went over and took Lily from Mrs. Hudson and wished her a good trip. John walked toward Sherlock and demanded that he follow him. John grabbed the changing mat, cream, wipes and a clean nappy and went over to the living room. He got down on his knees and placed Lily on the changing mat. "You're going to learn how to do this whether you like it or not, Sherlock. This will be your responsibility from now on".

After another foul-smelling nappy change that repulsed Sherlock, John was surprised with how much he was able to do on his own without assistance. For the remainder of the morning, he took Sherlock through the process of feeding, bathing, and dressing Lily.

CHAPTER 5

It was well into the early afternoon now, and Lily was down for a nap in her basket that was set upon the sofa. John had received a call from Sarah asking him to come to the surgery for a few hours due to an overflow of patients demanding to be seen. John did not pass up the opportunity to get out of the flat and into a different environment, even if it was dealing with sick people. He ordered Sherlock to stay in the flat and to NOT leave the baby alone for a second. He reminded him to call or text if he needed anything, and that he would be back around 6:30pm. Sherlock agreed although he was not at all happy about it. He did however receive a text from Lestrade asking him to look into a case that was opening, which luckily didn't involve Sherlock having to leave the flat, or succumb to boredom.

After about an hour of searching away on his laptop, Sherlock went up to pour himself another cup of tea. He proceeded to walk by where Lily was asleep when he stopped and looked into the basket for what seemed like forever. Finally, he bent down to get a better look at her facial features, which he had never bothered to pay attention to before. He concluded that they had similar hair colour, identical nose and mouth. Sherlock looked around, and then knelt down on his knees and did something he never thought he would ever do. He caressed the baby's cheek with one index finger, which caused the baby to stir in her sleep. Sherlock froze, for he thought this was going to be the start of another wailing session, but to his surprised, she rubbed her eye with the heel of her tiny hand and fell back asleep. Sherlock couldn't help but smile. He was getting tired himself, and thought that he would best lay down for a couple of hours in order to keep his mind castle most alert when he awoke. He wanted to go to his room, but he remembered John mentioning not to leave the baby alone. He wanted to lie on the couch but Lily's basket was currently occupying it. Slowly, he picked up the basket and placed it quietly on the floor next to the couch. Sherlock placed himself on the couch and closed his eyes. Not a minute later, he opened his eyes to the sound of Lily beginning to moan. He knew he had to do something quickly if he wanted to avoid the crying that would soon follow. He decided to do something daring. As gently as he could, he picked up Lily and carefully placed her on his chest and put her blanket on top of her. The baby cooed and then nuzzled herself deeper into Sherlock's chest and continued to nap. Sherlock stroked her head for several minutes until he too succumbed to sleep.

John had arrived home two hours later than he had promised, which made him concerned about the argument that would ensue between him and Sherlock. Sarah had a spare crib that she was willing to give up and had taken John to her place to get it as well as a few toys for Lily to play with. As John started up the stairs, carrying the crib as best as he could along with bags, he could not help but hear was the sound of Lily and Sherlock laughing. John was confused. "Why the hell was Sherlock laughing?!", he thought. When he got up to the top of the stairs, he saw a sight that he never thought he would ever see, especially coming from his flatmate. There, in the middle of the floor lay Lily on a cushion of blankets wearing nothing but her nappy, with Sherlock on his knees hovering over her, his arms on both sides of her on the floor. Sherlock would lean down and shake his head so that his hair was brushing Lily's tummy, causing her to laugh, which then caused him to laugh. He then sat up quickly, looked down at her, smiled, and proceed to tickle her again.

"Who would have thought John that a baby could be so amused by hair of all things?" asked Sherlock without even looking in John's direction. "Very peculiar".

Not answering Sherlock's question, John said, "I never thought I would say this Sherlock, but you suit the role of a father quite brilliantly if I must say. A complete turnover of what you were like last night".

"I don't know what has happened to me John, but something came over me today. Something I can't describe. So many new emotions I've never experienced before".

"Well that doesn't surprise me. Your top priority has always been yourself. You've always been a self-centred, aggravating smart ass and have never allowed yourself to develop a softer side". John could see the glare Sherlock was now giving him. "BUT, it's also the fact that you're now a father and you're experiencing emotions you've never felt before and it scares you. It's not going to be easy Sherlock. You're going to be experiencing a hell of a lot more emotions than you could ever imagine. Just remember one thing: You are not the most important thing in the world anymore. Your top priority now is that little girl right there".

Sherlock was still for a moment, but then looked down at the baby who was now staring at him. He picked her up and held her to his chest. He whispered in her ear, "Don't worry darling, I'll be good to you. I will never let anything happen to you. Ever".

As Sherlock was getting Lily ready for bed later that night, he was trying to fasten the snaps of her onesie and was getting frustrated.

"Bloody things", he said. "What's wrong with zippers, or velcro? Why do these things always have to have bloody snaps?!" He looked down at Lily who brought both of her hands up to her mouth and started to giggle.

"Oh you think this is funny do you?"

Lily continued to giggle and starting thrashing her arms about. It was as if she could understand Sherlock's predicament and wanted to further irritate him, knowing there was nothing he could do to prevent her from doing so. Sherlock laughed.

"It's not funny Lily. Daddy is trying his best to get you ready for bed, and you're laughing at his faults. I thought you were more respectable". Sherlock was only kidding with that last remark. As he finally finished locking the last three snaps into place successfully, he heard the unexpected.

"Daaada"

Sherlock stopped what he was doing and looked down at Lily. "Did you say...what I think you said?"

Lily smiled. "Daa daadaa", she uttered again.

Sherlock couldn't help the smile that crossed his entire face as well as the tears that were slowly forming in his eyes, making his sight somewhat blurry. He wiped his eyes quickly, looked down at Lily and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Without trying to be too mushy, all Sherlock could say was, "Good girl". After he kissed and put her in her crib, turned out the lights and left the room, he couldn't stop himself from smiling ear to ear. John raised an eyebrow at Sherlock's facial expression and was about to speak when Sherlock bent down to John's eye level and said, "Four months... four months old and my baby can already speak. She truly is my daughter". That was the first time Sherlock had ever used to the words "my daughter", which to him, was not all that ludicrous after all.

CHAPTER 6

Lily was now a year and a half old. Since finding out that he was a father, Sherlock has completely changed his demeanour. He takes on the odd case every now and then; his personality is more composed, and has been the best father to his little girl. There were a few incidents where John thought Sherlock was going to break, but knew that deep down Sherlock would be able to pull himself together, which he did.

John was looking after Lily for the day. Sherlock had taken on a case the Lestrade really needed him for, which involved multiple child kidnappings all apparently from the same person. John didn't mind looking after Lily. He felt like a second father to her, for he was the only other person in her life that she knew well, and who loved her just as much as Sherlock did. John took Lily to the park in the afternoon, where she would find the most peculiar of things on the ground and pick them up to observe them, just like her father. As Lily walked near a tree, she looked down and picked up a small object.

"Lily, what do you have there?" yelled John as he watched her. She looked in John's direction but did not move.

"Come here darling; show Uncle John what you found". He waved for her to come over and eventually she did. The object of her curiosity was none other than a dead bird.

"Oh my God Lily, put that thing down! It's infested with parasites!"

As John went to grab the dead bird out of her hands, Lily took a step back and said "No!"

"Lily, give me the bird", said John sternly. She took a couple more steps back and started laughing.

"Lily..." John warned.

Without further hesitation, Lily turned and made a run for it. She was usually a good listener and often did what she was told, but like Sherlock, she ignored John and decided to make a game out of the whole situation. John leapt up from the bench and ran after her. Once he caught up with her, which took no more than three seconds, he stopped her in her tracks and grabbed the bird out of her hands. At that moment, Lily started crying.

"Miiine!" yelled Lily. John threw the dead bird in a nearby garbage can and pulled a small bag of wet wipes out of his pocket to clean Lily's hands. She tried to pull away but John had a stronger hold on her.

"No! No!" shouted Lily as she began to fall to the ground.

"Lily, enough!"

She was on the ground at this point, kicking her feet in protest. She had not had a nap at all in the morning, which John felt was the explanation for her tantrum. He picked her up and walked back toward the bench to get his bag. Lily was hunched over John's shoulder, trying to free herself as best as she could, but eventually gave up trying. After a few minutes John put her down and knelt to her level.

"Are we done now?" he asked her firmly.

Lily sniffed and looked at John as she rubbed her watery eyes. He gently pulled her closer.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you darling, but you can't be messing about with dead birds. They're not toys. You could get very sick, and your father would never let me hear the end of it. You understand, yes?"

Lily obviously didn't understand the entire conversation, but did understand the word "yes" and nodded her head.

"Good girl", said John as he picked her up and proceeded home.

Just as John had expected, Lily fell asleep all the way home. Once back at 221B, John gave her a quick change and put her in her crib where she continued to nap.

CHAPTER 7

A few hours later, Sherlock came home and was in dire need of a cup of tea.

"So how was it today? Anything more on the kidnapped victims?" asked John as Sherlock sat in his chair.

"Not really. It's getting rather dull if I must say", replied Sherlock.

"Dull? You think abducting children is dull? How could-"

"I don't want to do the case anymore", interrupted Sherlock strongly. John's jaw dropped. Never did Sherlock ever give up on a case once he started.

"So um..why don't you want to do it anymore?" asked John.

"Because..." said Sherlock as he glanced at the picture of Lily that was on the fireplace mantle, "Because...the thought of children being taken away from their families...their homes...just bothers me. I wouldn't know what to do if anything like that happened to Lily".

"Sherlock, you can't think like that. Nothing is going to happen to her. You and I both made a promise that she would be safe for the rest of her life".

"Yes we did", said Sherlock with a smile. "Speaking of Lily, how was she today?"

"Well, it was interesting. You know how she's always finding the oddest of things on the ground when I take her to the park?"

"Mm", muttered Sherlock.

"Well today she picked up a dead bird, and when I tried to take it away from her, she ran away from me. Then when I finally caught her and grabbed the bird out of her hands, she threw a tantrum. That scenario reminds me a lot of you and I during our older cases. No wonder she's your daughter".

Sherlock chuckled. "Of course she's going to throw a tantrum if you try to take something away from her, John. I'd be worried if she didn't throw one. She's got stamina. I like that".

John sighed. "Well we're going to have to keep a closer eye on her from now on if she's going to continue perusing her interest in dead animals".

At that moment a moaning noise was heard from Sherlock's room. Sherlock got up and went into his room where Lily was laying in her crib and rubbing her eyes. As Sherlock looked at his daughter, she smiled at him and said, "Hi dada".

"Hello, sweetheart. Daddy missed you today. Did you have a good sleep?"

Lily nodded her head and got to her feet gradually, still half asleep, her dark brown hair all in bunches. Sherlock took Lily out of the crib and she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. He took one of her hands and planted a kiss on it and rocked her gently. He always enjoyed these moments with his daughter, for he knew someday that this would be a rare occurrence. He carried her out into the living area.

"Hello Lily. Did you sleep well?" asked John as he poured himself another cup of tea. Lily said nothing and buried her face in Sherlock's chest.

"I guess she hasn't really forgiven you for yelling at her today" said Sherlock as he rubbed her back.

"I didn't yell at her, I was firm with her, raising my voice slightly".

"So in other words...yelling at her", said Sherlock.

"I didn't-ok. Maybe I yelled a bit". John sighed heavily. He got up and went over to Sherlock and took Lily from his arms and held her so that they were eye to eye. "I'm really sorry for getting mad at you today. Do you forgive me?"

Lily said nothing but just shook her head.

"Not even a little bit?". She shook her head again.

"Not even a teensy bit?" he said as he started tickling her tummy. That brought out a tiny smile from Lily.

"Oh! I think I got a bit of an answer there, but that's not good enough". John started ticking Lily even more, which caused her to giggle. "Now we're getting somewhere", John said smiling. He proceeded to tickle Lily all over until she was high-pitch laughing. Sherlock watched in amusement. John put her down and knelt down to her level. "I think we're ok now, yes?"

"Yaaa", replied Lily quietly. John kissed her on the head. "I love you" he said to her as he stood up.

"I lalaa unnle John", replied Lily with a smile. John's jaw dropped.

"Did you hear tha-oh my God. She finally said my name!...and she said I love you!" John squealed. He had been waiting so long for her to say his name and was smiling from ear to ear.

"Don't flatter yourself, John. She knew how to say dada at four months. Ha!" said Sherlock sarcastically.

"Oh sod off Sherlock!"

"Sod...off", said a small voice. Both men looked down at Lily.

"Oh no no, Lily. You can't say that", said Sherlock as he knelt down to Lily's level.

"Sod off!" said Lily again.

"Lily, I said—"

"SOD OFF!" yelled Lily. John was double hunched over laughing at this point.

"Oh yes this is most amusing", said Sherlock as John continued to laugh.

John was finally able to contain himself. "She's able to say to you what I think half of London has wanted to say you for years", he said, still chuckling. "Brilliant".

Sherlock sighed annoyingly, but ignored any further arguing.

After dinner, Sherlock give Lily a bath and John took over getting her ready for bed when Sherlock received an urgent message from Lestrade.

"Another child has been kidnapped", said Sherlock as he walked back into the room.

"Jesus! How many is that now? Five?" asked John as he was putting a nappy on Lily.

"Five, yes".

"Did you not tell Lestrade that you were no longer interested in perusing the case?"

"Not exactly".

"Well you best let him know, Sherlock. He's expecting your help. I mean if you want to continue with the case, by all means go ahead. But if not, you can't leave Lestrade thinking that you're doing something about it right this instant, which you're not".

"I know. I'll message him now and say that I am unable to continue with this case. He won't like it, but I'm sure Anderson and Donovan will be more than thrilled. Blundering idiots they are".

Lily giggled at that last comment, which made both Sherlock and John laugh. "My thoughts exactly", said Sherlock.

Sherlock phoned Lestrade and not only told him that he no longer wanted the case, but that he wanted to stop taking cases all together for a while until Lily got older. This surprised both Lestrade and John, who was evesdropping on the conversation. When Sherlock hung up, John appoached him.

"Did I hear you correctly? Did you say you no longer wanted anymore cases?" asked John.

"You did indeed", replied Sherlock. "I want to enjoy every moment with my daughter. Perhaps when she's older I will go back to taking on a case or two, but for now, like you said, she is my top priority".

John smiled and nodded his head. "Wow. That's...I don't know what to say".

"You don't have to say anything", said Sherlock as he leaned down to give Lily a kiss.

As Sherlock put Lily in her crib later that night, he gave her a kiss and started walking out the door. Just then, Lily started moaning and groaning. Sherlock turned his feet and walked back to the crib.

"What's the matter darling? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly, rubbing her belly. Lily began to cry. Sherlock tried to give her a pacifier, which she never liked in the first place, but she grabbed it and threw it at the other end of the crib. He gave her a stuffed kitten that Mrs. Hudson had bought but she threw that as well. He couldn't understand what the matter was. Just then he had an idea. He ran into the other room and grabbed his violin. He came back in and started playing "Au Clair De La Lune", which had always soothed Lily in the past. Lily continued to cry, but Sherlock kept on playing. Eventually John came into the room to see what was going on and walked over to the crib and stood beside Sherlock.

"Sherlock, what's the-"

"Shhh!" instructed Sherlock as he continued playing. John left the room and returned in under a minute and gave Lily a sippy cup that contained water. Lily immediately started drinking without hesitation. Sherlock stopped playing and looked down at Lily who was sucking quietly on her sippy cup.

"Looks like someone was just very thirsty", said John as he leaned into the crib and rubbed Lily's tummy.

"Apparently so", replied Sherlock.

As John said his goodnights to Lily and left the room, Sherlock leaned into the crib and stroked Lily's head as she continued drinking her water. "I love you Lily. You are the most important part of my life. You may not understand all of what I am saying but someday you will. Goodnight darling". With that, Sherlock walked toward the door and turned off the lights.

"I lala dada", said Lily softly. Sherlock turned at look toward the crib, smiled and said, "I love you too, Lily".

The End.