Sherlock paced about the length of the brownstone with his hand resting on the front of his large, distended stomach. It had nine long, annoyingly slow and frustrating months for the consulting detective; but it seemed even longer for Watson as she had to deal with crankiness and numerous complaints along the way.

It was just past midnight and Sherlock was feeling restless. Watson heard him pacing downstairs and decided to check in on him.

"Sherlock? You okay?"

"No, I'm not okay." He stopped short as crossed the study for the hundredth time. "My back hurts, my front hurts, my ankles hurt, my knees hurt and this little bugger is kicking the hell out of my ribs and my hips."

"You did this to yourself, remember? It's not the babies fault."

"No, of course not."

"Have you been feeling any signs of labor? You're two days overdue."

"I wouldn't know. I'm the first pregnant male in world history; I have no information to compare my condition and symptoms against."

"Your belly has dropped considerably over the past week. Maybe we should get things set up for the c-section."

"Not yet."

"Sherlock, be reasonable."

"I will not allow this pregnancy to come to an end until labor naturally begins. Granted I would by all accounts be unable to deliver naturally, but for the sake of science I must wait."

"Right. Science."

"What does that mean?"

"I think you're afraid of being a father. You wanted a child but you didn't want all the responsibility."

"You're the one who is seeking to adopt a child, why not take mine?"

"I... couldn't..."

"Yes. You can. You're the only person I'd trust to raise my child."

"But... You'd still see it everyday when you see me. How can you just give it up so easily?"

"That's precisely why it's easy. I can watch my child grow up without having to question whether or not-"

"Sherlock?"

"I feel... pain."

"Where?" Watson put her hands on his stomach and pressed lightly. "Here."

"Yes."

"Contraction. Labor's started. Come on, we better get you back upstairs before you're in too much pain to move."

"Good plan. Lead the way."

Watson put her hand on the small of Sherlock's back and helped him walk up the stairs and lead him into the spare guest room where they procedure would take place. After helping him to lay down on the bed she instructed him to remove his shirt while she washed up her hands.

"I'm going to give you a local anesthetic; it'll numb you but it won't give you any high and it's non-narcotic. Perfectly safe for the both of you."

"I trust you, Watson." Sherlock threw off his t-shirt and put his hand on his large stomach. "Let's get this experiment over with so I can chronicle my results and return to active duty."

"You'll need to recover first."

"Yes, yes, I know. Get on with it."

"Okay, I'll be right there."

Watson swabbed iodine over the lower portion of Sherlock's stomach and injected a powerful but safe anesthetic that numbed all of Sherlock's abdomen. Slipping on a pair of latex gloves she draped a clean sheet over Sherlock's chest and the top portion of his abdomen. As she picked up a scalpel she gave her friend a serious stare.

"Don't move, don't flinch and don't look."

"I'm prepared. Go."

Watson placed her scalpel on the swell of Sherlock's stomach and pressed down with controlled force. The blade cut into his flesh creating a large incision that exposed the unnaturally created womb that held Sherlock's unborn child. Taking a deep breath Watson pressed into the tissue of the womb and opened wide enough to slip her hands inside and retrieve the unborn child.

"Okay, here it is!" She pulled out the tiny newborn and held it in her hands with pure awe on her face. "Oh my God..."

"What? Is something wrong?"

"No." Watson answered as she cut the cord, swaddled the newborn in a blanket held it in her arms. "She's beautiful."

"She?"

The cries of the tiny newborn soon filled the brownstone as she took in her first breath.

"See?"

Sherlock peered at the tiny face crying in the folds of the blanket as Watson presented his newborn daughter to him.

Moving his arms toward the infant Sherlock held her gently while Watson patched him up.

"She is... healthy?"

"I think we should take her to see a pediatrician, but by all accounts she's perfectly healthy!"

"I'm... relieved."

Watson smiled as she cleaned Sherlock's abdomen and prepared to suture the incision. "So, what're you going to name her?"

"I've always liked the name 'Lily'."

"Lily's a beautiful name."

"Yes. Lily Joan Holmes."

The revelation of the newborn's middle name brought a tear to her eye and a lump in her throat. "What?"

"I've named her after you. My dearest friend."

"I... I don't know what to say."

"Just say you'll promise to help me raise her to be a good person."

"I... I promise!"

-End(?)

*feel free to continue this story, just don't kill anyone off. I want to see how far this story goes! Take it away my fellow writers!