All was quiet in 221B Baker Street, except for the shifting of a father rocking back and forth and the small sounds of his baby sleeping peacefully. The moonlight shone over the room from the narrow window, the light reflected in Sherlock's wide-awake eyes.
Sherlock yawned and rubbed his eyes, careful not to disturb his daughter. He patted her gently on the back as he quietly checked his watch. It was 1:17 am. With a start he realized that she had just turned 1 year old 20 minutes ago.
With a small smile, he pressed his face to her brown curls and whispered, "Happy birthday darling."
The door opened with a creak. Molly stepped in.
"Do you want me to take over now?" Molly asked him softly.
"Only if you want," Sherlock responded.
Hearing her mother's voice the baby began to stir and opened her eyes.
"Ma-ma..." she reached her little hands out but started coughing again. Poor thing, Sherlock thought, sick on her birthday!
Molly took her from Sherlock's sore arms and cradled her, humming a lullaby under her breath.
Sherlock made his way back to the bed and laid down for the first time in what seemed like hours.
Ivy Elizabeth Holmes
His daughter, his beautiful special daughter, Ivy. Sherlock had picked out the name himself, to John's surprise, for her forest green eyes. And Elizabeth, for the woman who saved his life and thereby the reason him and Molly and Ivy were all together as a family.
On John and Mary's wedding day he had taken a vow to protect their family. A vow that he had promised would be his last, but as he stared up at Molly and Ivy, the two people he loved most in the world, he found himself repeating the words he had said all those years ago.
Molly Hooper and Ivy Holmes,
Whatever it takes, whatever happens,
From now on I swear I will always be there,
Always, for both of you.