Okay, this is my first fic in about 8 years and the first one I've ever uploaded here. If I'm doing something wrong, someone please come hold my hand and walk me through? *L* And I don't know anyone to beta for me yet, either, so that's on my Christmas list, as well. =)
I've spent too much time in Theater, I have to have back round for my characters before I can get them to do something so that's what the first few chaps of this will be. Setting the story, so to speak. But don't worry, the mystery, angst, romance and whatever else pours out of my brain at 2 am will show up, too. Reviews are much appreciated, but like a request in the recent film, be gentle with me ;)
"Annie, your Aunt Mary is here." Holmes said and poked his head into her room at Baker Street. She looked up from her microscope and said, "Um...okay, why? Not that I don't like to see her but she usually doesn't just drop in, Dad." He came in the room and stood over her, looking down at the table. "Annie..." he said and frowned when she tried to hide her hands in her lap. He took one and held it up, trying not to smirk at the bits of plaster on her fingertips. She was, no doubt, Sherlock Holmes' child. "Sorry, Daddy." she said and looked up at him through her long lashes, almost pouting. And she was also, without a doubt, Irene Adler's child as well. "Young Lady, and I use that term in the hopes one day it will apply," he said and grinned at her attempts to manipulate him, "In case you've forgotten, today IS your 17th birthday and we are going to celebrate it tonight with our friends." He gently pulled the plaster bits off her fingertips and kissed them. She had the same habit of pricking her own fingers for blood samples as he did. He looked at her hands and thought how a girl her age should not have such callouses or chemical stains on them, but then, she wasn't just any girl her age, she was his little girl.
"Oh, yeah, I guess I forgot. This experiment I've been working on is so, "she started, getting an excited look in her eye before he cut her off. "Later Annie, now your Aunt is here to help you get ready for tonight." He said and then went out into the hall for a moment, coming back with a stack of brightly colored boxes and set them on her bed.
She got up and looked at them, then noticed the tags from the stores they came from. She looked up at him and said, "Father...you can not be serious." "I am very serious, my dear." he said and looked down at her, telling himself over and over "you can do this, she's your daughter, you HAVE to do this, you can not back down Holmes". "But Dad! Why?!" she said and crossed her arms. He knew he was in for a fight and sighed, sitting on the bed so he be could more eye to eye with her. He took her hands in his again, they were so small compared to his own, so delicate looking like her mother's had been. "also as lethal as her mother's" he reminded himself, not that he ever had to worry. And that's just it, he didn't have to worry. Of course, as her father he did anyway, but Annie had never not been able to take care of herself. She was the perfect combination of her mother and father; intelligence beyond comprehension, strength, agility, cunning, wit, she had it all. Except for one thing her mother had not been there to pass on to her, the ways of being a Lady. And it was time to remedy that, as much as he didn't want to.
***
"Holmes, really, she can't stay like this forever. You won't be here forever, none of us will and she will need all of her possible talents to care for herself in this changing world. If you let her continue to be well, *you*, she'll be a hermit and outcast and I know you don't want that." Watson had said to him just the week before. He had been at their house, planning her birthday. He was hoping for another museum trip or book store shopping spree, maybe talk Lestrade into letting her tour the prison again, she really did like that one. But Watson and Mary had cornered him and forced him to see what he had been almost successfully denying to himself all along. Annie, Antoinette, was a girl. And she was growing up and she needed to start acting like a young lady, she needed to know it was okay to be a girl. "Sherlock," Mary had said, taking his arm and leading him over to the settee, sitting next to him, "Please, you know Irene would have taken care of this long ago if she had been able to. We're not telling you to change her into some debutant, just add to, bring out in her what there is of her mother. Think of it, Sherlock, with all the two of you had to offer her, can you let her be just half of her potential?" Mary was the only one he let call him Sherlock. And yet she only did when she wanted to get her way, and she knew it worked every time. The woman was NOT the proper little governess everyone thought she was, and he loved her for fooling all of them. He had looked in her eyes that night and admitted what he hadn't even been able to say to Watson, "I miss her Mary, I can't do this. I don't know what to do. This is beyond my knowledge. Irene was supposed to take care of this part, Irene was supposed to be here." She stroked his cheek and smiled, "I know, Sherlock, and I promised her I would do everything I could to help. And now it's time I do. Leave it to me, Irene trusted me and so can you."
***
"Annie, it's time you learn to be a young lady. Your mother wanted it that way and I have let that wish go unattended for far too long. Your Aunt Mary promised she would be there in her place and so now, she is here to help you." he said and looked down, he didn't want her to look in his eyes, he didn't want to see hers, they were her mother's eyes. "Dad?" she said and turned his face back up to look at her. "I know it's not going to be easy, but please try, for your mother's sake. It really will be beneficial to you, learning, well...how to be a girl, your mother certainly used it to her advantage." he said and smirked. She laughed a little and said, "I know, you've told me and I've heard stories from Uncle John and Aunt Mary, too. I wish I remembered her more. I think I remember her voice, singing to me." "She sang to you all the time, I'm glad you have at least that memory of her." he said, sad again. "Okay, Dad, I'll try for mom," she said and kissed his forehead, "and for you." She turned back to the boxes and grimaced, "Do I have to wear dresses ALL the time?" He laughed and stood, "I won't tell if you don't" and winked before he left the room.
She smiled and opened the biggest box, frowning. She pulled out the dress and held it up, turning to look in the mirror. It was a deep emerald green silk, her mother's favorite color. She looked at herself in the mirror with it held in front of her and felt like she was staring at a stranger. Her face was smudged with charcoal, her hair all over the place even though she had forced it back in a rough tie made of string. She was a little too tan than a proper girl should be, she knew that cause she'd noticed other girls but hadn't mentioned it. They all had milky white skin. Hers was slightly browned by the sun from not wearing a hat or carrying a parasol, she had freckles, too, light ones. And there was the scar just going up into her hair line. She touched it and tried not to laugh.
She got when she got in her first fight with her best friend. He had one, too, just on the opposite side. She didn't even remember what it was about, they had only been 6 at the time. They had been sword fighting with sticks and wound up really fighting, marking each other for life. She did laugh then, remembering the frustrated looks on their parents faces as they sat there laughing after and point out how neat it was that they had matching injuries. Then she stopped and said, "Oh God...JJ's gonna think I am some kind of freak when he sees me in this." JJ - John Jr. was Mary and Watson's son, he was born 3 months before she was and as close as their parents were they grew up together of course. They were as close as Holmes and Watson themselves, maybe even closer. They even had their own names for each other that no one else was allowed to use, he was JJ and she was Tony and they were going to follow in their father's footsteps and that had been the plan forever. Neither of them had been forced to think any different, not having been exposed to public schooling. Why, when the best teachers to be found were in their own families? Their friends growing up had been Baker Street Irregulars and none of them thought anything wrong that they were the best of friends, they all figured that how it should be.
She sat down on the bed and sighed, still looking in the mirror. "But that's changing isn't it?" she asked herself. She'd noticed JJ looking at the other girls, girls in dresses with bows in their hair, giggling like idiots. She'd even caught him smiling back once at one girl in particular one day they had been at the zoo, studying for a lesson Watson had given them. They were at the reptile house, working on identifying the various types of constrictors vs. pythons. One girl and her friend had kept following them, smiling at JJ and flirting. Annie had shot a glare at her that made the girl look like she was going to burst into tears and thought that was the end of it, but she kept following them anyway. When she saw him smile back at her she's not sure what happened, she just knew she was angry and that she had to do something, anything. So she did, she went over to the zoo keeper who had one of the tamer snakes around her neck and asked if she could hold it, she had before and they knew her father so it was alright. She took it around her neck, supporting it's head in her hand and looked back at the girl, then started advancing on her. "Would you like to see one up close?" she asked with an evil grin. She got right up to her, the girl too scared to move when the snake turned it's body towards her and slithered it's tongue out, tasting the air within inches of her face, the girl screamed and ran out of the building, her friend trailing after her. She gave the snake back, apologizing and saying how she just wanted to show them there was nothing to be afraid of. JJ didn't speak to her for almost 10 minutes. She could tell he wasn't mad, but she couldn't tell anything else either and that was a first for them. Then he started laughing and said, "did you see her face?!" The next week, he surprised her with a baby ball python. They built a terrarium for it close to the brick of the fireplace in the study for warmth, that way her Dad could study it, too.
A knock brought her out of her happy thoughts and she looked up to see her Aunt Mary come in with some more packages. She was positively beaming. "oh no, she's really going to enjoy this, isn't she." Annie thought and forced herself to smile back. She put the dress back on the bed and stood. "Well, Auntie, what do I do first?" she said and sighed. "Trust me, Annie, it won't be so bad. You might even like it, you always did like new things, just think of this as learning something new." Mary said and hugged her. Try as she might, she couldn't help but relax, her Aunt had that effect on her.
"First, a bath is in order. We need to get that chemical cologne of your father's off you." she said and laughed, taking her hand and pulling her out the door. After the bath, the retreated back to her room and shut the door behind them. Holmes and Watson sat in the study just below the room, reading the papers and smoking their pipes. Watson hid his grin behind his paper, he'd noticed the moment Holmes heard the door shut upstairs he couldn't sit still. And everytime the sound of a laugh would come through the ceiling he would get even more restless. He finally stood up and went to repack his pipe, then paced the room, glancing up at the ceiling. "Anything the matter, Old chap?" Watson said, still hiding behind his paper so Holmes couldn't see him trying very hard not to laugh. Holmes turned and he could feel the glare burn though the newsprint. "Ha ha, Watson. I find your humor most unwanted right now." he said. A loud laugh followed by quieter giggles mad him almost drop his pipe. "What are they doing up there? I've never heard sounds like that from her room in all these 17 years." he said and threw himself back into his chair. "They're being girls, Holmes. I suggest you get used to it. And those are happy sounds. You act as if she's got a boy up there and you're listening for some form of inappropriate behavior." Watson said.
After a couple moments of silence he had to look, he had been joking and was expecting some kind of sarcastic response. What he saw was Holmes staring at him, pale as a ghost with a look on his face Watson had never seen before. It was a look of realization. All fathers of girls get it at some point, but most of them have had years of preparation as their little girls grow up into young women. Holmes was having it all happen in one day and it hit him full on like an out of control train. "Holmes?" Watson said, frowning. No response. He put down his paper and stood, going over to his friend. He put a hand on his shoulder and said again, "Holmes?" He turned and looked up at Watson. "Boys? You mean young men..." Holmes said and stood, pacing again. "Why did I let you talk me into this? You are supposed to be my friend, her Godfather, she calls you Uncle! You're supposed to help me protect her and now you're going to dress her up in pretty frocks and throw her to over hormonal wolves!" he said and turn to Watson, advancing on him until he had him backed up to the wall. "How could you, Watson?" he said in quiet anger.
He couldn't help it, he tried so hard because he knew it would just make things worse, but he really could not help it and Watson burst out laughing. Holmes said nothing, just watched him laugh and waited for him to gain his breath back and stand up straight. Then he punched him right in the jaw. "Ah! Holmes?!" Watson said and rubbed his face, there would be a bruise for sure. Holmes went back to his chair and lit his forgotten pipe. "Alright, I suppose I deserved that." Watson said and held his smirk in this time. He sat in his chair opposite Holmes and leaned forward, then thought the better of it and sat back out of reach. "I don't know what you're so worried about, Annie's been around boys all her life. Her best friend is a boy, she ran with the Irregulars. You've taught her countless ways to defend herself. If anything, I'd worry about the poor young man that is stupid enough to make some kind of advance at her." He said. Holmes had to let a small smile show at that. "Yes, she is rather good at that isn't she." he said with pride, imagining all the ways he had shown her to quickly disable any attacker. Then he did laugh and smiled. "What Holmes?" Watson asked, feeling he could lean forward safely.
"I remember when I took her down to the docks with me when she was 12. I had been teaching her Baritsu and thought she should practice with someone besides me, so we went in search of McGinty because I knew he would help. He has 8 girls of his own, you know, Watson." Holmes said and grinned. "I didn't even know that beast of a man was married, Holmes." Watson said, astonished. McGinty was at least 6 ft and half, and big broad Irishman who worked at the docks moving freight. He carried it himself most of the time instead of using a cart, claiming they took too long to load. He was an intimidating man to say the least, but just as good hearted, if not more so. Holmes laughed again and said, "You should meet his wife sometime, they make quite the pair. She's about half his height and possibly weighs a meager 100 pounds, but I've seen her take him down like lightening hit him. She's Italian and their girls are quite the spirited bunch." Watson had to laugh at the image that came into his head, "I can about imagine." he said. "Well, I took her with to the docks, hoping McGinty's could point out one of his smaller lads that would help us out. He said he would do it himself, giving the reason of having girls of his own he knew what limits there were. I don't think he was expecting what he got." Holmes said, grinning. Watson just sat and waited, smiling. "It was over so fast, Watson. I was so proud I couldn't help but stand there and smile. A 12 year old girl had landed him flat on his back in the dust before he even had the chance to try and grab her. And then, to make me even more proud, she pointed out that it was simple physics. He was top heavy because of the upper body strength he'd built up and his legs made an easy pivot point. All she needed to do was direct the right amount of pressure to the right area of his chest while she stepped one of her own legs behind him and over he went." Holmes was beaming with pride as he told the tale and Watson wound up laughing again.
Mrs. Hudson entered the room with the tea tray and set it on the table. "Is Annie in her room, Mr. Holmes?" she asked, smiling. "Yes, she's up there getting ready for her birthday dinner with Mary." Holmes replied. "Oh good, I'll just bring this up there then with some tea." she said and took a small box off the tray, turning to go. "What have you there, Mrs. Hudson?" Holmes asked, curious. "Just a small gift from myself, Mr. Holmes. Something I'd been saving for her since I have no daughters of my own." she said, looking a little embarrassed. Holmes looked at her and held out his hand. She came forward and placed the box in it. He opened it and then looked up at her, questioningly. He took the locket out of the box and opened in. In it were two small pictures, one of himself and one of Irene. He looked at it and swallowed, "Oh nanny..." was all he could say. She took it back and put in back in the box, smiling, "Don't worry, Mr. Holmes," she said as she walked away, "It's not poisoned." She left the room and shut the door behind her, letting him save face. After a few moment of silence Watson said, "It's a beautiful gift, Holmes. You know she means the world to our old girl." "Yes, yes it is, Watson." he said, looking at the floor. "How long do these 'girl' things usually take, Watson?" he asked. "I suspect they'll be up there until we're do to leave for Simpsons. And then they'll make some grand entrance before we go, that's what they do." he replied and sighed. Holmes jumped up from his chair and headed for the door. He stopped and tossed Watson his hat and cane and opened the door. "Then we have at least 2 hours, let's go, Watson!" he said and Watson could hear him leaping down the stairs 2 at a time. He put his hat on and hurried after him, "Holmes?! Where are we going?" he called, catching up to him. "Shopping, Watson...shopping!" he said with a glint in his eye, shutting the door behind them.
Annie heard her father's rush down the stairs and then heard the door slam. She ran over to the window and looked out in time to see them rush off down the street. "Where are they off to?" she asked. Mary looked out to and then shrugged, "I haven't the faintest idea. You know how they are sometimes. Now, come away from the window and let me fix your hair." She left the window and sat back down in front of the mirror as her Aunt requested. Mary picked up brush and started to brush and twist Annie's long chestnut colored hair. "You have your mother's hair, lucky for you." Mary said and they smiled at each other in the mirror, both thinking of her father's unruly curls. After a few moments of silence Mary finally asked, "What are you thinking, Annie? I can see the gears turning behind your eyes." Annie broke from her thoughts and looked up, sighing. "You promise you won't tell Dad...or Uncle John?" she said. "Of course, I've never told our secrets before, have I? And I know not to say anything to John, because I know eventually, even if he promised not to, your father would get it out of him somehow." she said and smiled.
"Why did Dad raise me like he did and then change his mind now?" she asked. Mary thought for a moment and then took the hairpin from her mouth and said, "I suppose it's because he can't ignore it any longer. You're a young woman now and it shows. He can't keep dressing you in boys clothes and hiding you in your studies forever. I don't think he changed his mind, Annie and I don't want you to think that he'll love you any less because of this, either. But, he doesn't know any different, it's not his way. He always had it in his head that he would see to your mind and protection and your mother would take care of the rest. And then, when she was gone..."she stopped and fought back the tears that wanted to come, "It was a defense for him. The one woman, a very womanly woman, that he let get close to him, was the cause of so much pain that he refused to see you as such and, in his mind, did everything he could to protect you and hide you from that. When he was really trying to protect himself from the fear of losing you, too."
"I guess I can understand that." she said and sighed. Mary stopped and said, "That's not all, is it, dear?" She turned around and said, "No, it's not. Part of me wants to be angry with him about it. I've...well, I've noticed for a long time I'm not like other girls and I really don't want to be, well, not totally like them. I'm proud I'm smart and not dainty and giggly and all those things. But mother wasn't either, she was able to be a woman and command respect." She reached over and fingered the green silk of the dress. "I feel like something has been missing, like I should be something more. It's been very confusing and my mind can't sort it out and I don't like that. I get these, feelings sometimes and I don't know where they come from or why they're there or what I should do with them. I don't like it." she said and wrinkled her brow as she huffed out the last words. Mary smiled and went back to her hair.
"These feelings, Annie, I'm going to deduce, as your father loves to say, happen to come up when you're around boys?" she said and tucked another pin into her hair. Annie froze where she sat and didn't say anything. Mary took it as a sign not to pry, she just said, "It's perfectly natural dear, I don't think you need to concern yourself about it so much. You should be noticing boys at your age." She fussed over a couple of curls and let her words sink in. "But, what if it's not all boys that make me confused?" Annie finally asked. Mary tried hard not let what she was thinking show, holding back the smile that was threatening to break her face. "Well, I suppose one day you'll meet one certain boy, or young man, really, that will make those feelings make sense. And there will be a lot of feelings, my dear." she said and allowed herself to chuckle. "Such as?" Annie asked. Just like her father, data data data - Mary thought and then said, "Well, you'll want nothing but to be near them, care for them, you'll be happy just being with them. He'll make you feel complete. And then, in a split second he could do something that makes you want to just slap him and walk away. But even when he does, you'll still want to be near him." "Why would you want to be near someone who could make you so angry, though?" Annie asked, it made no logical sense to her.
Mary sat down on the bed and thought a moment, then said, "Your father and your Uncle are impossible men sometimes, you know this -(Annie just grinned) -They take off at all hours of the night, come back too late in the day and are usually filthy, clothes torn and usually injured in some way. They make plans with us and miss them. They go out and come back slightly drunk and smelling like the fight houses, usually stumbling and holding each other up. Your father has that delightful habit of blowing things up or setting them on fire. John always comes home smelling of medicines and it takes forever to get those blood stains out of his clothes. I don't think either of them have ever really grown up. There are times I am infuriated by them and don't want them in my sight. But that doesn't mean I don't love them any less. Sometimes I think I love them more for it. Does that explain it, a little?" Annie smiled and said, "Oddly, yes it does. Mary stood and turned her back to the mirror to finish her hair. "But what do you do when you meet a man that makes you feel like that?" Annie asked, almost too quietly. Mary smiled knowingly and said, "You just follow your heart, dear, and not your mind."