Chapter Two
Molly Hooper paced across the room, almost spilling her coffee as she went. She was already behind in her work today, but she could not go on with this autopsy until Sherlock appeared. She had texted him this morning, but he had been taking Alex to school and so she would have to wait until he arrived. They all would have to wait. She sighed and sat down in her chair, her eyes coming to rest on the microscope which sat on the table in front of her. She smiled as she thought of her newest young friend, Alexandria, Sherlock's daughter. She still could hardly believe that Sherlock had a daughter, let alone that he was the one who was taking care of her. She shook her head and thought back to a few days ago when she had met the child for the first time.
Molly had not been expecting Sherlock at the lab that day. Last she had heard he had left the country on an emergency case, one of which no one seemed to have information about. However Molly quickly found out that Sherlock's return was not the only surprise that she would be receiving. The most peculiar of them all came in the form of a small girl with silver blue eyes and dark curly hair. Sherlock walked into the lab as if he owned the place calling out to Molly "Hello, Molly." He said flashing one of his smiles and proceeded to pull a small child out from behind his back. "This is Alex, my daughter. Alex, this is my friend Molly." He smiled again, nodded his head and then flipped around on his heels, squatting down to the child's eye level. "You're going to stay here with my friend Molly, while I go help Uncle Mycroft with something. Be good please." With that the consulting detective stood up, pushed through the door and called out "Be back soon!"
Molly stood there, frozen in shock during the whole charade. The only sound which emitted from the room was the sound of the clock ticking, proving that time was in fact still moving. Molly gawked at the child who gazed back at her. Finally Molly blinked and took a breath. "Hi honey." She said with a smile, confusion still evident on her features. "What did Sherlock just say? He said that you're his… you're his…" She couldn't finish that sentence. It was too incredible to believe. This must have been some kind of trick.
Alex sighed and rolled her eyes, looking very much like Sherlock at this point. "Daughter. He's my daddy." She said with an air of boredom. The child walked over to the microscope which sat on the table, trying to see into it.
Molly walked over to her chair and sat down. "So, if you are Sherlock's daughter, then who is your mother?" She asked, still not truly believing that Sherlock could have a daughter, no matter how much she resembled him.
"Irene Adler." The child said matter-of-factly as she pushed a stool over to the microscope. "How do you use this thing?" She asked.
Molly took no notice of the child's query; instead she sat there shaking her head at the idea of Sherlock and Irene. "This has got to be a big joke." She said. "Irene Adler is dead. John told me. He said that she died in the Middle East."
The young child jumped down off of the stool and walked over to Molly, her silver-blue eyes taking in the older woman's facial expression. She shook her head. "Nope. She's alive. I'm not sure where she is though. She left me with daddy. Said that I'd be safer with him." The young girl shrugged her shoulders and looked around the rest of the lab, taking in all of the instruments.
"Oh my god." Molly whispered as she watched the child. Everything about her screamed Sherlock. Her silver-blue eyes, her dark wavy hair, the way that she rolled her eyes, even the way that she examined the instruments laying around the room. "It's true. You really are his daughter." She said, leaning back and staring at the roof. Never would she have imagined that Sherlock would have a child. Molly stood up quickly and walked over to where the young girl was now standing, back by the microscope. She knelt down making herself eye level with the child. "I'm so glad to meet you Alex." She said sincerely, watching the child for her reaction.
Alex smiled and then promptly climbed atop the stool in front of the microscope. "Glad to meet you too. Now can you show how me to fix this thing?"
Molly shook her head at the memory, remembering how entranced the child had been with the microscope. It had kept her busy for hours, which was good since it had taken that long for her father to reappear. Molly had scolded Sherlock for abandoning his child with her; however he of course could not see how it was unacceptable. From his point of view, Molly should have been flattered that he entrusted her with his young charge. Sherlock may have been a father for over 8 years now, but he still had quite a lot to learn.