Don't step on the feels. :)
Rose put the kettle on after her shower. Unless Sally showed up with a case today would be another slow day, not that she minded too much, but the last three had been the same and she really could do with some running. Going to the gym wasn't the same. It was harder to get the adrenalin pumping without fear of death.
"Ally, you want a cuppa?" she called, but was greeted by silence.
She rolled her eyes, knowing that meant the girl was too busy listening to music and probably reading some quantum physics book to pay attention to something as ordinary as tea. She popped her head through the entryway and grinned. Yep, she was right. Alley was sitting in Sherlock's chair with her legs tucked under her, a book in her lap, listening to music on her phone.
Rose pulled the sonic out of her pocket and aimed it at the girl's phone, then pushed the button.
"Hey," Alley shouted.
"I asked-" she began, but was cut off as arms encircled her from behind.
She laughed as he nuzzled her ear and then kissed her neck.
"Why didn't you wake me? We could've conserved water," he said in that low voice that always made her shiver.
She turned around in his arms, grinning. That grin. The one that always drove him round the bend.
"Cheeky," she teased slapping his arm, but he knew she liked it.
"Seriously?" Ally yelled. "Child in room!"
"You're sixteen," he replied without taking his eyes from Rose.
"Exactly. People with a sixteen year old daughter shouldn't do that. It's just weird!"
"It's biology," he said.
"And chemistry," Rose added, making him grin.
"Seriously? Why would you even…that's just…ewww!"
"I think we've become an embarrassment to our daughter," she said, giving him a smile.
He grinned.
"I'm okay with that."
Then he pulled her in for a kiss.
"You realize I'm now scarred for life! It's going to take years of therapy to unsee that."
He finished their kiss and pulled back with a grin.
"I better get our daughter to school before she's further scarred."
Rose's grin turned cheeky, but the kettle boiled before he could pull her in for another kiss. So, instead he turned his attention to their daughter.
"Children who have affectionate parents grow up to have more fulfilling relationships," he replied, walking over to grab his coat and scarf.
"You read that in a book," Alley accused, grabbing her own coat.
"Everyone read that in a book." He shrugged into his coat and then paused with his scarf, eyeing her. "Not forgetting anything are you, Allison?"
She rolled her eyes in that way that always reminded him of Rose.
"No, I've actually got everything."
"Homework?"
"I'm two chapters ahead in physics, chemistry's done, you went over it last night, finished my essay yesterday, history's done, finished that this morning, and my other classes are all labs, not really take home work, at least, they don't think it is."
"And music?"
She glanced over at the sofa where her violin case sat and sighed.
"Fine." She crossed the room and picked it up. "I don't know why you make me play it."
"It's good for you, gives you an outlet."
She rolled her eyes.
"You're quoting mum again."
"Children who are adept at playing-"
"Fathers who live vicariously through their daughters-"
Rose's laugh from the kitchen cut Alley off.
"Two peas in a pod, yeah?" she laughed.
"Don't even joke about that, mum."
At that moment Sherlock's phone chimed. He pulled it out and read the text.
"It's Lestrade. Looks like I'll be busy this morning. You can come, if you want."
"Actually I was going to do a test run with the Vortex Manipulator…unless you need me."
Sherlock's mind froze, just for a moment.
"Are you all right?" Rose continued, making him realize she noticed.
He'd never been able to hide things from her and it had been years since he tried. She always noticed his moods, even from the moment they met, well, the moment she met him for the first time.
"Would you mind if I took the sonic today? I forgot I told Molly I would stop by and help her determine a cause of death. She thinks it was poison, but there isn't enough evidence to determine what was used," he lied, hating that he had to lie to her, but today was the day.
He didn't register her clothes, because he stopped looking at her like that a long time ago, but after she mentioned the Vortex Manipulator that hadn't been working for the past five years, he shifted gears. His mind took in everything she was wearing, all the details. Today was the day he either saved the woman he loved or lost her forever.
She pulled out the sonic and handed it over. His hand closed over hers for a brief moment, but in that moment he relived every time they touched from the first to the last…no, not the last, he couldn't think like that because losing her wasn't an option. Then he slid the sonic into his pocket and tied his scarf.
He opened the door, but she stopped him.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked in that teasing voice that always made him smile.
"Coat, scarf, wallet, Inspector Donovan's ID," he went over the list indicating each item as her grin broadened, "sonic, clothes, shoes…um…" he feigned thinking, "...no I don't believe so."
"Oh, come here you idiot genius," she said grabbing his lapels and pulling him closer, which made him grin.
"Scarred for life!" Alley yelled, stepping out the open door and descending the stairs, but he ignored that.
His arms wove around Rose's waist as she pulled him down, kissing him soundly as she always did when he went on a case without her or right before they ran headlong into danger together. It wasn't goodbye because they didn't say that. Neither one of them could fathom being without the other. It was just in case. After a few minutes they broke apart, but he continued to hold her, gazing into her eyes. The first part of her that had captured him, reminding him of someone he lost, but through them he found so much more. She reached up and he felt her brush something from his cheek and he realized a moment later it was a tear. He'd been holding them back, but somehow one managed to escape.
"I love you, Rose Holmes, more than solving cases and dancing," he said, giving her a smile and hoping she wouldn't question him.
"I love you, Sherlock Holmes, more than time and space," she replied with a grin, but he could see the question in her hazel eyes.
"Dad! School!" Alley called up the stairs, interrupting them.
He released Rose, reluctantly and stepped out the door, closing it behind. Then he paused, pressing his palm against the wood, closing his eyes for a brief moment, praying to time, space, and whatever gods existed that, that wouldn't be the last time he saw the woman he loved. Then he hurried down the stairs.
"Take long enough?" Alley asked, sarcastically. "I'm going to be late now."
He opened the front door.
"You're not going to school today."
"Wait. What? You never let me stay home, unless I'm sick and you always run an analysis or have Uncle John stop by to make sure." She grabbed her dad's arm before they reached the car as fear gripped her stomach. "What's wrong?"
"I don't have time to explain, Allison," he replied in a voice she'd never heard before, but one that filled her with dread. She released him and continued mutely to the car. She climbed in and closed the door. A moment later he started the car and pulled out onto the road. "We have less than forty minutes to change history." She glanced at him feeling the weight of his words. "I need you to do exactly what I say without fail, without question. Can you do that?"
"Yes," she replied in a small voice.
She saw him glance at her out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't comment. Instead the silence hung between them, like a weight, making the air heavy. She forced her fear back. Whatever this was, it was big. Huge. And it was bad, but she would do whatever he asked because, for all her talk and sass he was her father and she trusted him. He always did the right thing, even if everyone couldn't see that both she and her mum could.
Standard Disclaimer.
Thank you to all my brilliant readers!
Reviews are always welcome. :)