I am so sorry this has taken so long to get up, I really do have quite a lot already written, but I've been fighting with it to get it to upload. The FanFic world is not kind to use Mac Junkies *L*

***********

Holmes looked at his watch again and then glanced up the stairs. Finally he leaned over and looked up calling, "We really should be going, Mary. Our reservation is for 8." "Yes, yes...we're coming, Sherlock!" she called back. He frowned at the tone in her voice. Like she had some secret or something. He looked to Watson and he simply shrugged as if to say, "It's a girl thing?" "They really had better hurry. You say John Jr. is going to meet us there?" Holmes asked, putting his watch back into his pocket. "Yes, he said he had something to do and would be close anyway so he'd just meet us there. He was being very odd today, Holmes. You know how usually he'd come and at least play a game of chess with us, but he was up and out this morning like he'd...." Watson was saying, then he looked up the stairway and his voice trailed off. "You were saying, Watson?" Holmes asked and looked up at him, then quickly turned around to see what he was looking at.

"Hi Dad." was all Annie said and smiled down at him. She had on the emerald green silk dress, that sat just off her shoulders and the locket from Mrs. Hudson sat perfectly on her throat. Mary had done her hair up with a few curls hanging loose around her face, an peacock feather hair pin tucked into the side, standing out against her dark chestnut hair. She had just a little make-up on, but it made her green eyes jump out, matching the dress. Mary had given her a pair of long black lace fingerless gloves, the latest style among the young women she had told Holmes. He just stared at her for a moment and then rushed up the stairs to her, stopping a couple of steps down so they were eye to eye. "I...Annie you look...." he stammered out. Then he just smiled and kissed her hand. "You look just like your mother." he said and smiled. "Thank you." she said. He put her arm in his and led her down the stairs, Mary following behind them smiling. Holmes led her out the door and to the waiting carriage, completely ignoring Watson, who just continued to stare. "John?" Mary said when she reached him. He looked at her, then out the door and then back up the stairs. He looked back at her then and said, "Who was that?" She laughed and he smiled back at her. "You are amazing, dear. Irene would be very pleased." he smiled and kissed her cheek. "Thank you, John. It was an enlightening afternoon." she said and smiled as he led her out the door. "What do you ever mean by that?" he asked. "Nothing you men need to know about, dear." she said and got in the carriage.

The ride there was filled with polite conversation. Watson complemented Annie on her transformation endlessly, showing himself to be a very proud Uncle. Holmes leaned over and quietly said to Mary, "You couldn't have found something that buttoned up to her chin?" and nodded to the lower neckline on the dress. She shushed him and said, "That is the latest style for young ladies, Sherlock. It is perfectly respectable and don't you dare say a word to her, she's nervous enough as it is. Besides, even Mrs. Hudson said it was most becoming on her, so there is the ideal stamp of approval." then to make her point she slapped him on the arm. He looked at her startled and sat back. "The woman could be so harsh sometimes." he thought, then turned his attention back to his daughter. All he could do was stare at her while she and Watson talked. For a moment he saw a little girl again, dirt on her face, skinned knees, wearing boys clothes, her long hair tucked up in one of Wiggin's old caps and smiling up at him saying "Daddy! Daddy!" He was jolted back to reality when he realized she was saying, "Dad? Dad, we're here." He just smiled and got out, helping her out of the carriage and escorting her into the restaurant. They had reserved one of the private rooms for tonight and invited their closest friends, most of them already there as they could see them through the french doors. Mary stopped as they got in the door when she noticed the younger girl tense up and took Annie's arm. "Gentlemen, we'll be with you in a moment." she said and led Annie to the ladies parlor.

As soon as they were in the room Annie turned to her and said, "I thought it was just us, what are they all doing her?!" She was panicked. It was one thing to have dinner with her family like this, she could have handled that. And then maybe later, a few others but not all at once. "Now calm down, dear. You'll be fine, you look gorgeous and these are your friends. They've watched you grow up, they love you and want to be here to celebrate your birthday with you. These people will think no different of you just because you look like the young lady you are." Mary said and smiled. "Who's all in there?" Annie asked, still wary. "People you know and trust. Clarky's here with his fiance and Inspector Lestrade and his wife, Mrs. Hudson, your Uncle Mycroft and I think your father even got Wiggins and his wife to come into town, too. No one to be afraid of at all." Mary said. Annie took some deep breaths and then said, "Where's JJ? I could do this if I had my best friend at my side." Mary smiled a wider smile, a knowing mother's smile and said, "I'm not sure if he's here yet. He said he would meet us, that he had some things to do first. But even if he's not he'll be here soon, I'm sure. Now, let's not keep them waiting, you know how your father gets when you leave him to wait." They stood and went back out to Holmes and Watson, then went to the room. Mary and Watson went in first, then Holmes and Annie followed. She stopped just before they went in and Holmes squeezed her arm. "Remember, you are your mother's child, too, and she had kings falling at her feet." he said and smiled. "kings falling at her feet and still she had chosen him and look what became of it" he thought and smiled more, if it was possible. Annie took a deep breath and smiled back at him and they went in.

"There's the birthday girl!" Mycroft said and went to her immediately, giving her one of his large hugs that hid her from the world. She immediately wished she could stay there. But Mary was right and no one treated her any different other than to tell her she looked beautiful or just like her mother or to simply wish her a Happy Birthday. After a bit of greetings and talking she started to relax and calm down, allowing herself to enjoy the gathering of her closest friends. All but one, she noticed. JJ wasn't there yet and she wished he'd hurry up. She needed to get it over with, she just knew he was going to make some sarcastic remark about her turning into a girl and then she'd have to insult him in the way they alway did with each other. Her father had just handed her a glass of champagne when she heard the door open again and she turned to see her dearest friend come in. He was smiling and saying something to his father, gesturing to the package he had in his hand. She smiled to see him, and relaxed more now that he was here...until he looked up and saw her. His smile fell from his face and his jaw followed it to the floor. She stopped smiling, this was worse than she thought. Now he's going to think she's one of those idiots like the ones she scared at the zoo. They just stared at each other for what seemed like forever, but was really only a few moments. Watson cleared his throat and elbowed his son, snapping him back into focus.

He recovered himself then and came over to her. Holmes just looked at him and then frowned. Mary took his arm and said, "Sherlock, will you get me some champagne?" "I just gave you some, Mary." he said, never taking his eyes off John Jr. Something wasn't right here, and he didn't like it. Mary rolled her eyes and then did something he never expected. She downed her whole glass and held it out to him, "I'd like some more, Sherlock." then pulled him away from the two. He just stared at her like she'd lost her mind completely. Watson stayed by the door, trying not to laugh, again. His stomach was starting to hurt from trying to do that so much today.

"Hey, Tony." JJ said and smiled, "Happy Birthday, you look...um...." she still hadn't smiled back. In fact she was on the verge of glaring and now was almost in panic mode again when she saw his face start to turn red. "You look really nice." he finally said and smiled from ear to ear. She let out her breath in relief and smiled back. "Thanks, JJ. I'm glad your here, this is...odd." was all she could think of to say. "Yeah, I kind of thought you'd think so. I heard them planning the party last week but they made me promise not to say anything." he said and rolled his eyes. "But you always tell me what they're planning, why not this time?" she asked. He looked down at the ground and said, "My mom threatened me. She said if I let you know anything, she'd take away my anatomical skeleton." Annie laughed and he smiled even more, noticing the way her eyes lit up when she did. He keep gazing into them without realizing he was staring. " You look like that picture of your mom, I never noticed it before. Well, not much anyway." he said. He could feel his ears burning again, why the hell did his ears keep burning like that? "That's what everyone keeps saying. I think it's making my Dad kind of sad." she said and glanced over to where her father was still being held captive. He certainly didn't look happy, he looked, confused? No, that couldn't be it, her father was many things, but confused just wasn't one of them. "I don't think so. He's always said you look like her, I think he's proud of it, really." he replied and she smiled again. And he noticed her eyes again. Holmes wandered back over just in time to notice John Jr. glance down and say, "Is that a new locket?" She didn't get to answer because Holmes grabbed her arm and said, "I think we should sit down and order, Annie." She just looked at him funny and followed him to the table. She looked back at John Jr. and twirled her finger by her ear making the "crazy" sign, stuck her tongue out sideways and crossed her eyes. He covered his mouth to keep Holmes from hearing him laugh.

Holmes sat Annie next to him and then sat down, thinking Watson was going to sit on her other side. Instead he motioned John Jr. to take that chair and then sat across from Holmes with Mary. Holmes just shot him a look and he ignored it with a smile. The dinner went well, everyone talking and having a good time. Telling stories about Annie growing up, about her mother and Holmes and about the scrapes her and John Jr. seemed to always get into. Lestrade was telling everyone about the time he had caught them at the prison yard fence, trying to get the inmates to tell them stories of what they had done to be in there by bribing them with candy and Mrs. Hudson's cookies. Everytime he shoed them off he'd get called back out an hour later again because they just kept moving around the fence to different spots.

"I spent half of the day chasing them around the outside of the yard. How they kept getting back in I still don't know." he said and everyone laughed. Holmes watched as JJ and his daughter leaned their heads close together, talking quietly to each other. They'd always done this, it was nothing new he told himself. Then why was it making him so damned uncomfortable, he couldn't place it. This was John Jr., his Godson, her most trusted friend since birth, he told himself and then let it go. He was over reacting to Watson's "boy" statement earlier, this was John Jr. , not some hormonal teenage boy after all.

Annie grinned and looked up from John Jr. "Do you really want to know, Inspector?" she asked and they leaned their heads together again and laughed. "Yes, yes I would. After all this time I still haven't figured it out - and no comments about that, Holmes." Lestrade said and gave him a look across the table. Holmes just put his hand up to his chest as if to say, "Who me?" and rolled his eyes. Everyone laughed knowing the history between the two. She grinned at John Jr. and said, "You tell him, JJ." He grinned back and then turned to the table. "The first time we bribed your gate guards with one of Mrs. Hudson's meat pies. After that we climbed the tree that overhangs the south side of the yard and after that we just hid a lot until we saw you go back inside." he said and everyone laughed again. "Hid? Where could you have hidden, there's nothing there to hide behind." Clarky asked and the two laughed and looked at each other. "We had the perfect hiding place, right under Lestrade's office window!" Annie said and at that everyone laughed loudly, getting glares from the people out in the main room. Lestrade just shook his head. " You two are going to be dangerous someday, I just hope I can retire before then." he said and smiled.

After the dinner had been cleared away her friends gave her their gifts. She showed them all the locket Mrs. Hudson had given her. Holmes didn't say anything and just drank more champagne. Clarky and his fiance gave her a copy of the new H.G. Wells book about a time machine. Lestrade and his wife gave her a new leather bound journal and writing set. Wiggins laughed when he handed over their gift. She unwrapped and laughed herself. It was a hat, just like the one she'd always been stealing off his head when she was younger to keep her hair out of the way. "At least that one's clean." Mrs. Hudson said and laughed. Watson and Mary gave her a bottle of french perfume. She opened it to smell it and Holmes' eyes lit up. He looked at Watson and smiled, it was the same perfume Irene always wore. She likely would have given it to her daughter herself had she been there and in a way, Holmes thought, looking at his little girl, it was like Irene was there, smiling on them.

"I was never good a buying gifts, my dear," Mycroft said, "So I made you an appointment at the best dress shop in London, they will be expecting you for fittings." She smiled and tried not to laugh at the thought of her Uncle trying to shop. "Thank you, Uncle Mycroft. Just having you here was a wonderful surprise in itself." she said and watched her father turn his head, mumbling "Just tack a bow on his behind" and hide his smirk. Mycroft in public was a gift in itself, and a rare one at that.

John Jr. handed her the package she'd seen before and smiled at her. "I hope you like it, I had to go all over London to find them." he said. She smiled at him and opened it. "Oh JJ!" she squealed and threw her arms around him when she saw what it was. He turned bright red and sort of hugged her back. She didn't notice, but her father did and his confused feelings from before came flooding back and he frowned. Everyone else at the table just smiled. Mary positively glowed and Watson looked like he'd just had a lightbulb go off over his head. He looked at Holmes, who was on the verge of glaring and kicked him under the table. "Wa!" was all he got out before Annie turned to him and said, "Look Dad, it's all the new Monologues on Herpetology, even the one from Australia that I haven't been able to find anywhere!" He smiled at her and said, "Well, that was a well thought out gift, John Jr.". Then he glared back at Watson for a quick moment before turning back to Annie.

"Most of my gifts for you will be delivered tomorrow, Annie, but these I wanted to give you these now." he said and held out two boxes. One was about a half a foot long and thin and the other was a larger jewelry box. She took them and looked at him, noticing he was only half smiling. "They were your mother's, I thought now would be a good time to pass them onto you." he said and smiled at her. She realized then how hard tonight was for him, there were too many reminders. John Jr. leaned over to her and said, "Open them, Annie." she looked back at him surprised, he never called her Annie, she had always been Tony to him. He smiled at her then, looking in her eyes and she smiled back before turning back to her father. Mary grabbed Watson's hand under the table and gave it a squeeze.

She opened the long box first and just looked at it, confused. "It's a practical gift. You mother never went anywhere without it." Holmes said and took it out of the box. It looked like a simple black stick. He held away from himself and pushed a hidden button. Out of the stick slid a slim iron blackjack. He looked to her and grinned, holding it out to her. "See that gash in the end there?" he said and pointed it out. She nodded and grinned, almost laughing. "Yes, dear, you deduced correctly. That came from when your mother hit me with it." he said and everyone laughed. He pushed the hidden rod back in and handed it back to her. "It fits perfectly up a sleeve or in a boot. As I said before, very practical." he said. "I remember that concussion, Holmes." Watson said and raised his glass to his friend, smirking. Holmes just waved him off. She picked up the jewelry box, and just looked at it. She'd heard of her mother's exploits, it was never secret that her mother had an eye for expensive and often, not purchasable, gems. No telling what could be in the box. She opened it slowly and looked inside. The tears started streaming down her face and she said, "Dad, it's her pearls from the picture." This was not what he'd planned, he did not want to make his daughter cry. He blinked quickly himself and went to offer her his handkerchief, then noticed that John Jr. had already handed her his...*and* had put his arm around her. This time it was Mary that kicked him under the table before he could say something. He knew because her shoes were pointed and Watson's were not. But then he felt Watson's as well and he glared at both of them.

"Yes, they are the ones she wore in the picture I have of her. I was told that every young lady should have a string of pearls and knowing your mother like I did, these are the best. I did, however, ask the jeweler to make something to add to it, just from me." he said and held out his hand to her. She smiled, and dabbed away her tears. Then held out her hand. Into it he dropped a perfectly set emerald that would clasp onto the pearls. Her eyes grew wide and she smiled, "Dad is that..." He just winked at her and smiled before she could say anymore. Lestrade and Clarky made a noticeable effort of looking the other way or becoming very interested in their drinks. She leaned her head forward and it set against his forehead. They looked into each others eyes and let the secret stay there. "Thank you, Daddy." she said and kissed his cheek. Lestrade looked at his wife and smiled, then whispered, "It's been so many years, and no one will recognize it in that setting anyway." she just smiled at him.