Charlie was quiet coming home from school one day months into the year. Sherlock didn't think much of it; she had had a tiring week and was probably just exhausted. He thought he would make a quick dinner and then would have her go to bed so she could rest up. Sherlock soon found that that would not be the case.
As soon as the door to 221B closed, Charlie burst into great wailing sobs. Alarmed, Sherlock quickly asked, "Charlie, what's wrong?"
"Alexander told me that Mommy and Daddy don't love me, that is why they left. He told me no one lives with their uncle unless their Mommy and Daddy don't love them," Charlie chocked and sobbed.
Sherlock saw red, but he calmed enough to talk gently to Charlie. "Charlotte Grace Watson, I thought you knew better than that. Haven't I told you how much your Mommy and Daddy love you? They didn't want to leave you; they didn't have a choice. That choice was taken away from them by someone who made a bad decision. Remember all those stories I've told you?"
Sherlock, in an effort to give Charlie an idea of what her parents were like, would read John's blog to her at night. He would tell stories that weren't on the blog too. He always managed to end them with, "Then John met Mary, and they fell in love. Their love gave the world a beautiful girl named Charlie." He hadn't gotten to tell her about their wedding turned almost-crime scene because he had only started telling her these stories; he wanted her to be able to remember them well.
Sniffling, Charlie nodded. "Well I've got one more for you," Sherlock said, "and I'm going to tell it to you tonight at bed time to prove that that mean boy Alexander is an idiot." Charlie looked skeptical, but she accepted it and shuffled to her room – John's old room. Sherlock sighed and closed his eyes. Children were so cruel sometimes, a fact he remembered too well from his primary school days. He had hoped that Charlie would inherit John's popularity with people and avoid their cruelty, but it seemed that he was not that lucky.
Sherlock wandered into the kitchen to make dinner, which was a silent affair as Charlie was still downtrodden and Sherlock was unsure how to handle the situation other than his story; he would have to skip several on the blog to reach it, but it would be worth it if it made Charlie happy again.
Later that night, as Charlie climbed into bed, Sherlock sat in a chair he had pulled up next to her bed. "Tonight's story, as always, is about John and Sherlock and their crazy adventures. This time, however, Mary is at the very beginning of it.
"Sherlock interrupted John and Mary's date night where John was going to ask Mary to, well, marry him. After a long series of events and moving from restaurant to restaurant, John and Mary went back to their flat where John finally proposed.
"Weeks that were full of crimes and excitement passed, and Sherlock helped John and Mary plan their wedding. Finally, the wedding day came. It was a sunny day, rare for London, and everyone was happy for the couple." Everyone except Sherlock he thought. The end of an era. That's what Mrs. Hudson said, and, in a way, she was right. "The vows were said and the time came for the reception dinner. Sherlock, as best man, rose to give the best man speech. He wanted it to be perfect for his best friend because John Watson deserved every happiness. John was the bravest and wisest and kindest man Sherlock had ever known and was glad to be his best friend. Sherlock knew that John and Mary would be very happy together, so he was happy for them.
"In the midst of all the happiness, there was an attempted murder, which I will tell you about later because it's not the point of tonight's story, that Sherlock, John, and Mary were able to solve without anyone dying. When everyone was dancing, Sherlock deduced something that made John and Mary so happy; it was almost too much for them to bear all in one day. Sherlock deduced that Mary was pregnant. Sure enough, nine months later, Mary gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and named her Charlotte Grace Watson. Then, one night, John and Mary went on a date. They left Charlie with her godfather Sherlock. On their way to get Charlie, a man who made the bad decision to stay at a pub too late then drive himself home hit their cab. They both died in the accident.
"So you see Charlie, your Mommy and Daddy didn't want to leave you. They were coming to get you when they left. If anyone ever tells you they didn't love you, don't believe them for one second. If you have to, tell them the story of how you were born. Ok? Your mommy and daddy loved you very much. Don't ever doubt or forget that. And always remember, I will always be here too. Just the two of us against the rest of the world, right?"
Charlie was wide-eyed with fascination and nodded. "Good. Do I need to talk to Mrs. Petrie about Alexander?" Charlie shook her head. "Alright. Good night, Charlie. Sleep well." She was sound asleep.
The next day, Sherlock walked Charlie into school like every day. Sherlock could hear whom he assumed to be Alexander taunting Charlie. She must have sensed his agitation, however, because she said, "It's ok Uncle Sherlock. I'm just going to ignore him because it's just the two of us against the rest of the world, right?"
Sherlock beamed at her. "Right."