I am very very sorry for not updating earlier! I have an absolute exam frenzy, but once again I've also been stuck with this chapter. I have the rest of the story all planned out and even have two later chapters already completely written, but unfortunately I have a big blank for this bit.

Anyways, thank you for waiting. I am sorry, but this is only a fill in chapter.

Enjoy x

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Sherlock left after another week. He had gotten a call from John, who told him that both Mycroft and Lestrade were asking about why he was absent on one case for so long, and Sherlock knew that he had only few more days left before Mycroft made his own, thorough enquiries.

His farewell with Irene wasn't overly emotional, or at least they both did their best to make sure that they stayed neutral. It was an effective coping mechanism for them.

If Irene was honest though, then she had to admit to herself that she really didn't want him to leave. Being pregnant didn't necessarily scare her, but Sherlock had been a good person to lean on in the last few weeks. He was always there for her when she needed him, and she knew that the months without him would be harder than the preceding ones.

She was pleased however, at the fact that he did show attachment to her and the baby. Not a lot, of course, because essentially Sherlock was still Sherlock and nothing could possibly ever change that. But there were small differences that she noticed. The way that he would immediately be there to assist her if she was carrying something heavy, the way he would stare at her for longer periods of time, taking her in, and the way he touched her. He still held back a bit, and to an outsider the difference between the amount of physical contact would have been hard to observe. Irene however, realised that his touches lasted a second longer, and that they were more frequent.

Sherlock was also sad to leave. Having this certain...domesticity in life was completely new to him, and if he was honest, life was so much more practical and easy without it. But his life was now coloured with sentiment and emotion, and he couldn't really find it in himself to be overly practical.

At least not where Irene and the baby were concerned.

Although the fact that he knew that hormones were really starting to kick in with Irene made him almost run towards the plane, he was also going to miss her. He had promised to visit again in the next few months, and if he didn't manage the birth, then he would certainly be there after that.

During the flight, he thought about how to approach the subject with John. Unlike conversations with Irene, conversations with his flatmate were usually rather predictable.

He wasn't sure if it was even necessary to tell John about Irene's pregnancy now. He didn't feel like answering all of John's tedious questions, nor being made fun of, or having to explain things. John would probably ask him all sorts of sentimental questions, and Sherlock was not in the mood for that. Sentiment was something that he reserved for Irene (and now the baby).

Of course, he would have to explain his frequent visits to New Zealand if he didn't tell John the truth now, and he wasn't necessarily in the mood to make up excuses either.

He decided that he would tell John at some point, probably before the baby was born. He just didn't feel like doing it right now.

It could wait.

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John was pleased to see Sherlock when he was back, as was Mrs Hudson. She had learned from John that Sherlock had finally managed to get himself a girlfriend, and as much as the matter interested her, she decided it was probably best not to pry. She knew Sherlock well, and she knew that he of all people would certainly not discuss his relationship free willingly with her.

John did ask some questions, but those were ones that could very easily be avoided. John, though not satisfied with his answers, chose to let the matter go.

Lestrade was also curious, as was Mycroft, who was perhaps a little more stern than the rest. But Sherlock managed to evade their enquiries too.

Sherlock was scared that John would notice something was up. He was certainly not the most perceptive of people, but there were times when he could read Sherlock like an open book. Sherlock wasn't sure if he was acting differently, and yet he was almost terrified that John would see a faraway expression on his face and sense that there was something that Sherlock was keeping from him.

He realised that he was going have to be more careful, with everything. Skype calls to Irene were almost always made whenever John was away. Sherlock now always wiped his internet history, in case John ever deemed it necessary to look (he had briefly looked up some information about infants, and John had nearly caught him).

Keeping the secret from Mycroft was a lot easier than keeping it from John. Mycroft no longer monitored the flat, and Sherlock barely ever saw him. There were a few occasions when Mycroft dropped by, sometimes bringing a case with him (because it required leg work), and sometimes simply stopping off there to see how Sherlock and John were doing. He never said this outright, and Sherlock never forced him to say it either. But the relationship between the brothers was slightly less tense than it had been a year ago.

Of course, if Mycroft found out about Irene and the baby, then Sherlock had no doubt that the relationship might resemble the one from the years previous. Mycroft would be furious with him.

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Irene talked to Sherlock a lot in the next few months, but she didn't ask him to visit. She knew that Sherlock would need to stay in London so as to protect her, and not because he didn't want to come. Besides, she was managing well on her own (even though there were times where she had to admit that it would have been nice to have a helping hand.)

Her house looked completely different now. One of the extra rooms had become a nursery; there was a stroller in the hall, a child's seat in the living room, and a basket of toys and picture books in the corner of her room.

She was very proud to say that she had managed to arrange all that, though Sherlock had helped with some things.

She wondered when the hell Sherlock was going to tell John about this. John was Sherlock's best friend, the one person he considered as his brother, and he definitely didn't deserve to be kept in the dark about this.

When she was about 7 months along, she decided that it was high time John was informed that Sherlock was going to be a father. John had already received a big shock when he had found out Irene was alive, he didn't need another one when he managed to find out that Sherlock had managed to get himself procreated.

But Sherlock was evasive about the subject, until Irene finally threatened him outright, telling him that if he didn't tell John, she would come over and tell the doctor personally. Although Sherlock had smirked at her plan initially, his expression turned suddenly serious and almost frightened when he realised that she being completely serious and that she would follow through with it.

"Fine" he grudgingly agreed the same sulky expression on his face whenever she beat him at chess or outsmarted him in one of their war of wits. "I suppose I'll just leave my laptop open on a website about children or something like that, so he can figure it out for himself."

Irene rolled her eyes, wondering who would play the mature, grown up figure when the child was born. Judging on their current conversation, it was probably going to have to be her, not Sherlock. Surprisingly, the thought of having to be grown up and mature didn't scare her as much as it should have.

"Have it your way" she told him. "But if he doesn't find out by today - "

"He's staying at Sarah's today – " Sherlock interrupted, a smug look on his face.

"Fine then. Tomorrow – "

"He'll have a hangover. His mind won't be fit to process the information."

Irene sighed exasperatedly. "By the end of this week, then I am telling him personally."

"Maybe it would just be easier to tell him after the baby is born" Sherlock supplied. "Instead of me having to do all the talking, we can just show him the child, and it will be over and done with."

"He's your best friend Sherlock" Irene told him. "He has a right to know."

"Well, you didn't think I had a right to know until 5 months in!" Sherlock said, and for a second he was almost proud that he had finally found an argument he could use. Until he saw the slight expression of hurt flit across her face.

She didn't say anything, and for a second neither did he. But somehow the one word, the word he used only with her made its way to his lips.

"Sorry" he said, and Irene nodded, giving him a gentle, albeit slightly forced smile.

"It's fine" she said, and left it at that. She could have told him that she had had a reason for it, or apologise herself and subject them both to uncomfortable and sulky silence. But it was fine, and she didn't blame Sherlock for reacting the way he did. Although, she realised, she would now bear the reputation of not only being the mature one, but the tactful one as well.

"Just tell John" she told Sherlock with a slight smile before she ended the call.

Sherlock arranged his face into a smile (though his smile came more naturally with Irene) but groaned as she ended the call. He recalled sitting in a similar position two months ago, groaning as he got the news from Irene that she was pregnant, and that he was the father. Now he had to tell John.

Maybe he should just avoid Skype. It certainly seemed the best way to not get into these uncomfortable situations.

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Thank you for reading! Next chapter should feature John finding out and possibly the birth of Nero!

Please review!

Laura x