Disclaimer: Original characters and plot are mine; nothing from the show is.
AN: My apologies for the long wait between chapters! I'm blaming a combination of real life, writer's block, and technical difficulties! This may not be my best chapter, but I hope you enjoy!
On the evening of her 50th birthday, Kate Watson Lestrade wasn't really surprised when her husband and daughter insisted on taking her out for dinner. But she couldn't help but feel there was more to it than that.
"Something tells me there's more going on here than I know."
Two pairs of brown eyes gave her innocent looks.
"I'm just excited to see if you like your present, Mum." Keira didn't miss a beat.
"Uh-huh." Kate raised a dubious eyebrow as she turned to her spouse. "And what's your excuse?"
Gabriel just laughed. "I agree with Keira; I'm just wondering how you'll react to your gift. And plus, now that you're 50, I don't feel quite so old."
"Very funny. Remind me to smack you for that one when you aren't driving."
As they arrived at the restaurant, Kate was rather flattered to see Keira slip her mobile phone into her pocket. The device often seemed like an extension of the thirteen-year-old's hand, so rarely was she seen without it. But it also increased Kate's suspicions about this being more than just a family dinner out.
"Guess I should have seen this coming," she laughed, entering the building to find many of her friends and colleagues waiting.
Her husband dropped an arm around her shoulder and bent to kiss her cheek. "Happy birthday, darling."
As her guests moved forward to greet her, Kate noticed Gabriel giving Sherlock Holmes a hopeful glance.
"Don't suppose you've gotten anything on those robberies yet, have you?"
The consulting detective rolled his eyes. "Must you be so impatient, Lestrade? I'm still solving it faster than your incompetent underlings would."
Kate made a point of not looking in her cousin's direction at that. She knew if she and John made eye contact, they'd both burst out laughing. Instead, she moved across the room to chat with some colleagues.
After a few more minutes of mingling, everyone settled at a long row of tables that had been pushed together to accommodate them all. The conversation continued throughout the meal. Kate noticed Sherlock nibbling on the starters, and chose to take it as a high compliment indeed, since he rarely ate while on a case. She made a mental note to ask John how he'd even convinced his flatmate to show up.
Once the main course was eaten and the cake had been cut and served, Gabriel reached into his coat pocket for an envelope, which he passed to his wife.
"Here you are, love. Hope you like it."
Kate opened the envelope to find a card. Inside were three round-trip plane tickets to her hometown in the Scottish Highlands. She turned to embrace her spouse.
"Thank you! What a great idea, Gabe."
He shrugged. "Well, I know you've been wanting to go back, and Keira's old enough now to appreciate it more than last time. Besides, I wanted to get you something different this year, instead of the usual jewelry or gadgets."
"It's perfect. When do we leave?"
"Two weeks."
"Means the rest of us will have a shot at getting our bylines on the front page, for a change!"
Kate smirked in response to her colleague and best friend's quip. "Love you, too, Emma."
Several of her friends had brought cards or small gifts, and Kate opened them as well. She was surprised to see that Sherlock had even signed the card John had bought for her. It always pleased her to see the results of her cousin's humanizing presence in the consulting detective's life, but it still came as a shock at times.
After one last round of drinks, the party broke up. Kate took a moment to thank each of her guests personally. It was nice to be reminded how many people cared about her. She was impressed that they'd all managed to keep the party a secret from her.
"You're looking quite pleased with yourself," she commented to Gabriel as they left for home.
"I was sure someone would let something slip before tonight," he admitted. "I told them all a week ago."
Kate laughed. "Well, I had no clue. And I really enjoyed myself. Thank you. Now I just have to go home and start packing and planning for our trip."
"I've been doing some research on Scottish history," Keira chimed in. "This is going to be an awesome holiday!"
Two weeks later, Keira stood in her mother's childhood bedroom, looking out at the view. Kate had sold the house to a couple who were close friends of her parents, and their son had inherited it when they passed away. He'd been happy to play host, inviting them for lunch and letting them tour to their hearts' content.
"Why'd you leave here, Mum? It must have been a hard decision to make."
"It was. But I knew that as much as I loved it here, I'd be less likely to achieve any of my goals if I stayed."
"Oh, okay."
They rejoined their host downstairs, where he and Kate began reminiscing, while Keira hung on every word. A few of them were stories she'd heard before, but most weren't.
The next day, however, the teen's good mood seemed to have evaporated. Kate had planned to spend the day touring some famous Highland landmarks, but Keira barely looked up from where she was sprawled across the bed, texting her friends.
"You seemed excited about this just a few days ago,"
"Well, I'm not now, Mum. Do we have to?"
"I'll tell you what: you go do this today, and if you really don't have a good time, we can hang around here doing nothing tomorrow."
Keira considered the offer for a moment. "Okay, that sounds fair."
"Nicely done, love." Gabriel murmured when Kate rejoined him in the sitting room of their hotel suite.
"I remember my Mum using that trick on me a few times when I was around that age. It always worked."
Keira did end up having fun, fascinated by the ancient castles where history had played out.
"Reading about it's interesting, but it's so much cooler actually seeing where this stuff took place," she enthused that night, on the phone with her best friend.
Kate, overhearing, smiled to herself. This trip was a definite success, so far. She'd already arranged to spend the next day visiting with one of her closest friends, Ailsa, whose youngest daughter was about Keira's age.
Keira and Olivia hit it off quickly, much as their mothers had 35 years before. In no time, they were discovering common interests and chattering away about them. While Kate and Ailsa caught up over cups of tea, the girls roamed outside, swooning over the latest popular boy band and discussing their favorite movies.
"I'm going to need a holiday to recover from my holiday," Gabriel quipped two days later as they prepared to leave.
Kate shrugged. They had packed a lot into the week. "Sorry. But don't try to tell me you didn't have fun."
"Oh, sure it was fun," he agreed. "And the important thing is that you enjoyed yourself."
She smiled, moving into his arms for a kiss. "I really did. Thank you."
"Can we come back soon?" Keira asked. "I know there's bound to be plenty of stuff we didn't get around to doing or seeing."
"Sure we can," Kate agreed. "Maybe next summer."
As she reflected, Kate decided it had probably been one of their more successful trips. And it had been fun. But while she'd never admit it to her husband, she was a bit tempted to take Monday off to rest up!
