Irene stepped closer to the door and looked around Sherlock to see what he was talking about. She let out a small gasp when she saw that John Watson was holding her son. "John?" she asked in surprise.

Sherlock glanced down at her before he stepped fully into the room. John looked confused as soon as he realized that it had been Irene who had spoken. "Mycroft, you didn't mention that," John told Mycroft.

"That's another recent development," Mycroft muttered as he stood up from his seat.

Irene strode quickly over to John to retrieve Winston. She blinked away some of the remnant tears that were still impeding her ability to see, but as soon as she had the baby in her arms, she smiled at him and walked out of the room, leaving Sherlock, John, and Mycroft to deliberate over the recent events. "How long have you been here?" Sherlock asked John quietly.

Instead of answering, John punched Sherlock in the face. After picking himself up off the ground, Sherlock let out a heavy sigh and stepped away from John. "Clearly, you are not ready to talk," Sherlock muttered as he walked out of the room.

John groaned and hurried after Sherlock. "Sherlock. We do need to talk."

Sherlock spun around to face John, who stopped up short, a foot in front of Sherlock. "Do you know anything about the situation at hand? Do you honestly think I need this right now? You're supposed to be a point of sanity, not a contributor to the insanity!"

"Mycroft mentioned you had a child. If I had any sense, I would have known it was Irene's. He said you were married too. At first, that didn't make any sense, but now that I can infer you're married to Irene, that makes complete sense."

"How long have you known that I was alive?"

"Mycroft informed me about a year and a half ago that he had seen some interesting patterns in world crime activity and that he thought that there was a remote possibility that you were somehow connected to it."

"A year and a half then?"

"Yes.

Sherlock closed his eyes and tried to keep calm. For some reason, he found this difficult.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, terribly sorry."

"Moriarty, right?"

"Of course."

John looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, he's over, right?"

"Irene turned out to be pretty useful despite all the trouble she is."

Sherlock smiled slightly when John chuckled. "Cute kid. Looks exactly like you. Winston?"

"You already know all of this. Mycroft doesn't have the reputation to be careless to detail."

"It's been three years. I'm allowed to ask questions."

Sherlock shrugged and kept walking. "Are you just going to keep walking away from me, or are we going to be able to talk?"

"Irene and I have just had a row regarding Winston and the many intricacies that he provides to our relationship. I honestly need to just think. I haven't been able to think in a very long time. Having a screaming infant and uncontrollable criminal under my watch doesn't make for optimum thinking conditions. Is it at all possible that we have this conversation later?" Sherlock asked, surprising John with the answer Sherlock provided.

"Yeah… that's fine. I'll come find you later," John assured Sherlock.

"Thank you," Sherlock murmured before he continued walking down the long hallway.

A few hours later, John found Sherlock sitting in an abandoned hallway, his head in his hands. "I'm sorry for punching you earlier," John called out to him.

Sherlock looked up. "After dealing with Irene for the last few hours, I'm used to it. But I appreciate your apology," he replied quietly.

John walked over to Sherlock and sat down next to him. "So what do you do now? Mycroft briefed me on the situation."

Sherlock shrugged. "I can't be a father. But she can't be a mother, so I'm going to have to be his father."

"It's not too hard. I mean, Mary and I have had trouble, but we've gotten over it. Once you've got a routine and know how to adjust according to the personality of your kid, it's not impossible. Plenty of people have managed," John explained.

Sherlock smiled and laughed gently. "I have no idea how I'll explain this to him though. How do you explain to a kid that their mother was certifiably insane and eventually just flew off the handle and ended up losing all coherency and therefore, was deemed an unfit parent? Knowing how I was as a child, Winston's probably going to be demanding answers to that question at the ripe age of three."

"You'll figure it out."

There was a comfortable silence that fell between them. Observing the gold band on John's ring finger, Sherlock felt this was a good opportunity to find out more about John's new life. "How is Mary?"

John eyed him warily, unfamiliar with a Sherlock who was concerned about other people. "Um… she's fine. Busy with the baby. A little girl. Amelia."

"Amelia Watson? Good name. Normal name."

John nodded in agreement. "It's Mary's mother's name. She passed away a few years ago, and when we found out that the baby was a girl, we knew that there was no other choice for her name. Amelia Florence Watson."

"Significance of Florence?"

"We went there on our honeymoon."

"Ah, of course. Sentiment."

John snorted and cleared his throat. "So, what the hell were you thinking when you named him Winston? I would peg you two to name your kid after a influential leader like Churchill, but I mean… come on… honestly?"

Sherlock laughed out loud, surprising himself by how readily laughter came to him despite the fact that he was, quite likely, about to embark on a nasty custody battle and divorce. "I didn't name him. The name came with him. Do you remember Kate?"

"Kate… no. Who is Kate?"

"Irene's lover."

"She had a lover named Kate?"

"Yes. She was the house staff member… the redhead."

"Ah, yes… I vaguely recollect a redhead. What about her?"

"Irene can't have kids. She and Kate tried to have kids, with Kate serving as the surrogate of sorts. Kate was the one who gestated Winston, and since Irene was not present at the birth, Kate named him Winston. Winston Charles Adler-Holmes."

"Jesus… that's a British name if I ever heard one," John laughed. "Have you thought of calling him Charlie?"

"The thought briefly crossed my mind when we first acquired him, but we didn't know what his middle and last names were. We were only given the name Winston. By the time we learned his full name, the name had grown on me. May as well accept the fact that he's probably going to be a pretentious twit like me."

"I'm impressed by how well you have begun to see yourself," John remarked. "I think I can get used to this self-deprecating roll you're on."

"Well, I figured that since I keep seeming to find myself in these predicaments, I should probably start paying attention to why this might happen. I have a wife and a son that I obtained from very little effort of my own."

John gave a hearty laugh as he imagined how Irene could have possibly lassoed Sherlock into marriage. "She drugged you, didn't she?"

Sherlock looked at John with a pointed look. "She needs to find a new method. Her current method is rather tedious."

A momentary lull fell between the two men. "Are you going to press charges? You know… for how Winston came to be?"

Sherlock swallowed and drew in a long breath. "I can't possibly see how I could. I mean, logistically speaking, both women who were responsible for this are, for all intents and purposes, dead. Kate is physically dead, but Irene Adler does not exist anymore. Her official name is Anne McKinnon. And considering that point, since my documentation says that my name is David McKinnon and I'm married to her, it'd be impossible to prove that any foul play occurred. Irene is a professional criminal; she knows all the loopholes."

"But from an ethical standpoint…?"

"Haven't a clue," Sherlock sighed.

"Well… have you talked to her about it?"

"Of course we have talked about it. And while I believe Irene's answer to be genuine, it's remarkably difficult to reconcile all the facets of my argument, her argument, and the reality of it all. I've told her that I don't want Winston with her, and as you can imagine, she took that well. I can't be with her, but I don't know if I could raise Winston on my own. Between a rock and a hard place, I guess."

"The fact that you'd even consider raising Winston is a little unexpected from you, Sherlock," John pointed out. "Maybe you're more equipped than you thought?"

"I managed to put his jumper on backwards yesterday. Irene didn't see him until five hours after I dressed him, so he had his jumper on backwards for five hours," Sherlock laughed. "How on earth is this a good idea?"

John furrowed his brow in confusion. "How did you manage to put his jumper on backwards? Was there any sort of print on the front?"

Sherlock smiled slightly. "For some reason, it made sense that a design of a dog would go on the back versus the front. Is the lack of sleep common among all people who care for small children?"

"Yes, Sherlock. Babies often cause sleep deprivation," John assured his friend.

"How long does that last?"

"I don't think it ever ends, to be quite honest. I know what once Amelia is older and can sleep through the night without waking up I'm still going to be up worrying about whether or not she is breathing okay. And then once she's a lot older I'm going to be up worrying about other things, such as if she's still in bed or in the house."

"Why would she not be in the house?"

"Sneaking out to be with friends?" John suggested.

Sherlock nodded in understanding before looking down at his clasped hands. "In my rational mind, I know that I can't have Irene in my life. She can't be around Winston and I should not forgive her."

"Maybe you could?"

"I've put myself in a lot of situations where I could be harmed or impacted, but never have I ever put myself in the situation where I expected that to happen. With Irene, she is never going to be able to feel like she has gotten her revenge. She will still lord the marriage and Winston over my head, and if I give in and give Irene what she wants—security and immunity—I am only reinforcing the behavior. I can't handle this via legal means, but I can't figure out how to handle it via ethical means either. Not without completely destroying Winston's life."

"Well, you also have to take into consideration why she would have felt that it was necessary… why would she do something like that?"

"It's a struggle for power. She knows that because I keep myself apart from most things, by forcing me into something that requires that I am actively part of a union, whether it is a marriage or parenthood, she can keep me where she wants me. She's terrified. She's been running for her life, so it's beyond me why she would have thought producing a child would be a good idea. I have this sinking feeling that Winston is going to be the downfall of Irene Adler."

"The marriage and the kid were weapons?"

"Yes," Sherlock confirmed.

John thought for a moment before he looked at his friend with a suspicious look. "Why not turn it back on her?"

"Sorry?"

"Turn them back on her. If she's holding it over your head, hold it over her head."

Slowly, a smile appeared on Sherlock's face. "I've already told her that litigating the divorce will bode well for her. But, if I don't file for divorce…"

"She wants protection. If she's your wife, she's kin to Mycroft."

"She'll get everything she wants."

"Exactly."

"John, when did you become so devious? This could have been useful a few years ago."

John shrugged, trying not to remember the trauma of seeing Sherlock jump. "But what if she doesn't go with that plan?"

"Oh, she'll go with it. She has quite a few prices on her head, so this will seem like the best route."

"But what about Winston?"

"Well, that will prove more difficult. I'll think of something," Sherlock promised.