Hello my lovely readers!
So, that's it, the last chapter.
I got emotional writing this and I had so much fun! It doesn't follow a chronological order, I just wanted to tell how everyone's life ended, kind of.
I hope you enjoy this!
Disclaimer: I do not own BBC's characters but I own my characters. And ACD owns his own characters.
A/N: English is not my first language and this chapter was not beta'd.
She smiled when she thought about the day Sherlock came into her life. She was a caring woman and she knew that she grew fond of people very quickly but Sherlock was different and as he built his own family there, it kind of became hers, too. And she loved it.
Mrs. Hudson never had children and actually never thought about having some, but she was more than happy to be called 'grandma' by Sherlock and John's children.
One night Mrs. Hudson found both John and Sherlock asking her if she could babysit their children.
"Or maybe it's too much" John said, when he met Sherlock at her door with his same question.
"That's nonesense, boys! I can take care of all your children" Mrs. Hudson said.
"Are you sure?" Sherlock asked.
"Of course I am!" she replied.
She played with the kids and never bothered to hide how happy she was to be part of this family.
When she died of old age, they all mourned her death for years, and felt like she had never left.
Sherlock was asked to make a little speech at her funeral. He was never good at this but for Mrs. Hudson he had warm words.
At the end of it, he got emotional. "And now that she's gone", he finished, "London might even fall".
They all laughed but only John truly understood what he meant.
Ethan never remarried, or actually marry. He tried for a bit, to move on and date other women but Melissa stuck in his head and never left his heart. He didn't mind, being alone. He had Sam and when Sam moved to London, he had his friends and really didn't need much more. When Jennifer died, he stopped going back to Brighton. He really had no more reason to.
"Have you ever thought about moving to London?" Molly once asked. They were visiting Melissa's grave, Sam was already attending university and Ethan once told Molly that sometimes he felt alone.
"Yes" he answered and Molly smiled, looking surprised.
"You have?".
"Yes, but I don't want to". Molly's smile faded.
"Why not?".
"London was never meant to be part of my life. Me and Melissa never wanted to move here, not because we hated it, but just because it wasn't something we wanted".
"She's gone now, you know".
"I know there's no "we" anymore, but I still feel that way. I like Crawley and it's not that far, I can still come here very often".
Molly smiled and wrapped his arm with hers and rested her head on his shoulder.
"You're always welcome in our home" she said. Ethan smiled and hugged her.
He made a promise to himself, that he would visit them very often. Even if sometimes they didn't hear from him for months, he kept his promise.
Sam grew up so fast that Molly cried when he came home telling everyone he was in love.
"Oh, please, there's no need to cry" Sherlock said, patting his wife's back. "You knew it would happen someday".
"I know, he's just..." Molly said and looked at Sam. "You're so young!".
"Aunt, I'm 18 years old" Sam said laughing.
"I know, you're big enough to fall in love and everything but still...you're still a baby to me" Molly said, wiping away some tears.
"Yeah but I'm not" Sam replied and Molly nodded.
"So, what's his name?" Sherlock asked. Molly looked a bit confused and Sam was shocked.
"How...how did you..." Sam asked and then swallowed. "You know?".
"Of course I know, I've always known" Sherlock said.
"You've always known?" Molly asked and when Sherlock nodded, she asked since when.
"Since he was more or less seven years old. Seven years and three months, actually" Sherlock said.
"Wait, I didn't even know it back then!" Sam exclaimed.
"You knew it, you just didn't realize what it was" Sherlock said. Sam blinked and an awkward silence filled the room for a while.
"And I prepared a long speech to tell you I'm gay" Sam said and Molly laughed.
"Oh, shush! Now tell us, what's his name?".
Sam felt at home in London and he thought his life was kind of perfect. He had his aunt and uncle in town, his cousins, his dad came to visit him very often and he had a boyfriend but most importantly, he still had his childhood best friend, Matthew.
One night, many months later, Molly opened the door and found a distraught Sam in front of her.
"What happened?" Molly asked, letting him in. Sherlock reached them and seeing his nephew like that made him worry.
"What's wrong? Something happened, are you hurt, were you followed?" Sherlock asked. Sam didn't answer and Molly smiled.
"I got this, Sherlock" she said.
"What?".
"It's something I can handle". Sherlock quickly understood and left. Molly made Sam sit down and listened to his whole story.
"What happened?" she asked.
"I lost him" he said.
"Kevin? But you broke up with him a month ago".
"No, not him...Matthew".
"Matthew? You mean your Matthew?".
"He's not mine, he's got a boyfriend now".
"And that's bad?".
"Yes, because I love him!".
"Oh, honey".
Sam stayed there for most of the ncight and when he calmed down, he went back home.
"Everything's fine?" Sherlock asked.
"Yeah, just some love issues" Molly said. "I'm happy he comes to us when he has these kind of problems. He's preparing us for our own children's love issues".
"They're still too young for this" Sherlock pointed out.
"Still, someday we will have to face them" Molly said and she smiled when she saw Sherlock's horrified face.
Sam wasn't expecting to have a tough love life but he did and sometimes he felt so frustrated that he wished he could have his mother there and receive her warm comforting hugs.
Matthew eventually broke up with his boyfriend but it took them five years to finally admit that they loved each other. It turned out that when Sam had his first boyfriend, Matthew was hiding his own feelings from him. They ended up laughing about it in the garden of their new house.
They got married, adopted three children and lived their life in London.
She wasn't sure she was fully accepted by them but still she tried. Anne felt extremely out of place, even when Molly told her she was considered a member of their extended family. Eugene even started to call her 'auntie' and when it first happened, Molly almost cried. Mary was his 'auntie', too, but he really had no real aunt. But he had two that loved him and it was more than enough.
She finally felt accepted when Sherlock called her to invite her to a family dinner.
"Why would I be there?" Anne asked.
"Why wouldn't you? You're Lestrade's daughter and our friend" Sherlock said.
"Really?" Anne asked.
"Yes. We invited you to birthdays, dinners, some evening nights to spend together...doesn't that mean you're our friend?" Sherlock asked. Molly taught him that asking people to join them for something they really liked meant that their were their friend and right now he wondered if he had done anything wrong.
"Yeah" Anne said, smiling. "I guess it does".
Lestrade was a bit taken aback when a guy with a strong New Zealand accent knocked on his daughter's door.
"Uhm...hello. I'm looking for Anne" Greg said.
"Yes" Lestrade answered and crossed his arms. Greg swallowed.
"Does she live here?" Greg dared to ask. He wondered if he got the wrong address.
"Yes, she does" Lestrade answered.
"I'm Greg, her...friend" he said, reaching out to shake Lestrade's hand. Oddly, Lestrade shook it.
"I'm Greg" Lestrade said with a smirk, knowing it would confuse the guy.
"You, ah. I didn't know she had a roommate" Greg answered.
"I'm not, I'm her father" he replied and that's when Greg got pale. "I came to visit her".
"Dad? Who is it?" Anne asked and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw who was standing right in front of her father.
"A friend, he says" Lestrade said, smiling.
"Oh God, dad, let him in, he's soaking wet!" Anne said, rushing to help him. There was a storm outside and Lestrade didn't bother to acknowledge the fact that
he had no umbrella.
Anne showed Greg where the couch was and asked her dad if he could bring her some blankets from the bathroom.
"I guess he's the guy you met in New Zealand" Lestade said giving the blakets to Anne.
"Yes and I'd like to know why he's here" Anne whispered. Lestrade smiled
"Alright. I'm leaving" he said and kissed her forehead. He looked at Greg and waved. "Nice to meet you, Greg".
"You too, sir" Greg said, standing up. Lestrade smiled; he liked that guy.
As soon as Lestrade left, Greg sat back down and Anne wrapped him up with blankets.
"Why are you here?" she asked.
"I read about the case. It wasn't easy to get infromation but in the end, I read all I needed to know" he said and looked at her. "And I understood what you did and why you did it. You wanted to protect people you didn't even know".
"My father always talked about them and I met Sherlock before this case so they weren't completely strangers to me" she replied, her eyes fixed on her hands.
"Still, you were brave" he said and with a hand under her chin, he raised her head. "And I was a fool to leave you".
Anne was strong, her job demanded cold blood and discipline, but that man got her heart and she just couldn't control it. She started to cry, silently.
"Anne, you're the best that could happen to me and by leaving you I made the biggest mistake of my entire life" Greg said. "And I was wondering if you could forgive me".
"Forgive you?" Anne asked, surprised. "Greg, I'm the one who should beg for forgiveness! I deceived you, I didn't want to but I did! I'm the one who lied, not you".
"You had to and I don't blame you for it. I spent the last three months looking for some answers and I found them. I know why you did it, I understand and I want you back. I need you back".
"I'm not sure I deserve you".
"Oh, stop it, this kind of talk is nonesense".
She laughed and he got closer.
"The question is..." he started. "Do you still want me? Or did you already find a hot British Police Officer to replace me?".
She laughed again. "No".
And he got worried. "No you don't want me or no you haven't found a British guy?".
She smiled. "No, I haven't found anyone to replace you. I still want you".
And he kissed her with happiness in his heart and with a new life ahead.
"You know, if we actually work out and end up married, our children are going to be the most protected children in the world with both parents as Police Officer" he said with a laugh.
"And with a Detective Inspector as a grandfather" Anne said and Greg froze. "Yeah. That's his job".
"Oh dear God".
"What?".
"I already applied for a new job in Scotland Yard".
Lestrade's life didn't change that much. He never remarried, he really didn't feel like starting a new long-lasting relationship but he did date some girls. His job kept him occupied and his children gave him a lot to do.
When Lestrade saw that they were hiring a new Police Officer and that that Police Officer was his daughter's boyfriend, he laughed for a good half hour.
He made his life a living hell for the first three months. He made him work extra hours and never left him a free minute. Anne got mad but Greg kept saying that it was fine and that he loved to work hard.
"So, Greg" Lestrade said. It was late and Lestrade asked Greg to reorganize the files in the archive. "How is it going?".
"Good" he said. His eyes were almost closed and sleep was almost winning over him.
"Looks like you're falling asleep" Lestrade said.
"Uhm, yeah, I'm a bit tired but I have work to do" Greg answered. Lestrade smiled. He worked really hard and Lestrade noticed that the was trying really hard to make a good impression.
"I think that's enough for today" Lestrade said. "Come on, I'm taking you home".
"I came here by car" Greg said.
"I'm not going to let you drive like this" Lestrade said. "I really don't want to receive a call during the night telling me you died in a car crash and I surely don't want to face Anne after that".
Greg laughed. He always liked her dad.
Lestrade dropped Greg at Anne's house, that was slowly becoming theirs, and then he went back home.
He entered his apartment and suddenly realized how empty it was. He really didn't need someone to spend the rest of his life with but he needed something to fill his life.
Two days later, he came back home with a new friend. He named him Oscar and he was a pretty lively dog.
John and Mary always found silly reason to fight but they always ended up in each other's arms, kissing and laughing.
Once, though, John got kicked out of their new house – 221C was becoming too crowded and small and they found a house just a block away.
He had been working on a case with Sherlock and he was so caught up with it that he forgot to tell Mary that he wasn't going to come home that night. Or the day after. He came back two days later, with a smile on his face and a bruise on his cheek, only to meet a very angry wife.
"Mary" John said, still smiling. "What are you doing up? It's almost four in the morning".
Mary slapped his arm.
"Where have you been?!" she whispered, angrily. "You stupid soldier! You've been away for two days and you didn't even warn me! I was worried sick and if it wasn't for Molly, I'd be in hospital for breakdown!".
"Oh God, I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you I was going to stay away for a while, it's just...we hadn't had a case like this for months and I was so happy and...".
"Get out".
"What?".
"I said: GET OUT!". And she shouted and woke their children up. She ran in their bedroom and threw a bag full of clothes in front of him. Then, she locked herslef in. John sighed.
"Dad?". John turned around and saw Isabelle hiding behind her bedroom door.
"Hey sweetheart" John said.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Yeah. Mom and I just had a little fight" he replied.
"Are you divorcing?" Eddie asked. John looked at his son and then saw his twin sister jump beside him.
"A friend a school said that his parents divorced after a bad fight" Amanda said.
"No, we're just having a little fight" John said, taking his bag. "She's just very angry but tomorrow she'll get better".
"But you're leaving" Amanda pointed out.
"Yes but just for tonight. I'm going to stay at uncle Sherlock's house" John said.
"Our old house, you mean" Isabelle said. She still had to get used to the new one.
"Yes, well, that. I'll be near, anyway" John said.
"Okay" the twins said and disappeared. Isabelle sighed and smiled.
"See you tomorrow daddy" she said and went back to bed. John smiled and made his way to Baker Street.
When he knocked on Sherlock's door, he was quite surprised to see Molly answer it.
"Did I wake you?" he asked as she let him in.
"No, no, Sherlock did" she replied and he laughed. Sherlock came out from the kitchen and looked at his friend, confused.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I forgot to warn Mary we were going away and she kicked me out" John answered.
"You forgot? Oh John, that's bad" Sherlock said.
"You do it all the time" John answered back.
"He stopped, actually" Molly said. "He warns me everytime".
John was shocked. "Oh good, now I'm you and you're me. Great".
Mary forgave him straight away but didn't tell him until a week after. John begged for her forgiveness every day and he gave her all his attentions, and whenever he wasn't paying attention, Mary and the children laughed behind his back.
In the end they were always happy together and John's heart broke when she died of cancer. They were very old, their children already had their own lives but still John felt like they had missed so much time together. But they had lived a happy and very not boring life and he remembered that for the rest of his living days.
Jennifer didn't die of old age. A heart attack caught her in her sleep and she slipped away with the setting of the moon and the sunrise brought bad news in the Holmes family.
When she died, Molly felt like her past was lost and for a while, she felt lost. She had Sherlock, their own family, and all her friends, but she had no one left from her family. Her father was gone, her sister, all her grandparents and now even her mother left her. She felt lost. Sherlock really didn't know what to do to make her feel better and Eugene told him that she would come to him and ask for help if she needed it. And she did. One night, two months after her mother's funeral, Molly asked Sherlock if he could bring her back to Brighton one last time. She needed to see what she was leaving behind for good. And he did.
Eugene cried when his grandmother died. He knew he was adopted, Molly and Sherlock both agreed that he needed to grow up knowing the truth, but still he felt like his real grandmother had died and when he told Sherlock, it made him weep a tear.
"Dad? Are you crying?" Eugene asked.
"I'm trying not to, son" he said and smiled. "I never thought I would be able to make someone feel part of this family so much".
Eugene smiled. He knew how his father was like.
Sherlock was surprised when Eugene told them he was interested in art and wanted to study it.
"Art?" Sherlock asked, blinking. "Why art?".
"Because that's what I like" Eugene said.
"Art doesn't actually give you a job" Sherlock pointed out.
"It does, dad. I can be a painter, work in a museum as a guide, teach in school, art gives you so many choices" he said. Molly looked at Sherlock and smiled. She was so proud of her son.
"Okay then, just tell us which school you want to attend and we'll pay" Sherlock said, getting up.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, father, but that's what I like" Eugene said. Sherlock turned around and smiled.
"I'm not disappointed. I'm really no art expert so I don't know what it can give you, but if that's what you like then go ahead and do it. Just make sure that
what I taught you about observing doesn't go to waste".
"I surely won't forget it".
"And please, don't call me 'father'. That's so...old".
Eugene laughed and hugged his parents and then ran off to his chamber. Molly kissed Sherlock's cheek.
"You're really good at being a parent" she said.
"I had a really good teacher" he admitted.
"Oh, me?" she asked.
"No, Lestrade" he replied and she slapped his arm.
When Eugene turned six, he had a special request for his birthday present.
"So, what is it that you want?" Molly asked the day before his birthday. They were sitting in the living room and Eugene was sitting in front of his parents with a witty smile on his face.
"A sister" he asked. Molly and Sherlock blinked.
"What?" Molly asked.
"A sister" Eugene replied, his legs swinging happily.
"Not a brother?" Sherlock asked.
"No, I see how you and uncle Mycroft fight and I don't want that" Eugene replied.
"Me and my sister fought a lot, too" Molly pointed out.
"Okay but I want a sister" Eugene asked. "I want to be someone's hero".
Molly got up and sat next to him, picking him up and putting him on her lap.
"You're our little hero" she said.
"But I want a sister to protect and to play with" he said. "I don't know, I just know I want a sister".
And Molly thought about how Sam knew that his mother was going to have a girl and it made her heart ache a bit. Sometimes, she still felt like she was stealing what was meant to be her sister's.
"Do you know why we adopted you?" Sherlock started. Molly kissed Eugene's head.
"No" Eugene said.
"Because mommy and daddy can't have children" Sherlock said. "I mean, we can't have biological children".
"Why not?" Eugene asked.
"We'll tell you when you're old enough" Molly said, and thought that they would eventually tell him what happened to his real parents. But he was still too young.
"Okay. But you can always adopt a sister for me" Eugene said. Molly laughed but Sherlock wasn't laughing.
"Okay, we'll talk about it. Now go to bed, it's late" Molly said. Eugene jumped down, kissed her cheek and the kissed his father's, too. Molly watched Sherlock's reaction and for a few minutes she didn't speak.
"Sherlock?" she asked. He looked at her and smiled.
"Yes?".
"Do you want another baby?".
He knew she did but never dared to ask, also because she already had Eugene and she was more than happy with just him.
"I think I can handle two children" he said, surprising Molly. "It looks like I'm doing good with Eugene and I wouldn't mind fathering a girl".
Molly laughed and jumped into his arms, kissing him full on the mouth.
"I love you, you know?".
"Oh, I know".
And then, they adopted Aurora. This time, Molly found her. She was having lunch with some colleagues when one of them talked about a girl who had arrived last night and died giving birth to a girl. The girl said that there was no father and so the baby was alone and needed a family.
Molly ran back home that night and told Sherlock. He smiled and the day after they came back home with a new baby girl.
Eugene was in seventh heaven.
"Eugene, meet your little sister, Aurora Catherine Holmes" Sherlock said, showing his son the baby he was holding.
"She's so tiny" Eugene said. "And so beautiful".
Molly watched as Sherlock sat in his chair with the baby and with Eugene on his side, both admiring the baby. She quickly took the camera and took a picture. Some things weren't going to come back.
Aurora was extremely lively and always brought joy whenever she was around. When she got pneumonia, Molly almost lost herself. Sherlock tried to calm her down but she really couldn't stop worrying.
"We should've vaccinate her a week after the adoption, why did we wait so long?" Molly asked. They were in the hospital and Aurora was being cured.
"We just thought there was no need to vaccinate her so soon" Sherlock said.
"That was stupid" Molly said and Sherlock hugged her.
"Yes, it was" he replied. Molly smiled and took deep breaths, waiting for her baby girl to come out.
Aurora grew up so quickly that Sherlock felt cheated by time. Soon enough she was already bringing friends home, showing them how intelligent her father was.
When Aurora told them she had a boyfriend, Sherlock froze and for about ten minutes he looked like a statue.
"Mom...is he alive?" Aurora asked.
"Yeah, he's just elaborating the information you just gave him" Molly said, laughing. "What's his name?".
"Henry" Aurora said, feeling uncomfortable with her dad being frozen. "Mom, are you sure he's okay? He's scaring me".
"Dad, are you okay?" Molly asked looking at her husband and he finally unfroze.
"Uh, yes, fine" Sherlock said. "Henry, you said?".
"Yes, Henry, I met him in school" she said with a dreamy voice.
"Good. Good" Sherlock said. "I want to meet him". And that's when Aurora went back to scared.
He looked like the perfect guy. He was nice, had good grades at school and actually studied. When they invited him for dinner he said that he wanted to be a doctor and that just made him perfect. Sherlock, though, didn't like him.
"I can see that he's not what he makes us think he is" Sherlock said one night. Aurora was out on a date with him and Eugene was back home from university.
"Don't start, Sherlock" Molly said. "He really looks like a good guy".
"But dad said that he can see that he's not good" Eugene said. "You should trust him".
"Thank you, Eugene" Sherlock said, proudly.
"Oh, shush it and keep studying" Molly said and Eugene laughed. "I trust you, Sherlock, you know that but I also know you. I know you're always going to act like this around your children's boyfriends".
"I'm not gay" Eugene said, his eyes on his book.
"Boyfriends and girlfriends" Molly added.
"You can't blame me for protecting my children" Sherlock said. Molly sighed.
"No but please, don't attack him. If something's wrong, Aurora will tell us" Molly said. "But you can keep an eye on him". Sherlock smiled and kissed her cheek.
What Molly wasn't expecting was her daughter to lie. Sherlock got caught up with a big case and when Aurora came back home one night with a blue livid on her wrist, Molly got suspicious. She asked but Aurora lied and Sherlock wasn't there.
For a week, Molly tried to understand what was going on and Eugene skipped university to help her.
One night, Aurora didn't come back home at the time she was supposed to.
"She's probably with him" Eugene said, pacing back and forth around the living room.
"Do you remember his last name?" Molly asked, papers in her hands. "I can't find it and I don't remember it!".
"Wilson, Henry Wilson" Eugene said and took his laptop. "We can easily find him".
For ten minutes they tried to find Henry's address and when Sherlock came back home, he found his wife and son almost shouting.
"What happened?" he asked. Molly got up, tears in her eyes.
"I think you were right about Henry" Molly said.
"What? Why?" Sherlock asked.
"Last week Aurora came back home with a livid on her wrist but she lied about how she made it and she's been acting strange this past week" Molly said.
"And she's not home yet" Eugene said. "We're trying to look for Herny's address and see if she's there".
In two minutes, Sherlock found the address and in less than one they were already on their way to his house. The main door was open but he wouldn't answer the door.
Sherlock pushed down the door with his shoulder and then there was chaos.
Sherlock threw himself on Henry, who was all over a crying Aurora. Molly tried to stop him from killing the boy and Eugene ran and took his sister away from there.
Molly managed to calm Sherlock down and to make him call the police.
"It's not what it looks like!" Henry tried to defend himself when the police was about to arrest him.
"Don't you dare lie in front of me" Sherlock said with his deepest voice, and that was very deep. The police took him away and Sherlock quickly ran downstairs to his family. Aurora was crying in her brother's arm and she just couldn't stop saying she was sorry.
"Honey, it was not your fault" Molly said. "But you had to tell us".
"How long has this been going on?" Sherlock asked. Molly put a hand on his arm to warn him that his daughter was distressed and he nedded to act carefully.
"He...he started a month ago but it got worst just a week ago" Aurora admitted and buried her face in Eugene's shoulder. "Oh dad, I'm so sorry".
"You heard your mother, it was not your fault" Sherlock said.
"But I didn't observe well enough!" she cried. "I didn't see his mask. You taught us how to observe to protect ourselves but I failed".
"Oh, darling" Sherlock said. "I taught you how to observe, that's right, but sometimes love makes us blind".
Molly blinked, happily surprised to hear those words. Aurora looked up and when she saw his father's reassuring smile, she threw herself in his arms. Eugene smiled and Molly hugged him. Thankfully, it all went well.
For three years Aurora never dated anyone and didn't want to have a relationship, much to Sherlock's joy, but when she met Kristoff Doyle, a nice waiter in London, she quickly changed her mind.
Eugene became a good teacher who taught art with so much passion and love that his students actually enjoyed the lessons. They thought he was the most intelligent teacher in the whole world because he was a good observer and Eugene was extremely grateful to Sherlock for wanting to adopt him.
Aurora took a little longer to find her path. She spent a lot of time reading her father and uncle's adventures on John's blog and soon found herself writing stories. She became a writer and right after her marriage with Kristoff, she started writing books about her father and uncle John, placing them in the Victorian London and modifying some things. She then went by the name A. C. Doyle.
Sherlock never thought he would end up like this. As he grew up he thought he would end his days alone, with just his brother on his deathbed, because somehow he always thought he was going to die before him.
So when he reached his last days, he felt lucky. Molly was still there, right beside him and still holding his hand.
"How are you feeling?" she asked. Sherlock smiled.
"Good" he replied. He opened his arms and Molly sneaked in. "Always good with you".
They always had some little fights but after all they've been through in their entire life, they knew that some domestic fight couldn't break them. They had adventures together, they raised their children and in the end, they were always together.
Sherlock taught Molly how to be a good observer and how to find out when someone was lying, which got very useful with their kids after a while.
Molly, on her side, taught Sherlock how to respect people and how to behave properly, but most importantly, she taught him how to love.
I never had so much fun writing a story!
Thank you all for sticking with me through this story and thank you for your support.
I'm going to miss reading your amazing reviews :')
Much love to all of you and who knows, we might see each other again somewhere! :)
THANK YOU!