Author's note: I wasn't planning on a follow up of the story I published on Sunday, but for some reason, I feel as if this is what I'm supposed to do right now. I wanted to take another look at how Sherlock and Molly are doing, seeing as things have changed so much just over the last few days. To me, these characters are like members of my family. They are important to me, and their conversations are relevant to all of us. I hope you find this installment not only entertaining, but informative as well.
John 14:27 (NIV)
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Sherlock brought in the groceries he had managed to procure for Mrs. Hudson, leaving the ones he had bought for his own family in the car.
Thank God we bought a car last year, he thought to himself. Riding in a taxi right now would not have been a good idea, nor using the Tube.
"Thank you, dear," said Martha, as he set things on the table for her, pulling them out of the bags he kept in the car for shopping. "I'd give you a hug, but all this talk of social distancing, I guess it will have to be an elbow."
Sherlock chuckled and extended an elbow, and they bumped elbows instead. "I'm glad to help you. You should be set for at least a week or two for now. If you need anything, just give me a call." He gave the elderly woman a stern look. "No going outside the flat for now. There is no need for you to risk your health."
"I suppose you wom't be around for a while," she said, offering him a sad sort of smile.
"I'm afraid I have suspended all my own investigations for now. Unless Lestrade calls me to help in an important case, I'm planning to stay home with Molly and the girls for now. John is doing the same with his family."
"In over eighty years of life, this situation is something I would never have expected to happen."
"Indeed, these are unprecedented times. We are living through a time that will go into future history books as something that affected the whole world. Who knows what the outcome of these days will be?" responded Sherlock. "Just a moment, Martha, I want to send Molly a text to let her know that I will be leaving soon and heading home. Since Valentine's Day, when I didn't think to contact her that I was running late until I was almost home, I have been trying to keep in regular contact and make sure she doesn't worry about me being out and about."
He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Molly.
I have finished doing the shopping and am delivering Martha hers right now, love. I'll be leaving soon.
He pocketed his phone, and Martha said, "Thank you for the hand sanitiser you made for me. It's hard to believe people have been panic buying that kind of thing and toilet paper as well." Sherlock raised his eyes heavenwards. He still couldn't figure that one out either.
"The hand sanitiser makes no sense to me, when proper hand-washing is still preferable than using hand sanitiser. As for toilet paper, perhaps people are concerned with being housebound for months on end. I daresay their food would run out before their toilet paper, though. Oh, I almost forgot, I managed to procure a multipack of toilet paper a few days ago, and Molly suggested, seeing as it is currently not available anywhere, I bring a couple rolls for you. I'll be right back."
He headed back out to the car and opened the passenger door to extract a bag with two toilet rolls in it, then returned to 221A. "Here you go, just in case."
Mrs. Hudson beamed. "That was very thoughtful. I don't usually keep a huge supply of toilet paper, seeing as it is just me. I was actually thinking I could do with a couple of rolls. Thank you."
"Glad to be of service. I know there are a couple extra upstairs too if needed. They are under the sink in the bathroom."
"I appreciate everything you've done for me, Sherlock." Her face clouded suddenly. "I have to say, I'm a little glad my sister is not around anymore to see this." Sherlock was reminded that her sister had succumbed to cancer only a few months earlier. He listened as she continued. "I can't imagine how difficult it must be for people who lose friends and relatives during this time, with all the talk of social distancing and not allowing large gatherings of people. How on earth do they deal with funerals?"
"I imagine during this time, when death occurs, most families will opt for private funerals or cremations and have a memorial service at a later date." He paused. "At least, that is what I would do." He stared into space for a few moments, thinking of how devastating it would be if he lost Molly to this virus, or, for that matter, any of his family members or friends. His own parents were at risk, being elderly, and his father already had COPD. From his own research on COVID-19, one of its worst effects for those with a severe case of it, was the inflammation to the lungs that caused fluid buildup which led to breathing difficulties. Fortunately, Mycroft had seem to it that their parents had had supplies delivered to them, and they were already keeping to themselves in their Sussex house. Sherlock had spoken to them the day before, and they were doing fine. But Mrs. Hudson was in the middle of London, all by herself.
He looked at the elderly woman with fondness. "If you get a fever and dry cough in the next few days, or other symptoms that make you think you might have somehow contracted the coronavirus, you call and let me know. I will arrange for you to be transported to hospital."
She put a hand on his arm. "I will be just fine, Sherlock, and I will stay in my flat. I need to stick around a few years yet to keep watching your family grow, and to babysit your children."
"You had better be around, Martha. As I said many years ago, London would fall without you."
She grinned at him, and Sherlock's phone pinged. He took it from his pocket again and read Molly's text.
Sorry I didn't respond right away, I was feeding Christina. Did you remember the extra toilet paper for Martha?
He typed a response.
Yes, love, I remembered. About to head home now. I told Martha to stay inside and to let me know if she develops a fever and dry cough or any other symptoms that might make her think she has become infected with the virus.
He waited a few moments, seeing the dots that indicated Molly was responding.
Good idea. See you soon. I love you. XX
Love you too. XOX, he responded, then put away his phone again and looked at Mrs. Hudson. "Time for me to go. Remember, don't hesitate to call if you need anything. I am happy to drive over here at any time for you."
Martha made an exclamation. "Oh, I almost forgot. When I knew you were going to be coming over, I made a lasagna for you and your family. I thought maybe you could heat it up for dinner tomorrow so Molly doesn't have to cook on Mother's Day." She narrowed her eyes at Sherlock. "After all, it isn't as though you can go out anywhere special right now, and I know you don't cook yourself."
Sherlock flushed slightly. It was true he still didn't cook, but he had deliberately steered clear of watching cooking shows that would lead to unintentional learning about cooking, so that Molly could feel she was superior to him in something. He knew she liked knowing she was better at him when it came to cooking. "It will be most appreciated, Martha. My limit is making sandwiches and putting things in the microwave or oven."
Martha went to her fridge and extracted a large, disposable foil container covered with plastic wrap. The lasagna within looked very appetising. "It's already cooked. Just heat it in the oven for forty-five minutes," she told him.
"Temperature?" he asked. At least he knew how to set the oven.
"Moderate oven, one-eighty," she responded.
Sherlock nodded. "Thank you for thinking of me."
"No trouble at all. Oh, and you know I love to provide you with scones. I have a half-dozen for you all ready in a bag." She hurried over to her kitchen counter and returned with a sealed plastic bag.
Sherlock smiled. "You are doing a lot of cooking and baking," he commented.
"Well, I'm not allowed to go anywhere, am I?" She returned. "That gives me plenty of time on my hands."
"True," he agreed, gathering up the bags that were now empty, the lasagna, and the bag of scones. He managed to balance everything in one hand as he walked towards the front door.
"Oh, Sherlock, in light of the temporary order of closure of all pubs and restaurants yesterday by the prime minister, I suppose the surprise party you planned for Molly's fortieth birthday, next Saturday, is off as well?" asked Martha, following him.
Sherlock smacked his free hand to his forehead. "I knew there was something else I had to tell you. Yes, I got an email from Angelo's last night, saying that because of the mandated closure, they are refunding my deposit and hope that I will reschedule the function room for another time."
Martha nodded. "You should definitely reschedule it, rather than just forget about it. Once this is all over, I think people will be happy to have a nice party to go to."
"I'm sure they will. The only upside of this is probably that Mycroft is pleased he will not have to entertain our parents for the two weeks between the party and Easter. They had planned to stay with him for the entire time, rather than return to Sussex."
"I hope they can still come for Easter. Perhaps things will have settled down by then."
Sherlock sighed. "I hope so, but there are no guarantees. I heard that all the Church of England churches have suspended services and Catholic churches have suspended masses. I suspect our own church will be adopting similar measures any time now. It may be a very quiet Easter this year for everyone."
"Let me get the door for you," offered Martha, moving ahead of him to open the inner and outer doors to the building.
Sherlock nodded his thanks and waved goodbye.
He set the lasagna and scones carefully on the now empty front passenger seat of the car.
He drove home, noting that traffic was lighter than usual. He supposed that was because so many businesses had been temporarily closed. According to the news report of the previous evening, at least the majority of those workers who were temporarily unable to work, would be able to receive 80% of their lost wages, so the government was trying to do the right thing. Sherlock had seen that America was also taking measures to help a lot of those who were temporarily unable to work with paid sick leave for a certain period of time. The burden on governments right now to find solutions to the crisis must be extraordinary, he thought.
He arrived home and picked up the lasagna and scones to bring in first. He'd have to make another trip to get the groceries.
As soon as he opened the front door, a little figure came running towards him. "Daddy!" shrieked Victoria, followed closely by Molly.
He lifted the lasagna out of reach. "Hold on, poppet, Daddy has to bring in some things from the car and then wash his hands before he picks you up."
Molly took hold of Victoria, who had immediately pouted at his unwillingness to lift her into his arms. This was understandable, as he usually did so on the occasions when she would greet him upon his arrival.
"Come on, Victoria, let Daddy bring things in first." She looked at Sherlock. "Is that lasagna you're carrying?"
"Yes. Martha made it for us and said we should have it tomorrow so you don't need to cook for Mother's Day."
Sherlock moved past Molly as he spoke so he could temporarily set the lasagna on the kitchen island.
"It's so like Martha to be thinking of us," commented Molly before returning to the front room.
A few minutes later, the groceries were inside, and Sherlock had washed his hands thoroughly after putting everything away.
He went to join Molly, noting that Christina was asleep in the baby swing.
Victoria was watching that television show again with those funny looking colourful creatures.
Sherlock bent down and kissed Molly, then said, "Perhaps I should not be kissing you right now."
Molly rolled her eyes. "I'll take my chances."
He gave her a wry smile. "Back in the old days, all this social distancing would have been second nature to me."
He sat beside her, and Victoria, turning away from the television, stood up and clambered onto his lap.
He held his daughter close and kissed the top of her head. He would never take his family for granted. Now, more than ever, he understood how precious they were to him.
"Sherlock," began Molly tentatively, "after dinner, we need to talk."
He released a long breath. He had somehow known this was coming. Molly wanted to return to work, despite their conversation of a few days earlier. Just yesterday, there had been letters going out to many thousands of retired doctors and nurses to ask for them to return to work to help with the coronavirus outbreak. He had seen the expression on Molly's face when she had heard about that.
"Uh-oh," came the sound of several silly voices from the television, and Sherlock glanced over in irritation, even as Victoria struggled to get back down again so she could resume watching her show. What was that show anyway?
He forced himself to return to the current topic, reaching for Molly's hand and squeezing it. "I know what you want to talk about."
She raised an enquiring eyebrow. "You do? How?"
"I'm a detective, but more than that, I'm your husband, and I know your moods."
"Alright then. You tell me - what is it I want to talk about with you?"
"You want to go back to work, despite Mike telling you to not be in a hurry to do so. You've been off for over three months, and have been the primary care-giver for both our daughters, which can be tiring when you do not have the company of other adults too often, besides myself. With the coronavirus outbreak, hospital services are becoming more strained, and more medical professionals are needed. You know I'll be worried about you, but you are sure the hospital will take whatever measures are necessary to protect their staff as much as possible." He took a deep breath, having rattled off his deductions very quickly. He saw Molly's mouth dropping open as she listened and knew he'd been correct. "In addition, you want to tell me that even if you were somehow to contract the virus, you are at very low risk for death, being relatively young and having no underlying medical conditions. Tell me I'm right."
He released her hand and folded his arms, sitting back on the sofa and looking at her expectantly.
Her lips curved upwards. "Actually, I was going to tell you I got an email from church saying that the service is cancelled for tomorrow and the next two weeks at the very least, and that suspension of services may continue longer, depending on how things go with the progression of the virus and the government's mandates on limiting the amount of people that can gather in one place."
He felt deflated for a moment at having miscalculated so severely, then saw the teasing glint in her eyes. Little minx. "That isn't true at all - well, church being cancelled surely is, especially in light of the way other denominations have temporarily suspended services."
She giggled. "Okay, I confess, you hit the nail on the head on all counts." Then she sobered and looked at him seriously. "So, what do you say? With your own detective work currently on hiatus, do you think you could watch the girls yourself two days a week, so I can do my part in helping out at the hospital? I can make sure I build up a supply of breast milk bottles for Christina, and I can also pump at work, then bring that breast milk home." She paused, then added, "I have been praying about this too, and I believe it is something God wants me to do."
He took her hand again. "I love you, sweetheart. Of course I won't stand in your way if you feel strongly about this, and we can make it work. Would you be wanting to start again next week?"
Molly bit her lip and stared down at their linked fingers. "I hope you won't think I was going about this behind your back, but I did call Mike today and just say I was considering coming back two days a week, as had been my initial plan. The schedule is already set for this coming week, but Mike said he could definitely use me the following week if I was sure I wanted to return."
Sherlock released her hand to tilt her chin towards him so he could reassure her. "I'm not cross about you making enquiries. In fact, I'm proud of you. It's what I would have expected you to do. You always put others ahead of yourself." He bent forward and brushed her lips with his, and she smiled.
"Isn't that the whole point of being a Christian? Now, more than ever, we need to set an example for others by praying for them and talking about how our faith gives us peace in a time of uncertainty. People need Jesus more than ever before; they need hope."
Sherlock nodded. "That is certainly true. And with churches closed for now, people can't even attend a service if they want to find that peace."
"But there are online resources, and many churches are streaming services for congregations."
Sherlock looked over at Christina, who had made a little noise, and saw her eyes were open. He felt a sudden urge to hold the baby. He went over to the swing and turned it off, lifted her out and brought her with him to the sofa, cradling her in his arms. "This is what is most important," he told Molly, "making sure our children have a future to look forward to, seeing that they too learn to know and love Jesus as we do. We need to remember this time, so we can tell them about it." Christina blinked at him, for once not wailing to be fed as she usually did upon waking from sleep.
Molly rested her head on Sherlock's shoulder. "I was talking with Kayla earlier today, and she said she is keeping a day-to-day journal of how she is feeling about what is happening right now, and she is writing a kind of timeline for things as they occur as well. I think it's a great idea."
Sherlock smiled. "Well, you certainly have enough writing experience. You kept a diary for years, and I really enjoyed reading all about how you felt during the years we knew one another but were not together. You have been writing those fanfiction stories for Chronicles of Narnia, and you also wrote the whole script for the church play we did a few months ago."
Molly looked up at him. "Actually, I did already write a bit on my iPad today. I back-tracked things by a few days, trying to remember what has been happening. It is amazing to see how fast everything has been progressing with different things being closed to limit the speed at which the virus is spreading. All we can do is pray that these precautionary measures are successful enough that we have time to find effective treatments and eventually, a vaccine."
"With a vaccine being more than a year away, even if one is developed, I think effective treatment methods are the most critical for now. Like you said, we need to pray for those who are working on a vaccine and for ways of treating the virus. I did read yesterday that there is a drug used on malaria patients which is having some success in clinical trials, so there is definitely hope. Slowing the spread of coronavirus with these drastic measures of closures and social distancing may be inconvenient, but it will undoubtedly save many lives and buy us all time to find the answers we need to reduce the mortality rate." He looked down at Christina, who was beginning to move her mouth in that motion she did when she wanted to suckle. "I think our baby is getting hungry again."
Molly glanced at her watch. "Looks like it. Can you take care of heating up the leftovers for dinner while I feed her?" She lifted her jumper and unfastened her bra as she spoke, then took Christina from him.
"Of course." Before he left to do that, he needed to say one more thing. "Molly, if you return to work, there is one condition I must insist upon."
She settled the baby to her breast and looked at him enquiringly. "What's that?"
"I would not feel comfortable with you taking the Tube to work. You either drive, or I will drive you myself."
Molly nodded. "That sounds fair enough to me. I don't think I'd like to take the Tube right now, either. Smithfield Car Park is close to the hospital. I know a couple of colleagues use it regularly. I can drive myself if I have an early shift because there should be spots available. That way we don't have to get the girls up early. If my shift is a later one though, I think it would be better if you drive so I don't have to look for parking." Her lips twisted into a wry smile. "Of course, there might be plenty of parking spots available with so much of the city shut down."
"I guess we will know more when you actually return to work. Well, you can let Mike know you are available, and once you have your schedule, we will know what we are doing driving-wise."
The evening progressed uneventfully. Sherlock and Molly talked more about the pandemic, and the situation in England as well as other countries, It was hard to not find their conversation filled with it. Sherlock was sure it was a major topic of conversation for everyone right now. Certainly, emails he received from commercial sources were also filled with talk of how the coronavirus was affecting business, and how it was being addressed.
He was relieved when Victoria was finally settled into her cot for the night, and Christina had been put in her Moses basket. All the news reports of what was happening around the world, and the previously unheard of drastic measures to counter the spread of the virus in every country, served to make him even more anxious just to spend a little time with his wife. He needed to forget about all the seriousness of things temporarily so he could just enjoy his usual intimacy with her.
Molly seemed of the same mind-set, because her response to his kisses and caresses was just as passionate. There was almost an urgency in the way they consummated their love, as if they were uncertain about tomorrow and wanted to live in the moment.
He was holding her afterwards, stroking her arm lazily, when Molly said, "I wonder, how many couples are going to end up conceiving babies over this time period. Making love is a rather nice distraction from all this fear and uncertainty for the future, isn't it?"
He chuckled. "It certainly is. Well, you can be pretty sure we won't be one of those couples conceiving right now, seeing as Christina isn't yet three months old."
"Probably not," conceded Molly. "It's interesting to think about, though. Remember how those babies born because of the second world war were called baby boomers?"
"Mhm. It's ironic that now the world is fighting a different kind of battle, together," he responded, kissing Molly's hair. How he loved being in bed, holding her close to him.
"Maybe the babies born in the next year or two will be called the COVID babies?"
He chuckled. "You may just have coined a term. Perhaps if you post it on social media, it will become a thing."
She giggled and tapped his chest lightly. "That would be more likely if you had John put it on his blog. That is far more widely read than my Facebook."
"Perhaps. Well, let's try to get some sleep now, love. Christina will undoubtedly be awake in a couple hours, and I believe it is my turn to feed her next. You have breast milk in the fridge, right?"
"Yep, I pumped some while you were gone today. It's in the door of the fridge, where I always store the breast milk. Goodnight, honey, I love you." She lifted her face for one last kiss, which he gladly provided.
"Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you too."
Author's note: And there we shall leave them again, on the cusp of what is sure to be a very quiet Mother's Day.
For any of you who are celebrating Mother's Day tomorrow, I hope you can connect with your mothers remotely, if you are unable to see them personally. Thanks to THEONEWITHWHEELSASH for reminding me that Mother's Day is tomorrow in the UK.
I think I might write at least one more follow-up one-shot that will centre around Molly's fortieth birthday - do you want to see me keep going with this "mini-series" of stories? I'm afraid this situation has meant that my other stories have been temporarily shelved, although I might try to publish at least one other next week some time as I had planned to do before last week, that I'm still proof reading, Sherlock and the Mouse.
The call for retired doctors and nurses to return to work is factual. I looked it up online. As much as possible, I try to keep my facts consistent with reality.
I highly recommend that people follow Molly's example and keep some kind of journal right now, as I too am doing. Just think, this is something that is going to be in every history book in every country in the future. It's mind-boggling, isn't it? Just as people are fascinated in reading stories about the Holocaust, so will future generations want to read about what we were going through. Writing is also a great way to channel your stress and anxiety about things into something productive.
So, what do you think about my idea of the COVID babies? Is it going to be a thing?
Please follow, favourite and review. Show your support so that more people will be exposed to my writing, but only if you feel it worthy for others to read. Hitting those buttons can really make a difference in getting my work more widely read. Help me reach others, please, with my messages of hope and inspiration in the midst of an uncertain future.
Finally, if you are interested in keeping abreast of how this virus is doing worldwide, there's an excellent site that gives up-to-date information on each country. You can find it at (the usual beginning part of a website) followed by: /coronavirus
Between yesterday and today, I saw the numbers of cases go from 275k to over 305k worldwide. It sounds scary, but I think a reason for the jump is that more testing is becoming available.