Chapter Seven- Take a Break

There's only one thing on every sixteen-year-olds mind- their GCSEs.

This was the same for Rosie and Alex.

Both girls would be sitting almost the same exams at the same time, despite being in different schools. Rosie wasn't too worried about her upcoming exams. She was relatively smart and gifted in school and she knew, so long as she did her best, she would be ok. Alex on the other hand, got stressed about school easily. She worked herself too hard, putting unnecessary pressure on herself. Alex was smart, she was gifted, but she didn't believe in herself the same way Rosie did. Greg always tried to convince his daughter that she was gifted and that she would be fine in her exams, but this was always met by exasperated sighs and looks that reminded him of Mycroft and the way he acted when he was stressed. All he could do was be supportive, listen to her when she was wound up and make sure that she took plenty of breaks.

Luckily on that front for both girls, they had boyfriends. Jeremy was a year older than Alex and had sat his exams, so he made sure she took breaks. He would take her to the cinema, to the ballet, for walks in the park and to the zoo. They were often accompanied by Rosie and Ethan, having a laugh and being the teenagers they deserved to be.

One evening in the week before Alex's exams were due to start, Mycroft had come into the kitchen to see about making a pot of tea. He stopped in the doorway, stifling a giggle. His daughter was sat at the table. Clearly, she had been doing some revision after school, for she was now asleep with a post-it note on her forehead in what was clearly her brother's handwriting saying, "Take a Break!"

He made a pot of tea and poured two cups, one in his mug and one in Lexie's favourite Daschund mug. He then quietly sat down at the table next to his daughter and pushed one mug in front of her. He then tapped her on the shoulder gently.

"Lexie…" he whispered, "Lex, wake up!"

Alex stirred and rubbed her eyes. She blinked for a minute and looked round. As her vison came into focus, she saw her Dad sat in front of her.

"Dad… what are you doing home… it's the middle of the afternoon."

Mycroft smiled, "Hate to break it to you Lexie, it's five in the evening!"

A look of horror came over Lexie's face, "No… no… it's just after two."

Mycroft shook his head and smiled as his daughter.

"You're working too hard." He said, sitting next to her. "Lexie, they're just exams…"

Alex sighed and took the mug of tea.

"What's going on?" Mycroft asked her.

She looked at him and then at the mug of tea and back up at him again, "I'm scared." She whispered.

"What have you got to be scared of? Lex, you're top of your class!"

"That's what I'm scared of!" She said, exasperated. "Both you and Uncle Sherlock got into Oxford or Cambridge- Sherlock knows every fact under the sun, you're basically running the British Government…" She paused for breath, "I don't want to let you down…" she finally admitted.

Mycroft looked at his daughter, dark rings under her eyes, made even more obvious by her pale complexion from weeks of little sleep and much revising. He thought about all the things she had done in her life- dancing and performing with her ballet school, playing for the school's netball team, supporting her brother through school and helping him with his homework, staying up late and helping Greg with cases he was stuck on and didn't want to bother Sherlock with. She was probably smarter than him and Sherlock combined, not that he would ever admit it.

And she was gifted in ways he never would be. She was empathetic, she felt what other people felt, she loved and felt everything that came her way. Her heart was in every action and every decision she made. She had a boyfriend who brought out every amazing quality she had, and she always had time for everyone. Mycroft could never, would never feel the way she did. Yes, he loved Greg and he loved his children, but to care and to be compassionate for everyone that she met or interacted with, he could never do.

She was scared of letting him down.

Is this the environment that Mycroft had cultivated in his home?

Was this the atmosphere he wanted around?

He knew there had been times in the past where she had been nervous of doing things for lack of his approval, but he had thought they had moved past that. He had moved past that; he had grown as a person. But here was his daughter, making herself tired and ill because she desperately wanted to live up to expectations he thought she had.

"Lexie, when have I ever said that I expect you to be top of your class?" He asked, smiling at her, "You are so talented and clever…"

"I'm really not…" she interrupted.

"You are!" he smiled, taking her hand, "Lex, you have got your whole future ahead of you, far more important things to get stressed about. Your GCSEs are not the final moment!"

"But what if I fail? What if I fail every exam? I won't have a future then!"

"All your Pop and I ask is that you do your best. Your best Lex, not some fantasy you think you have to meet. If you get Ds and Cs and you swear that you did your best, then I'll be the proudest father at school. Likewise, if you get top marks. What does Rosie say about all this? What does Jem say?"

Alex smiled, tears falling down her face. She sniffed as Mycroft wiped them away. He moved round the table to sit next to her. Next thing he knew, she had thrown herself into his arms and sobbed her heart out. All the emotion, all the fear, all the tiredness ebbed out of her body. Everything that she had been keeping inside her for months was finally out in the open. Mycroft held her close and kissed the top of your head.

"Lexie, I know I don't say this as much as I should, but I am so so proud of you. Every single day. You can have no idea how proud I am of you."

Alex didn't say anything in reply but just held her Dad tighter.

After a while, she calmed down and rubbed her eyes. "Thank you." She whispered.

Mycroft smiled, "Let's put these books away and listen to your brother hey?"

Alex laughed and looked at the post it note. "Maybe he has a point!"

On the outskirts of London, Rosie Watson was sat in her room, cramming for a Chemistry exam she had to pass. She had her heart set on studying Pharmacology at University, so she needed chemistry to do the A-Level. But as hard as she was trying, it wasn't sticking in her brain.

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" she cried eventually, slamming the textbook shut.

"Ros?" called her dad from the living room. "Everything alright?"

"My life is over!"

"What do you mean? He asked, coming into the dining room, and seeing books, pens and paper covering the table.

"I'm going to fail chemistry and my life will be over. I won't go to uni, I'll end up making burgers for a living…"

John had to stifle a laugh. "Rosie, I'm sure it's not as bad as that!"

"Nothing is staying in my head- I can't remember any of it. If I can't remember any of it now then how the heck am I supposed to remember it in the exam?"

John sighed and sat opposite his daughter. "Rosamund Catherine Watson, you are the most intelligent person I have met. You get that from your mum cause heaven knows you don't get it from me!"

Rosie gave her dad a look as if to say 'and your point is?'

"Ros, how long have you been sat here today?" John asked.

Rosie looked at the clock. "Since 9am. Why?"

John smiled, "Ros, you've been sat here working for 8 hours straight- no wonder nothing's staying in your head. You're this close to a burnout!"

Rosie looked puzzled. "What's a burnout?"

John thought for a moment, "Its where you get to a point of complete exhaustion, both physically and emotionally. You aren't letting your body or your brain rest, so it goes into shutdown. I've experienced it several times working."

"But I don't feel tired."

John sighed, "But your brain is telling you that you are."

Rosie looked down at her books.

"They'll be there tomorrow, love." John smiled. And then he had an idea. "Why don't you message Alex? See if she wants to come over for a pizza and movie night?"

Rosie's eyes lit up, "Really?"

John nodded, "You both could use a break!"

"Thanks Dad!" and Rosie ran off to call her best friend.

An hour later and Rosie was sat on the sofa, under a blanket, in her favourite pyjamas, sat with her best friend. Alex was sat on the floor, also under a blanket and in her favourite pyjamas. They were waiting for their pizza to arrive, discussing what film to watch.

"How long can you stay?" asked Rosie.

"That depends on you!" Alex laughed, "How long do you want me for?"

"DAD!" shouted Rosie.

"What?" he called back.

"Can Alex stay the night?"

"If its alright with Uncle Greg and Uncle Myc!" he called back.

"Quick, ask your Dads if you can stay the night?"

"Why? What are you thinking Watson?"

"Harry Potter Marathon?" Rosie grinned.

Grinning at the idea, Alex scrambled to find her phone. Sending the message, both girls sat and waited for the message to come back.

"I can stay!" shouted Alex when she got the all clear from Greg.

"Harry Potter marathon it is!" Rosie smiled and she got the first movie up.

John wandered in, "Is Alex staying the night?"

Rosie nodded, "Yep! Harry Potter marathon! Want to join?"

John grinned and sat next to his daughter, who snuggled into him.

"Y'know Watson?" Alex thought out loud after a while.

"What Holmes?"

"We should listen to our dads."

"Blimey- teenagers who listen to their parents? You feeling alright Al?" John grinned before groaning as his daughter thumped him in the side.

"I mean, we are wearing ourselves thin and we're going to make ourselves ill if we carry on like this before the exams."

"What do you propose then Holmes?" Rosie asked, turning to face her friend and smiling.

"I propose that once a week, either a Friday evening, Saturday or Sunday, we do something fun. That could be going to the cinema, it could be bowling, it could be pizza and film nights. So long as it does not involve flashcards and textbooks for a few hours, it can be anything we like."

"Y'know Holmes, you might be onto something there." Said Rosie, smiling.

"And it doesn't have to be just the two of us, boyfriends and families are allowed to get involved too."

"Ugh really?" grinned Rosie, looking at her Dad.

"I know my place!" John smiled. "But I think Alex has had a very good idea and I know that Uncle Greg and Uncle Myc will support it too!"

"Then it's a plan?" asked Alex, looking at Rosie.

"Deal!"

A few months later, both girls were stood in the common rooms of their schools, envelopes in hand, dads holding mobile phones. Jeremy was stood beside Alex (he had already got his results), Ethan was stood by Rosie, also holding an envelope in his hands.

"3…" said Alex, shaking with nerves.

"2" said Rosie, voice wavering slightly.

"1!" both girls said together as they tore open their envelopes.

The room and line went silent for all of 30 seconds while they scanned the papers.

"Well?" asked Mycroft impatiently, while Greg gave him a look.

Alex looked up at her dads, tears in her eyes.

"Oh, Alex, honey. I'm sure it's not that bad…" said Greg.

"Lex, you know I'm always proud…"

"Will you shut up?" Alex grinned, "Two A*, two As, 4 Bs and a C!"

"What was the C in?" asked Mycroft before Greg could stop him.

"Maths!" laughed Alex.

"Oh, Alex!" and Greg gave his daughter a bone-crushing hug.

"Pop, pop… I need to check on Rosie." Alex grabbed the phone switched off the speaker putting it to her ear. "Ros…" she whispered, "Ros, its just me. How did you do?"

There was silence from the other end of the phone.

"Rosie Watson… how did you do?" Alex pleaded. "Look, I'm proud of you no matter what you got…"

"Al…"

"Ros…"

"8 A* and an A…"

Alex shrieked so loudly that Greg, Mycroft and Jeremy ran over to her.

'Jeez Alex, blow out my eardrum why don't you?" Rosie said and Alex could hear her laughing.

"Rosie, that's amazing. I'm so so proud of you!"

"Sounds like good news!" Jeremy said, putting his arm around Alex's waist and holding her tight.

"Ros, I'll call you later." And Alex hung up.

"All that worry for nothing." Smiled Mycroft, "Knew you had it in you kiddo." And for the first time in a long time, he hugged his daughter tightly.

"Love you dad." Alex sighed.

Stood in the Holmes-Lestrade kitchen later that evening were two very happy sixteen year olds and their families. Mycroft had pulled the party to end all parties and neither Alex nor Rosie wanted it to end.

"Who would have thought that two months from falling asleep at the table and slamming textbooks shut at eleven in the evening would have brought us to today?" Mycroft smiled. Rosie and Alex looked at each other and grinned, "When I say that I am the proudest man alive right now…" Mycroft found that he couldn't continue and he looked for Greg.

"Rosie and Alex, what you have achieved over the last two years is incredible and should be celebrated. We hope that you know how proud of you all of us are. The future is bright and is quite rightly in front of you to explore and to make your own. Congratulations girls!"

Alex ran straight at her dad and hugged him tightly. Mycroft didn't let go or fight.

Rosie hugged her dad and then Uncle Greg and Uncle Myc as Alex hugged her Uncle John. Then both girls hugged each other tightly. Since they were babies, they had done most things together. Sixteen years of friendship, drama and love had culminated in their success today. Alex knew that she wouldn't have gotten to where she was today without Rosie and Rosie knew that she wouldn't be where she was today without Alex. And both girls knew that whatever the future had in store for them, they would face it together.

Just like they always had.

THE END