29th April 2021
Sherlock heard the alarm go off and felt the movement of the bed as Molly moved to turn it off. He was a little disappointed that Molly had to work on his birthday, but at least they had enjoyed last night.
He was a little surprised to feel Molly's body come back to his and then a hand rubbing lightly on his chest. A moment later her lips touched his, and he opened his eyes in surprise when her hand started to move south of his chest, as if to initiate lovemaking.
A furrow appeared between his brows. "Molly, don't you have to get up for work?"
Molly gave him a smug smile. "Look over at the alarm clock."
He raised his head to look beyond her to the clock on her bedside table. It was more than forty minutes earlier than when she usually woke for work.
A smile lifted his lips as she said, "I changed the alarm last night before I got into the shower, while you were still downstairs. Today is your birthday, after all, and I wanted to get it off to a good start, especially after the issues we had on your birthday last year."
Sherlock thought back to that day. It had taken three attempts for them to finally be successful in making love. Untimely interruptions by first Victoria, then Christina, had been the order of the day. Would it happen again this year?
Fortunately, the Holmes girls remained peacefully unaware of their parents' amorous pursuits, and Sherlock was gratified to experience a much better beginning to his 44th birthday than his last one.
They had just enough time for a little post-loving cuddle before Molly regretfully pulled away from Sherlock's arms to get dressed for work. "Happy birthday, sweetheart."
Sherlock gave her a sleepy smile. He was rather glad he wasn't the one who had to rise immediately. "Thanks, beautiful."
Her hair tickled his cheek as she bent down to give him one last kiss. "I'll see you at four?"
"I'll be waiting at the entrance to the hospital with the girls." Even he was still not permitted to roam the corridors these days, as had been his wont pre-Covid.
Molly left the bedroom, and Sherlock closed his eyes, falling back into slumber until the sound of stirring in Victoria's monitor woke him.
By the time he was dressed, Victoria was already sitting up in bed, waiting. She was good at remaining in bed until either Molly or himself came into her room, but he supposed it was only a matter of time until she discovered she could exit her bedroom herself and make her way to her parents' room. So far, Sherlock and Molly hadn't bothered locking their bedroom door, but by the annoyed look on Victoria's face, it was only a matter of time before she became more independent.
"I waited forwever," she told him in an aggrieved tone.
He sat beside her on her bed. "I'm sorry, princess. Daddy had to get dressed first." He really should set his alarm to make sure he was awake for the girls so that he didn't keep either of them waiting. "Come on, let me help you get dressed, and then we will get Christina up as well."
Sherlock had sat down to eat his breakfast, after preparing plates for his daughters, when the doorbell rang.
He got up and went to open it, unsurprised to find Greg Lestrade holding a large envelope which obviously contained the photographs chosen from yesterday's session.
"Sorry I'm so early," apologised Greg. "I just got off night shift, stopped at home to pick up the photos and wanted to bring them over to you. Did you have a chance to look at any of those files I sent you?"
"Come to the dining room, and we can talk. I need to keep an eye on the girls." Sherlock ushered Greg towards the rear of the house.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Sherlock. I didn't mean to interrupt your breakfast."
"Not a problem. Take a seat," said Sherlock, indicating a dining chair.
"Hello, Unca Gweg," piped up Victoria, pausing in her eating. Christina merely looked up briefly, then returned to her own food.
"Good morning, Victoria," said Greg, patting her head fondly. He also gave his goddaughter's head a quick tap as well before taking the seat Sherlock had indicated. Then he looked at Sherlock expectantly.
"Tea?" asked Sherlock.
"No thanks. I want to get back home. So," he asked again, "did you read those files or not?"
"I did. I looked at the photos of the crime scene and read the statements of the three suspects in the case. The account of the victim's wife sounds authentic, but I am almost certain the other two suspects collaborated. Their answers to questions were too similar, almost as if they had been rehearsed in advance."
Greg nodded thoughtfully. "I wondered about that, but they were providing an alibi for each other."
"Their timeline of events that occurred that night, away from the crime scene, is too specific. People do not generally take a note of time consistently throughout an evening. If you go with the assumption that these two men killed their business colleague together, what remains is to find a motive. It is possible that the victim was embezzling funds, but I suspect the motive may simply be that the victim discovered his two colleagues were secretly having a liaison which they were keeping from the one man's wife, and he threatened to reveal it."
Greg wrinkled his nose in distaste. "I must admit, I did find it surprising to hear from the one suspect that he was married. His mannerisms seemed rather," he paused then continued, "for lack of a better word, effeminate."
"Speak to the suspect's wife. She may or may not be aware of her husband's closeted status. That may help determine a motive. If he has done this type of thing before, and she has forgiven him, but threatened to leave if he fell 'off the wagon' again, so to speak, he may have resorted to these desperate measures."
"Thanks, Sherlock. I'll definitely look into it and let you know what happens."
Sherlock's lips quirked. "I enjoyed the opportunity to exercise my brain cells a little more than I've done in quite some time. A couple weeks ago, I investigated a case of a pair of missing diamond studs, where the culprit turned out to be the elderly widow's dog." He gave a dramatic sigh. "Quite a tumble from my glory days."
Greg chuckled and stood. "Well, with restrictions easing next month, does that mean you are ready for me to consult you on more cases, and to have you accompany me on an investigation or two?"
"Dear Lord, yes please. That case of the pooch poo was the last straw. I cannot continue to moulder away in obscurity. Now that Molly is back to two days a week and shorter hours, I can utilise Martha's babysitting services when needed without feeling I am monopolising her time in thrusting my daughters upon her."
Greg patted his shoulder. "I'll keep that in mind, mate." He turned to Victoria and Christina. "Bye, sweet little ladies."
Victoria giggled. "Bye, Unca Gweg."
Sherlock stood and walked Greg back to the front door.
Just before Greg went outside, he said, "By the way, happy birthday, Sherlock."
"Thanks, Greg."
Sherlock closed the door behind his friend and returned to his daughters.
Early in the afternoon, he received a happy birthday text from his nephew, Mark, followed shortly afterwards by one from Mycroft. He suspected Mark had insisted his father wish Sherlock a happy birthday. Mark was still living with Mycroft, and Sherlock wondered idly if Mark would return to his flat soon as life returned to normal. The time together had probably been good for them to bond more as father and son.
A phone call from Sherlock's parents wishing him a happy birthday was also forthcoming.
He had just hung up from the phone call when a text arrived from Molly.
How would you feel about eating our fish and chips at Baker Street and getting some for Martha at the same time? If we take them home, they will be cold by the time we get there.
Fine with me, he responded.
They were planning to visit Martha anyway, so it made perfect sense. Besides, Molly had said herself that she had another errand to run, which was why she wanted him to pick her up from work.
As Sherlock got the girls into the car, ready to drive to the hospital, he reflected that it was a shame the weather wasn't a bit warmer. If it had been, he would have brought along the pushchair. But it wouldn't be worth packing it for the short walk from the car park to the front of the hospital to await Molly.
He drove into town and parked in the Smithfield Street car park, then sent Molly a quick text to let her know he was heading for the front of the hospital. He was only a couple minutes early, so, with a bit of luck, she would be exiting the hospital even as he was arriving.
I'll be heading down in a minute, was her response that he checked once he had extricated both Victoria and Christina from their car seats.
He held Victoria's hand firmly and carried Christina at his hip. "Let's go see Mummy."
Sherlock discovered it was not the easiest thing to walk with an almost 3-year-old and a baby at his hip. Victoria insisted on pressing the lift button for the ground floor of the car park. A two minute walk for an unaccompanied adult ended up being five minutes with the addition of a struggling baby and curious toddler, and Victoria complained that he was holding her hand too tightly. But Sherlock was not going to take the chance that she would run out into traffic to be run over. He regretted his decision to not pack the pushchair. At least both girls would have been contained within it, buckled up and safe.
By the time he reached the entrance to the hospital, Molly was already outside. Victoria finally pulled her hand free from his and ran the last few feet to Molly. "Mummy!"
Molly scooped her up with a smile and kissed her cheek. "Hello, princess."
"Sorry I'm a couple minutes later than I expected. I underestimated the time it takes when you have children to contend with."
Molly grinned. "Gives you a new respect for people you see in the supermarket trying to deal with children, doesn't it?"
"It does," agreed Sherlock. He had complained to Molly on more than one occasion about the way he had seen out-of-control behaviour from children in the supermarket. It definitely made a difference when there was only one parent on duty, as opposed to two.
"Well, let's get back to the car." Molly set Victoria back down as she spoke and took her by the hand. Perversely, Victoria behaved like a perfect angel on the return to the car.
Once settled in the car, Sherlock asked as he turned on the ignition, "Where are we headed first? You said you have an errand to run?"
Molly smiled. "I suppose I can tell you now. I need to pick up the birthday cake I ordered from Patisserie Valerie."
His brows rose an inch. "Our favourite cake shop. Quite extravagant of you to order a whole cake, though." He still recalled the first time he had been to that particular establishment, on the day Molly had insisted he and John meet her there for cake to celebrate his birthday. John had only discovered it was his birthday by accident, although Molly had known for years and kept his secret. She had needed to know his date of birth in order to fill out the death certificate for him after his spectacular jump off the roof of St. Bart's.
"We haven't had cake from there in ages, since we moved, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to splurge on something special. And I know how you love that double chocolate dream gateau."
"I will not argue with you on that point." That was indeed his favourite cake. It had been, ever since Molly had bought him a slice of it on that day, exactly four years ago.
He managed to find a place to park close to the shop, and Molly exited the car, returning a few minutes later with a covered white cardboard box. "Let's drop this off at Martha's, and we can leave the girls there as well. Then you and I can walk to the fish and chip shop."
Sherlock nodded his assent, and they were soon at the entrance to 221 Baker Street. The cake shop was less than a kilometre from there, but it was in the opposite direction to that of Joe's Fish Shop.
Molly had sent off a quick text to let Martha know they were almost there, so she was already standing at the open door to welcome them.
"Happy birthday, dear," she said to Sherlock, taking the cake box from Molly and leading the Holmes family into the flat.
A few minutes later, Sherlock and Molly headed back outside to get the fish and chips. Victoria was happily occupied in colouring a picture, while Martha had placed Christina in her high chair with some blocks to play with.
Sherlock turned up his coat collar as he and Molly went outside, wishing he had thought to bring his scarf.
Molly took his hand. "I still think it's funny how you like to turn up that coat collar," she commented.
"Just trying to keep my neck warm in the absence of a scarf."
She chuckled. "You always turn it up even when you're wearing a scarf."
He pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed it. "Force of habit."
They picked up their fish and chips, and Molly insisted on holding the package to keep her hands warm.
Back in 221A, Sherlock and Molly worked together as usual to get the food ready for the girls, then they sat down to eat with Martha.
"I really must start going to that fish and chip shop myself," said Martha. "These chips are delightful."
Sherlock chuckled. "You, buying takeaway rather than cooking yourself? I don't recall you ever doing that."
Martha smiled in response. "It's true, I enjoy my own cooking far more than takeaway foods, although I don't mind visiting a restaurant for special occasions."
"Speaking of special occasions," said Molly, looking in Victoria's direction, "Would you like to join us for Victoria's birthday on the tenth of next month? I'm going to invite my mum as well. We want to have a little get-together with the Watsons later, once indoor gatherings are allowed for two families, but that is only happening a week later."
"You know I will never pass up an opportunity to visit with you and your daughters. And I enjoy chatting with your mother too."
After eating, they cleared the table so Victoria could do one of the puzzles Martha kept handy for her entertainment. There was a block puzzle Victoria had outgrown which kept Christina occupied.
Conversation flowed easily between the three adults.
Once Victoria had finished her puzzle, and Christina had grown bored with her own puzzle, Molly said, "Well, why don't we have some of that cake now?"
Molly carefully removed the gateau from the cardboard box, and Sherlock saw she had even had it inscribed with "Happy Birthday, Sherlock". He didn't remember the last time he had had a cake that had his name on it. Perhaps in his childhood?
He was a little embarrassed when Molly insisted on them singing happy birthday to him, and even Victoria joined in with her sweet little voice.
The cake did not disappoint. Victoria and Christina seemed to enjoy their pieces thoroughly as well, judging by the mess they made.
After Sherlock and Molly cleaned up the hands and faces of their daughters, Molly said, "Well, I guess we should get going. Thanks for sharing Sherlock's birthday with us, Martha."
"I'm the one who should be thanking you. I got a free meal and a delicious piece of cake," responded Martha with a laugh.
"There's far too much cake left for us, so I'm going to cut you a big slice you can have tomorrow," said Molly.
Sherlock went to fetch the girls' jackets. When he attempted to put Victoria's on, she protested. "No, Daddy, wanna stay with Nanny."
"Victoria, it's time for us to leave. Let me put on your jacket."
Victoria pouted. "Wanna stay with Nanny," she repeated, a little louder.
"Do you want to stay here overnight, lovey?" asked Martha.
"Yes."
Sherlock saw Molly chewing on her lower lip before she said, "Victoria, we didn't bring a change of clothes for you."
"Molly, I still have Victoria's pyjamas here from when she stayed overnight for Valentine's Day a couple months ago. If Sherlock wants to pick her up in the morning, he can either take her home in her pyjamas or bring a change of clothes for her then. I'm happy for her to stay here overnight." She gave Molly a wink, and Sherlock suppressed a grin at the touch of colour which appeared on Molly's face as she added, "One less child at home to worry about if you want to celebrate Sherlock's birthday a little more privately."
Molly cleared her throat. "Well, if you're sure it wouldn't be an imposition…"
Victoria clapped her hands. "Yay!"
So Sherlock and Molly kissed Victoria goodbye and left her in the capable hands of her surrogate grandmother.
Back home, Molly instructed Sherlock to stay in the front room with Christina while she went upstairs to get something.
She returned with two wrapped packages and presented them to him, taking Christina from his lap onto hers at the same time. "Happy birthday, honey."
Sherlock knew at a glance that the one present was obviously a photo frame she had specifically bought so they would be able to put in their favourite picture from yesterday's photo session. He unwrapped that one first, admiring the gold frame which would match the one already on the mantel that contained their wedding photograph taken in Hyde Park. "Thank you, sweetheart."
He then unwrapped the second gift and was amused to see it was an Amazon Echo Dot. "I thought it would be useful to have one for our bedroom," explained Molly. "That way you can ask Alexa what the temperature is, tons of things."
He smiled. "And I can ask Alexa to play romantic music."
Molly giggled. "That too."
He bent over to kiss her sweetly on the lips. "It's a wonderful gift, Molly. I'll set it up before we go to bed." His thumb stroked her soft cheek. "I might want to play some...romantic music to get you in the mood."
She laughed and rolled her eyes at that. "Because I always need romantic music to get in the mood with you."
It was true enough that they needed no music to enjoy one another fully. Music played in his head like a symphony whenever they were together. But still, it might be enjoyable to dance a little to songs that had been played at their wedding reception. Their wedding dance to A Thousand Years brought back pleasant memories not only from that day but from hearing it on subsequent occasions.
Later, as Molly gave Christina a bath, Sherlock set up the Echo Dot. Fortunately, he'd done this before with their original Amazon Alexa, so he recalled the correct steps quite easily.
He entered the bathroom with an "All done!" even as he saw Molly lift Christina out of the tub. He enjoyed watching as Molly held Christina close, even as she reached to wrap their daughter in her hooded towel. Now that the girls bathed together, it has been a while since he had seen Molly do that sweet cuddle.
It was a little strange not to do the usual nighttime ritual of reading a story book to both girls. Instead, Sherlock watched Molly sit in the rocking chair with Christina a short time later, and she rocked back-and-forth, singing softly, until Christina was asleep. Sherlock wasn't surprised that she fell asleep easily. She had only napped briefly during the day, whilst in her car seat.
Sherlock bent to kiss his daughter's forehead before Molly stood and put her in her cot.
Downstairs, Sherlock showed Molly the pictures Greg had delivered that morning, and they chose their favourite for the frame Molly had given him.
"We need to buy a photo album to put these other photos into, and we need to send the duplicates to your parents and my mother. We can give Martha one next time we see her as well," said Molly. "They turned out beautifully. Lori's a wonderful photographer."
"Indeed, she is," agreed Sherlock.
Together, they went to the front room, and Sherlock slipped the picture into the photo frame, then placed it on the mantel next to the wedding photo of Molly and himself.
He slipped an arm around Molly, and they looked at the new photograph. "Our beautiful family."
"Is it wrong of me to hope that we will still increase it in the future?" asked Molly, and he heard a touch of sadness in her voice.
He swallowed, reminded once again of the lost baby. "Of course it's not wrong to hope for something. I want that too. But we just have to remind ourselves that God's timing is not our own, and we must be patient."
They enjoyed a quiet cup of tea and watched some telly, which was interrupted only by a text from John wishing Sherlock a happy birthday on behalf of Kayla and himself. Sherlock felt a measure of satisfaction about the fact he had wished John a happy birthday much earlier on the day of his birthday.
A little later, as they entered their bedroom, Sherlock said, "Alexa, play A Thousand Years." As Molly turned to him with a smile, he reached out his arms. "May I have this dance?"
She walked into his embrace, and they swayed together, barely moving. Molly looked up at him and sang the chorus softly, as she had done on their wedding day, and his heart felt full of emotion.
At the end of the song, before he had a chance to request another song, Molly's dreamy expression changed to one of seductive intent. "Let's change the pace a little." She raised her voice and said, "Alexa, play Shape of You."
Sherlock grinned. That song had a pulsing, rhythmic beat definitely designed to get one in the mood, and he didn't complain when Molly wrapped her arms about his neck and moved her body sensuously against his. He was quite amazed at her display of boldness for the second time that day.
His lips met hers in a fierce, plundering kiss that involved a fight for dominance with their tongues, in which Sherlock was the final victor.
He then moved to explore the familiar contours of her face and neck with his mouth.
He barely registered the ending of the song and the silence that followed, much more occupied in eliciting those little moans of pleasure from Molly that always spurred him on.
He tugged at her jumper to remove it, and Molly finally broke free from his embrace enough to say breathlessly, "Sherlock, I was planning to put on lingerie for your birthday."
Having successfully removed her jumper, he set to work unbuttoning her blouse enough so that he could lift it over her head as well. "Another time."
He certainly didn't need the aid of lingerie to get him in the mood.
And that was the last thing he said, aside from the usual murmurs of love and adoration until they were both spent and breathless from their exertions, Molly curled against him.
He kissed her forehead. "You outdid yourself this year, sweetheart," he told her. "From beginning and ending my birthday with the delights of your body, to the decadent cake and your gifts, I'm not sure you can top this one."
She smiled sleepily up at him. "Is that a challenge?"
"Not at all, my love. Simply a statement of fact. I'm blessed to have you."
He heard that sweet sigh of contentment as she murmured, "I'm blessed to have you too, Sherlock."
And he closed his eyes for sleep, content to have the love of his life securely held in his arms.
Author's note: A very nice birthday, don't you think? Romance and investigation, an unbeatable combination! I hope you liked the deductions about the case Sherlock was looking at. I'm not the best at writing crime and mystery.
I reference events in a couple of my previous stories in this chapter - Happy Birthday, Sherlock, his previous birthday, and A Journey to Love, Faith and Marriage for the wedding day memories.
And yes, I decided it was time to find a real cake shop that fit the idea I had of one being fairly close to Baker Street. I found Patisserie Valerie and looked at their cake options. The gateau really does look decadently delicious!
Did you like Molly's gifts for Sherlock?
I look forward to hearing from you!
