Notes: Hello Everyone here is another chapter for you lovely people. I know it's quite long i was going to split it but thought that it works better as a whole. I'm not sure when I'll have another chapter up so here is this chunk of a chapter for you now. I'm very excited to see what you all think of it. Enjoy!
Cases came and went for Sherlock once he got back to Baker Street though he wasn't impressed with John's current writings for his blog, especially considering the fact that he wanted to write about the unsolved cases. Sam wouldn't read about the unsolved cases, he thought to himself as he carried out an experiment.
Science class is horrible, and the teacher doesn't know how to explain anything, Mum could teach it all better than him, also when I come to visit next weekend please say you'll do my homework for me – S
Texting had become a recurring thing between father and daughter. He was keeping up his promise to try and be a presence in her life. At the moment he was texting her daily even if it was just the one a day when he had cases, at least he was trying to show that he cared. He hoped Sam saw that.
Your mother most likely has a higher IQ than that of the teacher. I'm not doing your homework for you … this time. – SH
A response came through only moments later.
Shame I thought it would be nice to have a good grade for once - S
"You've been getting a lot of texts lately," John said as he finished on his blog. "Any new cases?"
"Nope. Just me trying to keep in contact with my daughter."
"Well as long you are not rude to her like you were with those two little girls, I think we will be okay."
"That wasn't intentional I was just telling them the truth it would save them time. Easier to learn now that the world isn't as nice as their parent mostly makes it for them. Maybe I should have saved them the time and told them Father Christmas is not real too."
"And the father of the year award does not go to you."
Before having a chance to respond, Mrs Hudson walked through the door. "Sherlock, I have just got off a phone call from Molly."
A puzzled expression crossed his face. "Why were you talking to Molly?"
"Because it's your first weekend of having Sam, I wanted to make a little celebration out of it and well, I didn't know what she likes to eat, and I couldn't exactly ask you now, could I?"
Sherlock rolled his eyes. "A celebration - do we really need to blow this out of proportion?"
"Well, maybe not a big celebration, just a nice tea. I would love to get to know her Sherlock, I expect she will be spending a lot of time here."
When Sherlock decided to get back to his experiment and not respond, John stepped in "That sounds lovely, Mrs Hudson. I'm sure Sam will love it."
"I doubt that," Sherlock muttered under his breath as he turned back to his experiment.
Getting back to school felt odd for Sam. Her whole life outside of her education had changed and nobody even knew it. A part of her wanted to tell Jen her roommate this secret. But deep down she knew she couldn't take the risk of her secret getting out, and if it did the whole school would know by the end of the week.
"Are you heading out this weekend or spending it here?" Jen asked her as they walked across the courtyard on their way to the last lesson of the day.
"After lessons end, I'm heading back up to London to spend it with family," Sam said as she grabbed the railing helping her walk up a couple of stairs.
"Don't blame you wanting to get away from this place for a few days. Mum's picking me up late tonight as well. I think a lot of people will be going away seeing as it's Father's Day on Sunday."
Sam stopped walking for a moment. She had completely forgotten.
"You okay?" questioned Jen.
Sam was grateful at that moment she had her disability to use as an excuse. What else was it here for? she laughed to herself in her head. "Yeah, I'm fine, just sharp pain in one of the scars; should go in a little bit."
For so many years Father's Day had been just another day; she always knew it was coming when the cards started to appear in shops and the adverts on the telly became a constant reminder. After twelve years of not having her dad in her life, well at least her biological dad, she became very good at being able to block it out.
Jen seemed to sense what had changed Sam's mood slightly, even though she had never revealed who her father was to Jen, knew details of the story - that her dad wasn't in her life, but she saw his side of the family. "Oh shit, sorry I wasn't thinking Father's Days must be rough for you?"
Sam didn't look at her friend and continued walking into the building to lift. "Just another day really."
Deep down both girls knew that was a lie.
Sherlock and Molly both sat in silence wondering why they had been called into Mycroft's office, the older man hadn't explained why he needed their presence at his office, but both knew better than to try and get out of coming.
The silence in the room felt heavy and uncomfortable. It was the first time that Molly and Sherlock had properly been on their own since the truth about Sam came out, though they had had a slight conversation with each other back in Molly's flat when Sherlock had come over for dinner for the first time, that was different because Sam had only been in the other room. With her not being there or having a case for her to help with as an excuse not to talk about their situation made it difficult so they just sat next to each other waiting for Mycroft.
Molly half wondered if he would just randomly appear in front of them with a cloud of smoke, like the vampire she often thought he was. As time slowly dragged on, she fiddled with her fingers while she tried her hardest not to look at the detective sitting next to her. Sherlock sat there bored out of his mind, wishing he could look on his phone and try and solve a few easy cases while he waited. As he was just about to get his phone out of his pocket, his brother walked in.
Mycroft shut the door to his office and walked to his desk. "Ah, Sherlock, Doctor Hopper. Glad to see you both have made it. Sorry for the delay, I got called to a brief but very urgent meeting though that is all sorted now." He smiled smugly.
"Why are we here, Mycroft?" asked an impatient Sherlock.
"Patience, brother mine. I was just about to tell if I had been given the chance."
Molly forced herself not to roll her eyes. What was it with the Holmes brothers and their drama and love for suspense. "Mycroft, is this important?"
"Of course it's important." he replied. "I wouldn't have called you both here otherwise. I think it's about time we all sit down like adults and talk about Sam. I would have done this at my parents' house, but I didn't want to risk her overhearing anything she might not like. As we learnt over the last couple of weeks, she can be very sensitive at times." Mycroft shot a dirty look to his brother at the end of his sentence.
Sherlock was about to bite at Mycroft's comment when he felt Molly's hand on his wrist which brought him back to the reason he was there. "So what do you want to discuss with us?"
Mycroft looked at them both bluntly as he opened a file on his "Samantha knows about the little disagreement you two had in the morgue at Bart's. After you told her about the argument, she contacted me for audio of it."
Molly gasped. "You have devices that record what people say at my work?"
Mycroft's facial expression didn't change. "They're not there because of you, Molly, but for reasons I am not legally allowed to tell you."
"I know all of this already. Sam told me she knew and wasn't happy with me about it." Sherlock admitted.
"Oh." Molly gasped again. "So she really has listened to it."
"If you are worried that Samantha knows about the slap, a good one too I must add, she doesn't. I made sure the audio cut out just before it happened."
Molly breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."
"I couldn't have my niece hearing the whole thing at a time like that. It would not have been a good situation for any of us."
"Is this the only reason you have called us here?" Sherlock queried as impatience once again got the better of him.
"No, there was one more thing." Mycroft smiled. "If it's okay with the both of you, I am planning on picking Samantha up after school. I would like to talk to her about a few things, so it seemed like a perfect time and I don't want to encroach on your first weekend with her, especially considering it's Father's Day on Sunday."
"Wait is it?" Molly asked, shocked another time at the meeting. "I should have checked. I've just been so busy with work."
"Why are you getting worried? It's just a stupid, made-up holiday to make money for companies," Sherlock stated matter-of-factly.
Molly turned to look at Sherlock. She had such softness in her eyes as she looked at him. "Sherlock, it might be a bit difficult for Sam. This is going to be the first Father's Day you are in her life. Sam is going to act as if it's no big deal but if I know my daughter. It will be hurting her on the inside."
"We could always cancel this week and she can come and visit me next week. I mean it will give me a chance to solve a big case to impress her," the deceive said as he started to tail off into his own thoughts.
"Sherlock," Molly said gently, her hand resting on top his own. "As nice as that idea sounds, I don't think it would work. Sam might feel rejected again; we might just have to bite the bullet. We can't avoid Father's Day forever."
Sherlock looked at Molly unsure of what to say next. It was small moments like this when she would talk to him and slowly be able to comfort him that took him right back to when they were at university and how it began over a decade ago.
Mycroft coughed, breaking the moment. "With that settled, I should have Samantha at your flat by about six o'clock. Now if you'll both excuse me, I have to start travelling to make sure I will be there on time to pick her up. Oh, and one last thing, I think at some point you two will need to talk about it to each other."
"Talk about what?" Sherlock questioned.
"This," Mycroft said, gesturing between Sherlock and Molly. "It's very awkward to watch the two of you and I think it would be best for everyone if you talked; well, when you both are ready of course and quite preferably when no one else is around. It seems like something you both need to do in private."
After Mycroft finished his sentence, he bade them both goodbye leaving the room so he could pick his niece up, leaving behind Sherlock and Molly who would delay having that convocation till another time.
Sam was glad that she had packed her bag to head back to London the night before, it allowed her enough time to get changed out of her school uniform and find something more comfortable to wear. Once she was changed, she put her bag on the back of her chair just as she had done so she received a text from her bodyguard.
In the car park waiting for you. We are ready to go when you are, don't rush if you don't need to – D
Going back to quickly grab the headphone off her bed, she felt as if she had everything, she would need for the two-hour journey back to London. Sitting in her chair she clipped the seat belt and set out to the car park.
When she got to the car, she saw David was stood next to it waiting for her. "Hey, Sam, ready to head back to the city?"
Sam ignored the question as she looked at the funny expression on his face "something's different, what's wrong? What are you not telling me?" She questioned calmly.
David laughed slightly. "You'll see in a minute." He smiled as he opened the door to the car for her.
As Sam climbed in, she saw her uncle was sat facing her. "Oh, Mycroft."
"Well, that was a nice way to be greeted, Samantha," Mycroft tried to joke. "I thought you would be glad to see me."
Sam put her seat belt on and then responded. "I am, just didn't expect to see you here. Just a bit of a surprise I guess."
David got into the back of the car and sat next to Sam. "The wheelchair is all folded up and put in the boot along with your bags. If you both are ready, we should start to head back now."
"I believe we both are," Mycroft spoke to him."
David gave the order to the driver and slowly began the long journey to London.
Sam took the time to look out of the window and watch the world go by as she was untangling the headphones, that she could have sworn were not tangled up fifteen minutes ago. Her uncle leant forward and started to speak.
"I bet you're wondering why I came to pick you up."
"Don't you mean why you'd had someone drive you down here to pick me up to drive us both back to London?" Sam responded not, looking up at him
A quick smile came across Mycroft's face. There was a bit of Sherlock in the sentence he thought to himself. "Well, if you want to look at it that way, you can."
"So, Uncle Mikey, what's going on?"
"I want to offer you a proposition, one that might come as a surprise -"
"You want me to spy on Sherlock, let you know what he's up to, then I get paid," Sam said, finally looking at his now shocked face. "I say paid money will go into my account I'm not allowed till I'm eighteen."
"Twenty-one actually, but yes that is the situation I was thinking: £100 for every bit of information I get."
David, who was listening in on the conversation tried not to laugh. As he looked at the two Holmes, he felt like he was about to watch a tennis match. He knew Sam liked to gamble and bet and this was a moment she wasn't going to lose her chance to make a bit more cash.
"A hundred quid, that's tiddlywinks compared to what you were going to offer John."
"How do you know what I was going to offer John? Even he didn't know."
"Anthea does like to chat when she has had a drink," Sam said smugly as she remembered her having to look after her one night not long after John had moved into Baker Street.
"Fine £25,000 a month."
Sam raised her eyebrows and thought for a moment. "No, I want £75,000 a month plus £500 for each bit of information."
Mycroft's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. "You expect me to give you that much?"
"Of course we wouldn't want my mum finding out about this conversation."
Nice, David thought, to pay the Molly Hooper card. It looked like she had the upper hand.
"No, I don't think that would go down well for both of us - how about £50,000 a month and £750 for the added information?"
Sam looked over at David almost as if he was her business partner. They silently spoke for a minute and when he gave her a smile and a nod, Sam turned back to her uncle and gave him an answer. "Deal."
Sam had turned on her iPod after the deal was all set with Mycroft. She was looking out of the window when once again he asked her another question.
"Just out of interest, what will you spend that money on?"
Sam took her headphones out of her right ear and bluntly gave a response. "Therapy probably. After growing up in this family I think I'm going to need it."
"You do know I was already going to pay for that, right?" Mycroft replied.
"Well, I guess I've just saved myself a bit of cash, better start thinking about what I can spend it on. Maybe I can get a dog." She smiled to herself.
It was late when they got back to London. Traffic on a Friday evening had made it a bit more difficult to make it back to the flat. When the car pulled up outside of Molly's flat, Sam was happy to be home. She missed her home and London and her mum.
"See you later, Mycroft," Sam said as she got out of the car.
Her uncle said as she got out of the car. "Have a pleasant evening, niece mine."
Once outside the car her bodyguard spoke to her. "Go inside. I will bring your things in."
"Thank you," Sam said as she walked into her home. When the door opened, she felt her body relax just a tiny bit more. "Mum, I'm home."
Sam didn't get any reply but heard a voice that didn't belong to her mum. She thought it was a voice she recognised. Sam followed the voice and found the person it belonged to sat on the sofa.
"Your mother," Sherlock said, "was called into work. They had an emergency and needed her to cover. She was going to text you but left her phone here by mistake."
"Oh okay," Sam said as she sat down.
"She asked me if I would be here to greet you when you got back, I hope that's okay?" Sherlock asked.
"Oh it's fine" Sam replied. "how are you?"
"Good. Cases are going well. If you'd like I can tell you about them."
"That would be nice." Sam smiled.
Just as Sherlock was about to tell Sam his latest cases, David walked in with her bag on his back and pushing her wheelchair that was already collapsed. "Here is your stuff, Sam."
Sherlock jumped in, always his first instinct was to protect Sam from this stranger. "Who are you?" the detective questioned.
"Sherlock, this is David. He's one of my bodyguards. David this is Sherlock … well, you know who he is."
"It's nice to meet you," David said, walking up to the detective so he could shake his hand.
Sherlock took it begrudgingly and shock it. "You make sure my daughter is safe."
"Yes, sir, I have been doing the job for years. Do you need me to stay here till Doctor Hopper gets back or are you going to stay?"
"You can go," Sherlock told him. "I will look after her."
"Thank you, sir. I will let Mr Holmes know that you will be here."
"Why must you tell my brother?" Sherlock questioned.
Sam rolled her eyes. "That's because it's his job. Thanks for the lift home, David. See you soon."
David smiled. "Any time, Sam. Now behave for your dad," he told her as he walked out of the flat.
"He seems – nice." Sherlock tried to say.
"He is," Sam said not looking at Sherlock.
"I know my brother picked you up today. What did he want to talk about?"
"Mycroft offered me money to keep tabs on you."
"Did you take it?" Sherlock asked, starting to get excited.
"Obviously, but only after I got a better deal. I can promise you it's a big figure."
"What would you do with that amount of money?" Sherlock asked his daughter.
"Do you really care?" Sam questioned back.
Sherlock thought about it for a moment. "Hmm, not really."
"Mycroft and I made a deal that Mum isn't to know about it. I don't think she will be happy about it otherwise."
"Oh no, Molly will not like this one bit. Good idea on wanting to keep it from her."
"Sherlock, I was thinking if you want to mess with your brother a bit, Maybe we can make up some fake stories just for a bit of fun."
Sherlock smirked. This idea was purely twisted. He loved it. "I think we can come up with a few things."
Till Molly got home Sherlock and Sam bounded back and forth with ideas to tell Mycroft. It was the first time that Sam and Sherlock were both left alone in each other's company with no one else around. Even for that small moment of time, they both felt so comfortable.
When Molly walked through the door, she found Sherlock and Sam eating a takeaway and laughing at something. It warmed her heart that they were getting on. She hoped it would always stay that way.
The next day Molly dropped Sam off at Baker Street around midday. As she stood next to her, she could feel Sam trembling slightly.
"You okay?" Molly whispered.
"I think so, just feel strange."
"You've spent time with Sherlock before," Molly reassured her.
"It just feels different this time because it's not in a place I feel comfortable; it's his home, somewhere I don't know," Sam admitted.
"New places are always strange at first, but I promise you that you'll like it here very much. Ready to go in? And you know you can always text me, right? Even though I'll be at work I'm just a text away"
"Yeah, Okay."
Molly stepped forward and knocked on the door. Almost instantly it was opened by an older woman.
"Molly dear, it's so good to see you again," Mrs Hudson greeted her then turned to look at Sam. "Oh, and you must be Sam, you're so pretty."
The older woman pulled her into a hug. "It's nice to meet you -"
"You can call me Mrs Hudson, everyone else seems to."
Sam smiled, not knowing what to say back.
"Why don't you both come in? I'll let Sherlock know that you are here. Sherlock," Mrs Hudson yelled up the stairs. "Molly and Sam are here."
Molly started to try and lift the chair up the two steps but found it more difficult than she first thought. "Hey, we never have this trouble at home, do we Sam?" Molly laughed, trying to joke around in hopes of making it less embarrassing.
"Oh, Molly, don't worry about that. I'll get Sherlock to lift it in." The landlady said as Molly and Sam stepped through the door once they were inside
Movement came from the flat above and the door opened. From where he stood it looked like the detective loomed over them from the top of the stairs. He walked down to greet them. As always it still felt awkward each time they met.
"Thanks for bringing her over, Molly," Sherlock said.
"Oh, it's no problem I was on my way to work anyway."
Sherlock turned his attention to Sam. "Are you okay this morning?" he asked as he didn't know what else to say.
"I'm good," Sam said.
"Sherlock would you mind just bringing Sam's chair into the hallway? Molly tried getting it in, but the two steps are very awkward."
Sherlock didn't say anything but stepped out onto the street and easily managed to get it into the hallway and left it up against one of the walls.
"Not everywhere is wheelchair friendly, is it Sam? Before having you, I didn't realise it," Molly said.
"Yep, I'm such an eye opener for everyone," Sam spoke in a sarcastic tone.
"You'll start to notice it soon, Sherlock," Molly said to him.
"Er yes, I guess I will."
Molly checked the time on her watch and realised she had to head to work. "Oh shit, I need to hurry or I'm going to be late. Sorry," she apologised to the two adults then stepped towards Sam and pulled her into a hug which she gladly responded to. "Be good for Sherlock. Be polite to everyone and try and stay out of trouble."
"I will, Mum. I promise." Sam spoke into her shoulder.
Molly kissed her on the cheek. "Text me if you need to. I love you."
"I love you too."
When the door shut, Sam turned to Sherlock, unsure of what to say or do. He looked back at her with the same uncertainty. Thankfully for them, Mrs Hudson was there.
"Sherlock, why don't you take Sam upstairs and show her where everything is. Sam, I'm cooking a lovely meal that we can all have later. It would be lovely to get to know you. Plus I have a few tales about your dad in his younger days that he would never tell you, but I'd be happy to share."
Sherlock felt himself start to sweat, and worry set in about what Mrs Hudson would say to Sam. "Sam, let's head upstairs and leave Mrs Hudson in peace. I'm sure she is very busy."
"Oh no, I'm not too busy," the landlady replied.
"I'm sure Sam will need to sit down I a bit so I'm going to take her upstairs."
Sam was half tempted to say that she was fine and didn't mind staying and chatting for a bit but started to realise she would need to sit down very soon, so she started to walk over to the stairs. When she got to the bottom of them, she stood there for a moment and tried to work out what she needed to do. She was so used to having a handrail on both sides at her grandparents' house and even Mycroft's when she would stay over on occasion, but Baker Street only had the one.
Sherlock cursed to himself in his mind. Even though he spent the week with her at his parents' house he never saw her tackle the stairs. It was something he hadn't thought about till that moment. "Are you okay? Do you need a hand?"
"I've got it, just need a second." Sam turned to look at Mrs Hudson. "Do you mind me putting my hand on the wall?"
"Oh, it's fine dear. It's not like you are shooting at them," Mrs Hudson said, giving Sherlock a dirty look. "Do what you need to do."
Sam slowly made her way up the stairs to Sherlock's flat. As he walked behind her, he noticed how tightly she gripped the bannister for support. With each step, she took he was on guard just in case she tripped or needed any support from him. As they got to the top of the stairs, Sam spoke to Sherlock. "Please, can you have Mycroft get a rail put in on the other side? It will make things a lot easier."
"I will contact him." Sherlock said as he stepped in front of her to open the door to his flat "Sam, this is where I work."
As Sam stepped inside and looked around, she liked what she saw. Everywhere she looked there was something new to look at. All the books on the shelves excited her and made her want to read them all at once, the fireplace reminded her of childhood with her grandad before he died, when he would sit by it with her in the winter and read her stories before she went to bed. Even the view outside was exciting to look at, just seeing all of the people down below going about their day.
"The kitchen is through there," Sherlock pointed out. "Bathroom is just further along and then that door at the end is my room. It is most likely where you will sleep on nights when you want to stay over, and I don't have a case. I would have given you the room upstairs but that's now John's room."
"Oh, that's okay. Sherlock, I have a question. If I sleep in your room, where will you sleep?"
"I'll just sleep on the sofa. Done it before, not really a problem. I'm used to not sleeping when I'm on cases anyway. So what do you think of the place?"
"I love it." Sam beamed.
"I thought you'd feel that way," Sherlock said, sitting down in his chair. When he saw that Sam was still stood in the middle of the room, he gestured for her to sit in the chair opposite his. "This is normally John's chair but seeing as he is not here at the moment, I don't think he will mind."
"Where is he?" Sam asked as she sat down.
"Gone shopping. Tomorrow he is heading off to see his sister. Thinks she is getting better. She's not, but hey, he won't listen."
"People change."
Sherlock scoffed. "People rarely change. But that's not what I want to talk about right now."
"What do you want to talk about? I mean, you do have plans for today, don't you?"
"Of course I have plans." Sherlock got up out of his chair and grabbed a few files off his desk and then sat down again. "These are cold cases, barely a three, I solved them all in a space of an hour. I want to see what your Holmes mind can do and see if you are any good for training?"
"What do you mean to solve? I don't think I will be any good. Why do you want to shape my mind?"
"I've already solved them, I just want to see if you can do the same. These are ones neither John nor I have put on our blogs, so I know you won't cheat. If I can shape your mind now, I will have a consulting detective in training. You are still young, and I will be able to bounce ideas off someone who thinks like me."
"What about John?" Sam asked.
"Oh no, he's too old. I have no hope in reshaping his mind but with you, there is still a chance."
"Fine, I'll give it a go, but I don't think I'll be any good."
"Perfect" Sherlock said clapping his hands together. "Sam, the game is on."
For the next few hours, Sherlock and Sam went through all the old cases and Sherlock was impressed at how quickly Sam was picking things up. Even after he would point a small thing out it would lead to her picking up on other things, especially when she picked up on something he hadn't seen. There's the making of a detective in her yet, Sherlock thought to himself.
After several hours of going over the cases, John came home. "Oh, hello," John said to Sam. "it's good to see you again."
"Yes, you too, especially now I don't have that bomb on me," Sam joked.
Neither of the men laughed and the room plunged into a deadly silence till Sherlock spoke. "You spent a long time at the shops."
"I told you I wasn't just going shopping. I met up with an old friend for coffee. Wow, you really don't listen all the time, do you?"
"I hear the basics," Sherlock replied.
"So, what's all of this?" John asked as he pointed to the files and paperwork on the coffee table.
"This is me testing Sam's deduction skills with cold cases. Don't worry, she won't put you out of a job – yet, but in a few years she might."
"Sherlock, should you really be showing your child this stuff?" Questioned John as he picked up a picture of a foot cut off from the rest of the body.
"John it's fine. Sam doesn't mind, do you?"
"I don't mind it."
"Of course she wouldn't mind, she's your child," John moaned as he walked into the kitchen.
"I know." Sherlock beamed, he was so proud.
Later that evening when Mrs Hudson had finished cooking her meal, Sherlock and John helped her bring it all upstairs for them to eat.
"It all smells so good," Sam complimented. "You didn't need to go to all this trouble just for me."
"Oh don't mention it. I rarely have a chance to cook something like this. Those two are always rushing about on a case not wanting to be disturbed, no time to eat something like this, and look at your father - he looks like he's wasting anyway. This is a good chance for me to fatten him up just a little bit."
"It does look like he needs it a little bit," Sam agreed.
"Are you two going to stand there yakking or are we going to eat?" Sherlock said when everything was set up on his kitchen table.
"Yes, Sherlock dear, we are coming. I was just thinking about which stories to tell Sam."
Sherlock felt his ears go red with heat. A part of him wished he never opened his mouth.
When Sam looked at all of the food that had been laid out on the table, it made her feel like she was at Hogwarts about to have a feast. All on the table she could see Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, stuffing, carrots and more. Right at the end was a roast chicken.
"Your mother told me that you love a good roast dinner, so I couldn't resist cooking one for you," Mrs Hudson told her.
Sam felt tears in her eyes. She couldn't remember the last time someone had done something this nice for her. "Thank you so much."
As they all sat down, they all swapped stories. Mrs Hudson and John got to know Sam a little better while she got to know more about them. Sam especially loved all of the stories that Mrs Hudson told her about Sherlock's younger days. They made him seem more real and not just the figure he presented to the world and her.
When the meal was over, Mrs Hudson knew she loved Sam and would hope to be a part of her life, even as a surrogate grandmother, she didn't mind. There was something about her that reminded her of Sherlock when he was younger.
"Thanks for the lovely meal," Sam said as she was leaving.
"it was an absolute pleasure. It was so lovely to finally get to meet you. I hope to see you again sometime," Mrs Hudson said, giving her a hug.
"Won't I see you tomorrow?" Sam asked.
"Oh no dear, I'm going to see some family."
"Sam, the taxi is here," Sherlock said. He was taking Sam back to Molly's for the evening.
Sam gave Mrs Hudson another hug then started to walk to Sherlock who was at the door. "Won't you need your wheelchair?" the older woman asked.
"Oh no. I'm only heading back to Mum's, it makes more sense to leave it here seeing as I come back tomorrow. It wouldn't make sense to take it home to bring it back otherwise. It is okay for me to keep it there isn't it?"
"It's completely fine."
Sherlock got Sam back to her home very quickly. He was glad that the taxi driver knew all of the short cuts. The minute they arrived at Molly's, Sherlock paid the driver and helped Sam out of the car. All the lights were on so both father and child deduced that Molly was home.
Sam walked into the flat before Sherlock and both were greeted by Molly right away. "Sam, you're home! Did you have a nice time?"
"Yeah, I did." She smiled.
"Thanks for bringing her home, Sherlock."
"It was no problem," spoke the detective.
"I'll drop Sam off about the same time as I did today. Is that okay?"
"That's fine, thank you, Molly. I'll leave you both to your evening." Sherlock exited the flat.
"I really did have a good time," Sam said to her mother.
"I'm glad." Molly smiled.
It was just as she walked into the living room Sam realised that she didn't look at her phone for the whole day or need to text her mum at all.
John saw that Sherlock was in a good mood when he got back to the flat that evening. "Sam seems like a normal child. Is that from Molly's side of the family?"
Sherlock didn't answer but stared blankly back at John.
"I just can't get over the fact that she is a total mix of Molly and yourself."
"She does share our DNA, it is to be expected.
"You two seem to be getting on well. Just be careful though. Sherlock. One wrong move and she might just shut you out."
"I don't plan to let that happen, John."
The next day Sherlock and Sam were once again going over some old cases when Sherlock's phone started to ring.
"Yes hello. Where about? Okay, be there soon."
"Who was that?" Sam questioned.
"Lestrade. I've got a case." Sherlock put on his Belstaff and headed out of the door, leaving Sam alone in the flat. Almost a minute later he walked back in "Right, what do we do, I can't call Molly because she will think that I'm pushing you to the side. Mycroft is out of the question and John and Mrs Hudson are both away. There is only one thing for it - you'll have to come with me."
"Come with you? No, I mean, I can't. I'll just be in the way, it's not practical."
"Who cares about practical? Come on, the game is on." Sherlock threw Sam's coat to her as she got up. Putting it on, she followed him down the stairs.
When they were in the hallway Sherlock grabbed Sam's wheelchair. "I think we will need this. Ready?"
"Guess I'll have to be."
Sherlock flagged a taxi down and before she knew it Sam was one her first case with Sherlock Holmes. She hoped that it would all be okay and that she'd be home by the end of the day. Once at the location, a street somewhere not far from Baker Street, they got out of the taxi. Sherlock grabbed Sam's chair.
"It would be quicker if I pushed you. Is that okay?"
Sam sat in the chair. "Just give me a second." She clipped her seatbelt together making sure if anything happened, she wouldn't fall out, then kicked down the footrest with her feet so everything was set. "Ready."
Sherlock walked fast. It wasn't a pace that she was used to when being pushed in her chair. Normally her mum would walk slower but Sam put that down to the fact of the height difference between her parents.
As they got to the end of the street, Sherlock turned down a side street, which looked dark and dingy. At the end of it was a body on the floor, above, policemen surrounded it. A grey-haired policeman looked up and walked towards them.
"Err Sherlock what is this?"
"That's no way to talk to my daughter, Graham."
"Greg. My name is Greg. Sherlock, why is she here?"
"Well, I thought I would introduce her to the family business."
"No Sherlock, not happening."
Two other people, a man and woman walked up behind the detective to see what was going on. "What's freak done now?" the woman asked.
"Sherlock has brought his daughter along for the case."
"Wait did you say, daughter? This is his – daughter?" The other man questioned.
"Yes, Anderson," Sherlock said to the man.
"This can't be true," the woman said.
"It is true Sally; now that we are all past the point of realising I have a daughter, can we get on with the case?"
"Why is she in a wheelchair?" Anderson asked, turning from Sherlock to Sam. "Did you break your legs or something?"
This was a question Sam was used to. Most people always assumed that she had hurt herself or been in an accident to be in her chair. Even though she was used to it, she still felt a pang of pain. She felt the tension build on the chair as Sherlock's grip tightened. It almost started to hurt when he realised what he was doing.
Sam looked up at Anderson. "Yes, I'm his daughter and yes, I am in this thing but no, I didn't do something to end up into it. I just like to sit in it for fun." She addressed her father. "Sherlock can we get on with the case please? I don't like it when people talk over my head and think I can't talk for myself."
"I won't do the case for you unless Sam is allowed in too," Sherlock said to the detective inspector.
Lestrade stood there knowing he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He needed help with the case but didn't want to get into trouble just for having a child near the case. In the end, he relented. "Fine, but if I get into trouble you will have to sort it out with your brother."
"Okay," Sherlock said, eager to get started on the case.
Once Sherlock started to look at the body, he came out with all the different deductions. Because he was bent down, he was at the same height as his daughter which allowed him to explain things to her and get to see if she saw anything and when she pointed out something seemed familiar to a case they had been looking at the previous day, it helped the detective work out the final clue to solve the case. Sherlock knew there was promise for Sam.
Once all the information was passed on to Greg, he contacted the necessary people to go and make the arrest. While they waited, Greg spoke one more thing to the detective. "Does Molly know she is here, Sherlock?"
"Well, she knows that Sam is with me but does not know that I am here," responded the detective.
"He means no," Sam replied.
Greg shook his head. "Well, are you going to tell her?"
"Wait, why would Molly want to know?" Anderson questioned. "You do mean Molly Hooper? The one who works at Bart's?"
"Molly's my mum and yes, that Molly," Sam blurted out before Sherlock had a chance to stop her.
"You've got to be joking," Sally said joining the conversation.
"I'm not."
"She isn't," Sherlock said, speaking for the child. "I would prefer it if this was kept as quiet as possible, I don't want anything happening to Sam because of this."
All three adults respected this and agreed to do so. It wasn't long till Greg got a phone saying that the suspect was in custody.
"I've got to go and interview the suspect. Thanks for your help, Sherlock. It was nice to meet you, Sam."
"It was nice to meet you too," Sam said politely.
Sherlock looked at the time on his phone. It was three in the afternoon. "It's getting late, well not late but I should probably get you back to Molly's before you head back to school."
Father and daughter headed back to Molly's. Once they were there, he helped her sort out a few things for her pack so she would be ready to go. Sam had decided she wasn't going to leave until Molly got home because Sam knew this would be the last chance she would have to see her mum before the summer holidays started.
The detective and his daughter sat in the living room waiting for Molly to come home. She had texted moments ago that she was five minutes away. Sam would had to leave by half-past four in order to make it back to school for dinner. She hoped her mum would make it back in time.
"Thanks for this weekend Sherlock. I had a nice time."
"You're welcome. I had a good time too."
"Maybe in the summer we could have more days like this – only if you're not too busy – oh and before my surgery."
"I would like that." the detective smiled.
Molly was back quicker than they expected, she smelled like her work, she had not had the time to take a shower before leaving work otherwise she would have missed saying goodbye to Sam, something she didn't want to do.
"Sorry, I'm glad got here in time," Molly said, giving Sam a hug. "Oh, I just had to see you off."
"You make it sounds as if I'm never going to see you again," Sam joked.
"I know it's only a few more weeks but it's going to feel like an eternity."
"I'm going to missy you too," Sam told her.
"You all packed?"
Sam nodded. "Sherlock helped me."
Molly looked up at Sherlock. "Thank you for doing that – it was nice of you."
"It was no trouble."
"I better get going," Sam said, giving her Mum one more hug before she walked to the car.
Both parents walked out with her to the car that had pulled up to take her back to school. Just as she was about to climb in, she decided to give Sherlock a hug which took him by surprise. It wasn't like any he had seen her give Molly, it was more a like a tap on the arm, but it still meant something to him.
As she stepped away once more, she looked up at Sherlock. "I know I should have said it before, but happy Father's Day, Sherlock."
He felt as if he had been pushed over by her words. "Thank you," he managed to get out as Sam sat in the car and shut the door.
As it pulled away Sherlock felt one small tear on his check and Molly's hand on his wrist stroking it to make sure he was okay.
Sam got back to school just as dinner was starting and went to sit with Jen.
"Hey Sam, you're back. How was your weekend?" her roommate asked.
Sam felt a smile appear on her face as she thought about the time she spent with Sherlock. "It was really good, and you'll never guess what, but I actually spent Father's Day with my dad for the first time."
"Wait, seriously?" Jen said getting excited. "Is he back in your life for good? How long has he been back?
"I think so and only a few weeks."
"Wow, this is big. Are you okay with it?"
"Yeah, I think I am."
"I am really happy for you. You absolutely deserve this but if he hurts you, he has to answer to me."
Sam laughed.
Sam thought back to the last few days she spent with Sherlock. It was the first time since she had met him that she had hoped he would be okay, and he was going to stay. She just really wanted summer to happen now so she could go on another case solving day. That time in the small alleyway, something changed slightly in her.
As she went to bed that night, Sam ran the last few weeks in her mind. Remembering everything from their first meeting till now. She knew within herself she wasn't ready to call him dad to his face, there was still a way to go but she was happy with how things were. She looked at Sherlock's blog, once again reading about his research. Now she could hear his voice as she read his words almost as if he was narrating it all to her.
Have fun solving cases while I'm stuck in school – S
A few seconds later a reply came through.
I plan to, and if John gives any more stupid ideas, I'm breaking you out of there to help solve me a case – SH
I like the sound of that. Night. – S
Goodnight Sam - SH
Wishing the weeks would go quickly, Sam fell asleep quickly in a peaceful dream, not knowing that soon enough someone would find out her secret and that her dad would get called in on a case which somehow led to him walking into Buckingham Palace in nothing but a sheet.
Notes: So there a little cliffhanger. How cruel of me. What do you think is going to happen?
Sam and Sherlock's relationship is slowly building what do you think?
As always thanks to Goodshipsherlollipop for beta reading this for me. Thank you :-)