Notes: Well hello, i didn't mean for this chapter to take almost three months but hey better late than never right. Hope everyone is well and keeping safe. In this chapter, Sam is on her trip to Paris. Nothing will go wrong, will it? Enjoy!

Two days before the trip to Paris, all the parents of students going on the trip had travelled down for the weekend, to spend quality time with them prior to sending them to a foreign country. The local hotels loved this time of year, being grateful for the business of having all the parents stay.

It pleased Sam to spend a bit of time with her mum. Together they packed her suitcase and a rucksack for all the things she might need. As they packed the clothes, Sam couldn't help but notice Molly sneak in loads of sweets and chocolate.

"Really Mum, I am allowed all this?" Sam's eyebrows raised questioningly. "You're almost always wanting me to have healthy food."

"And you do; this is a little treat for you, but don't expect it all the time," Molly said as she slid another dairy milk bar under one top. "You looking forward to the trip?"

"Yes, Mum, I really am," Sam voiced excitedly. "Can't wait to see all the city sights and actually go up in the Eiffel Tower and get to explore something new."

"You will love it. My dad used to take me every year growing up. He always spoke about taking you when you were a bit older."

Sam watched as her mum wiped a tear away and continued to pack. "It's okay Mum, I'm sure he will be with me on this trip, telling me to drink all the wine," Sam quickly quipped.

Her mother's eyes narrowed at her.

"Telling me NOT to drink the wine," Sam corrected with a cheeky grin.

"Are you going to Notre-Dame?"

Sam nodded her head.

"Light a candle for him. He'd like that."

"I will, Mum."

Their concentration turned back to packing. "I've marked each of these," Molly said, picking up an envelope from a small pile next to her socks. "With a day of the week on, it's your spending money for each day. Remember, you don't have to spend it all at once. Save some and you will have more for the next day. Thursday has more in it, as I know that is the day they take you all to Euro Disney."

"It's Disneyland Paris Mum. They haven't gone by the name Euro Disney since 1994." Sam corrected in a tone that sounded too much like her father's.

"Of course you know that." Sam watched as her mum shook her head. "I bet you're really excited to go to Disney. I know how much you love it when you go in the summers when staying with Matt."

"I'm excited to see the differences between the Paris and Florida parks, and before you say there can't be that many, I can assure you there are. Might make a PowerPoint presentation about it and bore Mycroft with it."

Molly laughed quietly at her daughter's idea.

"Though it won't be the same going to the parks without Uncle Matt and the cousins," Sam quickly added.

"But you'll have Jen and Stacey with you, I know you girls will have a lot of fun."

"That's true." Sam went quiet for a moment, then asked a question that had been on her mind. "Have you heard from Sherlock?"

Molly pulled out her phone and looked at her text messages. "He texted yesterday saying he has a new case and has gone to Dartmoor."

"Where's that?"

"It's in Devon."

"Oh," Sam thought for a while, "I guess that means I won't see him till I get back."

Sam watched as her mum walked over and pulled her in for a hug. "It seems that way, but you'll be spending next weekend with him. Your trip will fly by and you won't want to come back."

"I'll miss you." Sam's voice was muffled by Molly's jumper.

"I'll miss you more," her mum replied.

Early Monday morning, Sam found herself sat on the coach waiting for the trip to Paris to begin. Looking out of the window, she could see a crowd of parents. In the middle was her mum. Sam could see her talking quietly to Jen's parents.

"It's nice to see them getting along, isn't it?" Jen said. She had decided she would sit next to Sam on the bus.

"Yeah, though I expected them to, anyway."

"You also expected your dad to be here, didn't you?"

The two of them had decided if they would talk about Sherlock, being her dad in public they wouldn't use his name. Just out of fear anyone would overhear.

"Work happened at the last minute…. Apparently! I'll see him when I get back."

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine, it's not a big deal. He's missed so much of my life already, what's the difference of him watching a coach drive off, it's not like he could be here, anyway."

"Well, he could have turned up in a disguise," Jen suggested.

"That would be a sight to see."

"Especially after the last one?"

"Don't remind me," Sam joked. "Going to need to add that to the long list of reasons I'll need therapy."

"Looking forward to sharing a room with me?" Jen asked.

"We already share a room."

"Yeah, but this is a hotel room, it's exciting."

"I hope the hotel room has magic powers that stops you from snoring."

"I don't snore, and even if I did, I bet I'm not as loud as you. It's like sleeping next to a foghorn." Jen began imitating the noise.

This caused the two friends to laugh till it hurt. Sam loved having her best friend to joke with.

It wasn't long before the coach filled up with the rest of the students and teachers. David sat right across from them. Mycroft wanted her as safe as possible. The rest of her classmates were so used to seeing him around school that they just assumed he was a member of staff. It was the perfect cover.

"How many other bodyguards do you think Mycroft is sending?" Jen whispered.

"I believe it's six, including David." Sam lowered her voice. "Two of them are already at the hotel, scouting it out. Another two will be on the boat and then one driving behind."

"Bloody hell, he wants you safe."

"If he doesn't keep me safe, he has my mum and grandparents to answer too."

"And now your dad," Jen pointed out.

"Yes," Sam said, pulling her phone out of her jeans pocket to see if Sherlock had texted her. When her phone screen showed no new texts, a feeling of disappointment began to grow in her stomach.

Heading to Paris today. Might not text. Hope you solve the case – S

Before putting her phone back in her pocket, she sent one more text.

John, it's Sam. Just saying that in case you don't have my name saved in your phone, hope Sherlock is getting on well with the case. He'll probably forget and not look at his texts, just remind him I'm on the school trip this week and that I'll see him on Saturday. Hope he doesn't drive you too crazy–Sam.

The engine of the bus started up. Excitement and anticipation filled the air. Sam quickly looked out of the window and mouthed the words 'I love you' to her mum. As the bus moved, she was just able to lip-read her mum saying, 'I love you too.'

Sherlock walked back into the morgue, wondering if Molly had any spare body parts for him. He was just back from Dartmoor and needed something to do.

"Ah Molly," the detective said, catching her as she finished the paperwork on her last autopsy. "Have anything I can experiment on?"

"Not at the moment, sorry Sherlock. When did you get back to London?"

"Yesterday afternoon. I'm sure it won't be long before you'll be able to read John's overly dramatic tale of events on his blog."

"Did you just make a joke?" Molly laughed.

Sherlock stared at her blankly.

"You know because of the word tail and the fact it means story and because a dog has… Never mind." Sherlock could see Molly was a little embarrassed. She stayed quiet for a moment before trying to make small talk. "Did Sam text you?"

"Yes, I briefly read it after finishing the case. She said she couldn't text for the week. John mentioned it as well, but I blocked him out when he started speaking. He can be quite boring at times."

"Sam hasn't texted me either; she's probably busy having fun."

"Yes, she must be," Sherlock paused for a moment. "Why is that?"

"She's on her school trip, Sherlock, the one in Paris. She left yesterday."

"Right! That one." Sherlock checked something on his phone before promptly walking to the doors. "Got to go, Molly, something's just come up."

"Don't forget you have Sam this weekend," she called after him, but the detective was too far away to hear.

Sam was enjoying her time in Paris. The second day of the trip was drawing to a close. They had taken her class to the Notre-Dame, among other landmarks that day. She loved the cathedral and couldn't help but feel emotional about it.

The place felt like it was from a different world. Sam felt like she had stepped back in time. It was one place she walked around on the trip instead of using her wheelchair. She also felt like her granddad was with her as she followed her classmates. Before she left, she paid to have a candle lit for him and wrote his name in their book. It was something that could be done to remember those that have passed on. Before she walked away from the small burning light, she looked up and whispered, "Miss you, grandad."

She could see like herself that the class was tired. It had been a long day of walking for them. They booked the school in for an evening meal at the hotel. Everyone was very much looking forward to it.

Sam hadn't been paying much attention to her surroundings when they walked in and sat down. She had been engrossed in a conversation with her friends about what they had done that day, and what they were looking forward to tomorrow. It wasn't until the waiter walked up to the table that her stomach dropped.

Stood in front of her with his curly hair and poorly drawn on moustache was her father. "Good evening to you all." His terrible fake French accent came through. "I presume you would all like to order."

It stunned her into silence. It took a moment before her shock turned into anger. "What are you doing here?" she said through gritted teeth.

"Why, I'm taking your order, of course."

"No, you're not."

Jen nudged her. "Sam, what is it?"

"Look closely," Sam whispered. "it's my dad."

"Miss Hooper, that is not how we talk to this waiter. If you're not careful, you will be in a week's worth of break, lunch and after school detentions when we get back to school, and I will notify your parents of this behaviour," came the voice of her history teacher.

"Too late," she muttered under her breath. "One of them already knows."

Sam watched as David walked towards her. She could tell by the look on his face that he too recognised the waiter.

"Is everything okay?" he whispered to both of them.

"Not really." Sam turned her attention back to Sherlock. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm am here to order your food." Sherlock continued his use of the French accent.

"Drop the act." Sam channelled her mother and gave Sherlock a frustrated glare. "You might be my father, but you have no right to gate crash my school trip like this."

Sherlock dropped the act and wiped his moustache off. "I was worried, okay? Couldn't trust Mycroft to do it all, could I?"

"You don't think I haven't left the country without a parent before? You've been out of the picture for eleven years."

"You've left the country before without Molly?"

"We chaperone her on flights," David butted in.

"Aren't you Sherlock Holmes?" Josh, one of her classmates asked.

"Oh My God, it is," Ryan, another classmate said. "It's the hat detective."

"I thought you went to an all-girls school." Sherlock looked at Sam.

Sam looked at her father, confused. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you only speak about female classmates?"

Sam rolled her eyes, "Yeah, because they're my friends."

"Nope, this will change. No daughter of mine – "

"Did he just say, daughter?" Stacey asked. "You're his daughter?"

Sam felt all the eyes at the table, even the teachers, fall on her. "Well done, Sherlock. The cat is out of the bag." She turned to look at David. "Call Mycroft and tell him code Daddy dearest."

"He will not be happy." David walked away as he began his call.

Sam turned to her head of year. "Sir, I'm not hungry, I'm going up to my room." Before she could get an answer, she walked away, heading towards the lifts.

"Sam, what does that code mean? What's happening?" Sherlock called after her.

"I don't think she wants to talk to you," Jen said.

"Are you really her dad?" Ryan asked.

Sherlock rolled his eyes and ignored the question as he watched the lift doors shut on Sam.

"I'll go talk to her." Jen looked at the head of year, silently asking the question. When he nodded, she got up from the table.

"Are we going to order any food?" Josh asked. "Some of us are hungry."

Sam was sat on the edge of the bed when Jen walked into the hotel room. Tear marks could be seen on her face.

Jen walked to the bed and sat down next to her. "So that's your dad."

"Yep," Sam said wiping a tear from her eyes. "I'm not upset that he's here."

"You're upset that everyone now knows, aren't you?"

Sam jumped up from the bed and walked to the window. "They will treat me differently now. The entire school will know. They'll talk about me."

Jen turned her around, putting her hands on her shoulders, holding her in place. "I won't let them. The whole school will have to come through me before they even gossip about you."

"I already feel like an outcast because of my -" Sam couldn't bring herself to say the rest of the sentence. "This will be worse, and what if one of them goes to the papers? I won't be me anymore."

"No one will. Your uncle won't let them. David's ringing him. Everything will get sorted."

"I won't be myself anymore," Sam repeated.

"You will be, Sam."

"But who is Sam now?"

"The same person you were an hour ago. My friend. The one I can always rely on."

Their eyes locked for a second and Jen pressed a fleeting kiss on Sam's lips. Time stood still between them.

After realising what she had done, Jen jumped back. Her face was flushed. She stared at the floor. "I'm sorry… I err didn't mean to do that."

"Jen?"

Jen couldn't face looking at Sam. "Look, can we pretend this didn't happen?"

Sam walked to Jen, this time putting her hand on her shoulder. "Jen, do you like girls?"

A minute passed before Jen nodded her head. "Yes." She looked up at Sam. "I'm gay."

"Okay." Sam smiled.

"Okay?" Jen asked.

"Yeah, it's who you are."

"You're okay with it?"

Sam nodded. "Yes… but Jen, I'm straight. It will not stop me from helping you find the best girlfriend. They will have to pass the Sam test to be good enough."

"And all your future boyfriends will have to pass the Jen test," she joked.

"Exactly. Thanks for coming up here and making sure I was okay."

"We're best friends, it's what we do. And Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"You won't tell anyone, will you? I'm not exactly ready to come out."

"Jen, you didn't need to ask. You kept my secret about Sherlock. I will tell no one."

Jen hugged her friend. "Thank you."

"I think we need to head downstairs and see how the mess Sherlock has made is panning out. Plus, I desperately need food."

Sam felt all the eyes on her again when she joined the rest of her class for dinner. Sherlock was stood next to the chair she was sat in before she left. On the table was food for both her and Jen.

"We ordered food for you on the off chance you came back down," Sherlock informed them when they got to the table.

"Thanks, Sherlock," Sam said, not looking at him as she sat down at the table to eat her food.

Within the hour, Mycroft had turned up. He looked more stressed and annoyed than normal. Sam wondered if the pending Moriarty trial was getting to him.

"I see you have gotten yourself into another mess, Sherlock, that I must now sort out."

"It's not my fault the entire class found out."

"Maybe you shouldn't have turned up here." Sam joined the conversation.

"Quite," Mycroft agreed. "Samantha, have your teachers gather up all of your peers. I will arrange to borrow one of the meeting rooms."

"Okay." Sam walked to her head of year and explained the situation.

Fifteen minutes later, Sam's entire class and teachers were all in one of the hotel convention rooms.

Sam watched Mycroft straighten his tie before addressing the room. "I have called you here because of a national secret being revealed."

"That Sam is Hat Detective's daughter?" Josh asked from the back of the room.

"Yes. This is information that shall not be made public. If it gets leaked, I will hold all of you accountable, and there will be serious consequences. Before any of you leave this room, you will have to sign a contract making sure you will say nothing to anyone."

"Shouldn't we have lawyers or at least our parents in the room before we sign anything?" Stacey asked.

"She has a point," Sam's English teacher agreed.

Sam looked directly at Mycroft with a smug smile on her face. "Looks like you will have to buy their silence, Uncle Mikey."

After a couple of hours of intense negotiations with Sam and fellow students, individual deals were made for their silence, and non-disclosure documents were signed by each one. Among the deals made were all new computers to the school, seven different holidays, sixteen laptops and one guaranteed place at either Oxford or Cambridge for one child, they hadn't decided, even though they had at least seven years to go before going to university.

It relieved Sam that all her fellow students and teachers signed the deal. It meant she could continue being hidden.

It was dark outside by the time they had sorted everything. Sherlock and Mycroft were heading back to London. Sam knew she would see them on the weekend.

"I'm sorry I revealed your secret," Sherlock said to Sam before he left.

"It's okay, I think my class is grateful considering what they all got out of it."

Sherlock chuckled. "It's nice to see my brother be put under pressure by a group of children."

"Can't be much different from parliament, I imagine."

Mycroft walked past them, heading out of the hotel. "We have to go, Sherlock. Make your goodbyes quick, you'll see her in a couple of days."

"Goodbye to you too, Mycroft." Sam spoke to the back of his head.

"I'll see you on Saturday," Sherlock said, hugging her quickly.

"Okay, or you could come to Mum's. We might have a takeaway and film night, depending on how late I get back. I mean, if you don't have a case, that is."

"Sounds better than watching John try to write poetry."

"Okay. Oh, Sherlock?" Sam called before he moved. "One last thing. You really need to work on your French accent, it was dreadful."

"Terrible?"

"Terrible. Work on it. Who knows, you might need to use it again one day."

"Possible. Laters, Sam."

She watched Sherlock jog to join up with Mycroft outside. It wasn't long before a helicopter left, carrying them back to England.

Sam went to bed, feeling surprisingly in a pleasant mood. Little did she know this was one of the last times she would be happy for a long time to come.

Notes: So Sherlock gatecrashed the trip. His overprotective side is coming out. The Moriarty trail is around the corner and we are coming to the end of series two. What do you all think is going to happen?

As always I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on this chapter. There is a review box down below. Don't worry he is friendly, help him out by feeding a review.

As always thank you goodshipsherlollipop for beta reading this for me. I am so grateful