Wow, it's been two whole weeks since I updated this story! Well, I'll tell you why. I am actually in the process of turning The Darkest Moon, one of my original stories, into an audiobook. And trust me, that takes a lot of time and commitment. Also, if you wanted to know how my Irene/Sherlock story is going, it's going well, other than I have sort of put it on pause while I get my pile of projects sorted out. I am hoping to get it out sometime in late 2020, or perhaps early 2021. But all good things come to those who wait.

Anywho, on with the story!

Much to our disappointment, we had to postpone our honeymoon, because as soon as the rest of my family had left for home the day after the start of the new year, Mother Nature decided to play with me once again and bring on a dreadful snow storm that forced everyone to stay home and not go out under any circumstances. Therefore, while we were all quarantined or isolated, whatever term you would prefer to use, I decided to make myself useful and help Mary and John with the baby until they were well enough to go home, too.

I put the sleeping baby girl into the bassinet and knelt beside her, stroking her tiny hand with my finger and watching as her tiny chest rose up and down while she breathed in and out. I couldn't remember the last time I had seen something so small and precious. She was the entire length of my arm and no heavier than a bag of sugar from the market.

"You don't have to do this, Charlotte," John told me, and I stared blankly at him for a moment, trying to come out of the trance that I was under. "We can handle this. You spend as much time with your husband as you can."

"Believe me, she's been spending so much time with him already, they can hardly keep themselves off of each other," Mary laughed, jokingly.

"In my defense, I haven't seen him in two years, I'm making up for lost time."

"Say no more," said John with a smile and he didn't have to say anything else for me to understand what he was implying.

"Whatever you're thinking, John, don't." I laughed nervously, "and it's alright, really, I want to help with the baby," I said insistently. I was told that I had a bit of a stubborn streak sometimes, which helped me win arguments on several occasions. "Besides, my husband is fine. I'm her auntie now, and if it's one thing aunties and grandmothers are known for, it's spoiling their nieces, nephews and grandchildren and making sure their mother gets some rest."

"You really are a lifesaver," said Mary with a weak smile as she sat up to eat. One of my other responsibilities was making sure that both she and John were fed. I was used to that of course, because I regularly had to force Sherlock to eat if he had not.

"It's always a pleasure. It gives me good practice for when I have children of my own."

John looked out the window momentarily before sitting down in the armchair and chuckled to himself. "I don't exactly see Holmes as the father type, you know, with all of his crazy experiments and hiding himself away in his study for days on end without eating, but he seems to get along well with your family, so maybe it will depend on the circumstances."

"Have you talked about it?" asked Mary. "Surely you must have talked about it at some point."

"It's one of the most important conversations you could possibly have in a relationship," John said.

"The topic has come up once or twice in conversations and we aren't planning on it yet," I shrugged. We had talked about it once or twice, it wasn't that big a deal if we had children or not, but that didn't mean that it wasn't a possibility someday.

"But we agreed that if a child were to come into our lives," I continued, "then we certainly wouldn't turn them away, but for the time being, we would much rather just enjoy each others' company."

"Of course you would," said Mary. "You're both caring people, it's just that your caring side is more on your sleeve, while Sherlock's is more buried deep down where few people can see, but when it does come out, it comes out perfectly."

"He does have his moments," I agreed, standing up and slowly releasing my finger from Rosie's grip. "Mostly I think he hides it deep inside to protect the people he cares about."

"Like you and John," she said.

"And you, too," I assured her kindly. "He does care for you, although he will never admit it."

"Speaking of, what has Holmes been doing all this time?" asked John.

"I know Mycroft is in his study," said Mary. "I heard him say that this morning."

"Reading, I think," I said, glancing towards the door. "I should make sure that everything's alright, but let me know if you need anything," I said, stepping out of the room and into the living room to see Sherlock sitting comfortably, reading the paper. When our eyes met, there was a spark between us; something that occurred almost constantly and my heart skipped as I walked toward him and sat on the arm of the chair, leaning over so that I could see the words. They were in small print, so I had to squint a little.

"Anything interesting?" I asked.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," he replied, setting it down and then bringing me down beside him. "Other than the weatherman says the snow might clear up."

"Well, that's good news," I said, rubbing his shoulders. He always seemed to like it when I did that. I noticed that he was a little bit tense.

"As for the crimes, there was a murder no more than two days past, but Scotland Yard managed to catch the killer."

"That's good isn't it?"

"It means that the world is doing perfectly well without me," he drawled theatrically.

"You know that's not true," I shouted, standing up and he automatically stood with me. He was still taller than me and I kind of cursed myself for being so short. "Just because they've moved on, doesn't make it hurt any less. What if I don't want to let you go? What if I don't want to see you get hurt again?" I stopped because I suddenly felt dizzy and needed to sit down again. "There are other things you can do, other things that could give your life meaning."

"Like what?" He asked crossly. "Can't you see?! I should be out there, doing what I was meant to do, not staying here while others do my job for me and get hurt doing so."

Normally, it wouldn't have hurt me as much, but today I was just feeling emotional. "I'm sorry. You're right. I shouldn't be holding you back."

"Holding me back? You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Charlotte, I wouldn't change a single thing about that."

"And I love you," I whispered, close to crying. "If this is what you want to do, I'll be here every step of the way."

Sherlock took my hand and pulled me close to him. "Well, since Watson has other priorities now, I need an assistant."

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you joking? There aren't any female detectives."

"Then you will be the first," he said with uncharacteristic enthusiasm. "With a little bit more practice, you will be just as good as I am."

"Maybe even better," I said.

"Perhaps." He chuckled and looked down into my eyes. "but we won't make the decision too quickly. I want to enjoy a few quiet months with my wife first."

"Lestrade is going to faint when he sees you," I said, drying my eyes.

"Don't give me hope," he said, smirking. "Have you eaten at all, or have you just been taking care of the little one nonstop?"

"You've been in the library all day and I was lonely," I pouted childishly.

"My poor girl," he cooed. "Then you should come with me. Mrs. Hudson is making us soup. That should make you feel much better.

I put my hand absently on my stomach. "That does sound good."

Lunch was served half an hour later, some soup accompanied with a few slices of bread. Mary's stomach was thankfully able to handle the smell.

"You know, at one point during my pregnancy, I could hardly stand the smell of meat."

"That's normal," I explained. "your senses were more sensitive to certain sounds and smells. My mother told me that she was like that when we were born."

"And you were twins," said John. "So it would have been twice as much morning sickness and much less meat."

I laughed. "I guess so." I set down my spoon for a second because a wave of nausea was hitting me right where it hurt.

"Are you alright?" Sherlock whispered beside me.

"I might have just eaten too quickly, that's all." I said. "It should pass."

"Are you sure?" asked Mycroft. "You look a bit pale."

"She has been helping to look after the baby. I forgot to make sure that she ate," Sherlock explained.

"Odd. Normally, it's the other way around. Minus the baby, of course." Mycroft said.

"We really can't thank you enough," Mary smiled.

"There's no need to thank me," I said. "I am always glad to help."

"So, where are you planning on going for your honeymoon?" asked John.

"Switzerland," I replied, finishing the last spoonful of soup and then leaning back against my chair.

"Switzerland?" John exclaimed and for a moment, his eyes were as big as the soup bowl.

"Yes. Mycroft has offered us his cabin he stayed in two years ago. I hear it's stunning this time of year."

John glanced at Sherlock with wide eyes. "Are you really sure you want to go back there?"

"We have to put that behind us," he said, "we cannot dwell on the past if it's going to stop us from doing things in the future."

"We're also going to spend some time in France and Germany," I amended, hoping that John wasn't having flashbacks right now.

"Both of those countries are in the midst of a civil war," said Mary with concern. "and there have been a lot of bombings recently."

"Mary's right. That does raise a lot of red flags," John agreed. "It's taken a toll on the people who live there. It's dangerous."

"It won't be for very long," I promised. "And besides, we can handle any trouble that comes our way. Just like when we took down Moriarty."

"Which costed Sherlock his life!" John yelled and Mary put her hand on his just as Rosie started to cry.

"I'll see to her," Mary said. "Mrs. Hudson, you'll prepare a bottle of milk for her, won't you?"

Mrs. Hudson nodded and started preparing the baby some milk. "She sure eats a lot doesn't she?"

"She eats every three hours," I said with a smile. "And she's going to double her weight in the next few weeks or so."

"You know a lot about this," said Mycroft, who hadn't said a whole lot as the two gentlemen were arguing.

"I've been reading up on it since we were all stuck here, I thought that I may as well make myself useful."

"Stuck here? I didn't think my company was that unpleasant."

"Mykie, you have no idea how unpleasant it is to be some place other than where you want to be. We would have already been there and back again if it weren't for this snow storm."

"I think it was a joke," I said, then turned to the elder Holmes and tried to amend the statement. "We do appreciate you having us here."

"Not to worry, I'm sure it will all clear up," he replied. "Mother would be proud that at least one of her sons is happily married."

"You should have a plan," said John, calming down a little. "In case you get stuck in a tricky situation."

"I have one," Sherlock said. It wasn't a surprise to me. "You just have to trust us, alright?"

"I do trust you, and I suppose you're a grown man, and I don't need to worry so much," John sighed, but not a sigh that was resigned, more like an 'I don't want to discuss this anymore' kind of sigh, and Sherlock seemed to sense it, too.

"No, you have more than enough to deal with." He offered a smile and John relaxed. "Charlotte will take care of me, and I will do the same for her."

"I should see if Mary needs my help," John said once he was finished with his soup and Mycroft had left to finish whatever he was doing before lunch.

Once again, it was just Sherlock and I in the big dining room.

"What were you and Mary talking about upstairs?"

"Mary and I were just talking about having children of my own."

"Why doesn't that surprise me? Mrs. Hudson and your mother asked me the same question."

"I told her we were still talking about it."

"I wish they would leave us alone about it. It seems that the minute we get married, we should have children."

"To be fair, my mother keeps bugging Jane about it, too and they've been married for two years."

"It's not that I don't want children, you already know this, but I don't think the two of us solving crimes would be the right environment for them."

"That's what John said, too. Mary understands this, too, she was just curious."

"I know. I'm not upset because of her, it's just that I know how much you want a child and I want to give you everything you want and deserve, but-"

"Hey! Listen to me. Yes, I wanted children, and maybe someday, it will happen, but right now, I just want it to be the two of us together. I have everything I'll ever want and need right in front of me. You already know that."

"I do."

I was glad when the snow finally did surrender; we made up our mind that as soon as the coast was clear, we would board the next available train. At first, we thought that we would basically be taking the same route that we took when we first met to get to Switzerland. That we'd have to go to France and Germany in order to get there, but it turns out there was a train that ran directly from England which would probably take us a little longer, but at least we would be there sooner.

I thought it would be better to pack lightly, even though we would be gone for a little while, almost a month, a long time if you ask me, but at least it gave us the time we needed to ourselves. Therefore, we only brought two suitcases, one for each of us to pack only the essentials.

"See, I don't see the harm in taking the scenic route," he said as he paced back and forth holding his violin and contemplating in his mind whether or not he wanted to bring it along. "I've been cooped up indoors for much too long, I need to get out."

"And yet whenever John wanted to take you somewhere, you refused?" I smirked and he stepped over to me.

"I didn't have a good reason until now," he said, putting the violin in its case.

"But I thought you wanted to keep your resurrection a secret."

"I do, but you do remember that I have plenty of disguises, don't you?"

"Please tell me that you will not be dressing up as a woman again," I begged. "Don't get me wrong, we were all impressed, but I think Jane was genuinely offended."

"Don't worry. I have no intentions of doing that," he assured me. "I'm sure they remodeled that hotel in France, perhaps we could stay there. It's got a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower, and we could visit that café as well."

"You certainly have everything planned out, haven't you?"

"I can be spontaneous, but yes, I much prefer to plan ahead."

It was still dark outside, and very cold, when we loaded the last of our suitcases into the carriage. It had stopped snowing, at least for the time being, though I had little doubt it would still be here when we came back in a week. We sort of wanted to keep the news that Sherlock was alive under wraps, so that meant a kind of mandatory isolation, interacting with as few people as possible, and plenty of disguises.

We tried to be as quiet as possible so that we wouldn't wake Mary and Rosie, who had only just gone back to sleep after an early morning feeding. John had been having trouble going back to sleep since he wanted to be awake to help Mary should the need arise, so he made sure that we had packed everything. Even if he had already asked us a hundred and sixty times the night before, and that was not an exaggeration.

"He always has been a bit of a mother hen."

"I have plenty of good reasons to worry about you," John replied, then gently forced his friend to turn around and face him so that he could fix his scarf.

"Don't worry, I'll keep him out of trouble," I said.

"See that you do. Go on now, have a good time."

"We intend to," he winked and I raised an eyebrow, smiling a little.

As soon as we were ready, we wrapped ourselves in a warm blanket and the carriage rode off into the sunrise.

"Next stop, Paris," I grinned, taking his gloved hand into mine and looking out the window as the train passed all of the familiar buildings and the comforting landscape of London.

I think Sherlock must have fallen asleep, because for hours, there was nothing but the sound of the train rumbling against the tracks. I lifted my head slightly so that I could see his peaceful face in the warm light of the lantern. No matter how long it had been since we met, it still had an effect on me. I smiled and tried to express the odd painful joy I was feeling, that I always felt when I was around him. We got a whole compartment to ourselves, and we had a plan that we would sleep the next few hours, so that when we arrived, we would be ready to take on the city.

As soon as I was about to go back to sleep, I felt him jolting awake and he was breathing heavily. I put a hand on his forehead, he was sweating profusely. "Did you have that nightmare again?"

He nodded. "It always ends with me falling. Always. Even though I wake up in my own home, I can still feel the rocks grazing my back and the icy water as I plunge further down below. I can feel the oxygen being robbed from my lungs."

"I'm sorry," I said softly, trying to comfort him. "I wish there was something I could do to make all of the bad dreams go away."

"John was right, maybe this is a bad idea," he said and I could feel how the nightmare was overwhelming him.

"We can go home, it's not too late," I said. "We could save the trip for another time."

"No, no. I am not going to let a nightmare spoil this for us," he replied, lifting his arm slightly so that I could rest my head on his shoulder.

"Are you sure?" I asked once more. I didn't want to go anywhere that would remind him of a traumatic experience.

"You're my wife, and I want to give you the best of everything. I want to be your John Watson."

"But you're not John Watson, you're Sherlock Holmes, and I love you the way you are. You don't have to do all of these crazy things for me to make me happy. If we want to have a honeymoon in England, then let's do it. None of that other stuff matters as long as I'm with you."

He smiled and held me for a long time, just thinking. "I want to go. While there were a lot of terrible things that happened on that trip, there were also a lot of good things. Like meeting Simza, and our first dance."

"Yes, I can't imagine those things not happening. Simza is one of my closest friends, she's like a sister to me," I said. "And our first dance may not have been during the best of times, but when we were together, it felt like it was just you and me, no one else in the world existed but the two of us."

"Of course, we can't forget our first kiss," he said.

"When we were outside the castle and you kissed me in front of all of those people?" I asked, laughing.

"No one was even paying attention to us. They were all wrapped up in their own little world."

"Which was good for us, because so were we."

I glanced out the window so that I could see outside. It was completely dark still, no sign of the sun coming.

"Are you tired?" I asked, and from what I could tell, he was starting to calm me down.

"Not really," he said. "but maybe we can just close our eyes and relax for a little while."

"I'd like that," I yawned and laid my head back down, trying to concentrate on the floor, but it was becoming harder and harder for me to keep my eyes open.