John breathed a sigh of relief as he navigated his way through Brighton and towards the Holmes country home he had visited two years earlier. Rosie had behaved very well on the car ride, listening to kids songs on repeat almost the entire way. It had been a little tedious for John and his wife Kayla, but at least Rosie had enjoyed it, humming along with her favourite tunes.
Kayla, being six months pregnant, had required two toilet stops along the way. Their unborn son was definitely making his presence felt, and John knew that Kayla was looking forward to the end of the journey as well, and spending some time with her good friend Molly.
Rosie was looking forward to seeing her "cousin" as well. "Towia" as she referred to Victoria with her almost two-year-old lisp, was a lot more fun now that she was a few months old and able to grasp toys when Rosie handed them to her.
John himself was looking forward to speaking with Sherlock. He had some very important news to relate to his friend.
John found it hard to believe that two years ago he had been at the Holmes house with Mary, expecting his first child, and now he was with somebody new who was just as wonderful, expecting his second child, and a son this time.
So much had happened since Mary's death. He still regretted the way he had blamed Sherlock for it, that had led to his friend almost killing himself with drugs. Thankfully, that was all in the past now.
One thing John would always be grateful to Mary for, was her insistence that they buy life insurance policies. While on their honeymoon, Mary had said to John in no uncertain terms that as soon as they returned to London, they had to buy life insurance, because they had a baby on the way and needed to make sure she was provided for in case anything happened to either of them. John had not really understood her insistence, but, being a dutiful husband, he had gone along with it. Of course, in hindsight, he understood now that Mary had always been concerned that her past might come back to haunt her.
After Mary's death, and the insurance investigation determined that her death was an accident, John had used a large sum of the £250,000 death benefit to buy a partnership in a doctor's practice. John had wanted some stability for his daughter, and he needed a regular job in order to provide that. Of course, it had meant he had been unable to work with Sherlock as often on solving cases.
Recent developments however had set things in motion to change that. Only two months earlier, Mycroft Holmes had informed John that he had procured the assets that belonged to Mary in her former life as an assassin. It had taken a lot of work, Mycroft had assured him, but he had persisted, working his way through mountains of red tape to prove Mary had a husband who was entitled to those assets.
When John had inquired as to why Mycroft had gone to so much trouble for him, the man had drawn John's attention to a conversation that had taken place during Sherlock's stag night the previous year. Thanks to Sherlock, John had confirmed that he had been the one to shoot the cabbie at the end of their first case together. Sherlock himself had admitted that he would probably have gambled with his life and taken one of the pills the cabbie offered him.
"I am repaying a long overdue debt," Mycroft then informed John, as he indicated the papers John had to sign in order to receive the liquidated assets from the estate of his late wife.
As a result of this quite sizable influx of money, John made the decision to sell his part of the doctor's practice, and only a week ago, the sale had been completed. This was the news John wanted to relate to Sherlock. He would now be able to accompany his friend whenever a new case came along. It would be like old times - Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.
John and Kayla had also decided that she would quit her nursery school job to devote her attention to being a full-time mother to their son and her step-daughter when the time drew nearer for her to give birth. So the Watson household was in quite a state of transition at the moment.
To John, it seemed as though he had been showered with blessings ever since he had met Kayla on the day she had been helping Molly with her move to Baker Street a year and a half earlier. Even as Sherlock had transformed with Molly's influence into becoming a man of Christian values and principles, Kayla's gentle influence had guided John along the same path. While John's changes had been more subtle than the huge ones that had occurred in Sherlock, he knew he was a different man than the one he had been before as well.
John turned into the driveway beside the elegant old country house and parked. He assisted Kayla to alight, then unbuckled his daughter from her carseat.
Rosie went immediately to Kayla and took her hand, while John picked up their bags, and the three of them walked to the front door.
Their knock was answered by Mrs. Holmes, who gave each of them a peck on the cheek and welcomed them. After jackets were taken off, she led Kayla and Rosie to the kitchen, while Sherlock, who head followed his mother to the door, helped John hang up their outerwear.
"Merry Christmas, mate," John said to his friend, taking the bag of presents to where he could see other presents waiting. "How was your coach ride?"
Sherlock shrugged. "Uneventful. Longer than I would've liked, but it beats putting up with Mycroft scowling at me the whole time for subjecting him to the antics of my daughter." His lips quirked as he added, "Merry Christmas to you, too."
John chuckled. "I totally understand. Mycroft is definitely of the opinion that children should be seen and not heard."
Sherlock led John upstairs to the second floor into the room he would be using for the night.
"Oh," exclaimed John, "I need to get the travel cot for Rosie out of the boot."
After doing so, and peeking into the kitchen, where the women seemed to be happily gathered and in conversation with one another, while Rosie was making faces at Victoria and entertaining her, John sat in an armchair near the fire, and Sherlock seated himself in one across from him. He looked around. "Where is your dad?"
Sherlock grinned. "I've barely seen him. He took a sandwich for lunch and then headed back to the other sitting room. I think he is enjoying the peace and quiet while he has the chance."
"Well, while I have you alone, this seems as good a time as any for me to tell you something," confided John, and Sherlock raised an inquiring eyebrow.
"That sounds rather ominous," his friend remarked.
John's lips curved upwards. "Not at all. It's good news, as a matter of fact."
He proceeded to tell Sherlock about what Mycroft had done for him, and how he had sold his share of the doctor's practice so that he would have more time to work on cases with Sherlock when needed.
John was pleased to see the smile that spread on Sherlock's face, growing wider as he related his news.
At the end of it, Sherlock slapped a hand on his knee and said, "That is the best news, John. It will be good to have you around again on a constant basis. We have had far too few adventures since becoming husbands and fathers." Then he added quickly, as if to reassure John that he was not complaining, "Of course, being a husband and father is very fulfilling, but there's something about chasing down criminals that gives me great satisfaction."
John smirked. "In that case, I guess we had better go see Lestrade when we return to London and ask him to throw a few investigations our way."
Sherlock's eyes lit up and he rested his elbows on his knees, steepling his fingers. "Excellent idea. There are always cold cases at the very least to investigate." Then his brow furrowed and he pursed his lips, sitting back in his chair once again. "Perhaps we had better wait until after the new year, though. Molly would not be happy with me if I went out on investigations while she has taken time off work between Christmas and the new year to spend it with me."
John had to chuckle at that. No matter how much his friend enjoyed solving crimes, he knew that Sherlock's first priority these days would always be his family, even as he felt the same way. "After the new year then," he agreed. The way Sherlock approached his crime solving these days was completely different to the way it happened when they first met, as Sherlock had related to John several months earlier. In those days, Sherlock had used his own system of gauging crimes by excitement and danger level, preferring those which generated the highest degree of both. These days, John knew that Sherlock and Molly discussed which cases he would take, giving careful thought to his safety. Sherlock had even told John that they prayed about them as well, which always gave Molly especially a measure of comfort when there was inherent danger.
Before John experienced his own journey to the Christian faith, he had teased Sherlock about being "the praying detective." Surprisingly, Sherlock had not taken offence, but had simply stated that one day he would understand. And now of course, John did know that, and the two friends were closer than they had ever been.
The men sat together in comfortable silence for a few minutes, and then John could detect the smell of baking wafting into the room.
Sherlock jumped up immediately. "Ginger nuts!" he exclaimed, beaming at John, and they headed to the kitchen to find fresh biscuits cooling on wire racks on the stove. The women had apparently been busy as well, because potatoes had been scrubbed and other various things had been prepared for the evening meal. Mrs. Holmes was just putting a partially cooked turkey back in the oven.
Sherlock immediately went to the ginger nuts to take one, and his mother swatted at his hand with a tea towel. "You'll burn your fingers," she scolded, and he gave her a petulant look.
Mr. Holmes, apparently having been lured by the smell of baking as well, also entered the kitchen and it was quite a crowded gathering, as people begin chatting amiably.
Victoria was nowhere to be seen, and John spotted the video baby monitor on the kitchen table, where he could make out the sleeping form of the infant. John had no idea how he had missed seeing Victoria removed from the kitchen, but then again, his armchair had faced away from the kitchen entrance. Rosie informed her father excitedly that she had been allowed to lick the spoon from the biscuit mixture. John was vaguely aware of Molly and Kayla discussing Kayla's pregnancy and the various ailments that came with it. Molly mentioned something about having had swollen feet from about the seventh month mark onward. It was so much fun being part of this extended family, John thought with a smile at his daughter.
The ginger nuts had finally cooled enough to be deemed ready to be eaten, and a plate of them was being passed around when the knock on the front door alerted everyone to the fact that Mycroft had finally arrived.
Mrs. Holmes went immediately to the door to let her son in, as the little crowd exited the kitchen into the large sitting room into which the front door opened. John was surprised to see not only Mycroft's new wife Elizabeth, but also a young man whom he did not recognise.
He looked around and saw surprised looks on everyone's faces. He noticed in particular the way Sherlock's eyes had narrowed in suspicion at the sight of the newcomer. The strange young man was very tall, as tall as Mycroft in fact. John was aware that Elizabeth had a son from her previous marriage to the late Lord Smallwood, but he was pretty sure that Sherlock had mentioned the man was over thirty, and this young man was closer to twenty, possibly even still a teenager.
Mrs. Holmes was the first one to overcome her astonishment and speak. "Mycroft, I thought you were bringing Elizabeth's son as your guest. Who is this young man?"
The young man in question shifted uncomfortably on his feet, and Mycroft cleared his throat. How odd, he seems rather nervous, thought John in surprise, not at all his usual self.
Rosie tugged on her father's hand, obviously a little anxious at seeing the new arrivals, particularly the stranger, and John lifted her into his arms and perched her on his hip. He slid a glance over at Sherlock who was still observing everything with narrowed eyes, even as Molly stood next to him also looking somewhat confused.
And then the last thing John would have expected to come out of Mycroft's mouth, astounded him. "I have some rather important news to share with everyone," Mycroft began, as he darted a glance at the young man, before turning his gaze on the quiet audience in front of him. "Recent events have come to light, and I have been forced to come to terms with some things from my past. I would like to introduce you all to Mark, my-" he paused again, and it seemed rather an effort for him to get the next word out, "son."
And all hell broke loose, Violet Holmes leading the way in demanding an explanation. While John tried to deal with his own shock at this unexpected announcement, he glanced over at Sherlock, and noticed the way his friend's posture had stiffened. He too, seemed to be in shock and John saw him brushing away Molly's hand on his arm.
As Mycroft began to make explanations, Sherlock abruptly broke into the monologue with a, "I need to take a walk," and he pushed past the new arrivals, pulling open the front door and closing it sharply behind himself, not even bothering to put on his coat. John had seen the pinched expression on his friend's face and he wondered why this news should be so difficult for Sherlock to hear.
Violet Holmes, apparently used to Sherlock's antics of the past, merely shrugged and asked Mycroft to continue with his explanation, walking closer to the young man to look at him closely, much to the youth's embarrassment.
John wondered whether he should go after Sherlock, but he realised it wasn't necessary, as he heard Molly quietly ask Kayla to keep an eye on the baby monitor in case Victoria should awaken, and that she had to go after Sherlock.
Molly, obviously much more sensible than her husband, retrieved her jacket and put it on, and also picked up Sherlock's coat. Then she too opened the front door and exited, after casting an apologetic glance at Mycroft.
Kayla came to stand beside John and whispered in his ear, "What was that all about?"
John shook his head. He had no answers, but he hoped Molly would be able to discover them. And then he listened as Mycroft talked about the woman with whom he had had a very brief liaison just after the death of Princess Diana in 1997, and the pregnancy she had never told him about. The young man had recently lost his mother and the truth had come to light, thanks to instructions in her Will that Mycroft be informed of the young man's paternity. John looked at the young man and he suddenly noticed the resemblance, the same height, the same eyes, the same brown hair colour. Even as he observed these things, he wondered again about Sherlock and why his reaction had been so extreme.
Whatever it is, he thought confidently, Molly will get to the bottom of it.
Author's Note: I've always been curious about Mary's past as an assassin and wondered if she had money squirreled away from it, I imagine she would have been highly paid. In fact, I head canon that she owns the car/flat you see on Season 3 and 4. So, I decided, why not create a way to allow John the freedom to continue solving cases with Sherlock again on a more regular basis? They are a team, after all. So what do you think? Did I present a plausible premise to return the men to their crime solving partnership?
So, the bombshell has been dropped. How do you think Sherlock will deal with it? Next chapter will be from his POV as he tries to process the news.
Please don't hesitate to venture your opinions, I love hearing people's thoughts, and whether they feel I am creating the story in a believable way. Guest reviews also welcome - I would thank you personally via pm, but I can't, so I will just say thank you here, and hope you will offer your thoughts again. Feel free to offer a differing opinion too, if we all thought alike we'd be robots LOL.
If you do enjoy the way I write, your follows and favourites are also appreciated to help build my readership.
Additional note: This chapter contains references to events that occurred in my initial story, A Journey to Love, Faith and Marriage.
One more thing, Sherlock's change in approach with his crime-solving scale was inspired by one of my friend 16magnolias's stories. I really liked the idea that he would choose a different scale after he was married, once his priorities shifted, so I give my friend credit for the idea.