I'm on holiday but you can have this anyway :)

~0~0~0~

John passed Faye another present, which she placed under the tree before moving it slightly, so it looked perfect. In retrospect, she may have gone a bit overboard for the child, who would never even remember this Christmas or, indeed, know what Christmas was in the first place. However, this Christmas was more for Faye than anyone else anyway, so it didn't really matter.

"When is Mycroft coming to pick the pair of you up?" John asked again and Faye smiled at him. He was feeling so guilty about leaving her on Christmas Day to spend time with Mary, but there was only so many times she could reassure him she would be fine. She would miss John terribly, of course she would, but she was so much more happier for him than she was sad. She didn't understand why he couldn't see that.

"About 1, I've told you. The Holmes don't have their Christmas Lunch until later on in the afternoon." She explained calmly.

"Can he not come pick you up earlier?" He tried to ask casually and she stood up, stepping back to look over the tree. Perfect.

"Believe it or not, John, I want to spend some time with my daughter on Christmas Day." She teased, "It's not like I'll be on my own."

"I know, I just..." He trailed off.

"You just don't want me sat here thinking about Sherlock." She finished and he nodded. John still had such a hard time talking about his friend, and Faye wished more than anything she could let him know that Sherlock was okay. The fact was, though, the less people who knew that he was alive, the safer he would be. She couldn't lose Sherlock again, "Even if I'm in a room full of people, I'm going to be adequately aware he's not there. Just like last year. And next year. He's always not going to be here, John."

"Doesn't mean I have to be okay with it." He grumbled and she laughed, pulling him in for a hug,

"I'm not okay with it, either." She replied, "But that's the way it has to be. You need to move on with your life and that involves not being with me all the time. You can't take me on your honeymoon."

"What?" He exclaimed, "We're not... I've not..." She laughed at his stumbling and let him go.

"No, you're not." She agreed, "But when you do, then what?" He pushed her towards the back of the flat, with Faye laughing at how red he'd turned.

"Shut up and get the rest of the presents." He commanded.

"Can I be a bridesmaid?" She continued, "Oh, oh oh! I could help pick the flowers." She opened the bedroom door and found the window open just slightly.

"Piss off!" He called in and she smiled at the small present at the window. She picked it up to see no name tag. Sherlock hadn't been able to spend Christmas with her and his family, he was somewhere on the Mediterranean Coast but she knew he wouldn't forget. This would have been the work of one of the Homeless Network. He was quite sentimental when he wanted to be. She shut the window and checked the cot, Bella still sleeping peacefully, and she headed back out with the few presents she had left to put out.

"Where are you going to register?" She asked, "I need to save up for a present." She placed Sherlock's present at the back of the tree, hiding it from John. She would open it the following evening when she and Bella got back from Mycroft's mansion, when they were on their own.

"I'm sorry you have to move out." John whispered and she turned in the crouch she had adopted.

"I'm only going downstairs, John." She reminded, "Maybe it's time for both of us to move on from 221B."

"We shouldn't have to." He retorted before spinning and storming to his bedroom. Faye sighed and sat down on the floor, staring at the tree. In all fairness, she had expected John to be slightly more moody than he had been so far. Mary really was having a good effect on him, but Christmas was always going to be hard. The season of goodwill and family with one, large, Consulting Detective-sized hole in their lives.

~0~0~0~

"We wish you a Merry Christmas." Faye sang with Bella on her knee, "We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year." Faye and John were in their respective pyjamas, but Faye had changed Bella into one of the dresses Mycroft kept buying her. The little girl was more interested in the shiny paper rather than what was inside of it, but that didn't matter as John picked one up and handed it over.

"This is off Mary." He told them and Faye made an exaggerated happy noise.

"Oh, isn't that nice?" She held it in front of Bella, who pawed at the paper. She helped her rip it off, inside a small, brightly-coloured piece of plastic that made noises as Bella hit it happily, "Oh, I think she likes it." She told John who laughed and stood up, scooping up the little girl.

"Did you like that one?" He asked her, "Well, I like you." He began peppering her face with kisses and Bella giggled happily, placing her mouth against his cheek in a mimic of a kiss, "You are just adorable."

"Well, I do try." Faye replied, standing up, "I'll go see if Mrs Hudson's up. Her sister's coming around later, but I promised I'd bring her up for a bit first. Open another present if you like." John nodded vaguely, pulling a face at Bella as the woman skipped out.

"You are beautiful." He told the little girl, boucing her on his hip, "Yes you are, and you know it, don't you?" He placed a kiss on her head as he sat down, reaching down and grabbing a present, "I'm going to miss you, and your mummy." Bella grabbed the present, frowning in confusion at the box, "I don't regret moving in with Mary. I'm going to miss so much of your life, though." He twisted her around, "I'd still better be your favourite uncle, you know? Deal?" She stared blankly at him and he nodded, "Deal."

~0~0~0~

The one thing that Faye loved more than spending Christmas with the Holmes' was not spending it with her parents. A quick phone call to her father, with her mother asking in the background whether her illusions of parenthood had disappeared, was all that was needed. The fire was burning, the television was blaring Christmas Soaps and she was settling down for the night with a hot chocolate and the baby monitor right by her side.

Her eyes caught the sight of the forgotten present behind the tree and she smiled softly to herself. The day at Mycroft's had been wonderful and uneventful in equal measures, all except one thing. Sherlock had left another present in the care of his brother; his keys to 221B. Apparently he, under the guise of Mycroft, had started to pay his half of the rent again. They didn't need to move out, and she would be able to turn John's room into Bella's after the holidays were over. She put her drink down and picked the other present up. This one must be for Bella, then. The last time they'd spoken he'd expressed the want to get rid of all the meerkats and replace them with something more stimulating. Or, in fact, something less associated with his brother. Maybe it was a new stuffed toy

What was inside was, indeed, a stuffed toy. A classic light-brown bear, missing it's head. Fake blood, she hoped, dripped around it's neck. A gift tag was attached to it's arm.

Sherlock's Head for Mine.