A/N: Many thanks to Phish Tacko for her help beta'ing this!
Ch. 3
The Reichenbach Fall and Immediately After
As Sherlock's fame grew after the Reichenbach Falls case, Marie was handed off to Mrs. Hudson more and more. While Sherlock would have liked to take his daughter to the numerous engagements and award ceremonies he was invited to, he felt it wrong to put her in the spotlight. He also figured that the large crowds and long days might bother her.
Thankfully, Mrs. Hudson never minded caring for Marie. She treated the girl as a surrogate granddaughter, and whenever she was unavailable, Sierra would come to the rescue.
As time wore on, Sherlock came to realize that things were going to change. With all that Moriarty was doing, he knew that he was likely not going to see Marie for a very long time. He hoped that wasn't the case. Maybe he could diffuse the situation with his nemesis before it went too far, but he prepared himself for the worst.
00
When he told Molly that he felt that he might die soon, he had given her instructions that in the case of his demise, she was to retrieve his iPhone and give it to Mycroft. On it were some things for Marie, including playlists, pictures of them together, and a recording of his voice.
Molly had tried to reassure him that it wouldn't come to that, but she promised to take his phone anyway.
A stop was made at Mycroft's house as well. In the light of day one could not see what Sherlock had done, but at night, it would become clear.
00
Days later, Sherlock stood on the ledge of the roof of St. Bart's hospital. He'd left Marie with Mrs. Hudson - she would surely keep her safe until Mycroft could take custody - but he hadn't counted on John bringing her back to the hospital with him.
He looked down below at the people gathered and spotted John, holding Marie in one arm while he pressed his mobile to his ear with his other hand.
God, how Sherlock wished Marie wasn't there. Logically, she probably wouldn't remember what happened, but still. He'd been trying to spare her as much pain as possible.
Tears rolled down Sherlock's cheeks and he swallowed nervously as he listened to John try to talk him down, but all that he could think of was Moriarty's threat - that everyone he loved would be killed, including his 'precious baby girl'.
He had to do it. If not for John or Mrs. Hudson, then for Marie.
"Goodbye, John." He whispered, dropping the phone. He aimed it for Moriarty's body so that it wouldn't shatter. "I'm sorry…"
A second later, he jumped. John stood by watching, jaw dropped and heart racing. He was so caught up in the moment that he didn't even hear Marie begin to cry.
00
One week later, Mycroft began his new nightly ritual of tucking Marie in. Sherlock had told him that, had something ever happened to him, he wanted Mycroft to care for her, and he'd promised to do so.
Marie looked up at him as he pulled a blanket over her and placed a stuffed animal nearby.
"Goodnight, darling." He said.
With that, he switched on the speaker system he'd hooked up. It only took a moment to pull up the playlist titled "For Marie". Within seconds, the song "Butterfly Kisses" filled the room. It was to be followed by several others - mostly lullabies, but with a few classical and slow rock songs thrown in.
He moved to turn off the regular light and turn on the blacklight he'd installed. Once he did, the message written on the wall in linseed oil became illuminated.
It consisted of three simple words: Daddy loves you.