had a long journey today so wrote a few chapters! hope you enjoy them :) R&R :)

"Oh Sherlock I wasn't expecting you..." said Molly, as she walked into the lab to find Sherlock looking into a microscope.

"Hello Molly. No you weren't. I needed some space."

"Why? Did you er... have an argument with John?"

"No but 221B has been too crowded lately... Do you have any hands I could use?"

"Why do you need... Wait what do you mean, crowded?"

"John has a daughter." he said bluntly without taking his eyes from the microscope. "Do you have any hands I could use?"

"What?"

"Hands."

"No, I mean about John. He has a daughter?"

"Yes Molly I told you that already. She was dumped on us after a man, who I believe to be her step father, came to the flat two weeks ago. She's already bringing friends round, Molly, friends. I preferred it when it was just John and myself but she's clever... Very clever..." he looked up from his microscope.

"She is 15 years old and she could workout who a murderer was by just looking at the victim's wrists."

"But that's impossible..." Molly laughed slightly until Sherlock looked at her seriously. "She couldn't do that, only you could do that... Unless she's a bit like you..."

Sherlock looked at her. No, she was nothing like him. She had friends but he did have John. That gave him a small smile. "Hands?" he asked Molly again. She gave up asking about the girl, nodded and walked out the lab to find him some.

"Fascinating... Look John..." he looked up into the empty room. It was cold and dark. Sherlock took out his phone.

St Barts, come alone. - SH

Why? - JW

Just come. - SH

"I'm going out." said John while putting on his coat. "Don't wait up I might be

a while."

"Where are you going?" asked Marie.

"Sherlock."

Marie nodded. She knew she had been getting between them recently. She was guilty.

"What do you think of him?" asked Jake.

"Who?"

"John, your dad."

"He's nice."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't belong here Jake. You can see it for yourself. They were happier without me here." she rested her head on his shoulder.

"You're lucky, Marie. You get to see all those crime scenes and you're friends with Sherlock Holmes!"

"He doesn't understand me." she said with a sigh. "He looks at me with confusion. I look in his eyes and I can see the cogs in his brain ticking away all the time." she looked at her friend.

There was a knock at the door.

Marie stood up. "Must be a client or something..." she went to answer the door.

"Ah so you must be Marie." said a tall man with an umbrella.

"Yes... And you are?"

"Mycroft-"

"Oh the famous Mycroft Holmes." she said mockingly. "Come in." she opened the door wider so he could enter. He walked up the stairs to find Jake still sitting on the sofa.

"I should go..." he said "Bye Marie..."

"Bye Jake." she hugged her friend and he left. "Tea?" she asked the man walking toward the window.

"No, thank you." he said turning to the girl. "I only came to give this to

Sherlock." he gave her a file. "I need him to work it out..." She opened the file. "Tell him it is of national importance." he said while looking at her staring at the pages intently. "It shouldn't take him long."

"No it looks quite simple really..." she said while flicking through the pages.

He frowned at her comment. "Why are you giving it to him?"

"No one has a mind like Sherlock Holmes." and with that he left.

Strange, she thought, how did he know her name?

For the next hour she read through the file trying to make deductions. She had spread it out across the floor and by the time she had gone through two mugs of tea, Sherlock and John returned.

"Marie? What's going on?" asked John with a confused frown on his face.

"Mycroft came by and gave you a case." she said without removing her eyes from the paper. "Why is it all over the floor?"

"Because she's trying to solve it..." said Sherlock looking at the pieces of paper with her scribbles on it."Did Mycroft say it was of national importance?"

"Yeah, he said it wouldn't take long so I thought I'd have a go."

"Hmm..." he said and sat in his armchair. He put his hands together and placed them on his chin. A small frown appeared on his face as he watched her.

"Tea?" asked John when he had taken his coat off.

"Black, two sugars." said Marie. A small smile crept onto her face as she solved the case.

Sherlock looked at her more intently. Maybe she was more like him than he thought.

"Call Mycroft." she told him while gathering the paper together and returning it to the file. "Tell him it's with the Russians but the files are safe as long as he gets them before Thursday. His assistant sold them for a profit, tried to cover it up but there's a loophole." she dumped the files on his lap and took the cup of tea from her father.

"Cheers." she said and walked to her room with a smile on her face.