Small Secrets

(Samantha)

The sun crept into the room through the dusty maroon curtains, casting shadows along the walls. Slowly I turned in Sherlock's hold and was met by those big brown curious eyes.

"Morning," I said softly, pressing a kiss to his chest.

"Good Morning Samantha," he replied, pulling me in closer to him. "Did you sleep well darling?"

"Mmhmm, no dreams, no voices, just your warmth and sleep."

"Mmmm," Sherlock's hand weaved into my hair. "This is new," he said, letting his fingers glide through the silky strands.

"This is apparently natural," I chuckled. "And you're stuck with it."

"It suits you," he grinned, his hand now trailing down the curve of my body and resting on the small of my back. "I've missed this" Sherlock said softly, making small circles with his finger tips. Our sweet moments were far and few between and I cherished every single one of them. Holding onto them hoping each one would be longer than the last.

"What are we going to do Sherlock?"

"I do believe we will be attending a wedding soon, I've never seen Mrs. Hudson so excited, she thinks the world of your Hannah."

"Then what? What happens after John and Hannah are married, what happens…to us." I pulled my look away from his, my eyes turning down towards the sheets.

"You'll most likely want to return. As much as I want to go back with you Samantha I can't, not yet. Mycroft has informed me that he requires my help regarding some strange events around his home and I have already agreed to do what I can to assist him." Sherlock gently cupped my cheek coaxing me to face him.

"Or you could stay…for a while…if you'd like to," he whispered, looking down at me with warmth behind his sweet eyes. A wide smile grew across my face; life on Baker Street would be a drastic change, but I had the feeling it would be worth it.

"I'll think about it," I said quietly, reaching up and running my hand through his slightly longer hair.

He broke out into a full smile, small adoring crinkles forming around his eyes, the smile that he shared with few people throughout his lifetime. Sherlock lowered his head and softly claimed my lips with his own, lightly nipping at my bottom lip, before moving down my neck.

There was a brisk knock at the door before it opened.

"I've brought you up your morning tea Mr. Holmes," Mrs. Hudson's cheery voice rang out as she weaved her way into the room.

"Not now, nanny," Sherlock mumbled against my skin. "I insist you leave it by the door and-"

"Nonsense, I'll just bring it in and…oh…my apologies Mr. Holmes." Mrs. Hudson was now standing a few feet from the edge of the bed, with an amused look on her face. "Hello dear, you must be Samantha; I was hoping you'd show up one of these days."

"Hello," I laughed, wiggling my fingers from beside Sherlock's face.

"Mrs. Hudson please!" Sherlock groaned.

"I'll just leave the tea here then," she said in a hushed tone, setting the tray atop a pile of books. "Nice to meet you dear," she called over her shoulder as she exited the room.

"Now where was I?" Sherlock whispered, lowering his lips down to mine

The door quickly opened once more and Mrs. Hudson's head popped into the room, seconds before our lips met.

"Would you like me to bring you up some tea Samantha dear?" she called from the doorway.

"No thank you," I laughed, amused by the look of annoyance that was on Sherlock's face.

"Coffee perhaps?" Mrs. Hudson asked.

"No thanks, I'm fine really." I replied

"Or maybe you would like some-"

"She said she's fine Nanny! Now please let us be!" Sherlock shouted, snapping his head toward the door.

Mrs. Hudson mumbled something under her breath as the door clicked shut.

"She was only trying to be nice Sherlock," I chuckled, wiggling out from under him. I padded across the floor and opened up my suitcase, unsealing the air tight bags that were inside.

"Yes, well I preferred it better when I hardly saw her at all. Her constant intrusions can be most irritating," his muffled voice said from the crook in his elbow.

I rummaged around in the bottom of the bag until my fingers wrapped around the stem of his pipe, gently lifting it out. My eyes froze on the dark brown folding picture frame that usually sat face down, now standing up right and facing the window.

My heart fell in my chest.

Had she come back? Had she grown tired of her husband and returned to Baker Street to lure Sherlock back to her? I tossed the pipe onto the bed and pulled on a pair of khakis.

"Have you been busy? Since you've come back here?" I said quietly, my eyes lingering on the frame.

"Some minor cases, nothing that took up a large amount of time. Watson's mind has been elsewhere, so it's been rather quiet lately. Not that I…" Sherlock stopped talking. I felt his fingers wrap around my wrist and I was lightly tugged into his side, his scruff scratching against my ear.

"Now, now Samantha," he whispered hotly next to my ear. "I had wanted to tell you about that myself, but it seems I'm a little late for that."

"Maybe I should have stayed home," I said dryly, making it a point to keep my eyes straight ahead.

"Don't say that darling," he sighed and released his grip on my wrist. "Turn it around."

"What?" I asked, closing my eyes and biting my lip.

"The frame Samantha, turn it around," he said, walking away, pulling a shirt over his head and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

I let my fingers trace the top edges before gingerly taking it between my fingers and turning it toward me, my jaw dropping slightly at the picture staring back at me.

"Sherlock." I glanced up at him, and then back at the frame.

"Hmmm?"

"Where did that come from?" I asked nodding at the picture. "When did you-"

"While you were sleeping, the night before I first left," he said softly, a sideways smirk growing on his face. "It was the only one without any color."

"It's from Kyle's sister's wedding," I said looking down at a close up of myself leaning against a tree, my dark curls were shorter then and the top layers fell around my face. "She insisted on black and white pictures."

"Well, how fortunate for me then," Sherlock said, strapping on a pair of suspenders and slipping on a dark blue waist coat. "I have an appointment to keep with Lestrade, I'll be back shortly." He crossed the room and took me by the shoulders, looking longingly at me with his expressive dark eyes. Something was off; I had been around him long enough to be able to read him, almost as well as he could read me. It was almost as if he wanted to tell me something, something big, but something was holding him back.

"Make sure Watson has a look at your wounds while I'm gone," he said, still gazing at me with a lost expression on his face. He sighed, running his hands down the length of my arms and pressing a kiss to the top of my head before heading out the door.

I sat thinking to myself in his velvet lined armchair, looking out onto the busy London street, occasionally my eyes would wander to the items scattered around the room. Only Sherlock Holmes would have jars containing dead mice sitting on top of his desk, and only I would find that it felt completely natural to be surrounded by such things. I drank the tea Mrs. Hudson had left behind, which was surprisingly still warm, warm and sweet, just the thing I needed to brighten up my morning. Not that waking up beside Sherlock wasn't enough.

There was a light knocking at the door right before John's figure appeared in the door way, Hannah right behind him, bouncing on her toes.

"Good Morning Samantha," he greeted me with a smile. "Good to see you again."

"Hi John, good to see you too," I grinned.

"Hannah and Mrs. Hudson has arranged for the three of you to go to the dress maker and Holmes wanted me to look over your injuries." He stepped into the room allowing Hannah to enter and rush to my side.

"I already have my dress being worked on," she began. "And don't get angry but I already had them start yours too, I promise you'll like it, I sent John back with instructions when he came back."

"What if I would have said no?" I asked arching an eyebrow. "I didn't have to come you know."

"I just knew," she said cheerily, sitting down in the chair across from mine.

John had walked over and stood beside me. "Mind if I take a look then?" he asked.

"Be my guest," I replied, lifting the bottom of the shirt up so could get a look at my bruised mid-section. John gently felt around my ribs, his fingers tracing along the bone lines. He wrapped me up and changed the bandage on my arm, shaking his head.

"He hated to leave you the way he did you know," John said, finishing up with the dressing on my arm. "Make sure you keep that clean, and change it twice daily."

"Then why did he?" I asked, curious to find out what information he had divulged to his dear doctor.

"Holmes will be Holmes," he replied.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I haven't the slightest idea," he laughed.

"Sherlock said he had to go see Lestrade," I said nonchalantly, running a hand through my hair. John's blue eyes snapped up to meet mine, his eyebrows were furrowed slightly.

"Do you happen do know what for?" I asked, keeping my eyes locked onto his.

"No, I wasn't aware he intended on seeing him this morning." John said looking away.

"That's because he didn't," I said, leaning forward. "Where did he really go John?" I asked accusingly. "What's he hiding from me?"

John broke his eye contact with me and brought his hand up to his face, rubbing his forehead.

"He said he won't start working on it until after the wedding. He knew you'd be here and wanted to wait," John said taking a deep breath.

"Wait for what? Where did he go?"

"He went to see his brother Mycroft, things were getting worse," John said quietly.

"Like what?" I asked.

John's eyes met mine again, and he set a hand on my knee. "You need to speak with him about it Samantha, I wish not to start something between the two of you, but you really should ask him yourself." John turned to leave after giving Hannah a peck on the cheek.

"Don't be cross with him Samantha, as I said Holmes will be Holmes," he said before leaving the room.

(Holmes)

Mycroft stood in front of the fireplace in the main sitting room with his hands behind his portly body, watching the flames dance out and lick the mantle with their fiery tongues.

"Welcome brother," he greeted me, not bothering to turn around to face me.

"Mycroft," I replied, walking further into the room. Bright red drapes with gold tassels hung in the windows, countless books lined the bookshelves with priceless paintings between them. Mycroft had always enjoyed the finer things in life, especially the ones that came with a higher cost.

"I was hoping you could begin to look into what we had discussed the last time we spoke," Mycroft said, slowly turning his body to me. "I've lost two more since then and it has become quite an inconvenience."

"I told you I would begin after Watson's wedding, not a day sooner," I said, reaching into my pocket and pulling out my pipe.

"She came to you then? That woman," he inquired.

"Yes, Samantha has returned to Baker Street and I'd rather not upset her if I don't need to," I answered. Mycroft chuckled, pulling his watch from the pocket of his waist coat as my fingers traced the one that lay in the pocket of my trousers.

"Never thought I'd live to see the day you'd put up such a fuss over a woman," Mycroft laughed shaking his head.

"Neither did I," I said quietly.

"I suppose I will have to wait then, but not a day longer my dear brother, I'd hate to loose another one." Mycroft crossed the room and briskly patted me on the back. "I'll see you at the wedding; I'm rather excited to meet this Samantha."

I nodded once and exited the house, snowflakes fluttering down onto my cab.

It was all I could do to hope that Samantha would stay; it would make things much easier in the end. I had wanted to tell her so badly, I knew she would have the same thoughts as me on the subject, but would not want to take the same course of actions. There was no saying what or where Mycroft's issue would lead me to, but I wanted her with me none-the-less. I had missed her dearly in the last two months, her softness and her warmth, the way her cheeks flushed when she was angry with me, building my need for her. The wedding was less than a week away…and that was much too soon to loose my sweet Samantha again.

A/N: Yes I'm alive :p And happily updating for you all! Thanks so much for all the lovely reviews, they make me really happy, I love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for reading and I'll be back soon :D

-Shelly