Fully Alive

Chapter Seventeen

The doctor looked over his notes, perplexed by the woman in front of him. "Every test we've run has been negative. We can't find anything that would be the cause of your blindness. The only diagnosis we can come up with is that it's-"

"Psychosomatic." Vivienne finished his sentence for him.

"Well, yes."

"It's how my brain deals with trauma. Some people get PTSD, I go blind."

"Yes, your husband informed us that you had dealt with this before. Would you mind explaining the circumstances to me?"

Vivienne sighed. "When I was eight, I was kidnapped by my grandfather's best friend. When the ransom was paid, they knocked me unconscious for easier transport. I was in a coma for four days and when I woke up, I couldn't see. First, they attributed it to brain injury, but my brain healed and my eyes didn't."

"Alright. How limited was your vision?"

"Everything was just blurry. I could still see shapes and colors. If people were too far away, I couldn't distinguish facial features. It wasn't as dramatic as this."

"And how long did it last?"

Vivienne let out a dry laugh. "Twenty years."

"Okay. Well, we have no reason to believe that it will last that long this time. We'll set you up with a therapist and-"

"I don't need therapy. I'm not traumatized. But my body thinks I am."

"You were shot-"

"I'm not traumatized."

Sherlock watched the doctor make a few notes in silence. "Doctor, what about the, uh-"

"Yes, I'm getting to that. Did they tell you the specifics of the surgery? How it went?"

"Didn't have a chance. When I came out of the anesthesia and couldn't see, you started all of your tests."

"Okay, well, your husband said that after you got hit, you believed the bullet had went all the way through. Luckily, it hadn't. It lodged about two inches into you. A few more millimeters and it would have torn into your intestines. You're lucky."

"Yeah, totally lucky." Vivienne scoffed.

"I'm going to send an ultrasound tech up and we'll see how everything is on that front. Sound good?"

"Well, I won't be seeing anything. Good or bad." Vivienne muttered under her breath.

"Yes, doctor. That would be great. Thank you." Sherlock answered for her. When the doctor left, Sherlock turned to Vivienne. "I get that you're upset, but you don't need to act that way."

"That's rich coming from you, you perpetual dick. I'm not upset. I'm fucking pissed. There's a difference. What happened to Moriarty? Did you get him?"

"No. He wasn't there when we arrived. We have some of his men, though. The ones who made it out alive, anyways."

Vivienne scoffed again. "Figures."

"Vivienne, I'm sorry-"

"Hello!" A strange voice said coming in the door. Vivienne could tell she was wheeling in a machine. "How are we today?"

Vivienne put on a fake smile. "Just peachy!"

"Alright, let me get set up right quick and we'll see how everything is going." The nurse went about her business, pulling up a chair and getting the ultrasound machine started, all while humming to herself. Which made Vivienne roll her eyes. "Okay, dearie, pull your gown up for me. This might be a little chilly. We try to warm it up but just in case."

The doctor walked in as the nurse squirted the ultrasound gel onto Vivienne's exposed stomach. "Good. Right on time, then. I've got a few questions while she gets a good picture up."

Vivienne nodded. "Any symptoms? Morning sickness?"

"No morning sickness. Just swollen breasts. Uh, I've had a couple headaches. I'm starting to get a little bloated. And some joint pain."

"All perfectly normal."

"Well, would you look at that." The nurse said. "Perfect little peanut."

"I wish you could see this." Sherlock mumbled.

"Me, too." Vivienne cleared her throat. "Um, how far along?"

"I'd say about eight weeks, three days."

"Sounds about right."

"Is everything okay?" Vivienne heard John ask from the door. "Do we need to come back?"

"No, everything is perfectly fine. Come in." Sherlock replied.

Mary gasped when she realized what the nurse was doing.

"Sherlock, is that- Vivienne, are you-?" John couldn't complete a sentence.

"It's a baby, John. Obviously, I didn't eat it." Vivienne smiled. "I'm going to take Mary's silence as you already knew."

"Sherlock told me that he suspected when you were kidnapped."

"Would you like to hear the heartbeat?" The nurse interjected.

"Yes, please. It's the one thing I can do." Vivienne replied.

The sounds of blood rushing filled the room. "180. Perfect." The nurse said.

"Good, good." The doctor wrote a few notes. "Everything looks good. I can refer you to an obstetrician when you're discharged. We'll keep you here for a couple days to monitor the two of you. You'll be out of here before you know it."

"Thank you, doctor." Vivienne smiled and the doctor left the room, closing the door behind him. "Apparently, Sherlock knew a couple weeks before Christmas. I wasn't even sure that I'd missed my period yet. I just thought it was late."

"Did you really expect me to not notice?" Sherlock scoffed. "You severely underestimate me. And you're never late."

"Congratulations, Sherlock." John's voice caught in his throat. Vivienne could tell that he was hugging Sherlock.

"Hey. Come on. He's not pushing the thing out of his penis. He did 45 minutes of work and he's getting a pat on the balls."

"45 minutes? Really?" Mary asked, a bit flabbergasted and slightly intrigued.

"I was coming to you next. Sit up." When she did, John wrapped his arm around her and she returned the gesture. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." Vivienne grinned.

"How are you?" Mary asked, reaching out and taking Vivienne's hand.

"I'll be fine once I can see properly."

"Vivienne, can I ask a question?" John asked quietly. "Why did you have a second phone? Sherlock said it was a decoy phone."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Vivienne sighed.

"Try me."

"She had two phones in case she was ever kidnapped again, for the exact reason I used it for. So we'd know to track her GPS." Sherlock answered. "What I don't know, though, is how you knew to leave it out."

"I was starting out the window when I saw them walk up. It seemed shady, so I grabbed the second phone from the desk and went to check the pot on the stove. I shoved my real phone in my bra. They came in, I pretended not to hear them, and they came up behind me and knocked me out. Took you long enough to figure out that it wasn't my phone."

"I was afraid to turn it on. I didn't want you staring at me from the screen, reminding me that I might never find you. I'm sorry."

"I forgive you. It was enlightening, actually. If he wasn't in-fucking-sane, he'd be a pretty interesting guy. We had a few deep conversations over fast food burgers."

Sherlock stared at Vivienne in disbelief.

"Stop staring at me like I'm crazy."

"How did you-"

"I don't have to be able to see, to know what look you'd be giving me. He was frighteningly, almost normal. Except for the career criminal thing. His parents must be so proud."

"You know what?" Mary piped up, knowing that Sherlock and Vivienne were probably about to argue. "Who's hungry? John and I will go pick something up. Chinese sound good? Okay. Come on, dear." She said quickly, pulling John out the door.

Vivienne opened her eyes, surprised by the light trying to invade her closed eyelids. She smiled softly as she realized her sight was coming back. Sherlock was dozing in the chair next to her bed with a magazine half-opened laying across his chest.

"Morning, stranger." She said, startling him awake.

"Morning." Sherlock mumbled, quickly realizing she was making eye contact and smiling. "You can see me."

"Not a hundred percent. Maybe like eighty-eight. But that's good enough for me. For now, at least."

"I'll go get the doctor."

A few minutes later, the doctor was checking Vivienne's eyes. "How many fingers?" He held up his hand.

"Three."

"Okay, good." He pulled out his ophthalmoscope and put it up to Vivienne's eye, checking her retinas. "Sit up for me?"

Vivienne sat up and the doctor opened her gown and removed the bandage from her bullet wound. "Looks good. Does it hurt?"

"A little. Not to bad though. Maybe a three or four."

"Alright. Great. I'll have a nurse in here to get you a new bandage and then I'll sign your discharge papers. And I'll get you that referral for the obstetrician."

"Doctor, can we, uh, can we do one more ultrasound? You know, check on the baby once more? They've done so many the past couple days and I would like to be able to see one. I mean, just so I can see with my own eyes that he's okay."

The doctor gave Vivienne a knowing smile. "Of course. For medical purposes, we'll need to check one last time. And then you're free to go."

"Thank you."

About half an hour later, the ultrasound tech wheeled her machine in. "I hear you can see again. Congratulations."

"Thanks."

"Let's check on this baby one last time, shall we?"

"Yes. Please." Vivienne pulled her gown up. "Do you think you could print off some stills for me?"

"Absolutely, dear."

Vivienne motioned Sherlock over and took his hand. "I know this is old news for you now, but I'm nervous. It still hasn't hit me yet."

"I'm still processing it and I knew before you did."

Vivienne swatted Sherlock's arm as the nurse pressed the camera to her belly and an image formed on the screen.

"There it is. Just a wee little thing. Won't be for much longer though." The nurse smiled.

"Look at that. We did it."

Sherlock let out a deep breath. "Yes, we did."

Vivienne looked up at Sherlock to see a small tear form in his eye. "You're not allowed to cry. I'm crying." She said as tears spilled out of her own eyes.

"I'm not crying. I don't cry." Sherlock stated. "But you're happy. And I'm happy because you are."

"You want this, right?"

"Of course I do. Anything for you."

Vivienne stared back at the computer screen, now speechless. "It's a miracle."

"What is?"

"I tied down the un-tie-able man and now I've made him a father. I must be Wonder Woman."

Sherlock couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, you did do the unthinkable, didn't you?"

Vivienne just smiled. She couldn't think of anything else to say. Sherlock bent down and kissed her forehead.

"I love you, Mrs. Holmes."

"I love you, too, Mr. Holmes."

Xxxxx

A/N: BABY HOLMES! Obviously I couldn't let her lose the baby this time or keep her eyesight gone. I'm mean, but I'm not cruel. But of course, things can't always be gravy. So stay tuned! Review, follow, favorite! Xoxo