"And you're positive that the test came back negative?" John checked with Scarlett as she sat opposite him, her head in her hands as she suddenly ran a hand through her hair and looked up at him.
"It was negative," she assured him. "Sherlock was there and he checked it too...and that man has a ridiculous IQ."
"Don't flatter him," John said and he handed Scarlett a cup and she looked down onto it and John sighed at her vacant expression.
"You have to go and urinate in it," he told her. "Just through that door," he pointed over to the door in his room and Scarlett removed her blue military coat and walked through the door whilst John sat back and rested his hand onto his forehead and wondered what the hell was going on. Four minutes later, Scarlett returned into the main room with the cup and John took it from her hands and began to test. He remained silent as Scarlett sat on the edge of her seat, wondering what she was going to do if it was positive. Should she tell Sherlock? Of course she should...he would be the father. And yet the thought of telling him scared her to death. She had done it once...surely she could do it again?
"Just lie down on the bed," John suddenly informed Scarlett.
"Why?" she asked. "Is it positive? Why else would you need me to lie down on a bed? I assume you want to check my stomach..."
"I just need to make sure Scarlett," John told the young woman as she hopped onto the bed and began to lift her plain white vest top up to reveal her stomach as John rested his cold hands onto her skin, causing her to shiver as he did so.
"Sorry," John whispered.
"It's fine," Scarlett replied and tossed her blonde hair from her face. The rest of the ten minutes was spent with John checking her blood pressure and her weight until he finally came to determine the result.
"John," Scarlett begged as he checked once again. "Just tell me."
"You're pregnant Scarlett," John came out with it. "You're nearly one month into the pregnancy."
"And you're positive?" Scarlett checked and John nodded at her.
"One hundred percent," he promised her. "Sometimes the home pregnancy tests aren't always accurate Scarlett...they can give you a false negative or a false positive."
"Apparently so," she drawled. "Sherlock's going to have a fit."
"When are you going to tell him?"
"When I manage to get the courage to do so," Scarlett said and then sighed loudly.
...
Scarlett stood on the pavement, her hand resting against the silver railing as she looked onto the Thames aimlessly. She knew she should be getting back to Sherlock to tell him. But she couldn't imagine walking back into the flat and telling him she was pregnant. She ran a hand through her blonde curls which was what she did when she was nervous.
"If you continue to stand here then you may catch pneumonia," a sudden voice spoke and Scarlett turned to her left to see Sherlock stood there. He had his hands like hers, resting on the bars, his hands covered in gloves. His grey coat flared out behind him as his hands held tightly onto the bars.
"How did you know I was here?" Scarlett asked him, both of them looking onto the Thames.
"I narrowed down your location quite easily. You don't wander off too far when you go out shopping for you dislike paying for a cab to bring you home and so that left me with a two mile radius." Sherlock informed her.
"And you came out looking for me?" Scarlett asked and Sherlock shrugged.
"It's almost nine at night Scarlett," he informed her. "I haven't eaten and was getting hungry."
"And so instead of cooking yourself a meal you thought you'd wander the streets of London and search for someone who could cook for you?" she asked him bitterly and he simply just shrugged.
"I don't really eat when I'm on a case anyway," Sherlock said.
"I know that." Scarlett agreed.
"But I cracked it," Sherlock informed her. "Earlier on today."
"Oh right," Scarlett spoke. "Difficult, was it?"
"Boring if I am to be honest," Sherlock drawled, leaning back slightly, his hands on the bars to keep him from falling. "Why the police even needed to consult me for such ridiculously dull cases is beyond anyone's powers of understanding."
"God you're so cocky," Scarlett murmured.
"And you're terrible at making small talk in an attempt to distract me from the truth," Sherlock responded. "We all have our faults."
"How do you know?" Scarlett whispered, she had allowed her eyes to go wide and glance quickly up at Sherlock before looking back onto the murky water.
"John came back with your shopping. Managed to blunder on about how you had dropped them off because they were too heavy but he wasn't fooling anyone." Sherlock spoke. "Especially not me, truth be told I don't even know why he bothers sometimes."
"Sherlock!" Scarlett snapped at his annoying blabbering.
"You're hormonal. I get it," he assured her that he knew the reason for her annoyance towards his babbling and she rolled her eyes in his direction. "But I knew seven days ago."
"How?"
"Because every time you're on...well...you know...the time of the month...you circle it on the calendar to keep note...but you didn't this time." He informed her and both sets of eyes looked into each other.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Scarlett asked him. "If you truly knew?"
"I didn't know how to tell you," he replied honestly.
"So what happens now?" Scarlett asked him and he simply just shrugged.
"I've never given birth to a child before so I don't have the foggiest," he informed her.
"Well I have no idea either," Scarlett replied.
"I thought you had that thing know as a mother's instinct?" he quizzed her and she snorted and then looked back onto the Thames.
"I'll be damned if I know what it is," she replied to him. "And even if I did I imagine you would go against my beliefs."
"Normally because they're wrong," he informed her. "But standing out here in the cold isn't going to help you or your baby."
"You said 'your baby'," Scarlett informed him and he raised a brow in confusion to her.
"Well this is your child, is it not?" Sherlock asked her and Scarlett simply just pursed her lips and then smiled sadly, shaking her head and looking at Sherlock.
"No..." she said. "It's not just mine..." she informed him. "But maybe it would be best if it was."
"What are you trying to say?" Sherlock asked her and she simply just looked at him.
"You don't want this baby Sherlock," Scarlett informed him and he didn't protest, not wanting to feed her a lie. "And I didn't want this baby...but...now that I know I have it inside of me...I do want it...I can't explain."
"May you please just spit it out Scarlett? Your ramblings aren't helping." Sherlock told her.
"The thing is," she began, "you don't want this. You want to go off and come and go as you please on cases and having a pregnant woman around isn't going to help you do that because you'll feel burdened to help her...because despite the fact that you're an arse you're also a gentleman."
"So you think that you should do this on your own?" he clarified. "You're trying to be brave and noble and do what others want you to do. The right thing if you prefer. But bravery is just another word for stupidity."
"What else can I do Sherlock?" Scarlett asked him, her voice curt.
"You can come back home with me," Sherlock said softly, looking down into her eyes. "Because I am not going to abandon you when you're with a baby. It's morally wrong of me to do so."
"It's our baby Sherlock," she told him. "Mine and yours..."
"I am quite aware of that considering you definitely haven't been having an affair," he assured her. "What kind of person doesn't help a pregnant woman through a difficult time?"
"You're not just a person Sherlock," Scarlett informed him. "I truly do love you...many think it is mad that I do...but if you can't accept this child as yours than I don't know if I can stay with you."
"I know it is mine!" he snapped at her. "I am well aware I am the one who helped get you pregnant! I just...I don't know," he huffed. "I need to think about this."
"And I can give you time Sherlock," Scarlett told him. "But if I am to go through this on my own...then...well..."
"You'd survive," Sherlock promised her. "You're strong."
"Not that strong," she whispered.
"Damn it Scarlett," Sherlock whispered. "Why couldn't you have just taken your pill?"
"I don't know," she whispered. "I was stupid..."
"I won't disagree with you on that statement." Sherlock replied curtly and then turned on his heel and began walking away from her.
"Where are you going?" Scarlett asked him as she stood in the wind, her hair blowing from her face as Sherlock turned to look at her for a moment and he simply just shook his head and pulled his brown coat around him.
"I need to think," he said. "And your constant going on isn't helping me."
"Don't you dare!" Scarlett suddenly snapped at him. "Don't you dare blame you're indecisiveness on me!"
"It is your fault we are even in this mess!" Sherlock snapped back.
"It takes two Sherlock! Or did you not remember the reproductive system back at school?" she yelled.
"You told me we would be fine Scarlett!" Sherlock replied. "I trusted you...and look where that got me?"
"With a girlfriend who is up the duff," she clarified blandly.
"Precisely." Sherlock muttered and began walking away again.
"I haven't finished with you!" Scarlett called after him. "Sherlock!"