I do not own BBC Sherlock
.o0Sherlock0o.
"Papa!" Scarlett called, running up to me. My eyes widened, she'd grown at least two inches in the last few months, and the chubbiness in her face had diminished some. Her cheekbones where going to be as prominent as her fathers.
"Scarlett." I sighed, feeling my heart warm as I lifted her from the ground. He arms and legs wrapped tightly around my legs and torso, she sniffled into my cheek.
"You left me!" She wailed, digging her little fingers into my shoulder. I squeezed her into the tightest hug I could that wouldn't hurt her.
"I'm sorry." I smiled, my eyes closed in bliss. Her soft hair brushed my cheek.
"You saved me, why did you do that? They took you away." She was shuttering against me now. I kissed her cheek soothingly. She was alternating between speaking french and english.
"I had to protect you." I answered, rocking her back and forth. Sherlock was watching us with cool eyes from the hallway. Mycroft at his side, carrying the bags of clothes he had bought for the girl. They'd spoil her if I wasn't around.
"Don't do that, okay? I don't like it when you leave!" She said, patting at my chest in a very similar way that Sherlock had fluttered his hands over me to make sure I was okay. I kissed her forehead, nuzzling her cheek.
"I'm sorry." I apologized again. She pouted, our foreheads resting together before she pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose. I set her down with a laugh, mussing up her hair.
"Mycroft, it's good to see you." I said, walking over to him. His eyebrows shot up, and I cursed. He'd seen the slight limp in my walk from me and Sherlock's earlier ... activities.
"It's very good to see you standing, John." He didn't try to hide the delight his newest revelation gave him. I narrowed my eyes, squeezing his hand.
"How's Lestrade?" I challenged, the shock was clearly displaced on his usual calm face. Sherlock actually snickered beside him.
"Fine." He answered coolly, annoyed I'd not taking his teasing in stride. I smirked, and crossed my arms over my chest. Scarlett came running from Sherlock's room, a gift in her hand.
"Papa, Papa look! A present for you!" She called, lifting the gift. Sherlock was still bemusedly sliding sidelong glances at Mycroft for being outsmarted when he glanced up. His smile dropped.
"Scarlett, no!" He shouted, I pulled the small box from the girls hands laughing. Sherlock was beet red, clearly embarrassed.
"What's in here?" I asked, pulling at the ribbon. Sherlock scrambled to grab it from my hands. His long arm tangled with mine as we both fought for it box.
"Let go Sherlock, she gave it too me!" I shouted, he wrestled me to the couch and I growled.
"You can't open it yet!" Sherlock snapped in my ear. Ridiculous! He was always so bossy! I used my forearm as a bar over his chest, pushing as I pulled off the top. Scarlett's giggling at our childish behavior faded. Inside the box was a simple silver band.
"Aeternus." Was carved elegantly on the inside in Sherlock's handwriting. The word sounded foreign on my lips. Sherlock lifted himself from laying on me, using his arms to hoist him up I rolled on my back to face. His eyes flickered shyly to Mycroft, before going to me.
"It means eternal or everlasting in Latin. I-I wanted to give it to you-" Sherlock fumbled, obviously horrified at having to do this in front of his brother. I couldn't help it, I sat up and I kissed him. In front of Scarlett and Mycroft. I could momentarily hear Scarlett's squeal.
"I want a kiss!" She demanded, Mycroft hauled her from the flat. I tenderly looked at Sherlock, who was glaring at the box.
"I'll never hear the end of this." He muttered, glancing at where Mycroft had just left. I held the box out to him, and he rolled his eyes. Plucking it from the package, he slide the ring on my finger.
"It's just a ring, don't assume-" I kissed him again, curling my fingers in his hair.
"I love you." I said seriously, looking into those constantly changing eyes. They where currently green, his gaze soft.
"Obviously." He pointed out, I laughed as he pinned me to the couch, kissing me repeatedly.
I gave Sherlock his own ring for his thirty sixth birthday. His was a sleek dark silver color. It was plain and on the inside I'd gotten 'Forever yours' inscribed. He'd rolled his eyes and commented on how very predictable I was but thanked me none the less. Telling Sherlock about what Moriarty had done, what he had planned had been the hardest thing I'd ever had to do.
"He had Irene used you to get Irene pregnant. They wanted a child to use against you and Mycroft." I explained. Sherlock was looking passed me, thinking.
"He hasn't tried anything in nearly a year. He said he was coming for Scarlett but he hasn't. He's found something else." Sherlock said. I gripped my knees, looking at him before dropping my gaze to my feet.
"What?" I asked, his eyes met mine in a rare moment of confusion.
"I don't know." He admitted.
For the rest of Scarlett's childhood things where mostly normal. Well, as normal of a childhood as you can have when your raised by Sherlock Holmes.
"John, Scarlett's been kidnapped." Sherlock said when I came in with the groceries. I sighed, rubbing my forehead. Today was her fourteenth birthday, I'd been hoping for normal.
"Did you check the GPS?" I asked, flipping open the laptop. We'd given her a silver bracelet with GPS in it after the tenth kidnapping. Criminals these days where predictable.
"Not yet, thought I'd let her have a bit of fun before going to 'save' her." Sherlock grinned, looking up from the microscope beneath his nose. He looked exactly the same as ten years ago. He'd gained ten pounds, but if anything that had been an improvement on his lanky figure. I'd noticed a silver hair glistening by his temple the other day, but I assume he plucked it because it no longer stood out against his raven curls.
"What if we are underestimating her captors." I said, setting up the birthday cake. Sherlock handed me the note.
"If you want your daughter back, tell the cops that it ain't no ones fault at the pier. It can be an accident." I read aloud. I winced, and nodded.
"Yeah she'll be fine." I concluded, still worried a bit. Even though this had happened before multiple amounts of time, I couldn't help but worry.
"Kieran has already hacked into our GPS tracking system. He should be on his way to pick her up." I sighed in relief. Kier was Scarlett's friend. The boy who had helped her on the first day of school in kindergarten. He was two years older than her, but he was the calm to her chaos. The boy was a genius with computers.
"Good." I sighed, sticking candles in the back. Half an hour later their was the sound of twin pair of footsteps racing up the stairs.
"I was fine without you!" Scarlett barked, her dark ringlets of childhood had calmed to be loose soft curls. The auburn curtain hung down her back back in a cascade of silk. Scarlett was a stunning girl, if not a bit eccentric. Those sharp eyes that were nearly identical to her fathers, despite having much thicker dark lashes, where just as clever. Her thick, pink lips where smashed together. Throughout her childhood she had been always a bit chubbier, but much to my horror the weight was shifting to womanly spots and young men where beginning to notice.
"Didn't seem that way." Kieran commented easily letting her heated words roll off his broad shoulders. He nodded to me, and glanced at Sherlock. Tall, fit, with brown-blonde hair. The boy got looks where ever he went. While Scarlett was a strange, exotic beauty he was handsome in the usual sense. Strong eyebrows where positioned over light brown eyes that where endlessly patient.
"I don't need your help, Lestrade would have come for me." She huffed, slamming her bedroom door. Kieran scowled, his lips pursing together before he opened her door and closed it behind him. Scarlett had taken Sherlocks room, while me and Sherlock shared the one upstairs.
"She still has a crush on Lestrade?" I complained, Sherlock smirked. It killed both me and Kieran for her to be infatuated with some even older than her father. She didn't hide her feelings for the older man, and it led to a rather annoyed Mycroft and amused Lestrade.
"Seems not." Sherlock commented.
"Scarlett, your cake." I said, opening the door. Kieran had her pinned to the ground, both of their breathing was quick. I raised an eyebrow. Kieran looked up at me, his grip on her wrist slacked and she swept her leg around pinning his much larger body to the floor. She smirked, raising her fist in victory.
"Darling, your cake and presents." I said, nodding to the kitchen. She stood, dusting her hands as Kieran followed, his face ever a mask of calm.
"I thought you would do something stupid and invite a bunch of-" The door bell rang and she gave me a sour look. I guiltily shuffled my feet.
"It's just family." I assured, going to the door. My eyes opened wide at what I saw. Mycroft and Lestrade where in the front, Mrs. Hudson's smashed between them. Behind where a couple of officers carrying large packages obviously from Mycroft.
"Happy Birthday!" They shouted to Scarlett who stood behind me. She groaned, turning and going to the kitchen. I blushed escorting them in.
"John." Sherlock's voice was reprimanding.
"You're such a moron!" Scarlett screamed, tackling Kier in the living room. He landed with a grunt, rolling on top of the girl.
"Glad to see you're in such high spirits, Scarlett." Lestrade smiled. The girl looked up from where she had been straddling her friend. Yelping she jumped up, smoothing her shirt.
"Yeah, thanks for coming." She said primly. I blinked owlishly. It was always a shock to see how good she was at acting, just like her father.
"Sherlock help get the presents set up." I called, but he didn't move from his spot in font of the microscope.
"Good to see you brother." Mycroft flashed in his ear. Sherlock growled, turning around.
"Should have expected you to come, Mycroft. If there is a pastry within two hundred feet of baker street you always some how manage to pop up." Sherlock spite out.
"Sherlock!" I scolded, walking over to the phone where it was ringing shrilly.
"This looks delicious!" Mrs. Hudson garbled, lifting a finger to try the frosting. Scarlett and Kier where still wrestling and bumped into her back.
"Oh!" She cried, her entire hand smashing into the cake.
"Scarlett!" I shouted.
"Your diet's been aborted, judging by the five pounds you've accumulated since I've last seen you."
"Is that a gray hair? You're aging rapidly, brother." Mycroft quipped.
"Hello?" I asked into the phone, clamping an arm under Scarlett's ribs to restrain her. Lestrade was yelling at one of the officers for forgetting a present at the station in living room. The house was in complete chaos!
"Mr. Watson. This is Mr. Harper. I'm calling because your daughter has been caught on the security camera breaking into my room and stealing my furniture to be placed on the roof as her own private office." The teacher said. Scarlett strained to listen over all the shouting.
"She did what?" I snapped, she ducked under my arms.
"He's lying! I clearly covered all the security cameras in the area first!" She snapped into the phone. I winced.
"Here Mrs. Hudson, I'll help you wash it off." Kier said, leading the sniffling old woman to the sink.
"Careful Mrs. Hudson, if Mycroft smells the scent of cake on your hands he might take a finger off."
"I can't believe you left her present, Anderson!"
"I want to see the footage, there is no way I missed a camera!"
"I'll talk to her, Mr. Harper. Thanks for calling." I said, she suddenly snapped her gaze to Kier.
"You forgot to get the camera on the north western part of his office." She growled. Kier looked up from behind Mrs. Hudson.
"I did not." He said evenly.
"I'll go back and get it." Anderson muttered. Dishes clattered to the ground shattering as Scarlett slammed into Kier.
"Idiot!"
"Sherlock domestic bliss has suited you, a faithful partner, a child. You're simply stupefied with happiness. I've heard about the case you had weren't able to complete without the help of your little girl."
"Call me little girl again Mycroft and we'll let Lestrade know all about the Watergate incident."
"What incident?"
"Scarlett, dear. You said you would keep that private."
"Bite me."
"SCARLETT!"
I massaged my temples, flopping into the chair beside Sherlock who was giving his daughter the identical amused look that she wore. My family was crazy, loud, utterly insane. But I loved them. I truly loved them. As Sherlock rested his arm along the length of my shoulder, he updated me on the relationship status of two of Lestrade's newest recruits. We were betting how long until the couple got together. Sherlock deduced them softly into my ear, causing me to snicker. Completely insane.