A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews! They really motivate me to keep writing. Sorry if this took a while to update. After 3 rewrites and much frustration I've finally managed to finish this chapter. I'm not sure if you guys will like this chapter a lot but I promise that the next chapter will definitely be one of my favorites. So, enjoy!
Chapter Three
"Mycroft? What are you doing here?" John demanded. Mycroft set aside his ever-present umbrella and looked at John.
"I'm here to see the child Sherlock fathered. You didn't think you could keep her a secret, did you?" John sighed.
"Mycroft, it's only been a day." Mycroft gave a slight sniff and sat down on the couch.
"How is he dealing with all this?" He asked. John sat down next to him and clasped his hands together.
"Well, he's been surprisingly alright with the whole thing. I mean he did put up with going to the shops to buy Ariadne's things." John said. He explained to Mycroft everything that happened since Ariadne's arrival yesterday while Mycroft sat in deep thought.
"Huh. I knew his experiments would get him in trouble but I didn't anticipate this. He always claimed he was asexual." Mycroft said.
"Alcohol does funny things to man's mind." John added.
"What happened to Ariadne's mother?" Mycroft asked quietly. John shifted a little in his seat.
"I think she's dead. She left a letter for Sherlock with Ariadne but he never mentioned what it said in the letter other than that he's her only family now."
"Did he mention her name?"
"I think he said her name was Camille. He didn't give a surname though." John said, remembering. Mycroft gave another sniff.
"I will need to do background research on this Camille." Mycroft said as he stood up.
"That's not really necessary…" John said slowly. He shook his head and decided it was best not to question Mycroft's actions.
"Tell Sherlock I visited." Mycroft said over his shoulder as he exited the flat. John sighed and slumped back in his seat. He glanced at the clock and jumped off the couch. 6 o'clock already? John thought. He decided it would be better to just get takeout while Sherlock and Ariadne slept. He slipped on a jacket and headed out.
/
Sherlock tossed and turned in his sleep. Blurry memories from that night kept popping up in his head.
"Sherlock? That's a funny name." The pretty brunette said in a soft Irish accent. Sherlock smiled at her.
"You should hear my brother's name." She tilted her head and stared at him.
"What's his name?"
"Mycroft." Sherlock said. The brunette laughed and laid a hand on his arm.
"Wow, my name sounds so boring compared to you and your brother's." She joked. Sherlock looked down at her hand and smiled at her.
"And your name is…?"
"Camille. Camille Morgan."
Sherlock groaned and opened his eyes. He took a deep breath and tried not to think about her. She was different from the other women in that pub. Sherlock had seen in her eyes that she was hiding something, or rather running away from something. He didn't ask though, it was just a one-time thing. But ever since that night, he had returned to her apartment almost everyday for two weeks until she told him she never wanted to see him again.
Sherlock glanced at Ariadne's sleeping form and studied her carefully. She may have inherited his piercing blue-grey eyes but Sherlock could see some of Camille in her. She had the same nose and face shape as Camille, he noted.
The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs took his attention and he got off the bed and walked to the living room. John clearly just arrived and was carrying two boxes of takeout.
"Good, you're up." John said as he saw Sherlock watching him. He set the boxes down on the table and looked at Sherlock nervously.
"What's wrong?" Sherlock demanded.
"Mycroft came to visit. He wanted to talk to you about Ariadne. He also wanted to do a background check on Camille." John said. Sherlock frowned.
"He has no business meddling with my affairs." Sherlock said haughtily.
"Well, he is your brother." John said meekly. Sherlock glared at him.
"That doesn't mean he has to poke about in my life." He grumbled. John fought the urge to roll his eyes.
"I suppose you're right." John said, trying to calm Sherlock down. Sherlock sniffed and sat down in his armchair.
"Pass the food, will you?" He said. John rolled his eyes and grabbed the food from the table. He thrust it into Sherlock's arms and shook his head.
"You are the most lazy person I have ever met." John said as he dug in.
There was a silence between the two of them as they ate. It wasn't a tense sort of silence. The two of them were just wrapped up in their thoughts to speak.
At around 8 o'clock, Ariadne woke up crying. Sherlock stood up and rushed to her side. Her little fists were waving about and her face was dotted with tears. Sherlock picked her up and soothed her.
"Shhh, it's alright." He said awkwardly. Ariadne whimpered and buried her face against him. A familiar scent was wafting from her and Sherlock cringed.
"John, she needs changing." He said as he went back to the living room. John shook his head.
"Oh no. Its your turn to change her." Sherlock frowned.
"Why? You are perfectly capable of doing it yourself. Why should I have to?"
"You're her father, Sherlock. I won't always be around. Besides, I forgot to tell you something rather important." John said smugly.
"What is it?" Sherlock asked curiously. John grinned.
"If you want to know, you'll have to change Ariadne's diaper." John said. Sherlock set Ariadne down on the sofa and crossed his arms.
"No. That's not fair." He protested. Ariadne started wailing again and John looked at her pointedly. Sherlock sighed in defeat.
"Fine."
John watched amusedly as Sherlock struggled with Ariadne's diaper. Once he managed to get it open, he gagged from the smell emanating from it.
"I don't understand how a mere baby can make such a mess." Sherlock said in disbelief as he surveyed the mess in the diaper. John wanted to laugh but was too scared of inhaling the smell of the diaper.
"Just shut up and change it already!" Sherlock gritted his teeth as he cleaned up Ariadne. He struggled madly to keep the diaper in place thanks to Ariadne's constant squirming.
"Done!" He said proudly, holding Ariadne up. John tilted his head slightly and laughed as he saw Ariadne wearing the lopsided diaper. The tape was barely sticking on the side of the diaper and John quickly secured its position.
"Not bad." John said. "She'll probably be keeping you up all night though since she slept for the afternoon." Sherlock shrugged.
"I was planning on doing more experiments tonight anyways. I wanted to see how fast it would take to boil a thumb until you can rip the flesh off." John looked disgusted and took Ariadne from Sherlock.
"On second thought, I'll try coax Ariadne back to sleep once she's fed." He said hastily. Sherlock smirked.
"So, what was the big news you wanted to tell me?" John's smile faltered a little.
"Right. So you know how you'll have to spend more time taking care of Ariadne now? I decided to start working again at the clinic. I start tomorrow." He said nervously.
"Why?" Sherlock asked.
"Because I need to do something by myself. I can't always stick with you and run around solving crimes. I need to put my medical skills to work." He added lamely.
"But you like solving crimes with me." Sherlock said, frowning. John sighed.
"Look, Sherlock. I know that I've always stuck with you but now that you have Ariadne, I realize that I haven't been living my life the way I want to. I've always been looking out for you and watching your back but I think that I'd like to have my own work and my own problems to solve." He said, hoping that he didn't offend Sherlock.
"Ah. I see. That's alright John. I should've anticipated this." Sherlock said. He felt slightly upset that John would be starting work again but he figured that it was for the best.
John seemed to be relieved by Sherlock's reaction and let out a breath.
"Good. Now we can talk about setting rules. If you're ok with this, that is." He added hastily.
"I'm open to whatever you have to say, John."
"Er, alright then. I actually only have one rule and that's no bringing Ariadne to crime scenes." He said firmly. Sherlock looked taken aback.
"Who's going to care of her if you're gone at work and I have a really important case?" He complained.
"I'm only working on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. You can go solve cases then." John said. "I know that she's your responsibility but I want her to grow up in an almost normal way."
"What do you mean 'almost normal'?" Sherlock asked, narrowing his eyes.
"The point is I want her to be happy and safe." John finished. Sherlock looked at him and then at the Ariadne who was pulling at John's sweater.
"Fine. You know you are getting rather good at winning our arguments." John smiled.
"I know." He said cheerfully. Ariadne hiccupped and John handed her the milk bottle he had been preparing while he and Sherlock were talking. She sucked on it greedily and her eyes closed in satisfaction.
"Its almost scary how quiet she is." John noted. "She seems to be very observant. Don't you get a bit freaked out about how she stares at you?" Sherlock looked at him, confused.
"What do you mean?"
"She stares at you as if she's taking in everything you're doing. She seems quite smart as well for her age."
"That's good. She must've inherited my brains." Sherlock said proudly. "I'll be able to teach her everything I know once she's ready. She might even learn how to deduce things." John groaned.
"I really hope she doesn't." Sherlock smiled and took Ariadne from John. She let go of her bottle and nuzzled against him. John watched as Sherlock hesitated before giving her a kiss on the forehead.
"Well, you've grown rather attached haven't you?" John said lightly. Sherlock kept his eyes on Ariadne.
"Can't help it. She's very charming."
"Ga ba." Ariadne squeaked. Sherlock's eyes lit up and he turned to John excitedly.
"Did you hear that? Her first word!" John rolled his eyes.
"Sherlock, that was hardly even a word." Sherlock ignored him and set Ariadne down on the couch. He took one of the picture books lying on the table and held it up to her.
"Now say 'The Little Engine That Could'." Ariadne stared at him blankly.
"Sherlock that's not going to w-" John started.
"John, do keep quiet. I'm trying to teach." John crossed his arms and sat down. For the rest of the evening, Sherlock read 'The Little Engine That Could' repeatedly to Ariadne but she simply would not say another word. By the fifth time Sherlock read it out loud, Ariadne had fallen fast asleep.
"Sherlock, she's asleep." John pointed out. Sherlock closed the book and set it down.
"I don't understand. Why won't she speak?"
"Let her grow into it Sherlock. You can't expect her to start speaking right now. She's still a bit young for that." Sherlock sighed and picked Ariadne up.
"You're right. You should get some sleep if you're going to start work tomorrow." Sherlock called as he marched into his room. John watched him and smiled.
"Yeah, alright. Good night then."
/
The next morning was rather hectic for John. He was due at the clinic at 9 and it was already 8:50 and he hadn't left the house yet.
"Sherlock! Where's my grey jumper?" He shouted frantically. Sherlock emerged from his room looking disgruntled.
"John, don't shout. Ariadne's still asleep."
"Sherlock, have you seen my grey jumper?" John said, ignoring him.
"I burned it." Sherlock said simply. John stopped what he was doing and faced Sherlock.
"You burned my favorite jumper?" He asked incredulously. "Why?"
"It was part of an experiment." Sherlock said. John groaned and ran back to his room. A second later he ran out again, tugging a green jumper on. He grabbed his wallet and rushed out the flat.
"No bringing Ariadne on cases! Remember!" He called over his shoulder. Sherlock rolled his eyes.
"Yes mummy." He said sarcastically. He walked back to his room and found Ariadne awake and rolling around on the bed. She spotted him and reached out towards him. Sherlock smiled and picked her up.
"What do you want to do today, Ariadne?"