Chapter 15 - Secrets Revealed

Dear Angie,

You'll remember how things started to change after that eventful dinner party. There are a few thoughts and feelings I wanted you to know. The quote below summed up how I felt during this time.

"The loneliest moment in someone's life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart and all they can do is stare blankly." The Great Gatsby.

I'm sorry.

Six Weeks
It was the night before my six-week check up and I was getting very anxious. I still didn't know how I was going to tell Jim bout the baby. Sara had recently announced that she was pregnant and he'd been pleased for his cousin, but said that he was glad he wasn't trapped with that responsibility. There was also the issue of telling my brothers, but that could wait. I'm sure at six-weeks, your hormones aren't supposed to be too intense, but I felt mad, my emotions were swinging from one to the other and I kept crying. I decided to phone Angie, she would be able to help me. I looked at my watch; it read 9:55pm, not too late to phone.

"Hello?"

"Angie, please will you come with me to the hospital with me? I have to have to go every two weeks, but I don't to go on my own." I said in a rush, very nervous about asking for her help.

"Sure, that's fine. When is your appointment?"

"Tomorrow at 11 o'clock."

"I'll meet you at the tube station."

"Thanks Ang. See you in the morning."

We met at Baker Street Tube station and got on the Circle line to Moorgate. We walked form Moorgate to Bart's hospital.

"Thank you for coming with me." I said and Angie smiled at me. I added. "I'm so glad John is my Doctor, but it is a bit embarrassing sometimes."

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about; but I understand."

"If it was a stranger I think I'd be more nervous."

"Yeah. I remember Jesse practically had to drag me into the office."

"Really? I think that may be your job, I'm not overly fond of hospitals." Every time I had been to hospital either someone died or I was very ill from doing something stupid.

"Me either. I've always hated going to the doctor's, and my brother's a doctor. Ironic; but this is a good reason to go the hospital."

"That's true. I'm glad it's you, Jim's not very good with needles. Blood, gore and he's fine. Needles and he's useless it's quite funny really." I remembered the time when he had to get stitches, he'd sliced his hand open doing something, and he was freaking out, he kept trying to bribe the nurses to let him go. He really panicked. He really hated needles. It was funny at the time, and considering Jim's reputation, it made me laugh more.

"Honestly, that doesn't really make any sense, but I'll take your word for it. I know I have a problem with needles. Although, usually, lately, any needles around me are used to knock me out, so..." Angie looked grim as she said this. I felt sorry for her, it hadn't been easy.

"You've really had a run of bad luck haven't you?!" Angie nodded. I wanted to cheer her up do I decided to tell her about Jim's other phobias. "You know, Jim has really odd fears, needles is understandable, but he gets really creeped out by pumpkins, children and baked beans. I'm not joking around he really is an odd duck, but I love him regardless.

"Food? Okay. Well, he is crazy, I know that much." Angie was suppressing her laughter. "As for the bad luck, I've had worse times in my life."

"Not anymore though, it's all going to work out for the best. We have each other, and this huge family, a bit dysfunctional, but brilliant. Yeah food, when he told me about the beans, I actually laughed, like properly laughed and he got all sulky for days, it was like having my own Sherlock."

"Oh wow. Was that before or after you showed him Doctor Who?"

"Long before, but when I told him the current Doctor didn't like beans earlier he told me that was proof that beans are evil." We both laughed. Slowly the laughter faded, and Angie said.

"Sherlock's distancing himself more and more. I have a bad feeling that he's planning something again.

"What could he be planning? I mean he's been woefully bad at staying dead. It's alright, I'll hit him if he does anything stupid." This received a small smile.

"Oh, I don't know what he's planning, and he is doing a dreadful job of it, staying alive, I mean. The only person who doesn't know is John, which I'm still mad at him for not telling him. I'm this close to telling John." Angie indicated the minute distance with her fingers. Sherlock really was making life difficult. We continued walking in silence.

"Do I really have to be poked and prodded? I don't want to go into the hospital." I moaned, sounding very much like Sherlock.

"Come on, John will be there and it's just a check up. You're not necessarily gonna be poked and prodded. Come on, it'll be fine. Think of the baby."

"You're right the baby, keep thinking of the baby. Today is my first scan. I would wait for Sherlock to tell John, I think John will need to hear it from Sherlock. They have a strange bromance as it is."

"Oh, please don't call it that. Everybody already thinks they're gay. Despite that, I'm dating Sherlock; if you can call it dating. John hates it."

" Well they have they do have the weird chemistry and Sherlock flinches at human body contact, I do feel sorry for John, but Sherlock deserves very thing he gets."

"That's true. I honestly have no idea how I put up with it. I mean, with Jesse, we would cuddle and hold hands every chance we'd get; with Sherlock, none of that."

"Yeah Jim and I are the same. I couldn't live without the physical contact. He's not very good at the whole relationship thing, Mycroft was trying to explain it to me one day, and I didn't really get it." "Well, I'm pretty sure I'm the first real, serious relationship he's ever had. Unless he's keeping something from everybody, which is a good possibility."

The nurse applied the cold blue gel to my stomach and I asked Angie. "Is it weird seeing a baby on the screen? I mean will I know what it looks like?"

Uh...it's a bit weird. At first, I couldn't figure it out, but after a few minutes it kind of becomes clear. Anyway, John, being a doctor, can see it fine, he'll explain it. Of course, I don't know how much you're gonna see at, what, eight weeks?"

"Six, I'm six weeks exactly, because of the health complications I have to come back every two weeks till I'm into my second trimester...there are a lot of big words I don't understand! To my knowledge he liked a girl when he was like 15, but nothing happened, he was too shy to say anything. I am annoyed, I love that your here, but I can't shake the feeling Jim should be here, it's his baby too."

"Well, you are gonna have to tell him eventually. Maybe you could just leave the photos of the ultrasound lying around, let him find them? Was it when he was 15 or a few years younger, like 12 or 13?"

"I might do, I'm not sure, and my moods are crazy. He might have been a little younger; I get Mycroft to tell all the dirt on Sherlock, Sherlock doesn't speak to me so I can't ask him."

"And that was the only girl he's ever like before? And it's not just you, Sherlock doesn't even tell me anything."

"Yeah, I think so, there might have been a one night fling in college, but I'd have to ask Mycroft, he really does know everything, it's scary. Sherlock is a pain, he really is. Oh well you can't choose your family."

"Well, no, otherwise I certainly wouldn't choose Harry. As for that girl when he was a kid, that was me. But Sherlock told me he's never...you know." Said Angie blushing; she was so sweet at times.

"You were his school sweetheart, oh that is so cute. It was destiny Ang! Like I said, you'd have to ask the all knowing Mycroft."

"Oh, sure, but yeah, he was the one who gave me the locket the day we moved to Brecon."

"Sherlock can be seriously sweet when he wants to. I'd love to have known Sherlock growing up."

The nurse showed me the fuzzy blob in the screen and told me it was the baby, I just nodded, but I couldn't see it. We went to see John who explained everything further, I still couldn't see the baby, he confirmed everything was healthy and that he'd see me in two weeks.

8 Weeks

Two weeks later, we met at the tub station and headed towards the hospital.

"Can you believe it's eight weeks already?!"

"I know! It feels like you just told me yesterday!"

"Its crazy how fast time is going. I was awake last night trying to decide on names...I didn't get far, I was interrupted by husband who wanted attention, but I was thinking Rupert for a boy."

"Rupert Moriarty. Yeah, that sounds nice. What if it's a girl?" Asked Angie.

"I'm not sure for a girl. Angela?!" I replied flippantly, grinning at Angie.

"Oh, please! Fine, if you do, if I ever have a daughter, I'm naming her Persephone."

"That will be so confusing, she'll get called Percy, we'll have to be big and little Percy. I think Ava, Ava Moriarty. How about Ava Angela Moriarty? I think it sounds like the name air a great writer.

"I like that. It's pretty."

"Imagine if our children could grow up together, proving that a Holmes and a Moriarty can be friends, although I bet Sherlock wouldn't let that happen. Jim would freak out over two children. Men!"

"It'd be my best friend's child, they'd be cousins! Who cares what Sherlock says! We'll get together in Hyde Park." Angie paused for a second and then exclaimed. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, you're implying that me and Sherlock are gonna get married. As things look right now, that's never going to happen.

"You so will, things might be sticky now, but they will work out, it did for Jim and I. Trust my Holmes genes, they're rarely wrong! I'd love the boys trying to stop us meeting up, it would be futile!"

"If you say so. Yeah. Sherlock knows by now he can't stop me from doing anything if I've got my mind set."

"That's because you're awesome!"

"You fancy getting some lunch after this?" Lunch sounded good, my appetite had already started to increase.

"Yeah, how about Angelo's? Or shall we really treat ourselves go fancy?!"

"No, Angelo's is fine. We haven't had a case in a couple weeks. I'm a bit strapped." This worried me, why wasn't Sherlock accepting cases? Although, thinking about it, Jim hadn't has anything on either.

"Lunch is on me, did I tell you about the trust fund that suddenly appeared."

"No, I don't think you did. What trust fund?"

"When my name changed to Holmes, Mycroft gave me all these documents, one of them being a trust fund managed on my behalf until I was 25, my birth mother set up when I was born and kept it hidden until Mycroft was older and he then looked after it for me."

"Oh. Well, that's convenient. I still need to take you to meet her."

"It is. I really want to meet her, more so now I'm pregnant. It would be nice if we let her know that she's going to be a grandmother. Am I going to be a good Mum?"

"Of course you will be!"

"I know its early days yet, but I'm just so nervous all the time."

"Well, don't worry. It'll all be fine."

"Now I'm done being ultra sounded, how about that lunch, I'm starving!"

We walked back to the tube station and headed to Northumberland Street to have lunch at Angelo's. His pizzas were amazing. Lunch was fun, but we both seemed to get simultaneous calls from our significant other's calling us home. The two weeks passed again in a flash of time and before I knew it we were meeting again to go back to the hospital.

10 Weeks

I met up with Angie at the tube station. Angie had been amazing, so supportive and helping me to come to terms with being pregnant and getting used to the hospital. She held my hand every time I was scared and kept me calm when I panicked. I was really happy today; my hormones were going haywire, the day before I had cried at everything. I think I was driving Jim insane.
"It's been 10 weeks! Can we go shopping after, I think I need some baggier clothes, everything I own is really fitted." I said, realising, I just starting to show.
"Sure, that's fine. I told Sherlock we were going window shopping anyway, to cover it up, so this way I wasn't lying."
"If you see anything, tell me, I feel like shopping and I have Jim's credit card!" Jim had told me to treat myself, and now Angie too. I think he was trying to get me to smile, it worked, but I had just woken up happy.
"I might just get one little thing, to prove to Sherlock that we really did go shopping."
"Brilliant!" I grinned and added. "If everything is alright after my next appointment I'm going to tell Jim."
"Okay." Angie replied. She hadn't pushed me telling Jm, but would occasionally remind me that I had to tell him, sooner rather than later.
"Do you think I should tell Sherlock and Mycroft?" I asked.
"Well, considering they'd be the uncles, I think they have a right to know. And honestly, I probably shouldn't be lying to Sherlock so much, but maybe he'll understand if he knows why I was lying. Hopefully. Do you want me to tell them for you? After you tell Jim?" Angie really was doing everything to make my life easier, I really did have the best friend in the entire world. I thought for a minute.
"I'll tell them, can we get them over to Baker Street, and I'll tell them this afternoon after we've been shopping."
"Sure, that's fine. Will you text Mycroft and let him know?"
"Yeah, I will, this is going to be a tense afternoon, what do you think they'll say?!" I nodded and text Mycroft to be at Baker Street for three o'clock.
"Uh, Mycroft will probably be a bit shocked, but he'll be fine, happy for you. Sherlock...I don't know. He probably won't say anything while you're there, but I'll probably get it after you leave."
"I'm sorry, hope he doesn't make it too horrid. I have a bad feeling that this will completely shatter my relationship with Sherlock. Mycroft will probably be quietly supportive, as usual."
"I'll work on Sherlock don't worry about it. I just hope I can do it without it turning into another argument."
"Me too, I really don't want another argument. Thank you for handling Sherlock so well, your like the Sherlock Whisperer." This comment made us both laugh.
"Haha, not really. Lately it seems like every conversation we have turns into an argument. And then he's still trying to figure out about Moran stalking me and everything."
"He is being worse than normal. I feel very sorry for you, but you can keep him." I frowned, I was getting worried at how distant Sherlock was being, even towards Angie. This was out of character even to him.
"Gee, thanks. Actually, he's been pretty distant the past few weeks. I'm just afraid it's the calm before the storm."
"Its hopefully not too bad. Jim's been acting a little odd too, if anything he's being rather clingy. Maybe there is something in the air affecting men in general?!"
"I don't know maybe. When's the full moon?" This again made us laugh. It was so nice to wonder round the shops and gossip away, all the scary things like Moran seemed distant and far away. I checked my watch, I didn't want to keep Mycroft waiting.
"Next week, so it's not the moon! The scan is so cute, I feel like I can see my baby. I'm so happy Ang. Shall we go tell my brothers?!"
"If you feel ready, sure. And you're in a good mood, that might help."
"Yeah I'm ready."
"Alright, then. Let's go."

After our shopping trip, Angie and I headed back to Baker Street. We got off the tube and walked the short distance to the flat. I wanted to run away, I didn't know how I'd handle the looks of disappointment and loathing from my brothers. Even though we had accepted each other as siblings, our relationships with each other were thin. For Mycroft and I, nothing had really changed, except that all the help and advice he'd given me meant even more. Sherlock on the other hand, was a loose canon, Angie was suffering a similar predicament, and Sherlock blew hot and cold. Occasionally I noticed he would soften and maybe let me in, even accept me, then seconds later he would dismiss me and pretend I didn't exist.

Again, like with Angie, I understood his discomfort with my choice of husband, they had all been embroiled in cruel games and life threatening situations, but dismissing me outright because of who I was in love with and not getting to know the real me was just ignorant and cold. He accused Jim of being cruel and calculating, but he could be just as bad, especially when it came to people. These serious thoughts still didn't dampen my good mood. I was finally starting to be excited about the baby and being a mother.

Angie broke my concentration. She opened the front door to 221b. We hung our coats up downstairs by the door and I left many multiple shopping bags by the door. We walked up the stairs and went into the living room. Both of my brothers greeted us by looking at each other, trying to bate each other into commenting. Mycroft broke his staring competition and stood to greet me.
"Hello sister dear, you're looking well, positively glowing." His eyes flashed with knowledge and I hid my surprise. I couldn't quash the spark of irritation, he was checking up on me a little too closely, but it wasn't enough to break my good mood.
"Hello Mycroft, thank you for coming down, I know you're busy at the moment." I said smiling.
"Hello Sherlock." I greeted.
"Persephone." Was his blunt response.

"Please, I have asked you repeatedly to call me Percy." I replied stiffly, although as the words left my mouth, his minuscule smirk made me want to hit him, he did it to irritate me.
"Anyone for tea, coffee, water?" Offered Angie, the water comment directed at me. I had been told I had to cut down on caffeine.
"Water please." I answered accompanied by an eye roll. The boys asked for tea.
"Not tea? Are you well Percy?"
"Perfectly thank you Mycroft."
"Although I want to talk to you both, it is health related."
"Please get on with it, I have things to do." Sniped Sherlock. Angie came in not looking pleased, Sherlock's unkind words irritating her. She put down the tray of drinks a little firmer than necessary and shot Sherlock a look that could turn him to stone.
"It's okay Percy, you can do this, think of it as practice." Angie said kindly, sitting next to me in the brown leather sofa. I slipped my hand into hers needing the strength. I took a deep breath before I spoke.
"Now what I have to tell you took me by surprise as much as it will you."
"What is it Percy, you're starting to worry me."
"It's alright Mycroft, it's good news." It was crunch time, I had to take the plunge. "I'm pregnant. Ten weeks gone." The was a minute of silence, both Mycroft and Sherlock had excellent poker faces, but I noticed Sherlock's face tighten, just slightly, but his anger bubbling over. Mycroft was pleased.
"Congratulations Percy. You're going to be a wonderful mother. Does the father know yet?"
"No I've not told Jim yet, I want to wait a little longer, just to check everything is healthy."
"Anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask. Thank you for sharing your news. Sadly I must be going. Congratulations again sister." Mycroft took my hands as he spoke and kissed my cheek, as he turned to leave he said. "Miss Watson, Sherlock, until next time."
There was a moment of quiet, I took a sip of water and as we heard the door close, I could feel the lid spring open, Sherlock's body language and been darkening but the second.
"I take it that the foetus is his."
"Yes, to whom else would it belong?"
"Who knows? Maybe that fling in Wales?"
"Not possible. It's Jim's I'm sure of it." Another long pause fell between us, I wondered how he knew about Seb, maybe Angie had said something.
"How could you procreate with Him?" Sherlock spat at me.
"He's my husband Sherlock and falling pregnant was a surprise, I didn't think I could have children. Also, most importantly, I love him." I replied, I was tied of this argument, his hatred for Jim was too deep. I couldn't fight it anymore.
"You're going to keep 'It'?" I was so shocked.
"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?" Why would I get rid of a bay that. Loved and wanted?
"I can't even look at you." He stood up quickly and stormed out of the flat, slamming the door behind him. I just stared at his no vacant chair. His words hurt, but I stopped caring, if couldn't accept my life choices, then he wouldn't be a part of my life.
"Are you alright? He shouldn't have said that, he doesn't mean it." Consoled Angie, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"He does, but it's fine, if Sherlock can't accept me and my life then he doesn't deserve to be in my life."
"If you're sure?"
"I am. Thank you again for all your help, you've been wonderful. I hope Sherlock doesn't cause you too much trouble, I better go home." I hugged Angie and went downstairs. I put my coat on, collected day bags and went home. My happy mood somewhat dulled, but I was going home to a man who loved me and I hadn't seen all day. As I got home I was greeted with affection and warmth. I made us a simple, yet tasty, beef stew, and we snuggled up on the sofa and watched the TV, a quiet and perfect night.