A/N Well...here we go again. I´m feeling a bit sad, because we´ve reached the end of the story. I wanna thank you all so much. For reading, following, reviewing. For your patience, because of my sometimes gruesome English. I hug you all in my thoughts.
Raeya, Guest Stephanie, AngryHobbit, Galem, Astrido, LaLune 221b, Seremityofthematrix, Old Ping Hai.
Sherlock and John decided to free Mycroft from his dungeon, at least. They found their way back into Mycroft's room and John checked on Mycroft.
"Okay, Mycroft. Slight concussion. Some bruising on your right arm, but that's not dramatic. I´d skip weight lifting for a couple of days." John grinned.
"Sherlock...How angry is he?" Mycroft wanted to know.
John shrugged, "he expelled no threats, if that´s what you mean, Mycroft. Carys is an intelligent child, you could not expect her, to discover the secret door."
"But she's a Holmes, John. I should have been more careful."
"Yes, you had, brother," Sherlock, who was standing with Carys on his arms in the doorway. "But John is right, it could have happened to each of us. We'll have to be a bit more careful. Everything has changed, Mycroft." Sherlock hugged his daughter and threw John a loving glance.
"Say good-bye to My, love. Time to go home."
Mycroft stood up, very slowly. He stroked Cary's cheek. "I'm sorry that I lost you, my child."
Carys cocked her head. "My ouch? Mama always blow." Carefully she put a hand on Mycroft's patch. "Papa can blow, My."
John tried to keep a straight face. Sherlock blowing at Mycroft´s head?
"Papa, My ouch, blow!", the little girl was energetic. John laughed, "Come on, Dad. Your daughter says, you have to blow."
Sherlock muttered something unintelligible and... blew.
John was still laughing in the cab, but as quietly as possible. Carys was asleep in Sherlock's arms. "You're impossible," whispered Sherlock and squeezed John's hand. "And so are you. Incidentally, I was surprised, you didn´t kick Mycroft´s butt."
Sherlock grinned briefly. "Me too."
oOo
The cab stopped and John paid, as usual. "Sherlock, why don´t you go inside? Something wrong?"
Then John noticed the young woman on the stairs. Sherlock stood stock-still, was not able to say a word.
"Emma?" John asked. Emma nodded.
"I'm John. Come on upstairs. No need to talk on the Street. Sherlock?"
"Um ... yes of course. Carys is sleeping right now, we should not wake her up." Emma put a reassuring hand on Sherlock´s upper arm.
"Of course not." She said softly.
"Would you like tea or coffee?" John asked, while Sherlock put Carys in her crib.
"Tea, if it makes no effort, Dr. Watson."
"Oh please call me John, Emma."
Emma smiled, "Thank you. You must have a horrible impression of me, John. I left my child with a complete stranger. Yet you are both so kind to me. To me and to my child."
"Well, after we had the pleasure of meeting your former employer and your landlord, I'm sure you had your reasons." Sherlock came back into the living room and also took some tea.
Emma sighed, "Mr. Mason and Hank o` Donnell? Actually, it was a good job at Mason & Mason. My neighbor, Esmé, took care of Carys, as long as I was working. But then Esmé got sick and ... ... and died. She was always so kind and caring to Carys and to me. I then tried to put her in a nursery, I had to make money. But Carys is a very special child, you need to know. "
John smirked, clearly. Quite the Papa.
"She could not fit in properly, has repeatedly made mischief, played hide and seek and even ran away. The kindergarten did not want to take responsibility for her and then I had a real problem. Mr. Mason has reprimanded me several times because of my absence and at some point he kicked me out. "
"And finally, you could not pay your rent anymore," added Sherlock.
Emma nodded. "O'Donnell made me a proposal which I never could have assumed. And then I met you at Tesco, Sherlock. Carys liked you right away and I was so desperate. I'm so sorry, but I simply had no choice." Emma lowered her eyes, she was ashamed, but she wanted to be honest.
"What about Cary's father?" Sherlock wanted to know.
"I do not know, I don´t know him. It's an odd story, but I swear every word is true." Emma looked Sherlock straight in the eye and was taken aback. This was Carys eyes. Could that be possible? Was that the reason Carys liked him so instinctively? Because she recognized her father, in whatever way?
John poured her tea again. "We've already heard quite strange stories here, don´t we, Sherlock?"
Holmes nodded, "Yes, we have. Just tell us, Emma."
oOo
"I'm not from London, I was born near Cardiff. My parents died very early, and I didn´t have other relatives. I was passed around, with various foster families, the last one, here in London was reasonably ok, but I never felt at home.
I moved out, when I was 18, I wanted to stand on my own feet. I trained to become a paralegal , I had two jobs, one at a fast food shop and a cleaning job. But the money was always scarce, London is an expensive place, if one has not got the appropriate means. Then this woman appeared, out of the blue. I won´t tell you her name, it doesn´t matter. But she's from the upper class, to tell something. ... She ... "
It was clearly difficult for Emma, to continue talking. "She was older, ´bout 50, I guess, but she had a great resemblance to me. Or I had it with her, like you want to see it. That was the reason she gave me this opportunity."
"An offer you could not resist," Sherlock added with a small smile.
Emma smiled back shortly. "She asked me if I could imagine to get pregnant, to carry a child for her. Talked me into it, told me about her poor husband, who was impotent and their wish, to have a child. Even if it wasn´t their fleshly child. She promised me to take care of everything and pay me generously."
"You should be her surrogate mother," John assumed.
"Yes, exactly. I was young and I didn´t think at all. And I finally wouldn´t have to count every penny. So I said yes. We have been in this posh clinic and I got pregnant at the 2nd attempt. I didn´t imagine, know how difficult this would become. It suddenly all went wrong, somehow. The lady separated from her husband and suddenly the child was no longer important. She told me, and that was so terrible and heart less, I can do with the baby, what ever I want. God help me, the woman would have never gotten that child from me, that witch. She at least paid the hospital, when I gave birth to Carys, but then I stood there, alone. Without money, but with a child. "
"Have you ever considered to give her up for adoption, Emma?" Sherlock asked.
"Never. She was my flesh and blood, the moment, they put her into my arms. For nothing in the world I would give up my child in the long run."
"Maybe Cary's father could be of some help?" Sherlock put his mug on the little table beside the sofa. Emma remained silent, should she really express her suspicions?
Carys redeemed her mother from her dilemma.
"Cary's awake, Papa come," she called from the bedroom.
Emma put her hand to her mouth. "Oh God. You´re the one, right? Are you Carys father?"
Sherlock nodded. "I have it in black and white, Emma."
"Papa! Come on!"
"Maybe you should go first, Emma." Sherlock said, calmer than he was. He still didn´t know, was Emma was planning to do now.
Emma shook her head, "No, I won´t. Together we go, you and me. Oh, and John. Of course." Emma linked arms with the two men.
oOo
Two months later, at Baker Street 228a ...
"Sherlock! Everything I told you, was to stir the sauce. I didn´t talk about 'refining' it." Emma came up with Carys on her arm into her new kitchen and grinned. Sherlock was fiddling with paprika and pepper and grinned back shortly. "I thought it could still use some spice."
"Your Papa does mischief again, Carys."
The little girl laughed, "mischief. Carys makes mischief, too." She stretched out her arms to her father and he went back into the dining room with her.
It was a cheerful conversation in progress, in the small dining room. John, Mrs. Hudson (who nearly dropped dead, when she came back, hearing the big news), Greg Lestrade and Molly. Greg cheered Molly up, she still sometimes was sad, when she was looking at Sherlock.
Even Mycroft was sitting at the table. Contrary to his expectations, he also had fun. Emma Hicks worked for six weeks under his authority now and there were no complaints about her, on the contrary. The dinner invitation today was a 'thank you' to all those who had helped with the move into the new apartment, which was only a stone's throw away from 221b.
Greg and John were papering the rooms and looked after the furniture construction, Sherlock had added his opinion and had been sent with his daughter to the playground, so that at last there was some silence and Sherlock survived the day, as John said. Molly and Mrs. Hudson had taken care of the decoration and helped Emma with the tidying.
John kissed Carys cheek and handed Sherlock a glass of wine. Mycroft joined spontaneously, "I can take care of her, if you don´t mind." He offered. Sherlock grinned briefly. "Don´t lose her again, brother dear."
"Certainly not, brother."
Sherlock looked at his daughter and his brother shortly, then he turned back to John and put his arm around his waist. He felt happy. Happy and satisfied. Emma and he had figured out an arrangement, of course. Emma thanked the fate, that they had met in this supermarket.
It just had to be this way, Emma thought. She had enough confidence to Sherlock, she finally told him who the woman was, for whom she should be a surrogate mother. Sherlock didn´t know her, ultimately it wasn´t important, why she had chosen him as a sperm donor.
All that mattered was, what had come of it.
Carys.
John's room (that was now redundant, since John had moved into Sherlock's room) was transformed into Cary's nursery, so she had her own room at her father´s place.
Emma and Sherlock took turns with taking care of Carys and shared custody.
Carys clearly enjoyed to have two Papas and Emma finally felt like belonging to someone. She liked John and Sherlock a lot and even Mycroft had his moments. Mrs. Hudson was just an incredibly nice and loving person who remembered Emma very much at Esmé. Greg and Molly were also very nice, Emma could imagine, being good friends with them.
A somewhat unusual blended family, but this was life on the 'John-Continent'. John had been so right, no one was an island.
"I love you, John," Sherlock whispered in John's ear and kissed him lovingly.
"Love you too, Sherlock. I guess, I loved you already from the beginning."
Carys clapped her hands. "My look. Papa loves John."
Mycroft nodded, "I guess so, little angel. We definitely will have a lot of fun with the two of them."
oOo
the end...if you´re asking yourself, if there might be a sequel...I´m feeling like doing it. Maybe not yet, but I´m thinking about it.
Love, Susen