Sherlock's Daughter

24 - The End

The End

The warm air, the bright sun shining in the cloudless sky with the sound of the little birds chirping in the background is all too serene for a graveyard some would say but others would disagree. Some portray these places as haunted and full of ghosts who traipse this world only at night. But. If you think about it logically, a graveyard is a place of rest for the dead and where would you rather rest, in a serene setting like this or some disturbing setting that can only be found in your deepest nightmares?

Juliet Holmes looks at her uncle's tombstone with a mixture of feelings in her stomach; it has been a month since the terrible ordeal and after weeks of grieving, avoiding any responsibility she has made a life changing decision. She smirks as she read the message engraved on the tombstone: He will never be forgotten. It was her idea, Sherlock agreed mainly so he didn't have to think of anything better while Mycroft just snarled and said something along the lines of "well that's for sure" before he got back to his paperwork of all the loose ends Sherrinford conveniently hadn't tied up.

"You know this is the best thing to do...right Sherlock?" John looks up to the high functioning sociopath who hums in response as he continues to watch his daughter from afar. Sherlock didn't know exactly how he felt when Juliet burst into the living room that day with her acceptance letter from one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the country. Surprise. Happiness. Betrayal. He knew nothing of her application yet he was still pleased for her. She is using the money Sherrinford had left her in his will to pay, she had it all planned out. "Yes, this is what's best for both you and Juliet."

"I am sure you're right John." He states and the blogger almost has to have that statement repeated, it is rare that Sherlock agrees with him which shows that something is wrong.

"This way she can get the best education and can do whatever she wants with her life." He pauses, "And you can get back to be the world's only consulting detective again. Without any distractions." Sherlock hums again and watches his daughter place the flowers on his brother's grave. "Besides, you aren't exactly father material."

"Which one of us is the quickest to work out what your child wants when she cries?" Sherlock sarcastically asks.

"Not the point." He replies as the baby Watson stars to stir and cry in the pushchair.

"She needs feeding."

"I know." John grumbles as he leans down to retrieve the bottle of milk out of the baby bag.

"No you didn't." Sherlock scrunches up his nose, "You were about to check if she needed changing. I saw you preparing to take a sniff." He continues to taunt but the blogger ignores him and begins to bottle feed his child just a Juliet starts to walk towards them. "You ready?" Sherlock asks and she nods although she looks unsure.

"I will leave you two to it." John speaks up before he pushes the pram away leaving the father and daughter to talk.

There are few moments of silence until Sherlock takes a deep breath with a quick sigh and says just four words. "I will miss you." Juliet looks up at her father with her deep blue eyes and smiles as a tear starts to fall down her cheek. "I know at first I wasn't doing so well at the being a father thing but I hope now you see that I care a lot about you. You are my daughter and I will always do what I can do protect you." He places his hand delicately on her arm. "I missed sixteen years of your life, I don't want to miss anymore." She sniffles. "So when you come home for the holidays I want to hear about everything, every little detail of your time at school. The good and the bad. The exams and the socialising. What friends you make, and I know that there will be many... boyfriends or girlfriends... depending on which way you... go? Oh and of course the enemies." He chuckles briefly.