athena ➢ sherlock's daughter

Chapter 27

The Fall

The moment Athena Holmes woke up one rainy afternoon, she knew something was wrong. The atmosphere at 221B had been tense for a good while, but something felt off, as if there was a shift from tense to despondent. Quietly, she changed into some day clothes and a rain jacket before walking through the house, not expecting to find a busy-looking John Watson sitting in his chair.

"Why aren't you at work?" she asked as she passed through.

"Good morning to you too," he mumbled jokingly before glancing up at her. "Sherlock said he was going to Bart's and would be a while. He said because of the circumstances, he didn't want you to be alone."

She nodded. "Maybe we should go visit him, try to motivate him."

John shook his head. "No, no. He said he didn't want to be bothered."

She sighed and grabbed two umbrellas. "Well, are you coming or not, John?"

Of course he was going to go. Sherlock was becoming more and more a machine. Just hours before, Mrs. Hudson was hospitalized, and he showed no indication of caring whatsoever. He was worried that maybe Sherlock was tangled up with Moriarty right about now, and he didn't want to take Athena along, but maybe she could help. He rolled his eyes and stood, closing his laptop, but there was a smile on his face. And the duo set off to Bart's to visit their favorite detective, stepping out into the light rain. Together, they bustled on until they were close to Bart's.

"It's not that bad, we don't really need the umbrellas now," Athena commented as they passed by a small shop, beginning to close hers.

John agreed, then looked to the sky before frowning worriedly and squinting. They continued a bit before John's phone rang and he picked it up. "Hello?"

She looked over at him as he said, "Sherlock, are you okay?" At this point, she was allowing John to lead the way, looking confusedly at him as he rushed forward before rushing back and dragging her with him. "Sherlock?" he said. She waited until she heard him utter "Oh, god." His eyes were trained upwards at the skyline where the roof of the hospital met the light grey hue of the sky.

Athena looked at John before following his line of vision and seeing something that burned into the back of her mind forever: Sherlock was standing on the edge of the roof of the hospital.

"What's going on?" she heard him say. She knew. They both knew. The inside of her mouth was dry and her throat burned. "Why are you saying this?"

John took a step forward before shrinking back. "Alright. Yeah, okay, I'll give it to her." His voice was shaky.

But it was nothing compared to Sherlock's. As Athena took the phone numbly out of John's hand and placed it against her ear, Sherlock said, "Athena, angel, don't move okay? Just listen to me. I love you. Don't you ever forget that, Athena. Don't forget it. I just- I can't do this anymore."

Athena licked her lips slowly, trying desperately for her words to form properly. "Daddy, please don't do this," she said shakily. When had she started crying? "Please don't leave me here."

Sherlock gulped. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Daddy has to. I'm a fake, a horrible parent."

Athena inhaled sharply. "No. No, no, no. Don't."