Disadvantageous

Chapter 6

"Anyway, it was then that I first noticed it was missing," Mrs. Holmes continued her long winded story, much to Sherlock's annoyance. His eyes flickered over to the clock, wondering how the minutes could be passing so slowly. "I said, 'have you checked down the back of the sofa?' He's always losing things down the back of the sofa, aren't you dear."

"Afraid so," Mr. Holmes hummed in agreement.

"Oh keys, small change, sweeties, especially his glasses. Blooming things, I said, 'why don't you get a chain, wear 'em round your neck?' And he says, 'what? Like Larry Grayson?'"

Mrs. Holmes was interrupted by a knock on the door, causing Sherlock to leap to his feet to answer. He opened the door a hair and let out a sigh of relief, seeing that it was just Lydia coming to drop off Willow for the day. At least they would take some of his parents' attention off of him.

"I heard voices, is it better to come later? I thought we had agreed on ten, but if you have clients..." Lydia spoke as she caught sight of Sherlock, attempting to peer into the flat.

Mrs. Holmes lit up at the sound of her voice and called out, "is that you, Lydia, dear?"

"Oh, are your parents here?" Lydia asked Sherlock, suddenly feeling as though she would rather be anywhere else. She hadn't exactly kept in touch with them after Sherlock went over the roof, which meant they were about to get a rather big surprise, unless Mycroft had informed them of Willow's existence.

Sherlock opened the door for her to come in and nodded, leaving Lydia no choice but to enter the flat and give Sherlock's parents a nervous smile while mentally cursing Sherlock for the situation he had put her in.

"Oh dear, it's absolutely lovely to see you again, I'm so glad that you've held up alright these past couple of years. And who is this? This can't be the little Willow Mikey was telling us about! Look how cute you are!" Mrs. Holmes exclaimed beaming at the young toddler.

Lydia shifted uncomfortably, "I apologise for not informing you of your granddaughter, I know I should have but I suppose I just found it easiest to not think about anyone related to Sherlock. It was unfair to you, though, and I am truly sorry."

"Oh, it's no matter, darling, we understood that you needed your space to grieve. It was a right awful thing that Sherly did to you and we certainly can't blame you for dealing with it the best way you could."

"Thank you, Violet, I truly don't deserve your kindness and I am grateful for this opportunity for you to meet your grandchild-" Lydia cut off as she noticed the papers pinned to the wall of the flat. "Sherlock, what did I tell you about using the wall space to solve your crimes? If Willow's going to be here, all paper has to be safely out of her reach!"

Sherlock's expression quickly morphed into the same as a dog getting caught stealing a treat and he quickly rushed to raise the papers higher up on the wall, muttering, "apologies, I forgot how tall she was."

Violet shook her head at him, "you know, I never thought I'd actually see the day Sherlock would be a father. Granted, I hoped for it, but I never expected it to actually happen. I'm glad he has you helping guide him through all of this, I'm sure he would be lost without you."

"Well, he's actually been surprisingly good with Willow, I've been rather impressed," Lydia complimented, causing a pain in Sherlock's heart. Her words were kind, something that would have caused warmth to flood through his body two years ago, but now it hurt to know that she was no longer his. "Anyway I'd best be going, I have some work to get done. Sherlock, call me if anything happens and remember Mrs. Hudson's right downstairs if you need assistance. It was lovely to see you again, Violet and Siger."