A Scandal in the World Of Goldfish [A Mycroft Holmes Fanfiction]

Chapter 2- A Mother's Tears

In the morning, Meredith laid awake in bed, staring at the alarm clock on her nightstand that read- 05:59. She raised her hand up in the air and slammed the alarm clock shut as soon as it started ringing. She looked over to Mycroft who was asleep on his side and went to the French windows of the master bedroom, drawing the curtains. She donned her robe and went to the nursery. She looked at her son's sleeping form and gently removed his swaddle. As Atticus stirred in his sleep, Meredith lifted him up in her arms and carried him to the kitchen. Like always, she switched on the coffee maker and cut a few lemongrass leaves. She added the lemongrass, ginger, and tea leaves to a pot of boiling water. She poured her tea into a cup and carried it back to the nursery with Atticus still in his arms. Like always, after feeding Atticus while drinking her morning tea, changing him, and having changed in her black running gear herself, she returned to the nursery to strap Atticus into his stroller. She went to lift Atticus out of his crib and her hands stopped midway. Her hands fell back to her side and she stood staring at her son blankly. She tried to muster a smile as she caressed the soft hair on his head, but failed. She handed him a rattle, threw open the curtains of the nursery window and took the baby monitor with her before exiting the nursery. She entered the dark master bedroom quietly and placed the baby monitor on Mycroft's nightstand before leaving the house for her morning run. That day she ran at a much faster pace than usual, almost tripping multiple times. The security detail struggled to catch up to her as she sprinted through a forested path rather than taking a usual route through the neighbourhood and the park.

Later, Mycroft woke up to the sound of Atticus wailing, coming from the baby monitor. He stirred and looked at Meredith's side of the bed. Finding it empty, he looked at the alarm clock at her nightstand, reading- 07:23 and then looked back at the baby monitor on his nightstand with a confused gaze. He quickly donned his robe and slippers and went to the nursery. Atticus was not pleased about being left behind by his mother. Mycroft carried the crying infant in his arms as he searched the mansion for his wife, only to be informed by the security detail outside the house that she had gone for her morning run. Surprised that she had gone on her run without her little running mate, he poured himself a cup of coffee and sat at the kitchen table, bouncing Atticus on his lap.

Soon, Meredith returned from her run with her usual green smoothie in hand. She found Mycroft in the kitchen with Atticus sitting on his lap. The baby reached his tiny hands towards his mother as soon as he saw her, but she stood at the entry, sharing a lingering look with his father. Meredith averted her gaze and walked to the kitchen counter. She chucked the half-full smoothie cup into the trash and walked out of the kitchen without a word. After having showered and changed, she sat in the nursery, using a double breast pump and making a call to Mrs. Greene.

Later in the mansion master bedroom, Mycroft was in the shower, Meredith hung a towel for him and entered the bedroom. She sat down at the dressing table and started to apply make-up on her face, while dressed in an elegantly fitting business attire. She brushed powder on her cheek, and then applied lipstick. She spritzed perfume on her wrists and suddenly stopped, pensively staring at her reflection in the mirror as a fond memory of the past flashed in front of her eyes.

At night, in the mansion master bedroom, Meredith stood over the master bathroom sink, splashing water on her face. She looked at her reflection for a few moments and then dabbed her face with a towel. Meredith turned and entered the master bedroom, where Mycroft was sitting on the bed, perusing through some documents with a laptop open in front of him. She sat at the dressing table with a pensive expression. She looked warily at her reflection as if she was only now noticing how much time had passed, how much she had aged over the years. She touched her face, bringing her hand softly up the side of her face. She noticed the wrinkles beginning to form around her eyes, and her cheeks. Her eyes looked exhausted from sleep deprivation, the dark circles a witness to the sleepless nights she had spent tossing and turning in bed because she couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep in, with her centre of gravity changing every week because of the life she was growing in her womb.