holmes ➢ sequel to athena

Chapter Eight

LilyAnne

Athena asked Sherlock a thousand questions a day, some out of curiosity, some to annoy him- all with the purpose of striking conversation. But one conversation she always always avoided was her mother.

Until now.

She was sitting in 221B on the kitchen counter, having visited from Elena's home one weekend. Sherlock was doing some sort of experiment, looking curiously into a microscope. John and Mary were sitting at the kitchen table, chatting quietly, as not to disturb Sherlock lest he snapped at them.

She had a tub of ice cream in her lap, spoon in hand, and was casually talking about a few of the murders in the papers. Then she paused. All this talk of death. Not once had she asked the question.

And she figured she was going to die soon anyways.

"Sherlock, why don't I have a mother?"

She very well heard John and Mary talking as well as Sherlock gulp hard. But just as he lost his demeanor, he regained it moments later.

He looked back into his microscope and waved a hand at Athena. "Why on earth would you need one? You have a-a... John. You have a John."

John grimaced and said, "Yeah... A John."

"That doesn't take away from the fact that someone had to birth me." She was growing slightly impatient.

John cleared his throat. "Athena."

"No," she said quietly. "I've waited seventeen years. Someone ought to tell me now."

Sherlock stood, placed something on the counter, and turned to Athena. "Enough. There's nothing about LilyAnne that you need to know. You got all of your traits from me, so discussing her would be futile."

Athena's eyebrows shot upward. "So her name is LilyAnne?"

Sherlock's face changed from stern and parental to irritated and daring. "No. No, do not go and do what I think you're going to do."

She smirked. "I'm not. No, going to Mycroft would be the easy way out."

He glowered at her. "If you go investigating, you're grounded."

She chuckled. "You can only do that for- what? Four months? Besides, I don't even live with you."

Mary's eyes were twinkling. Honestly, she sided with Athena on this.

"I'll make you move in with Mycroft," he said.

"I'll use his office."

"I'll make you move in with Lestrade."

She grinned. "Lovely, he adores me."

In that moment, a flash went off outside 221B. The man with the camera was back, and this time he was going to do some damage.

Athena, who was sitting on the counter and smirking, did not expect what came next.

"You're moving back in with me. Dangerous or not." Sherlock fumed, his cheeks red.