Generations's (Spin Off/ Book FOUR)

Wings

Sherlock:

"Tell me something about you that no one else knows." I whispered to Birdy as we lay under the covers together, back in Baker Street now. I'd resigned myself to the fact that this was the only way I would ever have her again. Khalilah lay asleep between us, so close to her 2nd birthday now. Her older form obviously got it wrong, the woman she knew couldn't be her, not with the Watch lying at the bottom of the sea.

She smiled at me sleepily, her dark blue eyes the colour of the night sky as we were lit by only her phone. "There are times that I think I can hear thoughts and move things with my mind, like Jean Gray from X Men. But only when I'm really tired."

Yes, that was the weirdest thing. She still had a light grip on her ability, even as a human. "You're my Phoenix. A form of bird."

"You keep doing that, making things into my nickname." Birdy laughed, her hair falling over her face until I carefully moved it back off. "We should sleep, it's 3am, she's going to wake up soon."

"OK. Let's sleep then." I smiled softly at her, before kissing her pouty lips carefully. "Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight, my darling."

Once she was asleep, I carefully picked up Lilah, and moved her into her own crib, and looked at the ring that I had in my desk, the one that I was trying to bring myself to give to her. Marriage was something that I had never cared about, that I had never seen the point of, because it was just a piece of paper, something that wouldn't stand the test of time. But time was something I was short of with Birdy, because she wouldn't live as long as I would, not any longer. 

I wanted to give her the best life possible, to make sure that she never had a single regret, missed out on anything. If getting married was something that she would love, I would marry her 1000 times, in every continent, every country, every town as long as it made her happy. 

"Oh, now that is a very pretty ring, isn't it?" A voice behind me smiled and I turned quickly to see a woman that I never thought I would see again. "Now, who are you planning to give that pretty little trinket to, Mr Holmes? Not that little slip of a thing in the bed, surely."

Irene Adler, the Woman.

"You're not supposed to be here, Miss Adler."

She rolled her eyes, following me as I put the ring back and went to check on Khalilah. "Not supposed to. Please. The whole world believes me dead after you successfully saved me from being decapitated. What happened to being celibate, married to the work?"

Glaring, I carefully pulled the blanket further around her, making sure that her little guard was still there in her arms. "That's none of your business. What are you doing here, Irene?"

"I came back for you, though I see you found a new one for yourself. Sarah Jane, I've heard. This doesn't look like the photos of her I've found in the flat though."

"You shouldn't be snooping. Get out before I call Mycroft and have you arrested." I told her firmly, closing the door behind me as we left her, snoring softly. "I won't warn you again."

Irene laughed a little, following me around, before I realised that she was wearing my dressing gown, and she pulled it open, showing me a flash of skin like the first time I'd met her. She was hard not to notice, yet there was never anything to notice about her, because everything was always on show. "Oh, you don't really want me to leave, do you? What happened to our... connection?"

This was pointless. There was no way that she was going to realise that I wanted nothing to do with her. We were even, she saved me, I saved her, nothing more. I picked up my phone, going to call Mycroft, but she grabbed it and threw it away onto Birdy's arm chair, next to where her guitar lay. "Look, I don't want you here, I have and never will love you. At the time you interested me, but now? I'm a different person, I have a woman I love and a daughter who is everything to me. Get out, Irene."