Can't Stay Away (BBC Sherlock) -2-

19. The Plunge

A few days went by, and I began to believe that Sherlock only wanted me with him so he could verbally abuse somebody.

He wasn't as cruel as I'd anticipated, which was a plus. What wasn't was the fact that he constantly put me down. The annoyance contest was back, like it had never been forgotten.

Today I wasn't feeling up to dealing with him, so I dropped by Mrs. Hudson's. She was very surprised to see me, as she thought I'd left for home already. She practically pulled me inside and made me breakfast, no questions asked. While Mrs. Hudson cooked, my mind wandered back to the same topic: Mary's pregnancy.

I needed to talk to someone about it. I wasn't ready to talk to the parents. I could try Amanda, but I wasn't sure what was going on with her anymore. We weren't exactly being good friends to each other, neglecting to reach out. I didn't want Madison and Kendal to talk to; they'd focus on Sherlock more. My adoptive parents were an option, as were Max and Darien—more so Darien. I definitely couldn't talk to Sherlock about it, as he would ignore me or tell me to shut up about it. Besides, he was hardly a person to listen to that sort of problem.

And how was Sherlock taking the baby news, anyway? He could be affected by it, definitely not as much as me though. Not having my dad around in the apartment anymore didn't seem to bother him so much. I mean, he had me, and he most likely was living alone before Dad came into the picture. But for all I knew, Sherlock could be taking Dad's absence a lot harder than I thought.

I hadn't ruled out Mrs. Hudson. I was sure she didn't know. I felt this weight on my chest; I had to get it out.

"There you are, Rachel," she said ten minutes later, laying a hot breakfast in front of me.

I softened. "You're really too sweet, Mrs. Hudson. Thank you."

"So what's keeping you hanging around?"

I swallowed a bite. "You're really asking me that question?" She sat across from me. "Sherlock's keeping me cooped up."

"Really?" She was definitely surprised.

I nodded. "He told me he wanted me to help him on a case."

"Huh. And you accepted?"

"I kind of had no choice. He didn't threaten me, he was just persistent."

"I believe it."

"Mrs. Hudson, can I talk to you about something?" I put down my fork.

"Oh, does that taste funny? I thought I used some expired ingredients..."

"No, it's not about the food." I was now a little worried about getting sick later. "It's about my dad and Mary."

"Ah, it's still a big adjustment for you." She nodded in understanding. "It shouldn't be, they've been together for a while."

"It's not that. There's something else."

"Don't tell me they're arguing already! They seem so perfect together."

"No, they're fine. Pretty damn cheerful actually." My tone got razor sharp towards the end.

"What's got you so upset, then?"

I let out a large breath. "Don't tell anyone I told you, but, Mary's pregnant."

"Oh, wonderful!" Mrs. Hudson clapped her hands. "That's big for them."