Mrs. Holmes [Book III]

Telling Sherlock {Susanna}

On the way home I stop at a music store and purchase a few rudimentary theory books for violin and piano, and then visit a maternity store. There I pick up a simple baby bottle, a rattle, and a pacifier. With the supplies assembled I eagerly continue on home.

Knowing that Sherlock is at Scotland Yard, I have plenty of time to set everything up. I make homemade tags for the items and then write a 'note from baby'. Once everything is labelled I hide everything around the house.

The bottle- Baby's 1st Cuppa- is hidden next to our favorite teacups. The Rattle- Baby's 1st Instrument- is tucked into Sherlock's violin case. I wrap up the books and label them Baby's Music Lessons. These I place on top of the piano. I set the note, in an envelope, on Sherlock's chair.

Dear Daddy,

Sorry if Mama is really tired and moody- that's just because she's got to focus on helping me grow. Since she's sleepy and needs her rest, could you help her find my things before January 30th? I'll need them when I'm finally ready to meet you and Mama!

Love, Baby Holmes
P.S.- SURPRISE! Sorry you thought I wasn't coming!

I take the pacifier and sonogram with me to the bedroom and place the former in the pocket of Sherlock's blue silk dressing gown, keeping the latter with me. Afterwards I hop into the shower and soak for a while before getting out and changing into my softest cotton nightgown and my velvet dressing gown, plus fluffy slippers. Then I retire to bed to wait and flip on the TV, tuning into a rerun of Keeping Up Appearances. I soon notice my hand hovering over my stomach. It won't show for another month, yet I can't help but to place my hand over where the baby is and revel in that they're actually there.

It's about an hour later, and I'm close to dozing off, when I hear Sherlock run upstairs and enter the living room, greeting a happily vocal Ziva. I listen closely, waiting for signs that he's seen the note. At this point I push myself back up to a sitting position.

A minute later I hear him stop talking to Ziva. Complete silence permeates the flat. The next thing I know, his footsteps fly down the hall and I look up as he breezes into the bedroom with the note in hand. Before I can say anything, he rounds my side of the bed and wraps me up in an embrace, burying his face deep into my neck. I giggle and hug him back, "Surprise! I'm Pregnant!"

He retracts enough to kiss me and then holds me by my shoulders, "When did you find out, Love?" I reach for the sonogram on the nightstand and hold it up for him with a grin.

"Today. Zuke gave me a blood test. And I got a scan as well."

He sits down on the bed beside me and gently takes the black and gray photo from my hands to look at it, "How far along?"

"Jillian who did the scan said I'm eight weeks along," Sherlock freezes and looks at me. I chuckle, "My migraine medication interfered with the pregnancy test readings. That's why we kept getting negative results. That side effect was only recently proven."

"Eight weeks? Eight weeks of trying everything we could think of yet not knowing we'd already been successful?" I shrug my shoulders and he gazes back at the sonogram, "Why did Zuke give you a blood test anyways?"

"Ehe, well..."

"What happened?"

"I haven't shown many popular symptoms of pregnancy but it appears that smell aversion is one symptom I do have. Ended up getting sick in the Mortuary."

"The chemicals or the bodies?"

"Both, particularly when the body has been rotting for weeks. Percy called Zuke and he did the blood test to see whether I was pregnant or had caught a pathogen, or was just stressed."

"Well thank goodness it wasn't a pathogen, Love," He breathes and leans on his side against me, still looking at the sonogram in his hands. I wrap my arms around him, "I was beginning to worry that I-" I tsk and stop him before he can say anymore.

"Don't worry about it anymore, Darling. We know what the migraine prescription does now so it won't be an issue in the future, okay?"

"Very well, Love." I smile, feeling the tension that he's been carrying for over a month dissipate as he melts against my chest. I card my fingers through his curls and kiss his forehead.

"I told you it would happen, Darling," I whisper and then giggle, "Want to know something cool? Jillian said that the baby is about the size of a kidney bean."

"Seriously?" I nod.

"Yep, or a raspberry. But I probably won't show for a another month or so."

"I read that the wisest course of action would be to wait until the second trimester before telling everyone else.  So by the time we do make the announcement, you should start showing."

I giggle, "You've done your research, Sherlock."

"Of course I have. Don't I always think things through?"

"Usually you do."

Eventually Sherlock gets up to find the baby items I hid around the house and I burrow back under the covers, setting up the sonogram on the nightstand. Just as I'm falling asleep, Sherlock comes in with the gifts and finds the pacifier. After gathering these on his dresser, where he can clearly see them, he crawls into bed and snakes his arms protectively around my abdomen, burying his face in my hair, "I Love You, Susanna."

"Mmm... I Love You too."

Thank you for reading!