The Holmes Legacy - ON HOLD

Chapter Two~

Suddenly, he felt something. He looked to see Holly laying her head on his shoulder, about ready to collapse from exhaustion. She must be tired, as no person should have to go through what she did today. Still, she had handled it fairly well. Many adults would have panicked in her place, but this girl of only fifteen years had gone about it logically. She may have panicked in trying to free her hands from their binding, but that was something of a natural response. Perhaps this girl was his child after all. He smiled and put his hand on hers, letting her enjoy the sweetness of her dreams.

~

"What happened? Why would anyone do this to her?"

"I haven't the faintest idea. If nothing else, they might have done it to reach you... or me."

"What? Why? And how could they have gotten into my home like that? I always make sure that the door is locked before leaving her alone!"

"Now calm down, there's no need to shout. Holmes, you're lucky that she gave up when she did. If she had tried any harder, there might have been permanent damage. For now, she's fine. I've made sure to disinfect the wounds and they should be healing as we speak."

"Oh, thank you Doctor. If there's ever anything I can do-"

"Well, you could begin by telling me why this was the first that I've heard of her existence."

"Sherlock, this isn't exactly the best time."

"Right now, I have no interest in whether or not it's the best time for you. When I asked her about her father-"

"I never knew how to explain! I thought you'd have figured it out by now, but apparently, you hadn't. Are you sure your deductive skills are as sharp as they used to be?"

"This is hardly the time for sarcastic remarks, Irene! She openly told me that she didn't care about her father! Do you know how it feels to be resented by a daughter you never knew existed?"

"Wait, Holmes! Well, he's in quite the foul mood."

"It's my fault. Please don't blame him doctor... I should've told him before now."

"It's alright, I don't blame either of you. Do you want to see her? She should be waking up any second now."

~

"Holly? Holly, wake up."

She groaned and slowly began to awaken.

Wait... what?

As she studied her surroundings, she saw that they were in a room. Hadn't they just been on a steamboat? How could she have gotten here? She got up from a black leather couch and stretched her arms. As she brought them back down in front of her, she saw that her wrists were covered in bandages. Had the doctor already looked at them? How long had she been asleep? There were so many questions she could ask, but the most important was the last one that came to mind.

Wait... was that a woman's voice?

She sat up and looked at the lone door on the other side of the room. She smiled and ran towards it as quickly as her numb legs would allow. Her head was spinning but she couldn't care less. All she cared about right now was seeing the woman on the other side of the door. She opened it hastily and was a bit surprised by what she found.

"Ah, you're finally awake. That's good, Watson was growing quite worried."

It was Holmes. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, with a stern look about him. His face seemed almost emotionless, as if he were staring at a criminal.

"So, I suppose you'd like to know how long you were asleep."

"Y-yes. I was just thinking about that."

She stuttered, not because she was still groggy, but because his cold stare began to frighten her. He hadn't looked at her like this since their first meeting at the factory. He seemed to be studying her appearance, her actions. It scared her to death, though she tried hard not to show it.

There were footsteps, as if someone were coming up the steps behind him.

"Oh, Holly!"

"Mom!"

Her mother ran up to her and she caught her in a hug, as if she had come back from the ends of the earth. Holmes closed his eyes and let his head drop, as if he was in deep thought. As Holly and Irene let go of each other, they both smiled, knowing that the other was still alive.

"Well, this is quite the touching reunion."

More footsteps could be heard from downstairs, but they weren't rushed at all. They were quite calm, and Holly assumed that it was Watson. These suspicions were confirmed when she heard him speaking from the first floor.

"Ah, so you're finally awake. Are you hungry? Mrs Hudson is making tea and scones."

She smiled and looked down over the railing at him.

"Yes, I'll be down in a bit. Thank you doctor."

"Oh please, call me Watson. There's no need to be so formal."

"Alright. Thank you Watson."

He smiled back at her as he disappeared into another room. Holly stepped back and went over recent events in her head, trying to remember what had happened to her before waking up in the factory. Nothing came back to her. 

But did it really matter? She was reunited with her mother, she finally met her father who happened to be the man that she had idolized since she was a child, and everything seemed to be looking good for her. She looked back at Holmes, who seemed to have cheered up a bit and started to speak in something of a playful tone.

"Father, you never did tell me how long I was asleep."

He seemed to smile at that remark, though it looked quite forced, and looked at her.

"It's quite simple really. We had a carriage waiting for us when we arrived at shore, and from there we arrived to Baker Street, where you are now. All in all, you've been asleep for about... twenty six hours? Give or take."

"What!?"