The Holmes Called A [Sherlaide III]

Birthday Bliss

June 25

Sherlock restrained himself from shouting in triumph as he managed to remove a perfectly cooked piece of french toast from the pan and place it neatly on the designated plate. Without another moment to lose, he dusted it with powdered sugar and put a small dollop of butter on it. Now to replicate this times ten. Missus Hudson is working on the sausage and muffins downstairs. Just focus on getting these right. Why all the early morning fuss?

It was Adelaide's birthday. And Sherlock was determined to bring her a delicious breakfast in bed, nothing over or undercooked, and help her have a smooth start to the day. He'd even called ahead to the Museum so that she could start work a little later, giving her time to sleep in. Now that she was officially in her last trimester, she had been having trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep. Their daughter wasn't much help, having become especially attracted to Adelaide's ribcage, making it extremely uncomfortable for her to breathe, let alone sleep.

So no matter what it took, Sherlock was going to make sure his wife had a relaxed birthday. He tended the french toast with laser like precision, making sure each piece was appropriately dressed. And right as he finished the last slice, Missus Hudson quietly entered with her respective contributions. Sherlock had her set them on the counter and then retrieved Teddy, whom the landlady had offered to watch for the morning, trying to make the exchange as silent as possible. Luckily nothing woke the birthday girl, and Missus Hudson ushered the Doberman downstairs with a giggle. Sherlock smiled and got a tray, then started plating everything. He even included a trimmed Tiger Lily in a tiny vase to add a splash of color. After adding a glass of milk, he lifted the tray and quietly entered the bedroom once he heard Adelaide stirring.

He watched as she pleasantly awoke without her jarring alarm, a keen smile on his face. Within a minute her baby blue eyes opened and she popped into a sitting position, scrambling to get out of bed, "Oh I hope I didn't oversleep!"

"Don't worry, Angel, there's no reason to panic." Sherlock calmly explained as he walked over. She froze as he set the tray down and rearranged her pillows before gently pressing her back against them.

"What's all this, Sherlock?"

"Happy Birthday, Adelaide," He leaned down for a kiss, moving the tray to rest over her lap, "I already arranged for you to leave later for work so that I could do this, Love. Don't worry about anything."

"Aww, thank you, Sherlock," She smiled and kissed his cheek, "This is really sweet of you, Darling."

"Merely treating you as you deserve, Lovey." Sherlock hummed in response, sitting down on the side of the bed. He had remembered to feed himself beforehand, so he used the time whilst Adelaide was eating to do other things. Setting out her clothes for the day, putting music on, running a warm shower and getting everything packed into her work bag.

To his satisfaction, Adelaide looked more relaxed and than she had in a month. Glowing, even. They enjoyed some time to themselves before she had to leave for work. One of Mycroft's sedans picked her up to take her to the Museum, where Sherlock had had a fresh arrangement of colorful lillies and a box of sweets delivered.

The day progressed extremely smoothly for Adelaide- she was on an emotional high and couldn't hang on to very much negativity. Sherlock's surprises kept her in a dreamy daze, along with the small gifts from her colleagues. Nothing was able to penetrate her bubble of contentment, and everyone seemed determined to keep it that way.

When Adelaide got home, she was greeted by Sherlock who stalled her in the foyer before helping her upstairs where a small party had been set up. The Watsons and Missus Hudson were there of course, along with Finley, Ryan, Tara and her now fiancé Justin Scherer, and Peter. Greg and Molly couldn't make it that evening, although they sent their well wishes.

Honoring her wishes, there were no big presents but there were plenty of cards and smaller gifts. They spent the evening eating finger foods, talking about anything and everything, and sharing several hearty rounds of laughter.

Adelaide spent a lot of the time holding Alexander, who seemed to be in awe of her- like Rosie tended to be with Sherlock. Teddy maintained his loyal position at her side the entire evening, watchful of everyone who came close. The consulting detective himself refused to stray far as well, anticipating every want or need. He got teased a bit for spoiling his wife too much to enjoy the party, but everyone enjoyed watching how attentive he was to her. So different from how he had been just a few years before.

After everyone else had returned home, Adelaide was going through a pile of birthday cards, curled up in her chair whilst Sherlock saw to cleaning up what was left. She read off the particularly funny or deep cards and Sherlock would make comments, loving that she was feeling so happy and cared for. It was exactly how he had wanted her birthday to go. In his revelry while doing up the bedroom, he didn't pick up when she had gone completely silent. But when he came out to bring her to bed, he knew something was wrong.

"Adelaide, love, what's wrong?" He asked, hurrying to her side. Her previous glow had faded and she looked as pale as a sheet- her smile replaced with a look of dread. She turned from staring out the window and quickly recovered, brushing his concern off.

"Nothing's wrong, Darling. I'm fine. It just looks like there's going to be a thunderstorm." He knew she wasn't telling the truth. She'd never before been upset by storms.

"Angel, what is it? I know something's up. Just tell me." He coaxed.

"Really, it's nothing, Sherlock. Nothing important. Should be getting to bed, right? No reason at all to worry." So Sherlock decided to let it go. Within minutes, the ordeal was forgotten anyway.

The next morning, Sherlock remembered and asked her again. This time she was even more confident and casually shrugged his questions off.

It just looks like there's going to be a thunderstorm... It's nothing...

Nothing important...

Thank you all for reading!! Love ya'll!!