Chapter Text
Molly blinked her eyes open to the sound of Victoria stirring restlessly in her cot and repeating "Mama, Mama," over and over. She glanced at the alarm clock. It was due to go off in ten minutes anyway, so she gently disengaged from Sherlock whose arm was looped over her as usual.
"Coming, darling," she said softly to her daughter as she quickly put on a dressing gown.
Molly left the alarm on for Sherlock and walked to the cot, where Victoria had pulled herself up by the railing and was standing. No doubt she will be walking soon, thought Molly. She lifted Victoria out of her cot, taking her into the kitchen and settling her in her high chair.
As Molly fed Victoria her baby food, she soon heard the alarm going off and Sherlock moving about in their bedroom.
He appeared in the kitchen a few minutes later. "I didn't hear you get out of bed," he commented, putting two crumpets into the toaster for breakfast and turning on the kettle.
"Victoria woke me a few minutes before the alarm, so I figured I'd just let you sleep and get her breakfast already." She wiped the side of Victoria's face with her bib as she spoke. "Would you mind putting in a couple crumpets for me too while I get dressed?" she asked. She put a few Cheerios in front of Victoria.
"Of course," responded Sherlock. "Butter and honey as usual? Or Marmite?"
Molly thought a moment. She did like Marmite on occasion, but her stomach was feeling a little queasy again and she felt the butter and honey would sit better in her stomach. "I'll stick with the butter and honey, thanks. Coffee would be great as well."
Sherlock indicated the two cups in front of the kettle. "Already on it."
Molly walked up to him and stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Thanks, honey."
She headed to the bedroom and got dressed for church, then took out a little floral print Easter dress with a bonnet that was hanging in her wardrobe for Victoria. She always enjoyed the opportunity to dress Victoria up in adorable little dresses with matching bows or bonnets, it was definitely one of the best parts about having a daughter.
She used the loo and was just coming out of the bathroom when Sherlock called, "Your crumpets and coffee are on the table, love."
When she entered, Sherlock was just finishing his own breakfast, and he cleaned off Victoria's face and hands, then extracted her from the high chair to change her nappy.
They were pretty good at tag-teaming these days, Molly thought. By the time he had finished changing Victoria's nappy, which fortunately was only wet, or Sherlock would almost certainly have deferred the task to his wife, Molly had finished eating and was ready to get Victoria dressed.
Once this particular task was accomplished, both parents admired the picture their daughter made in her dress and bonnet. "We definitely need a photo," remarked Sherlock as he pulled out his ever-present phone from his trouser pocket. "Look at Daddy, princess," he instructed.
He took several photos of Victoria sitting in her playpen, some of Molly holding her, and then of course, the obligatory family selfie of the three of them. Molly then also took a couple pictures of Sherlock with Victoria.
Sherlock was even wearing a tie today, because they would be heading to the Ritz restaurant for lunch after church. After the Valentine's Day mixup where Sherlock's reservation for them had not shown up due to a server error that occurred on the day he had made the reservation, they had been offered a free Easter luncheon as compensation.
It promised to be a good day indeed, first celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and then having a lovely lunch together with Victoria at a fancy restaurant. Now, if only her stomach would stop protesting, Molly thought, feeling that queasiness reappear once again. It was very annoying.
Soon afterwards, they made their way to church. Upon arrival, Molly looked to see if John and Kayla had arrived yet, but their pew was empty.
By the time the Watsons did arrive, the service had already begun, and Kayla whispered into her ear that both Rosie and Adam had had a rather bad night. Rosie looked happy enough now though, and she too was wearing a lovely Easter dress with a matching bow in her hair.
Molly enjoyed the first hymn which had such fitting lyrics for Easter and a lovely, lilting melody. "Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son; endless is the victory Thou o'er death has won," she sang along with the rest of the congregation as Sherlock's baritone joined hers once he had picked up the unfamiliar tune.
The first reading was a long one, but it had a powerful message too, coming from Romans 8:1-17. Pastor Briggs read the following passage.
(1) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, (2) because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (3) For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, (4) in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
(5) Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. (6) The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. (7) The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. (8) Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
(9) You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. (10) But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. (11) And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of[e] his Spirit who lives in you.
(12) Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. (13) For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
(14) For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. (15) The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[f] And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." (16) The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. (17) Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
As the pastor spoke, Molly reflected on how thankful she was to be a child of God, to know the assurance that this life on earth, with its trials and tribulations, was only a temporary home. She glanced at Sherlock who was also listening intently. He turned his head towards her and smiled. Victoria was settled comfortably on his lap as usual and her little fingers were twisting his wedding band around and around his finger. Molly never grew tired of seeing that outward sign of their commitment to one another.
During the service, Molly had the opportunity to hold Adam for a short time as he was awake on this occasion, and she thought again how amazing it was to think of Victoria being so tiny just a few short months before.
Fortunately, she was able to enjoy the Easter celebration without getting nervous about singing a solo. Instead, one of her church friends, Abigail, sang a song by Sandy Patty called They Could Not.
Molly couldn't help admiring her friend. Abigail Hunter and her husband Caleb had been dealing for several months with their young daughter's retinoblastoma cancer diagnosis. Little Grace had been undergoing regular chemotherapy treatments for it but those treatments were now almost concluded and the parents had received a lot of prayer support. Things were a little more complicated because Abigail was also four months pregnant with her second child and the church family had rallied around to support the couple as Grace underwent treatment to reduce and eliminate the tumour in her right eye. Molly herself had spearheaded a campaign with Kayla to have various women of the church provide meals for the couple on days when they had to be at the hospital for Grace to have her chemotherapy treatment.
By the grace of God, fittingly, Molly thought, regarding the child's name, the tumour had been steadily shrinking and Grace's eye had been saved. Also by the grace of God, she did not have the cancer in both eyes, something that occurred in approximately one in four cases.
Molly could see Caleb sitting in his pew with Grace, who was a delightful eighteen month old who, despite losing her hair due to her cancer treatments, was obviously happy to hear her mother sing. Abigail's face too showed radiance as she sang the words "Could they keep him in the grave? They could not. Praise God, they could not."
Molly blinked back tears as Abigail returned to her seat and the congregation applauded. Despite the trying time, the Hunters were wonderful ambassadors of Christ, never wavering in their faith and the conviction that God's hand was upon their daughter.
Molly looked at her own daughter still happily sitting on Sherlock's lap and prayed she would never have to deal with what Abigail and Caleb had been dealing with.
As usual, Pastor Briggs gave a great sermon about the resurrection, citing the differences between the people such as Lazarus whom Jesus and the disciples had resurrected, and Jesus' own resurrection.
"The whole basis of our faith is contingent upon the resurrection of Jesus. If he had not been raised from the dead, and then ascended to heaven, he would have been like anyone else. Even Lazarus and Jairus's daughter, who were raised from the dead, eventually died again. Jesus is the only person to have died once taken upon the sin of the world, and was resurrected, never to die again," explained the pastor.
Molly could see Kayla and John exchanging glances. John had come to faith the previous year after watching the film, The Case for Christ, which documented the true journey of author Lee Strobel in his quest to disprove the authenticity of the Bible. Instead, based on evidence he found during his research on the resurrection and fact that Jesus had indeed truly died on the cross, rather than just appearing to, he was convicted of its truth and became a Christian.
Molly was so happy for her friends. Both Sherlock and John were outstanding husbands and fathers, and Molly felt very blessed.
At the conclusion of the service, John and Sherlock spoke together briefly while Molly spoke to Kayla.
Do you have anything special planned for today?" queried Molly of her friend.
"We're heading to my parents' place this evening for dinner," responded Kayla. "John was telling me you and Sherlock are going to the Ritz for lunch?"
"Oh, yes," responded Molly and she explained to Kayla how the situation had come about.
Once the usual goodbyes had been said, Sherlock hailed a taxi and they headed off for lunch.
They arrived at the Ritz and went upstairs to the restaurant. Molly bit her lip anxiously as Sherlock announced their names. She couldn't help worrying that something might have happened again, but her worries were groundless. The reservation was confirmed and the couple was shown to a table. A high chair was also brought for Victoria.
As Sherlock and Molly waited for their meals to be prepared, the staff kindly took away and warmed the bottle of formula milk for Victoria, then brought it back, along with a teddy bear for her. Molly was delighted at the kindness of the waitress who was serving them. The hotel certainly took care of their patrons. Of course, Molly was rather partial to the Ritz, seeing as she and Sherlock had spent their wedding night there, as well as Valentine's Day night the previous year.
She had just finished feeding Victoria her bottle and baby food when the meals arrived.
Sherlock sat a couple of toys onto the high chair tray for Victoria to play with, but she seemed more content to play with the new teddy bear.
The meal was delicious, but it was also nice to just be out and not cooking, reflected Molly, as she looked across the table at her handsome husband.
Molly's stomach was feeling uncomfortably full by the time they were ready to leave. In fact, she had a feeling the food had been a little rich because she was feeling sick again. She excused herself to head for the loo, and splashed her face with water, which made her feel a little better. Then she returned to Sherlock, who had already gathered up the changing bag and was holding Victoria.
His eyes narrowed. "Molly, you don't look too good," he remarked.
"I think the food might have been a little rich for me," she admitted, then added with a quirk to her lips, "Or I ate too much. I feel a bit sick."
He gave her a look of concern. "In that case, we had best hurry home and you can go lay down if you aren't feeling well."
Molly reached over to the table and took a quick sip of her remaining water. "I'm ready. Let's go."
As soon as they arrived home, Sherlock said, "why don't you go and lay down, sweetheart. I'll take care of Victoria."
Molly nodded. The queasy sensation in her stomach was getting worse. She undressed and got into bed, but within five minutes she had to run to the bathroom. Sherlock had forgotten to put the toilet seat down, but in this case she was grateful, she barely made it in time. The entire contents of her stomach made their way into the toilet bowl, and she was reminded of the way she had experienced morning sickness with Victoria. Suddenly, she had a thought which both excited her and filled her with alarm, if that was even possible. She couldn't be pregnant, could she? She was still breast-feeding, even though it wasn't very often. Her menstrual cycle hadn't returned yet either, but that was because she was still breast-feeding, she assumed.
Sherlock knocked on the closed door of the bathroom. "Are you okay sweetheart? I heard you getting sick. I guess that food was too rich for you after all."
Molly wiped at her mouth with a piece of toilet paper and threw it into the porcelain bowl, then flushed the toilet. "It's fine, Sherlock. I'm just going to stay in here for a few minutes to make sure I don't have anything else to bring up."
"All right then. Let me know if you need anything," her husband told her, and she heard his footsteps retreating back to the sitting room.
Molly contemplated for another few seconds. She grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste, cleaning her teeth and mouth to rid herself of the bad taste, and began to rummage around in the drawer of the vanity with her free hand. When she had bought a pregnancy test kit after she and Sherlock had returned from their honeymoon and her period was late, it had been a two pack. The other test stick had to be in the drawer somewhere.
A minute later, she found it and triumphantly pulled it out. She hoped it hadn't already expired. She finished brushing her teeth and rinsed out her now thankfully fresh-smelling mouth, then pulled off the wrapper of the stick.
Just as well I actually need to use the loo right now, she thought to herself, remembering to put down the seat of the toilet and making use of the pregnancy stick. She sealed the end of it and flushed the toilet, set the stick down, washed her hands, and waited.
As she waited, this time she watched the indicator. She and Sherlock were definitely hoping to have another child, but the plan had been for them to actively try for a baby again once her regular cycle resumed after she had weaned Victoria. They had not even bothered to use any form of contraception over the past several months, because the breast-feeding was obviously preventing her from ovulating.
Molly watched as the urine reached the test part of the stick and the pink line appeared, then she bit her lip as it travelled further. One minute later, she had the answer. A second, fainter pink line had appeared. The test was positive.
I'm pregnant, she thought in bemusement. What is Sherlock going to think about it happening again so soon?
Slowly she picked up the stick and opened the bathroom door, then made her way to the sitting room, where Sherlock was leaning over the playpen, watching their daughter play with some blocks in front of her, trying to stack them.
"I thought you were going to go back and lay down," commented Sherlock, not lifting his eyes from his daughter.
Molly swallowed. "Uh, about that Sherlock," she began hesitantly and he looked up at her curiously. Then his gaze dipped down to her hand which held the pregnancy stick and his eyes widened in shock.
"Is that what I think it is?" he breathed.
Molly nodded. "After I just got sick, I realised I've been feeling a little ill for a couple days, since Friday actually, although I thought that was just nerves, remember?"
"I remember you said you felt nauseous when we were in the taxi on our way to church." His voice was solemn and Molly's heart sank. It seemed as though he was not going to be too happy at this unexpected news. They had been thinking along the lines of two years between children, and this was significantly less, closer to eighteen months which would undoubtedly be more stressful.
Tears pricked her eyes as she continued. "Well, after I got sick, I thought I'd just check, and I knew I still had a pregnancy test left from last time. I…I don't think I'm very far along because the second line was quite faint, but it was definitely positive." A stray tear slipped down her cheek.
Sherlock walked towards her then and unexpectedly gathered her into his arms. "Molly, Molly, are you sad about this?" He leaned back slightly and lifted her chin to meet his gaze. "This is the best news. I was a bit concerned that we might not be so lucky second time around with you getting pregnant, and now God has blessed us with this gift." He grinned then and dropped his hand so he could place both hands at her waist and lift her, twirling her around before setting her down.
Molly gave him a wobbly smile. "I'm happy about it too, but when you were so solemn about it, I thought you were upset."
Sherlock bent down to rest his forehead against hers. "Merely processing it, love," he murmured. Then he was holding her against him tightly, kissing her tenderly, lovingly, and she relaxed against him.
His hands moved across her bare back, and suddenly she realised she wasn't wearing anything besides her bra and knickers. She had been too concerned first with getting to the bathroom in time to be sick, and then showing the pregnancy test results to Sherlock, she hadn't even thought about her state of undress. At least she wasn't completely naked.
As if he knew what she was thinking, Sherlock stopped kissing her to lean his head back and cast her a sultry glance. "You really shouldn't walk around in such a state of undress, Molly. I might be tempted to take you to the bedroom and seduce you." He gave her bum an impudent squeeze.
Molly let out a huff of laughter. "Like that's going to happen. We can't exactly leave Victoria to her own devices that way."
He gave her a smouldering look. "Believe me," he said silkily, "we could leave and be back before she even noticed."
Molly giggled, and swatted his bum this time. "Save it for tonight, Casanova," she told him, and he pouted. "Anyway, I need to throw this stick away." Then she looked at him and her brows drew together. "I should be cross with you for leaving the toilet seat up again, but luckily, this time it happened to work in my favour."
He grimaced slightly. "Sorry, Molly. I only went to the loo at the last minute before we left and I didn't want us to be late for church." His lips quirked. "You have to admit though, I've been getting better at replacing the toilet paper roll, haven't I?"
"Yes you have, sweetheart, and thank you for remembering to put your empty coffee and tea cups in the sink." She pulled away from him and began to walk to the rubbish bin, tossing a last teasing remark over her shoulder, "although I have despaired of ever getting you to unroll those socks before you throw them in the washing basket."
Sherlock smirked and countered with "Hey, nobody's perfect." He then said, "Wait, let me take a photo of that pregnancy stick before you throw it away."
Molly stopped walking and dutifully held out the stick while Sherlock took a couple photos, then she deposited the stick into the rubbish bin and washed her hands again.
When Molly returned to the sitting room, she was amused to see Sherlock lifting a protesting Victoria out of her playpen so he could look into her eyes and speak to her. "Guess what, sweet pea?" he told his daughter. "You're going to be a big sister. How about that?"
A supremely unimpressed Victoria merely responded with a frown, saying, "Down," and Sherlock returned her to the playpen so she could resume her block stacking.
He turned back to Molly and raked a glance over her. "Either get dressed or go back to bed, sweetheart," he told her gruffly, and she headed back to the bedroom. She was feeling very tired, and this was only the beginning. Dealing with another pregnancy as well as Victoria was definitely going to be stressful at times, she supposed.
As she settled back into the bed, she made a decision. She did not want anything to go wrong with the pregnancy, so Victoria would need to be weaned immediately. No matter how small the risk, Molly didn't want to take any chances. Then she fell asleep for a couple hours.
That evening, when it was time for her to usually give Victoria one last feeding and put her to bed, Molly said to Sherlock, "Sherlock, you'll have to take over the bedtime ritual for a couple days. I'm not going to breast-feed anymore. I know it probably wouldn't hurt the new baby, but I'm not willing to take any chances."
To her surprise, Sherlock's eyes lit up. He was so pleased to be the one who would have to put Victoria to bed?
Then she had to grin at his words. "You mean I get your breasts to myself again? When will you stop wearing that bloody maternity bra?"
Molly shook her head in amusement. "I suppose a few days, when my milk supply dries up completely."
Sherlock frowned. "Surely a little leakage won't kill you? I think we need to celebrate your pregnancy by losing the bra."
She rolled her eyes. "Fine." It really wasn't worth arguing over, and the last time she had really leaked had been before she had arrived home from work on Valentine's Day, and she had been reducing feedings since then.
Molly stayed away from the bedroom while Sherlock took care of getting Victoria settled. It took about fifteen minutes of grizzling and Victoria plaintively calling "Mama." Sherlock sang to her and at last her noises ceased.
Sherlock quietly came out of the bedroom carrying his Bible and their devotional. "I think we should do our readings out here today so we don't wake her," he told Molly.
They settled down onto the sofa and Sherlock handed her the Bible. She had bought it for him during their engagement and it was the large print version so slightly easier for him to read, although he still needed his reading glasses. "Why don't you take a turn today?" he suggested.
Molly pouted. "I like it better when I can listen to you." She had thought on several occasions that he would make a fine narrator for an audio version of the Bible.
His lips quirked. "I like hearing your voice too, you know. Now that you are no longer breast-feeding, your hands are free."
Molly pursed her lips. She knew he was being perfectly reasonable, but that didn't mean she had to like it. With a sigh, she took the Bible and devotional and read the Old and New Testament readings, then went onto the reading for the day.
She couldn't help smiling at the title - Washed Clean. It made her think of the solo she had done two nights earlier.
The last paragraph of the meditation was so uplifting. "Even when it's hard to believe, cling to this beautiful truth: there's no damage from sin that Jesus can't totally remove. God is willing and ready to wash away the effects of sin for anyone willing to return to him. Through Christ, we can live each day in freedom and hope," she read aloud.
She closed the Our Daily Bread and set it on her lap, then looked at Sherlock. "Have I told you lately how much I appreciate the fact that we can talk about our faith together? As much as I love you, I think our relationship would have had a lot of issues if you had remained an atheist."
Sherlock reached over and took the devotional and Bible from her lap, setting them onto the coffee table. "I'm glad we share everything as well, my love. It really does amaze me about God's timing and how things work to His purpose." A dimple appeared in his cheek as he grinned. "And obviously God's timing for things continues to surprise me with this unexpected news today." To highlight his meaning, he slid a hand over and placed it onto Molly's belly.
"Now that we know you are pregnant again, I suppose we had best get moving on looking for a new home so that we can be settled in before this little one arrives."
Molly turned towards her husband. "I guess you're right, I hadn't thought of that before. But I think that can wait until tomorrow." Boldly, she moved to press her body against his and slide her arms around his neck. "For now, I think it's time to make good on what I said earlier in the day, about saving it for tonight, don't you think, Casanova?"
Sherlock slid his arms to either side of Molly and pulled her even closer into himself. "I completely concur, Mrs. Holmes," he said, pressing his lips to hers.
They walked quietly to their bedroom, making sure Victoria was still sleeping soundly and undressed, then got into bed. And for some time, as they kissed and loved one another, the world around them disappeared. They enjoyed that special closeness they had been granted by God, glorying in the knowledge that they were two people, yet one, as their hearts beat in tandem.
As Molly lay in the embrace of her beloved husband in the contented afterglow of their passion, she reflected that it had certainly been an Easter to remember. Even as the resurrection of Jesus offered the hope of new life for humanity, she and Sherlock had been blessed with the creation of a new life as well. Sherlock's hand was resting protectively against her belly and she laid her hand over his as well, then slept.