A/N: Hello again everyone! After a very long break, I am back, and will attempt to update more regularly as I am now finished with school until the end of September. I hope you enjoy this chapter, please leave a review :)

The last six months had been hectic. Between feeding, shopping for all the things they hadn't even realised a baby needed, changing nappies and just generally being new parents, Molly and Sherlock hadn't had a moment to themselves.

As Sherlock had remarked to John when he popped in to see how they were getting on, "It's ridiculous how much time and attention two tiny beings require!" to which John had just laughed, reminding him that things wouldn't get any easier once the "two tiny beings" could reach things like beakers of acid left on kitchen worktops.

Despite the chaos involved, neither Molly nor Sherlock would change anything for the world. As expected, Molly was the perfect mother, constantly checking that Addie and Jonathan wanted for nothing, whilst it was obvious to everyone that the twins already had Sherlock wrapped around their little fingers. Sherlock hadn't had a case since they were born, instead devoting every waking moment to assisting Molly in caring for their children, and reading everything he could about child development, measuring and recording their progress in a notebook.

"Addie and Jonathan already seem advanced for their age," he had commented when they had begun to crawl at five months, resulting in stern look from Molly, who reminded him that it didn't matter how smart their children were, they loved them and that was all that mattered.

"As long as they're smarter than Mycroft's spawn," he had muttered under his breath in response.

Molly hadn't thought that she could love Sherlock any more, but seeing his new fatherly side had managed to deepen her love for him even more. One night, she had stirred from her sleep and realised that Sherlock was not in the bed bedside her. Then she had heard the soft sounds of his violin, and risen quietly, making her way to the source of the sound, the nursery. There, she saw Sherlock sat in the rocking chair, Addie in one arm and Jonathan in the other, whilst the CD player played a lullaby that he had recorded himself playing. Slipping into the room to join her little family, she had rested her head on Sherlock's, thinking herself unimaginably lucky that they were hers.

For his part, Sherlock had found that his respect and love for Molly was only amplified by her new role as the mother of his children. Whenever he saw her kiss Addie's forehead, or stroke Jonathan's curls, he was reminded of how glad he was that she had waited for him, putting up with the years of heartbreak that he had caused her.

Whilst the new arrivals had done nothing but strengthen Molly and Sherlock's relationship, the demands of two newborns are not to be sniffed at, so when Molly finally gave in to Violet's offer of having the twins over to their cottage for a couple of nights, Sherlock couldn't help but secretly be relieved at the thought of a small break from midnight feeds and listening out for any sound on the baby monitor.

"Are you sure that we've packed enough nappies?" Molly fretted, stuffing another couple into the overnight bag for good measure.

"Yes Molly, my love, unless they manage to expel a year's worth of waste in two nights, that will be sufficient," Sherlock sighed, surveying the scene before him. Their bed was covered in baby-related items, from stuffed bears to blankets, nappies to bottles, in the middle of which was a large holdall which already appeared to be overflowing.

"I've put some of the breast milk that was in the fridge into a cool bag, do you think I should put a couple more bottles in?" she asked, gesturing to another bag which was next to the holdall.

"That is more than enough," Sherlock smiled, hoping to placate his rather panicked wife. "My mother has raised two children, rather successfully if I do say so myself, or at least one child rather successfully. She will be able to cope with Jonathan and Addie for a couple of nights perfectly well."

"I know, it's just that six months seems so young, maybe we should have waited another month or two..."

"Remember to breath Molly. Everything will be fine. My parents will be here any minute to collect the twins, and then we will have the flat to ourselves..." Sherlock winked. "Now, I'll get all this into the holdall, while you put Addie and Jonathan into their car seats."

` Forty-five minutes later, Violet and Siger had secured the twins' car seats in their Volvo estate, and cheerfully waved goodbye to Sherlock and Molly, promising that they would only be a phone call away if the parents wanted to check up on their babies. A tearful Molly had refused to go inside until the car had disappeared from sight, eventually persuaded to come and have a cup of tea by Sherlock, who was rather more .

Despite an initially emotional start to their first evening alone for six months, Molly seemed to calm down considerably after a couple of cups of tea (the measure of Mrs Hudson's 'herbal soothers' that Sherlock had slipped in perhaps aiding this).

Eight o' clock found the couple curled up together on the sofa, for once free of blankets, toys and other baby-related items, having enjoyed a takeaway from the local Chinese. Deciding that she would take advantage of the lack of infants who could potentially be scarred by what might follow, Molly leant over to kiss Sherlock, placing her hands on his chest and beginning to unbutton his shirt.

At first, Sherlock eagerly kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her and running his fingers through her hair. Then he hesitated slightly.

"Is something wrong?" Molly asked, perceptive as ever, although she was hoping she was mistaken, as she was feeling rather, amorous, shall we say (possibly another side effect of the dose of Mrs Hudson's 'herbal soothers' that Sherlock had snuck into her tea).

"No, nothing's wrong," Sherlock replied, and proceeded to kiss her, whilst Molly undid with the second button on his shirt. But seconds later, his statement was proven to be a lie, as he hesitated once again.

This time, Molly was not prepared to let it go unnoticed, regardless of the effects of those 'herbal soothers'. "What is it Sherlock?" she asked, pulling back, buttons forgotten. When he didn't answer, she answered for him. "You're missing the twins, aren't you?"

"Fine, yes, that's it," Sherlock mumbled reluctantly, unwilling to admit the hold the twins had over his emotions, in fear of being teased. Luckily for him, he had underestimated his wife, who instead of reminding him of how he had been rather unsympathetic towards her sadness at parting with the twins earlier, instead pulled him into a tight hug.

"I know I was worried earlier, but it's just one of those things," she said. "I trust your parents with the twins, of course I do, but some irrational part of me never wants to let them out of my sight. It's natural for you to feel the same way."

This seemed to calm Sherlock, who marveled at his wife's ability to seemingly read his mind, and find the right words to pacify his worries. Gazing into her soft brown eyes, he thought, not for the first time, how lucky he was to have her.

Unfortunately, the moment was about to be spoiled. Molly's brow suddenly creased, and she seemed to pause in thought. Slowly, she spoke. "How come I suddenly felt so calm about the twins not being here? One minute, I was sobbing, and the next, I had put them completely out of my mind."

A wave of guilt passed over Sherlock, who could never look Molly in the eye when he had done something "not good". He considered backing slowly out of the room whilst maintaining eye contact, but decided that this may result in him not being allowed in their bedroom for a month once she figured out that he had drugged her.

"Well, Molly, you see..." he trailed off, edging ever so slightly away from his beloved wife. "I may have slipped you some 'herbal soothers' in an attempt to calm you -"

"- YOU DID WHAT!?" Molly exclaimed, the 'herbal soothers' apparently no longer calming her. At this point Sherlock decided that backing out of the room may have been the better option, whilst silently cursing whichever idiot said that honesty was the best policy.

A sudden eerie calm came over Molly at this point, and she gave a slightly evil smile. "Goodnight Sherlock," she smiled, and stood up, making her way to their bedroom slowly whilst removing her clothing, piece by piece, to reveal a rather becoming set of lacy black undergarments.

Sherlock meanwhile had to watch as his wife sashayed into their bedroom and locked the door behind her. Rather mournfully, he turned to look at the rather less appealing sight of the sofa which he would be spending the night on.

A/N: The end! As I said at the start of this chapter, I'm hoping to update more regularly, at least for the next couple of months, so keep an eye out for new chapters. Also, if you have any requests for one-shots that you would like to see, feel free to send me a PM, or leave a message in a review. Thanks!