16 weeks/four months pregnant

Thursday, 10th of September

Later that day

"Sherlock, wake up." John shook Sherlock's shoulder gently. The man was laying on his side like the doctor had instructed.

"Nugghhhh." was Sherlock's elegant reply. He turned his face into the pillow like he was trying to disappear.

"Ms Hobbs wrote back, she wants to set up a date and time for us to see her in person."

Sherlock rubbed his eyes reluctantly and squinted at John. "Okay, I'll get up."

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and used John's shoulder to help him up. They walked back into the lounge, the dying sunlight casting shadows across the room.

Sherlock picked up his laptop and skimmed his eyes over the returned email.

Dear Mr Holmes,

We would be delighted to do an interview with you. If you email me a time, place, and date, then I will meet with you and discus it beforehand. I have checked with my supervisor and the BBC will be willing to pay you £45,000 for a live televised interview.

Kind regards,
Sarah Hobbs

"Are you going to except the money?" John asked.

"Usually I would say no, but you can put it towards the new baby things. I'm going to email her back."

Sherlock got started on the next email. It read,

Dear Ms Hobbs,

How does tomorrow at 221B Baker Street sound? I will be at home all day, so pick a time and I will see you then.

Sherlock Holmes

He pressed send.

"John, can you order Chinese and Indian food?"

"What, both?"

"Yes. My usual orders, please."

"Whatever you say, you madman." John took out his phone and called both businesses in turn.

Sherlock thought about what he was going to say during the interview. He wanted to raise awareness of the troubles intersex people go through, and also educate people on what it means exactly when someone is intersex. Sherlock felt nervous, not for the actual interview, but for what would surely come afterwards.

It was an unavoidable fact that he would receive hate and discrimination for his condition. So would John and Mary, for that matter. Coming out as gay or bisexual was difficult enough for celebrities, let alone as intersex.

Sherlock also realised that the baby might grow up to be bullied about this. The vast majority of children lack the capability to understand things like gender dysphoria and intersexuality. And when children don't understand things about other people, they bully them.

"The food will be here soon. Do you want to go boil some eyeballs until then?" John joked.

"No, I don't feel like it. Plus, I got rid of most of the things you would deem disgusting in the kitchen."

"Sherlock, we haven't talked about this yet, but I think we should start. The baby won't stay inside of you forever, so we need a birthing plan. Is there a particular way you would feel comfortable with? "

Sherlock hadn't thought about that yet. "I don't know what to do. What do you and Mary want? You are the parents after all." oh, how it pained Sherlock to say that.

"We want whatever you feel comfortable with."

"Could you tell me my options?"

"Of course. There are lot's of different factors, so I'll just list some elements you should consider. There's pain relief, which can be an epidural, gas and air, or even just meditation. You can have a water birth, which many women say can help ease some of the pain. There's the choice between at a hospital or at home. And, if you don't want any natural births, then you can always get a cesarean. That'll leave you with a scar though."

Sherlock pondered what to do. He decided that if he had a natural birth, then painkillers would be a must. No way he was getting his body ripped apart without drugs to ease the way. As to the other aspects, he couldn't decide.

"I don't want a c-section, and I want some sort of painkillers to help me. I think we should wait to decide on home or hospital nearer the time. Nine-months pregnant me will probably have some strong opinions on it."

"Okay then. And Sherlock, I hate to even ask this, but if god forbid there is an emergency, like you get yourself into another coma or something, then what do you want me to do? Before the baby we knew each other's minds on how we would want to live our lives if we couldn't decide for ourselves. You told me that if you were ever in a coma, or had a traumatic brain injury or something, then you wouldn't want to live off machines if the doctors think you're not going to wake up. You know I feel the same way, right?"

"I do know that."

"What would you want me to do if something like that happened before the baby's born?"

"Put baby Watson first. If it's between me and her, choose her. If I am lying in a hospital bed, and I'm never going to wake up, then keep me alive for her. She's just a little baby, she deserves to live more than I do."

John was silent for a moment, taken aback by Sherlock's words. "You deserve to live, Sherlock. You know that, right?"

"I'm a bad person, John. I've killed people without hesitation or guilt."

"So have I. Remember the cabby?"

"Of course. You killed him because you thought I was going to kill myself."

"Was I right in thinking that?"

Sherlock was silent. It spoke volumes.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I think you should start seeing a therapist. I know depression and PTSD and the feeling of worthlessness, and if you find the right therapist then it can really help."

"I already see one, John. Her name's Lillian."

"Oh. That's surprising."

"Why?"

"I thought you would think that therapy is for hippies or something like that."

"Of course I don't think that, John. You go to therapy, and you're a far cry from a hippy. Mycroft wouldn't let me stop even if I wanted to though."

"I don't think he's allowed to do that, Sherlock."

"I have a history of depression, post traumatic stress disorder, and anorexia nervosa. It's in my best interests to stay in therapy."

"That's fair." the doorbell rang.

"Stay there, Sherlock. I'll get it."

John left Sherlock in the sitting room while he collected the food.

The next day

Sixteen weeks/Four months pregnant

Friday, 11th of September

John opened the door. The woman on the other side looked to be in her mid thirties, with red hair that was artfully done up in a bun. She clearly spent a lot of time on her outfit as well, her clothes were all pristine and matching; the colours all varying shades of blue.

"Are you Sarah Hobbs?" John asked her.

"Yes, I am. And you must be John Watson, pleasure to meet you." She stuck out her hand for John to shake.

"You too. Please, come in. Sherlock and Mary are upstairs." John held the door open for her as she walked in.

They started walking up the stairs. "Thank you so much for doing this. Mr Holmes is known for being one of the most difficult people to get an interview out of."

"Yeah, tell me about it. This story is rather unusual, and pretty much guaranteed to stir some strong opinions. We will explain more in a minute." John pushed open the door that lead into the lounge.

Sherlock greeted her by saying, "Hello Sarah, nice to see you again, etcetera etcetera. I would stand up but I don't want to." the journalist did not have a response to that.

"Take a seat wherever you like." She sat down in John's armchair that had been pulled around so it was opposite the sofa where Sherlock was spread out, still in his pyjamas.

"Thank you all for agreeing to a TV news story. The BBC has been wanting to do this for a very long time. Now, I understand that you have some news that you want getting out."

Mary said, "Yes, we do. It's... well, it's... I don't quite know how to say this-"

"I'm pregnant." Sherlock said.

Ms Hobbs chuckled.

"Ms Hobbs, he really is." John confirmed.

The woman's face showed her desperately trying to work out if they were kidding or not. When she saw all of their serious faces she said, "I'm going to need a bit of a backstory here."

"It all started two years ago when Mary and I decided we wanted to have a baby."