A few months after Alex and Sherlock had almost gotten into an accident, she woke up next to him. He wasn't really having nightmares anymore. Alex had a very bad feeling when she woke up. Sherlock stirred beside his wife and opened his eyes.

"Goodmorning, dear." He smiled.

"Yeah, not a good morning for me." Alex snapped.

"What's wrong? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" Sherlock teased.

"No, but I did wake up with something." Alex said, rushing to the bathroom. She didn't come out for an hour. When she did come out, she looked miserable. 

"What's wrong?" Sherlock asked.

"Don't. Talk. To. Me." Alex growled. She curled up on the couch.

"Seriously, what's wrong?" Sherlock asked, kneeling by his wife's side. She looked up at him and gave him a look. Sherlock felt very stupid when he realised what was wrong with Alex and that it had taken him this long to deduce it. "Oh...you're on your monthly cycle." 

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner." Alex said sarcastically. "Sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out like that." 

"It's okay. I know that you're going through mood swings, cravings, and cram-" Sherlock started. Alex pressed her finger to Sherlock's lips.

"Honey, I know how this works." Alex said. "I've been doing it since I was eleven." 

"That young?" Sherlock said.

"I've dealt with it before. I'll be fine." Alex said. "Just be here."

"Okay." Sherlock said.

"Rusty, come here." Alex called.

Their Irish Setter ran into the room and jumped on Alex's stomach. Alex let out a shout of pain. Rusty curled up on her lap. The warmth of his fur helped Alex's cramps. She pet the dog. Sherlock made a quick call on his phone.

"I've called Lestrade. He will be here in a little while to pick Vanessa up." He said after he hung up. "Rusty, down."

Rusty jumped off Alex's lap. Sherlock crawled onto the couch with Alex. She wrapped her arms around him. She was very emotional at the moments and her cramps were killing her. Sherlock rubbed her back.

"Is it really as bad as other women make it out to be?" He asked. "Molly nearly ripped my head off one time when she was on hers."

"Sherlock, this happens for five days every month for about forty-five years. What you said earlier about it is correct, but don't get me started on the emotional toil it takes out of me. The cramps are like mild labor pains. And society expects us to continue to function like nothing's wrong." Alex said. 

"How come you've never complained before?" Sherlock asked.

"It hasn't been this bad for a long time. I was more athletic while we were on cases, and people who are more athletic don't have them that bad." Alex said. "Now I'm a stay at home mom and I'm not that athletic."

"Wow..." Sherlock said. "Do you need anything?" 

"I just want you to be here." Alex said.

"You're twitching." Sherlock said.

"It's cramps. Of course I'm twitching." Alex said. She held him even tighter. "It hurts, Sherlock!" 

"I know, I know." Sherlock said. Someone knocked on the door. "That's Lestrade. I'll get it."

Sherlock got up and answered the door. Lestrade was standing there, tapping his foot. Sherlock called his daughter out of her room. 

"Why do I have to do this?" Lestrade asked.

"I need to take care of Alex." Sherlock said.

"Why? Is she ill?" Lestrade asked. Sherlock gave him a look. "Oh...poor kid."

"Yeah, but I think I can manage." Sherlock said. "How hard can it be?"

"That's what you think." Lestrade said. "Well, what should I do to keep Vanessa occupied? I've got to go back to the office."

"Just put on a Disney movie or whatever." Sherlock said.

"I don't have any at my office." Lestrade said.

"Then take some from here." Sherlock said.

"Which ones does she like?" Lestrade asked. 

"Dumbo, Bambi, Lady and the Tramp, and Monsters Inc." Sherlock said, getting the discs out. 

Soon after, Lestrade left with Vanessa. Sherlock went back over to Alex on the couch. She was twitching again. Sherlock held her tightly and wrapped a blanket around them both. Alex buried her head in Sherlock's chest and squeezed her eyes shut. The dark nothingness helped with her cramps.

"Are you okay, dear?" Sherlock asked.

"No." Alex said, her voice cracking. "It hurts so bad!" 

"Shh, I'm here." Sherlock said.

"I hate being a woman." Alex said.

"Don't say that." Sherlock said. "I love you, you know."

"I love you too." Alex said. "Can you get me some Aleve?"

"Of course." Sherlock said. "Where is it?"

"It's in our medicine cabinet." Alex said.

Sherlock got up and went into the bathroom. He got some pills for Alex and then got her a glass of water. She swallowed them, hoping they would stay down. She snuggled up against Sherlock again. Sherlock kissed her on the lips. Alex kissed him back and then rested her head on his chest. Sherlock picked her up.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked.

"You'll be much more comfortable in our bed." Sherlock said.

"Whatever you say." Alex said.

Sherlock laid down with Alex in his arms. He pulled the covers around them. Alex closed her eyes, emotionally drained and exhausted. She fell asleep with Sherlock stroking her hair. He didn't fall asleep beside her, wanting to be there when she awoke. Alex twitched every once in a while, but not very often. When Alex did wake up, it was the afternoon. Sherlock smiled at her and kissed her on the cheek.

"Welcome back." He said.

"Hey." Alex said.

"You feeling a little better?" Sherlock asked. 

"Uh-huh." Alex nodded. "Not much, but a teensy bit."

"Do you want a hot water bottle? I was reading online, and most of the things I found said that women feel better when they have a hot water bottle." Sherlock said.

"I'd rather have a heating pad so you don't have to get up every fifteen minutes when it gets cold." Alex said.

"Okay. I think we have one of those." Sherlock said, going into the closet. "Ah ha! There it is!"

Sherlock plugged the heating pad in and put it on Alex's stomach. He turned it to medium so she would be comfortable. He rubbed her stomach to help release some of the pain. Alex groaned, rolling over and mashing her face in the pillows.

"This isn't warm enough." She said.

"Do you want it to be turned up higher?" Sherlock asked.

"No. Then it'll be too hot." Alex whined. "But I know something that would be just the right temperature."

"What would that be?" Sherlock asked.

"Put your head on my stomach." Alex said.

Sherlock laughed and shook his head, but obliged. Alex clenched Sherlock's hair, since the cramps were hurting. Sherlock winced, his hair getting tugged on was hurting him. Alex loosened her grip when she saw that she was hurting Sherlock. Sherlock took her hand and rubbed it with his thumb.

"It's okay. I don't mind." He said. "Is my head warm enough?"

"Yeah." Alex nodded. She kissed Sherlock's hair. "I love you." 

"I love you too." Sherlock said. "Tell me when your cramps are gone so I can go pick up Vanessa." 

"Okay." Alex said.

She turned on the T.V. in their room and switched to ABC family. They were showing the movie, My Dog Skip. Alex smiled. She loved that movie. Sherlock had never seen it, but it seemed to be about a kid and his dog. It reminded him a bit of himself and Redbeard. By the end, there was a lump in both of their throats. Alex kept her tears at bay, which was a miracle in her condition. She felt something wet on her stomach.

"Do we have a leak or something?" She said, looking up at the ceiling. She looked at her husband, who was crying. "Oh...Sherlock's got a leak." 

"Haha, very funny." Sherlock said. "Have your cramps stopped?"

"I think I'll be able to manage just fine on my own." Alex said. "You can go pick Vanessa up."

"Okay. I will be home within 30 minutes." Sherlock said. He kissed his wife on the forehead. "Stay here, keep the heating pad on your stomach, and don't die." 

"I can follow that advice." Alex chuckled. "I love you."

"I love you too." Sherlock said. He hugged her tightly. "I'm gonna lock the door, okay?"

"All right." Alex nodded. "Can you call Rusty in here?"

"Of course." Sherlock said. He called the dog. Alex curled up and tried to get some more rest. Sherlock left to go pick his daughter up.

He caught a cab and went to Scotland Yard. He went to Lestrade's office and saw both his daughter and Lestrade on the floor playing Candy Land. He allowed them to finish their game and then took his daughter home. She was babbling about all that she and Lestrade had done together. When they were about to open the door to the flat, Sherlock got down on eye level with her.

"You can't disturb Mummy, okay?" He said.

"Why?" Vanessa asked, tilting her head.

"She's sick...in a way." Sherlock said.

"Oh no!" Vanessa said. "Will she be okay?"

"Yes, she's dealt with this before." Sherlock said. "You need to be quiet."

"Okay." Vanessa nodded. "Can I watch T.V.?"

"Of course." Sherlock said, opening the door. "What do you want to watch?" 

"Blue's Clues! But not the one with the imposter." She said firmly. Sherlock stifled his laughter. She had a larger vocabulary than most children her age because of who her parents were. 

"SHERLOCK!" Alex called from their room.

"Hang on!" Sherlock said, putting in the Blue's Clues DVD he had. 

"I CAN FEEL MY ABDOMEN PULSING!" Alex yelled. (This happened to me last year. It was not fun at all.)

"I will be right there, dear!" Sherlock called. He got the DVD going and then ran into his and Alex's room. Alex was curled up on the bed and tears were pouring down her face. Sherlock took action and curled up next to her, cradling her in his arms. "Shh, I'm here. I've got you. Oh, you poor thing...how long has it felt like this?"

"Since ten minutes after you left." Alex moaned, shaking in pain.

"Just tell me what you need." Sherlock said.

"You." Alex said. "Hold me. Please, just hold me."

"Okay...okay." Sherlock said, kissing her on the cheek.

"What's Vanessa doing?" Alex asked.

"Watching Blue's Clues...the one without the imposter." Sherlock said. Alex smiled weakly. 

"Yep, she's my daughter. No doubt." She said.

"Yeah." Sherlock said, running his fingers through her hair and rubbing her back.

"Sherlock, it really hurts." Alex whispered.

"I know." Sherlock said. 

They both laid together quietly in the dark. Alex closed her tired eyes since she hadn't gotten any sleep while Sherlock was away. It was too hard with the pain. Sherlock was trying to soothe her the best he could, but he couldn't help her at all.

"Sherlock, make the pain go away." She whimpered. She sounded childish, but she didn't care.

"I can't, dear." Sherlock said. "Believe me, I would if I could." 

"Why does it hurt so bad?" She asked.

"Because your uterus is contracting." Sherlock said. Alex laughed.

"You were supposed to comfort me and say that you didn't know." She said.

"Okay. I don't know. I'm sorry you're hurting, dear." Sherlock said.

"Thank you." Alex said, cuddling closer to him.

"I really am sorry it hurts so bad." Sherlock said.

"I know you are." Alex nodded. 

"What does it feel like?" Sherlock asked.

"Like daggers are piercing my stomach from the inside." Alex said.

"That sounds like it hurts." Sherlock said.

"It does." Alex nodded. "I'm so sleepy...but it hurts so bad that I can't sleep."

"Try to get some sleep. I will be right here." Sherlock said.

Alex fell asleep for thirty minutes. When she woke up, she felt very hungry. Sherlock was at her side, holding her close to him. She smiled up at Sherlock. Sherlock kissed her on the forehead.

"You slept peacefully, so that's a good sign." He said. "You hungry?"

"Yes." Alex nodded.

"What do you want?" Sherlock asked.

"Um...chocolate cake with whipped cream instead of frosting." Alex said.

"Whipped cream frosting?" Sherlock tilted his head.

"No, actual whipped cream." Alex said.

"Okay." Sherlock sighed, getting up.

He went into the kitchen to get Alex her food. He stopped dead when he saw the sight that greeted him. There was Coke spilled all over the room, a packet of Mentos opened with Mentos on the table, baking soda spilled on the table, vinager spilled all over the room, and a bottle of root beer spilled everywhere. Vanessa was sitting in a chair with baking soda on her hands and soda sticking to her arms. Sherlock tried to keep a straight face.

"Vanessa...what did you do?!" He said. "Oh my gosh...your mom is gonna kill you!"

"Uh...bye!" Vanessa said. She tried to run away. Sherlock grabbed her and picked her up.

"No! You cannot run away like that! Look at the table! Look at yourself!" He said. "What did you do? Vanessa, are you kidding me?"

"I was experimenting." Vanessa said proudly. Sherlock tried not to laugh. "See?" Vanessa tried to put some remaining Mentos into the Coke.

Sherlock grabbed her hands. "No! That's very, very bad!" He then noticed that Vanessa had used some of Alex's Dr. Pepper and spilled it onto the table. "Did you use your mom's Dr. Pepper?" He asked. Vanessa didn't answer. "Did you use your mother's Dr. Pepper?"

"Maybe." Vanessa muttered.

"Oh, Vanessa...are you kidding me? Wait until your mother sees this..." Sherlock said, putting his face in his hands. "I can't clean all of this up! What am I supposed to do with you? I certainly can't let you go running around the flat. You have to take a bath now."

"Aw man." Vanessa said. 

"Vanessa, you're gonna have to pose for some pictures." Sherlock said, laughing.