Later That Week

"Good Night, Rosie," I hum softly, having finally gotten her to calm down and fall asleep. I then back away from the bed, silently exiting the room and descending the stairs. Sherlock meets me on the landing, having gotten back from a short walk with Teddy, "Welcome back, Honey. Good walk?" He nods and plants a kiss on my cheek.

"As always, Love. I see Rosie's tucked in for the night?"

"Mmhm. Teddy looks ready to hit the hay as well." I comment as I observe the sleepy-eyed Doberman. John and Mary brought Alexander over this evening for dinner, both to see Rosie and expose Teddy to the new baby. There was a lot of happy energy so he was naturally wound up, thus his droopy appearance now.

Sherlock reaches down and unclips the leash, "On that note, we should also be getting to bed. Especially you."

"... I'm really not that tired yet. I was planning on watching a film or something before heading to bed."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. All the excitement, I guess."

Sherlock sighs but smiles, "Very well. I'll get Teddy into his crate for the night. You go on and pick what you want."

"Okay." We walk into the flat and he splits off with Teddy while I pull Netflix up on the telly, selecting Zumbo's Just Desserts. When my husband walks back out to join me, bedecked in his thick camel dressing gown, he finds me standing next to his chair almost impatiently. He chuckles and steps around me, sitting down and gently pulling me down on top of him.

"Better, Angel?"

Nodding, I curl up comfortably in his lap as he drapes his dressing gown over the both of us, "Much."

"Good."

He hits the play button on the remote and then sets it aside to wrap both of his arms around me, further encompassing me in warmth. I tuck my head under his chin, against his upper chest, and play absently with the buttons on his shirt. It's nice to just be able to cuddle. I remark to myself, exhaling a contented sigh.

"I do hope you didn't choose this show to try and improve my baking skills," Sherlock suddenly hums. I chuckle and shake my head, "Because we both know I can barely even manage the stovetop while boiling pasta."

"Hey, you're getting better at it, Darling! I'll make a decent cook out of you yet. You don't need to be a gourmet chef, but everyone should know how to cook basic meals. It's an essential life skill. I don't want you skipping meals or ordering too much takeout whenever I'm gone," I feel his chest tighten up and his breath goes shallow, "Sherlock..?"

"Could you not have gone there?"

"Gone where?"

"I don't like thinking about such things."

"Cooking?"

"No, about when you're away. Not here with me."

"You know I didn't mean it like that," I sigh, "Let's just talk about something else shall we?"

He hums once, obviously no longer interested in conversation. Instead, he gathers me closer to him and rests one hand over my abdomen. I smile gently, knowing that he's hoping to feel even a faint movement from our daughter. Even though, up to this point, I still haven't distinguished anything definite.

"She is most certainly stubborn. At this point, you should have at least started feeling her move," Sherlock remarks, "Especially for a Holmes, you'd think she'd want to make her presence known as soon as possible."

"Well, maybe she's just shy, Sherlock." I look up at him and he exhales, leaning his head against mine.

"Maybe, Love..." I smile and kiss his jaw.

"Besides, we shouldn't worry about it. It's still a little early. We'll let Doctor Lear know at the next visit if we still aren't recognizing any flutters or movements. She'll tell us when and if we should be concerned."

"Alright, Angel," He relents, kissing the bridge of my nose. His eyes get the glint they do when he's considering something and I stay put until he finally speaks again, "But perhaps she only needs some stimulation."

"What?"

"Stimulation. Like music or light. Those cause some babies to become more active."

"Maybe once we're in bed, okay? I still want to watch the show."

But it's a vain attempt. While I continue watching the show, my husband opts to try and coax any movement from our baby girl by pressing gently around my tummy. I humor him, relaxing against his chest and exhaling deeply.

For all our sakes, baby girl, I hope we start feeling something from you soon.

Thank you so much for reading! 😘😘

Big Shoutouts to mmkn2005, spoopyperson1992, fandomnerd2k1 and monadebbarma!!