The Man With The Umbrella

- 34 -

Viola lay in her bed with the duvet snuggled smoothly under her chin and with eyes closed and a smile that showed her dimples as she listened to her music box play the second waltz, slowly lulling her back to sleep.

A few hours earlier that day, Viola received a filigreed certificate in frame from Mycroft. Amelia and Mycroft sat together and watched as the young Watson's eyes bugged out when she read that it was the certificate to certify her dame-hood to the royal empire.

Although Viola Gracie Watson is eleven years old, a few months off from being twelve; Mycroft pulled strings easily to allow the young girl, he oddly started to see as his own flesh and blood, to be the youngest person in the country to be referred to as Lady Watson.

Amelia watched with tears welling in her eyes as Viola squealed in excitement, simply allowing her inner child to come out. It touched Amelia greatly as her little girl hugged Mycroft, a man that simply didn't do well with emotions. Tears trickled down Amelia's face as Mycroft allowed it to happen and manoeuvred the pair of girls further back on the sofa whilst they watched television.

By the ending of the film, whatever the film was, Viola was found to be sleeping on Mycroft's chest. It brought fond memories back to him, when Sherlock was young and always fell asleep on his chest.

He also felt something in that moment. Something strange and something odd. Mycroft felt a wave of fatherly love for the young Watson. It was strange in the sense serving that it was something he's never experienced before but it got him thinking...

Could Mycroft allow himself to have a family of his own?

It was as he carried Viola up the stairs to her room and stood outside her door to give Amelia the privacy of getting Viola changed that he realised that he does want a family and he didn't care about his age being a problem.

Mycroft tucked Viola in whilst winding the music box he had gifted her for Christmas and surprised himself as he kissed the crook of the child's head before leaving the room.

Amelia didn't comment on what she had just witnessed for the sake of not tarnishing Mycroft's pride or ego but instead clasped ahold of his hand and walked with him to his bedroom.

She also wanted to take another step into making hers and Mycroft's relationship to become Fort Knox.

Make the relationship strong.

For some reason, Mycroft grew anxious thinking Amelia was wanting sex but he quickly erased that thought when she pulled him into the bathroom. "Have a shower with me?" She questioned with a high toned quirk at the end of the sentence, in high hopes.

Mycroft studied the woman in front of him. He noticed the hesitance in her eyes, the clench of her jaw as she bit her lip but he also noticed the dilation of her pupils, the quickness of her pulse as it raced underneath the surface of her skin.

He stared at his Amelia long and hard before tutting and relenting with a roll of his eyes. Amelia took an intake of breath as if to say something but didn't as Mycroft swiftly moved to turn the shower on.

Amelia couldn't understand where she had the bravery to ask Mycroft for such an intimate thing but it happened and she didn't regret it, even if her face was redder than a tomato.

The pair made quick work of ridding there clothes and Amelia regretted wearing her shittiest bra out of all of the ones she owned. She jumped slightly when she felt cool fingers brush her hair aside to undo it for her and she thought then that perhaps the universe was involved for making her wear her black crappy bra for that day.

Opening the shower door, Mycroft held his hand out for Amelia to hold onto to step in first before following suit.

She, in particular, couldn't help but let her gaze wander. For the life of her, Amelia couldn't understand all the fat jokes Sherlock threw Mycroft's way when she could see with her very own eyes that there wasn't an ounce of fat on his body.