The Holmes Called A [Sherlaide III]

Unwinding

The Following Week        

By some miracle or by luck, the conference in New York had gone by without incident. The two agents Mycroft had dispatched had even admitted that it had been an extremely easy assignment. Adelaide, with the exception of a couple hormone induced breakdowns, had had a great time and gained a lot of recognition and praise from her colleagues for her work. For her the week had flown by.

The week had gone much slower for Sherlock despite the basketload of cases he'd had to keep him busy. He had spent most of his free time with Teddy, bringing him along to crime scenes and even the Yard. The Doberman had behaved well although he had not been his customary energetic, perky-puppy self. Missus Hudson had nearly smothered in the melancholy shroud that hung over 221 Baker Street all week. 

But now, the week had passed and Sherlock was waiting impatiently to greet his beloved wife by the baggage carousel. The detective only managed to keep the negative thoughts at bay by focusing on the clock.

Nearly forty five minutes after Adelaide's text saying she'd arrived and was disembarking, Sherlock identified a stream of weary flyers approaching the carousel and finally picked Adelaide out of the bunch, chatting lazily with another lady who looked equally as exhausted. Her baby blue eyes scanned the area until she saw her husband. Her face lit up and she said farewell to her fellow passenger, hurrying over to Sherlock. He opened his arms and drew her into a tight embrace that she eagerly reciprocated, nuzzling in closer before they shared a couple quick kisses.

Sherlock cupped her cheeks and pecked a kiss on her nose, "Oh how I missed you, Angel."

"And I you, Darling," She giggled, "I might actually sleep tonight."

"I believe you shall after all that travel and conference excitement. I most certainly will sleep now that you're home, safe and sound. I'll grab your bags and we'll be off, alright, Love?"

"Sounds wonderful, Darl."

After waiting a few minutes to fish out the suspect luggage, the couple made their way out to flag a cab. While they waited Sherlock finally stepped back to take her in and he smiled warmly, "She's growing quite fast. You've definitely gained a few centimeters this past week."

"Oh, you don't need to tell me. I don't think it'll be long before I have to switch to maternity fashion." She retorted, leaning her weight into him as she winced.

He frowned, "You wore your heels more than you should have, didn't you?"

She sighed and caved, nodding, "Yeah. Plus the side effects of upright, cramped air travel and lots of walking regardless..."

Sherlock wrapped an arm around her, gently bracing her, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "Don't worry. I'll see to it at home, Lovey." Adelaide hummed in response as a taxi rolled up. She didn't argue when Sherlock helped her in first and loaded the bags into the boot, falling into the back seat with a grateful sigh. The Cabbie didn't seem one for words, so the ride was silent but for the loud rock'n'roll music playing over the radio. 

Missus Hudson greeted them in their flat, having made a kettle of decaf herbal tea in anticipation while keeping Teddy entertained, and helped warm up some dinner while they exchanged stories about the previous week. Sherlock got everything into the bedroom in the meantime, replacing Adelaide's sneakers with her more comfortable slippers and draping her purple dressing gown over her shoulders. After about an hour, Missus Hudson retired to her kitchen again and left the Holmeses in peace. Teddy had already gone to his crate for the night, so Sherlock and Adelaide took to the futon to unwind. 

As he had promised, he saw to relieving the aching and swelling in her feet and legs. He had her sit sideways on the futon and placed her legs in his lap. It took a long, deep massage to get the pain to let up, but after that point had been breached she relaxed and gave him the clear to stop. At that point he threw a blanket over her legs to keep her warm and reclined against the back of the futon, relishing just having Adelaide within arm's reach. Where I know I can keep her safe and content.

"Happy to have me back then, Sweetie?"

"Yes, Love. Happy, indeed."

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