athena ➢ sherlock's daughter

Chapter 10

The picture above is Riley

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The Day Before Court, Bonding with John, and Sherlock Falls Back to His Usual Robotics

Athena Holmes never thought this day would come. She was going to court to present evidence on the Perish's abuse. Well, she was in approximately seven hours, since the trial was at eight in the morning an it was currently one.

Her entire body trembled at the thought of it. Could she do this? Could she speak in front of them? Or would words escape her?

She groaned to herself and got out of bed. Sherlock would be slightly cross at her for getting up, since he had to specifically tell her to go to bed- though she didn't care much, since she knew that he knew that such a request was pointless.

"Sleep is useless anyway," she whispered to herself as she walked into the kitchen.

Humming, she searched for some crackers in the cupboards. Once she found them, she pulled out the hummus and seated herself on the kitchen counter (after checking for any of Sherlock's experiments).

Maybe she could get John to speak for her tomorrow...

No. She had to talk for herself. And she had to sell it. If the judge didn't believe what she was saying (or if Sherlock gets too cocky), she would get thrown back to the wolves, back to the Perishes.

She took a bite of hummus and raked a hand through her hair.

The thing about Athena was that she knew she was clever. She knew her intellect was much higher than most people's- but she also knew her limits. She knew that acting like a narcissistic asshole to the judge would get her in a huge mess; she knew that there were times that she shouldn't try to show off her abilities too much.

But Sherlock didn't. He relied entirely on his mind, never on his feelings. True, it might have taken away from some logic- but sometimes he was a bit excessive with his philosophy.

Maybe Sherlock would pull through tomorrow... Maybe-

"Athena?" John asked, groggily walking into the kitchen.

She put some hummus on a cracker and pointed it towards him. "Want some?"

He stared at her for a moment before taking it and sitting on the island across from her. "Can't sleep?"

Athena shook her head and took a bite of hummus, not wanting to elaborate much. John probably didn't care much anyway- the Perishes never did. Actually, if she shared her feelings on something, she usually got slapped.

Better safe than sorry...

"Wanna tell me about it?" John pressed, looking into her eyes. She was holding back, he could tell.

Hesitantly, Athena began to speak. "Well, the Perishes have kept a good facade so far... What if the judge doesn't believe me? What if Sherlock tries to show off too much?"

He bit into a cracker as she spoke, watching her. He wasn't an expert at deductions like the two Holmes, but he knew she was uncomfortable with sharing her feelings.

"Athena, you don't get your cast off until Friday. Tomorrow is Thursday- that's enough time to show the judge your arm. Plus the pictures of the scars and bruises. Neighbors are coming in to couch for you, as is Riley. And Sherlock? I'll handle Sherlock."

Athena wasn't too emotional. She only cried when she was around the Perishes (which usually meant when she was in physical pain), and sometimes not even then. But in that moment, with John telling her how to rationalize that everything would be okay, that he would take care or her- in that moment, she felt cared for and loved.

In an instant of emotion, Athena jumped off the counter and engulfed John in a bear hug. "Thank you," she whispered, pulling back.

He grinned, a little shocked. She never showed physical emotion. She never hugged; she flinched whenever he went for a high five- she just never showed physical emotion. No questions why, though.

He remembered when she told him how awkward it was that Sherlock hugged her. It made him both amused and concerned- amused that Sherlock was taking off his mask and concerned that Athena was still not trusting them fully.