Disclaimer: I own nothing

"Uncle Sherlock?" Rosie Watson addressed her favorite uncle to get his attention.

"Yes, Rosie?" He responded, looking up from the computer where he was writing an article about different types of clay found throughout England.

"How did my mom die?"

Sherlock sat back in his chair for a moment, before sliding the chair away from the desk and picking Rosie up to situate her on his lap. "She died protecting me, Rosie."

The little girl huffed in annoyance, her blond curls flouncing around her face. "Yes, I know that," she said, "but what killed her?"

"A bullet," Sherlock replied bluntly.

Rosie pondered that for a moment, while Sherlock watched her face, wondering if this would come back to bite him as another lecture from John about the sorts of things not appropriate to tell a child.

"Why did someone try to shoot you?" Rosie asked.

"How do you know someone was shooting at me?" Sherlock replied in surprise.

Rosie tilted her head, and a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. "You said she died protecting you," the little girl explained her deductions, "So someone must have been really mad at you and tried to shoot you."

Sherlock raised his eyebrows, impressed by Rosie's rapidly growing deductive prowess. "Very good. An evil woman was very, very angry with me for messing up her evil plans. She pointed her gun at me, and pulled the trigger, but your mom jumped in front of the bullet and saved my life."

Rosie nodded, her curls bouncing up and down. "My mom was amazing. She must have loved you very much to do that."

"She was very awesome," Sherlock smiled at his niece, "Yes, she did, and," he said, glancing around in mock suspicion before he leaned in to Rosie's ear suspiciously, "Do you want to know a secret?"

Rosie nodded, giggling a bit.

"I loved her as much as I love your Dad."

"And Auntie Molly?" Rosie asked, beaming up at him.

"My dear," he replied, standing up with Rosie held tight in his arms, "Molly Hooper is my heart."

With that, he spun her around in the air, and the little girl laughed delightedly. As he came to a stop, he held the little girl close again.

"Rosamund Mary Watson, I love you very much. Remember that. We all love you"

"I know," Rosie replied, still laughing from the spin. "And I love all of you, too!" She said as she kissed Sherlock's cheek.