AN: This fic was inspired by a lovely fic called Paved With Love by KeelieThompson1, which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I highly recommend you go and read it.

This is a kind of AU where Sherlock has been 'dead' for six years, not three. :)

It had been six years since Rachel Watson had been born. She had been born from a fling between Sarah Sawyer and her Daddy, John Watson. Her mother hadn't really wanted anything to do with her, as she was to be married to another man. Daddy told her that he didn't mind this too much - he rather liked having Rachel to himself.

Her Daddy often looked sad. He would catch himself in the middle of the sentence and gaze into space for a few minutes, his eyes getting bright - a telltale sign that he was tearing up. But then he would bring himself back to the present and act as if it had never happened. Rachel didn't like it when this happened - she wanted her Daddy to be happy, but no matter how much she grilled him on it, he would never tell her why he was upset.

It wasn't until one day - July 16th, her birthday, to be precise - that she found out. They had been clearing up the wrapping paper from her presents, and she had just started heading upstairs to get changed into her new birthday clothes for the meal out that Daddy had planned that there was a knock at the door.

"Daddy! Can I get the door?" She asked, and before the inevitable 'no' came, she said "It is my birthday..."

"Fine, but make sure you don't open the door all of the way, okay?" Daddy answered reluctantly.

Rolling her eyes, Rachel reached up to the latch on the door, barely able to reach it, and pulled it open a crack. She looked up at the man stood outside. He had on a suit, light brown hair and was leaning on an umbrella. "Hello," he said, with a slightly arrogant smile. "I'm here to see your father."

"DADDY!" She called loudly, hardly noticing the fact that the man with the umbrella winced from the noise. Her Daddy walked out from the living room, looking over at the man at the door. His expression sunk, but he managed to look angry at the same time.

"Rachel, up to your room. Now," Daddy said, in a tone that said that she wasn't to talk back or ask why. She walked obediently to her bedroom, but even inside with her door shut, she could still hear the voices of the men downstairs.

"I haven't seen you since... it happened! How dare you just show up on my doorstep!" Came the slightly muffled voice of her Daddy. He was shouting. She'd only heard him properly shout once, and that was when someone had come up to him and called him 'stupid for believing it'. She wasn't sure what he had believed, but Daddy had got furious.

"I bring good news, Doctor Watson." Came another voice - the man with the umbrella this time. He sounded calm, but as if it was slightly forced. "I'm not too sure how to tell you this, so I shall just come out and say it. My brother is not dead."

"Wh- Not dead? Of course he is! I saw him fall. I saw him hit the ground." Daddy said, but his voice was quieter this time, and Rachel had to strain a bit to hear him.

"It's true," The other man said. "He's in the car outside. Wasn't too pleased with having to wait in there, to tell you the truth. I can bring him in if you like."

There was a long pause, and Rachel thought maybe the man had gone, and she started to get up when she heard Daddy say, "Okay."

She heard the front door open, but not close. There was the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and her door swung open slowly. Her Daddy stood there, his eyes bright like when he usually got upset, but there was something else in there - as if a light had been switched on inside of his head.

"I know this isn't a very nice way to spend your birthday, but I need you to stay up here until I say you can come downstairs, okay?" Daddy said, and Rachel noticed he was holding a tray that had the rest of her birthday cake, a plate of toast, and some orange juice. Rachel figured that this meant they probably weren't going out for birthday tea.

The look in Daddy's eyes meant that she wasn't very cross, though. She didn't think she'd ever seen him this excited, even if he was trying to hide it. He walked across the room and placed the tray on her desk, then turned and hugged her. "I love you, and I'm so sorry all of this had to happen on your birthday." With that, he walked out of the door and headed downstairs.

She heard the front door slam shut after a while, and a gasp. Everyone downstairs was quiet for a long time. When she heard voices again, Rachel tried to occupy herself with one of her new colouring books and not to listen, but it was too hard. She thought about going downstairs to tell them how loud they were being, and that she could hear everything they were saying, but decided against it in case she got in trouble for going out of her room.

"Are you honestly not going to say anything, John?" Came a new, deep voice. She figured it must have been the man that had been waiting in the car.

"Six years, Sherlock. Six years," Daddy said slowly. "It's been hell for me, you know that? If I hadn't had Rachel, I don't know where I'd be-"

"Rachel? Is this a long-term girlfriend? I'm surprised you managed to keep one so long, after your time of being a 'confirmed bachelor'," Said the man Rachel assumed was Sherlock. Her Daddy mumbled something incoherent and Sherlock said, "For crying out loud, speak up, John."

"I said she's not my girlfriend," Daddy said in a clear voice. "She's- She's my daughter." She heard a funny noise come from Sherlock, and then silence again.

Eventually the silence was broken by the man with the umbrella's voice. "Well, then... I shall get my driver to drop you off at Baker Street, Sherlock. John, I would like a word after, if that's alright."

There was silence, but Rachel assumed Daddy had nodded, because once the front door slammed shut, the man with the umbrella's voice came again. "Now, I know this is unexpected, but-"

"Unexpected? Mycroft, I thought he was dead! It's been six years!" Daddy shouted.

"Listen. He is my brother, and I would still like you to keep an eye on him. That's why I have booked a moving van to come at the end of the week. You're going to move back to Baker Street. I will pay you, if it's that much bother." The man she now figured was Mycroft said. She didn't like the sound of that - she liked the house she lived in. There was no way that Daddy would let them move, but then-

"You're not going to back down, are you?... Okay, fine. But only if he promises to keep the heads out of the fridge this time."

He came up to explain what was happening later on - they were moving on Saturday, to a place called 221B, Baker Street.