Sherlock did not like parties. He did not enjoy socialising, nor did he enjoy spending time with people who were telling him how wonderful it was that his daughter was leaving and building a new life. Sherlock had nodded and agreed with them; listening as Molly cooed about what a great job he had done in raising Elizabeth. Sherlock had nodded and forced a smile onto his face. His parents had come up to London and were fussing around Isabelle. Ben's parents had stayed away, but Ben had taken Isabelle to visit them, hoping that they would be able to come to terms with his relationship with Elizabeth.

Molly and John had arrived early and Mycroft had come late. He had found his brother skulking in the corner of the flat, a hand at his chin as his eyes remained set on his daughter. Elizabeth was sat on the sofa with Ben, bouncing Isabelle on her knee as Mrs Hudson fussed around the little baby. Wandering over to Sherlock, Mycroft placed his umbrella against the chair.

"You've become sentimental," Mycroft said.

"What?" Sherlock wondered, turning his gaze to his brother. "What are you talking about?"

"You've always been sentimental, especially so when it comes to Elizabeth, but you've never so openly shown your emotions. You look distraught and lost," Mycroft said. "She is not moving to another country, Sherlock. She is moving north. She will be a couple of hours train journey from you."

"I am fine," Sherlock responded with a shake of his head. "Elizabeth is an adult who has her own life to live. I am happy for her."

"But that is the problem, isn't it?" Mycroft said. "She is an adult. She has grown up."

"She has had to grow up," Sherlock said. "After everything that has happened, she has grown up quickly and matured quickly. I…I am fine. Everything is fine."

"Then you might wish to tell your face that," Mycroft said and he moved off to join his parents.

Sherlock looked around for his daughter, but he didn't see her. She had clearly wandered off somewhere. Sherlock looked to his granddaughter and his eyes widened as he watched the little baby. He moved off into the kitchen, searching for Elizabeth, but she wasn't there. Moving down the corridor towards his bedroom, he saw the door to her room slightly ajar. He took a deep breath before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

He found Elizabeth sat on her bare bed, looking around her empty bedroom. All of her things had been taken to York and put in the new house they had bought through savings. Her room was empty and it felt it. There was nothing to remind Sherlock of Elizabeth. There were no clothes strewn over the floor. There were no blankets draped over her chair or bed. There were no photos. There were no toiletries on her dresser. Everything about her had vanished.

"I'll be out in a minute," Elizabeth said to her father, forcing a smile onto her face as Sherlock let his own lips quirk sadly, seeing that her cheeks were red and her eyes slightly puffy. "I just need a minute."

"Take as long as you require," Sherlock urged from his daughter.

"I'm being so stupid," Elizabeth said with a hoarse laugh as she tilted her head back and shook her head. "This isn't goodbye forever, is it? I'll be two hours away and I have Ben and Isabelle now. I have them…but this…this is my home. This is home."

"I know," Sherlock whispered, clasping his hand together in front of him as he lowered his head slightly. It was another moment before he watched her turn to look to him, smiling gently as Sherlock felt her move to drop her head to rest on his shoulder, his arm going over her. "But you have your own family now, Elizabeth. You have to move on and put everything behind you. Everything that has happened…I know that it has all been horrible and I never wanted to put you through it, but now you deserve normality."

Elizabeth nodded. "I like normality," she admitted to him, "but I also liked being here and listening to your cases. Some of them were fascinating when they didn't involve murder or being kidnapped."

Sherlock scoffed. "There haven't been too many of those recently," he said to her in a gentle voice. Elizabeth managed a small laugh and a nod of her head before she closed her eyes and took a few moments to compose herself. "You're going to be fine, Elizabeth."

"I know," Elizabeth promised him, moving to sit back up and look to her father, a soft look to her eye as she wondered exactly what she should be doing. It all felt new to her. Everything felt so new. "Dad, can you just promise me that you'll be careful, okay? I don't want to hear about anything dangerous happening to you, got it?"

Sherlock chuckled and nodded his head. "Got it," he promised her. "You know, Elizabeth, your mother would be so proud of you. She'd be proud of everything you've done. I look at you…and…and I see her. I see everything about her in you. I might not have loved her or even treated her as she deserved, but she was a good woman. She was always a good woman."

"I…I miss her," Elizabeth admitted. "It's weird. I can scarcely remember her, but I do miss her."

"It was the one thing she was most upset about," Sherlock admitted. "She never had the chance to see you grow, but I know, without a doubt, that she would have been so happy to see how you have matured…just as I am."

Elizabeth almost felt herself well up before she moved with haste, wrapping her arms around her father's neck and holding tightly onto him. Sherlock moved his own arms around her, a hand holding the back of her head as he felt her exhale a deep breath and bury her face against his shoulder.

"Go and be with Ben and Isabelle," Sherlock urged from his daughter in a soft voice. "Go and be with them and be happy."

It was another few moments before Elizabeth pulled back, pecking her father on the cheek. She moved back towards the living room as Sherlock followed a couple of moments later, watching her as she began to say her goodbyes to everyone who had gathered. Ben held Isabelle as he doted over the baby, his eyes lighting up every time he looked down to her.

Mycroft had arranged for a car to take them all the way up to York, urging them not to bother with the train. Sherlock watched as they moved down onto the street and he nodded once to Ben and the young man made his way towards the consulting detective.

"Look after her," Sherlock urged from Ben. "I know that she can take care of herself, but just look out for her. You make her happy. You love her and I see that. I've known it for a long time, but it's…well…it's not easy to watch sometimes."

"I get that," Ben nodded his head. "You have my word. I love both of them so much. I'll keep them safe…happy…I'll do anything for them."

Sherlock nodded. "That is all I want."

Elizabeth finished saying her goodbyes to her grandparents before she looked to her father. Running a hand over her daughter's head as she passed by, she nodded to Ben and told him that she would be there in a second. Looking up to her father, she did her best not to cry again as Sherlock ran a hand down her cheek.

"I'll see you soon," he said to her. "And you'll let me know when you arrive safely, yes?"

Elizabeth did smirk then. "I've never known you to be so concerned with my whereabouts."

"I'm different," Sherlock shrugged. "We're both different."

"I guess so," Elizabeth nodded and moved to embrace her father. "I love you, dad."

"I love you too, Elizabeth," Sherlock whispered and kissed the top of her head. "Now go before you start crying again."

She chuckled and nodded, pulling back from him before turning on her heel and climbing into the car. Looking out the window, she waved to everyone as the car began to drive off. Her gaze went to her father and Sherlock nodded once at her, silently promising her that everything was going to be alright. He kept his eyes on her as John moved to stand besides him, Rosie in his arms.

"Are you okay?" he enquired from him friend as Elizabeth finally disappeared from sight.

Sherlock nodded once. "I'm fine," he said.

"Good," John said. "Because I got an email about a case this morning. There's a missing girl from Shoreditch who disappeared without a trace."

Sherlock turned to John and arched a brow. A small smirk began to spread on his face. "When do we start?"

…

A/N: And that's the end of the story. Thanks to everyone who has read and stuck with it. I do hope you'll let me know what you think one final time!