Spouse. How strange to hear that word applied to him, for since he was a very young man, he felt certain that he would never be anyone's spouse. And no, he never would legally, but what else do he and Watson have? They aren't merely sleeping together; they live together and love one another, and they have promised always. To Holmes, that had been a way of saying spouse. It had been a way of saying soulmates, really, but spouse will do.

"I didn't say I don't like it," he murmurs in return, entirely uncertain of how to reply to this.

"What more can I say except that I am sorry and at the time I felt I had little choice?" he says, frustrated, disappointed in himself. "At the time, it was necessary. While Moran pursued me, the thought of somehow informing you of my safety seemed unthinkably dangerous because a world without you in it -- and me the cause of your death -- was unbearable. At least you would live on. At least, I thought, however painful it might be, you could find closure in the event I didn't return to you."