upstairsfromreality

Mrs. Hudson only really realized what she thought of her tenants when she lost them. She knew all along that they were the sons she would never have, of course, and did her best to spoil them for it. That wasn't the same as the knowledge she got when Inspector Lestrade told her that Sherlock had jumped off of Barts. That was the deep knowledge that she had lost not just a friend, but a part of herself.

Losing John, years later, was even harder. He hadn't died, of course, but he beat Sherlock bloody. How could she have a son who did that to his brother? A son who couldn't even see that the beating itself was wrong, just his reasoning for it. She had to cut him off, or else lose the part of herself she thought that she had gained.