Hey! Just to start this off, this is just a fun little parentlock idea that I had, thought maybe I'd give it a go. I can't promise it will be continued, but I will give it my best shot! I hope you like it, if you do let me know!
Also, my inspiration for this fic was my good friend Robyn.
And finally, I don't own Sherlock. Gotta put that out there!
"Sherlock, are you saying what I think you are?" John asked, his shock taking full hold of him. He watched as Sherlock rolled his eyes and gave his, 'you're an idiot, John' sigh. But the doctor didn't even know if this was quite possible let alone fees able for them, probably in their flat, using their kitchen as a lab. Not to even mention the ethics of it all. He supposed that it had to be otherwise Sherlock wouldn't have suggested it, but was he really thinking it through? "Well, are you?" John asked once again. It was early, too early to be up, and way to early to be having this conversation. Even Sherlock was still in his pyjamas and house coat, which was saying something.
The detective huffed. "Yes I am. I love you and in order to keep you, we require a child. Though, unfortunately we are both incapable of carrying said child. And really, the notion of surrogacy or adoption is absolutely ludicrous, so I see this to be the only way. " He said, crossing his arms over his chest. He started pacing around the living room, carefully eyeing John as he did so.
John fell back into the couch. "Why is surrogacy or adoption so ludicrous? There are lots children in this world that could use a good home." He said, trying to bring Sherlock down to a more reasonable thought process.
"No. If we are going to have a child I want it to be our child. Half me and half you. I don't want someone else's child." He said with a frown. He was unable see why John wouldn't or couldn't understand this. This was completely logical, if he was going to help raise a child (something he would have never considered before John), they would have to do it his way.
John stood up and grabbed Sherlock's shoulder, pulling him around so that he could see his pale face. "First of all, I love you. I don't 'require' a child to be with you. Yes, I would like to be a father, but when I chose you I knew that probably wouldn't happen. If it's not in our cards, then I can handle that, I won't leave you if we can't have one. Because no matter what, I chose you." He said very seriously, before he pulled him into a comforting embrace. He held the younger man for a little while before he finally let him squirm away. "Second, if this is something you decide you want, not because you want to make me happy, but for you, then we can see about this. But honestly I don't like the idea of engineering a baby."
He earned another eye roll from Sherlock. "It won't be like a science experiment John. It's parallel with the traditional way of making a baby. They combine our DNA, put it into a zygote and then implant it into an artificial womb. The baby grows just like any other. And then after the proper gestation, we recive our child." He said very matter of factly.
John looked puzzled for a second. "So it would just be us messing around in the kitchen trying to figure this out?" He asked. Sherlock just shook his head, probably unwilling to give any acknowledgment to such a ridiculous question. "But isn't that a little clinical? A group of scientists just growing us a child?"
Sherlock took a deep breath. " I doubt a fetus will notice the difference." He replied easily. Still he didn't want to give John any excuse to say no and it helped show that he had looked at everything."As soon as the fetus can hear they start playing our voices on a track for eight hours a day, supplementing with classical music and nature sounds." He sighed.
John pressed his eyebrows together, was he really considering this? "Are you sure this is what you want though? I don't want to pressure you into something like this, not when you might regret it and there's no going back." He said, holding his place in front.
"Yes, I believe being a father would be something I would enjoy and a great opportunity to study human relationships with a bit more practical experience. I also wouldn't mind having a progeny." He smiled, knowing full well it would help win John over.
The blonde sighed. He didn't like the idea of their baby being made by a third party, but at least this way they had some control over the process and the baby would be just theirs. But still, it seemed so cold, but it would let him be a father, something he had wanted ever since he could remember. And Sherlock really did seem okay with the idea of co-parenting, so why was he still hesitating? "How do we do this?" He asked. There had to be a process, there was a process with everything, and when it came to having a child, it was usually a long one.
Sherlock had his 'I've won' smirk on even though it was only a slight win, since it was something he already craved. "It's simple, the institute is only an hour away. In fact, we have a meeting at three." He smiled as he watched the doctor shake his head. John reached up placing his hand on Sherlock's neck and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you." He said, before running his hand through Sherlock's ebony curls. Even if John wasn't fully convinced this was for them, he was thankful that Sherlock had considered it and was trying to make this a possibility. He was a bit disappointed that Sherlock couldn't see any other options, but he did have a point. He wanted their child to belong to them and that was reasonable, plus there was probably a lot less red tape this way. "Did you want a cuppa then?" He asked as he made his way to the kitchen.
"Obviously." He replied stoically, his navy blue dress coat flowing behind him as he moved toward the desk. John had long ago given up on keeping Sherlock out of his computer, now he just kind of accepted it. He flicked on the kettle as he grabbed everything for the tea. They were doing this then...they were really doing this, or at least seriously looking into it.
John quickly brought the tea out, still kind of unsure. "Okay, one last time. You're sure about this?" He asked, placing the tea down beside the detective. He knew that if they were going to do this, at least one of them had to be 100% sure, and it definitely wasn't him.
Sherlock sighed, closing the laptop and turning toward his doctor. "Yes, John. I am positive. I want you, I want a child, I want this, and I know you do to. So then, tell me, why are you still wavering?" He asked, cupping his face sweetly.
The older man closed his eyes, relaxing into the touch. "I don't know...I'm just scared. This isn't like buying a hamster or a couch together...It's a baby, for god's sake, a human being." He kneeled down, getting closer to the detective. "I never thought this would even be a possibility, so now that it is, I don't want to fuck it up before its even a reality." He mumbled so quietly that Sherlock had a hard time hearing him.
"My dear, dear, John. Nothing is going to mess this up. We will make this happen, one way or another, I promise. I love you, more than I ever thought I could. You've shown me that I can love and be loved. That in itself is a miracle, so if we can make that work, why is this so different?" He asked.
He took a deep breath. Sherlock was right (as always), they had already achieved so much, they could do this to. "Alright, you're absolutely right." He said, giving him another simple peck before standing up once more."If this does actually work out, you're going to have to stop calling our baby a fetus."
"But..." Sherlock started, quickly stopping when John shot him a mean death glare.
"No buts."
When John thought back to that conversation, it seemed silly that he had been so worried. It had been eleven months and although his initial fears had been alleviated, all new ones had taken their place. Their baby would be born any day now, and yet he still felt like there was no way they were ready to be parents.
Yes, they had the nursery finished and had (mostly) baby proofed the flat. They had read almost every book on parenting that existed and had bought everything the books had told them they would need. He was a bloody doctor for God's sake, and yet none of this made him felt prepared. Sherlock was as calm and steady as ever...which was just plain unerving. He was too quiet, too focused. John knew something was up but didn't know what, until the night before their baby was due, when Sherlock woke him up in an absolute panic.
"John?" He whispered, rolling over so he was facing his significant other. "John?" He called slightly lounder, nudging the snoring man. When that still failed to get his attention. "John!" He yelled, punctuating his panic with a heavy fist to his arm.
"Oi! That hurt, Sherlock!" He said as he sat up and turned on the bedside lamp. "You better have a damn good reason for that." He said with irritation running through his voice.
Sherlock moved so he was soon sitting up as well. "Do you realize what day it is?" He asked, staring at the doctor wide-eyed. "Let me tell you. It's been exactly eight months, four weeks, two days, seven hours, twenty-six minutes, and 43...44...45 seconds, since our child was concived. John, our baby will be born in ten hours or less! Ten hours!" He said his voice getting louder and louder.
He blinked, having a hard time keeping his eyes open. "That's why I am sleeping, because unlike you I need all the sleep I can get and soon there won't be much of that happening in this flat."
"But... ten hours..." He trailed.
John rest his hand on the panicked detective's shoulder. "I know. Ten hours till we can hold our baby in our arms, ten hours till we can meet our baby for the first time. Ten hours till we can bring him or her home and show them the nursery." He cooed as he ran his fingers down his bare skin. "In less than a day, we will be fathers, Sherlock. Isn't that exciting?" He asked in a soft voice.
"No, it's terrifying. It's terrifying, nerve racking, soul crushing, disastrous, foul, would you like me to continue?" He replied, staring straight ahead the entire time.
He just shook his head. "Breathe. We are ready for this." He was lying, but he had to say something to calm him down. "We have to be. Because it's too late to get cold feet. In ten hours we will be parents and then it's not just us that we have to look out for. I know, why don't you tell me what you think our baby will look like?" He asked, knowing a deduction or a bit of science would calm him down, at least a bit.
"There is a high probability that our child will have dark hair, though there is a slight chance that they could be born with or develop your fairer coloring. They will most likely have blue eyes..."He stopped, grabbing John's hand, leaving it there for almost a whole minute. "I have decided that I want our baby to have your eyes John. They are the perfect blue, always somewhere between the sky on a clear day and a tide pool. Who could ask for a better color? Oh, and I've decided I dislike the name Victoria, and Anne for that matter." He said cooly.
John raised both of his eyebrows. "Honestly, Sherlock? We spent months choosing names, we can't change them now. It's either Victoria Anne or Matthew James. That's it." He said, with a strict tone.
Instead of saying something, the younger man just made a gagging sound. "And how many drinks did you have in me when I agreed to those? They are horrible names. Victoria Anne sounds far too British and much too Queen and Country. Matthew James, really? Is our child going to write the lost gospel?" He asked, waving his hands wildly.
"Anne, is my mother's name. And must I remind you that Matthew and James were both your choices." John replied, with a hard swat, partially to pay him back for his still throbbing arm and partially for his sudden dislike for the one name he got to pick. "Well, what about George?" He asked, only to get another gag in response.
"We are not about to name our first born after Lestrade!" Sherlock whined.
The doctor shook his head once more."It's Greg, as in Gregory. How many times have I told you that?"
Sherlock rolled his eyes in response. "That's even worse!" He cried.
"That's it. Either we stick with what we have or I will be naming our baby, and you will have no choice in the matter." John said, putting his foot down once and for all. "Now good night. We have a busy day tomorrow, best get a few more hours of sleep." He said as he sunk back down and turned off the lamp.
"Fine." Sherlock grumbled as he wrapped his arms around the shorter man and pressed their bodies together. "Good night."
They decided they would leave two or three hours extra early, just in case traffic was slow or their baby was early. They had a brand new, right out the package diaper bag, so filled with with onsies, hats, bottles, pacifiers, toys, diapers, blankets, ect. , thatnit looked like it might burst at any moment.
They had had their breakfast and did a double check, just making sure they weren't forgetting anything. Just as they were about to leave, Sherlock stopped by the door, suddenly reaching down to pull John into a nervous/anxious kiss. "Well, then. That's that." He said, as they left Baker Street for the last time without their baby.
John started loading their things into the reasonably priced, almost new, grey sedan, that they had bought, just so they could travel with the baby. The subway would have been too difficult and taxis too expensive if they had to take one everywhere they went and back.
It had been decided that they would both take a month off work, and then Sherlock could take on a few, less dangerous cases and then John could go back to the surgery one day a week. It seemed like a fair trade, but that was only if it worked out.
As the piled themselves into the car, it seemed much tighter than it had when they had first picked it, but maybe that was just their nerves. " John? Would you please calm down? You're shaking the car." He said as he buckled in.
"I can't help it!" John replied as he started driving. "I'm anxious, what if the baby doesn't like me, or I drop them, or the baby is crying and I don't know what to do!?" He asked.
"Pull over. Now." Sherlock said, even though they hadn't quite made it off Baker Street yet. "I'm not going to have you kill me before I can meet out son or daughter. Out, get out." He said hastily as they switched spots.
Once they had started driving again, Sherlock finally spoke once more. "And just so you are aware, if you do drop our baby, so help you God, they will never find your body John Watson."
The rest of the drive went pretty much the same, with John ready to jump out of his skin and Sherlock as snappy as ever. Sherlock still complained about the baby names and John was still threatening to not let him have a say. It was only an hour away, but it felt so much futher. It seemed like days could have passed by the time they got there.
They walked into the Institute, it wasn't like home but it also didn't feel like your average laboratory. It was very modern, but with many wood touches. It was made to at least feel welcoming and over the past eleven months, they had been there many times it almost felt like a second home. For the initial meeting, check ups, follow ups, paperwork, and to see their growing baby, whenever they could manage. They had decided to not find out the sex which basically meant neither of them had seen the ultrasound photo's. So really this would be their first time meeting and seeing their baby. They were both so excited but so terrified at the same time, even though Sherlock was brilliant at hiding it.
"So, if you will just take a seat here, I will go and find out how close we are to handing you your baby. Just give me one moment." The director said, showing them to a large sitting area, although they seemed to be the only two there. The director, was a pretty blonde woman, perhaps late 30's. Definitely John's type and he could tell that it was putting Sherlock even more on edge.
John ran his hands once more through Sherlock's mop of curls. "I love you, so much. I just can't believe this is actually happening." He said with a reassuring smile.
"John...do you think that I will be a good father? I mean, I never even been around children, not really." Sherlock asked quietly, his voice echoing in the large hall.
He grabbed Sherlock's hand with both of his, caressing it slowly. "Of course I do, other wise I would have never agreed to this." He laughed, until Sherlock shot him a harsh stare. "You learn faster than anyone I have ever met, probably faster than anyone, ever. You are going to have everything down in a week, I'm sure. I'll be fumbling with putting the top on the bottle and you will have already made five in the same time. You will be brilliant Sherlock, trust me." He said, kissing his hand.
But without another moment, the director came out once more."We are ready for you." She said with a smile.
They both stumbled, trying to stand up in such a flurry. "And we are ready for this." John said, still holding Sherlock's hand as they walked through a set of large wooden doors.
If you liked this, if you want to see more, or if you just want to say something about this, (I.e. 'that's so against cannon!' 'Unrealistic much!' Or my personal favorite 'You are amazing!') Go right ahead, I really do appreciate comments and reviews of all types, and truth be told I'm just excited that you actually read this! So thanks!