Sherlock quietly dismantled the intricate network of tubes and beakers, laying the clean ones into a separate bin from those in need of further attention. John had been watching him for seventeen minutes, ever since arriving with a drowsy child and coaxing her to sleep in the detective's bed.
"Rosie enters proper school next year, Sherlock."
"Hmm."
"And I've decided… I've decided that I'd like her to grow up with two parents."
"Don't be preposterous, John," Sherlock said dismissively, doing his best to sound reassuring while annoyed at the interruption. "Plenty of children have only one parent and turn out perfectly fine. And others… well, the Holmes family was always a two-parent household, and look how that went."
John grimaced at the thought, but pushed forward nonetheless. "Sherlock, she'll have a first day of school, a first dance, graduations, heartbreaks – and I want her to have two parents there for all of it."
"You're just being sentimental, none of those social markers – "
"I'm ready to get married again, Sherlock."
Silence. Dammit. I was afraid of this.
"Sherlock…"
"You haven't even been dating."
"I'm… already involved with the person I'd like to ask."
"Oh. Someone I'd know then? Well. Again, I don't see the necessity, but if you insist that – "
"Thing is, I can't… I won't ask until I know that being a full-fledged parent to Rosie would be accepted as part of the deal. And if it isn't… I'd give up a lifetime of my happiness to preserve one minute of hers."
"So would I."
John looked up from the scarred wood grain of the table in shock. "You… what?"
"I never believed I would say this about anyone, especially a child, but – " he paused, feigning interest in the teal residue lining the bottom of the test tube in his hand " – I would. Do anything for her, I would." He blinked rapidly, leaning further away than was required to place the vial in the correct box. Snapping back up to his full height, he took a steadying breath. "So what then? I assume you'd like me to meet with this person, deduce whether her attachment and dedication to your daughter is genuine? I suppose it's only fitting in my role as 'Uncle Sherlock' that I take a hand in – "
"I don't want you to be her uncle, Sherlock."
"Oh. Right. Of course, well. Whoever this woman is you intend to marry is likely to have family of her own – I assume they aren't all ex-assassins – and I'm sure you'll want her real family to be – "
"I want you to be her father, Sherlock."
Sherlock leaned forward slightly, bracing himself on a chair back. "I'm sorry, I don't understand. You're her father, and as her godfather, if something were to happen to you, I would already be – "
John squared his shoulders, pausing a moment to look into his best friend's eyes. "Marry me, Sherlock."
"And you just left him standing there like that?" Lestrade asked incredulously.
"Yes, well, after about 15 minutes of his staring at the wall, I just started reading the paper until Rosie woke up, then I dropped her off with Mrs. Hudson. She's just texted; they're having tea and biscuits now." John sipped calmly from his pint.
Lestrade's brow furrowed. "What's he going to do with all his lab equipment and eyeballs and… things?"
"I've got contractors coming next week to look at the C-flat downstairs. Figure we'll turn it into a lab/office area. With biohazard refrigerators," he added, laughing. Just then, his mobile chimed. "Oops, sorry, Greg, gotta run."
"Something up with Rosie?" The DI asked, draining his glass and throwing a few bills on the table.
"Yeah," John replied, pulling on his jacket and smiling down at the mobile in his hand. "Her dads just got engaged."