Sherlock looked up from where he was sitting on the bathroom counter. What would John say when he found out? John and Sherlock had been together for almost two years now. Not just together as friends but as a couple. After the scare with the Fall, they both knew they were going to be more than just flat mates.
I'll tell him a soon as he gets home from running to the store. Sherlock thought as he looked at the small strip of plastic in his hands. He slid of the counter and throw what he held in his hands in the trash. Leaving the small, closet of a bathroom he found himself entering the family room, and towards his violin. Funny, soon I really will have a family for this room; he thought then smiled at the idea.
Ever since he learned how to play the violin as a young boy, the self proclaimed 'consulting detective' used it as a way to clear and organize his thoughts. When Sherlock found his place in Mozart's violin concerto number four and started to play he made a mental list of everyone he need to tell what he discover. John, he had to tell him first, Mycroft, but knowing him he might have already found out, and then there's Molly and Lestrade, they will be so happy for him and John. I'm missing someone but whom. After a few more lines of music and a few more minutes of trying to figure out whom he was missing, Sherlock became frustrated and gave up of the challenging piece of music.
"This isn't like me, I always remember everything. Who am I forgetting!" he yelled not expecting anyone to be behind him.
"Umm, Sherlock," said a faint female voice, "I just phoned John asking if he could pick up some more eggs for me and he wanted me to tell you that he would be back to the flat in a little less than thirty minutes, so you could go ahead and eat without him."
"Mrs. Hudson, my dear, dear Mrs. Hudson!" Sherlock exclaimed "How could I ever forget you!" Mrs. Hudson, who had never see Sherlock act this way, became confused. "What are you talking about, Sherlock?"
"Oh, my lovely land lady," Sherlock decide that she could be the first to know because John would be awhile. "I have the most wonderful news." Again, Mrs. Hudson had never seen Sherlock like this and started to worry if the rather peculiar man that had live in flat 221b had finale lost his mind. "Don't look so frightened. John and I are expecting; I'm pregnant."
Silence. That was all that was heard in the small family area. Mrs. Hudson face turned from what's-going-on-Sherlock-have-you-lost-your-mind kind of face, to a have-to-do-a-double-take-you-must-be-joking face. When she realized he wasn't playing around she simply said "Congratulations, you and John will be great parents." She then walked out of the still very silent flat back to hers on the first floor.
"Sherlock, can you come help me?" Since moving in with Sherlock, John ALWAYS got the groceries. Because Sherlock was either too busy to go, never wanted to go, or always forgot half the things on the list. Usually he could manage carrying them up the short flight of steps to the kitchen area but he had a lot of bags this time and he wanted to see Sherlock. Sherlock was trying to finish up a case he was on and he had started his new job working as an on-call surgeon for the local clinic, so they hadn't seen a lot of each other over the past week.
John just wanted to walk over to Sherlock, stand on his tippy-toes, and give his partner a big slobbering kiss on the lips. No matter how many times they kissed each other, the kiss was just as passionate and desirous as the last one they had. As he checked to see if there were any more bags and paid the cabbie, he heard the loud and echoing footsteps that could only belong to one person.
"Let's go out for dinner John, we need to discuss something" Sherlock said grabbing the few bags left on the ground and together they entered into foyer of the building they were living in. "Mrs. Hudson do you mind taking these groceries and putting them up for us?" he added walking in the direction of their land lady's flat. She opened the door and motioned them to enter.
"This is the last time, Sherlock. I'm your land lady not your maid, nor am I going to be your babysitter." She said while taking the bags of food from the men and setting them on the floor of her flat.
"Babysitter, why would we need a babysitter?" John asked his partner. "Not now John, I'll explain everything over dinner." Sherlock replied and then turned to face Mrs. Hudson. "Thank you very much. I expect this to be another late night, so you can go ahead and lock all the doors on your way out." He reached into the pocket on his favorite black greatcoat and held up a small set of keys. "I remembered to get mine."
What? Sherlock remembering to get his keys? John thought to himself. That thought reminded him of the time when they had both left their keys in their flat, so Sherlock had to climb onto the roof of a neighboring building and from there enter through one of the flat's windows. Seeing him on the roof like that had really scared John because it was all too similar to the Fall.
After saying that Sherlock turn back to face John, hooked his arm under John's, and led him back out to the street. "Wait," said John, "I've wanted to do this all day." He looked into the taller man's eyes and with all the emotions that had been collecting in John over the week, he kissed Sherlock. Compared to all the other kisses between them, this one was different. It wasn't different in a bad way, but it was just the opposite. It was hot and intense. It was the type of kiss that made your insides burn like a fire and your skin tingle like a cool breeze on the perfect Autumn day.
"Wow, umm…Thank you John, I needed that." Sherlock said after the long lasting kiss. "For you, I'll do anything" The doctor said looking back into his love's eyes.
"And now I'm sorry for ruining this perfect moment, but do you want to walk or ride in a taxi to the restaurant?" asked Sherlock. "Let's just walk." So together, hand in hand, they walked down the pavement in the direction of where Sherlock was going to tell John the big news about their new future together.
Sherlock enjoyed spending time with John, even if it was just for a few minutes. Earlier in their friendship he learned the hard way that your life can be over in a second. Walking down the pavement with John was a time he tried to savor while also trying to figure out the best way to tell John he was he was pregnant. I'll come out and say it. No, that would be almost harsh...Ah ha! I know what I'll do. A thin smile crept across his face.
It wasn't surprising that he came up with the conclusion so fast, his mind just works like that. In fact while on a case a little less than three years ago, he, himself, the great Consulting Detective, found how a painting was counterfeit in less than ten seconds. After coming to his conclusion he looked to the right of him at his at his boyfriend. John look bothered with his eyebrows knitted together, he's forehead crinkled, and his lips slightly pursed. Sherlock could tell he wanted to say something, but he was trying to remember exactly what.
When they reached an intersection only a block from where they would be dinning, Sherlock turned to look at John again. He still looked puzzled, but this time when he looked up into Sherlock's light blue eyes, he's expression changed quickly as if a light switch had been flipped on.
"Sherlock, what did Mrs. Hudson mean about her not being our babysitter?" John asked. "I'll answer you when we reach the restaurant," Sherlock replied in his deep baritone voice. "I think it's best if you sit down." By then they were only in front of the entrance and Sherlock stopped to open the door for John.
"Why can't you tell me now?" John said stopping in the middle of the small reception area. "Because I love you too much." answered Sherlock, placing his hand on the small of John's back and slightly pushing him forward
"Holmes, party of two." Sherlock said to the young hostess standing behind a podium "Here you are," she replied pointing to a line in the note book she had. "Follow me please."
She led them through a winding maze of tables and chairs. As they walked John's fascination of new places started to creep up on him. Looking around, he saw almost every wall was covered in intricate paintings of battles and portraits of people that lived throughout British history. He also noted the whole place was bathed in a deep old light. Where there wasn't a painting, there were large mirrors hung on the wall, making the restaurant look twice as big as it actually was.
Besides the wall decorations, every table and booth had an almost gaudy looking gold lamp, which was barely lit, not creating a useable source of light. John looked up at the ceiling to investigate the where the gold illumination was coming from. Upon doing that he saw several large chandeliers methodically placed to giving the restaurant its warm and cozy feeling.
"John, where are you going?" Sherlock asked him. "Our table is this way." As the doctor spun around he spotted his boyfriend a meter away and the hostess was standing by a small corner booth.
"Sorry, I got a little distracted." He said walking over to where the young brunette was. Sherlock followed behind him and sat on one side of the small two person booth.
"Your waiter will be right with you to take your order." She said placing menus in front of the men. Then she slowly walked back to the front of the restaurant.
"This place is amazing." John said. "I thought you might like it, and I hope you don't mind being back here. I wanted to have some privacy." replied Sherlock not looking up from his menu, "and I don't usually eat while working on a case, but this is a special occasion.
During the several minutes it took the waiter to come, they spent the time talking and catching up. "What can I get for you Sir?" the waiter said, asking Sherlock.
"I'll just have a grilled salmon filet and whatever comes with that." He scribbled a few illegible words down on a small note pad. "And for you?" now asking John. "I want a bowl of spicy curry please."
"I'll go place your order now." The waiter added a few words and left the two men alone.
"John," Sherlock said in his deep baritone voice. "Do you recall the day we took a walk through the park? And when we sat to take a break we watched the two little children play together."
"Umm hmm," John replied still a little dazed by his surroundings. "Why?"
"So you also recall when we talked about having a family of our own that day, on the way back to the flat." John nodded his full attention on the man in front of him. "Well this is our chance; I'm pregnant."
He felt all the emotions a person could have at the same time, it was as if a train hit him. John could feel himself starting to faint, but Sherlock was right there beside him, holding him up.
After controlling his happiness, and his strong urge to puke, John couldn't believe what he just heard…I'm going to be a father? "How did this happen?"
"Oh, what do Americans say…? 'when to people love each other very much'" John stopped him before Sherlock could continue "That's not what I meant, and you know it. But what are we going to do now?"
"Now we eat dinner," Sherlock said, seeing their waiter bringing them their food. "then we can talk about it some more. OK?"
The rest of the night buzzed with excitement. They sat and planned for hours on end about whom to tell and how, what they needed now and what they could get later, and everything else that was involved a pregnancy. They only stopped because the manager of the last shift made them leave.
Upon entering the cool London night they wanted to get a taxi home. "Taxi!" Sherlock said stepping into the street, waving to an oncoming cab. "Sherlock be careful!" John yelled pulling his partner back onto pavement. "Sorry, I guess my paternal instincts are kicking in."
"Do you know how much I love you, Sherlock?" John asked. Too tired to reply Sherlock simply bent down and gave him a short kiss on the lips. He could still faintly taste the curry, but he didn't mind. When one of the navy taxis pulled up in front of them, John allowed Sherlock to get inside first.
"I think, no, I know it's going to be a boy." The detective said settling into the back seat. "Fine, it's a bet. Because I know we are going to have a girl." John answered. He then grabbed his Lover's hand and rode the rest of the short trip in silence.
After paying the cab driver, unlocking the door to their flat and slipping on their night clothes, neither one could sleep. They had a plan for when things like this happened, because John awoke often with nightmares about Afghanistan. Their plan consisted of lying on the couch together, watching paid programming, until they both fell asleep.
When they both got comfortable, tangled in each other's arms, and wrapped tightly in Sherlock's orange shock blanket, John could feel himself falling into a deep sleep.
"James Emmanuel Holmes, that's what I'm naming our son." Sherlock whispered quietly. John thought for a second, his head foggy. "You mean 'James' as in Moriarty don't you." He said half asleep. "Why would you name our child after someone that tried to kill us?"
"Because, without him, we wouldn't be us." Sherlock mumbled trying to stay awake. Following a short pause Sherlock finished. "I will love you till the end of eternity."
On those words, as if almost on cue, the pair drifted into a restful sleep.