Chapter 1~~
"Sherlock?" John whispered into the dark. He could see the other man's outline laying on the couch, hands steepled against his lips. "Sherlock we should go on vacation. Hamish hasn't ever had a chance to do something fun." "Uncle Mycroft took him to the science museum last week. That's plenty fun. Please, John. I was in the middle of thinking. Can this conversation wait?" Sherlock had opened one eye, it glinted eerily in the dark. John sighed and stood up while Sherlock closed his eye and went back to thinking. As John was walking back to his room he turned back to glance at Sherlock one more time. "Harry told me about this beach town in California that she visited once. It's summer and Hamish should be able to have fun. Why not a vacation in California?"Sherlock let out an exasperated, strangled sigh and John sensed it would be best to leave now.
After thirteen hours on an airplane, many excited conversations between Hamish and John and many sarcastic remarks from Sherlock, the odd family were standing in California. Sherlock had been convinced by being allowed to do detective work with the local police station for the two weeks they would be in town (plus he was a sucker for the beach). They took a cab, quite different from the ones they were used to back home, to the vacation home Harry owned and would be letting them stay in.
It was within walking distance to the beach, light blue on the outside with steps leading up to the front porch. Right away Sherlock was complaining about the creaking wooden floors that would disturb any of his thought processes but John and Hamish ignored him, instead looking around at the shelves filled with ocean artifacts and leather bound novels. Hamish reached straight away for a copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and sat in the comfiest chair facing the window to begin reading. Sherlock set his bags against the hallway entrance and watched Hamish before sighing and retreating to the bedroom. John followed shortly behind him, leaning against the doorframe as he watched Sherlock unpack some things into the wardrobe. The bed was already made with a hideously colored quilt draped across the end, John flopped down in the middle of it and continued to watch Sherlock put things away. "Are you going to be like this the entire trip?" John asked, quietly so Hamish couldn't overhear. "Like what?" Sherlock stopped halfway through his trip from his bags to the wardrobe and furrowed his brow. John sat up and stuck his legs out, nervously shaking his foot. He hated confrontations, especially with Sherlock. "You know what like. You haven't had a nice thing to say since we first started discussing this trip. Your brother was kind enough to get you something to do while we're here and my sister has let us use this house and Hamish is quite possibly the most excited he's been in his life. Lighten up a bit." Sherlock allowed himself to turn his lips up into a mediocre half smile and looked directly at John. "Yes. Of course. Excuse my behavior, John. I'll do my best to, as you say, lighten up a bit." John figured that's as far as he'd get with Sherlock at that moment in time so he went out to the den to visit with Hamish who had abandoned reading to explore the other rooms in the small home they would be staying in.
"Please father, the boardwalk is right there. Can't you hear the screams? Everyone sounds like they're having so much fun. Please can we go?" Sherlock had made a deal with John to take Hamish out into the downtown shopping area. He had not realized that this deal would have so much begging on Hamish's part. "You'll have to ask your dad, Hamish. Large crowds of people are not exactly my cup of tea." Hamish pouted but continued on the rest of their walk to the house in silence except to point out the murals he found most exciting. Sherlock tried to coax him into playing a round of deduction with him, a game they enjoyed while walking through the streets in London involving seeing who could reach an accurate conclusion about a passerby more quickly, but Hamish was not being compliant. Once they reached the house Hamish bolted up the pathway and stairs, knocking the screen door against the wall as he burst into the house yelling for John. Sherlock sighed heavily but remembered his promise to lighten up and instead walked into the house silently, listening to Hamish excitedly ask John about a trip to the boardwalk. "Father already said that I'd have to ask you but it isn't like it's very far and we don't even have to go on all the rides I just heard all the people and they sounded like they were having so much fun. Please can we go, please please please?" Hamish was practically jumping around John, who was fixing something up in the kitchen. John chuckled and put his hands out onto Hamish's shoulders to steady him then looked up over his head to Sherlock who had followed close behind Hamish.
"I'd say that tomorrow sounds like a fine day to take a trip to the boardwalk, what do you think Sherlock?" John asked. Hamish turned on his heel to look up at his father with large, begging eyes. Sherlock nodded his head once, then stepped out of the room to tap away on his mobile. Hamish shrieked with joy and jumped up and down a few more times, hugging John before skipping off to bother Sherlock about an experiment they had started the day prior.
"WAKE UP, FATHER!" Hamish yelled, launching himself onto the bed and spreading himself out over both John and Sherlock. After helping Hamish with their experiments, Sherlock had slipped out until the early morning hours to work on a case with the police station and had only just fallen asleep when Hamish burst in, but he woke up in fairly good spirits nonetheless. John rolled over, pressing his face into Sherlock's shoulder and groaning before finally sitting up and kicking off the blankets. Outside was chilly and John began to shiver a bit. He had only worn a jumper and boxers to sleep in and had forgotten to pack his bathrobe, so he pulled on a pair of jeans quickly. Hamish giggled and grabbed at Sherlock's hands to pull him into a sitting position.
"You have remarkable strength for a nine year old," Sherlock joked before neatly folding the blankets off his legs and lifting Hamish with him off the bed. John smiled as Sherlock, dressed in a loose blue tee shirt and silk pajama bottoms spun their son around once before setting him firmly back onto the ground. "Go get dressed, Hamish. I suppose we'll leave in the next hour."