A dark silhouette shadowed the hallway, the door closing softly behind it.
"Uncle Sherly!" A three year old infant ran to a tousled haired Sherlock Holmes
"Hey! Little Watson!" he crouched down and embraced the clumsy, beaming child
"Sherlock, you came" John leaned against the door frame to the living room where Mary was putting her coat on
"Are you sure you are okay to do this?" She calls to Sherlock, John putting his coat on
"Yes of course!" He confirmed "You would have left me with him anyway" Sherlock muttered the last line to himself.
"Oh come one, don't be like that. You know deep down you love Hamish! You can think you're the smartest person, but when it comes to humanity we know a lot more" John joked. Sherlock felt a pang of admiration and anger
"Uncle Sherly, can we play murder?" Hamish asked excitedly as Sherlock took of his coat and scarf
"Sure, go and get ready" Sherlock beamed at the boys taste
"Are you ok? You look slimmer" Mary asked concerned as she linked arms with John, a ghost of smile was plastered on Sherlock's face as he pushed them out of the door
"Have fun- even though half the people hate you" Shutting the door behind him, Sherlock almost ran in the room where he playfully attacked a giant teddy bear Hamish had brought down.
"Aaah!" Hamish called as Sherlock wrestled the bear "Murderer!" The little boy leapt onto Sherlock's back
"What's this? Someone trying to stop me?! Hahahah!" Sherlock jumped up with Hamish clinging to his neck and begun running around the room like a horse and rider
"I'll stop you!" Hamish squealed as Sherlock spun around
"Oh no you won't!" Sherlock playfully feel to the floor, Hamish grabbed his hands behind his back
"Ha! You're a murderer and under arrest!" He shouted victoriously as Sherlock lay limp beneath him
"Little Watson, you're getting better every time" Sherlock gasped as he was released by Hamish.
After a while, the two ended up watching Hamish's cartoons, Sherlock, to his surprise found himself absorbed in the silly fictional stories
"Uncle Sherly I'm hungry" Hamish pronounced the "r" as a "w", interrupting Sherlock's marvel
"Hungry? We can't have that!" Sherlock jumped to his bare feet, Hamish crawling to his. Sherlock grabbed the little boy and tucked him under his arm like a bag, swinging him "Lets feed the hero!" Hamish giggled and squealed as he swayed under his role model uncle. Putting Hamish in a chair Sherlock begun rummaging through cupboards
"All this is rubbish" Sherlock turned his nose up at a can of tomato soup "How boring dinner must be for you" Sherlock carried on moaning until he sat the opposite side of the table from Hamish "Hmm, how about a pizza adventure?" Sherlock suggested, Hamish jumped in his seat with anticipation "Get ready, Little Watson, we're going out".
Once Sherlock had tied little Hamish's shoes, he went to take his hand. Sherlock's lean figure would not allow his hand to reach Hamish's pudgy one, with a pang of sadness Sherlock cleared his throat
"It seems you were born the size of a hedgehog like your dad, you must travel on my back" So he crouched down on the ground and allowed Hamish to scrambled until they were both comfortable "Like haste we shall go!" And Sherlock strode out of the door towards the local town.
Later that evening Sherlock and Hamish entered the empty Watson household laughing. Hamish stifled a yawn clinging to Sherlock's coat collar, he moaned slightly wiping his eyes "come Little Watson let's go to bed before your parents are going to come back and expect you in bed" he whispered climbing the stairs
"I'm not tired" Hamish whimpered. Sherlock let Hamish slip off his back, Sherlock removed his coat and gently undressed Hamish and put him in his robot pyjamas. Without any more complaints Hamish brushed his teeth and crawled into bed, Sherlock made sure he was tucked in before leaving the room
"Good night, Little Watson"
"Uncle Sherly!" Hamish called out "tell me one of your stories please?" Smiling Sherlock sat on the little stool by his bedside
"Which one?" He asked, his deep voice lower than usual to sooth Hamish
"When you and daddy first met" He giggled "I like that one"
"I like that one too Little Watson" Hamish stared with heavy eyelids as Sherlock began to recount the story for the umpteenth time "Once upon a time there was a lonely man. He thought he was alone in the world with no one to understand him. But one day he met someone who understood his genius. For such a small size this man had such a big heart, the lonely man liked that. They formed a friendship, it was a funny kind- always bickering and sarcastic but the bond was deep and they knew each other well. The lonely man didn't feel alone any more, his heart grew, no longer shrivelled and dead but alive and beating, all thanks to the little man." Sherlock finished, his eyes slightly moist. He lost himself in his memories, regretting the time he left John. John had done so much and he had left him thinking it would keep him safe. But it didn't.
"Uncle Sherly?"
"Hmm?" Sherlock tried to shake away his longing to be with John again, he was feeling so profoundly lonely
"He loves you too" Hamish smiled
"I'm sure he does, Little Watson"
"It's-" Hamish was interrupted by the greetings of his parents
"Sleep" Sherlock said leaving the room
"Good night, uncle Sherly".
Sherlock went downstairs and started to put his coat on
"Leaving so soon? Don't you want to stay over it's late" John asked shrugging his coat off
"Thank you, but no. I have a case to start working on
"Oh come on it can wait! We haven't seen you in ages" Mary smiled pulling Sherlock towards the living room
"I really mustn't out stay my welcome, I hope you both had a lovely evening, good night" Sherlock opened the door and closed it. He stood on the front steps, he really wanted to go back in. He shook his head and briskly walked away, signalling for a taxi.