Ran inhaled deeply as the rich, warm smells of May filled her lungs.

On this beautiful spring day she found herself casually approaching the grammar school where she would collect little Conan for their daily walk home. As always he was sitting right out front waiting for her, straight-faced and eyes lost in what seemed like deep thought (although being only six, she could imagine that they didn't extend much further than what was on TV the night before, or what he'd talked of with his friends at recess).

Still, she had to admit there were times she would worry about the boy. More often than not he just seemed so disconnected from other children. Then again, it may have had a lot to do with his home life, and for that she felt a small pang of guilt. Perhaps he was just growing up too fast with all the police work they constantly found themselves casualties of (aside from the fact that he seemed to thrive on it despite his young age). With a much called-for exhale and a "you-worry-too-much" chuckle, she'd call out to the boy:

"Conan, over here!" Coincidentally breaking his own series of thoughts.

His large blue eyes blinked quickly as he re-adjusted to reality and turned to the brunette woman waiting only a few yards away. With little change in expression, he slid his book bag onto his back and strolled over to her giving only a small smile upon his arrival and a simple one-word greeting:

"Hello."

The oh-so-serious voice always made her melt as he looked up at her with a matching expression. She would smile warmly and take his hand to begin their short trek home.

"How was school today, Conan?" Ran asked like a concerned parent would. As usual, the boy simply exhaled glancing back at her out of the corner of his eye:

"Boring. I can't believe I have to sit through that stuff day after day..."

"Listen to you." she would quietly remark, eyes tilting toward the sky with a tiny snort. Everything about him from the tone of his voice to the careless expression on his face screamed Shinichi. "You're spending too much time with Dad, I think. His attitude's really starting to wear off on you! You sound like you're sixteen, not six!"

Her answer came as a small smirk that looked far too old for the child.

With this she simply sighed; What could she do, after all? She'd just have to learn to live with the fact that she was living with two men, and not a just a little boy...

When the house came into sight, Conan suddenly released her hand and darted for the door. He was like clockwork, and with no struggle she would let him go. There really was no stopping his enthusiasm, after all.

The boy would swing open the door carelessly, dropping the bag at his feet as he rushed through the house. Conan didn't stop for a moment as he darted off to the study. As he entered the large room, his eyes immediately eyed the desk before him. Silently, he would continue to trot over to the chair whose back was currently facing the entrance to the room. Within but a second of his reaching the fixture, he was hardly able to contain his excitement as he suddenly gushed:

"...any new cases come in while I was at school!?"

The response was nothing more than a hearty laugh from the other side of the chair:

"Hahah! Nice to see you, too!" The deeper voice remarked sarcastically through his smile, the large seat turning around to face the boy. A handsome man just shy of thirty looked back at him, eyes and hair identical to his. Setting down the book in his hands, he would then move the chair away from the desk and allow the child to climb up onto his lap and read over the text laying open before him.

"Same thing as yesterday, I'm afraid. Just finishing up The Sign of Four, again."

"There's a big surprise!" Came Ran's sarcastic voice from the doorway, causing them both to look up at her, arms folded across her chest and warm smile fresh upon her face.

"Come on Mom, it's classic!" The young man in Shinichi's lap would retort, head turning back to his father, "Have they chased the boat down the river yet?" Soft laughter came from the older man as he picked the book up from the desk.

"Not yet, no. Holmes is still waiting for the signal from his informant."

"The white hankerchief?"

"That's the one."

With this, Ran turned and spoke over her shoulder as she began to walk into the hallway, "I'll let you two finish up in here. Dinner in an hour, okay?"

"Okay, Mom." The boy answered joyfully, not looking up for a moment as she closed the door behind her. With a happy sigh she closed her eyes and shook her head as a small laugh escaped her:

"...like father, like son."

-end-