Chapter 2: Family
John keeps a close eye on the playing child when surprisingly another child runs past him and enters the playground. The girl was around five and a bit taller than William. Next to him stands a man. "Can I join you?"
"Yes, of course." The man sits down and offers his hand.
"Jake, nice to meet you." John shakes his hand.
"John. Pleasure." The two of them are watching their children. They don't play together, it doesn't look like they have noticed each other.
"How old is your son?" Surprised that someone thinks that Sherlock could be his son he had to keep a laugh back.
"William is three but he is not my son, I watch him for a friend." That was close enough to the truth, John decided.
"Katherine just turned five. They have some teacher meeting in her school, so the children have to stay at home." John nods, bad day for working parents.
A bit breathless from running around with Mr. Bee, sea battles and hiding the taken treasures William and Mr. Bee were tired. William looks over the playground, John was still watching him, which makes him feel safe, another man was next to him and they talked. He waves his hand to test if John was really looking at him. John waves back, the man next to him was also waving but at someone below him.
William looks down and Mr. Bee points at an older child. A girl, with long hair in a tight pony tail. As the girl lookes up to him, William would like to disappear. He doesn't want to play with other children. He looks at John again who was talking to the man, probably the girl's father. When he leaves the playground John would have to stop his conversation with the man and he seems to like it.
"Maybe we can try to make a new friend." William whispers into Mr. Bees ears.
The girl had climbed up to him while he had thought about his possibilities. "Hi, I'm Katy, what are you playing?"
"Pirates with Mr. Bee." Shyly he shows her his friend and she sits next to him. "My name is William."
"We could play something together while our daddies talk to each other." William froze, was his father here? But Katy points at John and her Daddy.
"John is not my father." The girl looked a bit confused.
"What is he, your uncle or boyfriend from you mummy?"
"No he is just John; he keeps me and Mr. Bee safe so nothing can hurt us."
"Okay let's play a bit. We could be a family. With a mum, a dad and a child. Mr. Bee can be the child and you the daddy. You will need a cool job like my daddy, he is with the fire brigade, he fights fire and saves people."
"I will work for the police like John, he helps the detectives when they can't figure it out on their own."
"That's good too. Let's make our home, I have to start the dinner and you have to get to work." William stands up to find a crime to fight. "Wait the child has to stay at home."
"No." William tights his grip on Mr. Bee. Katy must have felt the change in the air.
"Okay you will be the dad at home and I go to work." William nods they could play it like that. He was close to Mr. Bee and that is everything that counts. He starts to make dinner in the Sandbox with plates made out of leaves.
"Looks like Katy and William play together." John follows the smiling eyes of Jake and finds the two children happily playing together in the sandbox.
"Looks like they play family." Jake nods.
"One of her favorites." Both men talked about the children, their jobs and exes. It was nice to talk to someone normal but they had to go soon. "William will be hungry, we should go now." They say their goodbyes and John calls for William.
"William time to go home. Mrs. Hudson is waiting with the lunch for us." The child looks out of his house, waves Katy goodbye and runs with Mr. Bee over to him. "Did you have a nice time playing with Katy?" John asks.
"Yes, we are friends and we played family together." William takes Johns hand but wants to be carried after they left the park. "Can we come back so we can play again?"
"We can do that." They enter Baker Street as John receives a message from Mycroft.
'Good work Dr. Watson, Sherlock found a friend, thank you. MH'
