AN: these will be short, but they will come often :)
Watching them, I can see the little one wobbling around while chattering away in baby talk. His fathers, one tall and dark, the other shorter, stouter, more like grounded, watch, smile, laugh, encourage. I want a family like that. I want someone to look at me with such love. But no one has so much as spoken to me for a year now. I am just another little girl, age six, wandering the streets. But they do not know me. They do not know who I really am, what I can do.
Almost nine years later I still have not spoken to them. But I know them. I know them very well. Hamish, the little boy, likes going to work with his daddy. That's what he calls the shorter one. Hamish looks like his father, though.
A cold layer of snow covers all of London. It adds peace to the otherwise lively, loud city. I like it.
I do not bother with a cab; I walk all the way to Baker Street from my most recent residence in Regents Park.
Today is Christmas. Today is the day I finally try to see what it's like to be in a family.
I brush my hair, and wrap my jacket around me. A new tear catches my attention. I almost groan in annoyance. But I do not. Instead I do my best to cover it up. Once I look a little more presentable, I step up to the door. A small Christmas wreath is hanging there, most certainly courtesy of the blond man. I have never used their names. I only ever think of them by their appearance. Of course I call Hamish by his name. He is younger than me, so I feel no obligation to be polite.
I lift my hand to knock, then pause. What if they turn me away? Or what if I can't bring myself to speak? I have to somehow impress them. I need to. So, before I can run away again, I rap the door of 221b on Baker Street.
I listen. I can hear a pair of slipper-clad feet scrambling down the stairs, followed by two larger pairs. The door opens.
There, standing in front of me is the boy called Hamish. Dark hair, big blue eyes, skinny and tall for his age. Hamish Watson-Holmes. Next to him are his parents, John and Sherlock. Doctor and detective.