Chapter 4: Mrs. Hudson
John and William left the police station but walked home. The weather was nice and it wasn't necessary for them to be there at a specific time. Most of the way William walked by himself with Mr. Bee in one hand and holding John's in his other. During the way William was very busy watching people and cars. As they passed a street-artist they watched his performance for over ten minutes before he found something new to be fascinated about. Around the corner was a musician who played old folk songs on his violin and William started to sing alone for the rest of the trip.
Only as they were almost there his small legs got tired and he asked to be carried again. "What would you like for lunch?" John had thought about it but he could come up with nothing that he could serve the child. He still had William's soft voice in his head with one of these old songs his grandmother used to sing for him when he had to go to sleep.
"Mr. Bee and I would like toast with jam." Yes, he really needed to ask the adult Sherlock about the bee. John couldn't remember being so completely focused on one toy as William was on Mr. Bee.
"You two want toast with jam again? But we had that yesterday for dinner and for breakfast. I think we need something else. Something that fills up our tummies so we won't be hungry until the afternoon tea with cookies. Can you think of something else?"
William was thinking hard in his arms was, you could see it. He flapped Mr. Bee's wings forth and back. "Nana's egg-pie." A pie okay he could work with it.
"Do you know what was in it?" He could ask, not that he had much hope that a three year old knew the recipe from his Nana's egg-pie.
"Eggs and love. That's all it needs. She told me but Mr. Bee was spying on her once and we saw that she also put onions in it and something that looked like mushrooms but the poor mushrooms were cut and then put in a frying pan. Poor mushrooms! I like them when they grow in our back yard in the autumn." William liked mushrooms but Sherlock didn't. John guessed he would make him eat them without him knowing and tell him later he had eaten them as a child so he could eat them now in his food as well.
"I will ask Uncle Mycroft, maybe he knows how to make it." John took his phone out and sent a short message to Mycroft. They were now back and to his embarrassment John noticed he had forgotten his keys. The keys were always in the same trouser pocket so he always knew that they were there. He had to only lay his hand on his side and could feel it.
"William we need to ring the bell, silly me forgot the keys this morning." As John reached out for the bell William stopped him.
"Can I do it?" John smiled, nodded and lifted the child up so he could reach Mrs. Hudson's doorbell.
"You have to press the one next to Mrs. Hudson's name, she is our landlady." William smiled and pressed the button for the bell. John wanted to keep him in his arms but William pointed to the ground. He wanted to be let down again. Like in the police station he wanted to show that he could stand alone on his feet.
Mrs. Hudson opened the door with one of her huge smiles. "Sorry Mrs. Hudson I forgot my keys."
"John that's okay, come in. Would you like to have cup of tea with me?" She was turning towards her flat when William chose the moment to say something.
"Can you make magic tea like John?" Her eyes moved back and stopped on the small child next to John's leg. She loved children, never had her own and used every opportunity to give them all the love her own children would have gotten.
"Who are you sweetheart?" John wanted to introduce William but the child wasn't shy with her. He stepped out of his shadow and held out his hand. Mrs. Hudson took it and shook it like adults would do.
"My name is William and this is Mr. Bee." Mrs. Hudson also shook the bee's offered leg and said hello.
"Hello William, Mr. Bee, are you two with John?"
"Yes, John is watching us and he showed us the police station." Now was the moment John had to step in.
"Only Greg's office, he needed a few signatures." A rumbling tummy distracted the adults and let them look down at William again.
"I guess you haven't had lunch then. Good for you that I'm cooking right now. William would you like to have lunch with me?" William took Mrs. Hudson's offered hand.
"Yes, please but Mr. Bee and John have to come too."
"Of course they are invited too." John followed Mrs. Hudson into her flat. The adult part of William's unconsciousness must have told him that she was more than alright to trust. John was distracted from a message. Mycroft had answered.
-'I'm sorry to inform you but the recipes from our grandmother were lost for all time. She never wrote them down and every attempt to reproduce the meals was… let's just say not very successful. Sherlock never ate what we tried so don't try it. Find something to distract him. MH'-
Thank god for Mrs. Hudson! He wouldn't have known how to distract William from his wish for Nana's egg-pie. -'Thanks we have already found a distraction. Mrs. Hudson is cooking for him. JW'- John wouldn't mention it to William. Hopefully he had forgotten about his favorite food.
As John entered the kitchen he found a very busy William on Mrs. Hudson's lap peeling peas with her. "John there you are. Please wash the potatoes in the sink, than peal them and slice them in small cubes." John nodded and followed her instructions.
"Mrs. Hudson, John should be closer to us. He will be lonely." William looked up with his adorable huge child's eyes to convince Mrs. Hudson it would be better for them to work all at the same table.
"Sweetheart he can come over after he has washed the potatoes. We can't move the sink and he can see and hear us from where he is. He won't be lonely." William looked back at John standing at the sink and John waved with his hand.
"I'm alright William, I will be over there with you in no time. You're such a good boy helping Mrs. Hudson. Is Mr. Bee helping too?" It was always the best idea to distract him from lonely thoughts by mentioning his bee.
"He is observing our work. He has to check that Mrs. Hudson and I do the pealing right." The bee was sitting on the table close enough for William to reach for it when he needed it closer.
"That's good, I'm done with the washing and am going to keep you company now." John moved with the washed potatoes over to the table. He preferred to have William in his sight. The child was busy with his task when Mrs. Hudson finally questioned the child's presence.
"John why is this child with you and where is Sherlock?" John explained the whole experiment situation and the fact that the sweet little boy in her lap was Sherlock and would stay that way for a week.
She wasn't as surprised as you could expect. She had known Sherlock far too long to be surprised by him. While Mrs. Hudson was cooking John busied William with a card game. The boy learned very fast and was soon winning against John.
"Time to lay the table." Ms. Hudson called over to the table. William jumped up and let John tidy the cards away.
"I want to help. What can I bring over?" William was holding his bee again but when Mrs. Hudson gave him the spoons and forks he put it under his armpit so that he could hold the cutlery with two hands. While John got plates and two knifes. Both of them wouldn't give a three year old a knife.
They had their lunch and William told Mrs. Hudson everything about the police station, Sally's hair and the violinist. They both loved to listen to him. After lunch they helped with the dishes, William was allowed to put them away, one item at a time.
"Will you come upstairs for John's magic tea? He promised that we can have cookies." William asked as they left her flat.
"Of course I will come but with something far better then bought cookies. Homemade ones." Both William and John smiled at that. Everyone loved Mrs. Hudson's bakery.
"Thanks for the lunch and thanks for… everything." John didn't know what to say to tell they landlady how thankful he was for all the things she did for them and he could already see her willingness to care for little William the whole week. Not that he would try to stop her. She loved adult Sherlock and children. William was the perfect mix.
"Don't mention it. I will come upstairs later. Have fun up there you two." She waved her good bye to William as they walk up.
"John I like Mrs. Hudson, she is a bit like Nana. Only Nana was a bit older but they both have the same color hair. Mr. Bee likes her too. He was allowed on the table to help us."
"That was nice of her and Mr. Bee is such a great help." A sudden thought caught John unguarded. 'Did William have afternoon naps?' He had to ask Mycroft. –Does William take a nap in the afternoon? JW- The answer came fast. –You can try it but you and he have to stay in the same room. Try the sofa. MH-
The sofa? "William would you like to watch a bit of telly? I think there are a few children shows on at this time of the day." William looked at the television and shook his head.
"Can you read something for Mr. Bee and me?" A book suitable for children in this flat would be hard to find. Then he remembered the bag that Mycroft had brought over and he found one. An old fairy tale book, perfect.
William, Mr. Bee and John sat down on the sofa, cuddling up a bit as John began to read. He chose 'Little Red Riding Hood', because it was the first in the book. His knowledge about fairy tales needed refreshment. He had forgotten that there was an evil wolf who ate Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother or that the hunter shot the wolf. But the fairy tales crueler parts only had one listener and that was Mr. Bee; William was already sleeping on his lap. John wouldn't be able to move but he could wait a bit and watch his cute flat mate for a while.