"Sherlock? Are you here?" Molly called out as she entered 221 B. She had Rosie in a nice summer dress, a pale white with lots of colorful flowers, she had a hat in her go bag and lots of sunscreen. John was out of town for a conference and he had promised that Rosie would go to the carnival and since she was so looking forward to it, Sherlock and Molly had both offered. They didn't like the fact that Rosie was going to miss out on something so fun, Sherlock being wrapped around her little finger, and Molly since she hadn't been to one since she was Rosie's age.
"Getting in the shower. I over slept." Sherlock shouted and Molly sighed in relief before letting Rosie down from her hip. "I will be quick." He shouted again and she sat down in John's chair, digging through the go back before pulling out the spray bottle of sunscreen.
"Come here darling." She called out and Rosie ran right over.
"Is Uncle Lock going to be long?" She asked as Molly sprayed her arm and started to rub it all in.
"I don't think so." Molly shook her head at her and she sighed.
"But he likes to curl his hair." She whispered as if she was scared Sherlock would round the corner.
"His hair is curly darling. It dries like that. He doesn't have to curl it like we do." Molly told her with a little laugh. "He might actually push it back form his face since he is driving, I don't know what it's like after he washes it." She told her and started on wiping the small amount of sunscreen into her face now.
"But he is so tall."
"Yes he is." Molly laughed once more thinking about how Rosie was just so anxious about going now and being on time.
"Is he taking a bath? Because daddy says that I take a bath depending on how big I am. And I take long baths." Rosie said a couple minutes later when they heard the water shut off.
"No, I don't believe Uncle Sherlock takes baths. He is too tall for a tub. He takes showers, washes his hair, his body, then gets out." Molly tried to hurry through the words, she didn't want to imagine him in the shower, water dripping down his pale chest...nope, she just focused on making sure the sun screen was all over her own arms and legs and she would put it on her face in the car so she cold use that mirror.
"Almost ready!" Sherlock shouted through the bathroom door and Rosie sighed so loud before going to sit on the floor cross-legged.
Molly made another count of everything in the go bag before she heard the bathroom door open and Rosie started to giggle. "What's so funny?" Molly asked her as she closed and made sure everything was tucked into the bag.
"Uncle Lock, why are you wearing a suit?" Rosie got up and went to look him over, making a circle as she started to giggle again.
"What should I wear little Watson?" Sherlock asked her, looking to Molly a moment before focusing on her again.
"Shorts... like daddy wore last year. A nice shot sleeve or tank top." Rosie laughed again and crossed her arms as she now stood face to face with Sherlock.
Molly simply shrugged when he looked to her for help. "It is going to be very hot out today Sherlock. Get something so you can tan, or something you won't overheat in."
"I do not overheat." Sherlock told her and she sighed before crossing her arms.
"Well I might if I get too hot and just look at you. Go get changed. Act like you are undercover. You have to have some kind of loose shirt and shorts." Sherlock's eyebrows had perked up at the mention of her getting too hot while looking at him and in response he just sent her a smirk.
"You can have a look in my wardrobe Little Watson, tell me what you think I should wear." Sherlock waved her on, waiting for Molly to follow her. Once Molly was in range he leaned down, giving her cheek a quick soundless kiss and grabbing her hand.
They hadn't told Rosie or John that they were seeing each other, they wanted Rosie to remain as normal as possible. And with all the other changes, a new childminder, a new school since John moved to a smaller but safer place, they both thought it would be good to just remain Aunt Molly and Uncle Lock. Two people who didn't live together, who didn't date, and who wouldn't give her a couple cousins when they were ready.
So Molly and Sherlock only slept at Molly's place when Molly knew Rosie wouldn't need her. Which was every other night. And she always hid Sherlocks clothes and slippers when Rosie had to come over. She had learned from the best... knowing Rosie, Molly knew that she already thought she was seeing someone, she just didn't have all the facts to put together that it was Sherlock.
Once they got to the room... hands dropped, Sherlock put his behind his back and Molly placed both on the strap of her bag and waited. She already had a white shirt tossed on the bed and she was pushing through his pants before giggling. "What are these?" Rosie asked pulling out bright blue swim trunks with some kind of bird pattern in a bright orange. Molly found herself giggling as well, just trying to imagine what Sherlock would look like in those.
"They were a gift from my mother years ago. I just never had to wear them. And we are not going swimming today so I don't need to wear them." Sherlock tossed them away and crossed his arms.
"Was that your only pair of shorts?" Molly asked him and he took a deep inhale before looking around.
"No. I believe I have a black pair that are cotton. And a red pair that is longer." He told them and moved to get them out of the side closet. He held them both us and he saw Molly look right to Rosie, letting her choose.
"How about the red. And do you have sandals, or anything but dress shoes?" She asked him before going in, passing him and just stepping over the other shoes before shouting a whispered 'yes' as she seemed to dive for the shoes she had spotted.
"Here." She held up a flip flop and then went to the other one. Sherlock nodded as he looked at his new outfit before sighing. "Get dressed, we will be waiting Uncle Lock." Rosie paused before taking Molly's hand and tugging her out of the room. Molly set the bag down y the door before looking at Rosie.
"What?" She asked her seeing that she was wanting to ask a question.
"Does Uncle Lock know that you are dating again?" Rosie asked and Molly took a breath before beckoning Rosie to come and sit on her lap.
"Why do you think I am seeing someone?" Molly asked her, wanting to hear all the deductions.
"Well, I saw the male slippers, I smelled the man soap when I went potty, and you're not looking at Uncle Lock the same. It's like you don't want to look at him. Like you feel guilty or you just don't want to let him see that you're no longer interested." Rosie explained after counting her fingers off.
"I look at Uncle Sherlock." She told her and Rosie sighed.
"Not like you used to." Rosie said and Molly looked up as she heard Sherlock's bedroom door open.
"Is this approved little Watson?" Sherlock walked around the corner, meeting the sight of a worried Molly and a very impressed Rosie.
"You look like a futbol dad Uncle Lock." She squealed before getting off of Molly's lap before going right to Sherlock, she circled him to make sure that it was just as she thought it would be.
"A futbol dad." Sherlock muttered but he returned his attention to Molly. He narrowed his eyes, silently asking her what was wrong but she shook her head and move to stand up. "Shall we get going? I already put the printed out tickets in the car. You're booster seat is in there as well so you can get in all by yourself." Sherlock picked Rosie up anyways, turning to also get the bag Molly had left by the door. He had the keys in his pocket downstairs.
He wouldn't put on the Belfast, but he would bring it along incase things like the weather did take a turn for the worst.
Molly followed slowly, getting to the car and waiting as Sherlock put her in the back seat. She crossed her arms and watched as Sherlock came back towards her with the go bag. "Did you want something out of here?" He asked as he held the bag to her.
"Rosie has a snack." Molly told him and went through it while it was over Sherlock's shoulder. She pulled out some carrots and sent Sherlock a look to put the bag in and close the door so they could have a very quick conversation.
"What?" Sherlock asked, worried something was wrong with her, or their new relationship.
"She knows that I have been dating someone, and she wants to know why I don't look at you anymore."
"You look at me." Sherlock smirked and Molly gave him a look. "You do. You even said I would get you hot." Sherlock winked now, and she just sighed.
"It's just what she sees. I don't know if we should get too close today." Molly told him and looked through the back window to see Rosie going through the coloring book she had left in the car so long ago.
"Contrary, she might see you seeing something new as a threat, at least with us showing her that we are dating she doesn't have to worry about you leaving her hanging. We always hang with her together, well, not always with her, but we are together more often than not nowadays." Sherlock knew what she was doing. She was getting paranoid about how Rosie would react. It was one of the things that made her the perfect role model for her, and maybe, a great Mother to her kids someday. Well... their kids.
"So how do we let her know?" Molly asked and started to nibble her lip.
"We just act like today is any other day. Except, I hold your hand, and I buy the food, and it's a date. Just with Rosie as the third wheel." Sherlock shrugged before leaning in and kissing her lips, not caring if Rosie saw this time. He wanted her to see so they could get over this. But Rosie didn't see. And she colored all the way to the carnival, not watching Molly and Sherlock, not listening in on their conversation about what they wanted to do for rides and food. About what time they should leave.
But when they got to the parking lot Rosie was all ears, and mouth. She was looking at all the rides she could see from the fence, wanting to be on Sherlock's shoulders so she could keep seeing them, Sherlock didn't understand her reasoning but he held her up there.
She was running her hands through his hair as Molly put the prepaid tickets into the little cubby hold and they got hand stamps since they got the unlimited rides included. Sherlock hated the ink on his hand, but he ignored it as best as he could.
Molly was looking around, looking at all the souvenir stands. Wanting to pick something out for Rosie and herself to always remember the first time she went with her.
Sherlock was just content to get so many people to teach Rosie about. He sat with her while Molly went to the loo and pointed at people, pointing things out for Rosie to notice for next time. After a 30 minute line Molly was back, shaking her head as she heard Rosie's deductions of a grown woman.
"She has a short skirt, her child looks miserable at her side, she is here either to get a date, or to show off that she is a … what was that work Uncle Lock... Dilf?" Molly heard Sherlock let out a snort.
"Dilf is a father... Milf is a mother. She is single, and she does look like she is looking for all available men while her child seems to only want to play at the stands and ride the rollercoaster." Sherlock corrected her gently before smiling up at Molly. "Good of you to come back. Must have been a lot of women, feel better?" He asked her and she just nodded before holding out her hand. He took it, not caring that she had meant it for Rosie.
But Rosie saw the action right away, looking at their hands before looking at her aunt and uncle before a wide smile erupted on her face. "I knew that the soap in her bathroom smelled the same as you when you got out of the shower this morning." She deduced and Sherlock gave her a smile before leaning over, picking her up, and walking with her towards the rides.
"What ride do you want to go on next."
"We can go on the Ferris wheel." She pointed to it and Sherlock looked to Molly, pulling her along, not letting her worry too much about how Rosie seemed to have already known, just like Sherlock would have known.
They held hands, shared food, went on rides with Rosie between them.
8 hours in the hot sun, multiple coats of sunscreen and a lot of sweat, they were on their way back to London. Rosie was passed out, sleeping with just a slight snore Sherlock always swore sounded like John. She had been out when Sherlock and Molly made up their minds to leave, all Sherlock did was pick her up and start to walk towards the exit f the carnival. And she laid her head down on his shoulder, and fell right to sleep.
Molly had almost teared up at the sight of Sherlock with her. It made her ache to talk about having kids, but their 'thing' was still so new, and she knew that even a long term commitment was not his style.
Half way through the trip back she had turned, trying to get comfortable, and when she closed her eyes, facing Sherlock, he reached out, grabbing her hand and simply holding it. "When would you want one?" He asked her and she cracked one eye open.
"One what?" She whispered before yawning.
"A child." He told her and she opened her eyes and blinked a couple times.
"Maybe we can get into those kind of details after we tell John, and there would have to be a ring on my finger Sherlock. That is not pressure, just my idea of what and where we would need to be with each other if we are going to even talk about bringing a child of ours into this world." She told him, squeezing his hand to make sure that he understood.
"Okay." He nodded and for a moment she wondered if he had anything else running through his head, but his face as passive, and after a couple minutes she closed her eyes. Mumbling to him that he just had to wake her up when they got there and she would get Rosie inside and that he had to call John to say that they were back.
And hour later they were parked in his usual spot, he picked up the phone, gently shaking Molly as he called John and she was awake just in time for John to answer. "We just got back. Rosie is asleep." He told John who answered with a 'how is Rosie?'
"That's good. How did today go besides that? Any cases?" John asked with a light laugh and Sherlock smirked.
"No... but I do have something to tell you." Sherlock saw Molly stretching and she moved to crack her neck.
"What is it?" John asked as he heard a little smile in Sherlock's voice.
"I am going to need you to be my best man." Sherlock enjoyed seeing Molly's eyes widen before a coughing sound on the other end of the phone.
"What?" John and Molly echoed each other.
"Well Molly and I have been dating for a couple weeks, and of course, as you know, we have loved each other for a long time, so when she says that we need to be engaged, and you need to know about our relationship I figured I would need to kill two birds with one stone."
"You needed to be engaged to tell me about the two of you?" John asked as Sherlock moved to get something out of the glove box, it was a small box, black velvet. Molly just watched him open it.
"Of course not. I needed to tell you and ask her to marry me so we can talk about children. My only condition is a short engagement. A long time marriage, and as many kids as possible." Sherlock told her more than he told John.
"Sherlock, please tell me that you are not in bed with Molly right now."
"Of course not John. We are in the car still." Sherlock told him and he sighed.
"Please tell me you didn't just propose to Molly while on the phone with me." John added that too and Sherlock looked to Molly, her eyes welling with tears.
"Would that be a bit not good?" Sherlock asked quickly, getting a yes from John but Molly sniffled, wiped her nose and shook her head quickly. "Molly says no. Why are you crying?"
"You had this planned." Molly whispered and Sherlock just nodded. "For how long?"
"Well... since John got called away." Sherlock said and she sniffled. "The other version would have been in bed. Our bed." He added and he noticed the tears starting again.
"I am hanging up now. Tell Rosie I will see her bright and early in the morning."
"You're coming home?" Sherlock asked and John just laughed before hanging up. "I had known he would come home earlier I would have proposed in bed tomorrow." Sherlock muttered, digging out the ring before putting it on Molly's finger. He didn't ask, not that he needed to. And she didn't answer, not like she needed to.
They both knew what the other wanted. It was plain as the next morning.
They wanted each other. They wanted a marriage.
They wanted their own version of Rosie. One that they could keep and didn't have to turn over to John just because he comes home.
And they got right to work on those babies.