Gareth
Genre: Family
Pairings: John and Alex, Kieran and Emma
Main characters: John, introducing Gareth Bailey
John Watson sat with a contented baby snuggled into his arms, and he thoughtfully considered this.
It wasn't a surprise to anyone that his daughter Rosie and Kieran and Emma Bailey's son Julian had become inseparable, in fact, in their seven year olds way (well, nearly eight, he winced), they had promised never to part. It frankly wouldn't have surprised John to someday ACTUALLY be walking Rosamund down the aisle to marry Julian, fifteen or some odd years hence. In fact, it would have surprised him more to NOT be doing that.
Not that long ago, John reflected, he, Greg, and Sherlock had actually witnessed seven year old Julian proposing to Rosie. "Old souls," Greg had called them. Sherlock had agreed, citing one of his much loved "balance of probability" theories. John had put up a weak token reluctance, but in truth, he didn't mind really. They WERE only children and they had many years ahead of them before anything as drastic as actually giving his daughter away in marriage were to happen.
So to be, on a day off and spending a casual day with Alex, minding young Mr. Gareth Patrick Bailey, John felt not only at ease, but strangely contented. The Bailey family had always seemed to fit into their small and close circle of friends, as if they truly belonged and always had.
Kieran and Greg themselves had come full circle, in fact, having met on the very day that Kieran was born. John wondered if, upon reflection, this should have been a clue when, twenty-seven years later, Kieran had found himself to be Greg's new Detective Sergeant.
The rest of it had seemingly fallen into place with such obvious ease that even the most skeptical skeptic might have trouble arguing that fate hadn't, in fact, a hand in it.
Gareth himself was born a month early in defiance of his parents and his obstetrician both. John, as their GP, wasn't surprised in the least - with the exception of Greg and Molly's three, the children in John's life had all entered the world in a dramatic fashion, and so, without predjudice, Julian's baby brother had made his appearance after much drama as well. To nobody's shock, Gareth Patrick had endeared himself just as Julian had, to the gang at 221 Baker Street.
John, for his part, had missed in a way not having a son. Oh, he never begrudged his darling lamb Rosie, not for a single moment, but Mary's loss far too soon had brought to a halt any dreams of someday having a brother for her.
Now, here he was, holding little Gareth, and realizing how much he appreciated the little lad. Kieran and Emma had taken to leaving their boys with John whenever they could, simply because of Julian's bond with Rosie, but these days, with Julian, came Gareth.
John wouldn't go so far as to say that Gareth was filling in for the son he'd never had, but Julian had come to feel like a son to him as well, thanks to his bond with Rosie. Julian, however, had come into their midst at the tender age of six. Nobody at Baker Street had known the young boy when he was a mere babe in arms. Gareth, however, was a different story.
John Watson was going to have the opportunity to watch this young son of their good friends Kieran and Emma grow up. In fact, he suspected, he may even play a part in his raising, if these childminding visits were to continue through the coming years.
"Meant to be," he whispered, recalling what Greg had said about Rosie and Julian. "Indeed," he said, smiling.