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Before Mycroft left, John thought of several other questions for him, mostly about the check-ups he would give the baby, in between the "official" checks at the paediatrician and the military facility. Mycroft also assured him that the birth registration would be no problem, and he would see that it was taken care of properly. Everything seemed agreeable, and Mycroft finally left, his umbrella tapping down each step. As they heard the outer door closing, the ever-present black car appeared to whisk him away again.
John and Sherlock looked at each other, still not quite believing this had all happened so quickly. They were alternately insanely giddy and a bit overwhelmed at all the changes they would have to make to the flat before the baby came home. They supposed they'd have to tell Mrs. Hudson something so she wouldn't drive them completely mad with her questions. Maybe they could just tell her that they had decided to try for a child, and then that they had found a surrogate - ? That would probably work well.
They decided to go for a walk and then get dinner at Angelo's. Whilst they were out, they could stop in and browse the baby things in a shop or two, just to get an idea of some things they'd need. John donned his black sniper's jacket and Sherlock of course grabbed up his Belstaff and scarf, and they set out in the brisk autumn air. At the first shop, they were both stunned at the variety of items offered. Visiting Molly and Greg had prepared them - a bit - for the sheer number of things a baby added to one's life, but they were not prepared for the immense assortment of designs available for each item. It seemed once you knew the sex of the baby, there were many things offered to further gender stereotypes - something neither Sherlock nor John was anxious to do. Fortunately, it looked like there were plenty of choices that were gender-neutral, and they thought that would be best. Animals, bright prints of stars and moons and the like seemed much more to their liking, and could be used for either, (and of course, John wanted to be sure their child did not share his husband's 'spectacular ignorance' of the solar system.) They made no final decisions right now, of course, but they did agree on that.
Feeding the baby necessitated yet another vast array of items - best to see what Baskerville recommended first, before really looking too far in that direction. Obviously the child would be formula-fed, but other than that, they had no idea what type or even if the recommended one might be a creation of the labs at Baskerville itself. They glanced at many types of bottles, but put it off until they knew more.
Then they got to the clothing section. Just looking at all the tiny clothes made them both excited and a bit afraid - they could not imagine caring for a baby so small. Even John, who cared for many babies on his clinic days, thought about being solely responsible for such a tiny being twenty-four hours a day, and couldn't suppress a slight shiver. They did exclaim a bit over a few of the little outfits, and they knew then and there the child would have more clothing than even Sherlock, whose clothing collection looked like the stock of an entire small, bespoke-tailoring shop. If they had known what sex the baby would be, they would both have picked out at least a dozen outfits. They did agree that a girl would have some frilly dresses as well as more practical clothing.
Deciding they had seen enough for a first look, they headed over to Angelo's. He was always happy to see them. Of course, he was over the moon when they had told him they were getting married. He took a bit of the credit for their whole relationship, being the one who had placed a candle on the table at their first meal together there, and assuming that Sherlock was on a date. They were happy to let him, as he had always been more than supportive of them. He also hosted their wedding breakfast, smiling the whole time.
Angelo was delighted to see them, as always. The place was quiet, since it was still a bit early for the bulk of the dinner crowd. John sat down and looked at the menu, although he knew what he wanted. He loved anything that Angelo made, and knew that cooking for them was his delight when they came in. When Angelo offered to make them something special, John said yes, and Sherlock ordered one of his usual dishes, pasta with a light marinara sauce and a salad. Since they had been together, Sherlock did make more of an effort to eat better and more often, a new trait for which John was grateful. Only if there was a case numbering high on his arbitrary scale, would Sherlock go back to his ways of skipping meals, and it showed in the fact that his ribs were not always threatening to poke through his shirts, although he remained a slim man. John had a feeling once the baby was here, Sherlock would be glad for a chance to have coffee and a meal. John knew that he would - he'd had enough friends with children to know chances for a bit of peace and quiet were rare with a little one. He couldn't wait!
While they ate, they talked about what they would tell Mrs. Hudson about the baby. Of course, they had some time, since the process hadn't even started, but they both thought a little more time was better than springing the news on her too late. They decided that they would say they had wanted to try having a child, and would be looking for a suitable woman to be their surrogate, with Mycroft's help. Sherlock knew his older brother could be tediously precise in his interpretation of the laws, but he also loved his little brother and Mrs. Hudson, who often baked some extra for him when she thought he might be stopping by. She was, after all, like their second mother, and always called them "her boys." The fact that Mrs. Hudson would never actually see the woman was not all that odd, for them.
"Sherlock, love - I still am having a little trouble believing this. I feel like I should pinch myself to see if I am awake or dreaming. Do you know how long it will be from the time we give them tissue samples until they can actually grow the cells and 'start' the baby? I guess I should have asked Mycroft, but I am amazed I thought to ask him anything at all. Oh! Can we choose the baby's sex? Not that I care which one it will be, but I just wondered," John said. He was talking and thinking, his mind reeling with the information they had been given that morning.
His husband smiled, eager to share more of the information from Dr. Stapleton. "From what Dr. Stapleton told me, it should take two to three weeks for the cell lines to establish themselves enough to begin differentiation into egg cells. They would of course, keep the stem cells going, in case we decide to have another child, or if either of us develops a condition that they could help with treating in future. I see no reason why we shouldn't be able to specify the sex." Sherlock answered.
Angelo must have overheard the word, "baby" and made the obvious leap that they were adopting or using a surrogate, as he soon returned with two servings of cake with vanilla ice cream, and coffee. He was beaming from ear to ear and said, sotto voce, "Congratulations! You just let me know, and I will send you dinner or lunch any time, since you may be too busy to cook. I am so happy for you! I think you will be very happy with a little bambino, yes?"
John and Sherlock admonished Angelo to keep all this under his hat until they knew officially that the time had come, and he agreed, still grinning. "Well, at least we know that we won't have to cook every day," John said, smiling. "And I suppose it will usually be on days you are expected to provide a meal for us, eh, love?" Sherlock tried (and failed spectacularly) to look innocent, and grinned back at his husband, a real smile, which so few ever saw. John thought he would cook every day of their lives if he could bring that smile to Sherlock's face more often (but he'd never tell Sherlock that, the git!) and they finished their pudding and coffee, and left, walking back to Baker Street hand in hand.
A/N- This work was not beta-read. All mistakes are mine. Please read and review- thanks!
~joan