Chapter 10

Greg and Molly were very helpful after their initial surprise. They chatted with John and Sherlock about various items they had found invaluable - and a few they had not. They looked at the items Sherlock had bookmarked on the computer, and gave their opinions about each. Molly showed them a slightly different portable cot that was like the one she had at home, and then they looked at some of the other items, Sherlock bookmarking the ones they wouldn't need for a while. When they got to the car seats, Greg was very knowledgeable, as he knew they'd likely be moving it in and out of cabs or rental cars more than a vehicle of their own. He selected three possibilities, and Sherlock sent an email to Anthea to check them out and let them know which was the best rated. Molly then pointed out several car seat covers that made the seat softer and more comfortable, and Sherlock marked those, too, so he would know what to order once they had settled on a seat.

Molly also suggested to them that the rugs in the flat be replaced - which they had never thought about. When they looked at them critically, they couldn't see a baby crawling around on the present ones. They were quite worn, both by Sherlock's pacing and by his experiments, so they put new rugs on the list. Both John and Sherlock were sure Mrs. Hudson wouldn't object, since they'd be buying the rugs themselves.

They started talking about bottles, but since John and Sherlock were not sure which would be recommended, and Molly was nursing, they saved that part of the discussion for later. Privately, the couple thought that Baskerville might suggest a certain type. Greg and Molly looked at the list of child-proofing that Sherlock had sent to Anthea, and agreed it was comprehensive.

By the time Greg and Molly left that evening, John and Sherlock felt they had a lot of new info, and were much more ready to start shopping as soon as they knew the baby was growing normally. They sat together on their couch, watching the telly, and thinking about all the new things they had learned. Sherlock, especially, seemed much more relaxed, and John was more than pleased with that development. Molly had also brought the lab equipment catalogue, and Sherlock was very excited to start looking through it – but not until the next day, John admonished his husband.

Sherlock suddenly sat straight up and said, "John! I think we should record both our voices so that the staff at Baskerville can play the recordings to the baby. It has been shown with ordinary pregnancies that the child recognises its parents' voices from hearing them through the mother's abdomen. So, it would only make sense to afford our child the same chance to learn our voices, don't you think?"

John grinned and said, "Sherlock, love, what a wonderful idea! I know the baby will learn to know our voices and be comforted more quickly when we hold him or her. I know your voice always soothes me when I have a dream about Afghanistan, even before I am properly awake. Oh! And what about you playing your violin, so he will know he will hear it often?"

"That is a good idea, as well, John. Not to mention we can include some classical music in general, for the baby to listen to during the day. It is so much more soothing to tender ears, and some say that listening to classical music, especially Mozart, helps the developing brain" Sherlock added.

Then John said that they should include some mp3s of lullabies; some from classical pieces and some from more modern songs, so the baby could be soothed by them after its birth. They then spent an hour or so on iTunes, choosing the ones they liked best and buying them to add to the iPod, which Sherlock said would make more sense, as he had an older model they could use. He then added some violin pieces, as he had an extensive collection of those, and some piano and organ as well, Soon he was debating with himself over which symphonies to include...

By this time, it was getting quite late, but neither John nor Sherlock could think about trying to sleep just yet, so they watched a few baby care videos online, and got even more excited and nervous, all at once. They decided they had faced some pretty dangerous situations and criminals, so they would NOT be daunted by a tiny baby! Feeling somewhat better, they watched several more videos about preparing formula, car seats, baby safety in general, and then they moved on to baby clothes in online shops. This was much more fun, and if they had known the sex, their child would have had a dozen outfits in a few minutes.

Finally, both John and Sherlock were yawning, and decided it was time for bed. Sherlock fixed them each a final cup of tea and brought it into the bedroom with him. They turned on the telly in their room and watched the late newscast, both of them falling asleep while the reader was still giving the weather forecast for the next day. Sherlock woke in the night to go out and get a drink and turned the telly off. John was sleeping soundly, and never heard Sherlock leave the room. Sherlock got his juice and went into the sitting room, playing his violin softly after finishing his drink. He rummaged around in his desk and finally found the mute that he knew he had bought a long time ago, but rarely used, and placed it over the strings. He paged through his sheet music, finding a few lullabies he hadn't played in a long while, and set them up on the music stand. Sherlock ran through a few of them before returning to bed, slipping an arm around John as he lay back down and tried to sleep. By the time John finally awoke, he was happy to be surrounded by the various splayed limbs of his husband, who often slept as though he were an octopus, entangling himself with John.

The next day, the men who were doing the baby-proofing arrived in 221B and proceeded to go through the entire flat, making sure all the wiring was up to present code ( it was), outlets were properly covered, lamp cords were secured, and the like.

After the men left, Sherlock went through the lab catalogue Molly had brought him and ordered the things he would need to get the lab set up. He was very pleased to finally have a real lab, and he knew John would love it to be away from their living and eating areas, even if they were not having a baby.

John measured the area of the various rooms in the flat and made notes, so they would know which size rugs to order; then they went online to look at samples and phoned Anthea, who said she would send over someone with actual sample rugs for them to choose.

The final task for the day was choosing new paint colours for the flat - Molly had suggested it, and once John and Sherlock considered it, they agreed that lighter and brighter shades would definitely appeal more to a baby and make the flat look refreshed as well. They started looking online, but decided they would have Anthea set up an appointment with an interior designer, to assist with the general makeover. Things were starting to shape up for the arrival of their little one, although that was still far away.

A/N- no copyright infringement was intended- this work was not beta read, all mistakes are mine alone. I hope you are enjoying this - I have had fun writing it! Thanks for reading,

~joan