Chapter 13

"Papa, can you um...analy- an- um... can you look at Alex too like a psychic?"

"It's not mind reading or sorcery Hamish, it is observation and analysis," Sherlock answered when he picked his head up from the case file he was reading.

"Analysis! Ya! It's like a magic trick Alex! " Hamish poked her with a building block and scrunched his toes into the rug. Alex looked over at Sherlock, her head tilted to one side.

"Can I learned the magic trick?' She asked, poking Hamish was her finger. In the hours they had been playing they had so far built castles with blocks, played hide and seek, and chased each other around the house, Alex too busy playing to miss her mother really. She looked over at Sherlock again, something behind her back.

"What do I have behind here?' She asked, a five- year- old's way of testing someone.

"I believe what is hidden behind your back is a geometrical shape constructed and molded from wood, this wood belongs to... oak and 90% was most likely manufactured overseas from China. The color itself is that of a blue hue though it comes close to a little bit of a green because if held to the light the tint changes slightly. Smooth edges to prevent injury-"

"Papa!" Hamish crossed his arms together and puffed out his cheeks as Da might.

"A triangle," Sherlock finally said.

Alex took the block out from behind her back. "I can't tell if it's a triangle." Alex said to herself, frustrated that she wouldn't know.

"Sherlock, they're just children." John said, gently running his fingers through Sherlock's curls from his place on Sherlock's lap. "Come here now Alex, this is a good learning experience for you. You too Hamish." He said, calmly explain the shapes to the children, Alex listening with wide eyes, for a moment looking like her mother when she was surprised about something.

"Ohhhh, Triangle." The little girl repeated, taking the block. She ran to another block. "What shape is this?" She asked, her eyes shining at learning something totally new. John laughed at her.

"Okay, okay, I'll teach you." He said, getting on the floor with Hamish and Alex, explaining the them different shapes as he winked at Sherlock. As John played with Hamish and Alex, he looked up.

"Sherlock, how long does it take to eat breakfast anyway?" he asked, getting it clean for the kids, picking up the blocks

"Why must you ask John, we finished breakfast," his husband asked with an arched brow. John shared a secret smile with Sherlock, getting up, picking up Hamish. "Well then Sherlock. I was thinking we could take the kids swimming." Alex perked up at the idea of going swimming. "We can find a t-shirt for Alex but Sherlock could you get Hamish's swim trunks?" John asked, carrying a cheering Alex to his room, getting a t-shirt from the bed to put on Alex.

"Why you looking at me with that smile John?" asking innocently, "But yes swimming sounds like a grand idea. We'll use the one on the Western side, huh Hamish?" picking up the bouncing boy and following John.

"We going swimming! But what if it's cold out?" Hamish asked clinging onto his father's nose.

"The pool itself is inside the house, like in a hotel, now come here. Need proper pants."

Almost jumping out of his arms Hamish ran to one of the drawers and was pulling out his clothes ("Hamish stop, or Da is going to have to fold all of them again!") to find his pants stuffed in the back.

"Alex can, can you swim?" the little boy asked trying to look over his shoulder.

"Mummy took me swimming one time but my Daddy didn't like that. He said I was too little to swim. But I'm a big girl." She argued as John took her dress off, putting on a t-shirt of Hamish's on her, getting another pair of swim trunks Hamish had. "Me love swimming though."

"Yes Alex, I'm sure YOU love to swim." John corrected, letting the little girl off the bed to go to hug her new best friend.

"Can you swim?" She asked Hamish.

"If my Da can do it, I will be learning! He was in the war you know! Blew up bad guys so he can do anything. Blam blam-"

"Hamish!" Sherlock replied sharply and held his shoulder, "That's enough."

"But I he was doctor too. He showed me his necklace, helped shoo-"

"Hamish. Stop," he looked at his son sternly as the boy cowered a little and dropped his head.

"Yes father..."

Giving into a small sigh, Sherlock leaned down and gave him a hug, rubbing his back. This was a touchy subject he was hoping Hamish would know less and less of, especially because John still suffered from nightmares. It was horrible sometimes, either Sherlock would wake up with a gun in his face because John was pinning him down believing he was the enemy.

Sometimes he would begin to wail or cry out in his sleep because the soldiers dying in his care sometimes would shift into Sherlock himself, furthering his Survivor's guilt. Worst would be when Hamish woke up to the screaming, beginning to cry because he was scared for Da, so Sherlock would have to be there to comfort them.

"I love you Hamish, ok. Be nice while swimming eh?"

"Ya Papa!" hugging his neck.

Alex cowered as well, hiding behind Hamish. She suddenly had a flashback to her father's house. She had to pee but she and her mother were invited to have dinner with her fathers. Alex had asked to pee but her father had said it wasn't lady-like to leave the table, her mother trying to convince Jim to let her go. Alex couldn't take it away a while, peeing her dress all over the antique chair. She would never forget the look on her father's face when he smelled the pee, throwing his plate across the room.

He had raged at her, throwing her in her room, calling her dirty for doing such a thing, Alex had cried in her room for hours before her mother was allowed to come in and change her clothes and clean her up, Shay sobbing as she washed the tears off her child's face. Alex relaxed, seeing that Sherlock wasn't that mad, before having been cowering against the wall. She looked over at Hamish.

"I didn't know your daddy got mad too." She pointed out, John reaching over to scoop her up.

"No Alex, this is different. Your daddy got mad because he did bad things. Sherlock is being mad because he lost his temper. And Sherlock is sorry he hurt you Alex, aren't you Sherlock?" He asked, picking up the little girl in his arms.

"Oh... Alex... I'm sorry," Sherlock looked over and his stomach twisted in a knot, feeling horrible because the little girl had looked so frightened. Holding onto Hamish's hand, Sherlock leaned in and kissed the top of her head, rubbing his nose against hers.

"Did I mention that you are the prettiest girl in the world? You are making your mother proud, very adorable!" he smiled and laughed. Alex looked up. This man wasn't like her daddy, she tried to tell herself. He was sweet and funny and he taught her lots of new things. She put her hands on the side of his face.

"Really?" She asked, giving the man a hug. As she hugged the older man, she looked over at Sherlock. "I'm sorry. My Daddy was a bad man." She finally said, making her own conclusions about her father. Of course, they weren't much, considering she was five years old. But she knew in her own heart that her father wasn't a very nice man to a lot of people. He wasn't nice to her mother, nor to her friends. But he was nice to her and she didn't really understand why. But she tried not to think about it, jumping out of the two men's arms to go follow Hamish to the swimming pool.

"Come on Alex!" Hamish dashed in lead and paused at an intersection of hallways before deciding to go left, "This way!" After a moment he was running in the opposite direction, "Other way!" as his cheeks slightly reddened in embarrassment for looking so silly. Another turn and the glass doors were in front of him, Sherlock and John at their heels.

"Why does that seem so familiar?" Sherlock questioned when the two had run away from them.

John looked over at Sherlock, holding his hand.