It was unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable, even though it had been fact for a week now, John was still questioning his own sanity.
Sherlock Holmes, his best friend and comrade in war… was back.
And John, upon their re-introducing he had been aggravated, angry, frustrated, and didn't feel the least bad about having send a fist straight into Sherlocks face almost breaking the detectives nose.
But now, as John strolled down the street, often had to run two or three steps in order to keep up with the tall detective, John could may try to suppress it, try to deny. But why honestly bother? When he was indeed, happy.
For the first time in a long time, he was allowed to just be happy, why deny himself that precious gift? He shook his head as he laughed.
Sherlock stopped up, almost making John bump right into him. "What?" John blinked confused.
Sherlock blinked right back at him. "What?"
John frowned. "Sherlock, what?" he asked.
"You laughed." Sherlock pointed out. "What is so funny?" he asked looking around as if he suspected to have overlooked a clown some-where, which was impossible, Sherlock observed and saw everything.
"Aren't a man allowed to smile without any particular reason?" John asked. "Just because he feels like."
Sherlock snorted. "That doesn't make any sense."
"To you it probably doesn't." John sighed deeply.
Sherlock slightly lifted an eye-brow. "Maybe I could learn to understand it." He suggested.
"You Sherlock?" John asked. "Learning to be happy about the boring and mundane? Now that would be a miracle."
"As big as raising from the dead?" Sherlock asked as he gracefully stepped aside to let a smaller family consistent of mother and her three children pass without having to step out on the road.
John was silent for a while, having observed the seemingly insignificant action of Sherlocks then looked up the detective. "Sort of." He at last breathed as the two starting walking again. "Why would you even want to learn how to appreciate the boring aspects of life?" John asked. "You enjoy your adventures as they are."
"You could say some-thing a bit odd happened when I was.. erh, out there." Sherlock sighed.
"What?" John asked, Sherlock kept quiet. "Come on, my therapist always says it doesn't matter whom you say it to as long as you say it."
"Your therapist is a lousy therapist." Sherlock made aware.
"That's not fair." John answered back. "She did what she could, now tell me, why would Sherlock Holmes ever want to learn how to be distracted by some-thing which has absolutely nothing to do with a case?"
Sherlock exhaled. "There was a point, while I was out there hunting Moriartys men, trying to shut down his business.. there was a point." He stopped for a moment before continuing. "That I got tired." He then at last admitted. "I was tired of running around, tired of the case, tired of doing it. I never tried to be tired of it before. I have been tired of the boredom, never the case."
"Sounds like you are getting older." John smiled to himself.
"Oh please." Sherlock rolled his eyes. "I'm still not Mycroft you know."
"No but you…" John halted in his own words, blinked one time and then continued. "You changed Sherlock." He told.
"Just because I care a little about the people around me." Sherlock muttered.
"For you, that is a major change." John told honestly.
Sherlock gritted his teethes as if Johns words had seriously scorned him and strode forward with twice the speed as before.
"Hey wait up!" John had to yell and literately run as his shorts legs all ready barely could keep up with Sherlocks usually quick pace.
So quick was Sherlock that he bumped into a woman whom almost feel on the ground and dropped her hand-back. "Oh so sorry!" Sherlock managed to capture the unfortunate woman and get her back on her feed, without second thought he picked up her handbag and gave it to her. "I didn't see where I was going." He apologised.
"Oh that's all right." The woman breathed. "Thank you." And she was on her way.
John merely had to stand there with a smug grin on his face as he looked on Sherlock.
"Shut up." Sherlock snorted all ready on his way ones again.
"Oh come on it's not all that bad." John breathed having to fight to keep up. "Having died, left to face the world and all of your fears all on your own, realising what you had lost, coming back, it would be strange if you hadn't changed." He told only for Sherlock to quicked his pace to almost running. "And it's in a good way to." John was almost out of breath at that point. "You are not acting so much like a child any-more."
"I am seriously starting question why I decided to move back in with you." Sherlock muttered sourly. "With my new found enormous fame, I can get as much as I want for the cases I solve."
"So you are saying you missed me?" John asked.
"Don't be ridicules." Sherlock hissed as they entered Hyde park. "I had thought that would go without saying, that's the trouble with you ordinary people, way to much talk." He muttered.
"Sherlock please." At last John had stopped his run now gaping for air. "I'm not as young as I used to." He then admitted grabbing his chest.
"Nonsense." Sherlock snorted all though he had stopped. "You are just out of training, that's all." He stated in a much more careful voice. "I'm not ready to address you as 'old chap' just yet."
"Thanks for the consideration." John snorted.
For a while they walked in silence through the park, it was honestly the sort of company Sherlock liked the best from John, and John returned that favour, it was not a bad thing really, they just both enjoyed being in each others presence, without having to say any-thing or spell any-thing out, just being, without any awkward silence or any need to say or do any-thing.
Laughter and cheer came from across the park, a woman a man and to laughing children, they sounded genuinely happy and it made John smile, it even made Sherlock smile, yet as they moved into view of the noise. Both stopped up in a stun.
Both detective and Doctor were absolutely and utterly stunned, for the woman whom laughed as she hoisted a boy by the rough age of five up and down up and down, were none other than Molly Hooper.
"They are not her children are they?" John whispered.
"Don't be ridicules I wasn't gone that long." Sherlock hissed back. "She didn't have children and she wasn't highly pregnant when I left, so if she had a child that child would have to be two at the very most, clearly they are Lestrades."
John choked as he first now discovered that it was Greg whom was the man, and he carried a little girl by the rough age of three on his shoulders.
Slowly Gregs head turned, and he brightened up in recognition by the sight of them, waving at them, gesturing them to come over, he said some-thing to Molly whom turned her head and started to grin to.
"Well urh.." John swallowed. "I don't suppose we have much choice."
"You deduced correctly." Sherlock shrugged. "Come along." And as they walked towards them Sherlock put up a mask John had seen so many times before, that smile, which an average joe would assume was a happy mans greeting, but John knew was as fake as could, and coming from Sherlock it was just unnerving. "Miss Hooper." He greeted. "Lestrade."
"SHERLOCK!" Molly smiled widely, and because she just was Molly, John knew it was genuine as could be as she let down the boy and almost jumped towards Sherlock, only to halt in front of him and silence as she looked down.
"Molly." Sherlock whispered in a much more genuine voice and gently laid an arm around her. "It's good to see you."
John averted his eyes from the scene deciding to leave them alone, instead cleared his throat as he talked to Lestrade. "Greg." He politely nodded. "It's been what, a week?" he asked.
"Yeah, but didn't have much time to talk, trying to save the queen and all that." Greg sniffed. "It was quite a mess Sherlock left behind himself coming back from the dead."
"You looked like you had a heart-attack when you saw him." John pointed out.
"I felt like I had an heart-attack." Greg told bluntly. "So how.." he looked carefully a Sherlock whom together with Molly talked to the little boy. "Is he?" he then asked carefully.
"Sherlock he's.." John hesitated slightly. "Unusually approachable." He then admitted. "He takes more care of treating me and Hudson well, all though not all the time, he keeps back his opinions to avoid trouble, it's only been a week, but a week without a case and Sherlock not being bored.. It's unusual." he told. "I think that Sherlock has some-how.. mellowed." the last word was uttered in such disbelief that Lestrade couldn't help but chuckle.
"Well, give him some time, I'm sure he'll be back to his gitty self with a case or two." Greg told in his chuckle.
"Partially yeas, but he's changed Greg." John sighed. "He's tired from all the exile, I think he just needs to rest right now. So how about you?" he asked.
"Happy as can be, I get to see my kids almost every-day, I got the best wife in the entire world." Greg smiled happily.
"So it worked out between you and Elisabeth?" John asked.
"No, Elisabeth doesn't even want to see the kids, she just wasn't worth it. At all!" Greg told honestly, then looked at Molly. "But she is. Everything John, She is a pearl, worth everything."
John turned to Molly and saw the golden band on her finger. "You.. and?" he asked and then shook his head. "Congratulations!" he stated grabbing Gregs hand. "How long?" he asked.
"Dated one year been married another year." Greg told.
"And the kids?" John asked.
"Look at them, she's a better mother to them then their real mother, they love her." Greg gestured at them. "You honestly would never be able to tell that they are not hers, she takes such good care of them."
"Because I love them sweety." Molly told as she had sneaked up on them and kissed Greg on the cheek.
Sherlock looked at them with a genuine smile on his face as he had ended up holding the boy, it didn't seem like he minded at all though, he were actually genuinely laughing, some-thing old Sherlock would probably not have done in this situation.
It was such a surprisingly pleasant encounter, John would never have dreamed of it being so pleasant with Sherlock involved, but there it was, they simply talked, shared memories, smiled, laughed, promised to see each other again soon and parted ways so Sherlock and John could reach their appointment.
"That was. Nice." John commented.
"It was." Sherlock admitted.
"Nice of you to be nice to them." John then told.
"I wanted to, maybe you are right, I've changed." Sherlock admitted. "But not to much, it's very nice they can have all that, I would never be able to."
"No, it's not you." John shrugged. "You just need to be out there on adventure."
"For how-ever long it lasts." Sherlock nodded.