She called him Lala and never had John seen a sweeter sight than Sherlock's face, bright with surprise, when he realized those sounds meant him. It wasn't something they'd taught her. Mary and John had drilled 'Mama' and 'Dada' for ages with success on both counts but John had never thought to find something easier than 'Sherlock' for Analise to say. Clever child. It had taken John almost the better part of a week himself to realize the repetition of sounds meant something to her, that she was communicating an idea she wanted him to grasp and not just singing on the kitchen floor with her face pressed to the window. 'Lala bee' had not been lullaby nor had 'Lala go' been a flourished request. She'd needed a word to differentiate between the two men she often called upon and it made John laugh every time it made Sherlock blush. He was Lala now, too late to change it, though he doubted either of them had the want to try.

Any doubts John had had about relocating had worked themselves out just the same. While Sherlock maintained he didn't need to work or pay rent, depending on charity was more than John could stand. It only took a few weeks to get settled and unpacked and he'd spent a few more going over the area looking for work not too far out. The local surgery had no openings but the local primary school did. School physician was by far his least glamorous title but he was able to meet lots of other parents and people his own age to rebuild something of a social circle-which Sherlock continued to neglect. It was a small enough community that he was up on all the gossip within the weeks before school started, able to clarify a bit on some of it as well as Sherlock was never far from speculations. No, they weren't a couple and no, John wasn't gay. He got smiled at a lot more by the ladies in administration after that. He liked being smiled at.

At the shops, it was always Analise who got all the smiles and affections. To her credit, she all but demanded it. John had once seen her throw a lemon on the floor just to get someone to pick it up and notice her. With her perfectly symmetrical pigtails and some of the most gaudy dresses grandma had ever bought for her, Analise was an attention seeking nightmare in the shops who could never be trusted within arm's reach of produce. Sherlock couldn't be trusted not to wander off most of the time so having them both confined to the shopping trolly was a match made in dear-god-there's-two-of-them heaven. Sherlock pushed, Analise fussed, and John got to fill the trolly in inventive ways so that only the items too heavy to throw were near the child's seat. It would be easier to shop alone but they usually all went together. Really, it was good to get the pair of them out of the house and where the world could see them. John wouldn't dare lie and say he didn't rather like being stopped just to be told what a beautiful little girl he had. He would, however, lie through his teeth to say he didn't sometimes miss-stack the cart just to watch a quick game of Lala fetch.

Sherlock and Analise were thick as thieves. The scientist's serious demeanor had worried John some during initial thoughts of child care. Taking a job meant someone had to watch her and while Sherlock's occupation as an at-home hobbyist left him with time enough to spare, he lacked the normal outward signs of affectionate concern one generally looked for in the long term. Sherlock was certainly never silly by normal standards, far above making ridiculous faces or noises, and fixed bug bites and fall damage without hugs or kisses. He was far from cold or unfeeling, though. He kept her pen outdoors while he worked, shading her with a large, white umbrella and giving her plenty of toys and flowers to play with that he'd proven edible and safe. He introduced her to dirt, mud and worms in a hands-on lesson and always let her be the one to scatter the lady bugs over the front garden. John never came home to TV parenting but on occasion found Analise running wild through the yard with Sherlock keeping her always in sight. It wasn't how Mary would have done it nor was it probably what John would have picked. Analise loved her Lala, though, and John hadn't a single doubt Sherlock cared for her as well.

Four o'clock and John was eager to get home and hear about the day they'd had in his absence. He locked up the cabinets and the room behind him, walking down the school halls towards the faculty parking. It had taken a while to get used to the car but it proved vital to country living. He'd half expected Sherlock to have purchased something like the Landrover they'd had out in Cornwall and the blue Ford Focus, though much more practical for a man of his age, had been somewhat of a disappointment to John. Still he rattled his keys from his pocket, tempted to pick something up for dinner on the way home and running over the options as he thumbed over house key, work keys, and finally the car's.

"John!"

John paused, looking back over his shoulder with a smile as he waved vaguely with his free hand. "Hello. Never see you leave this early," he said to the teacher from the second year block. Linda if he remembered correctly, and when it came to women he generally did.

Linda smiled and ducked her head in a sheepish gesture, folding her arms over her dusty pink cardigan. "And you leave entirely too quickly, sir." She pushed a lock of brown hair behind her ear. "I've been waiting for a kid to get the sniffles or something but they're never sick when you need them to be. I have something I wanted to ask you, though. Thing is, a few of us are thinking about going out for drinks on Friday. I wanted to make sure you knew. We'd love to have you."

"Yeah? Don't see why not. Who's all going?"

"Well, you. And me." She smiled again, shrugging her shoulders. "Early days still. I could probably find some more."

John licked his teeth, trying not to jump to the immediate conclusion he was being flirted with. She couldn't have been much older than thirty. He fiddled with his wedding band, making sure she could see the gesture. It generally worked to weed out the polite from the interested.

She noticed. And she blushed. "Either way, it'd just be a friends thing," she clarified, nodding her head to an unspoken question. "Coworkers, even. But, you know, no reason we can't all be friends too."

John smiled, taking pity on her growing awkwardness. "Put me down as a yes for now. Call me with the details later?"

"Yes, right, sure!" Linda's smile grew as she stepped back towards the school doors with John getting his car door open. "I'll see you later, John!" she called back, walking backwards almost to the point of walking into the building itself.

John nodded and waved and ducked into his vehicle, trying not to smile as he did. She was a cute girl. They all were. In many ways he didn't mind their attention-it was a lovely boost to his self-esteem to be viewed as an attractive man when most of his daily rituals included being his daughter's slave and wearing whatever hadn't be soiled or stained in her service. It wouldn't be right to lead them on, though. He wore his wedding band as much for them as for himself. He wasn't ready yet, not by a long shot, but it was still nice to be reminded the game was still waiting for him if he ever wanted to join it again.

Most of the time, he didn't think he ever would. It wasn't because he believed Mary was the only women in the world for him or felt he needed to remain faithful to her beyond the terms of their vows. Mary had been a remarkable person he would forever love and cherish but that did not make her the only person who could ever love him or be loved by him. Sherlock alone was proof against that. And he was happy, really, with what he had for now. It wasn't a romantic relationship with all the perks of having someone to cuddle up to in bed but it had its own perks all the same. There were no ceremonial expectations of dates and dinners and nights which would require additional services such as babysitters and entertainment expenses. He wasn't expected to do anything more than respectfully live his own life and be appreciative of the times Sherlock's intersected with his own. A committed friendship was really damn near marriage all things considered. John came home to a place he wanted to be, where people he loved were waiting. There wasn't much more one could ask for, really.

Except for on those random days where 'twice in three years' made him wish they lived in a much bigger town. He'd had a better record in the army.

He parked the car in the drive, trying to not become so complacent with the sight of their front garden that he didn't notice the occasional change. With fall fast approaching, Sherlock seemed to have less to do as nature switched from vibrant and alive to wilting and in prep for hibernation. He worried sometimes how Sherlock would cope with his work more or less done for the rest of the year. It wasn't worth worrying about in excess. Sherlock had potted a few plants to be brought inside for his cross-breeding experiments and if it wasn't enough-and John suspected it wouldn't be-they'd deal with a solution at that time.

Inside the house John was far from surprised to find the whole place empty. Analise was never indoors if she didn't have to be. He could see the large white umbrella from the kitchen windows and walked to the fridge to grab a bottled water before heading out back as well. Sherlock was laid out on a large red blanket, yellow hat tipped over his face while Analise lay stretching out across his stomach, arms out in front of her with her face planted in his shirt, drooling in her sleep. John brushed the cool water bottle to Sherlock's cheek before holding it out for him to take.

"Did she just belly flop into a nap?"

Sherlock tipped his hat back to better see John, taking his water with a courteous nod. "Just about."

"I see. Must have been a hell of an adventure today." John took a seat on the blanket beside him, warmed by Sherlock's chuckle as a cool breeze brushed over them.

"She played the game you like where she hides and you pretend you can't find her. She was very displeased when I proved her attempts to evade me to be completely ineffectual. I had to humor her for the rest of the afternoon until our language lesson. We'll revisit the fact that she can't hide anything from me
when she's old enough to be impressed."

John laughed, leaning back on his elbows. "Between the two of us, I think we have the teenage years covered at least. Any new words?"

Sherlock shrugged. "She's getting better at digraphs but still gets sloppy and uses an F sound instead of a T-H. Tried to teach her 'father' to demonstrate the difference and instead it seems I taught her 'fat'. You're welcome."

"Well, she had to learn it sooner or later." John's amused smirk was going to bruise his cheeks if it spread any further. He pushed Sherlock's hat down over his face as he leaned forward to shake Analise awake. She'd never sleep for him that night if he let her continue on much later. She blinked up at him, her bottom lip hanging open as a thread of saliva linked her mouth to Sherlock's button. "Well, good morning, princess," he teased, getting a hold of her under her arms to pull up and into his lap. She fussed but only just. Lord, but she was getting heavy. "Do I get a hug?"

Analise wrapped her arms around his neck, still half asleep as she nuzzled in against his neck. "Home," she said, and tried to lean in for further sleep as his arms wrapped around her as well.

"I'm home," and he kissed her hair, arm slung under her padded backside as he managed to rise to his feet. He looked down at Sherlock as he adjusted his daughter in his arms. "I'm going to throw in a pizza from the freezer. Sound good to you?"

Sherlock nodded, hat back as it should be as he sat up to sip his water and to gather up the red blanket to him. "Sounds fine. I'll follow in a bit. I've still got my tools in the yard from earlier."

John left him to it, heading back inside with Analise barely even hanging on to his neck anymore. He kissed her cheek, doing his best to affectionately annoy her into staying awake. "Did you have fun today, Analise?" he asked, crunching though the loose pebbles back to the kitchen door.

"Lala BOO!" she replied with a surprisingly energetic bounce that nearly caught him under the chin.

He giggled with her, nose pressed to her hair, as she told him all about her day.