Chapter 3

Two weeks later...

" I need a case, John. I NEED to work " Sherlock sat fidgeting.

"Lestrade is giving you time to adjust to being a father. The longer you take at doing that, the longer he's going to hold out on you. "

"I have adjusted, John. "

"How is that? I was the one to shop for her clothes. I get her up in the morning and put her to bed. I supply her meals. Im not her mother, Sherlock. She needs a parents care. "

"You are doing fine. I know nothing about being a father. Thank God Mary comes over to help out or I would be completely lost. "

"You think I have experience at it? "

"You are a doctor, John. You know how to care for people. " Sherlock said, sneering the word care.

"She's not people, Sherlock. She is a lost little girl who has been through hell. Have you even READ her files? "

Sherlock's silence answered him.

"Sod this. I'm done. If you won't willingly be that poor girls father, I will make you. "

"How do you suppose to do that? " Sherlock said, panick rising in his gut.

Without an answer John stalked into his room. He came back out with a suitcase a few minutes later.

"I'm off to Mary's for a while. I won't be here to care for her, do you understand? Crash course in parenting, if you will. "

"John, you can't... "

"Oh yes, I can. And I am. Look, you have several hours before Laura needs to be picked up. She is in advanced studies, so she will be released at 2. Do NOT forget to pick her up. In the meantime, try doing some research. She is far from a normal child, but all children need some of the basics. If you have any trouble, call for Mrs. Hudson. She's taken quite a liking to Laura. But to NOT shuck YOUR responsibility onto her. Got that? " John added when he saw a gleam show in Sherlock's eye at the mention of Mrs. Hudson.

Then... he was gone.

Out of sheer rebellion, Sherlock refused to move for a long while after that. How does one even go about learning how to be a father. It wasn't a role he wanted. Ever.

But then again, even his brother had stepped more into the roll than he had. It was Mycroft who supplied the funds to fill the refrigerator with food, bought her clothes and even took her to a bookshop to select her own entertainment. Sentiment didn't mean any more to Mycroft than it did to Sherlock, but he DID have a strong sense of duty when it came to family.

Finally, Sherlock sat behind his laptop and stared at the blank screen... where does one even start?

'get to know her, Sherlock'... he heard John's voice in his head.

Most research on the internet wasn't going to be much help with Laura. She seemed to skip stages in development. An unexpected knot of pride settled itself in the center of Sherlock's chest. Shaking it away, he stood back up and deduced the best way to start to know this small person was from the beginning. So, following John's idea, he stood back up and picked up her file and began to read.

As he read, unwelcome images popped up in his mind. When Laura was born, from her measurements, Sherlock deduced she would have fit in his hand. He knew firsthand the agony of withdrawal from heroine, and to think of someone that small and fragile enduring it would soften the hardest heart. Chance of survival, 15%. if she made it, her chances of developing at more than a very slow rate almost nil. A small smile played at his lips. She certainly proved them wrong. She was a Holmes after all! But John was right. Under the intelligence and snide remarks, she was still a lost little girl. Sherlock kept reading. In the six months since her "aunt" killed herself, she had been placed in over 15 homes. None for more than a couple of weeks. Nobody seemed to know how to deal with her. An adult could see that and understand. But how would that feel to a child.

'It would make the child feel nobody wanted her. How do YOU make her feel, Sherlock? '

Sherlock closed his eyes against John's voice in his head again. He chuckled as a sudden image of a cricket in a cardigan perched on his shoulder flashed in his mind.

About this time, Sherlock's internal warning sounded off. He glanced at this watch.

2:45.

'ONE thing you had to remember, Sherlock ONE thing. '

Sherlock called for a cab and gathered his coat.

When the cab pulled up in front of the school, Laura was sitting on the steps with a teacher beside her. The teacher looked more concerned than she did.

"I'm terribly sorry. Lost track of time. "

"MISTER Holmes..." the teacher started in a stern voice, only to be cut off by Laura.

"That will be quite enough, Miss Ashton. My father is here, so all your huff is wasted. If it becomes a habit, then there is a problem. Until then, let it as a mistake. "

Laura nodded curtly at the teacher and picked up her backpack and walked past her father.

Sherlock walked beside his daughter, neither of them speaking. He thought to catch a cab back to Baker Street, but he deduced Laura was more upset than she led on to the teacher. Her hand was at a fist at her side, and the other hand clutched her pack strap so tightly her knuckles were turning white.

"Laura, I apologize for being late. It won't happen again. "

"It doesn't matter. I am little more than an afterthought. I know my place. "

Sherlock was stunned at how calmly she put that. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Is this what guilt felt like? Funny it should come up now. He didn't like the feeling, so he made a note to himself to avoid being in that situation in future.

"I...am sorry. Tell you what? I can take you to the sweets shop. You like sweets? Make it up to you a small bit. "

Laura's eyes brightened for just a second before she plastered the bored look on her face again and shrugged.

Sherlock took her to a small shop owned by a former client, Mr. Lipton, who owned several small dogs he allowed to freely roam his shop. His ex wife had been systematically poisoning them. Sherlock saw to it she would be spending her best years in prison for it.

The shop was charming. White and blue checkered table clothes, white wicker chairs with bright blue cushions. Along one wall were small bins of assorted candies. On the counter were cupcakes and cookies in clear cases, and a deep case held various flavors of ice cream.

Both Sherlock and his daughter selected ice cream and sat at one of the tables near the window. They ate in silence for several minutes until a small disruption bounded into the room and headed straight for Laura.

It was a small puppy. Lab, Sherlock deduced quickly. It popped its from paws on Laura's uniform skirt and wagged his tongue and tail.

For the first time, Sherlock got to see his daughter smile. It was not his smile. It was entirely Darcy. The knot was back.

Laura reached down and picked the squirming ball of fur into her lap. She scratched at the puppys ears and actually giggled as it licked at her face. When she looked up at her father, and saw the look of disgust on his face, her smile fell and she put the puppy back onto the floor.

"I am so sorry, Mister Holmes! This little one got away from me, you see. " Mr Lipton ran out trying to smile.

"None of your dogs is a Labrador, Mr Lipton. I thought you were quite strict on your breeding of the dogs. "

"I am, assuredly. This one...well, his mum was hit by a cab behind the store. She couldn't get up. She was giving birth. This little one was the runt, but the only one to survive. I took her in, poor pup. "

Sherlock shrugged. No affair of his.

'sounds like Laura found a soul mate '

And he just took it away from her. Brilliant.

'Sherlock sees through everything and every one is seconds. What's incredible though, is how spectacularly ignorant he is about some things. '

With a sigh, Sherlock set his spoon on the table and messaged his temples.

With the help of Mrs. Hudson, Sherlock was able to supply a decent supper for Laura. They ate in silence, Laura doing little more than pushing the food about on her plate.

"Something wrong? Mrs. Hudson is quite the skilled cook. Mustn't waste it. " He tried to smile, but it even felt forced.

Laura shrugged. " I'm still not used to English food. "

"Yes, well... would you like to watch the telly? "

"No thank you. I think I will go to bed. I'm tired. "

Sherlock watched Laura take her plate in both hands and carry it to the sink. She turned up on his tip toes to reach it, but did it carefully. She gave a small glance at Sherlock under her lashes as she passed him. She went straight to Sherlock's room and was quiet the rest of the night.

Sherlock went through the days events in his head.

The realization hit him. This was the most important puzzle for him to figure out. And his spectacular ignorance was not only effecting him, but his child as well.

He thought about how calm Laura always was. How lacking in emotion. Had he passed that on, too? Good, actually. It will protect her in future. But was it normal? Was ANYTHING about her normal?