Author's Note:

Just more cute family time. Sorry in the delay in updates!

When the door opened John was fully expecting to see Sherlock but when Thomas appeared he simply paused, looking at the little boy before realizing how childish he'd just acted. "You don't need to apologize," he said softly, moving to squat down to be at the same level as their son. With a soft smile he ran a hand through his hair. "Dad is very stressed right now and I promise I didn't mean to upset you by kissing your Daddy."

Amy looked up at Sherlock and bit at her bottom lip. "Sorry, Papa," she whispered softly. "I just didn't wants anybody to be upset."

Sherlock gave little Sandi a smile. "You are fine Baby Girl. You didn't do anything wrong, I promise." He reached down and picked up Amy from the couch gently. "Are you ready to go play in the park all day?"

Thomas shrugged. "I don't care that you kiss..." He trailed off feeling embarrassed and unsure how to explain. "...You...and Daddy...make a lot of noise and..." He sighed and shrugged again, a hand scratching at the back of his head nervously.

John blushed furiously but sat down anyway, looking at Thomas expectantly. "I'm a doctor, Thomas, so you can tell me anything. I promise that I won't be embarrassed or mad." The best thing for their son was to express himself. "We do make a lot of noise but that's because making love for us is a very enjoyable experience."

Amy rested her head on Sherlock's shoulder immediately, looking around the room before she nodded. "Yeps. And I can'ts wait a'cause 'Mas said that there's is parks everywhere and I wants to play on one."

Sherlock smiled. "You will get to and it will be fun." He tapped a single finger on little Sandi's nose gently, with a small smile. He picked up the remote and turned off the telly. He began picking up any clothes on the floor and put them away. Something he never would have done before meeting John but it had become routine with being a family man now.

Thomas shrugged, quiet a long moment. "I know...I just...hearing you means...I know...and...it isn't something I want to think about I guess..." He sighed, feeling stupid.

John couldn't help the gentle smile that tugged at his lips. "I felt the exact same way when I was a little boy," he said softly. "So how about I promise you that Daddy and I won't make lots of noise because I don't like seeing you upset." He reached a hand out a ruffled their son's hair in the best attempt at keeping everything relaxed.

Amy giggled and lifted her hand up, poking at Sherlock's nose as he picked up clothes. "Will you and Dada plays with me and 'Mas?" Having the entire family together was always the most fun to her.

Sherlock smiled down at little Sandi. "Of course we will Baby Girl. But Dada and Papa are bit older so we may need to rest, all right? But you and Thomas can play all day if you want." Maybe they could have a picnic in the park. Families did that, didn't they? Would John like the idea? It sounded stupid and boring to him but he was trying to make the day go perfect for his family.

Thomas snorted. "Dad, you and Daddy always make a lot of noise." He shrugged a bit, eyes finding the ground much more interesting because this conversation was making him uncomfortable.

John couldn't help but chuckle at Thomas' comment, shaking his head just a bit. "Your Daddy actually doesn't make that much noise so don't get mad at him," he murmured with a soft laugh. "I promise that we won't do anything while we're in the same hotel the rest of the trip, yeah? I just don't want to see you upset, mate."

Amy looked up at Sherlock with a soft giggle. "You isn't old," she whispered. "A'cause you still has blacks hair but Dada is a'cause his hair is starting to turn gray," she added. Clearly it was supposed to be a secret kept just between them.

Sherlock raised an eyebrow but managed a smirk at what little Sandi said, thankful John was still out in the hall. His husband was already conscientious of the age difference between them. Maybe he didn't have grey hairs yet but he wasn't as young as he used to be either.

Thomas nodded a bit. "Okay." He hesitated a moment before looking up as his Dad. "How come you have been so sad lately?" Would Dad get mad for him asking? He had been a bit worried but hadn't said anything until now, mainly because he didn't want Amy to worry too.

John studied Thomas for a moment before smiling just a bit. "I've got..." How did he explain PTSD to his son? Thomas was old enough to understand, he figured. "When I got back from the war I was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Basically I get very sad or scared sometimes when I think about the war and certain things. It isn't anything you or Amy have done, I promise."

Amy effortlessly returned the smirk, clearly more apt to playing with Sherlock at the moment than anything. "'Cepts," she paused and grinned, blue eyes bright as she lifted a hand up. "I isn't gonna has hairs like you so I thinks I might have grays hair."

Sherlock raised his eyebrows again. "Maybe, someday when you are older than Dada." He smiled at little Sandi and then glanced to the door. John and Thomas were still outside. Hopefully things were okay out there. Should he go and check or keep Amy entertained in the room?

Thomas frowned but nodded slowly. "Oh...okay..." He hadn't really heard of it but he understood, for the most part. It was something he would look up on the Internet later.

Or maybe Thomas didn't understand. John smiled and chuckled just a bit. "D'you know when you feel a bit sad and...you don't really know why? That's what I start to feel like for quite a while. But you and Amy and Daddy are all doing a fantastic job of trying to cheer me up." Hopefully that would help just a bit. After a long pause he moved and gently embraced their son.

Amy giggled and looked at Sherlock. "I is gonna be old next year, Papa," she declared with a nod. "So next year I will has gray hair." It was clear that she was completely determined about that fact.

Sherlock laughed. "Oh yes Baby Girl, you are going to be so very old next year." Little Sandi's simplistic logic always amused him. "What will you want to do at the park first? Run around in the grass or go play on the swings? Maybe find a big slide to go down?"

Thomas nodded and returned the hug. "Dad, we should go check on Amy. Make sure no monsters are getting her." He smiled up at his Dad when he pulled away from John.

And just like that they seemed back to normal. John chuckled a bit and stood up slowly, groaning as his joints protested to the movement and popped several times. "We don't need monsters attacking our little princess, do we?" With that he moved to open the door, smiling at the sight in front of him. Sherlock was constantly surprising him with how great of a father he made.

Amy looked at Sherlock as she tugged her eyebrows together in concentration. "Um..." After a moment she shrugged. "I wants to play tag with 'Mas maybes and then I could finds a big slide."

Sherlock smiled at little Sandi and glanced over to the door when he heard the door open. Good. John and Thomas both seemed to be in good spirits. "I was thinking we could have a picnic in the park for lunch. We'd have to do a bit of shopping though. What do you think Love?"

Thomas walked back into the room with his Dad. A picnic? He had never been on one of those before. If they were going to the park he would need another camera so he could take a lot more pictures.

John smiled at his husband, nodding in agreement the picnic idea. "Love it," he said with a grin, looking at Amy happily. It would be great family bonding and he knew that much. "I think if we got some things for sandwiches and maybe bottled water would could definitely do that." It was something that he knew both of his kids would enjoy. "And we need to get Thomas a new camera to take pictures with."

Amy smiled and bounced a bit in Sherlock's arms, clearly excited about the idea of a picnic. "I heards about picnics once in a book that 'Mas reads me and I wants to have one, please."

Sherlock nodded. "All right. Let's get going. I'm sure we can find a market on the way to the park." He smiled at John before looking at their son. "Can you grab the bag Thomas?" Since he was carrying little Sandi, he figured the boy could carry the bag and Thomas always seemed so eager to help out by doing things.

Thomas nodded and grabbed the bag, clearly proud he had been asked to help. "Can we get a blanket and a basket and everything? Just like in books and movies?"

John couldn't help but chuckle, looking down at Thomas as he proudly helped pick things up. "Of course we can," he said with a smile, patting their son's back with a chuckle. He knew that it was definitely in their budget so there wasn't a problem with that. "A very fantastic blanket and basket. We will have to find a checkered one like in your stories."

All of the talk of an actual picnic made Amy excited, a massive grin overtaking her face as she looked around at everybody. "I really wants to has a tuna sandwich. Can I has one please?"

Sherlock smiled down at little Sandi. "Of course you can Baby Girl." Once they were all ready, he led his family out of the room and down to their car. He secured Amy in the back seat, before getting into the driver's side. He took a moment to think about the route he was going to take before starting up the vehicle and then backed out of the parking garage.

Thomas grinned up at his Dad and followed after his family. He climbed into the back next to Amy after putting the bag on the floor. He looked out the window as the City passed by the window. He would never stop being amazed by it.

Once the car was out on the street John moved his hand to rest on his husband's knee. Despite the little bumps their morning had hit, he could tell their day was going to be good. Both of then children seemed happy and even Sherlock's spirits seemed a bit higher than usual. "Anything specific you'd like to eat?" Maybe his husband would be more keen to eat with the whole family around.

Amy sat comfortably in her car seat, feet swinging as cars passed them. "'Mas, our picnic is gonna be the bests one ever. And you can takes pictures and then we can writes our own story."

Sherlock smiled at John's touch but kept his eyes on the road. "Well, Baby Girl wants tuna. So, I was going to get that. Maybe some peanut butter and jelly. American's eat that, don't they? Maybe some crisps. We can get the baked kind, so it is healthier for the children. Water or juice to drink."

Thomas turned to look at Amy, nodding with a big grin. "Today is going to be fun Sis!" He was excited to go run around in the park. And it was America, so that made even cooler.

John nodded his he listened to Sherlock, taking it all in. "I will get some turkey, I think, I'm not much for tuna or peanut butter." He knew right away that Thomas would love anything remotely American so anything he could get his hands on he would definitely eat. "Anything that you fancy for lunch?"

Seeing Thomas so excited made Amy literally squeal as she bounced in her car seat. "I thinks we should come to 'Mericas every year and has a picnic." Of course it hardly mattered to her if her parents had work or she and Thomas has school.

Sherlock shook his head. "It doesn't matter to me. I'll eat anything. I don't think I have ever had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, so I think I will try one of those. Might get myself some pretzels, I haven't had those since I was very young." He looked over to John to give his husband a quick smile before looking back to the road.

Thomas laughed. "Well, I don't know if we can do that but we should definitely come and visit again!"

John smiled softly and watched as the city passed in the car windows. It was so beautiful and he just wanted to take it all in. It was all so new and he loved every second of it. "Thank you for all of this," he murmured, keeping his voice low. "I think it is the best family holiday."

Amy watched Thomas for a long moment before stretching in her car seat and letting out a soft whimper. "Can I has out now? A'cause I doesn't like this seat." She let out a louder cry and looked at her older brother.

"Of course. We might not be able to do this every year, but maybe we can make family vacations a thing. See the world together." Sherlock frowned as he heard little Sandi began crying in the back. She hated the car seats. With traffic, it was going to be several minutes before they stopped at the store.

"Sissy Poo, I know you don't like it but it keeps you safe. Daddy needs to concentrate on driving and if you cry, he will worry about you." Thomas bit his bottom lip because he didn't know what to do to make Amy stop crying.

John instantly turned in his seat, smiling as Thomas did his best to help keep their little girl calm. "Amy, love," he said softly as he moved one hand to gently rest on one of their daughter's knees. "We will go to the store and then we've got to drive to the park but we will be there soon."

Amy sniffed, glanced at John, and then settled her gaze on Thomas. "I wants to be out now," she murmured before her bottom lip started shaking and tears started to roll down her cheeks. For the sake of what her older brother said she kept her crying as silent as possible.

Sherlock focused on driving while Thomas and John tried to calm down little Sandi. He periodically glanced into the rear view mirror to check on Amy. She was crying still. He hated seeing her like this. Even if it was pouting over something she didn't like. He just wanted their daughter to be happy all the time.

"I know Sis. Soon. We will be stopping soon to get stuff for the picnic and then we will be at the park and we will get to run around the rest of the day." Thomas couldn't reach over to wipe the tears away with the seat belt on and he felt like a terrible brother for not being able to do more for Amy.

John smiled softly at Thomas, not able to hide how proud he was of his son. After a moment he turned to face forward, his hand going right back on top of Sherlock's knee. It was times like this when he realized that Amy was still a toddler and had little things that set her off. At least the store was close.

After silently crying for several moments Amy stopped, sniffing several times before she sat back with a stubborn noise. It was clear that she wasn't going to get her way and was stuck in her chair. "Thanks you, 'Mas," she murmured softly.

Sherlock smiled at the feeling of John's hand on his knee. It helped to relax him a bit. "I love you," he murmured as they pulled into the parking lot of the store. He gave his husband's hand a squeeze before getting out of the vehicle and then took little Sandi out of the seat. "See Baby Girl. You are out now. Papa has got you. No more tears Sweetie."

Thomas nodded a bit and got out of the car when it came to a stop. He latched onto his Dad's hand immediately, still scared about getting lost again.

"I love you, too," John replied with a smile before getting out of the car and grinning down at Thomas. "D'you fancy a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Thomas? It's a very American sandwich, I hear, and I think you'll rather enjoy it." These days it felt like he only need to tell their son that it was American and he'd be more than willing to eat it.

Amy sniffed and buried her wet face against Sherlock's neck, hands clutching at his shirt. "I doesn't want to sits in the seat again, Papa," she murmured with a small hiccup. Clearly it was almost time for some sort of nap or their picnic wouldn't be too enjoyable.

Sherlock began rocking little Sandi the moment she was in his arms. He was hoping their daughter would sleep while they shopped. He followed after John and Thomas quietly, a hand lifting to run through Amy's hair gently.

Thomas' eyes went wide. "Yes! Oh please! I want to try everything American! Can we Dad? Please?" He tugged on John's hand a bit, so they would walk faster. He was excited about the idea of shopping now.

John couldn't help but laugh as he followed after Thomas. Everything seemed back to normal, so happy and cheerful. Hopefully their family could stay like this for a while despite Amy's current mood. "Of course we can. We can get things for your sandwich as well as some American crisps." The baked ones, of course, but he had a feeling Thomas might find them rather American.

Amy hiccuped again as Sherlock started to rock her, letting out a soft yawn against his neck. "I loves you, Papa," she whispered softly. The hand going through her hair was the final straw for her and before long she was fast asleep in Sherlock's arms.

Sherlock smirked proudly. Just like his husband, little Sandi could be put to sleep simply by running his fingers through their hair. He smiled as he watched Thomas pull on John. Their son was certainly excited to be going shopping. Probably because it was an American store. The boy seemed enthralled with all things from the country.

Thomas merely nodded. "Can we get a buggy? And just get lots of stuff? Maybe take it back to the hotel? And so we can have snacks in the car for when we start driving a lot?" He wanted to get everything already, and the were barely even inside.

Apparently they had a lot more shopping to do. "Of course," John replied with a smile as he pulled a buggy from the massive bunch of them and pushed it the best he could with one hand. There was no way he was going to let go of his son's hand. "We'll get some American crisps, then, and maybe..." There was a pause as they entered the supermarket. "They've got pizzas that we can cook. D'you fancy that?" It seemed American enough. One glance back at his husband signaled that he'd already managed to get Amy to sleep just for a bit.

Once he was sure little Sandi was sleeping soundly against him, Sherlock caught up with the rest of his family in a few short, long strides. He glanced to John with raised eyebrows before turning into a knowing smirk. He was certain Thomas would buy the whole store if he could.

Thomas reached up his free hand to help push the buggy. He looked around the store in amazement, eyes wide with wonder. This store was so big. He reflexively gripped tighter to his Dad's hand.

Seeing Sherlock smirk made John chuckle just a bit, his eyes glancing down toward their son as he looked around in amazement. "Not too much, all right? We can't buy a lot of food or it will go bad before we have a chance to eat it," he said with a gentle smile. After a pause he reached over and grabbed two large bag of crisps. "Look, Thomas, these ones are barbecue flavored," he murmured. He was just happy because they were baked and therefore far healthier than any other food they could have bought. "Sherlock, love, if you fancy anything go ahead and grab it."

Sherlock didn't really know what to get. He had no preference really, but there was certainly a plethora of selection in the store. He hadn't really paid attention to the sign when they walked in but he was certain this was one of those 'super' stores that seemed to be so popular in America. For now, he just followed John and Thomas around the store.

"What...if the stuff we get is...non...nonperishable? It is supposed to last longer, right?" Thomas glanced up at his Dad hopefully. He knew they wouldn't be able to get everything he wanted but maybe they could get a lot of different things still.

John grinned down at Thomas and nodded. "That certainly is an option. Not too much, though." There were so many other places they had left to visit and now he needed to make sure that they weren't going to blow all of their money for food on their first stop of their trip. "Anything else you can think of that you would want to eat?" He grabbed a loaf of whole wheat bread to put with the crisps. There wasn't too much more that they could really get at this point for the picnic.

Sherlock thought about buying a bottle of wine for he and John but decided against it, since the children would be with them. There was probably some law against drinking in public, especially in a place with minors. Maybe they could drink it later. When they finally had a room to themselves.

Thomas looked at all the different peanut butters and decided on extra crunchy. There were even more jams and jellies. They all looked good. He picked strawberry. Cookies were probably out of the question. Maybe crackers? They would have to be healthy, something Dad always insisted on. Was it because Dad was a doctor? Daddy never really seemed to care either way.

John watched Thomas with a soft smile before reaching back and grabbing a package of Oreo's. He knew that the entire family would love them and it was holiday, after all. A few little unhealthy snacks wouldn't be absolutely horrible for them. As they passed the drinks section he grabbed a few bottles of water and a few bottles of tea. American tea would probably be a little different but he knew that it'd be worth a try. "I love you," he murmured as he dropped back to gently place a kiss on Sherlock's cheek. Having the entire family be relaxed and extremely happy was the whole point of their holiday.

Sherlock smiled at John. "I love you too." He decided to get the wine after all. He picked a year of his liking and put it in the buggy "For later," he murmured in his husband's ear. He looked at the tea curiously. Bottled tea. Not hot or freshly brewed. Interesting.

Thomas jumped up and down excitedly when he saw his Dad put Oreo's in the buggy. What else could they get? There were a lot of canned foods, but those wouldn't make very good snacks. Maybe trail mix? Sun flower seeds? Beef jerky? He wanted to grab them all and add it to their pile.

A strong blush spread across John's cheeks as the studied the wine, biting his bottom lip before chuckling. "I like the sound of that," he replied softly. Before long he was moving to grab all sorts of food that he deemed healthy enough. Beef Jerky, some trail mix, as well as a small container of snacks for toddlers that he knew Amy would definitely enjoy. "How's that, mate?" Most of the things in the buggy were simply to make Thomas happy.

Sherlock smirked at the blush on John's face. So easy to do and he hadn't even been trying then. He glanced down to little Sandi, to make sure their daughter was still sleeping soundly. Amy looked so peaceful and perfect sleeping against him.

Thomas nodded and then protein bars caught his eyes. "What about these? Can we get some? They have all sorts of flavors and they say they are healthy. And don't forget, I need another camera!"

John turned to Thomas and then chuckled. "You won't need those until you're older, mate," he murmured as he inspected the variety. There were far more than they had in London. "We'll get you a camera and then we'll make our way to the picnic!" That sounded far better than having to turn Thomas down for the food he clearly wanted. With that he turned the buggy around and moved to the check out stations at the front. As he moved all of the food on to the moving belt he glanced at their daughter. Still fast asleep, hopefully for a bit longer so she wouldn't complain about the car seat when they had to drive to the park.

Sherlock paid once they were ready to check out, making sure to get another disposable camera for their son. He put little Sandi back in he car seat as gently as he could while John and Thomas put the bags in the trunk of the car.

Thomas frowned a bit but nodded as he followed his parents to the check out line. The frown turned into a smile the moment he saw the new camera and he kept it out, so he could look at it in the back seat while they drove to the park.