Chapter Three: A Flourish at the End

I pulled up to the front of 221B as John was stepping out to bring in what looked to be a third box. I parked far enough behind the truck so as not to get in the way. John kept his eyes on me, confused until I killed the bike and raised a gloved hand in greeting.

"Del. I didn't recognize you at first."

I hopped off the bike and trotted up to the truck. I saw John look me up and down when he most likely thought my attention was directed elsewhere. Not in a lascivious way, his gaze was one of curiosity. I grabbed one of the boxes and John moved to grab it from me.

"I've got this one." I told him and he grabbed another, leading me inside after a brief wrestling match with the door. I followed John upstairs past the door to 221B-2.

The flat he took me to was laid out the same as 221B-2 but it was cleaner and brighter, and instead of a kitchen there was a wall with a door that looked like something has been placed in front of it for many years.

There were a couple bookshelves, a few chairs, a sofa that looked like it was made in 1945 and a baby grand piano placed where desk was located downstairs. I was surprised to see Rosie sat at the bench, plunking a couple keys, and more surprised to see Sherlock standing behind her, watching what she was attempting to play with interest. He was much the same as I had seen him earlier, minus the anorak and simply wearing a black oxford shirt, untucked over his jeans. He looked up as we entered, his gaze settled judgmentally over my figure as I walked into what was to be my new home for the foreseeable future.

"I like your helmet!" Rosie called to me as I set down my box of books. I pulled my helmet off, freeing what had become an unmanageable poof of brown hair.

"Thanks, kid." I self-consciously tried to flatten my hair as I saw Sherlock's amused expression while his eyes raked over it.
"Wanna try it on?"

"Yes!" She cried and jumped off of the piano bench to grab it from me. She placed it on her head but it only went down halfway.

"I'm gonna push on it." I warned her.

"Okay!" Came her muffled agreement and I pushed on the top lightly, helping it to rest on her head fully. She turned to me and stumbled a little under the bulk of an adult sized helmet. I knelt down, opening the visor.

"You okay in there?"

She shifted her head upward and gazed at me from underneath the helmet. "Yeah!" She said excitedly. I put the visor back down and let her run back to the piano bench, where she proceeded to play with somewhat greater difficulty. I laughed a little and then saw Sherlock exchanging some sort of look with John, behind me.

I turned to John, who was shaking his head at Sherlock.

"I'm so sorry, is that okay?" I asked, jutting my thumb backward back at Rosie.

His gaze snapped back to me. "Oh yeah, that's fine. She's happy as a clam." He smiled. "Thank you for being so nice to her. I kind of had the impression-"

"That I don't like kids? They do typically make me pretty nervous. Yours is way less creepy than they usually are."

I heard Sherlock control a snort from behind me and John chuckled. "High praise for one's children. I endeavor to keep her as non-creepy as possible."

I blushed a little, feeling I had stuck my foot in it a bit but John seemed to have taken it in a good natured manner. He turned to Sherlock.

"Help me with these boxes, Sherlock. Del can watch Rosie."

"I don't want to." Sherlock protested.

"That's okay, I-" I started. John cut me off.

"Sherlock. Help with the boxes. Please."

Sherlock sighed and rolled his eyes in a manner befitting someone thirty years his junior but he strode past me and out the door with John anyhow. I wandered around the flat, trying to imagine what I would do with it design wise when I heard a little muffled voice.

"Del, my Daddy played me a song on his phone when we were coming here. He said it was a beetle song."

"Oh yeah?" I turned my attention to her, still sitting on the bench with her gigantic bobble head.

"It was called Judy. I'm trying to play it."

I walked over to the bench. "Was it called Hey Jude?"

"Yes!" Her little hands slapped the bench beside her. "Can you play it?"

"Actually, believe it or not, yes I can. Want me to?"

"Please!" She said.

I grimaced internally, wishing I hadn't offered.

"Okay, scootch over." I told her. She complied and I sat next to her, running my hands over the keys a little to get my bearings. It had been well over a year since I had played last.

"That's pretty but that's not it!" She said, looking at me with my own helmet.

"Patience, kid, I was just warming up."

She giggled. "You have to sing too."

"Why don't you sing it?" I asked.

"I don't know the words."

"Eh, that's a pretty good reason." I mumbled. "Okay, I probably don't remember all of it though."

"That's okay."

I completed the first few bars, stumbling over the chords only briefly, my voice straining from not having sung much or at all in recent months. Surprisingly, most of it came back to me and Rosie clapped for me in encouragement as I gave a piano flourish at the end of the first two verses.

I stopped and turned to her. "Is that good?"

"Play the na na na part."

I looked up as the door banged open and Sherlock entered carrying two boxes.

"Did I hear you singing?" He asked me incredulously as he set my boxes down, his face flush and out of breath.

I opened my mouth to answer him and Rosie interjected once more.

"Play the na na na part." She said, more forcefully.

"Okay, okay!" I put my hands on the keyboard. "You have to help me sing it though."

"I will." She promised and so I launched into the last verse before the part that was requested. I did my best to keep time and tune, staring at the wall opposite me and trying to ignore as John entered the room also.

As I launched into the "na na na" part, I hunkered down and bumped Rosie with my shoulder, encouraging her to join me. She popped the helmet visor up and sung at the top of her lungs as I matched the tempo of my playing to her bellowing voice.

I burst out laughing in delight as I watched her little face turn red with effort. I finally brought my gaze to the two men standing near the door, looking one slightly aghast and the other amused.

"Everybody!" I encouraged, looking directly at John who, being game, came to stand next to his daughter, placing a hand on her back and joining us, his voice obviously straining.

"Last one!" I announced.

"Uncle Sherlock, you're not singing!" Rosie yelled at the top of her lungs and Sherlock turned cerise and reluctantly joined us for one last set of "na na na"s.

I flourished at the end and ran my finger from right to left.

"That was awesome." Rosie said seriously.

"I agree." I told her, looking up at John who was beaming down at his daughter. Sherlock was smiling fondly at John and Rosie and all at once I felt very apart from the moment. I smiled to myself and slid off the other end of the piano bench to help unload the last few boxes from the truck.

As I was trying to figure out how to get as many boxes into my arms as possible I heard footsteps behind me.

"That was a spectacle." I heard the gruff low voice of my new boss.

"That's me. Love to put on a show." I didn't look up as I hefted the boxes. Sherlock's hands reached out and steadied the pile of boxes, and then took the one on top.

"No." He told me, looking at me seriously. "It was nice to see them happy. Both of them."

I didn't know how to respond to Sherlock's sincerity but I took it at face value. I smiled, and somehow their happiness and the bond that all three of them obviously shared made me feel very lonely. Sherlock's eyes looked over my face curiously before I moved around him to go back inside.

I sat with Rosie for a few more minutes, fulfilling various, non singing song requests while her Daddy and "Uncle" finished bringing my things upstairs.

The men took a few moments to catch their breath while I attempted to teach Rosie the "Heart and Soul" duet.

"Okay, Rosie, you're overdue for lunch and we have some things to take care of at home." John said finally said as Sherlock left, assumably to go back to his own flat. Rosie groaned but didn't argue and I helped her take my helmet off.

"Can we come back tomorrow?" She looked at me and I looked at John.

"Del has to settle in. We'll see her again soon, okay?" He nodded to me and I waved to them both as they shut the door behind them.