The Only Thing Worth Fighting For

Chapter 9

"We should go to the park," Sherlock said, as he popped on the kettle and made tea and Rosie's bottle.

"If you like," John shrugged.

"It'll be nice, all of us together. You haven't really left the house much since..." he trailed off.

John looked up from his newspaper and gave Sherlock a warning stare; the detective quietened as he shook the bottle to mix the formula together. John rubbed his face with his good hand and sighed, before dropping the newspaper to the table. "Okay, let's go."

Twenty minutes later, the two men were walking side by side with Sherlock pushing the buggy in front of them; they chatted amicably and joked between themselves, their hands occasionally touching as they enjoyed the warm weather and the almost empty park. Their celebrity status had caused issues previously with them being harassed in the streets by people who wanted photos or autographs (although one cruel deduction from Sherlock was normally enough to send them scuttling away) but thankfully the area was almost deserted, with only a handful of people wandering around the various pathways or sitting by the pond. The pair laughed and joked with John looking up at the man he loved with a large grin as they found a bench close to the pond where they could talk and sit with Rosie on their knees.

"Are you excited to have your cast off?" Sherlock asked, rocking Rosie softly in his arms.

"I can't bloody wait," John sighed. "I can't wait to have a proper shower."

"Oh," Sherlock mumbled. "Do you mean a shower or a shower shower?" He gestured crudely in an imitation of a masturbating hand.

John blushed pink along his cheeks and ears before clearing his throat. "I think I'll miss you doing it for me."

Sherlock gave a half smile before turning to John in all seriousness. "I could. It wouldn't be a good idea to strain yourself so soon after taking off the cast. You could hurt yourself."

The doctor lifted an eyebrow and huffed a laugh, "I'll think about it."

The two men continued their walk around the park until Rosie lay asleep in her buggy, noisily sucking on her dummy as Sherlock and John talked without embarrassment or shyness; it was like the old days, before the fall and Mary. Calling into the Chinese on the way home, they stocked up on takeaway before returning home to watch crap action movies and drink a bottle of wine in celebration of John's cast being removed the next day.

John awoke to Sherlock playing the violin; the mellow and dark notes usually signified that something was wrong or the detective was upset, however when John walked down the stairs he noticed instead that Sherlock was playing for Rosie who looked up puzzled with her big blue eyes.

"She's confused by the notes, John!" Sherlock clapped, pointing to the baby with the bow. "Have you ever seen a cat chase a laser pen? That's how she looks!"

"My child does not look like a confused feline," John grumbled playfully under his breath as he clicked on the kettle and walked to Sherlock's side. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Sherlock nodded. "What time is Molly picking Rosie up?"

"Anytime now," John replied as he pottered around the kitchen. "My appointment is at eleven which gives us plenty of time."

Sherlock froze and cleared his throat before looking at John nervously "Are you sure she can't just come with us?"

John sighed and rubbed his face; they had had the same argument for the last few days over Molly and Greg's offer to babysit overnight; John had originally turned down their offer, insisting that he couldn't be away from her for an hour but with Molly's reassurance that he could trust them. John finally accepted their help; he wanted to spend an evening alone with Sherlock now that his arm was better and he didn't want to worry about missing the sounds of his distressed daughter. John had spoken to Greg on the phone who had promised that yes, he would have his gun and Taser handy in case of terroristic activities in his kitchen (Sherlock's ears had pricked up at hearing that and was grumpy with John for it being a false alarm) and that he had a daughter of his own so he understood John's concern.