Father, Not A Detective

Chapter Three: A Night In?

As John secured Helena into the baby carrier strapped around his chest, he looked around the living room for his daughter's cap and mittens.

"Sherlock?"

Sherlock had just finished tying his scarf around his neck and pulling on his gloves when he glanced at John.

"Do you know where Helena's hat is? It's a little chilly out; I don't want her to catch a cold... Also her mittens."

Sherlock huffed and rolled his eyes. "Mittens in your coat pocket, hat in my coat pocket." Sherlock slipped the cap out and pulled it over Helena's head, carefully pulling her bangs to the side so she could see properly. John beamed as he watched Sherlock take extra precautions as to not poke Helena with the edge of his finger.

As they both slid into the taxi, John kept Helena entertained, making faces and baby talking. Little did he know, he was also entertaining Sherlock. He smirked and turned back to look out of the window. "She looks like you, you know." Sherlock looked back at John and pointed to the child's face. "It's the nose."

John smirked and looked out of the window with a smile on his face for the rest of the ride. Sherlock talked to the cabbie and they pulled over to the curb filled with police cars and decorated in police caution tape.

Where they really about to bring a baby onto a crime scene? Probably one of the most reasonable questions that ever passed Sherlock's mind.

"Is a murder scene really the best place to have a child?" he glanced over at John. John looked down at his child, strapped to his chest, as if the question hadn't passed his mind until now. Sherlock tried to think of how the situation would be appropriate but it seemed to be rarely acceptable.

"Granted, she doesn't have the skill of withholding memory in this stage of existence but, won't ordinary people find it... inappropriate?"

John laughed. "Well, I don't really care what "ordinary people" think anymore." He looked up towards Sherlock and gave him a smile. He found that smiling had come to him more easily in these past few months, and more so when he was around Sherlock.

Sherlock looked at John and smiled back. "Let's solve this case."

After finding Chief Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade, John immediately demanded the details of the case, but Lestrade had a question picking at his brain that he didn't quite know how to ask. So he went with simply asking.

"Why do you have your daughter with you at a murder crime scene investigation?" He cocked his head to the side and raised a questioning eyebrow while staring at the child strapped to John's chest.

John shrugged pulled his lips into a frown. "Why not?"

Sherlock interrupted, as he could tell that John didn't feel like having a prodding conversation of why it isn't appropriate to have his very young child present during an investigation.

"No need for your input Gavin, just answer John's question. What are we dealing with?"

Sherlock heard Lestrade mutter "it's Greg!" but decided to ignore him as he walked towards the body, furrowing his thick eyebrows and locking his hands behind his back. Lestrade rolled his eyes and proceeded with the case.

"Karen Lockhart, found dead on Kearney Street, just two blocks from her flat. Multiple blows to the head, killer cleaned the wounds, leaving no trace of evidence."

Sherlock shrugged. "That's what you think."

"Well, there isn't." Lestrade explained, rubbing at the skin between his eyebrows, already losing patience with Sherlock. "We've got our best men on forensics, they couldn't find a thing."