Parents

10 • Birthday

Hamish is one today. One. A whole year has gone by since he was born, and back then I didn't even know if I wanted him, at least until I saw him. Why am I getting all mushy? I was never emotional before.

What have Hamish and John done to me?

John is insisting that we have a party. Hamish won't even know what's happening, or remember it but John says it's some sort of 'life experience'. That, if Hamish didn't have one, he would be the odd one out and that it might a detrimental effect on him in the future. Mycroft and I never had a single party and we turned out fine.

We had invited our 'friends', or at least people that liked John and family who were stuck with me. Molly and her boyfriend (who had three secret children and a wife that John wouldn't let me tell her about), Lestrade and Mycroft- who were now an item, Mrs Hudson, Harry and Clara (Harry had been sober for over a year and they had gotten back together a few months ago), a friend of John's from the army that had twins around Hamish's age and John's parents. He had wanted my mother and father to come but I refused. They don't like celebrations of any kind.

John won't let me deduce anything about any of them. Apparently, if one of them gets upset it will 'ruin the atmosphere' and the party will have gone badly. This was going to be so boring. I couldn't even sit with Hamish all the time as other people would want to see him; apparently they needed him on their lap and couldn't just look.

Hamish is on the floor playing with an abacus I bought him. Obviously not using it, he just likes moving the beads around. Though we won't give all Hamish his presents until later we have told him what day it is and he seems excited, at least about the balloons John is currently blowing up.

"Sherlock, will you put that stuff away?" He said, indicating the experiment on the kitchen table.

"It isn't 'stuff' John, I need to find out about these mould cultures and it needs to remain set out or it may change the structure."

"We have food to put out, move them carefully then." He sighed "Put them in our room if you have to."

"But they'll-"

"Sherlock." John said forcefully and I knew that if I didn't move them, he would and probably disturb something.

I took the Petri dishes into the bedroom and placed them on a free shelf in the wardrobe (something I kept on case I needed certain conditions for experiments and John hated - ("A brain near our clothes, Sherlock. Really?"')

At the bottom, there were stacks of presents for Hamish.

I would usually just buy him something as soon as I saw it or if it was something he seemed attracted to but apparently that's spoiling him so I have to space the gifts out.
Despite this we were allowed to get him as many presents we wanted today. We had spent hours last night wrapping everything. John had got him finger paints, a bike with a handle so we could push Hamish around, play dough, a set with plastic food to 'play shop', a ball (which had been apparently a 'bugger' to wrap), some DVDs and teddies. I had bought him books; some which I would read to him (mostly fiction- Enid Blyton, Treasure Island all to set off his imagination) and some bright picture books, building blocks, a teddy, shape-sorting boxes, a tower building puzzle and for the first time; though this was special, it could be pressed and would help him play a recording which would help him to learn shapes and colours (most of the sites say he's too young for that but, obviously, he's very advanced). There was something else we had bought together for him, but that didn't fit in here.

When I came back in, John was stood on a chair putting up a banner and Hamish was laid on the couch with a bottle. "Why? Everyone knows what the party is for."
"It's tradition, you know like Christmas decorations?" We had argued about those, and he had explained at length about a 'Christmassy feel' that made him happier, so I guess that this was a similar concept. "Will you put Hamish down for his nap, love? He'll need to sleep before the party."