Sherlock: The Next Generation

Chapter 53

Chapter 53

"My dads are out so we'll have the whole flat to ourselves," Molly grinned at her four friends as they walked. "They won't be back until really late knowing them. Papa made dad clear the table and also left money for ordering a takeaway. So it's all sorted!" The five were walking at a relaxed pace, in no rush. It was Friday after school and they were all going round to Molly's for a sleepover. It was a thing they did every now and then; went round to one of their houses, played Dungeons and Dragons (they'd all got into it thanks to Emily), watched loads of movies and stayed up really late. It was Molly's house this time. They'd only been there once before and Molly had managed to make sure only her papa was in. Not that she worried about what her friends would think of her dad. No, she loved her dad dearly and knew her friends would be fine with his eccentricities (she wasn't exactly normal either). She was more worried about what he would think about her friends. Okay, maybe the possibility of him scaring them off with his deductions. She had told them all about them, but still... And she hadn't deduced anything bad about any of them. But her dad was better at it than her.

"Here we are," Molly announced as they headed up the stairs and into the living room. The place looked rather strange. So... clean. Her and papa had tidied the night before, even managing to force her dad to help. Her friends dumped their bags near the door, Emily getting out her Dungeons and Dragons books, all their sheets and stuff. "We'll play at the table." She took a seat, everyone else following suite. Jenny sat at the head of the table as befitting of the dungeon master. Character sheets were handed around and they began. In the party they had one of each of the needed roles filled. Molly was the cleric, meaning she had all the healing spells and worshipped a god. She had gone for neutral-good as her alignment. Heather had gone for a human wizard who was lawful-good and totally not based off Gandalf the Grey from Lord of the Rings. When this had been pointed out to her in the first place Heather replied that it was either him or Wisty from Witch and Wizard and Gandalf fitted in better. Jenny was an half-orc barbarian who was chaotic-good (contrasting Heather's character in many ways). Lisa had ended up with the rogue, who was an elf and chaotic-neutral. They had only done a few games before now.

"When we ended last week you had reached the end of the dungeon only to discover that the main chamber was empty. What do you do?" Jenny began, eyes peeking out from behind her DM screen.

"I walk around the room, seeing if I see any hidden doors," Lisa spoke first, quicker than the others.

"Lisa, what do your elf eyes see!" Heather exclaimed, laughing as she did so. Molly rolled her eyes at her friend, though she laughed just as much. Emily fixed them with a stern look.

"Cut down on the Lord of the Rings quotes."

"Yes, almighty one, please don't kill my character," Heather smirked slightly, earning an exhausted look from pretty much everyone else.

"Anyway, you see what you think is a door in the corner. What do you do?"

They ended up playing Dungeons and Dragons for quite a few more hours, not finishing until their takeaway arrived. This they ate at the table, clearing away all the stuff from their game. After that they moved all their bags into Hamish and Martin's room. They were sleeping in there because it was bigger than Molly's room (it wasn't like either would mind because both were away).

With all of this done they gathered round the television to watch a movie. Even though they all had varied interests they found it relatively easy to find movies that they all enjoyed. They had all settled for the original Star Wars trilogy as their movie for the night. Four of them managed to squish on the sofa, Jenny ending up being the one that decided to avoided being squished by sitting on the floor.

"Is there any Chinese left?" Molly heard her papa's amused tone float from behind her. She stood suddenly to find him standing behind the sofa, gaze flickering from the screen to Molly with a teasing grin. Her dad was hanging up his coat, arching an eyebrow at the girls snuggled under a blanket.

"Hello Dr Watson!" Heather piped up, glancing around and grinning at John.

"Hello, Heather," John smiled at his daughter's friend.

"No," Molly replied to her papa's previous question quietly with a shrug, moving around the sofa. John gave her a quick hug, ruffling her hair.

"We'll give you some peace then and go down to Mrs Hudson's and see if she has anything." He glanced at Sherlock who rolled his eyes in an 'I don't need food, idiot' way but nodded nonetheless. The taller man bend down to kiss his daughter on the forehead, also ruffling her hair.

"Enjoy the movie. We'll be back up later to make sure you don't stay up too late."

"Dad," Molly groaned, with a pout and puppy dog eyes. Sherlock smiled, bending over and lowering his voice to a whisper.

"You can stay up as late as you want, just don't tell your papa. He seems to be of the opinion that sleep is necessary for people to function." Sherlock snorted, flashing a fond look at his husband. John arched an eyebrow suspiciously. Sherlock just smiled sweetly and straightened up, moving over to John and putting a hand on his back as he half pushed him towards the door.

"Have fun," John smiled at the five girls before disappearing down the stairs with Sherlock. Molly let out a exasperated sigh and plopped back down in her place in between Heather and Lisa. John and Sherlock didn't return upstairs until the girls were just finishing the third Star Wars movie. By then it was midnight and most were already falling asleep (apart from Molly who had experience in staying up incredibly late). John ended up getting out and setting up the three air beds while Sherlock just watched. Heather got the honour of sleeping in what was normally Martin's bed (he wouldn't mind) while Molly slept in Hamish's (she was his sister, so it didn't matter). John shut the door to four fast-asleep girls and one who was nearly there.