A Scandal in Babysitting

Chapter 5 - Conquering The Tallest Mountain

Sherlock P.O.V

I hung my scarf and coat with the collar I keep turned up on the stand before turning to find a baby making baby noises on the couch. I hear John in the kitchen so I pick Oliver up and set him on the floor. I sat down next to him, legs extended out in front of me. He crawled towards my feet, first hitting my leg to see if it was of any amusement to him. I smiled as he began to crawl over my legs as if he were conquering the tallest mountain. He slowly made his way towards my chest, and once he reached mid thigh I picked him up and held him high above me. Oliver giggled, so I swung my arms back to hold him against my chest. His hand was on my shoulder for balance, then my face, as he stood up on my arms to be level with me. The thing smiled and half laughed as he smacked me in the face with his tiny hand. I moved his feet to on my lap and held his waist to stop him falling as he pulled my hair and covered my eyes. Through the gaps of his little fingers (GoT reference ftw) I saw the back of one of John's jumpers as he walked into the kitchen. I heard his laptop turn on, then the key presses as he wrote on his blog about todays case. I noticed he left me a cup of tea. I pried the child from my hair and sat him on the floor. He frowned and looked as if he were about to cry so I returned to my spot next to him with my tea. He came bouncing the short distance to me, wobbling with each unsure step. I took a slip of the hot tea before setting it down on the table behind me and grabbing the child about to fall face first as he still appears to be learning to walk. I stood him up in front of me and held his hands to steady him.

"Come here Oliver." I whispered so John wouldn't hear.

The child wobbled again but I held him up. He was only four or five steps away from me. It took some time but he managed to do it without wobbling nearly as much as when he came running to me just before. I helped Oliver walk the short distance between him and myself several times for a while before he got distracted by the toy by the couch. I let him crawl to play and drank my lukewarm tea. I saw the packet of biscuits John left by the kitchen so I rose to grab two for my tea. This time I sat on my chair facing the couch to watch Oliver.

"Isn't that cold now Sherlock?" John stood by the kitchen leaning on the wall.

"No." I returned my gaze to Oliver crawling to another toy of his.

"Mrs Hudson brought them up here before she left." John nodded towards the pile of toys and teddies.
"I thought you hated kids Sherlock."

"I do." I sipped the last of my tea.

"Evidently not. You've spent the last half an hour whilst I wrote my blog playing with Oliver and teaching him how to walk."

"He crawled onto me and I was curious to see how much he has learnt already." I replied placing my tea cup down.

"But you picked him up and continued to let him climb all over you."

"I do not like these things John."

"Children Sherlock, they're called children." He chuckled.

"Anything in particular you wanted, John?"

"No, nothing. Just checking on you and Oliver to make sure everything was okay." He grabbed the nearest book and sat down on his chair to read.
"Oh by the way, Mrs Hudson left a note along with the toys, noticed it when making tea. Said she was going to be a while. Do you think you can handle being around a thing you hate so oh very much?"

"As long as it doesn't break anything, yes I can deal with this baby. For a few more hours at most."

John read his book while I continued to watch Oliver play with a toy train and a stuffed bear until Mrs Hudson came back.