The Game is On

Winter's Cold pt. 2

The short, plump receptionist led them down a long hallway.

"Girl or boy?"

John and Sherlock looked at each other.

"We have too many boys in the house already."

"Girl," John said.

"Okay!" The excited lady knocked on a peeling pink door, "Unfortunately, we only have three girls at the moment."

When the door opened, they saw rows of four bunk beds on each side of the room. The walls were, at one point, covered in pink floral wallpaper. But now, it was dirty and peeling.

Two girls sat on top of a bunk bed on the left side, one braiding the other's hair. The other was curled up on a bottom bunk on the right side.

"Girls," the lady chimed, "We have visitors!"

The one on the right looked over briefly, then went back to whatever she was doing. The two on the left gasped and jumped off the bunk, the brunette's braid untangling.

"Hey!" One squealed, "Amanda! That's Sherlock Holmes!"

The other covered her hands in shock, "And John Watson!"

"They know us," Sherlock remarked.

The girl with the dark brown, almost black, hair, Amanda, said in a high-pitched voice, "I read the paper!" She held up an article about 'A Study in Pink'.

"And I read John's blog whenever we go to the computer lab!" The light brunette said softly.

"Wait a minute, Gina," Amanda stopped her, "Remember the last blog entry?"

"'Finally married to the love of my life,' yeah."

Sherlock leaned to whisper in John's ear, "Did you really write that?"

"Yep."

"John!" Amanda then turned to the doctor, "Who's 'the love'?"

Obviously they didn't get to hear news that often.

"Well, it's uhm, him."

John pointed to the tall man standing next to him.

The girls stopped. They were frozen, silent, their eyes wide.

Then, they screamed.

"Oh my God!! I knew it! Yess!!!" Gina hugged the other girl, who returned it saying "That's a quarter for us! George promised!"

"Wait a minute! Amanda, these two were married in October, and now they're here..."

"Gina, I bet they're just here about the drug thing."

"Then why would they be here? The kid with the drugs was a BOY."

"Maybe they're just investigating."

"Uh, no," John said, "Not our division."

"So then...You're..."

The two yelled at the same time, "Adopting?!?"

"Yep."

"Us please!" Gina hugged Sherlock while Amanda held onto John.

"Now just a moment, girls. I think they just wanted one."

Their faces instantly fell.

"Well," one said quietly, "I promised I'm not leaving here without Gina."

"Nor me without Amanda."

"Just a second," John stopped them, "Let us just talk for a moment."

The doctor pulled Sherlock to the far wall.

"Do you think we could take both...?"

"John, would there be enough space in our flat?"

"Look, this is what we want. We know there's no taking one, and if we don't take them they'll be heartbroken, and even maybe stay here for the rest of their lives."

Sherlock blinked slowly, considering.

"Yeah...You're right. We can convert my room that we don't use into a room for them. Maybe even rent out 221C."

"Money is an issue, Sherlock."

"First of all, Mycroft will loan me anything. And Mrs. Hudson's wanted that flat rented for so long, she'll almost give it to us for free."

"Good point. What do you say, 25-hundred from Mycroft? That should cover fixing everything up."

"Make it 5,000."

"Deal."

They walked back to the receptionist, who'd sent the girls back to their bed. Now, they sat in silence.

"We'll take both."

The receptionist smiled, "Bless you two."

"Girls."

The two looked at them, sadly, but a glint of hope in their eyes.

"Pack up your bags. Come tomorrow, you'll be Gina and Amanda Holmes!"