"You looked him over?" John asked. He knew Bree specialized in dragons, and it couldn't hurt to be sure she had checked Sherlock herself. "Is he inside?"

"He is inside, and I looked him over pretty thoroughly. A few places required a little extra help, and he'll be missing some scales until they grow back, but he'll be fine." Bree smiled, slipping an arm around him. "Really. You can go ask him if you want."

"I trust your judgement," John said, relaxing a bit. "As long as he's alright. He and Charlotte likely need the bonding time, so I'll leave him be for now." He put an arm around her shoulders, just holding her.

Bree nodded, moving in closer to him. The contact was nice, especially after all the noise and upset of earlier.

John just held her, moving them so they could sit near the cliff and watch the ocean for a while.

Bree relaxed there, leaning against him and looking out at the waves.

"I can't help but wonder if this is what life is going to be like, now, with a little one to look after," she murmured. "A string of threats that Charlotte can't or won't deal with."

"Surely there is precident for this sort of thing," John replied. "Dragons demanding to keep eggs before. I doubt it will be much different than before, once she decides the little one is ready to go with you back to the city. A new flat, perhaps, but there will still be jobs to be done and handler meetings to attend and demanding dragons to look after."

"Undoubtedly." Bree smiled. "Charlotte brought up the idea of a new flat, too. I was going to take a look next time I get into town."

John nodded.

"I'd imagine a two-person flat will be a bit cramped with the little one there too," he said. "Perhaps Sherlock and I will look for a larger flat, as well. After all, the little one might stay with him from time to time, yeah?"

"It's possible," Bree agreed. She hesitated for a moment, looking at him, before she looked away and continued, "I was also thinking about looking at houses. Just in case."

"Houses?" That was a bit surprising, and it made him feel a bit hopeful. "Well, a house would definitely have the space for three."

"Yeah." Bree smiled a bit. "Lots of houses have room for more than three. More like five."

"Five wouldn't be bad," John agreed, hoping she was implying what he thought she was. "Perhaps more, depending on the house?"

"If we can find a good house, there's room for more than five," Bree agreed. "Although it would have to have a yard. And more than two bathrooms."

John couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"Definitely," he said. "Perhaps one bathroom with a pool large enough for a dragon or two, if such a thing exists."

"If only we could design our own place," Bree agreed with a grin. "That would be the best way to do it."

Then she paused and realized they probably could if both dragons contributed from their hoards.

John had come to the same conclusion.

"It's possible," he said thoughtfully. "I've seen Sherlock's hoard, he has more than enough to fund such a thing. He'd likely not even miss it. I can't speak for him, of course, and I couldn't even begin to guess at what Charlotte must have, but it could work."

"Charlotte offered to help pay for a new flat," Bree said quietly. "I bet that if we went for a house instead, she wouldn't mind helping with that either. She's a bit more possessive, but she would find things she wouldn't mind giving to us to use." She looked at him, starting to get a little excited about this.

"I'm sure Sherlock has some things he wouldn't miss," John mused. "And to support a potential new home for his and Charlotte's little one? I'm sure he'd contribute."

Bree nodded. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves," she said, almost physically pulling herself back. "We'd need to check first, see where we can get the land, how much this would cost approximately, how long it would take..."

"Is this something you would prefer in the city?" John asked. "Or out here where there is more open space? That will determine where we go to ask about available land and cost."

"Out in the open, I think," Bree said after a moment. "Especially if we want anything large enough for a dragon. Besides, I know that Charlotte prefers it out here, and I'm pretty sure Sherlock does, too."

"He does," John replied, nodding. "Although we should probably try for a little closer to the city anyways, to make it easier to access things like proper shops."

"True. So more like suburbs than out in the country proper." Bree nodded, thinking that over. "I'm sure we can make that work."

"I think we can," John agreed, nodding. "I think we can do very well like that."