The Watson-Holmes (Sequel To The Perfect Cradle)

Ready For The Future

"How will we tell the kids?" John asked as they rode back to flat in the back of a taxi, his hand tightly intertwined with Sherlock's as the detective tore his gaze from the window to look to his husband.

"What do you mean? John, there's no special way around it or any way to sugar coat the situation, cancer and another sibling in the family. Though I guess both of those are pretty difficult to explain." Sherlock said with the sound of second thought in his voice.

"Ya think?" John said sarcastically, letting out a sigh to calm himself while lightly tapping his foot on the floor of the taxi in anxiety. Sherlock pursed his lips, placing his hand on John's knee to calm it. Gently rubbing it in a calming motion, John gave a somber smile while he rubbed his forehead in frustration. Maybe it wasn't a time to try and calm his husband as Sherlock removed his hand.

Arriving back at the flat, they handed the cabbie their money before climbing out and walking in the front door only to hear shouting and the sound of glass shattering followed by their daughter yelling "now look at what you've done! Papa's gonna be so beyond pissed with you!"

The blogger sighed again at the sound and shouting as the detective chuckled and wrapped his arm around his husband. "Welcome home darling."

They climbed the stairs only to open the door to see the two pre-teens still bickering at each other and a shattered mug between the two of them.

"Hamish William Watson-Holmes! Violet Joanne Watson-Holmes!" Sherlock's voice boomed across the flat as the pre-teens went deathly silent at the sound of their full names said by their dad's baritone voice.

"Front and center!" John commanded, Sherlock's eyes going wide as John knew it was his kink with his husband being a soldier.

The kids lined up in front of their father's with their heads down and looking completely ashamed.

"What happened here?" John asked, setting his hands to his hips and waiting for an answer from his kids. As soon as he asked that, both the kids erupted into full-blown yelling about who did it first or how it happened.

"That's quite enough! To the couch! On the double!" John commanded as the kids stopped screaming and followed instructions.

"God, I love it when you do that." Sherlock whispered in John's ear, biting down on his earlobe and squeezing his arse. As the blogger swatted his husband away, he sat across from their kids from the coffee table as Sherlock took the seat next to him.

"Violet and Hamish, you both know we love you very much and there is nothing we wouldn't do for you. You both are miracles beyond any prayer and we love you too much to keep anything from you." John bowed his head and laced his fingers together, breathing in deeply then letting it out with a shaky sigh. Sherlock wrapped his hand around John's as he gave his husband a sympathetic smile.

"What your papa is trying to say is...remember this morning when we went to our appointment for your papa's checkup to see if we could have another baby?" Sherlock asked as both Hamish and Violet nodded their heads.

"It wasn't exactly the best news we've ever received-"

"I have breast cancer." John blurted.

The children sat emotionless as they were on the verge of tears, looking and studying both their fathers as the most recent news seemed to rattle around in their young brains.

"Papa, I'm...I don't know what to say." Violet stood and looked John in the eye, placing her small hands on either side of his face before pulling him into a hug and crying into his shoulder. Hamish hung his head as he cried silently from his spot on the couch. Sherlock rose from his seat and sat next to his son, holding him close as the boy let it all out as the detective did his best to hold it in for his son.