Face the Odds

Chapter 15: Beyond Repair

Two months later

"Oh, look at you!" Marie cheered as Scottie pulled himself up onto his two legs, using the side of the sofa to remain upright.

He'd started crawling recently, and the two twins were often causing chaos and laughter at the Holmes residence as they crawled about everything, getting underneath their grandparents' feet. Not that Mr. and Mrs. Holmes were complaining.

"Come on, Scottie. Come to mama, my precious." Marie encouraged, holding her hands out wide towards Scottie as the child dithered. "Come on."

Scottie waved his hand towards her, reaching for her, but unwilling to give up his hold on the safety of the sofa as he stared at his mother. Marie remained where she was, a few feet away, bent on her knees as she held out her hands.

"Come on, Scottie." She encouraged.

Scottie wavered before he took a ginger step forward. He almost toppled over instantly, but reached back to grab the sofa for support once more, remaining upright though his face scrunched up in annoyance.

'He looks so much like his father when he does that.' Marie mused, before shaking the thought from her head. Best not think about him.

Marie was broken from her thoughts as Scottie abruptly decided he was ready and – pushing himself off the sofa for good measure – took the few stumbling steps towards his mother.

He pitched forward at the end, but Marie deftly caught him, beaming as she praised: "Oh, good boy! Oh, Scottie, well done!"

He gurgled happily, giggling as he fisted Marie's shirt in his small hands. Marie grinned, proud that Scottie was finally also taking his first steps. And, while he'd done it later than Sheryl, he had managed to make it to Marie's arms... more or less. Poor Sheryl had fallen back on her little bottom not two steps away from the sofa on her try.

Though she hadn't cried; instead, her little face had scrunched up in irritation, just like Sherlock's did when something didn't go his way, as she wailed dryly in annoyance at her own limitations. It had amused Marie and Mrs. Holmes to no end, especially when Sheryl tried to get back onto her shaky feet with a look of utmost determination.

"Mamama." Scottie announced to Marie, and she broke from her reminiscence to smile at him.

"All right, let's go get your sister and feed you both." Marie agreed. "Chérie's probably fed up with her grandparents by now anyway."

It amused and exasperated Marie to see her children had apparently inherited Sherlock's disdain of his parents – or rather, of their normality. The twins would only put up with their grandparents' excessive cooing for an hour at a time, after which they cried out once in irritability.

It had delighted Sherlock the first time they'd introduced the twins to his parents, and it seemed that the twins either remembered this encouragement even though Sherlock wasn't here. That, or they really did take after their parents a little too well – particularly their father.

It was as this thought was crossing Marie's mind while she crossed the threshold into the sitting room, when she heard Sheryl's irritable cry: "Bo'ed!"

"Yes, yes, you're bored." Marie sighed, giving Mr. Holmes an apologetic look as she walked over to her daughter, who had been sitting on the floor while her grandparents attempted to entertain her with storybooks.

Sheryl brightened considerably when she spotted her mother and her twin brother in her mother's arms, and she wobbled her way over to Marie. Marie chuckled, scooping up her daughter as she praised: "Ooh, Chérie, you'll be walking about soon!"