I am not lonely [Mystrade]

CHAPTER 123 : Chief Detective Sherif

"Come over here." Mycroft softly scolded his partner, grabbing his  wrist and making him turn on his heel. He gently seized the small strip  of medals the older man was holding and pinpointed it firmly into the  man's black jacket, right over his heart-pocket. He took a step back and  glanced an appreciative look to his husband, a cheeky grin enlightening  his face. Wrapped in a quite fitting pair of black trousers, white  shirt, black tie and black jacket, the policeman was indeed looking  smart and awfully professional.
"How does it come you know how to  handle medals when you haven't even served in any kind of forces for a  single day ?" Greg chuckled lightly.
"I am a man of many talents." the official winked back while straightening his own tie. "Are we all done ?"
"Just one thing missing." replied the yarder, grabbing his cap and adjusting it on his perfectly groomed hair.
"If only I had knew earlier that you had this kind of item ..." whispered the auburn before placing a tender kiss over the other man's lips.

"I'll  see you later." Gregory smiled as they parted, the elder Holmes having  to take place in the assembly while he joined the other policemen and  women already waiting a few meters away.
"But Papa ..." Alden complained. "I want we go play the ball."
"We  will play later but for the moment Papa need to go. You know that." the  detective scolded him softly. "For the moment you stay with Daddy,  alright ?"
The policeman glanced a look at his boyfriend who nodded  before stepping away, his son in his arm. The little boy had been all  cranky since a few days and Mycroft had been concerned that he could  have been sick but after a visit to John's surgery, it appears that he  was in perfect health and probably just trying to test the boundaries he  had been set.
For some reason he himself wasn't able to explain, the  auburn had found it quite easier these last couple of weeks to finally  raise his disciplinary standard. He wasn't exactly what could have been  called a strict father either but it seems like he had finally  understood what Greg had been repeating to him for months and the  toddler wasn't liking it in the slightest, although John had reassured  them that he was just going through a phase of testing it as it was all  brand new and would quickly get use to it. Still, at the moment the  child was in a rather bad mood and didn't really seemed  pleased at the prospect of having to sit down during nearly two hours  for, to his eyes, a quite uninteresting and boring ceremony.
He kept whinnying the entire time the elder Holmes was scanning the audience to find known faces and didn't even glanced a single look to Molly Hooper or Scott, Donovan's boyfriend when the auburn sat down beside them.
"Alden,  you say hello ?" his father requested, earning no responses whatsoever  from the young boy. "Come on Alden, you say hello or you won't be  allowed to watch Doctor Who tonight."
"Lo ..." the cranky child moaned.
"Properly, young man." the official scolded him.
"Hello Molly and Scott." his son reluctantly greeted the two others.
"Uhu, the little one seems all moody ..." the young woman remarked. "Haven't slept well ?"
"No ... It just seems that this young man don't really like to be told off at the moment." the auburn denied with a sad smile.
"Teenage rebellion already ? Quite a precocious one indeed." Scott chuckled.
"Yeah  ... However, how's life ?" Mycroft diverted, applying John's advice of  not giving the boy's mood too much attention in order not to encourage  him to continue.
"Fine. I mean, I've got a few issues at work last week but nothing really major, just an angry grandma who wasn't  alright with our items' return policy and who ended up kicking me with  her purse but apart from that I would say things are going quite  smoothly." the younger man smiled, showing the two other the big bruise the purse's attack had left on his left arm.
"Never trust an old woman." nodded Molly, sententious.
"You too had an issue with a granny ?" the official wondered.
"You  can't even imagine ..." sighed the post-mortem. "Have you ever faced a  grieving widow ? Probably not, but I suppose you can easily guess what  they loo like. How can I put it ... Well this one wasn't exactly grieving.  Let's say, she had lost her husband in an accident a couple of days  earlier and you would have expected her to be quite frankly miserable.  She wasn't. Her only preoccupation was how long the autopsy was going to  take because she had booked a cruise with a friend some months earlier and she didn't wanted to miss it."
"Oh god ... Grannies ..." the elder Holmes laughed. "I think this one is probably in the top 3 of what you already told me about your ... customers ..."
"Twelve years I'm working at Barts and these kinds of things still surprise me now and then ..." agreed the young woman.
"I  was complaining, but actually my work is quite restful in comparison to  yours." Scott remarked in a grin. "And by the way, did Sally told you  we are opening a new store in Brighton ?"
"Not a word I'm afraid ..." denied the elder Holmes.
The  younger man told them all about his plans for the future opening before  they were interrupted by the beginning of the ceremony, Alden even  lightening up a little when he saw his father all propped up standing in  line with other officers that were to be promoted that day.
After a  long and quite uninteresting speech by Scotland Yard's commissioner, the  proper promoting started, the first man to be awarded his new insignia  was a young redhead with a prominent nose that looked nothing but  trustworthy to the auburn. Gregory was nearly at the end of the line and  by the time the commissioner reached him, Alden had already fallen  asleep on his father's lap.
The policeman new insignia shown three  Bath Stars where his old ones shown only two and as the commissioner was  thanking him for his 'exceptional services to the community and  professional ethic' he couldn't help but search for his partner's face  in the crowd and beaming to him, letting all modesty aside and  appreciating the moment.
The next officer to receive new insignias  was no one else than Sally, who was then officially replacing Greg as a  detective inspector of the crime, thanks to his own constant insistence  over his Chief SuperIntendant and the Commissioner that she was the most  capable officer of his team and that she was the only one diplomat  enough to be able to handle a bunch of officers who's main  characteristic seems to never be able to agree one with another.

"Oh,  hello mister Holmes !" the commissioner exclaimed, spotting the man in  the crowd as the promoted officer were now gathering with their  families. "I wasn't aware you'd be here."
"Why wouldn't I ?" replied the official, shaking the hand the man was offering him.
"I didn't knew you had any business over here." the policeman answered, genuinely surprised.
"I wouldn't have missed the promotion of Detective Chief Inspector Lestrade for the world, tho I nearly did because he is sometime I real ass and nearly didn't came back in time." Mycroft smiled, keeping the last bit to himself.
As the commissioner was to add  something, the said DCI finally emerged from the crowd, where he had  been held by Molly and Scott, holding his now fully awoken son by the  hand.
"Sally proposed we'd go out somewhere for diner." he informed his boyfriend, grabbing his hand and squizzing  it gently, not noticing who the elder Holmes was presently talking to.  "I've accepted but maybe we should drop Alden at your brother's before,  no ?"
"Hmm ? Oh, yes. Send John a text to know if they are at Baker  street." nodded the official, lifting his son from the ground. "Do you  think you will be able to look after uncle Sherlock for the night ?"
"Once again,  congratulation Lestrade." the commissioner stepped in the conversation,  his brain still processing what was happening before him. "Who is this  little mister ?"
"Oh Christ, I haven't noticed you were there !" the  detective exclaimed before blinking a couple of times. "Well, may I  introduce you my latest son, Alden. You say hello Aldy ?"
"Hello." the toddler repeated, looking rather curiously at the man standing in front of him, quite fascinated by the shining features of his uniform. "Are you like a sheriff ?"
"Yes a little bit." chuckled the officer, charmed by the little boy as everyone who was meeting him for the first time.
"Do you have a star ?" the toddler wondered.
"No, sadly. The Queen don't want to let me have one ..." the man pouted.
"That's not fair. It would look terrific !" the little boy stated.
"I  am sure you have one that makes you look really cool." the elder man  smiled, noticing the look of excuses Greg was giving him and gesturing  that it wasn't a problem.
"Yes. And I have the boots, the hat and the lasso !" the child nodded enthusiastically.
"Hey  little man, why don't we go see if Molly have something for you ?" the  auburn proposed. "You say goodbye to the commissioner ?"
"Bye bye !" smiled the boy, waving his hand.
"Goodbye sheriff Alden !" the chief of Scotland Yard winked before turning to Greg. "I didn't knew your last son was so young. I thought he was already 7 or 8 ..."
"Oh  yeah, Jake is already 8. Alden will be five in a month ... God save me,  they are growing far to quickly ..." the inspector replied. "And that's  when I'm not thinking about the two eldest..."
"I know I'm probably gonna sound a bit indelicate  and intrusive but is Mr Holmes also a father to this child ? I couldn't  help but notice he called his brother the uncle of the boy ..." the  commissioner asked, trying to be as sensitive as it was possible to be.
"Don't worry." Greg smiled. "We are indeed married and Alden is as much his child as mine but it's no surprise you didn't heard about it, I suppose we can't say Mycroft is very inclined of talking about his private life."
"Oh.  Well, my delayed best wishes then." retorted his boss. "I'm not going  to retain you much longer if you have a diner to attend. Enjoy your new  position !"
"Thank you sir." the detective nodded before joining his husband and friends.