I am not lonely [Mystrade]

CHAPTER 140 : Tantrum

The politician exited the bathtub and grabbed a heavy white towel, his feet slipping a little on the flooring. He took a look at his watch resting on the side of the cabinet and remarked that he was already quite heavily late and he rushed outside, nearly bumping into Michael who was deposing a freshly cleaned set of suits in the dressing room.
The elder Holmes waited for the younger man to exit the room before letting go from his towel and choosing a pair of underwear and socks. His best tuxedo was already laid on the bed and he swiftly put it on, hoping that the London traffic wouldn't be as terrible as it could some time be in order for him to arrive more or less on time.
He was tying his bow-tie when he first heard a loud sound in the nearby stairs. Worried by this unusual sound, the auburn ran out of the room just to see his daughter crying on one of the middle step of the stairs. He picked up the crying girl from the floor, bringing her close to his chest and ran a soft hand over her head ad back to make sure she didn't injured herself while falling.
"Shhh ... It's alright sweetheart ... Daddy is here ..." he murmured gently to her ear. "It's just a little fall ..."
Unable to leave the little girl crying like this he resolved to take a few minutes to calm her down even if he was already late. He brought her to her room nearby and sat in one of the heavy cushion disposed on the floor. Gently rocking her he started humming an old song he used to sing to Sherlock when he himself was a child.
"There is a young cowboy, he lives on the range. His horse and his cattle are his only companions / He works in the saddle and he sleeps in the canyons, waiting for summer, his pastures to change / And as the moon rises he sits by his fire, thinking about women and glasses of beer / And closing his eyes as the dogies retire, he sings out a song which is soft but it's clear
as if maybe someone could hear... / Goodnight you moon light ladies, rock-a-bye sweet baby James / Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose, won't you let me go down in my dreams? / And rock-a-bye sweet baby James / Now the first of December was covered with snow / and so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston / Though the Berkshires seemed dreamlike on account of that frosting / with ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go / There's a song that they sing when they take to the highway / a song that they sing when they take to the sea / a song that they sing of their home in the sky, maybe you can believe it if it helps you to sleep / but singing works just fine for me / So, goodnight you moon light ladies, rock-a-bye sweet baby James / Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose, won't you let me go down in my dreams? / And rock-a-bye sweet baby James"
As he expected the song pacified quite instantly the toddler and soon enough she was letting her head go against her father's shoulder, humming alongside the deep voice of the politician.
But as Mycroft tried to put her back on the floor, the little girl started crying again and despite the gentle protestation of her father she didn'T let him any other choice than to lift her back in his arms. Noticing that he was not even late anymore and that his tuxedo was bearing a large splat of baby's saliva, the elder Holmes huffed and resolved to bring her back downstairs, trying to find someone who could take care of her. He walked into the living room, sure to find someone, even if just Michael who could help him with his daughter but no one was to be seen here.
"Gregory darling !" he yelled as he was back in the hallway. "Can you please take care of Aelane ? Gregory ?"
It took him four more attempts before the detective finally answered. He rushed inside from the street where he had been playing football with Alden and catch the young girl from his husband's arm. Finally free of the baby, the auburn grabbed a towel and tried to get rid of the splat of saliva and seized his coat.
But as soon as the politician placed his hand on the handle of the entrance door, the little girl started crying once again. Of course both men understood that she wasn't really sad but was just having a tantrum because she didn't wanted her father to go anywhere but neither of them had enough guts to let her cry and it took Mycroft ten more minutes and a promise to be back soon and to read her a goodnight story for her to let him go.
As he finally joined his driver in the black Jaguar he couldn't help but notice that he was more than an hour late on his schedule and even if he was quite sure that the traffic would be pretty much alright at this time in the evening, he was sure he was going to be scolded by the Prime Minister, a man of very little intelligence that was taking every excuse to remind the elder Holmes of who was supposed to be the boss in their relationship.
Without even being asked, the driver turned on the blue lights as soon as they were out of Kensigton Palace Garden and it took the Jaguar less than ten minutes to arrive to the cabinet office, the "second door" to the infamous ten, Downing street. Sir Peter Bowling was already waiting for the auburn in his dining room, tomorrow's newspapers near his plate, his phone in his hand.
"Mr Holmes. Finally ! I thought you weren't coming !" he greeted his visitor, a fake smile on his face.
"Sorry sir, I had a few things to sort out and it took me way more time than it was supposed to." the politician retorted with the same smile.
"But your secretary, Mr ... Tompson is it, told me that you had left your office before six ..." nettled Bowling with a smirk.
"Mr Tamsin, Victor Tamsin." the auburn rectified. "And you'll learn that I do have a few office out of the Diogenes club, even at home."
"Well, if you say so ..." nodded the PM, clearly not convinced. "May we eat now ?"

As the dinner went along, Mycroft could just endure the constant remarks of the man sat opposite him, knowing that his delay was preventing him from retorting or using his usual repartee. It took two more hours before the politician was able to escape the hateful atmosphere of the room and as soon as he joined the Cabinet Office, he grabbed his phone to call Anthea and ask her to do whatever she can to annoy Sir Bowling.
Having avenged himself for the evening he just had spent, he climbed back in the black Jaguar and requested to his driver to drop by Regent Street. It was already ten in the evening but there was still some light inside Hamley's toy store and whitout asking, the auburn pushed the door, making the sirens ring. He directed himself toward the stuffed animal's section before being stopped by one of the bouncers.
"I'm sorry sir but we are closed." the large man informed him.
The elder Holmes didn't stopped however and only made a step on the side before continuing his way, having remarked a stuffed bee a little further on the right.
"Sir, I need to ask you to return from where you come." the bouncer warned him once again.
"You'd better not ask me to leave." Mycroft retorted, still not glancing a single look toward the other man.
"I don't care if you are willing to buy the entire store sir, we are closed." the man repeated, starting to be quite unpleasant.
Without a word, the auburn seized his first class accreditation card and showed it to the bouncer, who, impressed but rather crossed, stepped back and nodded toward another man who had arrived to turn off the alarm that every thing was alright. The official continued his searching, finding a little hedgehog for Alden and a couple of dinosaurs, one for his son and one for his daughter.
He already had the reproving voice of Greg in the back of his head and knew that the inspector would probably be awfully cross about him having a store reopened late at night just to buy some unnecessary presents for his kids. However, the auburn was so upset about his evening that he pushed this voice to the back of his head and grabbed a little blue cowboy set for Aelane as she had been boring her brother's kit since a couple of weeks.

All the light of the mansion were switched off when the politician finally made it home and, unwilling to show Greg what he just had bought and, most certainly to start a fight, he carefully and silently brought the toys to his private office before climbing the stairs. He made a first stop in his son's room and after gazing for a few minutes at the sleeping little boy, he then joined his daughter in her own room and place a small peck on her soft cheek. He rewind the music box, knowing that it was helping the little girl to sleep and he finally made his way to his own room where he could catch a glimpse of the sleeping policeman under the duvet of the four-poster bed. Mycroft undressed himself silently and slipped under the said duvet, wrapping his arm around the older man's shoulder.
"How was the diner ?" wondered Gregory, his voice all asleep.
"Long and boring." the politician grumbled.
"As always." the detective chuckled, nestling his head in the small of the other man's neck.
"Worse." the elder Holmes sighed. "How was Aelane ?"
"A drama queen. I really wonder from who she took that trait ..." the DCI smiled.
"That's the bad influence of her uncle. I told you we never should have let him anywhere near our daughter." the auburn retorted, amused. "I shall have a talk with him that he stop behaving like the queen he is when the kids are around."
"If he is a queen, what are you ?" laughed the inspector, rolling on his side to snuggle up alongside his partner.
"If I didn't love you as much as I do I would run out from here right to the street and never come back." the said boyfriend huffed.
"May I recall you your nakedness darling ?" Gregory snorted before shutting his eyes and falling back asleep in the minute.