"I have a what?" Sherlock asked, his face clearly showing signs of fear which he never intended or allowed anyone to see before. But then again, this wasn't an ordinary event, not even by the standards of the consulting detective and high-functioning sociopath; Sherlock Holmes.
"He what?" Mary and John asked almost at the same time that Sherlock did. No one would have ever thought this possible. It was clearly a mix up, but then how could it be?
"Yes, it has been proven that you, brother mine, have a child." Said Mycroft. Although it was hard to admit it, even Mycroft was frightened by what this would mean, and more so for the safety of the infant, who sooner rather than later would have to be handed over to his brother, who the older brother believed to be the least likely person to be able to take care of someone other than himself, which he did not do a good job of even now.
"But how can you be certain of this?" Sherlock asked, the fear now clearly reflected upon his voice as well as his face and posture.
"Well, I do suppose that you need an explanation." Mycroft sighed, turning away from the window and towards the small and yet uncomfortable audience he was addressing. John, Mary and of course Sherlock. "I did not intend on telling you any of this. Oh well, let us start from the very beginning of this mess. When Irene Adler was released, she managed to stay alive for 8 months, before she managed to attract and get herself killed by a group of terrorists. During that time she was monitored, and she was clearly not aware of it, I made sure of that, personally. We found that she was in fact, pregnant which wasn't so surprising, or so we thought. After the body was retrieved and the so thought orphan was safe, we ran a few tests to determine her father, and the only person in the world who has that kind of blood-type is the one and only, Mr. Sherlock Holmes."
"Are you certain of this Mr. Holmes?" Asked Marry, who was surprisingly quiet. "And are you sure that she is really dead? She could have tried you tried you again. "
"Yes, I was very throw this time, Mrs. Watson." Mycroft replied, the signs of anger of the outcome of the last time that Adler had been thought dead clearly still represented a challenge to the so-called clever and well connected Mycroft Holmes.
"Well, what do you think Sherlock? You are a father now." Asked John. But what he got for an answer was the less than satisfying reason that Sherlock Holmes had taken to the safety of his mind palace to avert this mess of a situation. For a short while at least.