A/N: Here's something new that I've been working on for a little while!
"Sherlock, I'm home!" John called as he entered 221B. He closed the front door and made his way upstairs and into the kitchen. He put down the plastic carrier bag from the supermarket, taking out milk and biscuits. He made tea for the two of them and thought nothing of Sherlock's silence, expecting the detective to be in his mind palace. He didn't expect to find Sherlock in his armchair, staring at the child that was sat in John's armchair. The boy was small and thin, with dark copper hair and with similar features to the Holmes brothers.
"Who's this?" he asked Sherlock, handing him the cup of tea and standing awkwardly.
"This is Edward. He was on the doorstep when I returned from the lab." Sherlock replied, still watching the child.
John saw that Sherlock was going to continue to stare so he moved towards the boy. "Hi Edward. I'm John. How old are you?" he asked with a reassuring smile.
"I'm seven." Edward replied quietly, looking nervously between Sherlock and John.
"How did you get here?" John asked.
"Mummy brought me here to live with my Dad." Edward answered, making John turn to face Sherlock.
"Don't be so ridiculous, John! He's not mine!" Sherlock exclaimed, disgust on his face.
John sighed, "Have you called Mycroft?" he asked.
"Of course not. Why would I want to speak to Mycroft?" Sherlock frowned.
"Well, if he's not yours then he must be Mycroft's." John explained.
"There's no need to be so graphic, John." Sherlock said, picking up his phone and firing off a text to his brother.
"Come on, Edward. Let's get you a drink and a biscuit." John said to the boy, taking his hand and walking with him to the kitchen.
"Are those fingers?" Edward asked, pointing to a jar on the kitchen counter.
"Yes, Sherlock is a scientist of sorts." John replied, moving to hide a jar of eyes behind the microwave.
"What do you want, Sherlock? I hope this is important, I've left a meeting with the Prime Minister to come here." Mycroft said as he stood in the doorway of the living room.
"It's very important, Mycroft." Sherlock replied with a slight smirk, "What have you been up to? I didn't realize that you were such a Casanova, brother."
"A Casanova? How dare you accuse me of such a thing! You know full well that I detest sentiment!" Mycroft snapped at his brother.
"Then how do you explain what's in my kitchen?" Sherlock said.
"What? Don't play games with me, Sherlock. What is your angle?" Mycroft demanded, swinging his umbrella slightly in annoyance.
"Go and look." Sherlock smirked, waving his hand towards the kitchen.
Mycroft glared at his brother but did as he was told, briefly peering around the corner and into the kitchen. He turned back in seconds. "Who an earth is that?" he demanded.
"That's Edward. He's seven and John thinks he's your son." Sherlock replied casually.
Mycroft looked shocked and angry, "I don't have time for your games, Sherlock! Take the boy back to wherever you found him. I have meetings to go to." he hissed, turning to leave.
"Sit down, Mycroft! He was left here on the doorstep! He is either mine or yours. We're going to do a DNA test but I am confident that he is not mine." Sherlock argued against his brother.
"Stop shouting, both of you." John said, walking back into the living room with Edward beside him. The boy looked happier now he'd been given a drink and a biscuit.
Mycroft looked down at the child, examining him curiously. He couldn't deny that he shared facial features with the boy but he had no room in his life for a child.
"Is this going to take long?" Mycroft asked, looking up from his phone. He was sat on a lab stool, watching Molly work on the DNA samples.
"Shut up, Mycroft." Sherlock snapped at his brother as he worked with Molly.
John had taken Edward on a tour of Barts to get him away from the rapidly increasing tension between the two Holmes brothers.
"This is a waste of my time, Sherlock." Mycroft said, "I have meetings to attend."
Sherlock ignored his brother and continued to work with Molly. He laughed when he saw the results.
"What? What are you laughing at?" Mycroft demanded, getting to his feet.
"Congratulations, brother mine. You're a father!" Sherlock laughed as Mycroft stormed over and looked at the results on the screen.
"Take the boy back to Baker Street with you. I have to go." Mycroft said after thoroughly examining the results. He picked up his umbrella and left the lab, appearing to be perfectly calm.
"What are you trying to do?" Mycroft demanded, pushing his way into the house of his ex-secretary, "Why did you leave the boy at Baker Street?"
"He is your son too, Mycroft. I've raised him alone for almost eight years. It's your turn to look after Edward." Maria replied, stepping back to let him in.
"We had an agreement, Maria! We decided all of this when you were three months pregnant! I gave you a large sum and you agreed to raise him alone." Mycroft said in frustration.
"I know what you made me sign!" Maria shouted, "But Edward needs a father! He's like you, he's clever, and I can't challenge him like you could! I can't support him through boarding school and university. I can't give him the networks he needs to succeed!"
"So rather than contact me and have a rational conversation, you decided to dump him on my brother's doorstep!" Mycroft exclaimed.
"How else was I going to get your attention?" Maria said with a sigh, "Look, I'm not trying to get in your way. Honestly, I'm not. I just want the best for our son."
Mycroft sighed, "I don't have time to look after a child." he said.
"Find time. He isn't just a random child, he's your only son. He's the future of the Holmes name." Maria said, pleading with him.
Mycroft nodded a little, "I'll take responsibility for him but we need to look after him equally. I have no time to be a full-time parent." he said.
"Good. That's what I want. He needs to know you, Mycroft." Maria replied with a smile.
"This is the number for my assistant. Call her to begin custody negotiations." Mycroft said, handing her a business card before he left the house.
Mycroft climbed back into his private car and instructed the driver to drive around London for a while so he could form a plan. After almost an hour, Mycroft contacted his assistant for help. He had himself driven to Baker Street to meet with Sherlock, John and Edward. Having the child in his life had come as a shock to Mycroft, as he'd never expected to see his son after he'd paid Maria. He'd raised Sherlock while their parents held down major careers, so he was aware of the conventions of child-rearing, but he hadn't planned to be raising a child as he approached his 50th birthday.
Anthea was already waiting for him on the pavement outside of 221B, holding a large amount of Hamleys carrier bags.
"Exceptional timing as usual, my dear." Mycroft said with a smile as he stepped out of his car, "I can see that you got everything I asked for and more."
"Yes, Sir. I may have let my imagination run a little wild." Anthea replied with a smile, handing him some of the carrier bags. She let herself in to 221B with the key she'd had made for emergencies.
Mycroft followed his assistant up the stairs to his brother's flat. It was completely chaotic, as usual, and Mycroft resisted a shudder at the lack of order. Edward was sat beside Sherlock, watching his experiment intently.
"Edward. I am your father." Mycroft declared, his eyes fixed on his son.
John laughed, making Mycroft turn and frown at him.
"Really? You don't get why it's funny?" John said as he laughed, "You've never seen Star Wars?"
Mycroft shook his head, "Of course not." he replied, turning away from John.
Edward was watching Mycroft with large, frightened eyes. Mycroft was very imposing with his umbrella and his strict three-piece suit. "Dad?" he said, looking at Sherlock for reassurance.
"This is my brother, Mycroft." Sherlock explained to Edward, "I know he looks scary, but he's really just annoying."
"I have gifts for you." Mycroft said, glancing at Anthea. She moved forward and brought some of the Hamleys carrier bags over to where Edward was. Inside were cuddly toys, boardgames and video games. Anthea had gone through each section of the toy store on Regent Street and had done her best to pick out a variety of things. Mycroft stayed on the other side of the room as Edward looked at the gifts, not wanting to interfere or to scare the boy.
"Thank you." Edward said with a smile, looking up and meeting Mycroft's gaze.
"You are very welcome, Edward." Mycroft replied with a nod.
An awkward silence filled 221B as Edward looked through the bags and Mycroft made no move to approach him.
John got to his feet, "Tea?" he asked, breaking the silence.
"Yes, tea." Mycroft agreed, sitting down in John's chair.
"What is your job?" Edward asked Mycroft. He was sat on the floor beside the chair Mycroft was sitting in.
"It's difficult to explain." Mycroft admitted but didn't explain any further.
"Mycroft is a secret agent." Sherlock said.
"Really? A secret agent? Like James Bond?" Edward said excitedly.
"Yes, exactly like James Bond. It's top secret though, so you can't tell anyone. Isn't that right, Mycroft?" Sherlock continued.
"Well, yes, I suppose so." Mycroft agreed with a nod. He clearly wasn't comfortable discussing his work, not wanting the boy to tell people.
"That's so cool! Do you have a gun?" Edward asked.
"Yes, I do have a gun. It's at the office though, so I can't show it to you." Mycroft replied.
"Oh." Edward said, his smile dropping slightly.
"I do have something else that might impress you though." Mycroft said, picking up his trusty umbrella. With a quick twist, Mycroft pulled the handle upwards, revealing that the outside of the umbrella was purely a disguise for a shiny steel sword hidden inside.
"Wow! That's amazing!" Edward gasped, getting to his feet and standing beside Mycroft, examining the sword.
"I didn't see that coming." John chuckled to Sherlock.
"He's traditional. He's never used it, it's just a novelty piece." Sherlock replied to John, watching Mycroft interact with Edward.
"Be careful, the edges are sharp. You can touch the flat surface, but not the edges." Mycroft said, resting the sword over his knees so Edward could look at it and touch it carefully.
"I've only ever seen swords in books. How do you hold it?" Edward asked.
Mycroft got to his feet and held the sword in his left hand whilst he took Edward's right hand and placed it onto the handle. "With this type of sword, you always hold it with both hands. That means you can put your full strength into it." he explained. He was very careful with the sharp blade and put it away as soon as Edward was done examining it.
"I think he'll be a good father." John said quietly as Mycroft discussed the history of swords with Edward.
Sherlock nodded, "He's very knowledgeable. Edward will thrive academically with Mycroft around." he said. It was the nearest thing to a compliment that he could say about his brother.
A/N: I'm considering continuing this or writing a series of one-shots in this AU. Please review and let me know what you think!