A/N: Well here is chapter three, it was a though one to write but I hope it will do.
this is properly filled with grammatical errors and a thousand spelling errors but this is my petproject which I cannot be patient enough to do with a beta.
might have it betaed at some point you never know.
I would dearly love it if you would tell me what you'd think of it
enjoy!
Mycroft looked at his watch; it was 4 in the morning. He locked himself silently inside the flat and tiptoed across the apartment. He went into the master bedroom but stopped dead as he realised the light was on and Greg was sitting by the window.
"Something the matter love?" Mycroft removed his tie and walked over to his husband.
"I, I don't know" Greg sighed and Mycroft caressed Greg's silver hair.
"Tell me" Mycroft kissed the top of Greg's head.
"It's Nora, I tucked her in, said goodnight and as I was leaving the room she" Greg sighed deeply ad buried his face in his hands "She called me dad" Mycroft's hand stopped in Greg's hair and travelled to his shoulders.
"How do you feel about that?" Mycroft caressed Greg's shoulder
"I don't know Myc, we are just a temporary solution, she wasn't supposed to bond to us like that, but now" Greg shook his head and Mycroft spoke
"But now you might want more than a temporary solution?" Greg sighed and lifted his face from his hands.
"I know we've been over the whole issue of having or not having kids Mycroft but this poor girl has been through enough disappointing adults and unsteadiness" Greg buried his face in his hands once againMycroft kneeled in front of him.
"Greg, IF and only if we are thinking of taking the girl in, it should not just be because of pity for her, she would not be any better off with that" Mycroft placed his hands on his husbands knees.
"I know, but after spending these days with her I think that it might feel strange not to have her here anymore, I know you said you weren't interested in being a parent and I thought I wasn't either, I sort of gave up the whole idea when Jules found out she had PCOS" Greg sighed and caressed Mycroft's hands.
"I had an idea, while at work; what if I called in some favours at the social services and grant us approval for us to become a legal foster family, we could try with Nora and see how it works out, for all three of us?" Mycroft looked down at their joint hands but Greg lifted one up to cup Mycroft's chin.
"You... you would do that... for me?" Greg smiled and a single tear rolled down his cheek
"For you my dear I would do anything, but you are not the only one who have had these thoughts, I've never been good with children, even when Sherlock was a child I did not know how to cope with him, but somehow it is very different with Nora, she doesn't seem to fear me as other children have, she is mature and clever for her age, I want to give this a try too Gregory" Mycroft caressed Greg's arm. Greg smiled as he leapt up and crashed his lips to his husbands.
"I take it as a yes? Shall I call in the favour?" Mycroft said between kisses. Greg only replied with a nod and pushed Mycroft onto the bed.
The next morning the woke up to a knock on their bedroom door, Greg looked up and saw Nora standing there, book under her arm and a disapproving look on her face
"Are you to going to sleep the entire day away?" She said in a strict voice
"Hey you are supposed to be the kid, not the grown up give us ten minutes and I'll come and make breakfast" Greg said to her, Nora smiled and walked off towards the Library. Greg looked over at Mycroft and smiled
"Perhaps she is right, now I am in dire need of a shower, cared to join me Oh husband of mine?" Greg caressed Mycroft's chest
oOo
Fifteen minutes later Greg was making scrambled eggs and toast, Mycroft was reading Emails on his Blackberry and Nora was reading Northanger Abbey since she finished Sense and Sensibility that very morning.
"Everybody books and phones away, breakfast is ready" Greg placed three heaped plates of food onto the table and sat down.
"More like brunch since it's almost eleven now" Nora giggled
"pfft minor detail" Greg winked at her, Mycroft looked to Greg and smiled. They ate and talked for a while before Greg's phone rang.
"Oh what now, I am on leave!" Greg grumbled and picked up the phone
"Lestrade... I see... But... yes Chief" Greg sighed and hung up.
"Nora would you be so kind to clear the table while I talk to Mycroft about some boring grown up stuff" Greg forced a smile to the girl
"Of course" Nora smiled and started to clear the table, Greg ushered Mycroft into the study and closed the door.
"They've found a family for her, the Chief Superintendent just called, they are expecting me to drop her off in an hour" Greg's voice cracked and he buried his face in his hands.
"I will deal with this, go out to Nora and I'll see what I can do" Mycroft squeezed Greg's arm before he swiftly picked up his Blackberry and rang someone up.
"This is Holmes, I need to call in the favour you owe me Davi..." Greg closed the door before hearing any more of the conversation. Nora looked up from her book, worry leaking out of her eyes.
"Is there something wrong, have... have I done something wrong?" Nora's eyes were wide.
"Oh my dear girl you can't do anything wrong, come here" Greg crouched down, ignoring the slight pain in his back and beckoned Nora to him; Nora dropped the book on the chair and ran over to Greg and into his open arms. Greg hugged her and caressed her back while she had her arms around his neck. Nora bit her lip, looked down but spoke in almost a whisper
"Greg can I ask you something?" Nora looked up with shining hazel eyes.
"Anything my dear" Greg smiled reassuringly
"Why haven't you and Mycroft any children?" Nora asked, head askew. Greg cleared his throat
"Well, uhm, we met late in life and uhm we both had very busy work schedules until a few weeks ago when I got injured at work" At the word injured Nora's eyes went wide with fear "I didn't get seriously hurt, just the downside of being an old man" Greg smiled at her
"You are not an old man!" Nora pouted. Before Greg could retort, Mycroft opened the study door. Greg let go of Nora and rose to look at his husband. Mycroft walked over to Nora and crouched down
"Nora, we all need to head out in a little while would you please go and change" Mycroft caressed her auburn hair and Nora walked over to the guest room, when the two men heard the door close Greg turned to Mycroft.
"Well?"
"The request is pending at the moment, there was nothing they could do immediately, I am sure the procedure is sped up but if we do not return Nora to the Yard we will be reported for kidnapping" Mycroft sighed and hugged his husband "But it is not a lost cause yet"
Nora walked over to the two men, dressed in her red jeans and the Harry Potter print t-shirt, she had put her messy hair into a high ponytail, Mycroft smiled at her.
"Don't you look nice my dear, now let us get our coats on" Greg walked over and grabbed Nora's new long grey trench coat. A sleek black car was already waiting outside the house; they all got in and rode in silence.
As they walked of the car onto the pavement Nora pushed between Mycroft and Greg, grabbing their hands and smiled big. Greg's heart broke a little for in that moment he knew that walking like this, with Nora in between them, felt like it was something he had never known he needed.
When Nora saw where they were she stopped dead.
"No please, I don't want to go in there" Greg crouched down and embraced Nora
"Hush now love, nobody is going to hurt you in there, Mycroft and I need to have a chat with my boss about something and we couldn't just leave you home now could we?" Greg tried to smile reassuringly but he still felt Nora's reluctance.
They went to one of the meeting rooms where The CS, a Children's Services agent and a unknown woman was waiting for them
"Lestrade" the CS greeted them angrily.
"Sir" Lestrade greeted back.
The lady stood up and walked over to Nora
"Hello there, you must be Jessica, I am Helen" The lady reached out her hand, Nora stepped back and stood behind Mycroft, hanging on to him for dear life.
"I am not Jessica anymore, I am Nora now" Helen looked over at Rita the Children's Services agent.
Rita rose and said in a disapproving tone
"Well, Mr Lestrade, Mr Holmes, thank you for taking care of Jess.. I mean Nora, I can take it from here. We will no longer inconvenience you" Rita reached for Nora but Nora grabbed harder onto Mycroft.
"NO" Nora yelled.
"But my dear we have found you a family, where you can live, and have a mom and a dad" Rita spoke in a very would- be-calm voice.
"I don't want it, they will just hit me like they old ones did or tell me what I can't do like the ones before them, I want to stay with Mycroft and Greg, they are nice to me, they do not tell me what I cannot do just because I am a girl, they let me read books and help with the cooking, they are nice to me!" Nora yelled at Rita.
"But my dear you cannot stay with them, they are not proper parents, you need to go to a place with a mother and a father who can look after you properly" Rita said, now clearly irritated
"Why are they not proper parents? They are married, they have a house, and they have jobs like other parents do?" Nora looked quizzically up at Mycroft and Greg, trying to see what exactly made them not like regular parents.
Rita huffed and said "My dear in a few years you will need a mother because of the changes your body will go through"
"If you mean puberty and menstruation and such we have been taught an awful lot about it at school" Nora was clearly crying but strong as she is, she was fighting back the tears but she continued "Is it because they are both men?"
"Really Jessica that's enough" Rita snapped at the girl
Greg, without thinking, hunched down and embraced the distressed girl.
"That's enough, Ms Singh; don't you think the poor girl has been through enough?" Greg hissed at the woman and Nora, who had succumbed to the tears, were crying into Greg's shoulder
Mycroft, now free of the iron grasp of the girl walked over in his best intimidating Holmes fashion and said to the woman
"I would like to have a word with your superior, phone him up and tell him that Mycroft Holmes would like a word" Mycroft said in an aggravated tone
"Who do you think you are Mister Holmes?" Rita huffed at him, Mycroft withdrew his government badge and showed it to her, her face went white and she, with a quivering hand withdrew her phone.
"Mr Grant, its Rita Singh I am on the Jefferson case, there is a bit of difficulty... yes... I know Sir but... I have a Mycroft Holmes here who would like to talk to you..." Rita handed over her phone to Mycroft and Mycroft answered it
"Mr Grant, this is Mycroft Holmes speaking, I believe a priority request came by your office this morning from up stairs, I would very much like it if you would look it over and perhaps tell me what you think if it, yes I will hold" The whole room watched silently as Mycroft held the phone quietly, the only noise was the silent sobs coming from Greg's shoulder where he was holding Nora still.
"Ah good, I see you agree with me that this request must be approved immediately before any more strain is put on the child in question, glad to know we see eye to eye Mr Grant, have a nice day" Mycroft handed the phone back to Rita and she answered it.
"Yes... right... but... okay Sir...very well Sir... will do Sir..." Rita withdrew the phone from her ear and pocketed it again, she turned to the CS and Helen and said
"There seems to have been a misunderstanding Mrs McCrawly, the request of fostering Jessica Jefferson has been appointed to these two gentlemen, I am sorry for your inconvenience" Rita grabbed her back and ushered Mrs McCrawly out of the room. The CS turned to look at Greg, Greg could feel the impending rage explosion coming up but Mycroft started to speak.
"Chief Superintendent, I am glad to see that this poor girl will not be neglected by the state once again and I congratulate you on solving this as quickly as it was done, now I hope that the pending request of Gregory's temporary leave that will land on your desk will be granted immediately so we can get Nora properly settled in her new home" Mycroft stretched his hand to the CS, who was completely gobsmacked at this point merely nodded and shook the hand.
Nora walked up to Mycroft and asked
"Is... is it true, can I stay, with you?" Nora's puffy red eyes pierced Mycroft's grey ones.
"As long as you wish my dear" Mycroft smiled as he crouched down to hug the girl, Nora pushed herself into Mycroft's arms and gave him a bone crushing hug which Greg joined in.
"Now shall we go come and plan how to decorate your room my dear?" Mycroft stoked Nora's cheek
"Yes please" Nora sighed in relief.
A/N: PCOS is Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome which can lead to infertility, for you who do not know what it is.