Okay, I just wanted to say two things before you read this. 1. Reviews like the one a guest left me are a huge part of the reason I write on this site! Nerdylittlechickwithwings and I agree that that was the best review we've ever gotten. 2. Nerdylittlechickwithwings wouldn't let me write a sex scene since she wants to keep this story rated T so... sorry.

The family and their guest sat down at the table for dinner. "Mrs. Hudson," John began, as he wrapped his fork in spaghetti. "You were quite quiet through all that."

"Oh I didn't want to get in the way of family affairs and all that, dear." Mrs. Hudson put down the rag she had been cleaning with and sat next to Pepper.

"Ah. Understandable." John nodded. The table went silent for a bit, the only sounds being that of the scraping of forks. Then John looked across the table at Sherlock who had his hands steepled under his chin and his eyes shut.

"Sherlock...please eat, love. Its been almost a week since you have had a decent meal." John pleaded with his husband.

"I had toastyesterday morning." Sherlock didn't open his eyes as he responded.

"I said a "decent meal," Sherlock. Toast is not a meal. Now, please, will you just eat your food?" John's voice had a bit of a commanding edge to it and Sherlock opened his eyes to glare at his partner.

"Fine." With a petulant flair, Sherlock picked up his fork and swirled spaghetti around it, sticking it into his mouth before placing the fork back down while still glaring at his husband as if to say "There. I ate some."

John arched an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes. "Eat the food, Sherlock. All of it." He had taken on his army tone now and Sherlock's head shot up to gaze at him. John stared evenly at his lover, causing Sherlock to pick the fork up and quietly begin to eat his food. John gave a small triumphant smile and went back to his own spaghetti.

"Levi," Maddy began. "I am so sorry about my family!" She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hands!" Sherlock called, not looking away from his husband.

"Dad!" Maddy yelled. "I was just-"

"It can lead to worse things!" Sherlock explained. Maddy took her hand off Levi's shoulder.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Levi stood up. "I'm not going to touch your daughter!"

"Are you saying she's un-attractive?!" Sherlock also stood up. He faced Levi.

"No! She's beautiful! It's just..." Levi trailed off in thought for a moment. "I'm only fifteen! And she's only fourteen! And we haven't even been on a date together!"

"Are you a virgin?"

"DAD!" Maddy interjected.

"What?!" Levi asked. "You think I'm not?!"

"Well, you're not to bad to look at!" Sherlock stated. "I'm sure that girls are known to like that. Actually... I know you're a virgin. In fact, I know a lot about you. The way you comb your hair, obviously you live with your mother because a father of a teenage boy wouldn't really worry too much about things like the state of your hair, but the dark circles under your eyes said that you've obviously not been getting much sleep but couple the dark circles with the independent way you do things says you spend a lot of time acting more grown up than you are. You took a cab here, not the usual form of transportation for a young teenage boy, says that your parents obviously consider you responsible enough to do things on your own. Judging by the way you talk to Pepper, always making sure that she is alright and listening to her problems, says that you are used to comforting people. But not only that, you treat her like a little sister even though she is older than you. You do it comfortably, so you have younger siblings yourself. Two at least. Maddy mentioned that your mother recently went back to school, so that leaves you to watch your siblings and do chores and cook."

"How did you know he treats me like a little sister?" Pepper gave her father a confused look.

"I read your texts."

"DAD! What the hell?" Pepper exclaimed angrily.

"Valerie, do not talk to your father that way. We pay for the phone so we can go through it if we want." John gave his daughter a stern look.

"Also, about that Josie girl, you could do better." Sherlock said nonchalantly, waving a hand in his curly haired daughter's direction.

"I agree. She is a total bitch to you." Maddy said to her sister with a sad smile.

"Madison..." John warned in a low tone.

"Sorry, Papa. But its true." Maddy shrugged.

"Wait...your real name is Valerie?" Levi quirked an eyebrow at said girl.

"Yeah. The nickname comes with a long story, I'll tell you some other time." Pepper explained. They all sat in silence for a moment.

"Well..." Levi began. "Now that we've gotten all that out of the way, how about we try actually having dinner?"

"That sounds like a great idea." John smiled. As they began to eat again, Levi noticed that Sherlock was simply staring at him with narrowed eyes. Levi looked at Maddy for clarification.

"He never eats. He says that digestion slows down his thinking." Maddy explained.

"Ah." Levi smiled awkwardly and went back to eating.

After the meal, the family and their guest gathered in the living room to say goodbye to Levi.

"It was nice having you over, Levi." John smiled and shook the boy's hand. Levi smiled back.

"Thanks for having me." Levi replied.

"Oh, it was great meeting you!" Mrs. Hudson hugged Levi. "Maddy has taken quite a liking to you. Treat her well." Levi broke from the hug and laughed quietly.

Levi held out his hand towards Sherlock for a handshake. Arms crossed on his chest, Sherlock glared at him.

"Sherlock..." John warned, placing a hand on his husband's shoulder. "Be nice to this poor boy. Haven't you put him through enough for one night?"

Sherlock sighed and shook Levi's hand. "Goodbye." He said, gesturing to the door.

Before leaving, Levi hugged Pepper and Maddy. "See you guys tomorrow." He said on his way out.

"Bye!" Maddy and Pepper replied.

"He seems like a really nice boy, Maddy." John looked at his daughter.

"Yes. Not one thing I could use against him... damn!" Sherlock paused in thought for a moment. "Everyone to their rooms. I need to think!" He put his hands together by his chin as if he were praying.

"Okay. I love you daddy." Pepper stretched out her arms for a hug.

"Out!" Sherlock yelled. Maddy and Pepper quickly ran to their room.

"Sherlock!" John yelled. "Your daughter wanted a hug! You know how her mind gets at night!"

"Please," Sherlock began, his eyes closed as he thought something over. "She was fine a minute ago."

"That doesn't mean she is now!" John explained to his partner. "Her Schizophrenia is un-predictable and seemingly random sometimes, Sherlock! You know that!" Sherlock tried to ignore the fact that his daughter needed him. "And you also know that it's worse at night!"

Sherlock sighed and opened his eyes. "And just how do you know she is having issues at the moment?" He asked sternly.

"Because when her mind is clear and working, doesn't she know better than to try and hug you when you're thinking?" John answered. He grabbed Sherlock's hand. "She responds better to you than me when this happens. Go talk to her." Sherlock paused and looked at his husband before he took his hand from John's and began walking towards Maddy and Pepper's room. "Or, at least hug her!" John called softly after him.

Sherlock slowly and quietly opened the bedroom door. Maddy had Pepper wrappped up in her arms and they were sitting on Maddy's bed. Pepper was saying something, but her voice was so quiet and cracked that Sherlock couldn't quite make out what she was saying.

"Shhh" Maddy gently sushed her sister. "You're alright."

Pepper seemed to have almost no idea what Maddy was saying, her eyes gazing blankly at the wall.

Sherlock stood in the doorway and watched his daughters. After a good half an hour or so, Pepper calmed down and Maddy let go of her. She had tear stains on her face and her eyes were watery. Before Pepper could turn around and see Sherlock, Maddy glared softly at her Dad, a bit of her Papa's anger showing in her blue eyes. Sherlock, not knowing what else to do, closed the door and met John in their room.

"Well?" John looked up from his laptop and upon seeing his husband's blank face, shut it softly, placing it on the bedside table and holding out his arms.

Without a word, Sherlock stripped down to his pants and climbed under the covers next to John.

John reached over and turned off the bedside lamp before laying down and allowing his husband to snuggle against his chest, wrapping an arm around him once he was situated.

After a few moments of silence that seemed like ages, Sherlock spoke.

"I'm not fit to be a parent, John." His voice made it seem as if he was simply stating fact.

"You have been a parent for sixteen years, Sherlock, and a damn good one in my opinion." John carded his fingers through his partner's curly tresses and waited for him to respond.

"I cannot even comfort my daughter when her schizophrenia acts up. What does that say about me?" Sherlock's voice was still emotionless as he spoke.

"Well, for one, you have comforted her when it acts up, many times in fact, if not all of the previous times. Two, you're only human, Sherlock. Humans make mistakes. It doesn't make you a bad father." John murmured.

Sherlock lifted his head to look his husband in the eyes. John stared back for a moment, searchingly, before sighing.

"Oh Sherlock..." With a slight tug, John had his arms wrapped around his husband, whose face was now buried in John's neck as his body began to shake slightly.

"Shh... We knew that the potential of all this was there, Sherlock. We had both of the surrogates tested and Mycroft ran extensive background checks and pulled family history records. Pepper's biological grandmother had schizophrenia. We knew that there was at least a ten percent chance of her getting it. We prepared for this. What has got you so wound up about it now?" John stroked Sherlock's back and held him tightly as he felt warm liquid begin to soak into the shoulder of his shirt.

In a muffled voice, Sherlock answered.

"I am not used to this, John. This...stress and worry. I don't like it. Her schizophrenia has been getting worse and her episodes are happening more often... And then what about Maddy? I can barely work a simple case anymore, John. My mind is so distracted by worrying about the girls. I'm not saying that they are causing me problems because it isn't their fault. I'm simply not used to...caring this much."

John thought for a moment before he spoke.

"Sherlock...look at me," Sherlock lifted his head slightly, looking at his partner with red rimmed eyes.

"We can do this. We have been raising these girls for a long time and we can't begin to worry about that now. The time for that is over. I know you hate not knowing what to do. And you dislike being distracted and you still don't completely understand sentiment but... Sherlock, you are a good man. You have a heart and you are a damn good father. A bit of an unorthodox one but thats just fine. And sure, our girls have a few issues. But doesn't everyone? A diagnosis does not define you as a person and I'm a doctor so I would know. I love you, Sherlock and so do our daughters. We love you very much and wouldn't trade you for the world." John finished fiercely.

Sherlock paused and gave a small sniffle. "Maddy glared at me when I went in there. She has your glare, John. A glare that I seem to find myself at the receiving end of quite often, considering there is now two people to deliver it." Sherlock mused.

John gave a soft giggle and smoothed Sherlock's hair back from his face.

"Yes, she does have a good glare, doesn't she? But don't worry, Sherlock. She wasn't mad at you. Just worried about her sister."

"Hmm...yes that is most likely." He paused. "John?" He inquired, laying his head back down onto his husband's chest.

"Hmm?"

"Remember when we pulled the girls out of school yesterday?" Sherlock cuddled closer to his husband, hitching a leg over his hip.

"Yes...?" John trailed off, unsure of where this was going.

"And I wanted to go to the crime scene and solve that case Lestrade had called us with?"

"Uh huh. Continue." John had a feeling he wasn't going to like where this was going.

"Well... I did that because I knew the case would distract you and make you forget the fact that the girls had very important appointments with the psychiatrist that is why we pulled them out in the first place but you forgot and by the time we got done, you were tired and we had already missed the appointments so I felt no need to tell you." Sherlock finished quickly and waited with baited breath for his lover's reaction.

John paused a moment before a giggle slipped through his lips. Then it turned into a full out chuckle before he was laughing uncontrollably and his whole upper body was shaking. Sherlock raised his head and quirked an eyebrow at John's reaction.

"Oh lord. Sherlock, I didn't forget. I knew you didn't want to go because you would be bored and I knew that the girls would hate the stuffy old man that Mycroft hired. I let you have your fun with the girls at the crime scene because I know you enjoy teaching them and showing off in front of them, just like you do with me. Plus, it's almost the end of the year so I figured the girls could afford a little hooky." John smiled at his husband. "The fact that you sounded so worried is what made me laugh. I don't know what you're afraid of."

"Oh. Well, I was not afraid of anything. I simply did not wish to anger you." Sherlock looked away defiantly. "That was all."

John snorted. "Oh please, Sherlock. Don't lie. What, were you afraid I was going to withhold sex?" John giggled at the notion but noticed that Sherlock stayed silent and his cheeks flushed.

"Oh my god. You were, weren't you?" John exclaimed.

Sherlock sniffed and avoided his husband's eyes. "I was not."

"Oh there is no sense in arguing with you right now. Come here." With a smug smile, John tangled his fingers in Sherlock's curly hair before rolling over so he was atop his husband, and smashing their lips together in a frenzied kiss.

CUT! NO SEXY SCENES! SORRY FOLKS! XD