Author's Note:
I am doing an utterly horrible job at keeping this updated. My thanks for being patient!
John followed after Sherlock as he continued to hold Amy, rocking her without a thought to his actions. The little girl had been sleeping a lot more recently and he had a feeling she was still suffering from jetlag. Hell, she was used to taking multiple naps a day anyway. "Are you excited, Thomas?" He asked softly as he started following the tour guide who was talking about what Ellis Island was like for those who first arrived.
Sherlock had never been on a guided tour, so he just shuffled along a bit awkwardly and quietly. He took a few moments to actually look at things that might actually be interesting from to time to time or if Thomas seemed interested in something.
Thomas nodded. "Dad, shh I am trying to listen." Once more he tugged on his Daddy so they could be closer to the front and he could hear the tour guide better.
John smiled just a bit down at Thomas and then looked down at Amy in his arms as she finally woke up. "Look Amy, we are at Ellis Island," he said as he gently ran a hand through her hair. "And Thomas is having a lot of fun."
Right away Amy's eyes went wide and she looked around, clearly able to wake up far faster because now something interesting was happening. Everything captured her attention and she just stared at everything they passed, holding tightly on to John in the process.
Sherlock smirked at John when their son shushed him. He continued to be quiet, only really half listening because he pretty much knew everything anyway. The problem with being a genius was most things weren't new information. Admittedly he was bored but he had figured he would be. He had come simply so his family could enjoy the sights.
Thomas was listening and looking at everything, his eyes wide still. He was learning a lot of things he was certain he would never learn in school and the best part was there wasn't other kids around to make fun of him for it.
John didn't miss his husband's smirk and couldn't help but return it. Without a thought he moved and gently bumped his hip against Sherlock's. "You're doing wonderful," he said softly. It was clear that his husband was more bored than anything but the fact that he was doing it for the kids was endearing.
Amy kept herself pressed tightly against John while they walked around everywhere. While most of the stuff made no sense to her she knew it was important mainly because Thomas was enjoying all of it. Occasionally she would whisper a question in John's ear and he would quietly answer it.
"It's because I am amazing and perfect." Sherlock smirked at John again. And here came the damn headache. He knew it was only a matter of time until it happened. He dug into the bag and took two aspirin, dry when he didn't think anyone in the family was looking. He didn't want to worry them.
Thomas just continued to stare in amazement, occasionally going 'shh' when he heard another family member speak. He didn't want to miss anything being said.
Thomas was very determined to learn everything he could. John just smiled but it vanished right when he noticed that Sherlock was taking something for what could only be a headache. The rest of the day was going to be hell for him now but John was determined to make it as good as possible. "D'you need anything else?"
Amy took after her older brother right away, letting out a soft 'shhh' to make sure that Thomas could learn everything that he could. All that she really started paying attention to was the pictures.
Damn it. John would notice. "I'm fine Love." Sherlock made sure to whisper, to avoid being hushed by their children. He gave his husband a small, reassuring smile. The tour ended and they were free to look around the place. "Anything you want to go see Thomas?"
Thomas looked around uncertainly for a moment before he began dragging his Daddy with to the gift shop. "Can we get something? So we can put other things in the scrapbook with the pictures?"
John only had time to nod in response to Sherlock's answer before he was following his husband toward the gift shop. He imagined they had money in their budget for something like that but it was definitely be up to Sherlock and not him. "Do we have money for it?" He asked softly.
Amy's eyes went wide the moment she realized they were in a place with stuffed animals. Right away her attention was drawn to a clearly cheap stuffed dog and she reached out from John's arms and snatched it up. "I wants this," she declared as she looked at John and Sherlock expectantly.
Sherlock smiled at John and nodded. "Plenty, trust me. We should have more than enough money to last us this whole holiday. No worries about anything. All right Baby Girl. What do you want Thomas?" With both his parents dead he had inherited quite a bit of money. He hadn't touched any of it yet though and he didn't really plan to even while on holiday but it was there just in case. Really, they were probably financially set for the rest of their lives but he just wasn't ready to give up being a consulting detective yet.
Thomas looked around the store. He picked up a few things but then put them back. He settled for a key chain of the Statue of Liberty. "I want this Daddy!" He held it up to Sherlock.
Both of their children seemed so utterly happy with the littlest things and John counted himself lucky for that fact. With a soft smile he gently took the stuffed dog and handed it to his husband so it could be purchased. At least they were set financially for this entire holiday. It was exactly what they needed and he knew that the children were definitely enjoying their break.
Amy looked at what Thomas had picked out before gazing up at John. Without a thought she twisted in his arms and snatched up a notebook, holding it up with a smile. On the front was a picture of Ellis Island when it was first built. "Gives this to 'Mas, Dada, so's he can uses it as a new journal." When John took it and offered it to Thomas, Amy smiled from ear to ear.
Sherlock smiled at their children's simple choices. Thomas and Amy had never really wanted extravagant things. He smiled at little Sandi's idea for the boy and took it as well. She was always looking out for her brother and vice versa. They were certainly lucky with their children.
Thomas frowned a bit. He hadn't realized Amy new about his journal. He had tried to hide it from her. His parents knew already so supposed it wasn't that big of a deal. He blushed a bit and shrugged. He didn't want to argue and merely nodded.
John stood beside his husband while all of the items were purchased, a smile on his face as he held Amy close to him. "Very good choice for your brother," he said to her with a small nod. "I think he will like that very much." One hand moved to gently rest on Sherlock's shoulder and massage gently at the muscle there.
Amy nodded in agreement before smiling down at Thomas. "I thinks you will likes it, 'Mas. And maybes you could writes stories in that one." She looked at him curiously, tilting her head slightly to the side before reaching a hand out for him to grab for some sort of reassurance.
Sherlock relaxed into John's touch instantly. He put the items in the bag he carried, so he wouldn't have too many things in his hands. "You can have your things when we get back to the hotel, that way we don't have to worry about accidentally losing something." He smiled at his children. "Did you want to see anything else Thomas? Or are your ready to go see the Statue of Liberty?"
Thomas smiled at Amy and took her hand. "Thank Sis." He looked up to his Daddy. "Statue of Liberty!" He bounced a little at the thought. There was so much to see and do in America.
And off they went to yet another place, something that clearly excited both of their children. John smiled warmly at his husband as he stood beside him, looking down at Thomas happily. "Then we will get going, won't we?" He bounced Amy slightly in his arms before smiling warmly at their daughter and holding her close.
Amy looked down at Thomas and easily returned the smile before burrowing her head into John's chest. Without getting cranky she was signaling that it was definitely nap time.
Sherlock nodded. "Dinner after the Statue of Liberty." Shit. He had forgotten to look up posh restaurants for them to eat at. They still had another ferry ride for him to look then. He stopped when Thomas asked to take a picture of Ellis Island before leaving the place. The children were a bit tired from the day, so he led them into the closed in area on the first deck. He held Thomas in his lap, the boy falling asleep against his chest almost instantly.
The children were fast asleep already and John could do nothing more than smile. "We've got rather amazing children, haven't we?" Without a thought one hand lifted up to gently run through Amy's blonde hair. Everyday he realized that she started looking more and more like a Watson and it worried him. Nobody should be doomed with his looks. "D'you think Thomas...looks like him?"
Sherlock raised his eyebrows in surprise. He wasn't expecting that question by any means. He glanced down to look at Thomas. "He has his eyes," he muttered with a slight shrug. "Other than that, not really." Thomas wasn't anything like Moriarty, personality-wise. He supposed that could change, the boy was still pretty young. He hoped their son didn't change too much while growing up, because the boy was a sweet kid.
That alone made a shiver run down his spine and John could only stare at the boy wrapped in Sherlock's arms. "He's so sweet and innocent," he murmured as he licked his lips and looked down at Amy. "I just never want anything to happen to him, Sherlock. I'm so scared." He thought about losing the boy every day and he hated that sometimes it completely consumed his thoughts.
"He is a good boy." Sherlock nodded a bit and looked to Thomas with a small smile. It faded into a frown at what John said. "I worry about him too. Both of them, really. Constantly. But we are doing the best we can for them. To keep them safe and bringing them up the best way we know how." He gave his husband a reassuring smile. "Everything will work out, you'll see." Sometimes it took awhile, but in the end things always seemed to turn out all right in the end.
Everything would work out. Hearing those words from Sherlock instantly made John calm and he could do nothing more than smile at the man. "Of course it will," he replied with nod. "I've got you at my side, how could it not?" And those words were completely true because his husband was absolutely amazing and always would be. "I'll always have you and know that I'm going to be just fine."
Sherlock smiled. "Of course and I'll always have you." He pulled out his mobile and began to search through five and four star restaurants. "A lot of the posh places are French cuisine. Would you rather have something American?" Hopefully John wouldn't mind the change in subject, because he didn't want to start worrying about the future for the children. It would probably just make his headache worse.
"I don't mind at all," John said with a gentle smile. The change of subject wasn't bad at all and he simply went along with it. "I've not been to France much as it is so as long as you don't feed me snails I think I'll be just fine." A soft chuckle escaped his mouth and he leaned to the side to place a small kiss on Sherlock's cheek. Maybe that would help keep the situation between them as calm as possible.
Sherlock frowned. A lot of the restaurants he was looking at weren't very children friendly. He continued scrolling, trying to find something. "How about an Irish Pub, it has four stars. It's called Lillie's." He handed the mobile over to John to take a look at it, to see what his husband thought of the place.
John gently took the phone and squinted his eyes to look at the screen a little better. "Looks good," he said with a nod, glancing over at his husband. "I'm sure they've got some hamburgers for Thomas and something we could cut up for Amy." Their daughter had taken to rather enjoying red meat and he knew he might be able to get a small cut of hamburger to break up and just feed to her.
Sherlock took his mobile back, and took a moment to memorize the street address and the surrounding area map before putting it back in his pocket. The ferry came to stop in front of the Statue of Liberty. They would be able to tour it and then go back to the mainland. He got up carefully, so as not to wake Thomas. They could just take a lot of pictures if the children continued to sleep.
John easily followed his husband as they got off the ferry, looking over at Thomas with a gentle smile. "You might want to wake him up or we will never hear the end of it," he murmured with a wink. An upset Thomas was definitely something he didn't want to have to deal with that night. It would horrible. "If it's only for a few minutes, y'know? It'll make his life."
Sherlock smirked at John. Of course his husband was right. "Hey T.C. wake up Son. We are here." He gently shook the boy. There was groan of discomfort and Thomas buried his face deeper into his chest. "Don't you want to see the Statue of Liberty?"
Thomas groaned again but his eyes slowly opened. He shifted so he could see the big green statue. "Pictures?" He asked sleepily. He clung to his Daddy still, too tired to try and walk around again.
There was their little boy. Despite how tired Thomas was John could do nothing more than smile as the boy asked for a picture. Without a thought he easily grabbed the camera from Sherlock's bag and snapped a picture of the statute followed by one of Thomas clinging to Sherlock with quite the tired look on his face. That was quite the picture.
Amy shifted in his arms, looked up on the statue with a yawn, and the smiled up at John. "She is pretty," she whispered before curling back up against him and gazing at her older brother. "I likes it. We should gets one in London." And with that she fell right back asleep.
Sherlock couldn't help but smirk when John took their picture. "We can't go in it, because it is closed. Do you have any questions about it Thomas?" He turned his attention their son.
Thomas shook his head. "Too tired." He leaned back into his Daddy and fell back asleep.
John grinned happily as both of their children fell back asleep, raising an eyebrow toward his husband with a smile. They definitely had the best children in the world and he was completely sure of that. They both simply slept whenever they fancied and hardly cried, screamed, or did anything horrid in public. "Should we still take them to dinner or wait until they wake up?"
Sherlock went back to the ferry and sat down inside again. "Well, by the time we get there they might be awake. I don't think we need to change for an Irish Pub." He smirked a bit at John. "I was thinking Central Park tomorrow. Little Sandi would like that, yeah?"
John simply nodded in agreement as he looked down at their sleeping daughter, his eyes soft. "She would love that. Feeding the ducks and all. God, they're having the time of their lives, aren't they?" With that thought he turned and met Sherlock's lips in a simple kiss. "Thank you so much."
Sherlock smiled as he returned the kiss. "Of course Love. I hope they are enjoying themselves. I think they are." He glanced at each of their children. "I'm glad we came. It is what we all needed." Even though he had never really taken a holiday before, it was nice to get out of London and just spend time with the family.
"If we are making them this tired then they definitely are," John replied with a laugh. It caused Amy to stir slightly but she easily fell back asleep against her Dada's chest. "It has helped you, too. I think this was exactly what you needed. Granted, no cases, but you are being a fantastic family man and I couldn't have asked for more."
Sherlock smirked. "It is because I am amazing and perfect. How many times do I need to remind you of that?" He smirked again. "I am hoping you are enjoying the holiday as well?" The ferry came to a stop again, and he got up and made the way to their car. He put Thomas in the vehicle gently before getting in himself.
Once Amy was in her car seat John made it into the passenger seat, setting his hand on Sherlock's knee out of pure habit. "I am having the time of my life," he replied with a gentle smile, biting his bottom lip to suppress the idiotic smile that threatened to break through on his lips. "And being with you and the kids is making it far better."
Sherlock smiled. "Good, I'm glad." He had been worried about John but his husband seemed to be doing better now. He started up the car and began driving the city streets effortlessly. It was easy for him to visualize New York City in his head and map out the best route to get there. The traffic was about what he expected, but at least they didn't have to stop completely.
Watching his husband drive through a new city with ease was a bit of a turn on for John but he suppressed that urge easily with their kids in the back of the car. He watched everything pass them with a soft smile, glad that he had a husband that could do so much. "I love you," he whispered softly without turning to look at his husband.
Sherlock smirked. "I love you too." He drove quietly for a moment before speaking again. "Do you want me to teach you how to drive in America? It really isn't that difficult to learn. I bet you would be almost as fantastic at it as I am. Remember when I taught you to dance for our wedding? How horrible you were? But now you are rather good at it."
Right away John shook his head, chuckling a bit before looking back to make sure the children were all right. All he could do was continue to shake his head. "I would kill somebody, ruin the car...I dunno, maybe yell at people." It was just a horrid idea all around and he wasn't going to risk it at all.
"I wasn't going to teach you to drive on a road John." Sherlock smirked a bit. "What about an empty parking lot?" He glanced over to his husband briefly before looking back to the road in front of them. With all the traffic and pedestrians, it wasn't wise to take his eyes off the road for long periods of time.
As much as the idea did fancy him in a small way he knew they would hardly find the time. There was nowhere to put the kids for that amount of time and John wanted to be a responsible parent. "If there's time for us to put the kids somewhere then I will. I don't want to do that with the kids in the car." They'd probably find it beyond entertaining, though, but he also didn't want to risk hurting them.
Sherlock nodded. "That makes sense." Finally they reached the restaurant, but he had to loop around to find a parking spot about a block away. He glanced into the rear view mirror, the children were still asleep. Should they wait a bit or just wake them up?
When the car stopped John looked back at the kids, smiling just a bit as he looked at them. "Well we can't just leave them," he joked with a smile before leaning over and gently meeting his husband's lips. They hardly had time to themselves on holiday and he hated it but this was a quiet moment. Definitely time to take advantage of it.
Sherlock smiled and returned the kiss. It hadn't been what he expected but he certainly wasn't going to argue with it either. He unfastened his seat belt and turned so he could kiss John again, this time a little more fully. They couldn't do much else but snog and he was all right with that.
More kissing was definitely just fine and John eagerly started to return it, meeting the man's lips with a soft noise. Nothing more or he knew the kids would wake up. That wouldn't be good. When he finally needed a breath he pulled away and simply smiled, looking at the man happily. "I love you," he whispered with a small blush.
Sherlock smiled again. "I love you too." He glanced back at the children. Still sleeping. He turned back to John for another kiss, this one lasting a bit longer than the others. "Do you think we should wake them?"
When the second kiss ended John let out a soft and happy sigh, looking back at them with a smile. It was absolutely amazing to see them sleeping like that, so unaware of the world happening around them. "When you look at Amy do you see her as your daughter?" It worried him constantly that his husband saw the little girl as nothing more than John's child that he was forced to take care of.
What? How could John possibly think that after everything he had done for them? Sherlock loved little Sandi to the point that it hurt and he wasn't sure how that was possible but he'd do anything in the world for her. "Of course I do." The question hurt a bit and he wondered if maybe he just hadn't done enough as a father. He had never really thought he was good at it anyway.
Shit. Shit. John looked up at his husband and rested a hand on the man's cheek before shaking his head. "No, that's not what I meant," he murmured with a furious blush. "I mean that sometimes I feel guilty because you have done so much for her." He leaned forward and gave Sherlock a quick kiss. "And I love that you've done so much for her because you have been the perfect father."
Right. Sherlock pulled away from the kiss. He wasn't up for snogging anymore. The question had upset him more than it probably should. "Let's just get dinner," he muttered and got out of the car. He managed not to slam the door. Damn it. Were they fighting while on holiday? In front of their children? He was still a childish idiot, wasn't he? He sighed and leaned against the vehicle.
Bloody wonderful. John let out a soft sigh and buried his head in his hands before getting out of the car himself and gently shutting the door. The children would sleep for a while more and he knew it. Right now he and Sherlock definitely needed to talk. "Look," he whispered as he walked around to the other side of the car. "It was a question. I'm not calling out your parenting skills, all right? But there isn't a day that goes buy when I don't feel guilty about all of this. It isn't that I think you're a horrible father or that I hate her or hate you raising her. I feel bad that it happened and that I put you in this situation simply because you forced yourself to change so much. It wasn't a bloody insult!"
Sherlock frowned at John shouting at him. "It isn't about that." He sighed again, gaze averted to the ground. "I thought you were questioning my love for her." His lifted his head to look up his husband, a frown on his lips. He shrugged a bit because he didn't know what else to say.
The silence around them made John visibly wince. Fantastic. How he looked like an arse. "I would never do that," he whispered softly, his voice breaking just a bit. "Sherlock, you love her so much and when I see you two together I know that she has made your whole life. God, you love her so much and I would never question that, I swear."
Sherlock moved and wrapped his arms around John in a hug. "It's fine. I just over thought it, I guess." He didn't want to fight and it looked like it had been avoided now. "I love you." He pulled away from the hug to give his husband a quick kiss on the lips.
There. Crisis averted. A soft smile tugged at John's lips as he returned the quick kiss, gazing up at his husband warmly. "I probably should have worded the question better," he murmured with a soft shrug. "I love you, too," he added happily. It was still a shock to this day that he got to tell that to Sherlock and he still sent twists through his stomach.
Sherlock kept his arms wrapped John and rested his chin on top of his husband's head. "It is fine. I should have known better." He was quiet a moment as he continued to hold John. "Do you think I'm a good father?" The words were quiet, almost a whisper. He released the hug again, to look down at his husband.
Without hesitation John smiled and nodded. "The best," he replied positively, biting his bottom lip as his smile continued to grow. "You literally take the best care of our children and I couldn't ask for a better person to raise a family with."
Sherlock managed a smirk. "I can't be the best because he is standing right in front of me." He hugged John close to him yet again. He saw movement in the back seat. Thomas was waking up. "I think the children may be ready for dinner Love." He let go of his husband completely so they could go into the restaurant.