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So this chapter did not go as planned, particularly since I had originally thought this was going to be their Dawn Awakening and Christmas holidays. Instead this is just a day for them and the next two chapters are the holidays.
Mycroft's POV
On the twenty-second of December he is just finishing up his paperwork when Anthea slips silently into the office, a pile of folders in her grasp.
"Sir?" she inquires with a tilt of her head.
"Yes?" he replies without looking up for more than a momentary glance.
"Aren't you meeting Greg and the girls?"
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he answers, "That is why I am trying to finish this. This packet is needed by the twenty-seventh. I wish to be gone for the next four days. That is not possible if I have to deal with paperwork."
Out of the corner of his eye, he watches as she files the paperwork in her hands into its proper places before coming over to the edge of his desk. "What can I assist with?"
Waving a hand towards the portion he has already completed, he states, "Double check those."
Nodding, she scoops them up and heads over to the chair by the bookcase in order to do so. While she does that, he returns to working on the set he is on. He is quite sure that she is not going to find anything he needs to fix, but it never hurts to have a second set of eyes san things when he is speed reading in order to get these done as soon as possible. Over the next hour, they finish up the file so that it can be handed over early.
He almost sighs in relief when he completes the last page of the document.
"Make sure these get to know they need to," he directs her as he double checks the part on his desk.
"Will do," she replies. "Will you be celebrating the Dawn Awakening?"
"That is tomorrow night," he remarks, "Yes, I am supposed to attend with Gregory and the girls. For the first time since I joined the pack John will be leading it."
His assistant nods, a thoughtful expression on her face, "That is not surprising, whether gifted or shifter, a clan leader will not lead any of the celebrations while in a mourning period, to do so would be disrespectful to the Elder God the celebration is to."
Both of them rises from their respective seats, two steps allow him to cross the room and hand her the rest of the file which she quickly puts back together in order to hand it in.
"How have you been settling in living with four people?" she inquires with a smile.
He nods as he turns to fetch his coat and umbrella, "It is going smoother than I thought it would. Charlotte makes a point of either being up before me or making something I can eat on the go the night before. Madeline makes sure I get the quiet I need when I am in the office. Sofia often provides snacks and treats, its hit and miss, but she is a very quick to fix her misses."
A soft smile curves his PA's lips, "Sounds like things are going well. I have enjoyed seeing you healthier and happier than I have ever known you to be." Her voice is soft, a quiet murmur.
The two of them slip out of the office and walk silently down the hall.
When they walk out door, she states, "Have a pleasant season Sir, I hope enjoy your days of celebration."
He nods once, "Yourself as well."
She turns and heads back into the building while he continues on to his waiting car. Silently slipping into the back, his mind quickly does a double check of everything he has taken care of that have to be dealt with. Smiling, he relaxes into his seat, and watches out the window as they continue on their way. For the first time since he taken this position he is taking some time off.
"Have a merry Christmas sir," his driver states as he opens the door when they arrive at the house.
"You as well, enjoy your time off." He replies as he slips out of the car.
Smiling faintly, his driver nods and gets back into the vehicle before leaving.
He heads into the house, stopping just inside the door to listen to the sounds of his family. From what he can hear, Sofia and Charlotte are in the kitchen together sing while they move around. Since it is just before dinner time they are probably making something. There is soft music from upstairs, making him certain that Madeline is up in her room. He had not seen the car in the driveway so his Gregory must still be gone. Moments later that is confirmed by the youngest girl.
"Hullo Mycroft! Daddy is on his way home, he had to wrap up a case and get the paperwork out of the way." She happily exclaims as she emerges from the kitchen. He is mildly surprised she is not speaking in French considering that is the language she uses with him the most.
He nods, "Hello Sofia, having a pleasant evening so far?"
Beaming, she nods energetically, "I am, Chare and I are nearly done with dinner. I have also made a few treats to take with us tomorrow for the Dawn Awakening. I am also going to make some treats to take with us to both sets of grandparents homes." She tilts her head to the side, "We have not decided yet if we want to see Grandmum and Grandfather Reeves want us to visit, but we are not sure we really want to go since they do not want Daddy to come with us."
His eyes narrow as he considers that, the Reeves are the girl's biological grandparents on their mother's side, even though their mother has lost all rights do they still retain rights within the pack?
"No, the moment her rights to us were terminated and Daddy became our only parent so were theirs," the dark-haired middle daughter answers as she comes sweeping down the steps. "I checked with Eric because I do not personally like the Reeves and how they allowed her to treat Daddy. As full shifters they could smell the differences between Daddy and us, by law they should have turned her in to the council or a tracker, they did not, so their punishment is the loss of rights to us." her expression softens as she switches to a greeting, "Hello Mycroft."
"Madeline," he replies warmly.
He is a little surprised that she answered his unspoken question aloud when she normally prefers telepathy, but a single glance at Sofia tells him why.
"Personally I say we send them a card with a picture and call that good enough," the eldest says as she emerges from the dining room door. "Daddy has asked us not to write them off, however writing them off sounds like a brilliant idea. We went to see them last Christmas and it was miserable."
The mischievous look that crosses the youngest face makes him wary as she inquires, "As a diplomat and politician, would it be considered rude to send a small gift and a sorry we missed you there were other plans rearranged?"
He understands perfectly well where she is going with this and has to fight to keep the smirk off his face, "Depending on the wording, no, it can be completely polite."
She beams at him, "Brilliant! Be right back!" turning, the blonde girl spins and dashes up the steps while her sisters and him watch.
"I'm going to put my things away," he remarks to the other two girls.
"Okay, come to the dining room when you're done," the eldest comments as she spins and heads back into the dining area.
The middle girl nods, heading into the kitchen and dining room as well.
He heads to his office, putting away his traveling things away before exiting the well furnished room. It still surprises him how much effort the girls had put into designing it for him, particularly since it was early in his relationship with their father. He also appreciates the fact that is his area where the others stay out unless asked in.
In the dining area he finds the table already set and the girls moving the food to the table.
Coming down the steps, Sofia has a few pieces of paper in her hand, and the mischievous smile still in place.
"Would any of these work?" She inquires as she offers the papers. Energy and excitement is just about bristling from her.
He quickly glances over them before tilting his head and suggesting, "Combined the third and fourth, but leave out how you are going to be busy."
She nods, taking them and bolting back up the spiral steps.
"Hurry up Sofia! Dinner is done!" Chare calls out.
He doesn't hear her response but that is not surprising.
Taking his normal seat, he stays out of the girl's way and is waiting for the girls to sit down when he hears a car pull into the driveway. He smiles, considers getting up but watches the fact the girls all take their seats and decides not to. Despite the fact he has been living with them for sixteen days, he is still adjusting to their habits and patterns, and figuring out where he fits in.
Despite the girl's best efforts, his erratic schedule means he has not settled as much as he wants though they are attempting to make him feel as comfortable as possible.
A minute later the detective inspector is in the house and sliding into his spot beside him.
Smiling at him, the older man presses a quick kiss to his cheek before greets them, "Hullo Mycroft, girls."
"Hi Daddy," all three girls chorus together.
His love chuckles, glancing about and shaking his head slightly, "I see someone is on a cooking binge. Sofia made all of the treats and Chare made dinner?"
"Yep!" the little blonde chirps, "There is still going to be more too. I am making treats for the pack meeting tomorrow, some to take with us to the Lestrade family Christmas, for meeting Mycroft and Uncle Sherlock's family, and for Christmas at home. Plus I made a box," she motions to the one on the end of the counter, "to send to the Reeves so we do not have to go see them."
Beside him, the older man sits quietly and listens before nodding once, "You three have discussed this?"
"Yes," they chorus again.
"Okay, well we'll get a messenger to deliver it," his lover agrees calmly.
"Or," that mischievous look is back in the youngest girl's eyes, "We could see if one of Mycroft's minions can deliver it so they get the impression it has to do with the human side of our family and they don't try badgering us." She turns to look at him, "Is there a minion I could possibly borrow for errand boy?"
He cannot stop the laughter that bubbles forth. She's the only person he knows of who would use a member of the British Government as an errand run to avoid going to family dinner who is not actually in the government.
"There is," he eventually answers.
She beams at him before setting to making her plate.
"So what did you make to send to the Reeves?" His fiancé inquires as he makes his own plate.
"A pumpkin cake roll with cream cheese filling, red velvet fairy-cakes with buttercream frosting, triple ginger biscuits, applesauce bars, and raspberry thumbprints with drizzled glaze," she promptly answers.
Tilting her head she mentions, "The ginger biscuits might be a little harder than they are supposed to be, but it was a new one for me and I am not sending them the best ones."
He doesn't bother biting back his smile at that.
"Well then," Greg chuckles, "I'm betting you even have a note already."
"Yep!" she happily exclaims, "I even had Mycroft check to make sure it was polite."
Grinning, his love gives another shake of his head, "Only you, Sofia, only you."
She beams at him.
The rest of dinner goes smoothly, they talk about how the end of their days. Sofia is rather animated about getting to share her holiday with the family and getting to bake so much. Madeline discusses her assignments and the books she has been studying lately. Chare is happy because they are spending time as a family. Gregory summarizes his day, happily announcing another problem gone. He mentions that he finished all of his paperwork that had to be done, and had the next for days to himself barring any emergencies.
After dinner the five of them retreat to the living room where he curls up on the sofa with Gregory, their bodies pressed close together while Madeline takes the chair by the lamp, Charlotte the other chair, and Sofia stretches out on the floor in front of the sofa. They watch various Christmas themed movies, each taking a turn picking until Sofia falls asleep on the floor, and Chare sleepily heads up to her room. Carefully his love scoops their youngest girl, carrying her up to her bedroom and tucking her into bed.
Heading into the loo, he uses it before continuing through to their room. Now there is a phrase he is still adapting to, he has never shared a room prior to moving in, and he has enjoyed the experience so far.
Changing out of his suit and into a pair of pajamas, he settles on the top of the bed, glancing about and taking pleasure in the simple colors and design of the room. They have discussed getting another dresser or maybe an armoire with drawers on the bottom. Gregory does not have a lot of things that must be hung in the closet but he does.
"You're looking rather thoughtful love," his silvery-haired loved murmurs as he closes the bathroom door between the bedrooms.
"Just considering all of the differences between living alone compared to living here." He answers softly.
The older man nods, stripping out of his work clothes which are tossed into the laundry basket before he stretches out beside him on the bed wearing nothing but his pants.
"I'm happy you're here," his love states quietly.
"So am I," he replies.
Softly, Gregory presses her lips against his temple, murmuring, "We should get some rest because the next three days are going to be crazy."
He nods once, turning his body and tilting his head so he could lightly press their lips together, "Sounds good."
Both of them get off the bed, turn off their respective lights, and crawl under the blankets. He soon finds himself curled against his lover's chest, his long legs intertwined with his Gregory, arms curled around him. It's both odd and exhilarating to be the one being held. They are both quiet as they lay there and slowly drift off to sleep.