It was a cause for celebration at the Holmes-Watson-Lestrade household. Mycroft propped the boys up next to each other on the sofa and tried to take a family photo.
"Come on boys, smile." All three boys looked dumbly at the camera. Jonah fell over and George followed suit. Mycroft was five months pregnant and looking quite round. He couldn't exert much effort without becoming exhausted. Taking a single decent family photo was proving to be a chore.
Michael was a skilled crawler at eight months old and was trying to dive off the sofa to attack his mummy and the camera. George tried to strike up a conversation with Jonah who he was laying on like a fallen domino.
George, like Michael, liked the sound of his own voice and would coo and ah endlessly. He started putting his vowels together and was just as talkative as Michael, if not more. Both boys would try out-talk one another, going back and forth, babbling nonsense.
"Born politicians." Lestrade remarked as Michael started his rebuttal.
Mycroft placed Michael back on the sofa. "Stay put for two seconds." He pleaded. Lestrade propped the twins back up and tried to get at least one of them to smile. George looked at his father fondly and cracked a small smile while Jonah scowled.
"So grumpy." Lestrade said tickling under Jonah's chin. He tried a game of peekaboo, wiggling Jonah's toes, anything to make him smile. "Come on, Jonah. I'm hilarious." He begged. Jonah hadn't smiled at anyone yet, not even Sherlock. John worried constantly about Jonah's development.
Michael crawled over to his father and started calling out, "Muh-muh, mum."
"It's dada." Lestrade corrected.
"Dada." Michael repeated and Lestrade chuckled. Michael burst into a belly laugh and Jonah startled and started crying. George started to giggle uncontrollably.
"I live in a mad house!" Lestrade laughed and his boys laughed back. John swooped in to rescue Jonah who didn't appreciate all the laughter at his expense.
"How are we going to fit all of us in the ultrasound room?" John asked.
"We'd better all fit. I'm not missing this one for the world." Lestrade said looking fondly at Mycroft.
"You all had better behave. That includes you two." Mycroft said pointing to his mates.
They all piled into the car and John started wringing his hands nervously. He prayed everything would go well. He wasn't sure his heart could bear any complications.
People in the waiting room looked at the three men strangely as they walked in with the three babies in baby carriers. Mycroft checked in and was called back immediately. Lestrade grabbed two baby carriers and John held on to Jonah's carrier. He looked down at Jonah who was fast asleep with his dummy in his mouth.
While they waited for the technician, Michael began to fuss, and Lestrade pulled him out of his carrrier before he could wake up Jonah. George saw Michael receiving special treatment and started to fuss as well. John picked him up and started walking around the small room with him.
The technician walked in and said, "Whoa." When she saw all the pups. John recognized her as the same technician that performed his ultrasound. "Got the whole family here, eh?" She asked with a nervous laugh. She started prepping the machine and Mycroft.
John started bouncing on the heels of his feet nervously. He noticed Lestrade mirroring his movements. The moment she pulled out the probe John noticed something was very different. He gave the instrument a queried look.
"What's that?" He asked looking at the long skinny needle-like probe.
"Fibre optics cable." She said. "Has a tiny camera on the end-"
"I didn't have that used on me when I was pregnant."
She looked at his alpha shirt. "What... wait... you were the one with the pushy Alpha that near broke my wrist when he decided to perform the ultrasound himself." John blushed and looked away. "Well Mr Holmes here is a level five. We don't use the cable probe on anyone less than a two." She said with a snarky tone.
"Level five?" John whispered to Lestrade.
"Government-types receive highest priority when it comes to prenatal care."
The technician brought the examining light close to Mycroft's belly and she started slowly inserting the cable into Mycroft's lower abdomen. It punctured the amniotic sack and John looked at the image on the screen with shock.
"That's a baby!" He said staring at his developing pup. The inside of Mycroft's womb was dimly lit and glowed a dark red from the external lighting. "Oh my God." John remarked. The pup started sucking their thumb.
The technician turned up the lighting and the pup started moving away from the light.
"She's gestationally twenty weeks. Roughly ten ounces."
"She?" Lestrade looked at the technician.
"Whoops." She looked up at Lestrade who was looking at her with worry. "Was it supposed to... I'm sorry."
"Thank God!" Mycroft groaned. "I've had enough with you boys." Mycroft looked at John. "Are you crying?"
"No." John lied, biting his bottom lip. Tears spilled down his cheeks and on to George. Michael watched the screen intently and started bouncing in Lestrade's arms.
"That's your sis-cousin-ster... person." Lestrade said awkwardly. He thought about it for a moment. "Half-sister?" Mycroft shrugged and the technician looked at them strange. "So if they share the same mummy... so yes... your sister from another mister."
"So George is Michael's brother from another mother?" John laughed. "At least they're all from the same generation. Could you imagine being your own uncle?"
"How does that work?" Lestrade laughed.
"I don't want to find out." John smiled.
John texted Sherlock the results to Sherlock and Sherlock responded:
Baker Street, at once -SH
John was let out of the car at Baker Street and brought Jonah inside.
"Mrs Hudson will take care of Jonah, we have much to discuss." Sherlock said motioning towards Mrs Hudson.
"But." John held on to Jonah tightly.
"Mrs Hudson is more than qualified to take care of the pup."
John handed Jonah over to her tentatively. Jonah smiled brightly at Mrs Hudson and John's jaw dropped.
"Such a sweet pup." She cooed over him. Jonah cooed back.
"But!" John protested.
"Come, John." Sherlock said tugging John up the stairs.
"He's never smiled before!" John complained as they entered the flat.
"Really? Hm." Sherlock furrowed his brows. He shook his head clear and led John directly to the wall with all his sketches and miscellaneous photographs. "Do any of these people look familiar."
"That's my mum!" John shouted pointing to the photo.
"Calm down." Sherlock said placing a hand on his shoulder. "Anyone else?"
"My primary school teacher. That's vicar Williams. My neighbours from Montague Street... Sherlock I know all these people."
"Hm, what about her?" He said pointing a mid-aged woman with blond hair and light blue eyes.
"Oh... no." He said looking at her photo. "I've never seen her before." He looked closer at the photo and examined her features. Sherlock pulled the photograph off the wall before John could look any further.
"Any others?"
John looked more closely at the photos. "That one. I've never seen him before." He pointed to a small child with blond hair and brown eyes. John pulled the photo off the wall. "Who is it?"
"John Watson."
"That's not me."
"Precisely."
John looked at the photo closely and his stomach dropped. The boy was outside of his childhood home. In his arms was his stuffed lion.
"That's not me." John repeated in terror.
"And yet... he is."