A/N: Sorry this took so long! But it's a bit longer, so I hope it was worth the wait. I had some people wondering if Sherlock and Gabriel were going to have "the talk." So this is my version of that. In their own, bumbling way...LOL Anyway, thanks for the reviews and suggestions! Love ya, kids!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

By the next morning, Sherlock and Molly were clinging to either side of their bed, Will and Finn were curled in tiny balls behind them and Scarlett was lying in the middle, completely flat, her head at the foot of the bed, with her arms and legs splayed over both brothers and both parents. Gabriel knocked lightly and crept in, peering around the room that was still dark in the pre-dawn hour. "Dad!" he whispered. Sherlock didn't wake but mumbled something incoherent into the pillow. Scarlett, on the other hand sat straight up. Her eyes were closed but her wild curly hair was practically standing on end. She'd evidently felt his footsteps on the floor. The girl might be deaf, but she could feel vibrations like nobody's business. No one would ever be able to sneak up on her.

"Who that?" she said at full volume.

Gabriel laughed and ruffled her hair so she'd turn to look at him. "Shush, Scarlett. It's me," he signed. "Go back to sleep."

"Why are you awake so early?" she asked, her signing sloppy so early in the morning.

"I was going to talk to Dad, nosy."

Before Gabriel could stop her she was shaking their father. "Daddy! Daddy wake up! Bre want you!"

Sherlock was startled awake, falling halfway off the bed and catching himself before he upset Finn. "Bloody hell…"

"Scarlett!" Gabriel scolded. "You weren't supposed to wake him up!"

She shrugged. "You weren't supposed to wake me up either."

Gabriel shook his head. "Sorry, Dad. I'll come back after I run."

"No. I'm getting up," he growled. Finn protested sleepily, clutching at his father's arm. Sherlock only got away because he shoved his pillow into Finn's arms. He got up and followed Gabriel out, stumbling over his feet. "I'll be right down," he said with a yawn. "Put the kettle on."

Gabriel went downstairs to obey but there was no need. Mrs. Hudson was already there watching the news and drinking her first cup of tea. "Good morning, Gabriel dear."

"Hi Nena," he said.

"Tea?"

"Yes please. Dad wants some too. Is there enough?"

Mrs. Hudson nodded and leaned in to pour the tea. Gabriel waved her away and was pouring two cups when Sherlock appeared on the stairs. Gabriel could tell that he was still asleep and after seeing the wreckage of his younger siblings, he knew why. He'd had to sleep in the bed with the twins and with Scarlett before. It was not easy or relaxing. Gabriel handed him a cup and continued out onto the patio. He didn't want to have this conversation in front of Mrs. Hudson.

Gabriel was surprised to see his father pull a cigarette from a pack hidden in one of the deep planters on the patio. "I thought you quit."

"I did. I have. Many times." He lit the cigarette and took a long draw, letting it out slowly and then hoisting himself up to sit on the railing around the patio. "So what's so bloody important that you had to wake me up when I'd finally gotten to sleep?"

"Sorry about that."

Sherlock waved off his apology. "So what's going on?"

"Well… about this… date… outing… whatever it is with Jessica and Katie tonight…"

"What of it?"

"I'm not sure what to do about it."

Sherlock laughed, choking on smoke. "And you're asking me?"

"Well yeah. You usually know the answers to my questions."

Sherlock finished his cigarette and began pacing about the patio, fingers steepled under his nose. He was obviously deep in thought and Gabriel was getting dizzy watching him. "You're sure you want to go on a date?"

"Well yeah…"

"Girls are generally more trouble than they're worth, you know. By the time I was your age I had already deleted most of what I knew about them. I had realized that they were bothersome and took up too much space."

"Too much space?"

"In my mind palace. I found myself thinking about girls while I was trying to think about other things. They cluttered up my head and blurred my focus."

"But… that's just not me, Dad. I mean, I want to be like you, but…"

Sherlock shook his head. "No. I want you to be your own person, Gabriel. I'd like to think I've helped you be your own person. So really, this conversation is moot."

"What do you mean?"

"Well if you've listened to me all these years, absorbed what I've said and synthesized it for yourself then you don't really need my advice. You'll make the right decisions on your own. You're fifteen, after all."

Gabriel smiled. "So what you're saying is: you trust me."

"Of course I do. But that doesn't mean I'm giving you permission to do whatever you want."

"Whatever I want? What do you mean by that?"

Sherlock cut a sideways glance. "I think you know exactly what I mean by that. And I think fair Jessica knows too."

Gabriel blushed from the top of his head clear down to the tips of his toes. "That's part of the problem. See, with Katie, she was always… I dunno… I mean, most of the time we act like friends. We talk and joke and just… have fun together. We kiss and stuff, but it just happens and then we go back to what we were doing. Jessica is just really…" He shook his head with a sigh. "I don't know what I'm talking about really."

"She's a girl that wants to date you. She's not interested in being your friend."

"Exactly! So what do I do?"

Sherlock shrugged. "Do you want to date her?"

"Yes."

"Then go out with her." Sherlock gave Gabriel that same look of amused derision that always made John want to slap him.

"But what if…" Gabriel looked over his shoulder to be sure no one was listening. "What if she wants me to kiss her?"

"What if she does?"

"Well… do I kiss her?"

Sherlock laughed and clapped Gabriel on the shoulder. "I think you're worrying too much. If the time is right to kiss her, you'll know. Just don't do anything you'll regret."

"Such as?"

Sherlock opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again. He tried once more, but still no words would come. "Such as putting any of your parts into any of hers," he said finally.

Gabriel burst into peals of hysterical laughter. He wasn't sure if it was nervous laughter or genuine amusement, but he laughed long and loud. "My parts?" he finally spat, barely able to breathe.

"Yes. Your parts," Sherlock replied with an extremely serious expression. "Tongues, digits… other things…"

Gabriel blinked. "I have no idea what you're on about," he said after several seconds.

Sherlock sighed and began to pace. Gabriel could tell he was deep in thought as he steepled his fingertips under his nose and rubbed slowly up and down his chin. "Remember the first time we came here together?"

Gabriel nodded. "Of course. The first Christmas I lived at Baker Street."

"And do you remember the conversation during that visit after you spied on your mum in the bath?"

Gabriel blushed deeply. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I told you that there were some questions that I reserved the right not to answer until you were older. Well now you're older…" Sherlock sighed. Suddenly he didn't seem so sure of himself. In fact, he was looking around everywhere except at Gabriel. It was painfully obvious that he didn't want to have this conversation though he was determined to do it. "And while it isn't really my area, I'm thinking you have more questions and it's time I answered them. Before you get yourself in trouble. At least this way if you do, I'll know I've done all I could."

Gabriel shook his head, pushing his hands through his hair in a nervous gesture that was so Sherlock that his father nearly gasped at seeing it. "Really, Dad. You don't have to say anything. I'm not totally ignorant you know."

"Oh?"

"No. I mean… I have been dating Katie for a while now."

Sherlock narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?" He put his hands up as if to ward off Gabriel's words. "Wait… no. I don't think I want to know."

"Don't worry. We didn't have sex or anything—"

"Don't want to hear it…" Sherlock said, covering his ears.

"It's all strictly 'top half only'…"

"Still not listening…"

"Though I kind of think Katie wanted to. I mean, not that I didn't but I thought you might be disappointed in me. Is that stupid? I mean, in the situation nobody would ever have known, but I would, you know?"

Sherlock was about to protest further but stopped, obviously processing what Gabriel said. "Wait, you abstained from sex because you thought I'd be disappointed in you?"

"Well yeah. Jeez Dad, you say that like I never listen to you. Besides, you'd have eventually figured it out and Mum would have been able to sniff it out like Cat with an old bone. And she'd have slaughtered me for sure."

"Your mum would have sniffed it out?"

Gabriel ignored him. "So what about Jessica? Do I go out on the date?"

It took Sherlock a moment to catch up. He was still reeling from the thought that Molly might be able to detect something he himself could not. Of course Molly possessed something that Sherlock never could: a mother's intuition. "Uhm… well… I guess there's no harm in going out with her," he said absently.

"And everybody keeps saying, 'no sex,' but my question is, when is it okay? Katie said that her mum said that you weren't supposed to have sex until you were married—"

Sherlock sighed. "Katie's parents are American, a culture known for its Puritanical ideals of morality and schitzophrenic repression of sexuality. But I think the answer that you're looking for is that you aren't ready for sex until you're prepared to accept the responsibility of it."

"What do you mean responsibility?"

"Any sexual act is going to raise the level of intimacy in your relationship. Things will become complicated no matter what anyone says. Girls, even sexually promiscuous girls, forge an emotional connection as a side effect of a physical connection. They may try to deny it, they may even actively ignore it, but it's there. Men, on the other hand, are pigs that can pretty much do it anywhere with anyone and feel very little remorse about it later."

"God, Dad…"

"Oh, am I shocking you?" Sherlock was starting to enjoy this now. "What I'm trying to explain is that the sexes are wired very differently and once you have intercourse—or any of the other associated acts, things will change. And then there are the more obvious issues: disease and pregnancy."

"Disease? Are you trying to scare me?"

"No, I just want you to be aware. Having sex is completely opening yourself to another person. That's why it's supposed to be reserved as an act of love and trust toward a particular person or persons?"

"Persons?"

"Well of course. You don't think everyone in the world is meant for monogamy do you?"

"Dad… this is totally way beyond what I was asking..."

"And Gabriel, you yourself are one of those responsibilities."

"What do you mean?"

"I had sex with Irene. We weren't married and had no intentions of having a relationship. We were alone in Italy completely fueled by the adrenaline of narrowly escaping a dangerous situation and a bottle of expensive red wine. Four times over the course of twelve hours and here you are, fifteen years later."

"Eeww… Dad really…"

"And at no time during that twelve hours did I even consider the possibility that we were creating a new little person. Or that the little person would completely fuck up my life for good." He smirked at Gabriel's offended face.

"Wow… thanks."

Sherlock laughed. "Do you remember your very first night at Baker Street?"

Gabriel nodded. "Sort of. I remember being scared to death of you. And something about eating baked apples."

"If you'll remember, I left abruptly and didn't come back for quite a while."

Gabriel scrunched his nose as if it might help jog his memory. "I do remember that. I thought you hated me."

"I was considering the weight of my responsibility. And giving myself the same talk I'm giving you. No one held a gun to my head and made me sleep with your biological mother. And once I did, it was up to me to accept my responsibility. Up until then, no one else had and you were slowly becoming lost. My own father was a great one for shirking responsibilities. At any rate, at fifteen you aren't capable of accepting that responsibility—financially, mentally or otherwise. So that's something to consider while on your date. Or any date."

Gabriel nodded. "Got it." He took Sherlock's hand as if to shake it and tried to pull off a cool 'bro hug.' He was thwarted by his father who pulled him into a full on embrace as if he might still be five years old. "Ugh… Dad…" Sherlock laughed maniacally before getting Gabe in a headlock and dragging him back into the lounge by his head. "One day I'm going to be bigger than you."

"You keep saying that." Sherlock released him with a vigorous head ruffle. "Wait right here, child thing." He ducked into his bedroom and reappeared seconds later with something in his hand. "Here. Take this."

"What is this?" Gabriel asked, taking the item and holding it up to read the packaging. "Trojan—"

"Shush!" Sherlock growled grabbing it back and shoving him aside to peer around the corner. "Don't read it out loud. Your mum would kill me if she knew I gave you that."

"Oh my God! Dad! This is a condom!"

"Sssshhhh!" Sherlock hissed.

Gabriel slapped his hand over his mouth quickly and then whispered, "I don't need this!"

"Just take it. Leave it in your wallet just in case. One more thing I learned from my Italian holiday with your biological mother. And you wouldn't have the luxury of being over thirty when your five year old comes knocking!"

"Oh… my God…" Gabriel hid his face, wanting to disappear into the floor before his father began explaining how to use it.

"Look, don't give me any shit, Gabe. Your mum freaks out, cries in the bathroom that you don't need her anymore and then tries to get pregnant again. I'm just giving you a condom and it makes me feel better. Just humor me."

Gabriel sighed and nodded. "Whatever, Dad…"

"And just because I gave that to you doesn't mean—"

"I know, I know. You don't approve of my being a sexually active teenager. Got it."

OoOoOo

Gabriel stood in front of the mirror in his bathroom, examining his face. He was trying to decide if he should start shaving. He'd noticed some spotty hairs on his cheek and upper lip, but so far they were really light. Nothing compared to the woodlands that had erupted on his legs. He even had a small patch in the center of his chest and under his navel, but his face was pretty bare. He was a little concerned about it. Of all the places he'd grown hair in the last few years, his face was the one he'd actually looked forward to. Not that he wanted a beard or anything, but just the act of shaving would make him feel grown up. And tonight he really wanted to feel grown up. He wasn't sure why. He hadn't been all that nervous since his talk with his father until he came upstairs to shower and talked to Katie. She'd been getting ready for an hour at that point and was wearing a gauzy sundress that showed off her blossoming figure. It had spaghetti straps and dipped low in the front. He wasn't sure he liked it.

"You're wearing a dress?"

Katie looked down at herself. "Good! Now what are these?" she asked sarcastically as she held up her shoes.

"Ha ha. Very funny," Gabriel replied. "You don't have to get all dressed up you know. It's just a movie."

Katie shook her head. "What are you wearing? Old ripped jeans and a t-shirt?"

"No!" he'd exclaimed, though that was exactly what he'd been planning on wearing. After retreating back into his room, he'd gone through at least five different outfits looking for something that was casually aloof yet attractive. Finally he'd arrived at jeans and a shirt he'd stolen out of his father's wardrobe.

"Hey Gabe!" He turned to see Jada Watson standing in the doorway to the bathroom.

"Oh. Hey Jada!" What on Earth could she be doing in his bathroom? One of the nice things about having the smaller bedroom downstairs that had once been his father's was that it had its own bathroom that he didn't have to share with anyone. "What's up?"

"Your mum is giving the twins a bath in our bathroom and Izzy's in the other one. Can I use yours?"

"Uhm… sure. Just let me get my toothbrush so I can brush in the kitchen."

"You look pretty, Gabe. I mean… not pretty. Boys aren't pretty. You look handsome I guess." She gave an awkward smile and he could tell she was trying not to laugh.

"Thanks, Jada. I'm going to the cinema with my friend Jessica."

"Oh that sounds fun. I wish we could go too."

Gabriel smiled and patted Jada on the shoulder. "It's kind of a big person's thing this time. But I promise, I'll take you and Scarlett and Izzy to the cinema this week."

Jada shrugged. "They'll want to go see some stupid cartoon film. I like scary films."

Gabriel winked and leaned in conspiratorially. "Maybe me and you can go see something scary and send them with our parents and the twins."

Jada giggled. "You mean it?"

"Of course."

She threw herself against him and hugged him tight. "Thanks Gabriel!"

"Hey, you're my best girl right?"

Jada nodded emphatically and hugged him again.