A/N: This chapter is shortish, but I thought everyone was anxious to see the reaction to the hair. I should have called this chapter Hairum Scarum. At any rate, enjoy! And thanks so much for all the reads and reviews. They make me smile on days when nothing else will!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the children and Cat the dog.

"Can we have ice cream, Daddy?" Finn was yawning and asking for ice cream simultaneously as Sherlock rubbed the towel over his hair.

"Ice cream? Isn't it time for you to go to sleep?"

"Can't I have ice cream first?"

"I'm afraid not, child-thing. You and your brother are going to bed." In truth, Sherlock had had just about enough of his children for one night. Scarlett, Jada, and Isabel had played hard and giggled incessantly until it was finally too good to be true and a fight erupted. When he left to tuck the twins into bed, Molly was disentangling Scarlett's fingers from Isabel's hair while Mary and John were scolding Jada for starting the whole thing.

"Scarlett get to stay up," Will whined from where he was perched on the edge of his bed.

"Not much longer. If she lives."

"But I not tired, Daddy," Finn whined.

"Me either," Will chimed.

"You're both lying through your faces," Sherlock replied. "You should have been in bed ages ago." He tossed Finn's towel toward the cupboard and pulled back the duvet. He motioned for Finn to climb under the covers. After a moment's hesitation, the four year-old decided he'd better do as he was told and climbed in. Sherlock tucked the duvet around the little boy and smoothed his hair back from his brow. "No getting up tonight, yes?"

"Okay Daddy," Finn murmured. He allowed his father to tuck his stuffed owl under his arm. "Are you sure we can't have ice cream?"

"I'm positive, Finn." He leaned over and kissed the little one's forehead before turning to Will. "You too. Climb in."

Will climbed under the covers and then proceeded to kick them off until he was completely uncovered, save for his feet. "I don't know why we can't have ice cream before bed."

"Because life isn't fair," Sherlock replied. "When you get older you can eat ice cream at two in the morning if you like but until then I'm afraid you'll just have to go to bed." He handed Will the large rubber snake that he always slept with.

"It isn't fair being small," Will grumbled.

"It doesn't get much better being big," Sherlock said. He laughed at seeing Will's crinkled brow. The twins were identical to one another and, in Sherlock's opinion, their mother. When Will was annoyed he wrinkled his nose just like Molly. "But you'll be all right. You can have ice cream tomorrow."

"For breakfast?"

"No."

"Then when?"

"Go to sleep, Will." He kissed the little boy's temple and turned out the lamp on the table beside them. "Love you, boys. Stay. In. Bed."

The boys murmured sleepily as Sherlock closed the bedroom door. When he arrived downstairs, Molly, Mary, and Mrs. Hudson were sitting around the dining table having tea. All three of them had thin, plastered smiles that were indicative that something was up. "Hello?" he said.

They replied with hums over their teacups.

Sherlock approached the table with caution. Whatever was going on, he probably wasn't going to like it. He examined each of them in turn for some indication of their shared secret but he came up short. Until he came to Molly. She was always the easiest to read. Failure to make eye contact, nervous tapping of the right foot, numerous sips of tea yet the cup is almost empty, and shies away from contact. "So Mouse, what's going on with Gabriel that you don't want to tell me?"

"What?" she gasped, putting her cup down so hard she jumped with the noise.

"While I was putting the twins to bed I heard the door open and the distinct rumble of our oldest child and the giggle of his girlfriend. I come in to find that the three of you are sitting around this table like you're planning D-Day. It wasn't a difficult leap. So just tell me so I can be pissed off and get it over with."

"There's nothing to be pissed off about," Mary chuckled. "You'll just be… surprised."

"Hmph," Mrs. Hudson grunted. "Surprised is a word for it."

Before she could go on, the door to the patio opened and the teenagers came through arm in arm. Katie was laughing. For a moment, Sherlock thought the girl had brought that Mark dolt back to the house, but when the boy turned it was clear that Gabriel was the dolt in question. And he'd cut all of his hair off. Actually, cut wasn't the word. Shaved was more like it. The pale skin of his scalp was slightly visible through the shorn hair on the sides and in back. It was slightly longer on top but not so long that the strands were able to curl. His eyes seemed enormous and his features, sharp and strange like his father's, were even more pronounced than usual.

Gabriel stopped short upon seeing his father standing in the dining room. He gave a sheepish smile and rubbed his hand over the spiky strands of his hair. "Oh, hey Dad. I didn't know you were here."

"I live here, don't I?"

"Well technically no," Mary interjected. "It's a vacation house." She noticed that everyone was staring at her. Finally she stood up and began clearing the teapot and cups away from the table.

"I just hadn't seen you all evening," Gabriel said. It was obvious that he was trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing. Sherlock decided that he wasn't going to give the kid the satisfaction of having some kind of parental meltdown. After all, he'd been telling him to cut his hair for months.

"I've been right here," Sherlock replied as he sat down on the sofa with a case file courtesy of the Sussex police.

"I think I'll go up and take a bath," Katie said. She brushed a fingertip along Gabriel's shoulder as she passed by. Everyone else must have taken her cue and began to scatter, leaving them in the lounge.

Gabriel went to the refrigerator and poured himself a glass of water before nosing around the leftovers from dinner. "Is this chicken?"

"Yes. But Finn has already taken a bite of it."

"Why is it in the fridge then?"

"Your mother said he'll be eating that piece of chicken for every meal until it's gone."

Gabriel laughed. "Should I do him a favor and just eat it?"

"Probably."

Gabriel sat down with his snack and began devouring it as he usually did. Sherlock watched out of the corner of his eye and the boy was staring. Waiting. Almost buzzing with anticipation of his comment on the haircut. Finally, after ten minutes of silence, Gabriel broke. "So aren't you going to say anything?"

"About what?"

"About my hair."

"What of it?"

Gabriel snorted and set his plate aside. "I cut it."

"I noticed."

"Well aren't you going to say anything?"

Sherlock sighed and closed his folder. "What do you want me to say, Gabe?"

"Well… I don't know."

"It's your hair. What you do with it is your business as long as it isn't hurting you."

Gabriel shook his head with a derisive snort. "Please. You passed your deductive gifts down to me, dear father, and I can tell that it's killing you."

"Hardly. Once again you're trying to pick a fight with me for the sake of your teenaged rebellion and I'm not going to take the bait. I think your hair is fine and even if I didn't, what use would it be to shout about it now? The hair is gone and you can't put it back!"

Before Gabriel could respond, Scarlett ambled down the stairs leading a sleepy and sniffling Finn. "It's okay, Finn," she soothed. "You're just a little person." She tugged his arm, steering the little boy toward where Sherlock sat on the sofa.

"What's going on now?" Sherlock sighed.

"Mummy was in the bath and Finn wet the bed. I was watching telly with Izzy and Jada in Mummy's room and he told me."

"I sorry, Daddy," Finn wailed, wiping his eyes on the back of his hand.

Sherlock pinched the bridge of his nose, willing himself not to be angry or annoyed. The child was only four. "It's all right, Phineas," he said, letting the little boy cuddle against his side. "Didn't you go before you got into bed?"

"I didn't hav'a go then," he whined.

"I woke Will up and let him get in Nena's bed," Scarlett said. "Should I take his sheets off?" Sherlock smiled. He had to hand it to Scarlett, she was an excellent big sister. She never shied away from taking care of her little brothers. It immediately assuaged his annoyance with his oldest child. Scarlett had learned everything she knew about being a big sister from Gabriel.

"Yes. Just pile them in the hallway and I'll take care of it." He took Finn's hand and started to lead him away. "Let's get you cleaned up." But Finn didn't budge. He was standing in front of Gabriel and staring up at him.

"Bre?" he said in a tone that was more of a question.

"What's going on, Finn?" Gabriel asked. The little boy gazed up at him a moment longer and then burst into tears. The tears turned to heartbreaking wails and shuddering sobs that left them all staring at one another. He was inconsolable and when Gabriel tried to pull his little brother near to comfort him, the child jerked away and hid behind his father's leg. "What…what did I do?" Gabriel asked.

"What happened to your hair?" Scarlett commented.

"I don't like it!" Finn whined. "No!"

"What is he on about?"

"Your hair," Scarlett said. "He doesn't like it."

"That's silly, Finn," Gabriel said as he stood and tried to pry his baby brother out of their father's arms. "I just cut my hair is all."

"Noooo!" Finn whimpered, turning away from him.

"He's scared of you because you look different," Scarlett explained.

"How do you know?" Gabriel asked.

"Because I'm smart."

It was as good an explanation as anything else.