John was in the kitchen putting away the items he had pulled out to make tea a few minutes before. He glanced over his shoulder at Sherlock who was sitting at his desk composing. It was rare that his husband actually wrote the notes down on a piece of paper, usually he just played using his memory, storing it all in his too-large-of-a-brain.

But tonight it looked like they would be up for a few more hours than originally planned. Hamish, it seemed, had once again ignored his curfew. And like every night for the past month that Hamish had come home late, John and Sherlock planned on waiting up for him. And since they had just finished their most recent case, they had nothing to do.

It all started the weekend Hamish had turned fourteen. It was like he adopted an entire new attitude overnight. He went from a funny, outgoing, and respectful child to an ill-tempered, sulky, and disobedient one. And as smart as Hamish was (how could he not be with The Great Sherlock Holmes as his father), John had to admit his son was making some really stupid choices as of late.

This whole other side of Hamish was still relatively new, his birthday only being about a month ago. But John had to admit, he and Sherlock were at a complete loss on how to handle this new parenting challenge. John's own childhood had been relatively calm, with no rebellious streaks or typical teenage angst. All of his family's drama was left to his sister. When she was seventeen, she came out as gay. When she was twenty, she developed a drinking problem. Being five years younger than her, his parents relied on him to be the quiet, smart, and obedient child. The only time he caused any problem for them was when he enlisted in the army at the age of twenty-one. And by the time he was engaged to Sherlock, both his parents were accepting and supportive of homosexuality. As a result, he was left with no personal experience whatsoever when dealing with an unruly teenager.

Sherlock, however, had some idea as to what their son was going through. No matter what Mycroft liked to say, his childhood was not ideal. When he was about fifteen, he started experimenting with drugs. And by seventeen, he was living on the streets. But his reasons differed from his sons. He was simply bored. His parent's constant social gatherings, schoolwork, tutoring, and music lessons left him with no time for experiments. He turned to drugs in order to get the same high that making deductions use to give him. Consequently, arguments with Mother and Father got increasingly heated and more frequent. Eventually, he decided to leave home and turn to the streets. Mother and Father didn't try to stop him.

That's another difference between his and Hamish's rebellions. While his own parents didn't care about anything other than their reputations being ruined, Sherlock and John were genuinely concerned about their son. So, with no insight as to why Hamish was acting out or experience on what he should do...Sherlock was lost.

Suddenly, Sherlock put down his pen and held up the note sheet. He inspected it for a few seconds before standing up and getting his violin. When Sherlock started playing, John came over and sat down in his armchair with a hot cup of tea. He glanced at the clock. It now read 10:45pm and he sighed. Reaching into his pocket, he once again sent a text to Hamish:

'You're late.'

Setting it down on the arm of the chair, John brought his hand up to his face and rubbed his forehead with his index finger and thumb. But he looked up when Sherlock suddenly stopped playing his violin.

"I got it" his husband said out loud.

John's eyebrows came together giving Sherlock a questioning look.

"We tried talking to him. We tried yelling at him. We even tried grounding him, for the very first time in his life. What we haven't tried is ignoring him."

Still, John remained silent, just raising an eyebrow instead.

"Think about it, John. He refuses to listen to us. He continues to stay out late, skip school, and apparently he even smokes now."

John closed his eyes at the last few words. He had found a pack of cigarettes in Hamish's trouser pocket earlier today. He tried not to think about it too much, because he was afraid he just might strangle his son if he did. It was bad enough that Sherlock smoked! But at least he was an adult and understood the health effects it would have on him. Hamish was still a child! He only understood the practical side of it. The stuff he read from books. And, damnit! His dad was a doctor! He should know better!

"What's your point, Sherlock?" John asked tiredly. He just wanted his son to come home so he could go to bed. Of course, it probably wouldn't go that smoothly.

"My point, John, is that he only logical reason your son would -"

"Oh, so he's my son now, is he?" John interrupted.

"Yes" Sherlock answered simply. "And as I was saying, the only reason your son would behave like this is to get attention. And if we ignore his behavior and act as if it is no big deal, Hamish will soon tire of this new lifestyle."

John rolled his eyes. "And if he doesn't?" he asked.

"He will" Sherlock replied firmly. "And if you still doubt me, for some unfathomable reason, then we can just test my method for one week only. If nothing changes after that, we can think of a new plan."

John thought about it. It was true; they were running out of ways to deal with Hamish's behavior. And who was he to doubt Sherlock? Believe it or not, Sherlock was actually really good at dealing with their son. Ever since Hamish was born, Sherlock had been a natural father. While John almost always played good cop, Sherlock always played bad cop...only when necessary, of course.

That's not to say Sherlock didn't have a soft side. Or that Hamish was afraid to share anything with Sherlock. On the contrary, he went to his father for a lot of things. Probably more then he went to John. Most likely, John guessed, was because Sherlock had always given Hamish straight answers. And when it came to girls, Sherlock didn't 'Awww' or get all sentimental, like John may have done on one or two occasions.

But John still felt unsure. "So what? We just go to sleep and put all worry out of our minds? Sherlock, our son is out roaming the city at-", he glanced at the clock, "-11:30 at night!"

Sherlock rolled his eyes. "Of course not. We just have to make it seem that way. When we hear Hamish coming up the steps, we turn off the lights and go into bed. Make it seem like we are sleeping. Like we didn't wait up all night with worry for him to come home."

John leaned back in his chair and thought about this for a moment. "And when we hear him come in, then we can stop holding our breaths and go to sleep?"

"Exactly."

'Why not?' John thought. It's not like he had any better ideas. And, no doubt, this would save them from a lot of arguing in the future.

"Alright" he finally said.

Sherlock smiled that tight-lipped smile of his and went back to playing his violin. John sighed and leaned back into his chair. He glanced at the clock. It was now 11:45 and no sign of Hamish. It was going to be a long night.

Okay, since I got pretty good reviews the next chapter will take place in the morning, switching between all three of their POV's :)