Hello! Thank you for all the reviews you've given me! It really warms my heart!

Here's the next chapter, kind of angsty but I hope you'll like it anyway.

Warnings: Bullying!

Greg visited two days later with Molly clasping his hand hard enough for their fingers to turn white. Sherlock noticed this the moment they stepped through the door and hinted the young woman's nervousness. Today would be the day they would tell, that much he understood and he gave Molly a small smile as she pulled away from their greeting hug. The smell of vomit was distinct but still there, hidden beneath perfumes and toothpaste, she must be going through hell.

"Hi!" John beamed as he hurried out from the kitchen after a quick wash-up. "So glad you made it in such short notice."

"How could we refuse?" Greg beamed and gave the doctor a friendly pat on the back. "So where's the little one, ey?"

"Taking a small nap. Thought we could have some tea first? Hm?" They were british after all and John lead the way into the kitchen where the pot and cups were waiting for them.

"And Hamish?" Molly asked as she lowered herself on the chair and covered her nose as a useless try to escape from the string odour of Sherlock's coffee.

"Mrs Hudson's fetching him at school." John answered and served them their drinks before turning to the counter to plate the cake he's bought at the streets café. "The should be here any minute."

"So how is he taking it?" Molly asked and brought a napkin to her nose. "Having a sister I mean?"

"Over the moon." Sherlock smiled and sipped his strong coffee. "Couldn't be happier."

In that moment they heard the door and the detective rose from his chair to greet his son on the stairs, he always did that, and seeing his son bounce up every step and into his arms was the best thing of the day. But today there was no jumping, and as he stood there waiting for his son to round the corner he knew something was off. Two seconds later Hamish appeared, soaking wet and an impressive bruise forming on his left cheek. Despite all this there was no shame lurking behind the blue and purple colours and the detective knew quickly that this wasn't caused because of something Hamish had done. That bruise had formed without any provocation, and that probably scared the detective more.

"Hamish?" he gasped and ran down the stairs to bring him to his chest.

"I fell." the boy said quickly and rested his forehead to Sherlock's shoulder. His wet hair was glittering in frost and ice and Sherlock held his warm hand to the side of his face that wasn't hurt, noticed how cold he was and realised that he needed a warm bath before his condition worsened.

"We both know that is a lie." Sherlock sighed and picked him up from the floor, pressed his soaked boy close to his chest and saw how the boy flinched in pain.

"I found him like this." Mrs Hudson quaked as she appeared around the corner, tears prickling her eyes and her whole body shaking in fear. "He'd left school on his own so I didn't get a chance to talk to the teachers. He tells me he fell." Sherlock nodded shortly and turned to the flat.

"Tea for you in the kitchen, Mrs Hudson." he said. "I'll give him a warm bath. Thank you for getting him." He reentered the kitchen and cups and spoons rattled as John jolted up from the chair.

"Hamish?" he gasped and the other two in the room turned to see the same thing as him, a soaked little boy with ice in his hair and mud on his clothes. Sherlock covered his face from them and hurried into the bathroom so Hamish could get away from the many pair of eyes.

He settled him down on the middle of the floor an kneeled before him, cupped his jaw and took a good look at his son whom now was crying silently before him.

"Who did this?" he asked and started to fumble with the zipper on his coat. With a sob Hamish whipped his head back and forth and pulled back, pulled the zipper back up and crossed his arms around himself. Sherlock stared at him in shock but caught up on his behaviour. His cheek wasn't the only thing bruised. The door opened behind him and he felt John's presence.

"Mrs Hudson told me." he said worriedly and closed the door behind him. "What happened." He saw the bruise and gave another gasp. "Jesus. Hamish! Who did this?" Hamish backed up even more as John took a step closer but the edge of the tub stopped him from getting any further away from them. Tears kept welling and Sherlock noticed the heavy trembling underneath all that clothing.

"Handsome." Sherlock whispered calmly and held a hand up for John to keep him in position. "We need to warm you up. You're completely soaked and if we don't get you into that bathtub soon you'll feel more and more tired until we'll have to go to the hospital. So let me get you out of those clothes and get you warm." Hamish shook his head again and sobs was becoming more violent, it felt like someone was trying to tear Sherlock's heart out at this point.

"Please, love." John tried and pressed his hand together like he was praying. "Let us take care of you."

"You don't have to tell us what happened right now." Sherlock tried and crawled a little closer with his hands reaching out for him. "Just let us get you warm and clean for now, okay? Whatever we might see under that coat we won't ask any questions right now, promise. We just want to take care of you."

The sobs grew louder as the detective wrapped his hand around his arms and Sherlock bit down hard on his bottom lip before he broke down himself. He'd never seen his son like this, so small and ruined, and he wondered what might have caused it. Who in their right mind wanted to hurt a this little creature.

"I'm gonna remove your coat now." he explained and pulled down the zipper carefully without taking his eyes of Hamish's bruised face. "And then we'll take the shoes and continue from there."

The second layer of clothes was just as soaked as the first and Sherlock saw the traces of blood on his school uniform which made his own turn cold, but he didn't say anything, neither did John. He removed his shoes and saw the wet socks, he unbuttoned his cardigan and trousers and peeled them off. The boy was now standing in nothing more than his dress shirt and pants and once more he hunched as Sherlock reached for the buttons.

"It's okay." he whispered and pinched the button. "We're almost there."

The shirt fell open and a loud whimper left the doctor as the big bruises was revealed. Sherlock held his breath and swallowed the growl that nearly left his throat. Now Hamish was crying without any sort of control and Sherlock hushed him gently and brought him close.

"It's okay." he whispered and kissed his clean cheek. "It's okay, handsome. We're okay. Let's tap some water and get you warm, alright?" He reached for the tap and the water hit the porcelain with such a loud noise it made the boy jump in his arms.

"Hey." Sherlock sighed and ran a hand through his frozen hair. "You're safe now. You're home with us." He removed his pants and slowly helped him into the bathtub. The boy hissed as he sat down in the water that was gradually rising and Sherlock kept a hand resting on his shoulder. "Can daddy come forward?" Hamish nodded and John stumbled over the carped to get close.

"Oh, love." he sighed and pressed a kiss to his temple and the sobs only got worse. "I'm here. We both are."

He cried out as the hot water reached one of the bigger bruises on his stomach and Sherlock winced at the sharpness of his voice. Pain was rippling right through the little boy and the detective wished he could take it away.
"It'll get better soon." he said and reached for the mint scented soap. "Let's get you clean now."

They washed him thoroughly and he never seized to cry or shiver, but it did seem like the cold was gone as Sherlock brought the shower head over his hair. "Very good, handsome. You're doing well."

"Almost clean." John smiled just as a sharp cry was heard from the bedroom. He sighed and looked at the little boy with sad eyes. "I need to take care of your sister for a bit. Is that okay?" The boy nodded without taking his eyes of his scraped knees and John left reluctantly with a huge sigh.

The boy sniffled and rubbed his left ankle under the water that now was full of bubbles and dirt and Sherlock noticed how he flinched in pain.

"Does your foot hurt?" he asked while washing his shoulders. With a short nod Hamish looked up at him and gave another sob.

"I don't want to go to school tomorrow." he cried and started shaking again and Sherlock ignored how wet his son was. He embraced him tight and held him close to his chest. The next sound coming from him was a loud scream smothered by Sherlock's shoulder and the detective nearly joined him.

"You don't have to." he said and picked him up from the water. "You don't have to go." The boy continued to cry as he dried him off with a towel and dressed him in his bathrobe. "You're fine now, handsome. There's no need to worry anymore." But Hamish kept crying and shaking and Sherlock only felt more unsure as he opened the bathroom door to sneak into the bedroom. Whatever had happened to Hamish Sherlock wasn't and had never been prepared for something like it. But right now he needed to act like it.

"I'm gonna put you in our bed." he whispered and rubbed his back. "So you can have a little rest."

"Don't go." Hamish whimpered and wrapped his arms tighter around his neck.

"I won't." he said quickly and lowered himself on the bed with him, wrapped the duvet around them and leaned back to the bed frame. "I'm not letting you go. I'm right here." Hamish buried his head to the nape of his neck and continued to sob violently while trembling. D'you wanna tell me what happened?" Hamish shook his head and took a deep shivering breath before finally relaxing into his touch. "Okay. We can talk about it later."

John entered the room with a furrowed brow and sat down beside them to take his son's little hand and Hamish squeezed it hard.

"Where's Alice?" Sherlock asked and lowered Hamish until he was sitting on his lap.

"With Molly." he said and leaned in to take a good look at the little boy who trembled violently.

"She was mad at me." he cried and bundled up his face.

"She?" John asked and rubbed his arm carefully.

"She's always mad at me." he cried and screwed his eyes shut.

"Who?" John asked and scooted a little closer.

"Mrs Greer." he cried and wiped his tears with the back of his hand. "She's always mad at me because I don't talk and she always asks me question even if she knows I won't answer them so she's been yelling at me all day. And after school, the boys in class waited for me and they pushed me into an ice puddle that cracked and then they threw snowballs at me!"

"Jesus." Sherlock sighed and gave him a big hug and kissed his hair over and over. Hamish sobbed violently and fisted Sherlock's jacket.

"Really hard ones!" he continued and hiccuped by the forcing sobs. "My nose started to bleed and I bit my tongue and they didn't stop because... because I couldn't tell them to!" The last words came out in a loud scream and Sherlock wrapped his arms protectively around him, pressed his head to his chest and rocked back and forth.

"Hey." John whispered and leaned forward until he and Hamish breathed the same air. "It wasn't your fault. Okay? I've told everyone at school about you not speaking and if your teachers got a problem with that she's the one we have to deal with, not you. I'll make sure she'll never treat you that way again and if she still's got a problem with that we'll get you out of that school. Alright?"

Hamish whimpered and tried to wipe his tears with the arm of his bathrobe.
"I don't wanna go back." he cried. "I don't wanna be in that school anymore! They're all so mean!"

"What those boys did will not be forgotten." Sherlock fumed and pressed his lips to the wet hair. "I'll make sure of that. They owe you a big apology."

"I don't wanna see them again!" Hamish shouted and whipped his head back and forth. "Please! I don't wanna talk to them!"

"You don't have to!" John said quickly and cupped his face. "I promise! Don't worry, love! I won't let you do something you don't want to!"

"I really don't wanna go back!" he cried and shook his head again. "Please! Not there!"

"Okay." Sherlock said simply and kissed his fingers. "Okay."

It took another hour to calm the boy down and when the tears finally had stopped welling and the sobs and turned into soft grunts Sherlock said it was time to get him dressed. John had left them long ago to make a call to the school and then take care of little Alice who needed them both just as much but Hamish didn't seem to bother right now. He clothed him in loose fitting clothes and tried not to look terrified as he saw the awful bruises again. Not just snowball could have caused them. There had to have been ice and rocks in the other boys' hands.

"There we go." Sherlock smiled as he slipped the small foot into the slipper. "Good. Are you hungry?" The boy nodded and wiped his eyes a last time. "D'you wanna stay here while I get you a snack or d'you wanna come with me? Greg and Molly's out there."

"I wanna see Greg." Hamish whimpered and ruffled his own hair. "He needs to see my bottled snake."

"Of course he do." Sherlock beamed and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. "Want me to carry you?" There was no answer but the boy just let himself fall forward until his father was holding him tight and they made their way out of the room.

"Don't drop me."

"I would never drop you." he smiled and kissed his little cheek. "But just in case, maybe you should hold on extra tight." The boy giggled and tugged his hair to pull himself a little closer and Sherlock sneaked out through the corridor and into the kitchen.

"Detective." Greg greeted playfully as he settled the tray of dirty cups on the counter and Sherlock chuckled.

"Detective." he returned and turned a bit to the left so Hamish could see him. "Say hello to uncle Greg, handsome." The boy sniffled and turned his head to look at the man who, as always, carried a warm smile on his lips.

"Hey there, little tosser." he smiled and ran his big hand over Hamish's arm. "How're we doin'?"

"Bad." the boy croaked unhappily and sniffed again.

"We'll it's not much worse then when dad comes home from cases, is it? You look like a real detective." It was a wild card but Hamish smiled at that and a little giggle slipped his lips which made both detective's beam with relief. "There we go. That's the Hamish I know. I've got something for you, wanna see?" He nodded and unwrapped his arms from Sherlock's neck and let Greg catch him. "Good man. Let's say hello to Molly, too, ey?" They disappeared into the sitting room and Sherlock tossed John a glance. The man hurried quickly into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around his husband to breath out.

"Jesus christ." he cried and buried his head to the nape of his neck. "How could they do this? He's never harmed a fly."

"I don't know." Sherlock sighed and rubbed his back, shook his head in disbelief as he closed his eyes. "I really don't know. I should have seen this."

"How?" John giggled sadly and took a deep breath of his scent. "How could you have noticed this?"

"There were signs." he answered and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Every time we've asked him about school he's had the same answer for five months but he's never really spoken about it. He's never mentioned any friends or anything."

"I know." John sighed. "I just thought he liked to be alone." Sherlock pulled away and noticed the tears prickling the corners of John's eyes. This had hit him hard. "No." he said like Sherlock'd already asked the questions bothering his mind. "I haven't called them yet. I... I just don't know what to say. I thought we could go there tomorrow. I think you could put them in place better than I ever could."

"That's true." Sherlock chuckled and wiped John's tears with the pads of his thumbs before giving him a soft kiss. "I'll make them suffer."

"Good." his husband chuckled. "But let's forget about it now. Alice needs to have a good day with her uncle and aunt."

"I don't think she cares." Sherlock chuckled but followed him into the sitting room with heavy steps. On the sofa Greg was currently showing Hamish his latest present, a colourful rubrik's cube that the boy eagerly twisted and turned after he'd gotten the instructions that all sides needed one specific colour.

"Is it like magic?" he asked and looked utterly impressed as he got two red squares right next to each other, bruises and pains were suddenly forgotten.

"More like science." Greg guessed when Sherlock gave him a scoff.

"More like math." he corrected and turned to Molly who rocked little Alice gently back and forth while gazing upon her with great fondness.

"I'm good at math." Hamish said and turned the cube. "But I don't really get how I'm supposed to solve this with numbers." John rubbed the side of his face and smiled at the scene, Hamish had always been very fond of Greg and that man in return. He always knew how to make Hamish laugh and John smiled even wider at the thought that Greg soon would be having a child of his own. It was about time.

"She's quite something." Molly cooed from her corner of the sofa. "A real sweetie, aren't you, Alice?"

"She is, isn't she?" John beamed and settled himself on the armrest beside her. "You've got everyone wrapped around you finger, don't you? Especially granny." The girl squirmed in Molly's arms and yawned her toothless yawn that could make the heart of the strongest man melt. Molly squealed at the sight and took the little hand.

"Oh god's, you're such a sweetie. I can't believe how small you are." she cooed and rubbed Alice's little cheek. "I could gobble you up in a minute if I was allowed."
"You're not." Hamish giggled and turned to cube over in his hand.

"I know I'm not." she smiled and kissed the wee fingers that gripped hard around her own. "Does she got any more names than Alice?" John carded a hand through the girl's curls and sighed loudly.

"We haven't really decided that yet." he answered. "We'll think about it some more first."

"Molly?" Hamish piped up without looking up from his cube that now had a complete white side while the rest was a mess. "When are you having a baby?" The woman stiffened in her seat, eyes widening as she stared at the boy in shock.

"Um." was all she got out before she looked up at Greg who were smiling wide at her. "In five months." Sherlock chuckled and winked at John.

"Told you." he said proudly and his husband hushed him.

"What, you knew!?" Greg gasped as he bounced the eager Hamish on his lap.

"Of course I knew." Sherlock scoffed and saw how Molly blushed wildly. "Nothing passes me unnoticed."

"Shut up, Sherlock." John hissed and placed a warm hand on the woman's shoulder. "Congratulations, both of you." Molly looked like she was about to cry and John couldn't blame her. Having the first child would always be the greatest experience and turning to Greg he couldn't help to feel a little bit more happy for him. That man had been destined to be a father and from the day their child were born he would be a marvellous one.

"You're having one?" Hamish beamed and looked up at his uncle who nodded happily at him. "Great! I can be a babysitter sometime. I'm great at watching Alice."
"I'm sure you are." Greg chuckled and carded a hand through his hair. "And I was going to ask your parents, if it's okay with them, that you and I could take you to the Walking with dinosaurs next week." The boy gasped and turned to John with big eyes that could any grown man melt.
"Please." he choked out and stared at his father pleadingly.

"How could we say no to that?" John questioned and saw his son beam with expectations. "Right Sherlock?"

"If he so likes." the detective sighed, not really understanding the fascination with creatures that hadn't walked the earth for thousands of years. "And I expect that Greg will prove himself good as a father by practicing on our boy." Greg gave a grunt and pursed his lips.

"That wasn't my thought." he said in defence when Molly gave his thigh a nudge.

"Yes it is."

"Solved it!" Hamish announced proudly and held up the cube which indeed was completely solved. The group stared like a miracle just had taken place in the room and the boy's face flattened in surprise. "What?"

By the time Greg and Molly had left the flat Hamish had quickly returned his thoughts to the recent event. His stomach took a turn and throbbed painfully and he tried to control his trembling as they watched one of the early Harry Potter movies. Sitting on John's lap and leaning against his chest, the father couldn't really ignore the massive shivers coming and going from his son.

"You okay?" he finally asked as he had his arms wrapped around him. "Is it too scary? D'you want me to turn it off?" There was no answer and John leered over his shoulder to get a look of his face. The boy looked scared stiff and John reached for the controller to turn the movie off when Hamish gave a frightened whimper. "Hey?" John grabbed him under the arms and turned him around on his lap. "Hamish? What's going on? Are you alright?" Hamish flung his arms around his neck and buried his face to the nape of his neck, breaths came quickly and John grew cold. "Hamish? Talk to me." John knew by experience that his son was having a panic attack, and even if he knew what had caused it he still needed his son to explain. "C'mon love."

The breaths turned harsher and John got up from the sofa to walk around the room with the boy in his arms. Rubbing his back and blowing hot breaths into his hair was the only thing he could accomplish at the moment since Hamish didn't listen to him anymore. The panic had taken hold of him deep down in the bones and John knew that he needed to let it settle on its own before he could do anything.

"It's alright." he still whispered and kissed his temple." I've got you." The first cry slipped over his lips, high pitched and raw and John adjusted his grip around him, held as close as possible when he saw Sherlock enter the room with a worried stare. "It's alright, handsome. We've got you. Nothing bad's gonna happen."
The boy sobbed loudly into his neck and clenched his little hands in his jumper, whimpered in pain from his bruises and stomach and found it very hard to calm down even if he felt safe.

"I wanna sleep between you." he cried and felt the panic rise if that wasn't an option.

"Of course." John whispered. "Of course you can. And Alice will be in her cot by our feet, we can watch some cartoons on by tablet and dad'll make us some tea and warm milk so we don't have to go to bed with an empty stomach, what d'you say."
"My stomach hurts!" Hamish explained and hiccuped by the violent sobs.

"Okay, no milk then." Just cartoons and cuddles." Hamish nodded and tugged his father's hair. "Everything will be alright, I promise." He turned to Sherlock who stood frozen in the doorway. "Take Alice." He nodded to the carrier on the floor while making his way into the bedroom and Sherlock just blinked in return. They moved to the bedroom and John sat down on the bed, trying to untie the arms around his neck but the boy refused to let go. "Hamish, I'm not going to bed in my day clothes. You have to let go for a second."
"No!" the boy cried and crawled a little closer. "Don't leave me!"

"I'm not gonna leave you, I'm just changing into a t-shirt and then I'll crawl down with you. I promise." But Hamish held on and John gave Sherlock a pleading stare as he entered the room with little Alive sleeping in her carrier. 'Help' he mimed and nodded to the little boy who stubbornly held in.

"Hamish?" Sherlock murmured and settled his daughter on the mattress. "Shall we go brush our teeth?" The boy whipped his head back and forth and gave a whine. "C'mon. You don't want any holes in those teeth, it'll hurt."

"I don't care!" Hamish wailed and John sighed loudly.

"Hamish?" he murmured. "Tell me what's wrong."

"You know what's wrong." Sherlock whispered and John hushed him for a second time today.

"I don't want to see the people in my class ever again!" he cried and pulled at John's hair. "Please! I don't wanna go back there!"

"I know, and I understand." John murmured and kissed his temple, watched in aw as Sherlock prepared little Alice for bedtime. "We're gonna talk to the school, your teacher and maybe even the parents of the kids who did this to you. We'll make sure it won't happen again."
"But I don't wanna see them again!" Hamish cried loudly and squirmed on his chest. "Please."
"It's not that simple, love. We can't just pick another school. Maybe we can put you in another class. With a teacher that understands. C'mon love, you're a strong boy. You don't need to be scared of those boys anymore."

Alice interrupted them with a loud cry, protesting as Sherlock tried to get her dress over her hair and John giggled at the sight.

"Undo the buttons at the shoulder." he smiled and Sherlock looked up from the tiny dress. "You're about to pull her head off, no wonder she's mad." Sherlock looked down again, found the buttons and ripped them open. "You wanna help dad dress Alice in her nightie?" Hamish nodded and sniffled loudly, sat up on John's lap and wiped his tears and his daddy reached out and caressed his swollen cheek. "I'll be fine, handsome. It's gonna be okay." With a small nod Hamish agreed, it couldn't be bad forever, could it? Also there was some nice girls in the parallel group that he'd been talking to at recess a few times. Maybe they wanted to be his friends.

"I hope so." he sighed and wiped his nose, smearing snot all over his sleeve and John crunched at the sight.
"Not like that." he sighed. "You just ruined the clean bathrobe." Hamish looked down on the shiny trail of snot and giggled.

"Sorry. I didn't think."

"It's okay." John chuckled and kissed his forehead. "We can always wash it again."

"C'mon Hamish." Sherlock said and tossed Alice's nightie at him. "Before she's to tired."

Sorry if I gave you feels. Please leave a review and tell me what you think and I'd be forever grateful!