A/N: I know, it's been a long wait. I apologize. If it's any consolation, I haven't written much at all in the last two weeks. But, this chapter should be to your liking. It's a bit longer and those of you that ship Gabriel and Katie should be VERY happy. Anyway, I'll shush and just say thank you for sticking with me- even when I'm horrible at updating!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the children.
One of the best things about the twins was the fact that they did everything at the same time. They got hungry at the same time, they cried at the same time, needed to be changed at the same time and they slept at the same time. Some might not think that this was a great thing, but it certainly was efficient. Molly had become very close with a nurse at the hospital that had two sets of twins. She'd related all sorts of horror stories about how she was always feeding them or changing them because when one would finish, the other would start up. Molly suspected that Sherlock had performed some sort of experiment on Will and Finn that made them this way. Something with electrodes and negative reinforcement. Of course, if that was true, it hadn't changed their opinion of their father in the slightest. Both twins giggled and reached for Sherlock whenever he was in the room and got very upset if he didn't immediately turn his attention on them.
Molly was once more considering the pleasant phenomenon of the twins' co-sleeping one rainy afternoon. She lay on the bed beside them, singing softly as their tiny eyelids grew heavy. The autumn rain outside was pounding against the windowpanes in the nursery and Molly looked up at the clock. 3:25. Gabriel would be home soon. He and Katie Adams were walking home together today. Against Molly's better judgment, she was allowing the girl to spend the weekend on the pretense that she'd stay in Scarlett's room. Scarlett would not allow any shenanigans. For one thing, she was almost five and as such liked nothing more than tattling on others. For another, she was nosy. Sherlock had assured her that everything would be fine. After all, they were only twelve.
After several minutes, the twins were fully asleep for their afternoon nap. She might actually be able to get some writing done. She and Sherlock had been co-writing an article for Modern Forensics, but she had yet to write the first paragraph. He'd been hounding her about it for days. If she could have some peace and quiet before Scarlett arrived back at home from her afternoon with Izzy, she might actually make a dent. Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard the front door slam. The giggles of Gabriel and Katie bubbled up from the foyer below. She could hear as they peeked into Mrs. Hudson's flat and said hello before tromping up the stairs. "All right, you two," she whispered to the twins, kissing each of them and moving them carefully to the center of the bed. "Just stay asleep for a good hour, k?" Will sneezed in reply and she giggled.
Molly slipped out of the room and into the hallway, closing the door gently behind her. She strolled into the study and began to rummage through the desk, looking for her notes. "Damnit, Sherlock," she grumbled, annoyed that the desk was a mess of papers and files. "I asked him specifically not to move my notebook." Finally, she found her lone purple notebook wedged under a folder full of crime scene photos and Sherlock's laptop. Now all she needed was a pen. There was a cup full on the corner of the desk, but there was probably only one that actually had ink. And of course that one had no cap, so the ink was all over the nib. Molly sighed. That was a pet peeve of hers that Sherlock thought was ridiculous and so he paid it no mind. He rarely used a pen anyway, preferring to type away on his laptop rather than write by hand. His fingers were amazingly agile on the keys. He claimed that he could almost type fast enough to keep up with his brain.
Molly flipped through her notes as she made her way down the hall toward the lounge. She smiled to herself as she read them, proud of her own brilliance and then amused that Sherlock had written several notes in scrawling red ink out to the side. "Such a clever girl," one read. Another, "This is seriously your thesis? A bit elementary don't you think?" Such an arrogant ass, he was. Molly giggled and blushed, knowing that was part of what she found so exceptionally sexy about her husband. She was still chuckling over Sherlock's notes when she came around the corner to see Gabriel and Katie standing in front of the fireplace snogging. She nearly dropped her notebook, her jaw unhinged in shock. This was not an innocent peck like they'd shared on the playground a few years previous. This was a full-on kiss. Their arms wrapped around one another and mouths pressed together. Molly's first instinct was to rush in, getting between them and shouting for Katie Adams to stop violating her baby. But that was obviously not the thing to do. For one thing, a violent condemnation would only lead to Gabriel being angry and resentful and would only strengthen their determination to do it again. But should she make herself known? Slowly she backed toward the hallway and retreated back to the study. Perhaps she should just wait for Sherlock to come home. He would know what to do with this situation. Surely.
OoOoOo
When Scarlett arrived home, she was covered in paint and holding a gloopy painting of the twins. She was jabbering away at her father as she ran circles around him up the stairs. To Sherlock's credit, he was trying to listen to her as she told him about being the snack helper at school and painting pictures with Isabel and Jada at the Watsons'. He nodded and chuckled in the right places, anyway. Gabriel said that it didn't really matter if you listened to Scarlett as long as you didn't run away while she was relating her story. "And I gave Finn the freckles on his nose, but Izzy didn't have any brown paint, so I made them blue."
"Scarlett, you even have blue paint in your hair," Sherlock observed. "You're supposed to keep the paint on the paper."
"I know," she replied. "But they were very exciting freckles, Daddy." The blue paint was quickly forgotten when Scarlett saw her mother emerging from the nursery with Will and Finn perched precariously in her arms. Both boys were wiggling and crowing at seeing their older sister. They were so animated that Molly nearly dropped Finn while handing him off to Scarlett. "Hello Finn-tastic!" she cooed at the infant. He giggled and grabbed a handful of her hair. Scarlett had absolutely no trepidation whatsoever when it came to holding the twins. She slung them around like tiny sacks of potatoes, much to her mother's chagrin. She carried Finn over to the couch and flopped down between Gabriel and Katie, practically landing on their laps. "Say hello, Finn," Scarlett ordered, holding her baby brother's pudgy hand up to wave at Katie.
Katie smiled. "Hello, Finn. Can I hold him?" she asked, looking to Molly.
"Of course," Molly replied. She pulled a snuggly William away from Sherlock and carried him over. "Here. Gabriel can hold Will for a few minutes."
Gabriel had a dark expression. Clearly his afternoon had been interrupted by an invasion of younger siblings and he didn't like it. "He's not going to chuck up on me is he?"
"Probably not," Molly said. "But I wouldn't go shaking him up."
"Gabriel, don't be so grumpy," Katie scolded, squeezing Finn and kissing his cheeks. "He's just a baby. Even if he spits up, it's still cute."
"You're only saying that because he doesn't spit up on you. First Scarlett spit up on me and now these two. Every jumper I own has baby puke on it."
Sherlock scoffed, pulling at his scarf. "Come talk to me when they piss in your face." Molly slapped him hard on the arm. "Sorry darling, but the truth hurts."
"Language," she growled. As soon as he'd discarded his coat, Molly grabbed his arm and pulled him toward their room. "Come here. I have to talk to you a second." Scarlett got up to follow them. "You stay down there with Gabe and Katie," she said, closing the door to their bedroom in her face.
Sherlock moved about the room in that manic sort of pace he usually had. He pulled his jacket off and hung it in the closet then noticed Molly's notebook sitting open on the chaise. He picked it up and began perusing it while unbuttoning his shirt. "You know, Molly. It probably isn't wise to seduce me while there are all those children in the next room."
"Don't be ridiculous. Although, too much sex is why I called you in here."
"Is there such a thing?"
"There is when it involves two twelve year olds!" Molly's face was burning with embarrassment and mummy rage.
Sherlock stopped dead and his eyes grew as wide as dinner plates. "What are you talking about?"
Molly went to the door and opened it a crack to be sure no one was listening and then shut it again. "This afternoon, I was laying down with Will and Finn. I heard the front door open and Katie and Gabriel in the foyer. I didn't think anything about it, really. I went into the study to find my notebook so I could write a little before you and Scarlett came home. You know, I haven't had much time to work on our article so I thought an hour of quiet time might be just the thing…"
"Molly," Sherlock sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Remember—end of the story coming as close to the beginning as possible?"
She wrinkled her nose in annoyance and continued. "Anyway, I came 'round the corner and there they were. Katie Adams and your son, snogging. Right there in front of the fireplace."
Sherlock laughed. "Okay."
"Okay? What do you mean okay?"
Sherlock shrugged, clearly not understanding why Molly was so upset. "He's twelve."
"Exactly. He's twelve. She's twelve. They're both twelve! They're just babies!" Molly was unhinged. She was trying to keep her voice down, but it was climbing in octave with each passing second. She was flabbergasted by adolescent love. She was not able to process. All she could see was that little boy with the messy hair and the big eyes who used to hide under the table in the lab. The little boy who used to crawl into bed with her and Sherlock in the mornings and snuggle against her side. The same little boy who used to call her Doctor Molly and refused to wear shoes and got his head stuck in his jumper and squealed with unrestrained glee upon seeing the ocean for the first time. Gabriel was her baby and this adolescent harlot was having her way with him!
"What would you have me say to him?"
"I want you to tell him that he's too young to have a girlfriend and that you forbid him to kiss Katie Adams!"
Sherlock nodded sagely and steepled his hands under his nose, deep in thought. "Do you think you might be overreacting just a little bit?" he asked finally.
"Overreacting?"
"Yes. No one was naked were they?"
"No."
"Anybody's hands where they shouldn't be?"
Molly rolled her eyes. "No."
"Everyone in a vertical position?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm really not understanding what the problem is."
Molly heaved a sigh of exasperation and plucked her notebook out of his hands before throwing it forcibly across the room. "Their mouths were pressed together, Sherlock! Bodies mashed against one another and I feel certain that there were body fluids being exchanged! And you think this is a perfectly okay thing for two twelve year olds to get up to?"
"I don't think it's the best thing, no. But it's innocent."
"It didn't look innocent."
"So what, Molly? You want me to tell a twelve year old boy with raging hormones that he's not allowed to kiss girls until he goes to Uni and his mummy can't watch? Good plan."
Molly could tell that Sherlock was about to laugh and it was infuriating! "You know, I find it very interesting that you aren't the least bit bothered about this. Wasn't it you going on about chemical defects and keeping your head free of rubbish like girls and sex? You should be the one going in there and telling him to delete all that!"
"Really?"
"Yes! Mr. Asexual Virgin himself!"
"Now wait just a minute, Mouse! I never said I was virginal. I went to uni like everyone else. The fact that I chose not to act on my libido was not an indication that I didn't have one! It was, in fact, practiced!"
Molly sighed and sank to the bed, defeated and confused. "Look, it won't do for us to fight. I guess I'm just not ready for him to grow up. If he's grown up, he won't need us anymore."
Sherlock shook his head, trying to keep his eyes from visibly rolling. "Well ready or not, it's happening." She nodded, dabbing at her eyes. "If it will make you feel better, I will reiterate my position on sex being for grownups."
She sniffled. "It will. And make sure that he knows what constitutes sex."
Sherlock couldn't help it. He burst into hearty laughter that in turn made Molly laugh too, in spite of herself. "Got it. I could have him talk to his biological mother on that, if you like."
"No!"
OoOoOo
Katie and Gabriel sat very still beside one another on the couch, watching as the twins played on the rug in front of them. Gabriel was trying very hard not to concentrate on the proximity of Katie's hand to his. He wanted to clasp it tight, like he had when they were walking home in the rain, but he wasn't sure if he should here at home. Whenever he and Katie touched now, it was almost like they were doing something they shouldn't be. Of course, that only made it more fun. A couple of weeks previous, the two had made a mutual decision that they would be boyfriend and girlfriend. He wasn't really sure what that meant. At school they had begun holding hands, but nothing was really different until last week. Gabriel and Katie were walking along in the schoolyard during lunch when they happened upon some friends lurking behind the building.
"Tess!" Katie called, waving wildly. The girl didn't even look up. "What's her problem?"
Gabriel tugged at Katie's wrist. "I don't think they want to be bothered just now."
"What do you mean?"
Gabriel pointed just as the couple began to kiss. Katie looked scandalized, but became more interested the longer the embrace lingered. "Well don't stare at them!"
"I can't help it! Look at them!" Tessa and her suitor had their arms around each other and were moving slowly in a clumsy imitation of the type of kiss you might see on telly after ten. Gabriel pulled Katie along the sidewalk and away from her spying. His cheeks were on fire and that strange sensation in the pit of his stomach ignited. Suddenly, Gabriel was very embarrassed by his proximity to Katie Adams. "Gabriel?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think… you know… about kissing me?"
Gabriel's eyes grew wide and he was suddenly thankful that his heavy curls had grown out, nearly touching his shoulders. They were an effective shield. "Uhm… well sure. I guess so."
She breathed a heavy sigh. "Oh good. That's a relief."
"Why?"
"Because I think about kissing you sometimes. Well… kind of a lot." It was Katie's turn to blush and she was positively glowing from the tip of her nose to the edges of her ears. She looked down at her feet, watching the cracks in the sidewalk as they walked toward the courtyard.
"Well… do you want me to kiss you?"
Katie stopped, dropping his hand and turning to him with a nervous smile. "Kind of." Before she could change her mind, Gabriel leaned in and kissed her quickly on the lips. Nothing special, really. The way he had kissed Scarlett or his mum a million times. A quick peck that was more noise than actual contact. But when he pulled back, Katie was smiling and she looked so pretty with the sun glistening off her hair and her eyes just barely closed. He couldn't help himself and he kissed her again, this time letting his mouth rest against hers for a moment longer. His heart was pounding in his chest and he could actually feel the blood rolling around in his veins. A fluttering in his belly turned into little starbursts that bubbled up, making his head feel light. When he pulled back they were both giggling, still holding hands.
Ever since they'd been practicing every chance they got.
Scarlett was desperately trying to teach Will to walk, but he just wasn't having it. He giggled and cooed at his sister as she set him on his chubby legs, but as soon as she started to let him go, his knees buckled and he sat down hard. "Come on, Will," she said. "You're a baby but you can't be this stupid."
"Give him a break, Scarlett. He's only six months old," Gabriel scolded and signed to his sister. "Besides, if you keep letting him fall like that, he's eventually going to bang his head on the coffee table."
"Well if he can't walk, then he can't play with me," she defended. "Right, Finn?" Finn looked up at hearing his name, but was much more interested in trying to pull Scarlett's shoe off.
"He will someday. And then you won't be able to make him go away," Gabriel said with a pointed look at Scarlett.
She giggled and stood up, going to her brother and throwing herself against him. "You love me anyway, Bre."
"More than meat loves salt," he replied before putting her in a headlock and wrestling her down on the couch. He tickled her mercilessly until she rolled onto the floor and bumped into the coffeetable.
"Ow." Will and Finn thought Scarlett falling on the floor was wildly funny and began to cackle.
Katie shook her head, a judgmental look on her face. "You shouldn't play so rough with your baby sister, you know."
"What? She likes it," Gabriel said, grabbing Scarlett's hand and hoisting her to her feet again before giving her a squeeze. "Besides, she knows to tell me to stop if I'm playing too rough, right Scar?"
"Yep. I'm thirsty, Bre. Can I have something to drink?" Gabriel smiled. It was kind of funny how Scarlett asked his permission if their parents weren't around.
"Just milk. The Watsons will be here in a while and we're going to eat. You get too hyper if you drink something with sugar." She looked at him expectantly. "You know where the milk is."
"But I'm scared to go in there by myself. It's dark, Bre."
"Oh that's silly, Scarlett. You can see us from the refrigerator."
Scarlett grabbed Gabriel's hand and tried pulling him off the couch. "Oh go with her, Gabe," Katie said. "She's scared of the dark."
"I'm not scared!" Scarlett said, signing aggressively. "I just don't like it." Gabriel started to his feet, but leaned over and kissed Katie before getting up. After careful observation of his parents, he'd perfected how to open his mouth slightly and caress her lower lip between his. He didn't know why, but Katie always made this funny noise when he did that and kissed him back. "Ooooh… you not supposed to be kissing," Scarlett said, pointing at them.
"Go to the kitchen, nosy!" Gabriel snarled.
"I'm going to tell Mummy and Daddy on you!"
"Tell us what?" Everyone looked up to see Sherlock and Molly standing in the doorway with arms crossed and accusing expressions.
