Author's Note:
I really am trying to update this story more often. Thank to you the reviews and subscriptions! I appreciate all of them!
John turned around so fast that he was convinced he got whiplash. That...was new and unexpected. What had gotten into Sherlock? "I think...yeah..." He nodded and swallowed hard. "That is a fantastic idea, actually. I think...yeah, you should." After managing to catch up with his thoughts he moved forward and gently met his husband's lips, grinning happily. "I am proud of you."
The initial reaction by John worried him but now his husband was giving him a kiss. Sherlock smiled back. "Good. You don't think it is too late?" Probably not. For some reason Thomas more or less worshiped the ground he walked on, something he found rather surprising considering how poorly he had done to be there for their son. The truth was he had been afraid to try, fearing he would fail just like his own father.
"I don't think it will ever be too late," John said softly, resting a hand on the side of his husband's face. "God, I am so proud of you right now. That's what being a good father is all about," he murmured. The grin on his face looked like it wasn't going to disappear in quite a few years but he didn't care. Sherlock was stepping up and acting like such a wonderful person. This wouldn't have happened a few years ago.
"After talking last night and watching him sleep against me, I..." Sherlock trailed off with a shrug. "...I just don't want our son growing up to resent me, I guess." He refrained from saying like he had his father, but John would know anyway probably. He knew what it was like to grow up that way and he was determined to give Thomas everything he had always wanted in a father. Something he had failed at utterly so far.
Despite the fact that they both knew that Thomas would never resent Sherlock, John understood it completely. His husband wanted to make sure that their kids grew up in a loving environment. "And you are doing the right thing by talking to him, we both know that. We don't have to leave for another thirty minutes so I will take our stuff out to the living room and get all of our passports together." He stood on his toes and gave his husband a slow, languid kiss, pulling away as he sucked at Sherlock's bottom lip. "I love you," he whispered before taking both of their suitcases and leaving the room. "Thomas, Daddy wants to talk to you in our room."
Right. Why was he feeling nervous? There wasn't any need really. Sherlock sighed at himself and sat down on the bed. He looked up at the door when Thomas came in. The boy looked as nervous as he felt. It took a moment to gather his thoughts before he said anything. The words came rushed and by the time he finished Thomas had practically jumped in his lap and gave him a hug. Well, that had gone better than he thought it would. He returned the hug with a small smile.
John managed to get everything together and then moved to pick Amy up. While Sherlock and Thomas had their talk he decided to sit and simply hold his daughter. She relaxed against his chest as he sat down in his chair. His fingers went slowly through her hair and she smiled as her eyes slipped shut. It sounded like the talk might be going well, no raised voices or the like, so he let his eyes close, too, and waited for the other half of the family to return.
"Come on. Dad and Amy are waiting for us." Sherlock helped Thomas out of his lap before standing up off the bed. He double checked the room to make sure nothing was left behind. John seemed to have all the bags and passports ready. He pet Hamish briefly before finally joining the rest of the family in the living room. He picked up a majority of the luggage since his husband was holding little Sandi. Their son got the rest. He noticed that the boy couldn't stop grinning, it made him smile too.
Going by the smile on Sherlock's face, not to mention how absolutely chuffed Thomas looked, John could tell the talk went rather well. He had even accidentally made Amy fall asleep which would make the trip to the airport a little easier. She had been rather fussy when it came to her car seat. It was far too early to deal with their daughter acting like that. "I would help you but..." He smiled sheepishly at his husband as he continued to rock Amy against him.
Sherlock smirked at John. "It is fine Love. Thomas and I have got this, right?" He looked over at their son who was nodding vigorously, with the same grin. Well, he had said something right at least. He followed Thomas down the stairs, balancing the luggage carefully. He put it in the trunk of the black car with a little help from the driver.
By the time everything was packed, John had managed to stand up without waking their daughter, cradling the back of her head with one hand as he made his way down the stairs. Everything in the flat was off and the door left open so Hamish could go downstairs when needed. "Ready to go, then?" He said softly as he bent over to easily put Amy in her car seat and make sure she was all strapped in. "We might not have to deal with a fussy Amy today."
Sherlock nodded and slid in. "Yes, I double checked to make sure we had everything. Suitcases, carry-ons, passports and tickets." He glanced at Thomas, the boy was still smiling. Well, at least their son wasn't worried about flying...for now anyway.
"Look at you, wonderful husband," John said as he grabbed Sherlock's hand and smiled warmly. They had planned this vacation for several months and as the car pulled away from their flat he finally relaxed just a bit. It meant no work, no cases, no constant thoughts about Nancy or Mycroft. It would probably help their children, too. "I love you," he whispered as he placed a quick kiss on his husband's cheek.
Sherlock smirked. "It is because I am perfect and amazing, you should know this by now." He gave John's hand a small squeeze. "I love you too." He shifted a bit in his seat, just so he could move closer to his husband. Hopefully this vacation would do them all a bit of good. Nothing to worry about and just spend time with the family.
John snorted at his husband's usual reply and shifted a bit to help be closer to Sherlock as well. "I know and that is why I married you," he whispered happily, moving to gently meet the man's lips. Thomas was in far too good of a mood to probably care and Amy was asleep. After missing out on their chance to make love the night before he simply wanted to be as close to Sherlock as possible.
Sherlock returned the kiss with a smile. The vacation was off to a good start and they weren't even off the ground yet. "We get there in the afternoon local time. Do you just want to check into our hotel when we get there? Take time to recover from jet lag. Let the children explore the building a bit or go swimming. Then go out the next day?" They hadn't really planned much except where to go and even that was probably subject to change if they decided to do something else.
That idea sounded wonderful. He knew the kids were definitely going to need to rest a bit and the hotel they had managed to get had a rather wonderful looking pool and small children's water park. John shifted a bit on his feet and then nodded. "Yeah, let's do that. Maybe once they are rested we can go out to dinner but other than that I think staying at the hotel would be the best for them," he murmured with a nod. For the night they would all be in one hotel room which meant he and Sherlock couldn't do much but hold each other. It would have to do.
Sherlock nodded. Good. At least their first day was planned out. The black car came to a stop. Time to check in and go through customs. The worst part were the lines and the waiting. He got out of the car and began getting the luggage out with Thomas' help.
John moved slowly and picked their daughter up, holding her tightly to his chest. She stirred, but only a bit, and he smiled as she finally looked up at him. "Shhh, Baby Girl," he whispered as he placed a kiss on the top of her head and then moved to glance at Sherlock and Thomas. Their son was rather eager to help now that he'd had a talk with Sherlock and it was wonderful.
After waiting for what seemed like hours, they got their luggage checked in and passed through security without much hassle. Thomas had climbed into his lap and fallen asleep while they waited for their flight. He looked over to his husband. "Well, they may not sleep much on the way over but hopefully that means they will sleep good in the hotel."
John smiled as he studied both of their children. "We are wonderful parents, I think," he said with a small smile. If Thomas could sleep with the upcoming trip on a plane then they were doing something right. "What did you say to him?" He finally asked, his curiosity getting the best of him. "I mean, if it's not too personal or anything."
Sherlock shrugged a bit and was quiet a moment before answering. "I apologized for not being a very good father and I promised to do better. I told him he is my son and that I love him." He wasn't entirely sure why it had taken him so long to come around, but it was better late than never he supposed.
John smiled warmly and continued to hold their daughter, slowly moving a hand to rest on his husband's knee. This was going to help relax all of them and the fact that Sherlock and Thomas had started off the trip in rather wonderful moods meant it could only go up from there. "I love you," he said softly, clearly very proud of the man next to him. If anybody would have told him that Sherlock would be acting like this when they had met, he wouldn't believe any of it.
Sherlock smiled and shifted a bit so Thomas would rest against him more comfortably. "Love you too." He placed a hand on top of John's. It shouldn't be too much longer before their flight began boarding first class passengers. "Seems like our vacation is off to a good start already Love." He gave his husband's hand a gentle squeeze as the smile returned.
It was pretty true, wasn't it? John smiled happily and then looked up when he heard their flight getting called to board. First class for them, naturally, so he moved slowly to stand up. He managed to balance Amy in one arm, letting her continue to rest against his side as he grabbed one of the suitcases before dropping it off in the designated spot. "Off we go then. Best to enjoy our sleeping kids now because they will wake up by the time we start taking off," he said with a soft laugh as he started walking into the tunnel to board the plane.
This was going to take a little maneuvering. Thomas was bigger to carry than Amy. And he wasn't getting any younger. Sherlock shifted their son before slowly standing and grabbing the carry-ons. A flight attendant helped him out when he got to the tunnel. He thanked her as he followed after John.
John smiled warmly at the flight attendant before making his way on to the plane, glancing back at Sherlock eagerly. Maybe they could keep Thomas asleep for a bit longer. That was his hope, though. As he made his way to their seats and seemed to relax even more. He moved and sat Amy down in her seat, putting her in the one next to the window so Thomas could sit in the one by the aisle.
Amy gently shifted in her seat as John moved across the aisle to his own, her eyes opening before she let out a small yawn. "Aeroplane?" She murmured before tiredly resting her head on the window.
Once he got Thomas situated in the seat at the end, Sherlock slid in and sat next to John. Luckily their son was still sleeping. Little Sandi had woken up though. He smiled at her as he buckled himself in. "Yes, Baby Girl. You can look out the with window when it takes off. We will get really high in the air. Up above the clouds." He tried to keep his voice low so he wouldn't wake up Thomas.
John moved a hand to gently rest on his husband's knee, looking out his own window eagerly. This would be his first time in America himself and he felt like he would be as much of a tourist as his two children. Only Sherlock would have seen many of the places they were going to and he hoped that he didn't bother his husband too much with his sightseeing. "What's it like? New York City?" He turned and glanced happily at Sherlock.
Sherlock thought for a moment and then shrugged. "Honestly, the few times I have been there I never really noticed or did anything except work on the cases I was helping on. I have been to some of the American cities, but I never paid that much attention to them." He put his hand on top of John's. "I can tell you it's big and they have a lot of lights. There seems to be something going on somewhere at all times. I could tell you their crime rate and population but I doubt you care about that." He gave his husband a smirk.
John couldn't help but laugh a bit, grinning at his husband as he turned his hand and laced their fingers together. "Not too much. I don't wish to scare myself that much, really," he murmured. Without hesitation he moved forward and gave Sherlock a slow, gentle kiss, pulling away with a breathless sigh. He had really missed all of the time he had spent with Sherlock. With cases and his mother passing away they hadn't spent too much time together. The vacation was going to do wonders for John in that aspect.
Sherlock returned the kiss readily. "I miss snogging with you," he murmured. It had been awhile, that was for sure. Probably his fault. He had thrown himself into work rather hard the last several months. "I'm sure we can find adjoining rooms in future hotels." He gave John another smirk, followed by a slow lingering kiss.
Their multiple slow kisses had drawn some attention but John found it hard to care. It had been a while since he had done anything like this with his husband. "I miss snogging you, too," he murmured against Sherlock's lips. They would have to get adjoining rooms at some point. It wasn't an option in the slightest, it was a necessity. "We do have a shower in our hotel. Once the kids are asleep we could have a nice little snog in there."
Sherlock smirked and leaned in to whisper in John's ear. "Might even suck you off." He nibbled on his husband's lobe a teasing brief moment, completely unconcerned with the looks they were getting. Right. He needed to behave, they were in public and the children were right there. Thankfully, they were still sleeping.
How could Sherlock suggest something so utterly wonderful and then just stop giving him attention? John blushed as he remembered suddenly that they were on a plane and it was probably a tad inappropriate. "Let me know when," he murmured happily. Doing anything sexual like that for him these days meant planning so he could take a pill and make sure he would be ready to go.
Sherlock smirked a bit and then nodded. "Of course Love." He leaned over and gave John another quick kiss on the lips, still ignoring the occasional stare from the other passengers. He heard Thomas groaning, which meant the boy would probably be waking up soon. Definitely time to behave then.
John glanced over at their children, studying both of them for a long moment. The moment Thomas woke up he was afraid that the child would have a panic attack and he was waiting for that moment. "Are you worried about him?" He asked softly, squeezing Sherlock's knee as he looked back over at his husband.
Amy shifted in her chair with a small squeak and finally woke up, glancing out the window happily before looking over at her parents. She knew to stay quiet too, to keep her brother quiet as long as possible so she simply shifted a bit in her seat and wiggled her feet just a bit, grinning from ear to ear as she looked around at everything surrounding her.
"A bit, but I think he will be fine Love." Sherlock gave John a small reassuring smile. He hoped Thomas would be all right. The poor boy was terrified of flying, although he supposed that was to be expected all things considered.
Thomas woke up slowly. Where was he? Oh. Right. Don't panic. Daddy and Dad said everything would be okay. He shifted nervously in his seat, fingers fidgeting relentlessly with the arm rests.
John kept his eyes locked intently on Thomas, watching him as he woke up. Definitely a bit nervous. It was hard to miss the moving fingers and the small shift right after he woke up. "Hello Thomas," he said softly, squeezing Sherlock's hand in his own nervousness. "How are you, mate?"
Amy noticed right away when her brother woke up and she smiled up at him, simply grabbing Thomas' hand he holding it happily. She seemed to know that she needed to keep her brother calm and distracted and it wasn't a problem for her at all.
Sherlock gave John another smile of reassurance, and returned his husband's hand squeeze. Thomas was nervous, that much was obvious. Luckily, their son wasn't making a scene or having a panic attack.
Thomas looked over to Amy and managed a faint smile. He forced himself to calm down a bit, at least enough not to fidget. He finally glanced back to his Dad and gave a slight nod. He didn't trust himself to speak right. Just think about something else.
All John could do was stare at their son nervously. The plane started moving forward then and the Captain came on to announce that they were moving toward the runway and getting ready to take off. This was the moment of truth, wasn't it? Now was the time to watch Thomas and make sure he was comforted. Amy had his hand, though, so there was no real need for the boy to come to their seats.
Amy smiled as the plane moved forward and squeezed her brother's hand with a small clearing of her throat. "'S all right, 'Mas, a'cause I is right here and I'll keeps you calm," she whispered as she scooted as close to him as she could manage with her seat belt on.
Sherlock studied their son quietly. He didn't want to make Thomas more self conscious than the boy probably already was. Hopefully, they wouldn't run into any turbulence once they were in the air. He could tell Thomas was fighting for control. Something he, understood all too well albeit for entirely different reasons.
Thomas didn't realize it but the grip on Amy's hand got tighter. He didn't even hear his sister's words, all he could concentrate on was all the different noises the aeroplane was making.
John cleared his throat and shifted to look out the window as the plane finally lifted off of the runway and into the air. The flight was going to be long but he had a feeling that Thomas might fall asleep during it. "What do you think? I bet they are out two hours in and they will need a massive nap by the time we land." Which meant they would have some time to themselves, too.
Amy winced just a bit but hid it from her older brother. Thomas needed this so she would happily do anything that would help calm him down. "It's okay, 'Mas," she whispered softly.
Sherlock turned his attention to John. "Maybe Love. Depends on whether or not Thomas relaxes at all during the flight." Their son had already napped before taking off and the boy didn't sleep as much as little Sandi did, so he wasn't sure if Thomas was going to sleep all that much on the way to New York City.
Thomas blinked and looked over to Amy. Had his sister said something? "Sorry," he muttered and loosened his grip on Amy's hand. He sighed and tried to settle down but now they were in the air and it was rather scary.
That much was true, wasn't it? John shifted a bit in his chair and sighed. They were comfortably in the air now and so far the plane ride had been smooth. "I love you," he whispered to his husband as he looked up at him happily. "This will be just fine. Hell, if this flight goes well enough I'm sure Thomas won't have too much of a problem on the way back."
Amy shook her head and undid her seat belt the moment she could. "'Mas, 's okay," she whispered as she scooted closer to him still, wrapping her free arm around him happily. "I has my book if we wants to read it."
Sherlock smiled at John. "Love you too." He leaned over and gave his husband a quick kiss. So far everything seemed to be going well. Their son was still nervous but it wasn't going beyond that. Hopefully it wouldn't either.
Thomas lifted up the armrest separating them, so Amy could be even closer. He was certain if anyone at school found out he was seeking comfort from his younger sister, he would be tormented for an entire year. It didn't matter. He needed it right now. "Sure Sis."
John smiled at the kiss and relaxed happily against Sherlock, yawning a bit as he let his eyes slowly slip shut. "I'm exhausted. I think the time change is going to get to me, too," he said with a soft laugh. Except he wouldd need to stay up to do everything that he wanted to do with his husband when they landed. "I think the kids are going to love everything about his."
Amy nodded and shifted to grab her book, managing to open it on her lap with one hand before looking up at Thomas. "All right," she said with a small nod as she looked down at the page and bit her bottom lip. "This is Spots," she said slowly, looking at the picture of the dog and smiling. "And he is a dog for a firehouse." She let out a soft sigh and looked up at her older brother. This was difficult to read.
"Maybe you are the one who should be taking a nap Love." Sherlock smirked at John and then tilted his head so it could rest against his husband's. "I hope so. I think this trip is something we all needed."
Should he offer to read it? Amy had wanted to help him so badly, Thomas wasn't sure he had the heart to take it away. "You are doing good Sis. Do you want me to help you? We can read it together." There. That should go well, at least he hoped so.
"Oi," John murmured as he shifted slightly in his chair to move closer to his husband. "I'm old. Old people need to sleep, remember?" A soft chuckle escaped his lips and and let himself relax just a bit. He definitely needed something. Most of the night he had been tossing and turning, worried about what Thomas was going to be like the next day.
Amy nodded and then looked back at the book, slowly turning the page and taking a deep breath. It wouldn't be too difficult. She was a Watson-Holmes, after all. "Spots helps with fires," she said slowly before clearing her throat a bit. "And rides on the back of the truck when they dr-drive."
"Then sleep my Love. Thomas and Amy are doing just fine and I am right here if they need me. I will wake you up when they serve our meal to us." Sherlock reached up his hand and ran it through John's hair soothingly.
Thomas couldn't help but beam proudly at Amy. "See Sis? You are doing great. You are doing so well, you don't even need my help!" There. He was calming down now. It was easy to do when he was thinking about something else.
For a moment John nearly fell asleep before his eyes opened and he squeezed Sherlock's knee playfully. "You think I'm old then?" He growled with a soft laugh, his voice exhausted as he tried to keep himself awake for a bit longer. "I'm not shagging you for a week."
Amy grinned happily, looking down at the book and letting a small blush spread across her cheeks. Being complimented by the only person she looked up to was making her beyond flustered but she managed to continue on with the book. "Look at Spots run in the house to save a cat," she murmured, clearly embarrassed now. "Spots is a hero."
Sherlock smirked a bit. "You were the one who said you were old and needed sleep, not me. I was merely making a suggestion. Whether or not you take it, is up to you." He continued to run his hand through John's hair.
Thomas grinned. "See how amazing at reading you are?" It would probably embarrass Amy further but he just couldn't help himself.
It was hard to keep his eyes open with Sherlock's soothing fingers running through his hair. John smiled a bit as he took it all in. He had really missed just sitting with his husband and if that time came on an airplane, then he wouldn't object in the slightest. "You agree," he whispered, clearly struggling to stay awake. "You think I'm old," he added before his body completely relaxed and he fell asleep.
The blush on Amy's cheeks continued to grow and she shifted in her chair, trying to hide her face. "Nu-uh," she murmured. "A'cause you's is better." She turned the page to the book with a small, nervous laugh. "Spots takes the cat to the firehouse," she started slowly.
"Who am I to argue with my adorable husband," Sherlock murmured, even though he knew John had fallen asleep. Running his fingers through his husband's hair usually did the trick. He smirked at himself and continued to comb his fingers through John's soft, short bristles.
"Only because I am older. Some day, you will be just as good as I am." Thomas continued to grin at Amy, the fear of flying almost completely forgotten now.
Amy buried her face into her book with a huff, curling her knees up close to her chest. "No. You's is gonna be the best ever and I isn't. You's is 'Mas and I is just Amy." There was no way she could ever be as fantastic as her older brother. "That's okay, though, a'cause you's is the best older brother ever."
Thomas laughed as he watched Amy. "Well, you are the best youngest sister, ever. No is as good as you or ever will be." He wrapped an arm around Amy, in a slight side ways hug. His enthusiasm was short lived when he felt the aeroplane run into turbulence. He straightened up in his seat and clung tightly to the arm rests once more.