Author's Note:
Here is to hoping I will be able to update often like this on a regular basis! I am certainly going to try!
John turned to watch as Thomas darted into the room, grabbing the bag full of their extra things. God, the boy looked so proud to be helping out Sherlock and it made him grin. "All right Miss Amy," he said as she sat back down as wiggled her toes. He slipped her socks and shoes on with practiced ease, leaned down to give her a quick kiss once everything was finished. "Look at that, you look so beautiful today," he said was she stood up and ran into his arms, clearly demanding to be held. He gave in without a second though and walked around the room aimlessly with her in his arms.
Amy seemed content where she was, resting on her Dada's hip, thumb in her mouth, as Thomas helped Sherlock. After such a rambunctious morning she was already quite calm meaning nap time would probably be very soon after their visit to Ellis Island.
Sherlock got ready in a fairly quickly fashion, opting to go change in the bathroom. He decided to make John happy by wearing one of the ridiculous outfits his husband had picked out. They were simple black shorts, that ended just above his knees and a white polo shirt. He didn't bother buttoning the shirt, since it only had three. The shirt was a little tighter than what he usually wore, so he was hoping by leaving it unbuttoned he would give his upper body a little breathing room. He soaked up the water from the floor with a couple of towels before finally leaving the bathroom.
Thomas handed the bag to his Daddy when Sherlock came back into the room. "Is there anything I can help with Daddy?" He looked up at Sherlock hopefully.
John looked over at his husband and smiled when he saw Sherlock in an outfit that he had picked out. "You look very dashing in that, Love," he said as he set Amy down on the floor so he could get dressed himself. It didn't take him long to put on a pair of white shorts that went to his knees and a light blue polo shirt. He knew that Sherlock had the camera and anything else they could need for their trip. "Have you got the money?" He looked up at his husband.
Amy had promptly ignored her parents to happily skip around the hotel in her dress, happily before coming up to Thomas. "You looks a lot like Papa today 'Mas." She rotated her body as her dress swished around her body.
"I look stupid," Sherlock grumbled to himself. He felt ridiculous. Why did people dress like this? He glanced up at John, noting his husband was wearing the same outfit more or less, just different colors. Why did it look fine on John and not him? "Yes, Love I do. And if anyone looks 'dashing' it's you." He smiled and gave his husband a quick kiss on the lips.
Thomas glanced down at himself and then looked to Daddy. He shrugged a little, his cheeks turning a faint shade of pink. "You look very pretty today Sis."
It felt like they were practically flirting in front of the kids but he hardly cared because it was making him smile like an idiot. John grinned and shook his head. "We both look fantastic," he declared with a nod before moving forward to embrace Sherlock. "Those shorts look fantastic on you," he said softly. "And I'm glad you are wearing them.
Amy blushed furiously and looked down at her dress. It was by far her favorite dress and now that she knew her brother enjoyed it she couldn't do anything but smile. "And you looks very handsome, 'Mas."
Sherlock returned the hug, holding onto John for a bit because he was already missing this mornings snuggle. "Anything for you Love." Even if he felt stupid, just like in the swimming shorts, he was wearing them because he knew it would make his husband happy. He glanced over to the children. "Come on, let's go get some breakfast downstairs."
His cheeks went from pink to bright red. Thomas wanted to argue he didn't but he managed a weak 'thank you' instead. He glanced up to his Daddy. He took Amy's hand. Even though he had eaten last night before bed, he was still hungry. "Do they have...those...continent...continental breakfasts here?"
John was rather impressed with Thomas and how much his vocabulary had grown, that and the amount of research the boy clearly had done. "They do, Thomas! Sausages, eggs, bacon. Probably all of the food you could imagine." He grinned and gently grabbed his husband's hand as they made their way from the hotel. "Anything you fancy eating, Love? I am sure they will have some fruit if you are hungry."
Amy skipped after her parents happily, grinning from ear to ear as she did so. "I wants some bacon!" She declared as she grabbed her brother's hand and tugged the boy with her. "I likes sausages and I wants some tea and apples juice."
Sherlock shook his head. His appetite still wasn't back yet, not that he had much of one to begin with. Then again, he should probably eat anyway. It wouldn't do to pass out because he was being a stubborn git, it would only worry the family. He sighed at this thoughts. "You know, maybe I will eat something." He gave John's hand a slight squeeze and a weak smile, that didn't quite meet his eyes. Just stay out his head and things would be fine. He hated that he was struggling to cope with his mother's passing.
Thomas beamed proudly, excited he had used the right word."Apple juice! Yeah!" His whole family loved tea except for him. Dang it. Even in his own family he was an outsider. His face fell with his thoughts as he trailed a little behind Amy but still held onto her hand.
It wasn't hard to see what his husband was thinking about so John stood on his toes and placed a gentle kiss on Sherlock's cheek. "It's going to be just fine. Today will be fun and you'll be nice and distracted." After a small nod he turned and got them into the lift. The ride down was quick and once the doors opened the smell of breakfast hit him. "Already smells good. I'll help the kids get their plates, go find a table." With that he pulled away and made his way toward the breakfast bar.
Amy followed after her Dada happily, keeping her hand gently in Thomas'. "Dada, I doesn't wants tea anymore a'cause...um, I doesn't likes it." She could tell right away that Thomas was thinking about how left out he was and she was clearly determined to fix it. "Just that apples juice likes 'Mas."
Sherlock gave John a small appreciative smile and moved to find a table. He sat down and watched as his family got breakfast. Shit. No. Not right now. He could feel the beginning of a headache above his right eyebrow. He hadn't had one in a few days and it had been a nice reprieve. He had almost forgotten about the damn things, almost. He sighed again and rubbed at his head absently.
Thomas shook his head. "Sissy Poo, you love tea. You should have some with Papa. It will make his day." He glanced over to his Daddy with a small frown. Daddy looked like he needed some cheering up. Was Daddy so sad all the time lately because Grandma had died?
John grinned down at the kids as he finished preparing the plates. Bacon for Amy, eggs on the side with some hash browns. Eggs for Thomas with toast, jam, and a few sausage links. "Right, to the table, I'll fetch the drinks," he said with a smile as he led them both to the table. Instinctively he sat Thomas across from Sherlock and Amy across from himself before turning to grab drinks. With that done - apple juice for the two kids - he turned and got two more plates. His was stacked with everything he could find while Sherlock's was small, nothing greasy, just fruit. After managing to grab two mugs of tea for them he finally sat down and eagerly started eating, digging into his eggs first.
"I likes apples juice more, 'Mas," Amy declared as she took a sip from it, having to hold the cup with two hands."A'cause I wanna be just likes you so I is gonna drink lots more apples juice."
Sherlock cut up the fruit and mixed it up, effectively making himself a fruit salad. It reminded him of the day he and John got married and that made him smile. He had made fruit salad for them in the middle of the night and fed it to his husband. There. Think of something good. Happy. Maybe the headache would just go away.
Thomas blushed. He wanted to tell Amy, she shouldn't want to be anything like him because he wasn't anything special but decided not to. He began eating, feet swinging under the table excitedly. He was having a hard time containing his excitement about their first day in America.
John couldn't help but notice his husband's elevated mood and smiled as he continued eating. Both of the kids seemed in rather good spirits, too and he was loving every moment of his family being happy. It had been a while, it felt like, and all of it was making him grin like an idiot. "Just think about all the other things we are going to see while we are in America," he said as he leaned over the table to cut Amy's food into smaller bites for her.
"Does we gets to sees the mountains, Dada and Papa?" Amy tilted her head to the side as she got a small bite of eggs on her fork and ate the happily. "A'cause one time 'Mas tolded me about gold in the mountains and I thinks we should find some.
Sherlock raised his eyebrows. Gold in the mountains? Well, America had a gold rush. "America has a lot of mountains Baby Girl, but we will go see some them. I don't think they have gold in them anymore though." Better to break the news now, so their daughter wouldn't be disappointed later. He had planned on taking them to see The Rocky Mountains. Maybe even the Grand Canyon. He was trying really hard to make the headache go away but it wasn't working out the way he wanted. He promptly ignored it and continued eating.
Thomas decided to eat quietly, a bit embarrassed he had told his sister about gold in the mountains. He had just been excited and had learned things about America and he wanted to share with someone.
John looked at both of their kids, laughing just a bit before glancing at his husband. Always so literal and wonderfully to the point. It was definitely good having a genius husband at times and at other points he wondered what was going on in that head of his. "But we can buy you a bit of gold while we are there," he said to Amy with a nod as he finished off his plate and moved toward his mug of tea. "And then bury it and let you dig for it."
Amy nodded a bit and picked up her cup of apple juice, drinking the rest of it loudly before look at Thomas. "Hears that, 'Mas? We can still finds some gold a'cause Dada can helps us." With a nod she moved and finish her small bite of eggs that were left. "I likes that. I wants to do that."
Sherlock smiled at John as he continued to eat his makeshift fruit salad. He mouthed the words 'I love you' to his husband, the warm smile still on his lips. John always knew just the right thing to say to the children. Just another reason his husband was the better parent. Damn it. No. He was staying out of his head today. Fuck. The headache was getting worse.
Thomas nodded enthusiastically at that idea. "That will be fun Sis!" His feet kicked excitedly under his chair still, as he continued to eat his breakfast.
If wasn't too difficult to see that his husband was definitely struggling a bit so he just leaned over and pressed his nose against the man's cheek. John lingered before moving to rest a hand on Sherlock's thigh. "Deep breath, yeah? Just take a deep breath and everything will be just fine," he whispered as he tried to keep the man as calm as possible. "I've got some stuff upstairs that you can take for your head, yeah?"
Amy was so wrapped up in how excited and happy her older brother was that she hardly noticed her parents, instead choosing to focus on the fact that everything was perfect for her and Thomas. "I likes you being happy, 'Mas, a'cause sometimes you aren't and I doesn't like that. I always wants to has you happy."
Sherlock nodded and dropped his free hand on John's. "That would be good Love. Thank you." He hated these headaches and he wished they would just stop but they had become more frequent since his mother had passed. He was supposed to be doing things to get them to stop, but instead he had damn near worked himself to death and they just got increasingly worse.
Thomas wanted to tell Amy that things in life weren't always happy but she was too young to learn that lesson. He hoped she never would. "Thank you Sis, I want you to be happy all the time too." He smiled down at her.
John let out a sigh of relief, happy that Sherlock was going to allow him to help his husband in the smallest way he could manage at the moment. "When we go upstairs to get everything before we leave I will grab them." He paused and glanced at the kids before chuckling. "I'll go upstairs by myself and grab the bag and all that, you can stay here with the kids." They would be doing a lot of walking that day and he needed to keep Amy and Thomas as energized as possible.
Amy just smiled at her older brother, tilting her head to the side before she shrugged. "I thinks that I is always happy a'cause I doesn't focus on things too much," she murmured as she pushed some food around on her plate. "Maybe you should tries that."
Sherlock nodded again and leaned over to give John a quick kiss on the cheek. He just wanted things to be perfect for his family while they were on holiday so he didn't argue about the pills for the headache. Maybe they would even help make the throbbing in his head stop.
Thomas supposed he couldn't really argue with that logic. Except, he didn't know how to stop worrying about things. He just did. It wasn't like he enjoyed doing it all the time because it made him feel nervous and anxious a lot of the times.
John took another sip from his coffee as he watched their children interact with each other, taking in their soft conversation curiously. Amy was bright enough to notice how Thomas was impacted by the other kids at school and it astounded him. Their little girl was taking after Sherlock a lot more than he cared to admit. "She's you in the form of a three-year-old girl," he whispered with a smile.
"It makes you a lot likes Papa, y'know," Amy explained with a small shrug. "A'cause he worries, too, but I thinks it isn't too healthy and you is really young so maybes you should try just not worrying 'bouts things and just...be 'Mas.
Sherlock wasn't really sure how he should feel about his husband's statement. It made him frown because he didn't want their daughter to be like him. Have a normal childhood. The childhood he had never had. Would it turn her down the wrong path? Get into drugs like he had? Run away and live the States like he had? Shit. Just stop thinking. At this rate he was going to need the aspirin sooner rather than later.
Thomas' frown matched Sherlock's without him realizing it, but for entirely different reasons. "I can try Sis." He tried not to worry about things but sometimes he couldn't help it. His excitement was gone now, his feet still as he began picking at the food on his plate.
Right away John knew he had said the wrong thing and regret rushed through his body. "That's not..." He paused and set his tea down, grabbing his husbands hand and giving it a soft squeeze. "Sherlock, there's nothing wrong with her being like you," he said softly. "You don't need to over think it, Love, just accept it as the compliment that it is."
Amy twisted her mouth to the side in a very John-like fashion and sighed, pushing her plate away. "We is on holiday, 'Mas sos I thinks that you should just be happy and not worried about anything at all. Smile and I promise it will be just fine."
Sherlock managed a faint smile and a small nod of his head. Just focus on John and the kids. He glanced over to their children, Thomas was wearing the same look he was certain had just been on his face moments ago. "Hey Kiddo, Amy is right. We are on holiday, you should be smiling."
Thomas glanced to his sister and then his Daddy. He nodded his head a little and then gave a shy smile, embarrassed because all the attention was on him now.
John watched as his family practically forced themselves to cheer up and he had to accept that this was the best it would probably get for them. "We are going to have a fantastic day guys, I know we are." With that he finished off his coffee and stood up. "I will go and grab all of our stuff. I'll be right back." He brushed by his husband and placed a quick kiss on the top of his head before making his way toward the lift.
Amy started swinging her feet in her chair to mimic her brother, smiling from ear to ear and clearly oblivious to all of the tension around her. "I thinks that today is gonna be the bestest day ever." She looked at her brother and then to Sherlock. "I likes being with family."
"John is right. Today will be fun. You will get to learn and see a lot of new things today." Last time Sherlock hadn't backed up his husband, it hadn't ended well. He was determined not to make that mistake again. He tried to ignore the increasingly persistent throbbing in his head and finally began to sip his tea, even though it was a bit cold now.
Thomas brightened a bit. If Daddy said it, then it must be true. He continued to eat his food, his feet swinging excitedly again. "Can we take lots of pictures too?" He had promised Amy they would make a scrapbook together, so he was determined to get as many pictures as they could.
It hadn't taken long for John to grab everything they would need, including the pain medication for his husband. Before long he was back downstairs just in time to hear Thomas' question, grinning as he sat down next to Sherlock. "We have a camera so that means lots of pictures of you and Amy," he said softly as he handed the pills over to the man sitting beside him.
Amy grinned at the news that a lot of pictures would be taking, right away lifting her hands to start fixing her hair. "Now I has to looms cute a'cause they is going in my scrapsbook."
Sherlock looked over to Thomas. "How about we get you your own camera so you can take as many pictures as you want?" He was sure they could find disposable cameras in a gift shop somewhere. They still made those, didn't they? If not, well...he would get a cheap digital camera. He had already brought it up and he was trying to be a better father so he had already decided not to back out of it. He took the pills with the cold tea. Hopefully it would help. Sometimes it did and other times it didn't it.
Thomas' eyes lit up. "Really? Oh Daddy please!" His excitement faded as he watched his Daddy take some pills. "Daddy..." He paused, a small frown on in lips and his brows furrowed in confusion. "...how come you take stuff for your headaches when..." He trailed off and shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "Uncle Mycroft said drug addicts are always drug addicts..." He wasn't going to get that camera now, was he? He sighed and dropped his gaze.
John cringed and looked across the table at their son, instantly placing a hand on top of his husband's. "Sometimes Daddy gets headaches and this is not a bad drug, all right? It's a drug that doctors like me use to help people feel better." The last thing Sherlock needed was their son bringing up drugs while they were supposed to be on holiday and relaxing.
Amy, seemingly oblivious to everything happening around her, looked over at Thomas before slowly sliding from her chair and looking around. "We should goes now sos we can sees the island place," she said as she twirled at the hip to make her dress swish around her. "And then can we has that Donalds place for lunch?"
Right. Sherlock dropped his own head, but in shame instead. Little Sandi wasn't old enough to know, to understand but Thomas was. Now here their son was worrying about him because he was a stupid, selfish git at times. He finally forced himself to face Thomas, even though the boy still wasn't looking at him. "Thomas, I know I messed up in the past by I promise you I will never do anything like that again. All right?"
Thomas nodded and looked over at his parents and then Amy. He managed a small smile. "Sis is right. We should get going because we have lots to do!" He was still feeling...lost but this was supposed to be holiday time and he had decided to write in his journal later on tonight when they returned to the hotel.
John watched their kids for a long moment before moving to place a gentle kiss on his husband's cheek. "It's fine, I promise." The last thing they needed to worry about was their son suddenly bringing up Sherlock's drug addiction. "Just focus on forgetting it and your headache."
Amy watched her brother for a long moment before looking over at her parents. Something had obviously happened but she was so focused on having a good time that she found she hardly cared. Holiday was about being careless, she knew that much. "Let's go to the island!"
Sherlock nodded and gave John a quick kiss on the lips. "I know." Thomas seemed okay now and he supposed that was all that mattered. He got up out his chair and followed after his family. The children were clearly ready to go. He grabbed each of their hands gently, not wanting either to wander off. His husband was carrying their stuff, the least he could was look after their kids.
Thomas grinned happily as his Daddy took his hand. He swung their hands excitedly, practically skipping rather than walking. Today was going to be fun. He just had to stop worrying about things, just like his sister had said.
John smiled at his little family and took a few steps behind them, grabbing the camera and snapping a picture of them. Right away he couldn't help but smile as he looked at it. Sherlock was a perfect father despite what he said or thought. After slipping the camera into the bag he caught up to the little family, taking Thomas' hand into his own and giving it a small squeeze. "Ellis Island it is!"
Amy looked up at Sherlock, head tilted to the side as they continued to walk, swinging their hands with soft little laughs. "So we didn't comes here like immi- uh, the people's at the island, did we?"
Sherlock stopped for the picture. Right. That reminded him. He had told Thomas he would get him a disposable camera. Before leading his family outside, he stopped at a gift shop. They did in fact have them. He bought their son one but gave it to John to put in the bag for safe keeping. "Just let Dad know when you want it, and I'm sure he'll be more than happy to give it you Son." He smiled at Thomas and then little Sandi. "No Baby Girl, they came on a big boat. We came on an aeroplane." Did he try to explain planes didn't exist back then?
Thomas ginned happily, and he couldn't help but swing his hand holding Daddy's. His very own camera! He couldn't stop grinning at the thought.
Seeing that smile on their son's face was making the entire holiday worth it to John. It seemed like Thomas was hardly happy and little things were lighting up his face in the most delightful way. "And, Baby Girl, we aren't immigrants. We're just visitors because we will be going back to London." He squeezed their son's hand with a gentle smile.
Amy looked around curiously as they made their way out of the hotel and into a mass of people on the sidewalk. With a small shout she instantly moved closer to her Papa's leg, looking around with wide eyes.