Chapter Twenty-Nine: Names, Promises, and A Very Understanding Husband

John Watson grinned at Mycroft and Greg, each holding a bundle wrapped up. The eldest twin was wrapped in a blue blanket, his younger brother in a green one. The happy couple were grinning from ear-to-ear. Sherlock stood in the corner staring at the wall, frowning.

'Have you thought of names yet?' John asked, leaning over Greg and wagging his index finger in the baby's face. He'd chosen to approach Greg over Mycroft, who had made himself clear with regards to family. Mycroft had kidnapped John just for moving in with Sherlock... what if he accidently hurt one of the twins?

'We have,' Greg said and looked up at his husband.

Mycroft moved closer so that the twins were side by side. They looked identical. Although most babies do, John mused.

'Are they stupid names?' Sherlock demanded from the corner. 'I refused to be related to anybody with a dull name like–'

'John?' John suggested. 'John is a dull name.'

Sherlock frowned at his boyfriend. 'No, John is not a dull name. It's...'

He trailed off and John grinned. 'Completely dull,' he said.

'Well, weren't not naming either of them John,' Greg said. 'And despite my husband's insistence, we are not naming our boys Standish and Leonardo.'

'Leonardo da Vinci was a fantastic man,' Mycroft said.

Greg rolled his eyes. 'We've picked Lockland and Beckett. Lockland's in the blue blanket and Beckett's in the green.'

'What last name do they have?' John asked.

'Holmes,' Greg said. 'Holmes-Lestrade sounds stupid, and besides,' he grinned at his partner, 'Holmes carries a lot of weight.'

Mycroft rolled his eyes.

'Lockland?' Sherlock said, staring at his brother with narrowed eyes. 'You wouldn't dare.'

'I would,' Mycroft smiled. 'Come and meet Lockland, Sherlock.'

Sherlock glared at his brother.

'What's wrong?' John asked.

'Okay, what's going on?' Greg sighed.

Mycroft smiled. 'Shall I tell the story?'

'Don't-you-dare!' Sherlock snarled, stating each word carefully.

But Mycroft's grin just broadened. 'When we were young, and Sherlock didn't hate me, I used to call him Lockie. So whenever we met anyone new, they would assume his name was Lachlan, and he went so far as to spell it L-O-C-K-L-A-N-D because that looked better written than the traditional spelling. Lockland was a normal name, Sherlock wasn't. And Sherlock hated being teased.' He paused and looked his brother over. 'Eventually, when he grew to hate me, he went back to stating that his name was unique like he was. Now he never lets me call him Lockie.'

'That was a stupid part of my life when I had yet to accept how brilliant I was,' Sherlock said.

'It was a part of Sherlock's life when he wanted to be like everybody else,' Mycroft said. 'And I miss my brother, the one I was allowed to call Lockie.'

Sherlock growled and crossed his arms.

John and Greg grinned.

'Ah, that's so cute,' John said and leaned over Lockland, 'named after your Uncle Lockie.'

'If he was named after me he would be called Sherlock.'

John rolled his eyes.

'I think it's a nice name,' Greg said. 'Better then boring old Greg.'

'Gregory is not a boring name,' Mycroft said and kissed his husband. When they failed to break apart for a minute, John cleared his throat.

'Not in front of the children,' he joked.

Mycroft and Greg laughed. The past few weeks neither had had a chance to be alone. They'd spent all their time making sure Anthea was okay and that they were prepared for the babies.

Soon John was allowed to hold one of the twins and he smiled down at the baby, saying, 'Uncle John will always be here to protect you... though one of your father's occupies a minor position in the British Government, so I wouldn't be worried.' John added emphasis on the words Mycroft had said to him so long ago.

Mycroft smiled. 'It's only a small position, I assure you.'

The collected group laughed.

Sherlock hated being left out, absolutely hated it. So finally he moved from his spot in the corner and approached. He looked down at Beckett, who was being held by Mycroft, and then at Lockland, who John had.

'Want to hold him?' John asked.

Sherlock shook his head but John didn't care. He handed across the baby and he and Greg kept their eyes on Sherlock, making sure he didn't drop him.

The little body was warm in Sherlock's arms, surprisingly warm. He shifted about so that he was comfortable and looked down at the baby. He had a clean, pink face, with a little upturned nose that Sherlock somehow found cute. His hard exterior was quickly softening and broke down all together when Lockland opened his eyes.

They were a startling blue, just like Mycroft's and Sherlock's. It wasn't hard to see that the twins would grow up to look like Mycroft... and perhaps Sherlock, too.

Suddenly Sherlock was grinning as Lockland looked at him. He leaned down and started making noises, bouncing the little baby. Lockland seemed to like that and was content to be nestled in his uncle's arms.

'Ah, look at the sociopath, gone all gooey over the baby,' John laughed.

Sherlock didn't bother glaring at him. He was too consumed with the baby.

Mycroft smiled and handed Beckett to Greg. He then crossed and hugged his brother, making sure not to hurt the baby.

'What was that for?' Sherlock asked, staring at his brother.

'For being you,' Mycroft smiled and there was the hint of tears in his eyes.

Not comfortable with the sudden display of affection from his brother, Sherlock handed Lockland to him and left.

John said, 'Be back in a minute,' and followed Sherlock outside.

'What's wrong?' John asked.

Sherlock pulled John into a hug and kissed him furiously, drawing the eyes of at least a dozen people. When they broke apart John raised his eyebrows.

'Seeing them... new life,' Sherlock said and looked at John carefully. 'I love you, John. And I want to marry you and have babies with you.'

John froze, completely shocked. This wasn't how he'd imagined his day turning out.

'You... you what?'

Sherlock rolled his eyes. 'I want to marry you and have babies. Granted, we'll have to use a surrogate like my brother and Greg... but we can do it.'

'You... you want to have children?' John said, still in shock. 'You want to marry me?'

'I don't have a ring,' Sherlock said but he got down on one knee anyway. 'John Hamish Watson, will you marry me?'

John stared down at him for three seconds before saying, 'Yes.'

Sherlock grinned broadly and leapt up, wrapping his arms around John.

In the doorway, Mycroft and Greg smiled at the happy couple.

'Seems celebrations all around,' Greg said.

Mycroft nodded. 'I never thought my brother would get married. I never thought I would get married.'

Greg smiled and kissed Mycroft fiercely. 'I'm glad your thoughts were wrong.'

Mycroft had to agree and he grinned, kissing his husband carefully. Mycroft's phone beeped and they both groaned, breaking apart. Mycroft answered it and had a quick and hushed conversation before hanging up. He looked at Greg.

'I know, you have to go,' Greg sighed.

'I will in five minutes,' Mycroft said, 'I want to look at the twins again.' He paused. 'I'm sorry, Gregory.'

'That's okay,' Greg said, 'I know what your job is like.'

He knew it was important, that what Mycroft did mattered. Mycroft's work would always interfere with their lives but it couldn't be helped. Greg knew his husband loved his job but the important thing was that he loved his family more. And despite going when he was called, if it were Mycroft's choice, he'd stay with his family.

The couple kissed quickly before going back into the room to admire the newest additions to their family, Lockland and Beckett Holmes.

{THE END}

Author's Note: I think I promised thirty chapters but alas, the story stops at twenty-nine. So, we reach the end of this little tale. I have at least five more Mycroft and Lestrade stories in work so keep an eye out. I've also been thinking of doing this same story but from Sherlock and John's point of view; so it'll follow Sherlock and John as they get together, get married, etcetera. We'll see how it goes... I have a feeling it'll be called "The Younger Holmes".

By the way, I always imagined the twins would be called Lockland Sherlock Holmes and Beckett Johnathan Holmes (Sherlock after his uncle, of course, and Johnathan after both Greg and John, as I made Greg's middle name Johnathan).

Also, Lockland is pronounced the same as Lachlan but with a D on the end.

I hope you enjoyed this little piece of fiction. I don't own any of it, apart from the story telling. All credit for the wonderful characters goes to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat. Cudos to them!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed the story or took the time to email me. I appreciate all the lovely words and hope everyone enjoyed the story.

I live to entertain.

And, most importantly,

{IBegToDreamAndDiffer}