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Chapter Text

Late at night, Tara and Mycroft laid naked on a sun-bed in the middle of a swimming pool, outside the villa suite of a hotel. Tara laid in Mycroft's arms, her head resting on his chest while he had one arm wrapped around her slender frame. Mycroft reached his hand to the bedside table and grabbed a pack of cigarettes lying next to an empty box of condoms. He held out the pack to Tara, who slid it open and took a cigarette. Mycroft placed the pack back on the table and grabbing the lighter lying on the table, he lit the cigarette between Tara's lips. Tara took one long drag and passed it to Mycroft as she exhaled, 'This is weird, right? Us like this, it's weird, right?' she asked and continued to stare up at the night sky.

Mycroft coughed and looked at Tara in slight worry. After all, they had just renewed their vows and for her to say something like that, now that was weird, 'What?' he asked, still coughing.

Tara immediately realised what Mycroft was thinking and chuckled lightly, 'No, I mean us on this long government-sponsored vacation, completely relaxed, not a care in the world. That feels weird' she explained.

Tara could feel Mycroft's chest rumble as he chuckled softly and hummed in response, 'It won't last long. It'll pass when we get back to London. There is a lot of work to be done' he told her.

Tara got herself out of Mycroft's grip and looked at him, propping herself up on her elbow, 'After everything that has happened in the past two years, you think you can just go back to boring diplomatic work?' she asked.

Mycroft smiled at his wife, more so at the rare moment of him imparting wisdom to her, 'You don't have to worry about life getting monotonous and boring. Life will always find a way to make itself interesting' he told her and kissed her. 'And if not, the Prime Minister will' he said as they pulled apart.

Tara chortled, 'What?!' and asked.

Mycroft smiled and shook his head gingerly, 'The Prime Minister's new legislative agenda. Education reform. A complete overhaul. That's what I'll be working on after we get back' he explained.

Tara hummed and turned, laying on her back, 'After everything that has happened, it's hard to believe he didn't fire you. Instead, he sent us on this month-long vacation completely sponsored by the government and he's trusting you with this Education Bill' she mused.

Mycroft cocked his head, 'Well, that's the thing about having highly skilled people in your circle, you don't want to lose them. Rather, you can't afford to lose them' he told Tara.

Tara sighed, 'While you are busy being too valuable to lose to the Prime Minister, I'm going to rebuild the bakery from the ground up' she told Mycroft. She had been thinking about it for a while but hadn't told Mycroft until now.

Mycroft nodded reluctantly, 'You know, you could take me up on my offer' he reminded her.

Tara huffed a laugh, 'I'm good. Thank you' she said and turned to Mycroft. Her chin resting Mycroft's chest, 'I have decided to change the bakeries name, build it back up from the ground up, and make Mrs. Hudson and Grace equal partners' she said. The bakery had been neglected ever since Tara had been kidnapped by Eye. Grace and Mrs. Hudson had tried to shoulder the load of the bakery but the bakery had suffered a huge loss and dip in its popularity. Under her current circumstances, Tara was in no condition to run the bakery all by herself. So, she decided she would share the load with Mrs. Hudson and Grace. Both Mrs. Hudson and Grace could use the extra money and Tara could use the help. The three of them would start afresh. 'What do you think?' Tara asked with a hopeful smile.

Mycroft shrugged, 'I think it's a very good idea' he said. But Tara going back to national security was an even better idea. In Mycroft's opinion, Tara belonged in the intelligence and security business. She would never feel the fulfilment and satisfaction that she felt as an agent, in running a bakery. Mycroft had given her an option once. She had declined it. It was her choice, and Mycroft wouldn't and couldn't force her.

Tara smiled happily, 'I'm thinking we call it Bread, Basket, and Beyond'.

.....

In the morning, at the bakery, Tara, Grace, and Mrs. Hudson were working on the remodelling. New name. New ownership. So, Bread, Basket, and Beyond would need a new design. As they were putting up the décor, Grace noticed Tara's strained breathing, she was out of breath. Tara breathed heavily and tiredly collapsed on a chair nearby. She looked terribly exhausted.

'Maybe you should go get some rest' Grace suggested.

Tara shook her head, 'I'm fine, just a little tired' she admitted.

Grace pursed her lips, 'Tara, we have hired people to do all this. You should go home and rest, you had surgery just a few weeks ago' she reminded Tara.

Tara sighed, 'I don't know. I was fine a few weeks ago, even after the surgery I was doing just fine' she told Grace. Now, even the most-simplest everyday chores made her breathless and exhausted.

Grace, shook her head, 'But a few weeks ago you weren't setting up a shop all over again' she pointed out.

'I can't leave you and Mrs. Hudson to do everything' Tara said.

Grace snorted, 'Oh, don't you worry about that. With Mrs. Hudson around I don't think we're going to have to do much work. She knows just how to get things done' she said. It was true, ever since they had started remodelling the bakery Mrs. Hudson had taken up the role of a supervisor. And one had to admit she was very good at getting people to do their jobs. 'And with Whiskey here we're making tips like a stripper in primetime Las Vegas' she said petted the impossibly cute bloodhound.

Tara looked at her in shock, 'You're making money off my dog. How? We're not even open yet' she reasoned.

Grace shrugged casually, 'Oh, we just strap a bucket to his collar and let him loose, and he makes about 50 bucks every day. That's more than I ever made' she said and smirked proudly.

Tara glared at Grace for pimping out her dog like a prostitute in post-war Berlin, then she looked at her dog and petted him, 'I'm sorry, baby'.

.........

In the mansion dining room, after a long day of work, Tara and Mycroft were having dinner in complete and very uncomfortable silence. Tara looked at Mycroft as he lazily picked at his dinner like a five-year-old, barely eating a bite here and there, 'What's the matter?' she asked and took another bite.

'Nothing' Mycroft muttered without looking up at her.

'Mycroft' Tara asked again knowing he had been very stressed lately because of the Education reform bill.

Mycroft sighed and looked up from his dinner, 'Would you like to go to a gala with me?' he asked as if he weren't interested at all. And it was true he couldn't care less about some gala.

Tara pursed her lips and frowned, 'Mycroft, I would love to but you understand....' galas were not her thing either.

Mycroft cut her off, 'It's only going to be rich old white men, diplomats, politicians and their wives. No one will recognize you there' he assured her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

Tara gave him a small smile and reluctantly nodded, 'Fine but no pictures' she said.

'Understood' Mycroft smiled, 'You should know having you there will make it so much more bearable' he told her and started eating.

Tara furrowed her brows, 'If you hate it so much, why don't you just skip it?' she told him.

He raised his eyebrows and cocked his head, 'I think you know the answer to that' he said.

Tara smiled and nodded, 'You are obligated to attend these events and put up with all the goldfish in the world because of your work' she stated.

Mycroft nodded, 'Also because of the bill. We don't have the votes for it so, I am going to be there to whip up some votes' he sighed. Mycroft hated social gatherings.

Tara chuckled lightly and shook her head, knowing very well about her husband's distaste in carrying out polite conversations and small talk, 'You'll be fine. The bill is for a good cause. I'm sure it will pass' she assured him and reached for his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

....................

In the evening, in the mansion closet, Mycroft glanced at his beautiful, slender and poised wife in the mirror, as he got ready for the gala. He watched her as she silently scrutinized her figure in her own mirror. Mycroft fixed his bow tie one last time before turning around and walking across the closet to her side, 'You look beautiful, my dear' he told her as he zipped up her evening gown and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Tara looked at his reflection in her mirror doubtfully, 'Are you sure? I might have gained some weight in the past few weeks. John told me to take it easy for a few months because of the surgery. So, I haven't really been working out. Do I look fat to you?' she whined and turned in his arms to face him.

Mycroft shook his head, 'You look absolutely beautiful' he told her and pulled her up in to a soft kiss.

Tara broke the kiss but didn't pull away. With their foreheads still touching, 'Well, either you're lying or the weighing scale is broken. But I am going to choose to believe you' she said and let her lips meet his again.

As they pulled apart, Mycroft smirked, 'Because I love you and I'd never lie to you?' he asked.

Tara snorted, 'No, because it's a hell of a lot more convenient'.

Later, with their arms linked, Tara and Mycroft sashayed through the halls of The Mandarin in glamourous formal wear, 'I should apologize in advance for tonight' Mycroft said as they reached the ball room.

Tara raised an eyebrow at Mycroft, not understanding why he was apologising.

He sighed and explained himself 'This is work so, I might abandon you at some point of the night, to convince some of the MPs to vote for the bill...' he said.

With a tender, understanding expression, 'Mycroft, I understand. And, I can handle myself' Tara cut him off and assured him.

Mycroft breathed in, in somewhat relief, 'If you feel bored or exhausted at any point, have Thomas take you back to the mansion' he told her sternly.

A small smile bloomed on Tara's lips at Mycroft's concern, 'I will be absolutely fine, Mycroft. I just need you to promise me one thing' she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. She then fixed his tie and smoothed his lapel.

Mycroft hummed, 'And what is that?' he smirked.

Tara gaze shifted between her husband's eyes and lips, 'Save me a dance, will you?' she asked with a smile.

'It would be my pleasure' Mycroft kissed her gently. Placing his hand on the small of her back, he led her inside the luxurious ball room at The Mandarin.

As the couple entered and made their way through milling guests, they saw a lot of surprised faces greeting them. Lady Smallwood shot Mycroft a menacing look and turned away.

Mycroft grimaced and reached for the champagne, 'Here. You're going to need a lot of this' he said and handed Tara a glass of champagne.

Tara took a sip of her champagne, 'Oh, Dear Lord! I thought events like this were supposed to have good champagne' she gagged and left the glass on a nearby table.

Mycroft looked at his wife in slight surprise and nodded, 'This is good champagne' he insisted taking another sip of his champagne, as if making sure he was right.

Tara scoffed derisively, 'Clearly you haven't had good champagne. That was bloody awful' she told him.

Before he can retort they are interrupted, 'Mr. Holmes' Sir Edwin greeted Mycroft.

'Sir Edwin, it's good to see you' Mycroft said and shook Sir Edwin's hand.

Sir Edwin smiled pleasantly, 'It's good to see you too. And who do we have here?' he turned towards Tara.

'This is my wife, Tara Holmes. Tara this is Sir Edwin' Mycroft introduced them.

'Your wife! I thought that was an office rumour' Sir Edwin asked in surprise.

'I assure you it's not' Mycroft told him and forced a polite smile.

'It's very nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Holmes' Sir Edwin smiled and offered his hand.

Tara took it, giving it a firm shake 'It's nice to meet you as well, Sir Edwin' she greeted.

Mycroft got pulled away to talk work and as promised Tara was left alone. She decided to make her way to Lady Smallwood at the bar. She was the only person Tara knew in that room, also she never had the chance to ask how Evonne was doing.

Mycroft glanced at Tara in between his conversation with Sir Edwin. He worried when he saw her talking to Lady Smallwood. Lady Smallwood had been particularly rude towards him ever since she found out about his relationship with Tara. Mycroft had refused to have anything other than a sexual relationship with her, saying he wasn't one for emotions. That was before he met Tara. He was worried she would say something unnecessarily rude to Tara and upset her. But he was surprised to see that his wife didn't need rescuing. She was handling herself pretty well. In fact, she was laughing with Lady Smallwood. They seemed to be enjoying a very interesting conversation so, Mycroft decided to stand back. He didn't want to ruin it for the two ladies. He didn't know if Lady Smallwood had forgiven him yet.

Later that night, Tara glanced over at Mycroft, who was having a conversation with one of the MPs, standing near an ice sculpture. It was more of a monologue from the MP than a dialogue between the two. Mycroft looked utterly bored by him, '......take it from a block of ice. Especially in Winnipeg they have large......', the MP told Mycroft, who was listening awkwardly, trying to look interested.

Tara intervened and took Mycroft's arm, 'I am so sorry to do this but Mr. Holmes is needed for an emergency dancing situation' she joked as she pulled her husband towards the dance floor and the MP nodded understandingly with a smile.

'Sorry. I can't say no to her' Mycroft told him and led Tara to the dance floor.

Mycroft smoothly wrapped Tara into a dance embrace and they waltzed together beautifully. 'Hello' Mycroft whispered into Tara's ear as they waltzed.

'Hello' She smiled at him.

'Thank you for saving me' he said as he led along the music.

'I had to, it looked like he was killing you' Tara giggled.

'We talked about Ice. Ice. ICE' he said gritting his teeth, his face grimaced as he thought about the conversation.

Tara laughed and hid her face in his chest 'You poor baby' she pouted.

Mycroft rolled his eyes and swallowed at that statement. He wanted to say something but instead changed the subject, 'I see you have managed to impress Lady Smallwood. I did not see that coming' Mycroft said and wore an impressed smile on his face.

Tara shrugged and shook her head, 'I don't know what you're talking about, she is a very pleasant lady' she teased.

'Sure' Mycroft scoffed.

Tara looked up at Mycroft with a seductive smile, 'I can see why she was upset. You're quite the catch' she flirted shamelessly.

Mycroft rolled his eyes and shook his head, before smiling and saying' Thank you.'

'How is the bill coming along?' Tara asked.

Mycroft cocked his head, 'I should be asking you. How do you do it? How do you weasel your way into people's hearts? Everybody here loves you. You have definitely whipped up more votes than I have' he teased. He had been observing her throughout the evening. She had handled herself very well with people she wasn't remotely familiar with.

Tara tilted her head, 'Well, I weaselled my way into yours, compared to that this was a cake walk. And I wouldn't say everybody, I'm pretty sure all their wives hate me' she said as she eyed the spouses.

Mycroft looked in the direction Tara was looking, 'I don't think so. Lady Smallwood has been speaking very highly of you' he reassured her.

Tara was slightly taken aback, 'Well, isn't that nice of her' she smiled.

'May I have a dance Mrs. Holmes?' Sir Thomas intervened.

'Of course, Sir Thomas' Tara smiled as Mycroft placed her hand in Sir Thomas' and left.

Sir Thomas shrugged of the formality, 'Oh, please, call me Thomas' he said and wrapped Tara into a dancing embracing.

Tara smiled and nodded, 'Then you can call me, Tara' she said.

'Okay, Tara, tell me something, would you be interested in a job offer' Sir Thomas asked as they waltzed.

Tara looked at him with a knowing smirk, 'Counter Terrorism Squad. I see Mycroft has spoken to you' she said.

Sir Thomas sheepishly nodded, 'He did' she was a lot better than he had expected. Mycroft was her husband, anything he said in Tara's favour would be considered with a grain of salt. But Sir Thomas could see he was wrong to underestimate the woman.

Tara huffed a laugh, 'I have a few conditions' she told him.

Sir Thomas nodded, 'Of which I am fully aware' he said.

Tara smiled faintly and gave a slight nod, 'Good' she said.

Sir Thomas glanced at her, 'Is that a 'yes'' he asked hopefully.

Tara looked at him, considering, 'It's an 'I need to sleep on it before, I can give you an answer'' she said.

'What can I do to convince you?' Sir Thomas asked.

Tara shook her head gingerly, 'There is nothing more you can say to convince me. But there is a lot I need to think about, things are different now' she told him.

Sir Thomas sighed, 'Alright, though I can assure that there will be no conflict of interest, it's a part-time consulting position- no combat, and you will only work on missions that you choose to accept' he explained.

Tara smiled graciously, 'That's a very generous offer' she said.

Sir Thomas shrugged, 'We could use someone with your skill set. My agents can learn a lot from you' he said and glanced at the surprised look on Tara's face 'Oh, yes, I have heard a lot about you' he told her.

Tara smirked knowingly 'Techie' she muttered.

Sir Thomas shook his head and smirked, 'You retired the 'Techie', they call you something else now' he informed her.

Tara cocked her head, 'They do?' she asked as they approached the end of their dance.

Sir Thomas nodded, 'They do. Come on board and I'll tell you', he whispered temptingly into her ear as they parted.

Rolling her eyes, Tara shook her head, 'How very tempting...'

Later that night, Mycroft looked over to Tara, she was talking to some of the MP's spouses. She was laughing and seemed to be enjoying the conversation but, Mycroft could tell she was tired. He decided they were done for the night. He could whip votes later. He walked over to her and smoothly led her out of the room.

'So, what's the verdict?' Tara asked as soon as they got into the car and fell back into their seats.

Mycroft raised an eyebrow at her interest in the matter and she rolled her eyes, 'We got the votes' he smiled.

Tara smiled tiredly, 'I'm glad to hear that' she said.

Mycroft looked at her with a glint of tenderness, 'I couldn't have done it alone. You helped a lot tonight. You were extraordinary' he reached for her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Tara shook her head gingerly, 'I was happy to help. Not just because of you but because I actually believe in this bill. It's good work, Mycroft' she told him and sighed, leaning on his shoulder.

The car stopped at a traffic signal and Tara gazed out of the window at a toddler strapped in the backseat of a car that had stopped next to theirs. Mycroft watched with a faint smile as Tara interacted with the young dark haired boy. She waved at him and made faces as he waved back and blew kisses at her.

Tara waved goodbye to her new friend as the traffic light turned green and the car moved ahead. She slumped back into her seat and leaned on Mycroft's shoulder. She was exhausted. It had been a long evening for both of them. Mycroft understood that, he looked at her for a moment, observing the slightest details. He felt a warm feeling spreading through his chest as he observed her. He blamed it on all the alcohol he had consumed at the gala and pushed it away. He sighed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder pulling her close. At that moment, Mycroft knew their life was going to change forever. Only time could tell if it would be for the better or worse.

.....

Chapter Text

In the morning, almost invisible in the pitch-dark night, Mycroft and Tara ran side by side wearing black running gear, with Whiskey running ahead of them along a dimly lit pathway with a pair of diplomatic security detail running closely behind them, followed by an SUV with bright headlights. Mycroft was holding Whiskey's leash as he ran. They ran at an easy pace down the middle of the quiet tree-lined street, bordered by parked cars. Mycroft ran at a brisk pace. Slowly and steadily, Mycroft increased his pace, and without realizing he had left Tara behind. Tara struggled to catch up with Mycroft, as he ran into the fog with the bloodhound. Tara caught up to Mycroft with great difficulty and stopped Mycroft so she could catch her breath. After a few seconds of rest, they nodded at each other and continued their run.
Inside the house, Tara made two glasses of protein shake for them, as Mycroft filled Whiskey's bowl with water. As they started their morning routine and started getting ready for work, Mycroft noticed how utterly exhausted Tara looked and it was just the beginning of the day. She was usually a lot more energetic even if they had just run five miles.
At the breakfast table, Mycroft and Tara sat in the dining room with plentiful food set in front of them; waffles, fruit, toast, tea, coffee, juice, butter, jam, etc. Tara sat with a cup of coffee, while Mycroft sat having some fruit, toast, and tea for breakfast as he read through a section of the day's newspaper.
Mycroft looked over to Tara and furrowed his brows, 'Aren't you going to eat?' he asked, surprised she wasn't eating her favorite breakfast.
Tara looked up from the other section of the day's newspaper she was reading, and to the plate of waffles topped with raspberries lying untouched in front of her, 'I just don't feel like eating. Probably something I ate yesterday didn't agree with me' she shrugged and went back to her newspaper.
Mycroft half-heartedly nodded as Mrs. Greene entered the dining room, 'Mr. Holmes, Tara, what would you like to have for dinner tonight?' the older woman asked.
Tara hummed in thought and looked up at her, 'How about yams?' she asked and continued to read absent-mindedly.
Mycroft and Mrs. Greene looked at her in surprise, they never ate yams in the Holmes household, 'Yams?' Mrs. Greene asked making sure she was hearing the woman right.
Tara nodded, 'Yup' she popped the 'p' and gave Mycroft the section of the newspaper she was reading and took the section he had been reading.
Mrs. Greene looked at Mycroft with a coy smile, 'I'd have to run by the supermarket but that's not a problem' she said and left.
Mycroft could sense the wheels in Mrs. Greene's old lady brain churning. He looked at Tara with an uncertain expression, as she continued to read the newspaper, wondering how long it would take her to make the simple deduction he had made days ago. One that now even Mrs. Greene had made.
........
In the bakery, Grace walked into the walk-in, looking for Tara. She found Tara standing in the freezing walk-in, eating cheesecake with a spoon, right out of the pan. She stood with the walk-in door left ajar and stared at Tara as she ravaged the cheesecake. After about a minute, Tara realized there was an intruder staring at her.
Tara looked up at Grace, 'What?! I didn't have breakfast this morning' she shrugged and continued to eat.
Grace huffed a laugh, 'Oh, no, I eat here all the time. I'm just surprised you're eating in the walk-in' she asked as she came in, rubbing her arms for warmth.
Tara shrugged with a mouth full of cheesecake, 'It's hot out. No matter how low I set the thermostat, I still feel like I'm in a sauna' she said went on destroying the desert.
Grace furrowed her brows in confusion, 'We live in London' she pointed out and Tara ignored her, 'Are you okay?' Grace asked her mentor.
Tara nodded, 'Yeah' she said and went on with her breakfast.
Grace cocked her head and swallowed, 'You're eating about half of the food we make here. You still want to stick to yeah?' she asked.
Tara looked up at her, 'I'm hungry' she replied with her mouth full.
Grace nodded understandingly, 'This is not the first time I've caught you eating in the walk-in' she pointed out.
Tara put down the fork because she was finally full, 'What are you getting at?' she asked absent-mindedly.
Grace mustered the courage and was about to take the bullet and point out the obvious to her oblivious mentor but she was saved from the effort by Mrs. Hudson who was looking for her two partners, 'Hey, what are you two yammering on about while I'm running everything alone out there?' she chided and asked as she walked in towards the younger women.
Grace looked at Mrs. Hudson knowingly, 'I found her eating in the walk-in. Again' she told her landlady and partner.
Mrs. Hudson nodded knowingly, 'Did you tell her what we think?' she whispered but it was loud enough for Tara to hear.
Tara shook her head, 'I don't see, what the big deal is. I'm hungry and part-owner of this establishment. Can't a lady get some food around here?' she asked in irritation.
Mrs. Hudson huffed tiredly, 'Come on lady, you're eating everything in the shop, staying in the walk-in all day because you can't stop sweating, and your boobs got huge weeks ago. At least you're filling out into that bra of yours now' she said, hoping she had made it clear to the younger woman.
Tara looked down and buttoned her shirt, taken aback by her little scolding, narrowed her eyes, 'You think, I'm in perimenopause?' she asked and the two women rolled their eyes, telling her she was still not on the right track, 'Wait, you don't think, I'm...' she started on the right track but trailed off worriedly.
'YES' Mrs. Hudson and Grace asserted firmly at the same time.
Tara swallowed and shook her head, 'I can't be' she said and breathed visibly.
Mrs. Hudson cocked her head sympathetically, 'Are you late?' she asked.
Tara shrugged, 'I just had heart surgery, it might have messed up my cycle...' she tried to point out.
Grace cut her off, 'Have you and Mycroft been taking care business?' she asked suggestively and nudged Tara with a smirk.
Tara closed her eyes and sighed audibly, 'Round the clock, like horny teenagers' she sulked.
Grace shrugged and nodded, 'Then you can' she said.
Tara shook her head worriedly, 'No' she said refusing to accept it.
Mrs. Hudson placed her hand on her shoulder comfortingly, 'Sweetie, you need a pregnancy test' she pressed as gently as possible.
Grace ran to the drug store and bought a pregnancy test, while Mrs. Hudson closed the bakery and kept Tara from freaking out. They sat in the office and waited for the pregnancy test that Tara had taken, to show the result.
Tara sat tapping her foot anxiously on the wood floor, 'How long?' she asked Grace who had set the timer on her phone.
Grace looked at her phone, '30 seconds' she said.
Mrs. Hudson raised her eyebrows, pleasantly surprised, 'Wow, these things have come way ahead since I was a girl' she said and huffed a laugh.
Grace chuckled softly, 'Well, in all fairness, that was a long time ago' she said and Tara shot her an 'Are you out of your mind?' look as Mrs. Hudson glared at her, threatening her to continue laughing. Sometimes Grace was like the kid at the zoo who kept poking the sleeping lion. Only that day she was smart enough to stop immediately and look at the timer on her phone, 'Okay, count down. 10, 9, 8,...' she announced excitedly.
Tara glared at her, 'OH, SHUT UP' she yelled at Grace and looked at the pregnancy test in her hands. She stared at the stick in shock, 'No way' she gasped.
'WHAT?' Mrs. Hudson and Grace asked at the same time bringing Tara out of her thoughts.
Tara looked up at the two women in front of her, 'It's positive' she said, feeling her mouth go dry as she managed to utter the two simple words.
Grace grabbed the test from Tara's hand and looked at it for herself, 'Maybe a little too positive' she said and raised her eyebrows in surprise, looking at the two dark pink lines. Mrs. Hudson and Grace observed the devastated expression that had captured Tara's face, 'So, are you happy about this or are you exercising your legal right to choose?' she asked.
Tara looked up not comprehending a word of what Grace had said, 'Huh?' she asked.
Grace nodded knowingly, 'So, I'm guessing you weren't trying' she concluded but was being polite and respectful of her mentor's situation. After all, Tara had been nothing but supportive through her pregnancy scare.
Tara shook her head and collapsed against the wall, panting heavily. Grace caught her and helped her carefully to the floor so she didn't crash. Mrs. Hudson and Grace sat next to Tara and handed her a paper bag to breathe into as she tried to calm herself down.
At night, Mycroft and Tara sat on their bed. Mycroft was working on his laptop and Tara was reading a book. Mycroft was buried under work. The bill would go to the floor in a few days and Mycroft was incredibly stressed about it.
Through his peripheral vision, Mycroft could tell she wasn't paying attention to her book. She was lost in thought. She hadn't changed the page in 15 minutes. She suddenly closed the book and put it down, turning to him.
'I am pregnant' Tara blurted out. What if he left her? Banished her from his life. Sure, he was an honest man he would support her financially but there would be no place for Tara or the child in his life. What if he stayed with her just out of obligation? She would never force him to do anything that he didn't want to do. All these thoughts plagued her mind. But this wasn't on the top of her list. Did she even want this? That was a question she didn't have an answer to.
'I know' Mycroft said without looking up from his laptop and continued to type. He ignored the warm feeling in his chest as indigestion or heartburn.
Tara gaped and blinked rapidly, 'How? When?' she asked in bafflement.
Mycroft looked at her and raised an eyebrow. She shook her head at the stupidity of her question. He was Mycroft Holmes. He had probably deduced it before she could even figure it out. 'I deduced it two weeks ago at the gala. I figured you would want to find out yourself and tell me', he said and got back to his work.
So, he did figure it out before her, she thought. Why was she even surprised?
There was an awkward silence for minutes. Mycroft knew his wife very well. He knew she would flip if he tried to tell her what he thought and think that he was trying to manipulate her and get his way. He would end up nothing more than a pile of blood and splintered bones if he tried anything. He knew she loved children. She wanted children but her past made it extremely scary. He couldn't assume anything. His best course of action- DO NOT ENGAGE.
The thought of having a child didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. In the past, Mycroft would have laughed at even the possibility of it, but now he wasn't completely disgusted or repulsed by the idea. That was progress in his book. Perhaps because it was Tara, he had always trusted her to make the right decision. Mycroft had decided he would support her no matter what.
He took his glasses off, placed them on the nightstand and closed his laptop, placing it on the nightstand as well. He turned to Tara and pulled her hands into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of his head.
Tara didn't know what to expect. She didn't know how Mycroft would react to the news or how he would feel about it. They had discussed kids early in their relationship. He told her he didn't want any and they never discussed it any further out of convenience. She could count the fact that Mycroft hadn't locked her out of the house as a win but she had bigger problems to deal with. She herself didn't know how she felt about this. She didn't need him to say anything, Mycroft's embrace had been enough proof, that he would support her.
The next morning, instead of making a cup of tea for himself and a cup of coffee for Tara, he made two cups of tea. He didn't want to assume anything but he didn't want to get yelled at either.
Tara looked at the cup of tea Mycroft had pushed towards her and sighed, 'You haven't said a word' she said and took a sip of the tea. She grimaced at the unfamiliar taste. Not that she hadn't had tea before, she just preferred coffee. She was already doubtful about everything and having a cup of tea first thing in the morning instead of her beloved coffee wasn't helping. She craved the aromatic, bitter, acidic taste of coffee on her tongue.
'No' Mycroft said flatly, as he sat down browsing through the newspapers.
'Where does that leave us?' she asked.
Mycroft sighed and put the paper down, 'I am fully prepared to accept whatever decision you make, and I have been for some time' he told her as supportively as possible.
Tara was rather surprised by his answer. Surprised not happy, 'Even if that decision changes our lives forever?' she asked rationally, secretly hoping he would change his mind.
'There are ways to work around it' Mycroft said and resumed reading his paper.
Tara gaped at him, 'Work around it?! Mycroft, this is a...' she couldn't bring herself to even finish the sentence, afraid it might make the situation truer than it already was. 'You can't work around this. You can't ignore it or avoid it and pretend it's not there, coz it's going to be there', she shrieked and reasoned pointing into thin air.
Mycroft sighed. He didn't know what to say. He thought him being calm about it would help her make a decision with a clear mind. Obviously, it wasn't working. He stretched his hand across the kitchen table and reached for her hand, 'I know you'll do whatever you think is best' he said and gave her hand a gentle squeeze before he got up and left.
Tara wasn't particularly attached to her pregnancy. Mycroft could understand given everything that had happened with Ayesha. He didn't know if he was either. He had never entertained the idea. But he figured even though he didn't know how to be a good father, he did know how to be a good husband and partner. He had learned to be a good partner. He would stick to that and maybe it would work itself out. He focused on making Tara as comfortable as possible. But that was difficult when she kept avoiding him. It didn't help that her body was raging with hormones.
At night, Mycroft entered the quiet mansion. He placed his keys and briefcase on the front hall table quietly. He placed his umbrella on the stand and took off his coat. As he entered the house, he met Mrs. Greene who was leaving for the day, 'Where's Tara?' asked knowing she wasn't home yet.
Mrs. Greene breathed, 'Umm...She asked you not to wait up for her, she would be late' she hated being stuck between the two.
Mycroft nodded and wished her goodnight. He waited for about an hour at the dining table, hoping they could have an actual conversation about what was going on. But when Tara didn't show up, he ate alone and made a plate for Tara. Leaving it in the microwave, he went to bed alone.
Late at night, Tara entered the house quietly and made her way to the kitchen, hoping Mycroft had gone to sleep. She looked at the plate of food in the microwave. She was hungry but she didn't have the heart to eat and kept the plate of food in the fridge just the way it was. She carefully stepped into the bedroom, looking at Mycroft on their bed, asleep on his side, and sneaked into the bathroom without switching on any lights. She got dressed for bed and slipped under the cover, trying not to disturb her sleeping husband. Only she didn't know he had been awake the whole time, haunted by the silence that separated them. Eventually, the two drifted off to sleep out of the day's exhaustion.
Tara didn't know how to process everything that was happening, Mycroft understood that. He tried to give her space. But he wanted her to talk to him about it, and she didn't. They started becoming very distant towards each other. They barely spoke to each other and lived like two strangers in their own home. They both buried themselves in work, that was the perfect excuse for not seeing each other without guilt getting in their way.
The silence had crept into their routine, and every day Mycroft came home to an empty house. He would have dinner alone, make a plate for Tara, and lay awake on his side, waiting for Tara to come. Tara would come home and keep the plate of food, Mycroft prepared for her in the fridge, going to bed on an empty stomach. They would both lay awake in bed together, completely unaware of the other's sleeplessness, and eventually drift off from exhaustion. This went on for almost two weeks and Tara had gradually shifted herself into the guest bedroom, afraid of the slightest bit of contact with Mycroft. But how far could she get away from him? She was carrying a part of him in her.
His patience had been wearing thin. Mycroft couldn't take it anymore and took the first chance he got to physically get away from the haunting silence between him and Tara. There was a diplomatic crisis in Italy and Mycroft said that he had to be there, though the crisis could have easily been solved without him. He got on one of the government planes as soon as possible and left.
In the morning, when Tara got out of the shower, she found her husband completely dressed, packing a bag. Wearing a white bathrobe, she approached him. He glanced at her quickly before he finished packing his suitcase, 'I have work in Rome. I'll see you in a few days' he said, picking up his suitcase as he walked to the door. 'My phone' he muttered and turned around.
'It's in your hand' Tara sighed. Mycroft nodded and brushed a chaste kiss on his wife's cheek as if nothing had happened.
With a pensive expression, Tara watched through the window as her husband's car left the driveway. Tara hadn't bothered to stop him. He was going away himself and that was good for her. So, she got ready for work and went about her business as usual. She was annoyed that he was trying to be caring and supportive. It just reminded her that indeed she was pregnant when all she wanted was to forget about it. She wondered if it would've been easier for her to deal with this situation if Mycroft had been upset about it if he had acted the way he did when they first spoke about children. She wondered if it would've been easier for her to deal with this situation if Mycroft had been happy about it. Perhaps, it might've been easier for her to forget how she felt for his sake.
It was frustrating. He wasn't happy. He wasn't upset either. He was being supportive of any decision she made. But she didn't want to make a decision. She didn't want to think about it. She wanted to go back to before all this could happen. It felt like she couldn't catch a break. Life had never felt more like a rollercoaster. But now she was glad. A shameful relief, she knew, but an escape nonetheless. She was glad Mycroft was gone. Simply looking at him was a constant reminder of the situation she was in, that there was a timeline to stick to and she had to make a decision as soon as possible.
..........

Chapter Text

At night, at the end of the day, in the Bakery, Mrs. Hudson walked into the office where Tara sat doing the accounts and checking the supplies. Mrs. Hudson came an sat across from Tara. She placed a Berliner and cup of tea on the table and pushed them towards Tara.
‘Hey, Sweetie’ Mrs. Hudson said softly.
Tara looked up from her work, ‘Hey, Mrs. Hudson’ she smiled.
‘You, okay? You seem very lost lately’ Mrs. Hudson asked.
Tara sighed and shrugged, ‘I just don’t know what to do’ she admitted.
Mrs. Hudson nodded in understanding, ‘Have you been to the doctor yet?’ she asked and pushed the Berliner to Tara.
Tara sighed, ‘No’ she said and took a measly bite of the Berliner.
Mrs. Hudson looked pleased that Tara was finally eating, ‘How did Mycroft take the news?’ she asked.
Tara huffed, ‘Let’s just say, he’s in Italy trying to avoid me. And I’m glad he is not here’ she said and lazily picked at the Berliner, not wanting to have this conversation.
Mrs. Hudson smiled and shook her head, ‘You kids, these days try to control everything in your life. Well, it’s not possible. Life is an adventure and there are going to be plenty of surprises. But at the end of the day, you’ll be fine. Even if this baby wasn’t planned, you’re still going to love it’ she said in an obvious manner and smiled, ‘And one day you won’t even remember what life was like without this little bean’ she said and paused, ‘Talk to him. He is an idiot but he loves you too much to walk away’ she told Tara.
Tara looked at Mrs. Hudson with a pensive expression, and sighed, ‘I will’ she said reluctantly. Mrs. Hudson was assuming Tara was keeping the baby and Mycroft was the one with the problem. To some level that was true. Only Tara didn’t know if after everything that she had been through, she still wanted a baby.
Mrs. Hudson could see the uncertainty in the younger woman’s eyes, ‘You can’t control the way Mycroft reacts, but you can and should control how you take care of that little bean growing inside of you, no matter what Mycroft thinks. And that starts with going to the doctor as soon as possible’ she ordered gently.
Tara sighed and nodded, ‘I’ll make an appointment right away’ she said.
Mrs. Hudson smiled and nodded, ‘Good. And, If Mycroft does give you any trouble, you bring that reptile to me right away. I’ll straighten him out for you’ she said and gave Tara’s had a reassuring squeeze.
Tara chuckled softly, ‘Thank you, Mrs. Hudson. That’s very kind of you’ she said with a genuine smile.
Mrs. Hudson smiled and kissed her head, ‘Anything for you, Sweetheart’.
…….
In the morning, Tara rummaged through her closet and poured through racks of clothing, struggling to find clothes that weren’t so snug. Even though she barely ate, she was gaining weight by the hour. It wasn’t that her clothes didn’t fit anymore, she had a few more weeks for that but they were a little snug. Finally, she picked out a chic formal outfit that still fit and, a pair of black high heeled pumps. She quickly did her makeup and spritzed some perfume on her wrists. She finished off her look with a pair of simple diamond studs and the Cartier watch Mycroft had gifted her. Mrs. Greene had managed to force Tara into choking down a piece of toast and some tea, before Thomas drove her to the Counter Terrorism Squad headquarters. She met with Sir Thomas at the entrance, ‘She is with me’ he told the guards and they let her in.
As they walked through the large headquarters milling with employees, Tara looked around at the officers, ‘Everyone around here looks so…’ she said and her voice trailed off.
Sir Thomas huffed a small laugh and cut her off, ‘Young? Well, I wouldn’t be too surprised. We’ve only been around for about a decade. Which is why we could use someone with your expertise’ he explained. Tara nodded and Sir Thomas continued the tour, ‘I’m guessing since you’re an ex-RAW agent your familiar with the normal rules: No cell-phones in the premises, no dating co-workers, polygraphs every year… You know the usual’ he briefed quickly, and Tara nodded, ‘The food courts on your right. A few tips: Stay away from the sushi, egg salad is safe to eat, and the basement has good coffee’ he advised playfully.
Tara chuckled softly, and nodded, ‘I’ll keep that in mind’ she said.
Sir Thomas pointed to the various divisions of the organization, ‘That’s the operation centre, surveillance, holding cell, interrogation, training area, conference rooms, and my office. That’s the grant tour. I hope I have covered everything’ he said as they came to the end of their tour.
Tara smiled and nodded politely, ‘Just one more thing’ she said and paused, ‘I want to bring someone on with me’ she added.
Sir Thomas sighed knowingly, ‘No’ he said firmly.
Tara cocked her head, ‘But I haven’t even mentioned a name yet’ she tried.
Sir Thomas huffed a laugh and nodded, ‘Grace Johnson, I know’ he said.
Tara shook her head gingerly, ‘Then you know she’s a brilliant…’
Sir Thomas cut her off, ‘Hacker, a criminal. We cannot bring her on’ he said firmly.
Tara sighed and pursed her lips, ‘She comes on board with me or I walk’ she said.
Sir Thomas sighed in defeat, ‘One-year probationary period, she will have to go through two months of the routine field training and clear all the tests’ he offered a middle ground.
Tara nodded, ‘Done, I will train her myself’ she said.
Sir Thomas shook his head and started walking away. Leaving Tara to her own devices, he said, ‘Bring her in for a polygraph. We’ll see how that goes first and then take it from there’.
……..
Later that morning, Tara walked into the bakery, wearing the same outfit she wore for her meeting with Sir Thomas. Mrs. Hudson and Grace were sitting behind the counter of the empty bakery after the morning rush had cleared up. They looked at her in confusion, ‘What are you so dressed up for?’ Mrs. Hudson asked. When Tara said she’d be late for work, they had naturally assumed she had a doctor’s appointment.
Tara hurriedly took off her coat and walked to the office, ‘I had a meeting. Grace, can I see you in the office?’ she said and entered the office.
Grace entered the office and closed the door behind her, ‘Am I in trouble?’ she asked as she came in.
Tara shook her head and sat down, ‘No, sit down’ she assured her, ‘This morning I had a meeting with the Chief of CTS, Sir Thomas’ she explained to Grace.
Grace gaped at her, ‘Wait, are you quitting on the bakery?’ she asked disappointedly.
Tara shook her head, ‘No, they are bringing me on as an advisor. It’s a part time job, I’ll be keeping my position in the bakery’ she told Grace.
Grace sighed in relief, ‘Okay, why are you telling me this?’ she asked.
Tara sighed, ‘I spoke to them about bringing you on as an agent….’ she said.
Grace shook her head, ‘Tara, I…’ she tried to cut her off.
Tara raised her hand, wanting to finish what she wanted to say, ‘The Bureau has given the go-ahead. They have agreed to a one-year probationary period, you will have to go through two months of the routine field training and clear all the tests. Now it’s up to you’ she explained.
Grace sighed in worry, ‘Tara, I know nothing about…’ she said and her voice trailed off, feeling very incompetent.
Tara nodded, ‘I know. You’re not doing this alone. I will be with you every step of the way. I’ll train you as an agent. I’ll be your handler. We’ll do this together’ she assured Grace. ‘Grace, you’re 25 years old. You’re so talented. You have so much potential for good. Don’t waste it’ she knew she was springing it up on Grace. She was almost forcing it on her. But she also knew that Grace was meant for more than waiting on customers all day. It was for her own good.
Grace swallowed uncomfortably, ‘You really think I can do this?’ she asked uncertainly.
Tara shook her head, ‘I can’t say right now. But I believe in you. I believe you’ll give it your best shot. Start the training then ask me the same question in few weeks. I’ll answer you then’.
……
At night, Tara entered the quiet home. She placed her keys and handbag on the front hall table and took off her coat. She walked into the house, ‘Whiskey, I’m home’ she called looking for the bloodhound. ‘Whiskey!’ she called and looked for the dog in all his usual hiding places. She heard the dog barking and followed the sound. The sound led her to the master bedroom, where Whiskey was sitting on the floor in Mycroft’s closet. The dog sat there chewing on Mycroft’s sweater. Tara sighed as she came and sat down next to the dog, ‘You miss him, huh?’ she asked and petted the dog. ‘I do too. But I’m angry with him’ she said and the dog looked at her while still chewing on the cashmere sweater, ‘Don’t look at me with those sad judging eyes, this is all his fault’ she told the dog and pulled at the cashmere sweater he was chewing on, ‘I just don’t know how. Oh, come on, let go, you know he’s going to be angry’ she urged but the dog refused to let go of the sweater, ‘Fine, keep it’ she surrendered and kissed the dog, ‘Now, I’m not making any promises, but I will try. I need to own up to my part in this mess’.
………
Mycroft and Tara had an unspoken rule in their relationship, she would only call him if it was an emergency or if something urgent needed to be conveyed other-wise she would text. She didn’t want to disturb him. This was in spite the fact that Mycroft almost never texted. So, when he got a call from Tara, he was alarmed, ‘Are you okay?’ he asked ignoring the pleasantries.
‘Yes, Mycroft. I’m fine. I am at the doctor’s office for my first ultra sound. He is going to show me the baby and check for a heartbeat. Do you want to be on call during the appointment?’, she hoped he did, she didn’t want to be alone. As much as she was happy that he was gone. Now it was time to face the facts. And she didn’t have the strength to do it alone.
That meant she’s keeping the baby. Right? Mycroft thought to himself. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about it but, in that moment, Mycroft felt guilty for having left in the first place. Of course, he would be there for her, he just wasn’t sure if she wanted it. He was glad that she did, ‘Yes. I would like that’ he told her.
Mycroft heard a knock on the call then an unfamiliar voice, ‘Are you ready, Mrs. Holmes?’ The doctor asked as he entered.
‘Yes’
‘Scoot down’ he instructed her. He noticed the phone in her hand ‘What’s with the phone?’ he asked.
‘Oh! That’s…..ummmm…. That’s my husband. He is out of town. So…… You don’t mind, do you?’ Tara asked nervously.
‘No. Absolutely not Mrs. Holmes. I think it’s nice Mr. Holmes is trying to be there for you and the baby’ he assured her. ‘Good Evening, Mr. Holmes. I am Dr. Conner. Feel free to ask any question you may have’ he addressed Mycroft.
‘Good evening, Dr. Connor and Thank you’ Mycroft said awkwardly.
‘Don’t worry Mr. Holmes. We’ll take good care of your wife and child’ Dr. Connor slipped a pair of gloves and began to give Tara an exam. Tara winced as Dr. Connor inserted the ultrasound probe inside her. ‘There we go…. Hey, baby!’ he said and showed her the monitor.
The warm feeling spreading again in Mycroft’s chest, as he heard his child’s heartbeat. It was soft, steady and stable. He almost couldn’t hear it unless he was concentrating. He didn’t notice the small smile that had graced his lips. If he wasn’t attached to the baby before, by now he definitely was. He just wouldn’t admit it, even to himself.
It was not the same for Tara. She took a deep breath and swallowed hard when the doctor showed her the monitor. She saw the baby’s tiny form and heard its tiny heart flutter. She clenched her eyes shut and looked away. She had gone through this before. She wasn’t going to get her hopes up this time. She refused to get attached in order to spare herself from the pain of loss. She wasn’t sure if she was preparing for the absolute worse or expecting it.
Mycroft noticed that something sounded odd, ‘Do you hear an echo too or is it just the network?’ he asked.
‘It’s not the network. It’s probably just a glitch in the machine’ Dr. Connor replied and continued to study the ultrasound, ‘Wait a second…… Oh!’ he muttered softly.
‘What? What is it?’ Tara asked the man, worry and the fear of being right were beginning to creep in.
‘There’s two’
‘WHAT?!’
‘Mrs. Holmes, you are expecting twins. They are monoamniotic, monochorionic twins’
Mycroft and Tara were both shocked. Mycroft wasn’t even sure he was happy about having a baby, now he was having two. And, all Tara could think was now she would lose twice the amount; twice the pain.
Neither of them had said anything since the doctor had announced it was twins. They were too shocked to even comprehend anything he said after that. So, Dr. Connor felt the need to explain the situation. ‘It means your babies share the same sac and placenta………. Why don’t we take this to my office?’ he said to a shocked Tara and left the room, giving her time to wear her pants.
‘What are the risks?’ was the first thing she asked when she sat down across from Dr. Connor, in his office. Mycroft was still on the call, listening to everything.
Dr. Connor was taken aback by her bluntness, he swallowed and explained ‘It is extremely rare and yes it has its risk. There is a risk of entanglement of their umbilical cords because of the close proximity and lack of separation membrane. There is also a risk of cord compression, one twin may compress the other twin’s umbilical cord and ….’, he didn’t feel comfortable completing that sentence.
‘It could be fatal for the other twin’ she completed for him with no emotion on her face. Mycroft now had his head in his hand, his eyes clenched shut.
‘Yes, but these are just risks. We will monitor you closely to ensure nothing of that sort happens’ Dr. Conner assured her. After a few minutes of disturbing silence ‘You could opt for selective reduction but that wouldn’t reduce the risks’ Dr. Conner added, giving the couple an option, in case it was the multiple pregnancy that bothered them.
Mycroft looked up at the phone, waiting for Tara’s answer to Dr. Conner’s suggestion. He himself saw no point to it. It seemed futile to reduce a twin if it wasn’t going to reduce the risks. He wondered if Tara’s decision would waver now that it was twins.
Tara stopped kneading her hands and looked up at the doctor with a blank face. She then looked at her phone that was now lying on the table. She thought about what Mycroft’s opinion would be on the matter, which mostly meant thinking logically, ‘No’ she said firmly. She didn’t want to do it when it was one baby, she wasn’t going to do it when it was two. She couldn’t pick one.
‘There is still a lot we could do to support the pregnancy. Right?’ Mycroft asked, feeling the need to say or rather hear something positive and fill the silence.
‘Of course, you’ve got some risk factors but we are going to watch your wife like a hawk’ Dr. Conner cheered, feeling slightly awkward dealing with the Holmes couple.
He explained a few more details to Tara and Mycroft. They also discussed the fact that Tara had only recently had heart surgery after being shot. The little detail definitely had to be factored in. She was still just recovering, and a pregnancy could take a huge toll on her body. Pregnancy produces a number of alterations in cardiovascular function. The end result of these alterations was increased cardiac work and stress on the heart. Her body was functioning for three people now and her current situation would put all three of those people at risk.
Dr. Conner told her that they would have to sit down and discuss all these factors with Tara’s cardiologist, change her medication so it was safe for the babies.
‘Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Holmes’ he said at the end and handed Tara her file and a few ultrasound pictures of the babies.
When she left the Doctor’s office, she finally brought the phone to her ear. ‘I’ll let you get back to work’ was all she said before hanging up.
A pang of guilt stabbed Mycroft’s heart. He shouldn’t have left Tara alone to deal with this. She was already stressed about this pregnancy, now things just got worse. The risks had increased.
………
Mycroft had left immediately after his call with Tara ended. When he entered his house, it was dark and quiet, like it had been when he lived there alone. On the table in the front hall, he found Tara’s handbag, her keys, her file and a few pictures of the ultrasound. He picked up the pictures and looked at them. Two tiny forms that barely looked like human babies sat comfortably side by side, he sighed as he continued. He put everything back where they belonged and went to find his wife. After he searched the entire house, there was just one place he had not checked. He walked outside the house to the lawn. He found Tara sitting on the bench, staring up at the moon and stars. He went and sat next to her. He reached for her hand and grabbed it. They both had been a little distant since the news of the pregnancy, he was afraid of being pushed away. She leaned into his touch and rested her head on his shoulder. It was her way of silently apologizing for pushing him away and promising not to do it again. He kissed her hair in response. They sat quietly for a while, until Mycroft decided it was late and Tara should be resting. He picked her up and carried her to their bedroom. She did not object and hid her face in the crook of his neck, arms wrapped around his neck. She had missed him. He laid her down on the bed and turned to walk away but she caught his wrist. Patting his side of the bed she invited him to stay with her. He took off his suit jacket and obliged. She snuggled close to him, resting her head on his chest. Neither of them could sleep, they laid awake in each other’s arms. Then Mycroft felt hot tears on his chest, Tara was crying.
‘I don’t want to lose them, Mycroft’ she whispered and cried into his chest.
Mycroft clenched his eyes shut at the thought. ‘You won’t. I won't let anything happen to you or either of them’ he wrapped his arms protectively around her waist. ‘Everything will be fine’ he said, promising her and himself, he wouldn’t let Tara suffer the loss of a child again.
………

Chapter Text

In the morning, Mycroft entered the mansion's master bedroom still in his nightclothes and robe. He glanced briefly at Tara who was asleep on the bed then walked over to her side and placed the tray of breakfast he was carrying on her nightstand. He threw open the bedroom window and opened the balcony door, letting the sunlight brighten the darkroom. He walked back to the bed and sat on the edge of Tara's side, stroking her arm, 'Tara' he whispered gently waking her up. Tara stirred and buried her head deeper into the fluffy pillows, groaning, 'Breakfast' Mycroft said, causing Tara to look up at him in surprise.

Tara blinked hard, trying to adjust to the light, and looked at Mycroft through narrowed gaze, 'You made breakfast?! Never realized you were such a cliché' she said and sat up in bed. Mycroft cocked his head and shot her a look. Tara rolled her eyes at him, 'Sorry. This is really sweet' she admitted reluctantly as Mycroft handed her a glass of orange juice.

Tara looked over at the tray containing some dry toast, eggs, juice, apples peeled and sliced, and took a sip of the juice. She was about to go in for a second sip, then hesitated, feeling an overwhelming wave of nausea crash into her. With one hand cupped over her mouth, she threw away the blanket and rushed to the bathroom, emptying the previous night's meal into the toilet bowl. Mycroft went after her and tried to help her but Tara wouldn't let him. As he stepped towards her, she raised her hand back towards him without looking up from the toilet bowl, stopping him from coming any closer. Tara didn't want to be coddled. Mycroft understood that. And, there was nothing they could do about the morning sickness, except to wait until it stopped. So, Mycroft went and sat at the edge of the bathtub, waiting for the episode to pass.

After a few minutes of throwing up all the contents of her stomach, Tara panted heavily and sat by the toilet, collecting herself. She walked to the sink and rinsed her mouth, grabbing the towel Mycroft was offering. Tara stood up straight and leaned her head against Mycroft's chest, pressing the towel to her mouth. Mycroft stood, rubbing circles on her back and running his fingers through her hair.

After a few minutes, 'Feeling better' Mycroft asked and Tara hummed. Mycroft nodded and helped her back to the bedroom. He sat down with her on the bed and pushed the tray of food to her, 'Here, have some toast' he said and caressed her face. Among other things, he was concerned about how dull and pale she looked.

Mycroft observed with a pensive expression as Tara took a measly bite of the toast, 'Tara, we haven't had the chance to talk about this...' he said, making an awkward gesture towards her abdomen.

Tara sighed and nodded, 'You're right. It's just so complicated. Kids are a lot of work...' she said, her voice trailing off as she stared away distantly.

Mycroft shrugged and huffed a small laugh, 'I don't know if you 're aware of this, but we happen to have a lot of money' he reminded her playfully.

Tara smiled faintly and tightened her lips, 'You know, it's not about that. I feel like I'm supposed to be happy, but I'm not. This whole one in a million complicated twin pregnancy thing isn't helping with it either' she told him.

Mycroft placed his hand on her cheek and nodded, 'I'm aware, but you're not the only one with mixed feelings and doubts regarding this pregnancy. I have my fair share. But there is one thing I am certain about. I consider myself very fortunate to spend my life with you. And, I consider myself fortunate to be the father of your child' he told her with absolute certainty.

Tara looked at him lingeringly, 'Children' she corrected.

Mycroft furrowed his brows, 'What?!' he asked, not realizing that he misspoke.

Tara smiled, 'You said 'child', we're having twins. Remember?! And, I may not be sure how I feel, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you're going to be an excellent father. And, no, you're not the lucky one, I am, and these babies are' she said firmly.

Mycroft smiled at her and pulled her close to him, kissing the top of her head. They reclined and spooned together in bed for a while before, 'We're going to be late for work, we should get up' Tara said and turned to get up. She looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand, '9 o'clock?! I'm about two hours late for work' she shrieked.

Mycroft pulled her back into bed, 'It's fine, I already called Mrs. Hudson and told her you'd come in late today' he informed.

Tara wiggled out of Mycroft's grip and rushed to her closet, 'No, I have a meeting' she said as browsed through her closet for an outfit.

Mycroft frowned, 'With whom?' he asked.

Tara froze mid- outfit-search, 'Umm... the contractor' she said and continued.

Mycroft furrowed his brows, 'Didn't the bakery renovation end weeks ago?' he asked.

Tara gawked and nodded awkwardly, 'Yeah, there was a problem with the walk-in' she lied.

Mycroft looked at her for a moment then at the business attire in her hands. He didn't believe it but for the moment he accepted the pathetic excuse for a lie and moved on. He had to work too and didn't have the time to wear her down into saying the truth. She would eventually understand there was no point lying to him.

Later, in a small dull room, Grace sat at the table in front of a two-way mirror. A polygraph examiner hooked her up to the polygraph machine, measuring her BP, pulse, heart rate, etc. He set up several cameras around her so the whole interview could be recorded.

'Can you remain still, please? I'm about to begin' he said and sat down. Grace nodded as she nervously looked around. She turned to the two-way mirror for some kind of comfort knowing Tara was on the other side watching. 'Polygraph for CTS admission. A few questions for control' he said and began the exam, 'Your name is Sarah Smith?' he asked and looked at Grace's file lying open in front of him.

Grace took a deep breath, 'Yes' she nodded.

The examiner nodded and looked through her file, 'You go by Grace Johnson now?' he asked.

Grace nodded, 'Yes'.

'You're 25 years old?'

'Yes'

'You reside in London?'

'Baker Street, yes'

'You speak six languages?'

Grace sighed and nodded, 'I've lived in a lot of countries, traveled a lot' she explained.

The examiner looked up at her sternly, 'Yes or No will be sufficient' he told her.

Grace pursed her lips, 'Yes'.

The examiner looked at the screen, 'If you were to join CTS will you be able to separate your work from your personal life?' he asked.

Grace looked at him firmly and nodded, 'Yes, absolutely' she said.

On the other side of the room, Tara and Sir Thomas stood, looking at the process. Sir Thomas glanced at Tara briefly then back at the two-way mirror, 'You free tonight?' he asked.

Tara's gaze remained fixed at Grace, 'For?' she drawled absent-mindedly.

Sir Thomas shrugged innocently, 'We could get a drink' he said with a suggestive smirk.

Tara looked at him and gawked, 'I can't drink' she smiled awkwardly.

Sir Thomas raised an eyebrow, 'You sober?' he asked.

Tara shook her head gingerly, 'Just pregnant' she said and kept her gaze fixed at Grace.

Sir Thomas nodded, 'Oh... I didn't know you and Mycroft were serious' he said.

Tara huffed a small laugh and looked at him with a confused expression, 'We're married' she reminded.

Sir Thomas scoffed and smiled, 'Sweetheart, I'm married and I can tell you being married doesn't necessarily mean...' he stopped and consider. 'Never mind' he muttered not wanting to ruin marriage for Tara.

After about an hour, the polygraph was over, the examiner glanced at the two-way mirror and gave a slight nod. Behind the two-way mirror, Tara looked at Sir Thomas and smiled proudly. This was just the beginning. Grace would have to clear a series of tests to be commissioned as an agent. And for that Tara had to train her.

Late at night, Tara entered the mansion and shed her coat in the front hall. She went straight upstairs to the master bedroom. Mycroft was in bed, reading some papers. A laptop was open on his lap and he was surrounded by stacks of paperwork. Tara stood at the door and smiled, 'Hey' she said and walked to him as she slipped off her high-heeled pumps and dropped her handbag on the floor, crashing next to him on the bed.

Mycroft flashed a small smile and ran his fingers through her hair, 'Hello! Have you eaten anything?' he asked.

Tara turned her head to face him, 'No, I had a sandwich for lunch. Haven't had a chance to eat since then. I'm starving' she admitted.

Mycroft nodded, 'Come on, I'll make you a plate' he said and turned to get out of bed.

Tara caught his hand and stopped him, 'Before that, there is something I have been meaning to discuss with you' she said and Mycroft sat back down. Tara sat up in bed, 'But first, you have to promise not to freak out' she asked.

Mycroft considered for a brief second and shook his head, 'Yeah, I'm doing no such thing' he said flatly.

Tara pouted and her onyx eyes went wide like that of an animated character, 'Oh, come on. You didn't even try' she whined and Mycroft shot her a firm look, refusing to make any promises. Tara surrendered and breathed in, 'I've been working for the CTS' she exhaled.

Mycroft shot her blank look and nodded, 'I know' he said and Tara furrowed her brows in confusion. Mycroft cocked his head and pursed his lips, 'I know you, Tara. I know all your different modes... And, you only bring out the pantsuit when you are in your spy mode' he said as he playfully fiddled with the lapel of her suit jacket and pulled her into a kiss. 'I just don't understand why you didn't tell me sooner' he said after they pulled away.

Tara didn't miss the hint of disappointment in his voice, 'Look, normally, you would be the first person I'd tell about the job because you're the one who is always been pushing me on this. But, with everything that's been happening these days, I didn't know how you would react. With this whole pregnancy thing, I was afraid you would freak out and become your overprotective self. And, I really want this job' she explained to Mycroft.

Mycroft sighed and nodded in understanding, 'Still not a very good excuse. But, if you take care of yourself and take it easy, I can find a way to be fine with it' he told her.

Tara smiled and kissed his cheek, 'I will. You have nothing to worry about, I'm not even in the field. They're bringing me on as a consultant. For the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be training Grace' she said and walked to the closet, changing into a slip nightdress.

Mycroft frowned in disapproval 'Johnson?!' he asked and Tara hummed. 'Are you out of your mind?' Being a field agent means, combat, spying, making contacts. That girl is going to get killed out there' he told Tara.

Tara peeked out of the closet, 'You've seen her in action, do you really think waitressing at a bakery in Baker Street is the best she can do with her life?' she asked.

Mycroft sighed, 'I'm not denying the fact that she is good. She is smart. But do you think she has what it takes to be a field agent? Your father trained you your whole life to make you the agent you are today. Do you think you can achieve that in a few weeks?' he asked logically.

Tara came back to the bedroom and sat down next to Mycroft, wearing a robe over her nightdress, 'She is a sick kid who has been on the run since she was 16. Nobody taught her how to hack, she taught herself. She is been waiting tables for years and she is arguably the world's worst waitress. But if there is one thing that girl knows how to do is not go down without a fight' she told Mycroft.

Mycroft nodded half-heartedly, 'There is no arguing that Grace is remarkable. But being a field agent means following instructions and just that, never taking any action of your own will. That girl is horrible with instructions, I ordered a cheesecake and an earl grey three years ago, and I'm still waiting' he reminded her.

Tara cringed and nodded, 'I'm hoping to break that out of her' she sighed and rested her head on Mycroft's shoulder tiredly.

Mycroft looked down at her and smiled, 'Come on, let's get some food in you. If you're going to train Grace Johnson, you're going to need a lot of strength' he said and got up, pulling Tara out of the bed with him. Tara laughed lightly and linked her arm in his as they went down to the kitchen to get some food.

........

The next day, Tara and Grace ran along a long track at the CTS campus training ground, with Whiskey running ahead of them. Tara and Grace stopped to catch their breaths. Tara went and sat on one of the benches after a few laps around the ground.

Tara looked at Grace sitting beside her, 'You still need to do 45 laps' she said and pushed her off the bench.

Grace frowned, 'How come you don't have to run?' she whined.

Tara shrugged and put a 20-pound weight bag on Grace's shoulders, 'Because I have a blood-sucking parasite growing in my uterus, you don't. Now get going. If we're late to work because of this, Mrs. Hudson will kick our arses out' she said and handed Whiskey's leash to Grace. She bent down to the dog, 'Kick her arse, buddy' she said and petted the dog.

Tara sat back and watched as the dog dragged Grace across the field, and she struggled to catch up with his pace. She sat timing each lap. She watched as Grace jumped through tires, struggling and almost falling. She had managed to climb three monkey bars before falling and hurting her knees. There were a lot of sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, crunches, mud trenches, and stimulation ops coming Grace's way.

...........

Later, that morning, Mycroft entered the master bathroom wanting to shave, when he saw his wife standing perfectly still in the steaming shower. Tara's hands were pressing against the walls of the shower as the hot water meandered down her slender frame in tiny rivulets. It didn't take Mycroft long to realize; Steaming hot shower + Tired pregnant woman = dizziness. He hurriedly opened the shower door and pulled Tara out. She instantly collapsed against him as he made her sit on the toilet. He wrapped a towel around her and made sure she was stable enough to sit up before he went and fetched her some water. Tara took a few sips of water and rested her head against Mycroft's torso, hugging him tiredly. Mycroft sighed and ran his fingers through her hair until she felt strong enough to get up.

.........

In the wood-paneled gym of the mansion, Tara had the gym equipment's pushed to the corner and laid out padded mats for Grace's training. She taught Grace fighting techniques, postures, stances, etc. She held Grace in a chokehold and waited for Grace to get herself out of it. After trying and failing for a few minutes, Grace finally freed herself from Tara's grip.

Grace grinned at Tara, 'That was good, right?' she asked excitedly.

Tara looked at her with a stern expression and kicked her to the ground. It had taken Grace over five minutes to get herself out of the chokehold, which was far from good. If it had been an actual enemy combatant, Grace would be dead.

Grace groaned, 'Oww' she cried laying on the padded floor.

Tara kneeled down to her, 'One, that was far from perfect. And two, you can't afford to stop and celebrate in the middle of a mission. Be alert!' she scolded Grace.

Grace teared up, 'I am trying. Okay?!' she cried.

Tara glowered at her, 'Then try harder. You can't afford to be sloppy. One mistake... just one mistake, and your corpse will be lying on the floor. That's all it's going to take for you to end up dead' she said and turned to storm out but noticed Mycroft at the door and stopped. Tara sighed, 'Take a break, we'll resume in five minutes' she said and walked out of the room.

Mycroft looked at Tara as she walked away from the gym and then back at Grace who was still on the floor. Tears streamed down the young girl's face. Mycroft sighed and walked to Grace, stretching out his hand to her. Grace angrily looked away refusing to accept any help. Mycroft rolled his eyes and bend down, grabbing her arm and pulling her off the floor by force.

Later, the two stood in the dark of night, on the balcony. Mycroft opened a silver case neatly arranged on the balcony and handed her a cigarette. Grace accepted it and brought it to her lips, letting Mycroft light it for her. She took a long drag and passed it to Mycroft, who sighed and shook his head. He looked at how chilly Grace looked and took off his suit jacket, laying it on her shoulder. Grace pulled it closer, 'Thanks' she muttered and took another drag of her cigarette. Grace glanced at him in thought. Mycroft had never been very nice to her, the two had barely ever spoken. But at that moment, Grace needed someone she could talk to and she couldn't wait to get home and unload everything on John. So, she took her chances with Mycroft, 'Look, I know you're the last person I should be bitching to, but... What the hell?!' she shrieked.

Mycroft looked at her with a frown, 'Excuse me?!' he asked.

Grace sighed, 'What the hell happened to her? She wasn't like this' she asked.

Mycroft smiled at Grace's innocence 'I know'.

Grace shrugged and shook her head in defeat, 'In the bakery, I have made a thousand mistakes but she has never been that mean to me' she told Mycroft.

Mycroft huffed and shook his head, 'Do you know when Tara was a child her father would wake her up at 5 am and train her and her brothers for 2 hours straight? Then she would go to school, come back and train again. She is trying to teach you something that she took 15 years to master. She is not mean, she is tough. She is tough on you because she wants to make you strong. She might not tell you this but she has had to be thrice as good as any man in her field to get where she is. And, I can assure you, it's not going to get any easier for you. She knows you are more than just a waitress in a bakery. That woman is fighting for your future. Women of my generation, women like Tara have fought this battle for the women of your generation, for you. The least you could do,... is have the grace to appreciate their work. So, stop moping around and get back on your feet, because if you give up now, if you don't grab this opportunity by its throat, you'll miss out and you will spend the rest of your life regretting it. So, what are you going to do, Ms. Johnson?' he asked at the end of his speech.

Grace sighed and nodded, as she walked away, 'Break's over, Holmes' she called to her mentor and went back to the gym.

As Mycroft turned to leave, he noticed Tara standing at the door. She smiled at him gratefully, 'Thank you' she said.

Mycroft smiled and chuckled, 'I'm the scary one, so you need to stay in your lane, Mrs. Holmes' he said and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Tara grinned, 'Understood, Mr. Holmes' she said and kissed him.

.........

At night, in the mansion's master bedroom, Mycroft and Tara were in bed. Mycroft was glaring at Tara as he wrapped a bandage around her hand. Tara pursed her lips, biting them nervously, 'These things happen when we train. You know that' she said, indifference easily flowing from her lips.

Mycroft glowered at her, 'You are pregnant' he reminded her.

Tara sighed and nodded, 'I'll be careful' she assured him.

Mycroft glanced at her burgeoning belly and shook his head, 'Tara, this is no longer safe for you. It's time you hand over Grace's training to someone else' he said and looked at her bruised hand.

Tara huffed and looked at him in bafflement, 'You can't be serious' she said in disbelief. 'Grace is very careful' Tara assured him when she realized Mycroft was dead serious.

Mycroft looked at her with a tired expression, 'This is not good for you, or your pregnancy, or Grace. She can't learn by holding herself back. You said it yourself, she deserves the best. And, at the moment, physically, you're not at your best. I'm sorry this feels incapacitating. But maybe you don't have to hand over Grace's entire training to someone else, just the physical. Find someone you can work with, that way you can still oversee her training. Maybe Sherlock can help?' he suggested off the top of his head.

Tara sighed and shook her head, 'Sherlock will get pissed off in 5 minutes and blow off Grace's head' she told Mycroft.

Mycroft nodded in agreement, 'Then ask John' he suggested then looked at the disappointed look on Tara's face and sighed, 'Tara, if you continue like this, it'll be a disservice to your student' he reminded her.

Tara nodded in defeat, 'I know. I'll call John. I just hate feeling this way... emasculated' she admitted.

Mycroft suppressed a small smile, 'Really?' he asked and Tara pouted. Mycroft chuckled and threw his arms out, 'Come here' he said and pulled her into his arms. Tara snuggled into his arms and Mycroft gently placed his hand against her burgeoning stomach.

......

In a doctor's office, Tara and Mycroft waited in an exam room. A nurse walked in with a paper towel in her hand, 'Mrs. Holmes, drop your pants. Everything off from the waist down and here is a nice paper table cloth for you' she said and smiled at the couple, before leaving the room and giving Tara some privacy.

Tara hopped off the table and took off her pants. Wanting to feel useful, Mycroft took the large blue paper table cloth and laid it over her legs as she hopped back onto the exams chair, 'Have you told anyone about the...?' he asked making a half-hearted gesture towards her abdomen.

Tara breathed and thought, 'Well, Grace and Mrs. Hudson already know, since they were there when I found out. They don't know it's twins but they know I'm pregnant. Other than that, no one. Have you... told anyone?' she asked awkwardly.

Mycroft shook his head, 'No, but we should probably tell everyone now that you're almost done with your first trimester. Probably, start with the parents...' he thought out loud.

Tara nodded then shrugged, 'Or we could wait a little longer' she suggested.

Mycroft gave her a tired look, 'You're going to start showing in a couple of days, people are going to notice the changes. Not to mention Sherlock, it wouldn't take him a second to figure it out' he reasoned.

Tara shook her head, 'This is a highly unstable situation. Given everything that this body has been through in the last three years and my previous pregnancy, there is a good chance I'll miscarry anyway. Why....', she argued and her voice trailed off not wanting to say anything more.

Mycroft glared at her, 'Finish your thought' he said with a clenched jaw. She had already predicted she would miscarry, might as well complete the sentence, 'Why bother?' he asked in rhetoric, finishing it for her. Tara looked away uncomfortably and Mycroft sighed in exhaustion, 'If you're going to hide it, you might want to keep a safe distance from Sherlock' he suggested coldly.

Their argument was interrupted by a knock on the door, 'Mrs. Holmes, are you ready?' Dr. Conner asked from the other side of the door.

Tara made herself comfortable and Mycroft went and stood by her side, 'yes' she said and Dr. Conner entered.

Dr. Conner smiled at Tara then at Mycroft, 'Mrs. Holmes, nice to have you back. And, it's nice to finally meet you in person, Mr. Holmes' he said and didn't wait for a reply, 'You two ready to take a look?' he asked and grabbed a stool for him to sit on, dragging it to Tara. Tara nodded as the doctor adjusted his stool and put on a pair of gloves. 'Okay, scoot down and legs in the stirrup' he instructed and helped Tara. He placed his hand on Tara's knee for support and looked at Mycroft, 'So, how did you two meet?' he asked, trying to make conversation while giving Tara an exam.

Tara winced lightly and shifted as the doctor put his gloved hand inside her, giving her a cervical exam, 'He wanted me to spy on his brother' she said flatly.

Mycroft shot her an annoyed look, 'Couldn't stick with the 'He came in for a slice of cheesecake and earl grey'. Could you?' he asked in rhetoric.

Tara gave him a smug look as the doctor removed his hand and Mycroft gagged at the blood on the glove, 'Well, everything seems right on track. Just a little blood, it's quite normal' he announced, directing the last bit to Mycroft who was clearly startled. Dr. Connor reached for an ultrasound wand and showed it to the couple, 'Let's give this a shot. Shall we?' he said and squirted the cool gel on Tara's exposed abdomen. He observed a screen for a few minutes, 'They are hiding. It's still too early to go through the abdomen. Sorry' he told Tara and replaced the wand with a probe. Tara cocked her head and pursed her lips, shifting as Dr. Connor cover the probe in some lubricant and inserted it inside her, 'I'm sorry' he said apologizing for the discomfort. He observed the screen and showed the couple the sound wave image, representing fetal heartbeat, 'How have you been feeling? Nauseous, tired, exhausted?' he asked as the room filled with the sound of the echoing heartbeats.

Tara shook her head and sighed, 'I'm great' she replied.

Mycroft shot her a confused look then looked at the doctor, 'She has been nauseous every morning. She is almost always exhausted and she almost fainted in the shower last week' he informed the doctor and Tara glared at him.

Dr. Connor nodded, 'Well, anybody can faint in a hot shower, the combination of heat, poor airflow, and in your case being pregnant, causes low blood pressure. The heat dilates the veins, letting blood pool in the lower extremities and restricting its flow to the brain, depriving it of oxygen, causing dizziness. And, as far as nausea and exhaustion go, it's normal but it can be brutal in twin pregnancies. Try not to overwork yourself and I know, it's hard to keep anything down right now, but you need to eat well. By this stage in your pregnancy, you should be gaining weight. With some luck, you might be able to stomach some graham crackers and tea' he advised as he finished scanning. 'Everything looks great here. Do you have any questions?' he asked and finished the scan.

Tara nodded uncomfortably, 'Yes... What do you think caused this...?' she asked awkwardly.

Dr. Conner nodded thoughtfully, 'Well, twin pregnancies occur for a number of reasons, there is a genetic factor, previous pregnancies, age...' he listed.

Tara shook her head, 'No, I know that. Two of my brothers are identical twins. I'm asking about the complication... I used to smoke before I found out I was pregnant. Not regularly, just once a week, but... Could that have caused this...', she asked. The guilt of causing the complication had been killing her since she found out. The guilt of putting her own children at risk was eating her alive.

Dr. Conner smiled at her sympathetically, 'Mrs. Holmes, I doubt your smoking could cause this... Usually, twins separate within the first four days of conception. One in half a million times it doesn't happen on time and this happens. You didn't do anything to cause this' he assured her. Tara sighed and blinked back the tears that were welling in her eyes, relief washing over her. Mycroft caressed her cheek and ran his fingers through her hair affectionately. 'Now, I want to make a few things clear to you' he said interrupting the couple's moment. 'Twin pregnancies, in general, are risky- 50% chance of preterm labor, hypertension, diabetes... But this one, in particular, has the added risk of cord entanglement- the umbilical cords of both twins could get entanglement and that could be fatal for both twins, Cord compression- one twin could compress the other twin's umbilical cord which can be fatal, and the last TTTS, twin to twin transfusion syndrome, one twin gets too much blood the other gets too little, endangering the lives of both. But we will do everything in our power to prevent it. You can make a standing appointment at the front desk for every week, so we can monitor you regularly, make sure everything is okay. Our best shot is a c-section between the 32nd and 34th week...' he explained.

Mycroft cut him off, 'Isn't that a little too early?' he asked.

Dr. Connor nodded in agreement, 'Yes, but the longer we wait the more we risk losing both twins. In these cases, a full-term vaginal delivery is not an option. After the 32nd week, the twins will be able to breathe on their own, and they'll have a very good chance of survival outside their mother's womb. After two to five weeks, you can even take them home' he explained and the couple nodded. 'And, there is one more thing... we'll have to hospitalize you after the 24th week' he added the last part cautiously.

Tara's eyes went wide, 'Excuse me?!' she asked in shock.

Dr. Conner sighed, 'After the 24th week, the fetuses will start moving around a lot and they'll get bigger, increasing the risks. If you're in the hospital we'll be able to monitor you regularly and if anything happens deliver the twins immediately. It's what's best for all of you' he told them.

Tara glared at him and shook her head, 'You can't tell me to live in a hospital for 2 months and expect me to be okay with it' she said.

Dr. Connor was about to reason but Mycroft interrupted him, 'Why does she have to stay in the hospital?' he asked.

Dr. Connor shrugged, 'Well, we can monitor her and the babies, make sure they're okay, and if anything happens, we can have her in an O.R. in less than 10 minutes' he explained briefly.

Mycroft thought for less than a second, 'She can be monitored at home too, and we live only a couple of minutes away from here. I can call you and you can have the O.R. ready for her' he suggested.

Dr. Connor huffed a small laugh and shook his head, 'All this can get very expensive, the monitoring equipment alone...' he reasoned.

Mycroft stopped him midway, 'I can write you a sizable check to compensate for everything' he said with a smirk.

Dr. Connor sighed and nodded, 'It's not a very good decision, but it is your choice. But I will be putting you on complete bed rest after the 24th week' he said firmly. Tara sighed and nodded reluctantly. After a few more minutes of discussion, printing pictures of the twins and conforming they healthy and normal, Dr. Connor handed Tara a prescription, 'My office got in touch with your cardiologist and we were able to work out a prescription that will be safe for the twins' he informed.

Tara glanced at the printed paper in her hand, noticing the increase and decrease of dosage of most of her medication, and a few new drugs, 'What is this... Sulindac, and Cruvenae..' she struggled to pronounce the names.

Dr. Connor nodded, 'They'll help lower amniotic fluid content thereby inhibiting fetal movement, and maximize blood flow to the placenta. They'll reduce the risks of your pregnancy' he explained.

Tara nodded and forced a smile, 'Thank you, Dr. Connor' she said and collected her file, exiting with Mycroft. Later, in the elevator of the hospital, Tara and Mycroft stood next to each other in silence as they went down. Tara slipped her hand into Mycroft's, 'Thank you, for doing what you did in there' she whispered.

Mycroft looked at her in surprise and caressed her cheek, 'I know how difficult and uncomfortable this is for you. And, I will do everything in my power to make it better' he said and kissed her forehead. Tara smiled faintly and leaned her head on his shoulder.

.......

Chapter Text

Mycroft and Tara had not told anyone about the pregnancy. They wanted to wait until she was past the first trimester and then announce. But Tara wanted to wait until it was absolutely necessary, which meant until she started showing. It wasn't very long until they told everyone considering she had gone through most of her first trimester without even realizing she was pregnant. Mrs. Hudson and Grace already knew since they were present when Tara found out. Sherlock knew because he was Sherlock, so by proxy John knew too. Rosie was the only one who didn't know, which led to a very uncomfortable conversation for John. What everybody didn't know was Tara and Mycroft were expecting twins. When they finally told their friends, Mrs. Hudson insisted on throwing the couple a party, saying after everything all of them had been through they needed some joy. Tara tried very hard but in the end, surrendered and went to the party, which had led to an upsetting conversation with Sherlock.

'So, how far along are you?' Sherlock asked Tara.

Tara forced a polite smile, 'About four months' she replied.

Sherlock's eyes almost bulged, 'Four months?! How many babies have you got in there? Are you sure it's just two? You think it's two, the next thing you know you've birthed Mycroft a litter' he said.

Mycroft looked up from his dinner and shot Sherlock a glare, silently telling his brother to cut it out, knowing his wife was in a very fragile state, 'Just two' Tara muttered, as hormone-induced tears brimmed in her eyes... Normally, Tara would have smacked Sherlock on the head for that comment but with the new hormones rushing through her veins, she felt like she could break down into a puddle of tears.

Looks flew around the room, 'Shut up, Sherlock' the whole party scolded Sherlock. The poor woman was already so stressed, she didn't need Sherlock adding more things to her plate of worries.

Later, John found Mycroft standing outside on the street. He walked up to Mycroft, 'How are you doing?' he asked.

Mycroft glanced at John briefly, 'I am good, thank you' he said flatly.

John cocked his head to the side, 'Good is what you're going with? You're standing outside in the cold, alone and you're not even smoking' he pointed out.

Mycroft huffed a small laugh, 'Well, Tara cannot smoke anymore and weirdly enough I am not used to smoking without her' he admitted reluctantly.

John smiled faintly then sighed, 'You know she is my best friend, right?' he asked.

Mycroft flashed a knowing grin, 'Yes, Dr. Watson, I'm aware. What are you getting at?' he asked.

John raised his brows, 'Friends talk' he said

Mycroft nodded, 'Has she said anything that concerns you?' he asked bluntly.

John cocked his head in thought, 'Recently, no. But two years ago, she had a lot to say' he reminded Mycroft.

Mycroft knew now what John was getting at, 'Things were different back then' he sighed.

John chuckled wryly and hot him a confused look, 'You told her you expected her to have an abortion if she got pregnant' he wasn't going to be sensitive about the whole thing. It was an open fire on Mycroft.

Mycroft sighed and nodded, 'I was still getting used to having one person in my life, the thought of increasing that number seemed improbable' he explained briefly.

'And now?' John asked.

Mycroft shrugged, 'I have had time and practice'.

'You're saying you're ready?' John said doubtfully.

Mycroft shook his head gingerly, 'I am saying I'm open to trying and learning' he said.

John shrugged and sighed, 'Well, that's all there is to being a father' he said.

Tara stepped out of the building, 'Mycroft, are you ready to go?' she asked and walked to the two.

Mycroft smiled and nodded at her, then looked at John. Giving the doctor a curt nod, Mycroft placed his hand on the small of Tara's back and led her to the car waiting for them. That conversation had gone fairly better than Mycroft had imagined. At least better than when the news was broken to the grandparents.

They had opted to do it on a video call with all four parents together. In retrospect, it wasn't a good choice. All four of them had completely different reactions. Siger held a sweet smile, Violet jumped up from her seat and shrieked with joy, Shekhar and Leela on the other hand smiled uncomfortably and tried to hide their horror. Shekhar had tried to control himself but he was furious with Mycroft, 'You knocked up my daughter?' he asked with an awkward grin. Leela had to tell her husband to control himself and remind him that Tara and Mycroft were married.

Siger and Violet might have been elated about having grandchildren, but Shekhar and Leela were not. Leela was happy but she was also scared for her daughter, and Shekhar had never hated Mycroft more. One, this was proof that his daughter had a sex life with Mycroft. Two, no matter how strong his daughter was, this was a delicate matter and he was worried about her. He had been there when Ayesha took her last breath and he had seen first-hand that losing her had almost killed Tara. He was terrified of what she might do if she was put through the same pain again. What was Mycroft thinking, going around knocking up his daughter?

Tara and Mycroft knew better than to fuss over Shekhar and Leela's awkward reaction to the news of the pregnancy. They knew they were just worried for their own child. They needed some time to come to terms with it. Mycroft and Tara were still coming to terms with it themselves. On the other hand, Violet and Siger had invited themselves over so that they could take care of Tara, terrifying both Tara and Mycroft.

.........

At night, in the mansion's dining room, Mycroft sat at the head of the table with Tara sitting at his right as they had dinner, 'How's Grace's training coming along?' Mycroft asked.

Tara sighed, 'Her stage one report came today' she informed Mycroft.

Mycroft raised an eyebrow, 'And?'.

Tara cocked her head, 'Her memory and observation skills are excellent. Mental strength is good. Her aim is good, but she can do better. And physical was... Well, let's just say she is barely scrapping by' she said and looked down at her wood.

Mycroft noticed the hint of disappointment in her voice, 'She'll get there' he assured her.

Tara looked up and nodded, 'I hope so. Really want to do a test run before I'm put on house arrest' she said and Mycroft raised his brows. Tara pursed her lips and corrected her statement, 'I mean bed rest. Can you play chess with her? She can burn as many calories as a tennis player by simply applying her mind. Make her use that brain, teach her to strategize better. Will you?' she asked.

Mycroft thought for a second and nodded, 'Ask her to come by during the weekend' he said, only to try and reduce some of Tara's stress.

Tara smiled warmly, 'Thank you'.

......

At night, Mycroft and Grace sat across from each other in the film room, playing chess while the movie Double Indemnity played in the background. After Grace made her move, Mycroft glanced over the chessboard once then up at Grace, 'Okay, I'm going to go on a whim here and give you a minute to think about what you just did' he said and sat back in his armchair.

Grace pursed her lips and let out an exhausted sigh as she looked over the board. Finding nothing wrong with her move, she looked up at Mycroft who sat confidently in front of her, and shrugged. Mycroft cocked his head at her, 'Nothing?' he asked, making sure she didn't want to change her move. Grace nodded and Mycroft made his move, 'Checkmate' he said and shot Grace a disappointed look, 'When you're an agent you can't live from moment to moment. You have to think five steps ahead, and from your opponent's perspective. Strategize' he said and stood up, walking back to the projector and switching it off. He came back and stood across from Grace, 'Now, I didn't show you that film for entertainment. It was for testing your memory' he said.

Grace gawked and rolled her eyes, 'Are you fucking kidding me?'.

Mycroft shot her a stern look. 'No, it is an observation test. An agent should be aware of what's happening around them, in spite of what's happening in front of them. Now, at what date and which place did Walter record his confession for Keyes?' he asked.

Grace took a deep breath and took her time to think clearly, 'Los Angeles, July 16, 1938' she answered.

Mycroft looked at her in surprise and nodded, 'What was the name of the building where Walter and Keyes worked?' he asked.

'Pacific Building. Pacific All Risk Insurance Company'

It was beginning to turn into a rapid-fire round, 'Which street?'.

'Sixth'

'Mr. Dietrichson had two cars. Names?'

'LaSalle and Plymouth'

'What was the name of the truck driver?'

'Sam Garlopis'

'Where was he from?'

'Inglewood'

'What did Walter peddle before he became an insurance salesman?'

'Vacuum Cleaners'

'Where did Mr. Dietrichson work?'

'Long Beach'

Mycroft frowned in confusion, 'Have you seen this movie before?' he asked.

Grace raised her brows, 'I'm 25. What do you think?' she asked.

Grace made a valid point, she was too young to even know about the noir but Mycroft was still doubtful, 'Complete the dialogue- 'You ought to have some of that pink wine to go with it. The kind that bubbles...' he asked.

'... All I got is bourbon. To which Phyllis said- Bourbon is fine, Walter' Grace answered flirtatiously, imitating Phyllis perfectly.

'It was a hot afternoon and I can still remember the smell....'

'... of honeysuckle all along the street. How could I have known that murder can sometimes smell like honeysuckle?'Grace finished and grinned proudly.

Mycroft nodded reluctantly and walked to the bar trolley, 'You did well there' he said without looking back at her.

Grace beamed, almost bouncing in her chair, 'You could say I earned myself a treat' she suggested.

Mycroft poured them a drink of bourbon and shot Grace a confused look, 'What do you have in mind?' he asked and handed Grace her drink.

Grace bounced in excitement, 'Let me take Tara baby shopping' she said and took a sip of her drink, coughing at the bitter taste of bourbon.

Mycroft suppressed a laugh as he watched Grace, it was like watching a baby suck on its first lemon, 'Grace, I appreciate the thought but Tara will not like it' he said and sat down on an armchair across from her, one leg crossed over the other.

Grace frowned, 'Oh, come on. What do even have in this house that a child would like?' she asked.

Mycroft shrugged, 'Last week Tara's uncle sent her old dollhouse, saying both boys and girls should be able to play with a dollhouse. I can tell you this, no child of mine is playing with a dollhouse. It's simply ridiculous' he said with a grimace on his face.

Grace frowned in disbelief, 'Okay. One, dollhouses are fun. My daddy built one for me and I loved it. And, two, that doesn't count. What have you and Tara done to prepare for the babies?' she asked.

Mycroft sighed and nodded, 'I understand your point, Grace. But, I'm not sure if Tara will like it' he said.

Grace pouted, 'Oh, come on, please, we could go to the mall and pretend to be a throuple, or Tara and I could pretend to be a lesbian couple and you could be our sperm donor. We are going to creep the bejesus out of people' she laughed with glee and Mycroft looked at her with a horrified expression. Grace looked at him then shrugged, 'Or you and I could be the couple and Tara could be our surrogate' she suggested with a smirk and winked at him.

Mycroft gawked at her and shook his head, 'I can't believe I cleared my Saturday for you. Get out!' he told her and stood up.

Grace chuckled in disbelief, 'You can't be serious' she said.

Mycroft raised his brows, 'I am very serious, Ms. Johnson' he said and opened the door for her.

Grace gasped, 'I'm back to Ms. Johnson?! It took me three years to get you to call me Grace' she whined.

Mycroft shot her a stern look, 'Out!' he drawled.

Grace glared at him and huffed as she stormed out of the mansion. Mycroft stood watching as Graced stalked away, and shook his head, sighing, 'Dear Lord! Thomas was right- bitches do be crazy'.

......

After a long day of work, late at night, Tara entered the mansion. She tiredly took off her coat and dropped her keys and bag on the front hall table, 'Mycroft, you home?' she called.

'Yeah, up here' Mycroft hollered from upstairs.

Tara climbed the stairs and walked down the hall, straight to the master bedroom but stopped when she noticed that her husband was not in their bedroom but in the guest bedroom next to their bedroom.

Tara looked around at what used to be her guest bedroom with a dumbfounded expression, 'What happened to our guest room?' she asked her husband who was standing in the middle of the empty room.

Mycroft looked at her and shrugged, 'I got rid of everything, so we could build a nursery for the twins' he said and walked to Tara who stood still by the door. He placed his hand on the small of her back and led her into the room, 'We could put the crib over there. The changing table, here by the window, so we get some fresh air. And these are some baby books John and Sherlock dropped by. Everything from what to name the babies to what weird food object the babies are the same size as. Some of them are highlighted, from when John and Mary were expecting Rosie. Actually, all these books are highlighted...' he said and went through the boxes of books John had dropped by.

Tara breathed heavily and frowned, 'But this was our guest bedroom' she reminded him.

Mycroft shrugged, 'Doesn't matter. We have plenty of guest bedrooms in this house. This is the closest one to our bedroom. So, I figured we could turn it into a nursery' he said and looked around the plain simple cream-colored walls with golden accents. It was simple and elegant, but not suitable for a child. They would have to redo the whole room. They would also have to babyproof the entire mansion. The mansion was hardly a place for a baby, let alone one born into the Holmes Rathore gene pool. It was a death trap.

Tara looked around the room then at Mycroft and began to hyperventilate, 'This is too much too soon, Mycroft. I can't...This is too fast... I'm not ready' she rambled and practically ran out of the room, leaving Mycroft standing there in shock.

A few minutes later, Mycroft found Tara sitting in her usual spot on the lawn. She always seemed to go there and look up at the stars whenever she was upset about something. Mycroft went and sat beside her. Tara looked at him apologetically and sighed, 'I'm sorry I freaked out' she said.

Mycroft shrugged it off, 'It's fine' he said.

Tara shook her head and teared up, 'No, it's not. Nothing's fine, Mycroft. I'm a mess. These are our children and I'm supposed to be happy. I didn't care about nurseries and clothes even in my first pregnancy. But it was fine because I was happy and excited. And, now, I'm scared and terrified and... you're not' she cried.

Mycroft knitted his brows and blinked, 'Tara, I'm scared too' he told her.

Tara scoffed, 'No, you're not. You're already thinking about where to put the babies and babies don't even need a room' she retorted.

Mycroft huffed a small laugh, 'I have never seen myself as someone who could be a good father. So, if I'm clearing out our guestroom and turning it into a little apartment for our kids it's because... Well, I don't think I can be the father who spends a lot of time with their kids or plays with them. And, if I can't be that father, the least I can do is provide them with everything they need' he explained.

Tara looked at him lovingly and caressed his cheek, 'Mycroft, they'll love you. I promise' she whispered. Mycroft's worries were the opposite of Tara's. He was worried their kids won't love him and Tara was worried she wouldn't be able to give their kids the love they deserved because of everything she had been through and was going through. She was so terrified of losing them before they could even be born, that she stopped herself from falling in love so it wouldn't hurt as much if she did lose them. There was a flaw somewhere in that logic, but Tara hadn't found it yet.

.........

In the mansion's film room Tara stood in front of the large white screen and Grace sat on the couch behind her, 'Do you know what espionage is?' Tara asked.

Grace shrugged, 'Spying?' she answered doubtfully.

Tara nodded curtly, 'The gist of it. Essentially, yes. As an agent, you need to understand what surveillance is. It is done in many ways. One is physical- keeping a watch on someone from a distance. With science and technology coming so far. We hardly do that anymore. Now we use remote surveillance. In remote surveillance, the distance increases. So, instead of our eyes, we use our ears' she said and showed Grace pictures of different bugs and mics. Tara walked back to Grace, 'But in every situation, you need to stay alert. Have two eyes in front, two on your shoulders, and one at the back of your head' she reminded Grace and handed Grace a book, 'Morse code. We hardly use this anymore, but it is still good to learn. Direct communication and phones can always be tapped, in those cases this is effective. You must memorize the symbols and codes for every single alphabet' she said as Grace glanced through the book.

As Grace glanced through the book, Tara pointed to the age-old morse code telegraphy device on the table. Grace reached for the device and tried it. Tara stopped her and showed her how to use it, 'Wait. Short tap for a dot and long tap for a dash. And rest your hand on the table' she said and watched as Grace tried to tap the different letters in morse. 'You will not always have an apparatus at hand, so you will have to learn to improvise', there was only so much Tara could teach Grace, the rest she would have to figure out herself.

......

In the master bedroom of the mansion, sunlight streamed through an open wooden shutter. Tara awakened and sat up. She gazed around the room before looking to her left. She stared off thoughtfully then closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. She blinked her eyes open and peered back to her left. Lying naked beside her in bed, the shirtless handsome Holmes slept peacefully. The beautiful Mrs. Holmes lazily rubbed her face, her gaze fixed on Mycroft's smooth features. She leaned over and gently touched his face, lips, and chin, 'You're so pretty' she whispered with her face merely an inch away from Mycroft.

Mycroft smiled then opened one eye and met Tara's loving gaze, 'I know, it's too much work. Waking up every morning before my wife, so I can make myself pretty for her. The trouble I have to go through' he groaned.

Tara chuckled and rolled on top of him, she smiled as he gazed into her eyes. Mycroft frowned slightly and rolled Tara on her back. She was in her second trimester. It wasn't a good idea to lay on her stomach. He rolled on top of her gently and carefully, his body propped up on his hands so he was only hovering over her and not pressing his weight on her. Sunlight shined on Tara's face as her smile broadened. Mycroft planked down and kissed her. Tara swiped his face and she cradled the back of Mycroft's neck as they kissed.

Mycroft sighed and moved away, 'We probably shouldn't start something we cannot finish. Grace will be here in some time for her training' he said.

Tara pulled his face towards hers, 'All I need is five minutes' she said and kissed him.

Mycroft pulled away, 'I'm not going to lie, I'm a little insulted and concerned by that' he said.

Tara smiled, 'We've been married a while now. If we can't get there in five minutes, we're not doing it enough' she said and Mycroft chuckled and moved his mouth down to her neck and Tara smiled. Tara moaned as Mycroft kissed her neck, nibbling on the soft skin of her neck, and moved down to her chest. His hands gently cupped her breast and his fingers played with her nipple before she winced in discomfort, 'What happened?' he asked and looked up at her face.

Tara smiled sheepishly, 'I'm just a little sensitive there. Can you not...' her voice trailed off hoping he understood, 'Just stay away from the twins?' she said.

Mycroft winced, 'Let's not call your breast 'twins' now that we're actually having...' his voice trailed off awkwardly. Calling her breasts 'the twins' was not very hot anymore.

Tara cringed and nodded. Mycroft nodded and moved down, keeping his hands off her chest as requested. He left a trail of kisses down her body as he moved down to her legs. Tara's fingers played with his hair as he kissed down her body. Then as his fingers reached up to slide off her underwear, her fingers stopped playing with his hair and Mycroft felt her body jerk. He was old enough to understand that jerk was not a reaction to anything he was doing and looked up from between her legs.

Tara jerked up again and gagged. She pushed Mycroft away from her and got out of the bed. She rushed to the master bathroom. Kneeling down on the floor, she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl. With one hand she held up her hair and with the other, she held the toilet bowl as she puked. After what seemed like an hour of throwing up, Tara looked up from the toilet bowl warily. She tiredly looked at Mycroft, who was standing beside her with a glass of water and a towel. This had happened enough times for both of them to fall into a routine. The first few times Mycroft had stayed with her, rubbing her back, and holding her hair back as she threw up. Then he realized she could handle herself and all he needed to do was fetch her some water and a towel when she was done. And that is what Tara wanted at the end of the day. She didn't need him to coddle her.

......

At the CTS training ground, on the gun range, Tara and Grace stood under a shed about 30 meters from several human target boards. Tara handed Grace a pair of headphones, 'You're a hacker, there are many things that you may not have to do, but it's important to learn' she said as she loaded a gun and handed it to Grace.

Grace remembered firing a gun when they had raided the location of Eorodyn. It was a vector and the recoil had killed Grace's shoulder. This shouldn't have been that hard. She nervously took the gun in her right hand and aimed it towards the target.

Tara shook her head and positioned Grace's hand properly, 'Left-hand goes here. Tighten your grip and relax your shoulders. Shoot!' she instructed.

As Grace fired the gun, emptying the round and missing the target entirely, Tara's hand shot up to her swollen abdomen, feeling a soft flutter. Tara sighed contently and a small smile spread across her face. Grace was too startled by the gunfire to notice the surprise painted on Tara's face. She quickly put the gun on the table, too scared to fire again, 'I've lost touch' she said.

Tara swallowed and quickly composed herself, 'No, reload. I'll mark it through with you' she said and picked up a gun. Tara loaded it and took her stance, 'Here we go! Feet, check. Hand, check. Wrist, check. If you have time, relax, take a deep breath. But in most cases, you won't. I have time. I'm going to relax and hold my breath. I am at one with my gun' she said and fired her gun, ripping a hole through the center.

Grace watched in awe then did as instructed, taking a stance like Tara. She took a deep breath and emptied the gun at the target, firing out perfect chest shots.

......

In the evening, Tara, Grace, and Mycroft strolled through the mall. Grace had managed to convince Mycroft that they should take Tara to the mall, under the pretense of shopping for new clothes and 'chilling', and trick her into shopping for the baby. Tara should have seen through their ruse. Why would Mycroft ever go on a shopping spree with Grace?

As they strolled through the mall, a young salesman roaming outside a baby store approached them, 'Hello, ma'am! Can I help you? I can tell you're either in your third trimester or you're having twins. Wait, let me guess...' he said at a rapid pace and Tara shook her head uncomfortably, not wanting to have this conversation. The young man thought about it for less than a second and grinned, 'It's twins, isn't it. Ma'am, you should know, all our products are BPA-free. We have a wide range of twin baby strollers. Our Twin X Deluxe is the best, it's the Rolls Royce of strollers. It can fit through any doorway. Our Twin X Torpedo is 4 in 1, you can use it as a car seat and a stroller. It fits in three different ways' he explained to her and showed her a catalog.

Tara sighed and shook her head, 'Thank you, but we're fine' she said, trying to get away from the hyperactive salesman.

The young man smiled and blocked her way, 'I know it's a bit overwhelming and there are so many choices. But we also do custom jobs, we can design a stroller to your taste and liking. If you haven't gotten to the nursery, we do that as well. We have a wide range of themes...' he said and showed her another catalog.

Tara knitted her brows and frowned, 'We're not interested...' she said and tried to walk away.

The young man stopped her again, 'From 'Moon and Stars' to 'Blush and Sparkle'. We believe your baby's nursery should celebrate your life together. The theme should tell your story...' he rambled.

Tara's face contorted in anger and she grabbed the young man by his collar, throwing him against a wall, 'Hey, buddy, our story was guns and nuclear weapons. I don't want what you're selling. I don't need it. So, you need to back off. Because you know what will happen if you don't. You'll have my foot stuck up your ass' she growled at the man.

The young man panted with a horrified expression, looking at the woman who had him pinned to the wall. Mycroft and Grace, 'Tara, please, let go. You're making a scene' Mycroft whispered into Tara's ear and pulled her off the young salesman.

Tara shot one last glare at the man and walked away with Mycroft and Grace. Mycroft and Grace shared an awkward glance as they walked away from the baby store, 'How about we go to the food court and get some cheeseburgers and fries?' Grace asked with an awkward grin.

......

Later, at a lab in CTS headquarters, Tara showed Grace a petri dish full of tiny silver balls, 'Ricin. A kind of poison. In case you're ever in a situation where you need to get someone out of the way, this will be useful' she said and handed the petri dish to Grace.

Grace looked at the petri dish and her breath shuddered, 'Get someone out of the way? You mean, kill them?' she asked.

Tara raised her brows, 'Do you have a problem with that?' she asked.

Grace frowned, 'I shouldn't?' she asked.

Tara rolled her eyes coldly and took the petri dish from Grace's hands, 'Autopsy report will show hemorrhage in all vital organs. You can cut a small hole in a 1.7mm pellet and fill it with 0.5mm ricin. Then seal it with wax and shoot the target. It will feel like an insect bite. As the pellet goes into the body, the wax will melt because of the body temperature. As the wax melts the pellet will release the ricin. As the ricin seeps into the bloodstream, it will slowly disable every organ- kidneys, liver, brain hemorrhage, low blood pressure, stroke, coma, and the target will die within three days. Increase the dosage, the target will have a heart attack in five minutes and it won't even be detected in the blood. Take one and load it at the end of an umbrella or a walking stick' she said and pulled out a black umbrella from the drawers.

Grace looked at the umbrella with a horrified expression, 'Oh, God! Does Mycroft carry around one of these?' she asked. Tara glared at her and showed Grace how she was supposed to work the weapon. She unscrewed the top of the umbrella and loaded a pellet of ricin into it. All Grace had to do was press the button to shoot.

.....

Late at night, Tara walked into Mycroft's study and found him working. Tara smiled and walked towards him. She pulled him away from his work and pushed him back into his hair. She supported herself with the table and sat on his lap. Mycroft winced slightly and chuckled, 'Sometimes you act so much like Whiskey' he said and shifted her into a more comfortable position on his lap.

Tara gasped and smacked the back off his head, 'Excuse me?!', offended by his comment.

Mycroft smiled at her and ran his fingers through her dark hair, 'Even if he weighs 120 pounds, he thinks my lap is always an acceptable place to jump and sit on. He has absolutely no idea how big he actually is and thinks he should still be able to sit on me' he explained. 'You still have a few more weeks left before you are two big to sit on my lap' he said and winked at her playfully.

Tara frowned and pouted as she started to get up and walk away. Mycroft pulled her back and made her sit on his lap, 'I'm kidding' he said and laughed. Tara shook her head and accepted his half-assed apology. 'Why aren't you asleep?' he asked.

Tara's face fell into a concerned expression, 'Grace's training is over. Tomorrow is her first mission' she said.

Mycroft nodded in understanding, 'She is going to be fine' he assured her.

Tara shook her head, 'She is going to be all alone, Mycroft. Sir Thomas is making me stay at the HQ. She has to do it all by herself. She doesn't even know what her mission is. I don't even know what her mission is...' she said.

Mycroft placed his hand on her cheek lovingly, cutting her off, 'She is going to be just fine. You taught her well' he said softly. Tara sighed and smiled half-heartedly, tucking her head in the crook of Mycroft's neck.

Finally, the day came for Grace's first solo mission. The purpose of the mission was to understand how prepared Grace was, how much and what kind of help she needed. All she had to do was follow the instruction whispered in her ear. Grace was taken from the headquarters and taken to a crowded market area in London.

Tara and Sir Thomas stood in a surveillance room looking at a live footage of Grace in action, 'An umbrella vendor is going to approach you from your right. Take the umbrella he is handing you and pay him. Don't worry, this is going to be easy' Sir Thomas instructed.

A few seconds later an umbrella vendor approached Grace and handed her an umbrella. As instructed Grace paid him 10 pounds and moved on without acknowledging the man, being perfectly discreet.

'Today, you are going to save the life of one of our covert agents. Someone has leaked his identity as a covert agent and his life is in danger. He is about 150 meters ahead of you and his assassin is right behind him. I'm sure your mentor has trained you well, you don't need me to tell you what to do. Take a good look at the streets and lanes around you, Grace. You have to save this man and I'm not going to tell you how to do it. You're going to apply your mind and figure it out' Sir Thomas instructed and switched off his com as Tara watched with anticipation.

Grace looked ahead at the man she was supposed to protect then at his assassin. The distance was too much and the street was too crowded. Grace hurriedly looked around the street and turned left, getting into a building in order to use the roof and outrun the assassin. She had to be fast, she didn't have a lot of time.

Grace hurriedly climbed the stairs of the building only to find the door to the roof locked. She paused and thought about her options. It would take too long to go back down and continue her mission. If she did, she would definitely lose her target. She had to be innovative. Tara's words rang in her ear- 'In spite of all the instructions, you must learn to depend on yourself. Trust your gut. Your instincts will guide you'. Grace looked at the door for a split second then crashed into it with all her strength, breaking it open. She ran across the roof and spotted her target down on the street, she was very close. Grace ran to the other side of the roof and made a long jump to the roof of the next building and then did the same thing again.

Grace then hurriedly climbed down the stairs of the building, finally catching up to her target. She ran into the street and prepared herself for her task. As the assassin pulled out his silenced pistol, Grace jammed the tip of the umbrella into his knee, injecting the ricin into his bloodstream and distracting him long enough to save the agent. Grace grabbed the man she was supposed to save and led him safely to the surveillance van waiting for them, knowing that the assassin would die in five minutes.

Later, Grace returned to the headquarters. Tara approached Grace with a faint smile and hugged her, 'You did good' she said, proud of her student.

Grace looked at her disbelievingly, 'Did I?' she asked.

Tara huffed a small laugh and nodded, 'Yes, I'm very proud of you' she said.

Grace's breath shuddered, 'I killed a man, Tara. That man was a person, with a family, people who loved him' she said and tears brimmed in her eyes.

Tara frowned, 'You protected a man who risked his life to save innocent people from dying because of terrorism' she stated in an obvious manner.

Grace pursed her lips and shook her head, 'How could you do this to me?' she asked.

Tara looked at her in surprise, 'Grace, you have got to be stronger than this' she pressed.

Grace scoffed, 'Why? So, I become like you' she said in disgust.

Tara faltered at her statement then composed herself with a firm expression, 'Because this is the nature of war. This is a war that you and everybody here are fighting, against international terrorism. People will die. But during a war, nothing except for the war matters. No one matters. Not you. Not me. No one. Greater good over individual harm' she reminded Grace.

Grace teared up and shook her head, 'I don't understand this world you live in, where relationships don't matter and neither does life. This is no way to live. How can you live with yourself?' she glowered at Grace.

Tara laughed wryly and nodded, 'Yes, you're right. You got me, Grace. Human lives have absolutely no value to me. Go ahead, and reduce the entire world's most complex situations into sweeping generalities' she said sarcastically. Tara looked straight at the young woman, 'I know the cost and I have seen every horrible angle. But some of us don't have the luxury of sitting on a high horse like you do. We do this job because somebody has to step up and do it. And you know what? I have tried... and I'm done. I'm done with you, Grace' she said and stormed out of the headquarters.

........

In the morning, at the doctor's office, Mycroft stood by Tara's head, holding her hand as Dr. Conner squirted some ultrasound gel on her growing bump and maneuvered the wand on it. 'There they are, two absolutely healthy female twins' Dr. Conner announced when he found the fetuses on the monitor. A small smile graced Mycroft's lips at the thought of having two little girls.

Dr. Conner turned the monitor towards the parents to show them the image of both the girls floating happily in their mother's womb. One of them had her legs wrapped around the other one's head. Mycroft smiled at the picture on the monitor, not even born yet and she had already taken after her mother, having her sibling in a headlock. A wave of emotion that felt foreign to Mycroft, washed all over him, but that emotion was long gone and taken over by worry when he looked at Tara. She looked at the monitor wearily and then looked away. She pushed away the slightest feeling of attachment that threatened to creep into her heart.

Mycroft looked at his wife with a grim, hopeless expression. He felt the slight feeling of attachment he was beginning to feel towards the fetuses wear away. What were they doing here? Why were they doing this? It seemed completely pointless if neither of them was happy with their current predicament. Why subject two creatures who knew nothing but innocence to the pain of existence?

As much as Mycroft wanted to be supportive towards his wife, he felt a part of him grow angry at Tara for making the decision to put all of them through this pointless misery.

...........

Chapter Text

Once Tara had reached the 24th-week mark, she was asked to take it easy and stay at home, so the babies could be monitored. Mycroft had turned their bedroom into a hospital room with all the monitors. He had also started working from home so that he could be close to Tara if she needed him. Working from home hadn't made his job any easier, he still stayed up late in his office working.

One such day, when Mycroft came to his bedroom late at night, he found Tara already asleep. The sheets and comforter were scattered on the floor and all she wore was a tank top that had rolled up, exposing her baby bump and shorts that would barely qualify as underwear. She had abandoned her usual silk nightgown. He deduced she was experiencing hot flashes again. It had been a regular occurrence in the past few weeks. He would often find her complaining about the thermostat, yelling at it, and sticking her head into the fridge.

Mycroft noticed something else. There was something peeping out from under the skin of her baby bump. He went closer and sat on the bed to get a proper view. He could see the limbs poking out from underneath his wife's skin. It was freaking him out and at the same time, it fascinated him. The two tiny nudges disappeared when he touched. He didn't remove his hand instead he waited for the little taps on his fingertips to return. And then they were back again only this time stronger and repetitive. Their frequency increased as if telling him that it was their spot and he had to move. For the first time, his daughters were making themselves known to him. The warm feeling returned to his heart as a few more nudges pushed against his hand.

'If you don't move your hand, they'll just keep kicking' Tara said groggily in her sleepy voice, '..., and I want to sleep'.

Mycroft smiled and removed his hand as he laid down next to her. She immediately turned sideways inserting her leg between his. With her center of gravity changing every week she found it difficult to sleep in a comfortable position so, she used Mycroft as her body pillow. He didn't really mind. Mycroft wrapped his arms around her, his hand stroking her bump, comforting her and their unborn daughters. He silently enjoyed the sensation playing out beneath his fingers, 'Have you spoken to Grace?' he whispered.

Tara sighed in her sleep, 'I helped her get her life back together and she acted like an ungrateful little brat. Why would I talk to her?' she whispered into his chest.

Mycroft hummed with his eyes closed, 'Because you have a weird Big Sister- Little Sister relationship. And, you love each other in a very annoying way' he whispered, feeling his daughters' kicking slow down underneath his hand.

'It's not happening, Mycroft' Tara drawled and navigated Mycroft's hand to where she was feeling the babes move.

'I'm just saying, you're driving yourself crazy...', Mycroft tried relentlessly.

Tara glanced at him briefly then closed her eyes and sighed, 'Mycroft, you know how I'm really tiny and really flexible' she asked.

'Yeah' Mycroft whispered with his eyes still closed.

Tara hummed, 'My knee is really close to your nuts right now, so you might want to shut up and go to sleep' she whispered.

Mycroft remained unphased by her threat, 'You're scary, but I love you' he muttered. Tara smiled in her sleep, 'I love you too' she said and kissed him before snuggling into his arms as the babies finally settle down, letting both parents fall asleep.

.......

Violet and Siger had visited for a few weeks. Violet wanted to take care of Tara and Siger wanted to make sure his wife didn't drive the couple insane. Mycroft stayed in his home office for two days and then made the run for it. He couldn't handle more time around his parents. He would only start working from home again when they would leave a few weeks before Tara's scheduled c-section.

Late at night, Mycroft walked into the house to find Tara sleeping on the couch. She was sitting sideways, her legs folded under her knees and her head rested on her arm. She was sleeping but Mycroft could tell it wasn't peaceful, the distress was evident on her face as if she was having a bad dream. It wasn't the first time he was seeing her in this state. He placed his briefcase on the coffee table and sat beside her, 'Hello' he said softly.

She jolted awake at the movements around her. And looked at him like she hadn't slept at all. She wasn't in deep sleep, 'Hey' she and forced a smile.

Mycroft smiled faintly, 'You should head upstairs' he told her softly as he gathered her hands in his and faced her properly.

Tara smiled weakly, 'I was waiting for you' she sighed and told him.

Mycroft caressed her cheek, 'Have you eaten?' he asked.

Tara shook her head gingerly, 'No' she sighed. She already knew she needed to take better care of herself, she didn't need Mycroft to remind her of that. 'How was your day?' she changed the topic.

Mycroft sighed at the change of topic, 'Not good. Sherlock is up to something. He is not returning my phone calls. Neither is Dr. Watson' he told her flatly. He didn't bother to ask her why she hadn't eaten. He knew, telling her that she needed to eat was not going to do any good. She would do what she wanted.

Tara pursed her lips, 'What can I do?' she asked sincerely. A part of her feeling slightly guilty. She knew one of the reasons he was so stressed was because of her.

Mycroft cocked his head, 'Tell me what you were dreaming of last night and right now' he asked gently. Tara hadn't slept properly in days. In fact, she hadn't slept properly since Dr. Conner told them they were having girls. Mycroft would often find her sitting in the empty guest bedroom which Mycroft had planned on converting into a nursery, staring at the walls with a hollow expression. They had to talk about it otherwise they would fall into the old pattern of becoming distant.

Tara frowned and shook her head, 'Oh, it was awful, Mycroft'. She thought about her dream and grimaced 'Horrifying' she muttered.

Mycroft studied her face for a second, 'I can't sleep either' he told her and gathered her arms in his, 'I want to know' he insisted.

Mycroft studied her face for a second, 'I can't sleep either' he told her and gathered her arms in his, 'I want to know' he insisted

Tara's face fell with concern, 'It's.....' she sighed. 'It's the girls' she struggled to look at him as the image returned, 'We took them to the beach for a picnic of sorts' she told him and licked her lip nervously as she thought and recollected, 'You were sitting on the shore on the picnic blanket with all our stuff. You refused to come with us into the water so, I had to take the girls by myself'. She felt her stomach cramp and her mouth go dry as she thought about what happened next. She breathed hard and swallowed as she continued, 'I held their hands in mine, one on each side, and started walking towards the ocean. The girls giggled as the rushing waves met their feet' she let out a weak laugh and smiled at the thought. Mycroft smiled too, 'They seemed to love the water'. Her smile disappeared at the next sentence, 'They started jumping and pulled me deeper into the ocean. I told them to stop and listen to me. But they wouldn't listen' her breathing was starting to tense. Mycroft reached for her arm and rubbed it gently, trying to soothe her but, it didn't help, 'A giant wave came over us and ......and....... And their hands slipped away from mine' she looked down at her hands in horror. 'I couldn't see them anymore. They just disappeared in the water. I tried to find them but I couldn't' tears fell out of her eyes and Mycroft pulled his wife's slender frame into a hug, holding her close. His hand unconsciously rested on her baby bump. 'They were gone, Mycroft..... I let them go' she whispered into his chest. He clenched his eyes shut and let her cry into his chest.

Two things were clear to Mycroft; One, she was terrified of something happening to the twins, and two, she thought he would be a distant father. He wanted to comfort her, it killed him to see her like this but he didn't know how. How was he supposed to reassure her of something he wasn't sure of himself?

..........

Late at night, after dinner, Mycroft and Siger were having a nightcap in Mycroft's study, 'Are you okay?' Siger asked his son after minutes of silence.

Mycroft knitted his brows in confusion and nodded, 'Yes' he said, not wanting to have this conversation with his father. They had never had that kind of relationship. Siger looked at his son and raised his brows doubtfully. Mycroft looked at his father and pondered over the idea. He was his father. He could trust the man. As much as his father liked to believe it, he wasn't a complete moron, the man knew what he was talking about and he had always given Mycroft the benefit of the doubt. 'Everything has just been very overwhelming' he admitted after some consideration.

Siger bobbed his head in understanding, 'The process of becoming a father can be overwhelming for any person... and you, you have been running away from attachment all your life. I don't imagine how it could be any less overwhelming for you' he said.

Mycroft nodded with a distant look, 'Tara and I had discussed this before, and every time our conversation ended with us agreeing that children weren't a part of our future together. And each time it was clear to me that if an accident like this one happens, we would part ways. But with time it became clear to me that I wouldn't be able to part with Tara, and so I prepared myself to compromise' he explained.

Siger closed his eyes and suppressed a laugh, 'Huhuhmm... that sounds like you'.

Mycroft sighed and shook his head, 'The thing that was most comforting was that I knew Tara is an affectionate woman, a good person, she would make a good mother... it would compensate for my lack of affection. Lately, it doesn't look like I can count on it' he confided.

Siger gawked at his son's flawed idea of parenting, 'Your wife was your contingency plan in case you couldn't love your own children?! Where did I go wrong with you?' he asked in rhetoric.

Mycroft pursed his lips and shrugged, 'If I didn't know better, I would say, one could hardly blame you, the first pancake is always lumpy. But I grew up with Sherlock. You have no excuse' he shot mercilessly.

Over the years, Violet and Siger had accepted the fact that their children would always be critical of their parenting. They didn't blame them for it, they had messed up, they were young with no experience, and had three exceptionally bright children. They didn't know what they were doing.

If Siger was hurt by Mycroft's comment, he didn't show it, 'Well, lucky for you, you're getting two pancakes for the price of one' Siger grinned.

Mycroft faked a gasped, 'Stating the obvious with a dash of harsh reality, very helpful. You are a great father' he said snidely.

Siger raised his hands in surrender, 'Okay, okay, enough of that. Look, you'll love your children no matter what, it's impossible not to. Trust me, I have three very insufferable kids, I know what I am talking about' he said.

Mycroft looked at his father doubtfully, 'What if it's not enough?' he muttered.

Siger looked at his son in surprise and smiled warmly, 'You have always doubted your capacity for love. You've always said you don't care but the fact is you care the most. The fact that you're concerned about this is proof that you will be a great father. And kids are tough, especially girls, they'll be fine' he assured his son.

Mycroft accepted it half-heartedly and nodded, 'You're not half bad' he smirked.

Siger chuckled, 'Well, you make enough mistakes, you start learning at some point. Wait for a second, is this why you left for Italy in such a hurry?' he asked as the realization donned on him.

Mycroft did not think his father would catch that. He was hoping he wouldn't. Leaving his pregnant wife alone and running off to another country was not a good picture on anyone.

Mycroft sighed and nodded, 'Yes. You've been here long enough to see what's been going on. She acts and pretends like she is not pregnant. I don't know if it is stubbornness or plain denial. I am not saying she doesn't take care of herself but she barely even acknowledges the fact. I was trying to be supportive and she kept running away. She wanted to do everything herself even though she was in no position to do so. And I had to let her because she refused my help, what else was I supposed to do. Then came the silent treatment, ignoring each other, working odd hours. After a point the silence was unbearable, I had to get away. I learned to handle it but now having Mummy around, is killing her' he explained.

Siger sighed and nodded, 'I can only imagine. Poor thing' he said and for a brief second, Mycroft thought his father was sympathizing with him, 'Not you. Tara. She's just scared. She'll be fine. And I don't think it's going to make much of a difference but I'll tell your mother to tone down the smothering' he offered.

Mycroft huffed a small laugh, 'Thank you. This was helpful'.

The next day, Tara found Mycroft staring at the guest bedroom next to the master bedroom, the one he had cleared out a few weeks ago. Mycroft had called the designer and within a few days, the room was painted a soft cream color with white and beige wallpaper and golden accents. It did not go with the rest of the house and it wasn't much of a girl color but, Tara was glad Mycroft didn't have the room painted pink. God knew she would have killed him if the nursery was pink. A mockery of color for girls.

Within a week, Mycroft had managed to have their guest room transformed into a fully furnished nursery with a crystal chandelier

Within a week, Mycroft had managed to have their guest room transformed into a fully furnished nursery with a crystal chandelier. After all, what was a nursery in Mycroft Holmes's house without a crystal chandelier?

When Tara saw the finished look, she just sighed and shook her head. She was still scared. If something did go wrong, the nursery would just be another reminder. She didn't want to end up cleaning out another nursery that had never been used. But she didn't say anything, she didn't even acknowledge the changes in her house. It was something; Mycroft was making an effort and she didn't want to crush his spirit.

.........

In the morning, Tara was in bed, reading in the master bedroom. The king-size bed was surrounded by monitoring equipment and a fetal heart rate monitor was wrapped around Tara's protruding belly. The curtains and the balcony door were open letting the sunlight brighten the room and getting Tara some fresh air.

Grace burst into the master bedroom awkwardly and lingered at the doorway, 'Always knew Mycroft would lock you up one day. Just didn't picture it this way' she said, announcing her presence in the room.

Tara frowned, 'What are you doing in my house?' she asked.

Grace exhaled, 'I came to apologize. Mycroft let me in... Your in-laws seem nice' she said and strolled to the bed.

Tara's lips tightened into a forced smile, 'I'm aware' she said.

Grace sighed and walked to Tara's side of the bed, standing next to her, 'Look, I'm sorry. You've done a lot for me. You gave me a second chance at life, and you helped me function to my full potential and I was ungrateful. I just I wasn't expecting that I would have to... The human toll of my past life is something I still haven't reconciled with. I acted horribly and I shouldn't have taken it out on you' she said, without looking up at Tara.

Tara looked at her suspiciously, 'You came to all of that by yourself?' she asked.

Graced rolled her eyes, 'John might have smacked some sense into me' she muttered.

Tara sighed and nodded, 'Sit down' she said and Grace looked at her doubtfully. Tara nodded, reassuring her to sit down, 'It's not all your fault. I pushed you too hard. I have two sides to me. When it comes to family, I can be easygoing. But not when it comes to work, I'm not very patient. Maybe I was too hard on you' she said and averted her gaze.

Grace shook her head, 'No, you're right. The work we do is too important and I know how much it means to you. We can't afford to look at the world with a simplistic black and white lens... Sir Thomas called. He said I got the job' she said with a faint smile.

Tara smiled warmly, 'I'm happy for you' she said and reached for Grace's hand.

'How are you doing?' Grace asked, referring to the recent arrival of Violet and Siger and Tara's house arrest.

Tara sighed in exhaustion, 'Ultrasound pictures have gone up on the fridge, I'm being fed every two hours, and it's a miracle I'm still allowed to get out of bed to use the bathroom' she informed.

Grace laughed, 'Blink twice if you want me to plan a jailbreak and get you out of here' she said.

Tara snorted, 'I already tried. Mycroft has his security detail roaming the grounds. I was back in the house in two and a half minutes' she said and chuckled.

Grace smiled, 'I met Violet and Siger on the way, they told me you're having girls' she said and Tara nodded with a smile. 'It's good. You're good with girls' she said with a genuine smile. 'I also got a look at the nursery on my way here' she said with a coy smile.

Tara raised her brows with a smirk, 'What did you think?' she asked.

Grace shook her head in awe, 'It's nicer than my apartment. I mean I'm proud of Mycroft for not putting a suit of armor in the nursery or painting it pink. But I'm also kind of jealous of your kids, they have a crystal chandelier in their little apartment, they'll never know the horrors of recessed lighting' she said and the two women laughed, spending the rest of the day lying in bed and watching 'I love Lucy'. Everything seemed so much easier in sitcoms, in half an hour all their problems disappeared. Only if life were that simple.

......

At night, Tara and Mycroft were in bed, reading. Suddenly, Mycroft took off his glasses, put his book down, and leaned down to Tara's baby bump. Tara frowned in confusion, 'What are you doing?' she asked.

Mycroft looked at her with mouth agape, 'Umm... I don't know but I am trying. The other day Dr. Connor said I should be talking to the babies because it encourages movement, speech, and language development, and today my mother yelled at me for not talking to them, she said something about forming a bond with them' he said and stared at her bump with a blank expression.

Tara looked at him uncomfortably, 'Huh.... Okay' she said and went back to her reading, trying desperately to ignore Mycroft's attempt at connecting with the babies. But she couldn't, Tara's gaze remained fixed at him as Mycroft silently stared at her growing womb for several minutes, 'Mycroft, this is getting really weird' she muttered uncomfortably.

Mycroft glanced up at her and sighed, 'Tell me about it' he said, trying his best but not knowing what exactly to do.

Tara sighed, 'Especially because you're so close to my vagina. Just saying it's right there, you could put your mouth to better use than talking' she suggested bluntly.

Mycroft glanced up and shook his head gingerly, 'No, thanks. But I will take you up on that offer later. How do you do it?' he asked and straightened up, tired of trying and failing.

Tara knitted her brows in confusion, 'Stimulate myself?' she asked.

Mycroft frowned and shook his head, 'No, good God! Woman, get your mind out of the gutter. How do you talk to the babies?' he asked.

Tara rolled her eyes and shrugged, 'It's easy. I don't' she said bluntly.

Mycroft scoffed, 'And I got yelled at for not talking to them' he said and returned to his reading.

Tara gawked and shrugged, 'Isn't it enough that I providing them with incubation and going through a c-section to bring them into this world, now I have to talk to my bump?' she asked rhetoric.

Mycroft looked at her thoughtfully and pursed his lips, 'Fair point' he said and donned his glasses back on. He tried to focus on his reading but he couldn't ignore the unsettling feeling sitting uncomfortably in the pit of his stomach. He took off his glasses and turned to Tara, 'Tara?' he said and she hummed in response, still reading her book. Mycroft swallowed uncomfortably and prepared himself, 'I know you're struggling but they are going to need you a lot. Let's face it, I am not the most affectionate person in the world. And so, they're going to need their mother a lot more. I don't know much about children but they're going to need at least one parent they can depend on' he laid it on her as gently as he could.

Tara gaped at him and looked away, taking off her glasses and turning back to Mycroft, 'You'll make a great father, Mycroft. Because you know what, great fathers try and you're trying.... I don't even know what I am doing here, Mycroft. I couldn't bring myself to have an abortion and I can't.... I know I'm not doing enough. I know I am not being a good mother. I am not even being a mother. But I.... I've been there before... Do you know what's worse than burying the man you love in the prime of your life?... Having to bury your child with him...I can't get attached. If something goes wrong.... I need... I can't be a mother. I just can't clean out another nursery that's never been used' she said with tears brimming in her eyes.

Mycroft sighed and pulled her into his arms, 'You're already a mother. Even if that person is not here anymore. And, even if they are not here yet. You're still their mother. All three of them' he said with his hand stroking her protruding stomach.

Tara looked at him lovingly and blinked back her tears, 'You should read to them' she said and Mycroft frowned in confusion. Tara pressed her lips, 'If you can't talk to them you should read. It's a good place to start and it'll be easier' she explained.

..........

In the morning, three weeks before the scheduled arrival of the Holmes Twins, at the mansion driveway, vendor vans streamed in and large bouquets were brought in. Caterers prepared canapes and desserts. Shining crystal glasses were aligned on a table and the silverware was polished. Photos of the happy couple and a few ultrasound shots were displayed in the front hall. A pink two-tier cake covered in golden stars, moon, and cloud, and to top it off a twin baby girls' topper, was being decorated in the mansion.

Tara walked through the halls of the mansion and stood at the mezzanine, frowning as she looked at all the flowers and balloons decorating her previously elegant house. Tara hurriedly made her way down the stairway and found the mansion milling with people hurriedly turning her house upside down, trying to decorate it, and Violet yelling at them, 'I asked for Violet Campions, not Blue Hydrangeas' she said as she supervised everything.

The planner looked at Violet helplessly, 'But those are very rare' she told the Holmes Mother.

Violet shrugged, 'I don't care how rare they are, this is for my first grandchildren and everything has to be perfect' she said firmly, leaving no room for any further discussion.

Tara frowned in confusion and stormed towards Mycroft's study, 'Alexander Mycroft Chad Holmes' she yelled as she entered her husband's study.

Mycroft cringed at the use of his whole name, he knew he was in big trouble, 'Yes, my dear' he said, forcing a smile. He knew exactly what was going to happen. He had very conveniently forgotten to tell his wife about his mother's newest escapade.

Tara glared at him and marched forward, 'Why is our house covered in flowers, pink balloons, and a baby foil balloon with a freakishly large head?' she asked, knowing the answer.

Before Violet and Siger went back to Musgrave, they organized a baby shower to cheer up Tara. Her parents, brothers, uncles, and Aamir were also invited to the baby shower. Violet knew how much Tara missed her family and thought it would be a good way to cheer her up. Only, nobody had bothered to tell Tara about it.

Mycroft sighed and got out of his armchair, 'Okay, it is important for you to calm down and know none of this is my doing' he said and approached her cautiously.

Tara's face contorted into a pained expression, 'Why are you doing this to me?' she cried.

Mycroft shrugged and shook his head, stroking her arms, 'I am not doing this to you, she is' blaming his mother for everything.

Tara sighed and shook her head in exhaustion, 'Mycroft, do you know what people do in baby showers? They drink champagne and eat cake, and....', she grimaced as she listed everything.

Mycroft cocked his head, 'Well, that doesn't sound so bad' he said cutting her off.

Tara raised her eyebrow at him and shook her head, 'Oh, I'm not done yet and neither are they. They'll play party games, and bring gifts, and everybody brings diapers and onesies' she said with a distant, tired look.

Mycroft shrugged, 'The more the better... No?' he asked.

Tara rolled her eyes, 'And they'll talk about baby stuff, and they'll touch me, Mycroft. They are going to want to hug me, touch my bump, and feel the babies. And I don't want to do any of that stuff' she whined.

Mycroft looked at her sympathetically, 'I am sorry, my dear. But there is nothing I can do. You've seen the woman. She is stubborn as hell. If you want to stop this nightmare, you're going to have to take it up with her yourself' he told her.

Mycroft was right. His mother would never listen to him. But Tara didn't have the heart to tell her that she didn't want a baby shower, especially not after Violet had gone overboard with the arrangement. To add to Tara's misery Violet had found the perfect partner in crime in her uncle, Kabir. Now her baby shower had onesie decorating stalls, champagne in feeding bottles, and chocolates that looked like babies. Nausea hadn't been so much of a problem until that day. The baby shower was Tara's Hellscape. Seeing all the baby stuff made Tara nervous but nevertheless, she was happy to see her family.

Later, in the master bedroom, Tara sat in front of a vanity mirror and stared blankly into the mirror, while three women worked on her hair and make-up. She sighed and shook her head gingerly, 'Stop' she muttered, but they continued to work on fixing her look. Tara's eyes went wide, 'Stop!' she raised her voice. When they didn't listen to her and continued with their work, 'STOP! Everybody, out!' she yelled and they backed away in fear.

The staff scurried out of the room hurriedly as Mycroft entered the room to escort Tara to the event as he was told. He looked over Tara's close-fitting blush dress that perfectly accentuated her baby bump, with a huge ruffle on the left shoulder to top it off. He swallowed uncomfortably and nodded with pursed lips, wanting to make a comment.

Tara looked at him with a stony glare, 'Not a word' she whispered, clenching her jaw. Mycroft suppressed a laugh and nodded. She exhaled heavily and walked over to Mycroft, stiffening up, 'Let's get this nightmare over with' she said and linked her arm in Mycroft, walking out of the master bedroom to the party.

It shouldn't have been such a surprise to either of them, that Violet and Kabir had gone overboard. Though Mycroft did agree that they shouldn't have. Even though it was Violet's first grandchild, Mycroft expected her to be sensitive to the fact that it wasn't Tara's first child and this experience was very jarring for her. He blamed himself for not trying hard enough to keep Violet in line.

Tara looked around the mansion at the giant duck occupying their front hall, the innumerable balloons spread out on the floor, making everyone navigate through them, stuffed toys, and giant building blocks spelling 'IT'S TWIN GIRLS'. She looked down at Whiskey who had walked over to her, 'Oh, dear Lord' she groaned, looking at the bonnet on his head and the pink pacifier around his neck. With great difficulty, she bent down to the bloodhound and took off the abomination of a dog accessories and tossed it away. She looked up at Mycroft, who stood at the mezzanine with her father watching all the festivities from above. She shot him a dirty look before taking Whiskey and storming away.

Mycroft closed his eyes and shook his head, 'It's ridiculous. Right? My mother and Kabir went tragically overboard' he said and gulped down his scotch.

Shekhar swallowed and shook his head, 'It's nice' he said struggling to keep his face straight.

Mycroft huffed a small laugh, 'Thank you for lying and for not shooting me in the face' he said, glancing briefly at Shekhar with a smirk. He knew Shekhar had wanted to kill him after they had broken the news of Tara's pregnancy. It wasn't the first time, and probably, wouldn't be the last.

Shekhar cocked his head and nodded, 'In my defense, I want to shoot every man who has ever laid hands on the girl. As a father, you have a biological urge to protect all your children, but girls... they're special. You'll know, you're having two of them. They're going to be a lot of boys you going to want to shoot in the face...' he grinned at Mycroft. Mycroft cringed and shook his head at the thought. Shekhar noticed the subtle change in Mycroft's expression, the way the genuine smile was replaced with a forced one. The worry in his eyes made Shekhar smile with nostalgia, 'The first time Leela told me she was pregnant, I was terrified. I didn't even want kids, the only reason I came on board was because of Leela. I didn't know if I liked kids in general, much less love one of my own. It wasn't until the day Sangram was born that I realized how wrong I was. You might not like kids but you'll love one that is yours. These things just happen, you can't force it. You'll know it when your girls are born' he said and gave Mycroft a comforting pat on the back, nodding supportively.

Later, Mycroft and Tara sat in the living room surrounded by piles of gifts and a mountain of onesies in front of them, 'So much pink' Tara gagged looking at the amount of pink clothes around her, almost making her nauseous.

Mycroft gawked and exhaled heavily, 'I have never seen this much pink all at once in my life' he said grimacing at the cringe-worthy texts on each of the onesies. Example- My mom can hack into your mom's computer and my dad can hack into your dad's brain, given by John Watson.

Tara picked up a pink onesie on top of the pile, 'What are we going to do with all this pink?' she asked Mycroft.

Mycroft sneered, 'This is why people register' he reminded her. If it weren't for Tara's disinterest in registering for gifts, they wouldn't have ended up with the most absurd gifts in the world.

Sherlock had opted to give them two tiny deerstalker hats, now known as the Sherlock Holmes hats, and Grace had opted to give them a door sign that read- Please do not knock or ring the bell. It upsets the dog... which upsets the babies... which upsets the mom, and then shit will get real, real soon. All of which, Mycroft had sworn would never be used in his household.

Violet sighed audibly, 'They are going to need clothes, Mycroft' she argued as she folded and placed the new clothes into age-appropriate piles.

Mycroft frowned, 'It's not the clothes we have a problem with, it's the sheer amount' he pointed out, gesturing to the mountain of onesies lying on his antique coffee table.

Sherlock suppressed a smile threatening to spread across his face, 'Babies grow fast' he chipped in, knowing how unbearably difficult this experience was proving for Mycroft.

Mycroft glared at his brother, 'Thank you, Sherlock' he said sarcastically and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Violet shrugged innocently, 'Well, they're going to get messy. It's unavoidable' she continued lobbying.

Siger nodded as he helped Violet sort the gifts, 'Before you know it, they'll be covered in food and paint' he added with a coy smile and Mycroft shot him an 'Et Tu, Brute?' look.

Sherlock could no longer suppress his pleasure in Mycroft's misery, 'And, in all likelihood, their own excrement' he grinned at the mental image of his brother changing diapers.

Mycroft cringed, closing his eyes and pursing his lips, 'Oh, what a lovely image' he sighed and shot Sherlock a dirty look.

Violet noticed the banter Sherlock was trying to provoke out of Mycroft and intervened, 'Do you want me to put the clothes away?' she asked before a fight could break out.

Mycroft nodded, 'Let me show you to the nursery' he said and helped her with all the gifts.

As Tara watched Mycroft lead Violet towards the nursery with a weary look, Leela came and sat next to her, 'How are you doing, honey?' she asked.

Tara shrugged, 'I look like a beached whale and feel like a punching bag. So, yeah, all in all, I'm doing great' she said sarcastically.

Leela huffed a small laugh and nodded thoughtfully, 'Yeah, being pregnant with twins is hard. Isn't it? I remember, double the pokes, double the kicks, double the hormones. But I don't remember being so big' she teased.

Tara flashed a toothy grin, 'Thanks, Mom. I'll tell you one thing, I don't remember pregnancy being so uncomfortable' she sighed, remembering her previous pregnancy.

Leela nodded in understanding, 'You were just a kid when you were pregnant with Ayesha. You're older now' she pointed out.

Tara gawked at her mother, 'Way to be a good mother' she said.

Leela shrugged, 'Just saying, it's a valid point' she chuckled softly.

Tara sighed and shook her head, looking over her shoulder and around the room. Finding everybody busy with the games, she looked to her mother, 'I thought about it, you know. Having an abortion. I still think about it, if I had just...' she confided in Leela and her voice trailed off uncomfortably.

Leela shrugged, 'Mitra, it's not wrong to think about it. I know, I did' she said and helped Tara with the presents she was unwrapping.

Tara understood why her mother would have considered an abortion, she already had three kids and a great career. Tara's situation was different, 'It's all so real now. The nursery, the baby shower, the...' she said, trailing off as she looked at the huge baby bump blocking her view of her toes.

Leela cocked her head, 'You didn't actually think you'd get this far. Did you?' she asked knowingly and Tara shook her head. Leela smiled and shook her head, 'You'll be fine' she assured.

Tara scoffed, rolling her eyes, 'You don't know that. What if I got so lost in preparing for the worst or rather expecting it, that I forgot to actually feel... What kind of mother thinks like this?' she struggled to express the simple fact that she was scared she wouldn't be able to love her children.

Leela cleared her throat, 'You prepare for the worst because you're scared the loss would hurt you, it hurts because there is care, concern, and love. You'll love them no matter how this ends. You'll know when you see them' she explained to Tara. Her daughter hesitated for a bit then nodded. Leela smiled, relieved she was able to get through to her, 'You know I love you, right? And, I want to stay and help, but... I am not Violet or Mrs. Hudson, this isn't my thing....', she struggled to tell her daughter that, unlike her mother-in-law, her mother had no interest in sitting at home and taking care of her.

Tara suppressed a smile that threatened to grace her lips and stopped her mother, 'Mom, calm down, the last thing I want right now is another person to coddle me' she said, putting the woman out of her misery.

Leela sighed in relief, 'Oh, thank God! Because I was just going to make Kabir stay back with you if you got too needy' she admitted. Shakti and Kabir had always been like a second set of parents to Tara and her brothers. And, Leela knew her brother would never refuse an offer to take care of Tara.

Tara's eyes went wide in worry, 'Did you tell him that?' she asked and Leela shook her head. Tara sighed in relief, 'Oh, good'. Tara loved her mother-in-law, but in the few weeks that Violet had stayed in the mansion, she had made Tara miserable. It all came from a place of love but, Violet could be very overbearing. And, Kabir was just as overbearing as Violet, sometimes even more. Violet and Siger were going to leave after the baby shower, and Tara really wanted a good break from being coddled.

Leela smiled at how her daughter had grown up to be so much like her, 'I brought you something, to soften the blow. You took it well, but I'm still going to give it to you' she said and reached for her handbag.

Tara closed her eyes and scrunched her nose, 'Please, don't be a breast pump' she prayed.

Leela huffed a small laugh and present her with a small box, 'No, I know my baby girl' she said as Tara opened the gift box and took the contents out of it. In her hands, Tara held a necklace with a sparkling pendant on its delicate chain, it was beautiful, subtle, and elegant. Leela looked at the hint of confusion in her daughter's eyes, 'Don't you remember it? It's Ayesha's. You were six years old. You kids were spending the day with her and she asked you to pick one thing you could take after she was gone. Sangram picked your grandfather's antique golf clubs, Vikram picked the Nishapur chess set, Vikrant picked her collection of movie memorabilia, and you... You picked this necklace. When she asked you why you picked the least expensive thing, you said, 'Nina, you always wear that necklace. So, when you're not with me, it'll still be like you're with me'' she said with a nostalgic smile.

Tara nodded and regarded the necklace with a smile, 'She had such good taste' she said and held it out for her mother to put it on her.

Later, at night, after everybody had gone, Tara stood in the front hall watching vendors clean up and leave. Mycroft helped Thomas load all of Violet and Siger's luggage in the car. Violet approached her with a huge gift box, 'Am I too late?' she asked and chuckled.

Tara smiled and shook her head, 'You've already done a lot' she said gratefully.

Violet shook her head, 'It's my job to take care of my kids. All of my kids. I know you don't agree with the way I do things...' she said, caressing Tara's cheek.

Tara looked at her apologetically, 'Have I been that insufferable?' she asked.

Violet chuckled and shook her head, 'No, sweetheart, you were very graceful about it. But I raised three kids who complained most of their childhood. I know when someone is not pleased. So, thank you for letting me do this. I know you're not one for extravagant, luxurious things. So, I think you'll like it' she said and pointed to the huge gift box on the front hall table. Tara looked at it with a confused smile and opened it. Inside the box was an old but freshly polished wooden rocking horse, 'It was Mycroft's. It was a gift from Siger at my baby shower when I was pregnant with Mycroft. Our other children hated it but Mycroft loved it. It was his favourite' she told Tara.

Tara beamed at the horse than at Violet, 'It's the perfect gift. I've no doubt Mycroft's children will cherish it as much as he did' she said with a warm smile and hugged Violet.

At night, after bidding goodbye to Siger and Violet, in the master bedroom, Mycroft walked out of the bathroom and noticed his wife sitting at her dressing table in her nightgown and admiring the pendant on her neck, 'That's a pretty little thing' he commented and walked to her.

Tara smiled and looked back at him, 'It's a gift from my mother. It was Ayesha's, my grandmother' she clarified when Mycroft furrowed his brows in confusion. Tara looked at him lovingly, as he stood behind her, massaging her shoulders, 'You know, I was dreading this day. But it wasn't bad at all' she said and stood up. She turned around and threw her arms around his neck, tearing up, 'I don't know how to be happy. Throughout this pregnancy, I've just kept myself at baseline. Alive but barely. Hanging by a thread. Because I was scared to be happy. What If I got too happy and lost them? Maybe if I wasn't happy, it wouldn't hurt even if I lost them. I know, I know, it's fucked up. But in my forever damaged brain it made sense. And that was the best I could do. But... I'm having a baby. Actually, I'm having two babies. We're having two babies, and I'm happy. I'm still scared but I'm also very very happy... And.... Mycroft, I love you so much and I'm really happy for us' she said with a beaming smile and tears rolling down her cheeks.

Mycroft smiled and put his hand on either side of her neck. Leaning in, they kissed and embraced each other. As they pulled away, Mycroft smiled and caressed her cheek, 'Oh, I almost forgot' he said rushed to his closet. He returned after a few seconds with a packaged gift in his hand.

Tara opened the gift with a confused smile then teared up, looking at it. It was Baby Ayesha's baby blanket with the embroidery, 'Mommy's Little Girl', marking its warm surface. She touched the soft surface of the blanket and held it up to her face, inhaling the scent. She looked up at Mycroft with tears in her eyes, 'Where did you... How?' she asked.

Mycroft placed his hand on her cheek and wiped her tears away, 'That night in the townhouse, I took it when you weren't looking' he told her with a warm smile.

Tara chuckled softly and hugged him tightly, 'It's the best gift anybody has given me today' she said and cried.

Mycroft pulled away and wiped her tears, 'Well, then you're really going to like this' he said and walked out of the room. He returned a few minutes later, holding a plate with a piece of cake on it. He walked to her and spooned up some cake, feeding it to her. Tara smiled flirtatiously and licked the frosting off his thumb and her fingers. She stopped him and walked to the fireplace. She lit a match and threw it into the fireplace, starting a fire. She took off her robe and tossed it aside, walking back to Mycroft. Mycroft smirked and dropped the plate on the floor, kissing Tara passionately and pulling her leg up, he pushed her onto the bed. He switched off the lights, making love to Tara in the flickering firelight.

....

Chapter Text

In the mansion master bedroom, the sunlight fell softly over Mycroft and Tara in the large bed. They were tangled in the sheets and her fingers were in his hair. Tara turned him over and arched above him. Mycroft ran his hand up her thigh and turned her over, pinning her down on the bed. On top of her, he kissed his way down her body and looked up at her with a smile, 'I think they're awake too' he said and kissed her growing womb. Tara chuckled and pulled him up to her, kissing him tenderly.

Even if Tara was at home, she would wake up every day and dress for the day, they both did. Just because they were staying at home all day didn't mean they were going to laze around in their pajamas all day.

As Mycroft got dressed, he watched Tara in the mirror. She hadn't bothered to get out of bed at all and was still in her pajamas. She uncomfortably shifted on the bed trying to find a comfortable position but to no avail. She finally laid down on her back and stared blankly at the ceiling.

He walked up to her and laid a hand on her shoulder 'Are you alright? Should I bring you something?' he asked softly.

She turned her head towards him and gingerly shook it, 'No, I just don't feel up to it today, and I don't think they do either' she mumbled, briefly bringing her hand up to her swollen stomach, quickly letting it fall to her side. Mycroft furrowed his eyebrows, wanting more information than that. Tara sighed 'They just don't seem very active today. It's probably nothing' she assured him.

Fetal movement was something that complicated this kind of pregnancy. The more they moved, the more they were at risk of getting the umbilical cord tangled up, and it could lead to fatal consequences. So, the doctors prescribed Tara medication to lower the amniotic fluid content, thus inhibiting fetal movement. Even with that, they had been active in kicking and poking their mother. Tara would often complain that she couldn't sleep because of it.

Tara saw the concern building up on Mycroft's face and reached for the hand that rested on her shoulder, 'It's nothing, I think we're all just tired today' she said with a small smile.

Mycroft sighed and gave her a small nod, 'Just two more days' he told her. She smiled up at him, it was true just two more days until her scheduled C-section, 'I'll be in the study. If you need anything just call me or Mrs. Green' he told her. His hand gently rested on the round bump as he kissed his wife's forehead before he left. He made a note to himself to tell Mrs. Green to bring Tara her breakfast.

Later, Mycroft was sitting on a barstool and working on his laptop, as Tara shuffled around the kitchen gathering all the ingredients she needed. She was tired of being in bed all day and thought she should make something to entertain herself. Mycroft just wanted to stay nearby in case she needed something. Also, then, he had the added advantage of watching his wife try and fail to retrieve a baking tray from the bottom shelf. Mycroft was a good husband but once in a while, even he enjoyed deriving sadistic pleasure in her pain. Earlier, it was watching his short wife try to reach anything above 6 ft off the ground, and now it was watching his very pregnant wife try to reach anything below 2 ft from the ground. The fact that she was too stubborn to ask for help only made the whole experience more pleasurable for him.

But today she was worrying him, 'You need to take it easy' Mycroft said without looking up from his laptop.

Tara rolled her eyes at him, 'I can't stay in bed all day, Mycroft. You have no idea how annoying that is and it's not like I'm doing heavy labor, just working on some new recipes. I'm just going to keep myself occupied with something or the other until I........' she stopped and looked down in shock.

Mycroft raised an eyebrow, 'Until you what?' he looked up from his laptop when she stopped talking. She stood still, staring at the floor. Mycroft frowned in worry, 'What? Tara, what is it? Are you alright?' he asked in panic as he stood up, walked around the kitchen counter, and came to her side.

Tara breathed and blinked rapidly, 'Mycroft, I am bleeding' she whispered, as she looked down at the blood running down her thighs.

Mycroft gaped at her, 'What?!' he asked in shock, 'Okay. Okay. Oh, dear lord!' he started to panic when he saw the small puddle of blood on the floor. Tara's arm shot up to her lower abdomen, clutching it as she winced in pain. Even with the thousand layers of armor that she wore, he could tell she was terrified. This was no time to panic, not in front of his wife at least. Mycroft looked at the blood staining Tara's white pajamas underneath her protruding belly, 'I'll get you some towels, just sit here, okay?' he mumbled as he led her to the chair at the kitchen table before he rushed to get some towels. Tara was bleeding a lot, so she didn't have the time to change. She would have to go to the hospital wearing the bloodstained pajamas.

Mycroft ran to their bedroom and grabbed everything they needed. He called Thomas to get the car ready. As he rushed down the hall, his eyes stopped at the nursery. Maybe he had made a mistake; been too optimistic. They had come too far along on this pregnancy to go unscathed at the loss.

Mycroft shook the guilt sitting uncomfortably in his chest away and rushed to Tara, 'Here' he muttered as he helped Tara wear her coat before they left the house. The car ride was short. Thomas was an experienced driver. He was very careful, especially when he was driving precious cargo. He brought them to the hospital in under 7 minutes. Mycroft got Tara settled into her hospital room. Sherlock and John were there as well. John was responsible for keeping Mycroft in line and Sherlock had excused himself to his mind palace, there were too many people freaking out and he didn't care for that level of panic. Something everyone was grateful for at that moment.

Mycroft watched his wife take off her clothes and get into the hospital gown as they waited for the doctor. John and Sherlock were in the waiting room. Mycroft winced at the blood that had caked on her inner thighs and down her legs. She didn't have the time to wash up, their situation didn't allow them the luxury of time.

Mycroft helped her to the bed and then sat beside her on a chair. As they waited for the doctor to come, they stared at each other in silence.

'Mycroft?' Tara whispered.

'What?' Mycroft asked softly.

Tara blinked and licked her lips nervously, 'They're not moving' she told him wearily. 'I can't feel them move...' her voice was beginning to shake.

Mycroft stared at his wife with his breath caught in his throat as he tried to process everything. He got up from the chair and walked to Tara. He gently pushed up the hospital gown, so her bump was peeking through. His hand skimmed over it, and then landed on her side, where he had observed the most movement. He gently pressed down, trying to provoke any kind of response, 'Anything?' he asked hopefully. A lot of the times the movements were so subtle, only Tara could tell there had been one.

Tara gingerly shook her head, and averted her gaze, trying to distance herself from the situation.

Mycroft was thankful that an intern interrupted them because he didn't have words to say to his wife. He had to do what he did best and what Tara had been doing for the past 33 weeks. Internally Process and Detach.

Mycroft watched wearily as the intern put the ultrasound wand on Tara's abdomen. The young girl nervously looked at the screen and tried to hide the worried expression that was beginning to form on her face. But the two other people in the room had at least 15 years over her, and the skillset of a world-class spy. They shared a glance across the room, as the young doctor fled the room to get Dr. Conner.

Mycroft shook his head at the intern's obvious failure at hiding her own panic. He came and sat beside his wife, taking her hand in his.

Tara looked at Mycroft and swallowed, 'They're dead, aren't they?' she asked. The defeat in her voice was painfully noticeable.

Mycroft looked at his wife and sighed. He couldn't give her false hope when there was none, not when things looked so bad, 'I think so' he nodded.

Tara nodded and pursed her lips together as she fell back on the pillows, sobbing helplessly. She had prepared for this moment for 33 weeks, yet now her pain seemed unbearable. She laid still in bed, her eyes closed as tears ran down the side of her face, thinking about how foolish she had been to think she could save herself from this pain. Everybody was right. Her pain had been love all along.

Mycroft sat beside Tara. Her hand was still in his. He leaned his head on both their hands. When Tara crossed the 14-week mark, he had assumed that the twins were here to stay and made peace with the fact. It had never once occurred to him, that something like this could happen. For the first time, he had let his guard down. But now when he looked at his wife and thought about how painful it must be to sit there knowing her children had died inside of her; to lose a child again; to walk out of the hospital without a baby in her arms, again. He didn't know what to say. He was surprised at how devastated he felt about the loss, he hadn't realized how much he had grown to care about them and was actually looking forward to their arrival. He had cared more than he'd like to admit. And now life was smacking him in the face, telling him 'Everybody dies, caring is not an advantage'. Not knowing what to do next or how to comfort the other, they both sat in silence as they grieved.

They are interrupted by Dr. Connor storming into the room with the same intern. Tara quickly brushed off her tears and Mycroft let go of her hand, as he prepared to move. Dr. Connor didn't bother asking Mycroft to move. He gestured for him to stay seated with Tara. He just took the wand from the machine and placed it on Tara's abdomen as he stood beside her bed. The intern nervously stood behind. He moved the wand around and then aimed it a little lower, and observed the screen.

To everyone's relief, the sound of the echoing heartbeats filled the otherwise quiet room, 'There they are' he smiled and turned the monitor towards the parents before shooting a glare towards the intern for scaring them. Turned out she was bad at reading ultrasounds and hiding her emotions.

Tara and Mycroft sighed in relief when they heard the familiar sound. A tear slid down the side of Tara's face as she smiled at Mycroft. He smiled and wiped it off as he caressed her face lovingly. As they looked at the monitor, Dr. Connor muttered something to the intern and she fled the room for the second time that day.

Dr. Connor then turned to address the couple, 'Mr. and Mrs. Holmes, the twins are in distress so, we're going to have to get them out of there today' he informed. As he looked at the couple, Mycroft seemed more at peace with the new course of action than Tara. Her scheduled C-section was still 2 days away. 'We were going to get them out the day after tomorrow, we're getting them out today. It's just a difference of two days, it's going to be fine. We will take very good care of all three of you, Mrs. Holmes' Dr. Connor assured her after he finished examining her.

Tara sighed, 'I don't want to have surgery' she groaned as she collapsed on the bed.

'I know' Mycroft sighed. Panicking in front of Tara, when she was already stressed was not a good idea so, he controlled himself.

'You are going to be fine. A lot of women have C-sections these days. Right, Dr. Conner?' John said and looked at the doctor for support. Dr. Conner hesitantly nodded, not realizing when John had entered the room.

'I am not a lucky person. Good things happen to me and they are taken away' Tara told Mycroft

Mycroft placed his hand on her cheek, 'Don't say that' he told her and pushed the hair out of her face. Mycroft understood very well that both John and Dr. Watson were downplaying the situation. They didn't want to scare him or Tara, that was not going to help things any further. Mycroft was terrified, he didn't want to lose Tara.

Tara was wheeled into the O.R and prepped for surgery. Mycroft sat beside her, held her hand and caressed her cheek. He had already threatened the doctors so much, they would say yes to anything he wanted.

'Okay, here we go' Dr. Connor said as he went to make the cut with the scalpel.

'NO. WAIT' Tara almost yelled and stopped him. 'I'm scared' she whispered to Mycroft. No matter how many times she had been sliced open, she was never awake and it was never her child's life on the line.

Dr. Conner stopped and waited for her to calm down.

Mycroft caressed her cheek, 'There is nothing to be scared of. You can do this. Everything will be fine' he assured her and kissed her forehead. Tara took a deep breath and gave him a small nod. Mycroft smiled at his wife, then stood up and whispered into the doctor's ears 'If she dies, I will destroy you' he threatened. If something went wrong today, this doctor and this hospital would lose more than just their funding.

The doctor's eyes went wide in shock. He had never seen this side of Mycroft. Of course, itt wasn't the first time a patient's spouse had threatened him. But he knew Mycroft Holmes was powerful enough to actually work on it. He composed himself and replied calmly. 'Sit down, please. So, I can work' he said nervously. This had to be the most difficult couple he had ever consulted.

Mycroft sat back down and tried to distract Tara and himself from the fact that they were cutting into her body, and taking her organs out to get to the uterus, 'Have you thought of names?' he asked her.

Tara frowned in disappointment, 'No' they should've discussed this long ago but they had a lot on their plate.

Mycroft nodded and thought, 'How about Delilah?' he asked.

Tara turned her head and looked at him like he was nuts, 'We're not naming our daughter after a biblical whore' she shrieked.

Mycroft pursed his lips and nodded, 'Got it. How about Elizabeth?' he asked.

Tara rolled her eyes, 'Va te faire foutre' she cursed.

The couple's naming discussion was providing the surgical team with great entertainment. It was mostly just Mycroft suggesting names and Tara shooting them down like they were flying targets. What entertained them the most were the reasons she came up with to refuse them. Their favorite reason would have to be 'It's too white' when he suggested Courtney, Britney, and Whitney, how could poor Mr. Holmes possibly argue with that.

'If I die, don't screw up the babies. Listen to your mother, she knows better' Tara told Mycroft as he stroked her face and comforted her.

'Don't say that' Mycroft said softly.

Tara shrugged, 'What?! Your mother may not be as smart as you but she is a very good parent, she obviously knows her stuff' she explained

'No, not that' Mycroft sighed.

Tara nodded, 'Oh! Yeah! I know. I know you wouldn't screw up our babies. I trust you' she assured him with a forced smile.

Mycroft shook his head and caressed her cheek, 'No. Not that. Though I wouldn't be so sure about that. I was talking about you dying. Don't say that. You are not dying. Nothing is going to happen to you' he told her.

Tara looked at him pensively, 'Anything could happen, Mycroft. I could bleed out on this table' she told him.

Dr. Connor looked up at that statement and sighed, 'Oh, you of little faith' he said and smiled, shaking his head at her. In the 22 weeks that he had consulted the couple, he had understood very well that Tara was always looking at risks. She thought she was a magnet for risks and Dr. Connor had learned quickly how to deal with her. He had learned not to take offense when she questioned him, she was just scared. Thus, forming a friendly bond with the woman.

Tara pursed her lips and shook her head. 'You are not going to die' Mycroft told her.

Tara sighed and looked at him lovingly, 'I love you, Mycroft. We should say that to each other more often' she whispered to him.

Mycroft smiled, 'Tara, I love you' he kissed her forehead through the mask.

'And, Twin A is out' Dr. Conner announced as he lifted a tiny infant into the air.

Tara waited for the tell-tale glorious cry of a newborn, one she hadn't heard with her firstborn

Tara waited for the tell-tale glorious cry of a newborn, one she hadn't heard with her firstborn. Instead, she was met with silence, 'What do you see?' she asked Mycroft.

Mycroft looked over to the baby warmer surrounded by people, 'I don't know' he replied softly, his eyes were at the doctors who checked on their child. He didn't get up from his seat, not wanting to get in the doctor's way.

Tara began to hyper-ventilate, 'I don't hear her crying. Why isn't she crying?' she asked in worry. Her brain already thinking of the worst. Pictures of Ayesha flashed in front of her eyes.

'It isn't uncommon for babies born this early' Dr. Connor told her, trying to keep her BP under control while he was elbow deep in her body. That was the last thing they needed.

Tara looked at Mycroft, 'Mycroft, go see what's happening' she ordered and practically pushed him away.

Mycroft reluctantly got up and walked to the baby warmer, carefully avoiding the bloody surgical field. He couldn't see Tara like that. He had gagged and coughed violently when the prison governor shot himself, he would definitely throw up if he saw the sight of Tara's body lying open on a table and her organs in a tray. It wouldn't be a good idea to throw up in a sterilized surgical field where his wife was under the knife and his premature baby girls were born.

Mycroft caught a glimpse of what was happening, but it had been enough to make his breath shudder. His eyes remained fixed in the direction of his daughter, who lay absolutely still in the baby warmer. Her skin was a pale hue, almost blueish. He watched with a bated breath as the neonatal specialist bagged her and performed chest compressions on her tiny frame using his index and middle finger.

Tara could sense the tension in the O.R. and tried to look up, but the curtain and the staff surrounding her child blocked her view, 'Somebody, talk to me. I don't hear her crying' she said desperately. Her BP was shooting up. The monitors were beeping loudly.

Dr. Connor stopped and looked at the monitors, 'Mrs. Holmes, I am going to need you to calm down a little. Please' he asked her after the anesthesiologist gave him a weary look and pointed to the monitors.

Tara glared at him, 'Don't ask me to calm down. I don't hear my child crying' she scolded the man. 'Mycroft say something' she begged but Mycroft refused to look at her. Years of training, his practiced manner was all but lost on him at that moment. He knew that if Tara saw his face, she would instantly know. And, he couldn't bear to see that.

Tara begged them to tell her what was happening but all she got was silence, and everybody averting their gaze. All she heard was people whispering among themselves and that definitely did not help her worries, 'And Twin B is out too' Dr. Connor announced and lifted the twin up. Unlike her sister, she came into the world kicking and screaming.

A part of Tara was relieved, but she longed to hear her eldest child cry. Tears slipped out of her eyes at the thought of losing one of her children. As Dr. Conner handed off the crying infant for the initial examination he glanced at the neonatal specialist. The neonatal specialist met his gaze with a somber expression and shook his head gingerly. Dr. Conner sighed and closed his eyes, taking a brief second to compose himself then went back to operating on Tara without another word.

Mycroft's gaze shifted from his firstborn to the second born. Unlike her sister, her skin was flushed pink, leaning towards red. She pawed and flailed her arms and legs violently into the air, swatting at anybody who came her way. A nurse took the newborn from the doctor and placed her next to the lifeless infant. She continued to flail her arms and legs and slapped her sister with the back of her hand. As if one sister had breathed life into the other, Tara and Mycroft's firstborn kicked her sister and her skin turned a rosy hue. And, she kicked, again and again, crying softly as relief washed over her parents.

Tara cried in relief and tried to look but the curtain was obstructing her view, 'I can't see them

Tara cried in relief and tried to look but the curtain was obstructing her view, 'I can't see them. Mycroft, bring them over here. I want to see them' she told her husband.

Mycroft finally looked at his wife and frowned, 'What? No' he refused upfront.

Tara shot him a tired look, 'Mycroft, please' she begged him.

'Here you go' The nurse said as she brought their elder daughter to Mycroft. He backed away, refusing to hold the child. The nurse was not going to give up easily. She forced the baby into his unsuspecting arms and he froze. He didn't move.

'Mycroft, I want to see my babies' Tara yelled at him, bringing him out of his trance. He carefully moved his arms, with more caution than he'd ever used before, he cradled his newborn daughter for the very first time. One hand beneath her delicate head, cradling it gently and the other beneath her small body. He held her close to his chest, cradling her in his arms, making sure that she was unharmed and secure in his arms.

He walked up to Tara with the fussing baby in his arms. He carefully moved his arms so as to not drop the newborn child and showed Tara the baby. She cried and laughed at the same time, 'She is perfect. Oh, she is just perfect' she cried in relief. Mycroft didn't say a word, he just smiled at the scene. The baby had calmed down and Mycroft handed her back to the nurse for further examination and brought the second twin to show Tara.

'She is perfect' Tara cried and kissed the back of her baby's feet as Mycroft held the second twin close to her face 'They are perfect and beautiful, Mycroft' she gave him a beaming smile. Mycroft hadn't really taken a good look at the bundle in his arms, he was too preoccupied with the expression on his wife's face. He hadn't seen her nearly as happy in months. The sheer joy she expressed at the well-being of their daughters was all Mycroft could focus on. He smiled and handed the baby back to the nurse. Tara couldn't see the smile behind the mask he was wearing, but she could see his eyes, which was satisfactory enough.

Under a normal circumstance, Tara would've been allowed to hold her babies for a couple of minutes but this wasn't a normal circumstance. The twins were born 6 weeks premature and the doctors needed to make sure their breathing was normal and that they were okay.

Mycroft returned to his seat next to Tara's head. He held her hand, which was connected to the IV, and laid a soft kiss on her forehead, his other hand placed on top of her head, 'Thank you for putting up with me and tolerating me these past months. I know I've been a mess throughout this pregnancy' Tara said with a teary smile.

Mycroft rolled his eyes and smiled, 'Well, you've always been a mess. I only let it slide because you're hot' he said making her laugh. The two shared a loving, lingering look, 'No, the truth is. You've been my rock for a long time. I wasn't half the man I am today before I met you. I didn't treat women very well. Certainly, didn't treat you very well. But you were kind and patient. You made me want to be a better man. A man you deserved. And, a man you deserved would be your rock when you needed it' he said.

A beaming smile spread across Tara's face, 'I can't wait to raise our daughters with you' she said and Mycroft smiled at her, 'Me neither' he said, gazing into her eyes.

Their moment was soon interrupted, 'Their breathing is shallow and SATs are low' the neonatal specialist announced.

'Why?' Tara asked, her happiness soon fading away.

'It's not uncommon for babies who come out this early to have low SATs, Mrs. Holmes' Dr. Conner answered as he continued to operate on her.

'We'll get them to the NICU and make sure everything checks out' the neonatal specialist told the couple.

Tara looked to Mycroft, 'Mycroft, go with them. Do not leave them alone, even for a second' she told him sternly. It was more of an order.

Mycroft shook his head, 'No. Dr. Watson and Sherlock will be with them. I will stay with you' he told her.

Tara glared at him, 'Mycroft Holmes. I swear to God, if you don't go with them right now, I will kill you' she yelled at him. But he was just as stubborn as her, he didn't move. 'Mycroft, please. I don't want them to be alone right now. You asked me to be their mother, this is me being a mother. Please don't be the husband, be the father. Go' she cried.

Mycroft sighed in surrender, 'Alright' he gave in. He lowered his mask and gave her a peck on the lips 'Everything is going to be fine' he said before he left with their daughters.

Tara looked up at her doctors, 'They're going to be fine. Right?' she asked, feeling slightly breathless.

Dr. Conner smiled at her through his mask, 'After that loud ear-piercing cry, definitely' he said as he closed her uterus and started suturing her incision. 'Doc, I don't feel great,' she said weakly.

Dr. Conner looked at Tara, who was starting to lose consciousness, and then at the anaesthesiologist, 'What's happening?' he asked as the monitors started beeping erratically.

The anesthesiologist looked at the monitors, 'BP is dropping. She is tachycardic' she replied.

Dr. Conner looked at Tara who was trying to say something but was too short of breath, 'She is bleeding out. Put her under' he said and the anesthesiologist put a gas mask on Tara's face, putting her on general anesthesia. 'She is losing way too much blood, way too fast. There's blood everywhere I, can't see anything. Give me suction over here, put her on a rapid infuser, and hang two units AB -ve'.

...............

Chapter Text

Mycroft stood in front of the baby warmer and watched the two newborns sleeping peacefully in it. With everything that had happened with Tara, he hadn't really taken a good look at the babies. Of course, he was the first one to hold them but he was so worried about Tara, he didn't really notice. The doctors had announced that the twins were absolutely fine, and only needed to be monitored for a few days before they could go home. They had placed both the twins in the same baby warmer, saying it would be comforting for them to be together.

'Look very fully functioning' he thought, then internally slapped himself. He had to do better than that. Even the neonatal specialist who had treated the babies had said that. They were his daughters. His own. He was their father. Certainly, he could do better than 'They look very fully functioning'.

He looked at both of his daughters. They were so small. Their tiny features looked like they had been touched by angels. They were twins and born 6 weeks preterm so, the low birth weight was justified. They would put on some weight in a couple of weeks.

They slept peacefully snuggled up close to each other, like when they were in their mother's womb. Both of them were beautiful and had long slender limbs, their skin was pink and a soft tuft of dark hair covered their heads. One of the twins had her arms out of her swaddle and the other one's feet were out. With the back of his finger, he stroked the back of her feet. He smiled when the sleeping babe's toes curled up against his finger, the warm sensation spreading through his chest again.

He smiled and decided to introduce himself properly, 'Hello! I'm your father. You two young ladies gave us quite the scare. I never thought I could love someone the way I loved your mother but then again, I never thought I was capable of feeling love in the first place. Turns out I can be wrong... on multiple occasions. I wasn't half the man I am before I met her' he spoke. It seemed a little out of character for Mycroft to talk to babies, that to such intimate details of his life.

As if on cue, one of them slowly opened her eyes. He bit his lip to stop himself from laughing at her and watched as she blinked sleepily, blue eyes cloudy. She already had so much wonder and curiosity in her eyes. They were blueish grey like his own, but it was probably too soon to confirm that. He still smiled at the similarity, one of the rare Mycroft Holmes smiles. The smile disappeared when the baby started to squirm and flail her arms, slapping her sister on the face. She was definitely the twin who had her legs wrapped around her sister's head. Mycroft had an amused smile on his face, they would have to deal with their daughter's habit of slapping her sister. For the moment, he gently took her arm and put it back in her swaddle so she didn't accidentally hit her sister again.

Now both the twins were awake and staring up at their father. Mycroft had expected them to scream, wail, wake up the entire hospital but the twins surprised him. All they did was coo and it was the sweetest sound he had ever heard. They blinked up at him, clearly fighting the urge to fall back to sleep as their faces wrinkled in confusion, a new face, a new world, brighter than the one they had previously inhabited.

They looked exactly the same. Of course, they did, there were identical twins, but Mycroft couldn't tell the difference without the tags on their ankles. The one on his left was twin A and the one on his right was twin B. They had to work with twins A and B until their parents could come up with a satisfactory name.

Both of them looked up at him with the same wonder and curiosity

Both of them looked up at him with the same wonder and curiosity. It was like looking into his own eyes. 'While I cannot be the best father in the world and I do not know how to be a good father. I assure you that I will try to be the father you deserve. You will never find yourselves alone. That much I can promise' they continued to stare at him with innocent eyes. It was like they understood him and recognized him. He did read to them when they were in their mother's womb so, it was obvious to him that they recognized his voice. But he still felt a strange sort of acceptance come over him like they knew he was their father. He knew it was strange but he promised himself and them that he would do anything to make sure they were okay.

The twins couldn't fight the urge to fall back into slumber any longer. Twin B yawned and wiggled, till she was comfortably snuggling by her sister.

Mycroft smiled at his daughters, 'Yes, you go back to sleep' he whispered and watched as both his daughters fell asleep.

Mycroft remained like that for thirty minutes, undisturbed. He sat down on a chair next to the baby warmer, one leg crossed over the other, and watched his daughters, a phrase he never thought he would use and would probably never be quite used to saying. He watched them as they slept, each flutter of their eyelashes, or slight jerk as they slept.

Mycroft sat there watching his daughters for about 30 minutes before John knocked on the NICU door, 'Mycroft, Tara's blood pressure dropped, she started bleeding. But she is fine now. The surgery is over and they are shifting her back to the room' John informed and Mycroft took one last look at the two girls and left to find his wife.

Tara was out of surgery and was brought back to her room, where Mycroft was waiting for her. He asked John and Sherlock to make sure everything was fine with the twins and came to be with Tara. He sat on the chair and nervously waited for her to wake up. She had hemorrhaged on the table and lost a lot of blood and the c-section had turned into a laparotomy.

Tara stirred awake, 'Hey' she said groggily as she opened her eyes.

Mycroft smiled at her, 'Good evening, my dear' he replied as he got up from his chair and walked up to her as she tried to get up from her bed. 'No' he reprimanded her.

Tara frowned, 'I want to get up' she whined.

Mycroft shot her a stern look, 'Just use the bed's inclination' he said and pushed the buttons, changing the inclination so now Tara was sitting up. She looked at him with eyes that only had one question. He understood very well, 'Both of them are absolutely fine' he told her before she could ask and kissed her. Mycroft could feel the smile forming on her lips as he kissed her.

Tara smiled in relief, 'Can I see them?' she asked when he pulled away.

Mycroft sighed and shook his head, 'Not until you can get out of this bed' he told her and reached for his phone.

Tara frowned at that. That was until Mycroft showed her his phone. Pictures of the twins on it, 'Why do they have those tiny tubes up their noses?' was the first thing she asked.

Mycroft shrugged, 'It is nothing' at that she raised an eyebrow at Mycroft. 'Just to feed them until they get strong enough for oral feeding. A little extra assistance, that's all' Mycroft reminded her. Tara seemed doubtful of his answer. Mycroft knew what she was thinking, he knew the terrible memories hospitals brought back. He wished there was something he could do to make her feel better, 'Just a few days, and then when they are stronger, we can take them home' he whispered and kissed her hair.

Tara looked up from his phone and gave him a teary smile, 'They are just perfect, aren't they?' she asked as she leaned on his shoulder, tears welling up in her eyes. Her IVed hand traced the picture of their daughter's on Mycroft's phone.

Her IVed hand traced the picture of their daughter's on Mycroft's phone

Mycroft smiled and nodded, 'Yes. They are. Healthy baby girls, weighing 3 pounds 9 ounces each and 16 inches long, they are going to be tall' he said, proudly smiling at the picture of his daughters snuggled up together, holding hands.

'They are a little skinny' Tara said wearily.

Mycroft looked at his wife's expression. Worry still written all over her face, again. He sighed and spoke with logic 'They are twins who are 6 weeks early, weeks where they would've been gaining fat, that is why they are skinny. But we'll fatten them up. The important thing is they are breathing on their own' he reminded his wife. She blinked, sighed, and then nodded. 'Thank you, Tara' he said and kissed the top of her head.

Tara smiled and shook her head, 'I couldn't have done it without you' she said.

Mycroft wrapped his arms around Tara and held her close. She scooted a little, making space for Mycroft on the bed. They both looked at pictures of their daughters until they fell asleep.

.......

In the morning, Mycroft entered Tara's hospital room and walked to her bedside, 'Good Morning!' he whispered, running his fingers through her hair.

Tara stirred awake and managed a weak smile, 'Morning' she muttered.

Mycroft handed her a glass of water, 'How are you feeling?' he asked.

Tara took a small sip and shrugged, 'Hmm... I'm married to you, just had twin girls, and I'm hopped up on pain meds. So, all in all, can't complain' she said and smiled as she pulled herself up to sit.

Mycroft helped her up, adjusting the pillows behind her back, 'Are you in a lot of pain?' he asked when she winced slightly.

Tara sighed, 'Nothing I can't handle' she smiled.

Mycroft grinned and kissed her, 'That's my lady. I got you a little something' he said and fished a small ring box out of his coat, presenting it to her.

Tara tilted her head to the side, 'Mycroft, you didn't have to...' she said.

Mycroft nodded, 'I know but, this is a very special moment in our lives. And, I wanted you to have something to remind you of this moment' he said and took her right hand in his.

Tara smiled faintly as Mycroft slipped the ring onto her finger, 'Mycroft, it's beautiful' she whispered.

Mycroft flashed a grin nodding, 'I asked for it to be delivered tomorrow but had them rush it when you decided to give birth early' he said snidely.

Tara smacked his arm, chuckling, and looked at the ring, representing, eternal love, romance, strength, and health, all in abundance.

Two stones- sapphire and diamond, one for each twin, 'It's very thoughtful and perfect

Two stones- sapphire and diamond, one for each twin, 'It's very thoughtful and perfect. I just wish...' her voice trailed off sadly.

Mycroft frowned, 'What is it?' he asked.

Tara sighed and shook her head, 'This moment would've been perfect if the girls were here' she said hesitantly.

Mycroft sighed and placed his hand on Tara's cheek, his thumb stroking her face, 'Tara, you have to wait till your incision heals and your infection clears up. They are six weeks preterm and have a very weak immune system, we can't risk them getting sick' he reminded her.

Tara nodded in understanding, 'I know. It's just... I hate this' she admitted, just wanting to hold her babies. Mycroft pulled her into his arms, 'I know, honey'.

....

Later, John and Tara were lying in Tara's hospital bed, looking at pictures of the twins, '...Oh, twin A opened her eyes. She has bright blue eyes, just like Mycroft's but I think they got your hair. I couldn't really tell whose nose they got. It's so small. It's definitely not Mycroft's' John then looked at Tara and then back at the picture. 'Maybe it's yours' John zoomed into the picture and tried to differentiate their other facial features when he heard the sniffles. He looked at Tara, who was crying looking at the pictures, 'Tara, why are you crying?' he asked.

Tara's face contorted into a pained expression, 'I am missing out on their life, John. I haven't even held them yet. They won't even recognize me, coz they've never even seen me. The only person who they recognize is you, Mycroft, Sherlock, and the stupid team of doctors and nurses who won't let me see them...' she continued to sob and pour her heart out to John but he was no longer following her.

John gawked at her helplessly, not knowing how to calm down the hysterical woman in front of him. He had never seen Tara like this, he barely recognized this side of her, 'Tara, calm down, the only person who can actually hear you and understand you right now is Whiskey and he is not here right now. So, please calm down' he said and hugged, rubbing circles on her back, 'Are you okay now?' he asked and the sobbing brunette nodded through the tears in her eyes, 'I am sorry, you can't see them yet. Just a few more days. You can't even get up right now, you'll rupture your sutures. We need to let your incision heal and your infection clear up. You should be proud of yourself. Not even a year ago you were shot and a bullet ripped through your heart, and you just gave birth to a rare set of twins. You went through hell and back to bring those girls into this world. You risked your life and nearly died 5 days ago so, all you need to do now is rest and heal' he said.

Tara scoffed and looked away from John, 'Bloody Ghadhedo' she muttered.

John looked at her through narrowed gaze, 'You just cursed me, didn't you?' he asked and she nodded, 'Yeah, I deserve that. So have you thought of any names yet?' he asked, lousily changing the topic.

Tara beamed and nodded, 'Yes, this one is Sugarbug and this one is Butterbean' she said pointing at the picture on John's phone.

John sighed and nodded, 'Well, you are the baker and they are Mycroft's children so Sugarbug and Butterbean seem like an appropriate choice, but surely you have something better than that' he said and Tara averted her gaze, suppressing a mischievous smile, 'Oh, come on, what's with all the suspense?! Just tell us, Tara' he asked.

Tara shrugged and shook her head, 'You'll know when everybody knows' she said, pursing her lips into a smile. John huffed and looked away, 'You're a monster'.

......

In the NICU, Mycroft watched as Dr. Conner maneuvered his hands, examining the twins. He smiled at the way they yawned and stretched, flailing their arms and legs when Dr. Connor unwrapped their swaddles, finally freeing them.

Mycroft held the babies as Dr. Conner gave them their first shot. Dr. Conner didn't wait for them to calm down before going to the next shot and went ahead to poke the little baby again. As he administered the shot to twin A, twin B nervously watched and started crying, probably because of the ear-piercing cries of her sister. Mycroft found it hard to keep his calm while watching them turn red from crying their lungs out. He was also terrified that they were flailing their limbs too much and could get hurt while Dr. Connor was trying to give them the shot.

At the end of the process, Dr. Connor looked at Mycroft and smiled at the nervousness of the new father. He checked the newborns' temperature and breathing before wrapping them back in their swaddles. Once they were comfortably placed in the baby warmer, he turned to Mycroft, 'So, their heart rate and body temperature are a little lower than what we'd like. We keep them together so they can feel each other's presence and help each other grow and get better. And it has helped, but we'd like to do something else. Have you heard of 'skin to skin'?' he asked awkwardly.

'You place the newborn baby straight onto the mother's chest, ensuring bonding through 'skin to skin' contact' Mycroft summarised. He had read a lot of books while Tara was pregnant, more than he'd like to admit.

Dr. Conner nodded, 'Right, in premature babies something similar, 'the Kangaroo hold'. It helps babies thrive. Well, we encourage most mothers to do this with their babies but Mrs. Holmes isn't exactly in a position to do it....' Tara had developed a post-surgical infection and would not be allowed near the twins till it cleared up.

Mycroft raised his brows, 'You want me to do it?' it was more of a statement than a question.

Dr. Connor nodded, 'It's up to you. But yes, it will help, increase their heart rate and body temperature. Also bonding with their father' he told Mycroft, adding the last part like it was a bonus for Mycroft. 'In a few days, we can shift them to the newborn nursery' the doctor said as he updated the charts.

Mycroft sighed and nodded. He wasn't happy doing it, of course not, but if it was going to help his daughters get better, it was a sacrifice he would make. He pulled off his jacket and waistcoat and folded them neatly before placing them on the back of the chair. He took off his tie and placed it with his jacket and waistcoat. He unbuttoned his shirt and picked up his daughter with the utmost care. His hand supported her delicate head. It struck him how small her skull was. His hand was bigger than her skull, it seemed impossible that something this delicate could belong to him. She was completely reliant on him. It was his job to take care of her, protect her and teach her. The responsibility of having a child had been something weighing on his mind for the past 33-weeks but now, it was beginning to settle heavily in the pit of his stomach. He was a father and, this beautiful, fragile little baby was his for the rest of her life. And not just her, he was responsible for her sister as well. He had two daughters, who would depend on him for everything.

Mycroft gently cradled the baby against his chest as he sat down. He shifted her to the crook of his arm so, he was holding her with one arm. He let Dr. Conner place the other twin in his arms too.

'I'll leave the three of you alone' Dr. Conner smiled and left the room.

Mycroft sat there undisturbed for thirty minutes. His arms were rather stiff from holding the position but it was worth it, every ache and pain would be worth it for the two little girls he was holding. He watched them as they slept, each flutter of their eyelash, or slight jerk as they slept. He held them close, letting them feel his warmth, sense his heartbeat.

Mycroft was brought out of his trance by a camera flashing, 'Mycroft' Sherlock grinned at the sight of his brother, sitting in a rocking chair, his shirt unbuttoned and cradling two baby girls to his bare chest.

'Sherlock' Mycroft sneered, careful not to move and wake the babies.

Sherlock didn't even try to suppress his smile, 'They're going to want to see this when they grow up. You're welcome' he said and strode forward, looking at the scene in front of him. 'They look very fully functioning' he smirked.

'Hilarious, brother mine' Mycroft shot him a fake smile.

Sherlock shrugged, 'It was right there, I had to' he grinned and pulled a chair next to his brother.

Mycroft could see the giant question mark on his brother's face, as he sat there staring at him. 'It's supposed to help increase their heart rate and body temperature' he told his brother, putting him out of his misery.

Sherlock nodded 'Yes, but that's not what's on your mind' he said knowingly.

Mycroft glanced at him and raised an eyebrow 'You're getting better' he muttered.

Sherlock rolled his eyes at his elder brother and looked at him expectantly.

Mycroft sighed and gave in, 'It should have been Tara. She was looking forward to all this. Even though she acted cold and distant during her entire pregnancy, I know she was looking forward to this. And now she is missing out on everything' he told Sherlock with his gaze fixed at his daughters' sleeping form.

Sherlock nodded 'Yes, John told me, she burst into tears the other day, talking about how she was missing out on their life' he informed. Mycroft frowned, this was news to him and it just made him worry more. He knew Tara was upset about not being able to hold her children but he didn't know she was upset enough to break down into tears.

......

In the afternoon, Tara laid in bed, reading a case file Grace had brought to her because Tara was getting bored. Mycroft entered, pushed a wheelchair, and stopped by her bedside. Tara turned and looked at him through her horn-rimmed glasses. She was about to ask what he was doing but was stopped by Mycroft lifting her into his arms and making her sit on a wheelchair. He wheeled her down a long hallway, 'Where are we going?' Tara asked.

'To meet our daughters' Mycroft said flatly and continued pushing her down the hall.

Tara beamed and turned her head back to him, 'Really?' she asked, eyes glistening.

Mycroft smiled at her and nodded, 'Yes'.

Mycroft wheeled her down a long hallway, arriving at the entrance of the NICU, milling with medical staff. Memories of her firstborn's life flashed in front of Tara's eyes and she tensed up, 'Mycroft, I can't go in there' she stopped him from wheeling her in and panted in panic.

Mycroft frowned and bent down to her, 'Why not?' he asked.

Tara shook her head and sobbed, 'Mycroft, I can't... Please' she begged, not wanting to set foot in the NICU, afraid of her own memories, afraid that history would repeat herself. The last time, she had been to a NICU, it was to hold her dying daughter in her arms, for the first and the last time.

Mycroft nodded and pulled her into his arms, 'Okay, okay... we're not going in there. Alright?' he said and comforted her.

Tara looked at him helplessly, ashamed at what her trauma was doing to her, 'Mycroft, I do want to see them. I just....', she cried not being able to help herself.

Mycroft nodded, 'I know, I know,... It's fine. But you're going in there...' he said firmly.

Tara shook her head, her breath shuddering, 'Mycroft, no...' she tried.

Mycroft shook his head firmly, looking at her with a stern expression, 'Tara, you're going in there and it's going to be fine. Nothing is going to happen to them. You'll see' he said and wheeled her to the room.

Tara closed her eyes afraid of what she might see this time. She felt Mycroft wheeling her and then stopping. A few minutes later, she heard his voice, 'Tara, open your eyes. Look up' it was echoing and sounded distant.

Tara took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She found herself sitting in front of a glass-walled room. She looked up to see Mycroft standing on the other side of the partition, holding their daughters in his long arms. Tara huffed a small laugh at the sight and struggled to stand up, gripping her IV stand tightly. Her features crumpled and happy tears welled in her eyes. She pulled off her horn-rimmed glasses and pressed her palm against the canopy, regarding her babies, squirming in their father's arms. She smiled through her tears, crying and laughing as she continued gazing at her beautiful little girls, 'Hey,... hey babies... Don't worry, just a few more days and then we can all go home... Mommy's here too... we're going to be fine, okay?... we're going to be just fine' she pressed a kiss against her fingertips and pressed her hand on the glass partition.

Mycroft smiled at Tara then looked down at their daughter's, 'It's going to be fine' he whispered to their sleeping form. They were going to be fine. They were all going to be fine.

Later as Mycroft wheeled Tara back to her room, she caught a glimpse of a blonde woman in a hospital room down the hall from hers. The blonde woman sat in bed, cradling a tiny infant wrapped in a soft blue blanket. The woman's gaze was distraught as she held her child and cried profusely. Tara's expression softened and she teared up, thinking of her own loss. She knew what that woman felt. She had felt the same pain years ago. It was the most devastating thing in the world.

...........

At night, the blonde woman who was in the room down the hall from Tara's stood outside the nursery. She was completely dressed and ready to leave. She stood watching the babies through the window. She was startled as the nursery door opened and closed and two nurses wheeled in two carts, bearing an infant in each. The nurses positioned the cart along the others and tried to comfort the fussing newborns.

After the nurses were gone, the blonde woman stood by the window and continued to gaze into the nursery which contained several infants. Her attention was fixed on the nursery's newest arrivals. She read the tags on the bassinets- Baby Holmes Twin A & Baby Holmes Twin B and looked at them with a warm smile.

After a few minutes, the fussing progressed to a full-throttled shrieking. She strode into the nursery and picked up the crying baby, 'Everything's going to be fine, mommy's here' she whispered, stroking the tuft of brown hair on the baby's head. She pulled out a blue baby blanket from her bag and wrapped it around the baby. Walking briskly out of the room, she passed the nurse's station.

A nurse noticed the blonde woman and stood up, 'Ma'am?' she called as the baby started crying in the woman's arms. The woman tried to keep herself composed but the nervous expression wouldn't leave her face. As she walked away, she took a pair of scissors out of her pocket and cut the tag on the baby's leg.

As the woman approached the entrance, John entered the hospital with Grace, Rosie, and Mrs. Hudson. John stopped to lift Rosie in his arms because she was the weak link of the group and was slowing everyone down. Mrs. Hudson and Grace walked a few feet ahead of him, passing by the woman with the crying baby in her arms. As the blonde woman looked back at the two, she bumped into an approaching John, 'I'm sorry' he muttered, glancing briefly at her then walking past her, catching up to Mrs. Hudson and Grace. Rosie looked back at the woman, 'Daddy, look, baby' she exclaimed pointing to the woman. John nodded without looking back and stepped into the elevator as the woman walked out of the hospital room with the baby in her arms.

........

Later, at night, Mycroft walked into the hospital to find several police officers talking to Dr. Conner and the hospital staff. John and Sherlock approached Mycroft with worried looks. 'What the hell is happening?' Mycroft asked the two.

'One of the babies is missing' John informed averting his gaze from Mycroft.

Mycroft frowned, 'What do you mean one of the babies is missing?' he asked and walked to the nursery hurriedly.

Sherlock and John followed him, 'She is not in her crib and is unaccounted for' Sherlock said flatly.

Mycroft glared at his brother, 'Sherlock, if this is a joke, it isn't funny' he drawled.

Sherlock looked at Mycroft, his usual smugness was replaced with concern, 'It's not Mycroft. One of the nurses went to feed the twins and found that one of them wasn't in the crib' he informed.

Mycroft exhaled sharply and looked through the glass window of the nursery, 'Then where the hell is my daughter' he asked and looked at his eldest crying in her crib all alone.

'We don't know yet. We've called Greg to look into it' John told him.

As if on cue, the detective inspector approached Mycroft, 'Lestrade, did find you anything? Where's the baby?' Mycroft asked.

Greg sighed and shook his head, 'We don't know. The baby is not in the hospital and I've just got word, the surveillance tapes show this woman leaving the building with the baby' he said showed Mycroft a picture of a blonde woman on his i-pad. 'Her name is Jennifer Knight, she was admitted here after she and her husband were in an accident with a bus. Her husband died on the spot. She was about six months pregnant and the baby didn't make it' he informed.

Dr. Conner approached them, 'She was under psych eval' he told them handing Sherlock Jennifer's file.

Mycroft glared at the older man, 'You let a crazy lady walk out of the hospital with my week-old daughter?' he glowered.

Dr. Conner closed his eyes and sighed, 'We didn't think she was a threat. We would have known but she cut the anti-theft bracelet' he said.

Greg nodded, 'Without the GPS locator on the anti-theft bracelet we're really helpless' he told them.

Sherlock shook his head and looked at his brother, 'We need to think like a woman who just lost everything she dreamed of. If you just lost your dream, your perfect life, your fairy tale and, you found a glimmer of hope to get that life back, where would you be?' he asked.

Mycroft thought for less than a second, 'She is in the last place she was happy. The place she was going to build her life' he said. 'Let's go' he said and the four of them stalked to the nurses' station where Tara stood, leaning on her IV stand.

Tara looked at them, knitting her brows at the chaos, 'What's happening?' she asked.

Mycroft inhaled sharply, 'Tara, what are you doing here?' he asked, not wanting to tell her what was going on.

Tara winced slightly and an agonizing look captured her face as she stepped forward, 'Dr. Connor told me that walking would help me heal faster. So, I thought I'd drop by the nursery. What is happening? Why is Greg here? Why are all these people here?' she asked Mycroft breathily, wincing in pain.

Mycroft's breath shuddered, 'I'm so sorry, Tara' he whispered, looking away from her.

Tara frowned as she took in the expression on her husband's face, despair, 'Mycroft, what's happening? Are the babies okay?' she asked in worry.

Mycroft met her gaze, 'I'm so sorry, honey' he said and held her arms.

Tara knitted her brows in confusion, her anxiety going up because of Mycroft's vague response, 'Tara, one of the twins was kidnapped earlier this evening' John intervened.

Tara faltered in her step, 'Wha...' she tried to control herself but her emotions were getting away from her.

'Tara, we know where she is, we're going to go get her' John assured her.

Tara shook her head firmly, 'I'm coming with you... Ahh' she panted and grimaced in pain as a horizontal line of blood bloomed on her abdomen.

Dr. Connor came to her side instantly, 'Mrs. Holmes, you need to calm down, you're bleeding' he told her as he tried to help her.

Tara breathed heavily as she struggled to stand, 'No, I need to... my baby...' she stuttered as her eyes started to droop and she began to lose consciousness.

Mycroft rushed to Tara and lifted her up in his arms as she lost consciousness from blood loss, 'Oh, God' he breathed and tried to shake her awake as the hospital staff rushed into action to help Tara.

Sherlock placed his hand on his brother's shoulder, 'Mycroft, we need to move quickly or we'll lose her' he said.

John nodded, 'Mycroft, go with Sherlock. I'll stay with Tara' he told the devastated man in front of him. Mycroft looked down at his wife doubtfully, 'I'll make sure she is okay. Just go. It's what Tara would want'.

........

Later, Jennifer entered a dimly lit mint green nursery, to check in on the baby. She walked to the crib and peered in at the baby who was lying awake and fussing in the crib. She gently lifted the baby up into her arms, 'Hi, my sweet angel' she cooed at the baby.

The baby girl's fussing quickly progressed to crying and Jennifer cradled the baby in her arms, gently rocking and shushing her, 'No, no, no, it's okay, it's okay, Sweetie. I know what you need. Are you hungry? Let's get you some food, huh?' she said as she bounced the baby in her arms and sat down on a nursing chair in the corner of the nursery.

The crying continued as she took off her blouse and lowered her bra, offering her breast and desperately trying to get the baby to latch on. But the baby simply refused to give in to Jennifer's attempts to breastfeed her and turned her head away as she continued to cry. She was beginning to turn red from crying and was almost breathless. The poor thing wasn't used to being breastfed by her own mother much less a stranger.

........

At night, several police cars and SUVs pulled up outside a modest mid-century house, and Mycroft, Sherlock, and Greg rushed into the house. Inside the house, Jennifer was in the living room with the baby cradled in one hand and a gun in the other. She held the baby close and pointed the gun at the people who had just barged into her house, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone? Why are you trying to take my baby away from me?' she cried.

Mycroft carefully approached her, 'Ms. Knight, please give me the baby' he asked softly and held out his gloved hands to her.

Jennifer stared at them as they approached her and Greg moved his hand to his gun, 'Don't you dare come any closer' she threatened and pointed the gun at them.

Sherlock and Mycroft shared a knowing look. Mycroft looked back at Greg and his team, 'Stand down' he ordered, knowing they weren't helping the situation and were only going to scare Jennifer into doing something crazy. Greg was about to argue but Mycroft shot him a piercing glare and looked back at the deranged woman holding his newborn daughter, 'Ms. Knight, I want you to listen to me. Okay? We can talk this through' he negotiated.

Jennifer shook her head in agitation, 'NO, she is my baby' she yelled, startling and making the newborn cry.

Sherlock's eyes flicked to his newborn niece crying helplessly in the deranged woman's arms, 'Okay, Jennifer, you need to listen to this. That baby has a mother and it's not you. Her mother is a real person with real feelings. And she is scared to death right now. Because she has never held her baby girl and she might never get to' he said, approaching her cautiously, like a lion about to hunt a baby dear.

Jennifer shook her head and squeezed the crying newborn closer to her chest, 'This is my baby... I just wanted a baby... my baby' she cried and kissed the infant's head.

Sherlock nodded, 'I know' he said his voice laced with sympathy.

Jennifer looked up at them, 'Why does she get to have two babies when I don't even get one? It's not fair' she said and resecured the baby in her arms when she started slipping from her grasp.

Sherlock sighed and nodded, 'It's not. But you're not being fair to that baby's mother. She has lost a child before. She knows your pain. Someone took her baby away and she never saw her again. And you're doing it to her all over again' he told her.

Jennifer's face contorted in anger, 'NO. This is my baby. She is my baby' she yelled, training the gun at Sherlock.

Sherlock nodded, 'Jennifer, Jennifer, listen to me. I know you can remember what happened to your baby. Try, try and think' he urged.

Jennifer nodded, 'My baby died. That's what y'all want me to say, right?' she asked knowingly.

'What do you think happened?' Sherlock asked.

Jennifer looked at them with a determined expression, 'You stole my baby. All of you. I know you think I'm crazy but I'm not. And I'm not going to let you take my baby' she said tightening her grip on the baby.

Sherlock sighed in exhaustion, 'Jennifer, your baby was a boy. That's a girl' he reminded her.

Jennifer shook her head and looked down at the crying infant in her arms, 'No, you're lying. You're all lying this is my baby' she yelled.

Sherlock looked at the woman in despair, he was running out of ways to save the baby from the deranged woman, 'Okay! Jennifer, Jennifer, I believe you. I believe that you think this baby is yours. And you love her. But if you shoot, you might hurt her. You don't want her to get hurt, do you? So put the gun down and there is a car seat over there. Why don't you put her in that car seat? She'll be more comfortable in it' he suggested.

Jennifer looked down at the crying baby and considered, lowering her gun. She gently placed the newborn in the car seat and rocked the car seat gently, calming the baby until she went quiet aside from her tiny sniffles. Jennifer stood back up and aimed the gun at them. Sherlock and Greg converged on Jennifer and snatched the gun out of her hands. Mycroft ran to the car seat and lifted the newborn out of it, cradling her in his arms.

Jennifer turned to see Mycroft with the baby in his arms, 'No, that's my baby. No, that's my baby. You're taking my baby' she yelled as the police held her down.

Sherlock sighed tiredly, 'It's not your baby' he reminded her.

Jennifer cried, 'You're stealing my baby. That's my baby' she yelled, fighting the police, 'They're stealing my baby. Give me my baby, please. Please, give me my baby, please' she cried as they dragged her away.

As the police took Jennifer away, Mycroft carefully cradled his daughter in his arms, rocking the fussy infant. He looked over her body, making sure she was safe and unharmed. He kissed her forehead as she began to settle in his arms, soft coos escaping her tiny lips as she snuggled into her father's safe and comforting embrace. Cradling his baby girl in one arm, he took her hand in his, relishing the feeling of her tiny fingers curling up against his.

......

Chapter Text

Tara woke up to the sound of soft cooing and saw Mycroft sitting on a hospital chair, one leg crossed over the other, their daughter perched on one arm. Their other daughter was sleeping in the hospital bassinet in the corner of the room. He was looking down at his daughter and using his free hand to pick up hers, relishing the feeling of her tiny fingers tightening around the pad of his finger. He smiled down at her and gently stroked the back of her fingers with his thumb. She flailed her arms up in the air, trying to reach her father's face. Mycroft smiled and leaned down so, she could touch his face and grab his nose. 'You got my nose' Mycroft cooed at her. A warm feeling spread inside of him. He was proud. He mentally berated himself, it was ridiculous to feel proud of a newborn baby for doing something that was absolutely normal and natural to her, but he couldn't deny the emotion that was washing over him.

'Good morning' Tara said, slightly surprised he hadn't noticed her sooner.

Mycroft glanced up at her and then back at their daughter, 'Good morning. Do you think we can get a refund on this one? I think she has a manufacturing defect. She doesn't go to sleep' he joked.

Tara chuckled softly, 'Maybe I could help' she suggested and stretched out her arms for her daughter.

Mycroft smiled and got up from the chair. He walked to Tara and placed their daughter in her arms. 'Good morning, Sugar bug' Tara cooed at the little baby in her arms, 'Oh, yeah,... look at you. Look at how big you got' she kissed her baby. It was a great feeling to finally get to hold her daughter. She took her time to observe the slightest details of her face. Her baby cooed and reached her hands up to her face. Tara kissed the little fingers that landed on her lips, 'She has your eyes' she said and smiled at Mycroft.

Mycroft smiled proudly 'Yes, she does. Do you want to hold the other one too?' he asked and looked at the older twin, sleeping in the hospital bassinet.

Tara looked up from the baby to Mycroft and then at the bassinet, 'I don't know. She is sleeping. I don't think it's a good idea to wake up a sleeping baby' she said.

Mycroft considered for a second, 'All they do is sleep. I am sure she can wake up early to meet her mother' he said and walked to the bassinet. He gently cradled the sleeping baby's head with one hand, supporting her small body with the other, he cautiously picked up his daughter, 'Good morning' he whispered into her ears and pressed a few kisses against the side of her head to wake her up. She squirmed a little but didn't wake up, she was still in light sleep. She stirred a little then decided sleep was still in her grasp and settled in Mycroft's arms. Tara watched nervously as Mycroft tried to wake up their daughter by gently stroking her cheek, tickling the back of her feet, and rubbing her back. The little baby finally opened her eyes and looked up at her father. She squirmed and flailed her arms a little until she was comfortable again.

Mycroft placed her in Tara's arms and sat beside her as the mother and daughter interacted, 'Hey, you... I know, I know. Daddy woke you up, didn't he?' she cooed at the sleepy baby.

Mycroft frowned, 'I am sorry!? I am daddy?' asked with a grimace on his face.

Tara looked up from her daughters and nodded, 'Yes. What else would they call their father?' she asked in rhetoric.

Mycroft shrugged, 'I don't know maybe father' he muttered more to himself than to Tara.

Tara rolled her eyes, 'Va te faire foutre. No child of mine is calling their dad 'father'. You are daddy' she told him sternly and turned to their daughters 'Yes, yes he is... He is your daddy' she cooed and winced in pain as she shifted her position.

'Is it bad?' Mycroft asked. Her incision hadn't healed completely, and it still hurt when she moved.

Tara composed herself, 'Hurts like a bitch but I can soldier through it. I should, I was one' she smirked.

'Hey, I was just coming to see you' Dr. Conner said as he entered the room 'Not you. Them' he told Tara and turned to the twins 'Good morning, beautiful ladies' he cooed at the little girls.

Tara frowned at the man, 'Are you here to take them back? Because I just got to hold them' she told him.

Dr. Conner smiled and shook his head, 'No, I am not here to ruin your joy. I am here to tell you that you can go home' he said, grinning at her.

'What?!' Tara asked, making sure she was hearing him right.

Dr. Conner shrugged, 'You can go home. Your infection cleared up, you're healing well and the twins seem to be doing well too. The three of you can go home' he announced, as he flipped through her chart again.

'You're serious?' Tara asked in disbelief.

'Yeah, seriously, get out of my hospital' Dr. Conner told her with a smile and left.

Tara smiled at Mycroft 'We can go home' she said and Mycroft nodded, 'We're going home' he said and leaned down to kiss her.

...........

'Okay! You have had them for 2 weeks now hand them over' Shekhar told Tara before taking the baby from her as Violet took the other twin from Mycroft's arms as soon as the couple walked through the mansion doors

'Okay! You have had them for 2 weeks now hand them over' Shekhar told Tara before taking the baby from her as Violet took the other twin from Mycroft's arms as soon as the couple walked through the mansion doors.

Shekhar held the baby up and looked at her closely as if making sure she was okay. Checking her solidness, her strength. Making sure she wasn't broken. He watched intently, pursing his lips as his eyes scanned over her body, making sure that she was unharmed and secure in his arms. It had taken 10 days for Tara and Mycroft to be confident enough about the twins' survival and send out birth announcements.

Shekhar and Leela had been elated to hear that they were expecting grandchildren but their smiles disappeared when they were told about the complications and risks. Shekhar had been there when Ayesha took her last breath and he had seen first-hand that losing her had almost killed Tara. He was terrified of what she might do if she was put through the same pain again. They let out a breath of relief when Mycroft had called to inform them that Tara and the twins were fine and just needed to stay in the hospital for a few days of observation.

Shekhar gave the baby girl a small smile at the end and cradled her in his long arms, happy to see for himself that his granddaughters would survive.

Everyone started gushing over how cute the twins were and then the whole bunch moved to the living room. Mycroft and Tara stood alone in the front hall, shocked.

'What the hell just happened?' Tara asked. Their entire family had taken their children and completely ignored them.

'I don't have the slightest clue' Mycroft replied and led her into the house.

Tara turned to Mycroft, looking at him with a suggestive smirk, 'Everyone's gone. You want to head upstairs and, you know .....' she giggled and poked his chest.

Mycroft caught his wife's train of thought, 'Let's just sneak in one of the spare bedrooms here before someone spots us' he said with a smirk.

Tara beamed, 'Oh, Oh, I love the way your brain works' she laughed and kissed him.

'How much time do we have until they wake up?' Mycroft asked her.

Tara thought for a second and replied '30-45 minutes' she said doubtfully.

Mycroft nodded, 'That should be more than enough' he said and led her to the nearest bedroom.

In the living room, 'Can you tell them apart?' Grace asked as she stood behind the couch that the new grandparents were sitting on holding their granddaughters.

'I don't think so. They look the same' Violet said after taking a proper look at both her granddaughters.

'Yeah, we couldn't tell Vikram and Vikrant apart without the birthmark' Shekhar stated.

'But I have to say, they are the cutest little babies I've ever seen' Grace gushed at the little girls.

Violet looked at the baby, taking in her new baby smell, she had missed it, 'Oh, yes they are. Oh, yes you are' she cheered giving the baby Eskimo kisses.

'Switch?' Shekhar asked Violet, who nodded and switched babies with him.

'Look at their hair, it's so dark' John said

'They got Tara's hair' Sherlock said.

'How can you say that? Both Mycroft and Tara have dark hair' Grace asked.

'Mycroft has curly hair he straightens it because he doesn't like it, while Tara has naturally straight hair. The twins inherited it from her' Sherlock explained something nobody was interested in listening to.

'Oh, look she is opening her eyes' The twin in Violet's arms opened her eyes. 'Awww... she has Mycroft's eyes' The baby was not pleased to be held by a stranger and started wailing, waking up her sister who was in Shekhar's arms. Violet rocked her and Rosie distracted her with her dinosaur, and the wails died down.

'Oh, look she has Mycroft's eyes too' Grace said pointing to twin in Shekhar's arms.

'Obviously. They are Mono-amniotic monochorionic twins, they are identical. What part of that didn't you understand?' Sherlock asked her obnoxiously. Grace just replied with an eye roll.

'They are so beautiful' Kabir said looking at his grand-nieces.

'They are the perfect blend of Tara and Mycroft' Leela said admiring her granddaughters.

'Look at her yawn...' Shakti pointed to the baby in Shekhar's arms. Everyone was awed at the sight of the tiny baby yawning.

'Okay now my turn' Leela said and Shekhar gently passed the baby to her.

'Violet, don't hog the baby, the rest of us want to hold them too' Siger told his wife.

Violet grinned and held the baby up to her face, 'But look how cute she is. I want to hold her for a bit longer' she whined.

'Violet, I want to hold my granddaughter too' Siger said.

'Okay' Violet said and reluctantly passed the baby to Siger.

'I want to hold them too' Rosie squealed with excitement.

'Maybe when you are older sweetie, but you can touch her' John told his daughter.

Rosie was disappointed but that didn't take away the excitement of a new friend, 'Okay' she reached and touched the baby in Siger's arms. She stroked the baby's cheek. 'aaawww. She is so soft and tiny, daddy, like a doll' she whispered in awe.

'Isn't she?' Siger cheered, gently bouncing the baby in his arms.

'Oh! What are their names?' Grace asked.

'Yeah, what are their names, Mycroft?' Violet perked up, looking up in surprise to find that Mycroft wasn't there.

'Tara?' The bunch looked around to find the new parents missing. 'Where are they?'

They started looking for the twins' parents. The couple had decided to take a quick nap until their family members provided free babysitting. That was until the babies decided they didn't want to be around strangers and started screaming bloody murder for their parents. Mycroft and Tara heard the crying and came running to their rescue.

'Oh, hey, Sugarbug, Butterbean, don't cry Mommy and Daddy are here' Tara cooed and took the baby from Leela's arms and Mycroft took the baby from Siger's arms.

'Where the hell were you two?' Shekhar scolded.

'We figured since we had free babysitting, we could go take a nap. We were exhausted' Tara explained.

Shekhar scoffed, 'Exhausted. Darling, the twins have been in the hospital for the past two weeks. Your troubles haven't even started yet' he told her.

Mycroft and Tara ignored their parents and took the twins to their nursery. Once changed and fed the twins were much more pleasant and cooperative. Then it was time for pictures. The twins were absolute stunners. Everybody took turns to hold the twins and have pictures taken.

'They are so beautiful' Shakti cooed as he passed the baby back to her father.

'What about their names?' Kabir asked.

'Well, you know what I think...' Sherlock started.

'It's not a girl's name' Mycroft and Tara both told Sherlock for the umpteenth time. He just smirked without looking up from his phone.

'Oh, for heaven's sake, enough with the suspense. What are their names?' Leela asked.

Mycroft and Tara looked at each other and smiled.

'This is Maya Violet Amelia Holmes' Tara said holding the younger twin in her arms.

'Two middle names, really?' Kabir asked

'It's a tradition' Violet said proudly.

'And this is Merle Beatrice Eurus Holmes' Mycroft said.

'Oh, Mycroft' Violet cried and hugged him, careful not to squish the baby in his arms. She was honored to have a granddaughter named after her but the fact that they named their other daughter after Eurus, just melted her heart. Siger just nodded at his son in approval and gave him a pat on the back.

'Those are two very beautiful names for two very beautiful little girls' Shekhar said and stroked Maya's cheek.

'Mitra, they are just perfect' Leela told Tara and kissed the top of her head.

Mycroft turned to Sherlock, 'Sherlock, would you like to hold your niece?' he asked.

Sherlock was the only one left to hold the babies. He seemed a bit hesitant but Mycroft didn't care, he wouldn't admit it but he wanted his brother to bond with his daughters. He walked over to where Sherlock was sitting and placed the half-asleep Merle in his unsuspecting arms. Sherlock seemed a bit taken aback by the gesture and froze for a minute. He didn't hold the sleeping baby close but at a distance and looked at her as if he was trying to deduce her. Violet frowned at the way her son was holding the baby. He was only supporting her head and her bottom, letting her limbs hang loosely. It couldn't have been comfortable for the baby.

A sly smile crossed Sherlock's lips and he said, 'For being your daughter she is very light, Mycroft' earning him a smack on the head from his mother.

Mycroft sighed and shook his head, 'Is that the best you can do, brother mine?' he asked.

As if she understood that her uncle had just made fun of her and her father, Merle squirmed a little in his arms. Or because of the way Sherlock was holding her. Sherlock's eyes shot up in fear that he might drop his newborn niece and he strengthened his grip on her. He then observed her face as the calm, peaceful sleep left and she scrunched her face. Mycroft knew that look. He smirked as he went back and took a seat next to Tara.

'Our daughters are going to be hell raisers' he muttered to her under his breath and she sniggered in response.

'Can you make her stop doing that weird thing with her face?' Sherlock asked Mycroft and shot Merle a disapproving look.

'Whatever do you mean, Brother dear?' Mycroft asked innocently with a smirk, knowing very well the worst was yet to come.

Before Sherlock could respond, Merle started squirming violently in his arms. Her arms flailed wildly and her little legs kicked Sherlock's chest. Then it happened. That familiar glorious sound of a baby's indignant shriek, breaking out of Merle's small lips and filling the room with its shrillness, waking up her sleeping sister and encouraging her to join her as she screamed her lungs out.

Both Sherlock and Merle were equally uncomfortable in each other's company. Mycroft smirked and made no attempt of rescuing his brother from the sound that had once made him want to rip his ears off. Sherlock deserved it. He had met his match.

Merle flailed her arms and legs wildly, her soft beautiful features contorted, and her face turned an ugly purple-red. Both Sherlock and Merle looked equally repulsed by each other. Sherlock made no attempt of soothing the child instead he got up and strode towards Mycroft. He practically thrust the baby back into his brother's arms.

Mycroft's eyes went wide when his 2-week-old premature daughter wasn't handled with care. 'SHERLOCK! She is a baby, for heaven's sake be gentle!' he scolded and glared at his little brother before turning his focus to his daughter and soothing her.

Sherlock earned another smack on the head from his mother and glares from everyone in the room including Rosie. She was not happy that her godfather had made her little friend cry. But the glares and frowns disappeared when they looked over to Merle. Sherlock was shocked when he saw that almost immediately Merle's cries had died down. She seemed actually happy to be back in her father's arms. There was the sight no one ever thought they would see, Mycroft Holmes, rocking a baby back to sleep. But that was the new normal.

Then came the time to introduce Whiskey to the two new members of the family. Tara and Mycroft set the babies in their car seats and sat next to them on the sofa, as John brought Whiskey to them. Mycroft had already trained Whiskey for this moment. When Tara was pregnant, he had let Whiskey get familiar with the babies' things, their clothes, their products, their toys, etc. Teaching him to respect boundaries. Then when the twins were born Mycroft brought home some of the clothes that the twins had worn, so Whiskey could sniff them and get familiar with their scent. When the dog came and stood cautiously in front of the babies, Mycroft held his collar, resting his other hand on the car seat, so Whiskey didn't accidentally knock it over in his excitement, 'What is that? Who are they?' Tara whispered to the dog, gently encouraging him. 'Be nice' they said as Whiskey gently sniffed the babies for a few minutes, then started licking their bare feet, causing them to stir in their sleep, 'You don't lick the baby' Mycroft said as he petted the dog's long ears, pulling him away. Whiskey jumped onto Tara's lap, so he could get a better view, 'Not too close' Tara said gently as Whiskey tried licking Maya's face. He blankly stared at the baby for a minute before taking her blanket in his mouth and trying to cover her bare feet, 'Aww...Isn't that sweet? Good Boy! Good Boy!' Tara gushed and showered Whiskey with kisses, she had really missed the dog while she was away and she was really happy he liked the twins.

Everyone left soon after. They understood that it was hard enough taking care of premature twin babies, the couple needed some time alone as a family.

'Merle's out' Tara whispered as she looked at Merle peacefully sleeping in her bassinet.

'So is Maya' Mycroft said as he stood in front of another bassinet looking at Maya's sleeping form.

'She is so cute' Tara cooed at Merle.

'So is she' Mycroft said not taking his eyes off Maya.

'Switch?' Tara asked excitedly.

Mycroft nodded and switched places with her, now towering over Merle's bassinet.

'Oh My God, she is so cute' Tara said admiring Maya.

'So is she' Mycroft replied without taking his eyes off Merle.

'I just love them so much' Tara said turning to him.

Mycroft turned to Tara when she said that. He looked at her for a moment before hesitantly confessing 'I have had this warm feeling in my heart ever since I knew of their existence, the first time I heard their heartbeat, the first time I saw them in the ultrasound, the first time I felt them move.... And now my heart feels like it's just going to explode. I might be on the verge of a heart attack. This pain...' he told her and trailed off not being able to explain the feeling.

Tara smiled and walked up to him 'I know that feeling. That feeling is Love. That pain is love' she said and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest. Mycroft wrapped his arms around her shoulder. Tara knew what Mycroft was feeling because she felt the same way.

.......

In the middle of the night, Tara and Mycroft woke up to the sound of their daughters crying. Not so very long ago, Mycroft thought it the most irritating sound in the universe. That nasal, hiccough-punctuated whine, sliding up to a high-pitched full-throated shriek of desperate need, of utter helplessness, of blind unreasoning demand. Now, it was a constant in his life and rendered more than two hours of sleep impossible.

Tara stirred in her sleep, not wanting to get out of bed, 'What time is it?' she asked, her voice thick with sleep.

Mycroft groaned and turned on his side, checking the alarm clock on his nightstand, '4:58 am. Right on time' he said and buried his head in the pillow.

Tara rubbed her eyes and shrugged, 'Well, at least they are punctual' she said and got out of bed. She walked to the bassinets at the end of their bed and looked down at Maya, 'Good morning, Butterbean. You're up early' she said and lifted the baby up in her arms. She then looked at Merle, whose cries died down once she saw Tara, 'Did we have nightmares?' she asked Merle, who cooed back at her. 'Let's see what you've got for Mommy' Tara said and took Maya to the changing table. Tara opened Maya's diaper and gagged. She would never get used to changing diapers, 'Oh, Dear Lord! I still don't understand how so much can come out of such a little thing' she said more to an asleep Mycroft and herself than the baby, 'It's okay, sweetie. Nobody would like to sleep with that in their pants' she told her daughter and quickly changed her diaper. She put Maya back in her bassinet and changed Merle's diaper. Then she took both the babies and sat down on the bed to nurse the twins. Once she was done, she would gently shake Mycroft awake to burp one of the twins while she burped the other. If it was early morning, after 5, Mycroft would go out for a run after getting the twins to bed. In a few more weeks, Tara would be able to join him on his morning runs with their daughters in a stroller.

This was their routine now. Except they alternated and it looked slightly different when Mycroft woke up to tend to their daughters, 'Good Morning. Look who is up?' he said as he stood towering over the bassinets at the end of the bed. He picked up a still sleepy Merle, 'Hello, darling' he kissed her and looked at her as she cooed in her sleep, 'I'm going get her first because she's a little more vocal' he whispered to her and walked back to the bed with Merle in his arms. He gently shook Tara awake and then placed Merle next to her.

While Merle and Tara cuddled, Mycroft went back to Maya, 'How are you this morning, sweetheart?' he asked, gently rubbing her little belly before picking up Maya, 'Did you sleep well?' he asked and she cooed at him, 'Good' he said and took her to the changing table. 'This is getting really old' he told the baby when he saw the condition of her diaper. 'Remember this when you have to pull the plug on me someday, I'm the one who's up and I'm the one who's changing your diapers, not your mother' he told Maya as he changed her diaper. 'I heard that' Tara said in her sleep. By the time Mycroft changed Maya, both Merle and Tara were awake enough for the feeding. Mycroft gave Maya to Tara and took Merle to change her. While Mycroft was changing Merle, Tara started to feed Maya. Then Mycroft would return with Merle and Tara nursed the twins at the same time, while Mycroft dozed lightly. Once she was done, she would shake Mycroft awake to burp one of the twins while she burped the other.

This was their life. Day in and day out, every couple of hours they went through his over and over again. Until one night, during Mycroft's turn to wake up with the twins, Maya cried inconsolably.

Having two premature newborns at the same time was a nightmare. Someone constantly needed them. If they didn't need to be fed, they needed to be changed or burped, or just wanted their parent's attention and time. Normally, Mycroft would not fuss over it and give the babies the time and attention they wanted. They were newborns, one could hardly spoil them. But not at 2 in the morning. And especially not since neither he nor Tara had had more than two consecutive hours of sleep. Something they hadn't realized when they were expecting was how busy they would be or how fast their life would be once the twins arrived. They were all too concerned about their survival to worry about late-night feeding and diaper duties.

Mycroft had learned quickly that words like 'Stop crying' and 'Please, don't cry' never worked. He bounced and rocked Maya as he walked around the nursery, desperately trying to get her to calm down before she woke up her sister. But it was too late for that, Maya had successfully woken up her sister and Merle was giving her best full-throated shrieks. That was another thing Tara and Mycroft never considered before they had the twins, when one cried the other one cried too. And then it was a riot. And it took two to shut it down but Mycroft didn't want to wake up Tara in the middle of the night. The poor woman had been up all day and slept even less than Mycroft, she needed all the rest she could get. So, Mycroft tried to console both their daughters at the same time, which was not going well. It felt like he had been at it for hours. But it had only been about 30 minutes since he had started trying to console them, that was not a comforting fact.

Mycroft finally gave up and placed Maya back in her crib, while she was still crying. After making sure she was safe in her crib, he left the room with Merle still whimpering in his arms. He entered the dark master bedroom and turned on the lights. He approached the bed as Tara stirred awake. Tara sat up in bed and the look on her husband's face and the faint distant cries of her daughter were enough to tell her that he needed her help. As Mycroft tiredly sat down on the edge of the bed with a now quiet Merle still in his arms, Tara kissed Mycroft's cheek and went to get Maya.

After Tara had left the room, Mycroft looked down at Merle. She looked very content and Mycroft decided to put her to bed in the bassinet in the master bedroom. Only Merle had other plans and started crying as soon as Mycroft set her down, forcing him to pick her back up and cradle her in his arms. Mycroft was too tired to walk and decided to sit down. He could still hear Maya crying in the distance.

As Mycroft sat on his side of the bed and stretched out his tired legs on the bed, he could feel Merle's bony legs poking his torso as she squirmed against his chest. As he cradled her into a more comfortable position a thought occurred to him, it was the same thought that haunted him several times a day since the day the twins were born. They were so tiny, so fragile and delicate, it would be so easy to hurt them. It certainly wasn't comforting. And their cries, that loud ear-piercing shriek, it was scary how something so small could cry like that. Something had to be terribly wrong with them for them to cry like that and when he wasn't able to comfort Maya, he felt like he was failing as a father. The girl had turned red from crying non-stop. He shook the uncomfortable feeling of guilt and failure away and looked down at Merle whose tiny fists were clutching his shirt as she tried to climb up his chest. 'You're ready to crawl, huh?' he asked with a smile as he watched her. She tried to entertain herself by trying to crawl up her father's chest for a few minutes then tiredly drifted off to sleep on his chest. Mycroft looked at how utterly peaceful she looked and sighed in content, at least he wasn't disappointing both of his daughters.

Mycroft knew he wasn't supposed to have a favorite. But after the night he had had, and the trouble his second-born had been giving him, he had a clear favorite. After a few minutes, Tara appeared in the bedroom with Maya, who was now swaddled and comfortable in her mother's arms. Tara came and reclined next to Mycroft on the bed. She laid Maya on her chest and leaned on Mycroft's shoulder. Their second-born looked much calmer now and was staring up at Mycroft. She arched her head up, as much as she could and yawned. Mycroft's face relaxed into a smile and he stroked the soft tuft of dark hair on her head. She squirmed and leaned in when he gently stroked her cheek. He rubbed circles on her back and smiled as she dozed off on Tara's chest with her mouth hanging open. Mycroft smiled and attempted to close her mouth with his index finger, but it hung open the second he removed his finger and Maya drooled on Tara's pajamas. All it took was a few minutes, and Mycroft was back to having no favorites.

........

In the morning, Sherlock and John entered the Holmes Mansion and were greeted by the sound that had persistently interrupted meals and conversation in the mansion for weeks now. The sound that had made it almost impossible to accomplish even formerly simple, doable household chores. And the sound that had redefined domestic bliss for Tara and Mycroft, and aborted any of their attempts at marital bliss and felicity. Which now John and Sherlock were witnessing in its full glory.

'THAT WOMAN IS INSANE' Mycroft yelled at the visitors in the front hall before storming into his study, slamming the door shut behind him.

Mrs. Green smiled at John and Sherlock, 'Good, now that you're here, I am going to go get the groceries', she said as she grabbed her coat and rushed to the door.

'Mrs. Green, wait! What's happening here?' John asked as the woman practically ran out of the mansion.

'Can't hear you!' the older woman yelled and was out of the door.

John and Sherlock stood and listened to the muffled sobs coming from one of the upstairs bedrooms. The twins' indignant shrieks had died down, but the muffled sobs continued.

'Do you want to get out of here?' John asked Sherlock.

Sherlock shook his head and chuckled, 'Oh, hell no. Don't you want to know what caused all this chaos?' he asked.

John looked at Sherlock with wide eyes, 'Sherlock, have some shame, your brother might be having marital problems' he scolded.

Sherlock rolled his eyes, and walked to Mycroft's study, 'You get the wife, I'll get the husband'.

......

John cautiously entered the master bedroom of the mansion, 'Hey! Sherlock and I came to see how it's going' he said cheerfully.

Tara quickly wiped away her tears and turned around to face him, 'It's going great. Really great!' she said with a pleasant smile.

John nodded uncomfortably, 'Let me just cut to the chase. We heard the yelling and the fighting' he told her knowingly.

Tara shook her head and turned around, 'It's going bad, really bad' she cried as she slumped back on the bed.

John looked at the condition of the room and then his best friend, 'Oh, you poor thing' he sighed.

Tara shook her head slowly in defeat, 'I tried to be perfect. Then I failed' she cried and buried her face in her hands.

'You're tired, you haven't failed' John told her.

'But taking care of your kids is supposed to be rewarding, it's what good mothers do' Tara reasoned.

John nodded in agreement, 'But you can't be there for someone else if you're falling apart. And it's not Mycroft's fault' he told her.

Tara looked at John with eyes, 'I am exhausted, and working on a hundred cups of tea a day because I can't have coffee because I have two babies hanging off my boobs. I am an overworked sleep-deprived mother, he is the father, how is it not his fault?' she asked.

'Okay, let's break this down. Why did you two fight?' John asked.

Tara shrugged, 'The twins won't take the bottle, and Mycroft thinks it's my fault' she said angrily.

John squinted his eyes knowing he wasn't getting a complete view of the picture, 'What exactly did he say?' he asked.

'He said I needed to stop caving every time they refuse to take a bottle or I will never sleep again' Tara cried.

'Tara, you do see that he is not wrong here. Right?' John asked cautiously.

Tara looked at John for a moment and considered, 'Oh, My God! I am a monster' she cried, realizing that she had yelled at Mycroft unnecessarily. He wasn't completely wrong. If the twins got used to the bottle, then he could share the load of the feedings and she could get some well-deserved sleep.

John smiled at her, 'Oh, Tara even the nicest person in the world is going to lose it once in a while' he comforted.

'Really?'

John snorted, 'I lost it so bad, I almost cheated on my wife. Actually, scratch that. I did cheat on her' he said, remembering how hard the first few months of Rosie's life had been on him and Mary.

Tara shrugged, 'No one told me, parenting would be this hard' she sniffled.

John chuckled, 'You had to be told?' he asked. Tara should have just walked outside her house and looked at anybody with a kid. People were losing their minds.

Tara sighed, 'It was going so well. I don't know what happened' she said.

John shrugged, 'You can't take care of your children unless you take care of yourself. It's Parenting 101. When was the last time you went outside, or took a shower, or slept' he asked as he observed her, she looked like a pitiable, horrible mess. Her hair was damp, she had spit-up stains all over her pajamas, the bags under her eyes were painfully visible, and John was sure somewhere in that conversation he had heard Tara's stomach rumble. 'Okay, I am going to call Grace and you two are going out. I am not taking no for an answer' he said firmly and pulled his phone out of his jacket.

Tara opened her mouth to argue and John glared at her, 'Don't worry, I'm too tired to argue' she said and sank into the bed.

John chuckled as he dialed Grace's number, 'Yeah, parenthood will do that to you' he said.

Later, Tara and John entered Mycroft's study, fully dressed and ready to go out, 'That's it. I have had it with you. You're out of your fucking mind' Mycroft told her as she came in.

Tara nodded apologetically, 'You're right. I know. I am. I am sorry. I'll see you in a few hours' she said and walked out of the study with her bag in hand.

Mycroft furrowed his brows in confusion and stood up, 'Wait. What...? Where is she...? What just happened?' he asked, trying to figure out what was happening.

'Don't worry, when she gets back, she'll be completely normal' John assured him and started to leave.

Mycroft looked at the door in utter confusion and yelled, 'Crazy is the normal in this family, John, when will you learn?'.

Almost instantly as the door shut, Mycroft was interrupted from his work by the very sound that had kept him up the past 3 weeks. He sighed, set his work aside, and pushed himself off his armchair. Tara had fed the twins right before she left so, he had two hours till he had to deal with the struggle of bottle-feeding his daughters. They had managed to wake themselves and didn't want to go back to sleep. Mycroft knew they would continue to cry if he left them in their cribs. So, he brought them downstairs and set them down in their baby bouncers by the foot of his gargantuan antique wooden desk, watching them as he worked.

As they watched their father work and played with the mobile above their heads, Merle and Maya fell back asleep in their bouncers. A few minutes later, Mycroft's security detail called him, saying Lady Smallwood and the Prime Minister were on their way in. They could hardly stop the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain at Mycroft Holmes's gate, so they let him through. Mycroft glanced down at his daughters. Most people were unaware of their existence and he would like to keep it that way. He couldn't move them to their nursery while they were asleep, they would wake up and wail up a storm and he didn't have the time to deal with that, not when the Prime Minister was at his door. He couldn't leave them alone in the study and take the meeting in the living room. That would be insane. But he also didn't want the Prime Minister of the country to see him with the twins. Not as much with the twin, as with his guard down. Around the twins, he could not wear his cold and distant self, it was just something he just couldn't do. He could do it with their mother, he could switch it on and off any time he wanted. Tara was used to Mycroft having two sides to him. One that he had on when he was with her, caring and loving. But another side lurked beneath, the one he only donned when he was with others. One, he had not been able to don around his daughters.

Not having an option, Mycroft let the twins sleep in their bouncers and decided to take the meeting in the study, hoping they would sleep through the meeting. His gargantuan antique wooden desk would block the view of the Prime Minister and Lady Smallwood. They would be completely unaware of his daughter's presence in the room and thus their existence. Only, Maya and Merle were not on board with this plan, or rather just Merle. Halfway through the meeting, Merle whined in her bouncer which was at Mycroft's feet. He jerked his head towards her before he could stop himself. His practiced manner was all but lost. He knew the Prime Minister and Lady Smallwood had heard Merle whining and had noticed his reaction, there was no going back now.

Mycroft bent down and lifted the fussing baby in his arms, making the Prime Minister and Lady Smallwood gawk and stare wide-eyed with shock, 'Oh, dear Lord! Mycroft, did you kidnap a baby?' Lady Smallwood was the first to speak.

Mycroft frowned, 'No, I did not kidnap a baby, Lady Smallwood. That's your first conclusion?' he asked, slightly offended by her suspicion.

Lady Smallwood shrugged, her eyes fixed on the baby who was wearing a white romper with watermelons on it and a dark green headband, 'Are you sure? You do have a flair for the dramatic

Lady Smallwood shrugged, her eyes fixed on the baby who was wearing a white romper with watermelons on it and a dark green headband, 'Are you sure? You do have a flair for the dramatic. Kidnapping people is second nature to you, though I can hardly think of a reason why you would kidnap a baby. Such a small, cute baby at that...' she cooed, looking at the squirming baby.

Mycroft rolled his eyes in exhaustion and gently rocked Merle in his arms, 'Elizabeth, I did not kidnap her. She is my daughter'. Mycroft in his frustration called her by her first name. Making sure he was heard. Lady Smallwood and Mr. Prime Minister stared at him in shock, Mycroft Holmes playing Dad was hard to believe. 'They really are my daughters' Mycroft said again, seeing their shock.

'They?!' Lady Smallwood almost yelled, unable to contain her shock.

Mycroft glared at her, 'Shushhh. You're going to wake up the other one too. And she is the loud one' he whispered and glanced down at Maya. His eyes flicked over her form, Lady Smallwood's reaction had startled her, she was still asleep but at the cusp of waking up.

Lady Smallwood stood up and looked at Maya's sleeping form, 'Okay' she whispered. Leaning over the table, she looked down at the babies. One sleeping in the bouncer and the other one awake in Mycroft's arms. 'Can I hold them?' she asked.

Mycroft had not expected that from her. He nodded and threw off an air of indifference, 'Maya's still asleep but you can hold Merle' he said and stood up, carefully placing Merle in her arms. His icy eyes narrowed minutely, unnoticeable to the untrained eye. But underneath the façade, Mycroft Holmes was just a father, worried the visitor wasn't holding his daughter properly or was about to drop her.

Merle's nose scrunched up and her hands balled into fists near her face, in an annoyed manner. She squirmed a little in Lady Smallwood's arms but daddy was near so, she didn't feel the need to cry. 'Oh, she is so small...' Lady Smallwood cooed, even the smallest-sized clothes were too big for their tiny bodies.

Mr. Prime Minister sat on the edge of his seat so he could look at the babies, 'How old are they?' he asked, using his hand to play with Merle, lifting her hand with his.

Mycroft's gaze was fixed on Merle who was perched in Lady Smallwood's arms. Fortunately for him, both Lady Smallwood and the Prime Minister were too preoccupied with the baby to notice him being frantic, 'About a month old' he said.

Merle was awake for exactly three minutes and eighteen seconds, after which she yawned, deciding sleep was still in her grasp and fell back asleep in Lady Smallwood's arms, 'Where is Tara?'

'She had to check up on the bakery' Mycroft lied smoothly.

The Prime Minister's fascinated eyes remained fixed on Merle's sleeping form as she let out an audible sigh in her sleep, 'Your wife must be really pretty' he muttered.

Mycroft knitted his brows in confusion and smiled faintly, 'Yes. How can you tell?' he asked.

The Prime Minister's lips tighten into a smile, 'I've worked with you for 20 years. I'm looking at your baby. It doesn't add up' he said with a smug smile.

Mycroft rolled his eyes and huffed a small laugh at the man's attempts to get on his nerves. Lady Smallwood and the Prime Minister wrapped up their meeting quickly, not wanting to overstay their welcome when Mycroft had to take care of two babies.

Tara returned exactly in time to feed the twins, meeting the Prime Minister and Lady Smallwood at the front door. She spoke to them for a few minutes before going inside, suppressing a laugh at what had happened in her absence. She entered the house and smiled when she heard her husband's voice reading out loud something that definitely wasn't appropriate for babies. She walked into the kitchen to find her husband sitting on the barstool, feeding their daughters who were secure in the baby seats set on top of the kitchen counter. He skimmed through the classified documents that the Prime Minister had just given to him as he fed the twins their bottle, reading some of the parts out loud. Tara was surprised to see her girls or rather her girl taking the bottle. Maya happily obliged to her father, while Merle wasn't having any of it. Their kids were indeed odd, one of them refused to go to sleep and the other refused to eat. She saw her husband's frustrated attempts at feeding Merle, as the one-month-old kept jerking her head away from him. She chuckled at the sight 'You guys having fun?' she asked in rhetoric.

Mycroft looked up from their daughters, 'It's easier to catch a terrorist than it is to feed this child' he told her and thrust the unfinished bottle into Tara's hand, shifting his focus to the daughter who was willing to take the bottle from him.

Tara smiled and leaned forward giving both of her daughters a kiss on the forehead 'Hi, my babies, how are you?' she cooed. Tara lifted Merle in her arms, 'Why aren't you eating? Is daddy traumatizing you?' she cooed and peeked at the file, 'Or rather boring you?' she teased Mycroft and proceeded to give Merle her bottle and the girl immediately took it, drinking enthusiastically.

Mycroft scoffed and rolled his eyes at the response his wife was getting from the older twin. Usually, Tara fed the twins, while he burped and changed them. He shouldn't have been that surprised, 'How was your day?' he asked since this had been the first time she had been away from the kids since they brought the twins home.

Tara smiled with a hint of guilt, 'It was great. I had my nails done, people massaged my feet, no one chewed down on my boon...' she drawled and leaned down to touch her nose to Merle's. She then turned to Mycroft, 'But I also missed all three of you. And, I'm sorry I've been so insufferable' she sighed.

Mycroft nodded, knowing why Tara was insistent on being with their daughters at all times. It had been a month since their daughter had been kidnapped and they hadn't talked about it once. Tara had struggled to get her kids to breastfeed and now that they were it was like they were completely dependent on her. If they needed her, Tara didn't have to leave them alone and not face the fact that she was scared. She saw herself as her children's safe zone, as long as they were with her, they were safe. She was terrified of leaving them alone out in the world where crazy women could kidnap them. Mycroft understood that 'I'm sorry I lashed out on you. I know how you feel. I feel the same way' he admitted hesitantly. He would often find himself, checking upon them in the middle of the night, making sure they were still in their crib, alive and breathing.

Tara frowned, 'Mycroft, it wasn't your fault' she reminded him.

Mycroft's gaze remained fixed on Maya, as the little girl worked on making the small volume of milk disappear, 'It wasn't? Then whose fault was it? Yours? The hospital? The girls'? I had mixed feelings about being a father and I was angry with you for feeling the way you did during the pregnancy. Do you remember? It was in my head. And, then Merle was born lifeless, Maya got kidnapped by an unhinged lunatic, and you almost died in childbirth. So, whose fault was it?' he asked, his eyes glazing with anger.

Tara looked at him in surprise, mouth agape, 'According to that logic, I'm responsible for what happened too' she reasoned and Mycroft looked at her derisively. Tara placed her hand on his shoulder comfortingly, 'Mycroft, you're a very powerful man. Perhaps one of the most powerful men in this world, but you're not a God. You didn't do this to us. Please, Mycroft, I need you to forgive yourself for being just as human as the rest of us' she pleaded, tears beginning to well in her eyes. Mycroft sighed and nodded, as they embraced, letting the guilt be washed away. Tara pulled away and placed his hand on his cheek, 'Why don't we put the kids to bed in the nursery and then you can let me relax you?' she asked with a smile.

Mycroft looked at her in surprise, they hadn't had sex in a while, not since the twins were born. Mycroft quickly composed himself, throwing an air of indifference, 'I'll put the kids to bed. You go put on something nice' he said flatly. Tara chuckled and placed Merle back in her baby seat. She handed the bottle to Mycroft and kissed him before slinking off to the master bedroom to put on her black lingerie, while Mycroft finished feeding their daughters and putting them to bed.

.....

Chapter Text

The sunshine that streamed in through the open window had roused Mycroft from the deep slumber he had been enjoying in the thick down covers of the king-size bed in the master bedroom. The bed sat in the middle of the bedroom that was decorated in soft white. On the walls, various pictures hung proudly displaying some of his best memories. His and Tara's vow renewal, their honeymoon, Tara's baby shower, the twins when they were just born, the twins crawling, Mycroft teaching the twins to walk by making them stand on his feet, Tara teaching them Kathak, etc.

Mycroft had hoped to drift back into sleep but found his hopes crushed when the little body of a three-year-old landed on top of him

Mycroft had hoped to drift back into sleep but found his hopes crushed when the little body of a three-year-old landed on top of him. Mycroft grunted in response to the weight that fell on him with full force and groggily opened his eyes to peer up at his daughter, 'What do you want, child?' he asked in a voice that was not sincerely gruff.

The dark-haired girl laughed and slipped quickly from the bed to land on her soft feet on the hardwood floor, 'Mommy says, breakfast is ready' she informed and ran away. It only took her a few seconds to realize that she had completely forgotten why she was so eager to see her father that morning. The dark-haired girl ran back into the bedroom, 'Happy Birthday, Daddy!' she whispered and pressed a kiss on her sleeping father's cheek, wanting to be the first one to wish him. Only she didn't know her mother had already wished him the previous night and had given him a special gift. The gift being the reason he was sleeping in that day.

Slowly, Mycroft rolled onto his side to look towards the open bedroom door just in time to see his daughter rush outside, clutching her beloved goldfish plushie. He smiled as he watched her and even after she was out of sight.

It took a few minutes, but Mycroft eventually hoisted himself from the bed to get dressed and join his family in the kitchen. Tara stood in front of the kitchen stove wearing an apron over her white silk pajamas as she flipped chocolate chip pancakes shaped like Mickey Mouse on to a plate. His wake-up call already stuffing her mouth with chocolate chip pancakes and her twin running around the kitchen island in her underwear. Mycroft watched the whole scene with a placid smile. Maybe his kids were spending way too much time with his brother and the Watson brat.

'Mommy, how old is daddy going to be?' the twin at the breakfast table asked with a mouthful of pancake

'Mommy, how old is daddy going to be?' the twin at the breakfast table asked with a mouthful of pancake.

The twins didn't exactly know how old anyone was except themselves. But they knew that Uncle Sherlock was as old as Mommy, and Daddy was older than mommy. And Daddy always joked the only reason mommy looked younger was because she was an Indian and they aged well. The twins didn't think it was a good joke and neither did their mother, she would always roll her eyes at their father.

'Old enough' Mycroft answered as his youngest, the naked twin dizzily crashed into his legs and Mycroft lifted her up in his arms. Going round and round the kitchen island for over five minutes straight would make anyone sick, but his daughter seemed to enjoy it.

Mycroft attacked her with kisses and blew raspberries into her neck, making her squirm and giggle with glee, 'Daddy, stop...' she cried and laughed as she tried to free herself from her father's grip. Her wake-up call twin sat at the kitchen table giggling at her sister as she continued to stuff her face with chocolate chip pancakes, in a hurry to go to preschool and soak up all the knowledge she could.

At the sound of her daughters giggling, Tara turned around and looked at Mycroft tickling their daughter to death, 'Maya Holmes, put your clothes on!' she chided the naked child in her husband's arms.

At that, Mycroft stopped tickling their daughter and met his wife's gaze. He looked at her lovingly, 'Good morning!' he offered with an amused smile at the chaos in their house.

Tara huffed a laughed and shook her head as she took off her apron, 'Good morning, honey! Can you get these two dressed for school while I go get ready for work?' she asked and walked to him.

Mycroft chuckled softly, 'Run' he whispered in her ear and gently pecked her cheek as she hurriedly made her way to their bedroom.

Mycroft had been right since the day their twins were born. They were hell raisers. The two were constantly getting into some kind of trouble. Tara was tired of being called in the middle of work to the school to go pick up the girls because they were being 'Smart-mouths'. Their teacher never missed a single opportunity to make Tara feel like she was an irresponsible, working mother, who couldn't get her kids to behave. So, what if her kids could read at the age of three? Or had memorized the entire periodic table? Or were smarter than an average fifth grader? Tara was still failing as a mother in her sight. There was only so much Tara could take before she delegated the matter to Mycroft, who said he would solve it by hook or by crook. Tara should've known better than to send him to fix the matter.

Maya's music teacher had asked her not to bother coming to the class since she had missed three classes in a row. When asked why she didn't attend the classes, she simply replied she didn't go because she didn't feel like it, further agitating the angry teacher. Mycroft's solution to the problem was to ask the twins to switch places. He took Maya back to the music teacher and said he wanted to enroll his daughter Merle, and the teacher had innocently believed him. So, from then on Maya attended music class as Merle. The only thing he had asked his daughters to do was not tell their mother about their little heist. But being the rug rats they were, the first thing they did when they got home was to blab their mother.

.......

Later that morning, Tara walked into the CTS surveillance room bustling with people, preparing for a mission in the building where every global threat was dealt with. That day's mission was to make a deal with a sadistic Russian Assassin who was selling top-secret government weapon plans to the highest bidder. Grace would go in posing as an Israeli Mafia and make the deal with him then kill him. Tara slid an electronic contact lens and an audio device to Grace, 'Now, we can see and hear everything you see and hear there' she smirked.

Later, Grace walked through a dark tunnel with a blue light baton in her hand, 'Tara, can you see and hear everything clearly?' she whispered.

Tara was in a surveillance van, a discreet distance away from the tunnel where Grace was making the deal. She looked at the visuals on the screens in front of her, 'Crystal clear' she smirked and sat back in her chair.

Grace grinned and marched ahead, 'Let's kill this son of a bitch!' she whispered. 'Stas, I'm here' she yelled for the assassin to show himself. 'Tara, are you getting the thermal image?' she whispered as she waited for the assassin to show himself.

Tara nodded, 'The satellite is linked, I'm getting the thermal image. Be ready, he can come at any moment. Look at your right' she ordered. Grace turned and walked to the right, seeing the shadow approach her. She grinned and walked towards the man approaching her.

Grace frowned when she heard the sound of a cell phone ringing on her com, 'Oh, dear Lord! No!' she heard Tara mutter.

Grace stiffened up, 'What? What happened?' she asked in worry.

Tara shook her head, 'Oh, nothing. You keep going. I need to take this call' she said and answered her phone.

Grace clenched her jaw in anger, 'Seriously, I'm in the middle of a dark tunnel and you're going to take a call' she whispered.

'It's from the girls' school. If I don't take this that Big Red Nightmare will chew my head off at the next PTA' Tara sighed and switched off her end of the com, before answering her phone and silently watching Grace carry out the mission on the screen.

Tara quickly wrapped up her phone call with the preschool as Grace met with their target, started walking with him to the location of the pen drive containing the secret military weapon plans. 'Sorry, Grace. I'm back. Don't look into his eyes. Keep following him. Control your heartbeat. He shouldn't get suspicious. Because if he has even a hint of doubt then you won't come back alive. Once you see the pen drive, kill him without any hesitation' she said and switched off her end of the come, knowing Grace couldn't reply at that moment.

Tara then picked up her phone and called Mycroft, 'Mycroft, the girls got in trouble in school. Can you please go pick them up?' she asked.

'No, I can't. I'm very busy' Mycroft said firmly.

Tara frowned, 'Mycroft, I do everything for the kids. I'm in the middle of a mission. Can't you help me out for just one day?' she scolded.

'Fine' Mycroft sighed and hung up.

Tara closed her eyes and sighed in exhaustion. Then she looked up at the blank screen in front of her, 'Ma'am, we've lost all contact with Grace. It's a complete surveillance blackout' an agent informed her.

Tara frowned, 'Damn it! He has trapped her, it's an ambush. Call for backup. Get me the blueprint of the tunnel, I'm going in' she said as she put on her combat gear.

Later that day, Tara stood in the mansion kitchen, icing her shoulder, and called Mycroft's cell, 'Hey, Honey! Did you pick up the kids from school?' she asked in a sweet voice.

'Yes, yes, I did. I apologized to the principal and promised her that they would behave from now on. Now, they are sitting in front of me and reorganizing my files as punishment' Mycroft informed.

Tara closed her eyes and shook her head, 'Oh, cut it out, Mycroft. The school called me when you didn't show up. I had to listen to an hour-long lecture on how I need to focus on being a better mother and wife from Ms. Davies, who by the way is single. I've already picked up Merle and Maya. And, if we have two other kids who look exactly like Merle and Maya, please let me know. From tomorrow I can pick them up as well. I asked you to do one thing, Mycroft. One thing' she scolded and hung up, shifting her gaze to the two girls sitting at the kitchen table, eating their after-school snack.

Later that night, Mycroft returned from work and walked into the kitchen to find the twins sitting at the kitchen table hurriedly choking down spaghetti as Tara worked on her laptop. Tara looked up at him and glared.

Mycroft mouthed a sorry as he walked in. Tara shook her head and went back to her work. Mycroft sighed and looked at the kids, 'What did you do now?' he asked with a clenched jaw.

Merle looked at him with an innocent expression, 'Daddy, it wasn't our fault' she said.

Tara turned to them and glared, 'Are you done?' she asked. Merle and Maya hurriedly polished off their plate and nodded. 'Go to your room' she said flatly.

Maya frowned, 'But Mommy, we can explain' she tried.

Tara glowered at the twins, 'Go to your room!' she drawled.

The twins swallowed and twitched with nervous expressions. They edged out of the kitchen and glanced back at Mycroft. When they were sure Tara wasn't looking, they silently begged their father to plead their case to their mother. Mycroft glared at them, refusing to give in. Maya frowned and stomped away, dragging Merle with her. Mycroft watched his daughters walk away then looked back at Tara, 'Tara, I apologize for what happened today' he said and sat down across from her.

Tara closed her eyes and shook her head, 'Mycroft, I don't want to fight with you on your birthday. But they are your daughters too' she reminded gently.

Mycroft nodded, 'Yes, I'm aware. And, that's why I'll put them to bed tonight' he offered and Tara looked at him with a disbelieving expression. 'What do you want me to say?' he asked as a last resort.

Tara sighed and shook her head, 'Just go' she said and went back to her work.

Later, after the twins were tucked into bed and Tara and Mycroft had had dinner, they sat in the film room, watching a noir. Mycroft poured them a drink of bourbon and handed one to Tara, 'You, okay?' he asked and sat down next to her.

Tara shot him a look, 'Our daughter flipped off her teacher. So, NO, I'm not okay' she said in irritation.

Mycroft sighed and nodded, 'Well, to be fair, Ms. Davies is a bitch' he muttered and took a sip of his drink.

Tara looked at him disbelievingly, 'Mycroft, we're not condoning this kind of crass behavior. She is three for Pete's sake. Do you realize how close she came to being suspended today? And do you know how lucky we're that that red bitch gave Maya a second chance?' she scolded.

Mycroft nodded, 'I do and I was not condoning her behavior. Tara, have you spoken to Maya?' he asked calmly.

Tara shook her head, 'No, I can't' she sighed.

Mycroft frowned at his wife, 'Are you punishing her?' he asked. A punishment was well deserved for what Maya had done, but avoiding her entirely was not the way to go about it.

Tara shook her head, 'No, I just... I feel like her behavior was a reflection of my parenting. And, don't say it's not because it is' she said and averted her gaze.

Mycroft smirked at his wife, 'See, I know it's not because I actually took the time to talk to our daughter' he said and gulped down his drink.

Tara rolled her eyes, 'What did she say?' she asked.

Mycroft met Tara's eyes and sighed, 'Ms. Davies pulled Merle's ear for correcting her in front of the class and called her and I quote 'a spoiled brat'' he said, his face falling at the thought of his little girl being bullied for being smart.

Tara gaped and set her drink down after not taking a single sip, 'That's why she flipped her off. Oh, God! I don't know what to do, Mycroft. I'm doing my best but, I'm still failing. Someone always needs me and I can't be there for both of them at the same time. Every day, I feel like I'm not doing enough for them...' she cried and buried her head in her hands.

Mycroft sighed and rubbed her back, comfortingly, 'Tara, stop torturing yourself. There's two of them, we were never going to be enough, but it's fine because they will always have each other's back like they had today' he said and Tara accepted it half-heartedly. 'Now, that that's over, there is something else I need to bring up' he said with a determined expression.

Tara sighed and looked away in exhaustion, 'Please don't' she said knowingly.

Mycroft shook his head, refusing to give up, 'Their lives would be a lot easier in a school for gifted children. The curriculum at that preschool is nowhere near challenging for the twins. They get bored. They are not learning anything. Merle would've never corrected a teacher in a gifted school because a teacher in a gifted school wouldn't have been wrong' he reasoned.

'Don't you think I know that? We're not sending them to a school for gifted children' Tara said firmly and walked away.

Mycroft glared at her in anger, 'Can we just talk about this for a moment?' he asked, following her,

Tara shook her head firmly, 'There is nothing to talk about. I've said this before and I'll say it again. They're not going to that school' she said.

'This could be a great opportunity for the girls' Mycroft argued.

Tara sighed, 'Look, it's hard enough being as smart as they are, if they go to that gifted school where all the kids are just as smart as them or smarter, they will never learn to live with people of normal intelligence. Not everybody in the world is going to be as smart as them. When they grow up, they are going to have to live with or even work under someone who isn't as smart as them. How are they going to handle that going to this gifted school? I just don't want them to grow up to be oddballs. As shallow as it is I want them to fit in. I thought you would understand' Tara explained.

Mycroft gawked at her in surprise, 'I hadn't thought of it that way' he muttered. Mycroft couldn't understand how he had missed something as simple as that. Especially since his wife worried about their daughters constantly. He looked back at his wife, who was tired of worrying about their children day in and day out, and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, 'They'll be fine, Tara'.

Later, Tara opened the door of the twins' bedroom and peaked in. She smiled at the sight of both her daughters reading together with the torchlight under the covers in the dark bedroom. Tara walked to Merle's bed and pulled up the covers. The twins looked up at her like a deer caught in headlights, 'Hey!' she flashed a small smile and sat on the edge of the bed.

Maya exchanged a nervous glance with Merle then looked at their mother, 'Mommy, are you upset with me?' she asked.

Tara sighed and nodded, 'Yes, a little. But I'm also very proud of you. It was nice of you to stand up for your sister. But that was not the way to do it' she said, caressing the little girl's cheek.

Maya bit her lip and nodded, 'I'm sorry, Mommy' she said and hugged her mother.

Tara hugged her back for a brief second then pulled her away, 'Yeah, you will go say that to Ms. Davies tomorrow...' she said. Maya was not going to get away with it.

Maya frowned, 'But she pulled Merle's ear and called her a spoilt brat' she complained.

Tara sighed and nodded, 'I know, and I will deal with her, but that still doesn't make it okay for you to do what you did. I need you to apologize to her and mean it. And I don't want you to ever repeat this kind of behavior ever again' she said firmly.

Maya pursed her lips and pouted, 'Yes, Mommy' she said reluctantly.

Tara smiled and pressed a kiss on Maya's head, 'Good. And Merle, I know you and your sister are very bright but correcting your elders can be seen as rude. They're plenty of stupid people in the world, but when they're older than you, you will show them the respect their age demands. I will not have you being rude to adults... And, it doesn't make what Ms. Davies did right. She shouldn't have treated you that way' she explained.

Merle nodded, 'Yes, Mummy' she said and jumped into her mother's lap. Tara chuckled and hugged both her girls. She cuddled with them in bed, her arms wrapped around each daughter. She read to them for a while then looked down at Maya, who was already asleep and snoring in her lap with her mouth hanging open. Merle smiled at her sister then slipped out of her mother's arms, letting Tara carry her twin to her bed. Tara tucked Maya into her own bed and walked back to Merle's bed. She pressed a kiss on Merle's forehead and tucked her in, before switching off the lights and slipping out to the master bedroom.

.....

Later that night, Tara walked out of the closet wearing black lingerie, looking enticingly at Mycroft, who was in bed, working. Tara leaned against the doorpost seductively, 'Hey, Handsome!' she purred.

Mycroft continued to type rapidly on his laptop, 'Hello' he muttered flatly.

Tara rolled her eyes and strode forward to him, 'Put that aside and we'll try this again' she said and hurriedly snatched Mycroft's laptop, putting it away. She quickly rushed back to the door, 'Hey, handsome!' she purred leaning against the door.

Mycroft took off his reading glasses and gaped at her in awe, 'Whoa!' he exhaled as she slowly walked to him.

Tara smirked, 'Stare all you want now, 'cause it's coming off soon' she said and climbed onto the bed.

Mycroft chuckled softly, 'Really, two nights in a row? I am the birthday boy' he said and crashed his lips on hers, after all, it was still his birthday for about an hour.

Tara and Mycroft kissed hungrily as they laid in the king-size bed of the mansion's master bedroom. Mycroft rolled on top of Tara, attempting to get his wife out of her lingerie as they kissed, but she pushed him off, 'What's wrong?' he asked.

Tara panted and tried to catch her breath, 'Merle's awake' she said, looking towards the closed door.

Mycroft frowned and shook his head, 'What? No' he said and leaned in to kiss her, resume their make-out session.

Tara nodded and pushed him off her body, 'Yes, now go check on her' she ordered and Mycroft sighed as he got out of bed and walked to the door.

Mycroft closed his eyes and inhaled before opening the door. A silenced fuck escaped his lips when he saw Merle standing at their door with her goldfish plushie clutched tightly in her hands. Tears stained her soft pink cheeks, 'Daddy, I had a nightmare' she sniffed and buried her head in his legs.

Mycroft rolled his eyes and looked back at Tara, who had donned her robe and was sitting, reclined in bed. An amused and winning smile played on her thin lips. She cocked her head, asking him to let their daughter in. Mycroft shook his head in dismay and turned to their daughter, 'Just this once' he said and let the frightened little girl into the master bedroom. He left the bedroom to go get Maya from the twins' bedroom.

Merle made her way to the bed and got under the covers. She snuggled and buried her head in Tara's chest. Tara wrapped her arm around Merle's small frame and kissed the top of her head, soothing the frightened child.

After a few minutes, Mycroft returned with sleeping Maya in his arms. She didn't stir one bit when Mycroft lifted her out of her bed or when he tucked her into the king-sized bed of the master bedroom. She just curled up against Mycroft when he slipped under the covers with his wife and daughters. He wrapped his arm around his daughter's tiny frame and rubbed her back as she slept.

It just took a few minutes and Merle's nightmare was all but forgotten. She was peacefully dozing in Tara's arms. But Tara and Mycroft were wide awake and looking at each other flirtatiously. Mycroft reached his free hand across the bed to Tara. Tara smiled softly and tucked his hand under her head. As Mycroft stroked her cheek with his thumb, Tara smiled softly at him and began tapping on Mycroft's hand. Two short taps followed by a small pause, a short tap and a long tap, one more pause, and two long taps. Then after a pause, she started tapping again- short tap, two long taps, short tap, pause, short tap, long tap, short tap, pause, short tap, pause, two long taps, short tap, pause, long tap, short tap, pause, short tap, long tap, pause, long tap, short tap, pause, and a long tap.

'I'M PREGNANT'

Mycroft wore a knowing smile, 'I know' he mouthed and gestured for her to meet him outside. He carefully moved Maya out of his arms and got out of bed, as Tara did the same with Merle. They tucked the twins into their bed and surrounded them with pillows before sneaking out of the master bedroom.

Later, Mycroft and Tara sat in the film room, watching their favorite movie Double Indemnity. They reclined on the couch with their legs propped up on the coffee table. Mycroft held Tara in his arms and absentmindedly stroked her arm, as the film screened in front of them with no audio and they sat mouthing the lines. Tara looked up at her husband and smiled, 'Are you happy?' she asked since he hadn't said a word after she gave him the news.

Mycroft smiled and nodded, 'More than I thought I would be. Are you?' he asked.

Tara beamed, 'Very'.

Mycroft smiled and nodded, 'Good' he said and shifted his gaze back to the screen. After a few minutes of silence, he glanced briefly at his wife and considered, 'Tara, I'm thinking of retiring' he said without looking at her.

Tara looked at him in surprise then laughed, 'You're kidding?' she asked and looked at the serious expression on his face. 'You can't be serious' Tara frowned.

Mycroft sighed, 'I know you don't like my profession. You accepted it for my sake, I know that too. For my sake you have sacrificed a lot, I know. But you must be having a dream of your own. Anything that you want. I want to fulfill it for you. Anything' he asked sincerely.

Tara scoffed at him, 'You can't be serious' she said and looked away.

Mycroft chuckled softly, 'I am asking you. I could at least give it a try' he said.

Tara looked at him hesitantly, 'You really want to know?' she asked.

'Yes' Mycroft nodded.

Tara nervously licked her lips and smiled, 'I want a house on a farm with horses' she said.

Mycroft was taken aback by her answer and considered for a moment, 'Then let's do that' he said.

Tara shook her head and looked away, 'No'.

Mycroft frowned, 'Why not? We have two children and a third one on the way, Tara. This way I'll be able to spend more time with them and I can fulfill your dream' he pointed out.

'But you love your work' Tara argued.

'But this is important' Mycroft pressed.

'Your work is important too' Tara reasoned

Mycroft sighed in disbelief, it shouldn't have taken so much convincing on his part to fight for Tara's dream, 'But what about your dream and our family?' he asked, not understanding why Tara was against the idea.

Tara sighed, 'I know your job is a big commitment and a lot of traveling. But I'm okay with it. You're still a good father and a good husband. You're here. You spend time with them. They know you love them. That is enough' she said sincerely.

Mycroft gaped at her not knowing how to respond to that, 'I just want to be sure you're okay.....' he asked.

'Okay' Tara cut him off.

Mycroft shook his head, 'You don't have to say that. We can still think about it' he told her.

Tara shook her head firmly, 'I'm saying it. I don't want to think about it. I'm tired of thinking about it. You know what? We can do all that bucolic stuff when we're old' she said.

Mycroft raised an eyebrow, 'We're not old. That's news to me. That is actually great news. This day just gets better and better' he said snidely.

Tara huffed a small laugh and placed her hand on his cheek, 'We are not old and I don't want you to give up something you love' she said.

Mycroft nodded, 'But what about your dream. It's not fair to you' he said.

Tara shook her head with a smile, 'I'm not giving up on my dream. I'm postponing it' she said with a smirk.

Mycroft chuckled softly and nodded, 'What if we don't postpone it?' he asked.

Tara rolled her eyes in exhaustion, 'Mycroft, I'm okay with....'.

Mycroft stopped her, 'Just listen to me. We can buy a house on a farm with horses and everything else you want. We can use it as a vacation home. Move permanently only when we're ready to retire' he explained.

Tara considered it and smiled, 'I would like that and so would the girls' she gave him an approving smile and leaned her head on his shoulder.

After a few seconds, Tara looked up at Mycroft and kissed him, things got heated quickly. Mycroft pulled her into his lap and they kissed passionately. His hands went from her waist to her hips and she felt him pulling her, pressing firmly against her. Their peaceful alone time lasted only a few minutes, 'Mommy, Daddy, where did you go? We missed you' Maya said sleepily as she walked clutching her twin's hand.

Tara and Mycroft jumped apart when they heard their daughters approaching. Tara smiled and pulled away from Mycroft, 'Nowhere, Butterbean. Come here' she said.

Mycroft let out an aggravated sigh and shook his head, 'We're never going to have sex again, are we?' he muttered to Tara.

Tara suppressed a smile and shook her head as the girls came to them and made them scootch as they squeezed themselves between their parents.

.....

After a few weeks, Tara and Mycroft found themselves in their living room telling their daughters they were going to get a sibling. The twins sat on the antique coffee table staring at their parents who were sitting across from them, with their mouths hanging open, 'We're having a baby?!' Merle repeated what her mother had just said.

Tara smiled nervously and nodded, 'Yeah, we're having a baby' she said.

Maya looked around the room then at her parents, 'Where is it?' she asked, her blunt tone matching her father's frighteningly well.

Mycroft bit back a laugh and pointed at the soft swell of Tara's stomach, that almost disappeared when she moved, 'Here' he muttered, smiling at how much of himself he saw in his children.

Maya's eyes went wide with horror, 'Mommy ate the baby' she said and backed away from her mother.

Tara frowned and glared at Mycroft, who was chuckling at their daughter's conclusion, 'I didn't eat the baby' she shrieked.

Maya and Merle looked at their mother suspiciously, 'Then how did it get there, Mommy' Merle asked.

Tara choked and fumbled for an answer, they were going to have to explain the situation a bit more than they previously thought, 'Well, ummmnn...' she stuttered, not knowing how to respond. She looked at her husband and glared, 'I told you we should just get them the Storks movie' she muttered.

Mycroft huffed a laugh, 'Oh, but then how would I get to enjoy this moment' he whispered then looked at the twins, 'So, Mommy how did the baby get there?' he asked Tara.

Tara glared at him, 'Why don't you tell us, Daddy?' she asked with a smirk.

Before Mycroft can refuse or come up with a counter-strategy, the girls looked at him for answers, 'Yes, tell us, Daddy' Maya eagerly asked her father.

Mycroft looked at them with his mouth hanging open, 'So, you know your mother and I, we love each other' he asked and the twins nodded. 'When to people who love each other like we do. And, when they are married' he added, not wanting to have any grandchildren out of wedlock in his future. 'When two people love each other a lot, they...' Mycroft repeated, not knowing how to go about it.

Tara frowned at the direction her husband was going in and stopped him, 'Mycroft, what are you doing? They are three' she muttered. Tara looked back at her daughters and decided to take the bullet, 'Suppose, Mommy and Daddy are LHS and the love Mommy and Daddy have for each other is the RHS. When RHS is greater than LHS, it becomes a...' she fumbled through her response.

Merle jumped, in excitement as she knew the answer, 'An unbalanced equation!' she exclaimed.

Tara huffed a tired laugh, 'Yes, very good, baby. So, to balance the equation, they make another person. So, Mommy and Daddy loved each other so much that to balance the equation we had to add you two to the LHS' she explained, her confidence in herself wearing thin.

Maya frowned, 'How come there's only one baby this time?' she asked.

Tara stiffened up, 'Because that's all the balancing we needed to do. That's all the love there's left. There's no more balancing to be done. None at all. The equation is perfectly balanced. It's done. It's final. It's not happening again' she said firmly, shooting a stern look at her husband.

The girls smiled and accepted their mother's explanation, 'We're going to have a baby' they exclaimed.

'I can't believe it, I'm having a baby sister' Merle said.

'Or a brother' Mycroft intervened, trying to establish that it wasn't a choice.

Merle looked at her father with a stern expression that resembled Violet's, 'Or a sister' she drawled with her lips pursed.

Mycroft was taken aback by the shift in his daughter's tone and looked at Tara in worry. Merle had never been one to back answer to them.

'I am your sister' Maya pointed out and an argument broke out between the two.

Tara looked at her children fighting and sighed, 'We're never doing this again' she muttered.

Mycroft's gaze remained fixed at their children, 'Oh, trust me, you won't hear an argument from me' he breathed.

Tara shook her head and looked, 'No, I'm saying this can't happen again. So, I called the clinic and made an appointment for you to get a vasectomy next week. They'll be done in ten minutes I promise' she informed cautiously.

Mycroft frowned and looked at her in shock, 'NO' he said firmly.

Tara glared at him, 'I got sliced to bring those two into this world. You want to fight with me?' she asked. Mycroft sighed and shook his head, looking away in dismay. Tara sighed and placed her hand on his shoulder, making him face her, 'You don't have to do it if you don't want to' she said, feeling bad for forcing him to do something that should be his decision. Mycroft sighed in relief and embraced her tightly. They jumped apart when Maya asked them, 'Mommy, what's a vasectomy?'.

.......

In the morning, Mycroft and Sherlock stood outside the ancestral home, Musgrave Hall

In the morning, Mycroft and Sherlock stood outside the ancestral home, Musgrave Hall. Siger had rebuilt it a few years ago, so his grandchildren could experience a part of the family's tradition. Sherlock and Mycroft stood outside, smoking and watching the kids play among the funny gravestones. It was just Maya and Rosie, playing with Whiskey, while Merle stood by the pond, skipping rocks alone. Out of all his children, Merle was the one who was most like him. The resemblance was striking. The twins looked just like their mother except for their eyes, but they had entirely different personalities. Merle was just like Mycroft and Maya was just like Tara and Sherlock. It scared Mycroft how like him Merle was, 'So, what have you and John been up to lately?' he asked Sherlock, distracting himself from thinking about his daughter.

Sherlock shrugged, 'Nothing much just solving a few cases for Lestrade' he lied.

Mycroft cocked his head, 'When are you going to start being truthful?' he asked.

'When are you going to stop being snoopy?' Sherlock shot back and Mycroft dropped the topic, not wanting to fight with Sherlock on that particular day. 'How is life with three kids treating you?' Sherlock asked his brother.

Mycroft huffed a small laugh, 'After having two at a time one would think the third one would be a walk in the park' he said.

Sherlock chuckled, 'Is it though?' he asked knowingly.

Mycroft chuckled and shook his head, 'This one makes the other two look like angels' he said.

'I almost feel sorry for you' Sherlock muttered.

Mycroft couldn't remember a time when he had such a pleasant conversation with Sherlock, times had changed a lot. The two Holmes brothers jumped and turned around when they heard their mother behind them, 'Are you two smoking?' Violet glared at the two.

Both of them hid their cigarettes behind their back and were quick to respond, this time differently, 'NO' 'It was Sherlock'.

Violet shook her head in disappointment and looked at the grandchildren, 'Come on in, you lot!' she hollered and the three girls came running with the bloodhound on their tail. They giggled as they ran past the two grown men who had just lied to their mother. Violet let the kids into the house and looked back at her sons, 'And by the way, your arses appear to be on fire' she said before going inside.

Mycroft and Sherlock stood gawking at the door then laughed, 'Seriously?' Sherlock asked his brother, referring to his betrayal.

Mycroft laughed and shrugged, 'What can I say, I have learned a thing or two from the kids' he said.

Sherlock and Mycroft entered the kitchen of their ancestral home in Musgrave when the preparation of the twins' birthday celebration was going on full blast. John helped the twins up on to a chair so they were towering over the kitchen counter as Tara, Violet, and Grace brought out a giant birthday cake for the twins and placed it in front of them on the kitchen counter.

The chaos from the celebration seemed to have woken up the newborn baby, napping in his bassinet in the kitchen. Mycroft walked over the bassinet and lifted his crying son, Atticus into his arms, and cradled him. He gently rocked and shushed the baby calm, before taking him to the rest of the party.

Everyone gathered around, as the twins cut their birthday cake, and sang to them

Everyone gathered around, as the twins cut their birthday cake, and sang to them. Later, the twins threw a fit over their parents's not letting them feed cake to their month-old brother. Sherlock and John were glad to entertain the twins for a while. And Violet was more than happy to take her newest grandchild off Tara's hands, and the party gradually shifted to the living room.

As Tara stood alone in the kitchen, cutting the cake, Mycroft sneaked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Tara hummed and moaned, leaning into his touch as Mycroft leaned his head against hers. She turned her head towards Mycroft and caught his lips in hers, tenderly kissing him. They smiled with their noses still touching and their eyes closed. Turning her in his arms, Mycroft left two short kisses on her left cheek. Then he moved to her right cheek, leaving a short kiss followed by a long one, then two more short ones. He paused and left three long kisses, followed by a pause, three short kisses, a long kiss, another pause, and a short kiss. His lips found their way to hers and left a long kiss, followed by a short kiss, two long kisses, a pause, three long kisses, another pause, two short kisses and finally finishing it off with one long kiss. Tara chuckled and looked up at him lovingly and the two stood holding each other, with their eyes closed and their foreheads touching.

THE END