The Black Book - AU - Locked to seaweed_writes

[ihadabadday]

He was lucky with his expertise he was able to find a job relatively quickly in a field he was familiar with. John looked down at his mobile as the alert came through. Christ. It was going to take him at least twenty minutes, if he was lucky, to get to the scene. But, he packed his things into the case and headed out.

He had been in Afghanistan for five years. First as a medic, then a doctor, and finally a hunter. He still was a doctor, but he had been assigned to an elite unit in the desert. Part of him felt a bit odd about all of it. But he didn't quite mind.

He made sure he had everything before he left.

He heard the annoyed voices, before he saw anyone as he entered the room.

"Oi. Who're you?" A man with two days of stubble and mussed black hair asked.

John paused and looked him over before his eyes landed on the gentleman in the suit with salt and pepper hair. There he was. "DI Lestrade? I'm Doctor John Watson, the new Occult Specialist, I just started last month." He gave him a smile, wanting to be nice, but not too friendly. People got jumpy around the occult. He saw it all the time in Afghanistan, and even here in London.

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[seaweed_writes]

Sherlock loved their table. It was in the back of the restaurant, near the door where the waiters enter and exit, which means its far from the big front windows and all their light. Not only are there less prying eyes on then, but Sherlock can remove his hood and eat in relative peace.

He pulled his hood back as soon as he stepped in the door to Angelo's. Sure, it hurt for a few seconds as he stepped away from the light into the nice dark and cool back of the restaurant, but he didn't mind the short pain for the long term gain.

Without a word, he slid into the booth across from John and took his hand. "I trust it all went generally well then?" He asked, not even bothering to pick up a menu. Angelo already knew what he wanted.

[ihadabadday]

John perked up when Sherlock slid into the booth across from him. He smiled and squeezed his hand.

He loved seeing his mate. Looking at him. So gorgeous.

"It did." He answered, "Mum is over the moon and quite pleased to hear Mycroft is going into over protective grandfather mode again."

[seaweed_writes]

Sherlock nodded, holding John's hand and not really caring who saw.

Angelo came over and fawned over them a bit, but they managed to calm him down enough to order some drinks and their food. He rushed off, and they were off again.

"Yes, M is definitely in protective mode. And he has requested that we find out the sex of the baby this time. I told him I would have to talk it over with you. I am good with whatever you want. I know you have that appointment soon."

[ihadabadday]

John flushed, as he did everytime Angelo chose to fawn over them. He looked down, doing his best to cover the growing bump. Soon enough he wouldn't be able to go out once he started showing heavily. Male pregnancies weren't uncommon, but some people looked down negatively on men who carried.

"Mum seemed to hint that as well. And I do want to find out this time too." He admitted with a shy smile.

[seaweed_writes]

It was obvious what John was looking at. Sherlock smiled warmly and moved enough so he could reach around and rub John's very slight swell before he moved back.

"Alright." He said softly, his voice full of love. "We will ask the healer next week then."

[ihadabadday]

He flushed deeply at that, but smiled at his mate. He was so happy they were having another child.

John squeezed Sherlock's hand, letting out a breath. "Of course." He nodded.

He did want a little girl, it would be nice to have one of each.

[seaweed_writes]

There was a comfortable silence. Neither of them felt like anything else needed to be said at the time.

After a few minutes, Angelo came out with their lunches, and they both tucked in eagerly.

[ihadabadday]

John let out a breath as he stepped through the portal to the shop for the demon healer.

He put a hand on his belly and looked over his shoulder to look at his mate who stepped through after him. "We find out the sex of our baby today." He said before kissing the vampire. Because the portal went directly to the shop, the vampire didn't have to wear the pendant that John hardly ever took off.

[seaweed_writes]

Even after so many years, Sherlock still felt nervous stepping through the portal into the Demon world. It was not his world to live in. He was a stranger, and in fact an enemy to almost all who lived here.

The healer, though, held no such predujuices. He judged on the basis of character, and he knew Sherlock to be of good charater.

The demon greeted them with a smile and a slight bow, a dip of his head and wings, like he always did with John, since he was of Old Blood.

"Welcome, both of you." He said, standing straight again. As a full Demon, he was closer to 8 feet tall, broader of shoulder and thicker of body than John. He exuded power, and yet he was so terribly gentle.

"Please, step to the back. We can get this examination started. And I heard that you also are thinking about a contraceptive for after this pregnancy, correct?" He asked with a smile and wink, before stepping into the back room which was a mix of human machines and magical items.

[ihadabadday]

"Mum is such a gossip sometimes." He grumbled before following the demon into the back.

But he was grateful that the healer knew. That way he had time to perfect a contraceptive.

He sat on the exam table and smiled at the healer. "We decided we wanted to find out the sex of the baby."

[seaweed_writes]

The healer nodded. He led John to the flat rock that served as an exam table. He had explained one time that he used it because of the property of the rock. It exuded a very soft vibration that couldn't be felt, but it promoted calm. He likened it to a cat's purr that was so quiet you couldn't hear it.

"Alright." He said. He went to a mortal and pestle, where there was a paste made up already. He stirred it a bit to make sure it was thoroughly mixed up. then he had John take off his shirt and spread it on his stomach. It was an odd greenish yellow color and was cold on his unusually warm Demon skin.

[ihadabadday]

John shivered when that paste was spread against his slightly swollen belly. He shifted and looked to his mate and then to Cagnazzo.

He wouldn't admit it, but he was nervous. They hadn't seen the gender with William. But he did with this child. And he wasn't sure why.

[seaweed_writes]

Cagnazzo used his magic at first, running his hands just over John's belly, almost touching the paste but not quite. His face turned from happy to surprised, but not in a bad way.

"Oh." He said, and leaned in closer, his face just above where his hands were moving.

"Well.. this is interesting. Most interesting indeed." He smiled at them both. "Here, I do have one of the things the Humans call a sonogram, so you can see what I see with my third eye."

He kept the paste on, and pulled the sonogram machine over on its squeaky wheels. He turned it on and moved it around John's belly until they could see what he had.

"There you are." He said, a smile filled his face.

[ihadabadday]

John squeezed Sherlock's hand as they waited. As Cagnazzo worked. It was always... Not worrisome, but exciting? He wasn't sure. He blinked when the elderly demon's face lit up and then he went to get the sonogram machine.

"What is it?" He asked.

But then all words fell away when he saw the images on the machine.

Twins.

He let out a breath. "Oh my."

[seaweed_writes]

Sherlock's eyes went wide. There were... two... they were tiny little forms on the sonogram. He could count individual little fingers and toes, though they couldn't have been any bigger than a grain of rice.

"Fuck..." He whispered under his breath "I.... fuck.." He was literally at a loss for words. Of course neither of them had been expecting this. A half-Demon having one child was enough of a miracle. And now to get pregnant a second time, and with TWINS.

Cagnozzo gave them a moment to take it all in before he gave the next pronouncement. "There is one boy and one girl." He said.

"Usually one twin is the larger and more dominant of the two, and it will tend to also be stronger and have less potential health issue because of the larger size. The girl, here.." He moved the sonogram to the second baby- they were both so small, maybe 4-5 inches long, but there was one that was clearly just a little bigger than the other.

"This is quite unprecedented." Canzzo continued. "I want you to start coming every 2 weeks instead of once a month. We have to be very very careful in monitoring them, especially the boy."

"Just so you know, it is normal for twins to be born at between 7-8 months. There is simply not enough room for them to come to full gestation. That doesn't necessarily mean that there will be any issues with them. But there could be, and if there is, we will be prepared. "

[ihadabadday]

Twins.

A boy and a girl. He swallowed and touched the side of his belly, where the paste wasn't. Twins... Hah!

"Mycroft and Mum are going to flip out." He told his mate with a grin.

TWINS!

He looked over to Cagnozzo again and nodded. "Of course. I would rather our children be healthy than anything else." He took the towel from the older demon and began to clean himself up. He sat up and lowered his shirt.

[seaweed_writes]

Sherlock was in a daze. It was like he was watching himself from a distance. He could see him and the healer talking, and hear the words, but they didn't really float to his brain and become actual sentences.

Twins...

Twins..

It was the only word going through his mind.

How would they fit twins into the little flat? They'd been making remodeling plans, but now... twins.. they would need a room to themselves, and maybe eventually separate rooms, there was just not space in 221B.

Twins.

Twice the nappy changes, and feedings and late night rocking to sleep and...


Twins.

[ihadabadday]

John got Sherlock back to the flat and sat him down on the couch. Instead of tea, he got his mate a glass of red wine mixed with a little blood. He sat next to the vampire on the couch and handed him the glass.

"Sherlock?" He asked carefully, "Are you okay?"

His mate seemed to be in a bit of shock.

He knew their little flat wouldn't fit their suddenly larger family. They might have to move. They would need to discuss it, and then with Mycroft.

[seaweed_writes]

He didn't even remember how he got back to the flat. Suddenly he was there, and he was being handed a glass. The oh so familiar smell of wine and blood drifted up to his nose, and that, along with John's soft, tentative voice, brought him back, at least a bit.

Sherlock blinked a couple of times, looked over at John, and took a sip of the wine. The blood gave it an acidic, tangy, coppery taste, and he took another sip, already starting to feel a tiny bit better.

"I... I'm sorry." He said, shaking his head and lowering his eyes. "I.. just.. I wasn't expecting twins. God, we have to tell M, and your mother.. and.. William.." His voice drifted off a bit at the end.

[ihadabadday]

He kissed Sherlock's head and put his hand on the vampire's leg. He squeezed comforting and then nodded.

"We will."

He then took out his phone and called his mother. He would then call Mycroft. And then they would tell William when they picked him up from school.

A girl and a boy.

One was amazing, two was a miracle. What did that make twins?

[seaweed_writes]

"Okay..." Sherlock was starting to feel a little better, but he was still slightly out of it. He sat on the couch, next to John, slowly sipping the wine and blood cocktail while John made the phone calls that he needed to.

What was William going to think? He had friends at the school he was in. If he moved, he might have to change schools, and that could be devastating to a 7 year old. He didn't want to uproot their son.

They would, in theory, have a little bit of time if they wanted to wait. The twins could stay in their bedroom while they were newborns, maybe up to about 3 months or maybe a bit more.

But would it be worse to uproot the family while they had two tiny babies, or nt wait and do it before they were born?

And where would they go? 221B had been Sherlock's home for decades now. He couldn't even think about living somewhere else.

[ihadabadday]

John made a face when his mother didn't answer. He left her a short voicemail, asking her to call him back, before hanging up. He took a breath and then dialed Mycroft.

He didn't often call Sherlock's sire, choosing to text the elder vampire more often.

The blonde leaned against Sherlock as he put the phone on speaker as it rang through.

[seaweed_writes]

Mycroft looked at the called ID. John Watson. It was very rare for them to speak on the phone, so it must have been something important. It was time for them to see the Demon healer. He figured that they knew the sex of the baby now.

He picked up the phone. "Yes, John?" He asked in a no nonsense tone. They didn't hate each other, there was a mutual respect between them and their relationship had slowly improved over time, but they weren't really friends,

[ihadabadday]

"Hello Mycroft. Sherlock is on speaker with me. We do have news on the gender of the babies." He said. It was not a slip of the tongue, he had said babies.

John glanced over to his mate and smiled at him. It would be okay. They had their small support network. His mother, Sherlock's sire, their friends.

He rubbed a hand over his belly, a smile on his face. "We're having a boy and a girl."

[seaweed_writes]

It was very unusual to make Mycroft sound surprised.

But that made Mycroft sound surprised.

"Oh." He said, in that tone, before adopting his regular, haughty, not amused tone that he usually spoke in.

"Congratulations are in order, then." He said. "I will email Sherlock a list of houses in the area where William can attend the same school and where a sufficient level of security can be arranged. He should expect it within the next 48 hours." He paused for a moment.

"I suspect that your mother knows. Not William, though. He isn't due to be picked up from school for another hour."