All Together Now

Moriarty's was closed up tight for a special evening just for The Family. For one night a year, no matter what, the lines drawn in the sand were erased. Black and white were grayed out. Murder and mayhem were set aside for mummy time. Mary's time in fact.

"Oh god, Mum's going to hate my gift," Spencer whispered to his older sister. "She can have anything she wants. What the bloody hell am I supposed to get her?"

It was cold on the sidewalk as Spencer leaned closer to his shorter sister.

"Moron, you are her damn gift. Just you showing up is going to be enough to have her gushing for like, a month," Finch said, pushing the door open. "Let's get in, it's freezing here."

"Oh yeah? Is your boyfriend coming?" Spencer snickered, pushing up his glasses.

"Baby slut is here!" Brandon's voice called out when the door opened.

"Don't call her that," Mary said but she was laughing. Brandon tsked at her.

"My sperm-donor calls you the slut, that makes her the baby slut. You know," Brandon purred, leaning closer to Mary from his place behind the bar, pushing a gin and tonic her way, "he told me the most interesting story about a two-for-one deal you participated in."

"Oh good Lord, stop talking to him," Mary laughed. Instead of the Moriarty wardrobe of black-on-black, she was in a light floral frock with an oversized sweater. She looked like an entirely different person. Warm and approachable. "You're rotten to the bone."

Freya ran up and tugged the braid in Brandon's hair.

"You naughty child!" she cackled. "That's my slag to harass. Don't make me put you over my knee. You're not too big for me to spank!" Freya planted a wet kiss on Mary's cheek.

Vance sat awkwardly at one of the tables, face pink.

"I dunno, he's a tall one. How you ever managed to push it out is beyond me," Mary said, wrapping an arm around Freya's thin waist. She kissed her on the nose.

"Ew, Bran, parents don't have sex and we leave it that way," Finch scolded, ducking behind the bar to give him a hug. He grinned.

"You don't have sex either, we leaving that alone as well?" he rumbled and she smacked him on the head.

"Ew, ew, ew, Mum!" Spencer said, covering his ears. "Make them stop!"

"Women have special powers, Brandon," Freya said, making a claw of her hand. "I gave you life, I can take it away."

Vance made a hissing noise through his nose. Sebastian laughed.

"She doesn't mean it," the older man said.

"She sort of means it," Jack laughed. "Bring me a pint, brat! And one for our little thief as well."

"Eh, he bloodied my lip, he can get his own beer. But for tall, gorgeous and ginger, anything," Brandon replied with a wink at Jack. Mary giggled,

"Look at you pullin' blokes a third your age," she said, casting a glance at Jack. Finch ended up pulling the pints for Jack, Seb and Vance as Brandon was apparently not through flirting with her mother. She set the glasses on the table, bending to peck a kiss to her Papa's head.

Seb reached up a hand to cup Finch's cheek.

"Thank you, love," he murmured softly.

"All the babies," Mary sighed happily, hugging Spencer. "I'm so glad you could make it, darling, I've missed you."

Spencer awkwardly hugged his mother back, but wound up squeezing her tighter. He loved his dads. Both of them, but there was nothing like a mother's hug. "I've just been at Baker Street, Mum," he whined. "You could come see me."

"Yes, but darling, every time I do I manage to see more of your fathers than I do you," Mary sighed, stroking a hand over his back. "You've been busy with school. Have you told your father's about the force?"

Spencer ducked, looking around the bar.

"No, don't tell 'em," he mumbled. "Father would have a fit. He thinks the Yard is full of idiots."

"That's why they need people like you, my little genius," Mary said, grinning at him. "I like your rebellious streak. I'm going to pretend you get that from me." She watched Finch come back around the bar, Brandon looking at her with a wicked grin.

"Oh God, just suck her face off already, why don't you, Brandon?" Spencer snapped. "Here's your gift, Mum." He said, shoving a small box into Mary's hands and headed off to sulk at a table by himself. Mary raised her eyebrows at Freya knowingly.

"Why don't I just?" Brandon rumbled, trapping Finch against the bar with his hands on either side of her. "Come in the back and chop veg with me."

"Is that how you get your boyfriends?" Finch asked, eyes wide. "What a stupid pick up line."

"Come on," Brandon whined, arching towards her. "You're the best at peeling garlic." He ducked his head down close. "Pleeeeeease."

"I'm not the best at peeling garlic, you're just the worst at it."

Sherlock cleared his throat.

"Are we late or early?" he said, velvety deep voice just the same as always.

"I think that's going to depend on which set of children you ask," Mary replied, grinning at the sound of his voice. She wriggled off her bar stool, in one hand the little package that Spencer had given her and her cane gripped firmly in the other. She reached over to give him a hug, smiling at John who was close behind.

Brandon was pulling Finch into the kitchen, giggling like a madman.

Vance's face was quickly turning purple.

Sherlock kissed Mary softly on the cheek.

"Well there are somehow four children, instead of the usual three? Unless Molly's adopted..." Sherlock said, raising a brow.

"I might have adopted one," Mary said, deciding to unwrap her gift from her son in an attempt to keep her face blank from Sherlock. "He's awfully sweet and you know how much I love unwashed miscreants."

"You?" Sherlock said, a lilt of amusement raising as Vance's chair practically fell over as he darted into the backroom. "Oho, I see."

"Yeah, I don't think he was going to leave us alone," Mary sighed, plucking at the pretty paper. "Came home one night and he'd camped out on the sofa, protecting her. Very odd. So I made him shoot his friend and now he lives next door." She lifted the beautiful locket out of the box. "Oh, Spencer, darling, it's beautiful!"

Spencer looked up hopefully at his mother. He edged off the tall stool.

"Hi, Dad," he said to John. "Hello, Father."

Sherlock ruffled his curls.

Mary flipped the locket open to look at the little pictures inside. Her mother's face, hers and her daughter. "Oh, it's beautiful. Almost perfect." She stepped up on tip toes to kiss his cheek. "I just need to add in a picture of you."

"Nu-uh," Spencer said. "It's for you. And Finch. And-..." He looked over towards the noises come from the back room. "Finch," he said, walking off.

Sherlock laughed softly.

"I think what he was trying to say is that it is for the women of the family," Sherlock said.