Sherlock: The Next Generation

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It wasn’t until two years later that Hamish and Martin got a cousin. A baby girl to be precise. Arianna Charlotte Lestrade Holmes. By this time both twins were old enough to understand the concept of having another relative. Well, sort of.

Hamish could at least. By the age of two he spoke very well, almost all of his speech being coherent. And boy did he like to speak. There were a few mistakes here and there, mispronunciation and a bit of a lisp but nothing major. As John and Sherlock had guessed he would he developed very quickly. He walked before he should have, talked before he should have and was already beginning to read books with help. He also made deductions, albeit small childish ones. And he loved crimes. He loved going with Sherlock and John to help with cases.

Martin was quite the opposite. He had gone to a crime scene once, appearing to neither like nor dislike it. He just didn’t appear bothered. At all. It was rather confusing. He seemed to have the average development for a child. He walked reasonably well and could pick up various items. Play with them. He had also taken a flare to scribbling stuff on paper with whatever he could get his hands on that made a mark. Some form of drawing maybe. He also seemed to almost be able to read, listening attentively to all stories and following words on the page. He adored Sherlock playing the violin, which Hamish didn’t care about, and often began to hum the tunes as his daddy played. The thing was that was about the only time he made any noises. Martin never spoke. Never really had. Occasionally he would say the words papa and dada sometimes and that was it. He got about with gestures. John didn’t think it was because he couldn’t speak, more he didn’t want to. That was still worrying.

“The atom is made up of protons, neutrons and electrons,” Sherlock was reading to Hamish from a basic chemistry book. The book was propped against him knee and Hamish sat in his lap. The little boy looked at the diagrams with rapt attention, deep blue eyes taking in all he saw.

“Why do pwotons have plus on them?” Hamish questioned almost instantly, pointing to the red circles in the diagram.

“Why do the protons have a plus on them,” Sherlock corrected gently before answering the question. “Because the protons are positive.”

“Oh...” Understanding lit Hamish’s eyes. “Electwons are negative?”

“Yes, electrons are negative,” Sherlock nodded. Looking so proud. Glad to have a son that was taking after him in almost everything. Apart from musical talent. But that was a minor thing that he could share with Martin. He had all he wanted in the twins.

John watched the scene with a look of amusement from where he was reading the newspaper, drinking tea. Martin was sitting in a corner of the room with a sheet of paper in front of him. He was scribbling on it with the set of crayons he had got as a birthday present from Molly two months ago. John found his love from a childish form of art adorable. Sherlock preferred his flair for music. John wondered at what age Sherlock would have Martin playing on some kind of instrument (undoubtedly the violin first).

Shaking his head slightly with a snort John went back to reading. Enjoyed the peace. They were in between cases, nothing new had come up for over a week. Yet Sherlock had not complained. Was not bored. Now that he thought on it, Sherlock had not complained about boredom in the past two years. Since they had got the twins. It was yet another welcome blessing.