A/N: This one shot uses my OC Dev from one of my Sherlock Stories. This is based off a dream I had
I walked into the Holmes household to hear shouting and someone crying. Unfortunately, this was common. I ran up the stairs to see to Mr. Holmes using a key to open a door where no doubt his youngest son was hiding. I hurried to get to him first. When Mr. Holmes was angry his children paid the price. I spent as much time as I could at their house to protect the boys. "What are you holding? What are you hiding?" Mr. Holmes shouted at Sherlock.
"Mr. Holmes, that is enough," I said coming into the room as Sherlock tried to pull the bathroom door closed. His father yanked the door back open. I moved so I was standing between the pair. "If you lay a hand on him I'll teach you a whole new definition of pain. Leave," I said.
"You don't get to tell me how to treat my son!"
"Would you like me to call the police?" I asked calmly. That kind of scandal would ruin him. He left and I turned to Sherlock and bent down in front of him. "What is it, sweetie?"
The eight-year-old climbed into my lap as I leaned against the cabinets. "I want out. He scares me. Please don't leave me here. Take me home with you," he begged.
"You know that will be a messy and long process?"
"Just get me out," he said nodding. Thankfully Mycroft was already 18 and out.
"Of course, sweetie. Let's go pack you a bag." I picked him up and carried him to his room. I helped him pack and put his coat on. The poor kid still had tears running tears down his face. "Sherlock, I promise, I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe, to keep anyone from ever hurting you again." I started to leave the house holding Sherlock's hand.
"Where do you think you're going with my son?"
I turned to Mr. Holmes, pushings Sherlock behind me. "He's coming with me. You clearly don't know how to be a parent."
"William, come here," Mr. Holmes said.
"I want to be called Sherlock!" the eight-year-old said from behind me.
"Her house is so small, why would you want to stay with her?" Mr. Holmes asked.
"It may be smaller but I feel safe there," Sherlock said getting upset.
"Let her take him. He isn't happy with us dear," Mrs. Holmes said. He started to argue. "We should let our son be happy."
"He isn't her son. She doesn't know anything about being a parent!"
"He's as good as my son! As is Mycroft!" I said loudly. I couldn't have children of my own. I had been brutally attacked a few years ago and my attack had ripped out my womb. As far as I was concerned Sherlock and Mycroft were mine.
"We'll have our lawyer draw up the paperwork so you can take custody. His stuff will be shipped to you," Mrs. Holmes said.
"Thank you," I said leading Sherlock out of there. I took him and his dog to my small house country house just outside of town. Once inside I put him on my lap on the couch and Redbeard joined us. "Get some sleep, Sherlock. You've had quite the morning," I said kissing his head.
"Are you my mom now?" he asked looking up at me.
"Do you want me to be?" I asked looking at him, keeping my arms around him.
"Would I have to call you mom?"
"You can if you want, but you could just call me Dev or Devika if that makes you feel better or you're more comfortable with that," I said.
"I think I would like having a mother that cares about me," he replied.
I kissed his forehead, "Get some sleep sweetie. When you wake I'll make you some lunch," I said setting a pillow in my lap and pulling the blanket off the back of the couch. He settled down in my lap and was very quickly asleep. Poor kid, his parents never tried to understand him, they just yelled. Mycroft had been kicked out when he was 17 because he tried to leave with his brother. I brought Mycroft into my house and spent even more time after that at the Holmes residence.
Many nights I spent the night Sherlock's room because he was so scared. He'd sleep beside me on the floor. I had to keep my promise to him, even if that meant kidnapping him and running. I would do it. He wasn't going to spend one more second in hell.
~A Few Days Later~
Court was in session to hand Sherlock over to me. I wore a suit and Sherlock was dressed in jeans, dress shirt, sweater, and dress shoes. Sherlock's father was making things difficult. "Mom, I'm scared. What if I have to go back and live with him? What if I can never see you again?"
I placed him in my lap, "Just breathe sweetie. I won't let you go back there. Even if we have to run, I promise you, you're never going back there." Just then his parents were brought in.
"I will get you back, son. You'll have everything you could ever want," his father called causing Sherlock to start to hyperventilate. The judge banged her gavel and started calling for order.
I placed my hands over Sherlock's ears to block his father's voice. I leaned in so my forehead was against his and my nose was touching his. Just breathe sweetie," I said taking deep breaths and letting my breath fan across his face. We kept eye contact with each other as he grabbed my wrists. "Everything will be okay baby, I promise. Just breathe," I said to him as the court fell silent.
"Very impressive Miss Parker, I haven't seen anyone be calmed that quickly before," the judge said.
"You good?" I asked Sherlock not paying attention to the judge at the moment. He nodded. Mycroft was then called to the stand. I stopped him on his way up by taking his hand, "I'm here for you to Mycroft."
"Thank you," he said before taking his seat. They questioned him about everything; what his parents had done, what I had done, if I had ever hurt him or his brother. After that Sherlock was called to the stand which nearly caused another panic attack. "Sherlock, sweetie, it's okay. Everything will be okay, I promise. No one can hurt you sweetie. I'll be right here with you, I won't leave you. I'll stay with you. Just tell the truth sweetie."
He nodded and looked at the judge, "Can she come up with me? It'll be easier to talk if she's right there," Sherlock asked.
"Your honor she can lead the witness that way. No," Mr. Holmes lawyer said.
"Oh let her, our boy is scared and she makes him feel safe. She taught him to tell the truth, always," Mrs. Holmes said.
"I'll allow it," the judge said and I went up with my boy and place him in my lap as I sat in the witness box. And the questions began.
"So William, how long have you known Dev?" Mr. Holmes' lawyer asked.
"For as long as I can remember and it's Sherlock."
"Has she ever hurt you? Frightened you?"
"No, she has-," he started but was cut off.
"Has she ever hurt your parents?"
Sherlock looked back at me and I rubbed his back. "No."
"Has she ever done anything that made you feel uncomfortable?" Mr. Holmes' lawyer wanted me painted as the bad guy.
"Never."
"Nothing further," Mr. Holmes lawyer said taking his seat.
My lawyer stood up and moved to us, "Hello Sherlock, I have a few questions for you if think you could answer a few more?" Sherlock nodded. "In the time you've known Miss Parker, how has she made you feel?"
"Safe, loved, accepted. I know I don't have to change for her; that I can talk to her about anything. With her, I feel protected."
"How does she protect you?"
"She places herself in between me and others. She won't let anyone hurt me. She never raises her voice to me always comes down to my level to talk to me."
"It sounds like she takes very good care of you. If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to go with her and not stay with your parents?"
"My father scares me and he hurts me. He hurts my mother too. She never does anything to protect me, she never tried to protect my brother either. Mom, Dev always did that. He even hit her a few times, but he had been aiming for me. He's broken her ribs and once her jaw. She always makes sure that he hits her before she hits him. Once my father came into my room late at and," Sherlock started but choked.
"It's okay baby. He'll never do that again," I said to him. He started to hyperventilate again and I turned him to face me. Just breathe baby." I clipped the microphone to my front and put my hands on Sherlock's face in a way that blocked his view of everything but me. "Just tell me, just me. Use your mind palace sweetie. Go to our living room. YOu're sitting on my lap on the sofa, Redbeard has his head in your lap."
"I don't want to do this," Sherlock whimpered leaning into me.
"Your honor, she could be leading the witness. How do we know she hasn't coached him to do this?" Mr. Holmes' lawyer asked.
"Mr. Walkins, I have no clue what your clients did to this boy but I think it's quite clear he's afraid of you. I'll let Miss Parker stay with him."
"Just tell me sweetie. I'm right here, he won't hurt you." Sherlock nodded. I hated pushing him to answer that question. He still had nightmares and it happened three years ago. "He came into your room. What happened after that?" I asked.
"He said I was going to pay for not listening to him earlier that day and removed his belt. I had no clue what he was going to do, but I knew it would hurt." He was sobbing by now.
"Everything will be okay sweetie. He'll never scare you like that again and he'll never hurt you again. What happened after he removed his belt?" I asked softly.
"You, mom flew out from under the bed and pushed him out of the room. You told him to stay away from me. You stayed with me the rest of the night." He looked at me and I could still see the fear from that night in his eyes. "Am I done now? I don't want to answer any more questions."
"I have no more questions. You're a very brave young man for telling us that Sherlock. Nothing further your honor," my lawyer said.
"I call Devika Parker to the stand," Mr. Holmes' lawyer said. "Please have William step down."
"After what I had to just ask him to relive there is no way in hell I'm letting my boy go. If you want to question me he stays up here with me." I held Sherlock even closer to me as he continued to sob. "I won't let go of you baby," I whispered in his ear. He clung to me as he sobbed. "Just breathe Sherlock. I won't put you down."
"I don't feel good mom," Sherlock whimpered.
"Do you think you're going to be sick? I asked rubbing his back. He nodded and I handed him a plastic bag. He took it and held it in front of him. "Your honor, could we continue this tomorrow? My boy has had enough for today." Just then Sherlock threw up in the bag. I rubbed his back and kept my arm around him.
"We'll reconvene tomorrow at ten am, the judge said slamming her gavel down. After that, I took Sherlock home. I took him to the bathroom to draw him a hot bath.
"Please don't let go of me, mom. Don't leave."
"I'm never going to leave you, sweetie. A hot bath might make you feel better. I'll stay right here," I said pulling his sweater and shoes off.
"I won't have to go on the stand again will I?" he asked as I finished helping him out of his clothes.
"I don't know baby, but I'll be right there with you." I helped him into the tub and washed him up. Most of the time, though he leaned into my leg as I sat on the edge of the tub. After I pulled him out of the tub and wrapped him in a towel he asked, "Can I sleep with you tonight mom?"
"Of course sweetie. Go put some PJs on and I'll get changed as well and make us some soup," I replied kissing his forehead. The next day court picked up where it had left off; with Sherlock in my lap. That was where he felt safe, Mr. Holmes' lawyer didn't like it but he had to go with the judge.
"Miss Parker, why did you spend the night in William's room three years ago?" Mr. Holmes' lawyer asked.
"Mr. Holmes had told Sherlock he needed to bring home his report card with all As. Unfortunately, it was all Ds and Fs, so he tried to make it read As and Bs to avoid his father's wrath. His father caught him making the alterations, I had been just down the hall at the time so I stopped the beating from happening at that moment. I knew his father would try again once he thought I was gone so I left out the front door and climbed through Mycroft's window. I hid under Sherlock's bed."
"Why use Mycroft's window?"
"He would let me in and knew I wouldn't let anything happen to his brother or him for letting me in. He had heard his father yelling at SHerlock that afternoon. I had been helping Mycroft get ready for a test."
"Did you ever have to do that with Mycroft, sneak back in?"
"No, in his father's word's Mycroft was the good child," I replied.
"Is William a trouble maker? A handful?" Mr. Holmes' lawyer asked.
"Not at all. He may not always understand why you're telling him to do or not to do something, but if you take ten minutes to explain it then he'll get it. Why someone wouldn't take the time to explain something to their kids I don't know."
"What did you think Mr. Holmes was going to do when he came into William's room and removed his belt?"
"I feared he would either belt his son or assault him. I wasn't going to let either happen."
"How do you know he wasn't just checking on him?" Mr. Holmes' lawyer asked.
"You didn't see the look on his face. He meant harm."
"You were attacked about five years ago and can no longer have children of your own."
"Is there a question in there somewhere?" I asked.
"Are you just trying to get custody of William so you can have a kid of your own? He does call you mom."
"He calls me that by choice. I don't make him call me anything and he begged me to get him out of there and I couldn't let stay there a second longer. Why send him to welfare when I can take care of him and he wants to go with me?" The questions went on forever. Sherlock and Mycroft were both called back up to the stand.
Mrs. Holmes was all for giving me custody and wanted her sons to be safe and happy. She freely admitted that she couldn't protect her kids from her husband. She also told the judge that her husband sometimes beat the shit out of me.
The judge finally reached a point where she said, "I've heard enough. Devika Parker gets custody of both boys and a restraining order will be issued to her and the Holmes boys against their father. Devika if you would bring Sherlock and Mycroft to my chambers." I picked Sherlock up and followed the judge to her chambers. Mycroft was right behind me.
"Are you my mom now?" Sherlock asked.dg
"Yes, baby. You get to stay with me, forever if you want. You don't have to see your father again."
The judge sat down behind her desk after pulling off her robe and wig. "If Mycroft will accept, I have the papers so you can adopt him too."
"That's up to you Mycroft," I said looking at him.
"It would at least keep them away from me should something happen to me, yes. I would like having a parent that cares about me," Mycroft finished.
He and I signed the paperwork for him, now it was Sherlock's turn. "Do you want to change your last name to match hers?" the judge asked Sherlock. Sherlock looked back at me.
"It's your decision. You can keep your last name or take mine. You don't have to decide today. It's completely up to you."
"I'd like to think about it," Sherlock said.
"All right Miss Parker, just sign here and he's your son. Take good care of him."
"I will your honor. I'll do whatever it takes to keep him safe. Let's go home Sherlock," I said kissing his cheek. Both boys were mine. I had managed to protect them both and get them both out. I managed to give them someone that cared someone that loved them. I had two sons and I been told I would never have kids, I had two amazing boys.