Joanlock

Chapter 1

"Sherlock?" Joan prodded the man lying slumped at the kitchen table, seemingly fast asleep. He mumbled in response, before lifting his head to glance at his companion. "I believe I'm sick again, Watson." He sighed as best he could with a blocked nose, as if the idea of having a cold was too mundane to contemplate.

"I can get you some of that Chinese herbal tea I gave you last time?" Joan offered, giving her best doctor smile. The detective nodded eagerly, hoping that by the time the tea began working its 'magic', he would be able to consult the NYPD on a new case.

Smirking, Joan shook her head as if she could almost track his exact thoughts "You're not getting that tea if you're just going to be running around the streets to get sick all over again."

Sherlock attempted a meek glare "Watson, you and I both know that I would rather get sick all over again than suffer through boredom." The detective's lips curled around the word with distaste.

Joan folded her arms stubbornly "Fine, but I'm pretty sure Captain Gregson won't want you consulting when you could be infecting his whole team."

Knowing that Gregson disliked it when Sherlock consulted sick, he reluctantly accepted defeat and resigned himself to a day in his bed - the location being insisted upon by Watson.

"So Doctor Watson, will you be taking me to bed?" Sherlock raised his eyebrows suggestively, in time to see Watson's eyes widen in surprise and a gentle flush of red to colour her cheeks.

"I could poison your tea, you know." She replied stiffly.

Sherlock just grinned "Oh don't worry Watson, I was just teasing. Nice to know that I can get a satisfactory response from you, though."

Watson glared at him "I'll be back in an hour with that tea. So go to bed."

"Oh don't take too long Watson, I'd hate for your efforts to be wasted on my sudden death from boredom!" He shouted behind her.

While Watson was gone, Sherlock had time to think. Too much time in fact. Usually, he loved to allow his thoughts to wander, but today they lingered far too long on Watson's reaction to his innuendo.

He thought his suggestive comment would just get him a glare and perhaps a reluctant smile out of his companion. He had never seen Watson blush at anything before, even when he pried about her past lovers. Sherlock Holmes was not usually surprised - which was the reason he provided for himself as he begun to linger on the subject before he heard the front door downstairs being shut.

Watson nudged his door open with her foot and brought in a tray of tea. He smiled gratefully and took the tray. Watson turned to leave and before he could stop himself "Watson, would you uhm, stay with me for a while?"

Unsuccessfully hiding her surprise, Watson agreed and then insisted on asking him mundane medical questions to make sure he was okay. Sherlock grinned as an idea suddenly flashed in his mind. He could explain Watson's entire reaction from earlier if he could just check her pulse. How he was going to do that without raising Joan's suspicion he had no idea.

Sherlock was not the only one who had been running through that moment in the kitchen though. Through her entire tea errand, Watson had been wondering what the hell had just happened. First of all, Sherlock had made a sexual suggestion. He had never done that before, not even when they had first met in an attempt to scare her off. It wasn't the blush that had bothered her - not all that much anyway. It was that she had felt her pulse increase slightly at the thought.

"Something bothering you, Watson?" Sherlock enquired innocently, although he could guess what she was thinking about. Before she could answer, he thrust his cup at her, now drained of tea. When Watson reached for the cup, Sherlock took her pulse.

Elevated.

His amused grin faded when Watson leaned into and whispered "Funny, your pulse is elevated. Something bothering you, Sherlock?"