The Third Half

by Rusty Tater Tot

First was Mycroft. He was obviously important. After all, he was basically the British Government! Next came Sherlock. Internet phenomenon with the funny hat. World's only consulting detective. The only man on the planet who could be such a dick all the time and get away with it. Between the two of them, it was easy to forget about little Alaya, the youngest of the Holmes.

1. Chapter 1

Between Mycroft running the government and Sherlock being the internet phenomenon with the funny hat, not too many people noticed the third Holmes child, little Alaya (or Allie, as she preferred to be called). And who could really blame them?

The Holmes brothers' exploits were widely famed, and Allie was, as her brothers made sure she knew, nothing special. She was "a goldfish" to her dear brothers. Mycroft, especially. Sherlock seemed to sense her inner genius, and he was often very kind to her, but as he explained when the two were slightly younger, "Us boys have to stick together." He and Mycroft would then disappear for hours on end, writing up crossword puzzles and playing chess.

The sad truth about Alaya was that she never got the opportunity to develop her talents. They were there, but they were uncharted territory to her. Other people often sensed this, and she was well-liked for it, but in the Holmes' family, well-liked meant nothing. Perfection was everything to those Allie loved best, and she was far from it. It was not surprising to Allie when her older brothers left her for those with more refined minds.

As a result of such a brilliant mind with such lack of knowledge on just how to use it, Allie often found herself getting into trouble. She was kicked out of high-school at the age of fourteen, and finished her education online.

She graduated college at the age of twenty, and promptly moved away afterwards. She kept her distance from the siblings who had drawn her away from others during childhood. Obviously they were fine with this, as they never sought her out.

Alaya might have stayed away from them, but she still watched them from afar. She was watching when John moved into 221B Baker Street with her ex-best friend, and she knew of all the mysteries they had together. As emotionally damaged as she was, she always found it in her to laugh when she observed how reverently John treated Sherlock.

She was there when Sherlock jumped from the building, and she was at his funeral, watching from a distance. She didn't have the nerve to approach John. Not because she knew Sherlock was still alive and would have a problem lying about it. Allie considered herself a very good actress.

No, Allie was scared to talk to John because she was afraid she would go up to her best friend's new best friend and say to him, "Hi, John. I'm Alaya - Sherlock's sister and best friend," and he would look at her and squint and say, "Sorry, who?"

Because the thing that Allie was scared of, more than anything in the world, was that her dear, not-quite brother had forgotten that she, the annoying little sister, had ever existed.

And that's where our story begins.