"Oh John, here's your mail before I forget it," Mrs. Hudson smiled fondly. "You've got a letter, dear. All the way from America!"
"What's that?" John Watson asked, glancing up from his newspaper with interest while Sherlock continued to sulk like a three-year-old denied his afternoon sweet.
"A letter from America, dear. Maine, I believe," Mrs. Hudson repeated, passing the envelope to the doctor before smiling fondly at Sherlock. "No case today, love?"
"Not a single one all bloody week," Sherlock groused, glancing over his shoulder to momentarily consider his landlady.
"Manners, Sherlock," Mrs. Hudson chided sweetly before exiting the flat.
"Hmm," John hummed in amusement as he read the mystery letter.
"What?" Sherlock snapped, so desperate for any form of stimulation that he was even willing to hear what mundane event had occurred in his flat mate's life.
"My Uncle Charlie's written."
"Yes, yes, married an American and has not returned to England ever since," Sherlock moaned. "I've heard it before, the uncle who should have been there when your father was spiraling out of control after your mother's death, leaving you and Harriet to make your way in the world and driving poor Harry to drink and you to aspirations of greatness."
"Okay, not exactly our family story, but anyways…" John spoke through gritted teeth. "My uncle has a daughter who is apparently a university student and she's studying abroad here in London this semester."
"Here? Why? To 'reconnect with long lost family'?" Sherlock asked sardonically.
"Well that's not what he actually wrote, but I'd imagine so. And why not? Nicole's only ever known her mum's side of the family. Not like she's ever had the chance to visit and get to know Harry or I," John added in a murmur. "I've never traveled to America and they never came to visit after dad died."
"Please tell me that you're not about to wax sentimental," Sherlock groaned, his head flopping back onto the couch, dreading what he knew was likely to come.
"I'm not waxing anything. I just think it'll be nice to meet some more of my family. And she's university, Sherlock. Probably not too 'boring' or 'ordinary'."
"I don't care," Sherlock groaned.
"Well since you don't care either way, I'll definitely write Nicole and tell her to come visit," John smiled, opening his laptop and pulling out his email account.
"Wait, what?"
"Uncle Charlie put her email address in the letter, told me to write her if I wanted. You don't care, remember?" John chuckled. Sherlock scowled and grumbled something under his breath before going into his mind palace and deleting what John had just told him. A cousin from America? Good to know about John, but why should he care about the girl? It's not as though she would have anything whatsoever to do with him and the work.
