Author's Note: We watched GMD a few days ago, and this random idea came about.

Disclaimer: I do not own Basil, Dr. Dawson, or anything pertaining to The Great Mouse Detective or Sherlock Holmes.

A sudden sneeze rang out at, or, should I say, under 221b Baker Street, startling a pigeon outside, but not doing much else. After all, one wouldn't expect a mouse's sneeze to be audible to the humans walking down the street.

Under 221b, in a separate, and much smaller, flat, a certain tan mouse glared at his nose in annoyance. He then straightened his violin in it's stand, which he had accidentally knocked askew.

Across the room, an older, lighter tan mouse watched the detective curiously.

The first mouse sneezed again.

"Well," the second mouse concluded as he offered the other mouse a tissue. "You aren't sick..."

The first mouse accepted the tissue, but looked quizzically at the second. "Oh," he sniffed almost sarcastically, "that's good to know... But it doesn't quite explain why I'm suddenly sneezing like Toby when he gets wet, Dawson."

Dawson blinked, knowing very well what the mouse meant. "Are you, perhaps, allergic to anything, Basil?"

Basil shook his head firmly. "No, I don't believe so. I've never had any allerg-" his sentence paused as he sneezed again. "allergies."

Dr. Dawson tilted his head. "Are you sure?"

Basil sneezed yet again. "Yes."

"Perhaps it's either something newly introduced or something you've recently developed?"

Basil groaned. "Perhaps, though I do hope it isn't the latter..."

Dawson began speculating. "Has Mrs. Judson changed any of the plants?"

"No. She says that they've gotten too used to the 'unusual' environment in here and that she doesn't think that they'd survive elsewhere..."

"Have you gotten any new dust or dirt specimens recently?"

"Erm... Not since the one that fell open in the hallway..." he chuckled. "That went well, didn't it?"

"Have you been muffling your aiming practice with the throw pillows again?"

Basil laughed. "Since the last lecture I got from Mrs. Judson for doing that? No."

Dawson glanced up at the ceiling. "Has there been anything strange going on up there that you've noticed?"

"No. And I would have noticed."

Dawson shook his head. "Is there anything relatively new that could be an allergen?"

Basil glanced about the room, his attentive, though irritated, eyes scanning the details. Eventually, his gaze stopped over the mantle.

Slowly, he stood and walked over. Once there, he picked up a small, silver bell, which emitted a dull ding as he turned it over in his paws. Basil delicately reached into the bell, pulling out a long, coarse, cream-colored hair that was wrapped around the clapper.

He sneezed.

Dawson caught the hair, which had flown from Basil's paw as he sneezed. He looked at it, then back to the bell in Basil's paws. Considering where the bell was from, an answer formed in his mind.

"Why, Basil! I do believe that you're allergic to cats!"

Basil looked curiously at Dawson, then at the hair. "Well, I suppose that's better than some things, I don't normally spend much time around cats." he paused before continuing. "Now, do you suppose we might remove that from the general vicinity?"

Unbeknownst to the two mice, there was another conversation going on above them.

A tall, thin man with a hawklike nose walked into the flat, one hand brushing short, creamy-brown hairs from his tweed coat and onto the floor outside the door.

"There you are, Holmes." greeted another man, Dr. John Watson. "How did things go?"

"Terribly." Holmes replied flatly. "Not only did I loose sight of her, but I had a rather interesting encounter with a frightened cat."

"At least it was a Siamese and not a Persian..." the detective mused as he sat down. "Cats are, indeed, amazing creatures in their own right... Stealthy, swift, inquisitive... But I'd prefer that they kept their fur to themselves..."

Notes: Well, yes... this is my first time writing Basil or Sherlock... heh... Sorry if they're a bit OOC.
I remember reading somewhere that Holmes was allergic to cats, and I thought "Hey, what if Basil was?"

Now please, no flames, they will only be used to bake cookies.