The fire roared in the grate of 221B as Sherlock examined the latest in a long line of experiments. John sat in his armchair reading his favourite novel for the umpteenth time. The wind was howling outside the windows but neither man cared. They had just wrapped up yet another case which Lestrade was having trouble with (it had been the milkman), and they were happy to relax with no interruptions.
Mrs Hudson had heard the boys return and she secretly was very thankful. As much as she tried to deny that she was anything more than a landlady, she cared deeply about Sherlock and John. She worried about all the bad people the chased and wished that they would take on fewer cases every now and then to give them time to recover and relax. She had decided to leave them alone for a while before asking how they had gotten on.
There was a knock on the door of the flat and John let Mrs Hudson in after which he gladly accepted the cake she had made for them.
"Sherlock come on and sit down for a bit…the experiment will keep I'm sure and look Mrs Hudson has made us a cake too…" John said to the detective who had not registered their guest.
"Oh hello Mrs Hudson…awful weather isn't it" he offered before being forced by the army officer to sit down on the sofa with a cup of tea in his hand.
"Sherlock dear you look like you haven't slept in a week and I'll bet you haven't eaten either. I have half a mind to go down to that Lestrade and tell him to back off for a while before you kill yourself!"
Sherlock was slightly taken aback by this offer. When did people start to care about me? he wondered to himself. He made a mental note to buy something nice for her the next time was out. She was also so nice to him…like a second mother if he thought about it.
After two hours of tea drinking and chatting about relatively normal topics Mrs Hudson excused herself and the left the boys to it. She slipped back into her apartment and slept well that night. Her boys were safe and well, at least for now, and she vowed to herself that she would be there until the cases ran out.