On A Winter's Eve
Disclaimer - Don't own them..just borrow them on occasion for some fun ^^
Summary - A case takes them away, but will it bring them together?
A/N - No beta & no real plan...not a great combo!
"Sherlock? Sherlock! Where are you going?" Watson called after him as he headed away from the crime scene along the highway and into the woods.
He didn't turn, he didn't respond, he just kept walking.
"I guess I'm going to have to go in after him.." She said, looking at Detective Bell who had a look on his face that suggested that he had already come to that conclusion on his own.
"Of course you do." He replied with a smirk. "Just don't go too far in there, we aren't sure yet what exactly is going on here and I'd really prefer not to have to worry about the two of you dying of exposure.." He stated, already turning away from her and looking down at the poor soul on the street.
He was walking too fast, she was not wearing the right footwear for a traipse through the woods. Even if it was a lot less grown up this time of year, the path was not exactly clear of obstacles. Finally, she caught up to him.
"Sherlock, what are you doing?" She asked, out of breath.
"I'd think that was rather obvious, Watson. I'm walking through the woods...as are you, by the looks of it. If, though, you meant to ask 'why are you walking through the woods?', then my answer would be the same." He rather enjoyed being difficult on occasion. On almost every occasion, actually; it suited him.
"Well, excuse me for not being able to keep up mentally right now, Sherlock. I'm having a hard enough time keeping up physically; this is not exactly an activity I would choose for such a cold winter's day." She was still struggling to keep pace with him; he noticed, and slowed down just enough to where she wouldn't actually notice.
"It's not winter yet, Watson, I'm surprised you would make such a calendric error. Tomorrow is the first day of winter; today is simply 'cold'." He could see her roll her eyes in his peripheral and smirked before continuing. "And, to answer your somewhat coherent question: I am walking through the woods in order to test a theory; I do not believe the woman on the street was murdered. At least not in the traditional sense."
"What does that even mean? 'Not in the traditional sense?'" She was getting frustrated. Her feet were practically numb, her hands were cold even gloved and inside her coat pockets, and she could see some rather serious looking clouds rolling in.
Sherlock stopped short, Watson didn't notice until she bumped into him, causing her to lose her already-precarious-balance. Instinctively, she reached out towards him for help, and instinctively, he caught her.
"Steady there, Watson." He said softly, still holding her arms lightly, her hands grasping at his coat sleeves. "Wouldn't want you to regret giving up practicing medicine, now would we?"
She released her grip, he kept his. "To answer your question, I believe she died of exposure. I'm fairly certain that she attempted to 'rough it' somewhere nearby and, for reasons still unknown, went a bit mad, stripped down to nothing, and took off for the highway." Releasing her arms, he turned to scan the area.
"That makes sense, I guess. Though, why anyone would take off even one layer of clothing in this weather is beyond me." Watson stated as she began scanning the horizon for signs of activity.
"Well, you know, Watson, it is a scientifically proven fact that if two people are stranded in the cold," he turned to face her, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, "in order to conserve heat, it is best for them to remove their clothing and huddle closely together. Heat reflecting heat." Her cheeks were flushing, she hoped he assumed it was due to the cold.
"Do you see that? Right up ahead...there seems to be a clearing around that rock out-cropping. Come along, Watson." And off he went, leaving Watson to, once again, stumble-walk in his wake; next time Bell called for them to go 'out of the city a bit', she was bringing hiking boots.
As Watson continued after him, Sherlock was nearing the opening of the clearing. Ahead of him loomed a rock wall that was roughly two stories high. Near the bottom was an opening large enough to offer shelter from the elements; it was the perfect spot.
"This is it, Watson!" Sherlock said excitedly as he closed the gap between the clearing and the opening of the cave.
"Wow, this is incredible." Momentarily forgetting the cold, Watson walked over to where Sherlock was standing outside the cave entrance. They stood there, side by side, admiring the natural escape.
"Look, just over there, do you see that?" Sherlock was pointing just inside the cave to a small pile of sticks.
They approached the cave entrance slowly, even though it was still day time, the soft winter light mixed with the impenetrable darkness of the cave's depths made them both a little nervous. Once they crossed the rocky threshold, into the cave, they saw the makings of a simple camp: a pile of sticks, a threadbare blanket, and, just as Sherlock had predicted, a pile of clothing.
"This is so bizarre." Watson stated simply.
"I must agree, Watson."
Sherlock started toward the back of the cave as Watson bent down to get a closer look at the clothes.
"We should probably call Detective Bell, he'll be interested to see this…" Watson stood and was about to walk outside to make the call when the sky opened up and a nasty mix of snow, sleet, and rain began to pour.
"Well this isn't good.." She stated as she stepped backwards further into the cave to escape the windblown rain. Taking out her phone, she went to type in Bell's number, only to see that she had zero cell reception.
"This really isn't good. Sherlock?" She called out; he'd been quiet for much longer than normal.
"I've just been to the back of the cave; there's no other way out and no other signs of human disturbance." Sherlock said as he walked toward Watson.
"Well this isn't good." He stated, standing next to Watson, looking out at the nastiness of the weather beyond the cave.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Watson replied, rolling her eyes.
"No need for the formality, Watson." She knew he was joking; she didn't find it that funny.
"Well, I guess we should just make a run for it." She stated with a resigned sigh.
"I'm not going out in that." Sherlock said shortly, pointing out at the quickly accumulating snow and ice.
"What do you propose we do then, Sherlock? We can't stay here...it's getting dark!" She couldn't believe he was being difficult about this, it was freezing out and they knew at least one person had already died near here due to the cold; she was not going to be next.
"The impending darkness is exactly why we must stay here, Watson. It would be most idiotic to presume that we could make it all the way back to the vehicle in this weather; you were barely capable of traversing the terrain when it was dry." As he spoke, he turned and walked to the area with the firewood, leaving Watson looking rather annoyed, where she was.
"Fine. But we can't use any of this stuff that's been left behind; it's evidence." She joined Sherlock, who was now sitting on a large rock near the makeshift camp.
"Quite right you are, Watson. I suppose we will just have to survive the night the old fashioned way." He said, stretching out his legs in front of him and leaning back, with his arms outstretched on the rock behind him.
"...and 'the old fashioned way' would be, what?" She almost didn't want to know the answer.
"Body heat, Watson. Were you not paying attention earlier? Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if you might be the 'Captain' now...'Captain Oblivious'." He snorted a bit at his own joke, not noticing the draining of color from Watson's face that was quickly replaced with a deep blush creeping across her cheeks.
"Body heat. You can't be serious, Sherlock. You want us to…" She couldn't bring herself to finish the question, or look at anything other than her feet.
"What was that? Oh, you thought I meant..?" He chuckled lightly and scooted towards her so that they were just barely touching. "While I don't doubt the science of my earlier statement in the slightest, I do not think it will be necessary for us to shed any layers tonight, Watson."
"Oh." Was all she could manage at the moment; she wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed. Relieved, she decided.
"Come on then, Watson, don't be shy! We'll need to get closer than this if you wish to wake in the morning." He extended his arm towards her, she scooted to the right and he grasped her shoulder, pulling her into his side.
They sat in silence for a while, watching the last of the light disappear into the wintry sky. Sherlock still had his arm draped over her shoulder and his feet were tapping an unfollowable beat.
"Sleepy yet?" He asked quietly; he had heard her breathing start to do that thing where it evens out a bit right before one goes to sleep.
"A bit but this rock isn't really helping much." She said, shifting her weight from side to side, trying to get comfortable.
"Here," he said as he pulled off his coat and spread it out behind them, "laying on this might not be ideal but it will mask the scent of cave a bit." He laid pack, feet still dangling off the edge of the rock, and motioned for her to join him.
"Won't you be cold without your coat?" She asked, concerned, as she sleepily laid back next to him.
"How could I be cold with you lying next to me, Watson?" He answered, shifting slightly so that his head was resting lightly on the top of hers.
She was too tired to respond, the warmth of Sherlock next to her was much more soothing than she would have ever imagined. As she drifted off to sleep, she unconsciously curled closer into his side; Sherlock smiled, pulling her closer so that her head rested gently on his chest.
While the rock was not anything Sherlock would ever call "comfortable", the company wasn't bad. Shifting positions every few hours, Watson barely waking, in order to keep their limbs from freezing and in order to make the most of their shared warmth, they persevered. Daylight was just peeking over the horizon when Sherlock felt Watson begin to stir.
"Good morning, Watson," he said quietly, not wanting to disrupt the peace of the still morning, "it's winter now."
-fin