Title: Figurative Nonalignment
Author: BlackPepper3694
Summary: Prequel to Forbearance. 'It's been two years since Sherlock's suicide when John first hears about a new police officer in Lestrade's division. It's another eight weeks before he actually meets her at the behest of Lestrade. Just who is this oriental woman with the dark hair and blue eyes, and why does she intrigue him so much?'
A/N: John is twenty-eight in this fic and Sherlock is twenty-four - or would be, if he was actually in it, instead of dismantling Moriarty's network. So everything happened about four or six years earlier than it did in the canon Just before you start yelling at me for pairing these two together because of age differences. So now you can't complain because I've told you the ages, so it technically would be your fault for not reading this…. Muhahahaha. Don't really know why I just laughed evilly, but whatever. Enjoy!
BP
Chapter 1: Help
It was at a pub night that still continued between he and Lestrade after Sherlock's suicide just over two years ago that John first heard about a new recruit in Lestrade's unit. It was a female police officer that seemed to speed through her cases, always putting the right people behind bars, and she had only been there for three months. He could easily hear the respect and partial admiration Lestrade had for her. He never referred to her by name throughout the whole conversation, and sounded even protective of her. He laughingly told John about her dislike for Donovan and Anderson, and her spiteful comments towards their on-off relationship. John didn't say anything on the night, but he did find himself unwillingly interested about this mysterious woman. Lestrade, on his part, didn't say anything about the lingering sorrow in John, or the feelings that he saw in his new recruit.
She was never mentioned again until seven weeks later. Lestrade's tongue had been unusually loose that evening, and for some reason, John had never realised until a few months afterward. He sighed. John noticed immediately, transferring his attention from their surroundings to Greg instantly.
"What's wrong?" He frowned.
"It's just the new recruit, you know, the one I told you about a few weeks back." John nodded, wondering where this was going. "You know how we deal with homicide? Have you ever seen anyone in the police force that didn't at least cringe when they first saw the scene, no matter how long they've been there?" John frowned, shaking his head.
"Can't say I have. There's always at least a slight hesitation when they deal with it. What has this got to do with her?" Greg drew a hand through his hair, frustrated and worried.
"She doesn't." John's eyebrows raised disbelievingly. He sighed again. "I mean it. She has no reaction whatsoever - she just takes in the scene and gets to work. There's nothing in her face at all. In her eyes, even. They're just…" He fumbled for the right word. "Dead. Indifferent, cold."
"Jesus." John uttered softly. "What do you think you're dealing with here?" At the question, Greg just looked confused. "Are you going to keep her on the force, despite her obvious lack of compassion?" Greg shook his head.
"No, I don't think it's like that. It's more… it's more like she's desensitised to it, used to it somehow. She's perfectly compassionate when she breaks the news to relatives and friends, very gentle. It's just when she's at a crime scene. We know she hasn't got a personality disorder of any kind, so that is ruled out. She acts normal as soon as she's finished the case." They both went silent for a moment, simply thinking.
"So what do you want to do?" Greg looked sheepish.
"Well, I was wondering if you would see her. I don't trust a trained psychoanalyst because they might just send her off somewhere. I need her in the force. She's the best on my team." He smiled crookedly. "Not to mention she keeps me entertained." At John's raised eyebrow, he blushed and hurried to say, "I meant with all her snipe fests with Sally and Anderson! God! I didn't mean that the way it sounded." John laughed and waved a hand in the air dismissively.
"I know. It's just funny to see you panic." He ignored the glare, contemplating the request. "Why do you want me to do it though? I don't specialise in psychology." Greg nodded.
"True, but you empathise really easily… but then, so does she." He locked eyes with John, making sure he knew he was being very serious. "If you do do this, just a word of warning. She's very, very perceptive. She knows what's going on before the rest of us do." John nodded thoughtfully, knowing why Greg was warning him. If he was going to do this, an emotional flashback was unacceptable. With that in mind, John turned his attention back to Greg.
"Okay, I'll do it."
There we go, the first chapter! I'm not sure how this will be recieved, but i promise you this: it does get better! Well, review and let me know what you think!
BP