Harry is amazed to discover that John has some powerful friends. He stops by to visit only to find that her week is actually getting worse-as if having been kidnapped wasn't bad enough!

Part 4 of the Mistaken Identities series, this is a missing scene during "Free Will" between John and Harry after he meets Ian Littleston.

Obviously, I don't own the characters (other than the Littlestons) and have no connection to the BBC Sherlock. I just love visiting.

The serious part of the conversation done for now, John was enjoying a chance to sit and chat with Ian. After the visit with Andy at prison this morning, and the row with Sherlock about being over-protective, and then the heart-to-heart with Ian, it was good to have a normal conversation. Really, he had so few of these in his bizarre, Sherlock-dominated life, he always appreciated anything resembling normal.

They had been talking for about half an hour when his phone rang. He glanced at the number and paused, midway through a story about his mum.

"Sherlock?" Ian asked.

John shook his head. "He prefers to text. It's Harry." He glanced at the sick man, who waved his hand. John nodded and took the call. "Harry? Are you all right?"

"You haven't called me. What's happening with that idiot who kidnapped me?" Harry's voice was harsh in his ear.

He stifled a sigh. "He's in prison, Harry. I don't know any more than that."

"How can you not know? I thought that brother of Sherlock's could find out anything?"

"That doesn't mean he tells me about it, Harry." John stared at the squares of afternoon sun on the carpet and tried to be patient. "But, you're doing okay? Did you call Clara?"

"She called when she saw the news."

"Good." John glanced across at Ian who was watching him with interest. "Look, Harry, I've got to go."

"Sherlock pulling you away as usual?" Snide and jealous. At least Harry was getting back to normal, John thought.

"No, I'm here with Ian." John was surprised to see Ian holding his hand out. "I think he wants to speak with you. Be nice, would you?" He walked over and handed the phone to Ian.

"Ms. Watson? I wanted to extend my apologies for my son's actions the other day. I was horrified when I heard. Are you well? Unhurt? Is there anything I can do for you?" Ian listened for a few minutes. "Yes, I hope so, too. He deserves to."

There was another spate of words from the phone and Ian looked up at John. "I agree, but it was what your mother wanted." Another pause. "Yes, I know."

Hearing just one end of this conversation was agony, but John tried to keep his face neutral as he imagined what Harry was saying. From the tone he could hear in her voice, she sounded like she was in big sister mode, and he was momentarily amused at the thought of Harry telling Ian Littleston what was best for her little brother. His thoughts were pulled back when he heard Ian mention a gift, "Just a small apology. I'll send it around this evening."

And then he was handing the phone back to John, who got Harry off the line as quickly as he could, with promises that he would see her soon. "I'm sorry for that," he told Ian.

"Don't be silly. The poor woman was just kidnapped, after all. It's reasonable that she'd want to hear from her brother."

John smiled wryly. "Conversations between me and Harry don't usually qualify as reassuring, but you're right. She deserves a little more attention right now. I've just been … distracted."

"And you don't really want to see her," Ian said, watching him. "Was she that bad a sister?"

"Absolutely not. We've never been that close, but she's still my sister. I really do need to get over there to see her." He wiped his face with his hand, thinking about the logistics and how far away the train station was. He was thinking so hard, he missed Ian's next comment, and looked up. "Sorry, what?"

"I said, why don't you let my driver take you, since he's going anyway?" Ian looked amused.

"Do you have a sister, Ian?" John asked, realizing that he had no idea what kind of new, extended family he suddenly had—other than a murderous half-brother.

"I did, and a brother, as well." Ian chuckled. "I'll have to get you a copy of the family tree. But really, I was just thinking that most siblings I know get that exact same look on their faces when dealing with them."

"It's not that I don't want to see her," John explained. "It's that, no matter how good my intentions, it always goes badly. We care, but we rub each other the wrong way, and her drinking doesn't help. And … it's just been a full week." A deep breath. "But I do need to see her. What's this about a car?"

"I wanted to send her something as an apology for her troubles … do you think she'll take it the wrong way?"

"Like thinking it's a bribe rather than an apology?" At Ian's nod, John said thoughtfully, "I don't think so. In my experience, if you've made a mistake with Harry, you should apologize early and often. She doesn't care that much about things, though. To her credit, she's never been greedy that way."

Ian grinned back at him, and John was struck again by how much he liked this man, followed immediately by the regret for all the lost years. "Right, so, a gift. And since my driver is taking it anyway, and he's had sorely little to do of late, why don't you go with him? Visit with your sister, and then he can take you home."

John had to admit it sounded like an excellent plan. "I'm going to get spoiled, tooling around in private cars all the time," he said with affection.

"I could arrange that, you know."

"Don't you dare. What would I do with a chauffeur?" John grinned back at him and settled back in his chair. "So, like I was saying, Mum was reaching for the flour when the cat ran past, and…"

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