What if Sherlock hadn't survived the shooting? He bled out in Magnussen's office. How will John deal with the loss of his best friend AND his wife now that he's got a child to raise? A child whose imagination runs rampant and an imaginary friend that seems eerily familiar, but then, Sherlock made a vow. He's damn well going to keep it.
This chapter is considerably lighter than it would be had Sherlock just been buried for the second time. And I will post a chapter about that. All aboard the angst train to Sadsville! Years have passed by this point and John's no longer a wreck. Or at least not quite the wreck he was.
Gale is just entering primary school at this point.
"Gale, you're going to be late!"
He advanced into the living room to come face-to-chest with various cushions, pillows and blankets piled up on the floor. John thought he may have even spotted the shower curtain amidst the formidable mountain of linens. He stopped, eying the new addition to his living room distrustfully.
"Gale, are you down there?" He asked with some amusement. Deftly, he lifted a floral sheet draped over what John could only assume was the entrance to the abode.
Suddenly, a tiny hand snatched at the sheet and pushed at his arm ineffectually, determined to defend the premises.
"You're not allowed!" Came a properly authoritative voice from the midst of the laundry. It was slightly muffled, but there was no missing the stubborn tone.
"Oh, I'm not, am I?" John asked in a firm voice, but he entirely failed to conceal the smile growing on his features.
"No!" She reaffirmed with all the dignity of a wet cat. Gale crossed her arms disapprovingly and frowned at him.
"This is a pirate fort and all pirate forts must have a password. It's the rules!" She declares as if John was unspeakably dense.
"Is that so then?"
A nod, her blonde curls bobbed around her flushed face resolutely.
"Well then, what about if I join your crew?" John asked, getting down on his hands and knees to look through the sheets and makeshift masts. She seemed to give this some thought for a moment, eyes pensive and she turned to glance behind her before turning back to her father, baby blues gleaming with pleasure.
"Redbeard says it could be dangerous, you sure you wanna come on the voyage?"
He grinned at her obvious concern and said simply, "Oh god yes! I'd be delighted. So are you the captain then?"
She looked at him as though he'd just said something incredibly stupid. "Of course not!"
The emphasis was so spectacular that John couldn't help but chuckle.
"Oh? Who then?"
"Redbeard is the captain!"
Redbeard? Wasn't he the villain? John couldn't quite recall, but he'd never been much into pirates.
"When he was younger he wanted to be a pirate."
John shook himself free of the unhappy memory and tried his best to focus on his daughter, who had for the first time alluded to her imaginary friend. He glanced once more at his watch to be sure of the time. Mrs. Hudson would be waiting outside in a cab to take Gale to school. It wouldn't do for her to be late.
"So what's the password?" He leans in conspiratorially and ducks his head to be sure only Gale and Redbeard will hear the secret spoken in the otherwise empty apartment.
"The same word we use if we're in trouble." She responded, hoisting the mizzen mast. John's knees were starting to ache from kneeling on the floor for so long.
"Well, you're going to be in trouble very soon little lady, if you don't get ready to go. Redbeard can hold the fort until you get back."
She huffs at him and says, "Daddy! Redbeard goes with my everywhere, he can't be here and at school with me."
John nods contemplatively and adopts a thinking pose.
"Well... I was a captain in the army you know. And I think being a captain makes me a captain mostly anywhere else. That is, if captain Redbeard will let me take over for a while."
Gale rolls her eyes theatrically and says, "Of course you can, you're Redbeard's best mate! The best mate can drive the ship if the captain says he can."
John feigns surprise and doesn't address the verbal slip up.
"I'm his best mate? I thought the term was 'first mate', yeah? And what about you?"
This seemed to unsettle her, as though she'd never considered it before now. She again turned to the midst of the empty fort and frowned. Then, triumphantly she whirled back around and declared, "No, Redbeard says you're his best mate and that makes me his best mate's daughter."
Her tone brooked no argument and John laughed.
"So you are!" He lunged and tickled her sides until she was squealing with delight and then finally, she collected herself and before leaving made him promise not to forget the password.
After a solemn pinky swear and a handshake (which is the only proper way for a pirate to be sure another is going to honour his or her word) she leaned in close and whispered two words that locked up every muscle in John Watson's body and seemed to shut down his brain.
"Vatican Cameos."
Before he could recover, Gale had rushed out the front door, backpack bobbing in sync with her blonde curls.
So... Who here can count the number of references I managed to shimmy into this chapter?
Seriously, if you can spot them all, leave 'em in the review that you'll definitely post.
Thanks for reading!