The Inn

We have a guest?

John sighed in content as he sipped his coconut through the pink bendy straw. Hawaii had seemed like a nice place to go at the time so he did. And it was amazing. He felt completely at peace. Laying back on the cotton hammock swinging gently he made himself comfortable.

Ding!

John opened his eyes. Did he just hear a bell? He waited for the sound again and heard nothing but the gentle lapping of ocean waves on beach sand. He shifted again. He must be getting delirious, maybe he needed rest. There was only one bell in The Inn and that was the call bell in the front lobby. There's no way it could ring through. He was the only guest. He was always the only guest. John dismissed the sound sipping away at his coconut again laying it on his chest over the tacky Hawaiian shirt he was wearing. He closed his eyes again enjoying the peace.

Ding! Ding! Ding! DING!

Alright, he hadn't imagined it that time. He jumped off the hammock watching it disappear with the entire Hawaiian setting. He took a final sip of his coconut before casting it away, it too disappearing in the now white void. John opened the white door and stepped out into the hallway. His toes met hotel carpet and he sighed. He missed Hawaii already. The sound of the call bell had grown rapidly like an impatient man continuing to ring it waiting for assistance and John ran down the hallway. He peaked out into the lobby to see what was going on.

A man turned to him black curls bouncing slightly. Calculating blue green eyes stared at him measuring him up as John cleared his throat. "Who are you?" he asked.

The man corrected the collar of his long trench coat. "I'm Sherlock Holmes. Who are you?" John offered a hand.

"John Watson. You can call me Watson if you like" he said, Sherlock shaking the hand. Sherlock looked over the desk rummaging through the drawers.

He turned pulled out some tape before tossing it over his shoulder. "No I don't like. John is fine." He turned back to John. "Nice shirt."

John shifted the Hawaiian shirt, embarrassed. He looked over Sherlock before impulsively reaching out to touch him. Sherlock moved away. "Please refrain from touching me."

John watched as Sherlock continued to rummage through the drawers and files. "There's no way you're real." Sherlock looked through several pieces of mail sitting on the counter.

"I can assure you I'm real, John." He tossed down the envelopes having found nothing before looking into the generic hotel hallway. "Though I am now sitting in a 1960's styled hotel lobby with no memory of how I got here. So, I'm beginning to question a lot of things."

John shook his head. "This is impossible. The Inn doesn't have guests."

"The Inn?" Sherlock said looking up from the papers he pulled from the filing cabinets. John nodded and Sherlock eyed him. "Then what are you?" he asked and John stiffened.

"I guess I'm the owner." He said and Sherlock hopped off of the counter.

"Wonderful, now then, if you could show me the way out of here that would be big help. I have important things to do and have spent enough time in this labyrinth with bad carpeting."

John continued to stare at the impossible man. "You can't be here." He said again.

Sherlock pinched the bridge of his nose. "And yet, I am. So if you could show me the door I'll leave."

"There are no doors. It's physically impossible for you to be here." John explained motioning to the large empty wall across from the lobby desk where a door should be but did not stand. Sherlock tapped the wall examining it.

"Then how are you here?"

"I don't know? I just am! You need to leave."

Sherlock ignored him pushing past him to the hallway and toward a scarlet red door. He began to open it until John slammed it shut again.

"Stop!" John said pushing the taller man away. "These doors don't lead outside."

Sherlock looked over the door behind John before looking down a ways. He noticed the doors were all colored, some red, some blue, some green, and some black. 'Why are they different colors?' he thought to himself. He turned back to John. "Well if they don't lead outside, where do they lead?"

John covered the door with his body. "Nowhere important" he insisted, watching Sherlock move down the hall a bit.

Sherlock chuckled moving to the next door. "See that's not going to work for me. You've pecked my interest Mr. Watson. Bravo." He reached a black door examining the chains and locks covering it. "Must be something interesting behind this door." A loud thud came from the other side as someone (or something) pounded against the door the chains rattling.

"Please stay away from those." John said and Sherlock nodded following him down the hall. John sighed turning back. "Why are you following me?"

Sherlock looked around. "You seem to know you're way around here." John sighed coming to the white door at the end of the hall. He opened it Sherlock following him inside.

Sherlock looked around the blank white void as John passed him a chair materializing for John to sit in. Sherlock watched amazed as a comfy little apartment room began to build and come to life around him. A hot tea mug appeared in John's hand and he sipped it lightly a roaring fire now in the fireplace beside him. John gestured to the room. "Have a seat." He said and Sherlock sat on the floor. "Why not make a chair?" he asked.

"Make a chair?"

John gestured around the room. "This place is unusual. As far as I can tell it's just one room that appears on every floor. You can do anything here." He finished, turning back to his tea mug.

"Anything?" Sherlock said to himself looking around the room. He looked over to an empty area against the wall and a couch appeared. Sherlock fell back on it staring at the ceiling before bringing his hands together and closing his eyes.

John watched him for a moment as a newspaper appeared in his hands. "What are you doing?" he decided to ask.

"Not now John, I'm thinking."

John frowned turning back to the paper. A moment of silence passed and John looked up again. "How did you get here?"

Sherlock sighed turning over to face John. "I'm trying to think, John. One minute I'm asleep in my house for the first time in three weeks and the next I'm in bad carpet hell." He pulled his hair slightly looking around. "How did I get here?" Sherlock jumped up suddenly scaring John. "How did you get here?"

John paused taking a sip of his tea. "I...um…" he looked down into his tea mug. "I honestly don't know." He finally said setting the tea mug down to think. Another short silence fell over them.

"What are you thinking John?" Sherlock asked and John sat back in his chair.

He rubbed his head a bit. "I was just here. This is actually one of the first times I've thought about it." He rubbed his head again a slight headache forming. Sherlock stood moving to the door and John followed him the world disappearing around him.

Sherlock turned to him as he opened the door. "How do you create these worlds?"

John shrugged. "They just appear. I think and they're there." he explained and Sherlock nodded stepping out into the hotel hall.

"Why a hotel? Of all places, why are we in a hotel?" Sherlock thought aloud. John looked down the long hallways.

"They can hold more doors?" he offered and Sherlock looked at him for a long second.

"…You're right." He said still staring at him as if he were some sort of science experiment. "It holds more doors." Sherlock continued down the hall to a blue door before reaching for the handle.

"No!" John said.

"Why not!" Sherlock snapped back. John looked around for an answer.

"Because I-" He began before Sherlock opened the door walking in forcing John to follow him.

-(Line Breaker!)-

John looked around as the door faded behind them. They stood in a park in the middle of autumn. Several screaming children were playing games of tag and hanging off the monkey bars having the time of their lives. Sherlock looked around the park circling the area as a pair of laughing children ran their way. He watched as they ran toward him and then completely through him as if he were a mirage. John reached forward to touch a tree his hand slipping through it.

Sherlock looked around. "Where are we?" he asked turning to John and he shrugged.

"I don't know" he said. "Never seen this place before in my life. This is why I don't go into the rooms. They're weird and raise more questions than they answer."

Sherlock nodded stepping past a swing. "Don't you ever wonder though? A hotel full of odd things and you don't even snoop around?" he asked.

John hopped over a seesaw. "I've looked in a few but it gives me a headache so I try to stay away from them." He rubbed his temples as they reached the sandboxes a pair of dirty blonde haired kids playing in them.

The younger one- a boy with blue eyes and overalls to match- sat building a sandcastle as a girl, slightly older, kicked it down sand flying everywhere. The boy watched her laugh before bursting into tears and the girl turned taking the shovel ad began to rebuild it. They watched as she handed him back the shovel when it was done and sat next to him helping him decorate the structure. "Bored." Sherlock said as he searched for the door.

-(Line Breaker!)-

John yawned when they reached the hotel's halls again. "Lovely" Sherlock glared at the brown carpeted floors. "Back in carpet hell again." John ignored him walking to the white room opening the door for himself. He yawned again the void changing into a dark bedroom with a small white window letting in silver moonlight. His clothes shifted and he wore red pajamas before slipping into bed. Sherlock watched him go falling back into the bed across from him. He wasn't very tired or keen on sleeping in a room with a complete stranger. But he followed John lead, changing his clothes into pajamas and fell back into the bed.

Not even twenty minutes later both men were sound asleep.

First Chapter! Hope you enjoyed! Please review it makes me smile.