Disclaimer: The original characters are mine. The ones from the show aren't.
A/N: Enjoy! And please review!
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Kate Watson Lestrade hummed softly to herself as she entered her flat. She walked in and stopped dead, eyes wide and mouth open slightly in surprise. Her husband was seated in his recliner, her cousin, John, was perched on the sofa, and Sherlock Holmes was leaning against the mantel. The floor was covered in papers and photographs.

"Whoa! Okay, why the hell does my living room look like a file cabinet exploded?"

"Because it was the only place where we could work on the case," John answered.

"Scotland Yard?" Kate challenged.

Sherlock scoffed. "You've seen the size of those offices. Nowhere near enough room for me to work."

"Hmm, I'll give you that one. Your place?"

"Mrs. Hudson's got relatives staying with her this week," John explained. "She doesn't want them to be alarmed by the police coming and going."

"I can understand that, I suppose."

"You don't mind, do you, Kate?" Gabriel asked. "We can figure something else out."

"No, no," she answered, retrieving the kettle to make a pot of tea. "It's fine."

An hour later, she decided this might be better than reading or watching telly. Kate mused that the neurons in Sherlock's brain must be firing at an insane rate. But that was part of what made watching him work so interesting.

She wasn't surprised when the consulting detective refused dinner. He was convinced that digestion interfered with brainwork. John opened his mouth to protest, but sighed and closed it again. By the time the others were done eating, Sherlock had eliminated several more suspects; there were only three left now.

Gabriel frowned as he studied the files. "None of them have an alibi, and they all have a motive for wanting the victim dead. Now what?"

"Now we look at the smaller details to determine which one is guilty."

Kate lingered downstairs for a while, but keeping up with Sherlock's thought processes, on top of writing a rather complicated article that day, was giving her a headache. She excused herself a little after ten and went up to bed.

She woke at two, and finding herself alone in bed, went downstairs. She smiled at the sight before her. Gabriel had laid back in his recliner and was snoring softly. John was slumped over on the sofa, also asleep. Sherlock, however, was still wide awake, hunched over a stack of papers.

"Still at it, eh?"

He nodded. "Narrowed it down to two suspects."

Kate got a can of pop from the fridge. As she sipped, something occurred to her. "I know you haven't eaten, Sherlock. Are you sure you won't at least have a cup of tea?"

"No, thank you, Kate. I'm fine."

"If you change your mind, don't hesitate to help yourself."

Sherlock smiled his thanks and went back to studying the files.

"Good luck," Kate whispered as she went back upstairs. She wondered if he'd still be there in a few hours.

Despite his best efforts at being quiet, Gabriel woke her when he came upstairs a few hours later to get ready for work. Kate yawned and glanced at the clock: almost five-thirty.

"He still at it?" she asked.

"Uh-huh. Said he needs to look into a few things, but should have an answer for me by noon."

Kate got up at six and showered and dressed. She wasn't really surprised to find Sherlock and John still present. Her cousin was attempting to stretch out muscles cramped from a night on the sofa, while Sherlock was using his phone to look something up on the Internet.

She went ahead and put enough water in the kettle for two cups of tea, knowing John would appreciate it. Sure enough, his face brightened when she handed him a mug.

"Bless you, Kate."

She laughed. "Can I get you some breakfast, too?"

"No thanks, the tea's enough."

Sherlock looked up from his phone with a smile. "I think I just found the information I need to show who our murderer is."

He leaped up and headed for the door. John hastily gulped the rest of his tea and followed. He paused long enough to kiss Kate and thank her for her hospitality.

"No trouble at all," she assured him.

As the door slammed behind the two men, Kate chuckled. Gabriel had warned her before their wedding that he'd be bringing work home fairly often. She wasn't sure he'd had a situation such as the night before in mind, though.