Hey Sherlock fandom! So this is my first ever attempt at writing a fanfic for this show and quite possibly the last? After watching 'The Sign of Three' and just seeing Sherlock at the end I just felt that he really could have gotten one dance from someone at the wedding so this is my take on what would have transpired if Mary was the one to give him that chance! I just love their friendship on the show and Benedict & Amanda have wonderful chemistry together! So... here it is... a sweet and simple dance with John Watson's two most important people in his life!
"You're hardly going to need me around now that you've got a real baby on the way." Sherlock had reassured John and Mary that they would be wonderful parents to their unborn baby because of all the experience they'd had in taking care of him. And that was that. Before he let things get any more personal and perhaps even slightly awkward Sherlock had told the happy couple and parents-to-be that they should go dance together, spend some time trying to deal with the news they had just been given; it was still processing in their minds that they were going to be parents! It was quite a surprise for Mary when she heard Sherlock explaining that her symptoms over the last several hours had been due to her pregnancy while John was more shocked that his best friend had managed to figure the pregnancy out before even he had. Then again, Sherlock Holmes was known for his instant deductions and so, in an attempt to take this time out and think about what it meant for their future, the newly-wed Mr. and Mrs. Watson made their way to the center of the floor and joined the other couples as they danced together.
Even though she was focused on what her husband was telling her and listening to all the ideas he had already started to come up with, Mary couldn't help but glance over to where she had last seen Sherlock and found that he was... approaching Jeanine, one of her bridesmaids, to ask her for a dance. Smiling to herself, Mary decided that Sherlock didn't need to be looked after anymore and continued to dance with John for the next song of the night.
"Where's Sherlock?" John suddenly asked Mary, without looking around his shoulder as he twirled his wife around.
"I think he went to ask Jeanine for a dance." Mary replied as she rested her head against John's chest sighing in content. Married bliss was a wonderful feeling and it hadn't even been a day since she and John had exchanged their vows.
"You mean the woman standing next to us dancing with some random bloke who isn't Sherlock Holmes?" Gesturing to where he was indicating, John saw Mary raise her head from his chest and look around.
"That's odd. I could have sworn Sherlock was with her. Or at least, he was about to." The new Mrs. Watson scanned the entire crowd and still couldn't spot Sherlock anywhere at all. "I saw him walking over to her only a few minutes ago." She said to John who had stopped dancing now.
It took only one look between them for John and Mary to realize what must have happened; Sherlock had left the reception already. Without saying goodbye to either one. Without having the chance to dance with a partner. After preparing himself for such a long time, Sherlock had simply disappeared?
"Wait here. I'll be back soon." Knowing that there was still a chance to find Sherlock before he left the grounds, Mary pecked John on the lips and weaved her way through the guests before reaching outdoors in less than a minute.
As she began to make her way to the gates, Mary noticed the silhouette of a tall figure walking past an oak tree and she knew it was Sherlock. Quickly and as quietly as she could run in her heels, Mary hastened over to where Sherlock was heading and managed to catch up with him just as he neared the entrance.
"Sherlock!" She called out to him and waited to see if he would turn back to speak to her or just walk away without acknowledging her.
"Mary?" The detective was a bit puzzled when he heard her voice from over his shoulder and he turned around to see Mary standing there several yards away with a look on her face that he knew all too well. She had caught him trying to slip away from the reception without saying goodbye to her and John.
"Where do you think you're running off to?" Mary strode over to where Sherlock stood, staring at her with a look of confusion across his features.
"Ah. I was... heading out. A new case just turned up." Sherlock started to say, knowing full well that this was a lie but couldn't bring himself to say the truth. "I was going over to Baker Street to change out of this tuxedo before heading to the crime scene." He added, hoping that his tale sounded real enough for Mary to believe him.
Unfortunately for the consulting detective, Mary Watson was not a woman that he could fool easily and she knew all too well that Sherlock was trying to make excuses for his hasty exit but she wouldn't have any of it. Crossing her hands over her chest she waited to see if he would stand by his story when she called him out on the lie.
"Nonsense! I told you Sherlock, I can tell when you're fibbing." She repeated her words to him from earlier when he had claimed to have learned origami as part of his business instead of admitting to using youtube videos.
"That was then." He hastily replied, not meeting her gaze, "I really do have to leave Mary." That was indeed the truth and it was all he could say to her.
"All right. Fine, you have a case to work on." Mary's sudden acceptance of his story surprised Sherlock a little, he hadn't expected her to give in without saying anything else to him. "I'll let you leave on one condition." A catch, there was always a catch that Sherlock would have expected.
"What condition?" For all the talents at his disposal, Sherlock tried his very best to try and deduce what Mary was thinking at the moment but came up empty-handed. Her condition could be anything that ranged from keeping him here all night until the last guest had left to making more speeches even though his previous attempts hadn't been what one would call successful.
"Your dance silly. You can't leave the reception without having the honor of dancing; that is what the Best Man is supposed to do remember?" Mary smiled at him, knowing very well that Sherlock had run through all the possibilities in his mind but might have missed out on the most obvious choice.
Hearing her words, Sherlock couldn't help but flash back to Jeanine on the dance floor and his feeble attempt to go and ask her to dance with him. She had found herself a partner already and even though she still held on to his white rose, the message was clear - rejected.
"I... There's no need for that. Dancing isn't really... I don't dance." Sherlock tried to talk Mary out of this condition because no matter whether he wanted to dance, he was aware that none of the women inside the hall would want to dance with him of all people.
"Of course you do! Didn't you just tell me that you had given John dancing lessons at the apartment? And we both were there when you demonstrated your dancing skills at the start of tonight's party. Come and dance, afterwards you can go wherever you like. I promise." Holding out her hand to him, Mary suspected what Sherlock's next words were going to be.
"Everyone already has a dance partner and I don't want to intrude. Perhaps I should just leave..." His words proved to be futile when he felt Mary reach out and grab his hand in hers.
"You're not going anywhere Sherlock. One dance and that's it." She told him, "And in case you're worried about intruding on other people's dancing you don't need to worry about that. You won't be dancing with any of the bridesmaids." A twinkle in her eye was all Sherlock needed to see for him to understand what she meant.
"You want me to dance with you." He stated, not questioning the new Mrs. Watson even once because that would never end well.
"Yes! I've already danced with John many times tonight and it is tradition that the Best Man should dance with the bride as well." Mary couldn't help but laugh as she spoke, "Sherlock, you mustn't disappoint the bride on her wedding day."
"Of course not." Sherlock answered her. Realizing that there was no point in trying to argue with Mary, he resigned himself to follow her back into the hall where the music was still blaring loudly and all the guests dancing amongst themselves, without a care in the world.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Sherlock had almost made his swift exit from the reception but apparently hadn't been fast enough. He couldn't help but wonder what John would say to him when he found out from Mary that he had tried to sneak out without even telling them goodbye; Sherlock was certain that his friend would have a few choice colorful words for him and sighed in exasperation as he found himself surrounded by the crowd once again. Mary led him straight to the center of the floor where she and John had shared their first dance together and almost immediately, everyone in the room stepped back to watch the bride and best man face each other for a dance. John, who had been dancing with Mrs. Hudson beamed when he saw that Mary had found Sherlock in no time at all and was now making him dance with her. As if on cue, the music suddenly changed to something more instrumental and fitting for a waltz; and John knew that watching his best friend and his wife together was a memory he would never forget.
"You're supposed to place your hand on my hip." Mary whispered as she tried to stifle a giggle. Sherlock had closed the distance between them and yet seemed a little hesitant to make the first move.
Sherlock, who suddenly seemed aware of the fact that he was standing opposite Mary in front of the wedding guests as they all waited with bated breaths to see their dance, nodded curtly and stepped forward to rest one hand on her waist while she placed a hand on his shoulder; joining their free hands together Sherlock began to lead the dance while doing his best not to let his eyes wander all over the room. Mary, who had noticed this understood that Sherlock was possibly feeling a little stage fright... dancing at the center of such a large number of people was no easy feat to achieve.
"Don't look at the others, just keep your eyes on me and we'll be okay." She reassured him with a smile when he tilted his head down towards her ever so slightly.
Sensing her confidence that they both could pull this off, Sherlock felt that he could give his best after having practiced the moves over and over again countless times on his own and even with John. And so, he followed Mary's advice and tuned out the rest of the world's stares while focusing himself entirely on the dance; after a few steps he noticed that the two of them were in sync now and everything was going smoothly.
"Feeling better now?" Mary asked him when she felt his posture change from solid stiff to something a little more flexible just then and knew that he was enjoying the opportunity to be dancing at last.
"Yes. Thank you for this Mary." Sherlock said softly and even managed a smile that was as real as ever. He was letting loose, as John used to say and it felt... nice to be dancing. Freeing to a certain extent even.
"Don't just thank me. John was the one who noticed that you had mysteriously vanished on us." She replied and stole a look over to where her husband stood watching them and grinning ear from ear. "You weren't leaving for a case just now were you?" Mary glanced up at Sherlock who said nothing just then but continued to guide them across the room keeping the beat of the music in time with his dancing.
"No. There was no case." He finally admitted after a long pause. "I am sorry." Sherlock added as an afterthought, "My duty as best man was over and I simply decided that the next step was to leave."
"Without telling John and I goodbye?" Mary raised an eyebrow at him, "Honestly Sherlock, did you really think that we wouldn't notice your absence?"
"I assume that is a rhetorical question, Mrs. Watson but I feel as if I should reply; I did believe that no one would realize that I was no longer here and that is quite fine with me." While he was being honest for some things, Sherlock figured it was best not to hide anything else from Mary lest she resume pointing out that he was fibbing with her.
"Oh Sherlock. I know John said that the three of us couldn't dance together but that doesn't mean you can't dance with me. You are always welcome to ask me for a dance whenever you feel like it; and I'm sure it would be a fun time to see John dancing with you at any time." Recalling what her husband had commented on earlier, Mary knew that all Sherlock had wanted was to dance at the reception tonight.
"Yes well..." Sherlock began to say something which would have no doubt been something of a polite refusal but Mary wasn't going to let him finish.
"You are not alone anymore Sherlock. Even though John and I are married now, we are still going to be part of your life as much as you will be a part of our family. After all, you're soon to be Uncle Sherlock remember?" Interrupting him abruptly, Mary gently reached a hand up to Sherlock's cheek, he still needed a mother every now and then if not a friend from her.
"I do remember." He nodded as he spoke, letting her take the lead in their dance for a moment in his place.
"Good. Then it's settled and I hope that you aren't going to try and disappear from our lives again." She had a good idea of what the detective in him was thinking most of the time, having observed his behavior and thoughts over the last couple of months.
"I would never do that to you or to John. You have my word." This did not surprise Sherlock at all for he knew that either one of them would have thought about that at some point and while he hadn't been sure of what he would say before had they asked him that, Sherlock now knew that leaving John and Mary was not something he could do. Not again.
"I'm glad to hear that. Now are you going to dip me or not?" Going back to the dance was relatively easy for them as no one had heard their private conversation and the song was slowly ending.
Sherlock paused briefly when he heard Mary's question but did not stop dancing. For a split second he glanced around the room before spotting John who simply nodded his head as if he had heard his wife's request. The music was drawing to an end and while a 'dip' was something Sherlock had not quite practiced enough, he decided to take his chances and moved his hand to Mary's back as he gently raised one arm to dip her slightly. The loud uproar of applause and cheering from the guests as he pulled her back up was surprising to both of them. Just as the guests began to huddle around Mary and even Sherlock to compliment their dance, in the rush of people walking around and the music playing up again, Sherlock decided that since he had fulfilled Mary's condition he could leave the reception now.
"Sherlock." Unsurprisingly, Mary had figured that the first chance he got, Sherlock would simply head out once again before he actually said goodbye.
This time he knew that saying something to Mary wouldn't do at all and so just before John reached the two of them, Sherlock quickly bent down to kiss Mary on her hand before getting swallowed up by the crowd and was gone before anyone could blink.
"What was that all about?" John had come up to his wife's side in the hopes of talking to Sherlock about his dancing only to find that he wasn't around again.
"He had to leave urgently. Something had come up." Mary knew that when they were together and alone later that night she would talk to John about Sherlock but for now there was no need to say more when others were still nearby.
"And he just left, without saying goodbye? Did Sherlock say what the hell happened to him all of a sudden that he just waltzed right out the door?" Sensing that something was off with his friend, John wondered for a brief moment if he should go after Sherlock then and there.
"He did." Was all Mary said.
Hearing his wife's words and the tone of her voice as he glanced down to see that look in her eyes she got whenever she was around him, John knew that whatever was going on with Sherlock, he and Mary would work together to make it better.
"You think he'll be okay?" One last question was all John needed answered.
For a second, Mary turned to look at the doors through which Sherlock had just left and remembered his promise to her that he would never disappear again; she was sure that he meant every word he said. Time and some space was what he needed at the moment and Mary knew that John would do his best to help Sherlock adjust to their new living accommodations soon enough.
"I think he will be." And with that, Mary hooked her arm around John's and together the two of them rejoined the party once again.
Outside the reception hall, under the very same tree from where Mary had literally dragged him back indoors, Sherlock watched as his best friend and his wife continued to enjoy their reception night and he turned away to walk towards the gates now knowing that he had accomplished everything that he had to as the Best Man; it had even included a dance with Mary whom Sherlock now believed with all his heart would prove to be a wonderful wife to John, a great mother to her child and even a dear friend to him.
Thoughts? Feel free to review! ^_^