Sherlock sat on a bench across from the house, coat collar turned up against the wind. He'd been there for a while now. The house opposite belonged to John and Sarah Watson.
It had taken some time and after much deliberation and debating, he had decided that it would be safe to return to London, return to John. Sherlock had gone back to 221B Baker street, only to find Mrs Hudson on her own. She got the shock of her life when she saw him alive again, but she was very pleased. She made him a cup of tea and got him some biscuits, and they sat and chatted awhile.
Sherlock had asked after John, but Mrs Hudson told him that after Sherlock had 'died', John couldn't bear to be in the flat on his own any more, so he had moved in with Sarah. They had also got married, and they had had a child, a baby boy named Daniel.
Sherlock could see John through the window, throwing Daniel in the air and making him laugh. He sighed. He had missed John, though he would never admit it to himself, or to anybody else. By the looks of John, it looked as if John was over Sherlock's death, he had moved on and was happy. Sherlock was happy for him, of course.
"John is my- was my best friend," he mentally corrected, standing up. This was it. He was going to walk up to the door, and reunite himself with John. He took one step forward...
And stopped. He couldn't. He just couldn't. Somewhere deep down inside Sherlock was the fear of rejection, fear of being rejected by the one person he could always rely on to put up with him and his eccentric ways. He sighed again, and turned away from the house. He walked past the window, and headed back to 221B.
As he walked past the house, John just happened to look out of the window.
He saw a tall, skinny shadow. He blinked, and it was gone again. He froze by the window a while, little Daniel tugging on his leg.
"Daddy, play more!" he demanded brightly.
"John?" asked Sarah in a caring tone, bringing John a cup of tea, and Daniel's night time bottle of warm milk. "John, what is it?"
"Oh, it's.. It's nothing. I thought... I thought I saw... You know. Him." He sat down, and pulled his son onto his lap. He tried not to think of Sherlock, but right now that was the only name in his mind. It wasn't that he had been in love with Sherlock, it had never been anything like that, but he did love Sherlock. Sherlock was his crazy best friend, his work partner, and in some ways, his brother. They argued like an old married couple, and they could easily laugh together.
He pushed all of those thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on who were now the most important people in his life. His beautiful wife Sarah and his little boy, Daniel.
"Hey Sarah, you sit here. I'll take Daniel up, give him his bottle and get him to sleep, then I'll come back and make you a cuppa, yeah? You look tired, dear," John offered in a warm tone.
"That would be very nice, thank you love," Sarah said quietly. So John took Daniel up to bed.
Then, he made his way to the kitchen and made Sarah the cup of tea he had promised. When he put it in front of her, she looked up at him, her expression troubled.
"John?" she asked. "Are you okay? You can tell me you know. I know you miss him- you miss him so much- and I know it must be hard for you, but I'm always here."
"What would I do without you, eh, Mrs Sarah Watson?" he said fondly to her, tactfully avoiding the question.
"God only knows!" she exclaimed, and they sat giggling together, and John started to forget how he had felt only half hour ago.
Meanwhile, Sherlock returned to 221B, pushed his keys quietly into the lock as to not wake Mrs Hudson, and slowly opened the door. However, Mrs Hudson has waited for him.
"Sherlock, dear? How did it go?"
"I... I, for want of a better phrase, Mrs Hudson, I chickened out. I didn't have the first notion of what I would say to him, even if I did just go and announce I wasn't dead. What was I supposed to say? 'Hey John, not dead, want to go solve another crime?'. He... He looked so happy with her, Mrs Hudson, her and his baby. He could never have that whilst I was there. He never had a successful relationship, and he'd never say it, but it was because of me."
"Oh, Sherlock..." Mrs Hudson hugged him, and for the first time since being a little boy, Sherlock hugged back. He hadn't felt the need for human contact for so long, but Mrs Hudson was warm and so it was just a natural reaction. "Sherlock? Perhaps if John is so happy with his wife... Perhaps it's your turn," Mrs Hudson suggested.
"As I told John a long time ago, Mrs Hudson, I am married to my work," he replied, and he then went upstairs to his flat without another word.
So there you have it! First chapter written. I'll update soon as I decide how they meet again (I have two ideas, possibly three) so until then, folks!