A Study In Solar

by Trynia Merin

Prologue

I don't own any of these characters, but I only recently stumbled across this cartoon, and I think it's excellent! I've followed Mummies Alive, another masterpiece by DIC, and since I've done some fanfic for that cartoon, I am trying my hand at SH22. Read and review please. I'm not sure where this will go, and it's my first shot, but having read some of the great stuff on the page already, I couldn't help but give it a try.

Note that this story has been edited and divided into several different chapters to ease in storytelling!

"Honestly, how do you expect me to even begin to try and teach you ANYTHING about this case if you don't even know basic astronomy? ZED!" complained the spirited lady cop. Frustrated, she chewed her lip and paced back and forth, with her arms across her chest.

The object of her tirade simply crossed his narrow knees and leaned forward on his chair, shaking his head as he drew in a deep breath. Bluish gray eyes fixed on hers, and he struggled to grip his self-control. What it was about this woman that drove him mad, Holmes wondered. Inhaling again he cleared his throat and said, "My dear Lestrade, in MY day astronomy was HARDLY a subject I wasted my efforts upon. The planets and sun could orbit the EARTH for all I am concerned..."

"Well GET with the 22nd century Holmes," Lestrade whirled on him, her dark hair cascading around her shapely face. In her features he saw a hint of her predecessor, and perhaps that was the start of his tension. Holmes felt his blood pressure rising.

"As I recall, My DEAR Lestrade, it was not I who brought me into this time," he huffed, a puff of air fluffing up the bit of reddish blonde hair that had slipped down over his forehead. Much like Lestrade he folded his arms over his chest and bit his lip, mumbling to himself.

"All right," Lestrade relented, after mentally counting to ten. "Now, here is a vid about astronomy. It should be basic enough for you... I should have KNONW this zed forsaken problem would come up SOONER instead of later..."

"Lestrade, I know that this must have bearing on the case," Holmes sighed. "But you must have patience. Even a great detective must know all the facts, and an inspector like you must know that..."

"Sometimes I wonder WHY I bothered bringing you back," Lestrade muttered under her breath as she tossed the disk at Holmes.

The detectivecaught it neatly between his long slender fingers. Although Holmes heard her comment, he declined to return it, considering it looked as if the lady inspector had a tough day. He had heard the verbal tongue-lashings that Chief Inspector Grayson bestowed on his superior officer, and knew it wasn't easy dealing with his sparkling personality.

"Since you insisted on bringing me back," Holmes sighed as he slipped on the videophones and inserted the disc neatly into its compartment. "I suggest we calm ourselves since we MUST work together… since you insisted on having me work UNDER you as I recall… which your decision was."

"If you say I made my bed and now I have to lie in it…" Lestrade snapped as she whirled on him, her cheeks flushed red with anger.

Holmes raised an eyebrow under his videophones at her suggestion, and she could see the tips of his ears turn red with the start of a blush. He cleared his throat and crossed and uncrossed his legs, as if shifting to get more comfortable in the chair, and paid attention to the vid, "Most remarkable… the sun DOES sit at the center of the solar system…"

"Zed," Lestrade rolled her eyes.

"LESTRADE!" came a voice from her wrist COM. Sighing again she lifted the videocom to her mouth and punched the link to see the image of her chief bane… er inspector swirl into the greenblue LCD screen.

"Lestrade here, talk to me…"

"There is a CRIME in progress and I don't need you lollygagging about! I need ANSWERS, and I need them now? Is your deceased PI going to spill or not?"

"I'm filling him in now inspector…"

"Well get a wiggle on and get BACK here straightaway, Lestrade! The CEO of Nusolar is here chewing me ARSE red, and how am I supposed to explain to him that the YARD is being held up in its investigation by you?"

"All RIGHT already, zed, I'll be there…" she mumbled.

"Haven't you checked out the warehouse on pier 57 YET? A new break-in happened just ten minutes ago… and…"

"I'll be there!" Lestrade snapped as she punched the button and banished the image of the chief inspector into blackness.

"He shouldn't yell at you," Holmes said softly, though his eyes were veiled by the videophones, and his fingers were steepled before him as he rested his elbows on his folded legs.

"I get used to it," Lestrade shrugged as she turned back.

"Still, since you ARE one of his top inspectors…" Holmes started, and then stopped as Lestrade opened her mouth at the left-handed compliment.

"Why Holmes was that something NICE you said?" Lestrade asked with a lopsided grin as she took the videophones and whisked them off his face.

"Ah, ah, I'm learning astronomy," Holmes waggled a long finger at her as he tried o reach the videophones.

"Admit it…" Lestrade grinned, holding them just out of his reach.

"Blast you… I need those…" Holmes groaned as he leapt out of his chair and Lestrade leapt out of the way.

"What will you do for them?" she teased as she dangled them before him.

"Oh, so the game is afoot, is it?" Holmes said as he saw the mischievous twinkle in her eyes. He realized she needed a game to keep the commissioner off her mind, and decided to play along.

"C'mon Holmes, show me what you got… show me that 200 years in honey hasn't slowed the world's greatest detective down…"

"I suggest you be very careful what you ask for, my dear Lestrade," Holmes said as he reached down at his left side, and Lestrade again dangled the phones before him.

As she playfully swept out her foot, Holmes jumped over it, and then she saw the whisk of his cane slip under. She toppled off balance and flipped over onto her hand to toss the phones over his shoulder. Holmes snagged the videophones with the end of his cane and whisked them as Lestrade suddenly shouldered into his knees. He flipped back and brought up his hand to block her playful cuff to his chin, and then they were standing apart, breaching as they stood in fighting stances.

"Not bad, but can you beat this?" Lestrade laughed as she flipped forwards, and her leg shot out towards him.

Holmes ducked and then spun his cane around to land almost inches from her head as she landed again, and her hand flashed out to counter. Grabbing the end of his cane she thrust her arm forward and Holmes blocked wit his hand, but Lestrade still held the end of his cane. Their eyes locked and he smiled, excited by the sparring.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Holmes asked.

"What?" she asked. "Got anything ELSE that you have from 200 years ago…"

"Your major bane… er… boss is expecting you," said Holmes with a wry grin as Lestrade still held the end of his cane and he twisted it around again out of her grasp.

Tension breaking they parted, and faced one another to see what move the other would make. Lestrade anticipated as Holmes held his cane back and his hand forward and she mirrored his movements, leaping onto the sofa as he swung round, and then she thrust her hand forward. Holmes leaned in as she leapt forward, and the cane lightly passed under to trip her off balance.

"Yeow!" Lestrade gasped as she sailed forwards and almost ended up a heap on the floor. The rug slipped on the hardwood floor, and Holmes slid forwards, onto his backside in an undignified heap, with Lestrade pinning him down.

"Whoolf!" Holmes got out as they lay in a tangle together, the breath knocked out of both of them. She lie across his lean, muscular body, and suddenly felt the warmth under her, her heart pounding a mile a minute as she struggled to press her hand against the floor.

"I say Holmes, there is someone at the door to see you…" came Watson's voice, and both Holmes and Lestrade came to their senses.

"Oh zed, sorry…" Lestrade gasped as she lifted herself off of Holmes and he lay there, partly stunned.

"I'm dreadfully sorry," he gasped, feeling extremely awkward with Lestrade's body pinning him down. Nervously he squirmed under her and she quickly rolled off of him, seeing the flush come to his cheeks.

"I'd uh… better get to the chief inspector before he has my butt… er me for breakfast," said Lestrade.

"Quite," Holmes nodded as he scrambled to his feet with the aid of his cane and extended his hand to help Lestrade up. She took his hand in her gloved one, and was glad of the material between them, because she felt her palm sweating.

"Holmes, there is a lady caller… she says she's the owner of the Bonnie Prince Charlie," said Watson. "And she was referred to you by Lestrade…"

"Um that's the... Um…" Lestrade got out, pushing her hair out of her face as she turned around quickly.

"The lady whose solar yacht had a rather unfortunate accident… namely that it never got out of the space dock," Holmes answered for her. "Rather it was the failure in the solar sail?"

"Right," Lestrade nodded.

"Shall I let her in?" Watson asked.

"Yes, do," said Holmes, taking out his handkerchief and dabbing the sweat from his forehead.

"I'll see you both later," Lestrade said quickly as she moved past Watson, who seemed a bit surprised at her haste to leave. "Can't keep the chief waiting you know… heh heh."

"What the deuce is wrong with Lestrade?' asked Watson as he turned and faced Holmes, his metallic body gleaming in the light of the overhead chandelier. "My metabolic scanner picked up an elevated heart rate and…"

"We were… practicing some sparring moves," Holmes got out, before he realized how silly that sounded. "Don't ask Watson. Rather, let us meet our new client… and we can see how much you've learned from me in the process of deduction…"

"Indeed," said Watson as he moved off to answer the door.