Aaaaaaand here we go, my first epistolary fic! This is part 3 of 7 in the Wish!fic series, so I would recommend you read Where the Angels Sit and Blink of an Eye before beginning this fic.
There will be twelve chapters in total, most of them being in the format of letters. I have the entire fic written, and will be posting chapters in intervals. I haven't decided if I wanna go with once per week or twice per week. I suppose I'll leave that up to you guys!
Beta'd by my wonderful beta/roommate Aki and Brit-picked by Laura! Thank you both so much for your assistance! And an extra thanks to Laura for giving me some extra information in regards to my research for writing letters to those in the British Armed Forces.
That being said, there are still probably a lot of inaccuracies and artistic liberties taken (like with sending dirt...I know that's pretty much illegal, but shhh!). I apologize in advance!
Enjoy!
24 November
John,
Forgive me for the admittedly poor quality of this letter. I have not written anything of this nature in a very long time. Not since childhood, if I'm not mistaken. Oftentimes, I only ever bother to write up case notes or formal essays to accompany various experiments I conduct and such.
What do people even talk about in letters?
Detective Sergeant Lestrade came to me with another case the day after you left. Something to do with teenaged girls being abducted for an underground prostitution ring. Nasty business, but I solved it quickly enough. I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that all of the girls have been returned safely to their loved ones.
There's a new undertaker at Bart's. Her name is Molly Hooper. She's horribly awkward and fairly easy to coerce into things. I may as well have unrestricted access to the lab nowadays, if all it takes is a compliment to her hair to get her to let me in. I plan to obtain official unrestricted access, but I'm sure that will come in due course. I have a feeling I may have to wait at least until Lestrade is promoted, but with me solving some cases for him, that may be sooner rather than later.
I fear that this letter may be a waste of postage for how short it is. But you've asked me to write to you, so I am writing to you.
Hoping this reaches you in a timely fashion.
Sincerely,
Sherlock Holmes
11 December
Sherlock,
Your letter arrived to me safely, rest assured! I didn't get a chance to read it right away, but I opened it as soon as my shift was over. It's great to hear from you, really.
Things have been mostly quiet here lately. Which is good, all things considered. I mean, it's a relief that there haven't been many major injuries to take care of. At the same time, though, I almost feel bored. Like there isn't enough going on. My shifts tend to drag on without much action and I kind of find myself hoping that something will happen. Does that make me a horrible person? I feel like it does.
Bill Murray makes everything a bit better, though. He's a nurse, first tour out here. We're becoming pretty good mates. It's nice to have someone to talk to. He makes me laugh so much. Though for some reason, he's taken to calling me Casanova. I could really do without the nickname.
Lestrade was the one I met during my stay with you, right? He was a nice bloke. You have to let me know if/when he gets promoted so you can tell him congratulations for me.
Have you ever thought of writing books about your cases? I mean, after you've built up a repertoire and everything. I'm sure people would love to read about them! Think I could ever take a look at your case notes? I'd really like to read them sometime.
I'm knackered, so I think I'm going to end this here. Hopefully I'll have more to write about next time.
Good luck with your cases, and I hope to hear from you soon! :)
John
P.S. Please, Sherlock, for the love of God, don't torment Molly Hooper. I'm sure she's a lovely girl.
I'm trying the whole line separation thing because I've never used it before. Let's see how it goes!
Until next time,
Chibi