The door burst open with a loud bang.
"Put your hands where I can see them!"
Dr. Joan Watson stepped into the cellar, her gun out in front of her, rotating between the thugs. Her long hair, usually up in a tight bun, now flew behind her and curled around her shoulders in deep brown waves. I had never seen anyone so striking. Despite myself, my tired face broke into a wide grin. I saw her glance my way out of the corner of her eye, but otherwise her gaze remained fixed on the criminals - she knew what she was doing.
Joan stopped with her gun on the man in charge of the little operation and gestured toward the youngest and weakest of his underlings. "Untie Miss Holmes or your boss gets it." She cocked her pistol for emphasis.
The young man began to move toward me, when one of his stouter accomplices protested, "Not so fast!"
Joan's gun went off before he finished speaking. The bullet just barely grazed their boss and everyone froze.
She gestured for the young man to go and untie me.
I let the ropes that I had cut long ago, when I still thought there was a chance of escape, fall from my hands as he made to untie them and grabbed for his gun. I pushed him away with all my remaining strength and stumbled to my feet.
I was barely in time. One of the thugs had circled around Joan and was ready to strike. I rose the stolen pistol as she had done and leveled it at him.
"Get away from her," I ordered, my voice rough from disuse. I fumbled with the gun until it clicked.
The man held up his hands and backed away.
Joan shot me a tired smile.
Between the two of us, we relieved the criminals of their weapons and called for Inspector Lestrade to take them into custody. By the time we were free to go, my burst of energy had long since passed. The inspector offered to send for an ambulance, but I protested and Joan assented that all I needed was food and rest. She helped me into Inspector Lestrade's car and we leaned on each other as he drove us back to Baker street. Her hair brushed against the crook of my neck. I found myself wishing I was shorter so that I could lean upon her shoulder instead.
"You should let your hair down more often," I murmured. I believe I managed a wry smile.
She smiled back at me. "We'll see, Shirly. So long as you don't get yourself kidnapped again."
Note:In all the Sherlock Holmes adaptations I've heard of with a female Dr. Watson, she's never in the military, which is a shame because the world needs more badass lady Watson!
This was originally posted on my Tumblr, vtsuion dot tumblr dot com.
