Chapter 1: The Arrival
The plane touched down gently onto the runway of Heathrow airport with a round of applause from the passengers. The long flight had successfully traveled from Chicago and many of the passengers felt ready to start their adventures in the good, old country of England. Many passengers were excited tourists, people reuniting with families, and regulars of the travel circuit. Only one person felt out of place among the chatter of sights to see and places to visit: Leah Silver.
Leah Silver was a twenty-year old young woman with gray eyes and brown hair pulled up in a bun for traveling. She sat in the middle aisle among two different tourist groups feeling like the black dot among happy yellow dots. In her hands she clutched her passport and a student's visa, which was the real reason why she was coming to England. A prickle of anxious excitement gripped her rather than the general excitement running through the plane.
No one among the plane really noticed the shy girl as they readied themselves to disembark. In reality, Leah was a very outgoing person, kind of loud but smart. This transformation from outgoing to shy in groups had stemmed from an experience from her old life, a life she was all too ready to leave behind. As Leah prepared herself to grab her carry-on bag and leave the plane she observed the rest of the cabin. She understood the great anticipation to get out and explore the great land of England, but all she could think of for now was the prospect of getting to a bed and sleeping off the jetlag.
When the plane finally checked into the gate Leah found herself following the crowds to enter Heathrow airport to find luggage and set out. She smiled kindly to the flight attendants as she left and even shook hands with several of the passengers she had been sitting next to on the long flight. Soon every passenger had split to different groups and directions and Leah was left scrambling to get through customs and grab her large suitcase.
Through the fast paced motions of the airport, which seemed much like Chicago in some ways, Leah found herself stumbling through the airport and out into an open line of waiting taxis. Through her stumbling, Leah had purchased and acquired maps of London and of the Tube, but she felt that a taxi might do for her first entry into London. The weather was nice with the sun placed squarely in a light sky with few clouds hanging around. The air was warm and clear and in the distance the sounds of busy traffic and city life beckoned to be explored.
Leah approached the first taxi she saw. It was a standard taxi cab that was in England: black and elegant with the taxi sign above it glowing an artificial yellow and the driver stood outside it, smoking a cigarette.
"Excuse me." Leah asked as she approached him. "Are you operating?" She asked slowly. Despite living in places like New York and Chicago, Leah had never found herself ever getting a taxi. Her father used to do those things, before he had passed away. Her mother used a chauffeur.
"You a tourist?" The driver asked in a thick British accent. He flicked his cigarette to the ground and subbed it out with his foot.
"A student." Leah replied flatly.
The cab driver smiled slightly as he fished his keys out of his pocket and nodded. "A student? Coming from across the pond!" He chuckled to himself as he helped Leah place her luggage in the back of the cab.
"Yeah. Crazy." Leah chuckled softly as she got into the cab followed by the driver.
"So where to?" He asked as the cab started up.
"Baker Street please."
John Watson was not happy. To be more accurate to what he was feeling, he felt irritable and nervous about the task ahead of him. He sat in the kitchen of Mrs. Hudson on 221 B Baker Street with a cup of tea steaming next to him. Mrs. Hudson was busy making the kitchen area more presentable. She put a plate of biscuits on the table and added more tea cups. She replaced the hot water in the teapot two times and smiled hastily at John who watched the door to the building through the open kitchen door.
"How many people are we interviewing today?" Mrs. Hudson asked as she finally took a seat next to John.
"As many as we can. And who ever shows up." John replied looking at his watch.
"And Sherlock won't come home?"
"I told Mycroft to keep him busy for a bit. Though I'm pretty sure he knows what's happening." John smiled at Mrs. Hudson who smiled and gave a soft chuckle. John Watson grew serious as he thought about what exactly they were doing.
After a few months of Sherlock Holmes returning to life, John and Mrs. Hudson had been given permission to let out the room that used to be inhabited by John. John had moved on after Sherlock's faked death and had found a new home and a new love that he was soon to marry. For a long time Sherlock had refused Mrs. Hudson to let the extra room and it took a lot of persuasion from not only John and Mrs. Hudson, but also from Sherlock's brother Mycroft and even Mary, John's fiance. Now here they were, interviewing prospective flatmates for the eccentric and famous Sherlock Holmes.
There was a knock on the door outside the kitchen. John snapped out of his thinking and watched as Mrs. Hudson went to go and open the door. The Interviews had begun.
"Are you capable of paying the rent?" Was John's first question at the beginning of each interview.
"Is Sherlock here? This is his flat right?"
"Where's Sherlock Holmes?"
"Are you even old enough to rent a flat?" John looked skeptically at one of the interviewers.
"Oh I always wear this hat. It's my favorite."
"Absolutely not, Anderson!"
"Do you want to hear anything else about the apartment?" Mrs Hudson would ask after people would rant and rave about Sherlock Holmes.
"Do you know who Sherlock Holmes is?" John started to ask this question first.
"Well duh! Who doesn't?"
"Is he here?"
"Where's Sherlock?"
"Sherlock!"
"Who?"
Both John and Mrs. Hudson snapped out of their respective comas and stared bewildered at the young girl sitting in front of them. She looked at them with a perplexed expression and waited for an explanation.
"What, what was your name again?" John asked as he began to flip through the large pile of contract applications on the table.
"Leah Silver." The girl, obviously American, replied. "We talked over e-mail mostly. I think I called once." She said as she watched John finally fish out the pile of correspondences and smile are her.
"You don't know Sherlock?" Mrs. Hudson asked.
"No." Leah replied.
"Don't you watch the news?" Mrs. Hudson asked as if Leah was some alien from outer space.
"I'm trying to double major in Math and English. I hardly have the time to read a good book. I don't know what's even going on in my own country." Leah laughed at her educational obliviousness and Mrs. Hudson nodded.
"So you're a student." John cut in. He had looked through the piles of emails he had printed off. "What university are you going to attend?"
"University of the Arts London." Leah replied quickly. She had rehearsed the name so many times that it now felt as familiar as her old school had. Granted she had only stayed for two years on that school and she had almost a few more years till she graduated. Then it was graduate school. Her timeline made her smile and she found that John was smiling with her.
"Of course I'll be commuting. Using the Tube, taxis, buses. Commuting." She nodded along with her awkward comment on commuting and John just smiled.
"Are you okay with a man being your flatmate?" Mrs. Hudson asked. She seemed a little apprehensive about Leah being the choice, but she could tell that John was thinking it over.
"Is he a creeper?" Leah asked and both Mrs. Hudson and John started a little. "Like am I going to have to worry if he gets creepy? I've had some experiences." Leah added the last part quickly to try and change the devastated look on Mrs. Hudson's face. "I had a stalker in Chicago."
"Um, no he is not a 'creeper'. He's just peculiar. I'll be over sometimes so you won't have to worry about anything." John said as he placed the e-mails on the stack of applications.
"So I have the room?" Leah asked. She leaned into the table and looked at John intently.
"Why not have a dorm with girls your own age?" Mrs. Hudson murmured. Obviously she was curious. "Are you a serial killer?"
"Mrs Hudson!" John cried and stared at her with wide shocked eyes. Even Leah looked somewhat shocked and for a moment silence descended on the table.
"Uh no I am not a serial killer. I had a really bad experience last year involving the creepy stalker guy and my roommates. I would rather have a peculiar male roommate than three vindictive girls." Leah answered the question as well as she could without divulging any of her past life. She didn't need people knowing about the stresses that she had in that life.
"Why don't you wait out in the hall." John said and Leah nodded. "We'll discuss it for a little bit and then let you know."
Leah got up from the table and headed out into the hall and sat on the stairs. She looked around the small hallway and then up the stairs where light was coming in from a window. It cast about dust motes and shadows that fascinated Leah tremendously. What was so wrong with living with a man named Sherlock Holmes? Was he a celebrity? Or was he one of those infamous celebrities. She contemplated this as she tried to ignore the flurry of whispers coming from the little kitchen around the corner from her.
"I like her." John whispered quickly to Mrs. Hudson as Leah left the room.
"I don't think Sherlock would like having a girl living with him." Mrs. Hudson muttered in reply.
"I've been talking to her through e-mails and I think she and Sherlock would benefit from being flatmates. She's obviously not a nutter like the others we've interviewed." John looked intensely at Mrs. Hudson who still continued to feel somewhat against the idea. "See it as revenge for Sherlock surprising us." John smiled and Mrs. Hudson did too.
Mrs. Hudson was more than happy to have Sherlock Holmes back from the dead. But two years of thinking he had been gone had taken a toll on her. She always treated him like he had never been gone, but she had been somewhat upset by his sudden reappearance. She recalled Leah's explanation of having a bad flatmates before and began thinking like John. Perhaps this would be good for her and Sherlock. It would be a bonus to have another woman in the house too.
"Okay." She said and John's smile grew immensely.
"Leah, you can come back." John called through the kitchen. Immediately Leah was back to sitting across from the two of them. Her eyes were wide with anticipation.
"You may have the room." Mrs. Hudson said after getting a nod from John.
"Seriously? Oh wow! Thank you!" Leah vigorously shook hands with both John and Mrs. Hudson. She couldn't recall the last time she had felt so happy.