Disclaimer- Not mine. Not mine. Not, not mine. Not, not mine.
A/N Don't know why I thought to write this but I did. Hope you enjoy. Fits in episode 2 somewhere so, you know, be aware there may be spoilers.
It was the part of the job that Lestrade hated the most and he supposed it was his own fault for keeping on putting it off that he now had a huge pile of paperwork to get through by the end of the day. He surveyed his desk, which was full of files, and sighed. It was going to be a long afternoon.
There was a knock at his door. He hoped it would be someone delivering a nice cup of coffee but, instead, when he looked up, he saw DI Dimmock standing in the door way.
"Not interrupting anything, am I?" Dimmock asked.
Lestrade glanced at his desk again and answered with a lie, "Nothing that can't wait."
Dimmock took this to mean that he could enter Lestrade's office and sit down. However, it appeared after a few moments of silence that Lestrade was going to have to prompt him on why he was here.
"Er...do you need help with something?" Lestrade suddenly got the impression that maybe this distraction from paperwork was not one he would want. He got the feeling that he was going to somehow be dragged into someone else's bad day. This was confirmed to be the case when Dimmock uttered his next words;
"Sherlock Holmes."
"Ah," Lestrade frowned, "You got the case."
"Yeah." Dimmock gave Lestrade a look that clearly said he blamed him for this.
"What has he..." Lestrade started.
"He's an arrogant bastard," Dimmock cut in firmly.
Lestrade paused before he gave a response, thinking that Dimmock would add something else to his complaint. However, it appeared that was it. Lestrade could have laughed.
"That's it?" Lestrade questioned.
"What?" Dimmock was confused.
"That's it? 'He's an arrogant bastard'?"
"Well...yeah. I mean, he actually told me to 'take his word as Gospel'."
Lestrade did laugh now. He lent back at his chair and rubbed his hands over his face. Dimmock couldn't understand his reaction but continued;
"How do you put up with him?"
Lestrade looked at Dimmock now. He wasn't overly familiar with the man but he knew that Dimmock was a young Detective Inspector. Ambitious. He wouldn't appreciate an outsider telling him how to do his job. He certainly wouldn't like it if said outsider proved himself to better at it either. Lestrade guessed that's exactly what Sherlock had done.
"You just have to accept it." Lestrade said finally.
"Accept wh..." Dimmock began.
"Working with Sherlock can be...well, let's say that if his arrogance is the only complaint you have at the moment then you're lucky," Lestrade interrupted.
"But, he thinks he's right about everything." Dimmock sounded irritated as though he thought Lestrade wasn't taking him seriously.
Lestrade had noticed this and suddenly felt sorry for the man. It wasn't that Lestrade wasn't taking him seriously; it was just that he knew better. Lestrade was experienced in working with Sherlock. He had learned to accept and deal with all the issues and problems that it brought because he knew that ninety-nine times out of a hundred, Sherlock turned out to be right. After all, if Sherlock was constantly making mistakes then Lestrade wouldn't even consider letting him get involved. Surely Dimmock should understand this. Mind you, there were certain members of his team that still failed to accept and understand.
"He is usually right about everything. That's why I let him in." Lestrade reasoned.
Dimmock shook his head. The conversation clearly hadn't gone where he wanted it to.
"So...I should just go with it?" Dimmock sounded defeated.
"Listen to what he has to say, yes," Lestrade instructed, "but remember, you are still in charge."
"Huh. It doesn't feel that way."
"Just watch he doesn't go off on his own too much. Make sure he keeps you informed. You'll have much more than his arrogance to deal with otherwise." Lestrade watched as Dimmock appeared to let his words sink in before he began to stand and make his way to the door.
"What about his friend?" Dimmock asked suddenly.
"Friend? Oh, John... You don't need to worry about him."
Dimmock nodded , said his thanks and then left.
Lestrade found himself smiling. So John had stuck around. The 'arrogant bastard' had actually managed to keep a friend. A decent friend. If only Dimmock understood the significance of that. Sherlock Holmes was taking steps in the good direction.
(If you got that the disclaimer was a reference to a Phoebe quote from Friends then bonus points to you...Friends is not mine either by the way. ;) )