Okay hi again! *waves* I was meant to update this yesterday but I sort of forgot :L Thank you for the reviews too
Quick re-cap: Irene has returned to Baker Street her and Sherlock went out for dinner (I mean in the literal term! Not the 'Irene Adler ' term… That's yet to come ;) *oh shit spoilers* Sorry. They were coming back from the restaurant when the taxi driver tells them there has been an explosion at the clinic where our beloved Dr Watson works (again, sorry).
Disclaimer: (This shall be my only one and I really should have done it in the first chapter) I do not own Sherlock Holmes, or any of the actors. If I did a fair few would be tied to my bed naked.
"Let me through!" Sherlock shouted angrily as he ran through the bustling crowds that had gathered outside the clinic, "Move!" He was trailing Irene behind him, letting her apologise to everyone for his rudeness.
When they reached the security tape they could see just how damaged the clinic was: the whole left side of the building was rubble.
Sherlock tried to duck under the tape but a policeman put his arm in front of him saying, "Sorry sir, no one passes this line without express permission from-"
"Mycroft!" Sherlock shouted seeing his brother.
"Well yes, Mycroft." The policeman concluded, stunned that this stranger knew the man's first name.
"Let them through." Mycroft's voice drifted lazily across the stagnant air and the officer reluctantly lifted the tape. Mycroft could see a woman holding Sherlock's hand but didn't get a good look at her until they were a meter away from each other.
"Miss Ad-?"
"Shut up Mycroft." Sherlock interjected, "You don't want to blow our cover do you?" He glared at his brother.
"No of course not," Mycroft lowered his voice considerably before saying, "I just thought you were dead."
"Good." Irene said smiling.
"And yet I find you alive, just like my dear brother." Mycroft rolled his eyes, "Do either of you realise how dangerous it is for you two to be seen out?! The country believes you are both six feet under!"
"We've got disguises." Irene pointed out.
"I suppose." Mycroft replied irritably.
"Enough with this pointless chatter." Sherlock said, annoyed now. "Where's John?"
"They took him to St. Bart's about twenty minutes ago." Mycroft said casually as though John going to hospital –alive- was not as important as all the people who died. In retrospect, it wasn't.
Sherlock growled at his brother, earning him a half smile from Irene as he took her hand again and ducked the two of them under the tape.
Mycroft watched them walk off, Sherlock moving his hand to her waist to guide her through the crowds more efficiently. He shook his head and laughed, wondering if they themselves knew about their feelings for each other, he wondered how his brother would cope with feelings. He snorted at the thought before walking over to the detective inspector for a full report on casualties.
"Who were they Mr Holmes?" The D.I. asked, glancing to the area where Sherlock and Irene had disappeared into the swarms.
"No one of importance." Mycroft brushed him off.
"I'm looking for Doctor John Watson." Sherlock told the receptionist, tapping his fingers impatiently on the desk.
"Are you family sir?" The nineteen year old smoker asked.
"I live with him!" Sherlock shouted, spraying spit all over her face.
"Oh, sorry um name?"
"Mycroft Holmes." Sherlock replied, not missing a beat.
"Okay sir and this is?" She gestured to Irene, who was standing tiredly next to Sherlock.
"She's my…" Sherlock gulped, what was she to him?
"I'm his lover dear." Irene smirked at Sherlock as she said this, wanting to provoke a reaction out of him.
However, unlike the secretary who had some sort of fit, Sherlock didn't bat an eyelid. Irene sighed, disappointed that she didn't even get a smile out of him, but cheered up considerably when she felt his hand on the small of her back.
"Second floor, casualty. You'll have to wait outside the red doors; I'll get a nurse to fetch you when he's ready to have visitors."
"Thank you." Irene said to the young woman as she ran after Sherlock.
"I can't believe this has happened!" Sherlock growled a few minutes later, banging his hands on the wall outside the 'red doors'. Irene was sitting on one of the hospital chairs in the row opposite him. "He shouldn't be in danger all the time! Why do the people I care about always get caught?!"
Molly Hooper had heard shouting from her lab on the third floor and had come down to investigate. She saw Sherlock having what appeared to be an argument with the wall and her face cracked into a smile when she saw him. This would be it. The day that she told him she loved him. She started forwards, her features aglow, but stopped short after one step.
A woman with red hair had come up behind Sherlock and had started rubbing his back and shoulders –obviously trying to calm him down.
She's probably just his sister or something. Molly thought to herself, but decided firmly against this theory when Sherlock turned around and the woman kissed him passionately on the mouth.
"Calm down dear." Irene said, coming up behind Sherlock and rubbing her hands over his back and shoulders comfortingly. "It'd not your fault, don't get yourself worked up."
"But if I was there to-" Sherlock began, turning around.
His words were cut short when Irene smothered his mouth with hers. After a few minutes the kiss broke and the two gazed into each other's eyes.
"Hello Sherlock!" A bright voice said, breaking the couple's moment together. Irene looked over her right shoulder, a youngish looking girl with mousy brown hair and small lips, was walking towards them, she had no idea who this girl was but Sherlock apparently did.
"Hello Molly." He said politely, "How have you been?"
"I've been good thank you, yourself?" She replied eagerly.
"Mediocre."
There was silence.
"Aren't you going to introduce us Sherlock dear?" Irene said, wrapping her arm around his waist. For some reason she felt threatened by this 'Molly', she was looking at Sherlock strangely and Irene didn't like it.
"Oh yes of course," Sherlock said, clearing his throat, "This is Molly, she helped me fake my own death, her and Mycroft."
"Nice to meet you love." Irene said, smiling sweetly. Sweet as venom. Holding her hand out to Molly who shook it uncertainly.
"How do you and Sherlock know each other?" Molly asked, hoping it wasn't as bad as her imagination was making her believe.
"Hmm," Irene smirked, what a perfect question to prove that Sherlock was hers, whether he liked it or not (and she was sure he did), "Well our first meeting ended with us both… defrocked." She put stress on the last word, hoping Molly would take it the wrong way. Judging the look on the girls face, she did. "Oh and I do believe there was a whip involved was there not darling?" Irene grinned smugly, looking up at Sherlock.
"Yes." He said slowly and unsurely, wondering why Irene had phrased their first meeting in such a manner.
"Oh, well that's… nice." Molly contirbuted awkwardly.
The awkward silence was saved when a nurse came bustling through the pair of red doors.
"Mycroft Holmes and his… lover?" She said frowning as she looked down at his clipboard.
Molly's eyes widened even more and Irene silently thanked the receptionist for writing down exactly what she'd said.
"Yes, yes that's us." Sherlock said, swirling around and taking Irene's hand as he sped away after the nurse.
"Lovely meeting you." Irene called back to Molly who was still frozen in her tracks.
They sped down corridor after corridor and Irene considered memorising away to get back but knew Sherlock would already have that covered.
They reached a second pair of red doors where the nurse instructed them to wait there to make sure it was okay for them to see John.
"What was that about?" Sherlock asked, turning to Irene.
"What was what about?" She said innocently.
"That, that moment with Molly. Why did you make it seem like we had… had, you know."
"Had what?" Irene said, her eyes sparkling, she wanted him to say it.
"Had… sex." He whispered.
"Ohhh!" She said like she only just realised what he'd been trying to say, "Well I wanted to make sure that she knew you are my property." She finished, pulling him closer to her by his collar.
"What if I don't want to be 'your property'?" Sherlock asked, his hands finding her waist.
"Then I'd just have to get my whip out again." Irene winked and kissed him again.
"He's ready to see you now." The nurse came back and Sherlock immediately broke away. "Now I need to warn you, he was heavily burnt in the explosion. The silver lining is that he doesn't have any internal problems."
Sherlock was already through the doors before the nurse had finished speaking and Irene hurried in after him.
"Oh God!" She gasped as she saw John on the bed. He was lying on top of the sheets wearing only hospital shorts, and while his face was fine, the entire right side of his body was blistered and swollen.
"How did it happen?" Sherlock asked, not bothering to ask how John was –the charts showed that he would be fine so why worry about that side of things?
"I don't know." John replied stiffly, trying not to move too much.
"Are you alright?" Irene rushed over to his left side and took his uninjured hand in her own.
"I will be." John smiled at her.
She smiled back.
Sherlock didn't notice this encounter. "I need to know!" He shouted.
"If you're going to shout sir I will have to ask you to leave." The nurse said, sticking her head round the door. Sherlock glared at her and she scooted back to her post, making Irene and John smile at how intimidating he could be without much effort.
"I like the new look by the way Irene." John said, looking at their still joined hands.
Irene noticed how he was looking at their hands, abruptly removed hers and stood up, "Thank you John dear." She turned to Sherlock, "I'm really very tired Sherlock darling, do you mind if I meet you back at the flat?"
"Of course not." He muttered without looking up, he was about to slip away into his world of theories when Irene stepped directly in front of his gaze.
"I'll see you later." She leaned up on tip toes and kissed him softly; before he had time to react she'd gone.
John watched her leave, his heart had twanged when she kissed Sherlock but held onto the hope that it was just her way of saying goodbye to people.
"Are you two…?" He prompted.
"What?" Sherlock looked up, "Oh, it's complicated." He added, cottoning on to what John meant.
John sighed sadly, "How many theories about the explosion then?" he asked.
"Twelve."
"That's a lot."
"Too many. I need to narrow it down."
"How are you planning on doing that?"
"I need to get back on the site."
"It will be closed now, apart from security. Not even Mycroft would be able to get you on."
Sherlock scowled. How had John known he was thinking of Mycroft?
"You may as well go back to Baker Street too."
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Sherlock at him, genuine concern in his eyes.
"I'll be fine Sherlock." John said, putting on a face braver than he felt. He pulled his sheets up to cover his body, feeling self-conscious of his already forming scars.
"Don't cover up your scars. Our scars remind us that the past is real." Sherlock said simply, before turning and following the direction in which Irene had gone.
When Sherlock walked through the door to 221b he noticed that Irene wasn't asleep on the couch, he considered the possibilities and decided that she was most likely to be in the bathroom. He didn't feel like a late night conversation so instead made for his room with the intention of going to bed.
As he caught sight of his door he saw that there was a note pinned to it, it read
If I'm asleep by the time you get back then this situation
has arisen because it the couch is in a cross breeze
between the window and the door. Irene x
Sherlock wondered what the 'situation' was as he ripped the note from the door and proceeded into his bedroom. However, the 'situation' became apparent when he looked at his bed and saw Irene asleep under the covers. He sighed, took off his jacket and shoes and climbed into the opposite side of the bed from her.
As his weight pressed down on the mattress Irene stirred next to him. He never knew how to act in these situations, should he try and sleep? He rarely had a good night's sleep on a calm day, but when he had something on his mind it was nearly impossible.
Irene rolled over to face Sherlock in her sleep, her head about an inch away from his in his small bed. Should he wake her and ask her to move away? No, that would be rude, and he wasn't even sure that he wanted her to move away anyway.
He decided that he may as well try and get some sleep and no sooner than he had put his mind to it was he flat out.
Sherlock woke first the next morning; he hadn't had a sleep that well in a long time. He lay staring at the ceiling before becoming aware that he wasn't alone in his bed. He lifted his head slightly off the pillow and took in their current predicament. He was sure they'd gone to sleep on opposite sides of the bed, yet now Irene's head was on his shoulder, her arm resting on his chest and one leg entwined with his. He then noticed that his arms appeared to be wrapped around her, his chin being tickled by her fiery curls.
He slipped out of the bed silently, dislodging Irene and causing her to roll over onto her other side, frowning in her sleep. He smiled at her expression before turning and walking into the bathroom to wash and change.
Irene woke up when she heard the shower turn on in the next room. She sighed sleepily before swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She looked down at what she was wearing and promptly decided that she needed to go shopping today. If she remembered correctly, Sherlock had a housekeeper called, Mrs Hudson? Yes, that's right; she thought and agreed with herself that asking her along for company would be a good idea.
As if on cue, Irene heard the woman's voice call from the stairway, "Sherlock dear? It's nearly half eleven! You really should be getting up you know!"
Irene rushed into the living room as Mrs Hudson entered the flat.
"Who are you?" Mrs Hudson asked, shocked to find a woman in Sherlock's flat.
"Irene Adler." She replied, holding out her hand to Mrs Hudson who shook it.
"Una Hudson. Haven't I met you before?" She said suspiciously.
"Yes!" Irene was glad Una recognised her, "I was here a while ago, Sherlock helped me fake my own death actually, so if anyone asks my name is… wow I haven't had time to think of an alias yet!" she laughed, "Anyway, I need to get some more clothes, I was wondering if you would like to come shopping with me say in," she checked the clock, "half an hour?"
"Certainly love." Mrs Hudson smiled, "Tell Sherlock to get up will you?" She added.
"I am up Mrs Hudson." Sherlock's voice sounded from behind Irene, and she turned to face him.
He'd changed his shirt and put on a different pair of jeans; he had a towel in his hand and was using it to dry his pale hair.
"Sherlock darling, Una and I are going shopping later, I take it you don't fancy coming?" She looked at him but already knew the answer.
"No thank you. I need to get a look at that crime scene and check in on John."
"I went in to see him this morning," Mrs Hudson said sadly, "poor thing, burned all over." She left 221b snivelling – much to Sherlock's annoyance.
"Why do you women folk feel the need to go shopping?" Sherlock asked, picking up his sunglasses.
"Well, if I'm staying here for the foreseeable future –which I am- I will be needing my own clothes instead of borrowing yours now won't I?" Irene replied, "I nearly forgot, we both need new alias' now, any ideas?"
Sherlock gave her an 'of course' look and she rolled her eyes.
"What is my name then?" She asked indignantly.
"Victoria Poteen."
"No." Irene looked down.
"What?" Sherlock looked at her confused.
"Not Victoria." She whispered.
"Fine, Elizabeth." Irene nodded.
"Back story?"
"We met through Mycroft, your father is in the Irish government but you were brought up in England with your mother after your parents split up."
"What do you mean 'we met'?"
"Oh didn't I say? We're posing as a couple." Sherlock blushed and Irene giggled.
"Shouldn't be too hard; what's your name?"
"Victor Deeds, went to school with Mycroft and I work at Scotland Yard." Irene nodded again.
"I'd better have a shower before I leave."
"I'd better be getting to the clinic site. See you later."
Sherlock headed towards the bathroom but Irene pulled him back and kissed him firmly on the lips.
"If we're going to pose as a couple we may as well make it realistic." She winked.
"I didn't think we would be posing." Sherlock mentioned before sweeping out of the door.
Irene's face cracked open when he said that and spent her shower in some sort of heavenly daze. Seeing as she was on her way to buy more clothes, she was forced to put the clothes she'd been wearing the previous day back on.
"Irene dear are you ready?" Mrs Hudson re-entered the flat with a bag as Irene came out of the bathroom and slipped her heels back on.
"Elizabeth Poteen when we're in public." She said, picking up her own bag and putting the set of keys Sherlock had forgotten again in it.
Ten minutes later, the two had successfully hailed a cab and were crawling along in the London traffic.
"Didn't used to be this bad back in my day!" Mrs Hudson fussed.
"Don't take it to heart Una dear." Irene said, laughing at her old fashioned ways. "We're nearly in the city, why don't we just walk the rest?"
"We may as well." Was the reply she received as she handed a ten pound note to the driver while telling him to keep the change.
"Where to first?" Mrs Hudson asked when they were safely on the pavement.
"Why don't we go to Convent Gardens? I know we'll be going back on ourselves but…"
"Course dear, whatever you like."
The two women walked along in a comfortable silence until they crossed over the road to Long Acre.
"Jack Wills? H&M? Top Shop? I've never heard of half of these shops before!" The eldest muttered, chuckling as they walked.
"My favourite shop's just down here." Irene said steering the two of them left.
"Doc Martens!" Mrs Hudson exclaimed, "Now them I've heard of."
"Who hasn't?" Irene asked, turning right before stopping outside a big shop.
"Rokkit? What sort of a name is that? It looks like a glorified charity shop!" Mrs Hudson said disapprovingly.
"Well that's exactly what it is!" Irene laughed as she dragged Una in by her elbow.
:D I'm British as the chapter may have told you and frequently visit the city and the West End so I used my knowledge here Little Scars –Papa Roach quote in there if you didn't notice ;) As I am a multi-fandom mess of feels there will be lots of cross-over references just warning you :L and all the chapter names are names of songs please review, it makes me happy :D