Here's Chapter 2! Hope Mike and Lestrade are to everyones liking. Review with any comments and/or criticisms :D Enjoy! I do not own Sherlock or any associated characters.


Chapter 2

After checking in, and getting directions to his cabin, Cypress, John gathered up his belongings and began the long trek up the hill to his residence for the summer.

As a full-timer, the boys who stayed the whole summer, he had been assigned to one of the cabins furthest from the main lodge. Other campers would come and go, but the occupants of that cabin, and one other, named Birch, would be there the entire time. John wasn't quite sure of the logic behind putting them as far away as possible. Maybe the counselors thought the full-timers would get used to the long hike after a week or so. John thought this unlikely. His entire body protested from the strain of carrying up his trunk.

Other campers passed him by, sharing the weight of their trunks with their parents. One mother offered to help John, but he waved her away saying he had already made it this far, and there was no point stopping now.

After an indeterminate amount of time, John finally drew up to his cabin. Cypress was painted with blue curling letters on a wooden sign stuck in the dirt outside. Like the main lodge down the hill, it was a sturdy looking building made out of rough wood. It appeared to only have one room, plus a small porch in the front. The cabin was set a few meters back into the woods, and a dirt footpath led to the front steps. The door to the cabin was flung wide open, and the chatter of excited voices reached John's ears. He grimaced at the sound of it. Nothing like the happy voices of people familiar with each other to make a newcomer nervous.

John set his trunk down at the beginning of the dirt path, and wiped the sweat from his brow. No reason to walk in looking completely disgusting. A wry grin curled the corners of his lips. At the moment, looking gross was the least of his worries. He had walked into this type of situation enough times to know what was going to happen the moment he walked through that door.

These boys have probably been coming to camp here together for years. The first few moments are definitely going to be awkward. It doesn't help that I'm obviously one of the last to arrive. My slow ascent up the hill made sure of that… John rubbed his sore arms ruefully, coming to a decision. Well standing here thinking about it isn't going to do any good. Come on John, this is nothing you haven't experienced before.

A short burst of laughter came from the cabin, and for a moment John hesitated, but instead of stopping, he took a deep breath and a step forward.

If a person had been watching John at that exact moment in time, they would have noticed him straighten his shoulders, and tilt his chin back. It was a false look of confidence, but John was a master, and it would take someone very skilled at reading people to see though the façade.

John walked through the door.

All the boys turned to look at him. John paused in the threshold, his hands tightening around the handles on his trunk. There were boys on almost every bunk, and they were all peering at John, sizing up the newcomer. The scrutiny was not unfriendly, but rather curious.

A brown haired boy from a bunk near John must have decided John looked like a nice enough fellow, and shot him a grin, "Looks like you stopped for a swim on the way up mate. Didn't know the swimming pool was open yet." The other boys laughed. A few looked at John rolling their eyes and groaning in mock annoyance at the terrible jest.

John allowed himself to relax, and smiled in return. "Well that's what you get for arriving early. Us latecomers get all the benefits."

The brown haired boy rolled from his bed, stepping lightly to his feet. John could see now that he was quite muscular, a footballer. "I'm Greg Lestrade, most people just call me Lestrade though, and this-"

Before Lestrade could finish he was interrupted by a figure bounding from the back of the cabin. It was a man in his mid 20's. With messy brown hair, a prominent nose, and laughing blue eyes. The nametag around his neck said Levi. He had drawn in a little blue smiley face with a pen. He grabbed John's hand, and began pumping it up and down.

"You must be John! So glad you got here alright! How was the hike up that bloody hill? Miserable right? You'll get used to it though. Actually I take that back. It's a right pain. Nice scenery on the way up, but I hardly think it's worth it" He paused to take a breath. John started to say something, but was immediately interrupted by the onrushing flow of words coming from this exuberant man. "Oh, I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Levi, your fabulously amazing counselor for the summer, and this is Cypress Cabin!" He made an expansive gesture with the hand not shaking John's, as if inviting John to look at how wonderful the cabin was.

Lestrade looked at John, his eyes twinkling, and mouthed the words, Just go with it.

John complied: 6 bunks, room enough for 12 boys, pushed up against the walls, and a door in the back right corner that presumably led to the bathroom. The beds were the only furniture in the cabin, and most were already made up with sheets and blankets. Most of the other boys had gone back to whatever they had been doing before John walked in. They knew how long-winded their counselor could be.

John realized that Levi waiting for him to say something, and that their hands were still clasped together in a handshake. John glanced down, and Levi let go with chuckle, "Not much of a talker eh? That's all right. I more than make up for that."

John managed a smile, feeling a bit overwhelmed. He wasn't sure what to say so he just said, "Yeah. I'm John."

"Well of course you are! Everyone except you and one other kid is here, and you didn't look like much of a Sherlock Holmes to me. So I knew you must be John! Lets get you set up." Levi looked around the cabin. "There's an empty bunk above Mike's, or both the beds in this bunk next to the door are available. I wouldn't recommend that though because the hot air will be blowing in every time the door is opened. Pick whichever you want."

John decided that Levi reminded him of a golden retriever: energetic, easily excited, and eager to please. "Ok Thanks. I guess I will bunk with Mike if that's alright." Even as he spoke the words, Levi was picking up his trunk and depositing it next to a bed in the back of the cabin. John followed at a pace more suitable for moving through a cabin full of boys.

Mike was a short, skinny boy, with large wire-rimmed glasses. As John approached, he removed his glasses, and rubbed them on his shirt sleeve; a shirt that had a wizard on it and the words "That's what I'm Tolkein about." He gave off a definite nerdy aura.

John stuck out his hand, "I'm John."

Mike's face broke into an easy smile and he accepted John's proffered hand, "I'm Mike. Nice to meet you."

John decided that he shouldn't have worried so much. The murmur of half a dozen contented conversations washed over him as he began searching for his sheets and blankets in his trunk. The adrenaline rush that had pumped through his veins when he had first walked through the door had dissipated, leaving him feeling warm and lethargic. Mike was now propped up with a pillow reading a comic of some sort, and he gave John a thumb's up when he caught his glance. John could hear loud laughter coming from near Lestrade's bunk, and Levi's nonstop babble kept up a running commentary.

John had just about finished making his bed – a task that was made much more difficult by his position on the top bunk – when a resounding thump came from the front of the cabin. All conversation stopped.

"That bloody hill! It had a gradient of at least fifteen percent. That's just asking for a landslide!" A tall, gangly boy was silhouetted against the sun streaming in from the doorway. He had wild brown hair, and a pale complexion. His trunk – which he had just dropped to the ground, causing the loud thump – was sitting at his feet, and he gave it an uncontrolled kick. "Bloody Mycroft insisting I need to bring all this stuff in order to 'have fun and make new friends.'" His eyes flickered around the room, taking in the sparse furnishings and boys sprawled across the bunks.

The tall boy's eyes met John's, and John felt an icy jolt run down his spine. This boy could see his darkest secrets, knew his worst fears. He could see through John to all the things hidden deep inside. Then his gaze moved on, and John felt as if he had been suddenly released from a paralyzing hold.

John slumped back against the wall, and looked around wondering if anyone else had experienced the same moment of exhilarating terror as he had. All he could see though was the slacked-jaw expressions of the purely astonished.

The tall boy let out a scoffing laugh. "Not that I will be finding any of those worth my time here."


Our two favorite boys have finally met! Mwahahaha! I have some of the plot worked out, but let me know if you think of anything you would like to see them do. Summer camp should be interesting for these two. Also, please leave a review with any comments or criticisms. I will love them all!