Chapter 2:
As he approached the dam, he surveyed the area and saw exactly where the damage was. The entire lap pool was blocked by a massive pine tree that had been struck by lightning last night and had no other choice but to collapse. Thankfully, no one was hurt. There was a perimeter set around the lake which allowed only the otters there who were working to enter. There were heavy machinery present at the site which Sherlock guessed would be used to pull the tree aside once enough chords were attached around the tree to secure it.
As he scanned the area to see what he could do, his eyes fell onto a very familiar set of eyes. He could tell whom they belonged to from miles away. Deep, dark brown but when the light hit them at the right angle, hazelnut coffee that just made you feel so warm inside.
But then those eyes tore away from his and he felt cold again. He shook his head to gather his thoughts once more and tend to the job at hand.
During all this commotion, a large crowd had gathered, watching expectantly, waiting until that moment where the colossal tree would be lifted. However, the crowd was the last thing on Sherlock's mind because he was thinking about only one otter watching. The only otter that mattered.
About an hour passed and still the team was working on tying chords to the fallen giant of a tree and setting up machinery to be able to pull it away and clear the pools. It was tedious, but knowing that she was watching made it all the more worth it for Sherlock. He hoped she would notice his defined muscles as he attached chords to different parts of the tree. Now Sherlock wasn't one to brag but he didn't exactly look like your average otter. He was quite tall and his body was sufficiently toned from all that physical exertion in his line of work. His fur was also a dark brown, but he had a line of light brown running from the top of his head to the tip of his tail. Even though he didn't really care about his physical appearance, he wanted to be noticed. Not by all, but simply by one. But he didn't want her to only notice him for his looks. He wanted her to see the real him. But how could he show that to her when he didn't have the guts to talk to her?
Who was she?
Her name was Molly Hooper and she was probably the most gorgeous otter he had ever laid eyes on. She had beautiful light brown fur all over her body, the most perfect set of teeth and by far Sherlock's favourite feature, the most warm, delicate, hypnotic eyes he had ever beheld. Her body had all the right curves and she too was rather toned as she was a swimming instructor and seeing her in action was something he always looked forward to seeing. He loved watching the way she shook the water out of her fur whenever she walked out of the lake. But there was also something so sweet and innocent about her that always captured Sherlock. Maybe it was because she was so gentle, caring and patient when it came to teaching her students. Or the way she smiled at him with those razor sharp teeth whenever he had a chance to see her in the mornings. Maybe it was all of these things put together. Either way Sherlock was absolutely smitten by his gorgeous neighbour.
Speaking of which, she had been Sherlock's neighbour for about 4 months now and every day, since she moved in, Sherlock tried to come up with a way to talk to her, but would chicken out every single time. It got to a point where he just gave up, but he didn't stop beating himself up every day for being such a coward.
Another hour passed and just when Sherlock was starting to feel the fatigue, they had tied enough chords around the tree and were all set to pull it back. As everyone got into position, they counted down and the machines powered up and began to pull the tree back. At first it didn't look like it was going to budge, but then the tree started to shift ever so slightly and some of the leaves from the tree began to fall into the dam.
It was working. The tree would soon be out of the way and everyone's lives would go back to being normal. And Sherlock would miss yet another opportunity to talk to Molly.
Once the tree was fully out of the way, a signal was given that the coast was clear and everyone started to shout and cheer. The perimeter set up was still enforced until a couple of minutes so that they could move all the machinery out of the way and make sure the tree wouldn't roll back into the lake.
However, one of the pups, thinking it was okay, jumped into the water and started swimming in the lap pool. Just as he started swimming his first lap, there was a loud snapping sound and, before anyone could see what happened, a thick piece of the tree's branch that was suspended in the air, broke off and fell into the dam and created a massive wave that pushed the little otter out of the lap pool and into the deep water where the current was strong. Since this otter was young and still learning how to swim, he could not swim back to land and instead got caught in the current on the other side of the dam.
Sherlock didn't waste a moment. As soon as he saw the branch break, he grabbed an extra chord lying on the ground, dived into the water and went after the pup. Sherlock, being quite a skilled swimmer himself, powered through the current to reach the little otter. Sherlock could see he was struggling to stay afloat and so he pushed through the water even harder.
It was at about that point that he sensed a presence near him in the water. He turned his head to see that it was no other than Molly swimming beside him. She took one look at Sherlock and nodded and he nodded back and they both started to kick faster in the water to try and reach the little one.
As Sherlock had had to travel many places for his work, he pretty much knew the forest like the back of his hand. And having this knowledge allowed him to recollect that this current led to no other place than the Reichenbach Falls which was one of the largest waterfalls in the surrounding region. He didn't know if Molly was aware but that wasn't important at the moment. Sherlock was focused on only one thing; saving the pup from the Falls, even if it meant he had to take the fall for him.
Sherlock could tell that they were approaching the waterfall as the current grew wilder and stronger, but he was already kicking at full speed and was barely catching up to the little one as was Molly. He needed to get a little closer in order to have a good shot at throwing the chord so the pup could catch it. But it was no good, the current was dragging them in different directions and it was difficult for Sherlock and Molly to stay on course.
That's when Sherlock saw it. The Falls. He had to hurry up and do something. There were many rocks protruding from under the water near the edge of the Falls. Thankfully, the pup was able to grab onto one, but it didn't look like he could hold on for very long.
"Help me! Please!", the pup cried from the rock he was holding on to. The rock was slowly coming out of place and Sherlock couldn't grab onto it knowing any more pressure would lift it out of the water. He quickly latched onto a different rock a few meters behind and began tying the chord that he still had with him around it. Molly was right on his webbed heels and once she got a hold, she helped him tie the chord to the rock. Once it was tied securely, Sherlock tied the other end around his wet, furry body.
"What are you planning to do?", Molly asked looking very concerned and Sherlock couldn't tell whether the concern was for him or for the pup on the edge of the waterfall, clutching on for dear life. Maybe it was for both.
"I haven't quite figured it out yet", answered Sherlock. "But it'll probably be dangerous."
As he prepared himself to jump for the pup, Molly grabbed his paw and he turned to look at her. Her eyes were watery which Sherlock was sure was not a factor caused by the swimming. These were tears of concern for his safety. Did she really care for him? Maybe not as much as he cared for her but still, could it be true that Molly actually did care for him?
Possibly, but he couldn't dwell on that now. So giving a quick squeeze with his paw with Molly's paw still in his, he suddenly released her and jumped after the pup.
Just as he was flying through the air and about to reach the pup, the rock that the pup was holding onto gave way and he and Sherlock both disappeared behind the waterfall.
Molly's eyes went from concern to sudden devastation. "No", she breathed out. "No, no, no...". She wanted to see for sure if they didn't make it but if she went any closer, she too would've fallen off the cliff. She just remained where she was, completely devastated that there was nothing she could do.
Then suddenly, she looked at the chord and saw that it was taut and quickly started to pull the chord in the opposite direction. As she pulled it back, she hoped to see them both on the other end. She couldn't stand the thought of losing either one of them.
Just when she thought she couldn't pull anymore, she saw a figure emerging from the Falls. Her heart skipped a beat from joy at seeing Sherlock, but also shattered into pieces from heartbreak, conceding that they had lost the pup to the Falls. But as she continued to pull, Sherlock's figure turned and she saw the pup nestled safely in his arms.
She gave a sigh of relief as she continued to pull them closer to the rock with renewed strength. With one last tug, she finally managed to help them up the rock and bring them to safety.
As soon as Sherlock's webbed feet touched the rock, Molly attacked him with a massive hug that threatened to throw them back into the current. Thankfully, he had a good grip and was able balance himself and slowly return the hug with one arm as the pup was still carefully balanced in his other arm.
Molly pulled away and Sherlock could see a different kind of water pulling in her eyes. Tears of joy one might say.
"Thank you so much Sherlock! You were so brave to do that."
He wanted to say 'I did it for you' but thought otherwise since it was not the time or the place for such talk. "Well, it was nothing. Just doing my job", was all he could say.
"No, it wasn't nothing Sherlock. You saved one of my students. If there's anything I can do for you, you will let me know, won't you?"
'Anything' thought Sherlock. Well how about we start by going on a date? And then after that, we can get to know each other a bit better... no stop it! You can't just daydream like that. You need to give her an answer!'
"Yeah, of course", he said. And that was all that came out. 'Damn it!', he thought. 'Why can't I just ask her?! Maybe not here. Wait until we get back.'
And with that being said, they crossed through the current and onto land and walked the way back. Even skilled swimmers like Molly and Sherlock wouldn't be able to swim against this current, not to mention they were already fatigued from all that swimming.
