It was two weeks later and life at Baker Street had begun to return to normal, well to a degree. Sherlock had yet to take on any new cases that involved leaving the flat.

But, he was proud of the fact that he'd notice John's reluctance when it come to leaving.
He'd first noticed it when John had been getting ready to do the shopping. They'd already gone a week longer than usual and were in desperate need of edible food.

Every since John had moved in he had taken it upon himself to do the shopping, (despite his frequent disputes with pin machines, something which Sherlock understood now that he realised John probably had little experience with them.)

It had been just like any other shopping day, John had come down dressed in his usual attire, his brace in place, keeping his wings strapped down. He even had the list of all the things they needed, but couldn't seem to be able to get himself together enough to leave.

He left his keys in his room and then proceeded to forget the shopping list up there upon retrieving them. He was agitated and had spent a good ten minutes rechecking his shopping list in the kitchen before Sherlock realised what was going on.

He had been watching his flatmate's stalling tactics, thoroughly bemused, from the living room, when it had dawned on him that John had yet to venture outside alone since the recent attack. Upon his realisation, Sherlock had immediately gotten up from the couch and headed to his room to change.

"I need to get something for an experiment." He'd reasoned upon returning, holding out John's coat.

The shopping trip hadn't been nearly as tedious as Sherlock had thought it would be.
In fact, he had enjoyed himself, holding the shopping basket so John's hands were free to sign, and entertaining himself by making sarcastic comments about the ingredient lists of various foods.
He had felt a rush of proud satisfaction when John let out a booming laugh at one of his comments, heedless of the disapproving onlookers.

All in all, John seemed to have been more comfortable with Sherlock around, and the trip was counted as a success.

Now though, Sherlock wasn't sure what to do. He knew that John had said that he wanted to live like they had before... but he also knew that Harry would have his head if he moved too quickly.
He did want to eventually be able to take cases again though...

Suddenly he had a brilliant idea.

oOo

Sherlock got into the cab and smiled proudly to himself as John did the same.

Solving cold cases at the police station wasn't as exhilarating as fresh mysteries, but the station should be a relatively 'safe place' for John, meaning he would be comfortable leaving their flat to go there. Plus cold cases were less likely to trigger any unpleasant memories.
Lestrade had been bugging him for a while about them anyways, and Sherlock had already warned him not to mention John's signing.

All things considered, it was the perfect first step for John.

At least he hoped so.

It appeared to be going well. John seemed to be willing, even excited to visit Lestrade and they made it to Lestrade's department without issue.

Donovan met them and led them towards Lestrade's office, her typical look of irritation plastered on her face.

"Freak's here." She remarked casually to Lestrade.

And that's when it went downhill.

Sherlock barely noticed the insult, but he felt John tense beside him and his brain raced to find the problem.

You're NOT normal you little freak!

Sherlock narrowed his eyes. He'd gotten used to Donovan's ribbing over the years and had simply accepted it as an inevitable result of his genius. But this was about John now. She was hurting John and that was unacceptable.

Seething Sherlock plotted as he followed Lestrade down the hall to where the cold cases were filed.

"Can I speak with you in private?" He ground out once they'd arrived.
Lestrade looked confused but nodded. "My office is free." He said, gesturing to the door.

Nodding stiffly, Sherlock made sure John was okay where he was, before marching straight back to Lestrade's office, closing the door rather firmly once Lestrade had caught up.

"Sherlock?" Lestrade questioned wearily, moving behind his desk.

"You need to have better control over your officers Lestrade." Sherlock hissed, not wanting to be heard through the thin walls. "Specifically Donovan." Sherlock glared, his fists clenching.

"What did she do?" Lestrade asked, sitting down.

Sherlock scoffed. "What she always does." Folding his arms he glowered at Lestrade. "And I'm tired of working in an environment where I'm constantly demeaned. I don't care if she's calling me out on my behavior, but it's completely unprofessional the way she treats me."

Pursing his lips, Lestrade thought briefly before nodding. "You're right Sherlock. I'll talk to her. I'll let her know she'll be written up for improper behavior if she does it again."
Looking tired Lestrade sighed before continuing. "I can't say she's going to be friendly around you though Sherlock, you guys butt head too often."

Sherlock rolled his eyes. "I'm aware, but that's no reason for me to be verbally abused."

Lestrade winced and nodded in agreement. "Let me know if she keeps at it."

"I will." Sherlock assured, turning towards the door before pausing as a thought struck him.

"By the way," he warned. "If Donovan, or anyone else on your crew for that matter, ever speak that way to John, I won't be answering your phone calls for a solid week afterwards."
With that Sherlock left the room, smirking as he heard Donovan getting paged to Lestrade's office.

Now in a much better mood Sherlock breezed into the cold cases room, noticing that John had already pulled open a file left for them and had spread the various papers and evidence on the table in the middle of the room.

"It's a locked room murder." He explained, waving Sherlock over, his eyes scanning the document. "Ten years old too."

Sherlock smiled, making his way to the table. It seemed like today's outing would be a success after all.


AN:

I love stories where John stands up to Donovan for Sherlock, but I haven't read many where Sherlock does it himself. I think it's a good character development.