Author's note: School was cancelled today so I was able to update! Now if only I can get more people to review. Speaking of which thank you to the people who have! Reviews not only tell me the story so far is good or tell me what to fix, but also they tend to make updates come faster.
Disclaimer: I only own Cassandra, everyone else belongs to Doyle (someday Doyle, someday). I love reviews and flames will be used to heat Baker Street.
"Today a man discovered gold and fame, Another flew the stormy seas; Another set an unarmed world aflame, One found the germ of a disease. But what high fates my path attend for I-today-I found a friend."
Helen Barker Parker
Chapter 3
As the weeks passed, I slowly adjusted to my new life in Baker Street. I did not see Holmes as much as I had become accustomed. It did not bother me when he was out on a case, no, that never really bothered me. What did was the fact that he was in the sitting room, but I could not go out there because of the doctor.
My lessons were starting again so I had more things to do. I loved my lessons. For my English lessons, Holmes had me read different books and he had me write, the writing was more of practicing my neatness then anything. He would teach me mathematic problems and then write out some for me to work on later. Science we would do different experiments together, or he would tell me about them and give me books to read.
Mrs. Hudson, as I came to realize, became my ally. She was the only one who was able to give me the touch that I never really had before, a motherly touch. Over tea, mine with milk hers with honey, she told me stories and I shared secrets with her Holmes did not even know. When I needed advice that I went to her. She would often sneak me downstairs into her kitchen and let me help her with the cooking, or to simple a cookie or two. Holmes never allowed me any sweets, if he knew which is likely that he did; he said nothing of the matter.
However, living in Baker Street, was not very easy. The hardest thing was the sitting room, which I was forbidden to enter. The only time I could go into that room was Friday afternoon when Mrs. Hudson cleaned it. As most men do, Holmes and the doctor made themselves scarce.
When I was in the sitting room, I could return books that I borrowed from Holmes and pick out new ones to read. I often looked out of the windows into the street watching as the people passed by. I would see if Holmes had started on a new experiment at the chemistry table, he had set up. If he had something, I would question about it upon his return so that I could know about it. I never gave much thought to the other occupant, the doctor. That is until Holmes took the doctor on a case with him.
The morning had started with Holmes leaving as he normally did. I was sitting at the desk writing out several passages he wanted me to memorize; memorization is a very important task, as he told me. It was nearly mid afternoon, when Holmes busts into the room in a frantic frenzy.
He called something back to the doctor, as he rushed into the room. He threw me a quick look as he shut the door. I was staring at his wild look and the gleam in his eye, there was only one thing that would cause him to be like that, a case. I quickly sat up in attention. When Holmes was on a case, he often confided me with the problem to help him think. Though I never was able to help him with solving it, he always told me that I helped him clear his mind and focus.
He glanced over at me as he looked around his side of the room. "Watson and I have a case." He said pulling open a drawer to his nightstand.
This time I gave him a look of shock. "What? Since when have you taken anyone along with you on a case?" I asked him. "You don't even take Lestrade or Gregson with you."
"Now, that's not-
"And when did the doctor become Watson?" I interrupted him.
"When did this turn into an interrogation?" Holmes asked turning and giving me his cold hard glare.
"Holmes? When did you become friends with him? Why are you letting-
"Cassandra, that is quite enough."
I looked away. I did not want him to see how hurt I was. I did not understand why he was doing this, why he was changing, why he was no longer confiding in me. "If you are looking for your lens, it's in your desk in the sitting room."
He gave me a curt thank you and left. I tried to get back to memorizing, but I was having trouble focusing. An argument with Holmes was always difficult, mostly because in the end he was only one I had to talk with. Not too long after, Mrs. Hudson walked inside carrying my lunch. She noticed the dark glare I had as I stared down at my paper in front of me.
"Is something bothering you, Cassandra?" She asked setting down the tray.
"Holmes took the doctor out with him." I turned around and looked at her. "He took him out on a case."
"He must have made a friend with Dr. Watson." Mrs. Hudson said.
"Holmes?" I asked. "No, it's a mistake. It must be a mistake, or he might have needed a doctor. Yes, that's it, the police doctor who usually looks at the bodies must be sick, so he asked the doctor to come."
"He and the doctor have been getting along." She said.
"Because he knows he has too, at least until we can do well enough on our own again."
I said. "You will see, be the time this is all over, Holmes and I will find another place to live."
Holmes was not back by dinner, but the doctor was, I could hear him move about in the sitting room, but Holmes was not. Soon it was past my bedtime. I was dressed and ready for bed, and he still had not returned. I was determined to wait until he came home, but after an hour or so, I fell asleep.
The next thing I knew, I was lifted up by strong arms. "Holmes?" I asked without opening my eyes.
"Shh. Go back to sleep, child,"
"What time is it?" I asked as he tucked me into bed.
"It's either late at night or very early in the morning, I don't know." He whispered as he pulled the blanket up to my chin.
"What was the case about?" I yawned.
"In the morning, you need to sleep." He said.
"What about you?"
"I'm going to stay up and think for a while. Now sleep."
I closed my eyes and snuggled deeper in the warm bed. "Goodnight, Holmes."
The next morning when I woke up, I was shocked to find that it was late in the morning. I was even more shocked to find Holmes still sleeping in bed. I quickly got dressed and when I heard her coming up the top steps, I opened the door and Mrs. Hudson walked inside with a tray.
"There is enough for both of you." She whispered setting the tray down on the desk.
I nodded and she then left the room. I was half way done eating breakfast by the time Holmes woke up. "Good morning, Holmes." I said.
"Good morning." He said. "What time is it?"
"Ten." I said looking at the small clock on the desk.
He shot up, and got out of bed. "Turn around while I dress, Cassandra."
I turned around and sighed. "Are you going to eat breakfast?" I asked.
"I shouldn't have slept in. I need to work. No, I'm not going to eat breakfast."
"Holmes," I started to say as I turned.
"Cassandra!"
I turned back around and looked at the wall. "What was the case about, Holmes?" I asked.
"A man was murdered."
"How did he die?"
"He was poisoned."
"How do you know that?" I asked.
"There were no stab wounds, but there were blood stains."
I frowned as I thought. "So the stains belonged to the murderer, did you find anything else?"
"A woman's wedding ring."
"So it was a woman who did it." I said confidently.
"You were rather quick to judge on that." Holmes said. "Now, here is another piece of evidence that I found. There was also the word, Rache written on the wall in blood."
"Rachel?" I asked.
"No, Rache." He repeated. "Tell me what you make of that."
I had noticed the little accent the word had when Holmes said it. "Is that a foreign word?"
"Yes, well done, Cassandra. Its organ is German and it means revenge. I placed an advisement in the newspaper for the ring. Hopefully I will have a young woman come to retrieve it." Holmes said as he walked next to me, fully dressed.
I tilted my head up and stared at him. "Do you think you'll hear something today?"
"I'm positive. Now, I have told you enough for today. I must go."
"Holmes- I started to say before he looked down at me.
"I have to do some things. Watson is going to stay for anyone who will come and answer the advisement."
"All day?" I asked. "Holmes-
He sighed. "Cassandra, not now, later, we will talk later. I really must go."
He then left without another word to me. For the rest of the day, I was fuming. Friday was my day to spend one or two hours in the sitting room. It was not fair. I was angry, not so much at Holmes, but at the doctor. It was all his fault, Holmes would have remembered. I did not understand why Holmes could not do this himself, why did the doctor have to help him.
By the time, Mrs. Hudson came with lunch; I was staring grimly out the window. There was not much to see out of the window, not as much as you could see from the ones in the sitting room. I was not hungry, so I just picked at my sandwich. Holmes then walked into the room. He took one look at my uneaten lunch and stood next to me.
He knelt down in front of me and lifted my chin up. Green eyes met his grey. "What is bothering you, my dear girl?"
"Nothing, it is nothing."
"It does not seem like nothing. You are angry about something and you are not even eating. Now, what is bothering you, little cat?"
I shook my head. "It doesn't matter."
"Cassandra Brannon, you know that you can tell me anything that has you so concerned."
I sighed. "I know, Holmes."
"Come now, are you really not going to tell me what is on your mind?" He asked.
"I feel-
There was a knock on the door. "Holmes, Inspectors Lestrade and Gregson are here to see you." The doctor said.
"I'll be there in a minute." Holmes called back. He then turned back to me. "Cass-
"It does not matter, Holmes." I said standing up. I walked over to my side of the room and closed the sheet behind me.
"We'll talk when I return." He promised.
I heard him slowly get up and walk out of the room. Not wanting to stay in the bedroom, I snuck downstairs and into the kitchen. Mrs. Hudson was rolling out the crust of a pie when I walked in.
"Oh, hello, Cassandra." She smiled brightly. "I'm just about to bake an apple pie, would you like to help me?"
I nodded my head and she had me place the apple pieces into the pie. "Is something wrong, dear?" She asked me after a while. "You are very quiet."
I sighed. "Mrs. Hudson, have you ever been angry at someone, but you don't know the reason why you're mad at them?" I asked. "Even if that person never did anything to you?"
"Are we talking about Dr. Watson?" She asked.
"How did you know?" I asked.
"I have my ways, Cassandra."
I did not ask how she knew. To this day, I still do not know how she knew or anything else for that natter. "I'm angry at Holmes as well, but I should be used to him rushing out on a case." I admitted. "I don't understand it."
"You're jealous."
"Jealous?"
"Yes." She looked up at me and wiped her hands on her apron. "Cassandra, it happens. At one point or another in life, we become jealous."
"Why would I be jealous?" I asked her.
"I'm afraid that I can not tell you that. It is something you need to find out on your own."
I did not say another thing about it, but I did help her bake the pie. I heard yelling not too long after, but Mrs. Hudson made me stay with her. When the yelling stopped and about an hour later when everyone, including Holmes and the doctor left, I walked back into the bedroom. As it grew late, I slowly got ready for bed. I was thinking about what Mrs. Hudson had said.
I was laying in bed looking at my father's pocket watch when Holmes walked inside. He looked over at me. "I didn't wake you up, did I?" He asked as he took his coat off and hung it back against the chair.
"No." I popped myself up on my elbow. "What was all the yelling about from earlier?"
"The murderer tried to get away."
"He was here?" I asked. "Did you solve it?"
"Yes, he was here, and yes, I solved it," He said sitting down beside me on the bed.
"What happened?" I asked sitting up.
"It was over lost love." Holmes replied. "Bah, lost love, ridiculous."
"Why?"
"Matters of the heart are the weakness in people. It turns people to think illogically about things, they lose whatever common knowledge they have over it. Some people will even kill because of the heart. You will be better off in life without such things, Cassandra."
"Whatever does that mean?" I asked.
He chuckled. "You will understand what I'm telling you, someday. You seem to be in a better mood. Do you still want to talk about it?"
"Have you ever felt something towards someone, and then realize that it was wrong to feel that way?" I asked.
"On some rare occasions, yes I have." He said.
I sighed. "I was jealous of the doctor."
"Watson? What- ah, I see." He sighed. "Cassandra, you have no reason to be jealous about him."
"I know, but I was- I still am." I admitted.
He sat cross-legged and looked at me. "Why?"
"You never told me you become friends with him."
"I saw no importance to tell you who it is I associate with."
"Then you took him out on a case." I said.
"And, it's a good thing I did. He helped out a great deal, and as I've told you, being able to talk to someone helps to think." He said.
"He made you forget what day it was." I said.
He frowned. "The day-it's Friday, Cassandra, I did not think about it. Watson is not to blame, that lies with me. You know that when I focus on the case I sometimes forget certain things."
"I am tired of looking at the same four walls, Holmes."
"I know, but you know the reason for you staying in here. It's truly for the best until I can be certain that the man who went after your father will not go after you as well." He said.
I looked down. "I'm sorry, Holmes."
"Cass, you are only five, I think I can take that into consideration."
"But, I shouldn't-
"You're still a child, Cassandra."
"I don't want to be. I want to be like you are, Holmes."
He stared at me for a long time. "Promise me something, Cass." He said. "Promise me that you won't be just like me, not in everything. I'm not the best person, Cassandra."
