3 DAYS LATER
Karolyn walks into the cafe, and up to the counter.
"Small hot chocolate and a hot coffee with cream and 3 sugars, please." she orders.
"Is that coffee decaf?" the woman asks, and Karolyn chuckles.
"No." she replies. "Trust me, he needs the caffeine." She eyes the cookie, but only has enough for the hot chocolate and Sherlock's coffee.
"And a chocolate chip cookie." someone says from behind her, and she turns to look at the boy. "On me."
"Thank you." she says with a warm smile, and she turns back to the woman. "That''s all."
"Okay, that'll be 3 pounds."
Karolyn hands her the money, and the woman walks away. She looks at the boy as he drops a pound on the counter to pay for her cookie.
"Thanks again." she says, and he smiles.
"My pleasure." he says. "What's your name?"
"Karolyn." she replies. "And yours?"
"Spade." he says, and Karolyn smiles.
"Nice to meet you, Spade." she says.
"You too, Karolyn." he says flirtatiously, and she turns slightly red. "So, I can't help but notice you're American." Karolyn chuckles.
"What gave it away?" she asks jokingly, and he smiles. His phone beeps. He takes a look at it, and he groans.
"I've got to go." he says. "Can i have your number?"
She smiles.
****
3 WEEKS LATER
Karolyn scrolls through Facebook on her laptop.
"Karolyn?"
"Yeah?"
"Is this shirt alright?"
She looks at him across the room, but he's a blur, along with the rest of the room.
Dammit. She thinks. Can't he just come over here?
"Uh..." she says. If he knows she can't see him, he'll make her get glasses.
"Well?" he asks. She sighs, knowing she has to admit defeat.
"Sherlock, I can't see you."
"What?" he asks.
"You're too far away, you're blurry."
"Karolyn, I'm 6 feet in front of you."
"I know, but... I can't see you."
He sighs, and walks up to her, but stops about 4 feet in front of her.
"Better?"
No.
"Yes." she lies.
"Okay, what do you think?" he asks, fully aware that she's lying to him. "Like the pattern?"
"Yeah!" she says. "I love the pattern!"
"Karolyn, it's solid blue." he says, and she groans. He holds up 2 fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
She squints.
"Four?" she says, and he sighs. "I'm wrong, aren't I?" she asks, and he nods.
"Is this why you've been bumping into everything lately?" he asks, and she nods. "You need glasses, Karolyn."
She sighs.
"I don't want glasses." she says. "They're a pain."
"Karolyn, you need to be able to see." he tells her, and she groans.
"Fine." she says, and he smiles.
Karolyn stares out the window of the cab. Not that she can see anything out of it.
She starts thinking about that day. The day it all started. The day she met him.
"Sherlock! You can't just walk around telling people their marriages are failing!" "She should have known." "Sherlock, I swear to-" "Seriously, guys. I don't want any trouble." Sherlock and John look over at the parking lot of a cafe. They see 4 teenaged boys crowding around a teenaged girl with flaming red hair. "C'mon, freak!" One of them says. "Show us what you got." "You have the brains, freak, but you don't have the power." "Bite me!" the girl snaps. She tries to escape, but she can't. "I'm not in the mood for this, now get out of my way!" "Oh, we haven't even started yet." one says. "Scared, Karolyn?" says another. "Of course, she's scared, Robert! She knows she's gonna lose!" "There's 4 of us, and 1 of her." "Well, how about you go get a couple more guys?" she says. "That way, it's an even fight." "You talk big, freak." "Sherlock, we should do something, before she gets hurt." John says. "Just wait, John." "Yeah, big words for a weak girl." "I'm stronger than you think." she snaps. "Oh, really?" one of the boys says. "Is that why you never fought your dad?" Robert says. The girl clenches her fists. "Yeah, he beat you because he knew you'd lose." he says. She pounces, and punches him in the face. He falls back and hits the ground, and the other 3 grab her. They hold her arms so she can't move, and Robert stands up. "Sherlock..." He slams her in the gut with his fist, and she grunts, doubling over and falling to her knees, still being held by the arms. Sherlock takes off running towards the scene. Robert kicks her in the gut, and she shouts out in pain. Sherlock runs over. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?!" he yells. They let her go and run away. She lays face down on the ground, panting. John and him kneel next to her. "Are you alright?" John asks, and she just coughs. "It's alright, I'm a Doctor." "I'm fine." she pants. "They just knocked the wind out of me." "What's your name?" Sherlock asks. "Karolyn." She replies. "Is there anyone you want me to call, Karolyn?" John asks, and she nods. "My... Aunt." she says. "Where's your phone?" "My bag." She says. John sees a bag a few feet away. He gets up and goes over to it. "Are you sure you're alright?" Sherlock asks, and she nods. She groans as she sits up, and she looks at him. "I'm fine." she says, sounding pained. "Who are you guys?" "Well, that's my friend, Dr. John Watson." he replies. "And you are?" "Sherlock Holmes."
The truth of that story is that Karolyn lied. She doesn't have an aunt in London. She had a foster mom. They called her, and she came and brought Karolyn home.
About 2 or 3 weeks later, Sherlock was at a public crime scene, helping Lestrade.
"Sherlock." Lestrade said quietly, and he looked at him. "There's a girl staring at you." Sherlock followed Lestrade's eyes, and saw the girl. She had flaming red hair, and she looked familiar. A police officer walked over to her, and asked her something. She spoke for a minute motioning to Sherlock. The officer said something, then she said something back. He nodded, and she walked off. The officer approached Sherlock.
"What was that all about?" Lestrade asked. "She asked me to tell you to meet her in Kennin Cafe." "Why?" Sherlock asked, and he shrugged. "Said she had something to tell you."
So when Sherlock finished, he went to the cafe. He sat across from her.
"Who are you and what do you want?" he asked, getting straight to the point. She gave him a look. "Uh... I'm Karolyn." That's when it clicked. "You're the girl from the parking lot." he realized, and she smiled, nodding. "That's me." she said. "Sorry if I seemed so shady. It's just that I realized I had never thanked you or Dr. Watson, so I wanted to do that."
Sherlock ended up staying there and chatting with her for nearly 3 hours. He found out she's smart. Like, wicked smart. That's how she started working with him. He texted her on a few cases, then more. Then more. Then more. Eventually, he told her that she should move into Baker Street, so he wouldn't have to waste time texting her. Her foster mom had met Sherlock multiple times before, and she liked him. So, she agreed.
That's how it started. He was saving her from day one.
Karolyn looks over at Sherlock. He looks at her, and she smiles. He returns it before she looks back out the window.
"Okay Karolyn, just pick some frames and they'll be ready in 2 days."
The eye doctor walks off, and Karolyn looks at her options.
"How about these?" she asks Sherlock.
"Are you asking for my honest opinion?" he says, and she nods. "No."
She takes them off and grabs another pair. She turns to him, an expectant look on her face. He shakes his head again.
"Closer but no." he says. "They're just not you."
She grabs a third pair.
"Close, but... No." he says. He spots a pair, and smiles. He takes the corners of frames she's wearing and takes them off of her face. He grabs the other frames. "Try these." he says, putting them on, her face. He smiles when he pulls his hands away. "Take a look."
Karolyn looks in the mirror, and she grins.
"Oh my god! I love them!"
The doctor comes back out.
"Are you choosing those, Karolyn?" he asks, and she nods. "Alright, now comes the not-so fun part."
"What do you mean?" she asks.
"We always do the dilation last." he replies, and Karolyn groans.
"You go get your eyes done," Sherlock says. "and I'll stop by the shop down the road and pick you up some sunglasses, alright?" She sighs, but nods.