THE VIOLINIST

CHAPTER FOUR

SIX MONTHS LATER

Sarah hurried to her apartment on Main Street. She was thankful she had moved out of her aunt's apartment three months ago. She had decided that unless her aunt cleaned up her life she wasn't going to live with her anymore.

Fortunately for her, her aunt didn't really care and told her to go if she wanted to, that it didn't matter. So Sarah had left and taken her stuff with her. Even though she was only sixteen, well seventeen in a week, she was indepent enough to live on her own.

Sarah had also quit school. She had learned enough and she was tired of school, so she just got her GED and left. She smiled to herself as she thought about her very last day at her school. It had been about four months ago. She had had one last victory before she left.

She had been in the lunch line getting some "mystery" meat, when Megan had walked up behind her. "Hey loser girl." Megan said. "You might want to get something a little lighter in calories. You could stand to lose a couple of pounds."

Sarah had determined that since it was her last day at school, she had a little more liberty to do certain things. So she calmly turned around and dumped her tray full of meat and macaroni and cheese all over Megan. Megan let out an ear piercing shriek and started yelling at Sarah, but Sarah just grinned at her.

She walked away, a bounce in her step. "Have a nice life Megan." She called over the sound of a roomful of students laughing. That was the day, she made her decision. She would not be pushed around by anyone anymore, least of all by her aunt. So she moved out, got her own apartment with some money she had saved up, and got a job as a janitor at a music school.

So it wasn't the best job in the world, but at least it was at a music school. And the pay wasn't too bad either. Sarah still played her violin and smiled whenever she thought about 221B Baker Street, Mrs. Hudson and John Watson.

Sarah reached her apartment and practically ran to the kitchen. She was starving, because she hadn't eaten since yesterday. It had been a long shift cleaning. She was in the middle of making herself a sandwich when her phone rang. She paused, knife in hand, and gazed longingly at the peanut butter.

When she checked her phone screen, she didn't recognize the number. Sarah answered the still loudly ringing phone. "Hello?" She asked while trying to finish her sandwich, with one hand.

"Yes, hello. Is this Sarah Blackwell?" A male voice asked.

"Yes, this is she." Sarah responded. "Who is this?"

"Sarah, hi." The voice said. "This is John. John Watson."

Sarah straightened. "Oh. Mr Watson." She smiled. "How are you?"

"Quite all right,thank you." John said. "Um." He hesitated. "This might sound a bit weird."

"Okaay." Sarah said slowly. "What can I help you with?"

Five minutes later, Sarah was on the bus to Baker Street, sandwich and violin in hand. Apparently an Inspector Lestrade was there and they needed her violin for something or other.

She had noticed that John sounded a lot happier and she wondered why. He also said she might be surprised when she got there, and to hurry. So she had finished her sandwich, grabbed her violin and hopped on a bus.

The bus soon came to a stop. She jumped off and made her way to their flat. Sarah knocked on the door and shuffled her feet, anxiously. A man answered the door, but it wasn't John. "Uh." Sarah checked the flat number again. "Is this John Watson's residence?"

The man nodded. "It is."

Sarah looked at him for a moment.

He had curly dark hair, high cheekbones, and the prettiest eyes she'd ever seen. She gasped as recognition hit. "Aren't you that guy who told me where to find this place, about six months ago?"

The man studied her. "Yes."

Hmm. A man of few words. "Has you aunt stopped drinking?" He asked abruptly.

"No." Sarah began. "She- wait. How did you know my aunt was an alchoholic?"

He smirked a little.

Just then John came down. "Oh." He said nervously. "I see you've met Sherlock."

"Sherlock?" Sarah whirled to look at him. "As in the famous detective who jumped off a building?"

John winced. "Well, it's a little more complicated than that, but yes."

She stared at Sherlock. "Why aren't you dead?"

He smiled. "That's my little secret."

Sarah rolled her eyes and turned to John. "So why am I here, exactly?"

John motioned with his head for her to enter. "You'll understand when we get upstairs." He led the way up to his flat.

A pretty woman with short blonde hair smiled at Sarah when she came inside. John introduced them. "This is my wife, Mary. Mary, this is Sarah Blackwell."

Sarah shook her hand as a another man and woman came up to them. They introduced themselves as Inspector Lestrade from Scotland Yard and Molly Hooper, a specialist registrar at St. Bartholemew's hospital.

They sat down on the various chairs and on the couch in the living room. Somehow, Sarah ended up on the couch next to Sherlock. They both shifted awkwardly and Sarah broke the silence. "This is nice and all, but why am I here?"

Sherlock spoke from his spot next to her. "Did you bring the violin?"

Sarah nodded.

"Good." He sat up straighter. "May I see it?" He held out his hand and Sarah gave him the violin carefully. He then handed the violin to Inspector Lestrade, who immediately started shaking the violin back and forth rapidly.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked, looking around to see if she was the only sane one in here. It looked like she was.

"I don't hear anything." Lestrade said, looking pointedly at Sherlock.

Sherlock grinned. "That's because it's not in there. It's around her neck." With that statement he turned and pointed to the dragon necklace hanging from Sarah's neck.

"This?" She lifted it from her neck. "What do you want with this?"

Molly spoke up from her chair in the corner. "That's just it, love." She explained. "We're not the ones who want it."

Sarah looked at her questioningly.

"Sherlock, explain." Lestrade said and leaned back in his chair.

Sherlock sighed. "Oh,all right. I suppose you saw the 'Miss me?' on your phone or some other electronic device about a month ago?" When Sarah nodded, he kept going. "That was Moriarty, a dangerous criminal. We don't know where he is yet, but we know that that necklace can lead us to his location."

"How did you get it in the first place?" Sarah asked.

Sherlock stood up and started pacing. "We found it at one of his old hideouts, hidden in the ceiling."

Lestrade raised to his feet and cracked his back. "So we would like to have that now if you please."

"No, I don't please." Sarah said indignantly. "I bought that violin and apparently this necklace fair and square. I want to help you nail this guy."

Lestrade looked shocked. "You can't do that."

"Why can't she?" Mary chimed in. "She is right. She bought it fair and square and I think she would be a good asset to the team."

Sarah smiled at her gratefully. Mary winked back.

Lestrade looked like he was on the verge of protesting again, when Sherlock broke in. "I think she should." Everyone in the room turned to him in shock.

"One." Sherlock began. "She is in danger living in that apartment by herself. Two, we could use another pair of eyes watching out for Moriarty, and three, I need someone to get me coffee in the morning."

There was silence until Lestrade turned to Sarah. "Well? Are you sure you want to do this?"

Sarah nodded. "That would be awesome, but where would I stay? And what about my job?"

"Simple." Mary said. "Quit your job and Lestrade can pay you for your trouble. And you can stay in 221C, which is downstairs."

Sarah felt happy for the first time in months. "Okay." She grinned. They all sat down at the table for some tea. This time Sarah sat next to Molly. She noticed that Molly's eyes strayed to Sherlock every so often and she smiled inwardly.

When everybody was leaving and saying their goodbyes, Sarah came to stand beside Molly. "Maybe we could have tea, sometime." Sarah said smiling at her.

Molly smiled back. "That would be lovely."

Just before Molly exited the flat, Sarah whispered to her. "Don't give up. He'll come around."

Molly looked at her quizzically, then blushed. "Thank you." She whispered back. Soon the room emptied and it was just Sherlock, John and Sarah left in the room. They just looked at each other until John turned to Sarah. "If you need anything, Sherlock will be right upstairs." He looked at Sherlock."Right Sherlock?"

Sherlock sighed. "Fine."

John said he had to go and left. Sherlock and Sarah stared at each other awkwardly. "Well." Sarah started towards the door. "I better go quit my job and get my stuff together."

Sherlock nodded and didn't say anything so she left.

She rode the bus home and started gathering up her things. She didn't have much which was very convenient right now. Next, Sarah phoned the music school and said she had to quit. The secretary was very distracted and only said, "Okay, I'll put that in your file," then hung up. Sarah shrugged, finished gathering up her stuff and called a cab.

She transported her things into the cab and told the cab driver the address. When they had arrived, he turned around. He was wearing sunglasses, even though it was almost dark. He smiled. "Have a nice day."

Sarah nodded and quickly got her stuff. She got out of the car and let herself in with the key in the potted plant by the door, that John had said was now her key. She felt like she was being watched and turned around. The cab driver was still there, but when she turned around, he drove away.

She shrugged and went inside. It didn't take long to set up the room the way she liked it. The flat was almost a mirror image of Sherlock's flat and Sarah knew she would be very comfortable here.

She was laying in bed when suddenly she bolted upright. She had recognized that cab driver. It was Moriarty. She smacked her forehead. How could she be so stupid? She looked at the clock. It was 1:00 in the morning, too early to tell Sherlock. She would tell him tomorrow.


A.N- Sorry for the unexpected time skip. Don't worry, if it's been too slow for you. It will get more interesting in the next chapter or the one after. Please review. I love getting reviews. And thank you to the people who already have reviewed. Sorry for manuscript errors.