Morgan left the university late, at three in the morning. She guessed that nobody would care when she got back, so she wasn't in any particular rush to get back. Somehow, walking the streets of London at night didn't scare her. Perhaps it was her male appearance that made her unafraid to walk alone. Even she didn't know.
104,938 steps later, she arrived at 221 Baker Street. She eased open the door and padded silently up the dark stairs.
"Morgan."
Sherlock's voice from inside his flat startled her, and she tripped on the last stair, catching herself before she hit the ground. She opened the door and stepped inside, blinking quickly as her eyes adjusted to the sudden light. When the black spots faded from her vision, she took in the flat. Two chairs, one couch. Eight lamps, 120 watts. A ton of crap everywhere. Her roaming eyes caught sight of Sherlock, who was regarding her with curiosity in his eyes.
"Tell me what you see," he said quietly.
"What I see?" she asked, not understanding the question.
"How do you see all of this?" he gestured to the room around him. "Explain."
Morgan sat down next to him on the couch and drew her knees up to her chest, looking around the room. "Two chairs and one couch. Eight lamps, each with a 120 watt light bulb in it. Three photographs of scenery. 73 of those leaf patterns on the wall," she gestured to the wallpaper. Approximately 917 books around the room." She turned to look at Sherlock. "Why?"
"Numbers. You have an unusual obsession with numbers." Sherlock regarded her over his steepled fingers.
"I'm a math teacher," Morgan shrugged.
"Why did you sneak in so late? Your clothes and hair are perfect, so you weren't with a lover. Perfect coordination, besides that trip on the stairs, so you weren't drinking. So what were you doing?"
"I was at work," Morgan said stiffly, unaccustomed to someone prying into her private life with such abandon.
"A math teacher at work until three in the morning? Don't lie to me, Morgan," Sherlock said disgustedly. "I thought you were smarter than that."
"And I thought that you were smart enough to tell when someone is actually lying to you," Morgan said coolly, though her temper was rising.
"What were you really doing, Morgan?"
"I. Was. At. Work," Morgan said, not quite so calmly as before. Her black eyes were glaring at Sherlock angrily.
"Liar!" the shout startled both of them, as they were suddenly aware of how loud it sounded against the silence of the sleeping house.
Sleeping no longer, as John came down the stairs, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Sherlock, what's going on, is someone-" he broke off when he saw that the only two people in the room were Sherlock and Morgan. He took in Morgan's deathly expression and Sherlock's furious glare, wondering what was going on. "I thought-" he started. "It sounded like… nevermind, I'm going back to bed." He went back upstairs, wisely leaving Morgan and Sherlock to whatever argument they were having.
"I think I'll be going upstairs too," Morgan said stiffly, standing and moving away from Sherlock. "Good night, Sherlock." She turned pointedly away from him and made her way to her apartment, Sherlock watching her retreating back.
The conversation had distracted him from the case, and he knew that he would get nothing done tonight. Why had he even called her in? Oh yes, a change in perspective, and bouncing ideas off of her. That went well.
Morgan sat on her bed, leaning against the wall. She'd only known Sherlock for eleven hours and seventeen minutes, but he was already grating against her nerves like a rusty piece of metal.
She opened her laptop, typing in the ridiculously long password, and stared aimlessly at the screen. She should really grade her student's assignments, and she had class tomorrow morning. Resigned to the hours of grading ahead of her, she pulled up Abbot, Nicholas' essay and began to grade it. The assignment was the first one of every class she taught. Describe your view of numbers and how they pertain to everyday life.
Morgan read the essay with increasing boredom. And therefore, numbers are very important in balancing a checkbook. Could a person keep track of their money without numbers? No! That is why numbers are so important in everyday life. Dull.
Barrett, Isabelle: I view numbers as measuring tools. Metres, kilograms, degrees - all of these units are useless without numbers to give them meaning! Numbers allow you to find the exact quantity… Not interested.
On and on the essays went, until the light from outside began to illuminate Morgan's face in something other than the glow from her laptop.