She pulled up her hair in a tight bun and downed a cap and wig. Then she chose a heavy overcoat and worn trousers. She finalised it by squaring her jaw and limping heavily on her walking stick. Honora Holmes, a woman with long black curly hair, piercing grey eyes and a delicate walk that hardly made a sound, had transformed into Jeremy Cartwell, a man with a military cut, haunted grey eyes, and a heavy limp.
Dr. Watson had just left Baker Street when Jeremy found him. He deduced that the doctor was going to a pub and decided to act.
He bumped into him wile walking at a brisk pace. Cartwell stumbled back and, tripping on his bad leg, fell to the ground. It was a success. Dr. Watson instantly apologised, helping the soldier to his feet.
"No sir, it isn't your fault. Since Afghanistan, I haven't been all here."
"I quite understand, I myself was invalided home from Afghanistan."
"Really sir? That is quite the coincidence. Excuse me sir, but I'm from out of town, do you know the nearest pub?"
"As a matter a fact, I was headed there myself."
"Then do allow me to by you a drink as an apology for bumping into you."
An hour later the two men were talking freely. After exhausting the topic of the Afghan campaign, Doctor Watson asked:
"What do you do now?"
"Charity work mainly, an army medic is quite useful to the poor buggers on the street."
"What kind of work?"
"I help ween them off cocaine. After my younger brother nearly killed himself on it, well, I made a mission of it."
"That must be hard. I helped my flatmate off the stuff, but he made an awful patient. What is his name?"
"Who?"
"Your brother."
Cartwell was dying to say Sherlock Holmes but he controlled himself.
"Sherly." He mentally cursed himself, Sherly was Mycroft's pet name for Sherlock.
"Sherly?"
"They were hoping for a girl."
"Ah. Do you have other siblings?"
"My older brother, Mike." Thank you, Sherlock, for choosing something normal. "What about you?"
"My elder brother, Hamish, died a few years ago."
"I'm sorry."
"But my flatmate Sherlock Holmes is as close as a brother."
"The one who used cocaine?"
"Yes."