Unrequited, But Not Much Longer

by Rini2012

REWRITE OF SEASON 4 John Watson has woken up from a coma only to find out that everything that happened in The Final Problem was part of a coma dream. Not only that, but Sherlock has child-proofed the flat and had been taking care of Rosie during the 2 month period John was unconscious. For years the two were willing to die for each other, but for both of them, it runs much deeper

6. Chapter 6-The Real Eurus Holmes

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Warning: /em/spanem style="box-sizing: border-box;"gun fight, child cussing, light over-clothing smut/em/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"***/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock answered the door because he was already waiting downstairs for the doorbell to ring. He pulled Terence aside briefly and explained about the Eurus problem, emailing him a recent photograph from his phone and asked if it could be incorporated into the exposure therapy. As John had insisted since the first incident, Sherlock was downstairs having tea with Mrs. Hudson and Rosie. Her time with Sarah the psychologist and the tips she had given John and Sherlock had helped to control her temper./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Terence greeted John like an old friend./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Hello John, how have you been?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John sighed./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Dealing with a toddler in a five month old's body, so not too well." He said with a smile./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""So Sherlock allowed an assessment?" He asked, sitting down in Sherlock's chair, which had become his accustomed spot. John sat down in his chair opposite./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Yeah, but he was adamant that we not go to a clinic. Turned out the psychologist was a perfect fit, she pretended to be an old family friend so Rosie wouldn't suspect anything."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""That's an interesting approach, but I suppose it was the best way to handle the situation. Another of Mycroft's contacts?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Yeah. Sherlock didn't want her to be clinical in the assessment like when he and Mycroft were tested. Apparently he's got some bad memories around that."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I'm sure he's been repressing them for so many years in that Mind Palace of his, he'd never consider therapy. It's quite a pity." Terence smiled kindly./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""He did try therapy after Mary died, but he didn't do it for long."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""May I ask how your relationship is progressing?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John blushed a bit at the question, but nodded./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""We, uh, we're… kind of together, I guess."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""You briefly mentioned that at the end of our last session… I can understand you've had a taboo about it for so long, it may be difficult to speak freely about, but that's what I'm here for, John."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John shifted in his seat. There had been three therapy sessions since his first one with Terrence. The second one which Sherlock was supposed to be present for had been done without him because of his spying. Two subsequent immersion therapy sessions had taken place and they have actually been useful. Indeed, he'd briefly touched on John's feelings about Sherlock and how they had finally gotten together, but didn't really go into much after that since they were pressed for time./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Okay…" John thought of where to begin. "I got a package at the clinic from an unknown address. It looked weird, and when I opened it, it said 'Miss You', and I figured there was only one person who would send me that, and when I played the dvd inside, I was right." He started to get a bit emotional. "It was Mary, and it was clear that… that she made the video the same day she made the first one for Sherlock. She told me that I need to 'get off my arse' and tell Sherlock how I feel. You know, after my first date with Mary, I had actually broken down crying. I felt like I was betraying Sherlock even though… he was… basically dead. She told me that Sherlock would want me to be happy with someone if I wanted to move on, and she didn't care that I still loved him a lot."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Terence looked slightly taken aback, but schooled his features quickly into a sympathetic expression. "That must have been quite a shock, seeing your deceased wife on screen, especially considering what she was saying. What happened after that?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John shrugged./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I broke down. I didn't know what the hell I was going to do with everything, and didn't want to risk my entire friendship over some feelings I had. In the video she said that she was sending Sherlock a similar video, and he definitely was acting strange when I got home. Rosie even said he was 'acting weird' when I asked if she was good for him while I was gone. Then we had dinner, and she kept yelling that we were both acting 'weird' and that we needed to just talk about it. Everything just was off for two days, and then I had this dream… and it was Mary talking to me. She was asking the right questions, and telling me things I should have known all along. I shouldn't have been scared because Sherlock wouldn't throw everything away just because he didn't feel the same. On my day off, I had Rosie go to Molly's for the afternoon, and we actually talked about the videos."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""That must have been awkward at first, you've both been repressing those feelings for years. How did the talk go?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""We ended up setting some… ground rules about what we did and didn't want to do." John blushed./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""That sounds sensible, I won't ask for the details but how have things been progressing since then? Has it been as you imagined?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I honestly never imagined anything, but it's been great. It's honestly like nothing has changed, just added some romantic stuff to it." He chuckled. "One woman who came in actually got angry at us for being gay and raising Rosie, and Rosie just decided to make her more angry by calling Sherlock 'Papa'."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Terence chuckled softly, "You didn't have a problem with that categorisation?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Sherlock pointed out that it wasn't technically correct, but he found it funny… until Rosie asked what 'gay' meant."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""How did you handle trying to explain the concept to such a young child?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Sherlock handled it, I couldn't even think of how to explain it."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Sherlock is surprisingly good with Rosie, did you ever expect that from him?" Terrence asked./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Not at all. It took promising cake at Rosie's baptism to get him to be her godfather actually. Even when he was invited to the baby shower of one of the Yarders we've worked with a lot, he refused."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""If I may say something, perhaps out of turn… his attitude is most likely different because she's your child and he has great affection for you."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Probably, but he also mainly took care of her when I was in a coma, so they also could have connected then."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Is Rosie aware that there has been a change in your relationship?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""We haven't exactly talked to her about it yet. We don't really do romantic things in front of her anyway because she's constantly keeping us on our toes."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Terrence chuckled again. "How has the rest of his and your family reacted to your raising her together?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I don't really talk to my parents, Harry has texted me saying things like 'so when are you gonna propose', Mycroft has only tried to help the best he can, and everyone else just sees it as I don't really have anyone else to help and I live at Baker Street, so it makes sense."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""So she has met Mycroft and a few of your mutual friends, but not your sister? I assume that's due to the alcoholism you mentioned previously. Is Rosie aware there is actually a romantic relationship now, or had she been saying those things before?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I don't know. I mean she only said one thing about it right after the woman who was angry that we're together, but she's as smart as a whip so who knows what she understands."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""It's certainly not a very conventional family you've built."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Sherlock solves murders and I blog about them, meanwhile we're also raising a baby who's a child prodigy, so I'd say that's about right."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""You're also suffering from PTSD from a coma dream, which is a topic I think we need to get back to." Terence spent a minute updating his notes then looked up to an anxious John. "As you know there is one trigger we haven't yet worked on: Eurus. Yes John, I can see the panic in your eyes, but it has to be done."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John rubbed his hand over his face. He was hoping he could avoid this day a bit longer, especially since Sherlock wasn't allowed to be in these type of sessions./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Do we have to?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Unfortunately yes, it is what I believe is necessary, and an opinion that is shared by others who are involved in your life."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Sherlock and Mycroft put you up to it, didn't they?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""It would be a breach of my ethics if I let other people direct your treatment. I personally think this is the next step in your therapy."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""But they still helped you because you got the needed stimuli."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Yes. It was the only way to obtain it."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Then they did put you up to it."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""If I believed it would compromise your treatment, there is no force on earth that would make me do it."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"The soldier sighed, and nodded while he kept eye contact with the floor./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""We're going to start with the sketch you did with the police artist of the woman you saw in your dream, okay?" He reached into his briefcase to retrieve a tablet which he used to display the image. He paused and then turned the tablet around for John to see. /p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John looked slowly up from the ground and as his eyes connected with the picture he shuddered so hard it was almost a convulsion.../p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"He saw her on the screen. The governor's office at-./em/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"NO! IT WASN'T REAL!/em/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""That's it John, you em style="box-sizing: border-box;"know/em it wasn't real. That whole scenario took place in em style="box-sizing: border-box;"your head alone/em. There is nothing to be feared from it. It didn't happen, John, you're em style="box-sizing: border-box;"safe/em. Come away from that place, come back to what's em style="box-sizing: border-box;"real/em, OPEN YOUR EYES, just like I taught you." /p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John took deep breaths and started doing his clenching and releasing of his fists exercises, but it was extremely hard. He and Sherlock had tried the exercises at home with related stimuli, except this was about the person who caused all of his misery. He thought about the fact that it was a dream, and it didn't have any bearing on reality except for a name. The whole situation he went through wasn't real at all./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"He forced his eyes open and looked around. His breath was still shaky, and he was clenching onto his knees like a vice-grip, but he did it… for about two seconds./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"He was suddenly back at Sherrinford and the three brothers were dangling outside the window. Sherlock and Mycroft were deducing who had murdered 'Evans', but they all knew that no matter who did it, someone would die. The three men outside looked terrified. They looked as if they were making a pact with God to let them survive this horrible nightmare./em/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"THAT'S ALL IT IS! IT'S A NIGHTMARE!/em/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""John, you em style="box-sizing: border-box;"need to open your eyes/em. You need to make a connection to the present. Come on, open your eyes for me. YOU CAN DO THIS!"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Rosie… he thought of Rosie crawling on the floor away from him squealing in joy. She looks so happy to play with him./em/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"He opened his eyes. He was sweating, shaking, and panting./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""That's it John." Terrence approved. "Now, give me one thing you can see, one you can touch, one you can hear, one you can smell and anything you can taste."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John looked around the flat and used all his senses./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I can… I can feel the chair under me." He said shakily. "I can hear you… I can smell… I can smell the fireplace we used recently… and I can taste my spit."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Very good." He made a note that John had only given him four of the five senses he'd asked for, missing out on sight might be significant. "Stay grounded in the present. What brought you back from that flashback?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Rosie… just me playing with her."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""That's an excellent strategy, and one, I'm sorry to say, I hadn't considered myself. Do you think you'll be able to tell Sherlock about that coping strategy so he can assist you when I'm not around?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Yeah, I think so."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Good, John. Now, let's work on some of those deep breathing exercising, help you totally regain your equilibrium. Breathe in for four counts, hold for two, out for four."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Terence maintained eye contact with John, watching to see that he was listening and doing as asked. When he complied with the breathing exercise, John's eyes closed and Terence watched his body language. /p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John started to do the breathing exercises. He kept thinking of moments he'd had with Rosie to keep himself grounded as he did so. It seemed he and Sherlock weren't only helping her, but also she was helping him get better. He knew Eurus would be the hardest trigger to overcome, except he didn't think it would be so terrifying. Once he felt himself calm down, he opened his eyes once more./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Okay." He said./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Very good, John, this is a huge improvement."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I guess."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Now, do you think you can handle looking at the picture of the em style="box-sizing: border-box;"real/em Eurus? I assure you, she looks nothing like the sketch you provided."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John took a deep breath./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""If she doesn't look like the woman who shot me, sure."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Absolutely nothing like her. I promise." He looked at John, with compassion and sincerity./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Ok then."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Terence turned the tablet back to face him, and pulled up a photo of the actual Eurus Holmes. She had black hair, in good condition, it looked silky, like she had used a straightening iron and good treatment products. It was in a neat ponytail at the base of her neck and not anywhere near as long as the hair in the sketch. She wasn't smiling but her face was made up with a touch of eyeliner and eyeshadow, her long dark lashes not requiring any mascara She had Sherlock's cupid's-bow lips decorated with a natural shade of lipgloss. She em style="box-sizing: border-box;"was/em very pale, but Terence had treated a few agoraphobics and they were all quite pale. She was a healthy weight and her signature Holmes cheekbones were not standing out in stark relief from a gaunt face as in the sketch. She looked nothing like the unkempt ghostly figure in the drawing, nor the photographs of the rogue agent, besides the agent having a similar lip shape and not-quite Holmes-high cheekbones./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"He cautiously turned the photo around to show John, slightly anxious over another melt-down./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""She doesn't look that much like the woman I saw… or in my dream." John said in relief./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""No, she doesn't. I am given to understand you have been briefed on the lifestyle and habits of the real Eurus Holmes and that logically, she could not have attacked you."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""So I've been told."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I think you should try to meet her, it would be the best way for you to dispel any lingering notions that she was in any way your attacker. I would be happy to be on standby for the meeting, if you agree to it."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"This was an incredibly hard decision. John didn't know if it would work, but at the same time, he had found himself wondering what the real Eurus was like. Was she nicer? Did she act like Sherlock had when they first met? Was she loving like her parents? Did she think she was better than everyone else like Mycroft? Was she em style="box-sizing: border-box;"human/em? He hoped she acted a bit normal so it would be easier. She looked pretty normal in the photo despite the lack of smile and the paleness in her skin. Taking a deep breath, he made up his mind./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Okay."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"***/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock was secretly very pleased that Terence had managed to convince John to meet with Eurus. John had told him once they had taken Rosie back upstairs and put her down for a nap. Mycroft had been in negotiations with Eurus for some time now as she struggled with the idea of letting 'strangers' into her home. Sherlock was rather excited to meet the sister he had deleted. He had gleaned all he could from her online presence, but it was minimal. To be able to observe her properly, they needed to meet face-to-face. He wanted John to confront his demons, but he also couldn't help a selfish thrill of pleasure at the chance to re-acquaint himself with a lost sibling who was a total mystery to him. The meeting was arranged for the following Monday when John was not scheduled to work and Mycroft wasn't scheduled to wage any new wars./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"A strict list of instructions had been sent along with her permission (it wasn't really an em style="box-sizing: border-box;"invitation/em, more like a legal application to travel). Eurus would not allow the psychologist onto her property, he would have to remain in the car. They were all to enter through the front door bearing identification and submit to a weapons check after going through the decontamination chamber in what most people would have used for an entry hall. They had to wear freshly washed clothes (which Sherlock thought was a bit obvious). No shoes were allowed inside, they would all be supplied with sterile slippers once inside and could collect their shoes on the way out. No other foreign objects (such as Mycroft's umbrella - Sherlock almost giggled when he read that) would be allowed, they would have to show their pockets were empty and their mobile phones would be kept along with their shoes./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Mycroft's town car pulled up to the road where Eurus' cottage resided. Even the cars were spotlessly clean, though that had not been stipulated - Mycroft was clearly trying to make some amends. Terence stayed in the backseat where he had been, next to John who was in the middle seat, actually gripping Sherlock's hand in a previously unthinkable display of public affection. As they arrived a camera swiveled to follow their progress. A video intercom was next to the electric gate in the high wall that surrounded the property. They pressed the buzzer and were allowed to enter./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"They approached the entrance one by one, Mycroft first, then Sherlock and lastly John. Sherlock could only hope that John would not turn and run once Sherlock was inside the door. Another video intercom was placed next to the door, Mycroft buzzed and was asked for identification by an anxious woman's voice coming through the slightly tinny speaker. Sherlock watched John carefully for signs that the voice had affected him, but John showed none. He had his 'soldier' face on, but his eyes betrayed the nervousness he was trying so desperately to hide./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Mycroft entered the first door, removed his shoes, mobile, and wallet and opened the packet with the sterile slippers, putting them on. He showed the camera on the other side of the double glass that his pockets were empty; he had even left his umbrella in the car. A burst of air (which must have been the decontamination chamber at work) ruffled Mycroft's impeccably styled hair and clothing, and Sherlock had to stifle another giggle. He looked at John to share the joke, but John was staring into nothingness, not taking in any of the scene in front of him. Mycroft was allowed into the main house and Sherlock could see through the haze that he was fixing his hair and clothes. Sherlock stepped up next to present his identification, Eurus didn't speak to him, the door merely clicked open and with a glance back at John, he stepped into the chamber. The process was repeated and then Sherlock had a quick look and saw Eurus was not in the room yet./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"He turned around to watch John show his ID mechanically, enter and complete the decontamination procedure and emerge on the other side. John looked… blank, Sherlock thought, and he reached for his hand again, to try to bring him back to reality, as his fingers twined with John's he whispered,/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Remember that first day you came home and Rosie was so excited to see 'dada'?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"When John looked at Sherlock, he seemed a bit steadier and he gave him a grateful smile./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"They all stood, waiting expectantly for Eurus to enter through one of the doors they could see. Slowly, the furthest door opened, if the hinges were not so well oiled, it would have creaked. A pale figure dressed in a corporate-style black dress emerged, feet in the same slippers they were all now wearing, her pale legs and arms showing a slight trembling. Her hair was neatly styled in a bun and her face was made up similarly to the picture John had been shown. She had the Holmes cheekbones and Sherlock's cupid's bow lips and a chin similar to Mycroft's. There were a few moments of awkward silence as they all looked at each other and waited to see who would speak first. Eventually Mycroft spoke,/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Thank you for allowing us into your home, Eurus."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Eurus looked at him with piercing blue eyes. "Hello Mycroft…" She looked over to Sherlock, and gave him a kind smile. "And hello Sherlock." She seemed to be analyzing him like the brothers did to other people. "You've grown so much since the last time I saw you."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock answered in a voice that was slightly hushed with awe,/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I would imagine so. It is… nice to finally meet you, Eurus."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"She simply nodded, and looked at John, who hadn't said a word and was looking at the floor./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""And this must be Doctor Watson… the reason for our little reunion."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John looked up and said a little 'yes'. Eurus gave him a warming smile instead./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I've been following your blog for a few years now to keep up with Sherlock, and I can't imagine my brother is easy to live with as, when he was a child, he was hard to live with too." She eyed both Mycroft and Sherlock with a smirk. "Actually, you both were."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Mycroft merely raised an eyebrow in a sardonic look. Sherlock cleared his throat and gestured to the plastic covered furniture with a questioning look./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Please, have a seat." She said as she gestured to the couches and chairs./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock noticed that the chair furthest from the window had a slight indent in the plastic covering and deduced that Eurus usually occupied that chair. He steered the others accordingly, Mycroft to the other chair and he and John to the couch./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Mycroft sneered slightly at the plastic and said,/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I didn't think they made these anymore, wherever did you attain such things?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I had them custom made by a company in Sweden."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""It's quite wondrous what you can find on the internet." Sherlock said in the most congenial tone he had ever used, trying to make up for Mycroft's snide comment./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John looked at him with a confused expression, which asked 'what are you doing?' Sherlock gave him a strange look back, which John interpreted to mean 'I'm trying to be nice.'/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Well at least one of you is being sincere. Sherlock you do not need to sugar-coat everything, I hate false sincerity."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John was actually beginning, very tentatively, to like her. She had the gall to call her brothers out on their idiosyncrasies, which he found highly amusing. Mycroft was always the one who called Sherlock an idiot, and now he was being talked down to by someone who was supposedly even smarter than him. John cleared his throat./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""So…" He started. "You know about the reason we're here, right?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Yes." She answered. "Partially due to your PTSD treatment, but mostly because of someone posing as me going off the grid."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Mycroft looked like he was about to ask how she knew that, but she stopped him before he could./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Oh please, Mycroft, you don't visit me for eight years and turn up about PTSD that supposedly has something to do with me in some way? Just the fact that Doctor Watson has therapy for that kind of thing indicated it was about someone who was pretending to be me. On top of that, if you haven't been able to track them down, that shows they can live off the grid and away from the eyes of the British Government."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock was only slightly surprised at her deduction, she was 'an era defying genius' after all, and it seemed that either Mycroft had played 'deductions' with her as a child as he'd done with Sherlock, or the observational skills merely ran in the family (Father being the exception to this rule, it must come from Mummy's side). He always enjoyed seeing Mycroft put in his place, but knowing it was coming from his em style="box-sizing: border-box;"sister/em gave it a special significance. He hoped that more time spent with her would bring back all the memories he had been programmed to erase./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Mycroft couldn't help another sneer, it was his default expression after all, /p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Well deduced, em style="box-sizing: border-box;"sister/em. It is of course classified information, so I will not be sharing anything else with you."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I don't need anything else, in fact I already know that you got an audio recording of the incident from a hidden recording device, using the best hacker in the world because you only ever go for the best and are planning to give it to Doctor Watson's therapist in order to help him with his immersion therapy. Sherlock of course is finally with him after years of hidden feelings, so only a therapist with high security clearance and that is well vetted by you would be able to know about me." She sat back triumphantly. "Oxford educated, correct? But you weren't quite able to find someone with high education throughout their entire life."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock grinned at John, who actually smiled back. Sherlock was fascinated by Eurus and desperate to remember her as a child, even if it would be opening some old wounds./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Mycroft, why have you been keeping her from me all this time?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""It wasn't my decision." Mycroft said./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Eurus sighed and her expression fell./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""In order to try to prevent further pain, I decided to let you forget me." She explained. "I was a horrible child, and when Mycroft and our parents informed me that you blocked me out, I thought it was best you didn't remember me. You didn't need to remember the horrible things I did."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I've been briefed on that and I think I would like to try to remember. I would like to include you in my life, Eurus, if you'll let me."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"She looked as if she was having an internal battle. Sherlock noticed the strain in Eurus' face and felt a 'bit not good' for asking her so bluntly, when they'd hardly had any time to get to know each other. Perhaps it was a bad idea to expect a person who lived like she did and himself, who both lacked so many social skills, to try to forge a bond that had been broken so long ago./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Possibly." She answered. "I'd like to consider the pros and cons of it first because when I first made my decision, the cons were far greater."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I respect that. I… may have been too hasty. My apologies."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John felt Sherlock shrink back into himself a bit, next to him. Sherlock didn't often open himself up like that because he tended to expect rejection. That little reinforcement of that expected response from the sister he was so eager to know had hurt him. John wished he could wrap him up in his arms to reassure him that he was loved, but he thought Sherlock wouldn't appreciate that with the current audience. He shifted on the couch until his leg pressed against Sherlock's and gave him a small, private smile. Sherlock hadn't let his emotions show on his face, just the minute shrinking movement that only John noticed (and probably Eurus, because she was so bloody observant) it was less than a flinch even./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Well I think I've gotten all the 'therapeutic benefits' I can from this visit." John announced. "You are not the person who shot me or the person who caused the… em style="box-sizing: border-box;"other/em trauma."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Mycroft picked up on this cue for them to leave, nodding at Eurus (who he knew would not have appreciated a handshake) as he stood./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Thank you for your hospitality, Eurus. We shall endeavour not to bother you again."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock and John stood up in a synchronised movement that could only come from having spent many years together and Eurus stood up as well, nodding at each of them in turn./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I appreciate you three coming." She said sincerely. "Not everyone is allowed to visit, and the only way someone I don't approve of comes is if there is an emergency in my line of work. Even then I highly recommend a Skype call."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""What about your parents?" John asked./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""They think that my routine for entering the house is 'too tedious to even bother with' so they give me video calls and presents on certain occasions."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I am the only one who didn't know about you?" Sherlock said, shocked. "How could I have been so oblivious?" He scowled at Mycroft. "You made me a goldfish, Mycroft. Did you enjoy lording that knowledge over me?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Oh here we go." John whispered to Eurus with an eye roll./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I was under an obligation and a em style="box-sizing: border-box;"mutual/em agreement not to inform you, brother. I expect our parents have had a difficult time keeping the truth from you as well."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Uh oh, Christmas is going to be extremely awkward this year." John sighed./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Eurus chuckled as the two continued to argue./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""You should have seen how it was as children. They'd just keep deducing the gifts by shaking them one by one. Mother and father kept telling them to enjoy the surprise, but of course, brotherly rivalry ensued."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""We'd best be going, it's already going to be a very uncomfortable car ride…"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"At that, Eurus whistled loudly, which startled the two brothers into silence./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""As much as I love to have both of my brothers here for once, I'd prefer to not have the brotherly arguments happen in my house." She said with a cheeky grin./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John was trying incredibly hard not to laugh. Honestly, he hoped Eurus would stick around. She seemed incredibly intelligent but also human. He never thought that was possible for a Holmes child considering the other two he had to deal with already./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Small as she must have been at the time, Sherlock realised that Eurus had picked up the whistling from their mother. She had replicated it perfectly. He remembered that whistle from every school holiday Mycroft and Sherlock had shared at home and every family gathering they had been forced to attend. He marveled at how Eurus had practically em style="box-sizing: border-box;"been /emtheir mother in that moment, down to the cheeky grin. It was uncanny, and it just reinforced the conspiracy that his entire family had left him out of. He felt himself redden in anger and tried to contain it for John and Eurus' sake, but Mycroft would be feeling his wrath soon./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"The three of them left the cottage and got into Mycroft's car, but John could still feel the anger in the air. He should have known this was going to happen, but he hoped that the reunion would make things a bit easier for them. Trust Sherlock to feel like his brother would intentionally keep him in the dark for entertainment. In order to make the tension a bit bearable, he laced his fingers through Sherlock's who was sitting next to him, and smiled at him. Sherlock responded with a gentle squeeze./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Terence's attention was focussed on John at first, but seeing that his client was fine and showed no signs of panic, he scanned the faces of Mycroft and Sherlock. There was an extremely tense atmosphere between the two. He was worried he would be forced to intervene if it came to a verbal altercation. Luckily the two brothers merely sat in silence, one occasionally glaring at the other, but otherwise staring out of the windows. Nobody spoke all the way to Baker Street./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"***/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock was out of sorts for days after the encounter with Eurus and the discovery that his entire family had been lying to him. When Rosie was not around, he spent most of his time flopped down on the couch in his dressing gown refusing to speak to anyone, even John. It wasn't until he suddenly had the idea to use his homeless network to find the rogue agent that he actually began to soften his demeanour from the Sherlock John had known in the early days of them living together. There were no cuddles on the couch or goodnight kisses while Sherlock was in his dark mood. The storm cloud he seemed to drag with him only ever lifted for Rosie, and John thought that was solely because he didn't want to teach her to sulk./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"The soldier did his best to make him eat or sleep, but nothing seemed to work. Sherlock was starting to get back into his old habits of barely sleeping or eating on cases, which was what was partially going on. When they had arrived at Baker Street, Mycroft had started to demand Sherlock start working on John's case, and so he was. It felt weird that the pictures and notes tacked on the wall were now about him, and not someone else. He couldn't bear to look at them most of the time because it was difficult to see the pictures of where he was shot. Not exactly a trigger, but still made him emotional./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Rosie seemed to love it though. She would watch the wall if Sherlock added a new piece to it, almost as if she was trying to work it out as well. Sometimes she'd just climb onto John's chair when Sherlock was in his thinking pose and do the same pose to mimic him. It was honestly adorable but made John fear what would become of his child in the future./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"It had been about a week after the visit with Eurus when Sherlock finally got a lead. John and Rosie were on her playmat spelling new words (he had bought her more letters as Sarah suggested), when Sherlock came bursting through the door with the look he got when he found a new lead./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""The homeless network found something, John." He announced. "I've called Mycroft's band of incompetent agents to join me in searching where she was last seen. The network believes she will be there for at least one more night, however she is out at the moment."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Rosie started clapping with a huge smile and turned to John./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""You can catch her, Daddy!" She said. "You and Papa catch bad lady!"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I don't think Papa wants me to come for that, Rosebud." John said honestly. "It wouldn't be a good idea."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"She gave him a look of 'are you stupid?' and pointed to Sherlock then him./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""You're Sherlock Holmes and John Watson! You do it together!"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Precisely, Rosie. Mycroft refused to allow us on his first useless attempt to catch her, but I'm not playing by his rules anymore." Sherlock sneered at the mention of his brother, but he changed back to a neutral expression because Rosie was looking at him./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John didn't think it was a very good idea. He was still having trouble in immersion therapy with just looking at the sketch, but chasing after the agent would be a different thing altogether. He looked down to Rosie and said,/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Rosie, I need to talk to Papa for a bit. You stay here and see how many words you can spell for a while, okay?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Rosie looked at him suspiciously, but nodded anyway. John kissed her on the head, and gestured for Sherlock to follow him to the bedroom./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I can't go with you, Sherlock." He said once the door was shut. "I can't even look at the police sketch without having an episode, so you can't expect me to go after her, can you?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I've spoken to Terence - yes, I know I shouldn't have, berate me later - he thinks it would be therapeutic for you to get out and do what we do best. Especially since you will also have the chance to confront your - as he said - 'abuser'." /p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock was grinning, probably at his ingenuity or something, but as great as it was to see him smile. It wasn't all that comforting for John, whose privacy had been invaded again./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Okay first, do you not remember what we talked about in terms of privacy with my therapist? Secondly, I don't think I'm ready. We've only tackled a few small in-flat cases since then, and one of them, while from the Yard, was one you solved in a few minutes. Just please give me some time alright? Don't just expect me to jump in so quickly."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock could see the slightly wild look in John's eyes which usually preceded a panic attack./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"He put his hands on John's shoulders, bent down a bit and looked him in the eye./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Did you hear your daughter? Rosie thinks this will be good for you, and she's the most perceptive human being in this flat."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Rosie is five months old, Sherlock. I wouldn't talk to my five month old about therapy or case related items so she doesn't know about what I'm actually feeling. And if em style="box-sizing: border-box;"you /emhave I swear to god em style="box-sizing: border-box;"I'll/em be the one shooting up the wall this time."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Rosie has seen the case wall, she can read simple words and I honestly can't help if I talk aloud while I think, John. I'm not saying I em style="box-sizing: border-box;"have /emdone that, but it is a possibility. Shoot the wall all you like, but that child is far more shrewd and insightful than you give her credit for."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""This isn't about Rosie, Sherlock. This is about the fact that I don't feel I'm ready to get back to chasing down fucking maniacs! Especially the one who shot me!"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Why? A maniac tried to shoot us and we chased him before. You might remember him, crazy Irish fellow?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Of course, but that time I didn't have my own family. I didn't have a lot to lose back then, except you. If I slip up and have an episode while we're chasing this woman, it could mean either of our lives, and Rosie could lose her only other parent. I don't want to do that to her and I don't want to do that to you."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I understand that, John. You've made some very good points. I can't force you to come with me, but I will be going. I'm not leaving something em style="box-sizing: border-box;"this/em important to Mycroft's agents, they're only a few IQ points above Scotland Yard."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"He looked imploringly at John for a few moments, then seeing his jaw set resolutely, opened the door to swoop out dramatically, however he was brought up short by a tiny spy./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Rosie hadn't stayed at the playmat, she had crawled over to the door with her bee and was listening in. She sat outside, and looked lovingly at her father. It seemed she'd heard and understood John's points as she crawled past Sherlock, and straight to John. She asked to be picked up, and when she was, she hugged her father tightly and said,/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Love you Daddy."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John felt his heart swell and his throat start to tighten from that tiny gesture. He hugged her tightly in return./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I love you too, Rosebud."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""You can chase fucking maniac."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Both men blanched at Rosie's curse but she just smiled at John like she did when she used a new word. John cleared his throat./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Don't say that word again, Rosie. That's a grown-up word."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock could feel laughter bubbling up, but he knew that to let it show would undermine John's discipline. He felt like he ought to go outside and let the laughter out before suppressing it damaged his ribcage and abdominal muscles. Now that Rosie was out of his way, he practically flew down the stairs to the outer door, just bolting out onto the street before the peels of laughter escaped./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John could hear Sherlock's laughter, but decided to ignore it in order not to laugh himself. He simply looked down at Rosie who looked confused./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Papa just needed a moment alone." He said./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"***/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock returned with his composure intact 10 minutes later, after a walk around the block laughing like a "fucking maniac"; he had managed to stifle the last of his giggles as he went back to Baker Street to await the signal from the homeless network which would indicate the rogue was moving back towards her hideout. A few hours passed while he planned how to execute the 'retrieval operation' as Mycroft's (stupid) agents had called it. He had his small torch, lockpicks and handcuffs (stolen from Lestrade) in his coat, he showered and dressed in his usual black suit, with a black shirt, for maximum camouflage. He was expecting the signal any minute and was watching out the window for the phone camera to flash 3 times. /p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John knew Sherlock was anxious to get out there, and he couldn't blame him. Sherlock hadn't done any legwork as far as he knew for over three months, and he had been waiting for John to be in peak physical condition to go on a chase again. The fact that even Rosie knew that was astounding to say the least. As John watched Sherlock at the window, he felt his palms begin to sweat in a very familiar way, his adrenaline was starting to pick up like it did whenever they did a stakeout or were on their way to a crime scene. He shouldn't have been excited, but he was. He honestly wasn't thinking rationally, and his body was making sure of that. Rosie was already put to bed, and Mrs. Hudson said that if John changed his mind and decided to leave with Sherlock, she'd watch the flat while they were gone. It was a tempting offer, and it made him want to go even more./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"The three flashes Sherlock had been waiting for finally came and he dashed out of the lounge, pulled on his coat and after double checking that he had all the necessities, he gave John one final look, it very clearly said 'I love you', then he raced down the stairs and was almost out of the door. Mycroft's agents would be waiting on his orders at the rendezvous point and he made a quick call to let the leader know she was on the move./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Sherlock, WAIT!" John called against his better judgement./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"His addiction to danger took over when he rushed down the stairs after his lover as he put his coat on. How was it Sherlock was always right?/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Mrs. Hudson!" He called to the apartment on the ground floor. "You'll need to watch Rosie after all."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"He heard a muffled 'yes dear' through the door./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock grinned when he heard John yell, this was just like old times and he couldn't wait to be out there with his partner again. John had grabbed his coat, but Sherlock had to wait while he retrieved his gun from the safe that had been installed for Rosie's sake. In the meantime, Sherlock hailed a cab, gave the address and waited eagerly, John was on the street a minute later. They were both almost giddy with the excitement, the game was on once again and they were finally going on a chase to apprehend a criminal after months of abstaining from it./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Their destination was a council flat in the Winstanley Estate in Battersea, near the York Gardens. This section of 6 flats had obviously had a fire about five years ago, but it seemed there was a new tenant living in one of the flats… the small glow from a gas heater could just barely be seen through the blackened windows./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"The homeless network were hanging around the Estate, it wasn't unusual for people to lurk in this part of town so they went unnoticed./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"It was a twenty minute cab ride from Baker Street, and Mycroft's agents had been waiting at St. Peter's church nearby since sundown. They had strict orders not to move onto the Estate before Sherlock and John arrived. Traffic was minimal and the journey took 2 minutes less than expected, which always pleased Sherlock and John gave the cabbie his tip accordingly./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"They slunk onto the estate, keeping to the shadows, as they neared the building the MI6 operatives were doing the same, approaching from the opposite direction in groups of two and three. When they had the building encircled and 2 operatives took over John and Sherlock's positions, the detective and his blogger silently entered the building as the homeless network had instructed. They used the stairs, as the lift had been burned out in the fire and would anyway have been too conspicuous. Creeping up to the second floor flat the rogue agent was occupying, John took out his gun and they stood outside for a moment. Sherlock looked at John, and John looked back./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Are you ready?" Sherlock whispered./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""As I can be." John whispered back./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John kicked in the rather singed door and they both stormed into the lounge/kitchen/dining area. The rogue agent, easily identifiable by the light of the gas heater, was startled out of her sleeping bag, but recovered quickly, pulling a Glock from under her pillow. She aimed it at Sherlock's head, because she thought she could take a chance on his reflexes not being quite on par with John-basically-dodged-a-bullet-Watson's. John however, already had his Browning aimed at her. It was a stalemate./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Come quietly into custody and nobody needs be hurt, Elizabeth."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I'm not Elizabeth, my name is Eurus Holmes, I'm your em style="box-sizing: border-box;"sister/em Sherlock. You can't let him shoot your own sister, please hear me out before you do anything rash!"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock decided to indulge her for a moment, to see if he could break the stalemate with logic./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""No, I couldn't shoot my own sister, but since you're pointing a gun at my head, killing me - 'your em style="box-sizing: border-box;"brother/em' - doesn't seem to bother you." /p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"She cringed and lowered the gun, aiming at Sherlock's thigh/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""You're right, I couldn't kill you, but if you won't let me explain, I can slow you down long enough to get away."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock considered the depth of her psychosis, clearly her delusion wouldn't be broken by logic, she was far beyond that. Perhaps shock might work./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Oh, but you've been in hiding for quite a while, you may not have the latest information… You see, I've em style="box-sizing: border-box;"met/em my sister, she's currently in Norfolk at this very moment. She has a few problems which would preclude her ability to be here, out in the world - namely her crippling Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Agoraphobia. Also, unless you can speak every language currently in use, you are em style="box-sizing: border-box;"not/em my sister."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Elizabeth looked shocked then immediately turned angry. She recognised she was beaten and raised the gun back up to Sherlock's head, her face became cold and calculating, with a slightly quizzical smile./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Should I put a hole in his face now, John?" She asked. "I doubt he can actually dodge it this time."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"At that moment, when she looked at Sherlock the exact way she'd looked at John before the shooting, John lost control of himself. He couldn't make his finger pull the trigger, and he kept trying to tell himself to do it. He could see Elizabeth was about to pull the trigger on her gun and things suddenly went into slow motion. His mind was processing every single detail in the room from the graffiti on the wall to how the crazy person in front of them was shaking ever so slightly./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"'Knock it off.'/em He told himself. em style="box-sizing: border-box;"'If you don't pull the trigger, Sherlock dies. SO. FUCKING. DO. IT!"/em/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"The moment she had spoken those words, most of Sherlock's attention turned to John. While he still kept part of his focus on Harker, watching for the first sign of movement out of his peripheral vision, he was mostly worried about John. He looked frozen and Sherlock feared that he had been terribly wrong about bringing him along. If John broke the stalemate by having a panic attack, one or both of them may very well end up grievously injured or worse… perhaps he should have listened to John in the first place./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"It seemed John's thoughts of encouragement was the thing that stopped his blockage as he immediately pulled the trigger and shot Harker in the chest. She screamed in pain and fell to the floor and let her gun fall with a metallic crash. John had to catch his breath for a moment before he went over and grabbed the gun away from Harker./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"As Sherlock watched, John's breathing slowed and his darting-eye movements stopped, his focus returned to Harker and though his gun had lowered from her head to her chest, he pulled off a clean shot that sent her to the floor and even had his soldier's presence of mind enough to immediately remove the gun from her vicinity. He breathed a sigh of relief, he had not been wrong. John had faced his fear and hadn't succumbed to it. In fact, he had triumphed over it, just as Terence had hoped. Sherlock had organised a session for the next morning, he didn't care if John thought he was intervening inappropriately again, John would have needed to discuss these events regardless of whether he chose to be involved or not. /p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Elizabeth was writhing in pain from the chest wound, her breathing was laboured. John had aimed to the right, probably collapsing a lung, it was unlikely to be fatal with prompt medical intervention. He called Mycroft's men, who had an ambulance on standby (well hidden) and gave them the order to collect her. She could then be punished to the full extent of the law and institutionalised. She'd be out of their lives and John could call this a victory over his PTSD and maybe things could settle down at Baker Street once more./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"When they entered the front door to Baker Street, Sherlock knew that adrenaline was no longer his only source of energy at the moment. He em style="box-sizing: border-box;"needed/em John, needed him so much that he ached. He was feeling that old form of lust he felt when he returned from a chase with John, only this time he was allowing himself to act on it./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Where is Rosie?" He inquired./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""In bed, but Mrs. Hudson should be in the flat watching her."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""We'll need to rush her out quickly." Sherlock said, looking flushed with the excitement of a successful capture./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""What did you have in mind?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Can't we send her out for something, to an all-night pharmacy? Baby supplies, formula, nappies, just - anything? I don't know."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I guess."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Immediately, Sherlock pinned John to the wall and kissed him ferociously. He pressed against the shorter man to make sure he felt Sherlock's desire slowly but surely growing between them. John reacted immediately as his hands moved from their original position and entangled in Sherlock's hair with a light tug. If it wasn't for Baker Street being full of Rosie and Mrs. Hudson, he wouldn't have made John wait until they got to the bedroom, but tonight there was no damn to be given. They could snog in the entry hall for all he cared, until they could get rid of one or both of their obstacles./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock's lips parted with John's and he whispered urgently,/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""She's more likely to believe you if you ask her to go out for something, though she'll probably suspect something either way."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Fine I'll bloody do it." John whispered back, smoothing his hair and clothing./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Once they both looked presentable, they made their way upstairs to the flat where Mrs. Hudson was doing some knitting on the couch. She looked up with a smile./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""You two seem happy." She said. "Just like the good old days after a chase."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Yes, it was good to get out there again. The guilty party was apprehended." Sherlock said./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John cleared his throat./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Actually, Mrs. Hudson, could you run to the shops for us please?" He asked. "We're low on nappies."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"He did his best to sound entirely normal, which seemed to work as Mrs. Hudson packed up her knitting and said,/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""It's a bit late, but that little girl will probably need a change in a few hours, so I'll hop off."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Right as the front door shut, the two men were all over each other once more. Thankfully, Rosie was asleep upstairs tonight, so they had the spacious bed to do as they wished in Sherlock's room. Once inside the room, John pushed Sherlock onto the bed and knelt between his legs, which revealed a very hard erection against his thigh. They continued to snog, and soon enough, John was starting to get hard as well, and he hoped that tonight would be the night where they finally had sex. He hoped that tonight Sherlock was finally comfortable enough with him to be intimate. However, when John tried to slip his hand below Sherlock's trousers, the detective grabbed his wrist and ceased the hungry kissing to lean his forehead against John's with his eyes closed./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Not tonight." He breathed. "While my transport is aroused by the idea of you pleasing me that way, I myself am not ready for that yet."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock was nervous, he had a set of steps planned and he didn't want to skip ahead too soon. He worried about his own reaction and John's lack of experience with men, the only way he could think of to stay calm was to stick to his plan./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Don't misunderstand, John." He said. "Another step shall be taken tonight, but only in exposing upper bodies to each other."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"They had moved onto actually making out already, but they hadn't really done anything with orgasms yet. John knew Sherlock would have one off when they were finished, and so would he, just nothing where one did it to the other. But tonight they desperately needed release. At the moment they were relieved of coats, Sherlock's blazer was on the floor, and John's jumper joined with it. He decided to do as Sherlock suggested in just taking off their shirts. Very slowly, he started unbuttoning his detective's black button up. He could hear Sherlock catch his breath every time John's fingers skimmed over new exposed skin with every button, and it just reinforced that Sherlock was indeed a virgin. Once the shirt was entirely open, Sherlock moved to shrug it off, but John stopped him./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Don't." He whispered. "It looks good like this."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock's breath was coming thick and fast and his heart practically skyrocketed out of his chest when John complimented him. He reached up with trembling hands to undo the top button of John's shirt. He felt quite alarmed at his inability to breathe when his fingers brushed the small part of John's chest that had been exposed. He was itching to see John's scar up close. At the second button Sherlock felt material instead of skin. John was wearing a vest under his shirt. Well, that put a dampener on things… he undid the rest of the buttons quickly and pulled the vest out of John's trousers and halfway up his back before John pulled away slightly./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John knew his vest would put Sherlock off a bit, but decided to make a show of taking it off. Very slowly, he slid the item of clothing up his body to reveal his abs, then his chest, and pulled it over his head, which left his hair slightly messy, and now everything was in view… including the scar on his left shoulder. He was still insecure about that patch of skin as he didn't really like telling the story of it when he was in bed with one of his ex-girlfriends. It seemed his thoughts were visible though because Sherlock reached up and traced his finger over the marred flesh, clearly fascinated by it./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"At last, Sherlock thought as he reached a tentative finger to the scar, marvelling at finally being able to em style="box-sizing: border-box;"touch/em it. He traced the outline and in a moment of bravery or insanity, he leaned his head up and kissed it. John immediately shivered at the contact and leaned into the sensation. Sherlock took that as a sign to continue and he licked and nipped at the spot, lavishing attention on it, secretly hoping John would treat his scars similarly and not be as appalled by them as he was by his own marred flesh. /p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Only one other person had done this for John, and it still felt oddly good. Maybe it was because of the muscles being more sensitive, or maybe it was psychological, but it still felt amazing. In response, he rolled over so he was on his back, and Sherlock was on top of him, where he snogged his lover senseless. As he ran his hands under Sherlock's shirt and over his back, he noticed furrows and raised welts in the skin./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Sherlock, what is that?" He asked./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I forgot that you, um, haven't… seen my back. Just ignore it John, it'll ruin the moment, and we only have 40 minutes - if she hasn't taken the Aston Martin, which under other… circumstances I might have listened for."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"But John ignored his plea and moved so Sherlock was lying down on his front after removing his shirt. All over his back, there were scars that looked like lashings and burns and cuts. Some looked only a year and a half old, others over three years. That's when it clicked: these were scars from when Sherlock was gone. All of these scars were from him being tortured for god knew how long when he tried to take down Moriarty's network. John traced his fingers gently over them, and felt Sherlock's muscles contract under his touch./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""These are from when you were gone, aren't they?" He asked./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"This was not a moment Sherlock had been looking forward to, he had managed to keep John from seeing the scars even when John had come to look after Sherlock after Mary shot him. Luckily there had been no exit wound, so John never had to look at Sherlock's back during that time. He wanted to go back to the carefree adrenaline-fueled lust they had been experiencing without bringing up that particular period of his past. The scars were not important right now, feeling John's bare skin against his was em style="box-sizing: border-box;"important/em, it was as crucial as breathing./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Then he felt something he didn't expect: lips on the scar on his left shoulder. Soft pecks traced down that particular lash, which went from near his neck to right below his armpit. He could feel John cover Sherlock's body with his own, and John's nose nuzzle his hair./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""We don't have to talk about it right now." He whispered. "I just needed to see them."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John continued his ministrations of kissing Sherlock's scars. He didn't kiss every single one (that'd take all bloody night), but he kissed the most prominent ones: a lash on the left shoulder, a burn down the right side of his spine, three cigarette burns near the base of his spine, and a badly healed cut to the right of the ribcage. He could hear Sherlock softly sigh with each touch of his lips, and it made John happy that it was him doing this to Sherlock, it was him giving him these sensations./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Turn over for me, love." John whispered./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""No pet names, John, we agreed." Sherlock mumbled into the be covers, before turning around./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I think you can live with just one."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock had a dumb rule about having no pet names for each other. Somehow it didn't surprise John that it was a rule at all, but it was still ridiculous. When he was settled between Sherlock's legs once more, he kissed him again, only this time slower, more passionately. It was as if to say, 'I love you no matter how ridiculous you are.'/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock felt the depth of love in the kiss and thought he'd never felt more alive than when John kissed him. When John pulled away briefly to smile at him, Sherlock whispered,/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Fine, just not in public."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John chuckled, and said nothing more. He started to kiss and nuzzle Sherlock's neck as his hand slid down toward Sherlock's groin. He didn't plan on going underneath any clothing, but the hardness underneath it had been poking him for a while. Right before he got to the waistband of his trousers, John looked to Sherlock for permission to go down further./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock nodded, but gasped at the first contact of John's hand. He had never been touched this way before, and even through his pants and trousers, the warmth of John's hand against his erection felt amazing. He almost threw the rule book out the window at that point, until some logic returned. John was feeling the shape of him with gentle fingers, and it was exquisite. In all his life nothing had ever felt like such a high./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John could feel Sherlock wasn't extremely large, but still a decent size. It seemed more long than thick, and it honestly gave John a bit of relief because he knew at some point they'd be having penetrative sex, and his biggest worry was not being able to stretch enough for Sherlock to fit. He started experimentally rubbing Sherlock's cock through the fabric of his trousers, and got a low moan in return. Of course, Sherlock had his mouth closed and looked like he was holding back sounds, but that wasn't going to work./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Sherlock." John said. "You can make noise you know. It's not a big deal."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"'Lies'/em he thought, em style="box-sizing: border-box;"'you've always wanted to hear what Sherlock would sound like when he was having sex.'/em/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock's mind was so full of the sensations John was creating in his body that his jaw was locked and he was stifling the groans and em style="box-sizing: border-box;"moans/em he wanted to make. He'd never thought himself capable of em style="box-sizing: border-box;"moaning/em, it was almost shameful, wasn't it? John was clearly unconcerned by the sleeping child or Mrs Hudson's imminent return - meanwhile a part of his brain was keeping track of the time. There were probably only 20 minutes left depending on whether Hudders struck up a conversation with the sales person, he hoped she would, he truly didn't want this to end. John was rubbing him with more purposeful motions and he was beginning to worry he'd orgasm soon - it would be a terrible mess inside his pants and trousers, but - oh - it just felt too fantastic to stop./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"He began to worry he was being rude by not reciprocating the action, so he reached for the waistband of John's trousers, seeking permission. To his surprise, John shook his head, Sherlock could read in his expression that this was meant to be about him right now. He could reciprocate later if there was more time. The thought that John considered Sherlock's pleasure more important than his own produced its own thrill and he moaned far more loudly than before./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John didn't want to have Sherlock focus on him for his first handjob. He hadn't forgotten that his detective was a virgin, and John wanted to make sure that he felt fantastic. He added a bit more pressure to his grip and started to stroke a bit faster, which caused Sherlock to gasp and buck upwards. There was one noise down, now to make him moan freely. In order to achieve that, John leaned down and flicked his tongue over Sherlock's nipple, the result being a groan through clenched teeth. Then he lightly bit it, and Sherlock gave a somewhat choked back moan. This was going to be a bit difficult. He decided just kissing him while he stroked would work, so that's what he did. He started kissing Sherlock hungrily, with all the heat and emotion he could muster./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John's kisses loosened Sherlock's tightly locked jaw and he moaned right into John's mouth. The depth of passion in the kisses on top of the stroking made Sherlock's mind go completely blank. Even the timer in the back of his mind stuttered to a halt, there were just too many sensations at once… it was incredible. He was beginning to get quite close to a release./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John could feel Sherlock getting even harder, which signalled he was close. He picked up the pace and whispered,/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Come for me, Sherlock… let go…"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock was panting, open mouthed at his point, and he did moan out loud. His limbic system was in overdrive and his body reacted to John's voice in that seductive tone almost instantly. His subsequent release was far more powerful than any of those he achieved by himself. He found himself moaning John's name over and over and a 'love you' had probably slipped out too, while his brain was offline in an orgasmic haze./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Now John had heard all the things he wanted to hear Sherlock say. The number one item on his list was Sherlock moaning his name… but he hadn't expected an 'I love you' to top that. Just looking at Sherlock completely wrecked below him was almost enough to make himself finish from both the emotion of what he heard and the utter sexiness of Sherlock post-orgasm. He placed a gentle kiss on his lover's lips and smiled at him./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""So your first orgasm with someone else." He said. "How was it?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock, the man who always had to have the last word, was struck speechless. He managed another happy moan, sighed and drew John close to him with arms that felt rather limp. He'd never known a greater high, and considering his history of narcotics, that was saying something. He wanted to just hold John close for a few moments before reciprocating the action on the… hardness… he felt pressing into his stomach just above his groin./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John let himself be held by Sherlock, but his erection never faltered. He had a gorgeous man underneath him after all so he wasn't surprised. He took the moan as the answer to his question, and rolled off to lay beside Sherlock. He was ready to wait for him to recover, even if his trousers were a bit uncomfortable at the moment. He spent his wait staring up at the ceiling, thinking about the things he and Sherlock would do in the future. It took probably three minutes before he felt a hand start traveling up his leg. He tensed a bit in surprise, but let Sherlock continue upwards./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock felt the powerful thigh he had watched John build up with such lust at the time. John tensed the muscle slightly and Sherlock wondered if he was doing this correctly… maybe he should have started at the top like John had? Now that his brain had returned to a functional state, he had too many doubts and questions whirling around in there. He wondered whether he could use any of the research he had done on what people call 'handjobs' in this situation, with the pants and trousers in the way. With no practical experience he'd felt far too clueless for his liking, and the internet was a vast resource. He hadn't found anything on this, though. He brushed his hand higher until he felt a bulge... John gasped in his ear at the contact. Sherlock could feel his testicles as he briefly skimmed his hand up to his… he cringed internally, but forced himself to think penis, it was less embarrassing to use scientific terms./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"He allowed himself to feel the dimensions: John's - penis - was a similar length to his own. Long, but also with greater girth (he refused to think of the implications of this for later on).em style="box-sizing: border-box;" John/em was extremely turgid against his hand, so he was probably quite close to his own release, Sherlock hoped he could complete the 'job' at 'hand'. He took a firmer grasp of it in his hand, stroking up as John had done. There was another gasp and John moaned a bit - clearly Sherlock should be a bit more vocal in future. John had seemed to like that and he was doing the same himself. Sherlock brushed his hand over it on the downstroke, then decided on a tighter grip. One tip from his research he could use was to give a little squeeze when he reached the 'head', he'd found it pleasurable when he tried it on himself, so he did that and earned a small exclamation of 'Sherlock!' from John. He felt like that was a small victory and smiled a bit. He began a steady rhythm of upstroke-squeeze-downstroke-repeat and John began to press himself into Sherlock's hand, his hips making small involuntary movements. Sherlock interpreted this to mean he should increase the tempo, another moan followed by a long, drawn-out groan proved he was correct./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"For a virgin, Sherlock was fucking fantastic at giving a handjob. John had no doubt Sherlock had done research of some kind since that was how he did things, but at the moment, he couldn't give two shits as to what Sherlock did to learn this. It had been too damn long since he had any sexual contact with anyone as when he and Mary first had Rosie, they were so busy trying to get the parenting thing down to focus on anything other than work, Rosie, domestic items, sleep, and cases. He hadn't even had mourning sex with any women after Mary died. Now he had Sherlock Holmes, the man he had always loved, basically milking his cock in his trousers and he was sure he was going to come in his pants. He even did that thing where you squeeze at the head of his cock. He wasn't going to last very long./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"In a mere few minutes, John was bucking against Sherlock's hand like a horny teenager. He knew he was making noises and he didn't intend to stop them, but he tried to at least keep them a bit quiet so they wouldn't wake Rosie since she was in his room not too far away. John's eyes were closed, but he could feel Sherlock start to kiss his neck gently and that was what set him off. He slapped his hand over his mouth so that he wouldn't scream and wake up Rosie. He felt like he had reached fucking euphoria via orgasm, and it made his head spin./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock felt John bucking more insistently and his moaning was becoming more frequent. He must be close. Sherlock leaned over and began to kiss his neck and John slapped a hand over his mouth to stifle - a scream? Was that good, or had Sherlock done something wrong? John shuddered at Sherlock's continued stroking and Sherlock slowed, trying to remember how long John had stroked him after his release. Of course his brain had been offline at the time, so he decided to merely rest his hand on the bulge as he felt it begin to soften a bit./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Meanwhile John was still coming down from his high. He hadn't experienced anything that intense in (maybe) years. It was incredible and honestly made him rethink how good his other experiences had been. Maybe it was also because of the adrenaline or the fact that he loved Sherlock. He could honestly not care less about what caused his almost best orgasm ever, because it was obvious he needed it after what he'd had to do that night. Sherlock brought his hand up from John's crotch and awkwardly put it on his cheek and pulled him in for a kiss, it was a lazy, almost sleepy kiss./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Very lazily, John rolled over and wrapped his arms around Sherlock. He felt like he was already falling asleep except he didn't want to be asleep yet. He wanted to bask in the afterglow with the man he loved and had saved (yet again he might add)./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock heard Mrs. Hudson's key in the lock at the main door and realised he had totally lost track of time. He had only one thought he needed to express before she interrupted this perfect scene with her chatter./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""John," he murmured, "stay here tonight, stay here em style="box-sizing: border-box;"every night,/em" his voice was almost a whisper as he said, "em style="box-sizing: border-box;"please?"/em/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"That immediately broke John out of his daze as he propped himself up on his arm and looked at Sherlock with a confused look. Did he really just ask him to move in?/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""You mean…" He said. "You want me… to move into your room?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Yes John." Sherlock said in a soft voice, it was almost a plea./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John laid back on the bed and rubbed his hand over his face. It would definitely help with not needing to groggily move to one room or another every night, he wouldn't have to go up stairs to go to bed, the bed was definitely more comfortable, and Rosie would get her own room entirely in a year or so. He hated being a whole floor away from Sherlock anyway, so why not./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Sure." He answered simply./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"At that moment, Mrs Hudson knocked at the door to the lounge. Sherlock spoke just loud enough for her to hear him. /p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Just a moment, Mrs. Hudson."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"He practically leapt from the bed, with a huge grin at John, grabbed his dressing gown, cinched it tightly and strode out to meet her./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Thank you so much, we really appreciate it."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Not to worry dear, just don't make it a regular thing. It's late and the cold isn't good for my hip."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""We'll try not to let it happen again. Goodnight Mrs Hudson." Sherlock said ushering her out of the door and towards the stairs./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock put the packet of nappies in the kitchen, where there were already three more bags. He half wanted to kick himself for the unguarded moment when he asked John to move into his bedroom, but since John had agreed, he simultaneously wanted to jump for joy. He settled for another big grin and considered the implications of his spontaneity and how this would work… They had yet to be naked around each other but they were definitely intimate. Perhaps there could be a pajama bottoms at all times rule for now? He went back to the bedroom, satisfied with this decision and also feeling a distinct need to rid himself of his sticky pants./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John had already beaten Sherlock to getting rid of his pants as he was in the bathroom cleaning off his basically soiled crotch and hoped to save his underwear. He also knew he had to go get pajamas as, knowing Sherlock, there was no way he'd just be able to sleep in bed in the nude if they only just recently saw each other without shirts on. It was annoying, but Sherlock was new to all of this, so he would endure the ridiculousness of it all for his sake. He heard Sherlock enter the bedroom once more and open his - em style="box-sizing: border-box;"their/em wardrobe. He had to start thinking of 'Sherlock's Room' as em style="box-sizing: border-box;"their/em room now. He'd have to move his things in tomorrow at the latest before Sherlock tried to do things ass-backwards with placement of certain clothing and organizing their separate things./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"He finally decided to give up on the pants, and simply put his jeans back on to exit the bathroom. But instead of exiting via the en-suite door, he went to the main hallway so he could go get some pajamas. He made sure to skip the squeaky step as to not wake Rosie and gently opened the door. She was still asleep in her cot, which John was thankful for. After getting what he needed without incident, he made his way back to the bathroom and got ready for class="kix-line-break" style="box-sizing: border-box;" /Sherlock was getting fresh pants and pajama bottoms when he heard the hallway door to the bathroom open and shut and realised with relief that John was going upstairs for new clothing. Perhaps John had intuited his need for bottoms to be worn in bed. John could read Sherlock better than anyone else. He used this time to clean himself up and change for bed. He stood awkwardly in the bedroom as he contemplated where to find space for John's clothing, and also, who would sleep on which side of the bed./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Eventually, John returned to the bedroom in a baggy t-shirt and plaid pajama bottoms. His hair was still a bit messy from earlier, but he was about to go to bed so who cared? He and Sherlock stared at each other for a moment in a silent conversation of who would sleep where… so John simply took the side he had been sleeping on when he was sleeping in the room alone./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock nodded silently and climbed into the other side of the bed./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"For a while, they just lay in awkward silence. They had only slept in the same bed once before and even then, neither of them had consciously done it. Neither of them knew what to talk about, so John filled the silence with something that he knew was topical./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""So…" He started. "How was… em style="box-sizing: border-box;"that/em for you?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock looked confused at the question… was he supposed to give the experience a rating? How did these things work when there was another person involved? He'd never bothered to rate his solo ventures, they were a means to an end. Sure, the ones with fantasies about John were stronger and probably produced more ejaculate… was he supposed to have measured that somehow?/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I… have no idea how to accurately answer that question." Sherlock said, falling back on polite honesty./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Well what I mean is - uh - was it good? Bad? The best ever? Something like that."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Oh, then 'best ever' would be the most accurate description."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John raised an eyebrow, pillow talk wasn't supposed to be multiple-choice. He would not laugh though, because this was new to Sherlock./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""This isn't a test, Sherlock. I'm just asking how it felt for you."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Well, that em style="box-sizing: border-box;"was /emthe best orgasm I've experienced." He said it matter of factly then seemed to remember his manners. "How was it for you?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Second best orgasm."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock was nothing if not competitive and his face dropped a bit at that. "What was the best, then?" He asked, determined to beat it./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John blushed a bit./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I, uh… snuck one of my dad's magazines when I was either 14 or 15." He answered honestly. "The internet wasn't exactly a thing I could use back then, so while my mum and dad were at a party with coworkers, I got into my dad's stash of magazines, and went to town. It was the first time I actually saw a woman's body in that way so I guess it just made me visualize things… better?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock was sure he could beat visual stimuli in a magazine of all things. He scoffed internally and began to plan. He would research, he would practice if need be, but he would conclude his experiments with a win. He would find out exactly what John liked best for every sexual act and he would pleasure him more than anyone or anything had ever done before. Sherlock would not be second best to some busty woman in a trashy magazine. He was slightly taken aback by the ferocity of his own determination in this respect. He felt very possessive over em style="box-sizing: border-box;"his John/em and he hoped that wouldn't be considered a bad thing. He couldn't say any of this aloud, so he stammered out an awkward response./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Oh… well… visual stimulus has never been… necessary for me."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Probably because you've never em style="box-sizing: border-box;"wanted/em to see anyone like that."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Not before you, and I have a Mind Palace for that." Sherlock said flatly./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John sputtered at that. Sherlock kept images in his Mind Palace about him? How the hell had he not noticed!? Then again, was it really so odd that he did that? This was Sherlock after all. He sighed and rolled onto his side to face Sherlock./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Do I want to know what images you have stored in there?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Probably not, they were more like feelings than images. Memories of chasing criminals and giggling at crime scenes, moments you surprised me and the feeling of your company. Music I-"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock stopped abruptly, surprising John./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John had to think about that for a moment. It was emotions that drove his sexual fantasies. em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Emotions/em, not physical gratification. John knew there was a word for that because Harry told him about it when trying to educate him on LGBT labels… he immediately picked his phone up from the nightstand and looked up em style="box-sizing: border-box;"sexuality labels and definitions/em. After a minute or two, he found the right one./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""So that means you're demisexual."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I suppose so, it is the closest 'label' I've found that fits." When Sherlock had begun to feel attracted to John, he had done some research./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"The definition didn't entirely fit what he'd just described as what he used for… stimulation, but he had never really managed to fit into any 'boxes', he wasn't what people would call ordinary./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John put his phone back on the nightstand and looked at the ceiling for a bit. He knew that having a visual wasn't the only thing that got him off at times. He was on the school rugby team when he was in secondary school, and with that came the locker room visuals. He sighed./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""It wasn't ever just girls that got me excited." He said. "I kind of held a stigma against being bisexual because my parents had kicked Harry out when she was 16 for being gay, so I did my best to act like they wanted, and then things just never went back down the route of having an interest in men… well, at least until you."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""So your em style="box-sizing: border-box;"best/em orgasm was while using a woman as the stimulus, and you never used images of males?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Like I said, I was trying to suppress what I really felt so even thinking about that type of thing with a man terrified me. I didn't want to come home with a boyfriend one day and suddenly my parents decided to kick me out like they did Harry. I'm pretty sure it's one of the reasons she started drinking."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock considered that, though it didn't feel like the right term, em style="box-sizing: border-box;"he/em was now John's em style="box-sizing: border-box;"'boyfriend'/em. Would he ever meet John's parents, and if he did, how would they react? He didn't much care how the bigots would treat him, he was used to rejection, but he worried for John's sake. He was unsure whether such people should be allowed around Rosamund, but they em style="box-sizing: border-box;"were/em her grandparents and perhaps that gave them some unassailable familial right to at very least em style="box-sizing: border-box;"meet/em her? /p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Do you think you would ever reconnect with your parents?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John cringed at the thought. The reason he didn't ask for his parents' help was because he didn't even talk to them anymore. They would send him letters at Uni, but he'd always throw them away. He had dared to open the very first one, but he had screamed and burned it because the line about Harry infuriated him,/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"'Harriet came groveling to our doorstep to ask for our help. That poor girl doesn't seem to understand that she is no longer a part of our family and hasn't been for quite some time as you remember.'/em/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"He didn't even finish the letter after that. His parents turned away his sister who was asking for them to help her get clean because she was gay. A single part of her personality apparently was worthy of shunning her entirely, and he was sure it was their fault in the first place that she started drinking. It was honestly the most disgusting thing he had ever heard his parents do and he was ashamed to be their son./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I doubt I'll ever talk to them again, Sherlock. They turned out my sister for being gay, so me coming to them with you as my lover would be hell breaking loose."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Not that I'm advocating exposing her to their bigotry, but they are Rosie's only grandparents, isn't there some social convention that overrides your dislike of them? I ask only because you know that's not my 'area'." /p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I don't want her to be exposed to that." John said resolutely. "She doesn't need any of that in her life this early on. I know it's unavoidable in the real world, but she doesn't need that from her supposed 'family'."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I concur with that. Perhaps we can introduce her to my parents when she's older. They may have lied to me my whole life, but they are otherwise considered 'good people' by their peers."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""And I agree. I was surprised they were even your parents when I first met them because they're so normal. They didn't come across what I imagined at all."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I'm sure they would love to meet Rosie, I doubt they ever expected to be grandparents at all, with the three of us as their children. They would be thrilled to spoil her."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"John chuckled./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""They would, wouldn't they?"/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock thought about his childhood, his parents had always tried their best, with (as far as he knew at the time) two very gifted but rather em style="box-sizing: border-box;"difficult/em children. Why they'd even continued to reproduce after having Mycroft, Sherlock couldn't imagine - perhaps to rectify that mistake… Well em style="box-sizing: border-box;"that/em hadn't worked out very well, had it? They em style="box-sizing: border-box;"would/em love Rosie, though, and they still had a lot of love left to give. He had resented the 'sentiment' at the time, but he had to admit he had always felt loved at home./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""Oh they would love her, even through the worst tantrums, they have had experience with difficult children."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;""I'm not surprised considering I live with you."/p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"Sherlock merely smiled at that, breaching the gap between them with a soft kiss. He pulled John closer until they were cuddling each other. This was a bit different to the couch, both of them were lying down and that gave it a different connotation… They tried to find a comfortable position and ended up with John being spooned by Sherlock in the middle of the bed./p
p dir="ltr" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;"They fell asleep in comfortable silence./p