Robert had new neighbors. They loved the tango, as evidenced by their habit of playing tango music at an insanely loud volume during the day. Robert couldn't imagine that mind exercises would work in such an environment, so he dialed up Mycroft, and by lunch time they were packed and snugged in the back of a car on the way to the Holmes' cottage.

He thought that it would take hours to get there, but it didn't. They were on the motorway, and then they were off it and surrounded by green trees. They drove up to a gate, and down a lane, and suddenly the door opened onto sunlight and bird song. He looked up and saw an airplane trail across the sky.

The cottage was much bigger than his flat: Three bedrooms, a living room with a fireplace. A large kitchen, and a green lawn with a garden in the back. There were no other people close by. You had to go down the lane and across a hedge to get to the next place, an imposing looking house that might also belong to the Holmes family. He didn't want to find out.

Sherlock walked in and claimed one of the rooms as his own. Robert took the one closest to the kitchen. "That's Mycroft's room," Sherlock said.

"Is he coming?"

"No."

"Then for now, it's my room. Go fix yourself a sandwich or something."

"I'm not hungry."

"You're a growing boy, you need to eat."

"I can't. I don't like to eat when I'm not hungry. My stomach moves around too much. It's distracting. I think better when I don't eat."

"Well, alright, but I'm not ready yet so go run."

"Run?"

"Didn't you say that you were trying to get...what did you call them, pirate skills? Well you need to stay physically strong, so I want you to go out there and run. Find a path and run as fast as you can. By the time we leave here, I want you to be able to get anywhere in this property before anyone else can: Before me, before a dog or a horse, before the car can get there even. So go outside, and run!"

Sherlock stared at Robert for a minute his eyes narrowing like he was puzzled, then he tore out of the door and down the walk running through the grass and jumping the hedge. Robert laughed, "Well that was easy. Now I can look around in peace." He started by looking through the kitchen. It was fully stocked, so he put the kettle on and rinsed out a teapot before pulling out ham and cheese and fixing himself a snack.

Early that evening, after Sherlock had returned, with leaves in his hair and scratches on his arms, Robert had him lie down on the floor and try to slow his breathing. Sherlock was trying, but not succeeding, because he couldn't stop moving. When told to lie still, he twitched and jumped and was too excited to keep his eyes closed.

Robert sighed. "Think of the vacuum," he said, and for a moment Sherlock was still, then his toes twitched and his fingers wriggled.

"What are you doing?" Robert asked.

"I'm batting around the atoms."

"What atoms? You're in a vacuum."

"You know that there are no pure vacuums on Earth. There's always a few atoms bouncing about."

"Not in this vacuum."

"But that's not realistic!"

"Oh Sherlock, what are we going to do with you? Maybe ... can you hum?"

"Of course I can hum. I can play music too."

"You play music?"

"Yes, violin."

"I didn't know that. Where is your violin?"

"I gave it up."

"Why?"

"Because Mycroft wanted me to become a musician."

Robert squatted down beside Sherlock. "Sit up for a minute, will you Sherlock." Sherlock sat up, crossed his legs, and slouched.

"So, tell me. Do you like playing violin?"

"Yes, I love it."

"Then why don't you play?"

"Because Mycroft likes me playing. He says it calms me down, and steadies me. I don't want to give him the satisfaction of thinking that he's right."

"But...it's you who is harmed by this, not Mycroft. You don't get to do something that you love."

"I can't let him win! He's so smug. So self-righteous. It's as if he goes to the same club as God."

"Well, I don't know...maybe you could play badly when he's around?"

Sherlock sat up straighter, "The violin does make a wide range of noises, and Mycroft used to have ear infections when he was younger. I bet if I tried hard enough, I could probably burst an ear drum."

"Sherlock!"

He jumped up. "Do you mind if I call the house and get it sent out here? I'm sure mummy would pay for more lessons if I asked her. She was disappointed when I stopped."

"Go," Robert said letting Sherlock run off. He rose to his feet then, and went back to his room.

Robert closed and locked the door. He pulled a leather wallet out of his bag and opened it, staring at the picture of his family. His sister was there and his twin brother, Richard. He touched his face with a fingertip, and then put the photo away. Then he opened up Faraday's Chemical History of a Candle and read until bedtime.