Now we are moving back to the present! :)
The remaining Holmes family was all present when Sherlock finally blinked open his eyes. At first he seemed disoriented, which quickly turned into a displeased frown upon realizing his current location. He usually liked hospital and all the fancy medical stuff going around there, but hated it when he was on the receiving end of that medical procedure.
"Home, now," were his first coherent couple of words after the ventilator was removed and his thirst was sufficiently quenched.
"Sweetheart, you need to stay here a little longer until the doctor is sure you are fine," Mummy answered as she carded her fingers through the dark curls.
"What happened? Why am I here?"
"There was a fire," Father replied, the unspoken Don't you remember? clear in his voice.
"Fire? Hmph. Then why am I the only one here?" Sherlock complained and then narrowed his eyes, "You're hurt, Mycroft. I can see bandage poking out of your shirt. Why are you not in bed like me?"
"I was. Until an hour ago, in fact." When Mycroft noticed the shift in Sherlock's expression from annoyance to concern, he quickly added, "I'm fine, Sherlock. Just some cuts and burns, nothing major."
"And you, Mummy? Dad?" Sherlock asked. It seemed the heaviness of the situation had finally caught up on him.
"We are both fine, sweetheart. And Eurus is…." Unable to continue the sentence, Mummy bit her lower lip.
"Who's Eurus?" Sherlock asked nonchalantly.
Momentarily stunned, the other three Holmes exchanged worried glances among themselves, unsure as to what was happening.
"Sweetheart, Eurus is—" Mummy finally opened her mouth to answer, but Mycroft quickly stopped her.
"Mummy, don't."
"Don't what?" Sherlock asked with a frown.
"Never you mind, little brother. By the way, I got some introductory biomedical books you might like, you being in the hospital and all."
"Give me!"
While Sherlock gleefully indulged in the hardcover books, Mycroft met his parents' eyes and silently shook his head. He did not know whether this was a blessing or a curse in disguise, but he would take it. He would take it and keep it, if it meant his brother was safe and happy.
-Present-
Sherlock was disoriented. When he finally got a hold of himself, he found himself sitting down on the floor with his head buried between his knees.
He blinked, trying to gauge the time passed since his abrupt trip down the proverbial memory lane.
"Now you understand, don't you Sherlock? It is only fair," across from the glass panel Eurus stated in a dreamlike voice.
"What is fair? You're not making much sense," Sherlock snapped. He felt drained and unsettled. His energy was depleted, as if he had just come down from an adrenaline rush or a drug-induced high. He wanted nothing more than to return to the comforting familiarity of London, Baker Street, his flat. And maybe a detour to his brother's office, just because.
"Are you not feeling well? You don't need me to spell this out for you. You're clever."
"Well I just realized that a huge chunk of my childhood memory has been misplaced and I may have re-traumatized myself in the whole process. Seeing as you are the main source of that trauma, of course I'm not feeling well," Sherlock growled.
"You sound upset. Why are you upset?" Eurus asked wonderingly.
"Never mind," Sherlock said impatiently, "if Mycroft couldn't get you to understand sentiments, then it's a lost cause. It's beyond your understanding. Now stop wasting time and answer the damn question. What it is that I'm supposed to understand now?"
"You asked me why I wanted to kill Mycroft. It's simple; Mycroft kept you alive and well. You got his life. So it's only fair that I also get something of his."
"Get what?" Sherlock asked. As soon as he uttered the question, the answer dawned on him.
Eurus looked into Sherlock's eyes. She too knew that Sherlock had already figured out the answer to his own question. Nonetheless, Eurus whispered the answer as if she was sharing a secret.
"His death."
We only have one more chapter to go. Huge thanks to all of you who read & reviewed!
