Claire closed the door to her small flat and dropped her keys in the bowl. She opened the fridge and, after an inspection, concluded there was nothing in there she felt like eating. She grabbed some potatoes from the cupboard and started chopping them into 12 pieces. It had been a big day; two murders, five mysterious notes and many, many hours of hard work. Grabbing a pot, she half-filled it with water and put the potatoes in. She headed to the fridge and got out come more ingredients which she began chopping and mixing. How had she managed to become an assistant to the world's only consulting detective? She kept stirring the ingredients. After dinner, she would be heading straight to bed. She glanced at the clock. Almost nine o'clock. She took the potatoes off the stove and added them to the ingredients in her bowl. She grabbed a fork and the bowl and sat down in front of the TV. She turned it on, but there was nothing on that really caught her eye. Eventually, she settled for an old comedy that wasn't really that funny.
When she finally slipped between the covers of her queen bed, she was too exhausted to be relieved. It didn't take her long to fall asleep.
Claire was awoken by a tap at her window. A glance at her alarm clock showed her it was just past three. She opened the curtains to find Sherlock standing there, looking slightly smug. She opened the window so she could talk to him.
"Sherlock, do you know what time it is?" She asked sleepily, but half-heartedly. She knew he didn't care for time, and she didn't really mind to seeing him at the late hour, especially if he had important news.
"Not particularly. I know something much more important" He said. "Could you let me in at the door? I tried knocking, but I couldn't wake you"
"Sure, sure" She said, wandering around to the opposite side of the house. She opened the door, and a few seconds later Sherlock came into view. Close up, you could see the bags under his eyes. He'd had a late night, and even if his mind wasn't affected, his body was. He gently kissed her, and then brushed past her into the flat. She closed the door behind him.
"I figured out who's sending the notes" He said proudly.
"And? Who is it?"
"Moriarty" He said confidently, although a little fear showed in his eyes. Claire had heard things about him in the papers. She flinched slightly that he was out to get them.
"Are you sure?"
"I will be, after I check your notes" He said, his eyes glancing around her flat. It was the first time he had been inside, and she assumed he was deducing and searching at the same time. She reached past him for the coat rack, and removed the small book from her right pocket.
"Here" She said, and he glanced over the notes.
"It's him. Look. When you get every second letter of a word and put them in line, they spell ytrairom. When you reverse these letters, they spell Moriarty."
He showed her using the most recent letter.
Dye stalk tricks talk
Sin crawl son small
"The 'm' from small, the 'o' from son, the 'r' from crawl, the 'I' from sin, the 'a' from talk, the 'r' from tricks, the't' from stalk and the 'y' from dye all come together to spell Moriarty!" He declared proudly.
"So now what?" Claire asked uncertainly.
"Now we wait for him to reveal himself like he said he would" Sherlock said. He waited a few seconds, as if expecting him to jump from the shadows right there and then. His excited expression soon faded, slowly turning into a regular expression, then to Sherlock's usual bored expression, until finally an expression Claire had never seen on Sherlock before- exhaustion.
"Sherlock, you should get some sleep" Claire said softly.
"I guess so" He said, his buzz worn off.
"You can stay here if you want" She suggested, and Sherlock nodded. Claire led him through the lounge room to her bedroom, and she opened the door to let him in. He sat on the bed to take off his shoes, and then lifted up the covers to go under. Claire stood at the door awkwardly.
"Do you want me to... go?" She said, gesturing towards the couch in the living room.
"If one of us is taking the couch, it will be me" Sherlock said sternly. Claire concluded from his current position she wasn't going anywhere. Sleepiness returning, she slipped under the sheets, too. Knowing Sherlock was so close, it took her a long time to get back to sleep.
When Sherlock finally woke, he was in a strange room and a strange bed. He wasn't worried though. He remembered why he was here. He looked across at the clock, and jumped up with a start. It was already nine. Brushing down his crinkled shirt, he went out into the lounge room and saw Claire sitting on the couch with a coffee. She had showered and changed already- she had been up a while.
"Morning sleepyhead" She said "Want some coffee?"
"Black, two sugars" He said, and Claire got up to fulfil his request.
"You sleep well?" Claire asked. Sherlock considered this. Well, he certainly wasn't tired anymore.
"Yea, I guess I did. How about you?"
"Not that well. This incredibly hot idiot woke me up in the middle of the night." She said, unable to keep the teasing grin off her face.
"When I find that guy..." Sherlock said, also grinning. He came up behind her and kissed her cheek. "I'd better call Lestrade. And John, now I think of it"
"Good plan" She said, handing him his coffee. He sat down on the couch while he texted, sipping his coffee occasionally. He soon got a text back from John.
So that's where you were! Don't freak me out like that, thought the killer had got you!
The killer we now know to be Moriarty. Really should have seen that coming.
John
And then a few minutes later, one from Lestrade.
Good work decoding. Stay on high alert, and make sure your assistants are too. After last time with John, we know he likes to take hostages.
Greg
"I guess I had better get back to Baker Street before Moriarty starts capturing everybody. Be careful, alright?" He said to Claire.
"Okay. The spare key is hidden in the flowerpot, should you need it" She said.
"Let's hope I don't need it" Sherlock said. He kissed her gently, and then grabbed his jacket and scarf from off the hook. "I'll be back later to pick you up; you might want to pack some stuff"
"Will do"
"I'll see you soon" He said. Claire nodded. He kissed her again, and then stepped out into the cold morning, firmly shutting the door behind him. After he heard it lock behind him, he walked to the street to hail a cab.
When he arrived back at 221B Baker Street, he found a very interested John waiting for him.
"So... you slept over at her house, huh?" John said, raising his eyebrows slightly.
"It was hard enough getting a cab the first time, and I was too tired to stay up for ages trying to get another one" Sherlock explained, and John's face fell.
"So nothing... happened?"
"No... What do you mean, happene- No! You think... No, you don't... Do you?"
"I had to ask" John said, shrugging.
"Is that what you do when you go over to Sarah's house?" Sherlock asked, and was shocked to watch John's stature turn fidgety. "That's what you do at her place?" Sherlock asked, incredulous.
"That's what normal people do, Sherlock!" John yelled, mad because of embarrassment more than Sherlock's not knowing. "And it's not like we've just met, or anything. We've known each other for a long time..."
"Wow" Was all Sherlock said, cutting John off.
"Have you eaten anything?" John asked, changing the subject.
"No" Sherlock said, heading off towards the kitchen. He wasn't hungry, but John wouldn't give in until he ate something. He grabbed a piece of bread, some margarine and some peanut paste, and made a sandwich. He ate, trying to avoid thinking about it.
"Oh yea, Claire's staying over while Moriarty is out to get hostages" Sherlock said, just as Mrs. Hudson came into the room.
"He's getting hostages? And you're having this girl of yours staying over?" Mrs. Hudson said worriedly.
"Yes, would that be a problem?" Sherlock asked
"No, I guess not... so this Moriarty is after you again, is he?" Mrs. Hudson said sympathetically.
"Yes, I'd be staying alert if I was you Mrs. Hudson. Don't answer the door without checking who it is, and such." Sherlock warned.
"Am I in danger?" She asked cautiously.
"He's killed a lot of people, Mrs. Hudson. Don't take any chances." Sherlock said. Mrs. Hudson could only nod, before leaving the room and heading down to her own section of the flat. By now, Sherlock had finished his sandwich.
"When are you picking her up?" John asked
"After I change" He said, gesturing to his crinkled outfit. Sherlock quickly bounded up the stairs to do just that.
A/N: Big thanks to Rochellie98 for her review! Hoping for some more reviews so I know your thoughts. The next chapter is already written, had to cut this one in half because it was too long : ) The next one is a tad cheesy, but I'm a tad cheesy myself XD Hope you guys like cheese! lol
