08.
New Year Eve,
Ellie was staying at one of her shops. Her employees had all gone home to their families and friends. It was only an hour away to New Year. She did not want to close the café. Every year she celebrated New Year Eve in her very own store with her very own cakes. It was like a tradition for her. She never got bored from this, even though she was alone. Accept for this year her mind was not technically alone. She wondered about Sherlock all the time. She loved him, so that did not sound too strange. Not to mention he did turn her world upside down at Christmas night.
As she said to people, she did not want to be trapped in an unrequited love, she would rather stand in the dark and watch him. She could even talk to him normally and she found out it was quite interesting to see him surprise at her wit. She was a smart woman, but she did not want to use her wit to get attention. She kept a low profile. Until Sherlock Holmes tried to step in her life again, this time without his heart. She did not like Irene Adler. That woman wanted to win. She forced her to get in the game. But it was easy for Ellie to get out. She just need to tell Sherlock the truth, he would be caught in that eventually. She knew Sherlock Holmes more than Irene did. When Sherlock quitted the game, Irene's tricks had to stop.
The bell rang. Ellie did not expect a guest at this hour.
'As I guess. She's gone. And now you need me instead.' She said without looking at the customer. Ellie continued to arrange the flowers as Sherlock walked into the store. She smiled at the roses. Her favourite.
A tri-tone raised. It was her text. She stretched her arm to grab the phone lying on the table but it was not there. The storeowner looked up to find her so-called customer had taken it and he was reading the text.
'Happy New Year. Don't throw the roses away. JM with a heart emoticon.' Sherlock read the text out loud. 'Never know he could be such a romantic criminal.'
'Then could you, please, send him this?' She smiled, continued to arrange the roses from Jim: 'Dear Jim comma, line break, Thanks for the roses full stop Happy New Year line break, E and a heart emoticon please. Thank you.'
'Exclamation mark after Happy New Year?' He asked, typing what she said.
'That would be lovely!'
She guessed she had been playing games with him, no matter how she denied it.
'Thank you!' Sherlock said when Ellie brought for him a cup of coffee with two sugars like usual. She sat opposite him. The roses vase was sitting on the side of the table.
'So what makes you come to me?' She asked right into the question. She knew that Sherlock would be annoyed and apparently, he was. And it had become her hobby recently. If Irene Adler attracted him with sexual attempts and lies, she would give Sherlock the truth, and nothing else but the truth. Sherlock was the same as Jim. Their weakness was the truth came from someone else's mouth.
'Bored!' They both said. And then they laughed happily like it was a joke.
'Do you want to see the fireworks?' Sherlock asked when he finished laughing.
'Are you inviting me?' She replied with a question. She was being obvious. And it stuck him again. He could not deal with his own truth.
'As the matter of fact, I am.' He replied awkwardly.
'Not until I finish my cakes.' She picked up one of her cupcakes and tasted it. She glanced at the detective with a smile. She had got him. Again.
'I'll help you fasten the process.' Sherlock also picked a few cakes and ate them in such a speed that people might think he was hungry.
'Faster!' He shouted at her.
'For God's sake, this is the fastest speed I could run!' She said. 'I'm on my heels!'
'Oh, God!'
Sherlock turned back and grabbed her hand. He literally pulled her along side of the pavement. Every time they hit someone, she was the one who had to apologised because he never did that. They were running to the London Bridge. The firework show was going to happen within five minutes and Sherlock insisted they should have a good spot. Ellie ran after him, wondering what had gotten into his bloody brain. They had not talked since Christmas Eve. She and Jim had become friends, actually. He did not mind if she came around Sherlock like he did in the past. And Sherlock and Irene were running around countries together. Just within seven days, he suddenly changed the order of the world.
'Here!' He said after they successfully merged into the crowd.
'Good. I can't even walked.' She breathed heavily.
'Wait… I need to send two texts!' He held his finger up to signal her to stop talking. Then he brought out his phone.
'Okay. First text is Happy New Year, SH to Irene Adler. And do you need Jim's number for the second text or you've already had it?'
'His number, please. Thank you.' Sherlock said. Ellie pulled out her phone for him to insert the number. 'I am celebrating New Year with Ellie. Happy New Year. SH and a heart emoticon! Done!' He said as he touched the send button. 'Right, phone away. It's time.'
The first firework was shot into the sky. People shouted 'Happy New Year!' everywhere. Even Sherlock and Ellie shouted out happily. She clapped her hands and enjoyed the view. The firework show would last for twenty minutes. So they stopped clapping after a few shots and looked up to the sky.
'How do you know the first text was for the woman?' Sherlock asked after a few minutes.
'Obviously. You just helped her fake her death. You still have the chemical on your fingers, which means you've just got back from the job. And Irene never changed her perfume brand, I have to say. So you still have some kind of relationship with her. Call it whatever you like because I know you will never, ever, ever admit that you're in love with her. You won't see her for a long time so try to keep the relationship.' She stopped to see him. She was right. 'The second text is just to annoy Jim. You were annoyed by our heart emoticons, weren't you?' She continued without realising that he had held her hand in his. 'I'm with him. Even though I told him not to tell me about you and Irene but he just couldn't stop.'
'Enough.'
He stopped her talking by pressing his lips on hers. She was a little surprised at his actions but within seconds, she responded to the kiss really well.
'Irene will be really mad. And you really don't want Mycroft to know she's alive, right?' Ellie giggled when she found a way to speak, even though his lips were still playing with hers.
'Just, please, shut up!' Sherlock said before he deepened that kiss.
'So you're not with Moriarty?' Sherlock asked when he brought her on his arms to his bedroom.
'Well, we're not… plfff… you know…' She rolled her big black eyes. Her fingers playfully dancing on his chest. 'And you?'
'We're not… well… that… erm…' He muttered. It was the first time Ellie saw him ran out of vocabulary. 'The point… you proved… erm…'
'Fair enough.'
John Watson was reading the very first issue of the year while he was enjoying his very first coffee. Sherlock seemed to be lazy again. He still did not bother to get out of bed even though it was nine already. He guessed it was because it was New Year and Irene Adler had left him completely. John did not bother to wake him up since he knew Sherlock would mess the living room up or harass him until he found a case.
Suddenly he heard someone ran up the stairs hurriedly. He also heard the chatting between that person and Mrs Hudson. That was definitely Lestrade. The detective inspector nearly knocked the door out when he entered the living room. John had gotten too used to this to sit still in his chair, comfortably, and enjoy his coffee. The detective's face showed that there was a new case going on right at the start of the year and he needed Sherlock Holmes right away.
'Where's Sherlock?' He asked shortly, still panting from all of his running.
'Bedroom.' John rolled his eyes to Sherlock's room direction.
'Oh, please. I don't want to risk my life walking through that door.' Lestrade said, implying John to do it.
'Alright. Happy New Year!' He stood up and said sarcastically.
John went first and Lestrade was right behind him. They stopped at the door and the doctor took a deep breath. He did not want to mess up with Sherlock when the man was sleepy or bored or anything. He knocked the door for the first time but there was no answer. The two gentlemen looked at each other for a moment and John knocked again.
'Sherlock! Lestrade is here to see you!' John said.
There was still no answer.
'Maybe he had left?' Lestrade asked. He took out his phone to text Sherlock.
'I don't know.'
Then a tri-tone appeared from inside the room.
'He's inside.' John said surprisingly. 'Why wasn't he answering?'
'Sherlock!' The two gentlemen hit the door to open the room.
'Oh, God. Sorry!'
They both got out of the room after they had seen something that they should not have seen. Sherlock Holmes was in bed with a young black hair woman, whom had to be believed as the one who got his heart. They both thought it was Irene Adler. John was astonished. Irene was dead, according to Mycroft. He shook his head to get rid of the thoughts. He walked back in the room the find the right answer. Sherlock was on her back. They were facing the pillows. Luckily the blanket covered most oh them. John could clearly see their fingers were tangling with each other.
'Straight!' John muttered to himself. He saw Irene naked, once. This woman got the perfectly white skin as he remembered but… the woman had an extremely beautiful and carefully taken-care-of curly hair. The one who Sherlock was holding in his arms had perfectly straight hair. It could not be…
'Oh, for God's sake, John. Get-out!' Sherlock looked up and shouted angrily at the doctor.
'Right, sorry.' The doctor walked out as fast as he could and closed the door.
'Did I just hear him said 'straight'?' Ellie asked Sherlock sleepily. She turned around to wrap her arms around him. She used the cover to pull him in and looked at him with bigger eyes than normal. 'In case you don't know these are called puppy eyes. Kids use this trick to get what they want. Tell me what did John mean. He thought it was her, didn't he?'
'Never mind him. Sorry. New case.' He got down to give her a passionate kiss since he could never imagine the true smart woman that got his heart no matter how he hid it could be this… cute. Then Sherlock got out of bed and put his clothes on as fast as he could.
'Happy New Year, Sherlock! God bless you, we're not done!' She groaned and fell into the bed again.
'He will!' Sherlock went out to see Lestrade and John right after he said that. The detective saw both of them were extremely surprised. They stared at him with their eyes wide opened. He just acted as if nothing had happened.
'Sherlock, did you…' John raised his voice but he had to stop to choose the right word to say. 'Did I just see… erm… you know…?' His index finger was drawing a circle in the air, his eyes were rolling. He hoped that Sherlock understood what he meant. Lestrade just kept the thoughts for himself. But he was as astonished as John was. Sherlock had never been with a woman except Irene Adler. He even said he was in love with her to John. Sherlock was… normal!
'Nope.' He said with a smile.
'But…' John protested.
'So what is it this time?' Sherlock ignored John. He turned to talk with Lestrade instead.
'Ah, yes… it's…' He pulled out his notebook and was about to say something but he stopped. When he looked up he saw someone walked out of Sherlock's room.
'What?'
'You… erm… you…' The inspector pointed awkwardly at the woman behind Sherlock Holmes.
'You forget your phone, Sherlock.' Ellie walked out in one of Sherlock's tailored shirt. She only wore this. The three, including Sherlock, could see most of her long thin white legs.
'I told you it's straight!' John whispered to Lestrade.
'Thank you!' Sherlock replied with a deathly glare at John. 'Shall we, gentlemen?' He led them to the door.
'Okay, what did I miss?' John asked when they were in a police car.
'You missed nothing.' Sherlock said while he was looking at something on his phone.
'You and Ellie? I thought you were…' The doctor said curiously. A few days ago Sherlock disappeared with Irene Alder and now he was with Elizabeth Robertson. That was absolutely illogical. 'And I thought Ellie was…'
'I've told you, John. She's with Moriarty doesn't make her his girlfriend.'
'Right. But you told me that you…' John reminded him about the time when he accidentally confessed that he was in love with the woman.
'It was the… erm,… angry talking.' Sherlock said. 'Ellie was the one who said it and she somehow managed to make me think like that.'
'So you were being manipulated?' John could not help but laughed. His friend did not respond to that question, which sounded more like a sarcasm. 'So you guys are officially…' He said with his brows raised up high.
'Say what you'd like to say.' Sherlock said.
'Oh, God bless…' John exclaimed.
'Who?'
'Me!'
So it's the end of 'Guessing' I'm writing a sequel and still struggling with the title :") It's about the 'fall' of the characters, based mostly on 'The Rechenbach Fall' but I set it as post-event and pre-event (so the episode isn't changed a bit). And it's MOSTLY about how Sherlock clear his name. But Ellie is Jim's friend and she's his girlfriend. She's in the way! They won't fight if it hurts her! Decisions need to be made. It's when Mycroft Holmes steps into the games. Tell me what you think, should I continue with that plot?
Many thanks for those who fav, alerts and reviews and those who read my story and support me silently. All of you mean a lottttttt to me. I'm so grateful xxx.
I hope the ending pleased you. As I said in the first chapter, there are many holes that I have to fill. Well, it's in the sequel. Please tell me what you think.
I have to say, I'm so excited about Mycroft's roles. I just simply in love with Mark Gatiss and Mycroft Holmes. (lol)
