"Ooh!" As we land in the living room of 221B, Mrs Hudson shrieks in surprise. "What the bloody hell is going on!"
"Sorry Mrs H," John says, letting go of dad and Dean's hands, "you probably wouldn't believe us we we told you."
"It's Sam and Dean isn't it?" she asks, managing to get a clear view of the boys now the mass of bodies have parted slightly.
"Martha?!" Sam says in surprise, but I'm more taken aback at the use of what I assume to be her first name. I had never really considered she could be called anything other than 'Mrs Hudson'. "Wow, small world!" He looks to his brother who looks clueless. "Hey Dean, you remember Martha Hudson, right? She ran the, er, 'club' in Florida which had the problem with ghosts assaulting the dancers." Dad and I exchange glaces. First I'd heard of such a thing. Based on Sam's absence of detail, it sounds as though Mrs Hudson ran some kind of exotic dancing club in Flordia!
Dean's eyes widen. "Of course! Hey, how're you doing?!"
"I've got a hip, dear, but otherwise I'm fine," she explains. "This lot are keeping me on my toes." She widens her eyes. "Oh, I just baked a pie as well - I know how much you love pie, dear."
"Seriously?!" Dean says in disbelief. "This lady certainly knows how to win my heart!"
"Yes," dad says, rolling his eyes. "And she also knows how to test my patience. Now I'm surrounded by more idiots than ever."
"Yeah, thank you Sherlock," Sam says, frowning slightly as he looks over at dad. "We love you too."
"I need my pie..." Dean says after a moment. "Mrs Hudson, where's my pie?"
"It's in the fridge, dear," she tells him and he strides towards the stairs immediately. "Though you'll have to heat it yourself - I'm not your housekeeper!"
"You're a star Mrs H!" Dean calls from halfway down the stairs.
"Who are you?" dad asks suddenly, pointing to Cas. The angel turns and looks puzzled.
"I'm Castiel," he says, announcing his full name. "I'm an angel of the Lord."
"I fail to believe in the 'Lord'" dad replies. "He's nothing more than a fantasy made up by the delusional."
"I don't understand," Cas says, tilting his head to the side. "How can you not believe in God when you have witnessed hell?"
"I'm an atheist," dad mutters and Sam and I snigger.
"You lack faith, Sherlock Holmes," Cas says as Dean comes back upstairs.
"What would make you say that, Castiel?" dad asks.
"You two done flirting?" Dean asks as he re-enters the room.
"I'm not flirting!" dad scoffs. "But the same cannot be said for you, Dean." I roll my eyes. Here we go. "Your constant invasion of personal space with him, your longing stares. It's clear you're in love with him."
"You know what, cheekbones," Dean says defensively as Sam laughs. "For once, you're wrong. Me and Cas are nothing but friends, the guy is like a brother to me." I can't help but think he's protesting too much and I can see what dad it getting to. There does appear to be quite a profound bond between the angel and the hunter. "It's more you and Mr Jumpers that are together if anything," Dean continues.
"For God's sake," John says, turning around. "We're not together! Why does everybody always assume we're gay?!" Sam and I shake our heads, laughing as he turns to me, allowing the others to bicker.
"How're you holding up anyway? You took on a demon single-handedly today - that's pretty good going."
"It's not a lot different to what we do everyday," I reply shrugging.
"Except you don't go to hell and back every day," he points out.
"True," I grin. "I guess I'm just a natural then!"
"Are you okay generally though?" Sam asks, his brow furrowing in concern. "You seem more tense than usual."
"I think something's coming, Sam," I admit quietly. The noise of the room sheilds our speech. "I'm not sure what, but I don't think Sherlock's going to make it out alive." Sam's eyes widen.
"How can you be sure?" he asks.
"I can't," I say, shaking my head. "I'm only going on what the Doctor - the other Doctor - told me. You know in their world we're fictional, right?" He nods. "Well in their world we're nearing Sherlock's Final Problem and I don't know about you, but I don't like the sound of that." Sam shakes his head.
"Jesus Soph," he says in disbelief. "Call us the moment anything happens."
"Will do," I reply, nodding. "I don't think I'm ready, Sam."
"We'll do everything we can to stop it," he promises. Dean looks around to us.
"You ready Sammy?"
"Yeah, I guess," Sam replies, nodding. "I'll see you around then guys."
"Thanks for your help," I say to them both, smiling. "And it was nice to meet you, Castiel." The angel nods in acknowledgement but they're gone a second later. What was a full home now feels relatively empty. And I'm already bored.
