The outside of 32 Church Street was quiet when John arrived. In fact, the entire street was quiet. Glancing at his watch, he saw it was 9:57PM. Three minutes to spare. John eyed the street, trying to find an inconspicuous place to wait and watch. He chose a doorway across from number 32, its overhang creating a shadow for John to hide in. Then, he waited.

The minutes passed, but the street remained silent. At one point John heard movement, causing him to hold his breath, but he exhaled loudly when a cat wandered out of a nearby alley. All-in-all, it may have been the longest 20 minutes of John's life. When John's watch read 10:23PM he reluctantly gave up. He kept checking over his shoulder as he walked to find a cab, half expecting to see Sherlock step out of the shadows.

On the cab ride home John took out his phone and began typing.

Text message sent 10:31PM: ? -JW

John had barely walked through the door of 221B when a wave of disappointment hit him. Until that moment, he hadn't realized how much he had hoped to see Sherlock again. Without thinking John went straight to Sherlock's room and sat on his bed. Perhaps I missed something in the text. John pulled out his phone and reread the message. It seemed so straightforward; so Sherlock. What am I missing? Why won't he write me back? Eventually John's exhaustion overcame his frustration, and he fell asleep clasping his phone.

When he awoke in the morning John headed to Scotland Yard to tell Lestrade about the text. The man would probably shake his head at John's foolishness for following the text's instructions, but John needed the DI's help.

On his way, John's stomach rumbled loudly. When was the last time I ate? Nearly 24 hours ago. He was not hungry, but made a mental note to eat something following his visit to the Yard. Is this how Sherlock felt during cases?

While the Yard always had a constant buzz of energy around it, today things were downright hectic. There were so many people on Lestrade's floor that it took John 10 minutes to find the DI, who was yelling into Anderson's phone.

Seeing John, Lestrade waved him over and ended his call. "Guess you've heard the news?" he said to John.

"No, actually, I haven't. What's going on?"

"Sergeant Donovan went missing last night. She had dinner with her mother and then never returned to her flat. Needless to say, she didn't show up for work this morning. We're assuming it's a kidnapping, although there's been no note, phone call, nothing. Anderson, sitting next to Lestrade during this synopsis, looked crestfallen. John felt a rare pang of sympathy for the man.

Before John could mention his text, Anderson's phone began to ring again. Lestrade pointed at the phone and said to Anderson, "answer that, keep them on hold; I'll be there in a minute." He then turned to John, "Sorry things are a bit crazy, but it was good to see you. Let's meet up Friday night—have a pint. Hopefully I'll have good news to share by then."

"Yeah, that sounds good. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help with Sally."

"Thanks John, I will." With that, Lestrade swept back to Anderson and joined in the heated discussion that was occurring over the phone.

Outside of Scotland Yard John took a deep breath. He had begun to feel slightly claustrophobic while inside. Considering the news about Sally, John was even less interested in food than before. He still made himself stop for a sandwich at a nearby cafe. As he finished his meal he heard his text alert noise, and froze. The text! I forgot to show Lestrade the text.

Cautiously, as if worried his phone would explode at his touch, John opened the message.

Text message received 11:17AM: Overwhelmed at clinic – can you fill in this afternoon? - SS

It was just Sarah asking him to work an extra shift. He could always use the money, and it might help take his mind off things.

Text message sent 11:18AM: Of course, be there in 30 mins. -JW

Tossing away the remains of his early lunch, John hailed a cab and headed to the clinic. It turned out that a stomach bug was going around, overwhelming the clinic while causing many of its staff to become ill. John spent much of the following three days trying, sometimes unsuccessfully, to avoid projectile vomit.

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A/N:Poor John, nothing is ever easy for him. He really needs that drink with Lestrade!

Thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing! It means a lot to hear from you all. It also keeps me on track with daily postings ;-)