AN: A bit of a short chapter this time, sorry. My co-writer hasn't been able to find the time to write lately, so the intended second part of this chapter has been broken up into parts two and three so that we can get at least something out on schedule.
CHAPTER SIX, PART TWO: A Rude Awakening
Sherlock woke up with a start and rolled out of the bed (he had been precariously positioned at the edge of the bed while he was sleeping.)
He put on some clothes (all he had time for was pants and his white silk shirt, which he didn't even bother buttoning) and stumbled out the door of his room. Waiting in the living room of the flat was the latest version of the Doctor - a man with curly blond hair and the most brightly coloured coat Sherlock had ever seen.
Before Sherlock could actually say anything, John walked in wearing nothing but a pair of gray briefs.
"God, Sherlock, what the hell is going on?" he asked, yawning.
"John, I present to you… the Doctor." Sherlock waved a hand in the Doctor's direction, and then collapsed into an armchair. Turning to the Doctor, Sherlock asked, "Why on Earth did you have to wake us up at this hour?"
"Oh, shush, Sherlock, you hardly seem like the type to sleep a normal amount of time anyways. And in answer to your question, it's quite likely that there will be less security at the morgue at this time of day."
"What's going on? Can I at least get changed?" John asked, gesturing to his underwear.
"Oh… yes, John, go ahead." Sherlock nodded to John's room upstairs. John left.
The Doctor smiled. "Well, where shall we begin?"
"Well, we can start with why you wouldn't let me steal your future self's body earlier today."
"As I have told you, it would have disrupted the web of time and caused a paradox. The facts of the matter have not changed in the past two hours."
"No, what doesn't make sense to me is why you - all versions of you - wouldn't let me steal the body. We would have accomplished this much faster."
"What's the adventure in that? Also, I do not understand how my future minds work, since I haven't become them yet. However, I have met a few of them, and I have to say, the one you saw working with your friend Miss Hooper earlier is a most untrustworthy individual."
John walked back in, now wearing a jumper and a pair of jeans. "I have gotten one hour of sleep, Sherlock. One hour. Humans need more than that."
"Time Lords don't," the Doctor pointed out.
"What?"
"I told you, John," Sherlock said, "the Doctor here is a shapeshifting alien."
"What? Oh shit, you were telling the truth, weren't you?"
"Yes. Of course I did."
"You should trust Sherlock when he's talking about me, he's almost always telling the truth," the Doctor said.
"Almost always?"
"Hasn't Sherlock lied to you before to protect you?"
John thought back to the fall. "Is the fall going to happen again?"
"No! No, no, all I'm saying is that - actually, never mind."
"Do not mess with the space-time continuum, John… the universe could be destroyed that way." Sherlock leaned back in his chair, his chest almost completely exposed in the open shirt.
"Sherlock, button your shirt up, it's making me uncomfortable."
After having talked with Irene Adler through texts earlier that night, he didn't see what the issue was with his shirt open. It wasn't like anything else was going on.
"John, if you are uncomfortable, you are free to leave the room."
"No, he has to stay," the Doctor put simply.
John fidgeted awkwardly. "Um, why?"
"Because I expect you'd have experience handling dead bodies, of course. You were an army doctor, were you not, John?"
"I am an army doctor, thank you very much!" John snapped.
"Yes, yes. Now, I think we'd better be getting going now, if we want to have any hope of getting this done before my next self arrives." With this, he turned on his heel and walked out the door.
"Hm. This one is… interesting," Sherlock said before following the Doctor out the door, leaving John alone in the flat.
What has Sherlock gotten us into this time? John wondered as he pulled on a jumper and some pajama pants, then jogged out after the other two.
To be continued...
