Disclaimer: So…right…nope, can't think of anything even halfway to being amusing and I have a strange sense of humor so I'll just say: Nope, not mine. Think I'd be messing about writing fanfics if they were?

A/N: Hopefully this chapter will be longer than the last two. Again sorry for the short chapters but hey, you got two chapters in one day out of the deal didn't you?

The Interview

She stared down at the resume in her hands. It was an incredibly impressive document. She wondered why if he had so much experience and so much schooling this man had applied to work at a small surgery that was understaffed, underfunded, and overfilled with patients on any given day. Still, she could use him and he was kind of cute in a bristly hedgehog sort of way.

She did feel honor bound to warn him of the lack of real work for him though. "Just locum work," she told the short, pleasant man seated on the other side of her desk.

John had watched the rather pretty woman peruse his resume with patience. He knew that she would have questions about it. Most did. He knew that he could have landed a job anywhere he wanted, especially with Mycroft being who he was but he didn't want to work in a big hospital that would force him to have long hours. He also didn't really want to work for Mycroft at the moment. Mycroft would be perfectly understanding and accepting of his madcap life with Sherlock. In that he'd be the perfect choice. But…well, working for his pseudo big brother was a bit weird and Mycroft would pay him far too much for far too little; it would feel far too much like charity.

John sent her one of his 'I'm a doctor you can believe me' smiles. "No, that's fine." And it really was. He didn't want to have a regular job. It would leave Sherlock alone on far too many cases and that could be very bad.

Dr. Sarah Sawyer drew in a deep breath prepared to lose this excellent find of a doctor. "You're um," she paused for a moment as hazel eyes met her own light green ones. "Well, you're a bit overqualified."

John felt his mouth stretch a bit in a wider smile, a truer smile. Did she really think that he didn't know that already? Still it was nice to know that someone thought he was smart. He chased that thought from his brain. This was not the time or the place to dwell on his troubles with his husband. "Uh," John chuckled inviting her to share a joke with him. "I could always do with the money."

That she had not expected. How did a man like him become desperate enough for money that he'd take a locum job at her small surgery? It would be good to have him here though. "Well, we've got two away on holiday this week," Sarah tucked a nonexistent hair behind her ear and met his eyes, beautiful eyes really, again. "And one's just left to have a baby."

John stayed silent and nodded a bit at her. He sensed there was more she wanted to say. Would it be more discouragement? More warning that he really shouldn't even want this job?

"Might be a bit mundane for you," she told him honestly if a bit cautiously. She really hoped he decided to take the job. He was cute and well, she was lonely and overworked and he could help out with both issues, maybe.

John nearly snickered at the irony in that statement. She obviously didn't know his husband. "Ah, no," he disagreed. "Mundane is good sometimes." And it really was. Mundane would be a break from the normal madness that had been his life since he was all of five years old. "Mundane works."

Sarah nodded but didn't quite understand what he meant. She guessed it didn't really matter much whether she understood why he wanted mundane work. "It says here," she shook the resume a bit. "That you were a soldier."

John tried valiantly to stop himself from frowning. People learned that he had once been a soldier and then that was all they saw. "And a doctor," he replied a bit more coldly than he'd planned so he softened it with a self-deprecating smile.

She didn't seem to notice the bit of chill in his words. She folded her hands under her chin and regarded him from those pale green eyes for a moment before bending her neck to look back down at his resume. "Anything else you can do?" She asked him as her head popped back up in an attempt to catch his eyes again.

There were so very many ways he could answer that question. He could shoot a man through a closed window from across a courtyard. He could run over the rooftops of London with the ease of a trained circus performer. He could blow a giant bubble of bubble gum that was the size of his head to make Ben and Colleen laugh. He could perform surgery while under heavy fire from the enemy without breaking a sweat. He could make the best tea Sherlock had ever tasted. He could charm honey from an Afghan beekeeper. He could get his husband to eat when he didn't want too. There were so many other things he could do it would take him years to list it all and he really didn't think Dr. Sawyer wanted to know about any of them. "I uh, I learned the clarinet at school." Granted he'd been horribly bad at it and Sherlock had forbidden him from ever playing in the flat but still he had learned.

Dr. Sawyer laughed a bit. "Oh, I look forward to it." She grinned at him. "And the job is yours if you want it."

"I do, actually." He grinned at her. He was relieved and grateful. Now he'd have a bit of time away from the flat that was slowly driving him mad. Maybe now Sherlock would lay off a bit with the protectiveness. He didn't hold out much hope for that but it was a possibility. "I would really like that."

John stood and offered her his hand. Sarah took it. "Until tomorrow then?" She asked with a grin.

"Yes, thank you," John smiled again and turned to leave. "Oh, what time?"

"Surgery doors open at nine, so come about eight and we'll get you familiar with the routine and such."

"Brilliant," John said and left the office.

Sarah watched him go with a wistful look. He really was quite good looking when he smiled. And he seemed to be good natured and stable. She'd really like to pursue this relationship but he hadn't given off any signals that he'd even noticed her subtle flirting. It was maddening really. Ah, well there was always tomorrow.