"Termites at Baker Street"
BONUS CHAPTER
"Tell me again. Why am I here, Sherlock?"
A certain consulting detective tossed and turned to face his friend and rolled his eyes "You're getting married to Mary Morstan tomorrow morning, John."
"Yes, I know. What I don't know is why I'm here with you when my old bed is upstairs!"
Sherlock smiled inwardly. "I'm developing an experiment on your old mattress. You don't mind, do you?"
"And since when the great Sherlock Holmes asks for my opinion? I wanted to keep that mattress just if, well you know."
"No, I don't know. Tell me."
John sighed "You know what I'm talking about, Sherlock."
"John, as far as I'm aware I can't read minds, yet." Replied Sherlock sarcastically.
The doctor, who was getting married the next morning pouted and looked at his friend. Sherlock was lying over his elbows, looking at him expectantly and waiting for an answer.
"Yeah, thank goodness you can't read my mind right now. I just wanted to keep that mattress just if... if Mary and I decide to have a baby."
"But don't they sleep inside those boxes that look more like a jail than a bed?"
"Cot, Sherlock. That's a cot. And yes, they do sleep there but babies also grow up, you know. And if I have a son he will sleep in that bed."
After long seconds of silence, John was finally closing his eyes when Sherlock's voice woke him up from his light sleep.
"You can have a daughter."
"Yes Sherlock, I can have a daughter."
Silence.
"John,"
Silence.
"John,"
Silence.
"John?"
"Silence.
"John!"
"What? Sherlock, I'm trying to sleep!"
John rubbed his eyes with his palms and then he looked at his friend who was now staring at him with his grayish and piercing eyes.
"What is it?"
Sherlock hesitated for a moment. "Why did Mary choose me?"
John smiled remembering the day they went to visit Sherlock to tell him the good news. They had a pleasant dinner all together when Mary asked him if he could walk her down the aisle during the wedding. First, Sherlock kept a perfect poker face until but then he accepted. Mary hugged him and he hugged her back.
"You're a very important person in Mary's life, you know."
"She told you so?"
John nodded eagerly "She always says that if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be together. In fact, we wouldn't be getting married now."
Sherlock nodded, but John continued. "Mary really appreciates you. I think she must love you as if you were her brother," John smiled to his friend. "I also consider you a brother, Sherlock."
The consulting detective was speechless. Certainly emotions weren't his area of expertise. However, we are talking about John. And if John was involved, everything was different.
"John, you know work occupies an important place in my life and I'm married to it. But I think I can allow myself to have an affair with Mary and you -."
"I think you made a not good choice of words there, Sherlock." Warned John, giggling.
"Good night, John,"
"G'Night, Sherlock."
Ten minutes of silence.
"Sherlock, are you awake?"
"Mmm,"
"Promise me you won't do anything wrong or a bit not good."
"I promise. Good night, bachelor John Watson."
"Good night, Sherly."
"Don't call me Sherly!"
"Mycroft called you Sherly the other day!"
"Shut up!"
That was the last time John Watson shared a bed and a duvet with his good friend Sherlock Holmes. For some reason, the doctor was sad, even when he had promised his friend they would be as close as they have always been, and he that he would try to go to as many crime scenes as he wanted him to.
That night, when John finally closed his eyes, the night before getting married, he wanted to wake up facing Sherlock's long and pale feet. That was something he had always found extremely funny and strange. He wondered how the six-foot-tall man could do it without anyone noticing him. But the truth is, my friends, that John woke up facing his friend, who had a mess of dark curls over his eyes and with his mouth open.
Sherlock left a big stain of saliva on his pillow that day.
"How do I look?"
John wasn't going to deny it. He was as nervous as every groom should feel on their wedding day. He had done and undone his tie for at least ten to fifteen times to be honest, and he also did the same with his hair. No matter how many times he combed it, he never seemed to be pleased with it.
"You look - fine." Admitted Sherlock while he looked down at the tie Mary bought for him.
John rolled his blue eyes "Fine? Define fine, Sherlock."
"Why does Mary want me to use this one? The colour is not pleasant and -."
"Can you forget your damn tie for a second and tell me how do I look? I'm the one getting married!"
The consulting detective ignored his friend's words and looked at him.
Sherlock shrugged "Despite your nervous state, which is obvious, you managed to dress yourself correctly. Your shirt is perfectly ironed and Mrs Hudson did great things to that jacket. Now," The taller man turned to look himself at the mirror and asked "Do I need to use this tie?"
Silence.
"John?"
Silence.
"John?"
"Sherlock,"
The dark haired man saw his friend through the mirror. John was standing next to him and he also placed a hand over one of his shoulders.
"I never told you how grateful I am, Sherlock. If I hadn't told Mike I needed a flat-mate, we wouldn't have got to be friends now. I wouldn't be marrying Mary now."
Sherlock chuckled at the memory of John and their first meeting at Bart's. His first thought was that John was going to run away after the first fresh head inside the fridge. He was quite surprised John didn't run, and stayed. Even after he heard Sally Donovan's fuss after she found a pair of human eyes inside the microwave.
"You can be a bastard - and a selfish person sometimes, but you're the best friend I can ask for." John smiled at his friend and Sherlock did the same.
"You should be going, John. You don't want to make her wait, do you?"
John shook his head "No, I don't. Remember -."
"Yes John, I know the limits and we have rehearsed the walking part and I won't tell Mary not to marry you."
"You are not going to tell her that, are you?" Asked John with a frown, half smiling.
"Good bye, John."
Ten minutes later, Mary's car stopped at Baker Street to pick Sherlock up and go to the church.
The bride was smiling happily. The consulting detective, the one the bride had chosen to walk her down the aisle, was wearing the tie she had bought for him and his usual white shirt and his expensive and tailored suits.
Mary let a hand ran through Sherlock's dark curls and smiled at him. "Look at you. My friends won't be able to get their eyes off you," Mary said with a smile while she was fixing the famous tie. "Thanks for doing this, Sherlock. I know this things aren't your thing."
"Thank you, Mary."
The blond woman looked at him and frowned. "What's wrong? You never say thank you."
"I won't say it again." Sherlock rolled his eyes.
"I'm not asking you to say it again."
"I know I don't have reasons to be worried about." The consulting detective told her as he took her hand and helped her to get down the car and give her away to the man of his life, who was also his best friend.
There weren't many guests, and it was a very modest wedding. Despite Mycroft's offer, John and Mary decided that if they were in love, they couldn't care less about how and when they were getting married.
As Mary wanted and as John hoped, Sherlock walked Mary down the aisle without doing anything wrong or something that wasn't expected. Sherlock even managed to walk keeping a pretty normal and not so Sherlocky face, even when everyone's eyes were on him and Mary of course.
"Sherlock - here's when you let me go..." Said Mary, trying to remove her arm from Sherlock's, who was still holding her arm with enough strength to make her stay still.
"Sherlock... " John tried to reach out Mary's hand, but Sherlock stepped between them.
"Congratulations, John."
That's all Sherlock said that day. John took Mary's hand and the ceremony started.
"Dear brother, I certainly did not know this new and sentimental side of yours."
"Shut up, Mycroft."
The ceremony continued and as soon as it finished, both new husband and wife kissed. Outside the church were all the guests ready to say their goodbyes to the newly married couple before they left to their honeymoon. Mycroft, Mrs Hudson, Lestrade and Molly, Mike Stamford, D.I. Dimmock and even Anderson and Sally were there. Everyone, but Sherlock.
"Mycroft, do you know where's Sherlock?" Asked John to the older Holmes.
Mycroft smiled "He left. I believe he did not want to say goodbye, yet."
John laughed "I guess you're right. But we wanted to see him before leaving."
"Don't worry John, I will keep him away from you both. I have enough cold cases to keep him busy while you're away." Said Lestrade with a big smile.
"Wait, I don't think he's actually going to -."
"John, when my brother has something in mind, it's certainly hard to make him think differently."
John and Mary left the church in one of Mycroft's cars and went directly to their flat to pick up their luggage and go to the airport. As soon as they arrived, they found a package with a note.
"To Mary and John Watson.
SH"
The newly married couple smiled widely and fondly as they looked at the present inside the package.
It was a framed picture of the three of them in Angelo, having dinner after their first case together. Mary was sitting between them, and she was hugging both John and Sherlock with one arm around each of them.
John was blushing.
And Sherlock was smiling.
End of the Second book.
To be continued...
AN: Thank you for the reviews, alerts and favs. The third book is on-line here and it's tittled "A Friend In Need"
Hope you like it,
Love,
A.
