Author's Note:
*breathes sigh of relief* This one is done! It was such a problem child, and it didn't help that my life has been nerve-wrackingly hectic of late. Now, originally, when I thought of this part months ago, Watson was in this, too. Unfortunately, I didn't type it out, and I lost it, even though I thought I'd remember it. That was sooo stupid, 'specially since I know better. Let that be a lesson to you kids: when you have an idea, type the bloody thing out.
Oh well. At least I managed my first double-221B out of it (which really wasn't on purpose—it just turned out that way). Also, this concludes the "Final Problem" arc. We'll have a breather now of more lighthearted moments before we return to the angst.
To my reviewers:
Moonspun Dragon: Thank you! Yes, poor Jeremy. *starts to tear up* …About the only thing I could threaten Holmes with would be blackmail, and that won't really work as he knows about At the Mercy of the Mind, in which I am preparing to reveal his bleakest moments. I.e. he's going to hate me forever. ^_^ Oh well, I'll just love him to death. …D'awww. *blushes* I'm not sure that I deserve the time, but I sure do need it. I almost think I'm working myself up into my own nervous breakdown… sorry, just a bit depressed right now. Real Life is getting kinda tough. (Oh, btw, I see that you're using one of my avvies! That makes me so happy! =D)
Brazeau: Thank you very much!
teenelizabeth: D'aww, thanks, honey. *gives you hug and tissue* That really means a lot.
Spockologist: Awww, you, too? *hug and tissue* Thank you! Aw, that's okay (about ATtH), aside from the part about you dying to read more (which, y'know, is really a big compliment). It'll still be there when you have the time~!
Hades Lord of the Dead: Thanks! I rather like their conversation, myself. =)
Umino Akiko: You're welcome. …I can only just imagine, 'cause I've been putting myself in that position a lot lately (that of a person having lost a spouse) over the past few months, thanks to one of my OCs. Yes, definitely a good thing Watson is there.
reflekshun: Thank you!
==20. The Not So Final Problem, Part VII: David==
The train whistle blew.
"David!" Jeremy ran through the crowd on the platform and shouted again. "David!"
He saw a well-known figure lean out a window on one of the coaches. "Jeremy!"
"Goodbye!" Jeremy flung an arm into the air and waved.
"Goodbye, Jeremy!" David waved back, then leaned back into the coach as the train began to pull out.
"I'll miss you," Jeremy murmured as the train picked up speed. First Joan and now David was leaving him. "What are we going to do now?"
"Carry on," said a very familiar voice from behind. "That is about all we can do."
Jeremy turned to find Sherlock Holmes standing there, a sad, slight smile on his face. "Holmes. Good grief, are you and Watson suddenly my caretakers or something?"
Holmes shrugged, stepping up beside him. "I believe the phrase is, 'Whatever works.'"
"Oh, brother." Jeremy shook his head. "You know what? I don't want… I just want to be alone right now, all right? Just leave me alone." He turned his back on the detective and stormed out of the station. Once he was outside, though, the aching loneliness came flooding back, and he collapsed onto a bench and wept.
After a while, he felt someone sit beside him. "Letting someone go—someone you love—is one of the hardest things you can ever do. I should know."
Jeremy's breath hitched. "Go away, Holmes."
"Just between the two of us, the night after Watson's wedding, I was awake all night, and I didn't even have enough energy to play my violin. I was—how do you say it?—a mess… for the next couple of weeks."
"At least you still got to see him. Who knows when I'll see David again?"
"Ah, but there's the thing, Jeremy, and I learned it the hard way. Sometimes, you have to make the effort to keep a friendship going, because, sometimes, a friend can just get so caught up in everyday life that it's difficult for him to make that effort. When Watson was married, I discovered that it was up to me to visit him, oftentimes, rather than vice versa."
Jeremy half coughed an incredulous laugh. "I can't believe it—I'm getting friendship advice from the man who's a brain without a heart."
"I resent that!"
Jeremy made a noise that was half a laugh, half a sob. "'S your fault for being so introversive."
Holmes patted his double's shoulder sympathetically. "Come along, old boy—let's get you back to the hotel, shall we?"
The cab ride to the hotel was silent, until Jeremy said softly, "Thank you."
"Don't mention it, my dear Brett."
Author's Note:
Awww, sweet Sherlock is sweet! And don't you love it—I ended a double-221B with "Brett"! Now how awesome is that?
Based on something Jeremy once said about David leaving, it sounds like he didn't actually get to say a proper goodbye. "What are we going to do now?" is something he really said.
Well, tomorrow, I'm going to post up the second installment of At the Mercy of the Mind, and then Saturday I'll do the next installment for this fic. It's a Wonderful Life is painfully close to being done—the problem being that it's painful. Writing just a tiny bit of Maiwand is tough. And for you ATtH readers: well, it's coming, eventually. I need to plot out the chapter scene by scene, I think, 'cause I have several scenes floating around in my head with no fixed position in the storyline. -_-
Next up, Edward Hardwicke—ladies and gents, let's all give him a big hand!
Please review!