"Sherlock, John is that you?" Mrs. Hudson called stepping out of her flat as she heard the front door open.
"Did you find…oh Nicky! Nicky! Oh thank the Lord, Nicky you're alive!" Mrs. Hudson exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the poor girl and hugging her tightly.
"I'm fine, Marie," Nicky said automatically, forgetting that her cousin and Sherlock were still unaware of how close her friendship with Marie Hudson was.
"Marie?" Sherlock and John demanded at the same time, glancing at each other quizzically before returning their attention to the two women before them.
"I was so worried about you dearie. When John called me to tell me…hang on…" Marie Hudson turned away from the younger woman (although not releasing her) and turning to the still somewhat thunderstruck men. "When did you find Nicky?"
"Well we've been a little busy," John confessed. "I mean, Sherlock found her on top of Big – "
"I don't want to hear all the details yet," Mrs. Hudson snapped. "When did you find Nicky?"
"Three hours, six minutes, and forty-seven seconds ago," Sherlock answered definitively.
"And how long were you in danger?" Mrs. Hudson asked, her voice noticeably calm.
"Thirty minutes. Mycroft was quick in his – Mrs. Hudson!" Sherlock barked in surprise, stopping in midsentence as Mrs. Hudson released Nicole and attacked Sherlock with a rolled up magazine.
"You…insane…children!" Mrs. Hudson panted, moving back and forth between Sherlock and John, alternating in hitting the two boys.
"Giving me heart attacks with your…nasty experiments…treating me like your housekeeper…shooting my wall…eating all of my biscuits! I can live with that! But this!" And at that declaration Mrs. Hudson stopped and gestured emphatically back to Nicky who was standing quietly out of the way, watching the proceedings with wide-eyed wonderment.
"Bringing a young lady into your messes –"
"She wanted to come!"
"I am not done with you John Hamish Watson!"
John promptly clamped his mouth shut, idly comparing Mrs. Hudson to his former drill sergeant, the only difference being that his sergeant could have learned a thing or two about terrorizing cadets from this formidable woman.
"You bring her into your mess and get her kidnapped! You call me, get me worrying that you're going to find the poor girl's body and there's nothing I can do! Oh I can hide your cigarettes, and make you a cup of tea with soothers to calm your nerves, but other than that you two made me useless! I had to stay here, worrying about the poor child until I thought my nerves were going to break, something you have never quite managed despite all your antics, you impossible man-child!" Mrs. Hudson exclaimed, wagging her finger almost directly in Sherlock's shell-shocked face.
"And now you tell me that you've had her safe and sound for hours! I ought to throw you out of the window myself for making me worry so much! What were you two thinking? You are brilliant and you have the soul of a saint, yet neither of you could pick up a telephone and call me! And you just stroll in here, without a care in the world! It's enough to make a grown woman ill! And I don't get sick!"
Mrs. Hudson stood there for a few more minutes, glaring and growling at the two overgrown schoolboys, puffed up with righteous indignation before she finally sighed with exhaustion and leaned against the wall.
"Mrs. Hudson? Would you like a cup of tea?" Nicky asked stepping forward quickly and quietly to place a gentle hand on the older lady's shoulder.
"Yes please. Use the tea from the blue box and add a drop from the bottle next to the fridge, you know the one. I'm going to need it to get to sleep tonight," Marie sighed wearily, taking Nicky's offered arm and willingly being led away from her two tenants.
Nicky shot a quick look back at the still dumbstruck detective and doctor before leading the slightly trembling woman away from her boys.
The muffled shuffling of slippers and the scuff of Nicky's worn sneakers could be heard distinctly as they made their way to Mrs. Hudson's apartment. Sherlock and John did not dare to even move until they heard their landlady's apartment door open and then close with a crisp, clear click.
"Sherlock?"
"Yes, John?"
"Does our landlady scare you more than Moriarty?"
"Without a doubt," Sherlock said numbly.
Dealing with the stupidity of London's supposed finest? Dull. Rescuing a woman he's barely known for a week? Child's play. Getting into a shootout with a deranged psychopath? An everyday occurrence. Being thoroughly dressed down by his delightful landlady? Never again. He wouldn't survive it.
"Well Mrs. Hudson is all settled in," Nicky declared, not bothering to knock as she entered the flat a half hour later.
"Is she still cursing us?" John glanced away from his laptop to look at his cousin.
"You know, if you had actually listened to her she never actually cursed you," Nicky pointed out, crossing her arms and shifting her weight about as she stood awkwardly near the entrance.
"You have no reason to be nervous Nicole," Sherlock glanced over his newspaper at the university student.
"I was just put through the ringer Sherlock, give me a break," Nicky chuckled softly, the warm sound unusually hollow.
"Do you want to sit down?" John offered.
"I would, but Mrs. Hudson's expecting me back downstairs. She came to the conclusion that it would be a crime worthy of Moriarty to send me back to the dorms tonight," Nicky rolled her eyes.
"It's not like you were going back anyways," John pointed out.
"Well that's the first I've heard of it."
"You really thought we'd send you back to the dorm alone considering what happened last time?" John demanded disbelievingly.
"She did. Nicole seems to be set in disregarding her own health and safety, however that is not stopping her from wanting to inquire as to…oh interesting," Sherlock actually sat up, eyeing Nicole closely.
"Figures you'd see that," Nicky muttered darkly.
"What is it?" John glanced back and forth between Nicky and Sherlock.
"Of course I know, I'm me," Sherlock rolled his eyes.
"Know-it-all," Nicky accused.
"Thank you," Sherlock said idly.
"Someone clue me in, now if possible," John piped up, beginning to look miffed.
"Your cousin is braver than I gave her credit for," Sherlock spoke before Nicky could. "She wishes to continue her work with us, although I hope that she will desist with this ridiculous cover of it being for her thesis," Sherlock said derisively.
"Hey, I actually am writing a thesis!" Nicky defended herself.
"Are you serious? Nicky are you insane?" John demanded.
"No, I just…I mean it was good research…and it was, I mean…sort of…interesting," Nicky mumbled, glancing down in embarrassment as she faced her cousin's fury.
"You call what happened fun!" John demanded, and for a moment he seriously considered calling a cab and dragging Nicole back to the hospital to have her head examined. "You were bloody kidnapped!"
"Well not the being kidnapped part," Nicky defended herself. "But the other bits…"
"You mean the part where we almost caught the plague or were blown up? What about when you got Sherlock's liquefied toes experiment thrown at you?"
"We were never in danger of catching the plague!" Nicky near-shouted, but stopped short. "He threw what at me?"
"That brown sticky goop! Liquefied toes tossed right in your face."
Nicky's expression became slightly nauseous, but she stood firm.
"I can do this John! I've survived Moriarty. Sure, I can't shoot anything but I didn't think that was a requirement for initiation."
"Initiation! Are you insane?!"
"All right," Sherlock interrupted the family's tirade.
"Sherlock!" John snarled.
"Really?" Nicky grinned.
"You are taking your work seriously and you have handled yourself well enough. You are worthy of the surname Watson and not totally useless. I have no issues with your continued assistance," Sherlock responded pompously.
"I…thank you!"
"Now hold on a minute– "
"Oh now what John? Really what is the issue?" Sherlock demanded.
"Sherlock, we just had to rescue her! And she's not taking this seriously!"
"I would say that she is taking what we are doing quite seriously. And as for her rescue, exactly how many times have I rescued you?"
"Not. The. Point," John ground the words out through his teeth.
"And you have saved me many times as well," Sherlock said quietly. "We continue The Work. It is who I am and I have never changed it, and I never will. Nicole's work is of a lesser nature, yet it is still hers. Whether you approve or not she will still continue in it. Better for her to be following us than following any of those incompetents at Scotland Yard. We will keep her alive. They however will ruin all of her hard work and insult her intelligence."
"Thank you Sherlock," Nicky smiled, touched by the compliment.
"Limited as it is."
"Thank you Sherlock," Nicky said sarcastically.
"Just giving you the facts as you requested. I suggest you get used to it. Also, I expect you to be prompt in your answering to my texts and in your arrival," Sherlock stated.
"Now hold on, nothing is decided," John attempted to interrupt but Nicky spoke over him calmly.
"Of course."
"Then we understand each other Miss Watson," Sherlock nodded.
"Yes we do. Thank you, Mr. Holmes," Nicky nodded solemnly as well before shooting her cousin a happy smile. "There John, you see? Everything's fine."
John sat back in silence, the entirety of the intense case and insane day finally catching up with him. With a sigh he reached out and picked up the Union Jack pillow, hiding his face in the feathery confines of the fabric.
"I believe your cousin is no longer in the mood for speaking with anyone," Sherlock observed to Nicky, although he was watching John closely. John made a vaguely rude gesture at him, but otherwise did not dispute the detective's assessment.
"In that case I'd best get downstairs before Mrs. Hudson comes up here and gets herself worked up again," Nicky smiled lightly at the idea while the two grown men shuddered.
"Yes, yes, off with you," Sherlock practically shoved Nicky out of the room.
"Wait, hold on a minute!" John demanded, briefly coming out of his stupor. "Nicky, what about your parents?"
"What about them?"
"Well I'd imagine they'd have something to say about this! They probably want you to come home immediately and after everything you've been through I'd be inclined to agree with them!"
"I haven't lived at my childhood home in years John. It's been an apartment since the day I first went to college," Nicky explained.
"And I did call my parents and they were…perfectly fine with everything," Nicky smiled brightly. "Even told me to tell you thanks for keeping me alive."
"That's the complete opposite of what they said, isn't it?" John asked dourly.
"Well if you want the honest truth…I wouldn't expect a Christmas card this year," Nicky smiled weakly. John groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, a large headache descending upon him. He could already imagine the torture that he would earn once the family grapevine got ahold of this mess. Harry being a drunk and divorcing her wife would probably be considered as good as sainthood in comparison to almost getting his cousin killed.
Nicky sighed heavily and took a pleading step into the room towards John.
"It's not their choice either way. It's mine. And I still have my study abroad to finish up," Nicky pointed out.
"Oh dear Lord you are stubborn," John grumbled.
"Runs in the family," Nicky stated dryly. "Look, John…why don't we finish this in the morning? I'm exhausted, you're going insane, and Sherlock looks like he's about to pass out."
"I am not," Sherlock insisted petulantly.
"Then explain the bags under your eyes. No, don't, that was rhetorical," Nicky insisted, holding her hands up in surrender. "You might think you are superhuman, but us Watsons actually require things like sleep and food."
"Hmph," Sherlock snorted.
"Fine, we'll talk more in the morning," John acquiesced.
"Thank you. Good night you guys," Nicky said softly, turning and heading to the door. She paused though before exiting the flat, turning to look back at Sherlock.
"And for the record, it's Nicky to my friends."
"I am…your friend?" Sherlock sounded thoroughly discombobulated.
"You just rescued me from falling off the face of Big Ben, getting shot at by a couple dozen snipers, and you tried to help the paramedics when I was going into shock. Yes, I would call you my friend," Nicky stated firmly.
"John?"
"It's okay to have more than one friend Sherlock," John spoke patiently. Sherlock furrowed his brow and returned his attention to Nicole.
"Very well then. Goodnight Nicky."
"Goodnight Sherlock. Night John."
A/N NOT DEAD! Hi everyone, sorry that it's been ages since I've updated. Midterms, insane personal life, writers block, and utter shock over Sherlock Season 3. Seriously Moffat? I wouldn't blame anyone if they weren't reading this anymore, but I said I would finish it so I will finish it. Not done yet, by the way, but I promise I will finish this story!