Another Holmes for the Fall Chapter 25, a sherlock fanfic

Charlene was stuck in the flat for a few more weeks, mostly on the sofa but moving occasionally. She had the neck-brace removed, as well as the cast on her left arm, and the bandage on her head. Eventually she upgraded from a wheelchair to crutches. It was a day of celebration when she finally got to sleep in her own bed.

The paparazzi filtered away a couple of days after Charlene came home. "Apparently people aren't too interested in mysterious women dropping from rooftops," she remarked to John one day, who laughed.

Neither had mentioned the kiss since the day it had happened, weeks earlier. Mrs Hudson had often been caught looking between the two of them with a conspiratorial smile, but she didn't say anything either.

One Wednesday, Charlene got another visit from Detective Inspector Lestrade. "How are you doing?" he asked as soon as he came in the door.

"Better than expected. Better than Sherlock, anyhow."

"Fair enough. Look, I'm sorry, but I come with more instructions from your brother."

"Ah, yes. How is Mycroft?" Greg shifted uncomfortably. "Oh, are you two going through a rough patch?"

"I shouldn't answer that. But is it really that obvious?"

"Unfortunately so. I mean, I don't mind, but John's been a little uncomfortable."

"Shit, he knows?"

"Yeah. Sorry about that. Anyway, you had instructions for me?"

"Oh, yeah. Um, if you can, you're to report to him your findings from 'your little adventure'."

"Did he really call it that?"

"Yep."

"Hang on. What do you mean, 'if I can'?" Charlene said curiously.

"He wants you to see him in his office."

"Where is that?"

"I'm not at liberty to say. There will be a car along tomorrow to take you."

"Alright. Oh, and when you next see my brother, could you please tell him that he could just call, rather than using you as a messaging system?"

"Will do. Thanks." Greg glanced at his watch. "Well, I should go. Nice talking to you."

"Yeah, you too."

He got up to go just as the door opened and John walked in. "Charlene, I got…oh," he said when he saw Greg.

"John." He inclined his head.

"Greg." He replied in kind.

"Oh, for goodness' sake!" Charlene muttered.

"I was just leaving…"

"Okay."

"I see no way this scene could be any more awkward," Charlene interjected.

Both men turned to Charlene. "What?" they asked as one.

She pointed to John. "Everybody thought he liked men when he liked women." She pointed to Greg. "Everybody thought he liked women when he liked both. Does it really matter? You two are friends, for God's sake!"

They both looked at the floor, embarrassed. John mumbled an apology, and so did Greg.

"Good. Now, don't let that happen again."

Greg smiled and walked out. John turned to Charlene. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"We're both older than you, and yet you boss us around as if we're young children."

"I don't know. Maybe I exude power over everyone else in the room. Anyway, what did you get?"

"What? Oh, that. I was going to say I got a present for Mrs Hudson's birthday. I also got something for you to give to her, because you haven't had a chance to get out or anything."

"When's her birthday?"

"Tomorrow."

"I was never informed of this. I wouldn't have thrown it out."

John raised his eyebrows. "Sherlock used to delete things from his brain."

"He probably saw his brain like a computer. I see mine like a house. Sometimes, it gets too cluttered and I have to put things out in the trash. Then it just goes away." She noticed John smirking at her. "Hey! So what did you get me for Mrs Hudson's birthday?"

He held up a small plastic bag. "She loves this film, but only has it on videotape. I can't persuade her to get a DVD player, so I'm giving her one, and I thought you could give her this."

Charlene took the bag and pulled out a film. "So she likes Clark Gable then?"

"She loves Clark Gable. Waxes lyrical about him. So be warned, she might force you to watch it with her."

"I'll survive, I'm sure."

"Well, good luck anyway."

"Why were you so uncomfortable about Greg?"

"It's not him, it's…well, Mycroft. I know he's your brother and all, but when I've met him before, he's been…well, not the romantic type at all. And then finding out he's been together with my best friend for…how long was it, do you know?"

"Oh, months. Almost certainly since before I met you."

"Exactly. Why didn't they tell anyone?"

"You seem very interested in this relationship. I can think of other relationships you could be interested in."

"Well, I should go and put dinner on," John said quickly, and excused himself. Charlene rolled her eyes and set about finding some wrapping paper to wrap the DVD and player.

o0o0o

Mrs Hudson sat in her chair, reading the newspaper when there was a knock at the door. She could hear faint giggling outside. She got up and walked slowly over to the door, one hand on her hip.

She opened the door to find John and Charlene outside, along with two extravagantly-wrapped presents and a large cake. "Surprise!"

"You did this for me?"

"Of course we did, Mrs Hudson, don't be silly. It's your birthday!" John pushed past into the flat, putting the cake on a table.

Charlene handed her the presents. "Happy birthday!"

"Which one should I open first?"

"The big one," John says. "But come and sit down first."

There are smiles and laughs all around as Mrs Hudson opens her presents. "How did you know I liked 'Gone with the Wind'?"

"Lucky guess," John said, catching Charlene's eye for a second. They both grinned.

"You know, Charlene, this really is a wonderful film. Clark Gable is brilliant in it. You should watch it sometime."

"I'd love to, Mrs Hudson." She tried to ignore John smirking at her. "Maybe this weekend?"

"That's be lovely, dear. And you can show me how to work this machine."

"Sure."

"Sorry to butt in, but I really need to get to work now. I'll come back and see you this evening though, if you like."

"I'd like that very much, thank you John."

"Bye." John slipped out the door, leaving Charlene and Mrs Hudson alone.

"I can stay here for as long as you want. Just let me know if I'm being a pain." Charlene grinned.

"You're not a pain. In fact, now John's gone I want to speak to you."

"Oh? What about?"

Mrs Hudson came straight to the point. "How do you feel about John?"

Charlene blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I saw you two, the day you came out of hospital."

"I know you did."

"What I want to know is, how do you feel about him?"

"If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to know?"

"Because I don't know whether you love him or not, but I know he loves you, Charlene. I've seen it in the way he looks at you, the way he acts around you. He's like a son to me, and I couldn't bear to see his heart broken again. So I wanted to know: do you love him?"

"I…I think so, yes. Yes, I do."

"Good. That was all I wanted to know."

"Right. Um, thank you. I think."

"Yes."

"Good."

"I should go now."

"Okay."

"Come back to visit me sometime, won't you, dear?"

"Of course I will. We have to watch the film sometime." Charlene smiled as she shut the door.

o0o0o

After returning upstairs from one of the most awkward conversations of her life, Charlene rested her crutches on the sofa arm and sat down, deciding to think more about the rooftop, as she now thought of it. Thinking about that was easier than thinking about other things, such as John.

What she could not understand was why Sherlock had not wanted John to see the ground in front of the hospital. Had he not wanted John to see him land, or was something else happening there that he couldn't see?

She thought back to what Sherlock had said. He told John to keep looking at him, and to stay back. What else had he done that was strange?

Charlene's phone buzzed with a text. She reached out to answer it, then stopped. The phone!

She sat upright, her thoughts racing. Sherlock had thrown the phone away before he fell. But why? He hadn't taken off his coat or anything. Why throw away his phone, when he could just have easily have carried it down with him?

If it had fallen with him, it could have gotten broken. Throwing it onto the roof gently would have minimised the chances of that happening. But he was going to die anyway; why bother keeping the phone safe?

There must have been something on it that he wanted someone to find. Not her; he thought she was dead. Perhaps he wanted John to figure it out. There was something on that phone that was important, somehow, something that could help her solve her first case. But what?

She reached for her phone, quickly checking and dismissing the text from her service provider before bringing up Greg's contact. She took a breath and called him. "Detective Inspector Lestrade, how can I help you?"

"Greg? It's Charlene. Can you help?"

"Charlene? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." She heard a sigh of relief. "I didn't mean to startle you, sorry."

"That's okay. So what's up?"

"I was wondering if you have any of the physical evidence left from Sherlock's suicide. Specifically his cellphone."

"I'm sorry Charlene, but I can't really release evidence from a case like that to the general pub-" There was the sound of a door closing in the background, and Greg's tone of voice changed entirely. "I can get it for you. What do you want it for?"

"I think he may have left something on it. Some information. A clue of some sort."

"Sounds intriguing. I have to go now, but I'll drop it around sometime. Tonight maybe?"

"What time do you get off work?"

"Quite late. I could swing by your place on my way to…yeah."

"No, I don't want to make you late for Mycroft. Could you come in Saturday morning instead? I'd like you to be there."

"Sure thing, Charlene. Happy to help."

"You've helped a great deal thank you."

"Any time." He hung up, and Charlene stared into space, thinking. She stayed unmoving until John came in, at the end of the day. "I don't like relationships," she said without looking at him.

He froze in the middle of hanging his coat up. "I'm sorry?"

"They are too confusing. They affect too many people. I don't like relationships."

John started moving again. "Uh…good to know. How did it go with Mrs Hudson?"

"Oh, it went well. She loved her presents. Did you go in and see her?"

"Yes. She's really looking forward to you watching that film with her in the weekend."

"The weekend…oh, shit." She grabbed her phone and made a quick call. "Greg? Hi, it's me again. Sorry about this. Could you come in on Saturday afternoon instead, please? Thanks a bunch. Bye then!"

John stared. "What was that about?"

"You'll find out on Saturday. I might have had a breakthrough, and I want an audience if so."

"Why Saturday? Why not tomorrow?"

"I have some research to do first."

"You're so much like Sherlock."

"I'm sure you're a lot like your sister. Pity I've never met her."

"I must introduce you two someday. I think you'd like her. She'd certainly like you."

"Um, thanks?"

"…I didn't mean to say that out loud," John said, embarrassed. "I'll…go and make dinner now."

"You do that." Charlene rubbed her temples. "I need to think."

By bedtime, she still hadn't come up with any more possibilities, so got some sleep to rest her brain for the next day. Charlene was nervous: she'd never presented deductions in front of an audience before. This would be a new experience, and hopefully she wouldn't muck it up entirely.