A/N: And now for the moment you've all been waiting for: the return of the plot from Scandal, and Mrs. Hudson! And Laura reveals her true identity as a serial conspiracy theorist! Ok not really, but you'll see what I mean.
A little over an hour after Sherlock left her flat Laura found herself in Mrs. Hudson's kitchen, seated at the small table beside John as the wail of sirens finally begin to fade and Sherlock raided the landlady's refrigerator. John had called her a few minutes after she'd managed to get her computer to reboot, his voice flecked with worry as he described the American agents' invasion of 221B as well as their terrorizing of Mrs. Hudson. He'd been convinced Laura would be next on their list of people to 'interrogate' if they were at least half-decent investigators, and had insisted that she come over right away.
"Would you like some tea, dear?" Mrs. Hudson asked, and John nodded while Laura hurriedly rose to her feet.
"I can make it," Laura offered kindly, but Mrs. Hudson frowned slightly and Sherlock shot her a disdainful look.
"Oh, no, don't worry about me," the older woman said with a smile, taking Laura by the arm and leading her into the sitting room. She heard John rise from his seat as well, and he followed her and Mrs. Hudson out of the room as Sherlock lingered in the kitchen. "It's no trouble at all," Mrs. Hudson added when Laura opened her mouth to protest. The older woman placed her hands on her shoulders and pushed her down onto the sofa, then hurried back into the kitchen before Laura could get in a word.
"She'll be ok," John assured Laura with a smile as he came and sat down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he did so. "She just needs something to keep her mind occupied."
"So do I," Laura said, looking up at him meaningfully. "What did she say to you?" she asked after a pause, and John shifted slightly, turning to look at her directly.
"Just what Sherlock told you earlier," he said, and Laura nodded, looking down at her hands folded in her lap. John paused for a moment before continuing. "I tried to get her to tell you she was alive, but she just said it was 'irrelevant' and texted him instead. I've never wanted to punch someone in the face so badly; Sherlock needed to know she was alive, but so did you," he said earnestly, but Laura shook her head and pursed her lips as she tried to hold back more childish tears.
"Irene didn't need to tell me she was alive, and she only told Sherlock because it's going to aid her in her plan to gain money or power or whatever it is she wants this time," Laura said, her voice a perfect balance of bitterness and sorrow. "The fact that I know is only going to cause her more trouble," she added, and John frowned at her.
"Hang on, what plan? And why is you knowing your sister's not dead a problem?" he asked, and Laura glanced over her shoulder into the kitchen. Sherlock was seated at the table drinking tea and chatting away about some new development in quantum physics while Mrs. Hudson stirred a pot on the stove and nodded whenever appropriate. Laura figured they were occupied enough not to listen to her conversation with John, but she lowered her voice nonetheless.
"John, as I'm sure you've already realized, Irene can't be trusted. Her actions, her words, everything she even thinks about, are all focused on her own personal gain. She doesn't care what happens to you, me, Sherlock, or anyone else as long as it helps her get what she wants. Whatever it is she's got going on with Sherlock, it's definitely good for her but most likely not quite as beneficial to him." John nodded as she spoke, his expression now worried as he glanced over at Sherlock.
"He's completely infatuated with her," John said, and Laura let out a sigh.
"Then it's already started," she huffed in annoyance. There was little they could do to help him now even if he was willing to listen to reason, and Sherlock's stubborn and arrogant nature would only make convincing him of Irene's ulterior motives all the more difficult.
"He hasn't eaten or slept in weeks," John continued as he watched Sherlock accept yet another biscuit and steaming mug of tea from a beaming Mrs. Hudson. "On the night Irene died—sorry, faked her death—we were all convinced he would relapse. Mrs. Hudson and I both raided the entire house in search of his secret stash, but couldn't find anything." John turned to her, his eyes tired but his jaw set in determination. "She needs to be stopped. She's already done so much to hurt you, and it looks like Sherlock's her next unfortunate victim," he said dryly, but Irene shook her head.
"If there's one thing you have to understand about Irene, it's that she doesn't have victims, John. She doesn't set out with the goal to hurt people, even if she does associate with criminals like Jim Moriarty. No, to Irene, we're all just collateral damage," she said, and John's expression darkened.
"Which makes the situation all the more dangerous for the two of you," he said, and Laura squeezed his hand reassuringly.
"I've already been through the worst of it," she told him, and he winced. "But John, Jim broke into my flat looking for Irene before she 'died', demanding that I tell him where she was. Think about it: Jim goes hunting for my sister, one of his oldest friends, acting as if he wants her dead, right? Then she fakes her own death only to later reveal herself and call on Sherlock for help? Of all the things I'd classify Irene as being, damsel in distress has never been one of them. There's clearly more going on here than Sherlock is willing to admit," she said, and John's expression morphed into one of horror.
"Are you saying Irene is working with Moriarty? That they're both playing Sherlock in some elaborate scheme?" he asked, his voice rising in volume as he spoke. Laura hurriedly gestured for him to lower his voice.
"I'm not saying I know that for sure. It's a bit more than I'd expect from Irene, despite her past. But it makes sense. I'm just saying we should be on our guard," she told him, and John nodded with a sigh.
"But wait, she said she didn't even want Sherlock to know she was alive," John said, his voice hopeful as he scrambled for ways to disprove Laura's theory.
"Well of course that's what she said," Laura said incredulously. "But I promise you, if Irene really hadn't wanted Sherlock to know she was back, there's no way he would've ever found out."
"The food's ready, dears," Mrs. Hudson said cheerily as she bustled back into the room, and Laura let out a startled yelp. All this talk of Irene and Moriarty working together, of Sherlock in danger of being manipulated in much the same way she'd been long ago, had set her on edge. Laura took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself down again, and John gently rubbed his thumb back and forth along the back of her hand.
"I've got some tomato soup from a recipe Nora from my book club recommended, and she says it's just amazing. Come and eat whenever you're ready," Mrs. Hudson said with a smile, then hurried back into the kitchen.
"Which basically translates to 'you lot eat first because I'm afraid it'll be the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted'," Laura muttered, and John laughed, placing a kiss on her cheek.
"That's more like it; as long as Sarcastic Laura is here I know there's still hope," he joked, and she smiled, turning to plant a chaste kiss of her own on his lips.
"It was a direct translation, not sarcasm," she told him, and he raised an eyebrow. "I'm a certified Hudson Translator, appointed by the queen herself," she clarified, and watched as John tried—and failed— to keep a straight face.
"When did Mycroft appoint you as translator?" he asked, and she burst into giggles as he grinned at the success of his joke.
"The food's getting cold," Mrs. Hudson called, and Laura rolled her eyes as she stood and pulled John up with her. They entered the kitchen hand-in-hand, still grinning like fools, and the older woman's expression brightened at the sight of their interwoven fingers and broad smiles. Laura caught sight of Sherlock's light blue eyes flickering down to their hands before he gave a tiny snort and suddenly rose from his chair.
"I think I'll be heading back upstairs," Sherlock declared as he placed his empty mug in the sink, and Laura's face fell. Mrs. Hudson quickly moved to block the door before Sherlock could take more than two steps.
"Sit back down this instant," she demanded with her hands placed firmly on her hips, and he hesitated for a moment before crossing the room to lean against the wall. Mrs. Hudson nodded as if his decision to stay made everything right with the world again, and John and Laura took the two open seats at the table as she served them dinner.
Sherlock continued to watch them from across the room, and Laura got the distinct feeling that he knew exactly what she and John had discussed during the conversation they'd tried to keep concealed from him. She glanced up at him every few seconds even as she ate and carried on a casual conversation with Mrs. Hudson, and she knew John was watching him too.
Mrs. Hudson still emitted cheer in waves, but all the mirth had drained from Laura and John and only continued to disappear as the meal continued. She wanted to shout at the detective that they were only trying to protect him, that they only wanted what was best for him and to help him see that Irene was toxic. But as Sherlock continued to observe them and they stared right back, Mrs. Hudson babbling on without a clue, Laura became more and more sure that all the shouting in the world wouldn't really make any difference unless it came from Irene herself.
A/N: The plot thickens! Suspicions are on the rise with Irene's sudden return, but will Sherlock be able to see past his 'obsession' or will the Woman dupe him once again? And is he really still all that infatuated with the Woman anyway, or are John and Laura just projecting their own views onto reality? Only time will tell...