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CaaRehme: haha you did call it, didn't you. Dedicated with a plate of cookies… :D. and Yeah, but that'd be too easy, wouldn't it? And no worries! I get it trust me. School is a bitch sometimes.
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Anyhow, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! AND PLEASE READ MY NOTE AT THE BOTTOM… I want to explain some things…
Enjoy!
John shoved his hands into his pockets, drawing his coat tighter around himself as he walked home in the cold late summer rain. He nearly regretted taking the swing shift at the hospital. Stamford had called him up, claiming there had been a shortage of doctors in the A&E due to an outbreak of the flu, and asked him to serve a few shifts.
Parts of John missed the trauma and excitement of the military, but his two years as an average family practice doctor had nearly bored him to tears. Every other patient was in there for some form of crotch rot, or a runny nose… not the least bit exciting when you compare it to getting shot at in a war while preforming a surgery, or running about London chasing criminals. He had hoped this first shift at the A&E would have been a bit more exciting, but in the end, the most exciting part of his night was when he saw a bloke who was convinced his hiccups were going to kill him and was slapping himself as treatment.
It was a bloody miracle some people lived to be the age that they were.
John looked down at his watch. It was nearly nine at night. He was wet, cold, hungry, and unexcited; all he wanted to do was take a warm bath and roll into bed before they met with the Socialite-with-break-ins client tomorrow morning. He just prayed that Kylie and Sherlock had made up by now.
When he had left, they had still been in the bedroom- the same place where they had been since he had gone to the showered, ran to the store, read his paper for a bit, then popped off to Bart's. He knew that talking to Sherlock about certain issues, mainly ones he was being awkward about was difficult, but Kylie should have at least known to have asked the man what the problem was!
Women…
He adored his friend, but just like Karen and every other girlfriend he had ever had, women always had a way of assuming quantum leaps and pulling hidden meanings he didn't even know he had 'meant' out of even the simplest of words.
John rounded the corner to Baker Street, fishing for his keys in his pockets.
"Oh! John! How was the shift?"
John looked up to see Kylie holding an umbrella with her work bag strapped over her shoulder as she stepped out of 221B.
"Hey! Good. It was slow," John said in slight surprise, "Where are you off to?"
"Oh, Lestrade just called me," she told him as she offered him part of her umbrella, "He has some remains he wants me to take a look at. Apparently they had a few similar to this one when I was in Argentina and the anthropologist they were using in Dublin was a complete waste."
"So you get to go hang out in the morgue with Abney all night?" John asked with amusement.
Dr. Carl Abney had been the corner at the Yard for nearly 27 years now. He was a crotchety old man who was nearly blind and deaf. He happened not to like Sherlock, and consequently John and Kylie, due to an incident that had happened a few years back that included a live snake, fire, a corpse, some moderate explosives, and what happened to be Abney's favorite tea set that he had inherited from his mother.
"From what I heard, Abney retired," Kylie told him, "Lestrade told me there is a new coroner now, but I'm assuming I wont meet them tonight, being this late and all."
"Oh, well let me know how that goes," John commented before he realized something, "Is Sherlock coming with you? I mean, is this a case?"
"No, not yet at least. Lestrade just wants prelims. The body is completely decomposed so the victim has been dead for a bit. Sherlock is upstairs focused on the surveillance photos Mycroft just sent him of Parliament a few hours before the shooting. He's looking for people whom he thinks could be Moran."
"There's not a photo in his file?"
"No, he was special ops so picture or any of his missions are listed."
"Oh, yeah… right. You end up talking to Sherlock?"
Kylie laughed, dropped her head and smiled, "Yeah, yeah I did. Thank you for your advice. You were right, I was being stupid."
John smiled at his friend.
"Good."
"Well," Kylie laughed, "I'd better be off. I have to grab something to eat real quick, otherwise I'll starve. See you when I get home then?"
"Yeah, sounds good!" John said as he ducked out from under the umbrella and into the rain once more, opening the door quickly and stepping into the warm entryway to 221.
He peeled off his dripping wet coat, hanging it to dry and removing his shoes before he climbed the stairs.
At least the fire was going. He was freezing.
He walked into the flat and stopped noticing something was completely different about the living room.
He looked to his right, and saw every inch of wall space over the couch completely covered with enlarged photographs of people, Sherlock's scribbled handwriting making notes, times, numbers and gibberish in black marker all over them.
John was used to this. It was his flatmate's way of digesting information and laying everything out on the line. What he wasn't used to however, was the fact that Sherlock's 'thought wall' had extended not just to over the couch, but was now over the desk, windows, and fireplace. In fact John was sure that every available inch of wall space was covered in photos.
He knew Sherlock was nearly manic sometimes when it came to this stuff, but he had never seen him turn the entire flat into a serial killer death wall…. Nor could he have imagined that Kylie would have allowed him to.
"Oh, you're home," Sherlock commented as he walked back into the room with a mug of tea in hand as he was dressed in his pajamas and dressing gown.
"Uh… yeah," John commented as he looked around, "Kylie said you were working on the Speaker case? Mycroft sent you photos… or what not…" he said as he stepped forward, getting a closer look at the photos.
"Yes," Sherlock said as he went back to work, bending down to look at his computer, "I'm trying to set up a timeline… when did you talk to Kylie?"
"I ran into her outside. She was headed to the Yard."
"Oh," he said simply as he glanced at his phone, bringing it closer to him as he did.
John raised his eyebrows and looked at his friend skeptically.
"You actually let her go to the Yard by herself?" he asked, "This is what… the first time in seven months that you have let her go anywhere without an escort?"
Sherlock glowered at his laptop, clenching his jaw. He wasn't happy that Kylie was going by herself, but she had convinced him to let her go alone. It had taken him a while to come round, but after promising to be in direct contact, pleading, bickering, and a little physical persuasion, he had caved.
He couldn't say no to her…
"I don't have her locked in a cage," Sherlock muttered, eyeing his phone, praying that her text saying that she had gotten there safe would come soon. The worry was going to kill him.
"I know you don't," John said simply, "I think its good that she is going by herself."
"It's stupid," Sherlock muttered a little too loud, but it was just loud enough for John to catch.
John walked around to the other side of the desk, sitting down in the chair across from where Sherlock stood.
"You're worried about her, I get it. Hell, with Thomas out there, I'm worried about her too. You have a right to be protective of her. Its natural to feel that way about someone you lo…" John stopped talking and clamped his mouth shut.
Shouldn't have said that… shouldn't have said that…
"What? Love?" Sherlock scoffed, "I'm not in this so called love, John. I never have, and I never will be."
John just stared at his friend, not buying his over for a moment.
"Yeah, okay. Sorry, I don't know how I could have made that mistake," he commented sarcastically.
"I don't know either," Sherlock replied, missing the sarcasm as he lit up his phone, trying to see if Kylie had texted him yet.
"Anyway, back to my point," John continued, "Why did you let her go by herself?"
"Why shouldn't I have?"
John raised an eyebrow at him.
"No, you most definitely should have, I was just asking what changed?"
"Changed?"
"Why are you letting her go by herself now, when you obviously don't want her out by herself?"
Sherlock stared at the screen and sighed loudly, not wanting to answer his friend.
"She talked me into it," Sherlock muttered as he stood up and walked towards the couch, facing his back to John.
John smiled slightly.
"She convinced you?"
"Yes, that's what I just said, wasn't it?" he snapped as he walked back over to the desk and grabbed his phone, checking his messages.
His body relaxed slightly as he saw her name pop up on the screen.
Got here safe and sound… Just like I promised. Just saw the body. I'll be here for a bit, so please make sure you eat and get some sleep.
-Ky
He smiled.
…She was safe….
His phone vibrated again, as Kylie's name popped up on his phone once more.
Just to reiterate… I said EAT SOMETHING and GET SOME SLEEP.
Don't think I didn't miss you skip lunch today… and most likely breakfast.
He rolled his eyes at her smart-ass remark.
"So… she make it there okay, I'm assuming?" John asked.
"Yep," Sherlock said as he straightened and put his phone in his pocket, turning his attention to the photos.
"Good."
They fell into silence.
"You want to talk about Kylie and what happened last night?"
Sherlock turned and gave him a look before turning back to the photos.
"No."
"Kay."
Silence.
"You want to talk about how you…"
"No, John!" Sherlock yelled, snapping completely, "I don't want to talk about relationships or feelings like you keep on INSISTING that I do… the only thing I want to do is solve this bloody case!"
Sherlock stared at his friend, who was sitting there, staring at him completely unamused by his antics.
"Okay," he told him flatly as he got up, "I'm gonna go have a bath then and go to bed."
"Fine." Sherlock glowered through gritted teeth as he turned back to his wall.
John slowly walked towards the staircase, pausing at the bottom of the stairs and turning back to his friend.
"Just so you know, I don't think you are like Thomas in the slightest. So give yourself the benefit of the doubt."
Sherlock's head snapped towards him.
How in the hell…?
John smiled slightly as he began up the stairs.
"I know you better than you think!"
Sherlock stared at the now empty staircase, as he heard John's bedroom door shut in blatant shock.
There was no way in hell John could have known that. He hadn't told anyone that. Kylie didn't even know that.
It was a complete guess… he got lucky. I mean, he thinks you are in love with Kylie.
He scoffed out loud at the thought.
Him… as if.
Is it that crazy though?
Love? Yes.
You swore you would never willingly date someone if it wasn't for a case… yet here you are.
That's different. I care for her.
Yes, but where is the difference between love and caring? Is there one?
Sherlock froze as he stared at the floor.
His brain couldn't find an answer to that question… not one.
Definition… you need a definition…
He quickly walked over to the bookshelf, scanning the shelves for the dictionary. Finally finding it he quickly pulled it down, opening it and scanning for the word he was looking for.
'Love:
noun
1. an intense feeling of deep affection.
"babies fill parents with intense feelings of love"
synonyms:
Deep affection, fondness, tenderness, warmth, intimacy, attachment, endearment
2. a person or thing that one loves.
"she was the love of his life"
synonyms:
beloved, loved one, love of one's life, dear, dearest, dear one, darling, sweetheart, sweet, angel, honey
Verb
1. feel a deep romantic or sexual attachment to (someone).
"do you love me?"
synonyms:
care very much for, feel deep affection for, hold very dear, adore, think the world of, be devoted to, dote on, idolize, worship.'
Sherlock froze as he reread the page over and over again, until his brain had finally fully processed the information in its state of shock.
The second definition was out… that one definitely didn't apply, but the first and third…?
He did feel a deep, intense feeling of affection towards Kylie. It was something he had never felt before and he honestly didn't understand it, but… Love? That couldn't be the right definition….
Verb… it had to be a verb then, right?
Feel a deep romantic or sexual attachment to…
Dear God…
Last night… last night he had wanted her… desired her. That had never, ever happened to him before.
Logically that is a deep sexual attachment…
You haven't even had sex you twat. How can it be a sexual attachment, with out sex.
Exactly. Not in love. John was wrong. Case closed.
…Then why do you feel he might be right.
Sherlock growled angrily under his breath and slammed the dictionary shut, placing it back on the shelf before he stomped like a child over to his couch, laying out and assuming his thinking pose.
He had to work.
He wasn't in love.
It was absurd.
Kylie was safe, and he needed to focus on this case. John was just trying to distract him.
Yes, that's it. He was making it up and he certainly wasn't going to let his friend's words turn his own brain against him.
Sherlock Holmes was most definitely not in love; no he most certainly was not.
&(#* )# ()#(_)
Kylie sighed as she took a bite of her sandwich, flipping through Lestrade's case report of the two prior bodies that were found in a similar fashion to the one on the table across the room.
Both bodies were found in abandoned places, completely decomposed, the chest cavity ripped open with some strange scarring that Abney couldn't place. There had been nearly no forensics left on the scene. Lestrade had zero leads and he had barely identified the two victims, let alone found a connection between the two victims.
Kylie took another bite as she set her sandwich down, flipping through the crime scene photos. It was odd… all three victims had been propped up as if they had been on display. Usually if a body had been that badly decomposed there was either or reason (such as burning or an enzyme that decomposed the body more quickly) or the body was hidden for a long amount of time. Granted none of the sites had much foot traffic, but it was almost as if the killer wanted the bodies to be found, sending a message.
"Uh, excuse me," a voice said, bringing her out of her thoughts, "What are you doing here?"
Kylie looked up mid bite, the sandwich still in her mouth, to see a pretty blonde dressed in slacks and a light blue blouse, bringing out the color of her eyes even more as she stared at her, bewildered.
Kylie froze, staring at the woman for a moment before it dawned on her that the woman was waiting for a reply. She quickly took her bite, chewing and swallowing as quickly as she could so she was able to reply.
"Forensic Anthropologist," she said with her mouth full of sandwich, "Who are you?"
The blonde arched an eyebrow at her, "Dr. Mary Morstan. I'm the new coroner."
"Oh!" she said with her mouth still semi-full, attempting to get the food down her throat as fast as possible, "I'm so sorry. I wasn't expecting the coroner to still be here. I'm Kylie Gibbs."
Kylie stood up, wiping her hands on her jeans quickly before extending her hand.
Mary took it apprehensively, staring at her with slight bewilderment.
"Well, this is weird," Kylie joked awkwardly, laughing.
The blonde just stared at her, causing Kylie to stop laughing and look around at the room.
"You um… do know that you can't eat in the morgue?" the woman asked her, "Especially while you are looking at human remains…"
"Oh! Yeah," Kylie laughed awkwardly, "I hadn't eaten yet, and I honestly didn't think anyone would still be in the morgue at ten at night, and I mean, its not like I was eating my sandwich over the body. Its across the room…"
She trailed off, not getting a smile or a laugh out of the blonde doctor.
"I could have you reprimanded," Mary said flatly.
"I um.. I know," Kylie laughed awkwardly, running a hand through her hair, "I was kind of hoping that you wouldn't though…"
"I don't even know if you work here, so…"
"I… I do. Look," Kylie said obviously knowing she had started off on a bad foot, "I'm sorry. This is your morgue and I apologize for eating in here. I honestly don't want this to be the first way we meet, and I will just take my case files and leave…"
Kylie began to clean up her table, glancing at the body that she hadn't had a chance to examine yet.
"Do you like wine?" the doctor asked suddenly.
Kylie turned and gave her a confused look.
"Yes, but I was just eating… I'm not drunk."
"Good," the blonde said as a smile broke out over her face, making Kylie even more confused as she watched her walk into the small coroner's office.
"I have had, this bottle of wine staring at me for a few weeks now," the doctor told her as she reemerged from her office, holding a nice bottle of wine, a cork screw, and two mugs, "I just moved here and don't know anyone other than these corpses, so I've been looking for someone to share it with."
Kylie stared at her in shock for a moment, before a smile spread out over her face.
"You want to share it with me? After meeting me with my mouth full and being a total stuttering slob?"
Mary laughed lightly as she began uncorking the bottle.
"Yeah, you may be the first normal person I've met here so far. The blokes upstairs are all nice enough, but it would be nice to have a female friend."
"There's a couple of female officers," Kylie pointed out as Mary poured the wine into the mugs.
"You met that one? Donovan?" Mary asked her, "Pretty sure she's a right bitch."
Kylie smiled and laughed, "Yeah, you'd be right about that."
Mary smiled as she handed Kylie a mug, "Good to know I was right about her."
Kylie laughed as she sat down on a stool, taking a sip of the wine, looking at it appreciatively.
Damn, this was good.
"You know, its usually not advised to be drinking while examining a body," Kylie pointed out with a grin.
"Yeah," Mary said as she sat down at the stool across from her, "Usually I'd just ask you if you wanted to get tea some time and chat, but I don't like waiting to make friends. That, and I like wine a whole hell of a lot more than I like tea."
Kylie laughed and held up her mug, "Mary, I will most definitely drink to that."
*&#(* ()#*
Mary and Kylie laughed loudly together as Mary poured the last bits of the bottle of wine into the two mugs.
"You're kidding though. You seriously worked with that big of idiots?" Kylie gaped.
"Yes, yes I did," Mary said laughing as she tossed the empty bottle of wine into the bin, "That's why I am so thankful that I finally found another intelligent woman to hang out with."
"I've been only hanging out with men for the last three years since I moved here from the states, so a female friend is probably the greatest thing to happen to me this week."
"Just this week?" Mary asked, grinning.
"Yep, just this week," Kylie grinned taking a sip of her wine.
Mary laughed and brushed her short hair behind her ear.
"You seeing anyone?" she asked, "Not that I'm interested…"
Kylie laughed and nodded with a smile, "Yeah, I have a boyfriend. You'll probably see him around here. He consults on cases…" she trailed off and paused, thinking about Sherlock loose in the morgue, "And just so you know, I apologize for him in advance."
Mary gave her a look, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You'll uh… find out," Kylie commented before quickly changing the subject, "Tell me about yourself, though."
"Not much to tell," Mary said dropping the subject, "Grew up in a small town, went to uni, got a job, left said job, and now I'm here."
"Mind if I ask why you left your last job?" Kylie asked.
Mary paused for a moment, as if she were debating on how to answer that.
"I needed a new start."
"So an ex?"
Mary looked up at Kylie, completely taken aback, causing her to smile in return.
"Apparently when you have the same story, it's a bit easier to recognize."
Mary smiled and nodded.
"You moved here from the states I'm assuming?"
"Yep, to start over," Kylie commented as she sighed, "…fucking men."
Mary laughed as Kylie chuckled.
"You obviously moved on though," Mary pointed out, "Having that smile on your face when you mentioned your boyfriend."
"Yeah," Kylie smiled slightly, "Took me a bit, but yeah, I did."
If you only knew the whole story, Mary…
"How long have you been here now?" Mary asked.
"Well, there's a complicated answer," Kylie laughed, "Let's see I moved here three and a half years ago, but for two of those years I was on sabbatical in Argentina."
"You went to Argentina for two years? When you had a boyfriend here?" Mary asked, "No offense…"
"No, its was uh… complicated back then."
Mary laughed and shrugged, "As most relationships are…"
"True," Kylie laughed, "So what about you? I'm assuming you are single now?"
"Yeah," Mary sighed, "Relationship went bad a few months ago. I stuck around for a bit too long. But, hey that's what you get when you have a thing for men in uniform."
Kylie paused mid-sip of her wine, lowering her cup with a smile.
"Uniform?"
"Yeah," Mary sighed, "I don't know why I love it, I just do."
Kylie paused as a smile spread out over her face.
"Uniform? Say, like a… soldier?"
"Uh, yeah. My ex wasn't military per say, but… why?" Mary asked with slight puzzlement.
Kylie grinned and leaned forward, "Mary, I have a very dear friend that I think you should meet sometime."
Okay, so here's the deal guys. I have done a lot of thinking about Mary in this series… and here is what I decided. I adored Amanda's version of Mary in the series, and I honestly thought I wasn't going to. But I want to keep the character in the same sassy way that Amanda played her… the only thing is, I don't know if she is going to have the same past or not. The whole CIA thing was good, but a little strange to me. I was rereading what I had written before and there were parts that I wrote that I wanted to keep, and that would require Mary's character to have a different past.
So, essentially, Mary's character isn't going to be EXACTLY canon, but her character will be similar… just not her past. I'm using the claim of artistic license to change some things… plus I don't really think you guys want to read re-hashing of episodes… I know I wouldn't want to, and honestly, I don't want to write re-hashing.
So please, I hope you guys understand and continue to enjoy what I have in store for you!
Review? Pretty please? Thoughts are always appreciated!