Here we are! Chapter 37! Enjoy and please review! You'll make my day! :D
Chapter XXXVII
Ariel spent the afternoon trying to entertain Sherlock, which was harder then she anticipated. He had to stay off his leg, otherwise he would risk tearing the stitches. But Sherlock was normally a whirlwind of activity and not being able to move frustrated him.
"Sherlock, why don't we play a game?" Ariel asked, after trying, and failing, to get him interested in a program on the telly. He had loudly remarked at how stupid it was.
"Ugh, do we have to? Couldn't I just shoot myself instead?" Sherlock complained, groaning loudly. Ariel sat herself down in front of him and looked him straight in the eye.
"Listen, it could be fun. Plus, I'm bored too. Trust me. Try a game, and if you don't like it, we'll try another one." Ariel reasoned with him. Honestly, sometimes Sherlock was like the worlds largest five year old.
"Fine." Sherlock finally consented.
"Alright. What game do you want to play?" She asked, completely ready to do anything to keep his boredom at bay.
"John has Cluedo hidden on the top shelf of the storage closet." Sherlock grumbled.
"Good. I'll go get it." Ariel said, hopping up from the floor to get the board game. She returned a few moments later, game in hand, and began setting it up on the little table.
"Right. You go first." Ariel said once it was all set up. Sherlock rolled his eyes and groaned, but reached for the die anyway. Three turns in, Sherlock threw a fit.
"This is ridiculous! It was obvious the victim committed the crime himself, with the dagger in the observatory! It's the only possible solution!" Sherlock all but screamed in frustration.
Ariel stared at him in shock for a moment, surprised by his sudden outburst. Sherlock thought for a moment she was going to get angry with him, telling him like John had that it was not possible, it wasn't in the rules and you are a complete jerk. But Sherlock was utterly astounded when Ariel broke out into a hysterical laugh. She giggled until she was panting and her sides ached.
"That is the craziest, most ridiculous guess I have ever heard for this game... But I love it!" She chuckled out, eyes still screwed shut with laughter. A huge smile broke out on Sherlocks face. He began to laugh along with her.
After a few minutes of raucous laughter from the two of them, they finally calmed down enough for Ariel to ask,
"Another game?" Sherlock just nodded, his eyes sparkling. Ariel smiled up at him before putting away Cluedo and getting a different game.
"Ok, I know you like intelligent games, so lets try cards. Have you ever played 'Rummy'?" Ariel asked. Sherlock cocked his head at her, mentally running through his mind palace for information regarding the card game in question. He popped back to reality when he heard Ariel snap her fingers a few times. He just looked at her blankly.
"You know, you could just say 'I don't know'. I won't judge." Ariel said sweetly, trying to keep from this becoming confrontational. She knew how much Sherlock hated asking for help.
"Fine. I don't know. Happy now?" Sherlock asked sarcastically. Ariel giggled.
"Yes, actually." She said with a winning grin. Sherlock glared at her for a moment. There was utter silence. Ariel sighed and began to teach him how to play.
"Alright. Let me explain. To play 'Rummy', first you need to..."
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Ariel got up, stretching her cramped legs. Sitting on the floor for two hours hadn't been the best of her ideas. Sherlock had actually enjoyed playing cards and the game had killed two hours. Only four more until John would be home.
Ariel wandered into the kitchen and made herself some toast and some tea for her and Sherlock. The man who had currently beaten her at cards was loafing in his chair, going back to being bored. Ariel had to think of something else to do with him to keep him occupied.
Telly was out of the question and she couldn't think of anymore games. But of she didn't find something, Sherlock would make the next four hours as miserable as humanly possible. Ariel shuddered to think of that.
Carrying the tea into the living room, Ariel noticed Sherlock was plucking at his violin strings. She set his tea down and settled into Johns armchair, wrapping both hands around her warm cup. Sherlock continued to pluck at the strings, not really playing anything.
After a moment, he picked up his bow and began to play. It was a calming tune at first, which turned it a melodramatic sad song. Ariel raised an eyebrow questioningly at Sherlock, but he was to engrossed in his music to notice. The piece changed again, turning into a soft, almost lullaby-like sound. Ariel closed her eyes and listened, head bobbing gently with the music. Sherlock ended his piece, a bit more relaxed now.
"Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful." Ariel breathed out, not louder then a whisper in the quiet room. Sherlock tucked his violin neatly into its case. He began drumming his fingers on the armrests of the chair, already feeling boredom set in again. Ariel just sat and sipped her tea contently, a mask of pure peace on her face.
Inside, she was racing through her library of ideas for something to do with Sherlock that wouldn't bore her to tears. Sherlock continued to drum away, growing more and more restless as time went on. Eventually, Ariel set down her finished tea cup and looked at Sherlock.
"Do you have any ideas?" She asked, trying to get him to provide his thoughts. Sherlock let out an impatient sigh and rolled his eyes as he flopped back into his chair.
"You're the one who wants me to sit in this bloody chair all day! Why don't you supply the ideas?" He spat out rudely. Ariel gaped at him a moment before becoming thoughtful.
She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow, causing a small wrinkle to appear on her forehead. Sherlock spared her a glance and raised a questioning eyebrow at her. She had subconsciously clasped her hands together in front of her face, a position that closely resembled Sherlocks traditional thinking one.
She seemed deep in thought for a moment before a bright twinkling entered her eyes. She gave him a broad smile before dashing away in the direction of his bedroom. A few short minutes later, she re-entered the room cradling a stack of books. She placed them in a neat stack on the floor.
"There." She said, tucking a strand of her wayward hair behind her ear. "That should help." Sherlock looked up at her, perplexed.
"And what do you propose I do with these?" He said in his cold, calculating voice as he gestured towards the pile of books.
"Well Sherlock, normally people read books." Ariel said sarcastically. Sherlock groaned.
"You want me to read while I'm stuck here in this chair?" He asked in a harsh tone. Ariel just grinned.
"Read them, no. Use them, yes." She said, reaching over and picking up the first book on the pile. "We're going to play a game."
Sherlocks curiosity was piqued. Ariel opened the book, an old bound volume, and flipped gingerly through the pages. She finally selected a page.
"Here. From this picture, what can you deduce about this man?" She asked, showing Sherlock the book. His eyes darted across the page, studying every inch of the photograph, every detail of the man on it. In less then twenty seconds, he sat back to recount his findings to Ariel. She sat back in wonderment as she just listened to him rattle on about this man.
"Wow. Amazing." She said in awe before reaching over and selecting a book that was farther down the pile. "Lets try this one." Ariel flipped it open and Sherlock caught a brief look at the cover. It was one of the only fantasy books he owned, given to him by his grandmother when he was quite young.
The gold cursive lettering on the cover read "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". Sherlock cringed a little before he wondered how Ariel had found it. When she had found a page, she turned it to Sherlock.
"Here. Tell me what the artist was trying to capture and how he felt about it." Ariel soda, handing him the book. Sherlock took it and studied the drawing. It was of Alice, holding a bottle with the tag 'Drink Me' written on it. Unbidden, memories flashed through Sherlocks mind.
Quickly, he pushed them back and made his quick deductions before shoving the back into Ariel's hands. She looked up at him and realized for the first time just how little she knew about him. Without a word though, she selected the next book, a scientific textbook on poisons, and continued on with their game.
After the Alice incident, Sherlock quite enjoyed the game. After they ran out of books, Ariel used her phone to find pictures and drawings of people, places and things for Sherlock to deduce. And each time he deduced them perfectly. They were having so much fun, in fact, that they didn't even hear the person knocking at the door.
That was, not until Mrs. Hudson opened the door to the flat and came in. She was quickly replaced by John. He dropped his bags and gave a look around the flat before he gave a happy sigh. It felt good to be home. Ariel had gotten to her feet and made her way over to John. She proceeded to give him a big hug which he gratefully returned.
Mrs. Hudson let out a small laugh at the two. Sherlock felt a flame of what he could only describe as jealousy in his stomach. He quickly dismissed it.
"Sherlock!" John said happily, turning to his flatmate when he was released from Ariel's arms. "Look at you! I'm gone two weeks and you get yourself laid up!" He chuckled out.
"My leg is hardly the most interesting thing to happen while you were away." Sherlock replied coolly, though underneath his cold exterior he was happy his friend was home.
"I bet." John chuckled before sitting down across from Sherlock. "Care to tell me your stories?"
"Would you boys like some tea?" Mrs. Hudson asked as she walked into the kitchen.
"Yes, please, Mrs. Hudson. Couple of biscuits if you've got any." John said over his shoulder before returning to the man in front of him.
"Just remember I'm not your housekeeper!" Mrs. Hudson called out from the kitchen.
Sherlock and John shared a small chuckle at her catch phrase. Ariel beamed at the two as she made herself comfortable on the sofa. It was good to see them back together. Mrs. Hudson carried in a tea tray and placed it on the coffee table before sitting down next to Ariel.
"So Sherlock, care to tell me how you got that nasty gash?" John asked, sipping his tea.
"Ariel and I were abducted, I was beaten and got cut with a knife." Sherlock stated. His nonchalant tone belittled the severity of the incident. John opened his mouthed to question Sherlock further, but Ariel stopped him.
"We'll talk about it later, John." Ariel said, quelling his questions for now. A hush fell over the room for a moment as every enjoyed their tea.
"John, dear, how's Harriet doing?" Mrs. Hudson asked sweetly. John smiled at her.
"She alright. Better now that the funerals done and over with and that she's back home." John replied. Mrs. Hudson nodded.
"Well John, I'll bet your hungry after all that traveling. Want to go out for dinner?" Ariel asked, standing up.
"Yes, that would be wonderful." John said, getting up as well.
"Sherlock?" Ariel asked, turning to the consulting detective.
"No." He said curtly. Ariel just nodded before grabbing her purse.
"Let me take that for you deary." Mrs. Hudson said, taking the cups and putting them in the kitchen.
"Right. Lets go." John said, leading the way out of the flat.
"Bye Sherlock!" Ariel called as she dashed after him. Sherlock simply grunted in reply.
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