We sat in the waiting room, John, Mary, and I. John was in and out, obviously still furious, while I still couldn't believe what I had heard. Mary stayed in a corner, her eyes on her feet.
At one point, while John was gone, she did stand, and sat beside me. I didn't look at her. I didn't know what to think of her. She shot my husband, could have killed him, yet she could have shot him in the head, or the heart, where he would have no chance of survival. Yet, she lied to us for years.
"Elizabeth, I'm sorry." She said. "I know sorry won't cut it, but-"
"You're right. Sorry won't make up for the years of lying to me, to my brother." I shook my head, picking nail polish from my thumb nail.
"I feel awful."
"You should. At least I know you're not heartless as well." I cut back at her.
"Elizabeth, please, listen to me."
I sighed, and turned towards her.
"I didn't want to do what I did to Sherlock, but like he said, I didn't have a choice." She pleaded. "I was an assassin, I won't deny it. No more lies." She promised, and I nodded, still glaring at her. "I did...awful things, but I did those awful things to awful people, people who deserved it. But I wasn't rouge, I was under orders."
"The other night. Were you under orders then?"
"The other night, I did what my best for me, and for my child."
"By going to murder a man."
"Magnussen has dirt on me, I could go to prison. Now, maybe I should, but don't have myself to think about anymore. If it were you; if you were in my situation, with Sherlock and Ophelia. Nobody can know what I've done, and he's the only one that has that information-my whole file."
"Why not just steal it back, then?" I asked. "If you're so worried about it."
"The information he has isn't physical. He remembers it all. It's all up here." She pointed to her temple. "That's where he stores his sensitive documents. Killing him was the only way."
I nodded, looking back down at my chipping nail polish.
"I'm not the only one, either. He has other people-whole countries, under his thumb." She informed me. "I wasn't just thinking of myself. Not entirely."
And then she stopped, waiting for my reaction. I thought for a long time, unable to form a civil response.
Finally, after a few minutes, I spoke up. "Mary, I ...understand to some degree why you did what you did, and I am grateful that you didn't kill my husband, although it would have made sense for you to, but I am still extremely angry." I told her. I saw the corners of her mouth twitch slightly.
"Your understanding is all I ask." She said.
"Well, you have it. So, there." I said, turning back around, and picking up a magazine, flipping through it, and Mary sat back, and sighed.
I groaned, and stretched as Ophelia squealed in delight from her crib, waking me up from my slumber. As if she knew it was Christmas morning.
"Well, at least she's not jumping up and down on our bed." Sherlock commented, looking to Ophelia's crib as she kicked her legs each and every way.
Sherlock and I had bought her a few things for Christmas-some new toys, and clothes, and actually wrapped them, thinking she would have fun tearing the wrapping paper off, and she did. She laughed when Sherlock would tear a bit off for her to grab, and laugh harder when she yanked on it, and the whole thing came undone.
I heard the doorbell, and looked at Sherlock. "Will you go and answer it, please." I begged, as Ophelia crumbled more paper in my lap. He nodded and went downstairs to answer.
I heard him come up the stairs later, with someone behind him. I didn't recognize them at first, until he raised his arm, and spoke. "Hello, Mrs. Holmes. I'm glad to see you two back together."
"Bill Wiggins?" I asked. He nodded with a smile. "Happy Christmas. What are you doing here?" I wondered.
"Mr. Holmes invited me." He nodded at Sherlock, who was sitting in John's old chair with a smile.
"Oh."
"He'll be coming to Christmas dinner at my parent's with us as well." Sherlock added.
"Really." I looked back at Billy, and noticed the clothes he was wearing, dirty and full of holes. I knew John surely left something of his here, or Sherlock was just going to have to sacrifice something of his.
"Do you need something nice to wear?" I asked, hoping I wasn't offending him.
"Yes, ma'am, if it's not too much trouble."
I grinned, picking Ophelia up and handing her to Sherlock. "Not at all."
I went up to John's old room in search of his old clothes. Nothing in the closet, but luckily there were some things in the drawers that John left, so I took them down, hoping they would fit.
When I went downstairs, Billy was holding Ophelia, and Sherlock was nowhere in sight.
"He went to get changed." Billy told me, letting Ophelia bounce on his legs, and he grinned as she laughed.
I put the clothes of the table next to him, for whenever he wanted them.
"Are you hungry?" I asked, noticing some breakfast was left over, still warm. I made him a plate, not worrying about what his answer was, and gave it to him.
"You didn't have to ma'am."
"Happy Christmas." I replied. "I can take her, if you want to eat." I offered, but he shook his head.
"Nah, she's alright." He smiled at her, and picked up his fork, putting her in his lap as he ate, and I went to get ready.
John and Mary were also invited to Sherlock's parent's house, which I was unaware of until we got there, and John opened the front door for us, and I caught sight of Mary behind him.
'''''''
The choir over the radio sung Christmas carols as Mrs. Holmes rushed around the kitchen, Sherlock, Mycroft, and I sitting at the table. Sherlock was reading the paper, while Mycroft had his head in his hand, seemingly miserable.
"Oh, dear God, it's only two o'clock." he whined. "It's been Christmas day for at least a week, now."
Ophelia squirmed in my lap at the sudden sound of her uncle's voice.
"How can it only be two o'clock. I'm in agony."
"Oh, don't be so dramatic Mycroft." I said, turning back to my daughter, who was chewing on her fingers. "Ophelia." I said, trying to get her attention. Finally when her eyes were on me, I grinned. "Say it again. 'Mama', come on."
"Oh, is she talking?" Mrs. Holmes asked.
"Not yet, but she's trying." I said. "Mama." I tried again.
"Mananana." she said, chewing on her fingers more. I pulled them out of her mouth, but they went right back in. I sighed.
"Let me see her." Sherlock said, holding out his arms. I handed her over.
"Why are we doing this? We never do this." Mycroft said. Mrs. Holmes leaned on the table.
"We are here because Sherlock is home from hospital, and we are all very happy."
"Am I happy too? I haven't checked." Mycroft answered.
"Behave, Myc." She said, picking up a basket.
"Mycroft is the name you gave me, if you could possibly struggle all the way to the end."
I looked at Sherlock, my eyes wide, and he shook his head, rolling his eyes at his big brother.
"Not absolutely sure why you're here." Mrs. Holmes said to Bill Wiggins.
"I invited him." Sherlock answered.
"I'm his protégé, Mrs. Holmes. When he dies, I get all his stuff, and his job."
My head snapped to look at Bill, and then to Sherlock.
"No." Sherlock answered.
"Oh, well, I help out a bit." He tried again.
"Closer." Sherlock answered.
"If he does get murdered or something…"
"Probably stop talking now."
"Please." I added
"Lovely when you bring your friends round!" Mycroft commented.
"Stop it." Mrs. Holmes said. "Someone had put a bullet in my boy, and if I ever find out who, I shall turn absolutely monstrous." She said, picking up a basket of crackers. "Ah. This was for Mary." She picked up a mug, and took it with her. "I'll be back in a minute." And she left.
Mycroft got up, putting his coat on, and looking at Sherlock.
"Coming?" He wondered. Sherlock handed Ophelia to me, and got up himself.
"Why not." He grinned, following his brother outside, as his father came into the kitchen. He picked up some plates and other dishes from dinner, while Billy handed me some punch, but I shook my head.
"No, thank you." I said.
"Are you sure?" He asked, and I nodded, reaching for a toy Ophelia dropped that she was gnawing on.
Mrs. Holmes walked in, smiling, and glanced out of the window. I saw her smile fall immediately.
"Everything alright?" I asked her, and she stomped towards the door. She didn't answer me, only opened the door and shouted out.
"Are you two smoking?" She asked, surprised. I heard Sherlock and Mycroft answer, Mycroft denying it, and Sherlock blaming it on his brother. I grinned as Mrs. Holmes shut the door, shaking her head. She sat in the chair Sherlock was in, and leaned back, closing her eyes, finally relaxing for the day.
"Those two, " She muttered, and shook her head again, with a chuckle.
I picked Ophelia's diaper bag up from the ground beside my chair, and went to take to her the bathroom to change her. Mr. Holmes stopped picking from the leftover food.
"I can do that if you would rather stay in here and relax." He offered, but I shook my head.
"No, thank you. It will only take a minute."
He smiled, and nodded, going back to the abandoned crackers and cheese Mrs. Holmes left out.
When I left the bathroom with Ophelia, John met me in the hallway.
"What's going on?" He demanded. I shook my head.
"What do you mean?" I wondered. I hadn't noticed anything unusual about today. "Is Mary alright?"
"I don't know. One minute, she was fine,"
"Did you two make up?" I added.
"That's not important, right now, Liz. She was fine, then she wasn't answering, and went completely limp."
I shook my head in confusion. "Maybe she just fainted. It's a happy day, if you two made up. Did you?" I asked again.
"Yes." He answered, and I grinned. I wasn't as upset with Mary as I had been in the beginning. She was a good friend to me, despite the lie, and I understood, partially, why she lied in the first place. She wanted a fresh start, and telling someone something like that wouldn't be the first step in beginning a new life. That didn't mean that I wasn't incredibly pissed at her still.
"Don't drink Mary's tea." I heard someone behind me, and I spun around finding Sherlock walking towards the kitchen. "Or the punch." He called. John and I walked behind him, towards the other sitting room. Mr. Holmes was asleep, lying back on the couch, and Sherlock threw a hand under his nose, as if he was checking his breathing, before making his way to the kitchen, checking the breathing of his mother, who had fallen asleep in the chair, and then of Mycroft, who was slumped over on the dining table, asleep as well.
"Sherlock, did you just drug my pregnant wife?" John asked.
"Don't worry. Wiggins is an excellent chemist." Sherlock assured him, gesturing to Billy, who was standing nearby.
"I calculated you wife's dose myself." He boasted. "Won't affect the little one. I'll keep an eye on her."
"He'll monitor her recovery, and watch Ophelia. It's more or less his day job." he said, slipping his scarf around his neck.
"Why?"
"Well, we can't take her with us, can we?" Sherlock asked. I sighed, and passed Ophelia, and the baby bag to Billy, reluctantly.
"Are you sure? I can stay." I said to him, but Billy shook his head, and so did Sherlock. I didn't argue with them. "What have you done? What are you going to do, is probably the better question."
"A deal with the devil." Sherlock answered.
"Oh, Jesus." John muttered, as Sherlock grabbed the grey laptop, sliding out from under his brother's limp hand.
"Please tell me you haven't just gone out of your mind." John begged.
"Rather keep you guessing." Sherlock answered, and I heard a helicopter approaching. "Ah, there's our lift." Sherlock announced, as John and I went to look out of the window, as Sherlock left the house.
John and I joined him outside as the helicopter landed in a field in front of his parent's cottage.
"Coming?" Sherlock asked as John and I reached him.
"Where?" John asked.
"Do you want your wife to be safe?" Sherlock asked my brother.
"Yeah, of course I do."
"Good, because this is going to be incredibly dangerous. One false move, and we'll have betrayed the security of the United Kingdom and be in prison for high treason. Magnussen is quite simply the most dangerous man we've ever encountered, and the odds are comprehensively stacked against us." Sherlock informed us.
"Seriously?" I asked.
"But it's Christmas." John whined.
"I feel the same." Sherlock smiled, then turned to see our expressions. His smile fell. "Oh, you mean it's actually Christmas." he turned to John. "Did you bring your gun?"
"Why would I bring my gun to your parent's house for Christmas dinner?"
"Is it in your coat?" Sherlock said, holding John's coat out for him. John snatched it.
"Yes."
"Off we go, then." Sherlock said, but I shook my head. "Come [edit spelling mistake 'on']one, Elizabeth, you missed out the last time."
"Look what happened the last time." I pointed out.
"That won't happen this time."
"No, it won't. You'll just be sent to prison for treason."
"Maybe it is a good idea for her to stay." John said. "She could help Wiggins monitor everyone's recovery."
I nodded, as Sherlock sighed. "Sure you want to stay?" He asked.
"Are you sure you want to go?" I asked him. He smiled, nodding.
"Absolutely. Finally get to see Appledore, where Magnussen keeps all of his information on everyone. It'll be fantastic." His grin widened.
I nodded. There was no stopping him. "Alright. Please be more careful this time." I asked.
"Promise."
"If you two are going to kiss, will you give me a head's up, so I can go ahead and run to the helicopter?" John asked. I chuckled.
They turned, and I watched them go, wishing they didn't have to, and we could have a normal Christmas, for once.
I replayed the conversation in my head, and smiled at the excitement in Sherlock's voice when he mentioned visiting Appledore, to see the library of information Magnussen had tucked away.
Appledore.
My smile fell, and I felt sick to my stomach, recalling the conversation Mary and I had at the hospital.
I yelled for them, but they didn't hear me, already more than halfway to the helicopter.
So I ran.
So, 'Another Watson' now has a beta reader, the lovely Nott01, who helped a great deal with this chapter, and did an amazing job! I know I've said it before, but thank you so much!
Reviews:
GrantWard'sHipsterGlasses: I'm so happy you loved tha chapter, and thank you for reviewing. I feel like it's only fair to respond to all of my reviews, since you guys take the time to write them, and tell me what you thought, and I really do care what you guys think. I think it helps me write the chapters, and lets me write in more things that you guys like.
The Hounds of Baskerville is one that I watch repeatedly, and I love it every single time. My mom gets mad that I watch the same episodes over and over again, but there really isn't much to watch :/. But that episode is one of my favorites as well! Have you finished Reichenbach Fall yet? That's another one of my favorites as well. The beginning of the episode was...yeah, I try to avoid watching it sometimes….
Thank you for checking out my tumblr. I can't guarantee a lot of quality posts, but I can guarantee some updates about updates! And you'll find a LOT of Sherlock related stuff on tumblr! Most of the blogs I follow are Sherlock related!
Red (Guest): Oh, the OTP questions! I will answer some at the end of this chapter, and the next.I have a full list of them, and I'm using them to write one shots as well, but I will answer them here! I WILL be doing 'The Abominable Bride'! I am SO excited for it! My favorite show, one of my favorite eras...a dream come true! Thank you for reviewing!
LadyRedStar (Guest): I tried Elizabeth and Mary fighting, and it just turned into a argument…? I didn't know what to do there, really. Sorry if that's not what you were hoping for. More drama to come, I assure you! Thanks for the review, dear!
i-am-sherlock-for-life-221B: All 51? Hopefully not in one sitting! I would never be able to do that, I get too restless. Anyway, thank you so much, I'm happy you like it! I love your name, too, by the way.
Red said they were interested in the questions, so I thought I might add some, of course giving credit to the person I got them from. I think these are super fun, I don't know why. Some of these were really hard, though!
Also, you guys are more than welcome to answer in a review. Would be interested in seeing what you think.
Who stays up late at night to read, and who sleeps with their head on their lap? (via timelord-on-board (tumblr))
I think Sherlock would stay up late to read, since he rarely sleeps, while Elizabeth sleeps. I can see it going the other way, though.
~Who hogs the blankets? (via little-otp-things (tumblr))
This is another I think can go either way, but I think Sherlock would.
~Who rocks the Ferris wheel seat? Which one is terrified and crying and clinging to the other to try to get them to stop?
I think Sherlock would definitely try to rock it, while Elizabeth tried to get him to stop, all the while Sherlock is trying to tell her that the probability of her dying is very low.
~Who talks in their sleep about the other, and who listens with a dumb grin on their face? (important-otp-questions (tumblr))
I think Elizabeth talks in her sleep, while Sherlock listens. This questions is really cute, just saying :) .
~Who has placed mistletoe in every room of the house to get in as many kisses as possible, and who is exasperatedly questioning "this is the 5th timE TODAY WHERE IS ALL THIS MISTLETOE COMING FROM?' before sighing and leaning in? (important otp questions (i think))
This is really hard...I need help, but I think...maaaybe Sherlock would hang the mistletoe...but I could see Elizabeth doing the same thing… So I have no idea. This one stumped me.
~Who sleeps in the strangest positions? Who wakes in the middle of the night to see their partner in a different position every time? ('')
Elizabeth sleeps in the od positions, I think.
~Who has a collection of Pepe the Frog reaction pictures? Who's dead inside because of it? ('')
Elizabeth has the collection.
This one makes me laugh everytime. I love it.
That's all, I think. Till next time!
~Eruaphadriel X
