Today's Prompt: It was the most challenging Christmas shopping mission s/he had ever experienced (from cjnwriter).
Sherlock Holmes had solved countless cases, many beyond the power of the best official detectives in Europe, and if he chanced upon a mystery he couldn't solve, chances were that no one could solve it. He was the last court of appeals for all strange happenings all through England and the continent. He had even bested the brilliant Professor James Moriarty and made a "miraculous" return.
And yet, the purchase of a simple Christmas gift was beyond his deductive capabilities. Dr. John Watson was not so difficult a man to please. Sometimes it seemed all it took to light up his eyes was a clever deduction or a too infrequent word of praise. Sometimes Holmes would catch Watson smiling at him for seemingly no reason at all. But that was little excuse after everything he had put his dear Watson through. At the very least, Watson deserved a worthy present.
So, Holmes had gone into town on the pretense of purchasing some more tobacco, and was now meandering down the snowy streets, evaluating the shops as he passed with a critical eye. A few of Watson's favorite cigars were trivial - Holmes was already picking up some tobacco, after all. And he was always in need of more writing materials, but that hardly passed for a present.
It was not a question of what Watson needed as what he wanted. In truth, Watson never needed want for anything; Holmes's purse was always open to him, and Watson did not have such extravagant desires that there was any risk of exhausting it. A present needed to be something special, something neither Holmes nor Watson would think to purchase on an ordinary day, but that Watson desired all the same.
Watson had often spoken of retiring to the countryside, but that was still an impossibility - unless Watson wished to retire more urgently than Holmes had thought. At the very least, it was not a Christmas present. Perhaps they could take a trip out to the countryside in the coming months, but again, even if they were away over Christmas, which Holmes doubted they would be, it still did not quite count.
Holmes could not deny that it was frustrating. Everything was almost perfect. They already had a tree decorated to their hearts' delight. The whole flat was strung with garland and littered with candles - Holmes had even cleared away some of his papers to ensure they did not catch. Holmes already had plans for their dinner. It could not be Christmas without the traditional sweets, but again, that was not so much a present as a feature of the holiday.
It was Watson's first Christmas after his bereavement, perhaps he wanted to do something to honor his late wife. But that would hardly make a cheering gift. And there was nothing Holmes could do to make up for allowing Watson to think him dead during his three years of absence. It was just a present, but Watson deserved so much more.
As Holmes was picking up some writing supplies, he couldn't help but notice all of the books Watson had at one time or another expressed the desire to read. However, none of them seemed quite right for Christmas.
Perhaps Watson would like a new hat or a gilded pocket watch, but chances were they would remain unused in favor of the ones Watson already had, and a walking stick would just be in bad taste as an unpleasant reminder of their journey to Switzerland. If Watson truly wanted a hat or a watch or anything else for that matter, all he had to do was ask, and it would be his.
At last, Holmes gave it up as a bad job and swore he would try again another day. His arms were already laden with cigars, and writing supplies, and books, and sweets. However, He could not pass by a woman selling some late flowers without purchasing a few to bring home with him.