The next morning

Bathed in sweat and with a scream Katie suddenly woke up from her sleep. That nightmare again. The same as last night. There you were, three strange-looking men in black suits and a young man sitting in front of her pleading. A gun in her hand. And then, all of a sudden at some point, she pulled the trigger.

"Good morning. Had a nightmare?", she suddenly heard her say.

For a moment she had to orientate herself where she was and locate the voice she just heard. Outside it was still dark and so the room was also shrouded in darkness.

"Who is there?" she asked into the darkness when suddenly a bright beam of light illuminated the room.

Now she could see who had spoken to her. Sherlock was sitting in his armchair and had turned on a small lamp.

"Sherlock, what are you doing up so early?", she asked in surprise.

It must have been only 3 o'clock in the morning.

"It's actually 4:15am in the morning, and I haven't slept."

She wondered why he told her the time, since she hadn't asked what time it was.

"Were you sitting in that armchair all night?" she asked in a slight shock.

"No, don't worry. I haven't been watching you all night - like a stalker. The way you're startled right now, one might think so," he said, grinning slightly.

"Oh okay, and what do you usually do when you're not sleeping?"

"Well, normally (he stressed), I play my violin, but since you're sleeping here, I can't."

"Are you mad at me in any way? Because that sounds like this."

"No, no, it's okay."

He didn't want to antagonize her again. But what she said then really surprised him.

"You can play if you want to. It doesn't bother me. I don't mind listening." she smiled at him.

"Are you sure?" he asked again, but was already on his way to his violin.

Katie just nodded and snuggled into the blanket.

Sherlock really had a clue. Everything he played sounded beautiful. She had the feeling that he could only really express himself with the help of his instrument. Somehow this made Katie sad. Sherlock, who, of course, had noticed this because he had his eyes on Katie all the time, stopped briefly.

"Is everything all right?" he followed up.

Only now did Katie notice that tears were running down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away. She didn't want to cry in front of a stranger. It was embarrassing for her.

"What, no. It's all right," she smiled artificially.

"But?", he asked curiously.

"Well, well, you play really beautifully and have a real talent for it but somehow it sounds... sad. I have the feeling that something is bothering you and you can only express it through your music. And that makes me sad. No one should keep your feelings behind the scenes. No one should have to hide your feelings. I know what I am talking about.

I, for example, I don't know what love is. I have never been allowed to experience the feeling of love. My family never cared about me. Okay, yes I have a brother..." briefly she faltered... "whom I love above all else and who loves me but I could never experience that feeling of true love, that feeling of being in love, of butterflies in my stomach. Never share this feeling with anyone. Yes well, I have had relationships, many superficial relationships but never have I felt the real feeling of what love is. I was never allowed to show feelings. Feelings were weak. Whoever has feelings is weak, according to my father. I was also never allowed to cry in his presence, which made what he did to me even more difficult. I kept my feelings hidden for a long, long time, until I lost them. Okay, this sounds stupid now. I meant that I distanced myself more and more from my fellow human beings and became unapproachable.

And... held on to them again... I don't know why I'm telling you all this" and held her hands in panic in front of her face.

Oh God, it was embarrassing!

Sherlock, on the other hand, was amazed at what she was saying, her openness, this to someone so foreign to her, and she was right. He had the feeling that she could really understand him. That she could see his true self. Just like his friend John.

He had to smile when he saw her reaction and she hid behind her hands. Then he stood up and slowly approached the person sitting there on the couch, embarrassed. As he stood in front of her, he knelt down so he could look her in the face. Then he took her hands off her face and looked deep into her eyes.

A smile now caressed his lips.

"I thank you" leaned forward and breathed a little kiss on her cheek.

Then he disappeared into his bedroom again.

Katie, surprised by his answer, breathed a short "You're welcome" afterwards before she sank back into the couch and closed her eyes again.