Chapter Five- Fight

Rosie Watson and Alex Lestrade-Holmes have been best friends since they were new-borns. Alex is older than Rosie by three weeks and when they were little, they pretended they were twins. Now they are still as inseparable, more like sisters than friends.

But as we all know, sisters fight.

Now Rosie and Alex generally agreed about things. They blended well, in terms of their personality. Alex was feisty and could be hot headed at times, with a temper that she couldn't always control. Rosie was mellow and quiet balancing Alex's feistiness. But Rosie wasn't perfect. Her biggest flaw was that she could hold a grudge and would quite willingly hold a grudge and she wouldn't be affected by it. Rosie didn't speak to her father for a whole week because he forgot one to come to one of her dance recitals. The girls had had little spats before, normally arguing over a plot in a show they were watching or whose house they would study at after school. They normally made up in five minutes following these arguments, realising how silly they had been. But one time, they had a colossal falling out and it would take them a lot longer than five minutes to make up.

It all started when Rosie met Ellis Miller. Rosie went to a mixed gender school whereas Alex went to an all-girls school. Ellis was Rosie's science partner and they became friends very quickly. But soon it became more than that. Rosie, being the quiet person she was, had wanted to keep the fact that she and Ellis were dating a secret. Even from Alex. So, she started making excuses for why she couldn't make their Saturday coffee dates or their afterschool homework sessions. From Alex's point of view, it was as though Rosie didn't want to spend time with her anymore. And one day, she decided to confront Rosie about it

Telling her father (Mycroft) that she was doing an extra ballet class afterschool before heading to his office, Alex actually headed out of London to where the Watson's lived. She knew John would be out at work or out with her Uncle Sherlock and Rosie should be on her way home. So, she sat down on the step outside the house and pulled out her homework, waiting for her friend to come home.

An hour went past.

An hour and fifteen.

An hour and a half.

Alex looked at her watch and then looked up and down the street.

It was deserted.

She sighed and put her books back in her bag and stood up. She turned to walk away when she heard someone called her name.

"Alex?"

Knowing it was Rosie but also being angry, she paused for a moment, unsure as to whether she should turn back.

"Alex, I know its you."

Alex sighed and slowly turned round.

"What are you doing out here?" Rosie asked smiling.

"Figured this was the only way I was going to get to see you." Alex replied.

"What?" Rosie replied, not meeting Alex's gaze.

"Oh come on, Ros! I've barely see you this week!"

"You've seen me at ballet!" Rosie replied, getting defensive

"Barely. We don't get the chance to catch up properly. We get there, get changed, rehearse and go home!"

"You know how it is." Rosie stammered, "I'm busy!"

"Too busy to hang out with your best mate?"

Rosie opened her mouth but then shut it again. Alex looked down at the pavement and then looked back at her friend.

"You're keeping something from me!" Alex deduced, "Rosie Watson, you are keeping secrets and I don't know what hurts more. The fact that you won't talk to me about it or the fact that you don't want to spend time with me."

"I do want to spend time with you, Alex, really I do." Rosie said, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm just…"

"Busy. I know you said." Alex turned to walk away.

"Wait…" Rosie sniffed, "Where are you going?"

Alex turned back, "I don't know." She replied, "I thought my best friend would let me in and we might have a girly night and catch up but that's not going to happen."

Tears were now flowing down Rosie's face, "Alex, I'm sorry."

"Not good enough." And Alex walked off, her own tears flowing down her face. She sent a message to her father explaining that she was tired and was heading home. She just wanted to dive into her bed and never emerge again. She felt as though her heart was bursting into a thousand pieces. Her hands were shaking as she tried to put her key in the lock on the door to her house. Eventually she gained access to and she fell into the house, dumping her bag by the door, kicking off her shoes and hanging up her coat. She ran towards the stairs and Greg came out of the kitchen, holding a mug of coffee.

"Alex?" he asked, "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to Whitehall with Mycroft tonight?"

Alex didn't reply and carried on up the stairs.

"Alex?" called Greg, worried now.

Across London, John Watson had just got home. He opened the door to the house, dropping his briefcase, in the hall, took off his shoes and coat. The house was quiet. Rosie must be out with Alex, he thought. But then he saw her bag and shoes and coat, and he realised she must be at home.

"Rosie?" he called into the silence, "Rose? You home?"

He put his keys in the dish with Rosie's and checked the living room.

Empty.

He then headed for the stairs. Rosie's room was in the attic, just like Alex. John had had is converted specially so that Rosie's room was the same as her best friends. That meant that John lived on the first floor by himself with the spare room. Actually, the spare room had become one of Sherlock's new bolt holes, so no one was actually allowed to touch it.

"Rosie?" he called again, gently this time. "Rose, it's Dad."

"Up here Dad." Came back Rosie's voice quietly

John climbed the rest of the stairs, two at a time and knocked on Rosie's door.

He pushed it open carefully and walked into the room.

"Hey." He smiled. "Everything okay?"

Rosie shook her head and burst into tears. John rushed to his daughter's side and wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey." He said, pulling her close to him, "Shh sweetheart, what's brought this on?"

Rosie calmed down a bit, "Oh Dad, I've been such an idiot."

John smiled and rubbed her shoulder, "Well, that's what we Watson's are known for!" Rosie smiled sadly, "What's happened?"

And out came the whole story. The truth that she had been hiding for ages. Once she began, she couldn't keep it in any longer. John just sat and listened. His own years in counselling and his experience as a GP told him that right now, he just needed to listen right now. Rosie needed to tell her story and he needed to listen despite the questions he might have.

After a period of silence, John let go of his daughter and looked at her, "Well, the good news is you haven't been an idiot."

"I've alienated my best friend Dad, and all because of a boy!"

John chuckled, "You haven't been the first and you won't be the last. Things like this happen. When I was in medical school, I had a colleague who didn't talk to me for six months when he got a girlfriend. It's new and its exciting and you get wrapped up in the adventure of it all. But that doesn't matter. Alex still loves you and she'll come round."

"It didn't look that way, Dad." Rosie wiped her eyes and looked up at him, "She looked so angry and hurt and confused. I've ruined everything."

"Ros, you haven't ruined everything. What you and Alex have is special and nothing can come between that, nothing can replace that. Alex is probably feeling a mix of emotions too. She's probably hurting yes, but she might also be jealous of your relationship with Ellis and she can't help that, especially if you've not told her any of this." He looked at his daughter and smiled, "I understand you wanting to keep it secret. I kept your mother a secret from Mrs. H and Uncle Greg for ages, until I had to tell them when Uncle Sherlock came back. Had he not, I doubt I would have told them, you know. But Alex is more than your friend, she's like you sister. And it's perfectly normal for siblings to fight."

"What do I do?" she asked her father.

"Well, I both think you need to calm down." He smiled, "All those pre-teen hormones and emotions are making this even harder than it would have been a few years ago. Let me ring Uncle Greg and see how Alex is. It may be that you have to wait a few days or until the end of the week before contacting Alex and explaining everything Ros. And that means that you are going to have to tell her about Ellis."

Rosie sniffed and nodded, then fell back into her father's arms. John held her close and kissed the top of her head, smiling gently.

Back in Central London, Greg Lestrade had just hung up on John Watson who had explained what had happened and suddenly everything made sense.

Why Alex had run up the stairs.

Why she had not stopped when he called her name.

She and Rosie had been in a row over a boy from the sounds of things, except that Alex had not been in full possession of the facts. John had explained his plan to Greg, and he had agreed. They would let the girls calm down for a couple of days. Then at the weekend, they would meet in Speedy's Café under 221B, where, hopefully, the girls would reconcile their differences. But Greg had to check on his daughter first.

He made a fresh pot of coffee and made Alex a cup of tea. He then climbed the many stairs leading to Alex's attic bedroom. She had claimed the room when her elder brothers Dan and Johnny had moved away from home, liking the space and the privacy it gave her. She had made it uniquely her own too. It was large and spacious, like most of the rooms in the house. She had posters of ballet dancers and quotes pasted to the walls, one of which was purely comprised of bookcases. She had turned her windowsill into a seated area, which she did most of her homework from. The main feature of the room was a double four-poster bed, which she was curled in the middle of, holding tightly onto her well-loved teddy bear. He rarely made an appearance these days, Alex claiming that she was too grown up for a teddy now, but she could always be found with him if she was unwell or upset.

Greg stood for a minute and watched his daughter. His heart broke for her. He remembered being 14 and all his friends getting girlfriends and leaving him behind. He knew that Rosie hadn't intentionally blocked her out, but the feeling of being left behind was enough. He knocked on the door softly.

"A little bird told me that there was an unhappy girl in desperate need of a cup of tea and a hug," he perched on the edge of the bed, "But I couldn't find one, so you'll have to do instead."

Alex smiled sadly and wiped her eyes. "Pop, you've been saying that since I was five. Don't you have a better line?"

"Nope. Why mess with success?" he winked at her as he passed her the cup of tea.

Alex smiled again and took the tea, thanking her father.

"John called. Told me what happened." He looked at his daughter. She was just staring down at his tea, "Sweetheart, I get it. I'm not cross or mad at you. These things happen."

Alex looked up at her Dad and she could see the warmth and love in his eyes and she started to cry again. "Oh, I've been such an idiot!" she cried. Greg put his coffee on the floor and hugged Alex tightly.

"You haven't been an idiot. You've been human. When faced with the evidence you had before you, you've made the rational conclusions."

"Pop, you've been spending way too much time with Uncle Sherlock."

Greg chuckled softly, "What I'm trying to say is, the conclusion you reached about Rosie not wanting to spend time with you was perfectly sound."

"But I should have listened, I should have stayed and heard her side of the story and been a friend instead of letting my temper get away from me."

"You're human, Al, you're allowed weaknesses and faults. Mine is that I let your father get away with too much." Alex laughed at this. "Look, you and Rosie are more than friends, your sisters and nothing is going to change that. Just give her a few days and she'll have calmed down, you'll have calmed down and you'll be best friends again before you know it."

Alex sniffed and wiped her eyes again, "Thanks Pop."

"Hey, what are Dad's for if not to reassure their daughters when they're upset!"

Alex laughed, hugging her Dad and in her heart, she knew it was going to be alright.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny. Alex was excited as it was a rare Saturday that both her Dad's had the day off and they planned to spend the day together, with Bertie in the city. They rose early and headed to Southbank to go to the Aquarium. They then had lunch in St James Park and Greg had bought a football on their travels and soon they had a game of football going. It was Mycroft and Alex against Greg and Bertie. Greg and Bertie ended up winning but Alex managed to console her father by saying they were definitely the most elegant team!

Greg then suggested that they head over to Baker Street to spend time with Christopher and Lily who were now 5 and 3. He had in fact just got a text from John saying that he and Rosie had just left their house and were on their way to Baker Street. So, they packed up and made their way over to Baker Street.

Alex and Bertie trod the familiar pavements ahead of their fathers, chatting and laughing. Bertie was in the middle of telling Alex what Rupert Granger had done in one of their science lessons when Alex looked up and saw John and Rosie walking in their direction. Alex stopped in the middle of the pavement and looked round at her Dad's. Greg nodded at her and came and took her hand. Mycroft took Bertie's.

"What's going on Dad? Why isn't Alex comin' with us?" Bertie asked, looking at his sister concerned.

"Lexie… needs to talk to Uncle John and Rose and we don't need to eavesdrop."

"But…"

"Bertie, I'm sure if you ask Uncle Lock very nicely, he will build a volcano with you and Kit and Lily."

That got the eleven-year-old in through the door and up the stairs to 221B. Mycroft kissed Greg on the cheek, kissed Alex on the head and squeezed her arm in show of support, then he too was swallowed by the darkness of Baker Street.

Alex tried to swallow but found that she couldn't. Her throat was too dry. She was trembling and Greg could feel it, so he squeezed her hand gently.

"Afternoon John." Greg said politely as they reached the spot outside Speedy's.

"Hi Greg. How's life treating you?"

"Mustn't grumble. Not as young as I used to be but happens to us all."

John smiled understandingly.

Alex looked at Rosie and found herself smiling kindly. Rosie smiled back and then before the adults knew what was happening, Rosie and Alex had embraced each other in a tight hug. Greg and John smiled at each other and John said,

"Well, that was quicker than I thought."

"Shall we go in and get a hot drink and you two can talk about things?"

Alex and Rosie nodded and linked arms. They sat at one table and John and Greg occupied another, just so they could keep an eye on things. And there Rosie and Alex sat and listened and chatted as they understood what had caused the fight and they understood for the first time how the other person had been feeling. Alex was thrilled that Rosie had a boyfriend as soon as she could ask, she was asking when she could meet him and when they could hang out the three of them.

"I thought you'd be really mad that I had a boyfriend." Rosie confessed.

"What? Why would I be mad?" Alex asked.

"Because, things will be different. It's not just the two of us anymore."

Alex smiled at his friend, "Rose, boyfriends and/or girlfriends will come into our lives for fleeting moments, but you and I are here to stay. While at sometimes it may be just the two of us, at others it may be three of us or four of us. And I think that's amazing. We're growing up Rosie, and things are going to change and that's scary. But you and I have a friendship that will be around forever, boyfriends or no boyfriends."

Rosie smiled and hugged her friend over the table.

"Friends?" she asked

"Always." Replied Alex, smiling.