Hmmm, what shall I do today? Hey, maybe I can update my lousy SH story! And lousy is the word for it. I got, what, three reviews on the last chapter? Ok, that is pretty pathetic for me. And if you even care slightly about my chapters, thank Jen, who e-mailed me to say that I had to write more.
Honestly, I'm not feeling well, and I am getting an ulcer. I was planning on discontinuing my story. But Jen, Queen Hotaru, and someone else made me see the light! Yeah, sappy, I know.
Ok, quick recap. Holmes, Watson, Kline, and Christine have all joined the musical production of Holmes! The Musical. Imagine that. Last chapter is where the real mystery began. A girl's brains were blown out of her head. Slight ick factor, yes. But hey, my brain has a slight ick factor, so deal!
Yup, I'm grumpy. One more thing. IF SOMEDAY SARAH DOESN'T UPDATE HER STORY, I'M GONNA HURT SOMEONE! Ahem. I'm calm. Really.
Chapter Something or Other: Dance of Death
I dragged my sorry butt out of bed and ran a comb through my hair. Then I reached over and pulled out my journal. The days events had to be recorded.
From the journal of Jennifer Watson
January, some date that I don't know
Dear Journal,
And it started out as a normal day. Well, as normal as it gets for me. The night before last, a girl was murdered. C filled out the paperwork for us, and HK worked all night on something or other. Me? Well, I got to sleep.
I woke up only to see K peering down at me. Egads, is that girl annoying sometimes! Not like C is any better. She came dancing in, humming, and tossed me some clothes. Then she started belting some weird language Aria! Can you believe her! Urg, my friends are pains in the butt. I want to smack them.
But that isn't the point. We got out of there quickly enough. Rehearsal was fine. Claudia and I were talking when the tragedy happened.
They were having set construction for the orchestra and the dancers today while the actors worked. Two girls, both trumpet players, were underneath a backdrop when it collapsed. It fell on them, and broke their necks instantly. They died minutes later.
HK both got a good look at who was holding the ropes. Jackie was, and a dancer. But Jackie was the only one who could have done it. We're all going to be watching her carefully. She's our main suspect, but she doesn't really have a motive.
So now HKC and me are all involved. I hate it when we get involved in cases sometimes. Most of them land Holmes and I in the hospital. It's really annoying. Someone has it out for us, I swear (A/N: Really, Watson, you think?)
H was telling me that we're going to need a break after this case, as it seems a bit more- involved- than any others. CK are busy right now. Spying or something. CK seem to remain very confidential on these matters. I have never really gotten a true response from them.
Well, H is here now. Gotta go!
Love,
Jennifer Anne Watson
I smiled at the door as someone slammed on it.
"Come in," I called, closing my journal. Holmes came in and closed the door quickly. He smiled grimly at me and sat down.
"Good morning Watson. You're looking-er- radiant this morning," he said, eyeing my pajamas. I scowled at him and yawned.
"And where are the Dream Team this morning? Off spying again? And on who?" I asked automatically. Holmes laughed.
"Actually, Christine and Kline are sleeping in for a little bit. It seems they got in late last night. All I could get from Kline was this: 'Talk bad. Sleep good. Go bye-bye now!'. And Christine was already asleep," Holmes chuckled. I grinned. That did sound like Kline and Christine, all right. Then some noise came from behind my door, and it slammed open.
"I distinctly recall hearing those words, Sherlock. I was not yet asleep," Christine bellowed. She stormed in and shoved him off the bed and then sat down next to me, smiling sweetly.
"Good morning, Jenny. I trust you fare well?" she said happily. Holmes glared at her from the floor, and then shoved her off and sat next to me.
"She's fine, CHRIS. As I was saying-"
Christine shoved him off the bed. "Will you let me braid your hair, it's-"
Holmes shoved her off the bed. "-I'm not sure what the Dream T-"
Christine shoved him off the bed. "-So pretty in the morning, you-"
"-eam discovered last night. They-"
"know? Please? I won't-"
"-don't tell me-
"-rat it up or-"
"Anything," finished the two at the same time, slamming into each other. I couldn't help it. I cracked up.
"Jeez, I didn't know I was so popular!" I giggled. Christine and Holmes smiled at each other.
"You're not," they responded with perfect timing. I raised an eyebrow, and then turned to Christine.
"And where is her royal highness this morning? Sleeping in, I take it?" I asked slyly. A voice came from the doorway.
"Well, at least you're recognizing me as royalty. It's about time. Wuz up my homie g?" Kline asked as she strolled in. Holmes laughed.
"Ah yes, American slang from a queen. I'm sure anybody would believe that!" he exclaimed. Kline rolled her eyes, and then shoved Christine off the bed and sat next to me.
Holmes, Christine, and I all started laughing. Kline stared at us.
"What did I miss?"
******************************************************************************************
"I've been working on the railllllllroadddddd! Aaaaallll the live long daaaaaaaay!" I belted. Holmes winced and tightened his grip on the seat. Christine groaned, but I heard Kline laugh from behind us.
"I've been working on the raaaiiillllroaaadddddd! And I don't know the ressstttttttt!" she belted equally loud. I turned in my seat and looked at her.
"You don't know the rest of the words?" I asked, astonished. Kline shrugged.
"Never deemed it important, ya know?" she said. Then she grinned. "What are the rest of the words?"
I shrugged. "I don't know."
"Car," Holmes yelled. I whipped around and twisted the steering wheel. We missed the car-barely. Holmes glared at me.
"What fool gave you your drivers license?" he snapped. I grinned and kissed him on the cheek.
"Honey, the only reason I got this thing is because you refused to get yours. And one of us needs to know how to drive. Right Kline?" I called back. She laughed.
"You got that right, Jenny. I can't get mine, the police took it. Christine here, if she got hers, we'd be catching criminals way quicker," she teased. I saw Christine roll her eyes in the review mirror.
"I'm a bit too young. Besides, you know I hate cars," Christine snapped. Kline groaned.
"You go skidding off the road once, and you're scarred for life. Poor baby!"
I laughed at my friend's incessant teasing, and turned my eyes back to the road. Holmes smiled at me from his seat, and then frowned. He grabbed his beeper from the back of his pants, and looked at it.
"Emergency meeting at the theater, Watson. It appears they're requesting everyone to attend. It's urgent. I suppose we'll have to cancel breakfast," Holmes muttered. I sighed and twisted the steering wheel sharply. The tires squealed and left black marks on the road.
"Cool!" I yelped.
"We're all going to die," I heard Christine mumble.
******************************************************************************************
"Not late! We're not late! Not late, not late, not late, not late, not late!" Kline yelled as she slammed into the doors. I was only a few feet behind her, and turned red as all eyes turned towards us. Darn her. We didn't need that much attention brought to us.
Christine scowled suddenly and pointed at the only four available seats. Right next to Todd. I laughed a bit and ran so I didn't have to sit next to Todd. Holmes followed me and sat next to me, Kline sat next to Holmes, leaving Christine to sit next to Todd. Again. She shot a death glare at us, and then shot a death glare at Todd, and then shot a death glare at anybody who stared at us. All and all, she was not in a happy mood.
Jon walked onto the stage and smiled down at us.
"I'm happy to see that some of our prospective members have decided to join us," he said, winking at us. I sank low in my seat and avoided anybody's looks. Kline nodded happily, while Christine kept shooting death glares. Holmes kept his look blank. Jon continued.
"We are pleased to announce that we are having a ball. Correction, a costume ball. Ok, it's more like a party, but you get the idea. The theme is people from different countries and different time periods. It's tomorrow evening, so I suggest you hurry to get your costumes. Please be as creative as possible. I hope you all manage to find dates, as I would love to see dancing couple after dancing couple. You're dismissed. Go home. Go away," he said, shooing us all of a sudden. Christine glared at him and stood up.
"You mean we missed breakfast for that?" she asked angrily. Todd smiled from behind her.
"Ah my dear. That is show business," he chuckled. Christine forced a smile and turned around.
"Todd, luv? Don't make me hurt you," she snapped. Kline put a hand on Christine's shoulder, and Christine shot a death glare at _her_. Holmes laughed and smiled at Todd.
"I suggest you take that as the only warning you'll ever get. And I assure you, Christine is a wonderful fighter. She will, as she would say, whip your butt," he said. Todd grinned at him and shook his head.
"Man, why do you hang out with these broads? The one next to you, she's all right. Kinda quiet, but she's cool. But the other two, man! This girl keeps trying to fight me, and the other one holds her back. I'd like to see what Christine can do to me. I betcha it's low level damage," he said teasingly. Christine's smile began to disappear, and I feared the worst.
"Todd. You. Have. Not. Seen. Me. Fight. I. Will. Kill. You. Now!" she yelled. She reached back an arm and slammed Todd in the stomach, then she gasped.
"Ow! Ow ow ow ow ow ow!" she yelped. She paused and looked at her hand. "That hurt," she added as an afterthought. Todd was staring at her.
"Wow. You pack a punch," he said breathlessly. He clutched at his stomach and waddled away. Christine was busy inspecting her hand. I shook my head.
"Well, who saw that coming?" We all raised our hands, even Christine. I shook my head again.
"And to imagine, I thought you didn't like to fight Christine," I said sadly. Christine laughed, and Kline joined her.
"Ah Jen. You've seen nothing. And I don't. But- gosh, that guy gets on my nerves. I wonder why?" Christine said slowly. Kline grinned wolfishly.
"I know why!" she cried in a sing-song voice. Christine raised an eyebrow.
"Why?" she asked suspiciously. Kline snickered.
"Christine has a crush!"
"I do not!"
"Yes you do!"
"No I don't!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"NO!"
"Yes times infinity!"
"Darn it!"
Holmes and I chuckled and I stood on my toes to whisper in his ear.
"They're rather childish, aren't they?"
"Dear Lord, yes they are."
*************************************************************************************************
"Come along, Watson," Holmes called into my hotel room. Frowning, I jumped off the bed and opened the door.
"Come along where?" I asked suspiciously. Holmes walked into my bedroom and smiled at me.
"We're going back to my house for something. We need to get some costumes, after all. The dance is tomorrow."
"Well, yeah, but I was planning on going as an American kid from this era."
"How dull. And you're not. Fine then, we won't go all the way home. But," Holmes paused, "we're going shopping. And I assure you, I will not be putting on a dress, even for you."
I snickered at the memory and began yanking on my sneakers.
"Fine, fine. Whatever."
"Well, at least you're being reasonable."
"That might have something to do with Kline and Christine acting like toddlers."
Holmes smiled and took my hand, escorting me to a taxi that was waiting for us.
*************************************************************************************************
"So, who are we again?" I asked, severely confused. Holmes and I had gone shopping the night before, and he had picked out our costumes for us. I still didn't know what mine was, and it was an hour before the dance began.
Holmes sighed and tossed me a package. He was already dressed, as an Englishman from the late 1800's.
"You're Irene Adler, and I'm Sherlock Holmes," he said. I rolled my eyes.
"No kidding. I know you're Sherlock Holmes. But I'm Jennifer Watson, not Irene Adler. Are you feeling ok?" I teased, pulling out a green dress from the box. Holmes rubbed his forehead.
"Sherlock Holmes, senior. It's our own little joke, can you please just play along?"
"You're so easy to tease, you know that don't you? Of course I'll play along. Now out! I have to change. Get Kline and Christine, though, will you?"
"Of course, Watson."
I heard the door close, and I stared at the dress. How did a woman get into these kind of dresses? From what I could tell, there was no zipper.
The door opened again, and an Italian woman appeared in front of me. I raised an eyebrow.
"Uh... Christine?" I guessed. The Italian woman nodded, and swirled around. The dress spun out, and Christine grinned.
"The joys of makeup. I even put it on willingly!"
I heard Kline snort from behind me.
"If you count being held down as willingly, then yes."
I smirked, and then looked at Kline helplessly.
"How do I put this thing on? I don't see a zipper," I cried, showing her the dress. Kline examined it, and then started laughing.
"What?" I asked, offended. Kline turned the back to face me.
"You're the blindest person I've ever met, Jenny. Buttons. All up the back. You pull it on over your head, and then button up the back!" she exclaimed, giggling. I glared at her and yanked the dress from her hands, tossing it over my head. Then I quickly removed my shirt and pants.
"Both of you stop laughing and button me up," I snapped. Christine coughed and stopped, but Kline kept giggling. They both stood behind me, buttoning the twenty buttons. I stepped away from them and looked at the dress in a full length mirror. The green silk clung to me, showing off all my curves. It was actually a lovely dress, and I smiled at myself shyly.
"Not bad," mused Christine. She looked at Kline, who was staring at me. Nudging her, Christine scowled.
"Oh! Oh yeah, real nice. I'm surprised you didn't have guys falling over your feet back in Ashling," said Kline. She herself was wearing a loose dress. I laughed.
"They were too busy drooling over you, Kline. You're not exactly ugly yourself."
Kline grinned, and then scowled.
"I'm not exactly ugly? Is that to say that I'm ugly, but not as much as you?" she asked angrily. I raised a hand into the air.
"No, no! I meant it as to say you're nice looking, so stop goggling over me," I clarified. A voice cleared itself from the doorway, and I turned. Holmes was standing there, looking amused.
"Yes, yes. Watson, you really must clarify. Christine, Kline, lovely costumes. But was it that you have in your knapsack, Christine?" he asked, poking the bulging backpack with his foot. Christine smiled lightly.
"Well, I might as well not waste the entire dance watching couples. I'm going to do some spying. I want to catch that murderer. I doubt that I'll find anything, but it never hurts to look," she said. I smiled at her, but shook my head.
"That didn't answer the question, Christine," I said. Before Christine could answer, Kline began speaking.
"It's her second costume. She thinks that she's so famous anybody will recognize her sneaking around. It is a Muslim woman's outfit. So it covers her face. Conceited, isn't she?"
Christine sneered at Kline, and turned back to me.
"You'll have to forgive Kline, Jenny. Has delusions- thinks she's a genius. At any rate, she's somewhat right. I need another costume, otherwise everybody will recognize me. And I'm not conceited, it's the truth. I'm up on that bloody stage everyday!" she said. Holmes raised an eyebrow.
"You've been around the British too long, Christine. You're starting to sound like one. And that's a good idea, and you're right. You would be recognized."
Christine nodded triumphantly at Kline, who stuck out her tongue. I rolled my eyes at both of them, and glanced at my watch.
"You guys? We have to go, or we're going to be late. And as much as I'm not looking forward to this dance, I really don't need yet another late performance added to our track record," I said, carefully adding some makeup to a pocket in my dress. Holmes smiled at me, and took my arm, escorting me out of the room.
From behind me, I heard several catcalls, courtesy of Kline and Christine. Babies.
*************************************************************************************************
"Ok, this is boring. Who else is bored?" asked Kline, taking a swig from her water bottle. I chuckled at her and examined my nails.
"Oh, it's not that bad. At least we don't have to watch nauseating couples dirty dance," I said gently. Christine choked on her tea, and looked up.
"Remembering the school dances, are we?" she teased. I grinned and looked at Holmes.
"Next time we go to America, I'm taking you to a school dance. Then you can see the lovely dancing that American girls engage in," I said. Holmes grinned at me, looking up at the ceiling.
"Oh, Watson, I've seen the images on television. Somehow, I think that I'd lose my lunch."
I snorted into my own coffee, and watched the dancing couples. An Incan princess walked by, and then a cowboy. A minute later, some guy dressed up as a Greek guy came over and asked Kline to dance. She sniggered like a little girl, but accepted his offer. Christine watched as they walked onto the dance floor, a bit wistfully- at least to me.
"Lovely..." she murmured. Holmes's sharp ears caught the small muttering, and he looked up at her.
"What's lovely?" he asked. Christine shrugged, adjusting her shirt.
"All I'm going to say is that Alex is a very jealous guy. If he finds out, he'll-"
"Christine?"
Todd had come over to our section of the bar, and now was looking at Christine nervously. Holmes and I watched, interested. Christine just looked suspicious.
"Yes..."
"Um- well, uh, see, the thing is, well, uh, er, I don't know how to say this..."
Christine sighed, and eyed him. "Just say it, Todd."
"Wouldyouliketodancewithme?" he blurted in a rush. My jaw dropped several feet, and I saw Holmes's eyes bulge. Christine, on the other hand, didn't appear to have understood what he had said.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. What?" she asked. But I could see that her eyes were laughing. Christine always loved to make boys sweat.
"Would you like to dance with me?" he repeated, slower this time. Christine blinked, and then held out a hand of acceptance. Todd grinned like an idiot. A love struck idiot, but an idiot all the same. He grabbed Christine, and they soon disappeared in the crowds.
Holmes chuckled, and I looked at him. "What?"
He shook his head and kept laughing. "I was wondering when he would work up the guts to ask her out," he laughed. I frowned at him.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You mean you didn't realize it? Kline and I knew it right from the bat- they have crushes on one another."
My jaw dropped open again, and Holmes extended a hand and closed it gently.
"That's rather unbecoming. Please don't do that. And yes, it's true. Sometimes people who like each other bicker a great deal. Denial, it's not just a river," he finished with a flourish. I rolled my eyes.
"You're so cliche, you know that, right Holmes?" I asked, watching some more people dance by unhappily. Holmes sensed my unhappiness and grasped my hands.
"Come, let's dance."
"But every time I dance with you, a bullet is shot at us!"
"I can't believe you still remember that. And it's not true!"
***************
Laughing, I sat back down at my seat, wiping sweat from my face. Holmes was laughing as well, and handed me a kerchief. I nodded my thanks, and started to wipe off my face.
"Well, that was fun. I didn't know that they'd be doing the Chicken Dance!" I giggled. Holmes shook his head.
"We must have looked very dignified, the lot of us. An Incan woman, a gypsy, an Italian woman, two British people, and so forth and so on."
"You forgot the hula dancer."
"Who could forget the hula dancer?"
I laughed again and kissed him on the cheek.
"Having fun, Holmes?" I asked cheerfully. Holmes smiled, despite himself. It was apparent he was having a great deal of fun.
"I suppose... though I do feel a bit guilty about it. We have a murderer loose and we're having a nice night. Last time we did that your father nearly died," he muttered. My smile disappeared, and I looked at him sympathetically.
"Holmes, you don't still blame yourself for that, do you? Because it wasn't your fault, and everything turned out fine in the long run."
"Did it?" Holmes questioned, getting angry. "Having a gaping hole in your stomach means that it turned out fine? To me, that is not fine. You could have been killed."
I scowled and stood up. "Look Mr. Holmes, you came pretty close to death yourself. We both have. So have Christine and Kline. That's what happens with our line of work. Don't you dare go pussy-footing around me. I'm just as tough as you are," I snapped. Holmes stood up, his height making him a bit more imposing than I was.
"You are not as tough as me, Miss Watson. You're a girl, as much as I loathe to admit. Girls aren't nearly as strong as guys. It's not their fault, either. It's bone structure."
I couldn't believe he had just said that. We had been working together for almost a year and he had never admitted that he was a chauvinistic pig before. My cheeks turned red with fury as I glared at him.
"Well, you know what Mr. Holmes? Screw. You. Consider this partnership at an end!" I bellowed. The dance hall grew silent as I stormed away, a few tears leaking from my eyes. I wiped them away hurriedly. If Holmes was going to act like that, then he could just forget having me around.
Turning a corner, I ran into someone. Backing away, I offered my apologies- only to have the person laugh at me.
"Jenny, it's me!" the voice whispered urgently. It took me a second to realize who exactly was speaking from the Muslim woman garment- until I saw the eyes. Only Christine had dark blue eyes that would laugh at me. I grinned.
"Very nice, Christine. Going to go spy now?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from cracking. Christine didn't appear to notice my inner struggle, and nodded.
"Yeah. Want to come? The dance is pretty boring anyway."
I giggled hysterically. Boring. Hah! I didn't find it very boring, but that might have had something to do with the sudden turn of events.
"You didn't seem to find it boring when Todd asked you to dance," I teased. Christine smacked me on the shoulder.
"Shut up, you. You're one to speak. You and Sherlock looked awfully cozy on the dance floor, if you know what I mean," Christine shot back. I blinked a few times, startled to find that the tears I had been holding in were pouring down my face. Christine goggled at me.
"What the- what's wrong, Jen?" she asked, stunned. I wiped away the tears again.
"Holmes and I broke up."
If I could have seen Christine's mouth, I would have sworn it dropped about five feet. Her eyes bulged and her hands flew to her face. She was obviously not taking it well.
"What- no, you're kidding. Hah hah, funny joke. You- you are kidding, right?" Christine asked hopefully. I shook my head miserably.
"I didn't realize he was such a chauvinist. I thought he, you know, thought girls were all right. But he said that we were weaker than men. He said it wasn't our fault, that it was bone structure, but it's the principle of the thing!" I exclaimed. Christine patted me weakly on the shoulder and then shook her head.
"Now, see, this is why I don't get involved with guys. Things always turn out bad. You wanna come with me? Spying might make you feel better..." Christine said, her eyes twinkling. I grinned, despite myself. Christine and her answers... spying probably would make me feel better, though, I realized. I nodded slowly. Christine grinned (I thought).
"Excellent... now come on. The dance is only another hour! The game is afoot, to quote your former annoying-as-heck, deserves to be attacked my rabid monkeys boyfriend."
With that, Christine grabbed my hand, and we were off, searching for who knew what?
I'm going to have to put this chapter into two parts, sorry. But at least I'm updating!!! It's a miracle, everyone! A bloody miracle! Please review, I really am desperate for them. You'll get a cookie if you do...!