The Measure of a Man
Genre:Friendship/Family
Pairings:Greg and Molly, Sherlock and Sally, background
Main characters:Greg, Sherlock, John discussed heavily
"He smiles when he thinks nobody is looking."
Sherlock nodded at this. "Indicative of…"
Greg smiled, the look he got when he was about to impart a morsel of wisdom. "The measure of a man, and the state of his mind and heart, are in what he does when he doesn't know he's being watched. He's quite liable to reveal an awful lot about what he's really thinking."
Sherlock grinned. "So John smiles a lot. What reason has he not to?"
Greg took a deep breath, letting it out in a rush. He paused a moment or two before speaking.
"There are smiles, Sherlock, and then there are… SMILES. You smile one way when you look at any one of the children at 221, although Michael and Grace differently as they are yours, or there's the way you smile at me and your other friends. But the way you smile when you look at Sally, or when you're even just THINKING about Sally, or when someone mentions her or you're talking about her, is completely different."
Sherlock seemed to contemplate this. "Yes. I believe I've seen that as well with you and Molly." He took several sips from his tea cup as he pondered.
"Well the next time your wife looks at you, take bloody note," Greg said, more amused than exasperated at this point. "She smiles at you and about you in the same way."
Sherlock hmmmed to himself, understanding what Greg was saying, then smiled at the image of how Sally looked at him. Mentally shaking himself out of the cozy thought, he said, "he shaves more often these days. He owns two… no… THREE new ties," Sherlock said, almost absently, as if he were lost again in his own deductions.
"He's got a spring in his step. He also sings to himself more often than normal." Greg knew Sherlock was on a roll with his observations, and Greg was up to the task with his own.
"Hmmm yes. Usually he sings only to the children, or when the three of us are… jamming," Sherlock said, over emphasizing the word, as though he disliked it but couldn't come up with anything better on such short notice to describe the two or three times per week "The Baker Street Trio" got together to entertain their households.
"The mention of Mary no longer brings that flash of pain to his eyes," Greg said, quietly. "that tightening at the corners, very subtle but noticeable if you know to look for it. It's reflection now, as though he were remembering something special, something happy and cherished… but it no longer wounds him."
This was an observation of human nature so obvious that even Sherlock couldn't miss it. "I've noticed that too, but I wasn't sure what it meant. I hoped it didn't mean he was forgetting Mary, or didn't love her anymore."
Greg smiled at this. "John will always love Mary, but he's no longer in love with her. Sound familiar, Sherlock? Molly did the same thing with us quite some time ago."
Sherlock nodded slowly before speaking again. "Very familiar, Greg. Strawberry blonde hairs on his jacket, clearly from a woman. A faint hint of an unfamiliar feminine perfume lingering about his shirt collar."
"A renewed air of confidence lately. When a relationship breaks down we doubt ourselves, wonder what happened and if it was our fault. When a relationship is in its prime, we feel we could take on the world."
Sherlock said nothing for several minutes, glancing only at Greg in acknowledgement of his words. The two men sat in silence as their observations came together.
"Conclusion," Sherlock finally said, "John Watson is seeing someone."
"Conclusion," Greg elaborated with a grin, "John Watson is in love."
"Indeed," Sherlock said lightly, grinning back.