Author's Note:

Thanks to everyone who's favorited or subscribed!

If you don't like H/L, you ought to be okay with this installment. On the other hand, shippers won't be deterred—I know how that goes. ^_^ It's open. 'S all good. =)

To my reviewers:

Elerrina Star: Yeeeah, you of all people should know since you've read AMM, right? =) Aww, sorry about that, hon. …Well, you know, the flashbacks of Watson's death were meant to be heartrending. That's the thing that gets me about this show: Holmes has a Watson, but he doesn't have the real Watson with whom he had over half a century of close friendship. I like compudroid!Watson, but it just hurts me like I can't really say that John Watson isn't there. On your lighter note, thank you so very much! I agree, there isn't enough good fic. Must remedy this. ^_^

Shizuku Tsukishima749: Oh wow, thank you very much! *blushes* Actually, I'll tell you the biggest secret of Amazon's Kindle—and it's crazy, 'cause nobody seems to know this. Amazon will let you download PC Kindle software for free! I have that program, and it works kind of like Acrobat Reader. In fact, if you click on my book's page from my profile, you'll see on the right side that Amazon advertises several different Kindle programs that you can download, one of which is the PC software. If you really want to read AMM that badly, please go check out that software! =D

zara2148: I've still only seen a few episodes of the show, but I agree: they did a great job with characterization. So awesome. And yeah, as far as his hair goes, I just ignore and pretend, too. (For the record, I love rants in reviews—always fun.) =) And, aw, sorry for trumping you! *sheepish smile* Thank you very much!

Disclaimer: Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and Inspector G. Lestrade are in the public domain; the cartoon incarnations, Beth Lestrade, compudroid!Watson, and Sir Evan Hargreaves belong to their creators. Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Vasily Linanov belong to themselves. The films mentioned all belong to their creators (don't make me list them, please). Mary Russell belongs to Laurie R. King.


==3. Unexpected==

Rating: K+
Summary: Lestrade posts online her account of her first meeting with the Great Detective.

Pairing(s): Holmes/Lestrade if you squint
Warnings: none

Word Count: 810

He's not what I expected.

I don't mean that in a negative or a positive way—it's just a fact. He's really not what I expected.

Being part of the Lestrade family, I grew up with a big appreciation for Sherlock Holmes. Yep, I was as big a fangirl as any of you kids (or adults) reading this. Now, I grant you, I was more a Watson fangirl than a Holmes fangirl (why do you think I named my compudroid Watson?), but still. I grew up watching the classics: Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett, Benedict Cumberbatch. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, Murder by Decree, Young Sherlock Holmes, and The Great Mouse Detective also made it in there. Zed, I even watched Vasily Linanov.

But like a lot of Sherlockians before me, it was Jeremy Brett who embodied Sherlock Holmes for me. Even though I was a Watson fangirl, I had a brief fan-crush on Jeremy!Holmes when I was a teenager. The eyes, the smile, the voice… oh yeah, I had it bad.

Anyway, the first time I saw that honey-filled coffin, I couldn't really make out the real Sherlock's features all that well. All that I could tell was that he looked old. And when he was in that cellular rejuvenation tank, the oxygen mask covered a good bit of his face—not enough to tell what he really looked like. All I knew was that he was incredible, and I said as much. I was about to live out every Sherlockian's fondest dream: meeting the Great Detective himself.

But then he was on that medical table or whatever you call it, and my first reaction was, No way Sherlock Holmes is blond. Watson said his hair was dark. Sherlock can't be blond! Oh, zed, please tell me that we have the right guy here.

Then I was worried, because he'd been out of the tank for a while now, and he still hadn't woken up. So I called him by his first name—up until then, I'd tended to go back and forth between calling him "Sherlock" and calling him "Holmes."

His eyes opened, and I got the next big shock of my life: his eyes were this beautiful but totally non-canonical sapphire blue. He was supposed to have grey eyes.

The features were aquiline, very young (I realized that his biological age could be no older than mine), and really handsome. But… he wasn't Jeremy Brett.

It was illogical and stupid, that fangirl hope of mine. But I could almost have cried when I saw that the real Holmes looked very little like my childhood image of the man. The voice, too, was nowhere close to Jeremy's.

But he bolted upright and said, "Sherlock Holmes, at your service!" Must have been an instinctive reaction to his name being called… or something.

So I swallowed my disappointment and smiled brightly—maybe a bit over-brightly. "Welcome to the 22nd century, Holmes!"

I think he knew, somehow. He's Sherlock zedding Holmes, after all. We've never talked about it, but I think he knew.

And then I started getting to know him as I explained the whole mess to him, pulled him into my investigation. That was after he said, "You brought me back for more than just my good looks and sparkling wit." Pfft, narcissistic much, yes? But…

I didn't mind.

Okay, so the man doesn't sound like Jeremy Brett, and the coloring is wrong. (Sir Evan explained that bit to me: the man's natural coloring will come back—it'll just take some time due to the still-experimental nature of the rejuvenation process.) But he actually has a great voice (when he's not being sarcastic and/or arrogant, at any rate), and he has this smile that just lights up the room. Really, it does.

Oh, zed, I know what you're thinking. You think I've fallen for the guy, don't you? Fine, then, let's get one thing straight.

I haven't.

Just you work with him day in and day out and see if you fall for him. Mary Russell (who, as it turns out, is very much fictional) may have been able to do it, but I can't. The man drives me nuts. I like him a lot, but, honestly, it's probably not good for a romantic relationship if you're wanting to strangle your boyfriend for every other sentence he speaks.

So that's that. Now you rabid fangirls know what my first meeting with Sherlock Holmes was like… kinda. And, Holmes, if you ever read this, don't take it personal, okay? You drive me up the wall, sure, but, on the other hand, I wouldn't have you any other way. And, like my ancestor before me, I'm proud of you, and I'm honored to call you a friend. My best friend, really.

Inspector Elizabeth M. Lestrade, C.I.D., New Scotland Yard, August 2103.


Author's Note:

Can you just imagine having a clear image in your head of how Sherlock Holmes looks—perhaps a favorite actor from the many adaptations—and then you meet the man, and he's very different from how you've always imagined him? Ah, heartbreak! But I think Lestrade did pretty well, all things considered.

…Ahem, yes, yours truly is a Jeremy!Holmes fangirl. Very much so. As well as a Benny!Holmes fangirl, although to a lesser degree.

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes stars Robert Stephens as Holmes, Colin Blakely as Watson, and Christopher Lee as Mycroft Holmes. Although I've never seen more than a few minutes of the film, I know it's one of the Sherlockian movies that's worth seeing—Stephens appears to be an underrated Holmes. Murder by Decree is a Canadian film that's not even available on VHS or DVD—it can only be watched online! Starring Christopher Plummer (Captain Von Trapp, Sound of Music) as Holmes and James Mason (Captain Nemo, 2,000 Leagues Under the Sea) as Watson—it's a Holmes vs. the Ripper story, with a literally royal twist. Young Sherlock Holmes is a Chris Columbus film starring Nicholas Rowe and Alan Cox as teenage Holmes and Watson. Finally, The Great Mouse Detective is a Disney cartoon based on a series of books (Basil of Baker Street), which in turn is based on the Canon. Holmes and Watson cameo in the film, with a radio track Basil Rathbone's voice used for Holmes's lines.

…Whew, that was a mouthful!

Next Wednesday, Lestrade kids to Holmes about how their strange little group is like a family. (Moriarty will make his first appearance in-person on Friday.) Stay tuned!

Please review!