By the time John gets to replying to the letter it's the around the beginning of October, and John thinks about the cooling weather in London, how the leaves will be changing colors. When he writes though, it's one of the rare times that it's raining, so John is sitting by the doorway with his notebook, watching the rain come pouring down.

~oOo~

Dear Sherlock,

I have to say I was a little surprised. I didn't think you would be the type to be angry like that. Don't worry, you haven't scared me off yet. It's interesting to know that's how you react to situations like that. Don't worry, there's a reason I'm in the army. I can understand your frustration though. I hope that they listened to you in the end, though as I write this, this is a little over four weeks since your last letter. And it will be another few until you actually receive it.

I'm sure, compared to you, I am an idiot. I'm just an average guy, nothing special as far as intelligence goes, though I'd like to think I'm at least good at my job. I can't fault you for telling the truth in that aspect.

There's nothing that I can really say that will help about your older brother. I'm the younger sibling, but I have an older sister. I'm sorry that he's so overbearing. But it sounds like being in rehabilitation is good for you, it's what you need. And I'd hate to stop hearing from you only to somehow find out you had overdosed. We've only been writing, but I worry about how you're doing sometimes. So I hope you're doing well.

It's raining here, for once. I love the smell of the rain. It makes me miss London. Are the trees changing color? I bet the temperatures have started dropping as well. The Christmas decorations will start coming out soon, I'll bet. I wish I could see the first snow fall. Blimey, I haven't seen snow for years. At least not except from afar, I can see it on top of some of the mountains sometimes.

Normally I give up my spot for Christmas leave, because I really don't have anyone to go home to, besides Harry, and I don't want to spend a Christmas with her and listen to her say how she'll get sober this year. I never told you that, did I, that Harry was an alcoholic? Anyway, she is. Keeps saying she'll try to get sober, sometimes manages it for a few weeks, but never for long.

I gave up my spot this year as well, so while I will get a few days off, I won't be leaving this area. Too bad, really. Maybe next year I'll go to London, and we could meet face to face. Well, just a thought to consider. We've had the usual stuff, but nothing big going on here. For me, at least, it's been pretty quiet and routine.

I like watching the others around this time of year. You can tell the ones that have relatives, significant others back home, or are just new. They get more rowdy, more energetic around this time of year. Because they know that soon they might be able to see their loved ones again. Hell, the only time I enjoyed leave when I was younger was when I knew I could hit the bars, pick someone up for a night or two, enjoy something brief before I had to go away again.

Long distance relationships never worked out for me. I've been told that I have some trust issues. And that doesn't help the whole long distance relationship thing. I keep going on and on about that in my letters, don't I? Must just be the time of year. I don't really think about it a lot until I'm trying to think of something to write to you. I don't even want to know what a psychiatrist would say about that. I suppose it means that it's floating around somewhere in my mind.

I hope the rehab is going good for you, beyond the obvious problems with withdrawal and everything. And you never have explained the whole deduction thing. So I look forward to finally hearing about that. Something more about yourself as well maybe. I feel like I've told you a lot about me but I still know very little about you.

Looks like it's about time for my shift, and the rain is still going. Hope nothing leaks around here. I look forward to your next letter.

Sincerely,

John

~oOo~

True to his estimation, it's almost November before Sherlock gets the letter, and he's so relieved to get it, he finds his hands shaking a little in his haste to open it. Of course, as soon as he gets it open and realizes what happened, he pauses and stares at his hands for a moment, examining his feelings, how he was so hopeful when someone said he had mail, and excited, nervous, relieved when he found out it was from John. He's never really had friends, so this sort of experience is novel for him. It's also worrying since it puts cracks in the walls of his carefully constructed emotional control. Still, reading the letter makes him smile and look out the window at the leaves that have nearly all gone from the trees. Once again, he starts making plans, since he knows the next letter might not get there until closer to Christmas.

Christmas! I have big plans for their next Christmas. :) I am about 10 chapters ahead in actually writing this versus posting it, so rest assured there is plenty more to come! Thank you again to everyone who has reviewed, I love hearing from you! I hope that I continue to live up to expectations. :)

Reviews/comments welcome!