"Sherlock Holmes."

Having finally gotten time where he could make a call, John called Sherlock, but was not prepared for the deep baritone and smooth, posh accent. Clearing his throat awkwardly he runs a hand through his hir before he takes a deep breath. "Well. That saves me the trouble of wondering if I dialed the right number." He admits awkwardly, then quickly adds, "Sorry. What I meant was.. Hello. This is John Watson."

There's a slightly awkward silence where Sherlock takes in and analyzes everything before he speaks again. "A pleasure to hear from you at last, John." He says slowly, a slight pause before his name indicating that he feels a little odd about saying it.

"Sorry, I just got your letter a week ago. I would suggest we exchange email addresses, but there's no access out here, so letters are as good as it gets. Even though it tends to be a little slow." John says as he runs a hand through his hair, looking around at anything just to occupy himself.

"I understand. I merely meant that we had been exchanging letters for a year, without any real contact or confirmation that we are who we say we are. On either side. I was right, you're a good doctor. You have exactly the sort of calming, light tone that everyone seems to find soothing. Though I imagine you could manage a sharp military tone that would put your lowest nurse on his or her toes." Sherlock says casually, the squeak of a window being opened heard before the click of a lighter as Sherlock lights a cigarette.

Not being able to help himself, John just laughs a little at the description. "I'm going to take that as a complement and say thank you." he says with a little snicker, then he frowns. "You're smoking still, aren't you?" he asks in a disapproving tone.

"Quite the mother hen, aren't you?" Sherlock asks after he takes a drag on his cigarette. "Being a doctor lends itself to that I suppose. But to answer your question, yes, I am smoking. No, I have not attempted to look into patches yet. Yes, I do intend to, but I have more important things to do with my mind and my time at the moment." he says in a somewhat dismissive tone as he looks out the window.

"And you're an insufferable git. Bloody hell, I figured you were from your letters, but this just tops it." John says with a small shake of his head, but he sounds more amused than actually angry or upset. "Making sure you don't give yourself lung cancer or some other disease should be a little higher on your priority list than it is. Besides, if you want to work with Scotland Yard, I have the feeling you're going to need all the lung power that you can get. And smoking severely diminishes that, it's a proven fact." John says casually, sitting down in a nearby chair and leaning it back a little.

For a few moments there's silence on the other end of the line, except for the sound of Sherlock taking another puff of his cigarette. "That is surprisingly perceptive, John. And completely accurate of course. Well done, John. Very well done. There may be hope for you yet. It seems my initial assumption that you are not a complete idiot is proved." Sherlock sounds surprised, maybe a little impressed and yet there is still a sarcastic edge to his tone.

"Git." John says simply, but he can't help but smirk a little, shaking his head. "You are so incredibly arrogant, you know that? It's no wonder you make people avoid you and you don't have any friends to speak of. You attract more flies with honey than vinegar, isn't that what they say?" He asks with a little bit of amusement as he tilts his head to stare up at the ceiling.

"I prefer bees. Fascinating creatures." Sherlock says as he looks out the window. "Point taken, however, Doctor." he says as he stubs out his cigarette in what sounds like a glass dish.

Laughing a little, John just grins for a moment. "Blimey. This is bizzare. Feels like I've known you for years. This is genuinely.. quite strange." Chuckling a little again, he shakes his head for a few moments. "I finally figure out how to get time on this bloody phone and we talk about the most ridiculous things. I don't have much more time to talk." He says a little more seriously, feeling awkward again as he glances at the clock for a few moments.

"It's only natural for us to feel a certain level of comfort with eachother, while we may not have ever met, or had a conversation over the phone, we have had rather extensive conversations through letters, which I believe are more telling and a little more intimate. As you said, you can reveal much more about yourself in a letter which give you the illusion of anonymity enough that one might feel more comfortable bearing their soul." Sherlock says casually, closing the squeaky window again.

"I guess you're right. Well. On that note, I'd better go. I have to report to the infirmary soon and I'd like to get a cuppa before I head in." John says slowly, never having been good at this part of phone conversations. "It was really nice to finally get to talk to you, Sherlock. I'll try and reply to your letter soon."

"Yes. Pleasure talking to you, John. As I said, if you ever get another chance to call, don't worry about what time of day it is for me, I don't sleep for very often or for very long." Sherlock almost sounds bored, but there is some genuine emotion behind his words.

"Thanks, Sherlock. Hopefully I'll talk to you again." John says before he gets up. "Bye." he says awkwardly before hanging up, smirking a little with a small shake of his head before he goes to get himself some tea before going to the infirmary.

Bit of a different format for the phone, but hope you all enjoy it. :)

I realized something that you should all know, when writing my latest chapter, so I wanted to add a quick note in here..

First off, I know little to nothing about the armed forces, and even less about Britain's military (I am American). This is being written primarily for my enjoyment (though I share it for your enjoyment, and am glad you guys do enjoy it. :) ), so I haven't done any research for it and I probably won't be doing any research. This isn't for a term paper or to be published, and I don't really enjoy that sort of research, soo... I probably won't do it. Sorry to anyone that that bothers, but that's just my take on it. :)

Second thing is.. I am aware that these two are different from canon, but that's the fun of Fanfiction, and also this does take place 5 years before the show, at the very beginning. So obviously they would be different, in my view. Anyway, this is my take on them, I hope you all continue to enjoy it!

Comments/Reviews welcome. :)