Final Problem – AU

Holmes – Rebirth

I woke because the stateroom was empty. Today we would reach England, the last day of our voyage. Neils was in a state of high anticipation – I could only hope that home did not disappoint him. I had not woken alone in the last three years, so the condition was not entirely pleasant. Before I could become overly concerned however, the note that young Neils had scrawled and then placed upon my pillow caught my eye.

'Gone to see the sunrise'

Evidently the boy had been unable to sleep and Charlie had taken him out to give me some peace. We had packed the night before, leaving out only a small bag to receive our nightclothes and toiletries and it was to that I turned now. Charlie had laid our clothes out as neatly as any gentleman's gentleman ever could, to save time in the morning, so I had little more to do than freshen up and pull my clothes on.

They were not the clothes I had left out. Le Beau – we were still travelling under our assumed names – favoured light coloured suits. The clothes that waited for me were black. My hands shook as I picked them up and examined them carefully – yes, there were my initials in the laundry mark. I pushed aside all thoughts of where they had come from or how Charlie had managed to secrete them away from my notice these last three years; the man had quite a talent for concealing objects when needed. These were the clothes of Sherlock Holmes, a man I had not been in five years: a man I had killed at the Falls of Reichenbach along with John Watson. I dressed slowly, taking the time to settle my cuffs and collar exactly. Once done I could not help but stare at the looking glass for a long moment. I had not seen my true self for a very long time. It was something of a pleasant shock to be me again – a new me, one that had learned much these last five years. I had no doubt that my patience with the Yard, my penchant for finding trouble and mess making had not changed these last five years, but my friendship with Watson…

The door opened behind me and I whirled to face it. There he was! Finally he had appeared! Someone had altered the clothes so they would fit the thinner man he had become, but there was my dearest friend, smiling fondly at me from the door to our stateroom.

"Holmes?" his smile changed to a look of concern as I stumbled over to him. I threw my arms around his shoulders much as Neils did when seeking comfort and rested my head on his shoulder, tremors wracking through me.

"Watson, thank god you came back," the words were irrational, not at all what I wanted to say to him, but they were all that I had to hand and as always my dearest friend could clearly hear the multitude of things I hadn't said along with the inadequate things I had.

"I never really left you, Holmes," he remonstrated lightly, and I nodded, irrationally clutching him tighter as if he would disappear if I didn't hold him close enough. I knew that he would not cruelly revert to the persona of Charlie McLeod again, that his return to his true self was his way of saying that I was truly forgiven and the past now in its proper place; the knowledge was almost overwhelming. His strong arms came up to bolster me with his familiar gentle, implacable strength and he stood still as I pulled my fool self together once more.

"Come on, dear chap," the name he had used most often for me before our flight to Europe sounded like home in his London accent, "Neils wants to watch the sunrise with you."

0o0o0o0

**Sniffle**