The First Day
The clock chimed eight as Watson was just about to eat a piece of toast in the room of his friend Sherlock Holmes.
Normally, the Doctor would enjoy his morning with his wife Mary before heading out, but today was his cousin Claire's first day on the job of assisting the incomparable Holmes. His lanky companion seemed to act as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened, but Watson could see a sudden stiffness in his features that suggested otherwise.
Soon, the doctor grew tired of reading the paper and turned to his friend.
"What time is Claire supposed to be here, Holmes? It is a few minutes past eight," he commented, hoping to fill the anxiety he was feeling.
Holmes looked briefly at his pocket watch before answering.
"I sent her a wire late last night, asking her to come at half-past eight, so she still has time to get here."
Watson nodded in approval but then realized that he never laid down specific tasks for Claire to do.
"What will you have Claire do, Holmes?"
The detective smirked in response before lighting his first pipe of the day.
"I shall have her organize the index, old fellow; it has become absolutely shabby with how many times we have mistreated it over the years."
He pointed to the overflowing volumes on the bookshelves.
Watson groaned, thinking Claire would have a fit when she had to update the index of all the names in England. His mind began to wander as he looked outside at the bustling streets below him, wondering what she was up to.
Claire checked her appearance in her compact mirror one last time, hoping she wasn't overdressed. Her dress was the same one she wore the first day she met the Professor, consisting of a lace blouse with a long black skirt. Alexander had said she looked like a school teacher in it but she thought it looked professional.
The cab rattled down the Baker Street until it jerked to a stop in front of 221. She paid the cabbie and marched up those stairs, hoping that she was on time. Mrs. Hudson almost fainted to see her climbing the stairs and opened the door wide.
"Mr. Holmes, Miss Watson is here," the woman announced while gathering up Claire's hat.
Claire stepped into the room to see her cousin and Mr. Holmes looking at the door. Watson stood up to greet his cousin with a small hug.
"Great to see you made it, Claire."
Claire broke into a nervous smile "Is it that surprising I made it, John?" she asked him before giving a simple nod towards Holmes.
Watson gave a start by Claire's response to his gesture of affection.
"Well, after learning about your condition, Claire, I thought you wouldn't be able to come here without some sense of trepidation."
It was Claire's turn to get agitated while Holmes watched the pair of them argue.
"My condition, John? Why do you have to make it sound worse then it actually is?" she asked him while trying to move forward.
Watson tried to repair the damage to Claire's personality.
"Well, when Inspector Lestrade told us about how you got paranoid, he made it sound as if you were held down by it."
Claire was about to tear apart Lestrade's quote when Holmes finally stepped in.
"Doctor, Miss Watson was here yesterday and yet you noticed none of the symptoms of her paranoia."
Claire was flabbergasted at the detective's defending her, but she went on.
"Thank you, Mr. Holmes. I am only frightened when I'm in an unfamiliar place or somewhere where I know the gang could be," she explained, her temper lessening.
Watson wrung his hands, realizing what an insensitive man he had been.
"I'm truly sorry, Claire, I only learned of your troubles last night and even then I was not prepared to acknowledge your view on them."
She turned to Watson and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's quite all right, John, when most people think of paranoia they tend to think of the most extreme cases."
The mild young women then turned to Holmes with her hands clasped behind her.
"So, what do you have for me today, Mr. Holmes?"
Holmes pointed to the bookshelf while he drank a cup of tea.
"I need you to update my index, Miss Watson. If anyone of importance has died, please take out their entry." Claire nodded in understanding and headed to the first volume.
Watson sat back down and watched his cousin pick up the large index that even made him mad whenever he had to look into it. Claire began to look at names of significant people and make sure the information was still up-to-date by checking the newspapers lying across the room or asking Holmes for his opinion.
By and large, she was very quiet and worked diligently, crossing out names and giving the room some much needed activity. It was around noon when Holmes dropped a comment to Claire about her spy work.
"Miss Watson, I was wondering how you were able to infiltrate gangs that your comrades could not?"
Claire looked up from scratching out a tailor to lock eyes with the detective.
"That's quite a question, Mr. Holmes. It was because my fellow spies only looked at gangs as mad ruffians who stole and killed for pleasure. I on the other hand, knew that gangs were simply men who could have no other way to live."
Claire's answer bounced off the walls in the small room and shook Watson's neutral expression.
"So, instead of seeing them from a professional standpoint you saw them as just ordinary people with extreme circumstances?" he asked in awe of Claire's common sense. Claire nodded
"You have it exactly, the whole department of Scotland Yard has it completely wrong when they tell you how to deal with infiltration."
She shook her head as she began to go back to her task. Holmes and Watson watched her while she continued to work, unphased by their questions.
"Miss Watson, you seem a bit more eager to share information, why is that?" Holmes asked her, somewhat surprised - especially after her reaction to the last thing he asked her.
Claire Watson shrugged as she finally got into the C section of the index.
"Since you hired me, I feel compelled to answer you so that you have a better sense of my character Mr. Holmes."
Watson turned to see his friend's reaction of nodding in agreement with her. The doctor was taken aback at their pleasant manner to one another and decided to voice it.
"Holmes, how can you be getting along with Claire, of all people? You once said that you would rather be in France rather than work with a female."
Holmes laughed lightly at this remembrance of the past, "That is still my main belief, Watson; your cousin, like you and I, is singular but she alone cannot make up for fickleness of women."
Claire snorted at this statement, making Holmes give her a sharp look.
"Excuse me, Miss Watson, when did I give you the liberty to voice an opinion?"
The tall woman looked at his put off grey eyes and stated, "Well you compared me every other woman out there, Mr. Holmes, I find that a little unbecoming that's all."
Holmes was taken aback by her biting response and rose in annoyance to counter it.
"Miss Watson, I'm at the liberty to say what I will of your fairer sex because time and time again it has been proven that women are not ready for a man's world."
The blue eyes of Claire flashed against Holmes's grey ones as she spoke.
"And those are the words of a gentleman? You may be my employer, Mr. Holmes, but believe me when I say this, not all women are the same. You may think so since you have seen a good portion of them but even then it still does not give you the right to judge me."
Watson stepped in between the two warring minds to try and clear away the hostility.
"Look here you two, you're behaving like children. I won't have my own blood and my best friend at each other's throats every other minute!"
He raised his voice in order to register to them both how foolishly they were acting. Claire smoothed out her dress before looking back at Holmes.
"Forgive me, I was too rash; I am just thoroughly tired of having everyone say the same thing to me."
She looked at Holmes as if trying to study his features. Holmes, on the other hand cast a cold glance at Watson.
"Watson, do not expect me to treat your cousin differently simply because she has more intelligence than the average female. She is a woman all the same, and there is no way she can prove my indications wrong."
Claire shook her head as she went back to work, watching her cousin stand there trying to think up a counter-argument to Holmes.
"Give it up John, it is not worth it. Mr. Holmes is very set in his ways and I don't expect that there will be any drastic changes anytime soon."
Watson staggered into his chair, astounded by Claire's defense of the man who just criticized her whole sex. Holmes then did something that made Watson almost gasp; he looked at the young woman deeply in the eyes and said, "Thank you, Claire."
Miss Watson smiled a bit to herself and went back to crossing off names.
"Your are quite welcome, Sherlock."
From that moment, Watson could see the level of respect between them and could not believe how much had happened in less than one day. He sat back with his brandy, watching the pair of them interact and marveled at the sight.
Sherlock Holmes was getting along with a woman – and not just any woman; it was his own flesh and blood that had brought the detective to recognizing that women were not to be criticized lightly.
Author's Note: I usually use classical music when I write to help my imagination. But for this chapter I focused on more contemporary music I drew major inspiration from the song "Maneater" By Nelly Furtado. Also major thanks from my new reviewers, I'm pleased you love Claire as much as I do. As for when she's meets Mycroft, that may be my next chapter :).