The park was in sight when I noticed a black car pull up beside me, and while so far I had been able to get over my anxiety of being out on my own again, the creepy black car did not help matters. I finally stopped, turning to look at it as the window rolled down, a woman looking through the window. "Hello Ms. Charles. I'm.. mm.. let's go with Anthea, since that's how Dr. Watson and Mr. Holmes refer to me. I'm Mr. Mycroft Holmes' assistant. He wished me to take you on a little ride. Please get in." She says before she opened the door and scooted away from it.
I knew the name, but I still hesitated, not liking the idea of another possible kidnapping, but finally I slid into the car, taking a deep breath and rubbing my palms against my jeans as I looked over at Anthea.
The woman was on her blackberry, tapping away. "Where would you like to go?" She asked without looking up. "I'm to take you anywhere you want to go, and pay for any.. entertainment expenses." She explains, the car remaining in the same place while they waited for me to make a decision.
That, however, intrigued me, and I thought about that for a few moments, smiling a little. "So Mycroft Holmes is Sherlock's older brother and he has provided this car for me, and now is going to pay for whatever we do in the allotted amount of time. His personal accounts, I assume? Has he put any limits?" I asked with a little smirk as I looked over at the assistant.
Anthea paused in her tapping away at her blackberry, looking up slowly at me, and she matched my smirk. "Yes, his personal account, and no, he did not specify any limits to your activities or your spending." She says with amusement, and I got the feeling she suspected where this was going.
I couldn't help myself this time, I giggled and grinned, nodding. "Alright. To IKEA we go." I announced, pointing forward though I had no idea where the IKEA was. Anthea glanced at the driver, who then started going, and I settled back in the very comfortable seats, pulling out my own phone to fiddle with it and try and figure out all the features, wondering who was paying for it. I didn't want to do too much with it until I figured out what the data plan and everything was.
It didn't take us long to get to the IKEA, which surprised me, but I didn't question it, just grabbed my little paper and pencil that they offered so I could write down model numbers and such. Anthea sort of trailed behind me, being the wielder of the money. I was barely through a few rooms when I got a text from Sherlock on my phone.
Are you alright? -SH
I glanced at Anthea, who was still focused on her blackberry, before I smiled at my phone, happy that Sherlock cared, though I was a little concerned as to why Sherlock would be worrying. Still, I was in IKEA, with the British Government's PA, so I tapped back a quick reply, feeling rather smug with myself as I went through my mental shopping list, marking things down, mostly going for the accessories, not really wanting to buy any furniture or anything since 221B was pretty decked out as it was, and nothing that IKEA sold would really fit in there. But the accessories were nice, and they had everything that I was looking for. If I was going to be living at 221B, then I needed a few things, and if Mycroft Holmes was going to offer use of his money, then I was going to take advantage of it. It's not like I was spending it on things for me, they would benefit everyone living at 221B. I didn't feel like I had the right to change anything else, even if it was something as simple as curtains. Baker Street was rather perfect the way it is, and I didn't want to mess that up. I just wanted to have things to properly cook with, a small organizer for the laundry room that would help, and I also did get Sherlock a little present. I didn't know what to get John right away, until I found an amazing tea set which I quickly put down on my list. When I was done, I went to the checkout place, and then sighed. "I don't think we're going to be able to fit all this in the car." I observed as I looked over at Anthea.
The PA slowly looked up from her blackberry, glancing over the list. "I'll have someone pick it up and bring it back to Baker Street." She reassures, starting a text before glancing up at the person ringing up their order, handing over the card when needed and paying, not even paying attention to the cost, though I had to try very hard not to choke. I had spent more than I expected.
A chime came from Anthea's phone, and since it was silent the entire time before that, it kind of made me jump. "We're clear to go back to Baker Street now. Excellent timing." She observes, retrieving the receipt and continuing a text message before she turned to head out.
Considering how much we had just spent I was a little nervous, but I followed the other woman quickly out to the car. If there was anything wrong, Anthea wouldn't have paid, I figured, or at least she would have said something, even if she seemed the stoic type. And she did seem to approve of my little shopping trip, so I tried not to think about it too much on my way back to Baker street. "Thanks for the ride." I said simply to Anthea before climbing out, surprised that I got myself a little wave from the odd, blackberry-bound woman.
It was when I stepped up to the door that I forgot about not having a key, and sighing, I knocked, then stuffed my hands in the pocket of my jacket, turning to watch the car drive way.
Sherlock arrived at the door a few moments later, and he looked me over, before taking my arm and pulling me inside. "I thought you said you were shopping, you don't have any bags." he observes a he looked me over, leading me back upstairs, and gallantly helping me out of my jacket.
"And you're being very nice." I observed, before I smirked a little. "I did go shopping, deduce where the items are." I challenged.
Of course, there's nothing that Sherlock's like more than a challenge, and so he circled me, pressing his hands together in front of him thoughtfully. "You're having them delivered." he says in surprise, then adds, "You got too much for the car to carry. But you have no money, so how could you.. oh. Oh!" He stepped back in surprise as he looked at me, before he started to chuckle. "Mycroft wanted to keep you away while we talked. Knowing you don't have money, he offered to pay and you decided to take full advantage of it, in order to buy some things that you wanted or needed." he says as he watches me closely. "What could you want or need that we hadn't gotten for you already? You called this flat home in your text, so clearly you already think of it that way, what would you want to change?" he asks, not understanding how anyone would want anything different than what was there.
I had to laugh, it was completely adorable, and to take the sting out of it, I moved forward and slipped my arms around his waist to give him a little hug. "Oh, Sherlock. I got things that will benefit all of us. I told you the only things I could really contribute would be cooking or cleaning, so I intend to do those things well, and unfortunately, you have rather limited supplies for cooking. So I got a few things. And I got a present for you, and one for John, too." I explained, staying close to him for a little longer than was strictly necessary, just enjoying his warmth and his arms around me before I started to pull back.
In a surprising show of affection, Sherlock didn't let me leave his arms, though they were slow to come up around me, showing his surprise. Now, he lowers his head a little, kissing the top of my head softly. "I see." He says as he stroked my back slowly. "But you do think of Baker Street as home?" he asks as he looked down at me.
I smiled and nodded, relaxing against him, content to let him hold me as long as he wanted to. "Yes, Sherlock. This flat is my home now." I reassured, smiling against his shirt, taking a deep breath. Sherlock always had an interesting smell to him, like cigarettes, something spicy, and a little chemical tinge. It was definitely a nice smell. I didn't have much more time to enjoy it though, because as soon as I turned to nuzzle into his shoulder a little, there was another knock at the door. "I'll bet that's the delivery, that was quick." I observed as I started to move away from him.
Mrs. Hudson was faster than either of us though, calling up the stairs, "Sherlock, dear, are you expecting a delivery?" She asks, sounding a little worried.
I giggled a little. "It's actually for me. Mrs. Hudson.. tell them to bring everything up." I had escaped Sherlock's clutches, leaning over the banister of the stairs to yell down to her. "Oh, Mrs. Hudson, it seems that I'll be staying here on more of a permanent basis, would it be alright if I got one of the boys to copy a key for me?" I asked hopefully.
Mrs. Hudson looked up from the bottom of the stairs. "Oh! Oh, that's wonderful, dear! I'm glad to see you're settling in. Yes, yes, I don't mind at all! I'm so glad you'll be staying, I think you're so good for those boys." she says in an indulgent, happy tone, before she waved her hand a little and told the movers to bring everything upstairs. I stood back out of the way, letting them bring in boxes. "Umm.. most of it should go in the kitchen." I directed them, indicating the space which quickly started becoming filled with boxes. "Oh, this is going to be a mess..." I said with a sigh. "I hope John won't be too upset.." I fretted worriedly as I retreated to the bedroom.
Sherlock smiled at me, shaking his head and moving over to slide his arm around my waist. "He'll be fine, I'm sure if you give him your present, he will be more amenable." he says with amusement. "Or if you tell him how you duped my brother into paying for all of this." He notes, chuckling a little.
It didn't take the special-agent looking guys too long to get everything moved up, and they had me sign a piece of paper saying it was all brought before they nodded and headed out.
"For the record, the moving guys were Anthea's idea, not mine. She said she would take care of it, so your brother can't get upset with me for that one." I said as I started to move over. "Hm. You should find someplace to busy yourself that's not the kitchen for a while, Sherlock.. I'm about to make a mess." I warned with a little smirk over at him.
Sherlock just watched me, nodding quietly. "Of course. I have things to do out here." He said, before stepping over to the violin, deciding that since he had an appreciative audience and he needed to think, that a little violin playing was in order.
To the sounds of what I was fairly sure was an original piece, I smiled, moving to the kitchen and emptying the cabinets, rearranging things before I started to unpack the various kitchen utensils, pots, pans, baking dishes and appliances, humming a little to myself as I dedicated one box to manuals and accessories and the like since I didn't have a place to put them. It was about three when I heard the door open downstairs, and I glanced around at the disaster the kitchen became, flicking on the kettle since I had left it plugged in, and I pulled out three mugs. The present for Sherlock, and the one for John I had had wrapped at the store so neither of them would catch a glimpse. Especially Sherlock.
"Bloody hell.. what.. happened to the kitchen?" John asks in shock after shedding his jacket and going to try and make some tea, only to be blocked by empty boxes.
Quiet as always, Sherlock appeared at John's elbow. "Sofia went shopping." he states the obvious, then adds, "Anthea kidnapped her this afternoon so that Mycroft could get me alone. Apparently he informed Anthea to keep Sofia occupied, and that wherever she went would be on his tab. He underestimated her." He says with a bit of pride to his voice, rocking back on his heels.
John gaped as he looks around. "This all was billed to Mycroft?" He asks in shock as he looks it all over, then he snickers, and can't help it as he starts laughing, tilting his head back, a deep, genuine laugh. "Oh, I'd pay to see the look on his face when he sees that bill!" He says before he grins a little. "Is there a way for me to get through this mess though, I would like a cuppa sometime.
I grinned mischievously over my shoulder at the two men. "Yes, he didn't give Anthea a price limit, and I made sure it was his private accounts being used. I can hardly earn my keep cooking with two pans and a pot. By the way.. Sherlock, if you use any of this new stuff for experiments, I will be quite cross. Especially since I bought you both presents, too." I said, starting to make the tea. "Working on the tea, give us a sec." I said with a small pout. And while the tea steeped, I picked up a medium sized, gift wrapped box, moving over to John. "Yours is easier to pick up. And sort of appropriate."
Taking the present form me, John stared for a few moments. "Uh.. wow. I.. I don't know what to say, thank you." he says before unwrapping it, staring at the box, which holds inside a complete tea set with pot, cups and everything. "Sofia.. thank you. This is.. wonderful." He looked at the box for a moment, putting it aside before picking his way through the boxes to pull me into a somewhat unexpected hug, kissing my cheek softly.
"Oh. Um. Your welcome." I said with a little blush, returning the hug tightly for a moment, enjoying the affection before I ducked out of his arms. "Sherlock, your present sort of benefits everyone, but I thought you would like it." I explained, pulling some boxes off a taller, wrapped box. "I had an idea for a different present, but they didn't have one there, so I guess I'll just have to do a little research." I said mysteriously as I pushed the taller box toward the detective.
For a few moments, Sherlock looked at the box warily, and seemed a little confused, obviously not used to getting presents. "Oh? Thank you." he says as he approaches the box, and then carefully starts to unwrap it, laughing softly, deep in his throat as he sees what it is, pulling the rest o the paper off. "A small refrigerator, for my experiments and body parts no doubt." He says with a little smile, before he nods a little, "Thank you for this, Sofia.. And point taken." The fridge was about waist high on him, having both a freezer and fridge portions, which will be perfect for 90% of his experiments. Following John's example, he stepped over to me and slid his arms around me, giving me a somewhat more awkward hug because he's obviously not as used to giving them, kissing the top of my head. "Thank you." He whispers softly to me, before he steps back, turning to start unpacking his fridge.
Blushing now, I comfortably returned the hug, before I cleared my throat and turned toward the tea. "Two sugars for Sherlock, a sugar and a bit of milk for John, right?" I asked, looking at them both, and after receiving nods, I smiled happily, preparing the tea and handing them both their mugs before getting some for myself. "I'll need to go to Tesco tomorrow because you are lacking even basic spices. Definitely a bachelor flat." I pointed out with a little smile, sipping at my tea as I watched the boys unpack their presents.
Although I saw the glance that the two exchanged, I didn't understand it, just watching in confusion. John tossed the empty box toward the collection of them. "I can go with you tomorrow. I know where it is, and you won't get Sherlock within a hundred yards of a Tesco." He says with a little chuckle, but it felt a little awkward, not like his easy laughter from before.
Sherlock just snorts a little. "John, help me get this over to the other fridge, we can put it right beside it." He says, carrying it over the boxers with the army doctor before he plugs it in, looking actually a bit childlike and very happy about his present.
"Alright, you two. Go.. order some takeaway or break down those boxes. Shoo." I said, shooing them out of the kitchen as I finished unpacking and unwrapping.
John, helpful John, always wanting to lend a hand, he starts breaking down boxers. "Sherlock, why don't you order some takeaway for us? Maybe we could get Angelo to deliver something. Sofia seemed to enjoy the food there the other day." He offered thoughtfully, grabbing a stack of boxes and bringing them downstairs to the proper bins, and soon enough everything was cleaned up.
Sherlock hummed thoughtfully before he opened his cellphone to order from Angelo's, getting more than needed maybe but he's still a little unsure of what Sofia might like.
"I am still here, you could just ask me." I called from the kitchen with a little grin as I finished putting things back in their places, putting John's tea set on a tray and neatly on top of Sherlock's new fridge, nodding as I considered everything, where it is, and I walked over to the couch to flump down on it. "I am tired now.." I say quietly as I lean back against the couch, closing my eyes for a few moments.
When John comes back up, he looks concerned. "Sofia?" He asks, watching as I open my eyes. "Would you mind if I took a look at you real quick? I just want to make sure you're ok.." he said as he watched me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sherlock drift over from the kitchen and hover nearby, watching us with concern. I nodded a little, and sat up, scooting more toward the edge of the couch as I prepared for him to do whatever he needs to do, watching as he disappeared upstairs, coming back with sort of an old-fashioned looking doctor's bag, which made me smile a little. "The bag suits you." I observed as I watched him, and then waited as he examined my eyes, then feeling along my throat for the glands there. He took my pulse, then held the stethoscope to my back and chest. It was cute, the way he turned red when he did that. I was kind enough to wait for him to remove the stethoscope before speaking. "Doctor, you're turning a little red there, surely you've examined women before?" I asked playfully.
John cleared his throat, turning a little redder. "Yes, I have, of course." He says with a little sigh. "It's a little different." He says reluctantly, glancing at Sherlock for help.
"You can say it, Dr. Watson." I couldn't help but play with his title a little. "It's different when it's someone you might be attracted to or have feelings for." I said for him, blushing a little and glancing at Sherlock as well. "Come on.. let's get the rest over with, food will probably be here soon." I pointed out, letting him finish listening to my heart and lungs, holding out my arms so he can see where they injected me, seeing that there's no permanent damage and the bruises have disappeared.
"Alright.. do you have any other unusual pains or bruising that we can't, er.. see?" John asked as he looked me over, having taken a seat on the coffee table in front of me, now lightly resting his fingertips on my knees as he looked into my eyes.
I noticed them both watching me intensely and I smiled softly. "I still tire pretty easily, and my muscles actually feel a little sore just from unpacking the things I bought earlier. It's sort of like when you have the flu for a week or so, a really bad one where you're throwing up all the time and everything, but even when you start getting better, you still feel weak? It feels like that." I explained as I looked between the two. "Otherwise, physically, I feel fine."
Sherlock slowly moved to sit on the couch. "Physically?" Trust the detective to pick up on my careful wording. John apparently hadn't picked up on it because he looks at Sherlock sharply, then looks back at me in concern.
I sigh a little, and scratch one of my forearms for a moment. "I try not to think about it. I still.. jump at unusual sounds.. I don't like it when people are behind me, but I don't know why, I think it's just because I can't see them. I'm ok with it here, when it's you two, because I know that you won't hurt me. I trust you, both." I said softly as I looked at them, then took a deep breath. "Still feel twitchy sometimes, and my skin itches if I think about it too much." I admitted as I looked between them. "I'm sure I would have nightmares if it weren't for you two being there when I go to sleep.." And now I looked down a little, avoiding both of their eyes, folding my hands in my lap.
Sherlock listened, frowning a little. "Some of that is part of withdrawal." He notes, then looks at John. "She did not like waking up alone this morning, either. It would be better if we woke her before we got up." He informs John as if it weren't incredibly embarrassing and didn't make me blush bright red. Gently, he takes my hand away from my arm to keep me from scratching. "Don't do that." His voice was amazingly gentle as he says it, his hold on my hand equally as gentle. Of course, just then the buzzer rings, and he looks at us. "I'll get the food. "He says with a nod of his head before he stands, fingers trailing along my arm, and then he turns to head downstairs.
John turned to me after watching the detective go, and he smiles a little. "I used to be a soldier, you know." he says conversationally. "Invalided home, did I tell you this?" He waves his hand a little in a dismissive gesture. "Anyway, I know how memories can sneak up on you. We're all damaged here." He says with a little smirk. "If you want to talk, we're here, ok?" He offers, taking one of my hands in both of his and giving it a little squeeze. "Sherlock may not be comfortable talking about feelings, but I know even he recognizes that sometimes you just need to talk to someone. If it's that, or if you just need.. I dunno, a hug or something, we're here for you, no matter what you need, ok?" He offers as he watches me, smiling in that way that just made me feel safe and I could do little else besides nod. "Alright. Good. Physically you seem just fine. Just let me know if anything changes, ok?" He squeezed my hand once more before he gets up and walks to the kitchen to make tea, if the sound of the kettle was anything to go by. "Alright, you rearranged everything." he laughs as he opens cabinets until he finds plates and everything.
I smiled a little, scooting back to curl up in the corner of the couch and watch as Sherlock came up the stairs, arranging the food on the table with John's help. It was a bit domestic, and I finally got up, drawn by the smells even though I was starting to feel sleepy. "I feel bad, I think I'm going to keep dragging you two off to bed early.. hopefully my stamina will improve soon." I said as I looked at her, and then started to get some food on my plate, smiling at the two. "I think maybe I should at least try and sleep by myself for a bit tonight. I have a feeling I'm going to be out right after dinner.." Sighing, I shook my head, moving over and going to sit down on the sofa to eat since the table was full of food. I was soon joined by the boys, one on each side, though Sherlock nudged me with his hip so I would budge over a little, smirking at him over my tea. We fell silent, eating and watching crap tellie, each of us just enjoying the company of the others.
After the food was finished, John took our plates back to the kitchen, packing the extra food up in the fridge. "Sherlock.. maybe you could transfer your experiments to your fridge tonight?" he asked hopefully, glancing over his shoulder at the detective.
Sherlock glances at me and nods, scooting forward before turning to me. "You should go get some rest." he says, kissing my forehead as he stands, and I blushed again, startled. I watched him move to the kitchen and start to make the transfers as I got up slowly and headed to grab my pajamas, then shuffling off to the bathroom to get washed up and changed.
Once I was finished, I shuffled out, finding Sherlock in the kitchen, reclaiming his experiments, and John settled in his chair. I went over to Sherlock first, putting my hand on the back of his neck gently. "Goodnight, Sherlock." I said softly to him, leaning in and kissing his temple softly since he was ducked down at his microscope and I didn't want to disturb him. I squeezed the back of his neck softly before moving away and over to where John sits in his arm chair, putting my hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me from his book, putting his hand over mine and smiling softly. "Goodnight, John." I said with a little smile, leaning over and kissing his cheek gently.
"Goodnight, Sofia." John said softly, smiling a little more at the kiss and giving my hand a squeeze, lifting it from his shoulder to kiss the back softly.
"Goodnight." Sherlock says quietly when I had moved away from John, and was almost all the way through the kitchen and toward the back bedroom, shutting the door a little just to keep out some light before I smiled and crawled into the bed, curling up in the middle, the combined scents of Sherlock and John's shampoo and body wash comforting me.
I'm sorry to anyone who is following this story, but it's going to go on Hiatus. I'm updating the chapters that I have done, but I have since sort of lost my way on this story, and kind of lost my interest, too. I've got a lot of other fics that I'm working on, but I've not really been able to write this for a while. Maybe I'll come back to it sometime, but I'm not sure.
This was the first story I ever published here, and I promised myself I would not be one of those authors who just abandoned fics without any explanation or anything. And I feel bad for putting this on hiatus, but I wanted everyone to at least be aware of its status. Hopefully I'll eventually be able to come back to it.
Thank you to everyone who has read, and I hope you'll check out my other stories!