Author's Note: Before you begin this chapter, might I suggest doing two things to make it seem more authentic and emotional?
One: If you go to google and search: ANNE FRANK HOUSE 3D TOUR you will come across a wonderful link ( doesn't allow links to be put in) where you can see the inside of the house.
Two: Go to Youtube and search Athlete's Chances. Listen to the song.
I'm going to do another Author's Note at the end of the chapter, talking about certain parts of this chapter, but I don't want to spoil too much.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Three kites soared up to the stars. The Doctor, Sherlock, and Mycroft smiled as they guided them along. The three were sitting in the Tardis doorway. The lack of gravity outside caused the kites to fly straight up—silhouettes against the colorful stars.
The Doctor beamed as he let his string go. The brothers smiled and did the same. They watched with a slight tranquility as the kites floated away into the universe.
"That was fun," Mycroft admitted.
"Where are we going today?" Sherlock excitedly asked.
"I dunno," the Doctor said with a smile, "Hey! Why don't we let the Tardis choose?"
The door suddenly flew closed and the box began to shake.
"Alright!" Mycroft cried, "Take it easy!"
They clung onto the console to keep from flying around. The Tardis rumbled and growled before finally landing.
The Doctor let out a sigh with relief and said, "Phew! She wanted to go somewhere!"
"Okay," Sherlock slowly said, "So, where are we?"
"Let's find out," the Doctor suggested, going over and reopening the door.
They were in an extremely cramped bedroom. A girl was sitting on the bed. She looked slightly older than Mycroft. She was pretty with dark brown hair and slate-gray eyes which now shone with awe and adventure as she stared at the box.
"Oh," the Doctor brightly said, "Err…hello."
"Ssh," the girl whispered, "You must be quiet."
"Sorry," the Doctor whispered, looking confused, "Who are you?"
"M…my name is Anne."
The Doctor's eyes suddenly widened with shock. The three looked around the long and narrow room. It looked vaguely familiar. The Doctor recognized it almost immediately. Mycroft gasped as he finally placed the girl. Sherlock remained confused.
"No…" Mycroft whispered, "No…no way…"
"What is it?"
"Sssh," the Doctor murmured, "Sherlock, you must be extremely quiet."
"Are you…are you Anne Frank?" Mycroft asked in a hushed voice.
She nodded, her eyes wide.
"Bloody hell," Mycroft muttered.
"Mycroft," the Doctor hissed, "Show a bit of respect!"
"Anne? What was that noise? Are you alright?"
A man entered the bedroom. He looked terrified and he whispered, "What is this? Who are you? What's going on?"
"Ssh, sssh," the Doctor whispered, "It's okay. I'm a friend."
He pulled out his psychic paper and murmured, "Otto Frank, right? It's an honor to meet you, sir. We're friends. We're on your side."
Otto looked dazed for a moment before saying, "V…very well. But please…keep quiet."
"Of course."
He left, still looking dazed.
"What was that?" Anne curiously asked, "That paper? What did you do?"
"It's…it's a psychic paper," the Doctor bashfully said, "Didn't you see any words?"
"No," Anne softly replied, "It was blank."
The Doctor smiled at that.
"Who are you?" Anne continued, "What is that box?"
"I'm…I'm the Doctor. This is Mycroft Holmes and Sherlock Holmes."
"Are you real?" Anne breathed, "Or is this a dream?"
"Believe me," the Doctor kindly said, "I'm real."
"Anne Frank," Sherlock muttered before it clicked. He hadn't read many books on WWII but the books he had read stuck with him, "Oh!"
"Sherlock, ssssh," Mycroft and the Doctor both whispered.
"Would you excuse us for a moment?" Mycroft asked.
The three ducked back into the Tardis, leaning against the door.
"O…kay," the Doctor slowly said, "Anne Frank. We're in the Secret Annex."
"What year is it?" Mycroft cried.
The Doctor glanced at a monitor and said, "1944. February. Six months before…"
He trailed off but both brothers understood.
"Doctor," Mycroft suddenly spoke up, "We need to do something! We need to get everyone out! We need to…"
He paused, seeing the crestfallen look on the Doctor's face.
Mycroft sighed and slowly asked, "We can't, can we?"
The Doctor sadly shook his head and murmured, "Fixed point in time."
"No," Sherlock cried, "No! We need to do something."
Mycroft closed his eyes and murmured, "We should just go."
"You're right," the Doctor agreed.
They jumped as somebody knocked on the door.
"Excuse me?" Anne softly called, "Would you like to stay for dinner?"
"We can't be rude," the Doctor mouthed, "Dinner and then we'll leave."
The three quickly slipped back into the bedroom, quickly closing the door so that Anne couldn't see inside.
"What is this box?" Anne asked, looking bemused, "It's…it's magic."
The Doctor tried to explain but Mycroft wasn't paying attention. He had spotted a book beneath the pillow on one of the beds. He reached out but the Doctor gently took his arm and sharply shook his head.
The four then crept up several stairs, coming up in a larger but still cramped room. Mr. and Mrs. Van Pels were already at the table. Margo and Edith brought over a tiny proportion of stew for everyone to share. Otto Frank was still looking dazed. Upon seeing the questioning looks of the others, the Doctor took out his psychic paper again.
"We're eating with the Franks and the Van Pels," Mycroft whispered, "This is…this is unbelievable."
Sherlock frowned, poking at a piece of potato. Nobody really said anything—it was hard to talk when somebody could hear in the offices.
"This isn't right," Sherlock finally hissed.
Mycroft nodded. It was both amazing and unsettling.
"Doctor," Sherlock muttered, "We need to do something!"
"No," the Doctor hissed, "Now, knock it off."
"What?" Sherlock angrily cried.
"Sssshh!"
Sherlock flinched as everyone at the table hushed him.
"You ssshh," Sherlock muttered.
"Sherlock, stop it!" Mycroft chastised.
"NO!" Sherlock shouted.
The Doctor clamped a hand over Sherlock's mouth. The Doctor then excused himself and pulled Sherlock up into the attic.
"Sherlock Holmes," the Doctor angrily said, "What is the matter with you? Do you know how dangerous that was?"
"Dangerous?" Sherlock repeated.
"Yes," the Doctor hissed, "Dangerous. It was very dangerous. This entire situation is very dangerous and you're just making it worse."
"But apparently the danger isn't enough to help them," Sherlock snapped.
The Doctor sighed at his remark and quietly said, "Look, Sherlock. I know that it's hard but we can't do anything."
"They're going to die," Sherlock whispered, "Doesn't that mean anything?"
"Of course it means something," the Doctor passionately said, "You're right. They're going to die and I can't do anything to save them. Satisfied?"
"No," Sherlock quietly bit, "Just disappointed."
"Disappointed?"
The Doctor looked wounded by that but Sherlock didn't care. The small boy rose himself up to his tallest height—which was still a good two feet shorter than the Doctor—and angrily continued, "I can't just sit there when I know that something is going to happen to them. Do you know how torturous that is?"
The Doctor suddenly looked extremely sad as he quietly said, "Yes. I know exactly how torturous it is, Sherlock. I have to do it every day. I have to look at my wife and not say anything about how she dies. I'm talking to you right now and I can't tell you about a fixed point in your future. I meet people, families, cities, entire planets…and I can't tell them their fate. I know exactly how it feels and I know how horrible it feels. But it has to be done. And I know…it's not fair. It's not fair at all. But neither is the universe."
His voice hadn't risen—the Doctor had just gotten over explaining the risks of that—but it had become fiercer until Sherlock gave a small shudder. He knew that he had messed up and that the Time Lord was angry. But still…
Sherlock was quiet for a moment before stubbornly saying, "But can't we at least tell them? Can't we tell them what's going to happen?"
"No," the Doctor replied, "That's just cruel."
"Cruel?"
"You're giving them a death sentence," the Doctor patiently explained, "It won't prepare them; they can't change anything. Right now, Anne and her family are in there, holding onto the little bit of hope that they are going to make it out of this. We can't take that away from them."
Sherlock sighed and resentfully nodded.
"Come along," the Doctor said, trying to sound cheerful, "Let's get back to them but be quiet. We don't want to alert anyone before…before their time."
Sherlock gave a shudder at the thought and the two crept back down to the others. The Doctor stayed in the main room. Sherlock looked around and realized that Mycroft and Anne had gone back down into her bedroom. Anne was showing him excerpts of her diary. Mycroft listened and stared in awe.
He glanced up and saw that Sherlock had a wild look in his eyes. That was usually never a good sign. Mycroft politely excused himself and pulled Sherlock into the corner, which was a good five feet away from Anne's bed. Still, Anne was too busy writing about the weird boys who had shown up in the box to listen. Before he could say anything, Sherlock whispered, "I…I have an idea."
"Oh no," Mycroft groaned.
"Ssh," Sherlock whispered, "Here me out. The Doctor said that we couldn't say anything about…what happens to them…because we don't want to take away their hope."
Mycroft glanced back at Anne and nodded, "Yeah, I can see that…"
"But," Sherlock murmured, "What if we could show Anne something that could give her even more hope?"
He whispered his plan. At first, Mycroft was horrified. Then he was skeptical. Then intrigued and finally agreeable.
"If this works…" Mycroft whispered, "It will be…unbelievable."
"I know," Sherlock excitedly said, still in a hushed voice.
"There's just one problem," Mycroft pointed out, "A certain funny-man-with-a-bowtie problem. I'm not sure that he'll want to go."
"So, we'll take her ourselves," Sherlock promptly said.
"Yeah, okay," Mycroft sarcastically remarked, "We somehow figure out how to fly the gigantic police box, take Anne along with us, come back, and somehow convince the Doctor that we were just borrowing the Tardis."
"We're going to be in trouble," Sherlock admitted, "But…think of what we'll be doing."
"Yeah," Mycroft agreed with a smile, "And we'd be helping. The Doctor would appreciate that. I think…Hopefully. But how exactly are we going to fly the Tardis?"
The two tossed around several ideas before Sherlock finally said, "She'll get us where we need to go. I'm sure of it."
"Okay," Mycroft slowly said, "But how do we get into the Tardis?"
"Well, she is right over there," Sherlock pointed out, nodding to the other corner.
"Yes, but…"
"So, let's just go."
"Right now?" Mycroft skeptically asked.
"Yes," Sherlock excitedly whispered, "Right now! Are you in?"
"Yeah," Mycroft sighed, "Why not? Hey, Anne."
She looked up and donned the brothers a bright smile.
"We need to show you something," Mycroft whispered.
"What is it?" Anne asked.
"Well, it's in there," Mycroft admitted, "Inside the blue box."
"What about the blue box?"
The Doctor appeared in the doorway of the bedroom. Ah, Time Lord hearing.
"Run," Sherlock hissed.
The two half-tiptoed, half-ran to the other side of the room. Anne joined them, her face lit up with adventure. Mycroft opened the door and ushered the others inside. Anne and Sherlock both giggled with excitement.
"Oi," the Doctor said, as loudly as he could, "What do you think you're doing?"
"We're stealing the Tardis!" Mycroft loudly whispered.
"You're…what?"
"We're stealing the Tardis!" Sherlock repeated his brother's whisper.
The Doctor stood for a minute, completely baffled, before racing in. Meanwhile, Anne was looking around, completely awestruck.
"What do you mean, you're stealing the Tardis?"
"We mean that we're stealing the Tardis," Sherlock said, matter-of-factly, "You're welcome to come along, of course."
"If you want to," Mycroft added, "Then again, we're also breaking a bunch of universal laws so we would understand if you want to opt out…"
The Doctor closed the door and asked, "And why are you stealing my Tardis?"
"Oh, we need to go somewhere," Sherlock said with a bright smile.
The Doctor was not amused, "Where are you going?"
"Ah," Mycroft pleasantly said, "Spoilers."
"And how, pray tell, are you planning on getting there?"
"Well," Sherlock mused, "We were planning on taking you hostage. Sorry. But then we realized that we didn't need you to help navigate."
"She knows where we want to go, you see," Mycroft finished with a grin, "Geronimo!"
He hit a random button and they were off.
"This is amazing," Anne gasped, "Absolutely amazing!"
The Doctor smiled at her excitement before muttering, "You two are in so much trouble."
"Oh, we know," Mycroft said with a grin.
The Doctor gave a start and asked, "You know that you're going to be in trouble, and yet you're doing it anyway?"
"Yes."
The Doctor actually looked slightly proud as he said, "Good on you, Mycroft."
The Tardis landed and Sherlock and Mycroft threw the doors open.
"We're outside," Anne gasped, "How did you do that?"
Mycroft laughed and said, "We're not just outside."
It was easy to think that, at first. After all, they were in front of the building that she was just in. Only, it wasn't exactly the same building.
"Oh," the Doctor softly mumbled.
Take all the chances while you can. You never know when they'll pass you by.
"Come on," Mycroft gently said, "We need to show you something."
He took Anne's hand and Sherlock took the other.
The brothers glanced back at the Doctor, just to be sure. The Doctor was speechless but he nodded, giving them permission to go ahead with their plan.
Like a sum the mathematician cannot solve. Like me, trying my hardest to explain.
The three excitedly entered the Anne Frank House. The Doctor followed, though he stayed a good distance behind them. After all, this was Sherlock and Mycroft's mission. And so he stood back and watched with pride as the brothers took an amazed Anne around the museum.
It's all about your cries and kisses. Those first steps that I can't calculate. I need some more of you to take me over. Take me over…
They kept her away from any information on the morning of August 4th, 1944. They showed her everything else.
If I had the chance to start again, then you would be the one I'd call and find. Like the poster of Berlin on my wall, maybe there's a chance our walls might fall.
Quotations from the diary, historical documents, photographs, film images, and original objects that belonged to those in hiding…it was all there. And she got to see them all. Her eyes filled with tears but she was smiling. Always smiling.
It's all about your cries and kisses. Those first steps that I can't calculate. I need some more of you to take me over…
She finally spotted her diary, encased in glass.
"Yeah," Mycroft laughed, "It's not really a secret anymore."
"Sorry about that," Sherlock said with a grin.
"Anne," Mycroft softly said, "You gave hope to so many people."
"You're a hero," Sherlock agreed.
She stepped forward to gaze at her diary—the beacon of hope for the thousands of people who visited the museum every day. The Holmes brothers stepped back, giving her a moment.
The sheer emotion of what they did suddenly hit Sherlock and Mycroft. Mycroft made a weird noise, wiping his eyes. Sherlock licked his lips, trying his best not to cry. And, just like every other time, the Doctor was there. He came up behind them and pulled the Holmes brothers into a tight hug. They returned it; Sherlock didn't even hesitate. The Time Lord didn't say anything but the wide and kind smile was enough for them to know that he was proud. So proud…
"Are we still in trouble?" Sherlock anxiously asked.
The Doctor laughed and pulled him into an even tighter hug. He then draped his arms around the boys' shoulders, holding them close as the three watched Anne. She closed her eyes, smiling as she realized just how much of an impact her story had on people. She twirled around, her arms outstretched, as if she was trying to grab onto all of the memories. The three knew that they would have to take her back, in a few minutes. But until then, they still had this moment. She still had this moment—the moment where she was completely at peace. The moment where she was hopeful. It was a very good moment.
"And finally I twist my heart round again," the Doctor quietly said, "So that the bad is on the outside and the good is on the inside, and keep on trying to find a way of becoming what I would so like to be, and could be, if there weren't any other people living in the world."
Mycroft glanced down at his younger brother, who had orchestrated this entire thing. He smiled and whispered, "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."
It's all about your cries and kisses. Those first steps that I can't calculate. I need some more of you to take me over. I know because I can't calculate how to start again…how to start again…how to start again…it's all about you.
Author's Note: Okay, I need to explain this chapter. All I can say is that the emotion in this chapter escalated quickly. I was inspired by a post on tumblr which said:
I want an episode of Doctor Who where the Doctor meets Anne Frank but her death is a fixed point so he can't change it so instead he takes her to the future so she can see that it will not always be this way and the world doesn't end in 1944 and that's why she writes in her diary "and that's why, in spite of everything, I believe that people are good at heart" and that she is remembered for her struggle.
So I thought to myself, "How could I involve Sherlock and Mycroft in this?" And then it hit me. What if: the Doctor doesn't want to interfere with Anne's delicate timestream. So the brothers, especially Sherlock, go over his head. I'll get into Sherlock's character here in a minute. So instead of taking Anne to the future, they take her to the Anne Frank House.
Now before you read it and say, "Hey! Marauders4EVR, the theme of this chapter is very similar to Vincent and the Doctor! Especially the ending. Even the lyrics that you randomly put in—even though up until this point you have not put any song lyrics into this story!"
And to that I reply: Yes. You are right. Vincent and the Doctor is my favorite episode of Doctor Who because he is able to change Vincent van Gogh's outlook on his life. And it is said that Anne always had hope. Sherlock and Mycroft just give her more of that. They take a girl who has always held onto hope and show her that she inspired thousands and gave other people hope. And I put the song lyrics in because Chances was the song that played during the museum scene in the episode. And it's a wonderful song. And if you look at the lyrics, it really describes both Sherlock and Doctor Who.
Now then, onto Sherlock's character. I struggled with him stepping up and caring about the family and wanting to make a difference because if we look at Sherlock in the series, we can see that this is very out-of-character. Sherlock even tells John that caring for Moriarty's victims won't help save them. So why would Sherlock get angry when the Doctor cannot do anything, some thirty years earlier? Well the answer is that it is thirty years earlier.
Sherlock is still a kid. And though he is a bright and brilliant child, he still holds onto that bit of youthful innocence. His world isn't corrupted yet. By this point in the story, the Doctor has broken Sherlock's shell enough where Sherlock really does care. It's out-of-character. But don't worry; it will eventually go back into character. And in a way it's sad. Because Sherlock will eventually get hurt and he will eventually leave the Doctor and his world will eventually become corrupted and he will stop caring as much. He'll become the Sherlock that we know. There's a huge transition from the boy who initially wanted to be a pirate to the cold man who wants to be alone. So what might we deduce about his heart? Well, we can deduce that Sherlock does have one, despite what he's been reliably informed. And so he convinces Mycroft to go along with this plan. Even though both boys are going to be in trouble (although see just how the Doctor reacts when he realizes what his companions are doing) he still goes through with it. He helps Anne Frank. He shows Anne Frank just how inspiring she was. He takes his chances…