The next morning follows what has become routine, with the two boys getting up, showering, and getting cleaned up, though Sherlock shows less of a respect for John's privacy as he comes in to brush his teeth and such while the little doctor is still in the shower, before they head downstairs for breakfast.
"Maybe we could see the grounds a bit more properly today. Without the mud fight." John offers after breakfast as he looks over at his companion with a grin.
Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Sherlock takes a deep breath. "I need to make a list of the chemicals I was using during my experiment, for Mycroft. And I need to make a blog entry today to indicate I will not be available in London for some time. You should do the same." he says as he looks at his friend with a small nod of his head.
Clearly disappointed in the fact that Sherlock wants to do things like that, 'grownup' things rather than embracing his childhood, John nods a little. "Alright. Well. I'm going to go for a walk in the garden this morning anyway." he says before he shrugs a little and gets up from the table, bringing his plates to deposit them in the sink, too short to reach in properly to wash them. "So I guess I'll just see you later." he says tentatively, not sure why this feels so odd. It's not as if they haven't been apart for hours or days at a time when they were adults. But since this happened they haven't been separated, they did everything together, so now that they have to be apart, it gives John a little bit of anxiety. He tries to hide it of course, knowing that it won't do either of them any good, and if they are to function normally - regardless of if they're children or not - they need to be able to be independent.
Not seeming to like that idea any more than John does, Sherlock hesitates before he nods slowly. "If that's what you want to do." he decides with another small nod, following John's lead and bringing his plates to the sink with a small nod to Anthea, who was once again their cook for the morning. Finally, he turns to John and says, "I will see you at lunch." he decides with a tentative smile as he looks at the soldier in front of him.
"Alright.. I'll see you then, Sherlock." John says as he turns and goes to find his sneakers, then lets himself out the back door after throwing on a jacket, not thinking about rain right at the moment, since the skies are clear of rain clouds, even if everything is a little cloudy. He quickly discovers that the grounds are quite beautiful and even if some of the flowers and such aren't in bloom, the greenery still makes him smile as he walks through it calmly, heading toward the lake to see if there are any fish in it, and after walking around the perimeter he starts to move toward the woods that seem to edge the property. Surprisingly, once he passes the first layer of brush and trees, it opens up under the canopy, with a few ferns, dead branches and the like, but not really any dense underbrush. It surprises John a little but pleases him as well, as the childlike part of him considers how easily he could make a fort, with defenses and if he was really clever, he could make a moat that is fed from the lake, but he's sure that Mycroft might get upset with that.
Still, he likes the idea of a fort and starts scouting for an appropriate place to build one, finally finding a clearing not too far from the edge of the trees which has some dense underbrush in it. And if he is correct they're just simple bushes, the type that usually decorates yards. No doubt some seeds got back there and grew in the sunshine provided by the clearing. With a grin of anticipation, he's about to exclaim how perfect it is, when he remembers that Sherlock isn't there with him. And while that dampens his enthusiasm some, he continues to work on an entrance and hollowing out the middle of the bushes in order to create a private place that even Sherlock might appreciate.
While John is wandering the forest, Sherlock heads into the study, hopping up on Mycroft's desk chair and pulling out some paper and a pen, ending up having to kneel on the chair to get proper height. Trying to focus on what's before him, he works on writing a detailed list of the chemicals that were on the table, including a sample of the gas that they were exposed to at Baskerville. Then he starts to thoroughly describe what happened, what part of his experiment he was doing and what other events led up to the little explosion, along with what else was on the table at the time. Still, after an hour of working on it, he finds his mind drifting, as much as he tries to focus it, and he turns in his chair slightly to stare out of the back window onto the back yard, not able to see John. That worries him a little, but on the other hand, he knows that the blonde can take care of himself so tries not to worry too much.
"You could go out and play, Sherlock. You could use the fresh air and sun. Surely John must be missing your company." Mycroft says softly as he enters the room and sees his little brother in his chair, having actually come in to do some work.
Jumping a little since he was startled, Sherlock looks over at Mycroft for a few moments. "Being a child does not negate my responsibilities." he says in a flat tone, tapping the paper in front of him, his writing at least not changed. Though he imagines his typing might be. "Where is my violin?" he finally demands.
Smiling a little and not taking offense at the change in tones, Mycroft walks over to watch his little brother. "The music room, of course. I thought it best to leave it there so you would not wake John in the middle of the night while using it. Or anyone else for that matter."
Giving his brother another slightly displeased look, Sherlock holds the papers out toward him. "This is all I can remember about the accident, surely John will give you a slightly different account." he says before he shrugs a little, hopping off the desk chair and heading out of the room before Mycroft can say anything else, going down to retrieve his violin.
As he carries it back to his room, he worries about his ability to play it, but since he has been playing since he was very young he doesn't think that will be a problem. Nevertheless, he takes great care to make sure that it's tuned correctly and it is prepared before he starts to play, something simple at first, the tune almost mournful as he closes his eyes and loses himself to the music. In all honesty, he feels a little lonely here by himself but he's not about to admit that. At least not to anyone that isn't John. They've done everything together up until this point and he sees no reason that it might not continue to be the same in the future, but in the same token he doesn't want to give up his independence, and he feels that if he spends too much time alone with John he might become dependent on the doctor.
As the music continues, Sherlock has to wonder as he tries to work through things, would it be so bad to rely on someone like John? To put his faith even more in the doctor? And the more he thinks about it, the answer seems rather simple:
No. It wouldn't be so bad at all.
Soooooo sorry for the delay! I kept getting distracted when I tried to write this. And I still ended up with an unusually short chapter. Sorry. :( There will be more exciting things next chapter. I hope. Thank you all for reading! Enjoy!
Reviews/Comments welcome!