DiNutso-4-DiNozzo: Hey guys! I know its been awhile but here's the second chapter to Distance!
-10 years later-
"Adam James Holmes! If you don't get down here in the next five minutes, you're grounded!" 29 year old Riley Black yelled for her 10 year old son. Soon the sound of feet running down a flight of stairs was heard. A boy that was fairly tall for his age group appeared in the door way of Riley's kitchen. He had black curly hair with blue eyes that changed between a bluish gray to a glacial blue. He was wearing a shirt that boldly stated, "Too stupid to understand science? Try RELIGION!" and ripped blue jeans. Riley, turned toward the coffee machine, pointed to the oak table where a bowl of cereal was sitting. The boy hurriedly went to the seat in front of the cereal and tried to keep his t-shirt out of his mother's view.
Riley turned toward the table with her coffee and sat across from her son and picked up the newspaper. She glanced at her son who was trying to look innocent, and she just caught the words on the t-shirt before he leaned forward toward the table. Having just taken a drink of her coffee, she choked.
"Where the hell did you get that shirt?" Her son opened his mouth to answer, but the mother lifted her hand, "Wait. Don't tell me. Your father," she sighed.
Adam nodded sheepishly.
"After you're done with your breakfast, you are going to go back upstairs and find another shirt, that won't get you expelled from school." Riley ordered sternly, mentally reminding herself to tell Sherlock to stop sending her son those kinds of shirts.
"But mom, the idiots can't expel me when it's my constitutional right to free speech. Trying to would be letting them push their opinions on to myself. And like you say, no one can force your opinion when it's your own opinion." Adam tried to use logic to convince her, that Riley was sure his father told him to say if the idiot comment was anything to go by.
She sighed in exhaustion. Having a son who was a prodigy and learned most of his insults, explanations and mannerisms from his genius of a father sucked sometimes, "Adam, you are not wearing that shirt to school and that is final." Adam made to protest but Riley gave him the look that mother's around the world perfected when having children of their own, making the young boy go back to his cereal grumpily.
The two sat in silence until a ringing sounded. Adam's face brightened as he reached in his jean pocket and pulled out a small cell phone. He glanced at the screen with glee and before his mother could stop him, he pressed the green send button to answer.
"Hey dad," the boy said as he stood up from the table and put his bowl in the sink. Riley sighed and heard the deep cultured voice of Sherlock Holmes answer her son over the speaker phone, that her son somehow found a way of keeping on all the time. His father probably told him how to do it. The woman thought with annoyance and some amusement.
"Hello, Adam. Are you ready for your math test today?"
"Yep, it's so easy an imbecile can do it," Adam replied smugly. Riley's head snapped up, "Adam!" said boy glanced at her with a determined look, "It's true though, mom." Riley opened her mouth to reprimand him but a chuckle stopped her followed by, "Now, Adam, your mother is right. You shouldn't speak about people who are less intellectual than you."
Riley rolled her eyes with an annoyed expression on her face.
"Mom won't let me wear the shirt you gave me because the school might expel me. But im just expressing my opinion, right dad?" the boy informed his father. Riley rubbed her temples, not wanting to deal with this when she had little to no sleep the night before after having that same damn dream. 'Why must I have that dream every year around the time Sherlock and I had first met?' The woman wondered with frustration. 'Or a better question, why do I remember the exact day that I met Sherlock?' There was a voice in the back of her head, that to her immense annoyance sounded like Sherlock, tell her, 'You know why, it's because you still lo-'
"Adam, go upstairs to change your shirt. We have to leave soon." The woman interrupted her thoughts and whatever Sherlock may have remarked on that statement. Adam pouted at her, "But mom,"
"No, Adam. Im not asking again, change your shirt. You need to get to school." Adam huffed, "Fine, I have to go dad, I'll talk to you later."
"Alright, Adam, I'll call you before you go to bed tonight. Let me talk to your mother," Adam handed the phone to his mother and then bounded up the stairs.
"Really, Sherlock, you had to get him that shirt?" Riley asked annoyed. There was a sigh, "Have you gave any thought to my-," Riley cut him off, "I already told you Sherlock; im not changing my mind." There was silence for a moment before, in a low tone, Sherlock responded, "I've changed, Riley. Im not the same man I was six years ago. You still love me, I still love you. I know it's true because you haven't filed for divorce. I miss you and Adam; I want us to be a family." Riley closed her eyes to stop the tears from falling, "I can't, Sherlock. I may still love you, but I don't want my son to ever see what I saw that night,"
"I've stopped using, Ry. Im clean,"
"For how long?" she asked sharply. "I never know if the times that you call to talk to Adam if you're high or not. Bloody hell, Sherlock! Sometimes when the phone rings I expect it to be Lestrade calling to tell me that he's found your body in some alley somewhere dead from overdose."
There was a beat of silence, Riley glaring ahead of her and Sherlock smiling slightly at hearing her using British slang. "I've been clean for over a year. I have a clean apartment and a roommate moved in with me a year ago. I work cases with Lestrade almost all the time now, Riley. I don't know what more I can do to show you that I've changed." Riley heard shuffling from the entrance to the kitchen and looked up to see the edge of Adam's shoe disappear from view. She got up and walked outside, closing the door behind her.
"Do you know I have nightmares of that night, seeing you, laying there pale and with a needle in your arm, looking dead? Not knowing what could possibly make you do that to yourself, and in our own house where our son could see you like that? My god, Sherlock," Riley felt a sob breaks free from her throat.
"Please, Riley, don't cry." She heard Sherlock sigh uneasily. She could just imagine him sitting in their old flat in London, staring despondently at a wall with his glacial blue eyes that she so much loved. Riley sighed and cleared her throat, glancing at her watch, "I have to go. Adam and I will be late."
"Ok. Good bye, Riley. I love you." Riley closed her eyes, wanting to return the sentiment but couldn't push the words past her clogged throat. She heard the line disconnect, knowing that Sherlock hung up. Riley looked up to the morning sky and waited for the tears of sadness to leave.