John sighed and paced a bit more outside of Sherlock's bedroom. He pulled at his shirt collar uncomfortably and once again he looked down at what he was wearing, he admitted that he looked smart but he was suffering from jumper deprivation.
"John." he heard Sherlock call through the door, "Come in, you're very distracting, I can hear your pacing through the door."
John sighed and pushed the door open. Sherlock was lying on his bed fully clothed (the bed was a big four poster, obviously, John thought) texting.
"How exactly can I distract you from texting?" John asked, as he sat down heavily on one of the chair that littered he room
Sherlock looked up at him witheringly, "What you mean is no one can distract you from texting" he replied "and that is because you are only able to do one thing at a time. You look fine by the way."
John looked down at himself for the one thousandth time, "Thanks, where's Squish?"
Sherlock nodded towards a door that connected through to another room, "She's still getting ready, and she's been putting on her make up for an hour."
John looked around the room for the first time, and noticed how similar it was to home. Folders vomited their contents onto the floor; armchairs were dotted around the room. And there was the ever present chemistry set on top of the fridge which John wouldn't look in if you paid him. There were also skulls dotted everywhere, and the one on the mantelpiece made John once again felt uneasy about Sherlock's dealings.
John looked over at the door, "why is there a connecting door between your rooms?"
Sherlock looked up and put his phone down, John heard him sigh, "John I really do wonder what you've done to your brain, she was a baby John and then a small child, I couldn't leave her alone."
"Oh please" said a voice, "You left me alone with a bottle of hydrochloric acid and a Bunsen burner when I was six."
Squish stood in the doorway, and John gasped. The dress she was wearing was backless and the neck was low. Her hair was down and had a wave running through it and the effect was one of an early Hollywood film star. But John was more focused on something else.
"You look... You…"
Squish also sighed, "John I'm a fifteen year old girl, you're a doctor you know how puberty works. I have breasts. So look up here, not down there."
"I wasn't… I would never… umm"
Squish laughed and walking over to him, patted his arm.
"I'm only joking John, but I don't know what you're worrying about" she looked over at Sherlock, "he's not exactly paying attention. Is he?"
Sherlock raised one eyebrow, "I am able to focus on more than one thing at a time you know?"
"So you just choose not too?" she asked wide eyed. Sherlock rolled his eyes and looked back down at his phone. "And how is Molly" she asked, completely innocently gazing up at him from her eyelashes.
"Fine" he said "although she does have some idea that this evening will be 'fun'"
John stood up, "Sherlock you do possess a cynicism that no one else I have ever met has, right Squish" he looked over at her, as she sat on the bed next to her adoptive father.
John was struck by the similarities between them. They had the same way of holding their head and this gave an idea of similarity between them. Then she smiled and the illusion was lost.
"Unfortunately John I agree with Sherlock in this case. Grandmother will parade us in front of her guests then I will have to 'mingle', while you and Sherlock are interrogated, before I will have to sing to her a collection of songs that carry 'meaning' for me, capped off with cake and sherry."
"John grimaced, "please tell me Christmas is better?"
"What do you think?" she asked with a face of exaggerated disdain, "Though it is entertaining to watch Sherlock and Mycroft fight."
Sherlock swung off the bed and stretched out his long body, he smirked at the other two.
"Into the breach once more?" he asked offering his arm to Squish, who took both his and John's.
"Let's, but I'm allowed to punch whoever calls me a dear little girl?"
"Agreed" John laughed and the left the room.
"So Sherlock tell me about this girl" said Penelope Holmes as she sipped from a glass of champagne and looked over her spectacles, "What does she do?"
John saw how Sherlock's upper lip trembled a little bit as his jaw tightened.
"I told you Mother, she's a pathologist."
"Oh well that's not a very girly thing to do. All those dead bodies, it's a little morbid dear. And Catrina has been asking about you."
"Mother, Catrina is my cousin!"
"Second cousin Sherlock, don't exaggerate." She turned to John, "he's terrible for exaggeration Doctor, I don't know how you live with him"
John chuckled slightly awkwardly, "Practice Mrs Holmes, practice and a blind eye."
"Oh please dear, call me Penelope, and I believe you are forgetting the patience of a saint. Now have you seen my granddaughter?" she twittered, "Its time she sang for her grandmother, She does have a lovely voice you know, quite unique…"
At that particular moment Squish was deftly flirting with one of the guests and hoping that Sherlock was behaving himself.
"You do seem young to be a colonel." She offered and smiled up at the tall man who smiled back
"It's a myth that the army don't reward those people who are good at their jobs" the man replied, "but I would rather talk about you. Is it correct that you are our hostesses' granddaughter?"
Squish laughed, "Adopted granddaughter but yes that's right. Sherlock is my father and Mycroft's my uncle."
"Fascinating" her companion breathed, "I've read his website you know and John Watson's blog. Wonderful stuff, truly enthralling. So it's true that you were kidnapped by another genius?"
Squish frowned, "I'm not sure I would call him a genius." She said, really looking at the man for the first time, "More of a psychopath wait a minute…"
She stared at him and her eyes widened in horror, "You know him don't you?" she whispered
Seb Moran smiled, "Congratulations." She said, "and I do mean that, that was what four minutes? Impressive"
She stood, head erect and chin thrust forward in defiance, "Will you please tell me what you want so I can move on with my life?" she asked languidly though her heart was beating like a drum.
"We just wanted to let you know that Jim is still very interested in how Sherlock's little experiment will work out. And now your little friend is a very interesting development."
"Don't you touch him." She spat at him, "But please do pass on my regards to Jim, and please let me congratulate me on his choice of employees. They do have in depth knowledge of how to scar a girl.
He threw back is head and laughed, "Oh I will, and I hope next time I'll have the pleasure of being involved in that activity. It's been charming talking to you and remember we'll be in touch."
With that comment she watched as he melted into the crowd.