AN: Sorry, still non beta-ed. But hopefully the MS word grammar police has helped in some meagre way at least. :)

Chapter-2

The return of Holmes

John was sitting on the wet mud underneath which his beloved Mary now rested. He wanted to join her, he just wanted to seep into the soil like the rain drops falling on it. He was sitting alone there as he had requested everyone. They were skeptical but he had convinced them that he wouldn't do anything adverse and that he just needed to say goodbye to his wife in peace. But not everyone left of course; no matter how much John had convinced them, they still couldn't trust him in this condition. So Lestrade and Harry, both were waiting patiently for him in their cars having silently decided to give John a maximum of an hour out there in the rain and in case he did not return by then, they would go and fetch him.

...

Harry was sober and had been for a year and a half now. She had been really close to Mary, somebody whom she could consider a close friend, someone whom she never had before in a life she had wasted on alcoholism and meaningless and worthless romantic pursuits. She was single at present and was thoroughly enjoying it. She has decided that now if she would find somebody it would be someone whom she could love to the extent how John and Mary loved each other; their love was her benchmark for true love now.

...

Lestrade was still the best DI of the Scotland Yard, even despite all the black marks smeared on his name for involving Holmes in their cases. He had always been a very good mate to John and even more after that fateful day at the Bart's. He had been a frequent visitor to the Watson household's Sunday brunch, which was one of Mary's many specialities. And he was always considered more a member of their family than a guest.

...

Neither of these two people noticed that a female figure who was still lurking behind the trees, getting wet in the rain and staring intently at the figure sobbing on the freshly re-laid mud when they went to fetch John again after extra half an hour.

But they surely were in for a surprise later, when the three would reach 221b Baker Street.

...

Mrs. Hudson, the dear old lady had suggested that they bring John back to Baker street as she was sure he would turn even more miserable if he returned back to the house where all of Mary's possessions was there to remind him of her absence.

But John had of course opposed to that saying he was fed up of running from memories, for he moved from Baker street to run away from Sherly's memories and now he was going back there to run away from Mary's...

But in the end the motherly lady had won the argument and John was in no mood for fighting and so had agreed to stay in Baker Street for next few days at the very least.

...

So Harry, Lestrade and John had comeback to Baker street directly from the cemetery. But when the three climbed those 17 steps and opened the door to 221b with John in the lead, they just had to dash into each other when John suddenly jerked to a sudden halt just after entering the threshold. And just when the other two were opening their mouth to ask whether John was alright, they both caught the glimpse of an eerily familiar figure sitting on the sofa in an equally eerily familiar pose. There on the sofa sat Sherline bloody Holmes complete with her ever famous great coat giving semblance of a living being as if the last 3 and half years had just been a stupid, bad dream which everyone had dreamt up simultaneously.

...

It took around total of 5 minutes of stunned, jaw-dropping silence and 15 seconds of Sherly opening her mouth and speaking in that same unique voice of hers to confirm her status among the living beings, for John to drop like a dead weight towards the floor, unconscious.

Well lucky for him the other two quickly caught him before he hit the floor and hurt himself. They then carried him straight to the nearby bedroom and carefully placed him on the bed, all the way keenly ignoring the presence sailing behind them. They sprinkled some water onto John's face and patted his cheeks gently, to wake him. When he came back to his senses, the first thing he blurted was, "I saw Sherly! Can you believe it? I think I saw her ghost!"

For which Sherline replied, "Seriously John, Ghost? Haven't I taught you anything?" in the same familiar lofty tone of hers, which prompted all the three to stare at her.

John suddenly jumped up from the bed and came to stand next to Sherly almost invading her personal space. He then gingerly touched her nose as if to check whether she was solid or just a figment of his imagination and all this is a part of some of his wild hallucination. But when he saw the familiar sarcastic smile on that unearthly face, it was all he ever needed to to confirm that it was actually his Sherly, his best-est friend, who was standing in front of him in actual flesh and blood and to give her a soul crushing hug.

They stood like that for almost 3 minutes, when suddenly John broke the emotional embrace with a jerk. He then glared at her with such a fury which could have freezed hell over many times; his hands had begun to shake uncontrollably and only this time it was clear that it was from repressed fury. He had balled his hands into fists and if she would have been a man, it was clear that he would have punched her with a force that could have broken her mandible. But she was a female and John was a true gentleman, he would never raise a hand over her and for that she really should have been thankful. So instead John just turned and left the room with forced deliberate steps leaving Sherly for the other two to deal with.

...

Now it was Lestrade's turn after few minutes of awkward tense silence after John dramatic exit. He just came near her and stood glaring at her with a look which was part anger, part betrayal, part disbelief and part disgust. Anger, betrayal and disbelief were there for obvious reasons and disgust, because even though she had been alive and knew how much John had suffered, she had allowed it to happen, had left John to die of sadness; and he would have too if Mary hadn't come into his life in the right time. So he just stood there and glared at her and this was all did before he too left the room like a gentleman who really did not want to deal with a lady in his anger.

Harry was the only one left now. And she being a female had the advantage and full freedom to vent her justifiable anger on behalf of her brother. So she readily gave a tight slap on the very much suspecting and even expecting, Sherline Holmes. She even raised her hands again intending for a second, only to lose her steam and storm out of the bedroom in a huff.

...

In the living room, each one was sitting in complete silence, when Mrs. Hudson entered with tea for everybody. And the tray which was falling from her hands was rescued by the very one to cause the shock for it to fall. Sherly then waited patiently for Mrs. Hudson's reaction, which came in the form of sudden shriek, weak thumps, coat-pulling and a weak yet powerful hug. Tears were flowing freely from the eyes of the elderly woman and Sherly felt a strange feeling somewhere near the anatomical location of the organ called heart. She gently returned the hug and held the sobbing lady till she was sure enough to stand on her legs without them buckling below her. Then to hide the awkwardness of the situation Sherly playfully asked, "No tea for me Mrs hudson?". And Mrs. Hudson tutting Sherly said "You haven't changed a bit, I see. Well, I will go and make a cuppa for you too, give me a moment to gather myself, dear. After-all it is not everyday someone dear comes back from the dead now,is it? And the rest of you dears start drinking before the tea gets cold."

...

The atmosphere of the room was so slippery that everyone was sure that whoever who would open their mouth first would fall miserably; so the silence prevailed. Well atleast till the annoying sound of a cell phone ringing disturbed the peace like it disturbs in every place where it is not supposed to ring. But in this case it was Lestrade's phone and everytime his phone rang somebody most probably would have been already dead and somebody somewhere always had the potential to be, so he took the call. And just when he finished the call, he caught the eyes of the consulting detective who despite the circumstance had a hint of smug grin on her lips confirming his mental theories at once. He then left the group saying he has some urgent work and will be back in the evening and would bring dinner along with him. The first part of the sentence even though was said facing John was more intended towards the lanky form still huddled in that giant old coat of hers indicating a more serious conversation to come.

...

With Lestrade leaving, Harry on the contrary felt the room was even more congested than before, that it was almost suffocating. She wanted to stay with her brother; she had even applied for leave at her office for another week so she could help him settle back to his life atleast a bit. But now it seemed she wasn't needed, even though she knew very well that Sherly was the woman who had hurt her dear elder brother the most, she also knew that now she is back, there is nobody else in this world who can understand and comfort him like her. In the beginning of this unusual partnership she like everyone else had thought that it was going into something romantic in the years to come and that friendship was just the first step towards that inevitable ending. But as the years went by she and all others who had bet their money on these two to become a romantic couple, were proved wrong and thankfully so, because their relationship was the best the way it was and it was just the way these two ever wanted to be. She was really glad that her brother and his friend were not weak mortals who succumbed to external pressure and gossip and decided to turn their pure and rare friendship into something else that neither of them wanted it to be.

She had admittedly been jealous of their relationship many times, always wondering how two people can so selflessly love each other and not even want the comfort of romantic love. But then she always knew that if anyone deserved that kind of respect and love, it should have to be her brother. Because for her, he was her first best friend; a person who supported her through her younger years from the bullies, during her teen rebel years from her parents and during her later alcohol muddled years from her own destructive self. He was always with her; he might not have been happy with her actions but he had never failed to be her side when she ever needed him.

AN: Do feel free to drop a word about what you think of this. I know this feels kind of dragging but believe me I'm trying my best to finish these sentimental stuff soon so that the main part of Sherly's pregnancy cravings (as mentioned in the summary) comes soon. As that is the very reason I started writing this story, after all ! :)