Wow three hundred. Really thanks everyone! Now this is my longest so far and I thought about about breaking it up but I couldn't find a good place to do that so I didn't. And I was going to make it longer but I figured that four pages was long enough. Well enjoy!
John woke up the next morning, groggy and to a loud banging. He slipped out of his bed, slid his feet into a pair of waiting slippers and shuffled into the kitchen. He was rubbing his eyes, not truly awake at whatever time it was.
"Sherlock." John yawned, "What are you up-"he started.
Sherlock was in a bath robe and had many beakers with unknown liquids ranging from dark marigold to slightly lavender, Sherlock had a test tube in his hand with some short of bright green liquid and was pouring into a glass tub containing yet another head. Its hazel eyes were floating in different beakers; one in a clear liquid on a Bunsen burner on full blast and the other in some light blue liquid on ice.
"Hello John." Sherlock said eyes still on his head as he slowly poured whatever in the test tube onto it.
John turned on his heel and started back to his room, "I'm going back to bed, bloody potion's master out here." John grumbled.
"Oh dear!" Mrs. Hudson exclaimed, "Look what you've done to my walls now!"
John turned to see the old woman holding a tray with a teapot, tea cups and a small plate of scones and jam. He also saw a large burn mark up the wall nearest Sherlock.
"Sorry, heat got away from me." Sherlock said still observing his head as it started to bubble.
"Let me help you." John said and took the tray into the living room, the only place seemingly untouched that day by Sherlock's madness.
"Oh thank you dear." Mrs. Hudson said and sat on the couch.
"Cup of tea?" John offered seeing only two cups and knowing full well Sherlock was too engrossed to eat at that moment.
"Oh yes please dear, and I brought up that jam for you, I thought you might like it." Mrs. Hudson said eyeing Sherlock warily, "Do be careful dear!"
He merely waved at her and John gave her some tea, "How are you today?" John asked sitting beside her and taking a scone and jam.
"Not well I'm afraid." Mrs. Hudson sighed sipping her tea.
Sherlock put all his equipment down and listened closely, "What's wrong?" John asked.
"Oh I'm worried about that young lady, she seemed very unwell." Mrs. Hudson sighed again and rested the cup on the table.
"Carmella is very resilient, she says she has a month but I would say she had a year, never been one to simply lie down and take something." Sherlock said then returned to his work.
"That may be so but she was very unwell when she arrived." Mrs. Hudson recalled.
Once again the buzzer was going but instead of the short sweet annoying buzz it was a long continuous buzzing.
"Stop leaning on the bell!" Mrs. Hudson shouted and opened the door.
Leaning pathetically on the door frame was a young lady. She looked about 20 or so, her umbrella was fully open but only catching rain at her side. Her hair was in very poor shape and her make-up was becoming thoroughly ruined by the rain, only her green coat protecting her.
"Is Sherlock home?" she panted, clearly having hard time breathing.
"I-I'm sorry he's not." Mrs. Hudson said and went to aid the girl, she put a hand on her shoulder to help steady her, "Are you alright?"
"I need to see Sherlock." She panted and tried to take a step but only fell inside and spilling all the rain collected inside.
"I would have called someone but knowing she was here for Sherlock I figured she'd be alright then I found the note in her pocket." Mrs. Hudson explained.
"Note?" John asked topping off Mrs. Hudson's tea.
"Oh yes there was a note strapped to the inside of her coat saying that if found she was not to be sent to a hospital, but the rest was too wet for me to make out." Mrs. Hudson said and then thanked John for topping off her tea.
"And you lifted her onto your couch? I'm impressed." John chuckled and complimented the jam.
Mrs. Hudson laughed and thanked him, "No no she came back around. I closed the door and tried to help but she just asked if she could wait for Sherlock in my apartment."
"She was alright after that though?" John asked.
"Yes, I came back after she made it to the couch and asked if she wanted anything but she was already asleep." Mrs. Hudson said then sighed, "Poor girl, John how bad is that virus? Do you think she is in much pain?"
"There are very few documented cases but in most cases they slowly loose they're senses but pass peacefully." John answered and rested his hand on Mrs. Hudson's.
"Oh that's good." She sighed a breath of relief, "Well I have things pick up at market. I'll pick you up some of that jam." Mrs. Hudson said and patted John's hand before getting up.
She walked through the kitchen, "Would you like anything Sherlock?" she asked staying back slightly from Sherlock's experiments.
"Peace and quiet…and a bottle of juice." Sherlock said annoyed at first then seemed to ponder.
Mrs. Hudson chuckled and patted Sherlock's back as she left, "I'll get peach for you dear."
"Oh not peach." Sherlock groaned, looking from his eye ball on eye to Mrs. Hudson.
"Yes peach, it'll be good for you." Mrs. Hudson said then left Sherlock to grumble by himself.
"Well." John sighed and stood up, "I'm awake, might as well shower." He groaned and cracked his back a little.
"Be careful." Sherlock warned and went back to his work.
John stopped, "Why do I need to be careful?" he asked coming back into the kitchen.
"No reason. Most accidents in the home occur in the shower." Sherlock said scribbling down some notes.
"Oh," John said, surprised that it was such an easy explanation, "Well alright then."
John started off for the bathroom when Sherlock's voice chimed in again, "And there's an ongoing experiment in there."
John threw his head back with a groan, "Sherlock! The bathroom is the one place that is off limits!" he shouted.
Sherlock rolled his eyes looking at John, "You never made that clear, and don't worry it's not in the shower." He said going back to his work again.
"Bloody potions master." John grumbled again and went to get his towel and such.
After about an hour John had showered, dressed and all around was prepared for the day while Sherlock was still wrist deep in experiments.
"I'm going." John called pulling one his jumper on and picking up his keys.
Sherlock came out of the kitchen with a small hunk of brain matter in his hands, "Going where?" he asked.
John withheld the urge to vomit, "I'm going to get something to eat."
"Oh, well have fun." Sherlock said off handedly and went back to the kitchen.
John headed out when he came face to face with Carmella.
They both blinked. Carmella looked a little healthier that she had the night before. Her skin was still pale and her eyes held shallow bags but she did look a little better. Her hair was up in a neater bun with two chopsticks. She still wore her dark green coat but under that was a clean black shirt and camouflage pants with black ballet shoes.
"Oh, good morning doctor Watson." Carmella greeted.
"I, um hello. How did you get in?" John asked as Carmella simply walked past and into the apartment.
"Your locks are not as strong as you think they are." Adrian said clapping John on the shoulder, "Did you sleep well?" he purred.
"Adrian!" Carmella shouted from the living room.
Adrian's hands once again went up in a defensive position, "Yeah yeah no flirting." He said and joined Carmella in the living room.
Sherlock came in shortly after John rejoined them. Sherlock wiped his hands on a towel and before he could speak Carmella interrupted.
"There are bullet holes in your walls." She said touching a smiley face with a bullet hole for a nose, "Why are there bullet holes in your walls?" she asked Sherlock.
"I was bored, and the walls had it coming." Sherlock shrugged.
"Seems a little harsh. Did you give them a talking to first?" Carmella asked looking around at the other walls.
"They can't hear; they are inadament objects." Sherlock said matter-of-factly.
"Yet," Carmella said poking a finger in a bullet hole, "You said that they had it coming."
Sherlock had nothing to say about that, "Why are you here?" he asked.
"I want to know when you plan on starting my investigation." Carmella asked, slipping her finger out of the bullet hole.
"I have a lot of other cases built up." Sherlock said.
"No you-"John started but Sherlock shot him a look.
"That a case?" Carmella asked pointing to the mad house in the kitchen.
"Research." Sherlock stated.
Carmella raised an eye brow, "Research?"
"Yes." Sherlock said simply and went back to the kitchen.
Most would be deterred to follow a mad man into his little shop of horrors but it seemed that Carmella was not most people; she followed Sherlock and witnessed all the madness flowing around her with no shock or awe. She just took it in.
"I think you'd get more promising results if you turn the burner up on this just a little." Carmella said motioning to the eye ball.
"I don't want promising results." Sherlock sulked and continued poking at the brain in front of him.
"Then why do the research?" Carmella asked reaching for a small beaker only to have her hand slapped by spatula.
A spilt second later Adrian's long katana was at the consulting detective's throat, "I highly recommend you do not do that again Mr. Holmes." He said in a cold, unfeeling voice.
Sherlock dropped the spatula only to see a John wielding a gun to Adrian's head, "And I recommend you put the sword away Dr. Valentine." John said just as coldly.
"Shit just got intense." Carmella breathed.
Adrian relaxed the blade and John withdrew his gun, both men nodded to one another to signal that neither would attack.
Sherlock turned back around and poked the brain and poured some foreign liquid, "Don't touch anything." He said observing the brain's reaction, at which it bubbled and the area the liquid had fell on it had turned black and seemingly died, "Interesting." Sherlock muttered.
Carmella rubbed the back of her hand and Adrian quickly joined her to look, "Oh don't give me so much fuss." Carmella said rolling her eyes.
"You're injured." Adrian said simply looking over the woman's hand.
"Please it's just a bruise." Carmella rolled her eyes as the overly protective doctor sat her down in the living room.
"Just like that cut on the playground was barely a flesh wound?" Sherlock asked as Carmella was seated and he joined the group, holding his experiments.
"That was just a flesh wound." Carmella argued as Adrian poked the fresh bruise, "Ow you dolt!" she snapped.
"A twelve centimeter piece of glass in bedded into you left had was not a flesh wound." Sherlock said lounging beside John on the couch forcing the other man to get up and sit in a chair which Adrian had not taken because he was kneeling beside's Carmella's chair.
"Good lord! How old were you?" John asked in that amazed way he did.
"Seven I believe." Carmella pondered; a small scar was in her left palm.
"Six. You birthday was a week from the day you found me at the playground, you jumped off the swing, then tripped then fell onto the glass at which a group of parents ran over and attempted to help you and drive you to a hospital but all you said you needed-"
"Was a good set of tweezers." Carmella chuckled recalling the memory,"That's right! I had that ruddy bandage on my hand during the party. Come to think of it, I invited you." She said looking back at Sherlock.
"I had other engagements." Sherlock said getting off the couch and went to go back in the kitchen.
"You always did that." Carmella sighed, "Always said you had other things going on, never made time for a friend." She said looking at him.
Sherlock paused in the door way, finger tips tapping the archway, "I don't have friends." He said before returning to his work.
John felt bad, this girl was dying and on top of that she thought she and Sherlock were friends only to have him say something so cold. John normally felt a little happy being the only person Sherlock concerned a friend but Sherlock could have at least said something nice.
"So um, your case then," John said clearing his throat, "Where should we start?"
Carmella sighed again, "Well after I moved to America-"
"Boring." Sherlock muttered.
A muscle in Carmella's right eyebrow twitched, "I thought maybe I'd work and be smart like my only friend, a dick named Sherlock bloody Holmes!" she said once again, unrefined British accent pouring into her otherwise calm American tone.
Sherlock chuckled, "Carmella went to college and started work at the American CDC." Adrian explained.
"Yes," Carmella said, American accent returning yet again, "I got work at the CDC and a month ago we got a sample of tardus mortem vocationem from a man in Uruguay, a small village had become infected."
"Did they find the source?" Sherlock asked a little more interested.
"No, we tested water, wild life, birds, trees, plants; you name it we tested it. The results all held traces but not enough for an entire village to go down and it didn't spread." Carmella answered.
"So you think it was a test." Sherlock deduced.
"A small area, very controlled populations and only a small amount of deaths? Positively." Carmella said a steely look in her eyes.
"Interesting." Sherlock smiled and clapped his hands with excitement.
"We were transferred to The BC Centre for Disease Control shortly after our tests were concluded then in a few weeks we're to be transferred to Baskerville to find an antivirus." Carmella explained and then sighed, "But by the time we do…it'll be too late for me."
Adrian put his hand over Carmella's and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, "We'll get to it in time." He said comforting like.
"Sweet sentiment," Carmella hummed and closed her eyes, "But the odds are slim."
"Are you two together?" John blurted and turned a light pink as all eyes were on him.
Carmella laughed aloud," Oh heavens no! Adrian as a boyfriend back in America, he's just a shameless flirt and a good friend." She chuckled.
"Hey I'm not shameless!" Adrian shouted trying to defend his honor but a skeptical from Carmella quashed that, "All the time." He muttered.
Carmella's eyes rolled "Ok so eighty five percent of the time you are."
"Well then if we can get on with this." Sherlock said growing bored again.
"Ah yes, I stole these personal files so you can give them a look over." Carmella said and pulled three files out from her coat, "These three people are the only ones I've had contact with that could even had access to the virus." Carmella said laying them out.
"You stole these?" John asked picking a heavy file up.
"Problem doctor?" Carmella asked.
Ok I had so much fun writing this chapter. I had to make Sherlock a potions master because he has a Alan Rickmen voice when it gets all deep and I can just see him doing all that craziness. Anyway I hope to see you next chapter! Please leave me a review! Tell me how I'm doing.
P.S Your getting three new players in this game. Should be fun.