An elderly woman in a purple dress opened the door. "Hello, what can I do for you?" She greeted the girls kindly.
"I'm here to see Sherlock Holmes?" The black haired girl said.
"I want to see John Watson." The skinny girl said stiffly.
"Of course, do come in." The woman said with a smile.
The skinny brunette entered first, shoving her suitcase ahead of her. The chubby girl shrugged and followed.
Without waiting for an invitation, the brunette ran up the stairs. The elderly woman turned to the other girl. "Bit rude, isn't she?"
The girl nodded. "I don't know who she is. She can't be a friend of Sherlock's, he doesn't have friends." She smiled and stuck out her hand. "I'm Xena Holmes; Sherlock's little sister."
"I'm Mrs. Hudson." The woman said, grasping Xena's outstretched hand.
"May I go upstairs? I can't wait to see Sherlock!"
"Of course, dear. Go right ahead." Mrs. Hudson said.
Xena hurried up the stairs. Dropping her bag at the door to the living room, she ran in and threw her arms around her older brother. "Sherlock!" She squealed.
He looked down at Xena. "I was just getting to know John's little sister." Sherlock freed himself from Xena's grasp.
Xena knew about John Watson, but nothing Mycroft had told her prepared her for his actual self. He wasn't much taller than his sister, the skinny girl who'd barged into the flat seconds earlier. Mycroft had told Xena that he was a former soldier. For a brief second, she pondered how he had looked in his uniform.
Xena glanced at the girl, who was staring at her creepily. She cuddled up to her brother. "What's she doing?" Xena asked in a stage whisper.
"Deducing." The girl said simply.
Sherlock raised an eyebrow. "You can't deduce; you aren't a Holmes."
"I bet she can't deduce." The girl said, with a glare at Xena.
"No." Xena said with a smile, "My brothers got the brains and the height; I got the manners."
The girl muttered something that sounded like, "And the beauty."
"Speaking of manners," John began, with a pointed glance at the girl.
She seemed to shake herself. "Sorry. I'm Lucy Watson, John's little sister."
"Xena Holmes and this is my brother Sherlock."
"I know." Lucy said.
"John's told you, then." Xena said softly.
"Yes." Lucy said.
"No." John and Sherlock said simultaneously.
"Liars don't make good impressions, Lucy." Sherlock remarked.
It was quiet until John interrupted awkwardly, "Right. Anybody want tea?"
"I'll help." Xena said quickly and followed John to the kitchen.
"I have to say," John began. "You're not what I expected." He opened and closed cabinets, searching for the tea.
"You weren't expecting me, though." Xena commented.
"How'd you know?" John asked, sounding scared.
"I didn't," Xena responded, pulling a box of tea from the microwave. "But I was surprised when you said that girl was your sister." She walked over to the fridge. "And Sherlock never talks about his family if he can help it."
John filled the teakettle with water. "You are nothing like your brothers." He paused, turning off the tap. "You're so nice."
Xena grinned and opened the fridge. Her grin turned into a frown and she shouted, "Sherlock Holmes, why is there no milk!"
"It's okay, I like lemon in my tea." Lucy said from the doorway.
Xena ignored her and stomped into the living room.
Sherlock was pretending to read a book. Xena drapped her arms around his neck and tried to wrestle the book out of his hands.
"What." Sherlock said.
"Where is the milk?"
"What milk?"
"The milk that is supposed to be in the fridge for your lovely baby sister to drink when she visits you."
"Don't you drink tea?" Lucy asked, taking a sip from the cup in her hands.
"No."
Sherlock looked up. "Couldn't you deduce that?" He asked in an innocent voice.
Lucy's face reddened. "I can't deduce."
"Obviously." Sherlock muttered.
"Face it Luce. You are a terrible liar." John said gently.
Lucy sank onto the sofa and cradled the cup in her hands. "I was trying to impress you; to not be boring. John's told me now much you hate ordinary people."
"Be glad you're ordinary." Xena said gently, "Sherlock doesn't embarrass people with mundane lives."
Lucy sighed. "How much do you really know, Sherlock?"
Xena shook her head as Sherlock opened his mouth. She sure hoped Lucy hadn't done anything embarrassing recently.
"I know that you go to public school because of your sneakers. Your parents can't afford the private education they gave Jon because they insist on bailing your sister even though she hardly deserves it. You've come to visit John because you don't trust Harry. Your parents are in America and you'd like a calm, relaxing school holiday. You'll get one too, if no one gets murdered. You're a virgin because you've never really wanted to have sex. You've recently been feeling conflicted because you're a devout Catholic and you have been considering the fact that you might be gay. Don't waste your time on it, you're hardly straight."
"Piss off." Lucy muttered, her face bright red.
"Lucy!" John scolded.
"It's alright," Xena interrupted. "People say that all the time. It's good for his ego."
Sherlock tilted his head to the side and studied Lucy. "I've upset you."
"I wonder why." Xena said and rolled her eyes at Sherlock. "It's rude to talk about someone's sexual identity like that."
"It is?" Sherlock asked, curious.
"Yes, Sherlock." John said, almost patiently. "It's very rude because A, she is my sister and B, she may not feel comfortable having other people talk about the way she has sex."
"I'm a virgin." Lucy whispered hoarsely.
"So am I." Xena said gently. "And so is Sherlock." She smiled at John. "Although I'm not a lesbian and Sherlock's not gay."
Lucy caught the way Xena's smiled at John. "Wait," She said slowly and turned to look at her older brother. "Are you…"
John took a deep breath through his nose. "For the last time," He said, his voice dangerously quiet. "I AM NOT GAY!"
"Which is fine, by the way." Sherlock said and smirked at everyone.
John's face turned bright red and took deliberate steps out of the room. "I have a girlfriend, by the way." He called over his shoulder. "It's more than you can do, Sherlock."
Sherlock shrugged his shoulders.
"Excellent job, Sherlock." Xena said sarcastically. "You manage to embarrass two Watsons in under twenty minutes."
Sherlock took his violin off the bookshelf. Xena wandered towards the window and pulled back the curtain.
"Play something, Sherlock! The Queen is here!"