Thanks for the lovely reviews! Face the music, Sherlock, there may be issues! It may be cliche what I am going ot end up doing, but I don't care. I hope you like this! the Doctor meets sherlock in the NEXT chapter.
CHAPTER 9 - It's None Of Your Business
Tabitha watched him quietly, listening as he shut the door and turned on the shower in the bathroom. On the outside, she was doing a decent job making herself seem calm. On the inside, though, she felt like crying. He hadn't said a word during sex. It was all about him, but she knew that. She should be okay with that. It had been slightly different when they had finished – he had made sure she was completely finished before him. He had let her hold him!
As soon as he had time to clear his mind, though, Sherlock had pushed her away and made his way to clean up. Tabitha thought she was fine with being a stress reliever, but now she realized she definitely wasn't. Add the fact that they hadn't used protection, and she was completely done with being used for her body. The consulting detective had opened up that part of her that she had willingly closed when her husband was killed, but he would never return it.
She pulled on underwear, a bra, and a simple jean and t-shirt combination. Her feet would be bare – she suddenly planned to clean up the apartment. Tabitha hated to clean, but it was the best way to clear the mind and focus on something other than your problems. She pushed her curly hair up into a pony-tail, and walked to the door. She knew Sherlock and she should talk about what had just happen, but she had a feeling he would just 'delete' it from his mind.
She closed the door behind him just as Sherlock finished cleaning up. She made her way down the hallway into the living room. Checking the clock, she saw that it was nearing the middle of the day. Tabitha went to the kitchen, getting out some eggs to make herself some breakfast. She wrinkled her nose at the small pieces of human flesh at the bottom of the refrigerator, and closed it quickly. Tabitha focused intensely on her task as she heard Sherlock stride into the room.
"Sherlock, you have a package!" Mrs. Hudson called from the other side of the door. She opened it up and stepped inside with a big smile on her face. "Good morning, Tabitha!"
"Morning, Martha," Tabitha murmured, trying to put a real smile on her face. Mrs. Hudson fluttered about, placing the shoebox-sized parcel on the coffee table and then picking up some of the papers next to it. "Oh, I'll get that. I'm going to do some cleaning today."
Sherlock's eyebrows rose, but he didn't say anything.
"Oh, good, this place needs a good cleaning. I wanted to watch the telly this afternoon – there is a special broadcast with Prince William and the princess today!"Mrs. Hudson patted Sherlock on the back and made her way out of the room. Sherlock had put on his black suit with a black shirt for the day. Tabitha wondered if he owned any other clothing, beside his pajamas. She finished her eggs and toast, then took her plate to couch. Sherlock had taken his spot at his desk, fiddling with his laptop. It was eerily quiet to Tabitha, but Sherlock didn't seem to notice. She nibbled on her food, eating only half, and then placed it on the coffee table next to the package with a sigh.
"You never clean, if you can help it," Sherlock murmured, keeping his eyes on the screen. They both heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and turned at the same time to see John come in with a wide grin. Mary was beside him, her face a bit flushed.
"This is Tabitha," John said with a flourishing wave of his hand. Tabitha put on a genuine smile and stood up to take Mary's hand in hers.
"Yes! Mary Morstan. I've heard a lot about you," she said with a chuckle. Mary looked just like Amanda Abbington – thin and beautiful. Her blonde hair was settled over her shoulders, and she was wearing a dark cotton t-shirt dress with a simple white belt around her middle. "Your shoes are perfect," Tabitha complimented. They were dark ankle boots.
"Thank you," Mary answered, pulling her hand away. John murmured a few words into her ear, and the woman giggled. Sherlock grunted in annoyance and spring up.
"We have a case. If you are finished with your nightly events, we are needed at the crime scene," Sherlock said stiffly, grabbing his scarf and coat. Mary opened her mouth, but John stopped her with his hand.
"I promised Mary we'd spend the day together, take Tabitha," John stated.
"You're better than she is."
"I'm busy, Sherlock, with my girlfriend." Tabitha winked at Mary, and threaded her arm through Sherlock's, like he was escorting her to a dance of sorts.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to nod and smile and comment whenever he needs attention!" Tabitha chuckled. All Sherlock did was grunt and pull away. Tabitha rolled her eyes, and followed him. "Don't worry, John, I'll text you if it's important!"
John hummed, and turned to his girlfriend. No one gave the package a second glance.
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The Doctor cried out and shut off the screen in front of him. He felt his face flush and covered his eyes with his hands.
"Why did you show me that?" he shouted, stepping back and hitting the railing. The TARDIS whirred a laugh and flashed the lights around the console room humorously. The Doctor shook his head, trying to get the image of nudity out of his head. "That was a private moment!"
He sent a disapproving look up at the ceiling, and begun to look over the controls and calculations of the TARDIS. After pushing, pulling, spinning, and flipping some switches the TARDIS turned all the way on. He cried out in glee and whipped around to the screen again. He typed in coordinates, reached out to grab the big flip handle, and grinned up at no one in particular.
"It's going to be a bumpy ride!"
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"Why is she here?" Lestrade groaned. Tabitha furrowed her eyebrows at the disdain in his voice. She thought Lestrade liked her!
"John is busy," she huffed, putting her hands on her hips and standing beside Sherlock. He was looking down at a body face down. They were in a garden behind a three story house. There wasn't a lot of houses surrounding them. The body was female, by the dress, and looked to be in her 40s. She was splayed out in the dirt.
"Look, you don't have any certifications –"
"No one else will work with me. She's decent at spotting things," Sherlock murmured, crouching down and studying the body. Tabitha raised her eyebrows at Lestrade and grinned smugly.
"True. How's the memories?" the detective asked as they waited for Sherlock to finish his preliminary study. Tabitha curiously watched Sherlock lift an arm, study her fingers, and flop it back down. She saw Donovan by the group of police cars and other officers, eyeing her and Sherlock wearily. She moved her eyes over to the other side of the crime scene, and saw Anderson. Unlike most fans, she didn't despise Anderson for being himself – she hated him for the way he treated Sherlock. One of these days, she'd take a moment to speak with him.
"Same as before, Lestrade," she answered. Sherlock had taken out his small magnifying glass and was studying various spots on her dark coat. "Have you found anything about me?"
"Nothing," he sighed, sending her a sympathetic glance. She looked back at him and shrugged. Tabitha knew he wouldn't find anything, and she felt a bit sorry for him that he thought that he could. There was no way she could tell this man how she had really come to this place – by the Doctor's TARDIS, whatever that was. She made a mental note to search for information online.
"Tabitha," Sherlock said loudly, keeping his eyes on the body and motioning her over with his hand. She moved and crouched down next to him.
"You have one more minute, then I need something," Lestrade warned. Sherlock ignored him, like always.
"Look just under her coat sleeves," he murmured softly, glancing at her and pointing with his finger. Tabitha narrowed her eyes and brought her head down closer. She studied the place for a moment, not sure what she was looking for, and then she saw it. A dark freckle just above her wrist.
"That could just be a freckle," she said, pulling back.
"Do you think so?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Tabitha turned her head to look at him, his face softer than it usual was with everyone else. His lips were in a straight line, but his eyes were reassuring her to look closer. She rolled her eyes and turned back to the spot. She squinted at it again.
Looking for a moment longer, she recognized the color at the edges were a green tint. She grinned and pulled back. Sherlock smirked.
"The coloring is different."
"Yes. We will need skin samples. If we figure out why it is discolored, it may lead us somewhere." He pushed himself up, and quickly strode over to Lestrade.
"If you already knew that, why did you want me to look at it?" Tabitha asked, hurriedly following him.
"I wanted to see if you observed," he said. He then turned to Lestrade. "Early 40s, recently divorced – bitterly, it seems, unattached, worked at the local library, one sister. I'd check with the husband, the lawyers, and the manager at the library. I need skin simples from the spot on her wrist."
He swirled around, his coat billowing out behind him, and started walking toward the front of the lawn. Tabitha winked at Lestrade, who gave her a chuckle, and followed him. His phone made the noise of a text from John, and he looked down at it as they walked quickly toward Mrs. Hudson's car. Tabitha had been pleasantly surprised when she realized Martha had a vehicle that they let them burrow for the case.
"What does John want?" Tabitha asked, Standing next to the car while Sherlock texted him back. Lestrade popped up beside him, wanting to say something.
"He was complaining about your undergarments just outside my bedroom door," Sherlock answered, looking over at Lestrade. Tabitha felt her face flush, not realizing that her clothing had made it out the door in their frenzy to get naked.
"Oops," she murmured, shrugging her shoulders innocently at Lestrade. His mouth dropped open, and he looked between the two of them.
"You… and you… oh, for god sake!" he huffed, throwing his hands up. "You can't sleep with someone under your protection! Hell, I didn't even know you…. You know!" Lestrade's face was a bit red with annoyance, and his hand found his temple.
"It's none of your business," Sherlock said with a hint of irritation. "What did you need?"
"The samples will be taken to your flat in a few hours."
"Thank you," Sherlock responded, sending an over-the-top smile. Tabitha nodded and got into the car as Sherlock walked around to the right side and slid in. Tabitha would never get used to the opposite driving side. She had gotten into the driver's side earlier, and Sherlock had a fit about how dense she had to be to get into the wrong side. Tabitha had told him to shut it, and pinched his arm. The ride had been filled with silent glares from Sherlock as Tabitha kept her laugh inside.
This ride, though, was comfortable.
"Lestrade almost had a heart attack," Tabitha chuckled. She looked out the window with a smile, and Sherlock chuckled himself. "No one sees you as sexual. At all. I don't understand it."
"And you do?" he asked softly.
"Always have." She kept her eyes on the window.
"You were upset with me before we left."
Tabitha felt her body stiffen involuntarily.
"I'm fine."
"I've learned, through John, that when a woman says she is fine, she really is not fine," he commented. Tabitha took a deep breath.
"We didn't use protection, Sherlock," she answered stiffly, pressing her lips tightly together and holding her hands tightly in her lap.
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