Hello all! I am back from my trip and ready to get back into posting! Yaaay! I had a wonderful time in Joll Ol' England, so thanks for asking, lol. As always, thanks for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting, etc..Here is Chapter 12: less angst, more character exploration. Enjoy! :)

Chapter 12

Addie's excitement over the past few hours eventually got to her and she took to researching on the couch. She was laying on her stomach with a book open and a pad of paper in her hand jotting down notes as she read.

Every now and then her head would bob down, nearly hitting the book before she would snap it back up and blink harshly.

Sherlock watched her in her struggle to stay awake and rolled his eyes. Usually he would be worried about how much she was sleeping since she's never really needed much of it. But he reasoned that she had been through a lot these past few weeks and he can't fault her for being utterly exhausted. She held out reasonably well, actually. Any normal person would have probably collapsed a long time ago.

Addie was now reading with her head resting on her arm, pen still in the other hand writing a few words here and there. Her eyes closed for longer periods before she blinked them open quickly. Soon her head lolled to the side and came to rest on the open book. Her breathing evened out and her eyes stayed closed. Her mouth was opened slightly and small breaths were coming out. The pen in her hand slipped out and rolled to the floor.

John walked into the room holding a plate and a cup of tea. "Sherlock, Addie, I made some dinner if you want some," he said setting his plate down.

Sherlock looked up from watching Addie when John entered.

"Dinner?" John asked.

Sherlock nodded and folded up his paper.

"Addie, how about you, are you-" John paused seeing her asleep on the couch. "Oh, finally! I thought she'd never fall asleep. Thought I'd have to make her another cup of tea."

Sherlock looked at him in shock. "You…you drugged her?"

"I wouldn't say drugged really," John smirked. "I merely helped her along. A simple and mild narcotic added to the tea and she wouldn't be able to stop the inevitable. Don't worry; it has no addictive properties whatsoever."

Sherlock looked impressed and laughed out loud. "You actually pulled one over on Addie. She must have been really out of it to not notice something was wrong with her tea. You're going to be in trouble when she finds out."

"That's why she won't be finding out. As far as she knows she fell asleep reading on the couch," he gave Sherlock a pointed look.

Sherlock huffed and walked over to the couch. He picked up the pen and removed the notepad from Addie's limp fingers. He laid them on the table then moved to grab the book her head was resting on. He removed it gently out from under her and she stirred slightly. He carefully swapped the book for a pillow and Addie burrowed into it, wrapping her arms around it. He moved the rest of the book out with expert ease and put in on the table next to her notes.

John watched as Sherlock gently laid a blanket over her and he smiled fondly. Before Addie came along, it was rare for John to see Sherlock show any gentleness or care for anyone but himself. In fact, John often thought that Sherlock was incapable of any kind of emotion or sentiment, but in that moment, as he watched Sherlock's hand hover over Addie's head, he found himself doubting that fact.

Sherlock turned from the couch and John quickly looked the other way so he wouldn't think he was watching them. They sat at the table and John passed a plate of food to Sherlock. They sat in comfortable silence for a bit.

John decided to speak up about something he'd been thinking since Addie arrived. "She seems…different from you and Mycroft," he said.

"Hmmm," Sherlock replied.

"I just mean she's, well, more…"

"Human?" Sherlock interjected.

"Normal," John finished.

Sherlock remained quiet and looked at John expectantly, signaling him to elaborate.

"I mean, no doubt she's brilliant. But she's…more in touch with her emotions and the real world," John said. "I mean, not to say that you and Mycroft aren't normal…umm, you're just…uh, not as normal as most people…and…"

"Just stop John, you're not making it any better," Sherlock snarked. "What's that phrase? Quit while you're behind?" He smirked.

"Sorry, this isn't going the way I planned," John apologized, looking embarrassed.

"It's alright. I understand what you're saying," Sherlock said. "Addie's always been…different than us. Not in a bad way of course; just different. It could be because she's female, which gives her less control of her emotions. Females are the weaker sex, there's no denying it. But only when it comes to control over their feelings and sentiments. Women are actually, in fact, much stronger than men in many other regards. And well, Addie is strong. Stronger than Mycroft and stronger than me. Her strength is simply exhibited in different ways."

John nodded. "That makes sense."

"She takes after mummy in that regard. She's terribly dramatic and sentimental. We're always telling her that her compassion will get her in trouble someday. When she was younger it was extremely frustrating. We had little patience for her emotional outbursts and dramatic behavior. It wasn't until later we realized that we could learn from her."

"As you might have seen, Addie's the only one who has an effect on Mycroft and my emotions and it almost drives us insane sometimes. Mycroft told me once that Addie was turning him into a sentimental fool, but that he never regretted it for one second. You see, Addie's talent lies, not in trying to appear superhuman and unattached, but in revealing that she's not. That's why people trust her so much. She's real and she's human and she convinces people to be the same."

John nodded. "She's certainly easy to trust and it's easy to be fond of her so quickly. I've fallen victim to her spell also," John laughed. "Just one thing though. If her talent is revealing that she's human. Why does she try to convince us she's not? She gets strangers to talk by showing them compassion, but when it comes to people she knows, she pretends she has none."

"Ahh, now you've hit the nail on the head. The Holmeses have always been talented actors," Sherlock winked. "Addie's simply trying to be more like us. Mycroft and I have perfected the art of not caring-"

"Or rather, pretending you don't," John interrupted.

Sherlock scowled at him. "She does it to protect herself. We've all been hurt and shunned. Growing up wasn't exactly…easy and pleasant for us. I guess Addie eventually caught on to the fact that emotions and caring were not an advantage, and especially around those she was close to, it was better to guard herself."

Sherlock looked more worn out after his explanation and lowered his eyes to his cup. "It's something we wished we'd never taught her. How to close yourself off. Something we wished she'd never have to use."

"She doesn't seem to put it up around you though. Well, not much anyways," John said.

"I suppose she trusts me. I've somehow earned it."

"Can't imagine how. You're a prat at the best of times," John teased.

Sherlock chuckled and looked over to his little sister still sleeping on the couch. His smile disappeared as he watched her, but he was as easy to see through as a brick wall. John wished he had access to Sherlock's mind sometimes to see what he was too stubborn to reveal to anyone else.

"You were scared today, weren't you?" John asked.

Sherlock didn't acknowledge him or even spare him a glance.

"You were scared because of her reaction to the case," John finished.

Sherlock was still looking away from him. "My tea's gone cold, John," he said offering his cup.

"You worry about her. You won't show it but you do. I know you do."

Silence. No trying to deny it but no agreement either. Simply neutral. How very Sherlock.

"You worry about her as Mycroft worries about you," John said.

Sherlock scoffed. "Mycroft doesn't worry about me. He doesn't worry about anything other than keeping his position of power and preserving his reputation."

John rolled his eyes and chuckled, "You know, for being completely brilliant, you Holmeses are incredibly dense."

Sherlock turned sharply to stare at John with an incredulous and affronted look on his face.

"You may have everyone else convinced you don't care for each other, or even care about anything at all, but you don't have me fooled. I know you care about them. Both of them. And they care about you."

Sherlock focused on a spot on the wall behind John's head. "Yes, well, don't tell them. It would completely ruin our relationship."

"You are so weird," John said and shook his head.

"Did you expect anything more?" Sherlock smirked.

"No. Not at all." John laughed.