A/N: It's been a while, but I figured it was only fair to update this since I'd been working on "Sandwiches" earlier. I'm so grateful for all of you that have been following the stories so faithfully all this time. You really give me the encouragement I need to keep going. Not just with my fanfiction, but with my "real world" stuff as well. BTW- I didn't mention the other day that my novella "Chasing the Dragon" does have an Easter egg for those of you that follow this story in particular. So if you do get a copy [ g o o.g l (slash) ], be sure and look for it!
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the children and the shenanigans.
It was very late. For Scarlett anyway. It seemed that she'd been up forever, but she couldn't go to sleep now. Not until Gabriel called their mother's mobile and said that he was back at Archie's house. That was the plan and she didn't want to screw up. Gabriel had told her specifically that she was supposed to answer their mum's mobile if anybody called. If it was Katie's father, she was supposed to say that Katie was taking a shower before bed and that she would call him in the morning. If he asked to speak to their father then she should say that he was out on a case and that her mum was putting the twins to bed. They had been over it a million times before Gabriel and his friends left for the movie. She so wanted to get it right. It was the first time her brother had ever asked for her help and Scarlett was determined to do as he asked.
But the waiting up was awful. She was just a little person and the big numbers on her princess clock said 10:08. Her mum and dad had put her to bed and kissed her goodnight at 9 as usual. She would be in lots of trouble if they knew she was still up. Actually, there were many things she would be in trouble for tonight if her parents found out. For example, swiping her mother's mobile phone. And she knew Gabriel's plans and hadn't told anyone. It wasn't exactly a lie, but she didn't think her parents would see it that way.
Cat wandered into the bedroom and whimpered as she stared up at Scarlett with her big brown eyes. "Shush," Scarlett scolded. "If they hear you, they'll come in and catch me awake!" Cat seemed to understand and finally jumped up on the bed. She lay down at Scarlett's feet and heaved a sigh. Even the dog could smell that something was up. Gabriel's plan was never going to work, Scarlett thought miserably.
She could feel the vibrations in the floor as her parents moved around in the next room. If only they would go to sleep, this would all be much easier. Scarlett was terrified that when the mobile did ring, that her parents would hear it. But if they were asleep, the chances of her getting into trouble would dramatically decrease. All of this worry was really doing no good. What she needed was a distraction. Scarlett stared up at the ceiling and noticed the little glow in the dark stars that her parents had painted. They glowed weakly and Scarlett began to count them. Of course, the more she counted, the sleepier she became. Her eyes felt heavy and she sat up, shaking her head to wake herself up. "Gotta stay awake," she said with a yawn. But how? She looked around her room for inspiration that wouldn't come. Anything she did her parents were likely to hear her. She didn't dare sneak down the hall to Gabriel's room to watch telly. Not while they were awake, at least.
Scarlett reached over and found the switch to turn on her lamp. It was a small, pink crown that lit up the room with a dim light. She often used it as a nightlight when the darkness was just too much. Across the room, outlined in the dusky pink light, was her bookshelf. Perhaps a book would be just the thing to keep her awake! She slid out of bed, careful not to disturb Cat, and went to the shelf. It was a hulking wooden thing that stretched almost to the ceiling. The books toward the bottom were the ones that she had deemed "her favorites" and were therefore kept in easy reach. The ones toward the top were books that her mummy said she "wasn't quite ready for yet." Those were the ones that were so inviting. Big thick books with leather spines and interesting illustrations. Or the scary books that Gabriel read when he was little that she had inherited. Almost instantly she picked out the book with the red leather cover and the gold lettering. It was an enormous fairy tale book that her mother had read to her many times. It had a magnificent story about a dragon and a princess that Scarlett loved more than anything. She couldn't read all the words yet, but she knew the story by heart and the pictures would help. Actually, Scarlett liked it better that way. Then she could make up the fuzzy parts and turn the story into something brand new. The only problem was, the object of her desire was on the very top shelf of her bookcase.
It didn't take long for Scarlett to work out that she was going to need to climb in order to get to the book. The only question was, how quiet could she be? She looked around the room for something tall enough to act as a ladder. She didn't want to climb the shelves themselves. Gabriel had completely torn down one of Nena's cabinets using it as a ladder to get to the chocolate biscuits. She could try using the little chair that went with her art desk, but it was so short that she almost didn't fit under the table with it anymore. Not to mention that it was more of a stool and Scarlett was afraid to stand on it. But the bed… the bed could be very useful. If she stood on the very end of the bed and leaned over, she might be able to reach the book.
"Cat, you gotta move," she said. The dog just snuffled at her and started to roll over, but Scarlett was a girl used to getting what she wanted. So she shoved Cat to the other side of the bed despite the angry grunts. She very carefully climbed up on her full sized bed and pulled the fluffy pink comforter aside. She didn't want to get her feet tangled up. The bed bounced, but Scarlett managed to keep her balance as she got to her feet on the unstable mattress. She soon realized that the footboard of the bed was straight and had a wide, flat beam that she could easily stand on that wouldn't be wobbly. So she stepped up and admired how high she was. There was the temptation to fall backward on the bed to get the rush of falling and then the exhilaration as she bounced, but she managed to ignore it. Jumping on the bed would most definitely draw the attention of her parents.
OoOoOo
"What are we going to do now?" Andrew wailed as the five of them sat on the curb like homeless rabble.
"Would you stop whining?" Archie snapped. "I've been listening to it for ages now. Just shut it!"
"You shut it!" Andrew countered. "We wouldn't be in this fix if it wasn't for you!"
"Oh so it's my fault?"
"Yeah, kinda."
"Just shut it! Both of you!" Gabriel shouted finally. "We need to figure out how we're going to get out of this mess without all of us being murdered by our parents!" He sank to the sidewalk in front of the cinema, dejected and feeling like an idiot.
The last two hours had been an exercise in horror. First, they'd nearly been found out when they reached Archie's Aunt Lena's apartment. She was having her boyfriend over for a drink before they left on their date, adding another layer to their deception. It was Andrew's bright idea to go to the big Cineplex on Oxford instead of the smaller cinema just around the corner from where they all lived. Meaning they would have to take the Tube. Then, while they were waiting in the Tube station, Gabriel got distracted and his friends, not used to traveling on the Tube on their own, read the map wrong and got them on the wrong train despite Gabriel's protests that they were going the wrong way. They finally made it to the theater, having missed the showing of Tower of Blood they had intended to go to. But it was ok, there was another show starting a half hour later. The place was packed with eager filmgoers and with their cash clutched in hand, the merry company set off to find the guy who would buy their tickets. They found a shady looking guy standing just around the corner from the box office and Archie insisted that was "the guy." Archie collected their money claiming that it would be easier if they gave the guy all their money at once plus the commission. So like the sheep they evidently were, they handed over their money to this total stranger who promptly lost them in the crowd and took off. Now they were stranded with no more money for the Tube or a cab. They could conceivably walk home, but none of them had any idea where they were.
"What are we going to do?" Katie cried, threading her arm through Gabriel's.
"We're going to have to just suck it up and call one of our parents to come get us, I guess," Andrew sighed.
"I can't do that!" Tessa exclaimed. "My mum and dad will kill me if they know I took the Tube all the way over here on my own!"
"Not to mention when they find out where we were going. And that we lost all that money," Andrew said.
"I can't believe you're all so whiny!" Archie said. "This isn't a big deal. We'll just sneak in the side door, see the movie, and call my Aunt Lena to come pick us up. She won't care that we're seeing the movie."
"Your Aunt could be out for ages," Gabriel said. "Remember, that's why we were supposed to be staying at your house in the first place. Because your Aunt Lena wouldn't know what time we came home!"
"What about Mrs. Hudson?" Katie offered.
"She doesn't go out after dark by herself," Gabriel replied. "She's afraid of perverts on the Tube. And being kidnapped by psychotic cab drivers."
Archie heaved an exasperated sigh. "My Aunt Lena will come pick us up in her car. I'll just borrow a mobile or we can call her from the theater after the film." He stood up, dragging Tess with him toward the alley that ran down the side of the cinema. "Come on. Nobody will even notice if we slip in the side door while people are coming out."
The friends looked from one to the other and then stood up. If they were going down, they might as well go all the way.
OoOoOo
Sherlock lay casually on the bed, laptop on his lap and the telly tuned to some ridiculous horror film when Molly breezed into the room half-naked. "All the children are asleep, laundry in the dryer, no work for three days… I think this calls for a celebration." When he looked up, Molly had two wine glasses and a bottle of Merlot balanced in either hand. He could feel the muscles in his belly tighten as he watched her move across the room. She was wearing the sheer camisole and matching black lace underwear that always signaled that Molly had more in mind than sleeping.
"While I very much appreciate the view, Mouse. We can't get too deeply involved."
"Why?" she said, setting the glasses down and lying beside him. Her backside was upturned and his eyes followed the curve down the back of her thigh.
"History suggests that Will or Finn or perhaps both will be up in the next ten minutes needing the loo. Besides," he tipped the laptop where she could see it, "I'm working."
"Oh that man's already dead. Surely he can wait a few minutes…"
"A few?" Sherlock scoffed.
Molly giggled and stretched up to kiss him. "Well, perhaps a bit longer than a few." The quick brush of her lips against his was enough and he pushed the laptop aside, rolling over to meet her kiss. His hand slid around her waist and down to rest on the lacy curve of her buttock. Molly crushed her body against his. She was so warm and soft, clearly more than ready for some fun.
Then Scarlett screamed bloody murder.
"You know, it's a wonder we ever got Will and Finn," Sherlock grumbled as they scrambled out of the bed. They tripped over one another as they raced down the hall to Scarlett's bedroom. At first they didn't see her, only hearing her unintelligible screams, but upon entering the room they saw her lying on the floor. Her face was a mess of blood.
"Oh my God! My darling, Scarlett!" Molly exclaimed, pushing Sherlock out of the way to get to her child. "What happened?"
Scarlett couldn't stop crying and kept pointing to the bed.
"Sherlock, she's bleeding!" Molly cried. She always stated the obvious when she was frightened. She searched the child's face looking for the source of the blood. "Did you hit your head?"
"Yes!" Scarlett wailed, reaching for her father.
Sherlock pulled Scarlett away from Molly and carried her into the bathroom. "Hush, Scarlett," he said, setting her down on the counter and turning on the bright light at the sink. His tone was brusque, but he'd learned from past experience that babying Scarlett only dragged out the trauma. "I know you're hurt but there's no use all this screaming." But it was too late, Will and Finn were already howling in the next room.
"I'll get them," Molly sighed.
Sherlock used a flannel to wipe most of the blood from Scarlett's face as she whimpered. An angry bruise was rising on her forehead and the blood was coming from deep cuts on her lip and chin. "I hurt, Daddy…" she whined.
"I know. We're going to fix it." He handed her a cool, wet cloth to hold to her cuts. "Did you just hit your head?"
She weakly held up her hand. It was scraped and bruised at the wrist that was slightly swollen. "I tried'a reach my book."
Sherlock moved the wrist gently and Scarlett whimpered, but didn't scream. Probably just sprained, he thought. "And I bet you were standing on the end of your bed," he said, trying to sign.
"I had to, Daddy!"
"You had to? You were supposed to be asleep."
"I couldn't go to sleep," she said. Her speech was garbled without her hearing aids and she was dangerously close to tears again. "I had'da stay 'wake."
"Why?"
"Bre s'posa call me on mummy's phone."
Sherlock started to nod, but then processed what she was saying. Why would Gabriel be calling home? He was having a sleepover with some friends at Archie's house. If he needed to call, which was highly unlikely, he'd just call his father's mobile. Everyone knew that Molly turned her mobile off when she wasn't on call over the weekends. "Why?"
"He said I had'a wait until he called to go to sleep."
Before he could ask more questions, Molly came back wearing her comfy pajamas and a twin on each hip. So much for playtime.
OoOoOo
Everything was almost perfect. Once they'd sneaked into Tower of Blood, the movie was every bit as frightening as they'd all hoped. Katie was appropriately horrified and didn't miss an opportunity to hide her face in Gabriel's shoulder. No ushers came by checking everyone's ticket. It all seemed to be going so well. They were so lost in the gore-fest that they had almost forgotten their predicament. But even that, Gabriel was sure was well under control as they exited the cinema.
The teens turned toward the box office, hoping that they could ask nicely and be allowed to use the theater's landline. Unfortunately, the showing they'd ended up seeing was so late that the lobby was closed by the time they got there. "No matter," Archie said. "I'm sure someone on the street will let us use their mobile."
"Like who?" Andrew shrieked. "The only people out here at this hour are drunks and psychos!"
"And us," Archie scoffed. "If all else fails, the A&E down there will let us use their phone."
"I don't want to use the phone in a hospital," Tess said.
"Why? Think they're going to spontaneously decide to keep you for observation?"
"This is so stupid," Gabriel sighed. "Let's just ask somebody." He started down the street, leaving his friends behind. It was after midnight and the crowd had thinned considerably. For a moment, Andrew's sentiment about drunks and psychos was viable. The truth was, that while Gabriel was thirteen, he didn't go wandering the streets after dark on his own. His parents had only recently started letting him walk to Katie's on his own and ride the Tube with his friends to school. Finally, he spied a couple down the street standing there with a couple of kids. They were in front of the A&E, probably waiting for a cab. How threatening could a family be? Not to mention that they were sure to have a mobile phone between them.
Gabriel took a deep breath and sprinted up to where they stood and tapped on the back of the man's shoulder. "Oy, mate. Do you mind if I use your…" His words died as the man in question turned.
In the dark, Gabriel had failed to notice his father's coat. Or his baby sister standing on his other side. "…mobile?"
