Amy shivered as they left Speedy's not realising how far she had to walk to get to their flat. Sherlock bounded up the three stairs in one motion to the front door, next door to the little cafe. John trudged behind him looking completely shattered from a supposed busy day.
"You live...here?" Amy said pointing at Speedy's and then to 221, baffled by how close they were to each other. She stared around the street trying to decipher the dark shadows around her, as John turned the key in the lock.
"He's been here." Sherlock muttered with venom under his breath to John and Sherlock examined the painted black door frame, scratches engraved into the wood with the initials J.M. The gold embossed door knocker had been knocked off its rusty hinges, with scratch marks surrounding the filigree.
Amy didn't want to intrude and tip toed behind Sherlock and John into the toasty hallway of 221. The hallway wallpaper was flaking at the sides and worn down from, on close inspection, what looked like knife marks and scuffed feet. The light wallpaper design of a light blue and green bird mixed in with intricate white embossed lines was staring back at Amy as she waited for Sherlock and John to introduce her to their land lady. She traced her hand over the feel of the embossed wallpaper as Mrs Hudson appeared.
"Mrs Hudson!" John shouted endearingly into the front room, hoping Mrs Hudson wasn't too busy. A woman covered in self raising flower, in a dark purple pussy bow blouse with lace embellished cuffs and an apron wrapped around her mid drift was standing next to Amy, knocking lightly on the door frame next to them.
"Sherlock look at the mess up stairs." She said in a quietly annoyed tone. "I only popped out for half an hour and you boys have left the taps running in your bath room?" She began to rant.
Sherlock and John looked at each other in shock, as they both leapt up the stairs, knowing they both hadn't been in all day. Amy looked up at them both bounding up the creaky wooden stairs. "I suppose I'm introducing myself then!" She shouted tutting to herself as she leant against the cream painted railing holding the stairs in place.
"Hello my dear, are you a friend of John and Sherlock's?" Mrs Hudson enquired in a comforting tone. Amy wasn't in the best of moods, her raggedy man had left her once again, she started to tear up as she thought about him, and sniffed as she pinched her nose. Mrs Hudson realised that she had been crying, and pulled a hankie from her pocketed apron.
"Thank you" Amy said graciously, deciding she had no right to be angry at anyone here. She snapped herself out of her funk, continuing to stare intently at the beautifully ornate wallpaper behind her, unsure of how to answer Mrs Hudson's question without more lies.
"Errm sort of, John said you have a spare room going?" Amy said feeling sheepish and rude for launching in with such an impertinent question. "Oh yes dear, would you like to see it?" She said, gesturing for Amy to head up the stairs. Amy followed Mrs Hudson's finger and started to trudge up the stairs, still absolutely knackered from Space Florida. As they both clambered up the stairs side by side, Mrs Hudson decided to enlighten Amy with some light conversation. "So how do you know those two ragamuffins upstairs then?" She enquired light heartedly.
Amy realised she would once again have to lie her way into the flat, hoping the colour of her flushed cheeks wouldn't give her away this time.
"Oh you know, my friend Jonathan is away on business and Sherlock and John offered me the flat, whilst I wait for him to come back, John Watson is an old friend of his" Amy quickly lied through her teeth.
"Oh everyone's friends with John Watson, it's his friendly persona I think." Mrs Hudson said in a motherly tone about John.
"Its Sherlock I worry about", she continued "only got John as his one true friend to talk to." Amy listened to this feeling sorry for Sherlock, not really surprised about this fact. Mrs Hudson straightened out her light a line skirt as they clambered to the top step, Amy helpfully taking Mrs Hudson's hand.
"Oh my poor old weary bones, my hip isn't right for this kind of climbing up stairs." She said with a smile "I need my herbal soothers." She said using the stair frame as support at the top of the landing. Amy stood next to Mrs Hudson, unsure of what to say next.. "Is it just through here?" Amy began, starting to feel her body lag.
"Yes dear, just the door on the left" Mrs Hudson replied, holding her back for support.
"Well it was lovely to meet you...sorry love I didn't catch your name?" Mrs Hudson said apologetically.
"Its Amelia, Amelia Pond" Amy said with a sweet smile, she didn't mind Mrs Hudson calling her by her full name, it reminded her of the kind sweet ladies she used to talk to outside the post office in Leadworth .
"Lovely to meet you Amelia." Mrs Hudson said offering Amy a friendly hand shake. "And" She added in a whispered toned "I'd like to say, you seem to be able to handle John and Sherlock very well, you are welcome to stay here my dear, we need more girls in this house." She said with a friendly wink and a cheery smile before heading back down the stairs to take her herbal remedies.
Amy stood on the landing smiling down to the lovely lady she had already found a fondness for, suddenly missing her quiet life in Leadworth, she hadn't been back there in so long. Often she had thought about returning with The Doctor to prove them all wrong, the raggedy man did exist. She had met up with her old school friend Rory once or twice, telling him of her magical Doctor once more. Rory had always loved Amy's imagination, but couldn't fully believe her mad stories about the raggedy doctor from space.
"Sherlock! What are you doing?" Amy snapped out of her daydream and heard John screaming at Sherlock from inside their flat.
Amy rolled her eyes and walked in to see what the commotion was about. Sherlock was inside the flat, feet squelching on the floor, using John's jumpers to clear the water out of the bathroom. "Stop using my clothes and use kitchen towels instead!" John screamed at Sherlock.
John saw Amy in the door way and walked over to her. "Hey Amy, sorry had a major catastrophe in the flat, someone's left the water running in our bathroom and it's leaked into 221c, its caused some rather large damp spots in your bedroom. I assume Mrs Hudson gave you the room?" John asked, already knowing the answer. "She'd love to have another girl in the flat." John said with a smile before shouting at Sherlock again "Sherlock please stop using my best jumpers to clean up the damp!" John pleaded with Sherlock.
"Think about it this way John, I'm saving the world from your god awful fashion sense." Sherlock quipped back as he rinsed Johns cream cable knit sweater out the window into the side garden down below.
Amy chuckled quietly to herself hoping not to offend John. Sherlock looked over seeing Amy laugh, he smirked adding "see Amelia agrees with me as well."
Amy gestured to Sherlock to cut it out, with a sharp horizontal hand movement under her chin. Sherlock gave a side smile and raised his eyebrows.
He left the kitchen, after kicking John's jumpers under the table and walked into the room to join Amy and John, casually flopping himself down onto the sofa "Any way what else was I supposed to use, it was the closest thing to hand, really John you do like being overdramatic." Sherlock continued, not realising John was fuming from the ears.
"You two are like an old married couple!" Amy joked laughing at both John and Sherlock.
Sherlock rolled his eyes and jumped up "Marriage is such a distraction, as are your endless girlfriends John." Sherlock said continuing to wind John up.
"Sooo" Amy asked trying to defuse the tension staring down at Sherlock to stop annoying John before his ears started to bleed. "What were you saying about my room John?"
"Oh sorry, basically your room needs to have new carpet put down again because, well, the floor is soaked." John said apologetically, forgetting his anger at Sherlock. "But" He added before Amy looked upset. "Sherlock and I wouldn't mind if you wanted to stay in here with us until it's all fixed." John said with a small smile. "I just hope you don't mind guns firing at 2:00 in the morning." John added with a chuckle. "Sherlock does get bored a lot of the time." he continued with a sigh. John stared at Sherlock, hoping he had won that round.
"What John is trying to imply Amy is that apparently I'm not an easy person to live with, which is why, he is so dreadfully sorry you have to stay here" Sherlock piped in, mocking John's polite voice.
"I think it's exciting to have guns in the house!" Amy said, her childish fantasy taking over. "Dr...Smith never lets anyone have guns." Amy continued, still trying not to give any major details away. Sherlock grinned, adding resin to his violin bow, holding it against his ear, and thinking.
Amy scanned the room before she answered again to Sherlock, noticing a skull on a mahogany mantle piece, a crossword rubix cube and various circled newspaper cuttings on the table next to him. A music stand caught her eye to the left of her as she wandered further into the flat looking around.
"I'm Scottish! I love danger." Amy replied with a wink.
"We can set you up a bed on the sofa if you like?" "Sorry it's not very homey but it's the best we have right now." John finished.
Amy looked round once more giving the room one final glance, noticing another intricate wallpaper pattern behind the sofa she was going to call home for the next few days, staring at the personal clutter surrounding her.
"This is perfect boys!" Amy exclaimed mustering up a sweet response. She walked over to the sofa and made herself comfortable just as she started to feel her eyes droop.
"Well terrific!" John exclaimed. "Do you have any bags Amy?" John said searching around the room realising Amy only had the clothes she was wearing and her phone in her pocket.
"No, err Jonathan didn't exactly tell me about this trip so I couldn't prepare." She said looking upset."It's ok, I've got some money I'll go do some shopping in London tomorrow." Amy said with a cheerless smile, realising the money for the shopping trip The Doctor was referring to earlier was one without him.
"Right, well Amy shall I put the kettle on?" John said clapping his hands together, still perched near the door frame. John had forgotten it was nearly 11:00 at night . "Errr...John...you." Amy said gesturing at him to look at the clock.
He checked his watch after Amy gave him a puzzled expression, realising the time, he bustled into the kitchen to make a milky drink instead.
Amy snuggled into the oversized sofa, kicking off her boots and sinking into one of the worn in leather grooves. Her eyes keep shutting, as she forces them to reopen, intrigued to keep talking to Sherlock about his work.
"You're tired" Sherlock observed. Fiddling with the amber polish he was adorning on his violin bow.
"If you're tired and want to waste time you can sleep you know?" Sherlock said with a smirk, plucking the G on his violin and loosening the peg box.
"Well done geniusss" Amy said yawning a symmetrical oval shape, enjoying the faint pizzicato sounds in her ear. Amy jolted herself upright again, forcing her eyes open once more.
"But sleep is so boring!" I want to hear more about your cases!" Amy said as she bounced joyfully on the sofa with little energy left, yawning once more, her words becoming slurred, and her eyes heavy.
"Sherlock's right Amy, you look shattered, why don't we chat more in the morning?" John said with a smile, reentering the room with a packet of wotsits, not a milky drink.
"See she has the right idea John! Sleep is dull!" Sherlock declared, plucking on the violin louder, then resting it under his chin for a second.
"Sherlock! Look at her!" John said exasperated at Sherlock's hatred for the ordinary, pointing at Amy, her eyes now almost closed.
Amy's body started to flop down, her neck rolling down her body in a tired yoga position, vaguely listening to Sherlock and John argue once more.
"I'm finnnneeee" Amy yawned nearly dropping out of consciousness, jolting herself awake once more.
"OK!" Sherlock said moodily "But if her IQ level suddenly drops in the morning, I'm blaming you John." Sherlock said with a huff, annoyed he couldn't continue to brag about himself to someone new.
John rolled his eyes and helped Amy to snuggle on the sofa, like a child, picking her feet up and swirling them onto the sofa. Amy curled into a ball, and started to find herself being pulled back into her dreams once more. John grabbed a thin blanket and draped it over her, barely covering half of Amy's long fragile body.
"Here." Sherlock grumbled, grabbing his coat from the back of the door hanger and draping it over Amy, a much better fit. Amy squirmed in her sleep as she felt the warm coat cover her goose pimpled body.
"I have more important things to do other than sleep John" Sherlock stated loudly, turning away from Amy to sit back in his armchair with his maple wood violin. John stared at Sherlock, surprised at Sherlock's sudden kindness to Amy
. "Listen you'd better be quiet tonight, Amy needs to get some sleep and I promised Jonathan I'd look after her" John whispered to Sherlock quietly trying not to disturb Amy.
"John I envy your level of sentimental value you have for everything." Sherlock sighed as he started scribbling sheet music down in his big chair.
"Yes well, you could do with a bit of sentimental value yourself Sherlock." "I'm going to bed, are you going to be okay out here?" John said with a tired sigh. "No waking Amy up please." John pleaded once more.
Sherlock had now stopped talking to John and entered his mind palace, questioning Moriarty's most recent tease, what did it mean, how was it part of his scheme.
"Ha sentiment, sentiment is a chemical defect found of the losing side John" Sherlock recalled John's last statement.
John tutted as he realised, Sherlock was going to stay up all night, thinking.
He mused over how Sherlock's can think like an engine racing out of control, how sentiment can't affect him, how he won't let it affect him.
What must it be like in the brain of Sherlock Holmes?
He sighed and left Sherlock pondering in his armchair, his long bony fingers steeped under his chin.
After a long while, Sherlock finally snapped out of his trance. "Elegant." He said under his breath muttering to himself.
Sherlock realised he was alone at the table. He looked up at the clock 4:55 am. Sherlock mused to himself. "How can people be so DULL!" He said, the crescendo growing in his voice.
Sherlock was bored and decided to write some more of his composition, whilst the world was sleeping.
Amy stirred in her sleep as Sherlock quietly got up and positioned his music stand in front of himself, his long strides, made the floorboards creak, looking back at her when she stirred, pausing for a moment, watching her breathing pattern, measuring her heart rate. "Why are you so impossible?" He muttered to himself, before sitting back down in his arm chair and scrawling down sheet music once more.
TEXT MESSAGE:
Whose legs are those?
Can't be Johnny Boy, far too attractive
Come and Play
Bring Her
Jim Moriarty
X