For John Watson

[howdull]

[Sherlock is still finding pieces of the melted laptop in the carpet.

It had actually been quite an ingenious booby trap to be devised by a fourteen year old boy with only household chemicals to work with but, as Sherlock surmised, rather overkill to keep his mother from finding his extensive porn collection. Not one of their more illustrious cases, but it had been quite entertaining to watch both the boy and mother's faces as he revealed that he did know the how and why. He lost interest after the mother started shouting and John started shouting and the whole thing turned tedious.

He rather thinks John won't actually be doing a full write-up of this one on his blog.

It's been two days since their last case and he's beginning to get more than a little antsy. Lestrade has sent him nothing, just a boring hit and run that he refused to even leave the flat for, and nobody interesting has appeared through the blog. Said blog he is currently scrolling through on John's laptop, having borrowed it again.

He did ask, it's not his fault John hadn't been in the room at the time.]

Bored, John.

[He doesn't even know if his flatmate is even in, but that's hardly a necessity for him to actually speak to John. Frustrated, he throws the laptop across the room to hit the wall, where it summarily breaks. Which is where he can be found whenever John appears, sulking amidst pieces of laptop, both from the melted one of their last case and John's poor broken one.]

Comments

[howdull]

[It feels good to be back in his own clothes, back in the saddle as far as the game is concerned. He still feels a little weak on his feet, but it's something he can push down and ignore quite easily. A minor complaint of the transport. He will deal with any longer term problems when this is solved.]

Works as regard the naming scheme, something I believe she is wedded to with her delusions and grief, but something isn't right there. His discharge has already occurred, yours also, honourable in both regards. Invalids. No, speculation is only muddying the waters, we need to meet your Major.

[jumpthegun]

Please be nice to him. Babe.

[Molly's little car rolls up a moment later and they're faced with the same problem as last time. It's really only made to seat two people. John looks to Sherlock to see what he wants to do. Just taking Molly's car again is going to start wearing on John's conscience. The woman has a life for god's sake.]

[howdull]

[Babe. Urgh. He'll have to nip that in the bud before John starts using it whenever he wants to annoy Sherlock, mostly because it's effective and that makes it unacceptable.]

Don't call me that again, I might have to reconsider my stance on Mycroft if you do.

[Molly winds the window down, giving them both a hurried smile.]

Sorry, but I can't give you the car this time. One of you'll have to get a cab.

[Sherlock's already turning away, he much prefers the privacy of a cab where he doesn't have to talk to anyone anyway.]

[jumpthegun]

[John just rolls his eyes at the threat, but his focus sharpens to something cutting when Molly suggests splitting up. He moves to grab for Sherlock's arm.]

No! [That was... louder than he meant it to be.]

Sorry. No. I'm sorry, Molly. I should've thought it through. We'll just both take a cab. Are you okay? Was Jim acting weird?

[howdull]

[She bites her lip in mild indecision. She doesn't want them taking a cab, and she does need to talk to them about Jim. All of a sudden she's getting out.]

John, get in the driver's seat. Sherlock, get in, I'll sit-- I'll sit on your knee, hopefully we won't get stopped.

[Sherlock looks appalled.]

Why don't you sit on John's knee? It would make far more sense for the two smaller individuals to share a space, and for me to drive.

Because John's hurt, I'm not squashing him into the seat. Now get in the car, Sherlock!

[jumpthegun]

[John does like a woman who can take charge, and he casts a grateful look at Molly as he moves to the driver's side and slides in carefully. Once Sherlock and Molly... arrange themselves and shut the door, John pulls away and he's into traffic.]

So, how was Jim acting after you two left?

[gallowshumour]

[Molly can't help the slight stain of red to her cheeks as she settles on Sherlock's lap, his arm loosely around her waist just for somewhere to put it. It's intimate, and she's grateful to John for providing a distraction.]

Normal. Or-- just like always. But he kept smiling when he thought I wasn't looking, and I don't think it was a comforting smile. He said he had some leave coming up and he's going to visit his family next week for a while, so I think you need to catch him in whatever he's doing quickly before he gets away.

[jumpthegun]

[John glances over at her, but flicks his eyes to meet Sherlock's for a moment. Privately, darkly, John thinks they'll probably run out of letters by the time Jim leaves if they don't catch Caroline before then. He has to be instrumental in this. Or whomever her tech person is.]

We're looking to catch Ms. Matthews as soon as possible, Molly.

[A thought occurs to him as he turns his attention back to the road. It's a cruel strategy, but it might be an effective one.]

Wonder if we could draw her out with her kids. She does have them, but they were taken away from her. Maybe set up-

[John shuts his mouth and looks over quickly at Molly again. His voice is overly casual.]

Molly, have you ever... d'you know what a bug might look like? A listening device, I mean? If you found it on your clothes or in your car.

[gallowshumour]

[Sherlock hates being forced into such close proximity with Molly, the warmth of someone else's body against his is entirely unwelcome. But it can't be helped, and so he puts it out of his mind in order to focus on the case. John gets an approving look, both for the idea of children and the realisation that there might be a bug recording their every spoken word.]

Using the children is a poor idea, John. She will doubtlessly be having them watched, we would not get close.

[Though his words are derisive, perfect in tone and delivery, his expression still radiates approval. Molly looks slightly startled, and then pats herself down as best she can as though expecting to find something.]

I don't know. I work with normal bugs, maggots and fly larvae, not electronic ones.

[jumpthegun]

[John catches the look and just nods, focus back on the road ahead. They can maybe discuss this later, when Molly isn't with them.]

Right. You're right... And sorry, Molly. Maybe we can... I dunno. Run a big magnet from the lab over your car? Might not be kind of any of the other electronics, but it should probably disrupt anything else in here.

[Maybe? Hell if John knows where the tech's at these days. Magnets can ruin phones, though. It seems reasonable enough to assume they'd disrupt anything else.]

Is there anything else you can think of that happened with Jim? Anything at all?

[gallowshumour]

[Molly thinks for a moment, running through the entire little conversation they'd had before he'd left the hospital and she'd gone back to get her car and carry on with her day.]

I heard him answer the phone when he was leaving, I think his surname might be Moriarty.

[Sherlock practically jumps, electrified, despite being buckled into a small car seat with Molly on his lap. That name. That name that the cabbie had shouted, the one that's haunted the back of his thoughts for months now. He didn't know what it meant, and now-- that's Moriarty?!]

Are you certain, Molly?

[Not that he needs to ask, of course it's Moriarty. But who is he?]

Um, yes. Why? What's going on?

[jumpthegun]

[John isn't sure for a moment, himself, and then it clicks.]

That's... isn't that the name that cabbie told you? [For Molly's benefit he explains:] Our first case together was that serial suicides bloke, Jefferson Hope. He told Sherlock he had a fan... [His eyes widen.] Moriarty.

[They're getting close to Baker Street now.]

You think Jim's your fan.

[howdull]

Of course he is, that--

[He cuts himself off all of a sudden and then slaps the dashboard hard enough and suddenly enough to make Molly jump.]

Urgh, that means that Mycroft was right. Tedious.

[jumpthegun]

[John frowns as he searches for a parking spot along the street.]

Right? About what?

[He's pretty sure Mycroft is an arsehole who is right about very little in this world at the moment.]

[howdull]

He hypothesised that Caroline Matthews was a foil, being used by someone to get at me through you.

[He hates it when Mycroft is right, especially about things that he just hasn't seen the pattern in.]

If that is true, then I'm sorry, John.

[jumpthegun]

[That just deepens his frown. The thought that this wouldn't have happened if he hadn't been connected to Sherlock is an uncomfortable one.]

We're both targets. I think we can each make up to the other by not dying and solving this.

[He parks the car and carefully moves out of the driver's seat. He'll wait for wait for Molly and Sherlock to untangle themselves, drawing Molly a little ways away for a moment.]

Listen, Molly, I know you've got to get back to work and... your phone's probably being tapped. But if anything happens with Jim and you need our help, I want you to call me and just say 'Vatican cameos' and your location. That's all we need. You understand?

[howdull]

[She might not understand, but she nods all the same, impulsively reaching up to give him a brief (and very gentle) hug.]

Take care of him.

[She can say it, because John knows. Because John won't tease her and judge her, because he loves Sherlock too in his own way and understands. She steps back towards her car, taking the keys from him.]

Yourself too.

[Baker Street itself doesn't look too bad now that the cleanup has begun, thanks to the efforts of Mycroft's influence and the insurance company being persuaded that it had been a gas leak and therefore to pay out. Reconstruction has already begun, and the walls have been scrubbed of the marks of the explosion. Speedy's is already open again.

Sherlock stands impatiently in front of Mrs. Turner's door, knocking sharply.]

Mrs. Hudson! [A shout after she hasn't answered the door in all of three seconds.] Mrs. HUDSON!

[jumpthegun]

[Molly receives a soft 'I will,' and smile before John heads to the door to stand with Sherlock.]

Bloody hell, give her a minute. She is entertaining a guest, y'know?

[howdull]

A guest who could potentially be even now hurting her.

[Sherlock moves as if about to start ramming the door with his shoulder, when it opens to reveal Mrs. Hudson looking flustered.]

Honestly, you two, I've got a bad hip, you know, can't you be more patient?

[jumpthegun]

Sorry, Mrs. H. [But not so sorry that John isn't hurriedly moving inside, either before or after Sherlock. He takes the stairs two at a time, hand twitching, wanting for his missing gun. He needs another weapon, and he'll try to take at least a moment to pause before entering the living room to look in and see if it actually is James.]

[howdull]

[John makes it in ahead of Sherlock, mostly because he's examining Mrs. Hudson in one swift glance from top to toe in order to make certain that she's okay. She is. That increases the likelihood that this is Major Sholto.

It is.

He stands up stiffly when John enters the room, posture an automatic military stiffness despite having been discharged some time ago now.]

John. Come in, I don't want to stay long.

[jumpthegun]

Major. [They're both out of the service and neither of them are in their military dress, but John salutes him on force of habit. Well, it's the major, certainly. John's on edge, though, to put it mildly. He checks the windows and the other doors to the room, trying to gauge if there's any other threat here before settling back on Sholto. Once Sholto salutes back, John will stand at an at-ease position, gaze steady on the other man.]

I'm taking it this isn't a social visit. Did Bill contact you about what's been going on?

[howdull]

No.

[He's not much of a one for light conversation these days, and he really doesn't feel comfortable out of his house. But he felt honour-bound to come when he couldn't contact John any other way.]

I'm here because of this.

[He holds out a neatly folded letter in an envelope bearing the crest of the army. It's a summons to attend a military police interview regarding the "possibly unlawful actions of Captain Watson while serving in Afghanistan".]

[jumpthegun]

[John reads swiftly through the summons, then looks up at the major, confusion and mild horror evident on his features. It's only 'possibly' right now. But what the hell are they investigating? Some sort of gross negligence claim from Caroline? He should have a medical board coming after his license for that, not the military police.]

What?

[His voice is smaller and he looks from James over to the entryway, searching for Sherlock.]

[howdull]

[Sherlock is there, of course, stood in the doorway looking over Major Sholto with interest. So this is John's friend? Easy to see why, honour practically radiates off him in a sickening fashion. He doesn't like him already.

He holds his hand out for the letter.]

Show me.

[Sholto looks over at Sherlock levelly, but he won't stop John handing it over.]

I don't know what mess you've landed yourself in, but you deserved a head's up. Couldn't get you on the phone, so I came down.