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

[gallowshumour]

[Oops, she looks pretty flustered when she sees him wince. Why does she keep messing this up? Such a klutz, Molly, this is why all your friends are cadavers!]

Sorry.

[She sets off again contritely, brow furrowed in concern.]

This can't work, the forensics department has all sorts of technology to prove if a photo has been doctored or not, they can't just-- we'll find a way to make sure this doesn't go anywhere. What about Sherlock? Where is he?

[jumpthegun]

[John sets the Burger King down between his legs on the car floor and pulls out his mobile again. Sarah's text is glaring at him, and he opens that to reply.]

I'm not sure. I just texted him to ask. I let Detective Inspector Lestrade know to contact him and get on to watching him, though. [He's not going to let himself panic, yet. There are hours ahead of them on the road.]

FROM: JOHN WATSON
TO: SARAH SAWYER
Sarah, I'm not sure what you want from me. You told me to piss off.

[gallowshumour]

[Molly's face sets into a concerned frown, but there's not much she can offer to that other than what John's already thought to do. Besides, he seems to be busy with his phone right now--]

FROM: SARAH SAWYER
TO: JOHN WATSON
I thought that maybe your job and I meant a bit more to you than just an 'okay'. A proper in person explanation and apology might have been the decent thing to do, but forget it. Just forget it, John.

[--oh! His phone reminds her of the messages she has for him.]

Um, John? When you're done with that, DI Lestrade gave me some messages to pass along to you.

[jumpthegun]

[Is this where he's meant to fight more? Bloody hell...]

FROM: JOHN WATSON
TO: SARAH SAWYER
You mean more to me than a lot of things, Sarah. It's why I wanted you away in the first place. It's why I didn't want you involved. Me pissing off is safer for you. Someone is killing and kidnapping the people I care about, has access to bombs, can alter government CCTV footage, and can manage to fake their identity well enough to infiltrate a military base. I don't want you anywhere near this. Sherlock isn't the target this time, Sarah, it's me. It's nothing he's done, just some psychopath and her accomplice who've decided I'm the devil incarnate.

[John looks up from his phone.]

Hmm? Messages?

[gallowshumour]

It's okay. [Molly shoots him a brief awkward smile, before fixing her attention on the road again.] They can wait until you're done with your texting, I just mentioned it while I remembered. Otherwise I'd think about it, and then by the time you were done it would be gone again. I always do that, it's-- wait, you don't need to know.

[Stop rambling, Molly! She subsides into uncomfortable silence just as John's phone beeps again.]

FROM: SARAH SAWYER
TO: JOHN WATSON
Then come and talk to me, I'm not here to be protected. I deserve an explanation in person if nothing else. I'm worried about you, John. I still care even if you've been a real arse these past few days.

[jumpthegun]

[John pinches the bridge of his nose for a moment.]

FROM: JOHN WATSON
TO: SARAH SAWYER

Tomorrow, unless you want me turning up at midnight. I'm hours outside the city right now, but we're heading back in.

[John lowers his phone again.]

I'll take the messages now, Molls. Sorry. It's just Sarah. [A pause as he considers Molly's car is potentially bugged once more.] She runs the clinic I work locum at. Been trying to get her to shut down and head out of the country to keep her and everyone there safe from a bombing like Baker Street.

[gallowshumour]

[The pause sort of clues her in to what he might be worried about, and even though she nods in understanding, she perks up a little and gestures to the back seat.]

I've got a 'jammer' in the back, Lestrade gave it to me when I said I was coming to get you. It'll stop any signal from bugs getting through, and he's going to sweep my car properly tomorrow.

[A win for their team! Probably.]

Okay, there's only two messages. First of all, he says that someone called Jake has been calling the police station trying to get hold of you. And secondly, he's arrested someone at that printing place that he thinks is maybe in league with Caroline Matthews. He said he'd come around to Sherlock's flat tomorrow morning sometime, so "don't run off anywhere and do something stupid", his words."

[During that speech, a message comes through from Sarah.]

FROM: SARAH SAWYER
TO: JOHN WATSON
Fine. 12.30 at the surgery. Don't you dare not turn up.

[jumpthegun]

FROM: JOHN WATSON
TO: SARAH SAWYER
I'll be there.

[John sighs in quiet relief.]

Someone at the print shop? Huh. Well, I have a date at 12:30 to meet up with Sarah, but other than that, I seem to have my calendar open.

[Provided Sherlock hasn't been kidnapped again...]

FROM: JOHN
TO: SHERLOCK
A reply any day now would be nice. You have almost died recently.

Jake's the kid Caroline shot down at the Thames. Managed to get him to hospital fast enough. Glad he's doing well enough to ask after me. I'll let Lestrade know what to tell him when we meet up.

[John reaches down again for the bag of Burger King and pulls out the chips to start eating those.]

I can't thank you enough for coming out here, Molly. Honestly, it feels a little safer having you here, away from Jim. I'm not sure what he's planning to do to you, but the way he said he was never letting you go this morning... I don't like it.

[gallowshumour]

It's the least I could do, if he-- everything he's done might be because of something that I told him.

[She can't really believe that neither John or Sherlock seem to be blaming her at all, even just for being stupid enough to get taken in. Of course there would be something suspicious about Jim, the idea of anyone wanting to be with her for her is ludicrous.]

Sorry.

[She shouldn't have brought that up.]

I mean... I want to help, you're both my friends, though I don't think he wants to do anything to me. He's had plenty of chance, and he was probably just trying to rile you up.

[jumpthegun]

L is for Lab, M is for Morgue, P is for Pathologist. [John counts off the ones he can think of off the top.] We haven't made it to your letter, Molly. And it's nothing you did. He's just using you. And I'm sorry for that.

[gallowshumour]

At least he paid attention while he did it.

[Oops, that came out a bit more bitter than it sounded in her head, where it was meant to be a self deprecating joke. Damn. She forces out a laugh.]

I mean, um... oh, forget it. Thanks for worrying.

[Finally a text comes back in.]

FROM: JOHN
TO: SHERLOCK
A reply any day now would be nice. You have almost died recently.

ERROR: UNDELIVERED

[jumpthegun]

[John's heart jumps and he's barely paying attention to Molly now.]

Oh, god... It's not going through. My text isn't going through to Sherlock.

[Don't panic. Don't panic, yet. His phone might just be out of batteries. Or he's... driving in a tunnel.

Or it's at the bottom of the Thames along with Sherlock.]

E is for Eye.

[That's muttered to himself as he dials Mrs. Hudson's number. He waits anxiously for her to pick up the phone. Or Mrs. Turner. Whichever of them is home.]

[gallowshumour]

For Eye?

[Molly sounds confused, she doesn't really get the connection between Sherlock and an eye, but she still puts her foot down a bit more in concern.

The phone rings about six times before Mrs. Hudson finally picks up.]

Hello? 223a?

[jumpthegun]

[John raises a finger in a 'in a minute' gesture to Molly.]

Mrs. Hudson, it's John. Is Sherlock at your place or have you heard from him at all? Ah... and the interview at the base went... not well. We'll deal with it, but I tried texting him and it's not going through.

[gallowshumour]

Oh, hello dear. No, I'm sorry, he's not been back here since the two of you left earlier. I'm sorry it didn't go well, do you want to come round and have a cuppa and talk about it?

[Poor John, it's not really his week, is it? Mrs. Hudson feels quite badly for him.]

[jumpthegun]

Sorry, no. We're hours outside the city. It'll be late before we get in. Thanks, though. If you hear from him, could you call me?

[Provided she agrees, John will just bid her goodbye and hang up, trying Sherlock's mobile number directly after that. Maybe the text can't go through, but a call can?]

[gallowshumour]

[Mrs. Hudson does indeed agree to call if she hears from Sherlock. Dialling Sherlock's phone will just get the three tone beeps and the standard lady saying: "It has not been possible to connect your call, please try again later".

Molly has been giving John sidelong glances as they go along, but she doesn't interrupt for now.]

[jumpthegun]

[He sees Molly's sidelong glances and is ignoring them for the moment. Panic is building up in his chest. Letting Sherlock out of his sight had been a mistake. Falling asleep instead of checking in with him regularly had been an even graver one.

The next number to be dialed is Lestrade's. He hopes the man picks up, or John's going to be telling Molly to press the bloody peddle into the floor all the way back to London.]

[gallowshumour]

[This time the phone actually does ring, though it takes about a full minute for Lestrade to answer and when he does it sounds windy in the background.]

D.I. Lestrade? Is that you, John? What do you want, I'm at a crime scene!

[jumpthegun]

Yeah, it's me. Have you heard from Sherlock? Is he with you there? I can't get ahold of him. His phone's out of service. I haven't heard from him in four hours.

[Normally, that wouldn't be an issue. In the given circumstances, though...]

[gallowshumour]

No, he's not here. The last time I saw him was about two hours ago, I caught up to him where he was tailing that Moriarty bloke and he said he had something to do. He was fine then, though.

[Then again, two hours is a long time in Sherlock-time.]

If his phone's out of service, not much you can do but head home? I'll keep an eye out in case he shows up.

[jumpthegun]

Yeah. Thanks. Sorry to bother you. Talk later. Good luck.

[The words are rote, clipped. John hangs up before Lestrade can really answer that. He's suddenly very not hungry.]

Lestrade hasn't heard from him in two hours. He was still trailing Jim when they met up.

[There's no one else to call except Mycroft, and that bridge has been doused in petrol, burned, and exploded for good measure. Molly's driving suddenly seems far too slow, far too cautious. And then another thought occurs to him.

John pulls out the card Jim had given him and looks to see if there's a number for a mobile, or if it's just the office number.]

[gallowshumour]

[There is both an office number and a mobile number listed on the official card that he had been given.

Molly worries her lower lip, and perhaps presses down on the accelerator a little more than is strictly legal on this particular road.]

Do you think something's happened to him?

[Please no.]

[jumpthegun]

[John tries to the mobile number first, glancing at Molly.]

Might've let his battery run out with how long he was stuck at the base is all.

[He doesn't think that at all.]

[gallowshumour]

[Molly doesn't look convinced, though it doesn't escape her notice that John is trying to be kind to her. She doesn't respond, though, as he's on the phone again.]

James Davidson, Monkton and Milnes.