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

[jumpthegun]

[It takes a great deal of will power not to grab the arrangement and chuck that at the wall, as well. There are more important things to do than rage. He dials the clinic again. That first, then... god, he's not even sure. He can try dialing Molly's mobile after that.]

[howdull]

[The first number, the clinic, just rings over and over. Either because it's blown up, or because everyone has evacuated, it's impossible to tell. Sadly, so does Molly's phone, both numbers ringing endlessly.

It's about twenty seconds into trying to ring Molly that Sherlock finally appears in the morgue, cheeks flushed slightly pink with exertion and a smile at his lips that dies away as soon as he sees John's expression.]

Molly?!

[jumpthegun]

I don't know. He's bombed the clinic or he's blown her up somewhere. [Or both.] Phoned the clinic before he did. Might've got them out.

[After a moment, he heads for where he threw the casing. It might be important. John pockets the scalpel again, as well.]

Take a look at the body. Not sure if it's relevant. He had a fake remote control detonator sitting on top of her. Flowers had a picture of my mum and dad.

[The next number that gets dialed is Lestrade's mobile. He might be able to let them know if there's a scramble for explosions in the city.]

[howdull]

[Sherlock immediately turns to look at the body as directed, mind already whirring, refusing to accept that Molly may have been killed. He can't be too late, he can't have sent her out to her death, that would be an unacceptable miscalculation.]

Estranged, John, she has to be somewhere associated with your parents. She's not here-- were they cremated or buried?

[The phone rings twice before Lestrade answers, sounding unimpressed.]

Bloody hell, John, where are you? I went round to that godforsaken flat earlier and you're both gone.

[jumpthegun]

[... they were supposed to meet with Lestrade. Bloody hell.]

Morgue. Not Barts. Following a lead on Jim and Caroline. Sorry, it sort of... came up last minute. Have there been any reports of explosions? They might have just blown up the Westridge Clinic near our flat on Baker Street or...

[He thinks for a long moment.]

Or the South London Crematorium in Streatham.

[howdull]

[Why does he do this job?

There's a long moment of silence and the sound of tapping keys as he gets into the main system, as his particular department wouldn't be called to deal with something like that. Though God only knows why he's helping them out with more information, considering how reckless they've both been.]

Reports of a bomb scare in the Westridge Clinic, everyone was evacuated, and the bomb squad are sweeping the building. --wait, reports coming in now, someone's just called in an explosion at the Crematorium. All emergency services on the way.

[jumpthegun]

Oh, god...

[John’s heart sinks, but only for a moment before anger takes its place. Pure unbridled fury. He grips the phone tighter.]

Molly was there. Jim, her boyfriend Jim Moriarty, kidnapped her and blew her up there.

[The desire to put a bullet through the man’s head is intense. John starts walking for the exit, making a small motion for Sherlock to follow him out. They need to get down there. They need to do something.]

[howdull]

[Sherlock's head whips around and within the next half a second he has hold of John by the elbow and is trying to drag him out of the morgue at top speed. They can't be here. If Molly has been-- If she's dead, the least they owe her is to be on the scene of the crime to deduce what they can.

Lestrade gives a sharp intake of breath. He knew Molly vaguely from his work, quite liked her, and the body count in this case was just rising.]

I'll put out an arrest warrant for him, but you're going to need some proof for those allegations. Now listen to me, John, neither of you go anywhere near that explosion. Do you hear me?

[jumpthegun]

[It’s easy enough for John to follow along.]

I can’t promise you that, Greg. But I have the casing from the fake remote detonator he put here. [He briefly explains the set up of the scene at the morgue for Lestrade as he and Sherlock wait for the lift... or as Sherlock keeps dragging him to find the stairs.]

I tried to find another way round it all. The flower arrangement’s still in there. I have the photo he put in the center of my mum and dad. And I dunno if that body we found has anything to do with it.

[howdull]

I'm going to need you to come in and give a proper statement, so why don't you stop whatever stupid harebrained thing you're doing and come into the station instead? I don't want to have to do this, but if my officers see you at the scene, I'll have them bring you in.

[Sherlock makes a face from what little he can hear of the conversation, but doesn't slow his progression through the hospital and back outside. He flags down a taxi almost at once, a skill he's perfected over years, and directs the driver to the correct crematorium.]

[jumpthegun]

I have a couple of appointments this morning, but we're come 'round after those. [He really hates doing this to Lestrade. He knows it's making the man's life harder. It's for the greater good, though.] They won't see us.

Need to call Sarah, but I wanted to let you know what was happening. Talk to you soon, mate. [He hangs up before Lestrade can get a word in edgewise and offers Sherlock his phone back.]

Don't want to call Sarah on your phone. She might call back. [And god knows she doesn't need to speak to Sherlock.]

[howdull]

[Sherlock really wants the driver to hurry, but they're statistically far more likely to be delayed if he does convince the driver to speed, so he just keeps his mouth shut.

He hands over John's phone back to him, and pockets his own.]

Must you call her now? Don't you think there are more important things than your failed relationship?

[jumpthegun]

[The look John shoots Sherlock is something close to murderous at the moment. He's really not in the mood, and he doesn't reply, just dials Sarah's mobile number.]

[howdull]

[It's only a few seconds before Sarah answers, sounding a little breathless.]

You better have a damn good explanation for this, John. We have the bomb squad sweeping our clinic for an explosive, because you said one was put there.

[jumpthegun]

It’s the man who helped kill Harry. [Just launching into that.] He said he was gonna blow up the clinic or a trapped woman in under a minute and I had to choose which. I thought there was a better chance of you getting everyone out in time. I’m sorry.

[howdull]

[She breathes in sharply, something catching in her throat though she manages to keep actual tears at bay.]

Enough. [It's too much.] I can't do this any more, I can't be caught up in this madness. Being tied up and catapults and now bombs in some weird twisted Sophie's Choice?! I can't-- I'm a doctor, you're meant to be one too, this is madness.

[jumpthegun]

[He doesn't respond with 'I'm a soldier, too,' because that is not what she needs to hear right now.]

I know. It's why I wanted to push you away, get you out of it. I'm sorry, Sarah, I'm so sorry. I don't think they know you matter, yet. [They undoubtedly do.] Not really. It was just the clinic. I can't quit this. I want to. Believe me, I want this to stop, but I'm the target, Sarah. They'll get to me one way or the other. You understand?

[howdull]

I understand that you wouldn't be in this sort of position if you didn't run around London playing police with Sherlock.

[Maybe Caroline would have hated him, but she never would have been able to set all of this up without Moriarty.]

I can't be looking over my shoulder any more, wondering if someone is coming to bomb my work, or shoot me, or kill someone I care about.

[jumpthegun]

[John is realizing he doesn't have the patience for this right now. He's glad Sarah is safe. That had been his major concern with what just happened.]

Well, I'm in this position. I didn't want you to be a part of it. I don't want you to be a part of it. I can't make you stop caring about me anymore than I can stop caring about you. But we can break this off. Properly. I won't come round to your clinic and the only time I'll call is if you're in imminent danger. I don't want you to get hurt, Sarah.

[howdull]

[She had wanted to talk to him in person, kept trying to push for it, because she had thought that somehow she could impress on him that he needed to be more careful, that maybe they didn't have to be over.

But that was just a fool's hope, wasn't it? This was the truth right here. She let out a sigh, suddenly sounding tired and sad, rather than angry and hysterical.]

Fine.

[That's it then.]

Just-- try not to die, John Watson.

[jumpthegun]

You, too. And try to find a man who deserves you, Sarah. [A pause before he adds.] Goodbye.

[And hangs up.]

She's gonna get targeted, isn't she?

[howdull]

Most likely.

[He doesn't sound like he cares too much, but all of his focus is on Molly and her potentially charred corpse.]

This was E, clearly culminating in the bomb where your estranged parents were cremated, she would most likely be G for Girlfriend.

[jumpthegun]

[Molly is on John's mind, as well. If he got her killed... He should have pressed more. He should done something more. He'd promised to protect her on the phone. God.]

F is for Fuck Jim. [That's muttered mostly to himself.] He's attracted to you, by the way.

[howdull]

I suppose it was statistically likely that somebody would be.

[It's not particularly relevant, though, he's hardly going to be going off on a date with Jim Moriarty even if he did do that sort of thing in the first place.]

Once we have-- seen Molly, we need to work together and map out the most logical possibilities for F and G so that we can stake them out and attempt to gain the upper hand again.

[jumpthegun]

[John gives Sherlock a long look, wondering just how oblivious he is to Molly's incredibly obvious attraction.]

Right.

[John falls quiet as he contemplates the traffic. It's going to be madness over by the crematorium with the bomb going off.]

D'you think Jim'll be at our meeting? I called 999 and told them he set the bomb up.