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]

[It's a good enough theory, Sherlock has angered a lot of people and not all of them have been the criminals themselves. But it feels an extra level of perverse to have been dating someone who was only using her to get to Sherlock.

She suddenly straightens, a stricken look on her face.]

He's coming here today, before work. He said he wanted to make sure I was okay after what happened to Sherlock at the funeral.

[jumpthegun]

Okay. That's okay. Did you tell him what room Sherlock's in? We can just head back. Sherlock can figure out how he wants to talk to him, right? It'll be fine.

[He doesn't think it will actually be fine, and John's pulse is thrumming once more. What if that man is-- No. He is. Sherlock can't be wrong about that. And if he's back there with Sherlock right now... it makes the doctor's skin crawl to think of it, but he'll put up a front of calm for Molly to keep her at ease. If John's a little quick to stand, though, that's just him feeling better about the broken ribs and burns, not a sign that he's paying less mind to the pain now the adrenaline's kicked in again.]

[gallowshumour]

No, I don't think he knows what room Sherlock is in, he said he'd meet me in the lobby.

[But she falls into step beside John anyway, not fooled into thinking he doesn't want to check and make sure.]

Besides, his family are all in with him, right? I wonder if they could tell us where William comes from.

[It's not that she's really interested, just grasping for things to say to fill the awkward silence of walking the hospital corridors.]

[jumpthegun]

[And if Molly's not in the lobby, the natural next step is to ask for the room number where she'd be. John's footsteps quicken. Nothing's going to happen here. Mycroft won't let anything happen to Sherlock while he's in the same room with him. Surely. And his parents will be keeping a hawk-eyed watch, especially on a stranger in their midst.]

Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure it's fine with them there. [Which means his heart is pounding out danger for no reason. Telling it that doesn't seem to have much effect, though.]

Might just be a mix-up with the name. Or maybe it's his secret first name. [Wouldn't that be a laugh? William Sherlock Holmes. What child would willfully go by Sherlock over Willi- Sherlock. Of course Sherlock would. John's a little too wired now to make polite conversation, so he moves along as fast as he can in silence after that, just throwing Molly a tight smile. They make it back to Sherlock's hospital room and John raps on the door to announce their presence before turning the handle and taking a look in, half-expecting to see Jim throttling Sherlock there on the bed.]

[howdull]

[Molly keeps pace even though it means almost jogging, getting more and more anxious by the moment. If Jim really is involved with this Caroline Matthews, and if he hurts Sherlock, it will be partially her fault. She might never forgive herself from that, so she can hardly argue with John wanting to get to the room as fast as possible.

But there's no Jim in there.

Only Sherlock, looking slightly desperate, and his family. The look of relief on his face when he sees John is like the sun coming out from behind a cloud, nothing to do with who it is and everything to do with this being salvation from his family.]

John!

[Thank the God he doesn't believe in at all.]

Come in, thank you. Mycroft, you can go and fetch my clothes now, that must be an hour. Mummy, Father, thank you for coming but I'm sure you want to get off before the traffic gets too bad. Don't let me stop you. Goodbye.

[jumpthegun]

Hardly.

[Mycroft replies waspishly.]

It has been forty-five minutes, Sherlock.

[John flashes the elder Holmeses a smile as he moves over to the bed with Molly.]

I think maybe we probably should get going. [He clears his throat and casts a significant look at Sherlock.] There's someone we were planning to meet who may be arriving soon.

[howdull]

[He perks up even further, immediately understanding what John means and getting excited about doing something interesting to do with the case rather than this interminable small talk.]

Wait just a minute.

[That's Mrs. Holmes, her attention zeroing in on John.]

I don't want to get another call in a few hours to come straight back here, do you understand? Sherlock? Myc? Dr. Watson?

[Sherlock sighs, but even he knows better than to argue with his mother.]

Yes, Mummy. Now, Mycroft, fetch the doctor now. How long do we have, John?

[jumpthegun]

[John drops his eyes demurely. He's well aware that everyone is going to be depending on him to protect Sherlock. He will not disappoint them again.]

Yes, Mrs. Holmes.

[Mycroft all but scowls, but he does move off, out of the room to fetch the doctor. John looks to Molly at Sherlock's question.]

Did we have an expected time?

[howdull]

[Molly shrugs, fiddling with the cuff of her coat.]

I'm not sure, he just said after his shift. I can text him, if you want?

[Sherlock considers for a moment and then shakes his head.]

No, it might seem suspicious. You haven't remembered to text him before now, why would your attention deviate from me unless you were told to?

[jumpthegun]

[John would point out that Molly has a life outside of Sherlock, but that's sort of missing the point of why Jim might have targeted her.]

Who's that you're meeting?

[Mr. Holmes asks this time.

John glances at Sherlock. He's not sure how much the other man wants his parents involved in this case.]

Just a friend. Might be able to help with the case.

[howdull]

[Molly worries her lip, but the problem is that Sherlock isn't wrong. She would never have paid attention to anyone when Sherlock is there, especially not when he's been in such trouble. At least the attention is pulled off her by Mr. Holmes.]

He's not a friend, he's a suspect.

[Sherlock's parents know what he's like by now.]

And I don't have time to go into it with you, please just go.

[Perhaps he's just a little concerned, and he'd like his parents out of the way when Jim shows up.]

[jumpthegun]

[Mr. and Mrs. Holmes share a look that John tries to read, but can't quite parse. There's a subtle nod from each of them, though, before Mrs. Holmes leans down and plants a kiss on Sherlock's forehead. Mr. Holmes just squeezes his son's shoulder and offers him a tight smile. With that and one more sharp look at John from Mrs. Holmes, they're bustling out of the room, leaving John and Molly with Sherlock. John breathes out a sigh of relief.]

D'you actually want to stay to talk with him or just leave it 'til we've gotten more. Molly told me... [He glances over at her, before continuing.] He's read both of our blogs, and he was interested in you.

[howdull]

[He patiently waits through the affectionate goodbyes, absently kissing his mother in return, though he's already forgotten both parents before they're three steps out of the door. His attention is all on Molly and John, eyes gleaming.]

Of course I want to meet him, but it might be best if I feign unconsciousness and listen. You and Molly speak with him, make him believe we have no idea who he is. Perhaps break down, John, over Harry and the case, it might drive him to respond.

[jumpthegun]

[John bristles.]

I'm not breaking down in front of a bloody stranger. And I'm even... I don't do that.

[Evidence to the contrary aside.]

I'm not feeling particularly fragile, thanks.

[howdull]

That's why you pretend, it's called acting for a reason. It will lull him into a false sense of security, thinking he's being allowed into the inner sanctum, and may embolden him to reveal more of his hand than straightforward questioning.

[He fixes John with a stern look.]

You can do this, John, I have every faith in you.

[jumpthegun]

I can't just cry on command. Can you?

[He can maybe feign some distress, but a full breakdown? Everything in him rebels against it. He's a military man. Soldiers shouldn't be crying like that, certainly not in view of others. Molly... Molly isn't different, but he'd just lost it a bit with her.]

[howdull]

[Sherlock's face suddenly crumples and tears start streaming down his face, his voice a convincing wobble.]

How-- how could you doubt my control over my own body, John?

[And just as suddenly, it stops.]

A good detective has to be able to play any part.

[jumpthegun]

[He probably should have expected that. John looks to Molly.]

Can you, um... cry?

[It doesn't have to be him, does it? Molly would do.]

[howdull]

[Molly shakes her head straight away, she's definitely not that good an actress, and Sherlock shakes his head too.]

No, it has to be you. If Molly hasn't sobbed on him so far, it would be suspicious if she did it now.

[jumpthegun]

Give me a reason to cry, then. I can't just... I'm not like you, Sherlock. I can't do that.

[He is getting a little worked up at the moment. He does want to help, but crying is humiliating.

[howdull]

How about getting information from a man in league with a murderer? Isn't that reason enough?

[Come on, John, don't embarrass him here.]

[jumpthegun]

[John scowls. He'll need to work himself up to it, really. Which means he needs to put himself back in the mindset of failure, of Harry being dead and him not even getting to see her buried. He'd put a lock on all of that after his cry with Molly. He doesn't want to go there again. It's hard to shut it down once he's started.

Or...]

Molly, I'm gonna pretend to start losing it, and I'll need you to squeeze my shoulder.

[The pain from the burns should be enough to bring a prickle of tears.]

[howdull]

[Molly glances over at him in surprise, pulled from the silent worrying of her lower lip that she had been engaged in, but she nods all the same. She won't like hurting him, but she can do what's needed when necessary.]

Good, that's sorted, then.

[Sherlock settles himself back on the bed.]

Molly, go down to the lobby to meet him. John, go and make sure that Mycroft doesn't ruin things by coming back with my clothes and discharge paperwork.

[jumpthegun]

[Being ordered to something like that is a great deal easier than being told to cry on cue. John's really hoping Mycroft won't demand to be present in the room when Jim turns up. He nods once and offers Molly a bracing smile before heading off to the nurse's station to find Mycroft. A thought occurs to him and he pulls the number for Lestrade's mobile from his pocket to text the man. He'd gotten it earlier after calling the Met to try to reach the man on his new mobile.]

TO: LESTRADE
Sherlock's okay. Awake and alert. Need a drink after this. More than one. Let's say twenty or so.

[That done, he looks up and spots Mycroft standing at the desk for the nurse's station.]

Mycroft, we need you to hold off on bringing in the discharge papers and clothes. Jim's coming here--Molly's boyfriend Jim. Sherlock wants to see us talking to him before he leaves.

[howdull]

[Mycroft is rapidly reaching the end of his fraying rope. There are precious few things that he cares about in this world, and one of them had almost died last night. This man here is the reason.

The look he gives John is nothing short of withering.]

Dr. Watson, there are many things that Sherlock wants which are not good for him. I thought we might be in accord on what those things are, it seems I was mistaken.

[Such as about whether John might be good for Sherlock. He isn't.]

You may go.