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]

[John sighs and shuts off the water for the sink. He dries off before reaching for his phone and dialing Lestrade's number.]

Uh... hey, Detective Inspector, we're with Molly in her hospital room. You probably want to talk, and I'm... supposed to be checking in at the station for something else.

[He has the good grace to sound guilty, at least.]

[howdull]

You're bloody right I want to talk.

[Lestrade has gone beyond angry, he's gone beyond incensed, and he's crossed over into an almost fatalistic grim acceptance.]

You don't move from that damn spot until I get there, both of you. I'll have you checked off as signing in, but not until I've actually seen you there. Understand?

[jumpthegun]

We'll be here. Sir.

[Maybe the 'sir' will help. His other engagement has, after all, been cancelled, anyway. If they can't get to Jim, they might as well deal with the DI's wrath before he explodes. After a moment he adds a soft:]

I'm sorry.

[howdull]

[Lestrade doesn't even bother to reply, he just hangs up and gets moving before they can change their minds and disappear again.

Sherlock looks less than impressed when John hangs up.]

I'm going to the cafeteria, you can deal with him since you invited him here.

[jumpthegun]

He said he needs to see both of us or he won't say I've checked in.

[Don't you dare leave him alone with that man!]

[howdull]

He can see me through the window as he's leaving.

[He's a master of semantics, he learned from the best in Mycroft.]

[jumpthegun]

I'm the one who's gonna get yelled at if you're not here, y'know?

[howdull]

You don't say? Thank you for telling me, John, I could never have worked that out for myself and it's immediately changed my mind about leaving you here.

[...]

Oh no, wait, it hasn't. Do you want a coffee bringing back, or anything?

[jumpthegun]

[Sherlock is getting the sourest look imaginable.]

I really hate you.

[John pull Sherlock's bank card from his pocket and tosses it on the ground at the other man's feet petulantly.]

Whatever's cheapest. Not decaf.

[howdull]

[He grins as he bends down and scoops up his card, before triumphantly marching off to leave John alone with Molly, who is at least properly asleep now.

Not that he'll have much peace, it's only ten minutes before Lestrade jogs in looking half as if he thought they'd be gone again.]

Oh come on, this is taking the piss. I said both of you.

[jumpthegun]

[John's sitting in a chair by Molly's bed looking incredibly sullen, when Lestrade enters. He moves to stand up too quickly and ends up flinching a little more visibly than he means to as he raises a hand.]

He's in the cafeteria getting some coffee. We can go down there, if you want. But if you're gonna yell, it's probably best we step out into the hall.

[He points toward Molly's prone form.]

[howdull]

Right. Fine. Hallway, then, now.

[He opens the door for John and stalks out of the room after him.]

This isn't some bloody game, you know? I've put my neck on the line too often for you two, and you've repaid it by buggering off, absconding with evidence, refusing to comply with giving statements, and proving to my superiors that I'm a madman for trusting either of you.

[jumpthegun]

[When he lays it all out like that, John finds himself wincing.]

Of course I don't think it's a game. People have died and have nearly died. I'm trying to get to the bottom of this. But you keep... locking me up. What am I supposed to do?

[He means putting him in hospital where he probably belongs, but details.]

[howdull]

And I am sorry that people have died.

[He does have sympathy for John that one of those people was his sister, but this is still far over the line of acceptable.]

But I'm the police, you remember us, we're the ones who actually are supposed to solve these things. I don't mind the two of you working with us, but you can't pretend the law doesn't exist if it's inconvenient for you. I could get fired over this.

[jumpthegun]

[John certainly doesn't want to cost the man his job, but at the same time...]

I need to solve this, Detective Inspector. Too many people are getting put in the crossfire because of me and this sick game that Caroline Matthews is playing. Have your men picked up Jim Moriarty? Davidson. Whatever he's calling himself.

[howdull]

[He gets it, he does, but it's why John shouldn't be working the case. He's too emotionally involved, too close to it.]

Yeah.

[He folds his arms.]

You've got a choice now. You check yourself in here, you and bloody Sherlock both, and I'll tell you what was said in the interview. You don't, and I'll have them admit you anyway but you won't get any information from me. If you're going to keep running after this; which, by the way, I'm not in favour of, then you don't do it until you're fit. I'll have officers posted as protection detail either way, on both of you and whoever else you think might be at risk, but this reckless idiocy ends now. We're on the same team.

[jumpthegun]

[John's hackles go up. After the argument with Sherlock about checking himself in, he doesn't want to do this. But something else catches his attention.]

Interview. You let him go. [There's a flash of white hot anger that sears away reason as John steps forward and grabs for the front of Lestrade's shirt.] After what he did to Molly, did you let that lying bastard go?

[howdull]

[Lestrade just stares John down, he's not going to let himself be intimidated.]

See, now that's one of the things that I'll tell you if you cooperate.

[jumpthegun]

[There's a long moment where John seriously considers just hauling off and punching the detective. It would be viscerally satisfying and his frayed nerves want it, they want to lash out at something physically concrete after being helpless with the bomb and Jim's message over the television. He glares fiercely at Lestrade, but there's none of the fear of a new recruit. It's frustrating and the only thing it will get him is an assault charge and the loss of valuable assistance.

With an angry growl, John shoves Lestrade away and immediately regrets the action for the sharp pain that comes as a rebuke. His breath hitches, and he has to just breathe shallowly for several second. He's still meeting the DI's hard gaze when he's pulled himself together enough to speak.]

I'm not staying here any longer than Sherlock does.

[howdull]

[He supposes it's the best he's going to get, and it's better than actually having to make good on his threat to have John arrested to get him into hospital that way.]

Fine. Just-- go. Now. Go and check yourself in, I'll go and sort Sherlock out, and then I'll come by whatever ward you're on and you can yell and ask questions all you want. Deal?

[jumpthegun]

[John wants to protest that he needs to stay with Molly, but maybe he can ask to be put with her or something. He doesn't trust himself to say much more for the moment, just nods and turns to stalk back toward the entrance. He's going to have to admit to that nice receptionist that he lied. Brilliant.

It's far too quick a trip before he's queing up.]

Hi again, I, um... I have a few injuries that probably need looked over.

[howdull]

[She blinks at him in surprise and then taps to bring up a form on her computer, half looking at that and half at him.]

What sort of injuries? Do you need to go to the A&E department, or do you have a local GP that can be contacted?

[jumpthegun]

No, no! I don't need A&E. [He holds up a hand.] I just... I broke a couple of ribs about a week ago and haven't really had a chance to give them a rest with running around for work. And there are some burns on my back that I haven't paid the best attention to. I did have a doctor look them over... yesterday.

[Was it yesterday?]

Yeah. Yesterday. He didn't say they were infected or anything, but I've got a detective inspector breathing down my neck to check myself in for treatment. If you do end up putting me up for a day or two to put him at ease, I'd really like to be placed in the same section of the hospital as Molly Hooper, the woman I came in to see. Work, y'know? Can't really put it down.

[None of this is actually a lie. He's just spinning it to let her assume a few things that he wants her to. John offers a rueful smile to the woman.]

And it would really be better to do this here. Reckon I'd get to see more of you, at least for a little while. My GP and I are having some... philosophical disagreements at the mo.

[And by philosophical, he means romantic, but never mind that.]

[howdull]

[She doesn't know quite what to make of that, and her expression is going from open and friendly to something warier, like he might be a bit not all there.]

Okay, well-- we can have you see one of the triage nurses, she'll examine you and decide if you need to be admitted or what course of treatment to take, okay? If you are admitted then it'll be to the relevant ward, and all of our wards are single sex. But you'll still be able to visit Miss Hooper if you're up to it.

[She taps a note on the system.]

What's your full name and address, please?

[jumpthegun]

[That's irritating, but he can understand. John just smiles.]

Yeah, sure, that works.

[He's going to hope to hell the hospital systems don't talk to one another given he's had to escape from two of them in the recent past. He could always give a fake name... but she's probably going to ask for his ID. Which he doesn't even have. Bloody, hell.

With any luck, she won't be the sort to read his blog, either. Or watch the news...]

John Watson. 221B Baker Street, Marylebone, London NW1 6XE.