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The Benefits of Letting Go	By : sissouthernink1994 Category: S through Z > Sherlock Holmes (2009) > Sherlock Holmes (2009) Views: 1403 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I don't own Sherlock Holmes (books or movies) especially the movies featuring Robert Downey Jr & Jude Law. This story is written in fun & I'm not getting paid.

Chapter List
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A/N: John’s thoughts in italics, Sherlock’s bold italics. Oh, one other thing…if you are on twitter you can follow me (at symbol) sissouthernink. I promise to follow back.

Chapter 4: The Morning After

                Sherlock Holmes quietly woke up with the gentle rising of the sun. Most days he would greet the sun. Not because he was an early riser but because he would stay up all night working on cases, experiments. Sometimes playing music. Sometimes talking with John. John, he thought. Today would be the first full day of their agreements. He knew that he would have to get out of bed eventually and face his reality. He decided to stay in bed for a while and watch the sky turn from grey, to light grey and eventually blue. John’s shirt had comforted him the previous night. But he knew it would only last for so long. If said shirt would end up in the laundry, what then?
He forced himself to sit up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, feet hitting the floor. His shoulders drooped with sadness. He pushed himself up off the bed, stood and stretched. For a brief second he contemplated getting back into the bed and staying there, but he promised to be good and take care of himself. He promised. Besides, if he felt tired later or depressed he could get back in bed. At least he would have gotten up.

                After performing morning routines and dressing, he grabbed the messages that had been left for him. Mrs. Hudson met him as he was walking out.
“Well, I’m surprised to see you up and about this morning.”
“I do have these messages to check up on. And I thought a walk in the morning air might help me get started.”
“Good for you Detective. Perhaps I will see you later this evening. I shall be doing the washing in a bit. Anything in particular to go in?”
“Not really.” He said as he turned to leave. “Oh, there is a shirt on the bed that belongs to John.”
“Shall I send it?”
“No, not yet. Right now I need it.”
“Very well then. Enjoy your day.”
“Thank you. Same to you.”

He walked out into the fresh London air. It was clean from the rainy night before and smelled sweet. Turning the corner from Baker Street, he bought a paper from one of the local newsboys and headed towards his favorite little café. It wasn’t a big place, but it saw its decent share of London’s business. The walk drummed up his appetite, something he didn’t usually have in the morning. But today was a new day, he was keeping his promise. Once inside and seated he ordered his usual- two soft eggs, sausages, a scone and tea. While waiting, he scanned through the paper for opportunities, i.e. unsolved crimes.
“I wonder what Lestrade is working on today.” He said aloud, but to himself.
“Well, I do have a few things I could use your expertise on, if you’d care to grace the station with your presence.” Sherlock moved the paper from in front of his face, just below his eyes and looked over the top of it at Inspector Lestrade.
“And what makes you think I want Scotland Yard in my presence?”
“Oh for heaven’s sake, weren’t you just asking what I was doing today?”
“Yes, to myself…”
“Aloud, to yourself?”
“Yes, aloud to myself. Today, I just happened to want to hear my own voice.” He gave the inspector a smirk. “And heaven has nothing to do with it. As a matter of fact, I have several messages here for me that I will be checking up on. So I may in fact be too busy to, as you say, grace you and your crew, with my presence.”
“Very well. Have it your way then.” Lestrade said as the young counter boy brought him a bag. He gave the boy some money and indicated that he could keep the change. “You know where I am when you get bored.”
“The fact that you think I only help you out when I’m bored is utterly ridiculous. I only go where my talents are needed and accepted.”
“Ha! You’ll need a shovel for that load of crap Detective. You bombard my station all the time!”

“Point proven.” Lestrade started to say something, but kept his tongue, shook his head and headed out the door.

                All was quiet at the Watson house. Deathly quiet. John and Mary sat across from each other in the kitchen. He was reading the paper and she was sipping her tea.
“John, must you read the paper at the table now?” Mary whined. John folded down the right side and looked at her over the top of his eyeglasses.
“I do like to be informed before I leave the house in the morning Mary. Besides, I have a full day of patients. By the time I have a chance to breathe, nothing in it will be relevant anymore and the newsboys will be hounding me to buy an evening paper on the way home.” He went back to reading.
“You could take some time and talk to me.” She said quietly as she stirred more honey into her tea. John sighed heavily, folded the newspaper and placed it on the table.
“Fine then. What would you like to talk about Mary?” He asked, removing his glasses and setting them on top of the paper.
“You’ll be with patients all day?”
“Yes I just told you that. Why do you ask?”
“I was going to interview some girls today, for help around the house and I thought you might be able to interview them with me.”
“Help? Help for what?” John folded his arms across his chest.
“Now that I’m with child,” The doctor rolled his eyes. “You know I won’t be able to do the chores after a while. Lifting the wash, standing, and cooking. And there’s a history of fragile wombs in my family you know-”
“No, I didn’t know.”
“Well, there is and I just want to make sure I don’t do anything to jeopardize the baby.”
“I see.” John said. He thought a minute. “And how much will this help cost?” She shrugged.
“Depends on what they quote to me. And if I can find everything I need in one person.” She paused. “Lillian Shells said that if I couldn’t find anyone to my liking that I could borrow one of her girls for a while.”
“Do you really think that you need someone? Even now?”
“John, why are you taking this so lightly?”
“Why are you making this a big deal?”
“Because it is, it will be.”
“I think you’re overreacting.”
“Overreacting? You don’t even believe I’m pregnant do you?”
“Did I say that?”
“No, but you are implying that I’m not.”
“Mary the only thing I’m implying is that you don’t need any help right now. Wait a few months and then see what you need.”
“This is ridiculous!” Mary exclaimed as she stood up from the table. “If you’re not going to be happy then I can’t be happy is that it huh?”
“Mary what in the devil are you talking about?” He asked standing.
“You can’t have your precious detective so I have to suffer without the things I need?”
“And how does he fit into all this? We all, ALL, signed those papers last night. All of us. Sherlock has nothing to so with this. WE are discussing whether you need some help around the house. Which I don’t think you do. Not yet. This is about something else.”
“Something else?”
“Yes.”
“What else could we be talking about?”
“How about you climbing the social ladder?”
“What?” Mary now seemed a little rattled that John might be on to her agenda.

“You’ll have no problem fitting in now that you know your husband won’t be dallying about with his male lover. You don’t have to be embarrassed anymore that someone may find out my past secrets. You don’t have to worry about me not coming home to you. You don’t have to worry about me leaving you in the middle of the night. Don’t you get it Mary? You’ve won! I’m here. I signed the papers and I’m here.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. “And now I’m off to the office. We will not have this conversation again.” John walked out of the kitchen and to his office to pick up his briefcase. He grabbed his overcoat from the hook, his cane and walked out of the door.

                By mid afternoon Sherlock had visited the people who were requesting his services. He now had four new cases in which to keep him occupied. He was near Scotland Yard and debated if he should go in. On one hand, he didn’t know how long these four cases would take him. On the other, he could wait a few days and Lestrade would probably still be working on whatever it was he was trying to entice Sherlock with that morning. The detective shrugged it off and continued walking. He came to the building where Chester Hawthorne practiced medicine. Again, he debated going in, but he needed to know something very important. The nurse greeted him as he walked in.
“Good Afternoon sir.”
“Afternoon.” He said tipping his hat. “Is Dr. Hawthorne available? I need to speak with him.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Please wait here. I will see if he has a few minutes to see you. Whom shall I say is here?”
“Detective Sherlock Holmes.” The nurse gave him an odd look. Some how he didn’t look like the man she had always pictured. “Oh, I just need a few minutes, nothing like an exam.” She nodded that she understood. Sherlock stood in the empty waiting room. Must have cleared all his patients for the day, he thought. The area was clean and neat, like John’s. But before he could sit and get comfortable, the nurse came back.
“Dr. Hawthorne will see you now Detective.” He followed her down the hallway to his personal office
“Ah, Detective Holmes what a surprise!” He said as they shook hands. He motioned for Sherlock to take one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Please have a seat.”
“Thank you, but I won’t be long.”
“Well, how can I be of service?”
“I was wondering if you would be able to assist me on some cases. A consultant so to speak.”
“Any case in particular?”
“No, not at this moment however that could always change.”
“I see.” Chester said as he settled back into his chair. “So you don’t know how often you would need me do you?”
“No, just as the cases come to me.”
“And experiments?”
“I usually prefer to do those myself, much to my landlady’s disappointment. When I don’t receive the outcome I’m looking for, I will ask for advice.”
“As long as I have a few minutes to look over your recorded results, I don’t see that I will have much of a problem.” Just then, there was a knock at the door. “Yes?” Chester called out. A lad of about ten years old opened the door and stuck his head in.
“Afternoon father.”
“Ah, Gregory...school’s out already?” He asked looking at his watch.
“Yes sir. Any chores for me?”
“We’ll discuss that when I’m done consulting.” The door opened further so he could see who was sitting in front of his father’s desk.
“I apologize sir. I didn’t see you sitting there.”
“No apology necessary young man.” Sherlock replied.
“Gregory this is Detective Sherlock Holmes, Detective my eldest son Gregory.”
“Oh, Mr. Holmes I didn’t know it was you. It’s an honor to meet you sir.” The boy stepped into his father’s office to shake hands. Sherlock stood up and shook the outstretched hand.
“Same here.”
“I’ll leave you two.” Gregory closed the door to the office.
“That’s one well behaved boy you’ve got there.”
“We try. Can’t have me being as insolent and nonchalant as some of his schoolmates. Now we were discussing me consulting for you.”
“Yes, what would you charge?”
“I wouldn’t know what to charge.”
“Suppose it was a second opinion?”
“That often depends on the patient. Perhaps we can work out a scale once we’ve worked together a few times.”
“I supposed we could.”
“Anything else Detective?”
“Uh…yes. What do you charge for visits, office or home? I need patching up from time to time when working cases.”
“Battle scars?”
“You could say that. They range anywhere from cuts and bruises to broken bones.”
“We’ll put that on a case by case basis as well.” Suddenly it struck Sherlock that this man had a family and that he might not be able to show up at the Doctor’s house when the thought struck him. Nor could he send a telegram or message at any hour of the night. Didn’t I put in a clause about me being safer and taking care of myself more? He thought. “Anything else?”
“No, that should do. Thank you very much for your time, Dr. Hawthorne.”
“Please, you can call me Chester since we will be working together. I look forward to our first case.”

“And I as well. Good day sir.” He put his hat back on his head and left the office.

                A few blocks down was John’s office. All was not well there. Because of his disagreement- argument or fight- with Mary, he was in a bad mood. And his nurses tried very hard to keep it from catching. Sarah, the head nurse had to make him stop several times during the day and take breaks ten minute at a time. John was complaining that the office would be running behind, they assured him that everything was running smoothly. He wasn’t sure if he believed them.
                About lunchtime, he got a visit from a young lady who wasn’t there to be a patient. She asked to speak with him and Sarah asked her to wait.
“Mrs. Watson sent me.” the girl replied. After about a fifteen-minute wait she was escorted into John’s office. Sarah was about to leave when John asked her to stay; he didn’t like to leave anything to chance. “Good Afternoon Dr. Watson.” John looked at her and the fifteen minutes he had just spent calming himself after he’d heard Mary sent her, had just flown out of the door.
“Yes, Mary sent you here. Why?”
“Yes sir the Mrs. sent me for your approval. She would like me to get started right away.” John hung his head and took his glasses off.
“Your name?”
“Penelope Browne sir.”
“And your references?”
“My what?”
“Your references, your resume, who you’ve worked for.”
“Oh, just Mrs. Shells. I do laundry mostly, cook sometimes.”
“I see.” He replaced his glasses so he could see that he was serious. “What do you charge?”
“Oh not much sir. Just two bills a month.”
“My wife is just a few weeks, maybe a few months pregnant. At this moment she is able to work in our house, however she thinks she isn’t. Listen to me and listen well, no matter what my wife says. We will try you out for a month, weekends only. As her pregnancy progresses, we will discuss further employment.”
“Oh thank you so much Dr. Watson!” She said. “Thank you, thank you.”
“Yes, yes. Please leave your information with Abigail at the desk and I will see you Saturday morning.” Penelope’s smile was a wide as the Thames River. Sarah looked at her boss. “Don’t even ask.” Sarah shrugged and walked back out to the waiting room.

                A few hours later, John decided that he needed some fresh air. His next patient wouldn’t be in for another thirty minutes. So he walked down to the nearest eatery. While walking he saw Sherlock leaving Chester Hawthorne’s office. Wonder what he was doing there? Deep down John felt a little pang of jealously. There was only one reason that he could have been there, should have been there; he needed a doctor’s advice for a case. That should be me; I should be that doctor. That should be my advice he needs. John should have been feeling happy that he had a chance to see his beloved detective. He should have been reveling in the fact that Sherlock was up and about; he didn’t know how long he had been up but at least he was up. Instead, he was thinking how hard this day had been and how much harder the rest of his life was going to be.

                As the day ended, it found Sherlock Holmes alone in bed again. His thoughts once again were of John. He wondered how his day had gone; he wondered if he missed him. He wondered if he had thought of the detective at all. This would be about the time that he would ask those questions; tonight there was no one to ask or answer them. I made it through the first day, he thought. I kept myself busy, but I couldn’t help but think of him. Maybe tomorrow will be even easier.
                That night before John went to bed, he wrote in his journal again. It was another letter to Sherlock that he wouldn’t receive. In it he wrote of his fight with Mary and that, he had seen him coming from Chester Hawthorne’s office. He wrote that he loved him and that this first day after was hard for him.

…You looked beautiful this afternoon; clean and proper. Very much the gentleman I know you can be. Oh, how I miss you. Perhaps the coming days will be easier to bear. Do remember that I love you.
John
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The Benefits of Letting Go