July 24 - I'm a scientist
Title: Far From Home (part 6/7)
Author: Pompey
Universe: BBC, ACD/Gaslight, Dr. Who
Rating: PG
Warnings: AU, crossover. Also the blatant stealing of a quote from Back to the Future III.
Word count: 673
Summary: In 1894, John and Sherlock have a reunion.
Prompt: July 24 - “Nothing shocks me. I’m a scientist”
John stood perfectly still at Sherlock’s greeting, trying to sort out what question he should ask first. Apparently he waited too long since Sherlock started looking a little uneasy. “OK,” he said at last. “Sherlock, you are going to explain what’s going on. Right now. Or I swear to God, I will punch you in the face again and this time I’ll be aiming for those damn cheekbones!”
Scarper Ed looked at him warily. “He doesn’t sound like the Dr. Watson from the stories.”
“What?”
“That will do, Master Edward,” Sherlock interrupted, reaching into a pocket and pulling out a handful of coins. “These total up to a guinea and without the suspicion that a single guinea coin would cause. I shall let you know the next time I need your services.”
Scarper Ed gleefully grabbed the coins, gave John one more curious look, and then pelted out the door and down the stairs. Neither man spoke until the sound of footsteps dwindled away.
“Sit down, John,” Sherlock said, turning to stoke the fire a little. “I’m afraid I can’t offer you any breakfast at the moment but Mrs. Turner should be up shortly with some tea. I took the liberty of gathering some things for you; they’re in the upstairs bedroom and - ”
“Sherlock.” John hadn’t meant to sound so incredibly weary but all he wanted was some answers. “It has been a very long day. Please. Just start from the beginning.”
“Given the amount of time travel involved, identifying what constitutes ‘the beginning’ may prove difficult.” Sherlock stopped at the sight of John’s hand curled halfway into a fist and the definitely unamused expression on his face. “Let’s begin with you, then. On March 23, 2013. The day that John Watson disappeared without a trace.”
John sat across from Sherlock, feeling horribly guilty although the circumstances had definitely been out of his control. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean -- ”
“Of course you didn’t,” he interrupted but kindly, “but the fact is, you did disappear and I couldn’t find a single clue as to where you had gone. Your footprints showed that you had walked up to a certain point, turned quickly, took a single step - and then nothing.” Sherlock didn’t elaborate on that point but John could fill in the blanks himself: Sherlock irritated and then alarmed by his absence; Sherlock frantic as he tried fruitlessly to find any clue; Sherlock frightened and furious at himself for his inability to solve this mystery. “Interestingly, the statue you had mentioned was also gone.”
“I don’t think it really was a statue,” John said slowly. “It moved, Sherlock, I swear it did. And its face was one of the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Sherlock nodded. “Nothing shocks me; I’m a scientist. But that thing was certainly unnerving.”
John started. “You saw it too? But --oh!” Suddenly he understood at least part of the picture. “You were looking for me. The statue thing grabbed you and the next thing you knew you were in 1881. Thirteen years before . . . well, now.”
“You are mostly correct. I was grabbed by the thing and sent back to 1881. But I wasn’t looking for you. I was looking for it.”
“Wait, what?” John felt his grasp on understanding the situation sliding again. “Why were you looking for the statue instead of me?”
“Because I knew finding the statue would eventually lead me to you here, in 1894. Or rather, lead you to me, since I was sent further into the past than you.”
John scrubbed at his face, trying to will away the incredible headache he could feel forming. “Wait, wait. If the past you - that is, the you from 2013 - was sent back to 1881, then how could you - the you here and now, I mean - have possibly known where I was going to be? Or when I was going to be?”
Sherlock merely smiled and held out to John a yellowed, brittle piece of paper. “You wrote me a letter.”
Author: Pompey
Universe: BBC, ACD/Gaslight, Dr. Who
Rating: PG
Warnings: AU, crossover. Also the blatant stealing of a quote from Back to the Future III.
Word count: 673
Summary: In 1894, John and Sherlock have a reunion.
Prompt: July 24 - “Nothing shocks me. I’m a scientist”
John stood perfectly still at Sherlock’s greeting, trying to sort out what question he should ask first. Apparently he waited too long since Sherlock started looking a little uneasy. “OK,” he said at last. “Sherlock, you are going to explain what’s going on. Right now. Or I swear to God, I will punch you in the face again and this time I’ll be aiming for those damn cheekbones!”
Scarper Ed looked at him warily. “He doesn’t sound like the Dr. Watson from the stories.”
“What?”
“That will do, Master Edward,” Sherlock interrupted, reaching into a pocket and pulling out a handful of coins. “These total up to a guinea and without the suspicion that a single guinea coin would cause. I shall let you know the next time I need your services.”
Scarper Ed gleefully grabbed the coins, gave John one more curious look, and then pelted out the door and down the stairs. Neither man spoke until the sound of footsteps dwindled away.
“Sit down, John,” Sherlock said, turning to stoke the fire a little. “I’m afraid I can’t offer you any breakfast at the moment but Mrs. Turner should be up shortly with some tea. I took the liberty of gathering some things for you; they’re in the upstairs bedroom and - ”
“Sherlock.” John hadn’t meant to sound so incredibly weary but all he wanted was some answers. “It has been a very long day. Please. Just start from the beginning.”
“Given the amount of time travel involved, identifying what constitutes ‘the beginning’ may prove difficult.” Sherlock stopped at the sight of John’s hand curled halfway into a fist and the definitely unamused expression on his face. “Let’s begin with you, then. On March 23, 2013. The day that John Watson disappeared without a trace.”
John sat across from Sherlock, feeling horribly guilty although the circumstances had definitely been out of his control. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean -- ”
“Of course you didn’t,” he interrupted but kindly, “but the fact is, you did disappear and I couldn’t find a single clue as to where you had gone. Your footprints showed that you had walked up to a certain point, turned quickly, took a single step - and then nothing.” Sherlock didn’t elaborate on that point but John could fill in the blanks himself: Sherlock irritated and then alarmed by his absence; Sherlock frantic as he tried fruitlessly to find any clue; Sherlock frightened and furious at himself for his inability to solve this mystery. “Interestingly, the statue you had mentioned was also gone.”
“I don’t think it really was a statue,” John said slowly. “It moved, Sherlock, I swear it did. And its face was one of the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Sherlock nodded. “Nothing shocks me; I’m a scientist. But that thing was certainly unnerving.”
John started. “You saw it too? But --oh!” Suddenly he understood at least part of the picture. “You were looking for me. The statue thing grabbed you and the next thing you knew you were in 1881. Thirteen years before . . . well, now.”
“You are mostly correct. I was grabbed by the thing and sent back to 1881. But I wasn’t looking for you. I was looking for it.”
“Wait, what?” John felt his grasp on understanding the situation sliding again. “Why were you looking for the statue instead of me?”
“Because I knew finding the statue would eventually lead me to you here, in 1894. Or rather, lead you to me, since I was sent further into the past than you.”
John scrubbed at his face, trying to will away the incredible headache he could feel forming. “Wait, wait. If the past you - that is, the you from 2013 - was sent back to 1881, then how could you - the you here and now, I mean - have possibly known where I was going to be? Or when I was going to be?”
Sherlock merely smiled and held out to John a yellowed, brittle piece of paper. “You wrote me a letter.”