Sitting Sherlock --Part 4
Title: Sitting Sherlock --Part 4
Fandom: Sherlock
Rating: PG
Genre: Humor, fun, fluff
Word count: 1,130
Summary: Sherlock. As a baby sitter. Perhaps not the best idea. (Now featuring 100% more children!)
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The movie had long since ended. An infomercial filled the screen, but John had turned it down to nearly inaudible. Jack was sprawled across the sitting room floor, tangled in the blanket John had thrown on him. Clover continued to sleep soundly across John’s lap, her soft rhythmic breathing a relaxing sound as he occasionally brushed her hair. Sherlock watched from the corner of his eye, at the sad but fond look that was on the doctor’s face.
They hadn’t spoken since Sherlock had all but confessed to drugging the children’s drinks. John had been deep in thought, and Sherlock was mildly concerned that his flat mate was truly upset about the sleeping pills. Well, he’d taken necessary precautions. Weighed the boy to make sure it wasn’t a hazardous amount. Even searched through all of the children’s belongings to make certain that they weren’t on any medications that would cause a reaction. John had nothing to worry about. Sherlock hadn’t done anything wrong, not really. If anything, some gratitude was in order.
When John’s voice finally broke the heavy silence between them, it startled them both. “Has Harry been drinking?” The doctor’s voice was low, serious. His eyes shifted from his niece’s sleeping form to gaze at Sherlock. The sleuth met his gaze, “Not recently. Her skin was loose from sudden weight loss, and there was a slight tremor to her hands. Nothing to indicate she is still drinking.”
John nodded, satisfied with the answer. He went back to entangling his fingers in the thin patches of the girl’s hair, silence lapsing between the two again. Sherlock had begun to debate whether or not it was worth the energy to get out of the chair in order to find the computer when John began talking once more. It seemed more to himself than anything, something Sherlock was often guilty of himself but found it surprising coming from his friend.
“She didn’t always drink. It wasn’t until things got bad, really bad, that Harry finally started drinking. The stress of the adoption, me being in Afghanistan, the fire. It was too much for her, I guess.” John glanced up at his flat mate, that same sad look on his face. Sherlock managed to keep his face passive, although truly he wanted nothing more than to see if he’s received a reply to the email about a potential case. Dealing with family matters was simply not his forte.
John seemed to think that he had a sympathetic ear, though, and continued on. “Harry’s a good person. A good mother, when she wants to be. They adopted Jack after volunteering at the children’s home. Fell in love with the crazy little ginger toddler, as Clara put it. I can’t blame them, he’s hard not to love.”
Sherlock didn’t bother masking the sarcastic smile pulling at his lips.
“Well, alright, he can be a bit of a handful,” John conceded upon seeing the look and chuckled. “But overall, he tries to be good. Looks out for Clover. Does well in school Although he got kicked out last month because he beat up some kid picking on Clover.” John smiled fondly down at the boy, “Guess I shouldn’t really encourage that behavior, huh? But I would have done the same. Actually, I have done the same back when I was just a few years older than him.” He chuckled at the memory and how Harry had wound up coming to his rescue (despite the fact that he was suppose to be defending her).
“Clover doesn’t know how to stick up for herself. Out of all of us, she’s had the roughest ride of it all.” The smile was gone from John’s face, and that heavy sadness was weighing upon him again. Sherlock spoke up, pulling John from his miserable thoughts, “She’s related to Clara.”
“Ah, you noticed. Of course you noticed. Yeah, she’s actually Clara’s niece. She’s belongs to Clara’s younger sister, Betty. But Betty got involved with drugs, and so Clara and Harry took Clover in for a bit. But next thing you know, Betty is saying she’s cleaned up her act. Ready to take care of Clover again.”
John gave a disgusted sigh, “Harry didn’t want to, and I didn’t think they should either. But Hugh, Betty’s boyfriend and Clover’s father, was threatening a custody battle. It wasn’t long after that when Harry lost her job and I got my orders that I’d be headed to Afghanistan. They felt to overwhelmed and gave her back to Betty. There was nothing else they could do.”
Jack’s snoring was the only sound for several moments. “I was overseas when it happened. Betty had lied about the drugs, of course. Had a meth lab in the basement of the house. It blew up in the middle of the night. Clover got out somehow, they found her lying in the snow in the front yard.” His voice began to choke with emotions, “And you know what the worst part is? Her bloody parents didn’t even die in the flames like they should have. They had decided to leave town that night and left a note on the neighbor’s door asking them to watch Clover while they were gone.”
John fell silent as his emotions overcame him. Sherlock remained silent as well, it wasn’t often he saw this side of his flat mate. And while he was glad that the man no longer saw that crack of a therapist, there were times Sherlock wished he better understood how emotions worked so he might offer some comfort. However, the thing that calmed John was a soft groan from the girl sleeping beside him. Immediately, the doctor was pulling the blanket back over the girl’s exposed toes and smoothing her scarred head.
“Ah, sorry Sherlock,” John finally muttered while standing. He stretched and heard little satisfying pops in his back. “I know that probably bored you, but thanks for listening. Or at least pretending to.” He flashed a quick, lifeless smile. “I’m off to bed. Think I’ll just leave the kids here for tonight, they seem to be fine. G’night, Sherlock.”
The detective offered a nod in return and watched his friend exit the room. Sherlock remained motionless for several more minutes, looking at the sleeping forms in his living room. He exhaled then glanced towards his computer. Best to get some work done although he wouldn’t be able to concentrate with that horrendous snoring coming from the boy.
Sherlock gathered his things and was about to retreat to his room when he saw that Clover had again uncovered her feet. He frowned before gingerly giving the blanket a tug, toes still exposed but she was better off. With that, he flipped off the light and retired to his bedroom.
Fandom: Sherlock
Rating: PG
Genre: Humor, fun, fluff
Word count: 1,130
Summary: Sherlock. As a baby sitter. Perhaps not the best idea. (Now featuring 100% more children!)
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
The movie had long since ended. An infomercial filled the screen, but John had turned it down to nearly inaudible. Jack was sprawled across the sitting room floor, tangled in the blanket John had thrown on him. Clover continued to sleep soundly across John’s lap, her soft rhythmic breathing a relaxing sound as he occasionally brushed her hair. Sherlock watched from the corner of his eye, at the sad but fond look that was on the doctor’s face.
They hadn’t spoken since Sherlock had all but confessed to drugging the children’s drinks. John had been deep in thought, and Sherlock was mildly concerned that his flat mate was truly upset about the sleeping pills. Well, he’d taken necessary precautions. Weighed the boy to make sure it wasn’t a hazardous amount. Even searched through all of the children’s belongings to make certain that they weren’t on any medications that would cause a reaction. John had nothing to worry about. Sherlock hadn’t done anything wrong, not really. If anything, some gratitude was in order.
When John’s voice finally broke the heavy silence between them, it startled them both. “Has Harry been drinking?” The doctor’s voice was low, serious. His eyes shifted from his niece’s sleeping form to gaze at Sherlock. The sleuth met his gaze, “Not recently. Her skin was loose from sudden weight loss, and there was a slight tremor to her hands. Nothing to indicate she is still drinking.”
John nodded, satisfied with the answer. He went back to entangling his fingers in the thin patches of the girl’s hair, silence lapsing between the two again. Sherlock had begun to debate whether or not it was worth the energy to get out of the chair in order to find the computer when John began talking once more. It seemed more to himself than anything, something Sherlock was often guilty of himself but found it surprising coming from his friend.
“She didn’t always drink. It wasn’t until things got bad, really bad, that Harry finally started drinking. The stress of the adoption, me being in Afghanistan, the fire. It was too much for her, I guess.” John glanced up at his flat mate, that same sad look on his face. Sherlock managed to keep his face passive, although truly he wanted nothing more than to see if he’s received a reply to the email about a potential case. Dealing with family matters was simply not his forte.
John seemed to think that he had a sympathetic ear, though, and continued on. “Harry’s a good person. A good mother, when she wants to be. They adopted Jack after volunteering at the children’s home. Fell in love with the crazy little ginger toddler, as Clara put it. I can’t blame them, he’s hard not to love.”
Sherlock didn’t bother masking the sarcastic smile pulling at his lips.
“Well, alright, he can be a bit of a handful,” John conceded upon seeing the look and chuckled. “But overall, he tries to be good. Looks out for Clover. Does well in school Although he got kicked out last month because he beat up some kid picking on Clover.” John smiled fondly down at the boy, “Guess I shouldn’t really encourage that behavior, huh? But I would have done the same. Actually, I have done the same back when I was just a few years older than him.” He chuckled at the memory and how Harry had wound up coming to his rescue (despite the fact that he was suppose to be defending her).
“Clover doesn’t know how to stick up for herself. Out of all of us, she’s had the roughest ride of it all.” The smile was gone from John’s face, and that heavy sadness was weighing upon him again. Sherlock spoke up, pulling John from his miserable thoughts, “She’s related to Clara.”
“Ah, you noticed. Of course you noticed. Yeah, she’s actually Clara’s niece. She’s belongs to Clara’s younger sister, Betty. But Betty got involved with drugs, and so Clara and Harry took Clover in for a bit. But next thing you know, Betty is saying she’s cleaned up her act. Ready to take care of Clover again.”
John gave a disgusted sigh, “Harry didn’t want to, and I didn’t think they should either. But Hugh, Betty’s boyfriend and Clover’s father, was threatening a custody battle. It wasn’t long after that when Harry lost her job and I got my orders that I’d be headed to Afghanistan. They felt to overwhelmed and gave her back to Betty. There was nothing else they could do.”
Jack’s snoring was the only sound for several moments. “I was overseas when it happened. Betty had lied about the drugs, of course. Had a meth lab in the basement of the house. It blew up in the middle of the night. Clover got out somehow, they found her lying in the snow in the front yard.” His voice began to choke with emotions, “And you know what the worst part is? Her bloody parents didn’t even die in the flames like they should have. They had decided to leave town that night and left a note on the neighbor’s door asking them to watch Clover while they were gone.”
John fell silent as his emotions overcame him. Sherlock remained silent as well, it wasn’t often he saw this side of his flat mate. And while he was glad that the man no longer saw that crack of a therapist, there were times Sherlock wished he better understood how emotions worked so he might offer some comfort. However, the thing that calmed John was a soft groan from the girl sleeping beside him. Immediately, the doctor was pulling the blanket back over the girl’s exposed toes and smoothing her scarred head.
“Ah, sorry Sherlock,” John finally muttered while standing. He stretched and heard little satisfying pops in his back. “I know that probably bored you, but thanks for listening. Or at least pretending to.” He flashed a quick, lifeless smile. “I’m off to bed. Think I’ll just leave the kids here for tonight, they seem to be fine. G’night, Sherlock.”
The detective offered a nod in return and watched his friend exit the room. Sherlock remained motionless for several more minutes, looking at the sleeping forms in his living room. He exhaled then glanced towards his computer. Best to get some work done although he wouldn’t be able to concentrate with that horrendous snoring coming from the boy.
Sherlock gathered his things and was about to retreat to his room when he saw that Clover had again uncovered her feet. He frowned before gingerly giving the blanket a tug, toes still exposed but she was better off. With that, he flipped off the light and retired to his bedroom.