Disadvantageous

Chapter 22

Silence fell once again between Lydia and Sherlock. It became clear to Lydia that Sherlock was not interested in resuming their relationship, nor did he wish to help raise his daughter. That was a hard thing for Lydia to have to deal with, having to keep lying to Willow that her father was still working on some big case that kept him from being there. Lydia suspected that Willow knew there was more to it than that and was growing less and less satisfied with Lydia's practiced answer.

So Lydia tried once more to move on from Sherlock. She doubted she would ever stop loving him, but pining for a man who showed her about as much interest as he did to a client coming in to ask if their partner was cheating on them was not something she was willing to do. She had seen what it had done to Molly, the poor girl hadn't moved on in years. Though the more she thought about, the more Lydia realised that she and Molly were the same. At least Lydia had had a brief moment together with Sherlock, that was more than Molly was ever awarded.

Lydia ended up going out with a friend of Zoe's boyfriend, Peter. He was a year 10 English teacher named Lewis with only a slight Shakespeare obsession. She didn't mind that though, Shakespeare served to overlap their interests and made a good talking point during their first date. He wasn't Sherlock, but he was a good guy and adored Willow. Lydia found that that was the thing that she cared about most when trying to find a partner as she knew she would never again have a bond like the one she had shared with Sherlock.

It was a good decision to move on, Lydia told herself, at least until Lewis broke up with her as well. She slammed her purse on the counter when she got back from the bistro they were meant to have lunch, but where he had ended up calling off the relationship instead. She let the babysitter know that she could leave for the afternoon and put the kettle on, although wishing that she had something stronger than tea. Unfortunately for her, however, that would require leaving Willow unattended in the flat and Lydia was willing to break her sobriety streak, but not to leave her two year old alone.

So she opted for tea instead, in proper British fashion. At the very least hoped that she would find it soothing. But a woman on an island far from London had other plans.

"Lydia." Sherlock's voice shook ever so slightly as he connected the dots, realising who his sister was targeting next.

"She's perfectly safe for the moment," Eurus assured him, but he was not convinced by her words. "Her flat is rigged to explode in approximately three minutes unless I hear the release code from her lips. Would be a shame to lose both the woman you love and your daughter. I'm calling her on your phone, make her say it."

"Say what?" John spoke up, frustrated that he was always the one left out of the loop while the geniuses spoke in coded phrases.

"Obvious, surely."

John shook his head, "no."

Closing his eyes for a brief moment, Sherlock turned to his best friend and corrected him, "yes."

John followed Sherlock's gaze to the lid of the coffin, upon which was imprinted three words.

I love you.

"Oh, one important restriction, you're not allowed to mention in any way at all that her life is in danger. You may not at any point suggest that there is any form of crisis. If you do, I will end this session and hers and Willow's lives. Are we clear?"

Without waiting for a verbal response, Eurus began the call, the room suddenly filling with a loud dialling. Sherlock's gaze flickered over to the screen showing live footage from Lydia's flat. The timer in the upper right hand corner began to tick down from three minutes. There were three cameras set up: two giving different angles of Lydia making tea in her kitchen and one trained on Willow taking a nap in her bedroom.