Vatican Cameos (A BBC Sherlock Fanfiction)

28. Undercover

John and Mary are asleep in bed, Mary's hand resting on top of John's on top of the covers. John's hand twitches as his dream flashes back to his time in Afghanistan and he hears gunfire and explosions and sees his comrades fall and grimace in pain around him. He shakes his head in his sleep and his dream moves to a flashback of Sherlock during their first meeting at Baker Street.

In the bedroom there's a pounding sound nearby, as if someone is knocking on the front door. The banging sound comes again and John jolts and sits up in bed. Half asleep, in his mind's eye he can see Sherlock looking intensely at him.

"The game is on." Says Sherlock.

John wakes up properly and throws back the covers.
Now wearing a dressing gown over his night clothes, he goes to the front door where someone is still knocking. He opens the door and sees a woman standing there looking back at him. She has clearly been crying for some time.

"I know it's early." She says, starting to cry.

"Really, I'm sorry." She says.

John stares at her a little blankly. Mary comes into view at the end of the hall, putting on her dressing gown. She peers down the hall.

"Is that Kate?" She asks.

"Y-yeah, it's Kate." Answers John.

Kate sobs, holding a paper tissue to her nose.

"Invite her in?" Says Mary.

"Er, sorry, yes. D-d'you wanna come in, Kate?"

He steps aside and Kate walks down the hall towards Mary, still crying.

Later, Mary and Kate are sitting on the sofa. Mary is stroking Kate's arm while she continues to cry.

"It's all right." She says.

John comes over and puts two mugs onto the coffee table.

"There you go." He says.

"It's Isaac." Says Mary.

"Ah, your husband."

"Son."

"Son, yeah."

"He's gone missing again. Didn't come home last night." Says Kate.

Mary lets out a sympathetic sigh and looks at John.

"The usual." Says Mary.

"He's the drugs one, yeah?" Asks John.

He starts to pace back and forth. Kate breaks down in tears again.

"Er, yeah, nicely put, John."

"Look, is it Sherlock Holmes you want? Because I've not seen him in ages."

"About a month." Says Mary.

John continues pacing, the fingers of his left hand twitching.

"Who's Sherlock Holmes?" Asks Kate.

"See? That does happen." Says Mary.

"There's a – a place they all go to, him and his ... friends." Says Kate.

Cutaway close-up of someone cooking-up a drug in a spoon with a lighter held underneath. Nearby, someone blearily props their head on their hand.

"They all ... do whatever they do ..."

The first person clicks the lighter closed.

"... shoot up, whatever you call it."

"Where is he?" Asks John.