Fluff & Stuff

His Last Goodbye

Sherlock's eyes fluttered open slowly, her body twisting in place to stretch on the bed. She swung her arm to the other side of the bed and felt nothing, her eyebrows knitting in confusion and slight disappointment. She lifted her head, looking around the room to see any movement but found nothing. She stayed quiet to see if she heard John's familiar footsteps. Nothing.

With a frown, she willed herself out of the bed and lazily walked to the kitchen. Nothing. She turned on the kettle and continued her search.

She searched the living room, the bathroom, upstairs along with the rooms upstairs. Yet she found nothing.

She sighed in annoyance, sitting on the couch. She rested her elbow on the armrest and rubbed at her temple in frustration. "Mrs. Hudson!" She yelled out.

A few minutes later she could hear Mrs. Hudson approaching but noticed her steps were rather hesitant. Something was wrong.

"Yes, dear?" She asked in that sweet voice of hers, but Sherlock noticed it was forced.

"Where's John?"

The old woman stiffened and Sherlock narrowed her eyes at her, almost daring her to lie. The landlady sighed in defeat and reached her hand out with an envelope.

"He left you this." Sherlock's head tilted to the side. Left me this? Did he leave?

Sherlock took it and Mrs. Hudson left with her head down. She had a frown on her face, which made her wrinkles stand out more.

The consulting detective opened the envelope effortlessly with her hands, pulling out a blank sheet of paper. She unfolded it, instantly noticing her name at the top.

"Dear Sherlock:

If you're reading this, by now I'm long gone."

I could have sworn my heart stopped beating.

"I've probably already taken the plane to USA. I'm sorry for not saying goodbye in person, but it's easier this way.

Even though I already told you before, I want to remind you that I had to go. It was necessary because they called me in. I honestly didn't want to go but duty calls.

I hope to see you once more, if fate decides to reunite us again.

Much love,

John Watson"

I stared at the words written on the loose leaf, rereading the letter over and over. This wasn't a dream. This wasn't a case. I couldn't solve this. And I had to face the facts. We wasn't going to return for a very long time.

I felt tears running down my face as I placed the letter beside me. I didn't know I was capable of possessing any feelings until now. And I felt many coursing through me. Confusion. Anger. Worry. Guilt. But mostly, Pain.

It was excruciating. I felt as if my heart was ripped out of my chest and viciously experimented on by several untrained professionals. It felt as if my world was crumbling down around me.

I placed my head in my hands and just broke down.

Seconds later, I heard Mrs. Hudson rush into my flat and felt the couch bend down as she sat down next to me.

"Oh, Sherlock." She muttered sadly as she wrapped her aged arms around me and I gratefully sobbed my heart out on her shoulder. Only now did I realize that I had been shaking violently as sobs broke through me.

He was gone.

He was gone.

My John was gone.

And he might not come back.