Strangest Stranger

4

I scramble off Sherlock, and look out the window at the street below, pulling my blanket across myself. I mutter, "Not now! Are you kidding me!?"

Sherlock appears by my side, looking out the window. I see the interest dance in his eyes. He glides down the stairs, and out the door. In just a moment, I see him on the street below, talking to the strange man. They both look up at me, and I run to Sherlock's bedroom.

I jump into his bed, wrapping myself in the blankets, and just lay there in silence. The scent of him is overpowering. The smell of cigarettes, London rain, and a hint of cologne consumes me, making me feel as if I'm part of him. I hear the front door, then footsteps coming up the stairs, but I just sink further down into the mattress and blankets.

I hear Sherlock say, "She was just hear a minute ago."

Another voice (that's very familiar to me) says, "Then where is she now?"

Sherlock chuckles, and I hear footsteps stopping slowly, as he says, "Oh I think I know where she is."

---

I wake up, screaming my head off. Someone comes into the room, and cradles me in their arms, making my screams turn into sobs. I feel the rough texture of tweed under my fingertips, and look up into the eyes of the Doctor. Behind him, I see the London sunlight streaming through the dark, dusty curtains of Sherlock's bedroom.

The Doctor says, trying to soothe me, while coaxing out information, "It's okay, Ally, it was all a horrid dream. Wha"

I interrupt, while sobbing, "No...no, this is a dream...you...you're not really here..."

He sighs, then grabs both of my hands. He places one on something soft and silky-smooth, and the other hand's fingers wrap around a cloth material that could only be-

"A bowtie!" I blurt, jumping right off of him, "Where's Sherlock?"

"He went out. Something about biscuits."

My head throbs like crazy, and I say, finding myself on my knees, holding my head, "No, no, no, no, no, no...this is exactly what happened in my dream, before he..."

"Before he what?"

The realization slams into me like a bullet, and I gasp, "Before he's kidnapped!" I launch myself through the hallway, down the stairs, and into the street. (While I was rushing, I heard the Doctor say, "Blimey!")

The Doctor appears at my side in a matter of seconds, asking me what happened next in my dream. I point to a dark stairwell, and we walk into it, alertly. I hear a familiar noise and see a green light, but it's immediately registered as the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. He waves it around as we travel down the stairs, and I say, sort of annoyed, "Do you really have to scan everything?"

He stops waving it, and holds it straight in front of us, saying, "Sorry...just checking for angels, that's all."

I roll my eyes. He's making excuses; he already got rid of them all.

"Hello." His voice says, in my mind.

"Oh, get out of my head, Doctor!"

He says, walking around the space in my head, "I wanted to see if I can help you figure out your dream. That way, it won't be as hard for you."

I roll my eyes as he takes in my 'mind palace'.

His eyes drift to a poster, and he says, "Oh, that's just not fair."

I notice that I've taken body form in my head, and say, "Oh, you wanna' know what's not fair?" I walk down a long corridor in my head, see the one labeled 'crushes', and open it.

The Doctor looks in, smiles, and says, "You know, you're a very unstable girl."

I giggle, and pull him out, closing the door.

"Okay, moving on." He says.

We walk a few doors down, and find the door labeled 'dreams'. The dream we're looking for should be right in front. Suddenly, a panic alarm in my mind goes off, shooting the Doctor out of my head, and me back into reality.

The Doctor asks, "What? What happened? What's wrong?"

I start to say, "I don't" but my boot nudges something, making me look down. For a second, I almost scream, but another second passes, and my brain recognizes the object.

I pick it up, and the Doctor says, "Eww Ally, put that down!?"

"It's okay, Doctor, it's the skull from Sherlock's flat. When we left, was it there?"

The Doctor shrugs, then says, "I don't think so."

I hear shouting deeper into the tunnel then, unexpectedly, a shots rings out in the dark. The Doctor and I both eat concrete, hitting the ground with such impact. No bullet whizzes by.

The Doctor gets on his feet, helps me up, and whispers, "C'mon."

We scurry closer to the voices, and start to walk around a corner, but stay behind it, in fear of being spotted. I peer around the bricks to see what they are fighting about. Hold up.....isn't that guy supposed to be dead?

Sherlock says, "How are you alive? I saw you shoot yourself in the head.

The man replies, "Oh Sherlock, geniuses never reveal their secrets. Of all people, you should know that."

Sherlock says, unmoved, "Yes but as you know...I'm not 'people'."

The man smiles, then lifts a gun, pointing it at Sherlock, finger on trigger.

I run out in front of Sherlock, to all three men's surprise, and say, "If you shoot him, you shoot me too."

The man says, "Oh look, your little girlfriend's come to your rescue. I couldn't possibly shoot her. That would be just cruel."

Sherlock replies, "She's...she's not my girlfriend."

The man smiles, and says, "Just kidding."

The trigger is pulled. A flash of black is rushed in front of me. Time speeds back up, and Sherlock's laying on the ground, the peculiar man nowhere to be found. The Doctor must've went to get an ambulance. Sherlock's hand is gripping mine, and I see the blood spot, finally. Sherlock seems to be trying to keep it together, but I see the pain in his eyes.

I feel tears rolling down my face, and Sherlock says, "Alliana?" I look him in the eyes. He says, gasping for air quietly, "I...I love you."