Rules on the Fridge [A BBC Sherlock Holmes Fanfiction] (Completed)

Of The Old Oak Tree

♪ I Will Never Forget the Moment I Realized I Loved You ♪

Watson woke the next morning to the sound of gentle pacing in the lounge. He made his groggy way to the washroom, ignoring Sherlock's discontentedness for the moment to go freshen up. When he emerged, he was greeted once more with gentle pacing. He accepted the fact that Sherlock was waiting for him so he could rant and went out – Mrs. Hudson had put away Sherlock's skull, as it was "rude to have out in the open like that".

Watson went straight to the kitchen to put the kettle on, and was instantly bombarded with questions.

"I've had a realization this morning, John," Sherlock started, now anxiously standing next to Watson, back to the counter, leaning into it slightly. "The man who was injected was, in fact, a test subject – but not a willing one. I considered his recent medical history." He followed Watson over towards where they kept tea bags and cups, his mind racing almost as fast as his eyes.

"He had been to the hospital for wisdom tooth removal – quite late, but he had. I took this date into mind along with the one on which he was found dead, and had a realization. John, he was forcibly used as a test subject. Someone had snuck into his room while he was unconscious and injected him with the acid, causing a slow deterioration of his bowels."

This made Watson turn towards him fully, almost dropping a cup on the ground. "You mean to say... the deterioration period was slow? But you said the stuff you made was fast acting. Or at least implied it."

"Exactly, John. So, what did he do to make it so slow? He couldn't've watered it down, that doesn't work – he had to weaken it. I looked at some different acids, and how they react with stomach fluid as well as how they deteriorate inside one's body." Sherlock said, realizing this sounded tremendously concerning as Watson's face contorted in pained worry. "I was safe, I only ingested a small amount – nowhere near sickening, nevermind fatal-"

"Sherlock Holmes, you were meant not to do this kind of thing!" Watson yelled, his face contorting in temporary anger.

"Yes, I know, but I was completely safe. I took every precaution. As it turns out, there's one acid that, when mixed correctly, is weak and strengthens within the bowels because of the bile and digestive acids in there." Sherlock started pacing again.

"So, the poor man was injected against his will and had no idea until he had bad stomach pain and then died?" Watson asked, somewhat horrified by the thought of it, but at the same time intrigued. Who would do such a thing?

"Precisely. And once it was strengthened it only got stronger – doubling in strength every minute or so. He had called one of his friends, speaking of an upset stomach and how he wasn't going to be able to make it to their meet-up the next day, and died within the hour." Sherlock said.

"Have you gone to the friend to ask what the guy said to him?" Watson asked, tapping his fingers idly on his armrest.

"I've only just got up three hours ago, John. What do you expect of me?" Sherlock asked, going over the couch to thump down quickly as he had finished ranting.

Watson sat down in his usual chair, wondering why Sherlock elected to sit down rather than rush out the door to meet up with the man's friend. He quickly realized, however, that Sherlock was still thinking. His eyes were flicking back and forth through his silence, his mind clearly processing and throwing images in front of his eyes.

Watson sat there in silence, waiting for him to be done. But he stopped paying attention for a mere moment, having blanked out, and when he came back to Sherlock was nowhere to be seen.

"Sherlock?" He called out; no response. He threw his head back, rolling his eyes as he stood. He put down his cup, going towards the door. He threw his jacket on, pulling his shoes onto his feet as he hopped out the door to hail a cab. Sherlock had been speedy and purposefully left as soon as Watson wasn't paying attention; that much was clear.