[ All rights to BBC ]
"Uncle John! Uncle John!"
The pitter patter of the young girls feet on the driveway gave way to a delighted squeal as the child threw herself through the air into her Uncles arms.
The short stocky man laughed as he swung her around, a rich genuine sound, as full of grumbly grit as his hair was of salt and pepper.
"Alexa! My favorite niece; you've grown!"
The girl in question released her solid grip on her Uncles waist and dropped the short distance to the ground.
"Mhmm! A whole five inches!" The blonde reported, clasping her hands behind her back in pride, the pleats in her periwinkle blue sundress crinkling pleasantly.
With adoring eyes, Alexa gazed up at John Watson. They were truly kindred spirits, the army doctor and his niece, and despite her young age, Alexa could see the crinkle at the corner of his eye.
The shake in his hand.
The hesitance in his movement, as if his actions now had consequence.
"Uncle John," the girl started, her halo of blonde hair held back from her face by clip-in ribbons, " did you make any new friends at doctor school?"
A sad smile crossed Johns lips, as he bent down to look the child in the eye.
"I haven't made any friends yet Sweetheart. All the people I meet...go away after a while... when they get better." He reassured Alexa, who's freckled face had fallen.
She brightened, satisfied with the answer, and grabbed her uncles hand, pulling him towards the house.
"Come on: Mommys waiting!"
_______________
A twelve year old Alexa gripped her suitcase tightly, her fingers clasped so tightly around the handle that her knuckles were ghostly white. She hadn't seen her favorite Uncle in many years, and as uncool as it was to grin goofily, Alexa couldn't contain the smile that was plastered across her face.
Leaving her excruciatingly slow moving parents behind, Alexa trotted eagerly ahead, the flat where her cousin was staying while on leave from the army coming up fast.
Uncle John sat on his front porch step, smoking a cigarette absently. He was still dressed in army fatigues, and it was evident he had only just gotten back from the store, as grocery bags sat at his feet.
Abandoning her suitcase on the sidewalk, Alexa sprinted up the walk, her trainers scraping on the concrete stepping stones.
"Uncle Johnny!" Alexa crowed, dancing around him on the porch, overjoyed at the cheerful laugh that the older man issued at her arrival.
"Alexa, good to see you! Did you fly all the way across the pond just to see little old me?" He teased, rising from his seat on the porch and clasping Alexa to him in a hug.
The pair broke apart, and the giddy Alexa chuckled.
"Yeah, Mom convinced Dad to take a little trip. After all, its not every day out Favorite Army Doctor gets leave to come home!"
Things had changed for the pair.
They were both older, though John showed his age more severely than Alexa did.
His hair way more gray, his hands lined with work grooves. His eyes held a sadness that the young girl could comprehend, even if she wanted to.
"So," The teen interrogated, 'Make any friends overseas? Any laaadieees?" Alexa taunted, wiggling her pale eyebrows on the last word.
John laughed, raising a hand in defense.
"Slow down there Kid! No friends as of yet," The short man admitted, a small sigh passing his lips, "but soon, Im sure. Army lads are a tight nit bunch, it'll take a bit before they accept me."
Sated, Alexa retrieved her suitcase and, brushing her unruly flaxen curls from her forehead, led the way into her uncles temporary home.
______________________
"Alexa..."
The stunned John Watson breathed the name as he held the flat door open. He had opened the portal expecting a client, or perhaps Mrs. Hudson in need of help carrying bags from the cab. The last thing he had expected was his niece, much less dressed in army fatigues and holding a duffle bag.
"Hey Uncle John." Alexa murmered, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment, unsure how to approach the situation. Her face was partially hidden behind her mop of untamable hair, for which she was glad in her emotional state.
"Listen..." she began, shifting from foot to foot on the icy British sidewalk, " I kind of need a place to crash." She finally admitted, but added in a hurry, "Just got a few days though, I swear! I wont be a bother or anything, I just..."
Alexa left the last few words hanging in the air, seeing that her words weren't penetrating the shell of surprise that seemed to cloud her Uncles mind.
"Uncle John?"
His name seemed to jolt the man from his paralysis, and with a shake of his head John opened the door wider.
"of course, Of course! Come in!" He insisted, stepping aside to allow his niece into the flat entryway. His steps were uncertain, and one leg lagged behind the other.
That certainly was new. Many things were new about Alexas Uncle.
He was just as short, but seemed more hunched over than the last time she had seen him.
He looked tired.
He looked shellshocked.
But he also, behind the crows feet adorned eyes, looked hopeful, and if Alexa wasn't mistaken: a bit happy.
The uncomfortable situation hung in the air like a miasma, and as the estranged pair stood immobile in the flat walk-in, Alexa attempted to ease the tension.
"So, Uncle John. Any new friends?" she chuckled, tilting one shoulder in recognition of how ridiculously timed her question was.
" As it so happens," John chuckled, "For the first time since you've asked me that question, I do have a friend. His names Sherlock, and you'll find him an absolute monster of an annoyance."
"Oh?"
"Yes. Come on up and meet him, you'll get along famously."
