August Holmes, Sherlock's Daughter

Chapter Seven: Deductions

I sipped my daily morning coffee and crunched into my toast. It was the morning after the explosion from across the street, and Sherlock had put wooden boards on our windows so the heat stays inside. 

The doorbell rang and Sherlock went to go get it. It wasn't John, because he would just come straight in, and it wasn't Ms. Hudson because she would do the same. 

I heard Mycroft's voice and groaned internally. I didn't want to see the man who tried to send me away to foster care. 

"Why hello August. I see that you are uninjured from the explosion?" Mycroft twirled his umbrella and smiled at me. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

"Yeah I'm okay. A bit of glass but we were lucky." I attempted to smile at him.

"Good, I'm glad." Mycroft sat down on the couch, and Sherlock stood across from him. I decided to finish my toast in the living room, and sat on John's armchair. Maybe this could be a family bonding session. I snorted at the thought.

"I want you to take a case for me, it's important." Mycroft started. So that was the reason Mycroft had stopped by. I snickered, he was worried about us too.

"Sherlock! August!" Suddenly John came sprinting up our stairs. He glanced at the boarded up windows, and then to me and Sherlock.

"John." Sherlock mumbled from under his violin. He was plucking at the violin's string, trying to tune them.

"I saw it on Telly. Are you guys okay?" John turned to Sherlock.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Yeah we're fine. Gas leak, apparently." Sherlock looked at the windows and sighed. 

"I can't." Sherlock replied, looking at Mycroft.

"Can't?"

"The stuff I've got on is just too big. I can't spare the time." Sherlock lied, continuing to pluck at his violin strings.

John looks across to Sherlock in disbelief. It was rare when Sherlock turned down a case. Especially since Sherlock didn't have any cases to work on at the moment.

"Never mind your usual trivia. This is of national importance." Mycroft insisted, staring at Sherlock.

Sherlock sulkily flicked his fingers across his violin strings. "How's the diet?" I grinned at their brotherly rivalry.

"Fine." Mycroft scoffed. "Perhaps you can get through to him, John."

John walked to the windows to investigate the damage done by the gas leak. "What?"

"I'm afraid my brother can be very intransigent." 

"If you're so keen, why don't you investigate it?" Sherlock glanced at John, then back at Mycroft.

"No-no-no-no-no. I can't possibly be away from the office for any length of time – not with the Korean elections so ..." Mycroft slipped up.

I looked at Mycroft in surprise. Korean elections? Why would the British government get involved with that? I saw that John and Sherlock were looking at him the same way that I was.

"Well, you don't need to know about that, do you?" Mycroft covered up. "Besides, a case like this – it requires ... legwork."

Sherlock turned to John, who was absently rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "How's Sarah, John? How was the lilo?"

"Sofa, Sherlock. It was the sofa." Mycroft deduced. I studied John further, by the way he was standing, it looked as if he had slept somewhere uncomfortable. Such as a sofa.