You See But Do Not Observe

WEAKNESS

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN : WEAKNESS

(Sherlock's POV)

Sherlock was being driven up the wall.

He needed smoke. He craved the sweet release it would bring. He needed the more lasting relief that of solving this stupid damned case. And if he unlocked that puzzle, Serena and her damned confusing personality, and her damned hidden past, would disappear.

The two problems were not separate. This wasn't as black and white as one would think. He had always thought Serena was the key to everything he needed to decipher the serial murders. If only she wasn't the lock as well.

"John, are you here? John!" He shouted, but no answer came.

He knew Serena would likely forget their "friendship" the moment he solved the case. That was how it worked. You pretended to care until you had what you wanted.

She was a good actress, to fool John. She had even almost fooled him. He wouldn't be tricked like that again. But...

But if she had any feelings of friendship, she may tell him. If he asked as a friend. If he pretended to like her.

Oh, but was he pretending?

Yes.

Maybe.

He wasn't sure anymore.

He hated when his thoughts spun in circles. It seemed impossible to make sense of the whirlpool, the downward spiral. There was too much information to sort through, too many variables to factor in. And he didn't have the time to organize it all.

He would ask her. Good plan. It had to work. It would work.

Then again, nothing having to do with Serena ever went according to plan.

He groaned, pressing his hands to his temples with more force than was necessary.

(Serena's POV)

Come at once. New development. -SH

She really didn't need him to sign his name anymore. She had put his number in a long time ago.

Coming. -SG

She was already walking down the street. She hailed a taxi and hopped in.

"221 Baker Street, please." She told the cabbie, who smiled and nodded.

She headed up the stairs excitedly. Knowing Sherlock, he had probably solved the case.

"I'm here. What's the development?" She asked Sherlock, who was lying down on the couch.

"There isn't one." He said calmly.

Serena's heart plummeted. "You lied? Why?"

"I needed to get you here. And it worked, didn't it?"

Serena glanced at the door, the way she always did when she got nervous. "What is it?"

"I need to ask you something."

Serena didn't sit down. "Yes?"

Sherlock sat up and stared her straight in the eye. She hated it when he did that. "What happened in your past that made you so afraid?"

Serena shrunk back instantly. She should've expected this. She should have been prepared. "I can't."

"Yes, you can. And you have to. This killer is going to strike again, and again, and again until we catch him. And I know the only way is your past."

"You don't know that." Serena's mind was racing. He couldn't be...no. She had hidden herself. She had done it. There was no feasible way.

"You are just too scared to face the reality of what I'm saying."