𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 | 𝘖𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬

Chapter I - Not Staying Long

'Pass me the mercury please, Clara,' Sherlock asks, looking into his microscope.

'Get the mercury yourself! It's not my job,' Clara retorts from the living room of 221B. She's sitting in Sherlock's chair and bouncing baby Rosie on her knee. The little girl is giggling all the while, making Clara smile.

'But I even asked nicely!' Sherlock complains, looking up.

'Still, no,' Clara grins, glancing at him in the kitchen.

Sherlock sighs and looks at John, who is leaning against the counter, waiting for the teapot to boil. 

John shakes his head. 'No. I said I won't do this anymore. I'm not your servant!' 

Sherlock keeps looking.

'It's literally right next to you! You can get it yourself.'

Sherlock keeps looking, eyes squinted as if to say, "please?"

John grunts a "fine!" and grabs the slide with mercury on it, passing it to Sherlock.

"Thank you, John," Sherlock mocks and goes back to his work. 

The teapot screams and there's a knock on the door. "Clara, could you grab that?" John asks, taking the pot off.

"Sure," Clara sets baby Rosie in her chair and goes to get the door.

Opening the door, Clara greets the visitors with a friendly hello. It must be somebody Clara doesn't know, Sherlock thinks, because otherwise, she would have given them a hug. After greeting the stranger, Clara turns to the other guest. "Hello, Greg!" she says. She would give him a hug but he's standing behind the other woman in the doorway.

"Good afternoon, Clara," Lestrade smiles in return. "May we step inside?"

"Of course," Clara nods, opening the door wider and stepping aside. "Would either of you like a cup of tea?"

"Ah, I don't think that'll be necessary," Lestrade replies, "We won't be staying long."

In the kitchen, Sherlock tells John, "Ask Clara who's there."

"Bloody hell, Sherlock! Why can't you--" John starts, receiving a look from Sherlock. John rolls his eyes. "Clara, who's at the door?"

Mrs. Hudson turns to John. "I'm going to head downstairs now. If you need anything, you know where I'll be." She smiles a farewell, and John returns it.

The waitress sticks her head into the kitchen. "It's Greg and..." Clara turns toward the other guest. "I'm sorry, you said your name was...? Oh, goodbye, Mrs. H!" Mrs. Hudson nods in reply, and leaves the flat.

"This is Eurus Holmes," Lestrade answers for the woman.

Clara's eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Holmes? Are you Sherlock's cousin?"

"I'm his sister," Eurus answers, speaking for the first time. Now that she is in the room, John looks a little warier.

Sherlock doesn't bother to look up. "Why did you bring her here?"

"Address me, why don't you, little brother," Eurus says sarcastically and wanders out of the kitchen. Clara wants to ask about the whole 'sister' thing and why Sherlock hasn't told her about this before, but she decides it would be better to ask after the guests have left.

"We just stopped by to let you know in person where she'll be staying and how we'll be keeping an eye on her." Lestrade answers, watching the Holmes sister from the corner of his eye.

"Cute baby," Eurus remarks, kneeling in front of Rosie. "Who's is it? You didn't get busy, did you, Sherlock?" Eurus shoots Clara a wink. Clara returns it with a puzzled look.

"She's mine," John responds in a hurry, exchanging glances with Clara. Clara doesn't really understand why John and Greg are acting so cautious around this woman, but she figures she should as well.

"Her name's Rosie," she tells Eurus.

"Rosie..." Eurus repeats picking up the baby's toy. "Rosie Watson!" the little girl giggles at Eurus' childlike voice and sweet smile. Eurus waves the toy in front of Rosie's face, playfully.

"Anyway..." Lestrade continues, "Eurus will be staying with Mycroft, and Mycroft has told me that I 'shouldn't worry about her security,' and that he 'will have it under control.'" Clara can see that John is holding back a scoff of sarcasm from out of the corner of her eye. Meanwhile, she doubts Sherlock is paying attention. So that just leaves her to respond. 

"Alright. Thank you for letting us know, Greg,"

Lestrade nods. "Of course. If you have any questions, just call." Then he adds in a low, secretive voice, "And if you happen to see anything about her, call the Yard!" His happy demeanor returns. "See you 'round, then," Clara smiles in return as he shows himself to the door, Eurus following. Once the door clicks shut, Clara hears John exhale.

Word Count: 737
Written 16.7.18