Marriage and Mental Illness (Sequel to Tall Buildings and Pill Bottles)

Beaches

AN: Two slurs against Latino people will be used in this chapter, another AN will appear before it.

2 weeks later

Sherlock's POV

The sun streamed in lazily, dancing with the shadows of the dim room. John lay next to me, chest rising and falling with every breath. He'd had been the one to drive yesterday, well into the night, he deserved rest.

John, on a whim, had rented us a car and we drove for hours along the coast, visiting a chateau and Nice, and beaches. It had been exhilarating, feeling the wind with all the windows rolled down, talking and laughing with my husband. I'd never expected to be one for sappy married life, but in truth, there was never a dull moment.

My heart no longer raced every time he walked into the room, rather it slowed, calmed. When my mind began to race, so fast the thoughts were making their exit just as quickly as they entered, he slowed it. Stopped it until my thoughts were only of him, allowing my mind to rest and calm.

He taught me things I'd deleted, telling them in such a way that the most boring things were fascinating. John had a way of telling facts and history as if they were stories, so intricate and beautiful that one couldn't help but marvel at its complexity. He told me stories of stars as we drove back last night, mostly to keep himself awake but the sound of his voice was so lovely and calming that I followed along without protest.

He shifted in his sleep, turning over and away from me. I sighed, knowing I needed to get up and go through the case I was helping Greg with long distance. He'd emailed me all the files, which I'd printed out. They sat on the desk on the opposite side of the seafoam room.

I pressed a kiss to John's neck before quietly getting up and making my way to the desk. I began flipping through the crime scene photos I'd printed.

The victims were horribly beaten before death, practically tortured. I was quite deep into my thoughts as I worked when John woke up. I didn't notice until he kissed the top of my head, murmuring a sleepy hello. I muttered it back as he made his way into the kitchen for coffee. I finished the part I'd been working on and went to join him. It was crucial that I was working on the case, but I did it as little as possible, we were on our honeymoon after all.

"Discover anything new?" John asked, still blinking sleep from his eyes as he made the coffee. I pushed myself up so that I was sitting on top of the counter, watching him.

"Nothing that we don't already know. It was definitely the Soldiers of Superior, more than likely the right-hand man that had last been seen years ago, same style of murder. Ryan Bounds. I can't figure out why they're back though. It's been years, and nothing new has particularly happened. Last time they were seen was when same-sex marriage was legalized in England."

John nodded, it really wasn't anything new. "I'm sure you'll figure it out, once we get back, you'll have more access to everything." He smiled, handing me my mug. I took a sip, lost in thought.

Why would they come back now? Nothing new was really happening. No laws regarding the LGBT community, or immigrants, or black people, or women, or Muslim-... Muslim refugees. The country was accepting more refugees from Syria than they had in the past. Of course.

"Sherlock, come back to me," John said softly. He set his cup down, standing in front of me. Slowly, the fog that had descended down on my mind began to clear. John's face came back into view, peering up at me with infinite understanding and patience. "Refugees. They came back when more refugees began coming in."