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

Depression Days

Alice's POV

Sherlock was helping Nneoma fold clothing into drawers, conversing quietly with her. I glanced over at Olivia, who was helping Afiba unload the box of books she'd decided to bring. She took each one out with such delicate care, brushing any dust or dirt off them, and inspected each one for damage.

I needed to do this for her, I'd been planning on giving it to her for Valentine's Day, today. I ducked away from Jack, who was helping set up food in the kitchen. I walked over to Sherlock, catching his elbow.

"Hey, can we talk for a moment?" He nodded, excusing himself from Nneoma. No matter how much time passed, he always was someone I could go to about anything. Everyone else in my life cared, but Sherlock understood everything in a way that no one else did. He understood my pains and frustrations with the world, with my family.

The two of us peeled from the rest of the group into the bedroom. I saw him give a small nod to John, who had been going over security measures with D.I. Lestrade.

"Hey, how are you doing with all this?" He asked, the concern undisguised from his face. I shrugged, pulling my jacket closer to my body.

"Not well. Understandably. I get the reasoning behind it all, but it still sucks." He nodded in agreement. Again, he just seemed to understand what I meant, even when I couldn't convey it myself.

"I need a favor. I had made 'Liv a scrapbook of every one of her performances. From her first performances at the shop to Carnegie. It means a lot to me. I was going to give it to her for Valentine's today, but, well, you know..." I trailed off, and he nodded, understanding. I didn't need to finish my request before he asked.

"Where is it? I can bring it tomorrow." I smiled gratefully, and he returned it. "My bedroom, it's under my bed. Normally I would just have Jack get it, but he's staying here tonight." Sherlock nodded.

"Of course, it's no problem. I'll get it. That's a very sweet gift, Alice." His voice was low and soft, sympathetic. Sherlock was one of the few people that I didn't feel that felt pity for me, just true empathy.

The two of us made our way back out to the living room. "I'll come by tomorrow, okay? I'll bring it. I'll see you in the morning, Alice in Wonderland." I smiled at my old nickname from him and pulled him in for a hug.

"Thank you, for everything, Mad Hatter." He smiled grimly, whispering his goodbyes. He wished the rest farewell before he, John, and the D.I. left. Olivia came up behind me, knotting our fingers together.

"Are you ready for bed, Alice? Father and Jack are setting it up now." I nodded, gazing at her. Her dark skin glowed in the light, tawny eyes shining. I kissed her cheek before following her into the bedroom. It was quite plain, fitting in with the rest of the house.

The whole place was quite bland, brown and beige walls with hardwood floors. Thankfully, there were books and a TV, so we wouldn't go completely out of our minds. We didn't have internet access though, which sucked. We both understood why, but it meant that if we needed anything at all, we had to tell Sherlock and John or our parents and Jack when they visited.

Jack hugged me goodnight, something that hadn't happened since we were kids. Nneoma and Afiba wished us goodnight before leaving us for the night. Of course, they were only 30 feet away, in the other room.

I climbed into bed next to Olivia, smiling faintly. I curled up next to her, grateful for her protective arms around me. The tears I'd shoved down so many times in the past hours came rushing out, spilling onto her t-shirt. "I know, Alice, I know," she whispered, holding me against her.

"What's going to happen to us, 'Liv?" I asked shakily, hating that I couldn't be strong enough to be there for her. This wasn't just happening to me, but to her as well.