Born in Black and White

Chapter 18

The flight from San Francisco to London was extremely awkward to say the least. Eleven hours of practical silence which was somewhat alleviated by Kairi diving into her Kindle and never promising to return. She sat between Lestrade and Sherlock the entire flight and was placed in the pit between perpetual smugness and obvious distaste. Appa lied at her feet, being a collective foot warmer for the wide row.

The night before, she arrived at the Hotel with Appa after a very teary and heart aching goodbye to her sister, Adam, and their children. She promised a visit soon, since Thanksgiving was only a few months away and she received pictures and drawings with copious amounts of clear instructions on how to contact anyone at any time of the day. With lots of well wishes and kisses and hugs, Kairi bid her stateside family farewell and met with Lestrade who helped her into his room. He showed here where everything was and assured her that new towels and linens were provided for her one night stay. They had a little simple conversation where Lestrade asked her about her time in the colonies and wanted to make sure she had a decent enough vacation from them, while also apologizing profusely for ruining said vacation by showing up. They laughed a little bit and he wished her a goodnight with a flirtatious twinkle in his eye. She prepared herself for bed quickly and invited Appa up to snuggle. As they drifted off the sleep, Kairi couldn't help but smile at the thoughts of the cool London air and scarves and cosy coats. Winter would arrive in a few months and she was dying to see a white Christmas in London.

The first time she saw Sherlock was the next morning after Lestrade had fetched her and Appa from her room. They went to meet John and Sherlock for a cab and Sherlock barely acknowledged her presence while John was warm and welcoming. He was obvious about missing her and also told her how excited Molly was for Kairi to return. Kairi responded accordingly, but there was a little pinch of anger in the back of her mind that Sherlock seemed to be ignoring her again - even after he had given her such a precious gift. Though perhaps it was her own fault for phoning Lestrade instead of him. She tried to reason that she was doing so because Lestrade would respond to her phone call or text immediately, but Sherlock always had a way of somewhat misplacing the determination to contact her. In the end she knew it was because she was unsure of their relationship and his gift had made her nervous. Now she just made it worse.

When they arrived in London, they had gathered their carry-ons and made their way off the plane, not having to deal with the luggage terminal. They finally got outside and Kairi took a deep breath of fresh air and shivered in the brisk afternoon light. She filled her lungs with London and she chuckled at how right her sister was. London was very much her home.

"Well, I'll be off. I'm going to grab my own cab and maybe stop by Scotland Yard." Lestrade yawned. He moved towards Kairi and reached an arm out to grab her elbow gently and he leaned in for a kiss on her cheek, "I'll call you later, yeah?"

Kairi, surprised and blushing, nodded as he winked, waved at the boys, and walked away. Her breath caught in her chest as she glanced at John and Sherlock. John was trying not to smile while Sherlock pretended to be interested in his phone. Kairi was surprised that it even had any battery left since he spent the entire flight on it and ignoring her. She averted her eyes and adjusted the strap of her luggage and pat Appa on the head, "Well, I guess I'm off. I'm gonna go," She paused, she really didn't have anywhere to go but Molly's, she was still homeless, "To Molly's, I guess, or maybe the morgue." John simply nodded and Sherlock remained uninterested, "I will catch up with you two at some point, yeah? Damn, I should probably give Mycroft a call." She added with concern, though logic dictated he already knew of her return - probably before she did. She adjusted the bag on her shoulder and then nodded awkwardly to John and Sherlock, "Right, see you." She waved and then started to turn.

Kairi was almost cast off balanced by the quick hand that shot out to pull at her elbow. She turned back, seeing Sherlock had reached out to grab her before she left, but he still hadn't shared a word with her. "Uhm, yes?" She tried not to sound uncomfortable by his display, but she honestly did not understand it.